Silent Warrior

Old Pain

This scene must have played over a hundred times in Jodie's mind. She knew she had shot Melvin. She had been sure of it. Her arrow had hit him in the chest. And he hadn't gotten up after that. But she had been so busy with Kelly at that moment that she hadn't thought about Melvin at all. But she had been sure that he was no longer alive.

And yet now he stood before her. He seemed equally shocked, staring at her as if she were a freaking wonder of the world.

She lowered the arms she had just wrapped around her mother and took a step away from her and toward Melvin. How the hell was that son of a bitch still alive after what he had done to Kelly? After what he'd done to her mother? And what he'd done to her....

Jodie didn't get to finish the thought, because the next moment, he hugged her fiercely. Just like her mother, he hugged her tightly, as if he had lost her the same way her mother had.

But this hug didn't feel good. It just felt like she was about to suffocate. Stiff as a board, she stood there and let it happen to her. Just like she used to.

She looked over Melvin's shoulder to see Daryl watching her closely, almost worriedly, and his hand went to the knife on his belt. But she only shook her head slightly and Daryl lowered his hand, yet he kept his eyes on her. Melvin loosened the embrace.

"Jodie, how did you get here? After Kelly died, you disappeared and I made my way to Alexandria four months ago. Thank God your mom and Clara were here."

Clara was here, too? By now, there was pretty much nothing left of Jodie's initial joy. She felt as if she was back at square one.

"I had already lost all hope that you would find your way here, let alone still be alive, but...," Melvin faltered for a moment and clasped her shoulders.

"It must be a miracle..." he murmured, still in disbelief.

Jodie stared at him as well. Rather perplexedly, though. Did he really think she was buying this charade? That he could now pretend to be the worried stepfather in front of Daryl and her mother? That she would now bow her head and silently submit? No, she had long since moved past that point.

She would no longer bow to anyone. At that time she had been weak and inexperienced, but now times had changed. She had lost her voice, but learned something else instead. This time she could protect her family and she would do it without hesitation. Even if that meant splitting Melvin's skull in half if necessary, just to make sure he was really dead this time.

"Come on Jodie, I'll take you to our house," Daryl interfered briefly.

Melvin turned to the hunter and only now seemed to really notice him for the first time. He eyed Daryl as if he were a pesky vermin in an overall immaculately clean kitchen.

"And who are you, man?" he asked dismissively.

"Daryl," the latter replied curtly, eyeing him with equal hostility.

"And how do you know my daughter?"

"We were in a group together. She's with us."

"Jodie belongs to her family. Her parents. Father and mother, you understand that, don't you?" asked Melvin kindly, but everyone could tell from his face that he didn't really mean a word in a kind way.

"Stepdad, if I understood correctly and surely Jodie can decide that for herself, after all she's old enough?" growled Daryl back.

Jodie held the pad up behind Melvin's back so only Daryl could read her message.

"Let me go with them. I'll be fine. Gotta find out what Melvin told them!"

She could clearly tell he didn't like that idea, but he nodded.