With the taste of whiskey still strong on his breath, Daryl rounded the corner of the run down motel, his arrow ready to shoot into the skull of the next corpse he saw. Turning the corner brought a putrid smell to his attention and he was taken aback. Next to him was a broken window, the shards crunching beneath his work boots. Peering inside he found it to be some kind of office and sagging in the chair was the overweight figure of the motel manager. With that amount of flesh spilling from the bottom of his shirt Daryl wondered how the buttons hadn't buckled yet. A pistol lay in his limp, lifeless hand and his brains decorated the wall behind him.
On the desk in front of the corpse was a framed family portrait. Daryl could see the smiling face of the what used to be the manager standing alongside some lady and three young girls, all identical.
"Selfish bastard." Shaking his head, Daryl tied an old oil rag round his face to protect him from the smell and moved on. Hershel's farm provided enough, but they were still running low on stuff they couldn't grow themselves. They'd already bled the local convenience store dry, pharmacy too. This motel was next on the map.
Upon brief inspection all the rooms seemed to be empty, a few were spattered with blood and blood meant walkers, so Daryl was keeping his guard up.
At first Daryl mistook the low humming sound for the engine of the truck he'd left running out front, but when he checked the last corner of the old motel he ran straight into a herd. The rotting figures of flesh turned at the sound of Daryl's footsteps and snapped their ugly jaws, yellow fingernails reaching out to sink into his flesh and spill his guts out onto the floor.
Scanning through the crowd, he decided it was hopeless and turned to get away. But a flickering figure huddled on the roof caught his eye. A girl with a cloud of ash blonde hair gaped at the sight of Daryl, her lips parted. Her corkscrew curls fell in front of her eyes and she clutched her ankle, a flash of pain shooting through her expression.
"Mother fuck.."
Pushing a walker out of his way, he made his way to the roof via the fire escape. The herd followed him three times slower than his pace but it was still quick enough for one of them to catch up with him and grab hold of his hair, all ready to sink it's teeth into his neck. Grabbing the knife from his belt he plunged it into the creature's skull, taking it out right between the eyes. Pulling his knife free Daryl darted across the flat rooftop, his eyes manically searching for the girl.
"Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck."
A hand reached out and clawed at him from the top of the stairs. Ducking behind an air vent he searched around him for a way out. His back hit against something with a soft thud. He spun around and raised his knife, ready to plunge it into another skull.
The colour instantly drained from the girls face, her hands flung in front of her face to defend herself. Her whole body shook and her ankle showed signs of swelling.
"Help..."
Shoving the knife back in his belt Daryl pulled the girl to her feet and ran to the side of the rooftop. There were walkers behind them now and they were closing in fast. There was at least a seven foot drop down to the parking lot. He looked at the girl, she walked with a limp and could barely stand up straight. Shaking his head, he jumped from the roof, hearing the girl shriek at his action on the way down. Only just managing to land on his feet he straightened up and held his arms out to the girl.
"Jump. Now."
Taking a step closer to the edge the girl tripped and hurtled towards the concrete floor. Rushing forward, Daryl managed to catch her at the last second and ran straight toward the truck. Behind him, he could hear the disgusting sound of rotting corpses smacking the floor as the herd tumbled over one another to get at the two of them.
The truck roared loudly down the winding country roads on the way back to Hershel's farm. Nobody had said anything the entire drive and they were both getting sick of it. With an irritated sigh Daryl brought the truck to a screeching halt at the side of the road.
"Okay, I saved your ass. Name?"
The girl ignored Daryl's seemingly harsh gaze and stared straight through the windscreen. "Lux. I have no weapons and my ankle's busted."
Her nonchalant attitude took Daryl by surprise. He expected her to get upset or be a little more defensive about giving up any tiny detail.
"You been with a group before?"
Lux nodded. "They asked questions too, at the beginning. You got a group?"
Turning the key in the ignition, the engine clumsily jumped into life and they carried on driving.
"That's where we're headed.."