The Rest of your Life

Chapter 25

She heard cheering. There was lots of lights too. Rory whimpered as her head lolled to the side. Her head hurt. Somebody said something from above her, hands shifted on her arms. Somebody was holding her. She opened her eyes only to find she had some sort of sack over her head. Great.

The thing on her head was ripped off and the girl was momentarily blinded as her eyes adjusted. The noise was loud, distasteful. She looked forward through squinted eyes and locked eyes with Daryl. He looked scared. She then looked to the crowd at the side of her. What's was happening?

"Stop moving." A man's voice called out to her as the arms tightened on her arms.

"Die." Rory slurred before shifting around again, subtly unraveling the rope on her hands. It came loose and she head butted the man holding her before darting to the crowd, she stumbled, vision tilting before she smacked into somebody else.

"Ivory?" A shocked gasp. The girl looked up and she squinted her eyes again.

"Andrea?"

•••

The governor had Merle and Daryl fighting in the pit. Andrea held onto Rory, yelling at a guy apparently called Martinez to get the gun off of the child. Rory was just confused. What was happening?

Shots fired out and people ran and screamed, Andrea let go of the girl, only for Daryl to run past and pick her up swiftly, Rory clutching onto his shoulders as he ran.

Rory didn't remember much of getting back to the car, but they were there now, and everyone was arguing about Merle. Her head felt a little less fuzzy but she grimaced as she felt dried blood cling to her hair.

"Andreas in Woodbury?" Glenn asked, shocked. Rory shut her eyes tightly, slouching onto Daryl's side, ignoring the comments Merle was making.

"Right next to the governor." Rory shut her eyes, listening to the conversation, clicking her jaw as Merle kept yapping on and on.

"Oh my god, shut up." Rory hissed, the man laughing.

"Aww, what's wrong little firecracker? You got a sore head?"

"Yeah, no thanks to you." Rory sassed. "That's what happens when you bash a kid in the head with a gun, dipshit." Rick then begun to yell at Merle, after scolding Rory for her language, Rory sighed.

"Oh, man, look at this. Pathetic." Merle laughed. "All these guns and no bullets in them."

"Merle, shut up!" Daryl yelled to his older brother, Rory standing on her own now, head still pounding.

"Shut up yourself!" Merle yelled back. "Bunch of pussies you roll—" he was cut off by Rick as he knocked the man out.

"Asshole."

•••

"Are you sure you're okay?" Rory rolled her eyes as Rick asked her the same question again and again.

"Mhm." She mumbled.

"We'll have to get Hershel to check you out properly back at the prison." Rick said softly, assessing the small graze from the bullet on the girls head. "You definitely have a concussion though." Rory sat by the car for a few more minutes before everyone gathered round. She tuned into the hushed conversation.

"It won't work." Rick concluded.

"It's gotta." Daryl disagreed.

"It'll stir things up." Rick explained.

"Look, the Governor is probably on the way to the prison right now." Daryl started. "Merle knows how he thinks and we could use the muscle."

"I'm not having him at the prison." Maggie denied. "Look at what he did to Glenn and Rory." That made Daryl pause for a second.