From the Shadows

Once Daryl started the car, Teagan spoke. “Were you trying for a house, or did you want to sleep in the car?”

“Was thinking a house. Got a different idea?”

“Would be devastating to have the car broken into while we were in a house. Or worse, stolen. Not sure if whoever might be living here would be a bigger threat to us in here or in a house we don't know.”

“Yer thinkin' too hard. We find a place, park the car up in front, ain't nobody gonna take it. We'll hear 'em. 'Sides, might get surrounded in the middle o' the night while we're sleepin'.” Teagan quietly agreed, and they drove around the town until they found a small neighborhood. They drove slow and looked for the least damaged house. They came across a two-story house with very few broken windows. Daryl parked the car as close to the house as he could.

They both got out of the car and walked to the front door.

“Cover me.” Teagan immediately knelt down in front of the door and tried picking the lock. She was working on it for several minutes before groaning and giving up.

“S'matter?”

“Not budging. Probably why the window's broken.” She walked over to the window, crunching broken glass under her feet. She grabbed her knife and used the back of it to break some of the long shards still in the frame.

“Sure you wanna do that?”

“Only way of getting in. You're too big.” Once most of the glass was gone, she carefully shimmied her body through window. With her knife still in hand, she carefully placed her left foot on the floor and steadied herself. As she swung her right foot through the window, she felt a hand grab her left ankle. She slipped and caught her left arm on some of the remaining glass in the window frame, while her right hand landed in the broken glass on the floor when she tried to catch her weight. She winced and hissed but acted quickly. She scoured the glass-ridden floor for her dropped knife. The walker that dragged tried to bite her foot, but the leather her shoes were made from was too thick. The walker was a mere torso, but still managed to drag it's mangled body closer to more biteable flesh. As soon as Teagan had a clear shot of the walker's skull, she plunged the knife into it with a gut-wrenching gurgle. The walker was silenced, and Teagan ripped her knife free.

“The hell happened? You alright?”

“Y-yeah. Fine. Just a walker.”

“Ya bit?”

“Nope. Thank the universe for leather boots.” She spoke the last sentence under her breath.

“Can ya stand?”

“Mhm. Just give me a minute.” She struggled trying to stand. She couldn't use her hands as props, and the glass surrounding her made it difficult to only use her legs. She gently grabbed the wall with her in-tact left hand and muscled her way up to a stand. “Head over to the door.” Glass crunched under her feet as she walked over to the front door. An old wooden plank kept the door barricaded. She carefully lifted the barricade using her left hand, and firmly twisted the slightly rusted deadbolt open. She opened the creaky door and let Daryl inside.

The first thing Daryl saw was the blood on Teagan's hands and arms. “Jesus shit.” He grabbed her shoulders and lead her back inside. He lead her to the kitchen where the light was the brightest. He checked for dangers, and when none were found, he took off his shirt and started to rip off the sleeves. “Sit down.” Teagan did as she was told. Once his shirt was in three pieces, he handed the sleeves to Teagan, put the rest of his shirt on, and rummaged through the kitchen. He found some towels under the sink and poured some water from his bottle on them. He walked back over to Teagan with the damp towels.”Might hurt a little.” He wiped down her left arm to assess the gash. He shook his head. “Needs stitchin'.”

“Got some in my bag. Not a lot, but it might be enough.”

“Keep pressure.” He walked over to the front door and grabbed Teagan's bag. He handed it to her, but she shook her head.

“Second smallest pocket.” Daryl hesitated. He hated going through peoples' things, even with permission. He felt it was violating and impersonal. He opened the bag slowly and grabbed the makeshift first-aid kit.

Daryl opened the first-aid kit and knelt down in front of Teagan, gently lifting the blood-stained towel from her arm. Daryl examined the gash. It was a few inches long, but didn't seem very deep. “Try 'n' move yer hand.” Teagan was able to rotate her wrist and move her fingers without any problems. Daryl nodded and got the stitching needle and thread from the first-aid kit. He grabbed her arm gently and looked up at her. “Ready?” She nodded. He stitched the wound closed as carefully and gently as he could. Teagan mildly clenched her jaw and had to make a conscious effort not to squeeze her right hand. She watched as the last stitch was threaded.

Daryl stood up and rummaged through the kitchen again. Liquor, liquor... anything. Goddamnit... Daryl cursed under his breath and got up one the counter. “Don't fall.” Teagan called out in a concerned, tired voice. We need at least one of us still in reasonable shape...

Daryl opened the last cupboard and found what he had been looking for. A full bottle of rum, two half bottles of two different whiskeys, a bottle of gin, and a few swallows worth of vodka. He grabbed the vodka and jumped off the counter. “This oughtta do it.” He poured a small amount of vodka on a clean towel and hovered over Teagan's freshly stitched wound. He looked up to her, hesitating. She nodded lightly, and Daryl started cleaning the wound. Teagan sharply inhaled and winced. The alcohol stung, and she clenched her left fist. Daryl placed some of the gauze in the first-aid kit onto her wound. “Hand me a sleeve.” Teagan did as she was told, and Daryl wrapped and tied up her arm as best her could. “Should hold until tomorrow.”

Teagan saw Daryl look uneasily at her right hand. It was covered in cuts, and several places had embedded glass. “Have you ever done something like this before?” Teagan's voice was sincere. She had dealt with glass more times than she could count during her EMT days. This time, however, she'd need help. She couldn't do it on her own.

“No.”

“It's just like you'd think. Clean it, remove the glass, stitch, bandage.”

“You make it sound easier than it is.” He sighed. “It's gonna hurt like hell, ain't it?”

Teagan swallowed. “Yeah... probably. But if it helps-” Daryl stood up and walked away. “Where are you going?”

“I'll be back.”

Daryl opened the front door and walked outside. It took him a few minutes to find what he was looking for, but once successful, he grabbed it and went back inside.

Teagan saw what was I his hand. “What the hell is that?”

“Fer bitin' on.”

Teagan scoffed. “I don't need it.”

Daryl stopped dead in his tracks and made direct eye contact with Teagan. “This ain't Hershel's farm. This ain't first impressions. Don't gotta pretend ya ain't human who don't feel pain. I ain't stupid.” He walked over to the sink and rinsed off the stick as best he could with water from his bottle. He dried it off and handed it to Teagan. “Here.” Teagan took the stick and put it in her mouth. Daryl then rummaged through the first-aid kit for tweezers.

Daryl knelt down in front of her again. He grabbed a flashlight and handed it to her. “Think you can hold it steady?” Teagan nodded. She held the flashlight in her left hand, and shined the light onto her right. “Open yer hand as much as ya can.” Teagan tried to straighten her fingers, but she could only go halfway without wincing. Daryl gently pried her hand open further. Teagan breathed deeply, and nodded to tell Daryl to keep going. He poured water over her hand to wash the blood away, and tried to carefully wipe it away. He hesitated again.

Teagan put the flashlight down and grabbed the stick from her mouth. “Daryl, just keep going. Don't keep looking up at me. Okay? If I really need you to stop, believe me, I'll make it known.” She tried to sound calm and in control, despite the deep throb and sharp stings in her hand.

Daryl nodded. Teagan bit down on the stick again and aimed the light for Daryl. He carefully removed the first two pieces of glass. Teagan clenched, and started breathing heavier and faster. He wanted to get as many small pieces he could before trying to grab the biggest shard. It looked long and jagged, and he was afraid he'd have to cut the cut in her hand bigger to even get it out. Daryl had to rinse off her hand ever few pieces because of the fresh blood that oozed from the newly-free wounds. Daryl was only halfway done when he could feel Teagan shaking. “Need a break?” Teagan violently shook he head. She kept her eyes shut tight. Daryl carefully removed a few more pieces before Teagan even made sound. The whimper made him lose focus. He didn't want to cause her any pain. He shook his head and went back to work. There was only one piece of glass remaining.

“I'mma need you to hang on, alright? Got one left, but I gotta cut a little bit to get it out. Understand?” Teagan nodded hazily. Daryl grabbed the scalpel from the first aid-kit and poured a little vodka on the blade. “Breathe.” He grabbed her wrist firmly and started to cut. Teagan breathed even faster. Once the cut was long enough, he grabbed the tweezers and gently started to pull on the shard. Despite it's size, it came out fairly smooth. Daryl lightly palpitated her palm for any remaining glass. “Almost done. Gotta clean it. Hang in there.” Daryl put a towel under her hand. Her carefully poured some of the alcohol over her palm. Teagan squealed and dropped the flashlight onto the ground.

Daryl stopped instantly. “You alright?” Teagan mumbled an assurance while still biting onto the stick. “Want to keep going?” She nodded her head, which was barely detectable in the dark. Daryl handed her the flashlight again and she held it steady. “All that's left is stitchin'.” Teagan nodded again. Daryl sewed the biggest gashes first, in case he ran out of stitching thread before he could finish the job. The pain from the stitching felt like a tickle compared to the glass being removed. Teagan's breathing slowed and became more steady. Once done, Daryl gently rinsed the wound with water.

Teagan pulled the stick from her mouth. “Water won't do it. Gotta use alcohol.” Teagan's voice was exhausted.

“Ya sure?”

“Only way to clean it.”

Daryl hesitated, but poured the last of the vodka onto the last clean towel. He carefully wiped over the fresh stitches. He grabbed some gauze, and Teagan handed him the other sleeve before being asked. Daryl wrapped up her hand as best her could.

“You good?”

Teagan breathed in slowly. “Doing fine. Thanks.” She paused. “From what I could tell, you did a pretty good job.”

Daryl shrugged. “Will hold until Hershel can get his hands on it.” Daryl started to clean up and laughed.

“What's so funny?”

“Nothin'. Just killed the vodka.”

Teagan scoffed. “Shitty liquor anyway.”

Daryl sprung to his feet and hopped onto the counter and opened the liquor cabinet. “”Lright then. What's yer drink?”

Teagan rolled her eyes. “Nothing. Especially not right now. Get down from there.”

Daryl ignored her. “Gin, whiskey, bourbon, schnapps...” Daryl shivered when he read the last bottle.

“None of the above.”

“My guess is yer a whiskey person.” Daryl grabbed both bottles and got off the counter. “Same as me. One fer each.” Daryl handed her a bottle and she didn't take it. Daryl playfully sighed. “Fine, want the other? Don't bother me none.” He handed her the other bottle, and she simply looked at him with tired eyes. Daryl scoffed. “What don't drink? Yer no fun.”

“Oh please. Drinking at a time like this is the worst idea you've ever had.”

“To your knowledge.” He smiled slightly. “Probably best you didn't know me in high school. You'd be drinkin' right now to ferget it.”

“That's usually why people drink in the first place. To forget.”

“Is that what yer worried about? Don't gotta worry 'round me.”

“No. I'm worried that there are walkers roaming around that want to eat us, and possibly people that want to kill us, steal our stuff, or both.” Teagan huffed. “Besides, alcohol thins the blood. Would be good to avoid that right about now. Besides...” Teagan cracked her back and inhaled deeply. “Probably best if our encounters stay sober. We're both probably more pleasant that way.”

Daryl shrugged his shoulders and put the bottles back on the counter. He quietly cleaned up the small mess and reassembled the first-aid kit.

Teagan rolled her eyes at Daryl's childish sulking. “Fine. I'll make you a deal. We can do this when neither of us are injured, and we're in a safe, secure, place where it is unlikely we'd have to pack up and leave on short notice.”

Daryl chuckled. “So... never?”

Teagan rolled her eyes again. “No... more like at the prison, or somewhere safer.” Daryl didn't seem to believe her. She sighed. “Just bring a stupid bottle with us tomorrow, okay? Jesus.”

“So you do drink whiskey. I knew it. And why not both?”

“Have you ever actually had alcohol before? We will not need more than one bottle. We won't even finish one. Leave it here for the next poor, desperate bastard. Besides, with how little we eat and how long it's been since we last drank... we'll need even less than we'd expect.”

“Alright, alright. You made yer point. I'm grabbing the bigger one, though.” He put the bottle in his bag. “So, uh, want to check out the rest of the house? Find a place to sleep?”

“Yeah, sure. Sounds like a plan.” Teagan stood up too quickly and felt dizzy. She closed her eyes and grabbed the chair for balance.

“You alright?”

Teagan cocked her head to the side and waited for the spots in her vision to go away. “Yeah. Fine. Probably just tired. Let's get this done quickly so we can sleep.”

Daryl and Teagan cleared the upstairs quickly. There were no walkers in any of the rooms. They decided to rest in the master bedroom. Teagan sat down on the edge of the bed. The pain in her arm and hand was unrelenting and strong.

“You just stay here. I'll grab the stuff.”

“There's too much stuff. I'll help you.”

“Don't worry about it. You stay here.” Daryl left the room and Teagan moved more onto the bed. The ache in her limbs felt like they were radiating and spreading across her whole body. She closed her eyes, hoping to distract herself.

Daryl came back.

“Hey, want me to take first watch?”

“If you want. Just wake me up in a few hours.” Daryl settled into bed and fell asleep quickly.

Teagan grabbed all the weapons she felt she'd need. She walked downstairs and sat in the kitchen away from windows. The pristine floors and counters glistened in the moonlight. The night was quiet. No crickets chirping or leaves rustling in the wind. The quiet was so calm and peaceful.

“Maybe if I just close my eyes for a second...”

Teagan jolted upright from a familiar groaning. Seconds turned into hours. Chaos erupted during her lapse in responsibility. Red light filled the house. Dark blood was splattered and smeared on the linoleum around her. Walkers clawed at all the windows, and started to break through and crawl in. A few become several dozen. They swarmed the house. They saw her and started to limp towards her.

“Shit, shit, shit.” Teagan gathered all her things and headed towards the stairs. She ran up the stairs and down the elongating hallway. Walkers were right behind her. No matter how fast she ran, they caught up. She bolted into the master bedroom and fought to close the door. She locked the door and leaned against it, catching her breath.

“Daryl, we have to go out the window. There is no way we'll-” Teagan turned around and was horrified at what she saw.

The Governor had Daryl's hands tied behind his back and in a choke hold. The Governor smiled and held a knife to Daryl's neck.

“No, please, don't!”

“Told you I'd use him to get to you.” The Governor smiled and sliced open Daryl's throat. Blood started to pour from his wound, and he limply fell to the floor.

“NO!”

The Governor had disappeared as Teagan ran to Daryl's body. Teagan watched as blood spilled from Daryl's neck and mouth. He was choking on his own blood. “Daryl, please. This can't be happening. Daryl!” Daryl sputtered and gurgled, and bubbles formed as he attempted one last breath.

Teagan started to cry. Her hands and arms were covered in blood. She started to shake and she back away from him. As she tried to escape, and dead Daryl starkly sat up. His skin was grey, and his eyes yellow. He cocked his head curiously at Teagan and started to bite at the air.

“No, stop it. Go away!”

The walker gurgled on dark, thick blood. It's jaw contorted. A small, unintelligible sound came from it's mouth.

“What? No.. stop it!”

The walker looked directly at Teagan. “Wake up.” The walker lunged at her and she screamed.