▎SAFE HAVEN ▎
»»———— act one. game of survival
CHAPTER FOUR ━━ the random kid
Everybody stared at the hand with shock. Josie could feel the anger coming from Daryl as he turned around and aimed his crossbow at T-dog which made Rick point his python at Daryl's head.
Josie and Glenn looked at the three of them in shock. "I won't hesitate. I don't care if every walker in the city hears it." Rick growled at the younger Dixon.
Daryl squeezed his eyes shut before pulling away the crossbow and Rick lowered his python which made Josie sigh of relief. "You got a do-rag or something?" Daryl asked T-dog, even though just a few seconds ago he aimed his crossbow at the man.
T-dog nodded and passed him one. Josie walked down the steps and stood beside t-dog whilst Glenn was behind her. She watched as Daryl crouched down and laid the do-rag down on the floor. He went to pick up the hand which made Josie scrunch up her face. "I guess the saw blade was too dull for the handcuffs. Ain't that a bitch." He said as he wrapped the hand up.
He then turned to Glenn and josie and josie pointed to Glenn which made him glare at the woman. "I'm not having that in my pack." Josie shook her head as Glenn sighed. Daryl opened up Glenn's bag and placed the hand inside.
Daryl walked back over to the cuffs. "He must have used a tourniquet... maybe his belt. Be much more blood if he didn't." He noticed the blood trail and followed it.
Josie remembered Dales tools and so did T-dog. The pair walked over to the tools and placed all the tools back in the bag and T-dog insisted he would carry it after josie went to pick it up.
The five of them walked into the other bit and josie had her gun ready. Glenn and T-dog followed behind her whilst she followed behind Rick and Daryl.
"Merle!" Daryl shouted out, hoping his brother could hear. "You in here?" He asked but no response.
The five of them walked into a office. There were two walkers that laid lifeless on the floor. They all stepped over the walkers and looked around. "Had enough in him to take out these two sumbitches. One handed. Toughest asshole I ever met, my brother. Feed him a hammer, he'd crap out nails." Daryl said as he reloaded his crossbow.
"Any man can pass out from blood loss, no matter how tough he is." Rick told Daryl which made josie roll her eyes as she went into a different room, gun raised and Glenn following shortly behind her.
Daryl comes up behind josie, pushing glenn out the way, making him hold on to josies shoulders. "Merle!" He shouted which made josie jump, not knowing that Daryl was behind her.
"Fuck sake." she mumbled under her breath, glaring at the man next to her.
"We're not alone here. Remember?" Rick told Daryl which made the man scoff. They come upon a kitchen where a stove is still lighted and They find Merle's belt sitting on the top of it.
"What's that burned stuff?" Glenn asked as he pulled a face.
Josie got a good look of the scene before turning to Glenn. "Skin. He cauterized the stump." She turned back around and looked at the belt. "Smart." She hummed.
"You can tell by that?" Glenn pointed to the mess as josie turned the stove off.
"Yeah, it doesn't take a genius to figure that out, Glenn." Josie replied with a shrug, turning to face the group.
"Told you he was tough. Nobody can kill Merle but Merle." Daryl said, looking at the girl. Josie let out a sigh as she ran a hand through her hair.
"Don't take that on faith. He's lost a lot of blood." Rick told him, making Daryl shake his head and continue to walk.
"Yeah? Didn't stop him from busting out of this death trap." Daryl said, walking towards the smashed window.
"He left the building? Why the hell would he do that?" Glenn asked, clearly confused.
Josie tilted her head as she looked at the broken glass on the floor then back up at the men. "Why wouldn't he? If I got left behind, I sure as hell wouldn't wait for a search party." She said, earning a look from Rick which made her shrug.
"The woman's right. He's out there alone as far as he knows, doing what he's got to do. Surviving." Daryl agreed with josie.
"You call that surviving? Just wandering out in the streets, maybe passing out? What are his odds out there?" T-dog asked Daryl.
"No worse than being handcuffed and left to rot by you sorry pricks." Daryl growled which made everyone shut up. "You couldn't kill him. Ain't so worried about some dumb dead bastard." He said to rick.
"What about one thousand dead dumb bastards? Different story?" Rick spits right back which makes josie roll her eyes, tired of the mens behaviour.
"Right girls, no need for there to be flying squirrels again." She said which made Daryl glare at her. "Do you want to find the man or not? Because at this rate, we'll never find him if y'all continue to argue." She asked them all. Daryl grunted at josie which makes her raise an eyebrow.
"Do what you want. I'm gonna go get him." He said before beginning to walk off. Rick doesn't let him go and pressed his hand against his chest, pushing Daryl back.
"Daryl, wait." Rick pleaded.
Daryl snapped at Rick which made josie slap her hand on her forehead. "Get your hands off me! You can't stop me." Daryl fired at him.
"I don't blame you. He's family, I get that. I went through hell to find mine. I know exactly how you feel." Rick tried to reason with Daryl.
Josie tilted her head, looking at Daryl with a sympathetic smile. "He can't get far with that injury. We could help you check a few blocks around but only if we keep a level head, okay?" Daryl turns to josie, the girl trying to calm everyone down. Daryl let out a defeated sigh and nods at her.
"I could do that." He says which josie smiled at.
"Only if we get those guns first. I'm not strolling the streets of Atlanta with just my good intentions, okay?" T-dog piped up which made everyone agree.
"See not that hard guys." Josie mumbled as she stood beside glenn.
"You're both not doing this alone." Rick told Glenn after Glenn told them his plan.
"Even I think it's a bad idea and I don't even like you two much." Daryl adds which josie shake her head.
"Makes two of us." She grunted, placing herself beside glenn.
"It's a good idea, okay, if you just hear me out. If we go out there in a group, we're slow, drawing attention." Glenn told them all.
Glenn started to draw a map of the street on the ground and marked the tank and the bag of guns. "Look. That's the tank, five blocks from where we are now. That's the bag of guns. Here's the alley Me and tiff dragged you into when we first met. That's where Daryl, jo and I will go." Glenn said as he pointed to the pair.
Daryl frowned, wondering why he chose the pair. "Why us?" He asked.
"Your crossbow is quieter than his gun and Jo is fast on her feet, she will be able to help me if anything goes wrong. While Daryl waits here in the alley, me and josie run up the street, grab the bag. Jo will look out for me, she's a good aim." Glenn said pointing to josie, who stood beside him, examining the map.
"You got us elsewhere?" Rick asked, pointing to himself and T-dog. Glenn points down the street.
"You and T-Dog, right. You'll be in this alley here." Glenn told him, pointing to the place on the self drawn map.
"Two blocks away? Why?" Rick asked clearly confused which made josie sigh. She then pointed to where Daryl was going to be.
"We may not be able to come back the same way. Walkers might cut us off. If that happens, we won't go back to Daryl." She said.
Glenn nodded before talking over. "We will go forward instead, all the way around to that alley where you guys are. Whichever direction We go, We have got you in both places to cover us. Afterwards, we'll all meet back here."
"That good with you j?" Rick asked as she looked up from the map and at Rick, sending him a small nod along with a reassuring smile.
"Hey, kid, what'd you do before all this?" Daryl asked Glenn which caused josie to grin as she stood up, cracking her knuckles.
"Delivered pizzas. Why?" Glenn tilted his head up to look at josie, who was smirking but she shook her head at him.
After a while they all finally got in their position. Josie changed to her pocket knife and placed it in her mouth as she climbed down the yellow ladders. She was the last one down. She followed Glenn and Daryl and hid behind a container. "You got some balls for a Chinaman." Daryl looks at Glenn as he reloads his crossbow.
"I'm Korean." Glenn told Daryl which made josie sigh, clearly annoyed seen as though she wanted to get the guns and go.
"Whatever." Daryl said. Glenn started to walk off towards the guns, josie following close behind, watching his back, knife clutched in her hands.
Glenn turned around to josie and she gave him a nod, signalling she was ready. Glenn nodded before walking out on the street. The pair hid behind the cars as the walkers walked past.
Glenn quickly ran to the bag but dropped Ricks sheriff hat. He groaned as he looked up to see a Walker close by but josie kicked it's feet, making the Walker fall to the floor. She smashed her knife into the side of the walkers skull, making the blood squirt on her. She pulled a disgusted face as she wiped her arm on her face, tying to get rid of the blood.
She roughly pulled out the knife and Glenn sent her a nod. The pair continued to run back to where Daryl was. But The pair froze at the gates when they saw three different people that wasn't their people.
Joise looked down to see them beating up Daryl and she made the stupid idea to help him, pushing the gate open. She jumped on one of their backs, putting his head in a head lock, something her brother had taught her many times. The other man saw Josie and his now purpled friend, making the two other men pull their attention away from daryl and to her. The man pulled her off of his friend and threw her to the floor, not before swinging a jab to her ribs which made her cry out in pain, her back roughly hitting the floor.
The guy that she had in a head lock ran past her to get to Glenn and she grabbed his leg, making him fall flat on his face with a smack. She grunted as she mumbled. "Bitch."
The other man had got a hold on Glenn which made her groan as the other man got up and ran to his friend to help him with Glenn.
Josie was quick to look behind her at Daryl who was starting to get up. She got up, ignoring the pain in her ribs. "Move!" Daryl shouted at josie and she moved like he told her to. Daryl shot his arrow at the man and he cried out in pain.
Josie looked down at the kid who was near her feet then back up at Glenn. Daryl was about to shoot again but the two of them pulled Glenn into a car which made Josie run up to the gate. "Glenn!" She called out worriedly, "You assholes!" She banged on the gate as the car drove away.
Daryl came up next to her and swore as walkers almost grabbed him arm. The pair turned back around at the kid and Daryl angrily threw him again the wall and, yelling out all sorts of words. "Will you shut up! Gonna have the dead surrounding us!" She quickly spoke, stressed. She then grabbed Daryl, pulling him away from the kid.
Then Rick and t-dog appeared, Rick grabbing a hold of Daryl. "I'm gonna kick your nuts up in your throat!" Daryl spat, squirming In Ricks hold. The kid almost got away but T-dog held the kid against the wall.
"Where did your men take our man?" Josie asked quickly, worried for Glenn's sake. But the kid didn't answer her, making her groan out with frustration.
"Guys! Guys! We're cut off!" T-dog yelled, pointing to the walkers against the gate.
"Get to the lab. Go." Rick said, looking at T-dog. He turned to josie and nodded. "You too, go." He said and she nodded, following after T-dog and the kid.
— MADDIES NOTES
3RD SEPT 2023
NEW CHAPTER BBGS!!
I'm just publishing the chapters I've already written. Just making sad edits lmao
2280 words