𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐒.
chapter twenty-one; Back From The Dead
" You swear you're staying with me? "

WHEN VEX CAME to, Daryl was worried she'd be in the same state he'd found her in.

  But she groaned, lifting an arm and dropping it over her eyes.

  The light burned, her limbs were heavy, muscles screaming.

  And then she was tackled, knocking the wind right out of her.

  "Mom!"

  Vex let out a breath, opening her eyes as she wrapped her arms around her daughter, pulling her closer into the bed.

  "Hi, baby girl," Vex said roughly, cradling the back of her daughter's head.

  She finally adjusted to the room, looking beyond the bed to find Dean in a seat just beside her.

  "Food, if you're hungry," He said thickly.

She could see it had weighed on him. Not that Vex thought Dean wouldn't mourn her, just that she didn't expect to see it so clearly.

He'd clearly been tugging at his hair, an anxious habit he'd held onto as long as she remembered. His eyes were bloodshot; from crying or lack of sleep, she couldn't quite tell.

Dean Williams had been angry and ruthless and cold for the two days that Vex Williams was missing, not that she knew this, as the second she returned, he melted right back into the kind brother she knew.

  Vex's expression softened, reaching out an arm.

  A breath as he engulfed both Vex and Zeppelin in a tight embrace.

  "We thought you were dead," He whispered.

  Vex held them tightly.

  "Never lost," Zeppelin whispered, "Always found."

  Vex looked up as a tear slipped down her cheek, only to be startled by another presence.

  Daryl Dixon stood silently, leaning against the metal bars of the room.

  He had a soft expression on his face, and Vex could've sworn it was worry.

  She mouthed him a 'thank you' as Zeppelin grabbed the tray of food and insisted her mother eat.

  Within the day, Vex had been visited by every single member of the group and accepted hugs from each and every one of them.

  Her final visitor was Rick Grimes himself.

  After Carl's tale of what happened with his mother and new baby sister, Vex wondered if she'd see him at all.

  She stood, the man pulling her into a tight embrace.

  "Thank God."

  Vex breathed out, pulling away from the man.

  "Rick, I. . ."

  He faltered, expecting an apology. Condolences. He wasn't so sure he could take more.

  But Vex Williams only hugged him again.

  "Come on," Rick said quietly, "You wanna meet her, don't you?"

  Vex smiled small, following Rick to where Beth was cradling the infant.

  She was so small. Vex had recalled vividly the first time she held Zeppelin, as Beth passed Rick's daughter to her.

  Vex had worried she'd break Zeppelin, that surely something this fragile, this innocent and tiny, would be broken so quickly by her hands.

  But Vex knew kindness. She knew gentleness. Just because her life had been harsh and cold and cruel, did not mean she didn't know the opposite.

  "Hi," Vex cooed softly, "You're beautiful, aren't you?"

  The baby stared up at her with wide eyes.

  "Total badass," Vex whispered, running a gentle finger over the child's forehead, "Born in an apocalypse."

🗡

  "Hey."

  "Hey," Vex said, standing quickly at Daryl's approach.

  "Some chick showed up with a basket of baby formula. Said Maggie and Glenn were taken; won't say by who or where."

  Vex nodded, wiping the palms of her hands on her jeans.

  "I got it," She said quietly.

  Daryl nodded, starting toward where the woman was being held.

  "I'm sorry."

  He stopped, turning to Vex with furrowed brows.

  She looked almost back to normal. As if nothing at all had happened the day prior— as if she was entirely fine again.

  "For what?"

  "For trying to kill you," Vex sighed, shoving her hands in her pocket, "And I'm sorry that it had to be you."

  "What?"

  "Anyone else found me," She said, "Anyone else at all. . . I don't think they'd have been able to bring me back as quickly as you did. And I don't think they would've been able to hold me off, either."

  "That a compliment?"

  "You wish," Vex blew out, earning a smile from Daryl, "I just. . . I wanted to apologize. That's all."

  "Ain't necessary." He shrugged.

  "Then a 'thank you'," She urged quietly.

  He nodded once, shocked when the woman pulled him into a hug.

  The man stood awkwardly for a moment, before giving into the embrace.

  "Come on," She breathed out, pulling away, "Time to figure out what the hell is goin' on."

  Vex entered the room as Rick unlocked it, the two followed by Daryl and Hershel.

  "Hi," Vex greeted the woman.

  She was silent, but not in a way of being scared. In a way of defiance.

  "Water?" Vex offered, holding out a bottle.

  The woman looked between it and Vex's face.

  Vex nodded, setting it down beside the woman.

  "We just want to know where our people are."

  "Find 'em yourself."

  "I think you and I both know how impossible that sounds," Vex admitted, "Look, you brought baby formula to a group you don't know. Clearly, you have a heart. You came here for a reason."

  Vex took a seat at the table in front of the woman.

  "We'll fix your wound," She said quietly, "Get you food and water and send you on your way. No harm no foul. But we look out for our own, and we can't do that if you won't tell us what you know."

  The woman averted her gaze for a moment, rolling her eyes before speaking.

  "There's a town," She spoke lowly, "Woodbury. 'Bout 75 survivors. I think they were taken there."

  "A whole town?" Rick questioned.

  "It's run by this guy who calls himself the Governor," She continued, "Pretty boy, charming, Jim Jones type."

  "Worst kind of man there is," Vex said with a hint of humor in her eyes.

  The woman didn't respond, but she met Vex's eyes with an expression of agreement.

  "He got muscle?" Daryl questioned.

  "Paramilitary wannabes," She said, "They have armed sentries on every wall."

  "You know a way in?"

  "The place is secure from walkers, but we could slip our way through."

🗡

  "How do you know we can trust her?"

  "This is Maggie and Glenn. Why are we even debating?"

  "We're not," Vex said quickly, approaching the group with her rifle on her shoulder.

  "I'll go after 'em," Daryl said, looking to the woman who joined his side.

  "Well, this place sounds pretty secure," Rick spoke, "You can't go alone."

  "I got his back," Vex nodded.

  "I'll go, too," Beth spoke up.

  "No, you stay here, Bethie," Vex said quickly, resting a hand on the girl's shoulder, "Gotta look out for your dad for me."

  "I'll go," Axel, one of the prisoners, spoke up.

  "I'm in," Oscar said.

  And they had their group.

  Neither Zeppelin nor Dean was exactly thrilled when Vex told them she'd be leaving, but the woman assured them this, more than anything, was exactly up her alley.

  She helped load the car with supplies, climbing into it along with Daryl, Rick, Oscar, and the unnamed woman.

  They followed her directions, pulling over when she called it, and let her lead them through the forest.

And it was going alright, for a time. Silence, calm-- until they spotted a couple of walkers coming toward them.

"Down," Rick said quickly, "Get in formation. No gunfire."

The three followed his lead, taking out walker by walker without a single bullet. But they just kept coming; from in front, from behind. Vex backed up as a walker came dangerously close, the woman taking it out as she bumped right into Daryl Dixon.

"There's too many of them," Daryl said to Rick.

Rick himself killed one more walker before realized Daryl was right. He lead the group onward, going off the trail and deeper into the forest until they found an old wooden building.

The group piled in quickly, weapons drawn, but deathly silent as Rick had instructed.

"The smell," Daryl spoke, covering his nose, "It's loud."

The group entered the house, walking briskly as the sound of walkers outside grew louder.

"Hey," Vex whispered, elbowing Daryl.

She nodded to the bed that looked as though it held a man. Daryl nodded, motioning to Rick to join them.

It was a matter of seconds before the man was out of bed with a gun on Rick, screaming at them to get out.

Vex heard the walkers grow louder as the man did, commotion bubbling for a moment until the man ran for the door and the unfamiliar woman took him out with her sword.

They moved quickly now, dumping the man on the front porch before slipping out the back.

It was only a matter of time before they reached the gates of Woodbury. Tires and scrap metal, old junk cars, all piled high to form a makeshift defense, with floodlights and men guarding from the top of it.

It was silence until the woman broke off from the group, though Rick attempted to get her to stay.

"She's the only one who's been here," Vex whispered, "She has my vote."

Rick and Daryl were clearly frustrated as Vex followed the woman without hesitation. She matched her low stance and silent footsteps, halting when she did. Vex nodded when the woman pointed to an area of the wall. where it connected to an old building, before returning to grab the rest of the group.

The three men followed quickly,

They entered through a half-boarded-up door, Vex taking the lead this time.

"This is where you were held?"

"I was questioned."

"Any idea where else they could be?" Rick asked.

Vex peered out of as window cautiously, surprised to see sparse people, dressed normally, with no weapons in their hands, milling about the street.

"Thought you said there was a curfew," Daryl whispered from behind Vexc.

"The street is packed during the day. Those are stragglers."

"If anyone comes in here, we're sittin' ducks. We gotta move."

"They could be in his apartment," She said.

"Yeah, what if they ain't?"

"Then we'll look somewhere else."

Nobody quite liked that answer, and while Vex wasn't the happiest about it; the woman was still at least willing to help.

"We should split up," Daryl tried.

Until of course, someone entered the building calling out for the group. Rick took him by surprise, but he had no answers for them.

"We might just have to go building by building--" Vex started, halting only when she heard a string of gunshots.

Vex knew it had to be them.

So they took off, while the rest of the streets panicked, they slipped by unnoticed, until they found a worn set of buildings, and heard voices from inside.

Vex peered through one of the windows, her heart racing as he laid eyes on Glenn and Maggie, kneeling in front of a man.

And then her blood ran cold.

Vex quickly ducked back down, her arm pressed against Daryl as she did.

"You good?" He mouthed.

Vex swallowed harshly but did not respond to him. The woman looked to Rick, nodding to confirm it was Maggie and Glenn inside.

The group quickly grabbed flash and smoke grenades, as the men started leading Maggie and Glenn out of the room. They released them at the same time, running in as soon as they went off.

Vex grabbed Maggie's bound hands, quickly pulling the bag off of her head.

Maggie's eyes were full of tears, an expression of fear on her face.

"Come on," Vex said quickly, pulling the woman under her arm as she started running.

The panic on the streets gave them cover, at least briefly, to run to another building; Vex, Daryl, and Oscar quickly securing it and looking for a different exit.

"Rick, how did you find us?" Maggie questioned.

"How bad are you hurt?"

There was no other way out. Vex cursed, returning to the couple.

Glenn's face was bloodied and bruised-- Maggie was free of marks but seemed just as rattled as him.

"I'll be alright," Glenn breathed out.

"Where's that woman?"

Vex cursed herself as she looked around, realizing the woman had slipped away. She'd been too distracted-- too distracted with Maggie and Glenn and who she'd seen before they grabbed them.

"She was right behind us--"

"Want me to go look for her?"

"No, we gotta get them out of here," Rick said, "She's on her own."

Vex peered out a window, seeing the streets now overflowing with people out looking for them.

"Daryl," Glenn said, "This was Merle. It was. He did this."

"Who's Merle?" Vex questioned, turning back to face the group.

"You saw him?" Rick questioned.

"Face to face," Glenn answered, "Threw a walker at me. He was gonna execute us."

"Who's Merle?" Vex asked again, joining Daryl's side.

The man hesitated for a moment, looking between Glenn and Vex.

"My brother," Daryl said quietly, looking back to Glenn, "S--so he's this governor?"

"No, it's somebody else," Maggie said, "Your brother's his lieutenant or something."

"Does he know I'm still with you?"

"He does now," Glenn said, "Rick, I'm sorry, we told him where the prison was. We couldn't hold out."

"Don't," Rick said quickly, "No need to apologize."

"They're gonna be lookin' for us."

"We have to get back. Can you walk? We got a car a few miles out."

Rick and Maggie helped Glenn to his feet.

"Hey, if Merle's around, I need to see him."

"Daryl, we have to get out of here," Vex said in disbelief.

"He's my brother. I ain't--"

"Look at what he did," Rick intervened, "Look, we gotta-- we gotta get out of here now."

"Maybe I can talk to him, maybe I can work somethin' out--!"

"He was ready to kill them," Vex said.

"You don't-- you don't know--"

"You're not thinkin' straight," Rick said, "Look, 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, and this governor catches up to us? I need you. Are you with me?"

". . . Yeah."

Vex and Daryl worked quickly, gathering smoke grenades.

"On three, stay tight," Rick said, "One, two, three."

The duo set off the smoke grenades, quickly starting out of the building as shots rang off.

Daryl could see it now. He couldn't before, not really, but now, Vex shooting at something that shot back, he could see exactly who she was.

The group fell into a small alley, re-grouping before setting off more smoke bombs.

She lagged to the back with Daryl, covering the group as they sprinted to the wall, most of them making it over.

"Go, go!" Daryl called to the woman.

"Come on," She urged, grabbing his arm, "We'll cover each other, but we have to go now!"

Daryl shot again, looking to Vex.

"I'm right behind you."

She hesitated, staring at the man.

"You swear you're staying with me?"

Daryl blinked, his throat bobbing.

"Swear."

Vex nodded, taking the man at his word. She had no other choice, not with gunfire hailing down, and the group calling for her from atop the wall.

She fired off more bullets, dropping a handful of men, checking to ensure Daryl was still right there, before taking off toward the wall.

Rick reached a hand out, pulling the woman up.

She faltered, looking back to find no sign of Daryl.

"Rick--"

"He'll be here," He urged, "But we're exposed here, come on."

Vex's heart raced, but she allowed Rick to lead her down from the wall and back behind one of the scrap cars for cover.

The woman reloaded her gun, watching the wall for any movement.

She heard the woman join them, and she and Rick talking, but Vex's eyes never left the wall.

They never stopped watching for Daryl.

"I have to go back," Vex said suddenly, turning to Rick, "He should've been out right now, he was right behind me--"

"Vex--"

"No, fuck this," Vex said, standing, "Fuck this."

Rick let out a frustrated sigh, signaling to the rest of the group as Vex took off.

In all honesty, he had no intention of leaving without Daryl-- he only wished for them to have a plan before re-entry.

But Vex Williams wasn't taking any chances.

"Hey," Rick whispered, grabbing her shoulder as they crossed the threshold back into the town, "It's me, you, and Maggie, you follow my lead."

Vex looked between the woman and Rick, nodding once.

They heard shouting before they saw anything, quickly following the sounds until they found them.

An area is what he looked like, a crowd cheering, walkers held back, Daryl Dixon right in the center, with who Vex could only assume was his brother.

Rick nodded to the women, quickly grabbing a smoke grenade as they propped up rifles.

Vex Williams was going to get Daryl Dixon back if she had to slaughter the whole damn town.

WORD COUNT : 2873