Chapter 20: Blood

"What I wouldn't give for a bit of music."
The car trip was long and hot and I found myself grumbling, wishing there was at least a cd in this old Ford but alas we were left in silence. Daryl didn't seem to mind though, more focused on the road that anything else and Marcus and Grant sat quietly in the back.
I looked at Daryl, watching his face as he concentrated but I also took the chance to get a peek at Marcus, unsettled by his presence. His dark brown hair was cut neatly, his sharp features and hazel eyes almost attractive, but that wasn't what made me uncomfortable; the prison had food, enough to feed everyone but that was it, and for a man that had been on his own for months, Marcus was in too good of shape. He had no old bruises, no lingering scratches or scars and he seemed to settle into the prison of people easier than what many others did.
Maybe he had just been lucky.

The scenery flew past us, still sitting quietly and I sighed, may as well get comfortable.
A short time passed and Daryl stirred, as if he had been lost in thought this entire time and he looked in the rear view mirror, frowning slightly.
"Why'd ya leave it so long to tell us 'bout this place?"
Marcus shrugged in the back seat and I shared a nervous glance with Daryl.
"Guess I just forgot. It might not be worth anything when we get there now but never know."
We came to an intersection, the sign old and half ripped out of the ground by a rolled car. A walker hobbled around it, its arm bent at an odd angle and its ankle making me feel squeamish as it reached for the car. Daryl looked to the sign; Charleston fifty kilometres to the left and Daryl started to bring the car around when Marcus leant forward.
"Wait, we need Warwick, turn right."
Daryl paused, turning his head slowly to Marcus who shrugged again in apology.
"Didn't remember the name until I saw it."
I looked at the sign, Warwick was even further away than Charleston; did we even have the fuel?

Turning the car, Daryl went in the direction Marcus had told, myself beginning to feel isolated. We had no way of telling the others where we were now going, that maybe we wouldn't be back before nightfall but the group was tough and smart, they would know we would be safe enough until tomorrow.
After a short stop where the men relieved themselves and I found a jasmine bush to keep me entertained for a few minutes, we were now entering the large town. So far it had been quiet, only the odd walker or two spotting us and I tucked the white jasmine into my pocket as Daryl pulled the car over.
"We not going to drive a little more?" Grant asked, anxious and Daryl huffed, getting out of the car. I turned in my seat, giving him a reassuring smile.
"Just in case, that way the car is safe if we need to get out of here quickly."
Grant still seemed a little uneasy but there wasn't anything more I could do for him. Getting out of the car I scowled up at the sun; yesterday it had been freezing and now today it was roasting. Slipping off my jacket I tied it securely around my waist, strapping my quiver to my thigh and making sure I had all my arrows before walking around to stand beside Daryl. He looked down at me, giving me a smile and reaching up to push my over-grown fringe from my eyes.

"I'm pretty sure it was up this way."
We followed Marcus, the walkers around us now moving easier and there were more of them but nothing unmanageable and I made sure that I remained closer to the group. My hand ached at how tightly I was holding my machete and I huffed disappointedly when I looked down and saw blood splatter on my once clean tan tank top.
"How far man?" Daryl snarled, ripping an arrow free from one walker before shooting it into the other. Grant moved cautiously, his hunting knife covered in blood and he clutched the backpack straps tightly in his hand. I glanced in some of the other shops and building, most of them useless but I made a note of which ones to get on the way out if we could, but it wouldn't really matter. Anything of use seemed to be gone from this place and my stomach sank at the thought of the hospital being empty, that or full of walkers.
Marcus still marched on, a little too confidently and I squinted as something reflected into my eyes and by the time I blinked it clear, Marcus was gone.
"Where the fuck did he go?" Grant growled and Daryl scanned behind us and then carefully edged around the corner of an ally but Marcus was just gone.

Daryl swore quietly when the hospital loomed in front of us, surrounded by a concrete wall but I couldn't stare long as something glimmered again in my vision. I was about to ask Daryl what it was when Grant stiffened in front of me, blood splashing over me.
With a gasp I watched as he dropped straight to the ground, the back of his head completely ripped open and I looked down at myself in shock before Daryl grabbed me, pulling me to the wall of the building beside us. He was yelling something at me but I must have had blood or something in my ears because everything sounded like an echo, only a gunshot ringing out snapping me back.
"We gotta get back to the car!" Daryl yelled, swapping his crossbow for his gun and shooting back in the direction of where the gunshots were coming from, which seemed to be the hospital.
"What about Marcus?" I asked but I wasn't answered as a hand reached around the corner, grabbing Daryl and bringing him down to the ground.

Quick as a flash I jumped into the alley, grabbing the assailant and slamming him into the wall, my eyes widening as Marcus snarled at me. He took my shock as his opportunity and forced my hands away, hitting me viciously in the stomach and shoving me back to the wall myself. I caught a glance of Daryl, blood on his head as he struggled to get to his feet and I felt my anger turn into something I could use; Marcus had hurt Daryl and killed Grant. He may not have pulled the trigger but just like the man at the storage units, we had been led into a trap and I was fed up with it. A knife appeared in front of my eyes, my machete dropped out beside Grants body and I grabbed his wrist, trying desperately to keep it from sinking into my neck.
"You prick!" I hissed at him, Marcus grinning as it edge closer, one hand on his wrist and the other holding a handful of his shirt to keep him from leaning down and over me but my feet were slipping beneath me on the scattered bits of newspaper.
"I'm not going to hurt you," he said coolly and I felt my eyes widen as he relaxed his stance, enough for me to get mine back and I didn't care in that second if he wasn't going to kill me, I was going to kill him.

Letting go of his shirt I slammed my palm into his face, hearing his nose crack and I spun around, bringing his arm down and over my shoulder, feeling it pop out of place and the knife clattering on the ground, Marcus screaming out in pain as his warm blood from his nose washed down my arm. Quickly I bent down, scooping it up and moved behind Marcus, holding the knife to his throat, ready to slice around it when a click of a gun made me hesitate.
"Stop! Drop the knife."
I looked up and through my hair I could see five people standing at the entrance to the alley, guns in their hands and I swallowed tightly when I saw two of them aimed at Daryl. I forced Marcus to stand straight, holding the knife against his throat tightly and pinning his un- dislocated arm behind his back. One of the masked men stepped forward, bringing a knife to Daryl throat, mirroring the position I had Marcus in to Daryl who winced and I felt my rage turn to fear and my hands falter.
"Drop the knife or he will die."
"Do it now!"

The people edged forward and I forced Marcus back with me. What these people wanted I didn't know but I was not going to even hang around to find out. My stomach was fluttering with nerves and that bad feeling that I had been trying to ignore all day, the same feeling Vincent warned me about now threatened to make me sick and I looked to Daryl, not knowing what to do.
"Come on girl, we aren't going to hurt you unless you do something you'll regret."
I snickered, I would believe them a whole lot more if they hadn't killed Grant and I glanced down at his body lying out on the street. Coming towards him though was a group of walkers, hearing the commotion and I flicked my eyes back to Daryl who seemed more focused now and he tightened his fist. He was going to do something and I readied my stance, the knife in my hand tight and I twisted my hand around, ready to push Marcus away from me.
"Just do it you stupid bitch!" Marcus spat and Daryl slammed his arm down, his elbow hitting his capturer's ribs and he lurched forward and I pushed Marcus towards them, the walkers playing their part and grabbing onto the men.

"Run!" Daryl bellowed and I did, regardless of what Daryl yelled at me.
While the men were preoccupied with the walker, the gun shots ringing down the alley way, I kept my legs moving as fast as I could, my jacket slipping free from my hips but there was no way I was going to stop. With Daryl beside me, we ran, the dark alley seeming to go on forever but the light at the end was getting closer. I quickly looked to Daryl who looked over his shoulder and I knew exactly what he was thinking, I was thinking the exact same thing; when would one of those bullets be for us? I flinched each time the sound rang down the concrete walls, Daryl grabbing hold of my hand tightly to make sure I kept up with him and I looked back to the end of the alley, and God prove me wrong but I doubted we would make it.