Life I Left Behind (A Daryl Dixon Story)

Chapter Fifty

Author's Note: Another update from Daryl's point of view!! This should lead back into Charie's POV perfectly! Let me know what you think of this one, my lovelies! Also, if you don't read Playing With Fire you should give it a shot! Thanks again so much for all the love...you have no idea how much it means to me. Look forward to May when I'm finished with this semester...because then they'll be so much time for writing and updating...just hold tight a few more months! 

xoxo-Nikki

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Present Day

Daryl

The car ride to Woodbury was silent. I stared straight ahead, out the windshield, trying to stop myself from telling Rick to step on it. We were flying down the empty roads, but it felt too slow. Like we were crawling. It was taking too long. I needed to see Charlie. I needed to know she was okay. More than that, I needed to actually feel her in my arms. Until then, nothing was gonna be alright.

“Probably should find a place to pull over soon. We’re not far now. Better to make the rest of the way on foot.” Michonne said from the backseat. Her voice still had that quiet, controlled tone.  Like what we were about to do was no sweat. Maybe to her it wasn’t. She didn’t have someone she cared about in there. She didn’t know Charlie, or Glenn. Or any of us.

Rick nodded slowly. “That’s a good idea. We’ll pull the car into the trees. Try to have a little bit of cover for it.” He drove for another couple minutes longer before easing up on the gas and pulling the car into the tree line as far as he could. He turned the key in the ignition and the engine shut off, making the silence even heavier than it was before. “Ready?” He asked after a long minute.

I didn’t answer, instead pushing open my door and stepping outside. Everyone else followed my lead and filed out. Rick walked around to the back of the SUV and pulled the hatchback open. I snatched up my crossbow and slung it across my back.  

“So what’s the plan?” T-Dog asked suddenly, looking from Rick to me.

“We get in, we get Charlie and Glenn, and then we get out.” I said coolly. I was still a little pissed at him after what happened earlier at the prison. Didn’t even know why he bothered to tag along. Hadn’t seemed so concern about going after them before. We locked eyes and I gazed at him long and hard until he looked away.

“I meant, do we even know how to get inside this place? Past the fence.” He added.

“I know a way in. There’s a way to slip through the wall and into the building they use as an armory. After that, it may be a little harder to get around the town unnoticed.” Michonne said, arms crossed over her chest.

“Let’s just worry about gettin’ there and gettin’ in for now.” Rick commented. Michonne nodded curtly in agreement before stalking past us to lead the way. I hung back a little before taking up the back. I wanted to be alone, at least while I could. My mind was still racing, and my pulse felt like it hadn’t slowed once since finding out that Charlie was gone. I couldn’t make myself stop thinking about what kinda danger she was in. For about the hundredth time that day, I couldn’t stop thinking that it should’ve been me instead of her. I would’ve given anything to trade places with her, wherever she was and whatever was happening. As long as Charlie was safe, I didn’t really give two shits about what happened to me.

Up ahead, I could hear Maggie and T-Dog murmuring to each other in quiet voices. Rick glanced over his shoulder at me before suddenly slowing down and falling into step next to me. I clenched my jaw, waiting for him to say something. Waiting for him to feed me some sort of bullshit about how everything was gonna be just damn fine. It was a while, though, before he finally did start talking.