The damn walkers had to just come out of nowhere, they had to just block and fuck up their fastest car didn't they? They were a few miles from the vet office and things just kept going from bad to worse. Merle was doing his best shooting, the glove he had started wearing that had a stuffed pinky and ring fingers helped him hold the guns he used but it was still tricky for him. He used his contraption on his arm the most, the knife reaching the dead before they reached him more often than not. Michonne was slicing and dicing her way through the walkers as she went and Daryl was doing his best too, staying out of their reach and shooting his bolts into their heads. Bob was doing pretty well but his gun was attracting a lot of the dead to them as they had to wait on Tyreese to finally decide to get out of the surrounded car. That was the second thing that pissed Daryl off for the evening. With the way Tyreese had sat there, acting as if he was going to let them take him, they had to use more bullets and he lost a few bolts just to try and help clear a path somewhat when Tyreese decided to finally move. Now, after walking all night and into the next morning, Daryl was still fuming as Tyreese was washing his shirt in a creek, Merle and Michonne by his side with the map trying to figure out where they were and how long they had to go.
"Ty! Come on man." Daryl wasn't paying much attention to what Merle and Michonne were saying, they could figure things out without him, but when Bob started to call out to Tyreese he did turn his head but only to scoff. Daryl was so done with these people, he had lost the fastest car they had and now they were walking on borrowed time and they still had to go and get the medicine before they could even think of returning!
"Ain't got time for this, lets just go, he can catch up." Daryl glanced to his brother, nodding as he followed Merle on the path that he and Michonne had chosen. As they got out of reach Michonne rushed to catch them, Bob making Tyrese move his as a bit faster and soon they were back on the road. Daryl wanted to find a car, anything if he was honest, and fast. They had miles to go and no time to get there in.
"We wasted a whole night, Sasha….my sister….she might not even be there anymore." Everyone slide a glance to Tyreese as he made his way back up to them. Merle snorted though, shaking his head as he chopped away a vine hanging in his way. Michonne just sighed but Bob grunted to the bigger man.
"Don't think like that. We will get back, we'. Make it in time."
"Naw man, we wasted a whole night!"
"Yeah and why was that?" Tyreese and Bob glared now to Merle as he chuckled dryly in front of them. He hadn't even turned to see them just talking out of his ass Daryl thought while Bob took a deep breath, trying to stay calm.
"It was no ones fault. Those walkers came out of nowhere and…"
"And while waiting for big man here to decide if he wanted to save his own ass or not we wasted not only time but resources. If ya gonna go off yaself man just fucking do it and don't drag the rest of us down with ya! We got family back there as well or don't you remember!" Tyreese snorted now, giving Merle a heated glare.
"You ain't got anyone in that sick area so don't….." Daryl had had enough then, turning and making Tyreese pause in his walking, his finger poking Tyreese in the chest while his other hand gripped his crossbow tighter and tighter.
"Look ahere! Hunter is in that damn sick area! If anyone has a higher chance of not surviving its gonna be my son! That's his nephew! If any of us should be worrying the most its us, now shut ya damn mouth and lets get to the fucking place so we can get our asses home! If ya want to sit and bitch be my guest but I ain't hanging around and giving a chance for anyone else to die while you are! That includes ya sister!" Huffing, Daryl shoved Tyreese back a bit and growled, letting him know he was not to say a word as he took the lead now and made his way to the road. Once there he glanced up to the sky and growled again. Almost high noon, it was getting later and later. They weren't going to make it if he didn't rush their asses. He had to make it.
It took a bit, longer than they wanted, but they had a van now and they were on the road again. The college was right ahead of them, Bob driving while Merle talked with Michonne about a plan of attack. Daryl was just going over and over again inside his own head about the talk him and Bob had. He found out that it was Bob's fault the whole shelf came crashing down but just like any other guy that felt like he did nothing right he blamed everything on himself. The whole Zac death, the fact that Trixie was there helping him and had a chance to get hurt, everything. Daryl told him he wasn't going to be alone, not again, and that it wasn't his fault because no one could foresee what was going to happen, but he did swear he would never let Bob go out on another trip with Trixie ever again. His way of wanting to keep her safe. While Michonne nodded to a nearby building Tyreese nodded and broke the small silence.
"The building we need is around the corner. Park here Bob, we'll walk." Bob nodded, shutting the van off and searching for any signs of any walkers that the noise might have brought out. Seeing none the group exited the van and started to walk to the building.
"Stick close, no heroes today." Everyone nodded to Daryl as they rounded the buildings and Tyreese pointed out the one they needed. Merle nodded to them, shoving one door open for them as Daryl grabbed the next. Everyone moved silently and quickly into the main building before Tyreese took the lead. With Hershel's map in hand he pointed out a side room and Daryl entered first, searching for the dead but nodding as he got inside.
"Just grab it all, we can figure things out later." Nodding to Michonne everyone started to grab whatever bottle of medicine they could find. Cages were in the room, littering the tables and floors and all along the side of the wall there were stacks of cages with animals that unfortunately perished. Merle sighed, shaking his head softly as his eyes scanned those cages while Michonne dropped a few thing into the bag he was holding.
"Glad little gal didn't come with brother." Daryl snorted, glancing up once to see what Merle was looking at then nodding in agreement. He knew his girl loved animals, and if she would have come she would have had a broken heart seeing this aftermath.
"Anything else we can use?" Daryl shrugged, glancing back to see Tyreese and Michonne scanning the room while Bob seemed to be staring at something.
"Hey, come on, next room." Bob popped up from behind a desk, where it looked like someone had made a place to stay, and nodded. Rushing to catch them as they exited the room's back door he saw Tyreese pointing to the next area they needed to go, Daryl and Merle going to check the area for walkers as the other three came to catch up. Once Merle nodded the all clear Tyreese glanced to the map then to the other rooms and pointed.
"There, says it would be the place for the meds. Tubes and shit over in that room. IV's down the hall and clamps as well." Merle nodded, tossing a bag over his shoulder and looking to Daryl.
"I got the clamps and bags. Ya'll get the rest." Daryl nodded as Michonne nudged Bob and nodded to the medicine room.
"We'll get the stuff from inside there. You get the tubes and anything else." Daryl nodded, watching Tyreese glancing to the map again then turning to go to the room where they were going to scout. Michonne and Bob walked into the medical room, it was large like a basic classroom and at the back there was a wall length cabinet that held all kinds of medicines in it.
"Anything ending in 'cilin' or 'cing'. We can crush it and dissolve it into the IV's and get it to them faster."
"How much?"
"Well with the time we lost that will be tricky but I'm sure Hershel and Dr. S will know." Michonne nodded, grabbing the rest of the medicine, glancing it over, as she heard the others moving in the hallway. Merle had grabbed every IV bag and all the clamp bags he could find, including other stuff as well. He found an intubation tube, thinking it might come in handy, and grabbed the rest of the needles there as well. He didn't get to grab much due to only having three fingers but the bigger things he could grab he took. His bag was full when he came into the hallway and saw his brother standing there, in thought it seemed, as he listened to Michonne and Bob talking.
"Hey." Daryl's head snapped up and Merle seen that he was right, his brother had been in thought again and that had Merle on edge.
"Get everything?"
"Everything my gimp ass could grab. You?"
"Yeah, tubes and bags and a few needles as well. Everything on the list. Tyreese's is double checking to make sure we didn't leave a thing. Were gonna need it all." Merle nodded, feeling the hurt and guilt coming off of Daryl now before he patted his brothers shoulder out of a very rare and very unsettling act of kindness between them.
"He's gonna be ok, I swear on my life he's gonna be ok." Daryl nodded, chewing his bottom lip when Tyreese came out and nodded to them both. Walking into the room where Michonne and Bob were they put their bags down as Michonne glanced to them. She had heard the conversation Merle and Daryl had in the hallway and she felt for the guys, she did. She knew that they didn't show their emotions often but she knew that having a family member in the sick are had them on edge as much if not more than Tyreese and that was dangerous to have at the moment so she didn't spark the fire by saying that she heard, or that she was sorry for them, because that never worked.
"Got everything?" Tyreese nodded to them, glancing to the bags now.
"Yeah, tubes, clamps, bags, everything on the list and then some. Ya'll?" Bob nodded, giving a head tilt to the cabinet and smiling.
"Got all that we can use."
"Everything. We're good." Daryl nodded now, he knew what came next and he didn't need the map for it as he turned and went to head back to the hallway.
"Alright, lets roll." Merle followed his brother, closely, as Tyreese went after then Michonne and Bob. In the hallway Daryl used his light to find the exit sign they had noticed and followed it towards the back hallway, where some stairs were that could take them to the bottom floor and out near the van, but as they got closer Merle tapped his shoulder.
"Hear that brother?" Daryl nodded, searching for the dead that was making the noise they heard, but didn't see them at all until they passed another room that had a door broken and off its hinges. To get pass it and to the stairs meant fighting a few of the walkers that were inside and they didn't have the time, nor wanted to draw any other walkers with the noise, so they turned around to run. Michonne pointed out another exit sign and they ran, into another classroom with cages, looked like a holding room for the animals of the school, and Bob shut the door behind them.
"Hey! Doors busted, wont hold shut!" Daryl and Merle nodded, going straight to the door and shoving a desk up against it, Merle pilling a few of the cages he could grab with his knife on top of the desk while Michonne scanned the room.
"Over here, stairs." The guys nodded, slowly following her to the place where another set of stairs were now, Daryl and Tyreese glanced to each other sharing a thought. Where were these stairs going to bring them out at? As they got half way through the room Tyreese suddenly grunted, a walker had come from between some of the broken cages but he took care of it quickly, grunting as he did. When he rushed to catch the others Merle looked over his shoulder to the door they had tried to barricade while Daryl and Michonne glanced to the new door they needed to get through, the one that was chained and had walkers trying to get through.
"How many?"
'Cant tell." Michonne frowned, giving Daryl an unsure look as Merle cursed.
"Fuckers coming in the front." The group glanced back to the door they had barricaded and suddenly felt like rats in a trap.
"We can take them!" Merle was about to agree with Tyreese before Bob screamed at them.
'NO! They're infected, like the prison. We fire at them, hit them, get their blood in our faces or breathe it in we get sick. We didn't come all this way just to return sick!"
"How do we know the ones in there aren't any different?" Tyreese pointed to the chained door as Bob shrugged.
"We don't."
"Well its gotta change sometime." Daryl sighed, giving Merle a look as he grabbed a chair and broke the leg off of it. Sticking it between the chain he twisted, turning the chain and wrapping it around the leg to pop it. "Ready?"
"Open it brother!" The walkers from behind them now were closing in as Daryl busted the doors chains open and Michonne slung her blade out. When the handle to the door fell, the chain hanging limply now, three walkers walked out of the door and onto the group. Tyreese shot one while Michonne sliced the others heads off in one swing. Daryl grabbed his crossbow and nodded for them to go, everyone darting into the chained off hallway now as the other walkers got closer and closer.
"Up! Go up!" Tyreese pointed to the stairs that were right across the hallway, making everyone rush up the stairs and come out a floor above into another hallway that had a few walkers stumbling down it now, the noise from down stairs attracting them. Daryl turned and motioned for everyone to head down the hall, towards another set of stairs he was hoping would be clear, and while they ran Merle and Bob shoved anything and everything into their path to block the following infected walkers.
"Don't have an exit!" Michonne frowned, she had shoved on the stairs doors but they were locked, sounded like a chain on the other side, and Daryl grunted.
"We make one!" Jumping up on the window sill that was at the end of the hallway he started hitting it with his crossbow but Tyreese grabbed a fire extinguisher.
"Get down!" Daryl ducked to the right side, Tyreese taking out the left side window and then shoved Michonne to get up to it. Daryl grabbed her hand and helped her up over the window sill, letting her get out on her own.
"Jump down to the walkway below!" Michonne nodded, jumping to the roof top and turning to watch for her friends. Tyreese was next as Merle shoved Bob towards the window and Daryl helped him up on the sill now.
"They're here little brother! Move!" Daryl nodded, grunting as Merle dragged himself up to the sill now and jumped onto the roof with the others. Daryl jumped from the window to the walkway roof first, then Bob and Merle following. Tyreese and Michonne were looking for their van when Merle grunted and turned to grab the back of Bobs pants. He had stumbled when jumped, falling to his knees, but when his bag almost went over the walkway roof to the ground where walkers were forming he grabbed at it and was now in a tug of war with the walkers below. Michonne, Tyreese and Daryl glanced back when they heard Merle grunting, trying not to let the boy fall with the bag, and they rushed to help.
"Let it go man! Let it go!" Tyreese was pulling now on the other side of Bobs pants, tugging him by his arms and trying to keep him from falling as he kept fighting for his bag. Michonne was holding onto Merles arm with the contraption, tugging on him so incase Bob went over he wouldn't follow and Daryl was tugging on Bob arm along with them, grunting.
"Let the bag go Bob! Come on!" Bob shook his head no, struggling a bit more before he snatched at just the right time and freed his bag from the walkers grip. As the others backed away, feeling Bob not struggling as much now, they watched as he threw his bag onto the walkway roof and it landed, with a clunk. Merle and Michonne exchanged a look, wondering what the hell was so important in the bag that made that sound, and as Tyreese helped Bob to his feet Daryl walked around them to pull the bags flap open. A bottle of half drunk alcohol was sitting in it, and only the half drunk bottle of alcohol. As Bob stared at Daryl, wondering what was going to happen, he started breathing a bit harsher, scared.
"You got no meds in ya bag, just this?" Daryl glanced from Bob back to the bottle, then shook his head, trying to think about what to do, what would be best to do, and when he remembered the story of how Bob caused the shelf to collapse, ultimately killing Zac, he growled. "You should've kept walking that day."
"Don't!" Bob shouted, not loudly, but harshly enough that it stopped Daryl from throwing the bottle out across the open court of the college. Tyreese, Michonne and Merle all glanced back to Bob then, after he quickly put his hand on his gun, and when Daryl noticed this he stormed right up to him. Bob didn't move though, didn't try to fight back as Daryl pressed his forehead against Bob's, begging him to give him another reason to hurt him. When Bob didn't move though Daryl took his gun from him, then grabbed Bob by the front of his shirt and it looked like he was going to shove him off of the walkway roof when Tyreese called out to him.
"Just let him go Daryl! He picked his poison." Daryl grunted, not wanting to give into Bob that easily but Tyreese couldn't help the man because Merle had put his three good fingers on his shoulder and gripped him as well, telling him not to interfere with his brothers business.
"Nothing you can do brother, let it go, we got to get back." Daryl grunted again, letting Bob go right near the edge but Bob didn't once look up or into anyone's eyes for help.
"I didn't want to hurt nobody. It was just for when it gets quiet." Daryl snorted, spitting to the side out of disgust as he glanced between Bob and the bottle he held. He didn't like it but the others were right, he made his choice and Daryl was going to make sure he knew what kind of choice that was.
"If you take one sip of this….this….shit, before any of those meds get into our people, I'll kick your ass. We came here for Sasha, Hunter, everyone that's sick and you didn't grab a damn thing but this shit! Don't think I wont be watching you." Daryl growled again, closer to his face this time as he shoved the bottle back into Bobs hand and grunted. "Lets go!"
"Vans that way Dar." Daryl nodded to Merle, grabbing his own bag he had dropped and going to the edge of the walkway roof. He had had enough, he was ready to get back to the prison, he needed to see that his son and his girl were safe but with what Bob did he now wondered if they had enough medicine for everyone that needed it. He prayed they did, he prayed he wouldn't have to kick Bobs ass, he prayed for everything as Merle came up behind him and nodded. It was time to move, Michonne agreed and so did Tyreese as he stayed by Bobs side, watching him.
"Alright, lets go." Jumping off of the walkway roof they headed back to the van, needing to be home, and wanting to be done with this shit once and for all.
