.:Raelyn | Age 27 *Present*:.
A warm gust of wind tore through the skyline of Atlanta, whippin' our clothes and hair around as we stood and stared downward, preparin' ourselves for the jump. No matter how many times I played it over and imagined it inside my head, I just couldn't shake how crazy the fact that I was about to leap over the edge of a building was, but I guess it was no crazier than the thought of dead people roamin' the Earth.
"I'll go first," Glenn suddenly announced, and I stared at him in an uneasy way. My hand instantly shot up to my mouth, nervously wringin' my chin as I peered over the side of the roof and examined how far of a drop it was to the ground.
Too damn far.
Glenn didn't seem too sure of himself as he hesitantly wobbled his way to the edge of the roof, and I swear I could hear his heartbeat poundin' away inside his ribcage. Sweat was drippin' from his brow and rolled down his neck, and his nervous glances toward Daryl and I weren't makin' me feel any better about him takin' the jump. The last thing I needed to see was Glenn's guts splattered all over the ground in the alleyway, with no help from any walkers...
"Glenn, this is insane," I sputtered out, watchin' while the asian kid steadied himself on the edge of the building.
"It's the only way we're making it out of here," Glenn said back, "Here goes nothin'... I-If I don't make it, go-"
"Shut the hell up, you're makin' it." I sternly insisted, givin' Glenn an intense look... Even though I wasn't 100% sure of that statement.
He gave me a small nod, lookin' like he was tryin' to convince himself that that were true.
"Well c'mon, Chinaman," Daryl taunted from the other corner of the roof, leanin' on his crossbow and squintin' his blue eyes in the sun, "You gonna jump, or do ya need a push?"
Glenn just stared forward, lookin' like he was concentratin' real hard on landin' on that balcony. I wasn't even jumpin' yet, and I already felt like I was havin' a panic attack. My breath was hitchin' and my heart was poundin', but it felt like it clenched in my chest when Glenn finally leapt off the rooftop, right before my eyes.
He let out a short yell, and I heard a thud, then nothin' for a second. I stared wide eyed at the edge of the roof, then at Daryl, who slowly stood up straight, a real serious look on his face. Another gust of wind rolled through, liftin' my voice away as I hesitantly called Glenn's name, takin' a step toward the edge of the roof. "...Glenn?"
A couple seconds passed before I heard a reply, "..Oww... Make sure you bend your knees when you land.. Shit.."
My shoulders sagged in relief and a tense breath deflated my lungs as I scurried to the edge of the roof, peekin' over the side. Glenn was safe on the balcony, leanin' against the wall and rubbin' his ankle.
"You break somethin' or what?" Daryl called over, suddenly standin' next to me.
"Nah," Glenn called back up, puttin' weight on his ankle and bouncin' up and down a little, "It's fine, now come on, we don't have a lot of time! Rick and T-Dog are probably already waiting."
Daryl didn't hesitate for a second, hoistin' his crossbow over his shoulder and takin' a step back. A gasp escaped my lips as he leapt off the edge of the building, sailin' through the air and landin' on the edge of the balcony a floor below. He stumbled forward a little in his landin' and almost lost hold of his crossbow, but at least he made it safe and sound.
Now the only problem was I was still stuck up on that rooftop by myself, and I didn't know if I even had the guts to jump. Glenn and Daryl stared up at me, urgin' me to jump down, but all I could do was shake my head.
"I ain 't gonna make it!" I desperately called out, feelin' the harshness of the end of the world slowly breakin' me down, "Just go, I'll find another way!"
"Rae, there is no other way!" Glenn protested while Daryl stood guard in the doorway of the balcony, keepin' watch for any slumberin' walkers that coulda been hidin' inside, "You can do it, come on! Get a running start if you have to!"
"We ain't leavin' ya here, so you best git to jumpin'." Daryl called up to me. The familiar sound of his voice gave me a little courage, but I was still quiverin' in my boots.
I knew I had to jump, though. Glenn was right, there really was no other safe way down from here... I took a deep breath and turned my head toward the view of Atlanta, of all the abandoned buildings and barren streets, and all of a sudden everything felt like a dream.. Like I'd be wakin' up any minute, back home in my bed..
"Rae!" Daryl's sharp shout violently ripped me out of my thoughts, makin' me realize for the millionth time that I wasn't dreamin'.
This was all real. It was our new reality.
"Okay!" I called back, my voice shakin', "I'm doin' it. I'm gonna jump!"
Tryin' to keep my breathin' steady, I took a few steps back. It was now or never, so I took my runnin' start and felt my feet lose contact with the roof, leapin' from the edge and lettin' my body sail through the gap of the alleyway. It was absolutely terrifyin' and seemed like it was all happenin' in slow motion, but when my converse sneakers hit the crumblin' concrete of the balcony, I felt a wave of relief wash over me. My landin' wasn't all that steady, though. I stumbled my way across the balcony, my hands flailin' around for somethin' to grab ahold of, but the first thing my body crashed into was Daryl.
His first reaction was to drop his crossbow and hold his hands up, makin' sure I didn't smash my face into the ground. Instead, it wound up pressed against his thick chest, and his fingers wrapped tightly around my upper arms to steady me.
It took me a second to realize how close we were, but as soon as the sound of his heartbeat started ringin' in my ear, I quickly pulled away from him. His eyes were glued to me, and for some reason I just couldn't read his emotions.. It seemed like his expression was flat, as if he felt nothin'. But I could just tell there was some sorta twinge of somethin' deep in those baby blue eyes.
"..Sorry." I muttered while shiftin' my gaze and brushin' myself off, even though I wasn't all that dusty. I turned and peered up at the roof that I'd just jumped from, and felt a little woozy.. It really was a far jump, and it looked a lot farther from down there on that balcony.
Daryl didn't say anything much, just gave me a stiff nod and scooped up his crossbow. His lips were fixed in a taught line, still no words escapin' from them as he turned to Glenn. Then, he gestured for the two of us to follow him through the building.
It made sense, since he had the only silent weapon. Well, I had my little pocket knife, but a crossbow was gonna do a whole lot more damage to anyone or anything tryin' to sneak up on us in the dark.
"Just tell me where to go, Chinaman." Daryl grunted at Glenn, who just nodded his head, lookin' a little annoyed at the racial nickname.
"I'm Korean." Glenn leaned over and hissed at me once Daryl was out of ear shot.
"I know, I know," I sighed quietly and rolled my eyes, knowin' how difficult and maybe a tad racist that Daryl was, "Just ignore him. He'll probably get tired of callin' you that after a while."
I knew that was a total lie, but Glenn seemed to believe me, so that was all that mattered.
As we followed Daryl into the dark office building, Glenn hung back and gave me a concerned glance, as if he was askin' if I was okay. It confused me a little, until I realized my hands were shakin', and my face was all red, splotchin' down to my neck.
It was probably a reaction from jumpin' and bein' so close to Daryl, all in one real short amount of time... My adrenaline was pumpin' like crazy. I forced a small smile and a nod back, even though I didn't exactly know what I felt. But, better not to make other people worry.
Honestly, I was more or less plannin' out and comin' to terms with my future disappearance, but I wasn't about to air that out.
The inside of the building was hot and sticky, I could barely breathe.. Not to mention the rancid smell of rotten flesh baked into the walls, which wasn't helpin' much. Just made me wanna puke.
As my eyes adjusted to the darkness and I followed the guys through the messy, overturned space, I started to take into view all sorts of dental equipment. X-Ray machines stained in bloody handprints and spatters, sharp tools scattered all over the floor, desks, chairs and file cabinets overturned...
There was trash and different kinds of patient files strewn all over the floor and countertops, all muddled up in grungy shoe prints and dried blood. There was even a creepy, shriveled up corpse clingin' to one of the dental chairs.
I shuddered and tried not to look at it, but it was like a train wreck. I just couldn't look away... My eyes were focused on the body's neck, where a huge chunk of flesh and muscle was missin'.. No doubt the doin' of a freshly turned walker. Could'a even been the dentist, who knows?
As if gettin' dental work done wasn't already scary enough...
The dental office was actually pretty small. It didn't take us long to find our way out to a hallway that lead up to a cozy little waitin' room with a wooden desk in a little booth behind a glass window, a few overturned chairs and a cheap coffee table. The magazines that had probably been laying on it were ripped apart and laying all over the room. The water cooler in the corner had been tipped over and long since dried up, the bottle was actually covered in a thick coat of dust.
"Through that door over there," Glenn muttered as he pointed to the main entrance, a thick metal door with a foggy glass pane in the middle. "DR. MARTIN, FAMILY DENTISTRY" was plastered on the glass in big white letters. "There should be a stairwell right outside."
Slowly, we all crept to the door, pausin' a minute before Daryl hesitantly reached out for the handle, keepin' his crossbow raised up. Just as he started to twist it, I let out a gasp. On the other side of the door, I could see a shadow slowly movin' about.. And then another, and another after that. I pointed, and the guys nodded grimly.. We all knew what was roamin' around out there in the hall... Walkers.
And they sure as hell weren't waitin' for dental work. They were patiently waitin' on their next meal, which could be us if we didn't handle ourselves right.
I instinctively reached for my pocket knife, which was nestled in my waistband and pressin' against my hip. The blade made a small click as I flicked it open, makin' damn sure I had a tight grip on it. I could see Glenn pattin' his pockets with a sorta panicked look on his face; He didn't have a weapon. Without missin' a beat, Daryl unsheathed his huntin' knife and passed it to Glenn, givin' him a slight nod.
Glenn's jaw clenched and he swallowed hard, reachin' out and graspin' the sharp knife. He nodded back at Daryl, who then put his finger to his lips as he gave us each a serious look with his misty blue eyes.
My lungs trapped my breath inside my body as my eyes glued themselves to Daryl's grungy hand, which was reachin' out again for the door handle. My heartbeat quickened as he slowly turned the silver handle, makin' as little noise as possible. All three of us flinched a little and paused once the door was popped, waitin' to see if the geeks in the hall had noticed.
But it was quiet. We all breathed a tense sigh of relief, but we weren't outta the woods yet. How were we even supposed to come up with a plan if we couldn't even risk talkin' to each other or makin' any noise?
By the way Daryl was holdin' up his other hand, countin' to three, it was obvious that comin' up with a plan was never an option.
Once Daryl hit three, he yanked the door open, bringin' us face to face with the livin' dead waitin' for us in the hallway. Right off the bat I counted seven of 'em, but there coulda easily been more. Daryl immediately fired his crossbow straight ahead, takin' out what used to have been a woman in a skirt suit. The body crashed to the ground with an arrow lodged in its left eye socket, and Daryl took out two more walkers just by swingin' his entire crossbow and smashin' their skulls in.
Glenn and I finally leapt out into the hall, jabbin' our blades into the brains of the geeks flyin' at us from all directions. My adrenaline was racin' through my veins as one more geek charged me, screamin' and snappin' its jaws at me.
I braced myself and held my hand out, holdin' the wrigglin' corpse as far away from me as possible. Damn, those things were fuckin' strong, though.
My fingers tightened around my pocket knife, and I flinched when the geek let out another blood currdlin' scream, tryin' so desperately to take a bite outta me.
"Shut the hell up..!" I growled through clenched teeth before rearin' my arm back and finally jammin' my pocket knife deep into its right eye.
The disgustin' sound of the rotten eyeball burstin' didn't phase me much, and neither did the splatter of cold, gooey, deceased blood across my face and neck. By now it was just a normal part of life.
The walker went limp almost instantly, makin' it easy for me to shove the body away from me. I could hear the brittle bones inside the decayin' corpse snap and splinter as it crumpled to the floor in an unnatural position, and it was oddly satisfyin'.
And that was it. All the walkers had been put down, and now that all the bodies were sprawled all over the ground in the dingy hallway, I counted twelve of them. Glenn, Daryl and I stood in the shadowy space, pantin' and just takin' a second to absorb what we had just done.
When Daryl wiped the sweat from his forehead and trudged over to the walker he'd killed first to get his arrow back, it brought me back down to Earth and reminded me that my knife was still stuck in that geek's eye.
My expression twisted into a scowl as I stood over the body and stared down at its face. It's limbs were twisted and broken, it's jaw unhinged showin' a mouthful of chipped, yellowin' teeth, and it's one remainin' eye was rolled back into its skull. The one with my knife lodged into it was nothin' but a bloody pool of green and black goo now.
"Poor bastard.." I sighed as I stooped down with the grim reminder that this pile of rotten flesh was a livin', breathin' person once.
With a cringe, I reached out and grasped the handle of my knife. It was covered in thick slime, so I couldn't get a solid grip on it. I tried pullin' on it, but it didn't even budge. So, I tugged a little harder. Still no luck.
"Gimme my damn knife back!" I cursed at the dead body, bracin' my foot on its forehead to give myself some leverage. Still, no matter how hard I yanked, that knife wasn't budgin'. "God dammit..!"
"Git outta the way, girl," Daryl suddenly snarled at me, soundin' aggravated. He brushed me aside, and just as I was about to snap that I didn't need any girl from him, he lifted his foot up and gave the walker's skull a good stomp with his work boot.
It took me by surprise, sounded like a watermelon burstin'. Bone and brain matter splattered everywhere, a good chuck of it landin' on Glenn's shoe with a wet 'splat' sound.
"Aww, man!" He whined, takin' a look at the gooey mess, "Come on.."
Meanwhile, Daryl was slidin' his boot through the mess on the ground, scootin' my knife out into a dry spot on the floor. He leaned down and picked it up, wiped it off with his shirt, then held it out to me.
I gave him a look before grabbin' the knife from his leathery palm. It was still a little sticky, but I could deal with it.
"Uh... Thanks." I stiffly muttered to Daryl, and didn't get much of a response before we all made our way down the stairwell.
It took all three of us to push the rusted door at the bottom of the stairs open, but once the fresh air hit me, it was almost like I was in heaven for a split second... Until I remembered what we were out there to do.
The city was eerily quiet as it always was, the ever present, loomin' feelin' that you could be attacked at any second hung over Daryl, Glenn and I like a relentless storm cloud. Never the less, Glenn silently took to lead.
Daryl and I kept close behind him, followin' him through a maze of Atlanta allies and stayin' off the main roads. Every now and then, I caught sight of small groups of walkers milli' about in the distance. Luckily, they were too far away to notice the three of us scurryin' about. Still, didn't mean they were any less creepy.
Finally, we came to an alley that was all fenced off, makin' it almost impossible for any walkers to get inside. Glenn turned over his shoulder, wavin' for Daryl and I to follow him into the alley.
Grippin' my knife, I trailed behind the guys as we made our way down the long alley, duckin' behind big green dumpsters as we went. Before long, we were just steps away from the gated entrance to the alley. On the other side of that fence, walkers roamed the open city streets.
Glenn scurried his way to the last dumpster, but before I could follow behind him, Daryl gave me a stern glance.
"Stay close to me." He grumbled, and I just turned and narrowed my green eyes at him, tiltin' my blonde head to the side.
He was confusin' the hell outta me, needless to say. Did he hate me or did he want to protect me? Damn, it really wasn't that hard of a choice to make.
So, I decided I'd just make his mind up for him.
"Oh, please, Dixon." I sharply whispered, "Don't waste yer breath. I'm a big girl, I won't need savin'."
I didn't even bother waitin' for him to respond. Instead I just turned on my heel, and started off toward Glenn, who was scannin' the streets from behind the dumpster.
"Hm." I could hear Daryl grunt from behind me, along with the scuffin' of his boots on the cracked cement, "Guess you haven't changed a bit, have ya?"
The snide tone in his gruff voice stopped me in my tracks, which also brought Daryl to a screechin' halt in his. When I turned my gaze over my shoulder, I was met with his cold, icey blue eyes, and his annoyed expression.
"Yea, guess I didn't.." I replied quietly, keepin' my tone as level as possible, "..Wish I could say the same about you, Daryl."
Then, it was a plain, old fashioned stare down between the two of us. I was diggin' into Daryl's eyes with my own, tryin' to see if I'd struck a nerve, but it was too hard to tell.
Plus, I could hear Glenn frantically screamin' in whispers from behind us, "What the hell are you guys doing?! Come on!"
He was already sheddin' his backpack by the time Daryl and I jogged over to the dumpster, tryin' to stay low. Glenn seemed 100% sure of his plan, but as I watched him stare passed the closed gate and into the street, all I could read on his face was fear.
"You got some balls for a Chinaman." Daryl muttered while checkin' the sites on his crossbow.
Glenn rolled his eyes, glared at Daryl, and hissed, "I'm Korean."
"Whatever." The redneck replied with a shrug.
With that bein' said, Glenn made his way toward the gate and peered around one last time before duckin' out and disappearin'. Daryl kept his crossbow aimed Glenn's way until he was gone, and it was quiet... Glenn was out there in the open, and all the rest of us could do was hope that everything went accordin' to plan.
Then, it was just Daryl and I alone in that alley way. I could definitely feel the tension between us. My heart was beatin' so hard, I thought it was going to bust a hole through my chest.
It was awkward, at least it was for me. Couldn't exactly say how Daryl felt.
So, there the two of us sat, pressed up against the dumpster in that alleyway as the minutes ticked by, feelin' a lot more like hours.
Finally, after sittin' in silence for what seemed like forever, Daryl spoke up.
"Rae..." He whispered, lookin' down at the ground and shakin' his head. He paused for just a second, and out of the corner of my eye I could see him tilt his head back up to stare at me. "...Where the hell were you?"
His tone suddenly got a little sharper, like he was angry or upset or somethin'. I bit my lip, stayin' silent for a second, but I just couldn't hold my tongue for long.
"Oh, you know," I snapped at my childhood friend, my voice just drippin' in sarcasm and fake cheerfulness, "Here and there."
Daryl let out a frustrated sigh and ran his hand through his sandy colored hair before shootin' me a scowl.
"Dammit, Raelyn-" he started to growl at me but I quickly cut him off.
"What do you want me to say, Daryl?" I demanded, glancin' out into the street and tryin' to keep my voice low, "I've been everywhere. In the woods, old barns, churches, you name it. By myself. Keepin' myself alive."
When I felt a hot lump start burnin' my throat, I stopped and looked at the ground. I wasn't gonna let myself get emotional, not here. Not in front of Daryl.
In just a few seconds, memories of all those horrible days and nights I spent alone raced through my mind. The ones that haunted me most were the ones of that dead bastard bitin' me.. Sinkin' its nasty teeth right into my side.. Makin' me think my life was over, that I was doomed to roam the Earth as a livin' corpse, turnin' the same fate onto God knows how many more people.
But here I was, four months later, alive and healthy, for the most part... It still confused the hell outta me.
I could feel Daryl's eyes burnin' into me like hot coals. His crossbow made a bunch of soft, mechanical clicks as he adjusted his grip on it, and then he finally let out a sigh. "Look, I just... I thought I was never gonna see ya again, Rae. I went through hell beatin' myself into believin' you were gone fer good. Ya took me by surprise showin' up to camp.."
"Well, don't worry," I replied coldly, even though my heart was achin'. I was too damn stubborn for my own good. "After we help Rick get these guns, I'm leavin'."
Even though I had looked away from him and was starin' out passed the fence into the street, I could see Daryl's head snap to look at me. It happened so fast, it coulda broken his damn neck.
"What the hell are you-" he started, but froze as we both heard a soft scuffin' sound slowly movin' up the alley... Right in our direction.
My eyes got wide as I stared at Daryl, my fingers clamped tight around my pocket knife. Of course, the first thing on my mind was 'walker'.
Daryl readied his crossbow, motionin' for me to stay put. Before I could protest, he leapt out from behind the dumpster, and I prepared myself for the horrible screechin' sound those things made.
But I didn't hear any screechin', or growlin', or moanin'.. Instead, I heard a voice.
"Whoa, don't shoot me!"
I gasped. The voice was male, and definitely young.. Like a teenager.
Before I could even register what my body was doin', I was scramblin' out from behind the dumpster and standin' in the middle of the alley way.
My hunch was right. Instead of a walker, I saw Daryl pointin' his crossbow at a young Hispanic kid in a white tank top and dark jeans.
He looked scared, holdin' his shaky hands up in front of him and starin' at us with wide eyes. He couldn't have been any older than sixteen, or maybe seventeen.. Maybe.
"W-what do you want?" The kid asked in a nervous, shaky voice, lookin' back and forth between Daryl and I.
I crinkled my eyebrows at the teenager in confusion. "The hell do you mean? You're the one sneakin' up on us, compadre."
He was visibly startin' to tremble, and I could see he was breakin' a sweat. I peered off into the alley way behind him, tryin' to spot any other people that he coulda been with. I couldn't see anyone, though.
Was this kid just out here alone, roamin' around? How the hell was he still alive?
"I'm lookin' for my brother," Daryl hesitantly muttered at the kid, keepin' a sharp eye on him, "He's hurt real bad. Ya seen 'im?"
We waited a second as the kid nervously licked his lips, lookin' like he was givin' the question a little thought... But he never took his wide eyes off of us.
Then, he did somethin' that Daryl and I weren't prepared for. Probably one of the worst, stupidest things he coulda done.
That damn kid started screamin' at the top of his lungs. I couldn't understand what he was sayin'; it was somethin' in Spanish. Someone's name, maybe..?
It didn't matter. The noise was gonna draw walkers straight to us regardless, and it was risin' panic in Daryl and I.
We had to shut him up. Quick.
"Hey! Man, shut the hell up!" Daryl hissed at him and tried to cover his mouth to muffle his shouts, but the kid just yanked away and hollered even louder. "Yer gonna bring the geeks right to us..!"
It seemed like nothin' was gonna shut this kid up, and my heart was poundin' a mile a minute. My ponytail brushed my shoulders as I whipped my head back and forth, lookin' from one exit to the other.
Finally, Daryl did what he had to do. He reared his heavy crossbow back, then slung it upward in one swift motion. It caught the loud mouthed kid right in the chin, instantly cuttin' his screams short.
He let out a grunt and lost his footin', stumblin' backwards and crashin' to the ground. Even that didn't keep him quiet for long, though.
"HELP!" he desperately screeched, the fresh blood from his busted lip drippin' down his chin and stainin' his grungy white tank top, "HELP ME! HEL-"
His voice was muffled as Daryl knelt down and slapped his palm over the kid's mouth, growlin' at him to quit his screamin'. But, of course, he just kept squirmin' and strugglin'.
Suddenly, I heard footsteps rushin' up behind me... Way too fast to be walkers. Before I could even turn around, a pair of huge, stalky arms snaked around my upper body, pinnin' my arms to my sides. I could tell it was obviously a man, but I couldn't see his face. In a split second, I was lifted off the ground as another stalky man rushed into the alley and tackled Daryl to the ground, knockin' his crossbow to the side.
"DARYL!" I screamed as I struggled against the stranger's strong grip, losing hold of my knife in the process. All I could do was watch as that asshole kicked my best friend over and over in the ribs whole that stupid kid stood up and ran. I struggled harder, kickin' and thrashin' around with all my strength, "Let me go, you son of a bitch! DARYL!"
When my captor moved one of his tree trunk-like arms up to try and cover my mouth, it was a huge mistake on his part. As soon as his grubby paw touched my lips, I sank my teeth into him as hard as I could. Pretty sure I even broke the skin.
The guy yowled in pain and loosened his vice like grip just enough for me to wiggle free, and drop back down to the ground. His buddy was still beatin' on Daryl, and I instantly rushed in to break them up.
Before I could get very far, my attacker snatched my upper arm, yankin' me backwards.
"You little bitch-" he breathed in a heavy Hispanic accent, tryin' to overpower me and wrestle me into a headlock.
I was faster, though. I reared my knee up, kickin' my heel up and nailin' the son of a bitch right between the legs. While he fell to his knees, howlin' in agony, I jumped ontop of his buddy, wrappin' one arm tightly around his thick neck. I balled my other hand into a fist and used it to punch him in the back of the head over and over again.
"Leave him the hell alone!" I roared, slammin' my fist into his skull as hard as I could.
"Get this puta off me!" The man hollered, then started cussin' in Spanish as he tried to grab me and pull me off him.
Daryl was still rollin' around on the cement sputterin' and clutchin' his rib cage, and holdin' these random attackers off was gettin' a little difficult.
"Daryl!" I frantically called out, feelin' the guy I was clingin' to start to struggle, "DAR-"
All of a sudden, the guy flew backwards, slammin' my back against the concrete wall. I felt my lungs instantly deflate and shrivel up, all the air bein' squeezed out of 'em.
I was seein' stars, goin' limp and droppin' off that guy's back. I stumbled forward, wheezin' and clutchin' my rib cage. But the kicker was the fist smashin' into my cheek, knockin' me into a total daze.
"You bastards..!" I heard Daryl growl breathlessly but fiercely. My vision was cloudy and my hearin' kept fadin' in and out, but I could still tell there was more of a struggle goin' on.
At that moment, with horrible timin', Glenn burst through the chain link gate at the entrance of the alley way. He was luggin' a huge black duffle bag, and I could see that it was just jam packed with guns and ammo of all different kinds.
For a few seconds, all time seemed to come to a complete halt. Everyone was frozen, Glenn starin' wide eyed at the chaos happenin' in front of him. We all stared right back at him, and I couldn't help but notice that the two Hispanic men were mostly focused on the duffle bag.
"Glenn, run..!" I managed to croak out, "Run, go to Rick and T-Dog! RUN!"
"Hey, that's it! That's the bag!" The man who had punched me cried out, pointin' at Glenn. "Take it, Vato, take it!"
A look of pure terror washed over Glenn's face as the huge Hispanic men barreled toward him. He fumbled with the gate, tryin' to make an escape.
One of the Hispanic guys got a good swing in on Glenn, smashin' him right in the jaw. That wasn't enough to take him down, though. He struggled for a few seconds with the two huge guys, just until I remembered I had dropped my knife. My eyes frantically scanned the ground until I caught sight of the blade glintin' at me. In that moment, it was like a gift from God.
I quickly reached out and pulled it into my palm, grippin' it tightly, and lunged forward at the Hispanic man closest to me. I wasted no time and swiftly jabbed the blade into the tough skin of his calf, causin' him to instantly scream out in pain.
"AAAGH! SHE STABBED ME, VATO! SHIT!"
His voice was shrill as he started ramblin' on in Spanish, tryin' to stomp on me, but I kept rollin' outta the way.
Luckily, my plan had worked. When I looked up, Glenn was no where to be found, along with the bag of guns.
But now, we had a bigger problem on our hands.
Just outside the gate, an old beat up car rolled up and screeched to a halt. The passenger side door flew open, and out stepped yet another stalky Hispanic man.
A more wirey man with a stringy beard was drivin', and both of 'em were armed, and started screamin' back and forth in Spanish to the two guys that had attacked us.
It all happened so fast, so many hand gestures and foreign words... And the next thing I knew, I was bein' yolked off the ground, a thick arm wrapped around my neck.
"Let go!" I cried out, immediately strugglin' and clawin' at the meaty arm.
All my movements stopped when I felt the cold barrel of a gun pressed tightly to my temple.
Whoever had ahold of me leaned in close to my ear and whispered in a heavy Hispanic accent, "You gonna regret stabbin' my cuzo, chica."
The sleez in his voice sent horrid cold chills down my spine. I felt like I could throw up at any given moment... What the hell had I gotten myself into?
When I felt myself bein' dragged backwards, out through the gate and toward the car all while still held at gun point, I really started panicin'.
"Daryl!" I shrieked, seein' that he was still dazed, tryin' to get himself together. His crossbow was still layin' a few feet away from him. "DARYL!"
I heard the backdoor to the car open, and my heart started to rapidly pound. Daryl's eyes widened when he realized just what the hell was goin' on, and he immediately reached for his crossbow.
I fought as hard as I could, but nothin' I did stopped those assholes from shovin' me into the car.
"Let 'er go! Let 'er go, you sons 'a bitches!" I could hear Daryl hollerin' from the alley way, "RAE! RAE!"
Suddenly, one of the men who attacked us in the first place started screamin' wildly, his face red as a cherry. All his buddies turned and stared at him with wide eyes.
"HE SHOT ME!" The man wailed, turnin' around just enough for me to see one of Daryl's green and yellow arrows juttin' out front his right ass cheek.
"God dammit!" The driver yelled out, lookin' over his shoulder at a group of walkers stumblin' our way, "Get in the fucking car! We gotta go, NOW!"
So all the hispanic thugs jumped into the car, pinnin' me inside and slammin' the doors shut. The driver slammed on the gas, and even over the screechin' of the tires, I could hear Daryl's voice screamin' out my name.
My next instinct was to try and pop the door open, but of course it was broken, or locked from the outside. I didn't have much time anyway, it didn't take those bastards long to drop a pillow case over my head.
My world went into fuzzy blackness, just when I felt the burnin' hot pain of the butt of a gun against the back of my head...
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To be continued