♤

"Did they tell you anything?" Zac asked me as I headed back to my room,

I shook my head and sighed, "Zac, you've spent the past week feeling sorry for yourself, trust me, you don't want to get involved in this" I explained, my voice tired and serious.

He looked at me with a confused face, "Why? What do you mean?"

I sighed, looking at the ground, "That's my old group, Zac, and he wants to kill them! I can't let that happen" I said, my voice a harsh whisper as the corridor cleared.

He nodded, processing what I had just said, "I'll help, Owain might listen to me"

I grabbed onto his shoulders and pushed him up against the wall, "Don't say a word, Zac, please, just stay out of this" I begged before leaving him stood in the corridor.

As I closed the door to my room, I let out a large exhale and threw my pistol onto the bed. My fingers found their way to the ring around my neck as they often did when I felt stressed or worried.

This time, it was a different kind of worry. Daryl was involved, a man I had tried to drown out of my mind was sat, under the same roof and in danger and I was on the other side, powerless to help.

All night, I sat on the edge of my bed, trying desperately to figure out what to say to Owain to get him to release them but I kept coming up empty handed, finding no words strong enough to change his mind. 

Eventually, I drifted, my mind working away until the point of exhaustion. Shortly after I fell asleep, I heard the creaking of the floorboards which stirred me until I was pulled from the bed, a cloth going over my mouth. I screamed but the cloth muffled my screams.

♤

A strong light shone above me as the darkness over my eyes slowly lifted and I was met with an empty room.

My hands were bound together as the door opened with a screech and through it walked Hank. "I always knew you were a sly bitch" He spat as he strolled around me, my body limp on the floor. "And now, word gets back to me that the group we have hostage, are your old group"

I said nothing as my eyes struggled to stay open, a throbbing in my head. "They're good people, you don't need to kill them, let them all go and I can promise they wont bother you" I begged but he just laughed in my face.

"Look at you, pathetic, begging me to save them, you can't even save yourself, never mind them. I'm going to shoot them all, one by one and make you watch before I end your suffering too" He snarled, kicking me in the gut causing me to let out a gasp of pain.

I shook my head, "No, you're not, you don't get to hide away and then come down every now and again just to make sure everyone's scared of you, it doesn't work like that, you're going to be the destruction of this group" I coughed out as he kicked me in the back, sending another shock of pain through my body.

He grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and stared me in the eyes, "The only way that this group stays is if you and your little group die" He threw his fist into my face, landing on the bone of my brow, sending blood spilling from it as he threw yet another punch at my face, this one landing on my lip, splitting it.

The blood began filling my mouth, as I struggled to breath, nearly choking on the blood. "You want to see your friends, here you go" He growled as he dragged me from the room.

I wasn't sure where he was taking me or where he was even holding me as my eyes struggled to focus. I was incredibly disorientated from the beating he had given me and my warm blood was spilling everywhere, still choking me causing me to splutter and cough.

"Open it" Hank ordered, the men gazing down at me in fear before they obeyed and opened the door quickly.

He dragged me into the freezer where the others were being held. As he put me down, he threw another kick to my gut causing me to grunt in pain before door was slammed shut and I was left choking.

I felt someone roll me onto my side, patting my back gently as the blood dripped onto the ground from my mouth, "Here" Someone said, passing someone a cloth which they used to wipe the blood from my face.

My vision started to go weird and I felt like I was spinning around, barely able to focus on what anyone was saying..

Daryl's POV

Kelly was disorientated, her eyes flickering around the room quickly as I handed Sasha a cloth to wipe her face with. Once Kelly's airways had cleared of all the blood, Sasha tried sitting her up but she had passed out, her body struggling to cope with the blows he had delivered her.

Sasha sighed and after a few minutes, she announced that she was alright and breathing regularly once again. I let out a sigh of relief, Sasha handing me the cloth back and allowing me to sit with her.

I leant against the wall, her head gently on my lap as I stared at her face, her cheek swollen and her lip torn, despite that, she was still beautiful. I kept dabbing the cloth on her lip, trying to rid it of any remaining blood.

None of us could be sure how long we had been held captive but Rick was busy devising a plan. "That won't work" Kelly groaned as she awoke, "There's too many, the factory is full of people" She mumbled as she began to sit up.

I supported her back as she shuffled back to lean against the wall. "We'll fight, we have to" Rick replied.

She shook her head again, "It won't work, fighting won't work, say you kill everyone here, there's two other bases with people that'll be just as willing to kill us all"

"We'll kill them" Sasha spat at her but she just chuckled,

"It's not so easy"

Sasha raised her brow at her, "Well you tell us, you've been cozying up with them for weeks"

Kelly coughed, blood spluttering from her mouth once more, "I had no choice, I was alone" She snarled.

Sasha opened her mouth to say something but I jumped in, "Back off" She stopped and put her head down, anger was clearly rife in her but she stayed quiet none the less.

There was mutters and clanging outside and so Kelly immediately got to her feet, "No, stay down" She ordered everyone as she leant next to the opening of the door, awaiting whoever may come in.

As the door opened, she grabbed the young man, "Zac?" She raised her brow and let go of him.

"I've come to get you out" He smiled at her, holding her arm.

She shook her head at him as the group clambered to their feet. "No, Zac, I told you to stay out of this" She winced in pain slightly as she stepped back from him.

"I convinced Owain to let me move you from here, I think I know a way you can live" He explained to her.

She shook her head again, "I'm not leaving these guys to die"

Zac sighed and nodded, "We're not, I've got a plan, trust me"