infection | D. Dixon

chapter three

brothers

I loaded my gun despite the air draining from my lungs. Rick stood a little ahead of us with his gun trained at the door.

"Aim for the head." I gulped.

Rick glanced at me, "What are they?" He asked.

I shrugged, my eyes not leaving the door. "My best guess? Cadavers." I said, listening to the approaching sounds.

Rick scoffed, "Dead people. Right."

The door pushed open and the departed piled in. I shot twice, killing two, and then my gun clicked.

Rick shot a few times, but the dead kept coming.

Tessa was staring. Our dad was walking towards us, a chunk missing from his face. His dead eyes locked on the three of us. Hot tears slipped down my face.

Tessa had stopped shooting. The thought to jump into action came second to my initial instinct to run. I grabbed Tessa's shaking hand, threw her discarded bag over my shoulders, and called to Rick to follow us.

The jeep was sitting calmly in the lobby next to my father's bag and the only gas can we had. Tessa wasted no time climbing into the front. I threw the items into the back and climbed up to lay down some cover fire for Rick.

He was still shooting, owning a much more precise aim than my own. "Get in the jeep!" I yelled.

Rick glanced between the jeep and the large glass window that separated us from the freedom of the outside world. Without a second thought, he climbed into the jeep and shouted for me to cover my head.

"Shit," I muttered, lying flat in the jeep with the packs laid over me. The jeep roared to life, and the tires screeched as the jeep flew forward.

The window shattered around the jeep and glass rained down over me. I squeezed my eyes closed and held onto the packs harder as I felt the vehicle swerve and bump until it claimed its place on the road. I nodded to myself and watched the trees pass.

+

When the sky started to die to show it was getting late we were about to cross over to highway eighty-five that connected the roads from our city to Atlanta. We had driven all through the day without stopping.

Rick hadn't spoken a word after the incident at the hospital. I assumed he was still in shock, but I hadn't cared to ask. It would be better if I kept it to myself, he was dealing as best he could; like me.

Seeing my father walking with all the other departed stirred something in me. The numbness concerning his death ate me alive. I know he wouldn't want me to be hung up on his death, so I acted like I wasn't. I needed not to be, and the only way that would happen was if I kept my head clear and stayed focused on keeping Rick and Tessa safe. They were my family now.

Rick cursed under his breath as the car slowed. "What happened?" I asked, letting my hair down from its tight knot.

He clicked his tongue and slammed the car into park in its place on the road. "We ran out of fuel."

I stomped my foot hard against the floor. "Dammit!" I yelled out of frustration.

We all climbed out of the car and collected everything we could take on our backs. I discarded every piece of medical equipment we wouldn't need in a nearby car, in case we had the chance to come back. I looked over at Rick, who was carrying all our artillery and camping gear. He wasn't looking at me, he was looking at his gun.

Tessa pushed her pack up onto her back. She was carrying most of the food, some weapons, and the basic medical equipment. She was looking at me, teary-eyed and scared.

"We have to find a place to hole up for the night, then we can go from there tomorrow morning," I announced, electing myself as leader. "If we find a department store we might be able to either pick up some more bags or some smaller supplies." I said, clicking my gun into place on my belt. "Let's go."

Tessa and Rick walked behind me as we made our way into the city. We tried to take out the dead quietly, but it was harder to keep together that way.

Finally, we came to a corner store with boarded up windows. As Rick peeked inside, Tessa looked up at the sky. "It's getting dark." she said urgently.

Rick glanced back at us, "So?" he asked, turning to us.

"It'll be harder to fight in the dark." I said, pushing Rick out of the way. I used my gun to break the glass behind the wood and used my dad's axe to start beating my way inside.

A few departed began emerging from buildings and cars, walking slowly towards us. Rick snatched the axe from my hands and with one large blow, he broke the wood to get inside.

I pushed a shelf against the door and leaned against it, loading my gun. "Find something for us to eat and get up those stairs!" I yelled as the dead started to push themselves against the door.

Tessa and Rick began searching, and as soon as they were up the narrow staircase, I got off the shelf and ran after them.

An arrow shot a departed as I climbed the stairs and I glanced up to the top to see a man in a sleeveless shirt with a crossbow in hand. "Well c'mon!" he yelled, pulling another arrow into place.

The door was slammed shut and chained behind me and Tessa jumped into my arms. I hugged her tightly and sighed. Then I remembered the man who saved me and pivoted on my foot to see him. He was standing next to the door, crossbow in one hand by his side. Standing beside him was another man, this one was bald and older, but not by much. He was wearing a white shirt with dirt all over it.

Both looked rugged and dangerous.

"Who are you?" the bald one asked, gun in hand.

I covered my sister from them. "I'm doctor Anastasia Carver, this is my sister, Tessa, and my friend, Rick Grimes." I replied, "Who are you?" I asked.

The older one smirked. "I'm Merle, this is my idiot brother, Daryl."