CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

° FALSE PARADISE °

"I follow the rain to the roaring sea."

IN SOME WAYS sleep was one of the most dangerous things during the apocalypse. In those eight hours you left the world, not knowing what you would wake up to or even if you wake up at all. You didn't know what creatures would find you while you slept, or what demons would haunt you in your sleep. It was a dangerous yet necessary bet and frankly all of the above were reasons Reign refused to sleep much.

When she was alone sleep had been her greatest fear. It was one of the disadvantages of surviving alone; you didn't have anyone to watch your back while you slept. But that night after confessing all of her worst childhood memories to a man, a vampire she had just gotten to know, she felt some sort of release.

It was if the haunting of what she did before the apocalypse had finally released part of her, letting her see past that dark part of herself. She wasn't proud of what she had done to herself, so talking about it aloud had given her some comfort. That dark part of her left her that night, letting her sleep, and part of her knew it was because Damon was there.

Although they slept apart, they watched each other's backs because they knew there was a chance that after tomorrow, there was a chance they could be all alone together if they didn't find anyone else inside the Terminus compound.

In the early hours of the morning the next day, Reign and Damon figured out a plan of how they were going to go about entering this facility. Damon had heard movement and smelt life inside the compound, reassuring the two that this wasn't just some abandoned hope. That still didn't erase the danger factor however, meaning they still needed to take the necessary precautions.

The plan was simple. Approach the front gates pretending to both be human in case they were aware of vampires while pretending to be innocent. If they wanted to be accepted into this place they needed to act as if they weren't a threat.

They equipped themselves with weapons strategically placed throughout their body. Reign had random daggers placed in pockets, one even placed in her shoe. She had placed Gizmo safely inside her bag, and although he had gotten bigger he still fit snugly inside it. She wanted him to remain hidden until they found out more of this place, especially on their view of dogs whether they viewed them as pets or food.

Nodding to each other, Damon and Reign finally made their way towards the facility, never once letting their guard down. For all they knew this could be a trap.

They approached the front gates which had a sign posted telling them to lower their weapons and that they would be greeted. Giving nervous glances at each other, Reign and Damon only tightened their grips on their weapons before pushing open the gate, slowly making their way inside.

The place was exploding with life, with sunflowers and gardens growing all around them. The sight brought butterflies to Reign's stomach, making her fill up with hope. Smiling to herself, they continued to walk through the compound, following the signs until they turned the corner and approached an opening. Ahead of them was a layout of tables and umbrellas resembling that of some sort of outside cafeteria. At the front there was a Bar BQ set up, fresh meat smoking on it with a woman standing behind it.

At their presence the woman lifted up her head, smiling in the most polite way at the two approaching her.

Still wary and on guard, Damon and Reign stood side by side, so close to each other that it was if their shoulders were glued together. They clenched their jaws and approached the woman, standing a safe enough distance from her to engage in conversation.

"Well hello," the woman greeted them. "It appears you've been on the road for a good bit," the woman said. "My name is Mary."

Damon went to glance at Reign but realized she was looking around, completely ignoring the woman in front of them. She was still scanning for threats, still judging the place to see if it was a place they could live in. She was scared, nervous, and Damon saw that.

"Oh come on now, don't be shy," Mary said as another man appeared beside her. He smiled at the two before giving Mary a kiss on the cheek. "This is my son Gareth. You two are?" Mary questioned.

Damon hesitated before answering. "I'm Damon, she's Reign," he said.

"It's lovely to have you two here," Mary said. "I'll fix you two a plate here. You young lady look especially thin," Mary commented as she looked at Reign, but she wasn't paying attention.

Damon turned Reign away for a moment as he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder so they couldn't hear her, snapping Reign out of her nervous stance. "Hey, if you don't like it here we can leave. I'll get us out of here," he assured her, searching her eyes.

Reign gave him a small smile. "Let's give it a chance," she said nervously, taking in a deep breath. They had just arrived, and for all they knew people from the prison could be here.

"Here you are," Mary said, holding out a plate of what appeared to be some sort of cooked meat.

Reign wasn't going to take it, but her stomach had other plans as her hunger took control, her hand instantly grabbing the food. "Thank you," Reign grumbled in between bites. It was tender and dry, but food none the less. Reign was sick of squirrels to say the least.

Mary held out a plate to Damon, and just as he was about to refuse, Reign stepped hard on his foot while shooting him a glare. If they wanted to convince these people he was human, he had to eat like he was hungry for something other than blood.

After glaring at each other, Damon smiled and took the plate from Mary, biting into the meat despite how much he wanted to bite into Mary's neck.

Reign devoured the food in seconds, returning the plate to Mary who stood smiling at her. Damon finished moments later, handing the plate back to Mary as well, leaving them standing there rather awkwardly.

"Did you enjoy that?" Mary asked with a grin. Everything about Mary seemed suspicious to Reign, like everything Mary was, was fake. She seemed fake, like she was rehearsing a line. Everything seemed set up, and Reign didn't like it. Reign was on edge meanwhile Damon was completely fine.

"It was great, thanks," Reign replied, wiping her greasy hands on her black jeans.

"That's good to hear. Would you like to know what it was?" Mary asked.

"Sure woman," Damon muttered, seeming slightly annoyed.

"This might seem strange to you, but hear us out. The meat you consumed was that of our own kind," Mary began, but instantly as the words rolled off her tongue Damon and Reign began coughing, itching to get the meat out of their bodies. They were disgusted, and everything from there went downhill.

"Excuse me!" Reign exclaimed, trying to barf the food up but her body wouldn't let her. She needed the food too badly. Damon on the other hand managed to scarf it up instantly, a look of pure rage on his face when he stood up.

"You're telling me you fed us human meat without even telling us? What are you, a bunch of cannibals!" Damon yelled in anger.

Usually Reign would've tried to calm Damon down out of fear he would expose what he was, but Reign was just as furious.

"I guess you could call us that. Need I remind you this world is all about survival, and we do what we have to, to survive," Mary explained, her hands held out in defence.

Reign and Damon watched as people who were sitting at nearby tables began to stand up, staring at the two of them. Before they had acted like innocent bystanders when really they were all guards. "Now, you two need to make a choice. You either choose to accept our way of life and live with us, or you end up on a plate for the next visitors," Mary said, sounding a lot more chipper than she should be for someone making threats.

Suddenly a younger looking man with a gun in hand came out one of the doors and stood behind Mary. "Mother, are these ones giving you trouble?" he asked her.

"No, Gareth. They just don't appreciate what we're trying to do here," she told the man.

"What the hell is wrong with you people?" Damon questioned incredulously.

"I'd rather die of starvation before I eat another human being. You can all go to hell," Reign spat, grabbing her sword.

After saying their peace, Damon and Reign turned around side by side, deciding to leave now before things escalated but they found themselves cornered. Behind them was a line of men with guns, a sniper on one of the roofs, and all of the other bystanders holding a weapon aimed at them.

"I'm afraid we cannot let you leave," Mary said, with her son Gareth trailing behind her. He has his gun down but his finger gripping the trigger, ready to fire at will.

Damon reached down while staring ahead and slowly grabbed Reign's shaking hand, tightly holding onto it before whispering into her ear. "Run," he whispered.

Reign didn't think twice before moving her feet, her and Damon running side by side, hand in hand towards the entrance while dodging stray bullets that were fired at them. While looking behind, Damon pushed Reign ahead further to get her out first as the men moved in on them.

They reached the gate but it had been locked giving them no way out but over the top. "Here, jump," Damon said, grabbing hold of Reign's small waist and hoisting her up over the gate before climbing over it himself.

Just as they were about to reach the final gate to the exit, a stray bullet hit Reign in the neck sending her to the ground. She put her hand up to her neck only to realize it wasn't a bullet, but a tranquilizer filled with something. Damon got hit in the neck too, falling beside Reign although he reacted much differently. The tranquilizer was filled with Vervain.

"This one's a vampire!" someone yelled, closing in on Damon.

Reign, not affected by the Vervain went to grab her sword when something else was shot into her neck. This time it was a real tranquilizer, sending her whole body falling back to the ground, paralyzed.

The men grabbed her by her feet and began to drag her backwards, ripping her backpack off her back, containing Gizmo inside it. Damon turned around the best he could to try and stop them, but the Vervain had made him too weak. "REIGN!" Damon yelled hoarsely.

The men kept dragging her back inside as she fought and cried against their strong grasps, but soon the tranquilizer took over. "Stop! Don't touch her!" Damon growled, baring his fangs but he couldn't fight back. Neither of them could fight back.

All they could do was watch while the other was taken away, their bodies shutting down as the injections entered their blood stream. The last thing either of them saw before their eyes drooped shut were of each other.

◎  ◉  ◎

Reign woke a while later to the sound of hushed voices and shuffling feet. She forced her heavy eyes open and found herself staring into the eyes of none other than her own father, Daryl Dixon.

"D-dad?" Reign croaked, blinking her eyes rapidly to see clearer, trying to make sure her mind wasn't playing tricks. She forced herself up, or tried to but her muscles were too shaky to do any good.

"Easy there," Daryl said before he helped her up. Once she stood up she embraced her father into a hug, thankful he was alive. However, there was one person missing.

"Where's Dylan?" Reign asked.

Daryl's face fell and he stared at his daughter with great sympathy, not needing to say much more. "He's gone," Daryl said lowly, causing an array of shock to take over Reign, leaving her frozen.

Reign stayed silent as she rubbed her eyes clear and looked around the dark and clustered room, laying eyes on a large group of familiar people, people from the prison.

She landed eyes on Rick who gave her a small nod, then to Carl who gave her a large grin, then Glenn and Maggie who held hands while smiling at her, and then others such as Matt, Sasha and Bob, along with four others she didn't recognize. All were people she was happy to see, especially Michonne who Reign had missed dearly. However, she couldn't help but notice two people missing; Bonnie and her brother.

Michonne stepped forwards and opened her arms wide as Reign ran into them, engulfing her friend in a massive bear hug. "I thought you guys were dead," Reign cried.

"So did we. We're glad you're okay," Michonne said as she released her.

"Did you come here alone?" Michonne asked.

"No, I came with Damon," Reign said quietly, remembering the scene earlier. Although she would never admit it, she was concerned as where they had taken him. He had saved her life, and they took her away without giving her a chance to return the favour. They had also taken Gizmo, probably without even knowing it. That only angered Reign more, so much so she had to clench her hands into fists to keep herself from punching the metal container.

"They probably put him with the other vampires. I don't know what they would want with them," Rick said, peering through a small crack in the train car they were all in.

"These people are crazy. How are we going to get out of here?" Reign asked, her arm still wrapped around Michonne.

"We'll get out. We've got a plan," Daryl said, glancing at Rick.

"Oh yeah? How can you be so sure it'll work?" Reign questioned.

Rick shrugged. "Like I said; they're screwing with the wrong people."

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[EDITED: 07/13/18]