— 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗙𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗘𝗡
( 𝘕𝘖𝘈𝘏. )
THE PAIR MADE THEIR WAY to a lot between buildings to rest before they continued their mission. Murphy sat on a low concrete wall with Daryl's help, still holding her left side in pain. He observed her expression, handing her his canteen of water. She silently thanked him, taking a small sip to conserve it. She screwed the lid back on and handed it back.
As Daryl put it back in his pack, he asked, "How bad is it?"
Gently, Murphy pulled up her undershirt to see the injury, and she was met with blue and purple skin where the rib had been broken. Daryl leaned forward to get a better look, and his eyes squinted in mild disgust.
"I'll be fine," Murphy responded, taking shallow breaths to reduce the sharp pains. She pressed down on the tender area carefully. "It's only a fracture. It'll heal in a month."
Daryl made eye contact once more, "You said you were a surgeon."
Murphy shuffled through her bag to find a small container of pills at the bottom. It was ibuprofen. She unscrewed the bottle, and swallowed a few with a sip from her water bottle. She nodded while doing so, replying, "Yeah, a trauma surgeon. Car accidents, gun wounds... that kind of stuff."
Daryl hummed in response, sitting down next to her on the wall. She set her bag down on the ground by her feet, placing her arms beside her and leaning back. The two were silent as they rested for a moment.
Murphy spoke, "There's only three blocks between us and Grady."
Daryl nodded, and replied, "We need to find a place nearby. Scope it out, see what we can see."
"You think we can find out what we need by watching?"
"It's where we start. C'mon."
Murphy let out a breath of air in preparation, standing up with some difficulty. She carefully swung her bag back on her shoulders, gripping her gun in her hands. The two of them made their way to a nearby building that happened to be unlocked. They climbed the staircase to see if they had a good view of the hospital. Climbing the flights of stairs was hard for Murphy, and she got out of breath quickly. But, they made it to the top floor, carefully walking through the halls where bodies lay strewn across the corridor.
On the floor, a walker was immobile but growled nonetheless, reaching with its emaciated hands towards the two. Daryl walked forward, stabbing it in the head and silencing it quickly. Beside the body was a bag of snacks, which he began to shuffle through.
Murphy stopped beside a window in the hallway and said, "I see them. We're good here."
Daryl raised his head and stepped forward. He pulled out a bag of chips and handed it to her wordlessly.
Murphy took it and muttered, "Thanks."
The two of them set up in a small room that gave them a good view of the hospital. They could see everything from the parking lot to the roof. Murphy opened the bag of chips and began snacking. She took a seat on the window sill while Daryl stood, pouring the remaining crumbs of the bag into his mouth. As he turned to throw the litter on the floor, Murphy's eyes widened in realization.
"Shit," she exclaimed, setting her head on the wall behind her. "Abe, Rosita, and Eugene... we were supposed to leave yesterday."
"Damn, you're righ'," Daryl answered, sitting on the opposite side of the sill. "You think they left?"
"I don't know," Murphy answered, looking down at her bag of chips. "Knowing Abraham, probably. That man is on a tight schedule."
Daryl grunted in response, setting his elbow on his propped knee. He noticed her solemn expression and continued, "Sorry I made you come out here. I wasn' thinkin'."
Murphy raised her head and replied, "No. It's okay, really. I wanted to help. I still do."
The two looked at each other in silence, and Daryl nodded, "Y'know... you can stay. With us."
"What?"
"If they left, stay. Don' follow them on your own."
Murphy didn't know what to say.
"I... I don't know, Daryl. You guys are a family."
Daryl shifted in his spot and leaned forward, "Listen, what you did comin' with me... that's what family does. You don' know Beth, but you came out here anyway. You're one of us. So stay."
Murphy's green eyes locked with his dark blue ones. She nodded. She couldn't find words to reply. Seeing Daryl, seeing his group, made Murphy's heart swell with emotion. Maybe humankind had some small sliver of hope left. Maybe there were more good people out there. Maybe, just maybe, they could live. Before either one of them could say anything, the sound of a closing door broke their thoughts. The two of them immediately grabbed their weapons and stood up, making their way out of the room.
Thudding and growling sounded from around the corner of the hallway, and as they turned, they caught sight of a walker with an arrow in its neck. It was stuck, its head hitting the wall as it reached forward, ravenous with hunger.
"Is that yours?" Murphy asked.
"Yeah," Daryl responded. He took his knife, stabbing the dead one in the head before pulling his arrow out of the body.
Suddenly, the sound of automatic gunfire rang throughout the building, and their heads shot up in the direction of the noise. Murphy slowly walked forward, hearing struggling close by. As she rounded a corner, she saw the teenage boy that threatened them not a few hours before struggling with a walker. As she raised her knife to kill the walker, the boy pushed it towards Murphy. It fell on top of her, and she let out a yell of pain. Her knife had fallen from her grasp and she pushed against the shoulders of the dead one to prevent its clicking teeth from coming any closer.
Daryl ran forward, pulling the walker off of her and stabbing it quickly. He crouched beside Murphy, helping her up. As she caught her breath she said, "I'm good, you go."
Daryl nodded, running after the boy. Murphy pulled herself up, the sharp pains in her side returning as the medicine began to wear off. She heard a loud crash from the direction where the boy and Daryl ran, so she quickly picked up her knife and jogged over. In a small room she found Daryl standing over the boy caught under a fallen bookshelf. The shelf seemingly blocked a doorway where a walker was attempting to push through.
"Please!" the boy yelled. "I had to protect myself."
Daryl stepped forward angrily, "Why you followin' us?"
"I-I didn't, I swear! I thought you followed me!"
"Bullshit."
Murphy watched, knowing the boy was being genuine. Daryl crouched to pick up a stray pack of cigarettes on the ground, taking one out and lighting it in his mouth.
"C'mon, man! Ple-Please," the boy groaned. "Please, please."
"Nah," Daryl muttered through his cigarette. "I already helped you once. It ain't happenin' again."
He reached down to pick up his crossbow, "Have fun with Hoss over there."
The boy's desperate pleas for help made Murphy question Daryl's actions. He walked past her without a thought, expecting her to follow. Closing her eyes in conflict, she turned to his receding figure, "Daryl! Daryl, stop."
He turned around and walked closer to her, "You almost died 'cause of him!"
"I didn't!" she answered.
Daryl stopped to think once more, looking at the struggling boy, "Nah. Let him be."
As he walked away, Murphy let out an angered breath of air. Before she could consider anything, however, the walker had pushed through the door and fallen on top of the shelves. It's head came dangerously close to the boy's and Murphy immediately rushed forward to stab it. Just as she raised her knife, an arrow lodged itself into the walker's skull. Murphy looked to find Daryl with his crossbow raised, puffing on his cigarette. She sent him a small smile that he saw. That was enough.
Immediately, Murphy pulled the body off of the shelves, grimacing in pain. Daryl walked to the far end of the unit, lifting the shelves with a grunt. Murphy crouched beside the boy, helping to pull him out from underneath.
"Come on, just a little more," she mumbled as he pushed himself out.
As soon as he'd gotten out from under, Daryl let the shelves fall on the ground once more.
"Oh, thank you. Thank you. Thank you," The boy breathed, before standing up and running towards the windows.
"You okay?" Daryl asked Murphy, who picked up the rifle that the boy had dropped. She nodded in response.
"I gotta go," the boy whispered. "I gotta go, they're gonna come. They probably heard the shot. If they find me..."
"Who?" Daryl asked.
"Them, the people at the hospital."
Daryl took the cigarette out of his mouth and stepped forward, placing a hand on the boy's chest eagerly, "Wait, wait, wait, just tell us - was there a blonde girl there? You see a blonde girl?"
"Beth?"
Murphy looked at Daryl, letting a grin cross over her face. His face softened in relief.
"You know her?" the boy asked. "She helped me get out, but she's still there."
Murphy walked towards the window just in time to see a car pass by, with a white cross on the back window, "They're coming."
The boy began to panic, "We gotta go now. We gotta go. We gotta go!"
The three took hold of their belongings and clambered down the stairs quickly. As they found themselves in the bottom lobby of the building, Murphy realized that the boy had a noticeable limp.
As he stumbled, he spoke, "The building next door has a basement. It's clear. We'll be safe."
They took a few more steps before the boy fell to the ground in pain, Murphy assumed from the leg injury. The pair helped the boy get to his feet once more, and the three of them reached the glass front doors of the building. Just before they exited, the car sped by and they crouched in hiding.
Once the vehicle passed, Daryl turned towards the boy, "What's it gonna take... to get her back?"
"A lot," they boy responded, breathlessly. "They got guns, people."
"So do we," Murphy replied, leaning against the wall to stand up and walk towards the back entrance of the building. Daryl followed, and the boy after.
The back lot was filled with walkers. The three of them silently hid behind a dumpster by the door. As Murphy kept watch, Daryl took his lighter and dropped it into the dumpster filled with rotting trash. The dumpster burst into flames, and the walkers began to make their way towards the distraction. Carefully, the three slipped past the group. The fence they approached was loose at the bottom corner. Daryl climbed through first, holding it open for Murphy. She grimaced, pulling herself through with Daryl's help. The boy was last.
With their luck, a large truck sat in the middle of the alleyway. Daryl climbed into the driver's seat, finding the key hidden in the truck's sun visor. He started the ignition, and the truck sputtered to life. He nodded at Murphy and the boy. Murphy climbed in through the passenger side and sat in the middle, while the boy sat beside her, shutting the door behind him. Daryl revved the engine, and drove through the fence in front of them, making his way onto the city's main road.
The trio was silent as they drove through the city, passing walkers in every direction. As they exited the city, Murphy turned to the kid sitting beside her, "What's your name?"
"Noah," he replied.
Murphy nodded, "I'm Murphy. This is Daryl."
She gestured to Daryl, who sat wordlessly in the driver's seat. The three did not say a word for the rest of the drive, remaining in a thoughtful silence. As night fell, Daryl stopped on the small country road, spotting the car that he'd found Murphy working on not two days before.
"We're here," He grunted.
He parked the truck and climbed out, Murphy following. He held her arm as she stepped down, shutting the door behind her. The three trod through the woods, back to the church where their friends stayed behind. Noah walked behind the pair, following them. Through the trees, they began to see the light of the church. As they made their way to the clearing, a figure stood before them, and they stopped in caution for a moment.
Murphy soon realized that it was Michonne, and she smiled in relief.
"You're back," Michonne grinned, lowering the sword she carried in her hands. She noticed Murphy holding her side and her faced morphed into one of concern, "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Murphy waved.
"Where did you two go?" Michonne asked, stepping forward.
Murphy was silent for a moment, before replying, "We need to talk."
Michonne looked to Daryl in concern, but he only turned over his shoulder and called, "Come on out!"
AUTHOR'S NOTE – i am on a role, woohoo. three updates, guys. that's a new record, haha. anyway, i hope you guys enjoyed! please vote and comment. i love seeing your thoughts. thank you all!