Authors note: As per usual, I have no rights to any of these characters or the plot lines. This is all my own concepts and creations, if it coincides with the tv series or the comic books, it is a matter of coincidence. A little note about Alice, her past is not my past, but her values etc are loosely based on myself. One final thing, the next few chapters are going to get a little graphic ;) if ya catch my drift. If you're not into it please don't read it, I'm a little nervous writing this kinda stuff cause I've never done it before so please, be gentle with the criticisms :) enjoy!
CHAPTER 9
I scrambled across the floor as quietly as I could manage and into the kitchen. Glenn and T-Dog were leaning against the broken door, straining feebly to keep the creatures at bay. I shot Daryl a glance then with a nod we both opened fire. There goes the no noise thing.
"We can't hold em!" Glenn yelled painfully. As soon as he said it another wall shuddering crack emanated from the door, a giant crack beginning to show down the middle of the wooden door.
"Did y'all hammer them planks onto the door?" Daryl barked.
"We didn't have a hammer or nails!" Maggie said from the top of the stairs. I shot her a glance then without so much as a second of hesitation walked over to the door, planted the bottom of my cowboy boot right in the middle of the split door, shoved the tip of my gun through the tiny crack then opened fire. I leaned all of my weight onto the door and kept firing steadily. Glenn ducked to the side holding his ears and T-Dog remained kneeling though he un-holstered his gun and started firing through the crack on the side of the door as well.
"Back! Get back!" Daryl yelled, he was standing a few feet away from the door holding a hand gun in one hand and nail gun in the other.
"Ya gotta be kiddin' me Rambo!" I yelled at him, peering over my shoulder and the ridiculous display of masculinity.
"MOVE!" he yelled again. I looked down at T-Dog then with a slight nod we both moved back from the door. As soon as we were clear the door split open and, just like flood gates being pulled open, the walkers all but fell into the room. Daryl didn't skip a beat he shot, almost every single one of them dead on in the middle of the head. The nail gun in his hand clicking every time he shot a round. I took a few of the walkers out with my rifle and before we knew it the onslaught had finished.
"There's more! They're still coming!" Billy was running down the steps two at a time to meet us in the kitchen.
"We don't have enough power to keep em out!" Shane was standing at the opening between the two rooms.
"We don't have time!" I spat frantically reloading my rifle with rounds from my back pocket.
"Down!" I yelled as I fired at the two skeleton-like puss balls trudging into the kitchen. There was a moment of panic as the group from upstairs clambered down into the kitchen area.
"We can't have everyone down here!" I all but screamed, "We're like sittin' ducks!" I looked over at the top of the stairs and back to the door. We were right in the open, no one was upstairs, no one was in the other room, Carl was still in there smelling like fresh blood.
"Keep everyone safe, bolt up this door as soon as you can," I looked over my shoulder to see Patricia standing in the doorway.
"What ya talkin' bout?" I growled at her giving her a confused look. She gave me a sorrow filled smile, raised her right hand to touch my cheek slightly then before anyone had the chance to react she ran out through the open door and into the certain destruction outside.
"PATRICIA!" I heard Maggie's scream from behind me, I stood there staring at the empty space in front of me. I looked over my shoulder and the distressed group behind me, everything that happened next happened so fast I almost missed it.
In that moment that I turned Billy jumped over the edge of the platform that stood about a foot above the kitchen floor and ran out after Patricia.
"Shut that door!" was the last thing I heard from his as he sped off into the night after his Father's friend. Andrea let out a piercing scream and lurched forwards to follow him, though she was silenced and stopped almost instantaneously as Shane appeared behind her, his left hand over her mouth and his right around her waist as he carried her off into the adjoining room.
"Get them pieces o' wood!" Daryl shouted at T-Dog and Glenn. They both scrambled over to the pieces and grabbed a few each. I threw my gun to the side and heaved the door back up to its spot. I leaned all of my writ against it s the boys frantically nailed the few planks of wood we had onto the doorframe. Maggie was sobbing hysterically in the corner of the room, Hershel was beside her trying to keep her quiet and we worked manically to get the house secured once more. I stepped back as T-Dog, Glenn and Daryl finished nailing the planks into position. The whole room was heavy with a sense of desperation and complete disarray. I grabbed the rifle off of the floor carefully and silently made my way into the other room. Shane was sitting with his back against the far corner of the room, his hand was still covering Andrea's mouth though she seemed to have stopped thrashing about and was laying against his body sobbing silently into his chest, his arm was wrapped around her waist still holding her still and his breathing was as raspy and heavy as hers was.
I stood in the doorway for a minute, clutching the gun to my chest, my mouth slightly open as my brain started to slowly process what had just happened. I couldn't tear my eyes away from Shane and Andrea in the far corner of the room. Shane was staring wide eyed at the floor a few feet in front of him, his whole body rigid and tense as he clutched Andrea to his chest, her sobs only just audible now.
"We gotta keep watch," I nearly screamed as Daryl appeared at my side. I clutched my hand to my chest and nodded quickly.
"C'mon," he took my hand in his and led me back to our positions by the windows. I lowered myself to the floor and peered out through the window. I was met with a dozen more broken and sullied pairs of shoes, though it seemed they were moving away from the house instead. I inhaled sharply and stared out into the open field. My body was so tense I could hear every single little noise throughout the house. I could hear Andrea still whimpering into Shane's chest, I could hear Maggie's harsh whispers from upstairs as she argued with Hershel about whether her brother and friend would be okay, I could hear Glenn's raspy breathing and the violent, pain filled groans of Carl in the other room along with Rick and Lori's hushed voices telling him to be quiet. I sat focused straight ahead on the group outside moving away from the house and further towards the woods.
"Psst," I snapped my head to the side and looked at Daryl, "C'm here," he moved his head to indicate for me to come closer to where he was lying. I silently shuffled closer to him, so close that our arms were right up against each other. I let my chin rest on the hard wooden floor and took a deep breath. Within that second, my whole body seemed to relax completely. I let go of all the tension I was carrying and just lay there, it seemed that the simple, lightest touch from the man beside me could have the most adverse effect on me, an effect that I had ever experienced. The sheer warmth radiating from his skin made the hairs on my arms stand up, it made my stomach tingle and gave me a sense of security and safety. Something I had never truly felt since the day my father had walked out. I leant down and lightly pressed my lips to his forearm. His head turned away from the spot in between the boards instantly and watched me closely. His skin was beautiful and warm, surprisingly soft as well, especially considering the amount of work he does with his hands and the like.
"What're ya doin'?" he whispered after I lifted my lips away from his skin.
"Nothin'," I replied gently then went back to looking out through the boards and across the field.
We stayed like that for a long time, watching over the fields, making sure there wasn't any more attacks or anything. I was up most of the night laying there next to Daryl, though the last thing I can remember is seeing was Shane walking Andrea up to the bedroom upstairs, everything after that was nothing more than blank. I slowly opened my eyes only to find myself curled up with my head on Daryl's chest and his arm resting heavily across my stomach. I lay there for a while my ear on his chest listening to his heart beat steadily inside his chest. I lay there staring at the wall for a while before rolling out from under his arm and looking out into the field. There was nothing to see out there, it seemed that all the walkers had gone, the distraction had worked. The question was, did Patricia and Billy end up getting out alive.
"C'm back here, ya too far away, I can't hear ya heart beat," I turned my head and looked at the man next to me, his hand was gripping mine gently, lightly coaxing me back to lying next to him. His voice was so groggy and laced with sleep that I could only just make out what he had said to me. I shuffled over to where he was lying and propped myself up on my elbow.
"Ya somethin' different Mr Dixon," I said softly running my fingertips through his hair a little. He groaned quietly in response and turned onto his side so he was facing me.
"Ya make it so damn easy to like ya more and more," my voice was so soft I barely heard myself. I watched him for a moment longer before leaning forwards and planting a soft kiss on his lips before standing up and doing a damage check on the house.
I stalked softly through the main room where we had slept. Shane had come down and was curled up against the corner of the room his rifle clutched tightly to his chest. He was sound asleep though his body was still rigid and alert. I very quietly opened the door to Carl's room, he was sound asleep in the bed, looking a little more colorful than he had a few days earlier, Lori was curled up next to him sound asleep. Rick was wide awake staring out of the crack between two boards covering the window. He nodded at me and gave me a sad smile, I returned the nod and shut the door silently. It made me wonder if he had seen Patricia and bully run out to distract the walkers earlier on. I rested my head back against the door and took a deep breath. There was going to be some serious carnage to deal with this morning, after all the two last night had basically become cannon fodder in order to protect the rest of us. I looked down at Shane who was staring back up at me, I gave him a little nod and continued on to the other room. The kitchen was the biggest distraction area, it was almost a given considering that was where everything had gone down, T-Dog was slumped against the kitchen cabinets in front of the door his gun loosely in his hand by his side. Glenn was curled up near the steps next to my crossbow and the nail gun, Maggie was lying with her head on his thigh. He looked worse for wear though for some reason I didn't have as much sympathy for him as I had thought I would have, Maggie didn't look much better than he did though I understood her pain whole heatedly. Losing a friend and a brother I couldn't blame her for seeking some comfort that night. I walked over to the back door with it's slapstick makeshift barrier still standing in tact. I squatted down near the entrance and looked out through the cracks where the light was beginning to seep through. The mess at the foot of the door was the equivalent of a slaughter house floor after the first morning shipments have come in. It was a barrage of limbs, rotting corpses and blackened blood sprayed from A hole to B hole.
I stayed there for a minute making sure nothing was moving at the door then tuned and headed towards the stairs. I trudged up them quietly and pushed open the heavy door to the upstairs room. Andrea, Carol and Sophia were curled up on the bed sound asleep, Hershel was sitting by the window his rifle propped at the ready on the windowsill. Dale was sitting in the chair next to the girls watching me as I waved lightly at him. He gave me a smile, pushed himself out of the chair and walked over to where I was standing.
"How are ya?" his husky voice reminded me so much of a father figure that I couldn't help but smile when I heard him talk.
"I'm doin' alright," I said adjusting the rifle in my hand a little.
"I heard about what happened out there on the porch earlier," he lifted my chin gently with his right hand and turned my head so he could see my eye.
"She's a good hit," I said almost proudly.
"She's been through a lot," he said letting his hand drop.
"I know she has, kinda why I'm givin' her the benefit of the doubt with it all, she ain't a bad chick, she just needs a bit of guidance," I said with a shrug.
"Ya have some pretty interesting insight for such a young girl," he said a look of surprise on his face.
"She's been through her fair share of troubles," Hershel said softly without turning or moving from his position by the window. Dale looked from Hershel to me and raised his eyebrows a little.
"It's nothin'," I shook my head lightly and shrugged, "I'm glad these guys are okay at least," I nodded towards the bed.
"They're hurtin', Andrea is devastated, she lost her sister now a guy she could have potentially fallen for, she's not in a great place, and it may mean you cop the blunt end of it all," he said matter-of-factly.
"I know," I nodded slightly and let out a sigh, "I'll come back up when it's lighter," and with that I left the room and shut the door quietly behind me.
I walked down a few of the stairs then sat down just out of sight, around the corner so I was staring at the wall near the busted kitchen door. I let my rifle sit on the stair next to me and held my head in my hands a little. It seemed that everyone had had enough of the devastating events the night before. As I sat there staring at the blank wall I began to realize a few crucial things. I looked down at my bruised and bloodied knuckles as I thought about the scrap I had had the afternoon before, there were people in this home who had lost everything, people who were broken and lost, people that were holding on to the hope of finding some sort of salvation. I realized that Hershel had saved a little boys life in exchange for his own son's life. The family down stairs in that front room were the only one that was still unbroken and very much a solid unit. There was a murder in the front room who I could bet my very life on was blaming himself for the sacrifice of Patricia. A worried sister and friend in the upstairs room, and a group of homeless ragtag travelers from all over the place. A girl who had shot her sister, a man that had lost his family and was looking after that girl, a father trying to protect his only living daughter and hiding his only other child that was a rancid, putrified version of her former self. A man grappling with killing another to save a boy he all but considered his son, and a mother that had all but lost her small child in the woods. The two down stairs were lost and trying to find some sort of place in a world gone completely wrong. Then there was him. My crossbow slinging, life saving, southern speaking hunter. The man that made me feel a hundred different things at once. He was on a mission, trying to find something or someone, but whatever it was he was looking for, he made me feel alive again, made me feel safe and protected.
I rested my head in my hands and closed my eyes. Me. There was me in amongst this group. I'd shot my brother, had an absent father and skipped town on my mother and brother as soon as I was old enough. I felt like I had to have my shit together otherwise I would lose it completely and those around me would suffer. I looked down and the rifle by my side and narrowed my eyes. I was just as much responsible for the survival of these people, just as much responsible for the two out there in the woods possibly dead possibly still running around. I grabbed my rifle. It was either I found them, or we all fell apart wondering what happened and whether they were okay. This whole place was in shambles, lives were depending on the actions of a few try hard survivors, it was now or never.
I grabbed the rifle and without a single word I walked down the stairs to the door, busted one of the boards in half using the end of the nail gun and headed out into the open fields. There was just enough bullets in that gun to keep a few of those things at bay. It was the only chance they had to still be alive. I kept walking, my mind was made up, I had a duty to Patricia and Billy, I should have stopped them the night before. I should have done more. I heard yelling coming from behind me but kept walking. Even if it came down to me having to put one in their brains, at least we could all sleep easy knowing that they weren't alive and struggling to stay that way.
