Future Ghosts • TWD

137. Lure.

"You have, like, ten knives on you at all times. Just give him one," Rosie said, taking one of the knives from Daryl's belt and handing it to Ian. Ian was hesitant to take it at first, but once Daryl gave a nod and some sort of affirming grumble, he took the knife gratefully before heading up the stairs. "Why're you bein' like that? We're good now," Rosie asked Daryl once Ian was far enough away that he couldn't hear them.

"Got my reasons," Daryl said, beginning to walk up the stairs now, too.

"What reasons?" Rosie asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I got 'em," Daryl said shrugging. One of his reasons was that he found it quite amusing how Rosie got all worked up about it. The other reasons he had were the ones you would expect any overprotective father to have. It was annoying, but Rosie couldn't blame him for being a bit overprotective. She'd had so many bad things happen to her in her lifetime that anyone would feel overprotective of her. Even herself.

"Be nicer," Rosie said, passing him to go all the way up to the top floor.

When she finally got up to the top floor, she found Connie already standing on the balcony. She gave a smile and a wave in greeting, but just moments after, she began to hear the growling and snarling of the dead. Rosie tapped Connie's arm and pointed over to the herd that was coming their way. Once Connie nodded, confirming that she had seen them, Rosie rushed back inside and shouted down the stairwell to alert the others that they were there.

Rosie and Connie waited quietly for the living to reach their level. Rosie could hear pounding footsteps from the floor below them. Henry and Ian were together on that floor, fighting the living with sticks and knives. It wasn't ideal, but it was all they had. Daryl was on the floor below that one, fighting on his own. It made Rosie nervous, knowing that Daryl was down there with no backup, but she knew he was capable of handling himself. Still, she listened carefully and intently for any sounds that might have meant that he needed help.

In the dark, waiting for them to arrive, Rosie felt Connie tap her shoulder. She looked over at the woman. Connie pointed to Rosie, and then to the clear glass door that led to the balcony. Then, she pointed to herself and a sly hiding spot. Rosie wasn't sure what she was trying to say, and Connie seemed to catch onto that. After a moment of trying to figure out how to get the message across, Connie pressed her pointer finger into Rosie's shoulder. Then, she fingerspelled the word L U R E. Now, Rosie finally understood, so she nodded and went over to the balcony.

Connie went straight to her hiding spot, preparing a rock in her slingshot while Rosie loaded a bolt into Daryl's crossbow. Silently, the two of them waited. Connie was hidden off to the side while Rosie was standing right across from the door, mostly shielded by the clear glass that led to the balcony. When Rosie began to hear quick and quiet footsteps from outside the door, she made eye contact with Connie and nodded.

They're here.

When the door creaked open, two of the living walked in. One was clearly armed with a knife, Rosie could see, due to them flipping it around in their hand skillfully. The other, Rosie couldn't quite tell what weapon they had. It only took a moment for them to lay eyes on Rosie. And as soon as they did, a knife was thrown right in Rosie's direction. Having been ready, Rosie ducked down just in time for the knife to fly right over her head and clatter onto the ground. Rosie didn't miss a beat. She pointed the crossbow right at the weaponless person, but just as she pulled the trigger, she heard two feet land on the floor behind her. She spun around instinctively, causing the bolt to miss the person's head and land in their shoulder instead.

The moment Rosie spun around, she saw that she was faced with a grown man in a mask. He must have climbed up from the balcony below them. He had a knife in his hand and it was about to go down into Rosie's back, but she had turned just in time to grab onto the man's wrist and keep the knife from stabbing into her skin. The man grabbed onto the knife with his other hand now, pushing down harder. Rosie pushed his hands away with all the strength she had in her, but her strength was no match for the strength of this grown man.