CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR — into the maze
DAY broke, the sun shining directly into Riley's eyes. She wanted to stay in bed and bask in the lush feeling of having a mattress between her and the floor. Plus a bed frame.
She also wanted to keep her head on Payton's chest.
Payton had asked if they could sleep in the same bed that night, claiming it was for 'old times sake' but they both knew the truth. It was for comfort. Comfort against the monsters outside and the monsters inside. Comfort for each other so they know that no matter how lonely this new world feels, they'll always have each other.
As soft as she could muster, Riley pushed her weight off of Payton's chest, his hand falling limp at her side.
She pushed herself away from him and onto the cold concrete. She relished in the cool feeling combating the sweat on her skin. The thick concrete walls trapping any breeze from entering, matched with Payton's body heat had Riley steaming in her sleep.
Her joints pop and her muscles stretched as she quickly got changed, the sound of the men quietly talking amongst themselves while they woke was drifting in from downstairs.
Once her boots were on and her laces were tied securely, Riley crouched down on her knees in front of the bunk and pushed a fallen strand of hair from Payton's face.
She pressed her chapped lips to his nose, giving it a kiss. Then she pressed her lips to his. It took a moment but he responded quickly. His hand coming up to the back of her neck, keeping her mouth attached to his.
He pushed into the kiss with such fervor that Riley almost swung her leg over his lap and forgot about her early morning duties. Duties that were currently waiting for her downstairs and who would definitely hear her neglecting said duties.
Riley pulled back, Payton's hand still in her hair. She pressed a final kiss to his lip line before retreating fully.
"I gotta go help the others find the cafeteria today. I'll see you later, Greenie."
Payton smiled, his hand falling away from her hair, his eyes drooped from still-lingering exhaustion. "Okay, gorgeous."
Her cheeks reddened and her smile reached her eyes. She pressed one final kiss to his lips and stood, heading downstairs.
☠︎
Spray paint soaked the walls in shapes of arrows, feet shuffled against blood covered floors. The group rounded a corner after several minutes of walking, only to come into contact with a small crowd of walkers, their dislocated jaws and rotting wrists coming towards them with as much speed as they could gather up.
"Go back, go back! Move!" Rick yelled in as small of a tone as he could, each survivor retreating as they heard the direct order flow urgently from their leaders mouth.
They retreated, going back the way they came, following the white arrows that had been painted in their path.
The sound of a crunch caught Riley's attention, her head spinning to find Hershel falling into the concrete wall to their right. She was quick to pull him to his feet and correct his steps from their swaying.
"This way!"
They dove right, only to come up empty handed when they were cut off by another stream of walkers.
This time they went left, Maggie being pulled from the close jaws of a walker.
They ran again, going left then right, narrowly missing another stream of walkers that appeared from the left. Riley gasped, jumping to the right to dodge a rotting hand that came reaching out for her.
As she missed the walkers weak grip, she felt someone grab her by the bicep and pull her into a room. She looked up to see Daryl, his grip on her arm loosening when Rick pulled the door closed behind them.
They ducked down, flashlights the only thing illuminating their faces, their voices nothing but a hushed whisper.
"Where's Glenn and Maggie?"
"We have to go back."
"But which way?"
Riley thought for a moment. She knew they were behind her when they'd rounded that last corner before the last batch of walkers. But she didn't know which direction they would've fled in. There were countless options.
They didn't say a word, just rose from their feet and made sure their weapons were at the ready.
Daryl had his crossbow, as per usual. Rick had a handgun with a silencer and the rest had their blades. They hoped it would be enough.
Rick pushed the door open, the hinges creaking from the year of no maintenance. It made Riley's ears squeal.
The lack of maintenance to the doors made Riley realize how much time had passed since the world died out. It made her realize that she had turned nineteen within the last few months and hadn't taken notice.
They passed rusting metal doors and dead bodies, empty corridors and bloodied sheets strewn about. But there was no sign of the pair they'd lost.
Rounding another corner, Hershel came to a halt, his eyes darting back the way they came. Riley turned to find him tiptoeing back, his voice carrying through the halls softly, "Mag?"
He stepped over a body, "Maggie?"
Riley watched the body come to life and take hold of his leg within a split second. She dove forward, her knife aiming for it's head, her hand reaching to push Hershel away from it's rotted mouth.
But by the time her weapon seethed itself in it's skull, the undead had taken it's pound of flesh.
Maggie and Glenn rounded the corner at the sound of the older man's screams, the other members of the group right behind Riley.
She was already ripping the sleeve off her shirt and tying it around his thigh, his screams of pain never ceasing. Just as she tied the knot off, her hands retracting from his bloodied leg, Rick and Glenn were already swooping him to his feet.
Riley looked up from her blood soaked hands to see walkers headed their way, Hershel's yelling of pain having attracted them.
"Daryl!" Rick yelled urgently. The hick rounded the front of the group and took aim.
They turned to go the way they were originally going, but walkers pooled in from behind them. So they went the way Glenn and Maggie had come from. They didn't have any other option.
It came to another dead-end, but there was a door handcuffed closed.
T-Dog was quick to shove his fire poker through the loops and snap the metal open. He and Riley shoved the doors open, the others pooling inside as quick as they could.
Daryl, Riley and T-Dog pressed up against the door, their weight stopping the doors from being burst open by undead intentions.
Hershel's incoherent whimpering's filled the room and bounced off the walls that Riley now realized to be a small lunchroom. She looked down at the blood spilling out of Hershel's leg, her gut twisting in guilt.
If only she'd gotten to him a second faster.
Rick ripped his pant leg open, exposing more of the wound. He looked like he was going to retch, but not because of the wound. Because of what he had to do.
"Hold him down." He instructed, his fingers already pulling his belt from their loops.
He tightened the belt over Riley's makeshift tourniquet, the metal of his belt clacking together. He pulled his hatchet from his utility belt that was discarded at Hershel's feet.
"Only one way to keep you alive." Rick told Hershel over his pained ramblings.
And without any further warning, he pulled his arm back and let it go, the bones beneath the hatchet making the most grotesque sounds Riley had ever had the pleasure of hearing.
She had to resist the urge to throw up. So she looked away when Rick pulled the hatchet back up for a second swing, her ears focusing in on the groaning outside and the creak of the doors as they rumbled under the dead weight.
She ignored the sticky sensation on her hands and ignored the squelching coming from in front of her. Her eyes were pressed shut and her mouth was in a thin, tight line.
It was all she could do to keep the nausea at bay.
Just as the doors stopped fighting back, Rick finally finished the job. Daryl was quick to dive forward, his hand on either side of Hershel's leg to provide a way to stop the bleeding.
But just as his knee hit the ground and his hands touched the stump of mangled flesh and blood, he spotted a group of people in the kitchen of the cafeteria.
"Duck." He whispered to Rick.
His crossbow was instantly aimed at their heads, Riley's flashlight shone in their eyes. It was five men, all wearing the same blue prison jumpsuits as the rest of the dead prisoners.
One of the shorter ones, the blond, mumbled at the sight of Hershel's severed leg, "Holy shit."
"Who the hell are you?" Daryl snarled, his steps inching closer to the men, his crossbow never lowering.
"Who the hell are you?" One shot back. He was shorter, but not the shortest. He had greasy black hair pulled half back into a bun.
"He's bleeding out. We gotta go back." Rick urged, needing this to be over fast so they can get the hell back to the cells.
He instructed Maggie and Glenn to put pressure on Hershel's knee to try and stop the bleeding as best they could.
Riley kept her flashlight on the men.
"Why don't you come on out of there? Slow and steady." Daryl spoke, his aim still trained on the men, ready to shoot if any of them so much as looked at him funny.
They came trudging out of the kitchen, their eyes darting to the bloodied leg on the floor.
The one with the slicked black hair stopped looking around when he spotted Riley. His eyes went from her missing sleeve, to the blood coating her tanned skin and stopped at her sweat covered face.
He smirked a little as his eyes dipped to the barely visible cleavage line in her shirt.
Riley had to resist the urge to tell Daryl to shoot him. She knew if she asked, he would do it without question.
But his eyes darted back down to Hershel, "What happened to him?"
"He got bit."
"Bit?" He pulled a gun from his waistband, a synchronized click of metal erupted from both Riley and T-Dog, their unsilenced guns aiming at the prisoner with the gun.
He was quick to aim at Riley's head, the closest one to him.
"Easy now." Daryl's voice was low and calm, but hidden beneath that was a thread of fear that Riley would get shot. "Nobody needs to get hurt."
The prisoner redirected his aim at Daryl, who took a step closer so he was deemed more of a threat than Riley was.
Glenn dove right passed them, "You have medical supplies?" but he didn't wait for an answer, just started rummaging through the kitchen.
"Woah, where do you think you're goin'?" The tallest asked, a small pipe held in his hands. Though, he did nothing to stop Glenn.
"Who the hell are you people, anyway?" Greasy Hair spoke again, a name Riley had dubbed him.
"Don't look like no rescue team." The blond spoke, eyeing Rick and Maggie as they pushed Hershel into a sitting position.
"If a rescue team is what you're waitin' for, don't." Rick said, his hands pressed firmly on Hershel's back to support his passed out frame.
A clang of pots sounded from the kitchen, Glenn emerging with a wheeled steel table. He rushed towards Rick, placing the table next to Hershel.
"Come on, we gotta go!" Rick yelled, pulling Hershel's arm onto his shoulder and heaving him up onto the table with the help of Maggie and Glenn.
The others kept their weapons trained on the men.
"T, the door!"
T-Dog was quick to retreat, heading for the door as the other three pushed the table towards the rusted doors.
"Are you crazy? Don't open that!" The smallest of the men spoke. Even his voice was small in comparison to the three that had spoken.
"We got this." Daryl was quick to dismiss them, crossbow still aimed.
T-Dog opened the door, shoving his fire poker through the chin of the first walker. Daryl was beckoned while T-Dog was preoccupied.
He tapped Riley on the shoulder, making her head out first, then he followed behind them with his crossbow still on Greasy Hair as he walked backwards.
Riley hoped she'd never have to encounter them again. Especially the one that wielded the gun.
She hoped she'd never have to see his beady little eyes rake over her body ever again. But somehow she knew that hope wouldn't hold out.