"You okay, honey?" Axel whispered, placing a hand on my back. I doubled over, fighting off the urge to throw up as I tried my hardest to catch my breath. We'd been running for so long that my legs and lungs burned with exhaustion. Sweat beaded my forehead and dripped from my hair.
I nodded, standing up straight and tilting my head back. All the air in my body felt as if it were stuck in my chest. Rick motioned for us from the barrier of a car. The two of us hurried to press our bodies against the cold metal, hiding from whatever was on the other side.
"A wall," Adeline mouthed to me, peeking over the driver side window. The glass had been shattered out long ago.
Pressing my mouth shut tight with my lips, I circled my head around the back of the car to see what she was talking about. I squinted, trying to look through the darkness that had settled over us two hours before. She was right; a makeshift wall comprised of broken wood, tires, and metal fencing had been erected. A large gate stood proudly in the middle. Men lingered at the top, guns held securely in their hands. Decaying walker bodies were scattered about the road in front of us. They must've been guarding the place.
Beside me, Michonne shook her head, backing away from our group and disappearing into the trees behind us. Rick hissed after her, but she ignored him completely.
Rolling his eyes, he muttered, "We need to downsize. Get rid of anything you can't run with."
As the others dropped some of their guns, I made sure I had the knife Oscar had given me before. It was the only weapon I carried on me, but I wasn't sure if that was an advantage.
A twig snapped behind us and in an instant, guns were raised in the direction from which it came. Michonne glared at us, bringing her pointer finger to her lips in a sharp, "Shh." She pointed to her left and waved her hand for us to follow.
"Let's go," Daryl mumbled in my ear, giving me a soft push on the back.
We followed the woman in complete silence. I held the knife at my chest, the tip pointed outward just in case I needed to swing it quickly. A backside door that had once been locked tightly slightly hung open, the open padlock hanging loosely from the chains. Michonne pushed it open, flinching at the high creak of the hinges.
The building seemed oddly comforting. Pictures of the world before hung on the walls, sturdy bookshelves overflowed with magazines and novels, and the couches and chairs seemed to have been used often. I ran my fingertips along a table. No dust whatsoever.
"This is where you were held?" Rick whispered to Michonne, taking note of her expression of disgust.
"I was questioned," she replied.
Adeline and Oscar remained back near the door we came through, their weapons ready to shoot. I followed Daryl to the window and peeked through as he moved the curtain to the side. People roamed the streets in clan and proper clothing. Jealousy swirled inside me. What I wouldn't do to get my hands on new clothes.
"Thought you said there was a curfew," Daryl commented, turning back toward Michonne.
"The streets are packed during the day," she explained, observing the people outside. "Those are stragglers."
Gazing out the window behind me, Rick announced, "We can't stay here any longer. We need to move."
"They could be in his apartment," Michonne suggested.
Daryl dropped the curtains, cutting off my lingering, bitter view of the untainted people outside. "What if they ain't?" he demanded, giving her a confronting stare.
"Look somewhere else," she answered through gritted teeth.
Daryl, Rick, and Oscar circled the woman as Adeline and Axel stood at my side. They mumbled threats and questions at her – too low for us to hear. Maybe they wanted it that way. Even so, I wanted to push them from her. It was obvious she was doing everything she could to help us.
Finally, they tore away from her to form a huddle. As they talked amongst themselves, I approached Michonne, offering her a small smile.
"I'm sorry for them," I whispered, jutting my chin toward the triad of men.
"I don't need your apology," she shot back. Her words cut me as she avoided my gaze. Instead of yelling like I wanted to, I continued to force the smile on my face.
"You're getting it anyway."
"Hey," Daryl hissed, grabbing my arm roughly. I struggled against him as he led me back toward my sister and Axel. "Stay away from her."
"Piss off, Dixon," I spat, yanking my arm from his grasp. A sharp gasp escaped my throat as the lock on the door began to jingle. Daryl firmly held my arm again, dragging me down behind the couch. To prevent me from making any noise, he pressed his hand to my mouth.
The door swung open. Footsteps echoed in the room. Through my teary eyes, I could see that the other members of our group had also thrown themselves into stealthy hiding spots.
"Come on out now," a man called. "I saw you through the window. Ain't no use hidin' from me." He casually strolled toward the back where Rick had hid behind a curtain. Once he was close enough, the sheriff pinned him against the wall, holding his gun only inches from the man's face.
"Shut up. Get on your knees," Rick ordered, throwing the man on the floor. Daryl stood, pulling me along with him.
"You all right?" he asked, staring sideways at me. I only nodded, brushing off my clothes with my free hand.
He left my side without hesitation to zip-tie the man at Rick's orders. I watched in fear for the man as he was interrogated, but my knife never left my hand. Adeline, Michonne, Axel, and Oscar never lowered their weapons. Daryl's crossbow never dropped from the man of the man's head. When the butt of the crossbow collided with his head and I watched as the man slumped over, I backed from the group.
What was I doing here with them? Adeline and I didn't belong here. We were on our own mission when we were saved. What had happened to that? We weren't killers, or even people who could cause harm to living beings.
I stared at my sister, at the ferocious glower she locked on the man's unconscious body. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe Adeline did belong here. She was tough, much braver than me, and willing to kill someone at Rick's command. I wasn't.
My lips began to quiver as they dragged the man into another room, locking the door as they closed it. I knew I should've kept my mouth shut, but the words flew out before I was able to catch them.
"Why did you do that?" I asked Daryl. He stopped pacing and gave me a questioning look. "Why did you knock him out like that? What if he wasn't the one who took Glenn and Maggie?" Tears fled my eyes and I hurried to wipe them from my dirty face.
"It was either him or us," Daryl explained gravely. "Do you wanna be his damn hero and save him?" His crossbow lifted and pointed directly at my head. Fear struck me hard.
"N-No," I whispered, flinching away from him.
"S'what I thought."
He lowered the crossbow, turned, and followed Rick out of the building.