Save Me

49. Help Me, Help You

Molly and Lydia find unexpected common ground as they begin to open up to each other and Lydia begins to warm to Hilltop and its residents...

The following morning...

'I'm going after them' Daryl said as he stormed down to the gates.

'Uh, no you're not' I replied standing still with my hands on my hips.

'We wait, they could die' he said as he turned back around.

'No, the smart play here is we see what we can get from Lydia, after that, then we go' I said sternly.

Daryl just stared at me before he marched back up to me and stood real close.

'As soon as the kid talks, I go' he said scowling as he barged past me and walked back up to the house.

I sighed and grit my teeth.

I had no idea whether Luke and Alden were alive or not, but I knew that Lydia knew more and if we found out what that was, we could end all this.

I marched across the compound to the cell, down the stairs and opened the gate.

The lock creaked open loudly and I heard shuffling from inside the cell.

I tried to be as quiet as possible, not wanting to scare her even more.

I paced towards Henry's cell to see him standing close to the bars anxiously.

'What are you gonna do with her?' he asked me nervously as I unlocked his cell door and ushered him out.

'We just need to talk to her, that's all. Go on, you're free to go' I said sincerely as he just nodded and walked out, looking back once at Lydia.

I put the keys back in my pocket and sighed as I pulled up a chair and sat in front of Lydia's cell.

She was curled up into a ball in the corner, so she was half concealed by the shadows.

'Hi, your name is Lydia, right?' I asked softly.

She didn't answer, instead she buried her head further.

'I'm Molly, do you remember me?' I asked as I lent forward, resting my elbows on my thighs.

'You took me' she said quietly.

'We took you because your people killed my friend' I said more sternly than before as the pain of Jesus rose back to the surface.

'You people crossed into our territory' she answered as she lifted her head up slowly.

'How many are there of you?' I asked curtly.

'Just my mom' she replied hastily.

I smirked and shook my head.

'You see, I don't believe you. I think you're protecting your mom and her people' I replied.

'What makes you think they're her people?' Lydia asked nervously.

'Daryl told me about what she did to you, I'm so sorry that you had to go through that...she told you it would make you stronger right? That beating you keeps you alive, safe? If a mother can do that to her own child, then she could be doing that to others, like she's building an army of 'slaves' I said calmly.

Suddenly, Lydia rose up and lunged towards the bars, gripping them in anger as she spat, 'you don't know anything about my mom!'.

'We can protect you here, you know that? You could have a life here, safety and friendship' I pleaded.