My Redneck (Sequel to That Redneck/ Daryl Dixon Fanfic)

51- That's how we Survive

He gave me strength, when there was no strength to have. I looked at his bruised, and battered face. His dark stubble with spots of grey, and his shaggy dark hair that hid his blue eyes.

My hand curled around his bicep, and I pulled him closer to me as Rick began improvising weapons.

Create weapons. That was the order. Anything that can kill, or injure someone would helped. There was a sense of hope in the dark train car.

I eyed an old, rusty nail sticking out of the floor planks, and made my way over to it. Slowly, and carefully I wiggled it out, the rust flaking off as it was lifted from its home.

I took my belt off, and removed the holsters where my guns typically sat. I dropped them to the ground, and began tying the belt around my hand, before carefully poking the nail threw the old leather, and attaching it to my hand.

It was tight, almost uncomfortable as I waited for everyone else to finish up with their weapons.

Conversations went on around me. The Washington D.C group, and their mission with Eugene, Maggie asking about Beth, Sasha asking about Tyreese. But all I could think about was Taylor.

Taylor, carrying Merles unborn baby. She was relatively far along, no person could shoot her? Right?

"Maggie." I said, standing up and looking at her. "You were trying to evacuate the Prison right?"

Maggie nodded her head solemnly. "Did you see Taylor?" I whispered.

Maggies face remained silent, and everyone stopped around me. Taylors beautiful, happy grin lit up my memories. Images of Jason and her bickering with my father as we grew up in that little house. That was so long ago. That was when Jason was alive. My father.

"I'm sorry Mariah," Maggie began, her morbid tone caught me off guard.

"How did she die?" I asked.

Daryl stopped. He turned slowly and looked at Maggie and I. Maggie glanced at him slowly, before her eyes found mine again.

"She was with Carol, I saw her go down with a walker. I don't know if she made it. I don't know if she's dead."

That was the worst sentence ever.

If I knew she was dead, I would be happier. But knowing that she may be out there? Wandering around? Bitten, alone, dying, hating herself.

Dead or alive?

Dead.

She had to be. She couldn't be alive. Not Taylor, not in this world.

"Thank you." I replied, and began adjusting my nail weapon.

No one said anything for a bit. What do you say? They all know she's dead, but they just don't want to be the first to admit to it.

Everyone was just about done with their "weapons" when footsteps sounded outside of the old train car.

"Alright," Daryl announced into the train car. "we have four of them pricks headed our way."

Rick walked towards the centre of the train car. "You all know what to do." He boomed, his zipper weapon freshly sharpened from an old chunk of metal. "Go for their eyes first. Then they're throats.

Everyone tensed up and prepared for battle against the idiots that trapped us in here. I squeezed Daryl's hand quickly, and he kissed my forehead. We would be fine. We will fight our way out.

"Get your backs to the walls on either side of the car. NOW!" A mans voice boomed.

Sounds clanged from on top of the train car, causing me to look up. A door slid open, revealing light and a metal can dropped into the car.

"Move!" Abraham shouted, but it was too late. Everyone scurried to the back of the car, but the air was filled with smoke in a matter of seconds.

The smoke filled my lungs and I coughed and hacked while I tried to breath. I felt Daryl's hand grab mine and he yanked me back further from the smoke.

I heard the sound of the train car's door sliding open and a weird sound, almost like a scuba diving mask. The next thing I knew, Daryl was ripped from my hands. "DARYL." I screamed, snatching at the air and trying to grab him back.

Two heavy hands pushed me back hard, and I landed on my side. I got back up but when I did, the door was closed and the smoke was starting to clear.

The last few coughs went around, and we searched for those that may have been taken. "Daryl." I murmured, feeling tears come to my eyes. I may never see him again.

"Rick," Michonne stated.

"Glenn." Maggie almost cried.

"Bob." Sasha whispered.

Four men. All gone. We had no idea what was going to happen, no idea if they were okay.

Then we stood there. We didn't know what to do. We didn't know where to go. Our leader was gone, my husband was gone. One of my best-friends was gone, and a knew acquaintance was gone.

"Now what?" Abraham muttered, kicking the left over chunks of the metal can.

"We fight." I stated, folding my arm across my chest.

"We tried that." Sasha sighed.

"Well we'll try again." I shot back. I walked to the front of my group, looking all their hopeless, sad faces. "Just because it didn't work once, doesn't mean it won't work again."

"They're better equipped than us, and they already have strategies that are going to beat anything we'll come up with." Eugene stated.

I gave him a side glance, but carried on with my speech. "I'm not going to sit in this box and wait until they're ready to do whatever to me."

"But we don't have a way to get out, Mariah." Maggie sighed, rubbing her face with her hands.

"Then we wait. We wait until they come back, and we wait until they open that door and we grab them. If we keep trying, then we're not loosing hope."

"Theres no use of sitting around on our asses while they pick us off one by one." Abraham agreed.

I nodded at him, and I showed them my nail belt. "We don't give up. Thats how we survive."

Then we sat in silence. Whether we were sitting, standing, leaning. Whatever, we sat in silence and waited.

I thought about Daryl. Prayed he was okay. Prayed he was alive, and would stay that way. 

I don't know how long we sat there, but out of know where a booming explosion sounded close by.

Everyone got to their feet and tried to look outside of the train car. Abraham slammed his hands against the side of the train car. "What the hell is going on."

"Maybe someone hit them. Maybe our people got free." Sasha reasoned.

"Excuse me." Eugene said, as he bent down next to the door.

"What the hell are you doing?" Rosita exclaimed.

"I might be able to use the shell to compromise the door. From the sound of things there may not be anyone left to open it." He mumbled.

"Eugene sorry, but shut up." Tara murmured.

"Hey." Carl said, walking closer with Maggie. "My dads gonna be back. They all are."

"They are." Maggie agreed.

"I know." I added, nodding at her.

"And we need to be able to fight out way out with them when we do." Maggie mentioned.

Maggie started working on another weapon, and so did I, this time breaking off a chunk of pointed wood.

Everyone got to work, and waited until our men could get back to help.