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Solace

Chapter 44

Lindsey skimmed her eyes over the front of the store, but, because of the sun, was unable to see any movement inside. She considered it a good thing – that way the men holding her weren’t able to get a visual on Rick and the others. The man with the spider tattoo held her wrists with crushing strength and she wriggled against his grip. Roughly, he jerked her into place.

“Oohoo, feisty,” he murmured next to her ear.

Lindsey’s chest swelled with anger and fear as she dragged in a nervous breath.

“Nothing?” the man directed toward the store. “Come on, don’t be shy!”

“They’re not gonna come out,” Lindsey said, knowing that it was probably killing Rick to stay in place. “You have me – you don’t need them.”

Spider chuckled. “As tempting as that is, sweetheart, it don’t work that way.” He sighed. “I’m losing my patience! You don’t wanna see what happens when it runs out!”

Goosebumps broke out across her skin at his looming threat. She had faith that Rick would come up with a plan, but she was also willing to give herself up if it meant freedom for her other group members. Putting Carl in harm’s way was not an option, if she could help it.

“You’re not gonna lay a finger on me,” Lindsey snarled, trying to buy some time.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a black blur and quickly realized that it was the butt of a rifle. She flinched, preparing herself for the blow, but Spider called out.

“HEY! Not the face you dipshit! You know he doesn’t like that,” he said to the Hispanic man next to Lindsey.

“Oh, sorry. Must have slipped my mind,” the Hispanic said, and before she could prepare for it, drove it into her gut instead. She folded, sputtering and gasping from the searing pain in her abdomen. Spider grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her upright. He withdrew his pistol and placed it under her chin. Now, she was beginning to panic.

*~*~*

Rick felt helpless as he watched the scene escalate before him. When one of the men struck Lindsey in the stomach, Daryl had to hold him back from surrendering on the spot. He grasped for a coherent plan, but seeing Lindsey in pain was too much of a distraction.

Dad, do something!” Carl begged when Spider held Lindsey at gunpoint.

I’m thinkin’!” he snapped, directing his gaze outside again.

Michonne shifted next to him, her hand poised over the handle of her katana. “I think we could take ‘em.”

Rick shook his head vehemently. “We’d never get close enough – they’d kill her before we even got a chance.”

Spider pressed his nose into Lindsey’s hair, and Rick felt his blood boil. She scrunched up her face at the close contact and he just barely heard her say, “I’m not tellin’ you a fuckin’ thing.”

“Okay! Patience is gone,” Spider announced with exasperation. He grabbed one of Lindsey’s hands and held it out. Rick’s heart hammered in his chest at the possibility of what was about to happen.

Spider flipped open his switchblade and threatened, “For every minute that you make me wait, I will cut off one of her fingers! If I run out of fingers, well, let’s just say that it’s not going to be pretty,” he sneered.

Lindsey was putting up a brave front, but Rick knew her well enough to see that she was actually terrified. That underlying fear was like a stab in the heart for him. He’d asked her to come along – it was his fault that she was in this dangerous position.

“I’m going out,” he declared, determination written all over his face.

Everyone spoke at once, but Daryl’s voice rose above the others. “I’ll go. Ya got Carl here, and I’m not sendin’ out another woman ta those lunatics,” he said in reference to Michonne.

“What are you gonna do, then?” she asked him pointedly.

“That’s a good question,” Daryl exhaled as he stood. He shouldered his crossbow and approached the glass doors.

*~*~*

For a moment, Lindsey’s fear was overshadowed by confusion as she watched Daryl – and not Rick – exit the store. With his intimidating saunter, he stepped out into the sunlight and squinted under the harsh glare. He began to cross the parking lot, but Spider held up a hand, halting the hunter in place.

“Crossbow down. Please, no funny business. Miguel here has no problem putting a bullet into Blondie’s head. It’d be a waste of a nice piece of ass, but--” He shrugged. “What are you gonna do?”

Daryl started to lay down his crossbow, and Lindsey held her breath as she waited for her group’s plan to unfold. When Daryl made no such move, she scowled. There was no way he was sacrificing himself for her – was he?

All thoughts of a plan went straight out the window as two fuel trucks rolled into the parking lot. Four more men joined the others, and Lindsey could see it in Daryl’s eyes – they were screwed.

“It’s just the two of us,” he said suddenly. “All this ain’t necessary.”

Spider clicked his tongue in displeasure. “You’re seriously gonna lie to me?” Daryl’s expression didn’t change and Lindsey snuck a glance at her captor. “Earlier…uh, what’s your name, sweetheart?”

She cleared the lump from her throat. “Lindsey.”

“Mm, Lindsey. Well, Lindsey here said ‘they’re not gonna come out,’ so that tells me that there are more of you in that store. By looking at the vehicle you came in, it’s clear that you’re outnumbered. So, why don’t you spare the unnecessary bloodshed and give yourselves up?” Spider suggested with a shrug.

Lindsey locked eyes with Daryl, wordlessly pleading with him to do something. He held his arms out and glared at Spider.

“What do ya want me to do? Can’t we just give ya our weapons and supplies, an’ leave us be?” Daryl asked calmly. Lindsey was always in awe of the man’s poise under pressure.

Spider let out a short laugh and looked around. “Hear that boys? I guess we’re not that well known in this part of town.” He directed his dark stare at Daryl once again. “There’s a lot about us that you don’t know. We’re not really interested in stuff. Fuel, well, that’s a given…and people,” he said, causing Lindsey to jerk as he stroked her neck with the tip of his gun.

“Yer not cannibals, are ya?” Daryl asked, almost as if it were a joke.

“Cannib--” Spider stuttered. “Holy shit! What kinda groups have you guys been runnin’ into? I mean, really? We’re eatin’ each other now? I thought we had enough of that already.”

“Desperate times call for desperate measure, I guess,” Daryl answered.

“Yeah, well, we’re not that desperate!” Spider said. He observed the front of the store for a moment. “Are they comin’ out or not?”

Daryl looked over his shoulder, and Lindsey couldn’t help but wonder the same thing. What on earth was Rick doing? She didn’t like it more than anyone else, but this was it. Game over.

Spider released an annoyed sigh and stepped in front of Lindsey. “Open up, sweetheart.”

Lindsey swallowed hard and stared at him with wide eyes. “W-what?”

He tapped his chin with his pistol. “Open,” he indicated.

Her tortured gaze fell upon Daryl as she parted her lips, and Spider placed the barrel of his gun into her mouth. Silent tears dropped onto her cheeks, giving away the hopelessness that she was feeling inside. Daryl kept his steely, blue eyes on her. He wasn’t the type of man to look away when the shit got real. Right when she thought that Spider was going to pull the trigger and end it all, the glass doors of the store opened.

*~*~*

Rick saw what the man was doing in a rash attempt to get them outside – and it worked. He automatically thought back to his conversation with Lindsey about the day they met. He’d promised himself that she would never get into that position again, whether it was by her own hand or someone else's.

He turned to his son with a look of defeat, but before he could speak, Carl took the words right out of his mouth. “We have to go out there!”

“Just stay behind me. Don’t leave my side!” Rick said, and the boy nodded in understanding.

“I don’t like this,” Michonne muttered from next to the door.

“And you think I do?” Rick spat as he passed the dark-haired woman. “What other choice do we have?”

He pushed open the door, making sure Carl was shielded by his body. Michonne exited the opposite door, flanking Rick’s left side. Spider withdrew the gun from Lindsey’s mouth and threw his arms up.

“It’s about damn time!”

Rick settled his gaze on Lindsey and attempted to give her his best look of comfort, something to ease her mind, but he knew she could see right through him. They were in deep trouble and nothing could hide that.

As they came to stand next to Daryl, Spider made a forward motion with his fingers. “Weapons down.”

With bitter hate glistening in her dark eyes, Michonne laid her katana on the pavement. Rick followed with his Colt, barely restraining himself from blowing the bastard’s head off for laying his hands on Lindsey. He was positive he could get the shot off, but for what? They’d all be dead before the man hit the ground. Carl removed his handgun from his leg holster and placed it next to the Colt.

“Almost didn't see you there, kiddo!” Spider said, taking a step toward Carl. Rick moved to block his son, and Spider smirked. “That your boy?” Rick didn’t answer – he simply gave the man an icy glare. “Well, that will make things interesting.” The man with the mohawk signaled to his men. “All right boys, let’s bag ‘em!”

Rick’s group exchanged panicked glances as the men with guns came forward. There were two each for Rick, Daryl and Michonne, and one for Carl; Spider remained by Lindsey. Daryl tried to shake the men off, but was rewarded with a punch to the cheek. Rick sought to keep Carl within his sight as he was led to one of the vehicles.

Spider pointed at Rick and Daryl. “I want him and him in our truck. I want the boy, Warrior Princess, and Blondie here in the Dodge. Let’s go for a ride, sweetheart,” he said to Lindsey, dragging her over to the truck.

Rick struggled in an effort to get to his son. “NO!” he shouted. They absolutely could not get separated. Lindsey was bad enough, but Carl, too? He was losing his mind.

“It’s okay, Dad! I’ll take care of her!” Carl yelled back as he was steered toward the Dodge.

Rick was rendered speechless. He’d been worried about his son’s well-being, and the boy was more concerned about taking care of Lindsey. Carl was more of a man than Rick gave him credit for. He could only hope that he’d get another opportunity to tell him so.

As Miguel retrieved two hoods from the truck, Rick gave Lindsey one last aching look. Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears, and then disappeared under the cloth bag that Spider pulled over her head. A moment later, Rick’s world went black.

He tried to keep track of bumps in the road and certain sounds under the tires that could indicate where they were going. It was easy to assume Daryl was doing the same thing. They made multiple turns and Rick took note of them. He continued to count for what felt like an eternity.

Suddenly, the truck came to a stop. Bright light assaulted his eyes as the hood was ripped from his head. When Rick stared out the window, he realized all his efforts were wasted. Tall smokestacks loomed over the large factory before them.

He knew exactly where they were.

Notes

A/N: Thank you for your comments and for subscribing! I'd love to hear what you all are thinking right now. Any predictions? :)

Comments

@Corall
Aw thank you so much!! :D

bluecrush611 bluecrush611
5/18/16

I just finished reading this story :) and its the most amazing story ever :D

Corall Corall
5/17/16

@Kandy
No worries. I actually used Paint, haha. I just figured out what size the banner needed to be (by trial and error) and then cut the image down until it fit.

bluecrush611 bluecrush611
4/13/16

@bluecrush611

Also, Another Annoying Question. Where did you make that Banner of Lauren And Andrew? I need to get a good Banner place thingy and i need advice xD

Mother Dick Mother Dick
4/12/16

@Walker Witch
Thank you so much for the kind words and for following along!

@eventualprocrastination
Thanks for all of your comments! I actually just published a book, so that's the direction I'm taking for now, but who knows. Maybe I'll post something here and there. :)

bluecrush611 bluecrush611
4/10/16