Merle

After a good night sleep, he instantly felt happier and stronger.
He woke up to the sound of crackling leaves and he slowly opened his eyes, taking the time to adjust himself to the bright sunlight. Emmaly was still up and strolling around their camp, gathering some food and already packing, probably making sure to leave no trace nor evidence behind that they'd been here.
He sat up straight and stretched his arms before following Emmaly's movements. The girl looked tired and she was caked with dirt, causing Merle to curse at himself for not offering her to switch watch. Being tired wouldn't be a good start of her day.
"Mornin' Ems." He said with a raspy voice before standing up. The girl turned around, looking at him in surprise.
"Goodmornin' tae you as well," she replied with a soft smile.
Merle looked around before turning his gaze back to Emmaly.
"So what's th' plan?" He wasn't sure if she had one, even though she noted it would be useful to fetch a bow somewhere. Merle agreed with that; hunting would be much easier, instead of having to go on runs every week. He didn't know this area, so he rather wanted to avoid running into other people. Merle didn't really trust people. And yet, he was travelling with a girl who he only knew for about 4 days. But she saved him. And he saved her. They didn't have much time to 'get to know each other' and Merle figured that could wait. Surviving was their priority.
"Well, I don' know this place ver'y well, I'm afraid. Haven' really bin here before. But I'm certain that if we walk northward, we will fin' a grocery."
Merle looked up and shook his head to clear the current thoughts. Emmaly threw a granola bar to him and Merle raised his eyebrows.
"That supposed t' be my breakfast?" He said with an indignant undertone. Emmaly grinned before throwing a pack of crackers to him and she nodded at the water bottle that was lying next to him. Merle only grumbled in response before tearing the package from the granola bar.
"And why ya so certain 'bout that grocery, hm?" He didn't look away before she replied.
"Well, I saw a map when I was in Atlanta, an' I hae a good memory." She chuckled and hoisted the backpack on her back. "Hurry up princess, we better gie movin'."
Merle sighed deeply, trying to ignore the fact that she had the balls to call him that again. He didn't say anything, but simply stood up and grabbed the water bottle.
"Bitch."
"Asshole."
He looked up at her, but when she let out a laugh he only scowled, smirked and walked next to her, saying to himself that he shouldn't take it seriously anymore. Even though it was annoying as fuck.
They continued walking at fast pace for 2 hours straight without pausing. Every now and then they would talk, but they figured they'd better be quiet to avoid attracting any walkers or other unwanted visitors.
Merle looked at the ground, to make sure he wouldn't step on any large rocks, but also looked around occasionally, to make sure the surrounding was safe and clear. However, the farther they got into the woods, the more dense it became; the trees were closer and there were more bushes growing around them. This was probably a good thing, since the trees could cover them in case anything would happen.
When he heard a strange noise, he quickly grabbed Emmaly's upper arm and laid a finger on his lips, implying her to stay quiet. She only nodded, understanding what he meant and took the knife from her belt. Merle looked around again, scanning the area for any walkers or humans. Without saying anything, he pushed Emmaly behind a bush and followed her. They both sat down and tried to stay out of sight while they waited for someone or something to show up.
And after a few minutes, the source of the noise showed up.
A walker appeared from behind a tree and tottered towards their direction. However, he didn't see Merle or Emmaly and simply kept moving forward.
Merle felt how tensed Emmaly had become; she was clutching her knife tightly before raising it up. When he realized what she was about to do he grasped her wrist and squeezed it. Her eyes immediately turned to him. Merle noticed there was something in her eyes—an emotion that he couldn't place. He only shook his head in order to keep her still and she only nodded once before staring back at the walker again.
And he'd done the right thing.
When the walker was out of sight and they both wanted to stand up, 3 other walkers revealed themselves. Merle cursed in thought and pushed Emmaly down again. He cringed and observed the situation. But when he tried to come up with a plan to get them out of here, more walkers appeared.
A herd.
A fucking herd.
Probably about 30 walkers were following each other and Merle felt relieved when he realized they were just passing through. Though he still hoped the walkers wouldn't see or smell them.
When he quickly glanced over to Emmaly, he noticed she was relaxed again. She caught his glance and smiled slightly to confirm she was alright. He nodded once in response and returned his attention to the walkers again.
The only thing they could do was wait and hope they would go away soon; the last thing Merle wanted was having to stay here in the darkness, since the walkers became more active at night. And the fact that there was a herd passing through made it more likely that even more walkers would follow.

It seemed like an eternity before all the walkers were out of sight.
They had likely waited for two hours, even though it wasn't really necessary—but they wanted to make sure that all the walkers were gone.
Merle and Emmaly were both careful and sharp-eyed; far as they knew, there could be more walkers lurking around.
He stood up and stretched his limbs that'd become stiff from remaining in the same position for so long. The noise beside him confirmed that Emmaly had come out of her hiding as well. They made eye contact for a little while before Emmaly looked away. However, Merle's glance lingered on her for a moment, wondering why she had that pathetic look on her face when they saw the first walker. Maybe she just got scared for some reason. Pussy, he murmured in thought. He decided to let it rest for now, not wanting to bother her after the situation they just had. Today was bad enough already. Sure, Merle had prepared himself to kill a bunch of walkers, but a fucking herd wasn't exactly part of the plan.
There was a silence between Merle and Emmaly. Both were probably lost in thoughts when they continued their journey, asking themselves what to do next if something like this would happen again. But Merle was satisfied with his rapid reaction. He couldn't imagine what would have happened if he hadn't noticed the sound that quickly.
"I think we're nearin' th' edge," he heard a soft voice say out of the sudden.
"Yeah? Why d'ya think tha'?" His eyes were still focused on the ground and area around them, still not feeling very convinced about the whole herd situation. Better to look out instead of riskin' a damn ambush.
"Less bushes an trees." Merle figured her statement made sense.
"Well the sooner we get outta here th' better," he rasped in return. "Don't'cha think?" Maybe he only asked her so he could look at her, to see how she was doing. Emmaly only nodded in response.

The sun was starting to disappear behind the clouds and slowly but surely darkness welcomed them.
They had walked for another three hours and were now exhausted as hell.
"We better get settled for the night." Merle said while looking around, trying to find a good tree that would cover them. Emmaly nodded.
When they found a good spot, they both sat down against the tree. Emmaly took two cans out of her backpack and handed one over to Merle. They both ate their meal in silence.
When they were finished, Emmaly took the cans and put them in her backpack, since she couldn't throw them into the fire. Making a fire wouldn't be a good plan in the first place.
Merle looked up in the sky, noticing that it was very clear tonight and the stars were showing.
He sighed.
"The fuck 's yer problem, girl?"
He turned around so he could see her face.
And she had that look again.