Fighter

Isabell pulled her arm out of Daryl’s grasp. He shot her a surprised look, but behind it, he was angry. She didn’t know if he was angry at her for going into the street with Glenn or with himself for letting her get taken. Isabell hoped that he was angry with her. It was her own fault that she got kidnapped. Daryl, though, had a bad habit of thinking the worst of himself. Isabell would know, having known him her whole life. All thirty-five years of it.

The two of them stared at each other for a long while without saying anything. Just as Daryl opened his mouth to say something to her, Glenn whistled from a door off to the side.

“Iz!” he called. Isabell turned her head, but she could still feel Daryl’s eyes on her. Glenn waved them over to the room. The group was being herded into a room with the leader. Isabell jogged over to Glenn, not bothering with Daryl. When she was caught up with Glenn, Daryl’s heavy footsteps followed after her. He was mumbling nonsense to himself. Daryl was angry. He wanted to talk to Isabell about what happened back in the alley. Iz didn’t, though. She was perfectly fine admitting she had let her guard down for a second and allowed herself to be taken. She was also alive, okay, and back with her family and his small group. This place shouldn’t be where they would talk about it anyway. They would need to be alone, away from everyone.

Isabell joined everyone in the room and sat in a chair close to the door. Daryl came in and moved a stray chair to sit next to her. After Isabell rolled her eyes, his arm went around her shoulder. Finally, he was giving in and not being stubborn. What Daryl did next surprised even himself, but it calmed Isabell down. It was something that he always did when he knew that she was stressed out. He would hook his thumb under the neck of her shirt and rub the digit across her shoulder. Isabell looked at him, surprised. He shrugged and looked to Rick and the leader. They continued the conversation about this place.

Rick stood in front of the leader. “How about the rest of your crew? Who are they?” he asked. The leader shrugged.

“The Vatos come to check on their family. Then they see how great things are and most stay. It’s a good thing, too. We need all the manpower we can get. We’ve encountered a lot of people who claimed to just be passing through. The worst kind, the plunderers, they would take this place by force without a second thought.”

“That’s not who we are.” Rick state, boldly.

“How was I to know? My people get attacked in the alley - ”

“Ours did, too.” Daryl argued, tightening a grip on Isabell’s shoulder. She tried to shrug him off. Rick shot a look at him, signaling that he needed to calm down. DAryl shrugged angrily backwards.

The leader continued. “We were attacked. You should with Miguel hostage. Appearances.” Daryl took his arm from Isabell’s shoulder and stood towards the leader. Isabell tried to grab his shirt, but it slipped through her fingers.

“Well, it appeared to us, you was gonna throw your hostage off a buildin’.”

“We didn’t.” The leader argued.

Isabell got up and pulled Daryl back by his arm. “Daryl, stop. I’m fine.” Daryl’s arm flexed arm relaxed under my palm. He came back with me to sit back down.

T-Dog rubbed his hand down his face. “Guess the world has changed.” He concluded.

The leader shook his head. “No, it’s the same as it ever was. The weak get taken. So we do what we can to protect these people. The lowest window are barred, all but one entrance is welded shut. The Vatos go out and scavenge what they can. The perimeter is watched twenty-four hours. Vatos work on cars to get us all out of the city, but most can’t go to the bathroom by themselves.” It was at this point that Isabell’s heart broke all over again for these people. Abuela was so nice to her. She couldn’t imagine her own parents or grandparents being left to rot in this. No matter how bad her relationship was with them, she was glad that they were all dead and gone before the world turned to shit. “Everyone here looks to me. I don’t even know why. I was only a custodian.” The leader added, solemnly.

“Because they can.” Rick assured. “It’s all they’ve got.” Rick handed his shotgun to the leader. Isabell stood up to argue, but Daryl’s arm tightened around her shoulders. She gave him a stern look, telling him to let her go, but he wouldn’t. Isabell shook her head and slumped in her chair. Rick pulled the sheriff bag from around his body. The bag was holding a significantly less amount of weaponry. Isabell scoffed. These were nice people, but Daryl’s group needed the guns and ammo more. The leader thanked Rick, and he nodded in response. It’s safe to say that in this moment, Isabell was not at all happy with Rick’s choices for his group.

Rick handed over the guns and the leader thanked him again, leading the group to the exit. Isabell couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Rick had pissed off Isabell. Giving their artillery to the people in the nursing home was the stupidest idea ever. Sure, they let Isabell free without argument and stitched her up, but she couldn’t disregard their attempt to push her off of a building and their assault on Daryl. Not that it had even crossed her mind to ask Daryl how he felt after being beat with a baseball bat.

Isabell groaned. How could i have just let that slip my mind? Isabell squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them, she noticed that she was far ahead of the group as they walked the deserted streets. Her anger had gotten the best of her, and she had been walking fast. Thinking she should rejoin the cluster, she slowed her breath and her feet, letting the group catch up. She wanted to ask Daryl how he was holding up, but she couldn’t get up the courage. What if he were to blow up at her? Isabell sighed, dropping it.

“Admit it,” Glenn broke the silence. “You only came back to Atlanta for that hat.”

“Don’t tell anybody.” Rick requested.

Isabell laughed once. “What don’t tell anyone that you handed over most of what you had in that bag? I risked my life for that stupid duffle and you’re just handin’ shit out like candy.”

“It wasn’t even half.”

“All for what?” Daryl chimed in. “A bunch of ol’ farts sho are gonna die off anyhow?”

Isabell stood up straight as she walked, feeling confident with Daryl on her side. “Sure, those people need protection, but how long do you think they’ll need to be protected?”

“How long do any of us?” Rick debated.

Isabell scoffed. “Well, I got lots longer than them, that’s for sure.” The men all stopped in their tracks, staring out with shocked looks on their faces. “What?”

“Oh, my God.” Glenn gasped.

“Where the hell is our van?” Daryl asked no one in particular.

Isabell rolled her eyes. “You guys left your transportation out in the open?” Isabell criticized, with her hands on her hips. Daryl’s eyes shot to her angrily. He opened his mouth to say something, but Glenn spoke first.

“We left it right there. Who would take it?”

“Merle.” Rick answered, as if it were a fact. Isabell couldn’t argue with him. More than likely, Merle did take the van.

“He’s gonna be takin’ some vengeance back to camp.” Daryl admitted, squinting as the sun beamed down on him.

Isabell groaned. “Seriously?” she said quietly. Apparently not quietly enough because everyone’s eyes shot to her. “There is so much fucking drama with you people. It was so much easier on my own.” She sneered.

“Then leave.” Daryl said, quietly.

Isabell was taken aback by his comment. She shook her head. “You don’t mean that.”

“Maybe I do!” he shouted. The others tried to shush him, but it wouldn’t be any use. Daryl was one of those that it was hard to bring down from him anger once he was there. “I don’t know who’s going on with you, but you been a real bitch ever since we got you back.”

“Are you fuckin’ kiddin’ me, Daryl?”

“That’s not the Izzy I know.”

“I have been on my own for a month without accident. The second I group up with you and your group, I get kidnapped. I was more afraid bein’ locked up there, that I woulda been alone in the woods.”

“We came back for ya, didn’t we? We saved your ass.”

“Just like you did when I got stuck in that herd?” Isabell asked, furious by now.

“I told ya. Merle said you was dead.”

“And another thing. Merle.”

“What about my brother, Iz?”

“You were so busy questioning your hostage about him, you didn’t even see those bastards grab me. All during this, Merle was stealing your car and heading back to camp.”

“If you hadn’t gone out to the street, I wouldn’t have ta worry ‘bout you bein’ grabbed.”

“It wouldn’t have happened if I was alone!” Isabell shouted. Daryl, angrily took a few steps towards me. Isabell cringed back. She didn’t know what he was going to do next. He’s never hurt her before, but with his history of being abused, it was always a possibility. That scared Isabell. She readied herself, preparing for what was coming. Isabell jumped when she felt his touch on her arm.

“Hey.” Daryl sighed. After opening one of her eyes, Isabell saw that it was only Daryl standing around her, his hand loosely around her wrist. She swallowed nothing and took a deep breath in. “We just need calm.” Isabell looked around to see the others against the fence, looking anywhere, but at the two. “You can’t go.” Daryl said, bringing my attention back to him.

“You just said - ”

Daryl shrugged. “I was angry. You can’t go. I just got you back.”

Isabell pulled herself from his grasp. “You didn’t get me back, Daryl. “She told him harshly. “You may have found me, and I know that we kissed, but it was a moment of weakness. I don’t want any sort of...thing going on between us.” Daryl shrugged his hands into his pockets. “And I don’t trust Rick. Not when he made that decision about the guns. I can’t do this group thing.”

Daryl sighed. “So we go back to camp. Stay a night, for rest, and get Merle. If you still wanna go in the mornin’, we’ll go.”

“I’ll want to go.”

“Just think about it.” He ordered, softly. Isabell groaned. She didn’t want to be a part of a group. There were so many things to worry about and more mouths to feed. Isabell didn’t need all of that. She had a caring nature about her and would immediately try to make sure everyone was well fed before herself. Being on her own for so long, she had managed to care for herself. She wasn’t well fed, and full some nights when she went hunting.

Even though she didn’t want to, she nodded to go along with Daryl’s plan. Daryl and Isabell joined the group to get ready. Rick asked the two what their plan was. He liked the idea of the two coming back with them, and hoped that they would stay. He seemed to think staying with a group was best. If he was so concerned with their well-being, why would he give away the only defenses they had come upon? It drove Isabell crazy, even though she had promised Daryl that she would let it go. The group began their trek their way back to camp. Daryl and Isabell held themselves a little farther behind. He didn’t talk and she didn’t talk. With their outbursts towards each other earlier, She wouldn’t know what to say.

After about an hour, Isabell ventured to the edge of the road in search of small branches and sticks that she could make a bow and some arrows of. Isabell needed to keep herself busy somehow. She could feel Daryl’s eyes on her, telling her that he had her back if any alkers came around. Isabell broke off a branch that she deemed would work for her bow. With the string in her pocket from the last bow that broke, she made a new one. Isabell slung the weapon over her shoulder and used her back pocket as a makeshift quiver while she carved out arrows as she walked.

“‘Member how to do that?”Daryl asked, as Isabell joined the group.

“Are you kiddin’? I remember everythin’ you taught me.” she responded, proudly. “It’s the only way that I woulda made it on my own.” she shrugged. Daryl nodded. Not being around him for so long made Isabell realize how much the two of them used to talk. Now that they’re together again, it’s almost like he doesn’t talk at all anymore.

“How’s yer leg doin’?” Daryl asked.

Isabell was shocked by his caring question. It took her a moment to respond. “It’s fine now. Don’t hurt now that it’s stitched.” Isabell looked over at him, but he question looked away. He had blamed himself for Isabell getting kidnapped. She sighed. “Since I know that yer beatin’ yerself up over it - ”

“I ain’t beatin’ myself up over nothin’.” He said, defensively.

“Well, either way. It’s not your fault that I got taken, or that I got caught in that mob. Obviously I have a habit of letting my guard down at really stupid moments.”

“You shouldn’t’ve gone out in the street in the first place.”

“I don’t really want to argue with you about this. I guess, what’s done is done.” Isavell returned her attention to the arrow that she was carving.

“Fine.” Daryl said, angrily before catching up with the group. Isabell decided to stay behind them. She didn’t really know them and she wasn’t sure that she wanted to. If she was going to take of in the morning, there was no point in getting attached to them.

It got dark very quickly. Rick decided that each of them should have a gun of some kind. Much to Isabell’s disdain, she took one from him. She didn’t like to use guns anymore. They were too loud, too attention grabbing. The group also ended up jogging. The new world was always more dangerous at night. Daryl discreetly slowed down so Isabell was in front of him. She sometimes hated when he played alpha male and always thought she had to be protected. Trying to avoid a fight, Isabell ignored it and put his mind at ease. Now that the group was jogging, though, her leg was starting to hurt. She could feel herself slow down, but with Daryl behind her, she couldn’t. Daryl would worry too much about her. So she pushed through the pain, ignoring the stabs that drove through her thigh.

Out of nowhere, there were gunshots.

“What the hell was that?” Isabell asked, doubling over, hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. She looked at her pant leg. Fresh blood was caked around the cut. She had torn the stitches. “Great.”

Rick listened for another shot. Screams were heard shortly after. “Oh, my God.” Rick gasped.
Daryl grabbed Isabell’s arm and pulled her up. “C’mon, Izzy.” He said. Glenn started urging the group to go forward, running through the trees with Rick in the lead. Daryl and Isabell were closely behind. He still had his hand around her upper arm, pulling her along. Isabell guessed that he noticed that she was in pain. Another minute, and he let go of her arm and started taking aim with the gun he had. Isabell figured they were close to the camp ow, so she readied hers as well. “Stay close.” Daryl grumbled loud enough for her to hear over the shots. The group emerged into a clearing of trees.

How big was this group? Isabell thought. There were tents, campsites, and cars scattered about the site. Even someone with an RV. Daryl and Isabell hurriedly crept forward, taking shots on the herd of walkers that had stumbled through their camp. Isabell stayed glued to Daryl’s right side, shooting the walkers who were far away and hitting them over their heads with the butt of her gun when they weren’t. Everyone around her may have been using up ammo and making noise, but another herd rolling through wouldn’t be on her hands.

Isabell turned towards Daryl, taking shots at walkers on his side. Isabell went to move to his side, but she tripped. A walker that hadn’t killed the right way had grabbed onto her ankle. Isabell landed on the ground with a thud that grabbed Daryl’s attention. Isabell was about to kick the monster when Daryl went over and hit him in the head repeatedly with the butt of his gun. He grumbled and grabbed her arm, pulling her hard to her feet. Everyone looked around to take another shot but there was only one more that Daryl hit over the head. Isabell looked to Rick. He had fallen to his knees to embrace a little boy and pick him up. A brunette woman went over and hugged both of them. This must have been the family he went through hell to find. Glenn walked in circles, freaking out, making sure that all of the walkers were finished. T-Dgo and Daryl kept their weapons in their hands. There were other families with children that nearly made Isabell’s heart break. A blonde woman bent over another blonde who had been bit. She needed to be taken care of. A woman with short hair was close to them, coddling a little girl. All of this drove Isabell crazy.

The blonde girl who lay on the ground, must have let go. The blonde over her started to wail, screaming the name ‘Amy.’ Isabell’s eyes started to water seeing everyone hug their loved ones who had made it. Daryl stood back a ways behind her. He wouldn’t comfort Isabell. Not in front of all the people around them. Daryl hated PDA and Isabell knew it. Sometimes, she even appreciate it. At this moment, though, she wanted nothing more than to turn around wrap her arms around him. Daryl wouldn’t like it. He’d get mad and push her away.

A tall scruffy man turns towards the blondes. “I remember my dream now; why I dug the holes.”

Holes? What holes? Isabell questioned in her head. Everyone started to gather in the center of the camp. Daryl came from behind Isabell and took her arm in his hand, pulling her with him to the outer ring of the group. Rick and another man with longer hair stepped into the center.
Rick cleared his throat before speaking. “I know tonight’s been hard. But we all need some rest. Shane and I are going to go around, make sure all the walkers are gone. Everyone else get to your tents and get some sleep. Someone will keep watch overnight. We’ll clear out the bodies in the morning.” Everyone retreated to their tents, except for Daryl.

“I’ma help.” Daryl told Rick. Rick nodded.

“Me, too.” Isabell said, joining in. Rick looked to Daryl like he was asking if that was okay.
Daryl shook his head. “You gotta get some rest. C’mon.” he said, pulling me away from the other two men.

“Daryl, I’m not a child. It’ll take five minutes.” Isabell argued. They came upon a tent that she recognized. It was away from the rest of the group, which didn’t surprised her. The Dixon brothers loved their privacy.

“Iz, just stay here. Close to the tent, so I know yer safe.” As much as this side of Daryl annoyed Isabell, she couldn’t say no to it. She nodded and stepped in the tent. “Take my place. Merle don’t know how to keep clean. I’ll be back.”

With that, he left Isabell to close the tent. She laid down on his sleeping bag. Everything smelled just like him. She wrapped the blanket around herself, even though she was far from cold. Isabell wanted his comfort, even if it was just from an object that smelled like him. She thought back to all the people who were lost in this group. The number had dwindled in a matter of minutes. Isabell though of those who were left behind. The ones who had lost people. The children. That little girl, crying over the loss of her father.

Isabell hadn’t noticed that she started to cry. She was shaking. She didn’t even know these people, but she felt their pain. She couldn’t remember the last time she cried. Thinking harder, she actually could, but it wasn’t something she wanted to think about.

Seconds later, the tent opened up. Isabell wiped her tears away quickly and turned over to see Daryl enter the tent. He didn’t look at her, so she rolled away from him and cried quietly.

The man surprised her by laying down beside her, putting an arm over her waist. Without a second thought, she moved the blanket over him, too. She curled herself against his body for the comfort.

“You could have told me what was here.” Isabell said, referring to one thing in particular. Daryl knew exactly what she was talking about.

“‘M Sorry.” He whispered against her ear. He held her tight and let her cry until she drifted to sleep.