Twisted Fairytale

Len strapped her bow onto her back and gathered the rest of her weapons; she was preparing to go to Atlanta with the others. She may have not been close with Merle, but she couldn’t just sit idly by while he stayed trapped on a roof. It wasn’t fair, no matter how much of a dick he was.

Footsteps approaching made Len freeze. She turned her head slightly to the side and even though she couldn’t see who was there, she had a pretty good idea.

”The hell you doin’ here?” Daryl’s gruff voice reached her ears and Len dropped her gaze to the ground. It was clear that he didn’t think she had a right to be there...and he was right. She had no right being in that camp, not after she left eleven years ago.

”You want the truth?” She asked softly, fiddling with a loose thread on the side of her pants leg. When Daryl was silent, she turned to face him. “I was looking for you. When this whole thing started, I didn’t really know what to think. I saw people get ripped apart by these things and the only thing I could think to do was find you.”

There was a few moments of silence between the two of them, but it felt like an eternity to Len. She searched his eyes, looking for some sort of answer hidden within them, but he gave nothing away. He was good at that. If he didn’t want you in, there was no way you were getting in. Sighing, Len pulled her eyes from his and looked around; at the trees, the ground, the sky, everywhere but at Daryl.

”Yeah, well if you hadn’t left, it wouldn’t have been a problem.” He snapped, making Len look back at him directly. That one sentence irritated her to no end. He had no idea why she left so she couldn’t blame him, but still. He needed to understand that she had her reasons. And that’s exactly what she told him.

”I left for a reason, Daryl. I didn’t just decide to leave the second I woke up that day. I know I should have told you, at least gave you some kind of warning, but believe me it wasn’t just cause. I have no right to be here and I understand that. Trust me, I won’t be here much longer. When we get back with Merle, I’m gone.”

Those words left Daryl stunned. He might have been pissed at her, but he didn’t want her to leave...not again. Despite how mad he had been, he completely understood and respected that she had her reasons for what she did. He just couldn’t help but let the anger show through. He watched her as she tossed her bow into the back of the van and climbed inside. With a short sigh, he followed suit.



”NO! NO!” Daryl cried out as he paced around the rooftop, fighting back tears. When they had gotten to Atlanta and made their way to the very top of the building, the only sign of Merle was his severed hand. Len immediately rolled her eyes; Merle had to have been the dumbest asshole she had ever met. But her heart went out to Daryl. This was his brother and at this point, they had no idea if he was dead or alive.

In the blink of an eye, Daryl raised his crossbow and held it about a foot away from T-Dog’s head. Len didn’t hesitate to jump in front of T-Dog, the tip of the crossbow bolt inches away from her forehead. Daryl’s eyes turned even more furious, as if that were possible, and he didn’t lower his weapon, not even with Rick’s gun pointed at his head.

”Lennox, move.” Daryl seethed in a low voice. Len shook her head and kept her feet firmly planted where they were. It was that moment when she realized that Daryl had become much colder than he used to be. He was always an ass, but never was he this bad. Never would you catch him ready to kill somebody. Of course she could understand where he was coming from, it was his brother and T-Dog had one responsibility. But Len was not going to let Daryl become a cold blooded killer no matter what the situation.

”You want me to move? You’re gonna have to kill me.” She said simply, not an ounce of fear in her voice or those vibrant green eyes. Daryl sighed heavily and dropped his weapon and Rick followed suit. Len let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding and felt all of her muscles relax. After Daryl had calmed down, he looked back at T-Dog.

”You got a do-rag or something?” He asked, not bothering to make contact. T pulled a bandana from his back pocket and handed it over. Daryl proceeded to bend down and place Merle’s severed hand on the bandana and wrap it up. Len’s nose scrunched up in disgust when he walked over to Glenn and shoved it inside his backpack.

”I guess the saw blade was too dull for the handcuffs. Ain’t that a bitch.” Daryl commented, but no one said in anything in response. They were too afraid of setting him off. Len didn’t say anything because she was following the trail of blood that Merle had left behind.

”He must have used a tourniquet, maybe his belt.” Daryl said as he appeared right behind Len. She looked over at him and felt sadness wash over her. She desperately needed to tell him the truth, it was eating her up inside, but she couldn’t just tell him. She needed to wait until the right moment.

”Come on.” Was all she said before she took off inside the building.