Daryl
Walking with the Wolves dressed like walkers messes with your mind to say the least. Everything's wrong. Everything ya see tells your brain that they are walkers, the way they look and move, but ya know they ain't. Knowing they ain't walkers makes ya feel safe but ya ain't. The proof is in the rope around your wrists, in the taste of the gag in your mouth and in the tug of them pulling ya along. Everything ya hear when they moan and groan tells your mind they're walkers until ya hear them whisper.
"Guardians, ahead."
It's a vicious cycle that keeps going around and around. It's creepy as shit and ya can't make it stop. It's like you're stuck on a sick cycle carousel. Your insides war with themselves, unsure whether ya should stay on and fight or step off and take flight to run for your life. Your mind tells ya one thing but your senses and instincts tells ya another. It's a disorienting.
We've been walkin' for miles, goin' slower than molasses. Glenn and I start in the middle of the pack but we inch our way further and further towards the back. One wolf assigned to' each of us, pullin' us along, walkin' us like dogs. Davidson (or what used to be Davidson) leads the way to Alexandria. If he stumbles off course, Alpha or Beta push him back in the right direction.
Six walkers stumble around up ahead and we're headed right for 'em. I try t' settle my nerves but the only protection these assholes gave us is a little walker blood smeared on our face and clothes. Hopefully it's enough t' mask our scent. The walkers could give us the distraction we need to get away. There are 18 wolves, 2 of us and 6 walkers, it'll be difficult but we can do it.
I glance over at Glenn and I can see his brain reeling. His head turns and his eyes meet mine. I give him a nod. This is our chance. He nods in understanding. He twists his wrist and uses one finger to tap his wrist. We gotta time this right. I nod t' let him know I agree. We continue on. The walkers have to merge with the wolves for this to work. Three more walkers show up on either side of us. They come up and start walking with us and the wolves. They don't seem t' notice me and Glenn. Relieved for the moment, I look at Glenn, he looks as relieved as I feel. He holds up a finger and shakes his head once. Not yet. I nod again.
A few more minutes pass and we finally catch up with the other six walkers. They fall in step with our mini herd. Once they are good and mingled with the group, I know it's time. Glenn's already lookin' at me, waitin' for me to give the signal I'm ready. I rearrange the rope from my wrists and wrap the ends around my hands. Glenn does the same. We look at each other one more time and nod in unison. Now.
We lunge to the wolves in front of us and toss the rope up and over their heads. We hook the rope in their mouths gagging them from making noise. I reach for the knife on the wolf's hip and stab him four times in the side. I remove his gag and stab him again makin' him cry out in pain, gettin' the attention of the walker next t' us. It instantly is on the wolf and takes a huge bite out of his flesh. I peek over at Glenn as he drags a knife along his wolf's neck.
I look in front of us and see several wolves watchin' us. Whispers hiss through the group. "The prisoners... are escapingggg."
"Stoppp themmmm."
The group begins t' turn around toward us. Even though I know there are more wolves than walkers it's hard t' figure out which is which. A movement catches my eye. A hand moves faster than it should to grip a knife. Gotcha. I charge the wolf and take a swipe at 'em. They dodge my attack and try to get me in return. I throw a left hook and their body stumbles to the right where my knife is waitin' for them. They grunt in pain and I shove them towards the bodies comin' at me. Hands catch the Wolf. Something bumps into me and I realized it's a walker. I stab it in the head.
"Geeettt themmm." A whisper seethes.
Two more bodies creep toward me. Walkers. No wolves. No walkers. My mind debates back and forth trying to decide what I'm looking at. As they get closer I can see the eyes don't look quite right. Wolves. They both attack at the same time and I do my best to protect myself. I grab the closest one to me by the arm and twist it swiftly behind their back then jerk the wolf in front of me, using them as a shield. The other wolf accidentally stabs the person I'm holding. Another figure is approachin' on my left.
Suddenly gunshots. The person, the walker, the whatever to my left drops, then another body drops by Glenn, then me. It takes me a second to realize someone's protecting me and Glenn. I catch a glimpse of two people shooting behind a big semi truck. Abe and Sasha. My attention turns back to the scene before me. More gunshots. I see Alpha and Beta and at least 6 other wolves run into the woods.
I go to run after them and I feel a hand stop me. Glenn says. "Daryl! No!"
"We can't let 'em get away." I argue.
"We can make it back before them and warn the others. Take a look around man, we're outnumbered." I see at least ten what I think are walkers comin' at us. "We gotta go."
I growl in anger. It's so frustrating to not know how many wolves got away and how many are left. Glenn's right we gotta get back. We gotta warn Rick and everyone else.
Beth
We are trapped.
Aaron climbs the ladder and tries to push against the wood blocking the exit. It doesn't budge. "The watch tower must have fell. It had to have knocked down the wall with it. That would explain the big rumble we felt."
"If the wall fell, then the herd is inside the walls now." I say.
"There's no way we're gonna make it out this way. The only way out is back there." He gestures to the end of the tunnel where we just were.
I nod, agreeing with him. We go back through the sewer, walking as fast as we can. When we reach the grated door entrance there are still walkers there. Looking past him the herd is farther away and it seems to be moving. They are all probably going to where the wall has been breached. There are probably 20 to 30 walkers blocking our exit.
I draw my knife and look at Aaron. "You ready?"
He draws his knife and nods. We both start stabbing the walkers through the grated door. It doesn't take long to kill them all but now we have another problem. Aaron struggled to get the door open when there wasn't anything blocking the door. Now we have to pry it open with 24 bodies in the way. If we would have been smart, we could have drawn them to the left side and killed them all there so the door would open easier. Too late now.
It takes us over 30 minutes and both of us pushing to create an opening big enough for the both of us to squeeze through. Once we are free, Aaron starts heading toward Alexandria.
"What are you doing?" I ask him.
He looks back at me like I'm crazy. "We have to go back. They need our help."
"They do. But if we go there now, we are just heading right into a sea of walkers inside the walls. We need a plan." I explain.
He considers this for a moment before finally nodding his head. "What do you suggest we do?"
"The way I see it, we have two options. One. We gut up and go home. We take out as many walkers as we can along the way. There will be some fighting inside the walls but you and I both know that majority of the people inside will be hiding. It'll be too many for us to take on without some heavy weapons or something to distract the walkers."
"So what you're saying is we really only have one option." Aaron observes.
"No, we can do it. I'm just saying it's not gonna be easy. Our second option is we try to find a vehicle and lead the walkers away. But I don't know this area like you do. Is that even possible? Or have we already picked this area clean?"
Aaron's eyebrows furrow together as he thinks it over. "No, we haven't been this way much. We should be able to get a car."
"I'll do whatever you want but I think you know my vote." I tell him.
"You're right. We'd be more useful to them if we found a car and led the walkers away. Let's go." He agrees sadly.
I gesture ahead. "Lead the way." We climb up the small hill to get onto the main road. "How far are we from Alexandria?"
"Only a couple of miles. If that." He grunts out as he traverses the uphill terrain.
When we reach the road, I give my surroundings a quick look. There's a small group of walkers off in the distance heading toward us but there's enough distance between us and them that I'm not worried. Aaron nods his head to the right. "Come on, this way."
We come up on a small lower middle class neighborhood if I had to guess. The homes are not tiny but they are huge either. Just your average, everyday, run of the mill, American homes. There are a few cars in the driveways. We start searching each, one by one. The three cars we check have clearly been siphoned for gas. The next car looks promising. I climb in the driver's side. I pull the sunvisor above to check for any sign of the keys. It's empty which means either the keys are inside the home or not here at all.
Aaron and I search the house real quick and the keys are nowhere. I sigh in frustration as we exit the house. Aaron goes to move on but I stop him. "Wait. There's still one more thing we can try."
I open the driver's side door and Aaron opens the passenger side door. I bend down and reach under the dash until I am able to hook my fingers around the cables I have been looking for. Aaron's eyebrows jump in surprise. "You know how to hot wire a car?"
I smile big. "I'll give you three guesses on who taught me."
Mentioning Daryl, even indirectly, hurts my heart. I miss him. Sensing my sadness, Aaron says, "He's okay Beth."
I shrug as if it's not a big deal. "I know he is."
I finally get the wires exposed and start taping them together. The engine sputters but it doesn't start. It's probably been sitting too long. I growl in frustration. "Oh come on." I fuss at it, willing it to obey. After a few more tries, I sigh and give up.
Aaron gives me an encouraging smile. "It's alright. We still have several more cars we can try."
I nod and we both climb out of the vehicle. Aaron looks behind me and his smile fades. "Or not."
I whip my head over my shoulder and see a small herd coming right for us. It must be the same group as before, drawn by the noise. Although we've been fairly quiet. They are a little too close for comfort. Aaron's face goes white like he's seen a ghost. "Aaron?"
He doesn't respond. He just keeps staring at the herd. "Davidson?"
I recognize the name but can't remember where I've heard it before. It doesn't matter. They are getting too close. "Aaron!!" His head snaps in my direction. I grab his hand and pull him. "We gotta go."
We jog in the opposite direction of the herd. Trying to put as much distance from us and them as we can. We jog for about five minutes and slow down thinking that should be enough. We're outta sight from the herd now and even if our scent lingers it'll take them a while to catch up to this spot. Even if the herd does make it here, Aaron and I will be long gone. We pass a bottle of water between the two of us and catch our breath. We walk for a minute and then we hear the groans again. We look behind us and sure enough, there's the herd coming right at us.
He and I quickly hide behind a tree. I dig through my bag and wind an old kitchen timer. I throw it hard to our left. Peeking out from behind the tree, I see the front walker turn toward the noise. But the two walkers behind it, push it forward in our direction.
"What?" I say in disbelief. "How is that possible?"
"I don't know but let's go." Aaron replies again, his voice slightly panicked.
This time we run. These walkers seem faster because they are never far off. Aaron and I both are beginning to tire out. We run for as long as we can until we have to start speed walking. My lungs feel like they are on fire. The last time I ran like this Daryl and I were running from the walkers at the prison. I spot a break in the trees and a steep, muddy hill. The herd isn't visible so I make the turn with Aaron right behind me. We slide down it a little ways. We lie down and frantically cover ourselves in mud. We get still, plastering ourselves to the hillside, being as quiet as possible and wait for the herd to pass.
Not a few minutes later, we hear the moans. Then we hear something else. Something that makes my blood run cold. A whisper.
"Whereee arreee theyyyy?"