Trespassing (Daryl Dixon x OC)

As It Was

"The shape that I'm in now is shaping the doorway"

Rick let me stay at his place for the night since I was shaken up. It was an offer I wasn't about to turn down. We discussed further courses of action and how to speed things up for our plan to work quicker.

Things were going well until the next morning we got word that Gabriel had stolen a truck's worth of supplies and hit the road. Just another problem we had to add to our plate. I quite honestly forgot he existed. I was never one to be associated with religion and he gave me bad vibes from the beginning. Unfortunately, he's a member of Alexandria and we're probably going to need him for this war with the Saviors.

Multitasking, we commanded someone to send word to Hilltop of Alexandria's plans and to also have a group from Hilltop go to another nearby community called the Kingdom to join in our fight against Negan. The rest of us were going to track down Gabriel.

"Are you sure you're okay to come out?" Rick asked me as we were gearing up.

I nodded.

"I can't keep hiding from this. This effects my home too so I should be present. Besides," I paused for a moment, "the last time I missed an important meeting, I lost Glenn, and Abraham, and Daryl. I'm not losing anyone else."

Rick and I shared an intense stare. I'm sure he felt better seeing me out and about once again. We're the only ones left from Atlanta right now. We're better together.

With a reassuring nod, we geared up and left the gates.

It didn't take us too long to trace Gabriel. I can't imagine a lot of time had passed before we found out he left. It did, however, lead us to a junkyard, of all places. It was odd, none of us truly expecting Gabriel to be in there.

As always, we were careful entering the yard. It was difficult to spot walkers among the heaps of trash and left-behind belongings, though the yard was oddly empty.

Out of seemingly nowhere, a bunch of people started surrounding us. They were nearly silent, filling the air with such quietness. As our group huddled closer together, I bumped into Aaron. As he saw the bouts of fear in my eyes, he grabbed my wrist and kept me close to him.

This one woman with a really shitty haircut emerged from the group of people. She was...strange.

"Hello," Rick initiated the conversation. "Who are you people."

"Scavengers," the woman answered. She was extremely soft spoken. It almost felt wrong.

"What's your name?" Rick asked.

"Jadis," she replied.

"We had someone leave our group in the middle of the night. You find him?"

Jadis waved her hand and the Scavengers brought out Gabriel, shoving him over to our small huddled group.

"Thank you," Rick said. Neither group made a move for a moment. Everything about this get wrong.

"Can I ask for your help?" Rick asked.

"Depends," Jadis responded.

"We're gearing up to fight a group called the Saviors. We could really use your help."

Jadis paused for a moment. She wasn't quick to answer, as if she had all the time in the world.

"Scavengers take, we don't bother," she finally replied.

"Please. We need all the help we can get."

"We take, we don't bother," she reiterated.

Rick sighed, thinking of something to say.

"What if we traded?" he offered. "You help us, we can give you supplies, guns, whatever you need."

Again, Jadis thought this over. After glancing around her group, she pointed to Rick. With a flick of her finger, she turned and made her way through the pathway the Scavengers made. Rick hesitantly followed suit. I went to take a step forward, fearful of having Rick go alone, but Aaron's grasp stopped me. I looked up at him with wide eyes, he just shook his head.

After a few minutes, which felt like an eternity, Jadis and Rick appeared on top of a trash heap. They exchanged looks and words I couldn't hear before she nudged Rick into the center.

"Rick!" I yelled, fearful for my friend's life. "Are you fucking crazy?!"

Aaron gripped both my arms, holding them behind my back as I had tried to step away from the group.

Jadis gave a nod to one of her people and they pulled a lever. We heard something open but couldn't see what or where. Eventually, the guttural grunts of a walker filled the air. She put a walker in there with Rick.

I struggled against Aaron's grip, him tightening his hands every time I moved. How could we just sit here and listen to our friend struggle? What if he doesn't make it?

We could hear Rick struggling back and forth against this walker. A bead of sweat trickled down my temple as my heart beat out of my chest.

At one point, we heard Rick scream. It was one of pain, no doubt. I swear, I will kill this bitch if she kills him. Please, Rick. Please make it out alive.

We heart him yell out one more time before everything went silent. The tension was thick, my head pounding. Jadis nodded to her people once again before they went around the trash heap and disappeared. They returned with Rick.

I ripped myself from Aaron's grasp, running to Rick and hugging him tightly. One of his hands was bloodied, a hole clean through the center of his palm. He hugged back with his uninjured arm.

As I looked over Rick's shoulder, I locked eyes with Jadis. It took everything in me not to say anything. I cant ruin this for us. Not when we're so close.

Once I pulled away from Rick, I ripped a piece of my shirt to tie around his hand to slow the bleeding.

"Guns and supplies," Jadis said, causing Rick and I to turn our heads. "We'll help you."

"Thank you," Rick said before we began our way back home.

***

We arrived back around the same time as our messenger. They told Rick everything went smoothly and that Hilltop will alert us of the Kingdom's answer as soon as they receive it. Rick thanked them before we all turned our separate ways.

"Hey, Belle," the messenger called. I turned around with my brows furrowed. "Daryl wanted me to give this to you."

Those were not the words I was expecting to hear. I blinked a few times, muttering my thanks and taking the piece of paper.

The walk back home was calming. I felt comfortable staying in my own house and it finally felt like we were on the right path with this war.

Once home, I made myself a small meal, knowing I had to keep myself nourished if I ever wanted to see Daryl again. I managed to get through all of this in a comfortable silence. I knew Daryl would be proud of my for carrying on without him right now.

I showered after I ate, letting the water wash away all the stress of the day. Once finished, I sat in bed and read Daryl's note.

Belle-
I know everything is scary right now and I know you're going through a lot. I'm proud of you for making it this far. You've done an incredible job without me and I'm happy to know you're still here. I need you to keep going for me. I need you alive. Keep fighting, B.

For me and our future Little Ass Kicker

I love you,
D