Stray // Daryl Dixon

Takin' in Strays

"I knew you would last a while," Ben coughed as his head lay in my lap and I ran my hands through his hair. My eyes teared as I stared down at him, taking in every last detail of his appearance for what will be the last time. "You're resilient and smart, you've been the one who was keeping the family together, you know that right?" He looked up at me and a small smile crept onto my face. "You were built to handle the new world," he adjusted himself a bit and winced at the pain, the fever was already starting to kill him. "But fuck, I honestly thought I was gonna last longer than you... or at least longer than this," he laughed a bit which caused me to chuckle. He was always one to make a joke out of everything, no matter how bad the situation was. "Now I guess you won."

"I always win," I responded as I knew it would put a smile on his face. He laughed again before it turned into a cough where he was spitting up blood.

"I need you to do it now," he grabbed my hand and squeezed it, "I don't want to turn into one of them," he said which caused tears to uncontrollably stream down my face. But I nodded as I knew he was in a lot of pain. I couldn't let him turn into the very thing that killed him, he didn't want that. "Tell mom and dad I love them," he said as I pulled my gun out of its holder and cried harder. My hands shook as I held it, unable to keep it steady. I shifted so his head now lay flat on the concrete rooftop. Ben grabbed my hand that was wrapped around the gun and positioned it on his forehead. "You need to win, beat this," was the last thing he said before he nodded his head, okaying it. I pushed my finger down on the trigger, the sound of the gun shattering my eardrums and repetitively bouncing around in my head.

I just sat there and stared in complete and utter disbelief as the tears rushed out of me, creating a small pool beside his shoulder. I thought I might puke as my body doubled over, my hands landing on my knees as I bit my bottom lip to keep myself from screaming out. I dropped the gun as my hands shook, my fingernails digging into my jeans to try and steady the debilitating pain. Finally, I pulled the only blanket we had out of my bag and draped it over his body. I wanted to just sit there with him and cry, cry for hours on end until it didn't hurt anymore, but I couldn't. This world didn't grant you that, I had to keep going, I had to get the hell out of this city and back home. 

Kissing him on the side of his head one last time, I wiped the tears from my eyes and snapped myself back into reality. Although it seemed like a pointless effort, my head still spun in circles. Searching through his knapsack I grabbed the medicine, water, and the only gun he had before I reached something nestled in at the bottom. Pulling it out I realized that it was his trademark black leather jacket, he has had this thing forever and wore it absolutely everywhere. Smiling to myself a little, I wrapped it around my waist, picked up my knapsack and headed for the ladder.

Looking over the edge of the roof and down the ladder made my stomach flip, but it was my best option as the alleyway below only had two or three creepers lurking around compared to the fifty around the corner. That sight alone made me want to curse out in agony. Why didn't we just take the time to check all of our options? That one decision cost Ben his life.

Carefully hopping over the edge I made my way down. Reaching the bottom, I landed on my feet quietly making sure not to alert the creepers that were to my left. Finding my footing I backed away slowly, keeping my eyes locked on them before I could slip around the corner. Just as I was nearing the end of the alley my heel stepped on the corpse of a dead creeper, causing me to fall flat on my back, drawing the dead's attention. 

Panicking, I tried to get up fast as the creepers quickly approached their next meal. Once I was on my feet I sprinted around the corner to be met with a dead-end. I was trapped with nowhere to go but back. 

Turning around I drew my weapon as the three creepers came at me. I swung at the first one, knocking its head clear off its shoulders. Its body crumpled as its teeth continued to smack against each other while the head rolled in circles on the ground. I had little time to prepare for the next one as I shoved my crowbar through the bottom of its jaw and pushed so far up through the skull that my bar got stuck. I couldn't get it out fast enough before the last creeper had me pinned against the wall. Fighting to keep it away from me, I could feel my limbs become weaker and weaker with every bite that was launched toward my face. Thinking with the next push it would get me for sure, an arrow shot straight through its forehead. My heart stopped as I stared up at the small metal spear that rested just between my eyes, nicking the tiniest of cuts in the center of my brows. The weight of the creeper lightened as its body sunk off of my chest, revealing a man standing there with his crossbow pointed at me. Almost in unison, three other men came rounding the corner to follow him.