When the dead roam - (Daryl Dixon)

Chapter 15 - luck runs out

Daryl held her soft hand in his, his thumb sliding against the back of her knuckles as she jumped down from the trunk of the fallen tree. She shredded bark beneath her feet cracked as she pushed her weight against it and attempted to keep herself balance. With her one hand she pushed herself over, slightly tearing her jeans before landing in the mud below her. He stood directly in front of her, four inches apart to be exact, with his hand still caressing hers as he held her upright.  As soon as he noticed their connecting skin he tore himself away, averting his eyes from her gaze and gesturing towards Morgan who had wondered off into the trees.

"Tha' way" he stated, his crossbow being used to direct the raven haired girl. She nodded at him. Her lips were pursed slightly and her right hand remained on the handle of her gun as she walked. Each crunch of the leaves beneath her was one step closer to their home, of home was still there when they arrived. "How do yer' know Rick?"

"I saved his life" Morgan yelled back towards the redneck "At the beginning"

"Why'd it take yer' till now to find 'im?"

"I had a wake up call" he stated "My son, Jonah, he died. Can't survive this world without people"

"Can't survive this world with people" Lou mumbled under her breath as she walked beside Daryl.

"If you want my opinion-"

"I don't, Morgan" she said, shaking her head at the stranger. She didn't need anyone's opinion. These days, humans were worse than the dead, if anyone should be feared it was them.

"I'm just saying-"

"Don't" she snapped "We have all lost people. But at the end of the day, those walkers, are a lot less dangerous than the people on our doorsteps"

After a few minutes of silence Morgan spoke "who did you lose?"

Lou didn't reply. She didn't even look at the man who had came to a halt in front of her. Instead, she scoffed and shook her head at him before pointing her gun to the north. "Alexandria's this way - move"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Rick stood in the blackness of Alexandria, bandages covering his face and his gun tucked neatly into his holster. Blood stained patches of his shirt. The leather jacket covering it kept him warm but added no further protection from the dead, including the one that stood a few meters in left front of him, inside the walls that were supposed to protect the citizens of the town.

The decaying body walked towards him, black blood spitting from its mouth as it snarled. Torn flesh hung from its jar, displaying the rotting teeth that were protruding from its gums. No hair remained on its head. The patch of skull that once sat upon the right side of its head was vacant, leaving his eye socket void of an actual ball to aid his vision. Still, with only its left eye it managed to locate and stalk its prey.

It lunged towards Rick, arms outstretched as he was tackled to the ground. Every ounce of strength he had was put into keeping the walker at arms length to avoid any chance of being bitten. With each clamp of the walkers teeth came another second of used adrenaline that Rick really couldn't afford to lose.

He brought his knee up towards the body, connecting it with the already cracked ribs before grabbing the worn material and thrusted the corpse over his head, ensuring it landed a few inches away from himself. With a grunt Rick pushed himself up from the floor and threw himself on top of the walker, forcing the blade of his knife through its skull and allowing black liquid to spill from every crevice in its head. Angrily, he retrieved his knife, stuffed it into the pocket of his jeans and screamed at the world. His hands has flown to his hair, pulling at it as he grimaced at the sight before him. The world had seriously gone to shit.

He glared down at the body before gripping one hand and the hem of its jeans and lifting it over his right shoulder. The weight of a dead person definitely put strain on his body but it didn't stop him storming towards the crowd of people that gathered at the back of Deanna's house. Multiple sets of eyes landed on him, and the blood soaked mess that he threw to the floor in front of them.

"Nobody was on guard" he yelled through gritted teeth "I didn't bring it in. It got in on its own. They always will - the dead and the living 'cause we're in here!"

Deanna tried to speak to him. She tried to reason with the man before her but wasn't able to get a single word in.

"And the ones out there" he snarled pointing towards the walls of Alexandria "they'll hunt us. They'll find us. They'll try to kill us but we'll kill them - I'll show you how!"

Everyone gathered around the screaming man. They watched as his arms flailed in the air and his fists clenched and unclenched.

"We'll survive and I'll show you how. You know - you know I've been thinking - I've been thinking, how many of you, do I have to kill to save your lives? But I'm not gonna do that. You're gonna change"

"Rick-"

"I'm not sorry for what I said last night. I'm just sorry for not saying it sooner. You're not ready - but you have to be. Luck runs out!"