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She felt her brother shifting beneath her and Angel slowly stirred from her dreamless sleep. All of a sudden the events of the day before came rushing back to her as her mind snapped into being a awake. She sat bolt upright, scanning the room for any possibility of threats before settling her eyes on her brother.
Merle had been awake for a while but hadn't wanted to wake his sister. The pain in his arm was throbbing again and he hadn't been able to help tensing and wriggling when it got too bad. He looked at her and gave her a pained smile. "Sorry Cub didn't mean to wake ya. It's just my arms hurtin' pretty bad." With her now awake he freely started to massage around his bandages.
Angel rubbed her eyes. "It shouldn't though. Those patches last for 72 hours." She stood up and dusted off the back of her shorts. Her bag was laying by her side and she scooped it up and placed it on the counter. From inside she pulled out another bottle of water and the open pack of Fentanyl. Opening the water she took a swig of it as she moved around to the side of her brothers bad arm. Angel knelt down beside him and offered the water bottle to him, which he gladly accepted.
While he drank, Angel added another patch to her brothers arm just beside the one he was wearing. "I ain't givin' ya anything more than that." She discarded the foil wrapper on the floor. "Have ya heard anythin'?" She asked him.
Merle drew the water bottle back from his lips and sadly shook his head. Angel felt a part of her heart crumple up in sadness. She had been so certain their brother would have come for them both by now. He wouldn't just give up on us...would he?
"Then we'll go to him." She said matter of factly. She moved into action, zipping up her backpack and threading her arms through the holes. Merle pushed himself up with his good hand and gave a stretch, making a few bones in his back pop. "I suggest we get some grub first." He spoke gruffly. He handed Angel her crowbar and was about to collect his rifle when he thought against it. "Yer not taking it?" Angel asked quizzically.
"Nah. I can't support it with just the one hand." Merle answer, looking around the store for anything else he could use as a weapon. Angel bent down and reached into her boot, pulling out the hunting knife Daryl had given her. "Ain't a gun, but it'll do the job." She said, holding it out to her brother. Merle twisted the handle in his hand, getting a feel for the knife. He gave a nod that he was ready, and the pair of them moved to the exit, listening carefully for any noise outside.
Two walkers aimlessly stood in the alleyway but both turned at the sound of the door being opened. Acting on instinct, Merle stepped protectively infront of his sister and held the knife ready in his hand as the closest walker stumbled towards them. Within arms reach Merle thrust the blade into the side of the dead woman's head and yanked it free again, causing a spray of blood. The woman fell to the ground instantly and Merle let out a breathe of satisfaction.
"Piece o' cake. You're turn little Cub." He stepped aside so Angel could see the second walker ambling toward them. She looked from it back to her brother in disbelief. "Ya want me to kill it?!"
"We can keep a tally of who gets the most." Merle hoped his sister wouldn't sense how he was trying to force this into a game. The real reason he needed her to do this was so that she could see that killing these walkers was now a necessity of life, and she shouldn't feel ashamed of any emotions she felt when doing it. Another small part of it was for him to see if his sister could take care of herself, at least this way he could watch and step in if she froze.
As the walker advanced closer to Angel she took a step back, crowbar held in both hands. She looked from the dead man back to her brother. "This ain't a fuckin' game Merle!" She looked back into the dead mans eyes as he came ever closer. "Then prove it!" Merle shouted at her, trying to provoke her to make a move.
She took the crowbar in her right hand and swung up, arching it down onto the man. Her lack of accuracy with using just the one hand made the crowbar miss the initial target of the mans skull and was instead impaled on his shoulder. The dead man snapped and raised its arm out towards her, the shaft of metal keeping it from being able to fully get to Angel.
"Ooooo you just made him madder than an Amish electrician." Merle chuckled. Angel was now being forced backwards further until her back hit the surface of the pharmacy stores exterior wall. "Ya gonna help me?!" She pleaded, feeling completely helpless. "Nope this is all yours. Kick it back, pull your crowbar out of it and go again." Merle coached.
"Fuck ya Merle Dixon!" She practically spat. She used the wall behind her to brace herself as she leant back and lifted her right leg. With both hands on the crowbar she held tight, drew her knee up to her chest and with as much might as she could muster, she kicked out, connecting the sole of her boot with the walkers chest and sending it stumbling backwards. With her firm grip on her weapon she managed to pull it out of the decayed flesh. A rush of anger spread through her as the dead man started coming back at her again. Both hands holding the middle of the crowbar she once again raised it up above her head and bought it down into the top of the mans skull.
Her brother watched her do all this in one fluid motion. He felt pride at how well she could take care of herself, but mixed in was a trace of concern at how this could toughen his baby sisters heart. One of the main things that was different between him and his sister was how innocent she could be, how she could look at new things in wonder and amazement. That the world hadn't beaten her down regardless of what she had been through. Merle didn't want her to lose that amazing quality but saw no way to preserve it in this new world.
While Merle stood deep in his thoughts, Angel pulled the crowbar out of the dead mans skull and gave it a hard shake, ridding some of the blood and brain matter from the metal and splattering onto the asphalt. She blew a strand of hair out of her eyes and looked back to her brother. "Guess that's two one to me." She sarcastically said, resting the crowbar against her shoulder.
Merle chuckled and stepped over the body of the dead woman. "Yeah, we'll see how long that lasts. Come on, let's go find us some food." He reached out and gave Angels shoulder a squeeze before walking past her and down further into the alleyway that snaked behind other businesses. The brunette looked back down at the man she had just killed. There was that feeling again. That rush of excitement and satisfaction. With the crowbar still on her shoulder, she spat down on the ground beside the corpses face. She turned and followed behind her brother.