Broken Angels: Daryl Dixon + OC Fanfic

Chapter 3: Survivors Guilt - 1/2

TW: Survivors Guilt is a very real and difficult thing! If you are sensitive to the subject of depression, ptsd, and suicidal thoughts then I recommend skipping over this chapter!

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Jayden was in and out of consciousness, the fever was starting to kick in and she could feel her body weaken from it. That's one thing about the fever from getting bitten, you feel completely and totally helpless. The muscles basically give up and you can barely move. Luckily Jaden had a day or two before that kicked in.

Suddenly a blaring noise pierced through the woods causing Jayden and Daryl to jump up. Rick must have signaled the alarm, this will give them a chance to make it back into the house. Not only would the herd move on from the house but the alarm was so far away that they wouldn't have to worry about them coming back anytime soon.

"The ladders are gone so we'll have to jump down to the lower roof and then to the ground." Jayden was gathering all of her weapons before she turned to look at him.

He looked at her then to her wound on her shoulder. It had long bled through the makeshift bandage and her shirt. It must have been deep because it still continued to bleed. He pulled his attention away from her injury, gathering his pack and weapons. They waited another twenty minutes for the area to clear.

Daryl Jumped the down ten feet onto the other roof first, turning to look up at Jayden. She always liked height and never had a problem but her fever and nausea made the jump look 20 or more feet than it actually was. Flashbacks of her mission in Iraq flooded her brain. Memories she works so hard to suppress suffocated her. She struggled to breathe, holding up her hand she signaled to Daryl to give her a second.

Walking over to the other side of the roof she vigorously wiped at her eyes to remove the fallen tears. She breathed in through her nose and out of her mouth to try and regain her breathing. Then without warning she vomited over the side of the roof. It felt as if her body was trying to get rid of any memory or inclination of those days.

Once she calmed her breathing down she stood up straight and walked back over to Daryl's side. Jumping and landing on the second roof she shook slightly as she stood up. The weakness she felt from the fever and her mind were weighing her down.

"You good?" He asked steadying her with his hand.

Jayden nodded slightly, taking a deep breath, "Gotta be."

Jayden then jumped on the ground and turned to walk inside. She heard Daryl land behind her and immediately turned back around.

"Hey um, don't tell Rick or anyone else. Please? I mean I can't stop you but I um...I just want people to know when I'm ready." Without waiting for a reply that wouldn't come anyways, she turned and walked into the house. She called everyone up from the basement. Rick was the first to appear, sparing her a quick glance before pushing past her towards Daryl.

Everyone else started filtering upstairs, Herschel being last. She walked up to him, grabbed his hand and placed a key in it. He looked from his hand to her face, then her shoulder caught his attention. His eyes welled up slightly, he hated when she had to go through this. She was like a daughter to him and to see her suffer through such pain was hard. He nodded and turned to walk back downstairs.

Jayden turned away from Herschel's retreating form towards the group. They were all huddled together smiling and patting each other on the back. Suddenly She could feel her cheeks wet with tears. She put her head down and pushed passed the group heading upstairs to her room. She ignored the sounds of people calling out her name, and even snapped her hand away when Glenn grabbed it.