𝙏hey came to a stop a fair way into the forest. Daryl tried to keep the bike moving, but it was no use. He held it up just long enough for Adalyn to climb off the back before he let it fall to the ground, him falling with it.
He laid there a moment, scanning the burned trees, panting for air. Adalyn took a deep breath as she tried to register everything that had just happened.
Then she heard the growling.
A walker, laying on the ground, burned and blackened, its skin fused to the ground so badly that it couldn't even move. A helmet covered its face. It was harmless, really. And so Adalyn just stared at it, eyes wide. Daryl didn't even move to kill it. He just looked away, letting his head rest on the dirt beneath him.
He got up after some time, wheeling along the motorcycle, his head down and a dejected look on his face. Adalyn followed, trying to figure out which position hurt her arm the least.
Dead walkers littered the path, bodies burnt.
Adalyn shivered at the sight of one that essentially amounted to a skeleton, the only muscle and meat on it being its legs.
They reached an inclined, and the bike started moving faster. Daryl held onto the handles, jogging with it before it hit flat ground again, toppling to the side.
Daryl took a breath, getting his legs out from under it and taking his walkie off of his jacket. "Sasha? Abraham, are you there?" he asked. Static.
Adalyn reached for her own walkie and groaned at the sight of it. Attached to her hip, it had pretty much been crushed in the crash. "Shit," she whispered.
Daryl took off his glove, examing his hand, which was steadily dripping blood. He shrugged off his jacket slowly, wincing as he did. Adalyn made to help him with her good arm, but he flashed her an expression that said to keep away.
So she did.
Blood was covering the length of his right arm from his elbow downward. Patches of skin were worn away from the skid-out on the bike. He grabbed the pack attached to the bike, starting to open it.
He stopped at the sound of footsteps, grabbing at his crossbow.
Adalyn raised her gun, knowing that it wasn't really going to be much help with her arm the way it was. She could at least try and act like she was a threat.
Daryl took hold of the fallen tree branches beside him, dragging them to cover the bike.
He moved slowly toward the source of the sound. Adalyn followed close behind, though the weight of the gun was really starting to hurt.
They were growing closer. Daryl spun to see two girls, a blonde and a brunette. Their eyes darted between Adalyn and Daryl as they raised their hands in surrender.
"You found us, okay?" the brunette said. "Here we are. We earned what we took."
A branch snapped behind Adalyn. She spun around, barely having time to register the face of a blond man before he was knocking her out.
Daryl wasn't on his feet too long before he met the same fate.
She came to before Daryl, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the darkness and the flickering fire in front of her. He was beside her, and she nudged him with her leg, trying to wake him up. Their weapons were gone.
