From the Shadows

Glenn refocused the light onto his own face, and Daryl lowered his weapon.

“All three of ya here?” Please tell me yer all still alive.

Glenn began speaking fast. “Yeah. Andrea's hurt, though. When we split up, we tried to fight our way back. There were too many walkers and-”

“SHIT!” Daryl cut Glenn off like he wasn't even listening. He started angrily pacing and kicked the wall.

“Are you okay? What's the matter?” Glen yelled. Everyone was still wincing at the mystery siren.

Daryl just shook his head and moved his hand to his hair. He angrily rubbed his head and flung his arm back down to his side.

“Daryl...?” Maggie spoke next. Her voice was softer and slower than Glenn's.

“Teagan...” Daryl's voice was barely audible; not loud enough for anyone in the room to hear him.

“What was that?” Glen yelled.

Just as Daryl went to respond, the sirens stopped. Daryl still yelled, anticipating a need to compensate for the noise. “TEAGAN'S STILL OUT THERE!” His booming voice shattered the sudden silence.

Glenn's jaw dropped and Maggie covered her mouth with her hand. Guilt began to spread over Daryl's face.

“You mean... she's out there? Was she with you? What happened?” Glenn panicked at the prospect of her missing again.

“We came in lookin' fer ya guys. Siren came on and we got surrounded. Too many of 'em on me and I just...” He couldn't finish his sentence. He couldn't admit he ran and left her behind. He bit his lip, and his eyes grew angry again.

“We can go back out there and look for her. She couldn't have-” Maggie tried to make a rescue plan.

“No...” Daryl swallowed hard on his words. He wanted nothing more than to find her.

“Wait, what?” Glenn and Maggie almost asked simultaneously.

“Andrea's hurt, right? Got ta get her back ta Hershel.” He couldn't even look them in the eyes. He gripped his crossbow so tight, his knuckles turned white. It would be stupid to go looking alone, especially if the siren went off again. And it'd be irresponsible to have only one of them take Andrea back.

Glenn stepped forward. “Wait, you can't be serious. You two came out here for us, least we can do is go out there for her!” He was pleading his case so hard he was sweating.

Daryl stared at the ground for a long time. He couldn't be in two places at once. His anger boiled up again and he yelled. “Fuck!” He rubbed a hand through his greasy hair.

“Bring Andrea back... come back through here a secon' time n find her.” Daryl's voice was impatient but resolute. It was the best plan any of them could come up with. They all agreed. Glenn and Maggie would help carry Andrea, while Daryl walked ahead of them and killed walkers. If there were too many, Glenn would leave Andrea to Maggie and help Daryl.

Daryl listened through the door for shuffling and moaning, but heard nothing. He cracked the door and the corridor was clear. They made their way back to where Daryl and Teagan got split up. The ground was littered with corpses and dark blood was smeared everywhere.

“Is that...?” Glenn referenced to the knife on the ground.

Daryl picked the knife up and recognized it as Teagan's. “Musta dropped it...” His chest felt tight. He saw bloody footprints leading farther into the corridor, away from the cell block. The hell was she thinkin'? To comfort the panicked look on Glenn and Maggie's faces, he continued. “She usually carries a few on her. We'll take this'un back with us.” He carefully wrapped the knife in a bandana and placed it in his boot. The group successfully managed to meander their way through the prison and back to the cell block, where everyone was waiting anxiously.

“Oh, thank god!” Carol and Beth relieved Maggie and Glenn of Andrea, carrying her to her room and called for Hershel. Beth went and hugged Glenn and Maggie excitedly. She went to hug Daryl without thinking, but realized what she was doing early and simply nodded at him. Like earlier, their giddy grins soon faded after a mental headcount.

“Wait... where's Teagan?” Beth's voice was sad.

“She, uh... we got split up when the siren hit...” Daryl recognized his voice as sounding too sad, too weak. He quickly replaced it with anger. “The hell was that anyway?”

Everyone's face grew even sadder, for no one wanted to be the bearer of bad news. Carol spoke for the group. “We... we lost T-Dog, too. He saved my life.”

The room went quiet. They went from the farm to starvation, and what was thought to be a paradise already cost them lives. Rick and Oscar came back, panting heavily. Lori jumped from the bench, followed by Carl, running towards Rick and embracing him.

“Did you find the siren?”

“Yeah. We made it so it won't turn on again.” Rick's voice was dark and troubled. Sumthin' else happened he don't wanna say.

Daryl approached Rick and pulled him to the side, while the rest of the grouped teetered between rejoice at reunion and sadness at loss.

“She's still out there, Rick. I gotta find her.” Daryl was straight to the point. The longer he waited to go back and find her, the less her chances were. Stop. She's a strong girl. She can do it. Know she can.

“I can't let you do that.” Rick hated denying Daryl's rescue, like last time when she was left on the roof.

“Why the hell not? She's out there by herself. We got split up n it's my fault she's alone. I gotta find her.” Daryl's voice was desperate.

“Daryl, you barely made it back alive the first time. Same with the second time. Do you really think you'll be as lucky on a third try?” Rick intentionally looked into Daryl's eyes. Rick tried to calm Daryl's fiery guilt with logic.

Daryl clenched his fist and his teeth. He didn't have anything to say, so Rick kept talking.

“She's strong. She can figure her way out of there, I know she can.” Rick took a deep breath and paused. He didn't want to continue his statement. “But if she didn't...”

“Don't!” Daryl yelled louder than he intended to; his booming voice echoing through the cell block.

Rick grabbed Daryl's shoulder to ground him back into reality. “If she didn't, I can't have you risking your life just to find a dead body. We need you here. Not out there.”

Rick and Daryl stood in awkward, angry silence for awhile. Daryl was painfully conflicted on what to do. He knew it would be stupid, and he'd likely be killed if he went off alone. He couldn't risk the life of someone already safe just to find her. But he couldn't stomach the acidic thought of her needing help, or the idea that she wouldn't make it out, or that she would have if he went and looked for her.

“Daryl, you've done enough runnin' around the past few days. Please rest up.” Rick lifted his hand off of Daryl's shoulder. He knew basic arguing wouldn't work with Daryl, especially now. Rick had to try and inject rational thoughts into Daryl's head, and hope he followed them.

Rick walked away, leaving Daryl to stand there, drowning in guilt. While he was gone, people had picked cells to sleep in. He refused to sleep behind bars, and perched himself in room upstairs, leaving everyone downstairs. Teagan's belonging had been carefully placed into a cell at the end of the corridor, waiting for her return. Daryl guessed his new room had to have been a guard or officer's quarters that doubled as a room. Like the farm, Daryl slept far away from everyone else. The past two days had been utterly exhausting. His eyelids were heavy and his muscles were sore and shaky. No matter how much he tried to clear his mind, he couldn't sleep. Invasive thoughts kept penetrating the darkness behind his closed eyes. He felt responsible for Teagan's fate. Why I keep thinkin' like that? There was no proof Teagan was hurt... or worse. As much as it pained Daryl to think about, he hoped she had just gotten lost and was holed up somewhere. He wanted to keep her safe.. But all I did was run... run like a scared lil bitch n left her there. He bit down on his lip, and forcefully shut his eyes. He refused to believe she was dead, refused to think that a walker got her. Whatever happens to her... it's my fault.