FEAR ⇾ THE WALKING DEAD

iii. | the man with a crossbow

A frightened scream suddenly erupted from outside in the direction of where she assumed was the trees. Her neck swiveled around, a child screaming for his mother.

Carl.

She dashed out of her tent and watched as Lori, Rick, Carol, her father, and a few others bolt towards the screams. She immediately followed them, her heart hammering in her chest.

She glanced around the running group and noticed that even Carol was panicking, was Sophia with Carl?

Then she glanced to Morales and his wife, Miranda, who were also panicking. Eliza and Louis was with Carl and Sophia too, huh?

Oh god, Ella thought to herself.

Soon enough the group had gotten to the two children. Lori fell onto her knees and grabbed Carl. Carol pulled Sophia towards her and pushed her daughter's head into her chest.

Ella looked at the exact spot where the children once stood to see a walker feasting on a buck. Her eyes widened and she took a step back.

The men instantly pushed it off the buck and onto the ground, kicking at it or stabbing it in the chest as they attempted to kill the walker.

Amy, Dale, and Andrea suddenly broke through the trees. Ella jumped and looked at them, eyes wide. Amy reached her hand over to Ella's, which she took, giving it a squeeze.

Dale walked over to the men with an axe in his hands. He lifted it up over his shoulder and slammed it down onto it's neck, separating the head from the rest of the body.

Abruptly, a branch snapped. Ella pulled Amy closer to her, gripping onto the blond girl's hand, utter fear blossoming in her chest. Andrea also sticked closer to the two best friends, her eyes growing wide.

But thankfully it revealed to be Daryl Dixon, one of the survivors they came across, and one of the survivors they allowed to tagalong with the rest of the group, along with his older brother who was no longer here.

Ella released a breath she didn't realize she was holding in, relief washing over her. The brunette looked the older man over and noticed he looked significantly pissed.

"Son of a bitch! That's my deer!" he shouted, pointing at the arrows poking out of the deer's head. "Look at it, all gnawed on by this," he kicked the walker's body. "Filthy, disease-bearing, motherless poxy bastard!"

Ella narrowed her gaze at the remainder of the Dixon family, squinting her eyes at him.

Dale spoke up, "Calm down son. That's not helping." he stated.

Daryl intimidatingly took a step towards the elderly man. "What do you know about it old man?" he asked, yet he received no reply. "Why don't you take that stupid hat and go on back to golden pond?"

He turned back to the deer and crouched down, harshly yanking the arrows out of it. "I've been tracking this deer for miles. . . gonna drag it back to camp, cook us up some venison," he paused. Ella glanced over to her father, both of them unsure if Daryl should cook that up. "What do you think? Do you think we can cut around this chewed up part right here?" he air-traced his finger around the walker inflicted wound.

Shane crossed his arms, a stern look on his face. "I would not risk that."

Daryl sighed. "That's a damn shame," he glanced down at his belt full of dead animals. "I got some squirrel, about a dozen or so. That'll have to do."

The decapitated head of the walker grinded it's teeth together, blood spewing right out the corners of it's mouth.

"Oh god." Amy shuddered.