Thank you all for the fantastic reviews! I love all of my reviewers, you guys are great! Hope you enjoy this chapter.
Oh, and I have a question of you readers: Would you like to see Hannah and Merle maybe get romantic, or should they remain platonic? Let me know what you think!
No credit on anything Walking Dead related.
The sun was high and hot in the sky by the time they stopped for a rest. They'd started out tramping through the thick Georgia woods, but were now moving along the underbrush right beside the major highway. It was a risk getting near the road, but Merle had pointed out it would be harder to get lost if they stuck to it. Hannah had to agree with him. The map they had was good, but the woods were thick and one could easily lose their way. They made sure they kept just slightly off the highway, in case a herd of walkers was coming through.
Hannah sat down on a large stone, wiping the sweat off her brow. It was hot for a spring day. She hoped that maybe the heat would slow the walkers down. They'd only seen a couple so far, and had managed to slip by them unnoticed. Merle sat on a fallen tree just across from her, his prosthetic glinting in the bright sunlight.
"Sure is damn hot out here," he grumbled, rooting around in his pack for his water canteen. "I'm gonna drink all this here water before we even get really going."
Hannah, who was taking a drink out of her own canteen, nodded. They had to be careful with their water. Although there was lots of streams around, who knows whether the water was actually fit to drink or not.
She squinted up at the cars on the highway behind them. Maybe they should head up there to take a look around. It was only day one of their journey, but she was already thinking about their supply stock being depleted. It would eventually happen. Better to overstock now then to risk running out later.
She cleared her throat to get Merle's attention, then pointed up towards the cars. He caught on immediately.
"Good thinking, girl. We got lots of stuff, but maybe there's more there we could use. Lemme eat something, then we'll head up."
They ate a meager lunch, then climbed up the small hill and over the guard rail onto the highway. It was littered with vehicles, all of them rusting away under the Georgia sun. Hannah shivered. It felt kind of like they were walking in a graveyard. Most likely every person from each one of these cars was either dead or a walker. What a horrible way to go, she thought. Trapped in your car, unable to escape. She suppressed another shiver.
Merle was already rooting through the trunk of one car, muttering to himself as he rummaged around. Hannah decided she better keep watch, so she climbed a top of a big blue minivan and sat herself down. Merle would probably get ticked at her for not helping, but she felt uneasy about not having someone keep a look out. Actually, she was starting to downright regret suggesting they come up here. They were too exposed.
Merle had started to move away from her perch, slowly working his way up the road. She strained against the sun to see him. Sheesh, she should go looking for a pair of sunglasses in one of these cars. She could faintly see his outline against a big van about 500 yards from where she sat. Blinking rapidly, she noticed he was starting to head back to her. She frowned. That was an awful short scavenge. Maybe he was tired, or too hot. Suddenly she froze. Another outline could be seen against the sun. And another.
She began to panic. Where was Merle? She squinted even harder, but all she could see were slouched figures slowly heading towards her. There had to be about 15 of them. Not a big herd, but big enough. Damn this bright sun! She could barely see anything!
She lay down flat on the roof of the van. Perhaps they wouldn't see her. Maybe they'd just move on. But then she remembered Merle was still down there. Her heart thumped erratically. Had he found a place to hide? He was a big man, there wasn't much cover for him her. She started to feel sick. Merle was a good fighter, but she doubted he could hold 15 walkers off at once.
They were right near her now, she could hear the shuffling. She held her breath, praying silently for her and Merle's safety. Oh please, let them be okay. Please, let them survive this.
And then something clamped down on her ankle.
Her shrill scream rent the air as she felt herself being pulled backwards off the van. She twisted in vain, trying to break free from the iron grip that held her. She could smell rotting flesh and hear the snapping of decayed teeth. Desperately, she reached at her belt blindly for her hatchet. She managed to pull it out, and with a sudden burst of strength, twist around to a sitting position. With out even looking at the walker, she brought the hatchet down on its arm, slicing through the flesh. It howled as it fell back, half its arm still attached to her leg. Another walker quickly took its place, snapping and growling as she attempted to pull herself back up the van.
Without warning blood came spurting up from just to the right of her, and she whipped her head around to see Merle viciously gouging a walker right in the eye socket. It fell to the ground, and he quickly dispatched of two more walkers that were right beside him. Hannah grabbed her hatchet and began hacking at the walkers that were trying to climb on her left side, her weapon slicing easily into their rotted skulls.
In 5 minutes they were done, all the herd lying on the ground surrounded by their own blood. Hannah was frozen to the top of the van, the walker hand still attached to her leg. It had been so long since she'd fought for her life, the experience had left her shaken. She hiccupped, feeling tears start to prick at the back of her eyes. What had she gotten herself in to?
She felt the van heave as Merle hoisted himself up beside her. Gently, he prized the walker hand off her leg, tossing it onto the bodies below. He made her turn her calf over, checking for scratches. When satisfied he saw none, he sat back and simply looked at her.
"Ya'll right, girl?" he questioned, squinting at her in the sun. "Ya haven't seen any action for quite a while, must have scared ya. Betcha every walker this side of Georgia heard ya scream."
Hannah sniffed, shaking her head apologetically. She made a gesture as if she was zipping her lips.
"Nah, don't worry about it," Merle shrugged. "I know ya was just caught off guard."
Hannah nodded, suddenly feeling the tears at the back of her eyes rush forward. Before she could stop herself, she let out a strangled sob. Hastily she covered up her mouth, but the tears kept on coming. She didn't want to cry in front of Merle, but she couldn't help it. Reality had hit her hard. She'd gone soft in Woodbury. Before, she wouldn't have screamed. She would have just turned and killed, easy as that. But her time in the town had weakened her. Was she really going to be useful on this trip? Or was she simply a burden? Merle was right, half of Georgia probably heard her scream. She couldn't afford to make that mistake again.
"Ah, come on now, don't cry," Merle shifted uncomfortably. "I never did know what to do with a cryin' woman." He raised his hand, awkwardly patting her on the back. " Uh, there there, I guess. Uh, shush, don't cry? Is that what I'm supposed to say?"
Hannah let out a giggle through her tears, her heart lightening at his awkward attempt at consoling her. She reached over and put her hand on his knee, letting him know that his attempt was appreciated.
They sat like that for a long moment, his hand on her back, hers on his knee. Hannah's tears had stopped, drying on her cheeks in the hot sun. She could feel his hand burning her skin through her t shirt. Daring to look at his face, she found he was staring at her hand on his knee, as if in shock to find it sitting there. She realized it was the first time she had every really touched him. And come to think of it, it was the first time he had really touched her, like more than a brief pat on the arm.
"Uh, best be getting off this road," Merle suddenly said, taking his hand off her back as if burned. "Another herd might come through, better get back into the brush."
Hannah nodded, watching him slide off the van. She could still feel where he had touched her, and that made her slightly uncomfortable. Merle Dixon's touch should not feel like it was burning a hole through her clothes, and it wasn't exactly an unpleasant feeling…
"Ya gonna sit up there all day like live walker bait? Or are you comin?" Merle's impatient voice broke through her thoughts.
She shook her head, clearing her mind of all things Merle related, and slid off the van to follow him.
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