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The Darkest Storm

The Widower

Part 39 – “The Widower”

The rain trickles down the sides of her face. The dampness of her raincoat is becoming too heavy for the fabric, and soon it serves no purpose. She is completely soaked as she looks onwards towards the dirt road.

It’s early morning now. The fog is slowly lifting from the fields and the sun is beginning to bless this forsaken world with its presence to start a new day. She lets out a long breath, watching the air from her lungs float and bend every which way into the cool air of dawn.

They haven’t returned yet; Daryl and the others. Every sound now seems like a car engine, and the anxiety of sitting and waiting for their arrival is eating her up inside. She turns, heading back into the prison for more hot water to sip on and maybe some breakfast from Carol if she was up.

The door slides close with repetitive clicking and Darcy removes her hood to reveal her porcelain features up until her eyes that visibly show heavy bags from exhaustion and staying up all night. She picks up a towel off one of the cafeteria tables and rests her face in it for a moment to soak up the wetness and coldness of the rain.

“Need me on watch?”

The voice lifts her head up and she stares at Carl from inside the cellblock. She shakes her head. “No, it’s quiet for now. Why are you up so early?”

“Judith started crying.” He tells her as he lets her inside. “Woke everyone up.” Darcy walks towards the cell where she sees Carol standing and looking inside.

Carl catches up with her once the gate is locked again, “Beth is feeding her now.”

When she turns the corner, her sight confirms what Carl has told her. Beth sits on her bed holding and feeding a now quiet Judith, while Axel watches and smiles at the scene before him.

“You are good with her.” He tells her. “You got any little sisters?”

Beth shakes her head, “No.” She simply tells him.

“How old are you anyway?” He asks.

A sudden nudge from Carol makes Darcy turn her head. Carol nods at Axel and gives her a look of concern. Darcy steps aside to let Carol in the cell.

“Seventeen.” Beth says.

“Seventeen.” He repeats. The wheels spin in his head. “Interesting.”

“May we speak with you?” Carol interjects. Darcy crosses her arms and leans up against the doorframe.

Axel looks around the room and then back to Carol, “Me?”

Carol nods in confirmation. He gets up and follows Carol while Darcy is close behind them. They stand near the staircase away from the others, but when Darcy looks back, she sees Carl’s hat peeking out of the cell.

“What’s the problem?” Axel smiles.

“Stay away from her.” Carol says simply.

“Please.” Axel raises his hands in casual defense.

“This isn’t about you trying to repopulate the earth.” Darcy says in a low voice, shaking her head a bit at the oblivious man before her.

He looks between the two, “I didn’t mean no offense. I’ve been locked up a long while, and, well, there weren’t many women. You follow me?”

Carol gives him an unsympathetic look and Darcy raises her brow. “I mean, Maggie, she’s with Glenn,” Axel points to Darcy, “You’re with that Daryl fellow,”

Her face can’t help but turn a light shade of red. Was it that obvious?

Axel turns back to Carol, “You’re a lesbian, and I was just talking with her.”

Darcy tries to bite her lip from laughter. Carol also cracks a bemused smile, “I’m not a lesbian.”

“You got the…short hair.” The look on Carol’s face says it all. “You’re not a lesbian?” Carol raises her eyebrow and Darcy puts up a hand to keep from laughing. She decides to walk away before she bursts out in hysterics.

Being on watch for the whole night puts certain exhaustion on someone’s shoulders. Darcy is fighting her heavy eyelids from closing. She walks towards the outer corridor again and Carl throws her the keys in passing. She needs to find something to keep her occupied until the others get back.

Darcy isn’t entirely sure what the group was dealing with, hell, no one did – but she wasn’t sure if she even wanted to. She just prays they keep safe and get Maggie and Glenn back to them.

Darcy sits herself down in front of the stash of weapons growing smaller and smaller, and starts to organize the clips and load the bullets in each accordingly. She does this for a few minutes before the door is opened behind her, and she looks back to see a small smile from Beth as she sits down next to her.

“Dad’s got Judith.” She tells Darcy.

Darcy thumbs the bullets into the clip and tilts her head, “Good. You deserve a break.”

“Can I help?” Beth asks. Darcy nods her head and hands her the box of almost empty bullets. “Why are you doing this now?”

“Can’t ever be too sure nowadays when you’re gonna need them.” Darcy shrugs.

“They’re going to be alright, right?” Beth whispers.

Darcy stops what she’s doing and looks up in thought, “I want to believe so, yes.”

“Why would someone kidnap them? It’s not like we’re fighting different things these days.” Her voice starts to grow angry and impatient.

“People are people.” Darcy tells her. “They do what they can to survive, and if that means taking Glenn and Maggie for whatever reason – I honestly can’t say why – then they’ll do it.”

Darcy taps her foot up and down, remembering that’s exactly how her Uncle was before she decided to leave. “It’s the fear in people that make them that way; it controls them, consumes them.” Darcy sighs and looks down at the gun in her hands.

“How?” Beth prods, trying to understand.

“The ways we find to numb our aches, our pains, to get rid of feeling helpless and lost are what leads to fear taking control of us. They entangle themselves in our souls like a cancer and, once attached, become addictions that are both cruel and relentless.”Darcy’s voice is low and somewhat numb.

“My aunt told me that people seek them out for a little relief from the sorrows of life, and then addictions turn on us and imprison us in chains that separate us from the heart of others and who we once were.”

It is a lonely prison of our own making, each chain forged in the fire of our indulgent choice. The words of her aunt rang throughout her mind.

“It shouldn’t be that way.” Beth shakes her head. Darcy looks at her and wonders how it must be to be so young and naïve in this kind of world.

“No, it shouldn’t.” Darcy agrees.

“Finally got Judith to sleep.” Hershel’s calming voice breaks through the tense climate of the cafeteria. He makes his way over to the two with a small triumphant smile on his face.

Carl walks behind him and proceeds to sit himself down next to Darcy. “How are we with formula?”

“We have enough to last us another month.” Hershel says.

“We can go for some more at the end of the week.” Darcy nods to Carl.

“I’ll go with you.” He says.

“Your dad and the others will be back by then.” Beth tells him.

“We don’t know that.” He says solemnly. “Right now, Judith is the only family I got.”

Darcy drops a few bullets that clank on the metal table at the sound of distant screams in the tombs. She wonders if it’s just her mind playing a trick on her, but the others soon sit up in alert, which confirms she wasn’t going crazy.

“What was that?” Beth asks.

“That was from inside.” Hershel tells them.

“Was that Carol?” Carl asks. Darcy stands up and grabs her bow off the table.

Hershel shakes his head; “She’s out keeping watch in the guard tower with Axel.”

“What if they came back in for something? What if they’re in trouble?” Beth asks.

“I’ll check it out.” Darcy says, tossing her quiver filled with arrows over her shoulder. “Someone check the guard tower and see if they’re there.”

Beth starts to panic, “How could anyone else get in?”

“The tombs are filled with walkers.” Darcy says looking back at them. “They wander in from outside all the time – someone could have easily done the same. I’ll be right back.”

“I’m going with you.” Carl jumps up with his gun in his holster. Darcy stops and turns around at the sight of Hershel putting out a crutch to stop him.

“I can’t let you do that.” He tells him. “Darcy can handle it just fine by herself.”

“He’ll be with me, Hershel.” Darcy nods to him. “I’ll keep close to him.”

Hershel looks to Darcy with a stern look but allows it. She nods, letting him know it’ll be okay. Carl catches up to her side and they soon disappear back into the dark tunnels of the prison to find the source of the possibly threatening screams.

“Behind you!” Carl shouts in a whisper, still trying to stay quiet and divert any walker’s attention nearby away from them.

Darcy has time to bring up her knife and stab the beast in its forehead. They watch it crumble and Darcy leans over to pull her weapon out and wipe the crimson liquid from the blade.

When she stands, Carl is staring at a door just by the corner. The boiler room. She watches him carefully as he clears his throat. “What is it?” She asks.

Carl shakes his head, “Doesn’t matter anymore.”

Darcy opens her mouth to press for more, but the screams that lead them here are coming just from down and around the corner they stood by. They both run, Carl with his gun out and Darcy with her bow at the ready, not expecting to find what they were about to.

In the generator room, it is filled with walkers. Not only are there walkers, but there is a small group of five fighting for their lives against them. A young black girl is suddenly caught between two, and Carl takes a shot that makes her fumble and look back at the two before Darcy shoots her arrow at another oncoming walker her way.

“Come on!” Carl yells. “Hurry!”

The small group turns in shock, not expecting others to be occupying the prison at all. They quickly follow, picking up a weak body of a woman before heading out the door. The man holding her soon trips, bringing the attempt to escape to a startling halt.

“You have leave her!” Carl tells them from the front of the pack. Darcy stays behind and runs backwards, firing arrows at five oncoming beasts that reek of decaying flesh.

They manage to get past the main gate that leads them back to their cellblock. The group piles in, and not a second after they drop an unmoving body to the cold floor.

-

“Thought you could use some food.” Carol smiles as she hands Darcy the bowl of hot cooked noodles.

She takes it gladly. “Thanks.”

Darcy stands in her usual lookout position in the main watchtower on the east side of the prison. She decided she needed to get out of there with the now four new visitors as they got settled for the time being. They didn’t take the news of being locked inside the cafeteria very well, but for now, that’s where they would stay until Rick and the others got back and decided what to do with them.

“Hershel’s fixing up Allen’s leg.” Carol crosses her arms and looks out to the fields with a squint.

Darcy spoons a few noodles into her mouth and nods, “Get them stitched up and on their way.”

Carol turns back to her, “You think so?”

“Did it with the prisoners.” Darcy shrugs. “Sick of trying to trust people these days, only gets you killed.”

Carol nods slowly, “Maybe you’re right.” She looks off at Carl starting to walk towards the fences. “I’ll go stay with him by the front gate. Hopefully they’ll be back soon.”

Carol makes her way down the stairs and over towards Carl in a few minutes. Darcy rests her back up against the wall as she brings her focus back to the forest line.

“Where’d they say we could bury her?”

The voice makes Darcy to turn her head and she stands up from her leaning position up in the watchtower. She sees the four newcomers carrying the body of the wife and mother of the two. She decides to turn her focus back to the gate line and give them their privacy. The sun makes her squint her eyes as she scoops up the last bit of noodles in her bowl.

“Back of the field near the other graves.” Sasha retorts, following closely behind her brother and the widower.

“Wait a minute. Wait a minute.” Tyresse struggles to keep up with the pace of holding Donna. “Losing my grip here. Come on, put her down.”

Darcy hears footsteps from just below her, and since they haven’t hollered up at her or give the slightest inclination that they are aware of her presence, she can’t help but eavesdrop.

“Golden opportunity.” Allen states.

“For what?” Sasha crosses her arms.

“Little kid and a woman.”

Darcy stops all movements that include breathing and begins to listen closely to make sure she isn’t hearing things incorrectly. Her eyes dart to Carol and Carl who scout the first entry gate. They wait how she was, for Rick’s and the other’s return back to camp.

“As them for a hand, get a hold of those weapons.” Ben, Allen’s son, adds in.

“What?” Tyresse takes a few steps towards the two; his voice says it all; he does not agree.

“We do it quick, they’ll never know what hit them.” Allen nods.

“No. What, whoa.” Tyresse steps in front of him.

“We’re out here to bury Donna.” Sasha reminds him in the same voice like Tyresse. She is disgusted and completely taken aback by his sudden aggressive nature.

“We will,” Allen nods. “After.”

“Shut up.” Sasha tells him.

Darcy’s eyes are narrowed as she continues to listen in on their conversation. She’s heard all she needs to and if this man Allen and his son Ben wanted the chance, she’d give it to them. She refuses to be weak, to come across weak to outsiders or anyone for that matter. Their group has taken too much shit from people for too long and she was going to stop this before it even started.

Darcy climbs down the steps of the tower, still carrying her bow on her back and her pistols at her sides. She slams the bottom door open and makes her way to face Allen himself.

The small group hasn’t noticed her yet, and they continue to argue between themselves. Their backs are turned to Darcy as if they are afraid Carol and Carl will overhear from yards away their mischievous plan.

“Look at this place. Secure.” Ben states.

“These are good people.” Tyresse says.

“This will be easy. A little kid, two women, a girl, and a one-legged old man –“

“Don’t forget about the convict.” Ben scoffs.

Darcy then makes her presence known. She snatches Allen’s shirt collar with both hands and throws him to the ground. He falls on his back and slams his head. Darcy pulls out both of her pistols, aiming one at Allen and the other at the other three who step forward in protest. She steps her right leg down on his chest so he can’t move and there is suddenly a very clear understanding that her group would not easily be taken over.

“Whoa, whoa wait. He didn’t mean – “ Tyresse tries to explain, but Darcy whips her head towards him with a certain glint in her eye that told him to stop talking.

Darcy eyes them all carefully and they raise their hands in defense. They do not try and make another move, but keep their eyes locked on Allen who is blinking repeatedly and squinting at the pain throbbing from hitting his head against the concrete.

Darcy leans into him; her foot still hard on his chest and her jaw is now clenched. “Let me make something perfectly clear to you; any chance you two had staying here, is now gone.”

She points specifically to him and Ben. “If you so much as make one move or if I hear you even thinking about it again, I will kill you.”

Allen gives her an acknowledging nod; he cannot look her in the eye. Darcy steps back and put her guns back in her holster. “Bury your wife.”

Her voice is quieted as she walks back towards the prison. “I’m sure she’d be proud to know she was casted aside for you to take out some kids and a newborn to ensure your own safety.”

Darcy slides the door shut behind her and rests her back against it. She grits her teeth and slams her right fist into the door, releasing an echo that only confirms what had happened.

Picking herself up, Darcy makes her way into cellblock C and towards Hershel who is reading the Bible in his cell at his desk. She leans against the doorframe and he does not acknowledge her presence until he is done with the passage.

“Everything alright?” He finally asks as he closes the book and turns to face her.

His voice is always comforting to her. “Ben and Allen.” Is all she says.

“Are they unstable?” He asks and rests his hand on his left knee.

“I overheard them talking. They were trying to convince Sasha and Tyresse to take the prison. Run us out or kill us, I don’t know.” Darcy sits on the bed behind Hershel.

“What happened?” He takes notice of her trembling hands.

Darcy sits in the quietness of the damp cell. Her thoughts are everywhere. What the allocation of Allen’s motives where went far deeper than what they appeared on the surface.

“We’re not weak.” She says.

“No we are not.” Hershel agrees.

“We’ve made it this far. We may appear to be, but I know we’re stronger than we seem. Even when Rick and them leave, we’re not weak.” She lets out a slight chuckle. “Even though it helps when they are here.”

Hershel smiles and nods. “And Tyresse and Sasha?”

“They’re good people.” She nods without hesitation and rubs her hands slowly together. “I have no doubt. I think that – I think they’d fit in well here.”

“We’ll have to go over everything with Rick when he gets back.”

Darcy meets Hershel’s gaze, “Do you think he’ll let them stay?”

Hershel looks towards the entry of the cell and shrugs, “Who know for sure. Ben and Allen will definitely not be welcome here. I can’t say about Tyresse and Sasha. Unfortunately, it’s not our decision to make.”

Darcy nods heavily in understanding. “He’s made that perfectly clear on more than one occasion.”

“Do you doubt Rick?” Hershel squints his eyes a bit at her.

Darcy immediately shakes her head no. “Not at all. “ Hershel gives her a solid nod and she stands to leave. “I’ll be on watch until they get back. Hopefully that’s very soon.”

“Darcy, watch them closely.” Hershel tells her before she leaves. “And be careful.”

-

“It won’t work.” Rick tells him sternly.

“It’s gotta.” Daryl retorts.

“It’ll stir things up.” Rick puts his hands on his hips and shuffles his weight between his feet, occasionally glancing through the tree line at Merle, who manages to prop himself up against a tree after taking a forceful hit from Rick that knocked him out in the first place.

“Look, the Governor is probably on the way to the prison righ’ now. Merle knows how he thinks and we could use the muscle.” Daryl holds his crossbow up on his shoulder.

“I’m not having him at the prison.” Maggie tells him. Her hair is more tangled than usual and blood covers her arms and shirt.

Glenn interjects immediately, “You really want him sleeping in the same cell block as Darcy or Carl?”

“He ain’t a rapist.” Daryl shook his head; insulted that Glenn would insinuate such an idea.

“Well, his buddy is.” Glenn spat.

“They ain’t buddies no more, not after last night.” Daryl pointed.

He was right, the ambush and warlike situation the small group found themselves in was completely unexpected. What was once again supposed to be a quick rescue mission turned into an all out war. The Governor would come back for revenge soon enough.

“There’s no way Merle’s gonna live there without putting everyone at each other’s throats.” Rick looks to the ground, imagining what kind of horror and chaos this one man would bring to the prison.

“So you’re gonna cut Merle loose and bring the last samurai home with us?” Daryl becomes frustrated as he points towards Michonne, leaned up against the car waiting for decisions to be made.

“She’s not coming back.” Rick tells him.

“She’s not in a state to be on her own.” Maggie frowns.

“She did bring you guys to us.” Glenn says sympathetically.

“And then ditched us.” Rick reminds him.

“At least let my dad stitch her up.” Maggie asks.

“She’s too unpredictable.” Rick shakes his head.

Daryl nods, “That’s right. We don’ know who she is. But Merle, Merle’s blood.”

“No.” Glenn says. “Merle is your blood. My blood, my family is standing right here, and waiting for us back at the prison. That goes for you too.”

“And you’re part of that family.” Rick nods. “But he’s not. He’s not.”

“Man, ya’ll don’ know.” Daryl steps back and takes in the faces of his group. They all stand waiting for an answer so they can pack up and make their way back home. Daryl sees their set-in-stone decision. Merle was not coming with them.

“Fine.” He shakes his head. “We’ll fend for ourselves.”

Glenn holds out a hand to Daryl, “That’s not what I was saying.”

“No him, no me.” Daryl stands tall, confident in his decision.

“Daryl, you don’t have to do that.” Maggie begs.

“It was always Merle ‘n I before this.” Daryl tries to convince himself more than anyone from these words that they’d be okay.

“You’re serious? You’re just gonna leave like that?” Glenn asks.

“You’d do the same thing.” Daryl spat.

“And what do you want us to tell Darcy?” Glenn asks, rubbing his sore lip.

Daryl looks down for a second, not believing a word that was about to come out of his mouth. “She’ll understand.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it.” Glenn points at him.

“He’s right, if anything she’s gonna try and come find you.” Maggie nods.

Rick confesses something, “I told her I would bring you back.”

“Then that’s on you.” Daryl shrugs. With one last look to the three, he starts towards the car to collect his few belongings. “Say good-bye to your pop for me.”

Rick quickens his pace, rummaging his mind for anything that would convince him otherwise. “Hey, there’s gotta be another way.”

Daryl shakes his head, “Don’ ask me to leave ‘im. Already did that once.”

“We started something last night.” Rick said in a deep voice. “You realize that, huh?”

Daryl opens the back trunk of the Honda. “No him, no me. That’s all I can say.”

“And what do you want me to tell her?” Rick snaps. “You really think she’s just gonna casually brush this off? She’s gonna come looking for you. She-“

“Darcy knows everythin’ ‘bout me ‘n Merle. What we’ve been through together.” Daryl shrugs and packs his bag.

With one final glance before he places the bag over his shoulder he tells Rick sternly, “You don’ let her come after me. You hear me? Don’ let her. I ain’ no good for her anyways. ‘Bout time she finally sees it.”

“You don’t really believe that do you?” Rick tilts his head and narrows his eyes.

Daryl doesn’t say anything else. He looks to Rick and gives an unconvincing nod. It wasn’t true. What he and Darcy figured out worked, and it ached him to his very core that he was leaving her behind. But he manages to walk away into the woods with his brother anyways, throwing a defeated glance back at his friends before disappearing altogether.

-

It’s close to sundown again, this makes it the second day they’ve been gone. The second day he’s been gone. The horrible feeling inside her gut still has not faded, the one that she first felt when they had left in the beginning.

There is no settling her nerves. She sits up in a lawn chair with her feet up against the railing, scouting the forest line once again. Her rifle is leaning against the wall beside her, at the ready if anything should come this way.

She continues to watch Carol and Carl carefully as they pace inside the small cage by the first gate. The other group who had mysteriously fought their way into their prison had finished burying Donna, and the widower and his son where quiet just as she warned them to be.

The rustling of rocks and dirt catch her ears and she sits up straight. She peers into the pathway in the front of the prison, her heartbeat pounding so loudly in her ears she fears she may go deaf. The green Honda’s lights shine through the thin trees, and Darcy immediately jumps up to run down the steps to meet them.

When she reaches the outside again, she notices that Rick had gotten out of the car already and embraces Carl down by the road. She puts up a hand to block out the sun’s rays from her eyes and she bites her lip with a smile, completely enthusiastic about their return. Her body sinks back in relief when she follows the car through the gate. She still has on a small smile; to say she was worried about them this whole time was an understatement.

Maggie steps out and is immediately engulfed in her arms, grateful for her friend’s safe return. But, Maggie is a bit resistant. She pulls herself back and wears a saddened expression not for herself, but for Darcy.

Darcy’s unsure and confused expression causes Maggie to shake her head and nod towards the car. Her breath is instantly caught in her throat. No, she couldn’t mean what she was thinking.

Rick stops and sees Darcy take a step back from Maggie and quicken her pace towards the car. She wrenches the doors open to find no one left inside. Rick sighs and swallows hard when he notices the overwhelming expression cover her face for the one person who is missing; the one person he’d promise he would bring back.

Notes

Thoughts?!?!?!!?!?!?! <- excitement

Comments

Please update this is such an amazing story and I'm dying to know what happens next!!!

Ash8 Ash8
1/22/19

@LoriG
Part 66 is up ;)

@aphishinthec
Argh you got my hopes up- I saw an update, but it was you replying to my last messaege! Please can you update @bikingthroughflowers ? Thank you!

LoriG LoriG
6/25/18

@LoriG Right?!?! Need to know how she would handle Negan.

I'm also desperate to know how Darcy would fare in the storyline now. Pleeeeeease don't give up on this fic, I'm reading it AGAIN! <3<3<3

aphishinthec aphishinthec
4/6/18

I’d love to know how Darcy would deal with Negan... you need to update surely?! Still love this story, and just read it again!

LoriG LoriG
7/31/17