6. Chapter 6 (1/1)
when he surfaced for the first time, he noticed a smell from a long-gone civilization. it was sterile and burning and had nothing to do with the leaves, the soil or the fir needles he had gotten used to. he took that odor with him when the darkness claimed him again.the next time was unpleasant. there was pain, there was agitation and too much noise. voices penetrated his foggy
ain, urgent orders were given. somewhere deep in his mind he considered that it was probably him groaning and grunting along with all that talking.another time he felt someone touch him. fingers like feathers ran over his skin, his eye
ows, his cheeks and jawline, as if someone created a copy of his face by tracing every uneven inch of it. but no matter how hard he tried to let the source of all those loving caresses know that he felt and appreciated all of it, he never managed to pull himself out of the deep far enough.until it suddenly happened, just like that. daryl knew that the his surroundings were way too
ight before he even had fully opened his eyes. blinking tiredly, it took him a while to adjust. he was finally able to figure out the smell. for what felt like ages he stared at a white ceiling. he couldn't even remember the last time he had seen a hospital from the inside. slowly rolling his head to the side, he took in the medical furniture and supplies, all neatly arranged for quick usage. it was then when he noticed the drip attached to his left arm, and daryl watched whatever he was fed with crawl lazily from the infusion bag through a venous access into his body.daryl had barely time to prepare himself for the train of memories which slammed into him full force, causing him to take in a sharp
eath. he heard the gun shot echoing in his ears. felt the stabbing pain and the warmth spreading in his belly. too much of it, too fast. he remembered how it was replaced by a cold that left him lost and lonely just as he had felt back when alpha had got him with that knife. he had been ready back then. but he hadn't been this time.she had been there. he knew he hadn't dreamed it. he remembered dog's reaction, how he had recognized her before he had.he hastily turned his head to the other side, searching for any signs of her or dog. the two other beds in the room were empty. he was alone.daryl started to struggle, but couldn't get his hands free."what ...", he croaked and pulled at his restraints, crying out when the sudden movement send a searing pain through his abdomen. he squeezed his eyes shut and concentrated on getting air into his lungs – every intake was pure agony."easy!," he heard someone call out to him from somewhere in the room, and soon he felt hands on his forehead and chest, pushing him down way too easily. "relax! you're safe, it's okay!"he tried his best to obey. clamping his teeth together, daryl opened his eyes and searched for whoever was there, a familiar face he could concentrate on. a woman he didn't know loomed over him, looking worried. her features softened instantly when she saw him lucid and doing his best to calm down."that's good. don't worry, you're in good hands. let me help you a bit." she disappeared for a second from daryl's peripheral vision to show up on his left, fumbling with something at his arm. the second she did, he felt instantly better, the pain subsiding to a dull throb."better, right?", the woman asked, smiling down at him. daryl just nodded, allowing himself to relish the feeling of getting a little high from whatever she just had injected him. groggily he watched her work around him.she was young, maybe in her late thirties, her dark hair was short and neatly trimmed. given the white coat she was a doctor – at least he hoped so. she checked the infusion bag above his head, then went for whatever was going on with his stomach."how am i?", he managed weakly, not sure if she had understood what he had just mumbled. his mouth felt like cotton, his lips dry and chapped."it's healing", she replied, "you're one tough son of a gun. give it some time and you'll be as good as knew, daryl."he frowned at hearing his name. how came that she knew him but he couldn't wrap his head around who she was."my name's doctor eva drake. you've been
ought in a few days ago with that gun shot wound to your abdomen. bullet's out, but you have to take it easy for a while, okay?""not much i can ... do with my hands being tied anyway.""sorry about that. your condition deteriorated for a while and we weren't sure if you'd make it, so ... better safe than sorry." she started to unbound him. "you promise to behave?""promise." he felt the few waking moments already taking its toll on him. his eyelids grew heavy, his speech was slurred. it frustrated him – he had questions, so many of them, but not enough strength to stay the hell awake.he heard eva talk, but couldn't make out any words. her voice faded out as if he was falling into a huge abyss. the deeper he fell, the darker it became around him. before his eyes slid closed for another long nap time, he made out a second figure appearing above his face.daryl ran.through the dense undergrowth, following that damn river that had caused him to lose his mind in the first place. he jumped over roots, sidestepped tree stumps,
oke through bushes and didn't bother with the tiny twigs and thorns cutting up his face and bare forearms. he heard them long before he entered the clearing. those damn grunts and snarls, their rotten limbs hitting wood over and over again in an attempt to enter the cabin.daryl called out her name, he didn't care if the dead heard him and would soon turn their attention to him. but no matter how loud he yelled, no sound left his lips. he hollered, he screamed, to no avail. when he reached the first walker, he grabbed it's shoulder and turned it, plunging his knife into its decomposed head. pushing the collapsing corpse away, he marched on in panic, still calling for her, stabbing walker by walker on his way to the patio.he shouldn't have left. she had been right. he was hunting a ghost. and if she wasn't reason enough to let go of it, nothing was.
he tore the screen door open and hauled himself through, stumbling further until he practically fell into the cabin. entering it, all sounds were suddenly gone, except for his heavy
eathing. no walker noises. not one single creak of the old house. daryl scrambled up to his feet and called out to her again, still just feeling the movement of his jaw, the strain on his vocal chords, but hearing a single tone. he rushed to the other room and froze.she stood at the window, unmoving, her back to him, looking outside at what daryl knew was matthews grave. he tried to say her name one more time. felt it roll from his lips. didn't hear a thing.
when she turned, his world crumbled.her eyes had paled to a dull, dirty gray. the color of her skin no longer had the healthy shade of rosy he had kissed. her head hung low as if it weighed a ton to keep it on her neck. at seeing him, her face contorted to a grimace. starvation spurred her on, and she open her mouth to a silent, hungry scream.daryl shook his head frantically and fell backwards, colliding with the wall. with no fight left, he slid down onto the floor where he stayed, motionless, waiting for the inevitable.
she lunged at him, clumsy but determined, and dug her dirty teeth into his arm."leah!"his eyes flew open, and if it hadn't been for the weight on his chest, he probably would have jackknifed right there, tearing his stitches and dropping right back into a world of agony.daryl lay stunned, panting as if he had ran a marathon, once again staring at that damn ceiling. he was vaguely aware of the weight on his chest moving slightly, but not disappearing completely. it kept its position, warm and heavy, like a cozy blanket."there you are", the blanket spoke, and daryl rose his head slightly to stare straight into a set of eyes he had missed drowning in for years.