ten.

"Why do you care all of a sudden," I scoffed as I shook out my shirt in hopes to dry it a little quicker. Daryl didn't hesitate to become irritated with me.

"He's my god damn brother," he growled. "I can ask about 'im when I damn well please." I stared at him blankly before speaking, sighing.

"Everyone thought he was a dick," I blurted out. "He was, but he kinda changed his tone when he talked to me. He always acted like he knew some shit was going on and he never wanted me to find out. Dunno why, but I could probably guess," I trailed off, letting out a breath I didn't even know I was holding in. "Your brother's not that much of an asshole like you think he is."

"Easy for you to say," Daryl sneered as he sauntered over to the door, placing his hand on the handle while his two laser beams furiously dug into my skin. My eyes flickered up to his face. He quickly tore his gaze away, pushing through the doors.

A scream suddenly erupted from down the hall, making me jump. Daryl held his hand out near my chest, pushing me back against the wall. He quickly peeked his head around the corner, scanning the open space of the lunchroom. He turned his head back to me.

"There's a long display case around the corner; sit behind there and box yourself in," he whispered.

"What about you?"

"I have a weapon, you don't. Now go," he demanded me, putting his hands on my shoulders and lightly pushing me around the corner. I ran out into the hallway, crawling behind the wooden display case. I carefully pulled some empty cardboard boxes to the other side of me, stacking them at the entrance so I was hidden. I noticed a knife on the far side of the case, lying in a pool of blood on the ground. I leaned over and picked it up, wiping the excess blood on my pants. I gripped the handle tightly as I sat in dead silence, hiding. I tucked in my legs close to my chest as I pressed my back up against the hardwood kiosk. Harsh footsteps made their way down the hallway, my heart pounding harder every time a shoe smashed the ground. My mind catapulted back to the shooting in my dream; I was going to be shot down, the shooter's heavy boots coming after me. I squeezed my eyes shut as my breathing became erratic.

A painful cry echoed from down the hallway, the sound of a gunshot soon following to rip through the air. My eyes flew open wide, causing me to almost choke on my own startled breath. A dark shadow was looming over me, his presence daunting. A man who I vaguely recognized grinned down at me evilly.

"I could smell you from back there," he said, reaching down to grab me. I swung my knife at him as I scooted back from his hand, slicing his skin. He pulled it back, hissing. "Fuck! You're really gonna get it now," he snarled, kicking through the cardboard boxes and storming me. I swung my knife at his legs, not knowing what else to do in this moment of pure terror and adrenaline. He dodged the blade and grabbed a fist-full of my hair. I cut his arm that hovered over me, blood running down the skin towards my face.

"You fucking bitch!" His other hand grabbed another fist-full of my hair and yanked me forward, sending my knife flying from my grasp as my body propelled forward. I could feel the intense pain of some of my hair tearing from my scalp. The spots burned with intense fury. I cried out in pain at the sensation. He pulled me up to my feet. He grabbed his gun from his pocket, waving it in my face as he chuckled. He pressed it to my head, the coldness of the metal sending a chill down my spine. He pressed himself up against my back. I breathed heavily, my chest shaking with fear and anger. "We're gonna take a little walk, alright?"

"I'm not going anywhere," I mumbled in rebellion. He shushed me, digging the gun harder into my skull while he stroked my cheek with his dirty, bloody hand. He left streaks of red on my skin.

"Quiet, girl, or I'll blow your brains out," he whispered in my ear. The man turned around and began to drag me backwards, all the way outside. I stayed silent, obeying him. The man released me, soon bending me over the bed of a truck. My head slammed against it, sending another shockwave of pain to my already aching head. My hands were quickly tied behind my back. He tied a rag around my head and pushed the cloth further back into my mouth with his fingers. I was hoisted up and dragged towards the front of the bed. He climbed in after me, slamming the hatch shut. He sat in front of me with his legs crossed, the gun pointed right at my forehead. The truck lurched forward and I fell back, smacking my head against the back window.

"You look so pretty all tied up," he smiled. I glared at him, hot angry tears filling my eyes. I wanted to throw up with the realization that he could kill me at any moment, my death ready to stab me in the back. My heart pounded in my ears while I stared down the barrel of the gun. The man began to laugh at me once he noticed my fear.

△

After a drive that seemed like an eternity, we rolled through the gates of Woodbury. I began to panic, my chest heaving up and down rapidly. I was gonna die. The truck jerked to a stop, the man placing his hands on me and pulling me towards him. His face was inches from mine. All he did was smile before dragging me out of the truck like I wasn't even human. I could barely focus on where we were going; we were moving so fast and my head was still pounding from earlier. I entered a dark room and was shoved into a chair. My tied hands were placed behind it, locking me in place. My head drooped forward as my whole body continued to shake in fear.

The door clicked, my eyes flickering up to the entrance. My dad stood before me, grinning like a madman; an eyepatch rested over his right eye. I weakly lifted my head as he sauntered over to me, yanking the gag out of my mouth. He flipped his eyepatch up to reveal that his eye was missing, scarred skin replacing it. The sight made me sick.

"You like it," he asked me, flipping it back down. "I think you'll learn to appreciate it better if yours looked the same." He drew a knife from his pocket, slowly bringing it up towards my eye. Sweat beaded on my forehead, rolling down the side of my face as I tried to pull back from the blade. "But I know that's not right," he whispered before he drew away from me. "This, however is." My dad swung his knife through the air, piercing my leg. I screamed, tears flooding my eyes. Blood oozed from the wound.

"I didn't even do anything," I hissed through gritted teeth. My dad tip-toed around me menacingly. "She wasn't even a person; she was a monster that could kill you." My dad leaned down next to my face, dragging the blade of his knife across my cheek. I whimpered loudly, the warm blood flowing down the side of my face.

"She was my little girl," he snarled. "You've been destroying our family ever since she was born!" Rage flew up out of my body.

"I didn't do nothing," I hollered with all the energy I had left. "You destroyed our family! You're a sick fuck who doesn't give a shit about anybody else except her, not even Mom!" He grinned before thrusting his fingers into my back pocket. He pulled out the picture of my mom, Penny, and I. I gasped in surprise; I forgot I had that.

"I've been looking all over for this," he sighed. He observed the fold in the picture and tore it there, tossing the part of me behind his shoulder. "It always looked better with you out of it."

"Fuck you," I said sharply. He wrapped his hand in my hair, yanking my head back. The cool metal of the knife pressed against my neck.

"Why shouldn't I just slit your throat right now? Why shouldn't I let you just bleed out all over yourself, for what you've done," he said almost inaudibly into my ear.

"You don't want me dead yet," I growled. "I know you don't." My cheek stung, blood running back and pooling in my ear. "You don't have the guts to go through with it." He released me, circling back around to the front of me. He smirked before projecting his fist at me, instantly knocking me out.