It lurched towards us, his steps growing faster and faster until he stood over us. I closed my eyes, waiting for the end, but it didn't come. There was a gurgle and the sound of a blade piercing rotting flesh and I looked up.
Daryl had attacked the walker from behind impaling his knife into the back of the walker's skull. He twisted his knife and the walker fell, Daryl with it. The man pulling his knife out of its skull quickly, breathing deeply. Daryl glanced up at us, his eyes drifting between T-Dog and his arm, until finally they rested on me.
I let out a baited breath, and T-Dog still sat beside me, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. We sat there for what felt like forever, until Daryl finally crouched, giving T-Dog a slight glare. He glanced over his shoulders, hearing the rest of the herd wandering to us before looking back at us.
"Shh" he said, bringing his finger to his lips. Quickly he grabbed T-Dog by the legs, pulling him into the middle of the road. I watched Daryl, confused, as he picked up the walker he'd just killed, throwing it on top of T-Dog. His gaze then fixed its self on me and he brushed past me, pulling another corpse from the drivers seat behind me.
"Oh no…" I grimaced as he turned to me. Daryl nodded at me, reassuring me silently. He ran a quick hand through my hair, pulling me close to him and we both hit the ground, huddled underneath the corpse on top of us. I flinched as the rotting skin met mine, biting my lip to force back a small gag. I felt so exposed and Daryl pulled my closer to him so that the majority of both of our bodies were underneath the rotting meat.
The shuffling grew closer and I squeezed my eyes shut as I begged for the nightmare to end. Daryl stiffened next to me, his breathing becoming labored. He was terrified, which only scared me more. I had never seen him like this, I had never actually seen fear on his face. I decided I didn't like it, not one bit.
The footsteps shuffled past us slowly, at a pace that seemed almost deliberate. I shuddered, the pain in my knee throbbing and Daryl looked up to me, our faces mere inches from each other. I could feel his hot breath on my face and I stifled a whimper, warranting an unreadable look from the man who lay next to me. He licked his lips, his eyes holding mine, not wanting to look away.
The horde had passed, but we still waited under our rotten cover for what felt like years. Once he was certain the coast was clear Daryl threw the corpse off of us, grabbing my face in his massive hands. He looked me over, checking me up and down, wiping away the blood that was on my face.
"I'm okay, I'm okay, I'm okay." I chanted over and over again, frantic, hardly able to catch my breath. I tried my best to hold back the terrified sobs that were trying to escape my mouth when T-Dog moaned from under the pile. "T-T-Dog! Get T-Dog!" I stammered, almost unable to speak. Daryl immediately jumped to his feet, throwing the walker off of our fallen comrade.
Daryl pulled T-Dog up by his shirt and the man groaned in pain. Daryl pulled his rage from his back packet, wiping his arm down to look at the wound. I had finally found the strength to pull myself into a sitting position, and found myself staring at the two men.
"My tourniquet isn't working." I said panicked, crawling over to him. The wound spurted again, this one less violent than before and Daryl winced, though he tried his best to hide it.
"Help me." Daryl grunted as he started to wrap his bandana around T-Dogs arm. I held the tourniquet in place, feeling the fabric grow soaking under my fingers. T-Dog groaned in pain, throwing his head back.
"Fuck!" He cursed, as Daryl tied the final, tight knot. I watched the man whimper, his eyes squeezed tight in pain and he fell to the ground, spent. Daryl stood, pulling me up with him. I wiped T-Dog's blood on my shorts quickly, trying to wipe away the nightmare that I had just been through. Daryl grabbed my elbow roughly, pulling me away from the man who still lay on the ground.
"I'm sorry." I said as we stopped, jerking my elbow away. He didn't need to say anything, I knew what he was angry about. "I didn't mean to get so far away from the group." Daryl watched me through narrowed eyes, looking me up and down as he did. Again he brought his hand to my face, wiping away the rest of the blood and dirt.
T-Dog groaned again and I looked at the man, his cries drawing my attention away from Daryl's angry face. I shook my head, breathing deeply, placing my hands on top of my head. Again I looked at Daryl, feeling my heartbeat lessen as the seconds passed.
"His cut is not good, Daryl. I think he hit his Ulnar on that car." Daryl watched me, shooting quick glances at the man on the floor. "In a hospital that's a touch and go situation as it is." I broke off, taking another deep breath, trying to be strong. "But here, Daryl, I don't know what we can do for him."
"We need to get him to the RV. There has ta be summ'n in there ya can use to patch 'em up." Daryl said, clapping my shoulder. We walked back to the man, gently lifting him from the ground, one of us on each side.
As we walked up to the group I felt my heart start to pound. They had huddled together and a few of them were panicking all watching out into the woods. Dale was the first to realize we were approaching and he walked up to us, his eyes alight with concern.
"What happened?" He asked, looking at T-Dog.
"It's T-Dog, he cut himself. It's bad, Dale" I stammered. The older man gestured towards the RV door, and Daryl and I finagled our way inside, laying the injured man on the bed in the back. Dale hovered over him, me off to the side, watching and biting my nails. Daryl reached over, pulling my hand from my mouth.
"I need…" Dale trailed off, removing the man's tourniquet. Dale swallowed hard, looking back to Daryl and I. "God I need the first aid kit." He managed after a few seconds pause.
I reached into the cabinet behind me, finding the red box easily, and handed it to him. Dale took it eagerly, rummaging through it. He paused, unsure where to start and glanced up to me.
"I don't know what to do, Beau, I need your help." I felt the lump in my throat growing and I shook my head.
"I'm only a nurse." I replied, feeling my hands go numb. Dale shook his head and I felt two strong hands on my shoulder, pushing me towards the bed. I sat down next to the man and Dale put the first aid kit in my lap, stepping back a few feet. I looked up at the pair, clearly uneasy and shook my head. "I don't know how to do this!"
"I believe in ya darlin'." Darly said quietly, his eyes flashing with an emotion I could quite place. I stared at him for a long minute before glancing down at the medical supply kit. I shook my head at the lack of supplies and glance back up to Dale.
"I need a sewing kit. Do you have a sewing kit, Dale?"
I had patched T-Dog up and was relieved to find he hadn't lost as much blood as I'd originally thought. After my quick stitch job I wrapped hi arm in gauze, but not before applying a liberal amount of Neosporin. I had just gotten done washing my hands when I stepped out of the RV to find the group huddled together, Carol and Lori frantic.
I watched them with eyebrows raised, waiting to be clued in to what had happened.
"I looked everywhere, she's not where I left her. Are you sure she's not here?" Rick asked Carol. She began to cry, to upset to answer his question straight and Rick looked to the others who all shook their heads.
"You have to go back out for her!" Carol stammered, grabbing Ricks shirt in fistfuls. "She's only a child!" my heart sank as I realized that Sophia was missing.
"I know, and I will, Carol, but I'll need some help." Rick tried to calm the woman, looking at the group for reassurance. Daryl stood taller, pulling his crossbow higher onto his shoulder. I watched him, but said nothing.
Daryl packed a small rucksack and I frowned at him as he did so. Cautiously I walked up to him, stopping a few feet from him. He glanced at me, not stopping his packing.
"I'm goin'." He said defensively. I watched him carefully, silently for a few moments before I spoke.
"I know." My words were quiet and Daryl stopped, raising his eyebrow at me. We stared at each other for a brief moment and I shifted under the weight of his stare.
"They need me ta track her movements. I'm the only damn hunter'n tha group." He started again, almost sounding like he was trying to persuade me to agree to something that I was already okay with. I took a step forward, grabbing his hand, silencing him.
"I know." I paused, looking up at him. He towered over me, standing much taller, and he watched me carefully. I stood silently, breaking eye contact, looking at the ground. I went to step away but his grip on my hand tightened. I looked up at him again and he gave a small smile.
"I'll be back, I promise."
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