Beauty and Her Beast (Daryl Dixon Fanfic)

16

I woke up in the middle of the night to rustling outside mine and Daryl's tent. I know it isn't Daryl. He's snoring right next to me. Luke stayed in the house so Zach couldn't get him. I got up, grabbing my knife and praying it was a walker. I unzipped the tent just enough for me to slip through, the cold air nipping at my bare legs, Daryl's shirt barely able to keep me warm. I stood up when I was outside, trying to see through the darkness. "Hello?" I called out.

"Hello, Charlotte." A voice said from behind me, shivers crawling up my spine. I spun around, holding my knife in a defensive position. He chuckled. "You can't kill me. You don't have the guts. So, here's what I'm gonna do. I am going to show you first hand what happens when a whore like you is disobedient. You should run. It's more fun that way."

So I did. I ran towards the house as fast as my legs could carry me. But it wasn't fast enough. His loud footsteps got louder each second as he gained on me.

Then I made the horrible mistake of looking back. As soon as I did, he tackled me to the ground. I struggled against his strong grip, I tried to scream, I tried grabbing for my knife, which was just out of reach. But he had me pinned. One hand holding my hands above my head, one hand around my throat, squeezing tightly. He smiled at me. My face turned red as I struggled for air. "Now, I'm gonna let go of your throat. If you scream, I will not hesitate in killing you. Got that?" I gave a frantic nod and he removed his hand. I gasped for air as he pulled out his own knife, pressing it against my cheek.

He sighed. "You know, I've waited so long to be able to do this to you." He dragged the knife across my skin, the warm blood sliding across my cheek. I whimpered. "I wasn't able to do this to Luke too often. Hershel wouldn't like seeing the back of Luke's shirt caked in blood. But you're good at hiding it. You're too scared to tell anyone." He pressed the knife against my chest, dragging it across.

I managed a small chuckle, hiding how terrified I actually am. "A lot has changed since then, Zach." This earned me a smack across the face.

He stabbed his knife through one of my hands and quickly covered my mouth as I screamed in pain. "You don't speak unless given permission, whore." He growled. He removed his knife, about to resume torturing me. I lifted my knee, nailing him in the groin. I pushed him off of me and screamed for Daryl, Rick, anyone to help me. I grabbed my knife and stood in a defensive position, blood had soaked my hand, now trailing up my arm. Someone had to have heard me. Zach stood up, chuckling. "You're more brave than I remember." He said, wiping my blood off his knife.

He charged at me and before I even knew what I was doing, I dodged his blade and jammed my knife right through his eye. No hesitation. He collapsed and I fell with him, too shocked to let go. When I did, I backed away from his body, staring at my now blood soaked hands with both my own and his. I screamed, covering my mouth, the blood smearing on my face. There were pounding footsteps.

Daryl came first, pulling me into his arms. Then I saw Rick and the others, shocked looks on their faces. I started shaking my head. "I...I didn't know what to do. He would...He would have killed me. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." I whimpered, hanging onto Daryl for dear life...

~*~

Back at our tent once Hershel stitched up my hand, Daryl cleaned me up with a wet washcloth and a bucket of water. It was everywhere. My chest, my face, my arms. I had to strip down to nothing. I sat in a trance on the cot as Daryl gently washed the blood off. "There was...there was so much blood. I didn't know there would be...so much, just...gushing. Oh, god...I killed him Daryl. What...what the hell is wrong with me?"

Daryl dropped the cloth into the pink water. He grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him. "You did what you had to. He woulda killed you. You were protecting yourself, protecting your kid. You did what you had to."