𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐑 𝐎𝐏𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 ➳ 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐥 𝐆𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬

Chapter 17 ~ Daddy to the Rescue

A few minutes later, I found myself walking with Daryl and Richard - a wood line to my right and an abandoned road to my left. Somehow when he'd said "adventure", this was not what I'd had in mind. At least not with Richard along for the ride.

"We need something to move Ezekiel. This is it. Alexandria, the Hilltop, and the Kingdom hitting first, hitting hard, and then we wipe the Saviors from the Earth. Keeping people - dozens and dozens and dozens of good people keeping them safe. They ride this road. If we see cars, it's the Saviors. They've been coming in packs of two or three lately," Richard was explaining to my dad as we trekked along, "That's why I need you. I can't take them alone. We're gonna hit them with the guns first and then the Molotovs. Then back to the guns until they're dead,"

"Why the fire?" Daryl asked him after a moment.

"Needs to look bad. The Saviors who discover what's left - we want them to be angry. I left a trail from here to the weapons cache I planted, to the cabin of that someone Ezekiel cares about,"

"Who's that?" I finally spoke up, making both men's eyes flick to me.

"It's just some loner he met. Sometimes he brings food," Richard waved me off, like I was some kind of annoyingly curious child.

"Why don't they live in the Kingdom?" Daryl shot back, clearly unhappy with the way the man was talking to me.

"I don't know. She lives out there, she'll die out there," Richard said dismissively.

"It's a woman?"

"What does that matter? She's gonna die either way. When the Saviors come and find their buddies dead, they're gonna go to the weapons cache and then to the cabin, and they're gonna attack this woman,"

My eyes hardened at his nonchalant attitude of killing some poor, innocent woman.

"What's her name?" Daryl repeated, gritting his teeth in annoyance.

"Maybe they kill her, maybe they don't, but it's gonna show Ezekiel what he needs to do," Richard continued, ignoring him completely.

"Her name. What is it?"

"She's tough. Maybe she'll live,"

"Say her name!" Daryl finally snapped.

"Carol. I hoped you didn't know her but I didn't think you'd care, 'cause you know what needs to happen," Richard began to say.

My eyes widened and dad's jaw clenched before he brushed by Richard, heading the opposite direction.

"No," he shot back gruffly.

Instinctively, I followed after him, my hand holding on firmly to the handgun in my holster.

"Maybe she'll live. Look, this - this is how - this is how this could happen," the man continued as dad picked up a backpack off the ground and slung it over his shoulders before grabbing a large rifle in his free hand, "This is how we can get rid of the Saviors, how we all can have a future. She's living out there on her own, just waiting to die,"

"No!" Daryl bellowed into Richard's face as he turned to head the direction Richard had been taking us in in the first place.

"If we don't do anything, a lot more people are gonna die, people who want to live!"

"You stay away from Carol, you hear me?" Daryl shot back, getting up in Richard's face.

Just as the tension had grown thick in the air, the ensuing silence was broken by the sound of engines. Vehicles were coming to us - fast.

"It's them. Look, we can wait for things to go bad, we lose people or we can do the hard thing and choose our fate for ourselves," the man pressed my dad, still trying to convince him but failing.

"No," Daryl shook my head vehemently but Richard wasn't having it.

"Sorry," he shot back but just as he turned around to shoot at the Saviors, dad grabbed onto his shoulders and pulled him back.

My eyes widened and I stepped away as they fell onto the grass, Daryl's fist connecting with Richard's jaw. He punched him repeatedly - the sound echoing in the air as crimson blood began to ooze from the man's nose. Finally, he shifted underneath dad's weight and managed to strike a blow. Daryl was pushed back roughly, landing on the ground with a thud as Richard reached for his gun.

"I don't think so!" I hissed, moving from my position against the old 18-wheeler behind me.

Rushing over, I tried to kick the gun away from him but his hand latched onto my ankle instead, pulling me down onto the ground with him. Quickly, he snatched up the weapon and towered over me. Pointing the barrel of the gun at my head, I believe he had every intention of shooting me in that moment.

"Hey! You step away from my little girl!" Daryl snarled from behind him and we both turned to see his crossbow aimed firmly at Richard's chest.

"There'll be more. Or those - they're gonna ride back this way later. We'll have another chance. But we're running out of time," Richard said, slightly out of breath, "If you and your people want to move against the Saviors you need to do it soon, and you need the Kingdom. What we have to do requires sacrifice one way or another. Guys like us - we've already lost so much,"

"You don't know me," Daryl bit back.

"I know that Carol, living on her own like that...she might as well be dead right now. And same goes for your kid," he retorted, eyes flicking disapprovingly to me briefly, "If she doesn't start handling herself better, she'll be dead, too,"

Daryl's eyes hardened and I took that opportunity to heave myself up off the ground and stumble over to my father. His arms opened as I did and - with one hand still aiming his crossbow at Richard - he put an arm around me protectively. The next words to come from his mouth though weren't about Carol as he put his crossbow down.

"Don't you say that about my kid! She gets hurt, she dies, if she catches a fever, if she's taken out by a walker, if she gets hit by lightning - anything - anything happens to her, I'll kill you," he said seriously to the man.

I felt hot tears prick my eyes and I bit my lip to keep from crying at his words. Slowly, Richard put down his gun, a look of guilt crossing his face.

"I would die for the Kingdom," Richard told him, blood still staining his mouth where dad had punched him.

Daryl leaned in close then, eyes hard, "Then why don't ya?"

Silence fell between the two men then before dad began to lead me away. Even though I knew we were going to see Carol, I couldn't help but feel my heart soar. My gaze met his then and I sent him a small smile which he returned with a nod of his head. Dad would do anything to protect me - I knew that now. Nothing could ever make me doubt that.

Note: To Carol's house they go ;) Thank goodness they're not in Wizard of Oz though, 'cause I feel like Daryl would punch a Munchkin if they told him to follow the yellow brick road XD