Fight for each other (daryl Dixon x Spencer Reid)

Chapter 3

The young genius had a bad feeling about this whole thing. But it seemed no one was willing to listen to him. So, he watched nervously as Andrea, Morales, T-dog, Merle, Jacqui and Glenn all left. A knot forming in his stomach.

Something was going to happen to them, he just knew it.

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Spencer was totally right by the way, not that he was there to point it out.

The ragtag little group of strangers was currently holed up on top of a department store waiting out a hoard of passing walkers and cursing to themselves. Why didn't they listen to the weird smart guy? He was the weird smart guy for a reason!

Merle had all but disappeared, Jacqui was hyperventilating, Andrea was trying to delegate and T-dog and Morales where just down right confused. Glenn was practically kicking himself in frustration, he was exhausted and they haven't even been in the city more than a couple of hours at this point. He looked down at the street, binoculars in hand, staring hard for several minutes as the corpses shambled around below. He saw nothing but rotting blank faces. He was about ready to say fuck all... that was until some movement caught his attention further down the road.

He adjusted his binoculars accordingly and almost gawked at what he saw. Three people where riding in from the south, just barely coming off the on ramp from the highway... on horse back of all things! To make matters even worse for them, they where about to ride straight into a terrifying slurry of gnashing teeth and rotting fingers.

"Uhh, guys... I think you should take a look at this." Glenn stated nervously, his heart beating rapidly as he tried to swallow his growing nausea. He gave the binoculars to Morales and wiped the sweat from his brow before taking a step back and burying his head in his hands in horror.

The rest of the group peered over the edge, fear growing in their wide eyes as they did. Morales groaned lowly and turned his head up to the sky, almost begging god to just give them a break... they had kids with them.

"What do we do?" Jacqui asked, covering her mouth as her eyes widened. Glenn paced the rooftop, feeling himself shy away from the others gazes as he ran a hand through his hair. Andrea glanced around indignantly, as if absolutely appalled by their lack of action. "They have a kids down there, a kid and a baby. There's no way we can just stand here and let this happen, what's the plan... somebody has to come up with something." She said, placing her hands on her hips and glaring out at the group.

Glenn couldn't help but roll hie eyes. It wasn't like she was coming up with any bright ideas. Again, Glenn looked down over the edge, the hot sun beating down on his back, almost burning him through his shirt as he gazed down desperately. There where two men a few yards in front, they where going to come up on the hoard before the woman and kids, Who still had yet to fully pass the edge of the alleyway... Where there was a door. Glenn wandered to the side, freezing for just a second as the shadows of an idea spawned into the his brain. Just barely forming into a coherent thought before he started following through with it. If he could just get down there in time.

Without a single word to the others he sprinted across the roof and slammed the door open. Ignoring their confused cries as he flew down the steps, taking all of a few seconds to descend, floor after floor, taking them two at a time as he did so. His feet pounded against the dusty lenolium, his poor heart beating rapidly as he ran through the store, dodging shelves and nearly knocking over a few clothing racks as he did so.

The door was now in sight, and he hoped beyond hope that he could make it in time. He slammed his body against the metal push bar, bruising his side in the process. He just couldn't seem to care though. The metal creaked and slammed harshly against the brick outside, the blinding white light of the hot Georgian sun beat down on him once more, nearly blinding him as he called out to the woman. "HEY, OVER HERE! COME OVER HERE!" He screamed, his voice just barely loud enough to reach them over the sounds of decaying groans.

He watched with baited breath, nearly frozen as the woman jumped off the horse and dragged the kid with her, as if on instinct using the large animal as a shield between herself and the rows of rotting teeth.

Her gaze was terrifyingly serious as she sprinted in glenns direction, pulling the child along with her in one hand as the other was wrapped protectively around the baby, still strapped to her chest. As soon as she was in reach she almost chucked the kid inside, barely making it inside herself before Glenn slammed the door shut, just barely avoiding getting bit in the face as the door finally latched.

He leaned against the wall for a bit, panting as he watched the woman get down on the ground and hold the crying boy close. She sat there, kneeling on the dusty floor and just breathed for a moment. Thanking her lucky stars that they where ok. She then turned to glenn, a wild, desperate look in her eyes. "Please, please god tell me the others are ok. Are the men ok?" She questioned, her voice shaking as she stood on quivering legs. Glenns heart ached.

"I-Im not sure. I ran down here just in time to open the door for you. But, I have people up on the roof. They can answer your question." Glenn said, rambling nervously. He didn't want to say they where dead... but it looked like they may have been cornered almost completely. He wasn't going to be the one to break the news though. The woman wiped her eyes and took a deep breath before looking down at the kid with a wobbly smile, trying desperately to provide some kind of comfort to the little guy.

Glenn couldn't imagine how confusing this whole thing might be for someone so small. He can hardly stand the sight of the terrified boy, and so interrupts the upsetting scene awkwardly. "So uhh, the stairs are just over there. We go up and make our way across the roof to my group. We can see what to do about your men when we get up there." Glenn explained gently as he awkwardly side stepped them to lead the way.

They trudged up the steps, a certain type of weariness in their chests as they ascended. "... Thank you." he heard the woman say quietly. He could only nod in response.

All he did was open a door. He didn't feel a thanks was needed.

They kept going upward, passing floor after floor of old abandoned retail stores, passing by what used to be luxuries to a world too soon forgotten. Glenn stopped abruptly and opened the heavy metal door to see their ragtag little group staring at them. Sweaty and worn down. Glenn stood off to the side and watched silently as the new woman looked to all of them, the little boy quickly hiding behind her legs as the baby cried softly in spite of the deafening silence.

Slowly, so, so slowly, Jacqui steps forward, her kind eyes glancing back and forth between the woman and weeping infant.

"Never thought I'd see a baby in this kind of world, brings in a little hope for the future... wouldn't want anything happening to that." She says softly as she walks forward. "My names Jacqui."

The woman blinks slowly, her mind in a sort of haze as she stares at Jacqui. "My names Emily Prentiss, and I need to know if the men down there made it..." Was all she said. Her voice monotone and weirdly formal despite the tangible anxiety it held. Glenn paced back and forth from the edge, peering down anxiously before stepping back again and wracking his brain for some kind of plan. Morales was the only other who dared to break the silence. "we aren't sure miss, we saw them disappear under the tank but haven't seen either of them since. I wish I could tell you more." He explained gently.

Emily seemed to nod slowly, her eyes changing slightly as she hastily walked to the edge, pushing past Andrea and Jacqui so she could get a good look. Suddenly, she smiles, small and hesitant. Maybe even a little desperate.

"That tank, it should have a latch in the bottom. Hotch would know this, they could be inside the tank..." She said, her voice shaking. Glenn looks to the radio they carried with them, the inklings of an idea forming in his brain. "Would... would the tank have a radio inside?" He asked, even as he began fidgeting with the dials. Emily was quick to kneel next to him, the small boy still clinging to her side as she nodded and helped with the controls. They stayed there for a few tense moments. The air around them stagnant and dry as the sun beat down on them harshly. The static blared loudly.

"Hello? Hello? Dumbasses in the tank, you comfy in there?" Glenn questioned, then, finally, as if gifted to them by god himself a tired but relieved voice echoed across the roof.

"Yeah, yeah, we're here... we're here."