As we rode along, I could feel the ride becoming slightly bumpy. I glanced over at Daryl, who was eyeing T-Dog. I began to wonder if Merle was really still alive. Yea, T-Dog locked that door up tight. But would the chain and padlock hold securely against the walkers? I remember the hallway was narrow, but still. My mind was wandering through my thoughts and I was thinking the worst. Stay positive, I scolded myself.
"Better be okay." Daryl said to T-Dog. "That's my only word on the matter."
"I told you. The geeks can't get at him. The only thing that's gonna get through that door, is us." T-Dog replied.
"Damn straight." I nodded, which caused Daryl to glance at me. I was trying to be strong, be brave. Be ready for whatever was to come. Before I knew it, Glenn turned off the truck.
"We walk from here." Glenn instructed. Daryl stood quickly, opening the back sliding door and jumping out. I followed behind him and we walked around the truck following Glenn. Turning to look at T-Dog, I gave him a hopeful shrug and he nodded his head.
We ran on, getting closer to the city. Once we reached a huge concrete structure, Glenn pushed two split sides of a fence apart, and everyone went through it. Even though small, I had to squirm slightly to get through. As soon as I was through the fence, Rick turned around.
"Merle first or guns?" Rick asked.
"Merle! We ain't even havin' this conversation!" Daryl shot.
"We are!" Rick shot back. He looked at Glenn. "You know the geography, it's your call."
"Merle's closest. The guns would mean doubling back. Merle first." Glenn replied as we ran on. I could finally see the area where we had left Merle. Glenn got us in quickly and quietly, but I remembered that the department store area had been busted into by walkers. Great.
Stepping lightly, I was being silent as possible. Which for me, was pretty great considering I was probably the most clumsy human being on the planet. Quick on my feet, but clumsy. At least I felt that way. Maybe the quick on my feet would make up for it. I hadn't tripped up yet. I kept my steps soft as we walked, and I saw Rick put his hand up. I already knew what it was by the breathing, hissing sound. Walker. Rick motioned that he could see it, and Daryl leaned down slightly, swiftly moving over toward the walker.
"Shit," I mumbled at the thing.
"Damn, you are one ugly skank." Daryl mumbled, before shooting the thing with his crossbow. We walked behind Daryl as he grabbed up his arrow and continued on. Running up the stairs to the roof, my heart began to pound. We reached the top, and I could see the door was cracked slightly but the chains were still intact. Rick looked at T-Dog, who used the bolt cutters to cut through the chain. Once T-Dog pulled the chain out, Daryl kicked the door open.
"Merle!" Daryl called as we ran through the door. "Merle!" I followed behind T-Dog and Rick, but they stopped abruptly. I looked down about the time I heard Daryl scream. "Nooooo! No! No!"
I could see why he was so upset. There was Merle's hand, just his hand, lying on the rooftop. The rest of him was gone. A saw was lying close by, covered in blood. The stupid bastard had sawed his own hand off. I looked up at Daryl who was freaking out, crying. I put a hand to my forehead and just stood there. What could I say?
"No! No!" Daryl was still screaming. The next thing I knew, Daryl let out a growl and turned on T-Dog, crossbow aimed at his face. Rick pulled out his gun and held it aimed at Daryl's head.
"I won't hesitate, I don't care if every walker in the city hears it." I saw Daryl crying, and decided that was enough. I couldn't take it, for some odd reason, I couldn't take seeing him cry. I pulled out my own gun, clicked the safety off and pointed it directly at Rick.
"Neither will I." I growled, and everyone looked at me. "Now all of you, STOP IT!" I yelled the last part. Daryl's eyes drifted away from mine, and he let his crossbow drop. Rick let his hand shy away from Daryl's head, and I finally clicked the safety back on, shoving my own gun back into the waistband of my shorts.
"You gotta doo rag or somethin'?" Daryl asked T-Dog, who reached into his pocket and handed it to Daryl. He walked over to the hand and sighed, kneeling down to pick it up.
"I guess the saw blade was, uh, too dull for the handcuff... Ain't that a bitch?" Daryl looked at the hand before setting it down and wrapping it up. I glanced at Rick and he caught my eye.
"Sorry," I mumbled, "but things were gettin' outta control."
"It's okay, Spencer. You did the right thing." Rick nodded, touching my arm. I smiled lightly, happy to know he wasn't mad at me. Daryl walked over to Glenn, and put Merle's hand in the backpack. The look on Glenn's face... I almost laughed. But this wasn't funny.
"He must've used a tourniquet. Maybe his belt. Be much more blood if he didn't." Daryl began following the blood trail, and the rest of us followed behind him. I was directly behind Daryl, nearly on his heels, with my gun drawn.
"Merle? You in here?" Daryl called out at we walked down the stairs. Daryl and I veered off away from the others, searching rooms. We came upon what looked like an office, and then I saw it. The walker was female, and the bottom half of her mouth and jaw was nothing but chewed up. I wondered why I wasn't puking.
Daryl put her down, and looked at me questioningly. I gave him a weak thumbs up and he pushed past me to leave the room. I followed him out into the hallway, where we met up with the others. Walking along, I kept my eyes open, trying to catch sign of any movement. All I saw was nothing, until we walked into a room with two dead walkers.
"Had 'nough venom to take out these two sons-of-bitches." Daryl's voice was calm, but I could hear pride in it. "One handed... Toughest asshole I ever met, my brother. Feed 'em a hammer, he'll crap out nails."
"Any man can pass out from blood loss. No matter how tough he is." Rick said, walking on. I shook my head, trying to rid the negative thoughts from my brain.
"Merle!" Daryl called loudly.
"We're not alone here, remember?" Rick scolded, and I looked at Daryl.
"Screw that. He could be bleedin' out, ya said so yourself." Daryl replied calmly.
"Look, I wanna find Merle, too. For you. But I ain't gettin' my ass eaten in the process." I raised my eyebrows at him as we walked, following the blood droplets. Daryl looked at me funny, but I ignored it as we walked over to a stove looking thing. Fire? And something smelled awful. Then I saw the belt...and the skin.
"What's that burned stuff?" Glenn asked.
"Skin..." Rick said, looking at the tool. "He cauterized the stump."
"Told ya he's tough. Nobody can kill Merle but Merle." Daryl said, but his face was unsure.
"Don't take that on faith, he's lost a lot of blood." Rick said, and I looked at him.
"Cauterizin' the wound had to have helped him out." I spoke up. "Used to be in school before all this, goin' to college in the medical program. Didn't get too far, but I learned enough to know he might've stopped the bleeding. Even so, he's probably weak and out of it."
"Yea? Didn't stop him from bustin' outta this death trap." Daryl was walking away. Of course, we followed. We came upon a broken window.
"He left the building? Why the hell would he do that?" Glenn asked, his voice slightly panicked.
"Why wouldn't he? He's out there alone as far as he knows. Doin' what he's gotta do. Survivin'." Daryl answered.
"You call that survivin'? Just wandering through the streets maybe passing out? What's his odds out there?" T-Dog asked.
"Well, he couldn't stay here!" I looked around. "Would you?"
"No worse than bein' handcuffed an' left to rot by you sorry pricks." Daryl shot back at T-Dog. Then he walked up to Rick. "You couldn't kill 'em. Ain't so worried 'bout some dumb dead bastard."
"What about a thousand dumb dead bastards? Different story?" Rick and Daryl had that look on their faces.
"Why don't you take a tally? Do what ya want. Imma go get 'em." Daryl started to push past Rick, but Rick put his hand up, pressing against his chest.
"Daryl, wait!" Rick pushed him back.
"Get ya hands off me!" Daryl yelled. "You can't stop me!"
"I don't blame you, he's family, I get that. I went through hell to find mine. I know exactly how you feel... He can't get far with that injury, we could help you check a few blocks around, but only if we keep a level head." Rick was trying his best to compromise with him. I watched the two, my eyes locking onto Daryl's. He glanced away from me and back at Rick.
"I can do that." Daryl agreed, and his voice was almost soft. I could tell he was upset about Merle. I felt a pang of guilt in my gut, but reminded myself that it wasn't my fault.
"Only if we get those guns first," T-Dog interrupted my thoughts. "I'm not strollin' the streets of Atlanta with just my good intentions, okay?"
"I'm with him on that." I spoke up, looking at Rick. "My gun's in good condition, but Imma need another weapon. And more bullets for this one, eventually."
"Okay then. Let's get the gun bag." Rick nodded. We were all silent as we walked into an office area. I felt someone close on my heels, but I didn't have to look around to know it was Daryl. I felt a small smile creep across my lips. Maybe he was growing on me after all.
"It will be an easy grab." Glenn said and his tone meant business.
"You're not doin' this alone." Rick said, hands on his hips.
"Even I think it's a bad idea, an' I don't even like you much." Daryl spoke up, and I chuckled softly.
"It's a good idea!" Glenn protested, shooting me a glare. "Okay, if you just hear me out. If we go out there in a group, we're slow, drawing attention. If I'm alone, I can move fast. Look, that's the tank, five blocks from where we are now." Glenn set down a pinning office tool on the floor where he was creating a map. He plopped a crinkled up piece a paper beside it. "That's the bag of guns. Here's the alley I dragged you into when we first met. That's where Daryl and I will go."
"Why me?" Daryl asked, but his voice wasn't agitated. His tone screamed pure curiosity.
"Your crossbow's quieter than his gun." I spoke up, looking at Daryl. He looked at me, then to Glenn, making a face.
"Exactly. While Daryl waits here in the alley, I run up the street, grab the bag." Glenn explained while mapping out the plan.
"Would you go to us elsewhere?" Rick asked.
"You, Spencer, and T-Dog, right? You'd be in this alley here."
"Two blocks away..why?" Rick asked.
"I may not be able to come back the same way. Walkers might cut me off. If that happens, I won't go back to Daryl. I'll go forward instead. All the way around to that alley where you guys are. Which ever direction I go, I got you in both places to cover me. Afterwards, we'll all meet back here." Glenn explained.
"Hey, kid? What'd you do before all this?" Daryl asked.
"Delivered pizzas." Glenn and I both said at the same time. Everyone except Glenn looked at me strangely. "Why?" Glenn asked. Rick and Daryl just nodded.
"Let's get this over with." I mumbled, looking at Officer Friendly and T-Dog. I turned toward Glenn and Daryl. "Be careful, please."
"I will, Spencer." Glenn nodded. Daryl just gave me a grunt and a nod. Hey, it was a start. I walked quietly with Rick and T-Dog until we reached the spot Glenn told us to wait at.
"Pretty covered, huh?" I looked around the alley as we hid against the wall.
"Glenn definitely knows what he-" Rick was cut off by a yell. We all looked at each other strangely, it didn't sound like Glenn or Daryl. The scream came again, and I drew my gun, clicking the safety off as we ran toward the screams. I heard a noise that sounded like... A car? What the hell was happenin'?
I ran around the corner behind Rick, to see Daryl yelling and shutting the gate so the walkers couldn't get into the alley. I looked around, seeing a kid standing in the alley, but no Glenn. Where the fuck was Glenn? Why wasn't he here, he was supposed to be here! Daryl turned from the fence, running toward the kid. He shoved the kid backward. Rick stopped him.
"WHOA, STOP IT!" Rick yelled, pushing Daryl back.
"IMMA KICK YOUR NUTS UP IN YA THROAT!" Daryl screamed at him. Daryl began talking about how they took Glenn and my heart sank. Oh, God. Here we go again. "I'm gonna stomp your ass!" I heard Daryl yell. Rick grabbed up the bag of guns, and I noticed him hesitate for his sheriff hat. We ran.
As soon as we were all inside, they sat the kid down and the interrogation began. The kid wasn't talking, and when they began asking more questions, Daryl chimed in, mentioning Merle. When the kid made a comment about Merle, making fun of his name, Daryl lunged at him. Lucky for the kid, Rick grabbed him.
"You a fine bitch." The kid snorted at me, while Rick was holding onto Daryl.
"The fuck you jus' say?" Daryl spat at him. I jumped forward, taking advantage of Rick's hands being full. I jammed my gun in his face, clicking the safety off.
"You don't tell me where they took Glenn, Imma blow ya fuckin' jaw off. Got that? I WILL FUCKIN' BLOW YOUR HEAD OFF!" I screamed at him, pushing the barrel of my gun harder against his face. Before I knew it, there was an arm around my waist, pulling my back.
"Prick deserved it, but knock it off, girl." Daryl narrowed his eyes at me. I nodded, and sat down in a huff, glaring at the kid.
"He's right. If you kill him, we won't find Glenn." T-Dog's voice was understanding. I nodded, regaining my composure. I watched as Daryl walked over to Glenn's bag, and began to dig into it. He picked up something.
"Wanna see what happened to the last guy who pissed me off?" Daryl asked unwrapping the doo rag. He chunked Merle's hand onto the kids lap, and when the kid jumped up, Daryl jumped on him. "Start with the feet this time!" Luckily, Rick stopped him again, and that convinced the kid. He agreed to take us there.
Hey guys, sooooo sorry for the long wait ! Tomorrow is my last day of class before spring break so I will try to update everyday, but no promises. I am so enjoying this story, it's amazing to write ! The reviews are GREATLY APPRECIATED ! I will be doing a shout out soon ! You guys are awesome ! Hope you all enjoy this chapter !
~Kaila