Chapter Thirteen
"We could make a break for it," Merle suggested while leaning against the wall. One hand up, bracing him with the other shoved into his pocket. The idea wasn't that far fetched. Plausible even as the sun steadily climbed across the sky. Already the shadows were growing longer. The longer they sat there, the more of a possibility that they would be stuck there overnight.
Sitting in an abandoned pharmacy with no food or warmth wasn't all that appealing and Daryl found himself moving to join his brother. Looking out the window to get a better idea of what was going on outside.
The walkers were just kind of milling about. Stumbling in their own stupor. Calmer now, that was for sure. At first they kind of gathered around the door, crowding where T-dog's blood had spilt, and for a moment it looked as if they were going to break through the glass. The glass held though. Which was a blessing in itself, but now they don't look to be leaving. Like they knew food wasn't that far away, and it was only a matter of time before they could get to it.
Daryl let out a 'humph' sound as he shook his head, glancing at his brother as he attempted to figure out what was going through his mind. What could possibly make him believe that they would even have a chance of breaking out of here.
"Oh come on," Merle said, standing straighter to wave out the window. "Create a damn distraction and move out while they're busy with that. Not that damn hard." His gaze flicked to T-dog for only a second, but it was long enough for Daryl to get what he was saying and he shook his head. Ready to argue the point when Rick pipped up.
"No!" Their focus turned to him. With a hard glare, and a lip turning into a thin line, he shook his head. "Ain't sacrificing anybody to get the hell out of here." He looked from Merle to Daryl and then T-dog as he said the words. "We'll just wait it out. Something will call the their attention."
"Yeah, what a day, two or three?" Merle's lip turned up onto one side. A grim smile coming from him as he shook his head and looked out the window. Daryl took a glance at T-Dog. Noticing a thin sheen of sweat starting to pour down his face, soaking his shirt as the man sat there. He could only imagine the fever was starting to set in, and found himself biting the inside of his lip. Keeping his mouth shut as he looked to the ground. Silence falling over them again as they stare at nothing. Daryl could almost imagine a clock sounding off the seconds as they sat there. Each of them trying to come up with a better plan than sacrificing someone. One of their own to be exact. Nothing was coming up, though.
"What's your big plan for this distraction?" T-Dog asked, catching Merle's as the man turned, still smiling that half smile of his. Merle glanced at Rick, noting the scowl on his face as Rick shook his head.
"It ain't gonna happen-" he started, again making his argument when T-Dog held up his hand.
"Let's face it Rick," he stated, voice labored as he attempted to breath. "I'm a dead man. I know it. You know it. If I am going out, then I might as well make it worth while."
Rick's body trembled as he shook his head. "They'll tear you to pieces."
"Yeah, I got a good feel for what they'll do." T-Dog chuckled at his own words, the sound turning into a cough before he was able to get it under control again and look around the room. Daryl could feel his chest growing tight. The air in the room stifling him as he looked at a good man ready to go down for those he counted as family. He felt lucky to be considered one of those men as his gaze returned to the floor.
"These stores should be connected somehow. A doorway that'll lead from one to another. If we can find that. We can have T go out either this one or the other and grab those biter's attention. Allowing us to make a break for the SUV." Merle's gaze locked onto the vehicle in question. The barbed wire still laying on the floor just a couple of feet from the trunk sitting wide open.
It wouldn't take much to run over there, throw everything in, shut it up and head out. Provided they had a decent distraction. Feeding the bastards would be enough of a distraction and he looked to Rick, who stared at T-Dog. The same question burning in his stare that was eating at Daryl. Is that the right thing to do. Letting an already dead man walk to his death alone.
There was the answer right there. What point was it for him to die in here with them and allow them to continue being trapped. Daryl swallowed, meeting Rick's gaze as the two men stared at each other. Both of them seemed to come to the same conclusion at the same time as Rick nodded his head and looked around the small pharmacy. "Well, let's find those connecting doors."
They located the door in the office area, toward the back with a shelf shoved up against it. Which the four of them discovered to be a good thing. The moment they shuffled things around to move the shelves, something slammed against the door. Startling all of them until they backed away from the door. The second time something slammed into the door, they all looked at each other in silence confirmation. They were going to have to deal with this before they could deal with what was coming outside.
"Store on the other end could be overrun," Daryl suggested, taking the crossbow off his back to make sure it was loaded and ready to go. Noting only three arrows left in his sling before looking up at Rick to see the man shrug.
"Don't got much of a choice," he said, continuing to move the shelf. Merle joined him, together making quick work of the furniture before focusing their attention on the banging. It wasn't getting any harder, which told them there was only one, possibly two, and that it was going to be an easy fix.
"Stand back," Rick ordered, motioning mainly at T-Dog, who leaned against the desk. His energy looking to be drained already as his complexion turned pale, and the sweat continued sliding down his body. The man obliged, allowing them to tend to this while he sat back. Reserving what strength he had left for later.
Opening the door, one walker came stumbling through. A young woman that appeared to have offed herself at the start of all this, judging by the slit in her wrists. Rick took her out with a plunge of his knife and moved further in toward the locked door on the other end of the closet. Leaving Daryl to scan over the space dotted with spurts of blood, a small hand trail moving across the shelves like the girl been fighting to stand as she died, but nothing else seemed to pop out at them as they made their way into what looked to have been a cafe at one point, but now sit deserted like every other remnant from a time not all that long ago.
The windows were still wide open where the walkers still moving about outside. The four of them made sure to remain quiet as they looked out the windows from the back of the store. The SUV seemed to be closer from this point, giving them a clearer view of what they would be working with.
"I'd say you head back out from the store over," Merle began, looking at T-Dog as he continued. "We'll wait here until you've called most of them to you and then make it to the truck."
T-Dog nodded, his gaze not leaving the walkers outside. Giving Daryl the impression that he was a little more frightened than he let on. Hell, they all were. They were fixing to head into a hoard of walkers and hope for the best. Daryl internally shook his head at the thought. 'Stupid idea' He bowed his head again, picking at some dirt on his crossbow before glancing up at his friend again. He didn't need to be told how scared T-Dog was. It was written all over his face, and Rick must have read it too, as he clapped a hand on the man's shoulder and said, "let's get this over with."
T-Dog nodded, licking his lips. "Maybe there's another door, the store across from the other one. Give you guys that much more space to get out."
Rick nodded. "Let's see." The words were heavy. With the full knowledge that T-Dog was just needing a few more minutes to get his nerves up. Maybe they all needed those last few minutes as they crossed through the pharmacy again and hunted for another door. Finding it in the storage closet, just like the other one.
No sounds came from this one as they shoved the door open. Going slow to ensure anything they attracted wouldn't burst out. The element of surprise always been their best bet, though it turned into a pointless action. The next store, a barber shop, turned out to be empty. The layers of dust lying across the floor and counters telling them it'd been empty from the start. Much like they believed this town to be.
"Alright, give us a few minutes to get back to that cafe and then you..." Rick paused, swallowing his words as he watched T-Dog agree. Rick dipped his head, his throat bobbing up and down like he wanted to say something as he placed his hand on his hips and leaned toward T-Dog. Almost whispering as he said, "you don't have to do this."
T-Dog nodded vehemently, his focus remaining glued to the floor as he steadily disagreed with Rick.
"No you don't," Rick insisted, stepping closer. "We can wait this out. You can go home with us."
"And just die there, or on some dusty old floor here." Again T-Dog shook. His hands clenching at his sides as he looked at Rick. "No, it's better this way. If it gets you home to that wife and kid of yours, it's better this way. Maybe even quicker."
Rick nodded, his gaze darting to the floor because they all knew that was a lie. Those things out there could eat you up and spit you out, but they wouldn't be quick about it. It would be a slow, painful death as they dug their nails into your flesh and swallowed you up. Unless someone came along to shoot you down. Bring you a merciful death and few people got that.
"Take care of them, Rick." He gave the sheriff a half smile before flicking his gaze to him and Merle. "And you two, take care of each other."
Daryl dipped his head, biting on the inside of his lips as he barely met the man's gaze. Unsure of what to say at a time like this. "Likewise" or "good-bye." Not like any of those words would mean a thing to him, and 'thank you' just didn't sum up the amount of appreciation one would show someone for giving their life. Even if his life was already forfeited.
All Daryl could think of to do was place a hand on T-Dog's shoulder, give him a brief nod and walk out of the room. It wasn't far from the good-bye he gave to Jimmy on the side of the road that day. Honestly, leaving a man to die was the hardest thing he had to do. Didn't sit right in his gut and made the bile rise up in his throat as he walked out of the room and straight for the small cafe on the other end. Knowing that T-Dog wouldn't think his actions rude, just him being, well, him. He didn't know how to deal with this stuff. Wasn't raised to be sentimental and it was even more evident as he heard Merle mumble some non-sense that sounded like "you got this." Rather, it was an encouragement or a question, Daryl didn't know and he wasn't about to turn around and find out either.
When he joined Rick in the blood smeared storage room, it was to see the man kneeling down at the back of the store. His gaze focused on the outside, though he looked to be a thousand miles away. Possibly feeling the same way Daryl was. Like a failure. Like he'd let someone down again, even though the fact that it wasn't his fault kept playing on a loop in his head. Sounding an awful lot like a voice of a certain blonde simply throwing his words back at him.
Merle joined them not long after, his arm once again resting above his head against the glass they looked out. Waiting for the inevitable that came in the sound of gunshots. Three of them ringing out through the air one at a time, and Daryl looked over to see T-Dog luring the walkers away with noise and blood. His shouts could be heard over the walkers snarls as he led them away from the cafe and back up the road where they originally came from.
"Let's go," Rick whispered, heading toward the door. Waiting until a good portion of them passed by, and he was able to slip out. Take out one of the stragglers quietly with his knife, and slipping off toward the truck Daryl right behind him, crossbow ready should it be needed and Merle hot on his heels. For once, keeping quiet as they reached the truck. Blissfully walker free until they poked their heads around and noticed the walkers were only a few yards away from them. T-Dog kept them heading in his direction with gunshots and shouts.
Chest heaving, Daryl looked away from the sight. Not wanting to see his friend be taken down just yet, and so he focused on throwing the barbed wire into the back of the truck and closing the back as quietly as possible.
Starting the SUV was the hard part. The three of them held their breaths as the engine cranked over, squealing a bit until it caught and roared to life. A few of the walkers turned their decaying heads in their direction. Their feet shuffling right along with them, and Rick punched the gas. Taking them out as Daryl grabbed for the shotgun, checking the round in the chamber before rolling the window down and perching himself up on the ledge, allowing him to use the roof of the vehicle to balance the shotgun and line up his shot.
Merle joined him on the passenger side, his eyes squinting as he looked toward the opposite side of town. "How good is that aim of your's baby brother?"
"Better than yours," Daryl replied, getting his shot and firing it off. Sighing when he noticed T-Dog's head snap back, then fall out of view as the walkers swarmed him. Rick didn't hesitate to turn the wheel and drive out of there. The tires screeching as he pulled out of town, nearly throwing Daryl and Merle off before they were able to duck back into the windows.
Pulling back into the yard with a porch full of people staring at you, expecting everything to be alright. For everyone to return home. But being one of the people on the inside of that vehicle. That was a different story. Daryl accepted what they did. Told himself it was what needed to be done. Didn't make it any easier as he looked out at the expectant faces.
The smiles that flitted across his families faces as they stood there, ignorant of the news that was about to come to them. He almost wished he could freeze that moment. Hold it close to look at another time. See their smiling faces as they returned from another successful run. It wasn't going to happen. Daryl knew that. Happiness never lasts long, which was why his mother always told him treasure those moments. Keep them locked away and bottled up for when the hard times started to wear you down.
This was one of those hard times. When he didn't want to move his hand to the door handle, didn't want to put one foot and then the other outside of this vehicle, or look up at Korea's smiling face as he walked over, raised his hand up to his face and scan over the grim appearances before counting the number of heads.
Wished he could deaf at the words, "where's T?" and Rick's resounding heavy sigh that was would have been echoed by himself if he could pull air into his heavy lungs. His head going back and forth as Glenn looked first at Rick and then to him for an explanation. Because who else was going to tell him that T-Dog got bit and then offered himself up so they could get home before nightfall.
"What happened?" Glenn asked, when the obvious answer to his first question wasn't spoken. Again his gaze went first to Rick, then Daryl and again, neither of them could give him a straight answer. Daryl stood there, head hanging as he chewed on his nail. Still feeling like there wasn't enough air in his lungs to speak, but knowing his friend deserved an explanation. Luckily, it wasn't him who had to give it as Rick took a step forward.
"A herd came into the town. As we were going for cover T was bit, and..." his voice trailed off as he glanced at Merle. Possibly wondering if he should mention it was Merle's idea that got them out of there. "T thought it would be best to use himself as a distraction so we could make it home."
His gaze narrowed at Glenn, and then over to the rest of the group that gathered close. The resounding gasps, and stifled cries over their friend's death going throughout the group as Daryl stood there, continuing to chew on his nail and not knowing what to say.
"What about the rest of you?" Lorie asked, pushing closer to Rick so that she could cup his face and force him to look at her. "Anyone else injured?"
Rick shook his head, swallowing something as Lorie wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his head onto her shoulders. Maggie came up next to Glenn, her arms wrapping around his middle as she pulled into a hug. Her head resting against his chest even as Glenn lay his head on top of hers. Whispered words passing between the two. Words and comfort that Daryl wished he could feel in that moment. A wish that he knew wouldn't come true. Especially in that moment when he looked up to see the concern in Carol's eyes, and Beth standing by her daddy with her arms wrapped around herself all while staring at him. Like she would come to him if she could. If she knew he would let her. He wouldn't, of course. That would look like weakness, and Dixon never showed weakness, not in front of otherwise.
No, Daryl wouldn't accept it at that moment, so, he shook his head and turned away, catching Merle's gaze with his own before nodding toward the back of the truck. Glenn followed along, still quiet as ever as they pulled the back open. "At least it wasn't in vain," Glenn muttered, reaching forward to start unloading some of the stuff.
"Leave it," Rick hollered, catching their attention. "We'll get it later."
Daryl shrugged. "No point waitin." He ignored Rick's words, grabbing up the supplies to haul it bit by bit to the porch. They could separate it all later, for now Daryl just needed something to do. Something to take his mind off this afternoon's failed run, and hopefully for the rest of the evening until he was able to mourn his fallen friend in quiet.
Thanks for all the review, follows and favorites on this story. It really is nice to see them. Especially the 70 followers. Didn't expect people to like this story that much, but it's all welcomed and thank you.
As for this chapter, I know it's short and a bit depressing and it was hard to write. In fact, I kept putting it off because i knew it wasn't going to be easy. Until next week!