Tilly wiped sleep from her eyes as sun flooded through the cracks in the boarded up windows. She looked around; Daryl lay with his back to her, Apollo at his feet. She shook, and stood up. She ran back upstairs and grabbed her backpack, more importantly her machete and water bottle. Back down the stairs she went, being careful not to wake the sleeping man on the floor.
"Apollo, come." she hissed. The dog humphed in his sleep, and wagged his tail unenthusiastically. She rolled her eyes, and began taking the boards off the door. Finally she managed to make it out of the building and onto the street. She turned right, towards the suburbs. In the pack slung over her shoulders there were some crackers, a bottle of water, and various tools. She had been trying to repair her old neighbor's pickup for months, and figured she'd have another go at it today. She was halfway down the road when a voice called out to her.
"Leave your dog with me again, and I'll cook 'im!" she smiled slightly and turned, squinting as the sun was now in her eyes.
"He'd probably taste better than chili." she called back at Daryl sarcastically . Apollo looked up at the man, and wagged his tail, panting a happy smile. Daryl walked down the street towards her; she noticed he had no pack with him.
"Whereabouts ya headed anyways? Not plannin' to go haring off towards the walkers are ya?" he said as he approached her. He noticed a wrench sticking out of her pack. "Ya wouldn't happen ta be fixin' something would ya?" Tilly nodded.
"My neighbor's old pickup. It malfunctioned right before all this started. I've been trying to fix it to get out of here, but I'm kind of clueless." she blushed.
"I'll make you a deal; I'll fix her for ya if I can borrow it for a bit. I'll see if you can join my group... if you want to that is." a smile caught her eyes.
"Sure, it's gotta be better than living above a bar eating chili every day."
"Well alright then. Lead the way." Tilly nodded and they set off down the street once more.
"I hate to ask it, but how many walkers you killed?" Daryl asked from under the hood of the car; Tilly stood watch a few feet from him, keeping an eye on the road.
"I lost count about three months in. I didn't have any family, and Apollo here was my only companion. I killed to stay alive, y'know?"
"Yeah, I know." Daryl replied quietly. He shut the hood and backed up. "That should be it, let's try."
"You need a key? We might be able to find-"
"Nah, that's fine." Daryl said as he poked his head under the dash and hotwired the car.
"I'm impressed." Tilly smirked and headed to the passenger door. "Can hold his scotch and hotwire a car. I believe you might be prince charming Mr. Daryl."
"Just used to it I guess." Daryl whistled at Apollo. The dog came bounding over and into the front seat, placing himself between Tilly and Daryl. "Anything you want before we ship out? We ain't comin' back."
"No. Nothing." Tilly responded, a tinge of sadness in her voice and she looked around the destroyed neighborhood.
"Well alright then." Daryl shut his door and off they went.
"Who's Beth?" Tilly asked after a long silence. They had been driving for a while, and not said a word.
"A girl that I know…knew. She died." there was hurt in his voice.
"I'm sorry. Did she die recently?"
"Yesterday." Daryl spit out the window.
"Oh shit, I'm sorry. I didn't mean…" Tilly trailed off.
"Nah it's fine man. She was annoying." she stared at him and shook her head.
"She doesn't sound like she was annoying. It's sounds like you loved her." Tilly turned her eyes back to the road. Daryl brought the truck to a slow stop.
"Yeah, and so what if I did love her, hm?! Maybe I did. Maybe I fuckin' loved her. That's none of your damn business." he punched the steering wheel, and looked out the window, biting his lip. "I was supposed to protect her, and I couldn't. It's my fault she even… She shouldn't even have been in that hospital." Apollo whined, and licked Daryl's arm.
"How did she die?" Tilly asked softly "You don't have to tell me if you don't want too."
"She got shot. It was clean, she didn't feel a thing." he started to drive again. They drove in silence for a while before either of them spoke again.
"Where do you think we'll find your group?" Tilly asked as they turned a corner.
"Right there." Daryl pointed to the firetruck stopped ahead. Rick and Glenn looked like they were arguing while the rest of the company stood watch. Daryl slowed the pickup and finally stopped. He hopped out and went to Rick while Tilly stayed in the car.
"Hey man. How are you doin'?" Rick asked, completely forgetting his fight with Glenn.
"I'm alright. Hey, I met someone. She seems alright, is it ok if she joins the group?" Rick looked down.
"Let me talk to her." Rick walked towards the pickup. Tilly swung open the door and climbed out carefully. "Daryl tells me you want to join us."
"If I could. It's just been me an' Apollo here basically since this thing started."
"I'm sorry to hear that. I got a couple questions for ya." Tilly nodded.
"I'm Matilda by the way, but you can call me Tilly if it's easier."
"Alright then Tilly; How many walkers have you killed?"
"Enough to stay alive. I lost track after 25."
"Fair enough." Rick looked back at Daryl who was kneeling next to Carol who sat on the edge of the firetruck. "How many people have you killed?" Tilly took a deep breath, and looked around nervously.
"Five."
"Why?"
"I couldn't bear to see them suffer." Tilly broke down "They were too weak to make it in this world. So I waited till they were all asleep and stabbed 'em in the brain. I couldn't wait for them to turn." Tears fell hard and fast from her gray eyes. Rick shook his head solemnly.
"I'm sorry." he said, looking at the ground as he started walking away.
"Wait, I can help!" Rick stopped "I'm a nurse. And Apollo here can hunt. Please. Don't leave me alone again." she fought back tears.
"Rick, just give her a chance. We can't just leave her." Carol called out in a meek voice.
"Fine, you can join us. But expect to earn your keep. And we're not givin' you a gun until we can completely trust you." Tilly wiped tears from her eyes.
"Thank you…Thank you." she let out while trying to catch her breath through silent sobs.
"Welcome aboard."