stone cold |twd|

chapter 96

A hand slammed against the passenger side window and Marcie almost let out a scream. She relaxed once she saw it was a rotter and it continued to hit against the side of the car.

Marcie turned her attention back towards the car in front of them, and she spotted the man dragging a bicycle towards the intersection before dumping it.

What was the point of that?

The man was dragging a few other pieces of debris and Marcie realised his must be clearing the road. The man in the uniform caught sight of the walker banging against the car and Marcie gripped her knife tighter.

But he didn't approach. He got back into the car and the driver turned down the street his partner just cleared.

Daryl went to start the car once again, but the engine sputtered, "Aw, shit! Tank's tapped." He muttered, "They'd have taken the bypass and they didn'. They must be holed up in the city somewhere."

She could see rotters approached and Marcie swallowed nervously. It was dark, and there was only three of them.

"We gotta move, find someplace to hole up till sunlight." Daryl stated,

"I know a place just a couple of blocks from here." Carol told them, "We can make it."

She opened her door and pinned the walker that was outside Marcie's window before stabbing it. The other two quickly exited the car before following Carol down the street, taking out any rotters along the way.

They went through a back alley and Carol led them to a door. It was rusted shut from the months of disuse. Daryl went to chip away at it while the women kept watch.

They heard the snarls of rotters and Marcie stepped towards the street, "Two more." Carol called out quietly as she followed the younger woman,

"I almost got it." Daryl grunted,

But the sound of walkers got louder, and as Marcie squinted to see through the dark, she noticed two outlines became dozens. The sound of Daryl busting the door open was attracting a herd.

"Oh, my god." Marcie whispered,

Daryl opened the door, "Come on."

The three of them rushed into the door and Daryl locked it behind them. They got out their flashlights and looked around, their guard up in case there were more rotters inside,

It seemed to be an office building of sorts? Marcie wasn't sure.

Daryl found a pair of keys on a walker near the main door and he grabbed them before they followed Carol.

"You used to work here or something?" Daryl asked, glancing around at all the file cabinets in the office,

"Something." Carol muttered,

Marcie grabbed a bag that laid on the ground and placed it around her shoulders before reaching for the door in front of her. It was locked, but she didn't want to risk anything coming in.

Daryl helped her push a desk in front of the door to keep anything from coming in. They both looked over to see Carol trying to open another door and Daryl tossed her the keys,

He kept Marcie in front of him as they all entered the next room. She shined her flashlight around, and she realised it was an apartment type room. It reminded her of a hotel, with a coffee machine and a couch and in the next room was bunkbeds and a desk,

"What's this place?" Daryl asked the older woman,

"It's temporary housing." She answered,

Marcie paused, staring at the floor. She never met Ed, not being at the camp long enough to be graced with his presence before his death, but Vivian told her about him on their way down to the CDC.

There was a reason why she used to be so skittish. And there was a reason why Sophia never looked anyone in the eye.

"You came here?" Daryl asked, looking down at the book that was sitting on the desk,

'Treating Survivors of Childhood Abuse'.

"We didn't stay."

Marcie took off her bag and set it on the desk. She sighed and walked over to the window, staring out into the dark street below, an occasional rotter limping by,

"I'll take the top bunk." Carol commented, "You two better keep your hands above the blankets."

"I'll take first watch." Marcie mumbled from the other side of the room,

The two older people glanced at each other before Daryl spoke, "This is locked up pretty tight."

Marcie hummed, "Yeah, I know."

"Then we're good, then." Daryl stated, taking off his vest,

"I don't mind." Marcie replied, "I can take first watch."

Daryl walked over to her, not wanting to bicker in front of Carol, "I want you ta rest. Please."

She stared up at him, his eyes brightening in the moonlight that came in through the window, "Fine." She sighed, moving to take off her jacket.

He squeezed her shoulder gently before leading her towards the bed. She kept her boots on in case they needed a quick escape, and laid down on top of the covers.

Marcie placed her forearm over her eyes, at least attempting to fall asleep.

"I can take first watch." Carol replaced Marcie by the window, grabbing the chair from the desk and sitting down,

Daryl sat down by Marcie's feet, placing her calves into his lap and began to massage her legs gently, trying to keep his hands busy,

He knew she was having problems sleeping, the trauma from the Governor keeping her from resting, both mentally and physically.

"You said we get to start over." Carol commented from her place by the window, "Did you?"

"I'm tryin'." He mumbled, glancing at Marcie's face for a moment, only to be met with her half covered face,

They stayed silent for a moment before Daryl spoke again, "Why don' you say what's really on yer mind?"

"I don't think we get to save people anymore." Carol stated,

Marcie swallowed nervously at the statement, but still didn't speak up,

"Then why are ya here?"

"I'm tryin'." She answered,

Daryl sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, "When we were out by the car... what if we didn' show up?"

"I still don't know."

There was some banging in the distance and Marcie was quick to sit up, grabbing her knife. The three of them exited the room and walked down the hall, their weapons ready.

They turned to see a walker banging against a clear door. Marcie lowered her knife, no longer feeling threatened.

Then, a smaller figure began to beat at the window next to the walkers, and Marcie's heart seized as the blonde little girl who was now a monster.

All she could think about was Mika.

Without saying anything, Marcie walked back to their room. She crawled under the covers, and pulled the blanket over her head, trying to get the banging out of her head.

It wasn't long before silence filled the air.

The front door opened again and Daryl and Carol filed inside. Marcie tried to pretend to be asleep, but as Daryl got into the bed next to her and pulled down the blanket from her head, she knew she was caught,

"C'mon, wha's goin' on?" He asked, moving his hand to smooth down her now frizzy hair,

"She's right." Marcie whispered, "You can't save everyone."

She couldn't save Mika. She couldn't save her parents. She couldn't save Hershel.

What makes her think she can save Beth?