Chapter 21 - Sunglasses and Christmas trees
Inside the warehouse, Daryl had been scouting inside the first of two adjoining glass walled offices when he'd heard Tahlia's warning about the walkers approaching. He'd seen a couple of things he wanted, and quickly shoved them into his bag. About to leave, he thought he might as well quickly check the cupboards just in case there was something useful. As he opened the floor to ceiling narrow cupboard, a trapped walker inside launched itself at him, taking him off-guard, knocking him back against the desk, causing him to drop his crossbow. Snapping its rotting, yellow teeth, the walker was upon Daryl before he could regain his balance, and he was pushed to the floor. Scooting away from the decaying grasp of the undead corpse, Daryl found his back up against the wall.
"Fuck YOU!" he shouted, booting the walker away from him.
He pulled himself up just as it came at him again, shoving him hard against the wall, clutching at his face, its putrid stench filling his nostrils. Daryl felt something small depress behind him, and at the same time he grabbed a golfing trophy from a nearby shelf, bashing it repeatedly into the walker's skull, smashing through the soft bone and brains until it fell to the ground.
"Motherfucker!" he cursed, wiping blood splatter from his cheek.
Panting, he turned his attention to the loud grinding, crunching noise that was now emanating from the warehouse.
What the...?
Glancing back at the wall he saw that he'd been pushed back against a big green button labelled 'Garage Door'.
Through the glass-walled office he could see that next to the doors that had been chained shut on the warehouse wall, a large green roller door was slowly sliding open, the mechanism screeching and struggling from disuse. Now he realised why the doors had probably been chained. There were at least 30 walkers who had been locked in the adjoining warehouse now stumbling through the opening door, heading straight for him.
He really needed to get the fuck out of there.
By the time he shouldered his crossbow and bag, the first of the undead was already stumbling through the office door, the rest of the pack close behind. Making a split-second decision, he pulled the walker into the office and slammed the door shut, locking himself inside as the hands pressed and squeaked on the glass panes. Making light work of that walker with the butt of his crossbow, he then grabbed the desk chair and slammed it into the glass wall connecting the two offices, one, two, three times before it shattered around him. Jumping through the broken wall into the adjoining room, he skidded across the office floor and just managed to dive out of the door before the walkers had figured out he was there.
A group of the undead had also shuffled in from the forecourt now, and he was flanked on both sides. With only a couple of seconds to decide on an escape route, he started running for the far end of the warehouse, knocking over objects and banging on car bonnets, making as much noise as he could to try and draw the walkers after him and away from the only exit door so he could loop back around to it. Risking a quick glance behind him, his plan seemed to be working, the group were following him down the length of the warehouse, but some had spread out a little, meaning that he needed to cut across the room to get to the far wall and back to the door before he was cut off again.
Vaulting over the trunk of a car, he kicked at a walker grasping for him there, then immediately rolled underneath the next car and dodged through the legs of two of the undead on the other side. From there, he sprinted to the wall and followed it all the way to the adjoining warehouse door, barreling through the few decaying bodies in his way, then ducking through the door, just managing to evade another group of corpses that were about to intercept him.
Suddenly, a massive explosion sounded from outside, rocking the whole building and causing him to duck and cover his head.
What the HELL was that?!
His body fizzing with adrenaline and worry for Tahlia, Daryl sprinted back through the storeroom, but was waylaid by several more of the undead that had found their way in and launched themselves at him. Eventually he managed to take the lot down, then darted through the door leading to the convenience store. There were at least 10 walkers in the small store now, and without pause, he shot the one nearest him, then ripped the bolt from its head and shoved it through the next one's eye. Four more in the next aisle turned to face him, so with a loud battle cry, he heaved his shoulder into the shelving unit between them, knocking it over on top of the bodies. Vaulting it, he rounded the next aisle, stabbing two more on his way out of the store.
Once outside, the first thing he noticed was the huge fire burning around the charred remains of an RV and the vehicles nearest to it. The next thing he noticed was the sea of walkers in the carpark. Then, he finally found what he was looking for. Tahlia -standing on the roof of a car, slashing at walkers surrounding her.
"Tahly!" he shouted in panic. Instinctively he started running towards her, even though the walkers around the car she was on were at least five deep, with more still coming.
"Stop!" she yelled frantically, holding a hand up, and obediently he stopped in his tracks. She gestured wildly and shouted something else but he couldn't make out what she was saying.
Then she slid onto the bonnet of the car and with an almighty swing, decapitated four walkers before leaping onto the trunk of the next car, then pointed again.
Finally, he understood what she was trying to tell him.
Get our car.
There was a line of 6 parallel parked cars leading towards the carpark exit, and she had just jumped from car 6 onto number 5. There was a writhing mass of walkers around the last cars in line where she was standing, but only a handful around the first cars – so far. If she could jump from car to car and make it to the first in the line, he could meet her there in their station wagon, and they might be able to get away.
Daryl nodded and immediately whirled, sprinting for their car, shoving and stabbing at walkers in his way.
Shit, the box! He'd just ran past it. Dammit. For all this goddamned trouble he sure as hell wasn't going to leave this box of supplies behind.
He doubled back, pulling out his handgun and shooting two walkers coming for him, then, heaving up the large box, he made a run towards their car, using the box to bash the undead in front of him out of his way. Tahlia had jumped onto the 4th car as he shoved their score in the back seat and dove into the front, gunning the engine and speeding halfway to her. He didn't want to get too close just yet in case the walkers overran him and rendered their vehicle useless. Once Tahlia made it onto that first parked car, he'd then speed over, and they'd make a getaway.
Well, that was the plan anyway.
"Come on, Tahly!" Daryl shouted, banging the steering wheel in agitation as she slashed more grasping walkers out of her way and jumped onto the 3rd car.
"Goddammit!" He cursed as he glanced up ahead to where a large group of walkers were heading towards the carpark from the woods, drawn by the sound of the explosion. Shit, they only had a small window of opportunity to drive out of here, because soon the exit would be swarmed, they'd be closed in on all sides, and they wouldn't be able to get a car through. He looked back to Tahlia, who was jumping from the 3rd to the 2nd car.
She landed on the trunk, and then she disappeared over the side into the grasping hands of the undead.
Daryl's heart slammed into his throat.
Swearing loudly, he leaned over the steering wheel, frantically trying to spot her, but all he could see was the frenzy of walkers pressing closer into the spot where she'd disappeared. Pulling himself up through the driver's window, he sat on the window edge and drew his gun. Using the roof to steady his aim, he fired several rounds at the undead where she'd fallen. He knew he ran the risk of hitting her with an errant bullet, but if he did nothing, she'd be dead anyway. Daryl bit his lip hard.
Where was she?!
He couldn't leave her. Dead or alive, he couldn't fucking leave her.
With an icy hand of dread clenching his heart, he slid back in the window and shoved the door of the station wagon open, ready to run into certain death. Suddenly, there was a bloodcurdling yell, and he saw the blade of her katana rise up between the 1st and 2nd car, skewering a walker right through its chin and out the top of its head.
"Motherfuckers!" he heard her ferocious cry as the walker fell down and she popped up. She dragged herself onto the trunk of the car while kicking wildly at the hands raking at her legs. Flooded with relief, Daryl leaned on the roof of the station wagon again and fired off the remaining rounds in his gun, hitting the walkers grabbing at her, giving her a chance to pull herself away from their clutches and up onto the car roof. Diving back into the idling vehicle, he then sped the short distance to where she was now skidding down the windscreen, only slowing the car long enough for her to throw her pack and then herself headfirst through the open passenger window.
Daryl slammed his foot on the gas, not even waiting to check if all her limbs were safely inside. Dodging through the approaching walkers, he only had to hit two and was able to make it out the exit seconds before the horde crossed it. Screeching into a sharp turn away from the rasping, hungry walkers, he floored it and raced down the road away from the gas station, heaving a huge sigh of relief as the undead were now safely in his rear-view mirror.
He glanced at Tahlia, who was still upside down in the passenger seat, her head in the footwell and her legs hooked on either side of the head rest, blood-spattered and panting heavily.
"The FUCK, Tahly?! What the FUCKIN' FUCK?!" he yelled as his adrenaline faded, leaving his fear still bright and fizzing in his chest.
She smiled up at him, still upside down. "Oh, hey Daryl! Thanks for the ride."
"Don't fuckin' JOKE right now!" he shouted in exasperation. "The HELL were ya doin? Ya hemmed yourself in back there and nearly got torn to pieces!"
"What?!" she protested innocently. "You said to buy you some time, so... voilà! A diversion."
"Big enough fuckin' diversion?! Y'drew a hundred more walkers to the area with the size of that fire!"
"Well obviously it wasn't supposed to be that big, it got a little out of hand... but... it worked out, didn't it? You're welcome." she said with a lopsided grin.
Daryl was still fuming, but her easy manner was enough to take his anger down a few notches.
"Fucksake, girl! Now gimme that sword 'fore ya slice us to bits." He motioned for her to pass over the bloodied katana which was still half hanging out the window, and he carefully dropped it into the backseat. He looked at her again, visibly softening. "Y'good?"
"Think so."
He slammed a hand several times into the steering wheel in relief. "That was close! That was fuckin' close, Tahly!"
"I know." she agreed, wriggling herself the right way up in the seat. "Too close."
"You must be fulla some kinda bad juju. I ain't never had that many near death experiences in that short a time than I have hangin' with you!" Daryl said wryly, shaking his head.
"What?! That was nothing. I've been in way worse situations than that. Bet you have too." she said flippantly, although she was still recovering from the very real thought that she had been about to die.
"Been in some pretty hairy ones." agreed Daryl, "But that was damn nail-bitin' watchin' you back there. Thought you were a goner when you slipped off that car."
"Ugh, yeah me too! One of those fuckers grabbed my ankle and pulled me down. Managed to roll under the car and wriggle out the front." Tahlia shuddered just thinking about how close that call was.
"I was just about to head over for ya when ya popped back up. Was gonna see if I needed to put ya down." he teased.
"I bet that woulda been satisfying, huh? Putting a bullet right between my giant pain in the ass eyes." she remarked dryly. But then her tone grew somber. "But Daryl, seriously, no! I'm glad you didn't come over! That would've been real stupid of you!"
"Stupid of me?!" he echoed incredulously. "How stupid were you back there? Being so damn reckless again?!"
"I mean it!" she insisted. "If you think I'm dead, you leave me. If you can't help me without endangering yourself, you leave me. You don't even hesitate, you just get the hell out of there, ok?
He scoffed. "Comin' from the girl that risks her life for people on 'compassionate grounds'."
"That's totally different!"
"Ain't!" argued Daryl. "Is exactly the same!"
"No, I mean it's different when I do it."
"Huh?" he shot a glance at her, noting her serious expression.
Tahlia picked at some of the dried blood on her hands. "Look, I've been living on borrowed time for years now. I've had more than my share of life, so death is just..." she gave a little wave of her hand as she trailed off.
Daryl took a minute to process this, trying to keep his voice steady and calm when he finally spoke. "Whatchu sayin'? Coz ya think it shoulda been you instead of your sister? Ya think you don't deserve to be here? That why ya so damn reckless?"
Keeping her eyes averted, Tahlia gave a small shrug.
"That's the craziest shit I ever heard! What happened to your sister was a freak accident! Ain't nothin' to do with you dodgin' death!" he exclaimed angrily. "You're here, so you got a responsibility to look after yourself! For her. And it's one thing not to be scared of death but a whole 'nother thing to be careless with ya life! That's damn stupid! I ain't scared of death neither, but I ain't about to chuck myself away."
Tahlia just gazed at her hands, letting his words sink in.
"And I ain't never gonna just leave ya, so you'd best be thinkin' of that next time ya 'bout to do somethin' stupid. Ya best be thinkin' 'bout both of us." he told her sternly.
His tone had been a lot harsher than his feelings, but he would rather give her a serious telling-off that she'd remember and hopefully take a little more time to consider her own safety, than go easy on her and have something happen to her. The irony of the situation wasn't lost on him, however – that he had torn her a new one for trying to get to Isaiah in the tombs, yet he had been prepared to do the exact same thing for her. And he would do it again without hesitation.
Daryl's sentiment had left Tahlia feeling touched and irrationally emotional, and if he hadn't been driving, she might have thrown herself onto his lap and sobbed into his shoulder. But instead, she chose to quickly move on from it.
"Well maybe you should think about hurrying the hell up next time!" Tahlia shot at him in faux irritation. "What took you so damn long inside, anyway?!"
Daryl looked a little abashed. "Uh, when I was checkin' the offices I got set on by a walker, then accidentally freed 'nother whole bunch of 'em into the warehouse. Had to run my ass outta there."
Tahlia laughed in disbelief. "You what?! Ha! Ok, I guess we both could have done things a little smoother, but we made it!"
She ran a hand through her blood-spattered hair. "Well, whatever it was that you wanted in the offices, it better have been worth it, coz I nearly got chewed up back there waiting for you."
"Was. Got a carton of Marlboros."
Tahlia's mouth dropped open. "Cigarettes?! My life is worth some measly cigarettes to you?!"
"Naw." replied Daryl. "Sunglasses too." He pulled a pair of Ray Bans out of his pocket and put them on.
She let out a loud laugh. "You serious?!"
He shrugged nonchalantly. "It's bright out. Needed these."
She flicked him on the arm and shook her head with a grin. "Asshole."
"Don't worry, got some for you too." Daryl reached into his pack in the footwell behind her seat, and pulled out a pair of novelty Christmas sunglasses, each lens surrounded by a big, sparkly green Christmas tree.
A disbelieving laugh escaped her lips as she grabbed them from him, quickly donning them and admiring them in the mirror. "What?! These are the greatest!"
"Hold up." Daryl reached over and pressed a button on the arm of the glasses, and they lit up with tiny blinking white lights.
With a delighted gasp, Tahlia stared at her reflection a little longer before facing Daryl with a huge grin. "Yes! These were totally worth the near-death experience! How did you know I would love these?!"
Daryl rolled his eyes and managed to keep a dry note in his tone although he was secretly pleased that she was so thrilled – and that it was his doing.
"Coz that's exactly the kinda thing a pain in the ass like you would love."
As they sped down the empty highway, Tahlia questioned him a little more about what had happened in the warehouse, but Daryl held a hand up.
"Ya gonna give me a seizure with them lights! Gotta take 'em off, can't take ya seriously."
Tahlia stared at him, managing to keep her face and voice deadpan. "What are you talking about? I'm the most serious thing in this car."
With a playful growl, Daryl swiped at her, trying to pull the glasses off her face.
"Argh! No, don't break them!" she squealed, trying to evade his grasping hand. "Ok! Ok, I'll take them off."
Reluctantly she removed the glasses and put them in the backseat. "Can't believe you'd give me a gift and then not even let me enjoy it." she grumbled good-naturedly, then caught sight of herself in sunshade mirror.
"Oh God, look at the state of me. I'm a damn mess." Digging a rag and a bottle of water out of her bag, she started cleaning the drying blood from her face.
As she wiped at her cheek, Daryl snuck a quick glance over at her, feeling warmth bloom in his belly.
There was nothing quite like a near-death experience to bring you closer to someone.