Trust Me | Daryl Dixon

Part 72

My heart stopped as a siren blared out from inside the compound, causing all of us to rush out of the car.

"We need to go." Tara said, "We need to get them back to the Hilltop."

"What?" Jesus asked, confused, "Your people could be in trouble."

"I'm not leaving leaving without them-" I shook my head, staying close to Jesus's side.

"If we get them back, the deal's still on, right?" She cut me off, "Right?"

"Fuck the deal, Tara!" I stopped her, aggravated, "We're not abandoning our group!"

"They'll get themselves back," Jesus spoke up, "Eddie, drive him back to the Hilltop."

Eddie nodded, quickly getting back into the car and driving off.

"Look, if they see you and we don't make it-" Tara began before Jesus cut her off, pulling his bandana over his face.

"We're gonna make it.. and they're not gonna see me."

***

I stood outside with Tara as gunfire continually rang from inside the compound; my heart racing and hands shaking from fear of the unknown as I desperately tried to hold my composure.

The front door to the compound then burst open as two men fled out of it, attempting to dodge the gunfire we sent their way.
We were able to take one of the men down before the other began shooting back at us; the wiz of the bullet flying between our bodies sending shivers up my spine.

Moments later, the second man fell to the ground as a result of Tara's shooting, "You ok?" She asked breathlessly, gun still aimed at the building in front of us.

"Yeah- yeah, I'm fine." I nodded, letting out a shaky breath as I raised my gun again, readying myself for whatever else would happen.

***

As the air went quiet and the skies got lighter, I found myself unintentionally falling into a silent sorrow, almost preparing myself to accept the worst, whatever that may be.
In reality, there was no perfect way for this plan to end-- every way ending it lives lost, but now that it's done, I can only wish for the best outcome.. and if that's not the case, I can only hope for the quickest ending.
My head pounded as my heart ached for an answer-- my eyes dry and almost certainly bloodshot as they stayed stuck to the front of the building waiting for anything-- any sign of life.

Suddenly, both Tara and I's heads perked up, along with our guns, as the front door to the compound was pushed slightly open, Jesus's head poking out.

He whistled before gesturing us over with a flick of his head, immediately sending us his way.

"What happened? Where- where is everyone?" I asked as soon as I made it over to him.

"Everyone's fine, don't worry-"

"Did they get Negan?" Tara questioned, frantically.

Jesus let out a quick sigh, shrugging, "We don't know yet-"

"What do you mean.. we don't know?" I asked, confused.

"Come on," he gestured as we both followed him through the building, "We got everyone, we just don't know which was Negan."

"But we got him, that's all that matters, right?" Tara added, almost trying to convince herself.

I let out a sigh of relief as the rest of our group came into view, totally tuning out of the conversation around me as my sense of safety returned.

"You two ok?" Rick asked before we both nodded, Daryl's arms wrapping around me as he left a quick kiss on my forehead, "Where's Maggie and Carol?"

"They weren't out front yet, I'm guessing they're still out by the tree line." Jesus informed.

Rick nodded, "Then we'll signal them in when we head out the back-- let's move."

***

"What happened in there?" I asked quietly, looking up at Daryl as we stood outside the now empty compound, "I thought you were just going to take them out in their sleep- no guns."

"Yeah, we were," he murmured, his eyes scanning the field around us as the rv carrying Tara and Heath drove off, "Abraham said one of 'em woke up when they were tryin' to get into a room-- all went to shit from there."

I sighed, pushing my wind blown hair out of my face, "I'm just glad all of this is over."

Suddenly, the roar of an engine caught everyone's attention before a man on a motorcycle sped out of an unchecked garage off of the compound.

"Son of a bitch!" Daryl yelled, racing after it as Rosita opened fire on the man, knocking him off the bike as it skidded out from under him.

We all rushed the scene, guns drawn, before Daryl tackled the man back to the ground, immediately laying punches into him.

"Where'd ya get the bike?" He interrogated before his fist made contact again, the sound echoing in my ears as blood began pouring out of the sides of the mans mouth.

"Just do it!" The man yelled through gurgled breaths as Rick pointed his gun at his head, the click of the hammer making this all seem more real, "Do it! Like you did everyone else, right?"

Out of nowhere, an unrecognizable voice comes over a radio phone that belonged to the man on the ground, "Lower your gun, prick."

My eyes glanced up, looking around us before I noticed the rest of the group doing the exact same thing, unsure of where this mystery person may be hiding.

"You, with the Colt Python." The voice began again as Daryl stood up from the man, drawing his handgun and pulling me close behind him, "All of you, lower your weapons right now."

Rick slowly picked up the radio phone, scanning the tree line, "Come on out.. let's talk."

"We're not coming out, but we will talk." The voice replied through the static, "We've got a Carol and a Maggie-- thinking that's something you may want to chat about."

_____
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!

Just a few things I want to clear up:

I've gotten quite a few question regarding Liz's father and past significant others/old group members, most of them interested in knowing if they will ever show up in this fanfic or fanfics to come and I can say, 100%, without a doubt, they will not.
I like to keep my writing as realistic as possible and since Liz and her father lived together in Arizona, any other relationships she had were in different states while traveling, and everyone from her old group perished, there is literally no way for them to meet up.
Also, the thought of having Daryl be so over protective to the point of killing someone from her past, which I know is where a lot of people wanted this type of plot to go, is literally the cringiest thing I can think of.

Anyway, this fanfic will soon be coming to an end and I'm very excited to be starting the sequel to For The Ones I Love once this one is completely finished, so keep a look out for that.

If you ever have any questions about this fanfic or Liz, feel free to ask, I'll always answer to the best of my ability!