C H A P T E R  0 5

❛ bruised body, broken soul ❜

QUINN

     IT WAS STRANGE HOW SPENDING TIME IN A CELL could put things into perspective. Before she had been swallowed by the dark hole, she thought her father was the person she hated most in her life. Looking him straight into the eye now, she knew that was no longer true. Oh she still hated him, but it was a passive hate, one of indifference, a hate that left her stone cold. The only person he'd ever harmed was her and she'd learned to bear the pain. There was another she hated more now, not with stone cold indifference but with a hot and burning fury, for he had dared to hurt those she cared about most.

The man standing in front of her now was no longer important enough to waste her energy on and so she simply stared him in the eye as he stood in the door opening. It was only when he did not stop staring that she realised she must've looked awful. She hadn't eaten for at least two days, was probably sickly pale while her face was stained from the tears she'd shed. But she knew what would scare him most were her eyes. She knew he'd find nothing but stoic silence in her gaze, a far cry from the way she used to look at him.

She noticed he was holding a bag in his hands and only then did she take a real, long and hard look at him. He was dressed as though he was about to go outside, a gun and a knife strapped to his belt. The bag seemed to be pretty full but her mind was too clouded by grief to make the connection.

Nick cleared his throat, threw a nervous look over his shoulder and then took a step forward.

Her body moved on instinct, crawling back against the wall even further. She felt surprised when Nick immediately froze and then, slowly, put up his hands in surrender. "I'm here to help you," he said, slowly kneeling down so he was at eye level with her. "I'm gonna get you out."

She couldn't help but scoff at that, but still she didn't speak a word. She watched him instead, knowing her cold gaze would make him nervous.

"Quinn, I'm telling the truth, we have to be quick!" he said, looking over his shoulder once again.

A thousand alarm bells were ringing through her head, too easy, too easy...He hadn't tried to help her in the forest, in fact he had very deliberately stopped her from doing anything at all. He hadn't tried to warn her of a greater danger back when they met at the satellite station. He had never, in her entire life, done anything to help her. So why would this time be any different?

A sigh left his lips as he lowered the bag to the ground and pushed it towards her. "Take a look," he said. "And you'll see I'm not lying. I'm going to get you out."

Her gaze lingered on him a moment longer before curiosity took over and she reached for the bag, pulling it towards her. She opened it and threw a quick look inside, not wanting to keep her eyes away from him a moment longer than necessary. She could see a lantern, some clothes, rope and even a package with food. Judging by everything she saw, it would seem he was indeed planning to leave.

She lifted her eyes to meet his once again, her head spinning to form a coherent thought. The alarm bells hadn't stopped ringing. Every bone inside her body was screaming for her not to fall for this trap. But, even if it was a trap, could she really afford not to take this chance? Trap or no trap, this might be her only chance to get the hell out of here and she'd be damned if she didn't at least try.

"Okay," she said, slowly getting to her feet. "But I'm holding the bag."

Relief shone in his eyes but she paid him no attention, instead she marched out of the cell. Her eyes scanned the hallway carefully but everything seemed empty and abandoned. She threw a look over her shoulder to Nick. "Do you have the key to Daryl's cell?"

He nodded and handed her a key. "I suspected you wouldn't want to leave without him."

She took the key and walked down the hallway without a word. Somehow the thought of her father thinking about her and Daryl angered her. The one good thing in her life seemed somehow tarnished after being exposed to a man who caused her nothing but pain. She tried to shake the thought from her mind and walked with determined steps towards the door she'd been standing in front of hours before.

She was about to open it when she stopped, forcing herself to take a deep breath and ready herself. She couldn't afford to get caught off guard by his ragged appearance once again. With a wild beating heart she slowly opened the door, peering into the darkness.

"Daryl?" she whispered.

For a moment no response came and a thousand terrifying thoughts crossed her mind all at once. Then, finally, she heard shuffling and the light of the hallway illuminated him, revealing every bruise and cut. Despite having tried to prepare herself, she felt as though she was drowning as soon as her eyes caught sight of him, pulled down into dark depths of painfully still nothingness. His pain was hers and the fiery rage inside of her was allconsuming.

His eyes searched for hers and within seconds he crossed the open space between them, gathering her in his arms and pulling her close. Desperately she tried to swallow her tears as she buried her face in his neck, holding onto him as though he was a lifeline to pull her back from the depths of the sea. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to have this moment, a few more seconds, then, reluctantly, she pulled away. They had no time for this.

Their eyes met once again and she felt a sad smile tug at her lips when she realised neither of them had managed to push away their tears. Then his gaze went down to her bare neck and fury flashed across his face. She realised the question burning on his lips before he'd even spoken it out loud and answered before he'd have to force the words out of his throat.

"I'm fine," she muttered, taking his hand and squeezing it softly. "He didn't touch me, not in that way."

Her words didn't erase the fury from his eyes but he seemed to realise there were more pressing matters at hand. "What's goin' on?" he asked. Every word sounded like a struggle, as though his throat was glued shut. She briefly wondered what he'd been given to eat...

"We're leaving,' Quinn said, as she started rummaging through the bag for the clothes she'd seen before. He couldn't very well break out of the Saviors compound naked.

He wanted to ask how, when his eyes landed on Nick standing behind them. The fury she'd seen in his eyes seconds before returned in full force. One second he was standing next to her and the next he'd crossed the room and was holding Nick by the throat, his fist dangerously close to the man's face.

"Daryl!" she hissed through clenched teeth while Nick gasped for breath. As much as she wanted to see him hit her father, now really wasn't the time. She quickly glanced up and down the hallway but there was still no one in sight.

"What are ya up to?" Daryl growled in Nick's face, his entire body tense.

Nick clawed at his hands, but still Daryl didn't release him. "N-nothing," he gasped. "I s-swear!"

"Daryl we don't have time for this," she said, putting her hand on his arm.

"So what, you just trust the son of a bitch now?"

"No," she replied, her voice steady and calm despite the nerves flying at high speed through her veins. "But I trust us."

Slowly his eyes turned to her and for a moment they held each other's gaze, a silent understanding passing between them. Trap or not, this might be their only chance of getting out of this hellhole. They couldn't afford to let it slip through their fingers because of her coward of a father. She wouldn't allow him to take anymore from her than he already had.

He turned back to her father, then leaned in so close that their foreheads were almost touching and he muttered something so softly that she couldn't make it out. But Nick clearly did, because his eyes widened in fear. Then Daryl released him, turning away from him as he tried to catch his breath.

She nodded at him, then handed him the clothes and watched as he quickly got dressed. "What's your plan?" she asked her father then, though she kept her eyes on Daryl, as if her brain needed the proof that he was really standing here next to her.

"We take the back door," he said as he started making his way down the hallway with the two of them close on his heels. "I have a car parked in the woods. All we need to do is get past the gate."

"That's all, huh," Daryl grunted, his eyes glued to the back of Nick's back.

Nick threw a quick glance over his shoulder, but as soon as his eyes met Daryl's burning gaze, he turned back forwards. "They're changing the guard in about ten minutes. Which gives us a few minutes to cross the yard, cut the fence and make our escape."

She shared a look with Daryl. "And you think that's enough time?" she questioned, her heart beating impossibly loud in her chest.

"It's gotta be," Nick replied as they rounded another corner. "Or else I'm dead and the two of you will never get out of here."

If anyone was going to kill her father, it was her. She wasn't planning on letting Negan take that away from her too but it did raise an interesting question that hadn't crossed her mind until now. "Does he know you're my-" Somehow the word got stuck in her throat. "That we're related," she corrected herself.

"I don't think I'd be walking around freely if he did," Nick said and the fact that he almost made it sound like she was dumb for thinking otherwise made her anger flare up once again.

But there was no time to reply, as they came by another corner. Daryl went on ahead, carefully taking a look. The hall appeared to be empty as he walked on, signalling for them to follow. At the end of the hallway was a door. Through the window Quinn could see the starry night sky. She almost broke out into a sprint right then and there, every bone within her body screaming for the evening air to fill her lungs.

"Let me go first," Nick spoke up. "I'll go and check if the guards are still there." When neither of them replied he sighed. "If I was going to betray you, wouldn't I have done it already?"

Daryl glared at him, his stone cold eyes enough to convey his feelings on the matter.

"Just hurry," Quinn said, not happy with the circumstances but she knew she couldn't just go bursting out into the courtyard either. If the guards were still there, they would notice her immediately and then all hell would break loose. It was a small miracle they'd gotten this far without any problems.

Nick nodded at her, then opened the door and disappeared outside, leaving the two of them standing there in the hallway.

Quinn reached inside the backpack and pulled out a knife she'd spotted earlier, handing it to Daryl, who took it wordlessly. It was the only weapon, except the ones her father carried but she was going to have to trust it would be enough. Silently she reached out and took Daryl's hand in her own, holding him tightly. She couldn't bear to be without him once again. There was so much they had to talk about, so much they had to work out, there was a war waiting for them out there. But in that moment all she could do was stand there, holding him and hoping that for once in her life her father wouldn't disappoint her.

It felt as though ages passed by as they stood in silence in that hallway, while, in truth, it couldn't have been more than a few minutes. Daryl's steady breathing was the only thing keeping her from going completely insane and charging into the courtyard on her own. He was there, he was with her and she repeated it with every rise and fall of his chest.

Finally the door opened, breaking the silence that had been anything but peaceful. Her father appeared in the doorway and nodded. "We have a few minutes, let's hurry," he said, disappearing back outside.

Quickly she followed, already rummaging through the bag to pull out the bolt cutter. The courtyard was indeed abandoned. They were at the back of the building, a different entrance from the one they had come through when they arrived. Behind them stood the large old factory that Negan so proudly called the Sanctuary. Before them was the road to freedom, only separated by a fence. The courtyard itself was filled with trucks. Some of them were fully loaded and ready to go, others were empty. Part of her was tempted to take one and drive it straight through the fence, but that would certainly announce their escape attempt.

She pressed her nails into her palm as they crossed the yard in silence. Every step she took felt like an earthquake and every piece of sand that crunched beneath her feet felt like a bomb exploding. But all remained quiet and once they were halfway across the courtyard, she actually let herself believe they could do this, that they could truly escape.

Of course she should have known better than to hope by now.

The sound of a door opening made the three of them freeze in their step. "Dropped my damn lighter," a voice shouted. "Give me a minute." A man stepped out of the building and as his eyes fell on them, he frowned. He seemed to need a couple of seconds to process what was happening, but then recognition flashed across his face and he opened his mouth - but those few seconds it took him, were all Daryl needed to hurl his knife through the air. The blade hit the man straight between the eyes and he dropped to the ground. Dead.

"Go, go, go," she hissed.

They sprinted across the courtyard and as soon as they reached the fence, she knelt down and got to work with the bolt cutters. It took her strength she didn't have after two days without food. Her arms were trembling as she desperately tried to cut through the iron.

"Let me," Nick said, holding out his hand.

She threw him a glare, but knew she had no other choice than to trust him. With a warning glare she handed him the cutters, then turned around to see Daryl retrieving his knife before making his way back towards them. With every step he took she grew more nervous, feeling as though the distance took forever to cross.

He'd almost reached her when the door was thrown open and two men entered the courtyard, joking and laughing together. "Hey Johnny, you get yer lighter yet?" one of them shouted but their laughter slowly died down when they saw the scene before them. Sadly, they were able to realise what was happening a lot quicker than Johnny had...

"Hey!" one of them cried out and raised his gun. "You! Drop your weapon!"

Hopelessly she watched as Daryl raised his hands, standing only a few feet away from her. The two men hadn't spotted her and Nick yet as they were covered by the shadow of a truck. But as soon as they reached Daryl, they would.

Beside her Nick kept on cutting away to create a hole big enough for them to crawl through, but it was hard to do so when he was trying to be quiet at the same time.

She felt as though she was gonna be sick as the two guards slowly approached Daryl, both of them aiming their guns right at him. A few more steps...

"What the fuck," one of them breathed as his eyes fell on Quinn and her father knelt by the fence.

Daryl took advantage of his confusion by moving quickly, throwing his body against the man, both of them falling to the ground. A gun shot rang out and a cry left her lips. She got to her feet and ran forwards, throwing herself at the second man. She tried to get his gun but he threw his elbow at her, which she barely managed to avoid. Immediately she went for the attack again, but her body wasn't capable of what it normally might have been. She aimed her fist at his face while Daryl struggled with the other man, but her opponent easily caught her sloppy throw and twisted her arm, making her shout out in pain.

The sound was enough to distract Daryl long enough for the man to throw him against the ground, aiming his gun at his head. She reacted without thinking, throwing her body on top of Daryl's, forming a shield of flesh and bone. The gunshot went off like a bomb, breaking the silence of the night.

She saw red, a blinding pain consuming her as the bullet pierced her side. A whimper left her lips as her body went limp, all strength leaving her at once. Her action had confused the two men, who stood watching the scene with a sudden discomfort, which cost one of them his life. Through the darkness pulling at her she saw her father sneaking up from behind to push his knife through the man's skull, bringing him down on the ground.

Far in the distance she could hear shouting. The gunshot had drawn the attention of the Saviors. Soon they'd be surrounded and any chance of escape would be gone.

Her body was carefully pushed aside and a cry left her lips at the motion. Daryl crawled out from beneath her, his face pale and eyes wide, as though he couldn't quite believe she'd done this for him. Like he wasn't worth it...

Nick must have killed the other man too because no one interrupted Daryl as he carefully lay her down on the pavement, looking at her as though he'd seen a ghost.

The shouting grew louder, making Daryl look away from her and turn to Nick instead. "Get her out of here," he growled.

Her heart sank and her world collapsed. No, there was no way she was leaving him here. She wanted to protest, to shout, to do something but her body was trapped in a prison of pain and every breath felt as though it would be her last.

She couldn't hear her father's response, but he obviously agreed, for suddenly she was pulled away from Daryl, gathered in her father's arms and lifted from the ground.

"No," she muttered, the word barely audible.

Her hand searched the empty air and found Daryl's arm, holding on to it as tightly as she could manage. Only then did she notice the blood on her skin but it wasn't important, nothing was more important than him.

"You gotta go, swan princess," he muttered softly, his voice breaking.

"P-promise me," she muttered, pulling him close, or maybe he simply stepped closer since her strength grew weaker with each passing second. "You're mine, Daryl Dixon." Tears crawled down her cheek. "You're mine and I'm yours. Don't let him tell you otherwise."

The door was thrown open, a group of men ran into the courtyard, guns up and ready.

"Go," Daryl snapped, then he turned around and he was gone, throwing himself into the frenzy in the hopes of buying them some time.

She hardly registered what happened next, darkness pulling at her vision as her father carried her through the hole he'd cut. He broke down in a sprint over the asphalt, every part of her body aching with the fall of his footsteps. But the pain could hardly compare to the ache in her heart as she left him behind.

A U T H O R 'S  N O T E

I broke my own heart writing this chapter. I swear writing is fun lol.

School has been kicking my butt so sadly I had to delay this chapter for a week, but now I finally managed to finish it! I'm really proud of how it turned out and I hope you guys enjoyed it! I only have one week of school left so hopefully I can prewrite a lot this summer so I can update more regularly. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

Thank you so much for the endless love and support on this little story of mine. It means the world to me! And don't hesitate to tell me your predictions and thoughts in the comments ;)

xx Nelly