C H A P T E R   2 2

❛ rescue mission ❜

QUINN

    BY THE TIME THEY REACHED WOODBURY darkness had fallen. The group knelt behind one of the cars and Quinn could sense their awe when they took in the sight of the huge walls that protected the little town. They clearly were impressed, as well as a little worried because it seemed almost impossible to break in. Almost...

Rick studied the structure carefully, memorising it the best he could, trying to spot a weakness. Their task, however, wasn't going to get any easier by simply staring at the wall.

Michonne nudged Quinn's shoulder before turning around and disappearing into the darkness.

'Hey,' Rick whispered, noticing her leave.

Quinn stood up, following Michonne. She knew Milo would follow her and she could only hope the others trusted him enough to follow as well. Michonne wouldn't leave like this unless she had a plan.

Carefully they crossed the street, until they managed to sneak up behind one of the buildings on the edge of the town. One of the windows was broken. It was too high up for a walker to stumble through, but a human could climb their way up fairly easily.

Quinn threw a look over her shoulder and couldn't help but feel relieved at the sight of the others following them through the dark.

Michonne was the first one to climb through the window. Quinn followed her friend and once they were all inside Michonne led them through the hallways of the building and into a room filled with tables and chairs. It reminded her of a school cafeteria.

'Is this where you were held?' Rick asked.

'I was questioned,' Michonne defended herself.

Rick raised a questioning brow at Quinn and she gave a slight shake of her head. 'I'm not stupid enough to break into a psychopath's home and take my weapons back. That was all her.'

A snort came from out of the darkness and Milo quickly put his hand to his mouth before he would make too much noise.

'Any idea where else they could be?' Rick asked while Daryl made his way to the window to scan their surroundings.

'Thought you said there was a curfew?' He asked when clearly the street wasn't as empty as they first thought it would be.

'Must be a few going for a walk in the moonlight,' Quinn replied. 'Believe me, if there wasn't a curfew there'd be a lot more people.'

'They could be in his apartment,' Michonne said.

'Yeah, what if they ain't?' Daryl snarled, making Quinn frown at his sudden outburst.

'Then we'll look somewhere else,' she said, raising her chin at him in defiance.

Rick frowned at the two of them. 'You said you could help us.'

'We're doing what we can,' Michonne told him.

'Then where the hell are they?'

When they didn't answer, Rick gestured for the men to follow him to the other side of the room. Probably to discuss what had to be done next. Milo gave Quinn an apologetic shrug before making his way after them.

A small sigh left her lips as she turned to Michonne. Her friend shook her head with an annoyed expression on her face. She clearly thought they were wasting their time here but Quinn honestly didn't know how to do anything to help. She hadn't come across a place where the Governor might be holding prisoners and she understood completely that Rick wasn't willing to trust them on their word.

A sudden knock on the door echoed through the small room, startling them all.

For a moment she stood completely frozen in place as her heart raced in her chest. Then she blinked and ordered her feet to move. She all but dove beneath the table, holding her breath as the door was opened and an elderly man entered.

'I know you're in here!' He called. 'I saw you from outside. Come on out, you're not supposed to be here.'

Quinn watched him make his way past her hiding place and towards where Rick and the others were. She hoped they'd be hidden well enough for the man to turn back around, but apparently not because when he was close enough, Rick jumped up, reached for the man and pushed him against the wall.

'Where the hell are they?' He whispered harshly while forcing the man on his knees.

'I-I,' the man stammered in confusion.

'We know you have our people, where are they?'

The stranger could only shake his head, making Rick sigh before gesturing to Daryl. The redneck knelt down beside the man and started binding his hands behind his back.

Quinn crawled out from beneath the table and got back to her feet, watching as Rick pushed a piece of cloth in the man's mouth. She winced when Daryl raised his crossbow and knocked the man out with the handle. His body fell limp to the ground and Rick dragged him out of sight. The clock was suddenly ticking on their mission, because it would only be a matter of time before someone would notice the man was missing.

They all stopped in their movements however when gunshots echoed through the quiet town. Screams and hurried footsteps came from outside. She shared a worried look with her brother before reaching for her belt and taking out a dagger. She felt calm with the weapon in her hand, but it didn't seem to bring Milo any comfort. He frowned at the weapon as if he was seeing a knife for the first time.

'What?' She asked him, raising a brow. 'Am I not allowed to protect myself?'

He shook his head, a teasing smile appearing on his face despite the nerves flying through both their veins. 'Just never thought I'd see little Angelina knowing how to use a knife, that's all.'

She grinned at him, feeling strangely proud of herself for having managed to surprise her brother with her skills. She no longer needed him to fight her battles for her. Though, she wouldn't say no to some of his lessons on how to use a gun...

Rick opened the door, forcing her to focus on the situation at hand. He made his way out onto the street. They followed him in tight formation with Milo coming last, walking behind Quinn. Her eyes scanned the streets but all she could really see were people running around in complete panic. Which was a good thing because in the frenzy no one noticed them. They managed to make their way across the street, staying close to the walls.

Rick raised his hand and they came to a halt. Two people with guns in their hands ran into one of the buildings to their right. It looked like some sort of storage magazine. When the Woodbury residents were out of sight, Rick gestured for them to start walking again. They followed the men inside, hoping to find Glenn and Maggie where the commotion had begun.

Carefully they made their way down a couple of stairs, everyone with their weapons at the ready. Rick opened a door and led them into a hallway. He stopped at the end, sneaking a glance around the corner. Apparently it was safe because he gestured for them to follow.

There was a small window in the wall before them and they knelt down beneath it. And beside the beating sound of her nervous heart, she could now make out voices as they came drifting through the wall.

Quinn could unmistakingly make out Merle with his raspy tones and her gaze wandered towards Daryl to see his reaction. She didn't really know why she hadn't told him about his brother yet. She kept telling herself it was because with finding her own she simply forgot but deep down inside she knew she was lying to herself...

Daryl, however, seemed too busy with thinking about saving his friends to recognise his brother's voice. Or maybe it was simply because he didn't expect to find him here of all places, fighting on the other side of a war...

Rick had taken a small metal can out of his backpack and Daryl was quick to follow. They held each other's gaze, counting silently, then they moved completely in sync as they removed the pins and threw the little grenades around the corner.

The bang that followed rattled the walls and filled the entire hallway with a thick cloud of smoke. Rick took advantage of the chaos by jumping to his feet and making his way into the room, his weapon raised. Daryl followed suit, while the rest kept watch in the hallway, making sure no soldiers would attack them from behind.

Her eyes were starting to sting but they were fast and came running back out of the smoke with Glenn and Maggie by their side within seconds. 'Go!' He shouted.

She turned to make her way back to the stairs but caught a short glance at Glenn anyway. A horrible bruise had formed around his eye and blood was dripping down his nose, covering his mouth and chin with the crimson liquid. Anger flared up in her stomach. If the Governor was okay with his men doing this for no good reason at all, she was glad she'd chosen to leave.

Gunshots from behind forced her to quicken her pace but the Governor's men were too blinded by the smoke to shoot straight.

They burst through the doors, back out on the street. Rick pointed to a building and they quickly made their way inside, throwing the door shut behind them.

'Rick, how'd you find us?' Maggie asked immediately, while making sure Glenn was okay at the same time.

'There's no way out back here!' Daryl yelled from the back of the building where he'd been checking for a possible escape route.

'How bad are you hurt?' Rick asked, looking at Glenn.

'I'll be alright.'

Quinn frowned and turned to look at Michonne for confirmation of her thoughts, Glenn was most definitely not alright. It was a habit that had formed during their time together. But her friend was nowhere to be seen. She turned in a circle, panic clawing at her chest but even after scanning the room for the fifth time, there was still no sight of her. 'Where's Michonne?'

'She was right behind us,' Rick said, looking around.

'Maybe she was spotted,' Oscar suggested.

'Want me to look for her?' Daryl asked.

'Not necessary,' Quinn said, trying to force herself to quench the blazing panic inside of her and think. Daryl's eyes drifted to her, a questioning look on his face but she already knew the answer, maybe she'd known from the very moment Michonne had told them about Woodbury. She was here to kill the Governor. 'I know what she wants to do, and we can't help her do it. We have to get them out of here.' She gestured at Glenn and Maggie as Maggie wrapped a blanket around his shoulder.

Only then did she notice he wasn't wearing a shirt and Maggie was wearing a shirt a few sizes too big...A thousand horrible thoughts shot through her brain all at once but she forced herself to store them away, no one needed her panic right now. Though the thought of Andrea being around here somewhere, possibly facing the same abuse, made it hard for her not to run out to the street and search for Michonne to help her end the man responsible.

'Daryl,' Glenn said, trying to catch his breath. 'This was Merle. He did this.'

If the man was surprised by hearing that his brother was alive, he was very good at concealing it, his face a stone cold mask. Though when he spoke, his voice held a slight tremble, betraying the storm raging on inside of him. 'You saw him?'

'Face to face. He threw a walker at me, he was gonna execute us.'

Daryl started pacing around, desperately trying to make sense of the situation. 'Is my brother this Governor?'

'No,' Quinn spoke up, making them all turn to her. Their gazes felt heavy on her shoulders. 'The Governor is someone else. Your brother is his right hand man. He found us in the woods, took us prisoner here. When Michonne and I left he hunted us down, shot Mich in the leg and that's when he found Glenn and Maggie.'

Daryl took a step towards her. She would have been scared of the anger on his face if she hadn't just heard his voice tremble with emotion. 'You knew my brother was here? And ya didn't think to tell me!'

'I didn't know he was your brother until just now!' Quinn shouted at him, holding his gaze even though her throat was burning with that lie.

Daryl scoffed and shook his head. As soon as he looked away from her, a shaky breath escaped her lips. It was only now she finally realised why she hadn't told him about his brother before. After everything he'd done to them, Merle didn't deserve to be reunited with him. But that reasoning had also taken away Daryl's chance of seeing his brother again. She didn't know him well enough to determine if he was any better than his asshole of a brother, but by withholding the information from him, she hadn't even given him a chance to prove that he was, in fact, better.

'Rick, I'm sorry but they know where the prison is,' Glenn broke the heavy silence.

'No need to apologise,' Rick promised.

'They're gonna be looking for us,' Maggie said, panic rising in her voice.

'We gotta get back,' Rick said, then looked at Glenn. 'Can you walk? We got a car a few miles back.'

'I'm good.' And he proved it by getting to his feet, though it didn't escape her notice how he swayed once he stood.

'If Merle's around I need to see him,' Daryl interrupted them.

Rick shook his head. 'Not now, we're in hostile territory.'

'He's my brother I ain't gonna-' 'Look at what he did!' Rick interrupted him, pointing at Glenn. 'We gotta go! Now!'

'Man, I gotta talk to him, work somethin' out!' Daryl pleaded, that same tremble as before breaking his unbothered mask right down the middle.

'No, you're not thinking straight. No matter what they say they're hurt. Glenn can barely walk. How are we gonna make it out if we get overrun by walkers or this Governor catches up to us? I need you! Are you with me?'

Finally Daryl gave a small nod, his reply barely audible.

'Alright,' Rick said and nodded at the bag. 'Get another smoke bomb.'

Quinn took a deep breath, readying herself for the fight when Milo appeared by her side, holding out his gun for her to take. She raised her eyebrows at him. 'You know I don't know how to use that.'

'Just aim and shoot,' he said, pushing the weapon into her hands. 'You'll be safer with it than with those daggers.'

She wasn't given time to tell him no, because Rick had already started counting. She braced herself while turning the safety off, waiting for the inevitable fight to finally catch up with them.

Rick pulled the door open and Daryl threw the can outside, instantly clouding the street in smoke. 'Come on,' Rick ordered, stepping outside with his gun raised.

'There they are!' A voice echoed over the street but the man wasn't given a chance to do much of anything next because Rick immediately shot him down.

They ran out on the street, firing at the guards on the wall. Quinn raised her gun, planted her feet firmly on the ground before raising it, just like she had seen Andrea do so many times. She fired, the bullet hitting the guard in the shoulder instead of the head, where she'd aimed. A frustrated groan left her lips but lucky for her, Milo came to the rescue. He shot the guard in the head, his face hardened to hide the guilt she knew he was feeling. The guard stumbled backwards, falling down the wall, disappearing in the dark.

'Behind you!' Rick screamed and Quinn immediately let herself fall to the ground as gunshots came from behind her. She crawled towards a nearby solar panel, kneeling down behind it. She looked around, watching one of the Governor's men had made his way up the street, aiming right at her.

She didn't give herself time to think. Leaning on the solar panel to balance herself, she fired her gun and the bullet hit the guy in the eye, tearing a scream from his lips.

Her heart was racing in her chest as her eyes searched the chaos for Milo, who'd been at her side only seconds before. A trembling sigh left her lips when she spotted him hiding behind a bus parked against the wall. He was covering Oscar who was helping Maggie get to safety.

They were blocked from her vision however when Daryl kneeled down beside her, placing his machine gun steadily on his leg as he aimed.

'What are you doing?' She yelled while getting her gun out once again.

'We're giving 'em cover, come on,' he yelled back before pulling the trigger.

The shots were hurting her ears and all she wanted to do was turn around to see if Milo had made it over the wall himself but she couldn't afford to look behind her however and so she bit her tongue and raised her gun again, only firing when she was sure she saw someone. Daryl's gun was doing enough damage for her to be shooting blindly as well. She aimed at a guy seated behind a bench and pulled the trigger with a determined gleam in her eyes. The bullet hit him in his leg, making him fall down, shouting in pain.

She could feel Daryl his eyes on her and she gave a slight shake of her head as she searched for a next target. 'I've never been really good with these,' she mumbled as an answer to Daryl's unspoken question. He couldn't have been happy with choosing her to help him give the others cover.

Finding another silhouette through the smoke she pulled the trigger again, completely missing the target this time.

'Shit,' she mumbled, following the silhouette with her eyes, ready to fire again.

'Gotta relax your shoulders,' Daryl mumbled before squeezing the trigger once again, shooting down the silhouette she had been aiming for.

'Noted,' she breathed, trying to do as he told her while aiming the gun at another guy hidden behind a bench. Forcing herself to focus she pulled the trigger. The man went down, and didn't get back up this time.

'Daryl!' Rick's voice came from somewhere behind them.

'Just go, we're comin',' Daryl shouted in reply.

Bullets flew their way through the mist and she hid behind the solar panel to avoid getting hit. The Governor's men were moving in on them but with the amount of bullets they were firing she couldn't make a move without getting hit.

'Quinn, come on!' Milo's voice came from above the gunfire.

'I'm right behind you. Go!' She yelled at him without looking back. She raised her gun, firing at random now, hoping to hit something through the smoke so her brother could get out of here alive.

She pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. With wide eyes she stared at her gun, turning to Daryl. 'I'm out!'

He knelt down behind the solar panel, pulling out his magazine and checking it. He didn't say a word but Quinn could see in his eyes that he didn't have much left either. She shook her head, it didn't matter, as long as her brother had made it out alive, she really didn't care what happened to her.

A U T H O R 'S  N O T E:

Aaahh Quinn's first interaction with Daryl has been written! I'm so excited to get started on their relationship and it's so fun to finally write them together. Also, it's really awesome to have Quinn and Milo together finally. They are an amazing team and I can't wait to write more scenes of them interacting and just being awesome together.

I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please leave some comments and/or votes if you did. Don't be a ghost :)

xx Nelly

edited: ✔