This will be a spoiler free fic set during the S3 hiatus/winter, the time they never seem to talk about and certainly don't show, so about 6 months before the season 4 premiere.
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Roncey paused on her way to the storage room for a moment to weigh her options, she could take her chances with the biker, after all he didn't seem like a bad guy from what she saw, but then he didn't know she was there and that could change everything. She'd learned there were all sorts of people out here, opportunists, sadists, desperate people, even cannibals. Let alone all the dead ones walking about. The best kind of folks were the ones that left you alone or occasionally bartered for things, but that hadn't happened in a long while. These days it was easiest if they didn't even know you were there, period. The bottom line was that if Missy didn't get these antibiotics she was dead, simple as that.
With her mind made up that she'd take her chances with what was behind door number 1, Roncey quietly picked her way to the store room, checked the silencer on her gun, and placed her knife in her teeth as she reached up to turn the knob slowly. There was a whisper of a click and then the door opened and she felt the temperature drop in the air from the dark concrete room as she entered. Listening intently, she quickly slipped in and let the door softly close behind her.
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The biker raised his finger to his mouth and gestured to his partner that he had heard something. He had the ears of a jack rabbit and could tell the sound was too soft to be a walker, meaning they had a live one in here with them. He was sure there wasn't a vehicle outside they could have used, afterall this wasn't his first rodeo. But now that he thought about it more, this one had been too easy.
He should have done a full sweep circling the building inside and out. Shaking his head in exasperation with his carelessness he made a stealthy approach to the rear of the store, coming up on the pharmacists area he pivoted quickly behind the counter with his weapon raised, but found it empty. He noticed the gap on the otherwise fairly well stocked shelves, seeing that antibiotics had been taken and tucked that information away. Proceeding to the store room door and drawing the blade from his belt and tucked his gun into his waistband of his tattered pants as he waited for his companion to join him.
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Holding her breath for a few moments on the other side of the door, she let her eyes acclimate to the dark and then she inhaled deeply. It was musty but it didn't smell of carrion, there's no confusing the smell of death anymore. She'd learned how to tell how dead something was within a few breaths. She couldn't rule out that the musty smell meant there was a dry one in here, but anything more and in this small space and she'd be gaging.
Didn't mean it wasn't a threat, they just tended to slow down the older they got. The sinews got shorter as they dried and they just couldn't function as fluidly as well, a fresh one could, literally. Allowing her eyes to dilate as much as they could, she flared her nostrils and did a sweep of the space as quickly as possible. She was simply looking for a way out and was was grateful to see the sliver of light on the floor that led her to a delivery door leading outside. Rushing to it in relief, she found herself a moment later dodging the ineffectual sweep of a zombie that had melted to the floor in is decomposition and had become stuck as a prisoner in a puddle of it's own hardened remains.
Surprised that there was any brain left to be working that swinging skeletal arm she kneeled down, slipped her knife in the empty eye socket and swished the blade around until it stopped moving. Flicking the sludge off the blade as she made for the backdoor. Roncey silently opened the door and cautiously slipped outside. Spotting the boys she signaled it was time to make a break for it, and slipped into the tree line.
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Holding up 3 fingers to his friend the biker then counted them down silently and when he hit one opened the door with a wide sweeping gesture. The other man stepped into the room, coiled to react with his knife raised above his head, ready to take out whatever might greet him.
The daylight streamed through the open door into the dark interior of a small room with shelves reaching to the ceiling lined up against the walls. The biker came in behind his companion and wedged the the wooden shim under the door to keep it fully open and filling the space with light. The biker hurried to the back door slowing a moment to take in the dispatched walker, then flung it open and watched the three figures becoming smaller in the distance.
"Well there they go. Whatcha think?" The Biker asked his companion.
"Up to you. We could use the supplies, but our mission is to look out for live ones." He replied with a shrug. "Is that a pile of walkers over there?"
"Yup. Notice there's no drag marks? They led them here and then took them out. That's some cunning, tells us they're smart but probably not strong. Looks like buddy took medicine back at the pharmacy and the walker in there was put down, and it wasn't about survival." The Biker replied.
"Ok, so that was like a kindness?" He asked doubtfully.
"Just saying, the guy could had just stepped over it, he knew we were here and still took the time to end it before buggin' out." The biker replied.
"Fair enough. Do you think they meet the criteria?" The second man asked, walking over to the tidy pile of walkers stacked behind a shed, impressed with the planning that took.
"Dunno, but might be worth checking out. Tell you what, you shop, I'll track. Leave my bike back here and I'll meet you at the cabin in a couple of hours." The biker replied with a shrug.
"Fine with me., Do think you can find something bigger than a squirrel today? I mean I'm not knocking it but the bones are starting irritate me." He replied.
"Seems to me, you need to learn how to hunt boy." The biker replied with a harsh tone, softened by a smirk.
"Yeah, yeah. See you in a few." He chuckled waving him off.
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Roncey waited for the other's to catch up with her just past the treeline.
"Hey, I got it. Here, take these just in case." She said, dividing up the meds between them. They'd learned the hard way not to put all their eggs in one basket anymore. "Ok, let's book. Don't want to risk getting followed but just in case we'll split up. Scar, you're the fastest, I want you to run back to camp and get those to Missy. Go!"
Scar nodded and was quickly a dark speck in the distance.
"Ok, lets have some fun." She said turning to Tobey. "First things first lets clean up his trail." Giving each other a feral grin before they picked up branches and started sweeping Scar's foot prints away.
"I'll start on laying false trails. Be careful." Toby said as he bumbled forward snapping twigs and branches as he went in the opposite direction.
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The Biker watched their progress from a distance, there was only two now and he was impressed with their efforts before they separated. He decided to follow the one that was still sweeping the trail, he seemed like the leader of the group and he knew he'd learn the most from watching that one. If he lost his trail he knew where to pick up the trail of the other one.
"OK buddy, lead me home." He muttered softly. They might be good, but he was better.
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Thanks to: safeandsoundunderthestars, Guest and FrankiKaos for your reviews and follows along with Paper Grenade, Thanks also to Stjarna17 who's made this fic a favorite and to the 57 readers so far.
I'm glad you like the premise and thanks to FrankiKaos's review comment, this will be a spoiler free fic so no worrying about that for the international fans of the show, since they catch it later than North America. I agree Scar made me think of the Lion King too but I'm thinking "Scar" thinks it makes him seem like more of a badass, but at the same time revealing a sweetness, it is a Disney villain after all. So does he have a scar? Let the suggestions flow and we'll see where the winter will take us.
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Here's the other fic I've been working on since the S3 hiatus, which is also a Daryl/OC (With lot's of Merle, in case you're missing him.)
s/8787375/1/How-the-Man-Designed-Me
