A simple supply hunt for a source of water in the middle of Atlanta turns sour quickly for Erin as she come fist to face with a fuming, handless Merle Dixon.
Alone in the middle of the apocalypse with only a racist guy who doesn't know the differen...
"Vulnerability is the best measurement of courage." - Brene Brown
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A wave of silence washed over everyone as they had nowhere to look but at the body of the girl they'd been searching for throughout the past week. Her fragile and broken corpse lay in a sticky black puddle of blood which oozed from the hole in her forehead, turning everything innocent about the little girl disgusting and dark... eliminating their hope in a single scene...
Carol fought herself free from Daryl's grip, hurrying away from her daughter rather than towards her, her head bowed in grief as she disappeared among the cars and tents. Everyone gazed after her, thankful for an excuse to look away from the remains around the barn. Merle's hold on Erin's body subsequently loosened slightly as he turned, too. Her mind filled with guilt and wracked with grief, she took the opening to break free and began moving towards Sophia with no idea why but a feeling that she needed to go to her, to come face to face with what she'd caused.
Halfway, her body collided with another pair of arms as Daryl ambushed her mere feet from reaching the corpse, her arms and legs thrashing against him as he swiftly lifted her from the ground, screaming and yelling, "I need to see! Daryl, let me go!"
"No, ya don't..." He was much stronger than she was and effortlessly carried her away from the scene, only letting out small winces of pain if a flailing limb caught his side while she battered him angrily. She began to grow tired before they even reached his tent and her assault became weaker, but she was determined to be put down no matter how much her arms ached.
Daryl dropped her gently onto the pile of blankets, barely flinching as she attempted to push past him and get out, but his broad shoulders blocked her exit path, "Daryl... please..."
He positioned his body across the entrance as he sat down in case she tried to escape again, blinking before meeting her gaze, "It's not ya fault she was in the barn... It ain't anyone's fault..."
"But it is!" she argued, tears pouring down her cheeks but not distinguishing the flames that danced feverishly in her eyes, "I left her at the creek! I just wanted to see what I'd caused..."
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Daryl sat helplessly across from the woman as she choked on her own sadness, her breathing becoming more and more frantic as the seconds ticked by. He had no words that could make her believe him and even if he did, it would still be a difficult task as Erin wasn't the most easily persuaded woman he'd met. Not by a long shot.
The air around them grew awkward, though he suspected he was the only one who felt it as she was preoccupied with trying to calm down, wiping her face on her already tear-soaked jacket sleeves. Tentatively, he reached out a hand and rested it cautiously on her shoulder for some form of reassurance as he spoke up, "Uh, I would... uh... y'know, but, uh-"
