Till Kingdom Come
Noelle
She couldn’t breath. Her hands were tied over her head with thick rope, the skin on her wrists turning dark crimson, her hands red as she struggled to get free. A strong hand was forcefully wrapped around her throat, dark bruises aligning where his fingers lay and her face slowly turning blue with every breath she struggled to take. She tried to kick her legs around wildly as her attacker lowered himself onto her, forcefully thrusting into her with every aggravating second that passed her by. It was dark, she was cold, and she had much rather be taking her chances outside with the dead, than having to relive this same nightmare every day. After what seemed like endless hours, her attacker rolled away from her and once again left her alone and weak, a small pool of blood slowly forming around her pelvis.
Her eyes fluttered open as she jolted upright and gasped for air, her hair sticking to her sweaty face. The tent she had woken up in that morning was unbearably hot and humid, not to mention almost impossible to breath in. Immediately panicking, she fidgeted with the tents zipper and stumbled out desperately, her fingernails digging into the moist soil beneath her. She breathed in deeply, taking in her surroundings. The same woods she last remembered scrambling through seemed to close in around her as her eyes adjusted to the morning sun.
“I suggest ya stay inside, sunshine. Unless you want them walkers comin’ at ya.”
The poor girl jumped suddenly at the sound of Daryl’s voice, scattering back inside the tent and leaning against the far end. Her hands wandered desperately through cloths and blankets that were on the floor, searching for the gun that she remembered she once had. Daryl peaked his head into the tent and found her staring wide eyed right back at him, fear evident in her eyes.
“I got what you’re lookin’ for, but ya aint getting’ it back. Just get up, we gotta get movin’.”
-------
Wearing one of Daryl’s over sized button up shirts and uncomfortably large hunting boots, the fragile girl awkwardly stood off to the side, watching as Daryl finished gathering up the remains of his tent into its bag and slinging it over his shoulder. Packed and ready to go, he turned his attention towards the skinny girl standing beside him.
“Tell me your name.” he demanded as he handed her the bundle of squirrels for her to carry. With no reply, she disgustingly took the bag and kept her gaze down, avoiding all sorts of eye contact. Not expecting an answer any time soon, Daryl rolled his eyes and began marching on forward.
“Try to keep up, and don’t ya dare lose ma kill.”
Other than Daryl’s occasional frustrated grunt, their trip was quick and quiet. Daryl glanced back every chance he had, making sure the girl was keeping up and still alive. And every time he looked back she remained the same, shoulders slumped and eyes down; he was surprised she hadn’t bumped into a tree by now. Ambling forward, it was easy to tell that this girl he found was struggling, and every step she took from then on seemed forced and painful. Glancing back one last time, Daryl quickly directed his sights forward again before speaking.
“Your ankle, its sprained. Bandage it up all nice and good when we get back to camp, hmm. Get ya some food too, goddamn skin and bones I tell ya.”
His words stopped her dead in her tracks and she froze, panic washing over her once again. Where was he taking her? What were his intentions?
After the world had gone to shit, she learned to accept the fact that she had to fear the living far more than those who were already dead. She could try to trust him, try to accept the fact that he wanted to help, but instead she panicked. Her breaths became more rapid and shallow, the world began to spin violently around her and it was becoming difficult to differentiate between what up and what was down. Dropping the bundle of flimsy dead squirrels, she began to run as fast as she could and as far away from the redneck as she could get. Occasionally tripping over the overly sized boots she wore, she tied to control her breathing and avoided trees left and right, not knowing where her feet were taking her, only knowing the excruciating pain that shot up her leg. It took a while for the situation to register in Daryl's mind but after slight hesitation he hurriedly picked up his kill and jolted off after her.
"Shit" he muttered to himself as he swiftly jumped over tree roots and under low branches, closing in on the strange girl. He saw the walker before she did, horizontally closing in in her and immediately knew he couldn’t reach her in time. Watching her press up against a tree as the walker reached it’s arms out towards her, he brought up his crossbow and the arrow lunged forward, embedding itself in the walkers head and swiftly knocking it down to the ground.
Running up to her, Daryl noticed her intentions of yelling out for help, but quickly placed a hand over her mouth. Tears welled up in her eyes and he knew that she was far too scared of him to even notice the other two walkers that were dragging through the woods. Removing his hand from her face, he brought his index finger up to his thin lips and ushered her towards a nearby hollow in a tree. He knew he couldn’t both shoot down the walkers and keep her from getting herself killed so he pressed up against her in the hollow, his hand once again covering her mouth.
Her back against his chest, and his arms wrapped around tightly, they waited until both walkers passed through. Peering out, Daryl made sure the coast was clear before stepping out and pulling the girl along with him.
“Fuckin’ bitch, almost got us killed.” he scorned at her, all while she fidgeted with her hands, once again deciding not to look up.
“Fuck…what’s your name?!” he asked once again.
At that point, her eyes finally locked with his before she finally spoke.
“Noelle.”
Her eyes fluttered open as she jolted upright and gasped for air, her hair sticking to her sweaty face. The tent she had woken up in that morning was unbearably hot and humid, not to mention almost impossible to breath in. Immediately panicking, she fidgeted with the tents zipper and stumbled out desperately, her fingernails digging into the moist soil beneath her. She breathed in deeply, taking in her surroundings. The same woods she last remembered scrambling through seemed to close in around her as her eyes adjusted to the morning sun.
“I suggest ya stay inside, sunshine. Unless you want them walkers comin’ at ya.”
The poor girl jumped suddenly at the sound of Daryl’s voice, scattering back inside the tent and leaning against the far end. Her hands wandered desperately through cloths and blankets that were on the floor, searching for the gun that she remembered she once had. Daryl peaked his head into the tent and found her staring wide eyed right back at him, fear evident in her eyes.
“I got what you’re lookin’ for, but ya aint getting’ it back. Just get up, we gotta get movin’.”
-------
Wearing one of Daryl’s over sized button up shirts and uncomfortably large hunting boots, the fragile girl awkwardly stood off to the side, watching as Daryl finished gathering up the remains of his tent into its bag and slinging it over his shoulder. Packed and ready to go, he turned his attention towards the skinny girl standing beside him.
“Tell me your name.” he demanded as he handed her the bundle of squirrels for her to carry. With no reply, she disgustingly took the bag and kept her gaze down, avoiding all sorts of eye contact. Not expecting an answer any time soon, Daryl rolled his eyes and began marching on forward.
“Try to keep up, and don’t ya dare lose ma kill.”
Other than Daryl’s occasional frustrated grunt, their trip was quick and quiet. Daryl glanced back every chance he had, making sure the girl was keeping up and still alive. And every time he looked back she remained the same, shoulders slumped and eyes down; he was surprised she hadn’t bumped into a tree by now. Ambling forward, it was easy to tell that this girl he found was struggling, and every step she took from then on seemed forced and painful. Glancing back one last time, Daryl quickly directed his sights forward again before speaking.
“Your ankle, its sprained. Bandage it up all nice and good when we get back to camp, hmm. Get ya some food too, goddamn skin and bones I tell ya.”
His words stopped her dead in her tracks and she froze, panic washing over her once again. Where was he taking her? What were his intentions?
After the world had gone to shit, she learned to accept the fact that she had to fear the living far more than those who were already dead. She could try to trust him, try to accept the fact that he wanted to help, but instead she panicked. Her breaths became more rapid and shallow, the world began to spin violently around her and it was becoming difficult to differentiate between what up and what was down. Dropping the bundle of flimsy dead squirrels, she began to run as fast as she could and as far away from the redneck as she could get. Occasionally tripping over the overly sized boots she wore, she tied to control her breathing and avoided trees left and right, not knowing where her feet were taking her, only knowing the excruciating pain that shot up her leg. It took a while for the situation to register in Daryl's mind but after slight hesitation he hurriedly picked up his kill and jolted off after her.
"Shit" he muttered to himself as he swiftly jumped over tree roots and under low branches, closing in on the strange girl. He saw the walker before she did, horizontally closing in in her and immediately knew he couldn’t reach her in time. Watching her press up against a tree as the walker reached it’s arms out towards her, he brought up his crossbow and the arrow lunged forward, embedding itself in the walkers head and swiftly knocking it down to the ground.
Running up to her, Daryl noticed her intentions of yelling out for help, but quickly placed a hand over her mouth. Tears welled up in her eyes and he knew that she was far too scared of him to even notice the other two walkers that were dragging through the woods. Removing his hand from her face, he brought his index finger up to his thin lips and ushered her towards a nearby hollow in a tree. He knew he couldn’t both shoot down the walkers and keep her from getting herself killed so he pressed up against her in the hollow, his hand once again covering her mouth.
Her back against his chest, and his arms wrapped around tightly, they waited until both walkers passed through. Peering out, Daryl made sure the coast was clear before stepping out and pulling the girl along with him.
“Fuckin’ bitch, almost got us killed.” he scorned at her, all while she fidgeted with her hands, once again deciding not to look up.
“Fuck…what’s your name?!” he asked once again.
At that point, her eyes finally locked with his before she finally spoke.
“Noelle.”