From the Shadows

When Daryl woke in the morning, Teagan hadn't moved. Her body was still in the slightly awkward twist it was when she fell asleep. Normally, she moved throughout the night. Musta been damn tired. He stayed next to her for a few extra minutes, watching the rise and fall of her chest, and the calm expression on her face as she slept. No worry. No fear. No doubt. He would let Teagan sleep, but knew he couldn't lounge around all day. No matter what had happened the day before, stuff still had to get done. Daryl wasn't sure what new tasks he'd be given now that an entire new group of people had joined. He carefully unlaced his fingers from Teagan's. He rolled over and swung his legs over the side of the bed, stretched, and cracked his back. He tried to stifle the noisy yawn that penetrated the air. He put on his boots, grabbed his crossbow, and quietly exited the bedroom. He closed the door behind him and rushed down the stairs.

At the bottom of the stairs, he ran into Hershel. Hershel smiled at him and spoke. “Is she still asleep?” Daryl grunted and nodded. “Good. She needs it. Let's not wake her until we have to.”

“She won't be happy. Hates sleepin' in.”

“That's too bad. She needs it more than anyone else here. You can blame me. Doctor's orders.”

“Anything need doin'?”

“They already started clearing out another corridor. Today might actually be a day for you to relax.”

Daryl scoffed. “Yeah, right. If I ain't needed here, might get back the car from the warehouse.”

“Rick might have all the keys.”

“Won't need it. I'm walkin'.”

“Is that safe?”

“Ain't got a choice. Can't drive one in and take two back.”

“Take someone with you.”

“Everyone's busy. I can do this on my own.”

Hershel sighed and looked behind Daryl. “You may not have to.”

Daryl turned his head to see what Hershel was looking at, and saw Teagan coming down the stairs. Her eyes didn't seem to have rested at all. She stretched and yawned, and made her way over to Hershel and Daryl. “The hell you doin' up?” Go back ta sleep.”

Teagan yawned again. “Can't. Sun's too bright and we've got too much shit to do.”

“Did you get enough sleep?” asked Hershel.

“Define 'enough'.”

Daryl scoffed. “Change of plans, I guess. You up fer a trip?”

“Sure, what kind?”

“Gettin' the car back from the warehouse. The one we left behind yesterday.”

“I assume we don't have any keys.”

“Know how to hotwire?”

“You think I went months on my own without knowing how to hotwire a car?” She scoffed. “Please.”

“Not so fast. Let me take a look at your bandages.”

“They're fine, Hershel. Really.” The look on Hershel's face was not one Teagan felt like arguing with. She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Fine.”

Teagan sat down on the same bed she sat on last night. The cell had become the unofficial “doctor's room”. Hershel sat across from her on a old wooden chair. He carefully unwrapped her bandages, one wrist at a time. The innermost bandages were stained red, and stuck to her open wounds. Teagan curled her lip in pain when Hershel tried to very carefully remove the bandages. “You doing alright?” Teagan nodded. “This'll sting a bit.” He applied alcohol to a gauze and dabbed over her wrists. She held her breath and exhaled slowly. “Sorry, it's all we have left.” After he cleaned the wounds, he rebandaged her wrists. Teagan thanked him and got up to leave. “Be careful out there.”

Daryl was leaning against the wall by the door. “Ready?”

“Let's get going.”

Daryl and Teagan walked into the prison yard. On the way to the car, they ran into Rick. “Where ya'll headed?”

Daryl sneered and kept walking. Teagan shot a glance towards Daryl's direction, then looked back at Rick. “Getting a car that got left at the warehouse.”

“Which one?”

Teagan paused for a moment and spoke nonchalantly. “The one Merle drove me in.”

Rick coughed and broke eye contact. “Be careful.” He put his hands in his pockets and walked away.

Daryl was already waiting for Teagan in he car. He was looking straight ahead, and his knuckles were white from clutching the steering wheel. Teagan got into the passenger seat, and they drove out of the gate. Teagan periodically glanced over to Daryl to see if his mood changed.

“You know, if you keep that up, steam'll come out your ears.” She smiled to herself at her bad joke, but Daryl was focused on the road. “What's wrong?” Daryl grunted and sneered. Teagan sighed and crossed her arms. “If I can't refuse a jacket when I'm cold, you can't hold a conversations in grunts and groans. Speak up, ya caveman.”

“The hell ya want me ta say?” Daryl was fuming.

“I want to know what's bothering you.” Her voice was genuine and soft.

Daryl rolled his eyes. “You knew exactly what.” His voice was a gruntled whisper, barely scraping through the air.

Teagan sighed. “You need to talk to him.” She tried keeping her voice as neutral as possibly. She didn't want any tone of voice to incite more aggression from Daryl.

“Like hell I do.” His driving got faster.

“I know you're mad. Furious, even. You have every right to be. What he did, what he chose, can not be excused or dismissed. It was awful and selfish... but-”

“But nothing. We're done. No more of this.”

“No.” Teagan's voice was stern. She turned her head to look directly into his eyes, though they were turned towards the road. “He needs you.”

“The hell are you talkin' about?”

“Look... Rick is in a place right now where he can't trust easily. New people, new dangers... he needs people by his side, supporting him, helping him... He needs you.”

Daryl scoffed and curled his lip. “He got an entire damn group that'll put up with his bullshit. Ain't gonna be me. Not no more.”

“Who did he bring with him to meet the Governor? People whose opinions he respected, people whom he trusted his life with. Who does he go to for advice? For help? Hershel and you.”

Daryl clenched his jaw and swallowed hard. “What's that got ta do with anythin'?” His voice was quieter, but just as passionate,.

“He needs you by his side. Left on his own, more things like yesterday will happen.”

“Why me then? We got plenty of people here that could do the same damn thing.”

“Rick trusts you. You've been there since the beginning, and you've supported him. You've helped him make difficult decisions, and you've saved his life.” Daryl didn't respond. “You care, and he sees that. He respects that.”

“Bullshit.”

“If you didn't give a shit, you'd have left long before I ever came around.” Teagan sighed. “There's nothing wrong with caring about this group, with wanting to help them and be here with them.”

Daryl laughed mockingly. “And you? When did that change?”

“When I found something... someone... worth fighting and sticking around for.” Teagan looked at Daryl as she spoke. Daryl turned to face her and knew, without her actually saying it, that she was talking about him.

Daryl coughed nervously. “We're here.” Daryl stopped the car and jerked it into park. They got out of the car and stood quietly, looking at the carnage in front of them. The bodies that were once ravaging corpses were still. Daryl saw Teagan get distracted by the horrific scene. He coughed. “Car's over here.” Teagan followed Daryl over to the car. “You want to watch or fix the car?”

“Whichever.”

“You get the car. I'll keep an eye out.” Teagan nodded and walked to the car. Daryl kept his eyes bouncing between the road and nearby bushes. He kept his ears sharp, and tried to listen for sounds beyond Teagan's whispered expletives and the clanking of metal. In the distance, Daryl saw a walker approach. The steps were staggered and slow. Distance combined with rotten flesh made it hard to distinguish a face. He kept his eye on it as it drew closer and closer. When the walker was within fifty feet of him, he raised his crossbow and aimed.

“Don't.” The distant voice called from behind him. It took Daryl a moment to fall from his haze and realize it was Teagan. “Don't waste your ammo.” She walked towards the walker and stabbed its head. She pulled her knife out and the walker hit the ground with a thud.

“Could'a done that.”

Teagan shrugged. “Save your arrows.”

“Ain't a bullet. Can reuse 'em.”

“Not indefinitely. I can speak from personal experience. Might want to find more or whittle your own before the ones you have break down.”

Daryl scoffed. My arrows are fine. “Let's head back.” Daryl walked to the car and saw Teagan not following him. “Where ya goin'?”

Teagan chuckled. “Uh... to the other car?” She pointed at it with her thumb. “The car we drove down here to get? The one I just hotwired?”

Daryl lowered his gaze. “Right.” He barely mumbled it.

Daryl got in the first car and turned it on, but waited for Teagan to get in her car to start driving. He motioned for her to drive ahead of him. The drive felt long; longer than when they came in, and even longer than when he was looking for Teagan and Merle. The drive was one of the few times in Daryl's life that he hated the quiet. He kept waiting for someone to talk, but all he could hear was the humming of the engine. Both Teagan and Daryl got back to the prison unscathed. They pulled through the gates and parked the cars.

The rest of the evening faded into a foreign calm. The old Woodbury members introduced themselves more thoroughly at dinner. Some of the older members helped Carol with dinner. The ranged from young children to those old enough to be their grandparents. Skill sets ranged from housewives to educators, laborers to lawmen. One man was even a doctor. Everyone had jobs assigned to them based on their strengths and capabilities, just like they had before. The housewives would help Carol with meal preparation and laundry, the educators would help teach and entertain the children, the laborers would help with Hershel's planned farm, and the lawmen would help set order and keep the peace alongside the original group members. Those especially skilled in killing walkers, hunting, and gathering were allowed on runs. By the end of the day, each new person had a job to attend by the next day. Everyone physically capable was also expected to participate in watch duty. The new members were given the previously uninhabited cell blocks, and there, they could split off their rooms to their own choosing. They were shown the showers and restrooms, and were highly discouraged from roaming the prison's interior. Chaos and murmured voices quickly dissolved into quiet shuffling and whispers.

Teagan had intended on helping Carol with cleaning up after dinner like she often did, but new members quickly took over that position. Since it wasn't her time to do watch, and she felt uncomfortable wandering around the prison with so many new people, she went up to her and Daryl's room.