Say the Word
Madeline couldn't have walked around in her dumb-struck stupor for very long, because before she knew it, she'd wandered into Hershel's cell and he was giving her a job to do. She and Daryl were to be sent on their way to getting more formula for Lori Junior. Since there hadn't been any ideas for what to name the blood-born infant during her pregnancy, for the time, Madeline dubbed her "Lori Junior" so she could at least have a temporary name until the dust had settled around them. At the moment the baby was with Beth, the quiet, young teen could always be counted on to care for her, should anything bad happen to her on this run, but Madeline tried her best not to dwell on the grim topic for too long. While she was alive, she could at least attempt to show everyone that she was still alive and kicking, despite herself.
She almost protested about the endless indignities of having to share the same breathing space as the insufferable, vexing Daryl Dixon, but Hershel looked her dead in the eyes and let her know exactly what she was gonna do; dead or alive. And that was the end of it. Madeline just didn't have it in her to argue with a senior citizen with a peg-leg, so she just let it go and obediently went looking for the pessimistic redneck. This run was just about what she needed anyways, a little breathing room, some space; she hated feeling so out of it, regardless of their suckish situation. Having Daryl Dixon around sure as hell might have been a hazard to her health in and of itself, but at least she wouldn't have to worry about coddling the man around Walkers when they went out. A simple run, get the supplies, come back within the next couple hours and they'd be out of each other's hair before even they had a chance to argue. Hershel's reasoning seemed good enough to at least bear through the job and it wasn't like she had anything better to do. She made a quick pit-stop to her cell to grab her backpack and her tomahawks, and then she headed down the iron stairs to find Daryl.
Madeline found him stalking around the hall leading from his guard tower, looking standoffish as ever as he marched toward her with his large arms swinging like tremendous iron weights on his sides. She could see the thin line of sweat glistening just under his messy hairline, how long he had been waiting there or what for, she didn't want to know, but she was glad that he spared her the task of having to wander around looking for him in such an empty, haunted place. It also was the first time she'd actually seen or spoken to him since their last memorable run together just before the Walker outbreak, not that she was going to bring that up in casual conversation…. or ever. She wasn't even sure about how she felt the fact that he was still breathing; either it was relief, dread or a mixture of both. Either way, she still had to deal with him, and not just for now, but for a reasonably foreseeable amount of time…. lucky her. "Just a simple run," she reminded herself for the fourth time.
"Hey, I've been looking for you." Madeline started meekly, offering him a weak smile so he wouldn't just shove her out of his way and ignore her like she was secretly hoping he would. Her hands smoothly hid behind her waist and into the snug back pockets of her jeans as she cautiously sauntered towards him. Daryl's smoldering gaze made her want to crawl into a hole and die; if looks could kill, he wouldn't even need that crossbow strung across his shoulder to lay her to ruin. Apparently she'd done something to piss him off, because he looked like a wanted to rip her into a million pieces with the skin of his teeth. He couldn't be thinking about they'd done, could he?
"Oh, yeah?" He grunted with half-interest, adjusting the square-ness of his jaw and running his calloused hand over the rough, dark stubble inching down his neck from his goatee as he stopped a few feet shy from her. The way he eyed her reminded Madeline of some kind of predator, imaging the various, sadistic ways he could sink his teeth into his unsuspecting prey. Madeline resisted the urge to gulp and kept the unpleasant images popping up in her head to herself; the last thing she needed was for him to think that she was weak; it was hard enough to earn what little respect he had for her in the first place.
"Hershel wants us to go get some formula for the baby," She shrugged, her eyes darting from his feet and over her shoulder timidly. She really, really, really didn't like the way he was looking at her right now. If he had a reason for it, that was one thing, but giving her such devious looks under those long eyelashes without one was nothing short of terrifying. "God, why is he giving me those looks?"
"Well what? Am I supposed to carry your ass to the car or sumthin'? Christ, woman I can't expect shit outta you!" He scolded with a snarl, the familiar grimace on his face reminding Madeline that Daryl Dixon didn't need a reason to be pissed off or look at her funny; he was just born in a bad mood. And just like that, he was returned to his usual, typical insufferable, backwoods redneck self. Madeline visibly relaxed, regaining her courage as well as her smartass comebacks with the flip of a switch as they reverted back their natural, opposing roles.
"No, asshole, I expected you to kiss my ass and sing me Dixie! Just quit your shit and let's go already!" Being a smartass came just as easily as breathing for Madeline, especially if she was arguing with Daryl when couldn't keep his damned trap shut. It had been so long since she had actually talked to somebody that the flood gates censoring her speech were bursting from her lips at full, un-paralled force. She was almost excited, even if accompanying her on a run seemed like the worst thing that had ever been thought of since the parole officer, he had consented. Sure it was his own way of saying he was agreeing to go with her on the run, but a man as overly-frustrated as Daryl Dixon just couldn't say it outright. He had to do it in the only way he knew how: by fraying on Madeline's very last nerve. As the pair carried their argument out of the prison, they eventually managed to get crammed into one of the vacant station wagons parked in the lot and screamed themselves hoarse the entire way down to the ramshackle pharmacy they were supposed to be looking for. If it had been hot inside the prison, being trapped in this steel cage was only making their tempers flare all the more fiercely.
"Jesus Christ, can you watch where you're going?! You're gonna waste us both!"
"Will you just shut your damn mouth already?!"
"Then just let me drive then, damn it!"
"Bullshit, if I will! I may look stupid but I ain't dying today!"
"God Almighty, I can't stand you!"
"Am I s'possed to give a rat's ass what you think?!"
"Well you are what you eat, aren't you?!"
"Fuck!"
Daryl's anger got the better of him and slammed his foot onto the brake; the vehicle screaming in protest as the tires violently scarred the empty road with harsh, black skid marks. They finally came to a stop after they managed to smash a wandering Walker's ribcage in with the hood of their car and left bits and pieces of its remains scattered along the station wagon's undercarriage. It was also a good thing they had parked a few feet from the parking lot of their destination, because Daryl was about a split second away from reaching over the dashboard and strangling his younger companion to death. He took the moment silence between them for the opportunity to check out their surroundings and determine the best route inside the pharmacy.
The town that they were in was left to utter ruin; he had noticed most of the buildings they had driven past were trashed, burnt down or were crumbling at the foundation. The streets had been pleasantly scant of Walkers for the most part, but that wasn't a good enough reason for the pair to let their guard down just yet. The abandoned little town was a good ways away from the prison, but now that they had raided but about every other outlet they had, they were being forced into expanding their scavenging turf to dangerous levels just to get by. And now that they had a baby, Daryl couldn't even think straight about the odds of survival now. He just wanted to get this job over and done with before it got dark, and he would be damned if he didn't have Glenn and Maggie go on the next run. From what he could tell from the sun it was probably around five or six, give or take; so they wouldn't have all day to be sitting around doing nothing.
The redneck cracked his callused knuckles and decided it was their queue to get a move on. "Not a damn word, ya hear me?" he growled darkly to his companion, twisting his body around so he could reach for his crossbow sitting patiently in the backseat, leaving his worries behind him. Madeline replied by rolling her eyes, twirled her hair into a ponytail and tied her black bandana tightly across her forehead.
"Just a simple run," she thought sarcastically, cursing her goodwill for even bothering with this guy. She waited for Daryl to scoot away and grabbed her backpack, exiting the car without a word, and taking her frustrations out on the snarling head of the walker they had run down when it had traveled a few yards farther down the road. She turned behind her and narrowed her eyes bitterly at the back of the redneck's head, silently rejoining him as they cautiously made their way across the empty street towards the ghastly pharmacy.
"Whatever, Dixon, just don't come cryin' for me when I have to save your ass again." Madeline grumbled, twirling her tomahawks in her hands as a handful of Walkers exited the decaying doorway of the pharmacy and shambled their way towards them. She thought she heard Daryl mutter something under his breath, but she couldn't catch it; she was almost too glad for the distraction in front of them, at least now they had no choice but to cooperate. Daryl didn't waste any time to spur into action, expertly shooting at the Walkers coming at her with his arrows while they pushed their ways inside the building. As the gap between them and the undead got smaller, they resorted to hand-to-hand techniques to fight off the stragglers once they had made their way inside. Somewhere in the middle of their fighting, one of the Walkers had broken one of the straps of her backpack when it made a desperate grab for her arm and she lost it in the chaos. Madeline's adrenaline was roaring through her veins so loudly, it almost drowned out the Walker's evil snarls as Daryl jammed his long-edged hunting knife into their eye sockets, putting the bastards down for good.
The corpses staggered their way towards the pair, stiff arms raised and their broken jaws snapping wildly as more and more of their ranks started dropping like flies. Madeline and Daryl fought back to back, forming a tight ball to prevent them from being separated as they advanced from aisle to aisle. Madeline hacked off grasping hands and blew out a few skulls with her twin blades, never taking her eyes off the fiends while Daryl took the lead. They were making good progress to getting closer into the children's aisle when Madeline was thrown off her feet by a Crawler that caught her off guard and snatched at her ankle. With a surprised cry, she flew backwards, her back slamming onto the tile floor so hard she was seeing white.
"Maddie!" She heard Daryl shout faintly as the room began swirling around her.
"Fuck!" She yelped hoarsely, the air knocked straight from her lungs as she gasped for air. From behind her Madeline could barely see Daryl locking arms with a tall Walker missing most of its torso, and could taste warm liquid pooling in the back of her mouth from where she bit her tongue. A menacing rasp alerted her to the presence dragging what remained of its upper half towards her from the aisle where she fell. Madeline was struggling to find her footing in time, but when she tried to stand she screamed in horror when she saw the familiar face lurch to his feet from the glass-covered floor.
It was the same face of the man that used to laugh at his own stupid jokes, but where his vocal chords used to be there was a gaping hole that oozed with black puss that trailed down his bullet-ridden leather jacket. His once fiery red-colored hair was matted with dried blood, and she could see the bits of flesh that were lodged in his yellowed, broken teeth that used to have the perfect smile. Madeline was hyperventilating, her hands trembled uncontrollably when she tried to lift her weapon high enough to strike him, but the Walker kept coming closer and closer to her and he wouldn't stop, never hesitated.
"Gerard, it's me…" She said dumbly, her eyelashes fluttering as her tears began streaming down her face. The creature stared at her with its bloodshot, black eyes that used to be a pretty hazel color; but the way he looked at her now, she knew he couldn't recognize her, he was dead. His skin was a sickening gray color, lined with icy blue where his veins bulged around his cracked temple. He made stiff grunting sounds as his right leg gave out again, his left trailing lifelessly where it had been eaten off at the knee, with pieces of his ligaments dragging behind him like thin pieces of string. "Don't do this, Gerry…" Madeline whispered as the Walker opened its mouth to let out a garbled snarl as it dragged itself towards her, just inches away from her feet, driven mad with insatiable hunger for her flesh.
Suddenly there was faint whisp from behind and before she could blink, the bright-winged arrow was lodged into Gerard's left eye, and he fell facedown into the sharp shards of glass, his right hand resting on the tip of her shoe. The crunch of glass behind her made her turn around, and there she saw Daryl, holding his crossbow across his shoulders with a grim look on his face. He didn't even try to gloat….