When the dead roam - (Daryl Dixon)

Chapter 69 - Maximum impact

Denise's dead body lay limp on the tracks.

Blood spilled from her wound, slowly dripping through the small cracks around the arrow. Daryl's arrow.

A group of Saviors broke from the tree line, their weapons drawn and fully loaded with another member of Rick's group - Eugene - as hostage. Their leader, a blonde male, pushed him forwards and kicked him to the ground as he pressed a gun to the back of his head. "Drop 'em, now!"

Eugene cowered in front of the weapon. Beads of sweat dripped down his damp forehead, hanging on to his black hair and forcing it to stick to his pale, dirty skin. His eyes locked onto Rosita, silently begging her for help. The armed group approached them quickly, retrieving any weapons the three living members of their group had left. Louise was grabbed by her shoulders and her bow was forced over her head but she didn't resist. She couldn't take her eyes away from her friend.

"Well, hell" their leader laughed, raising his eyebrows as he smirked at Daryl. "You got somethin' to say to me? You gonna clear the air, step up on that high horse?"

The hunter glared at him.

"No, you don't talk much" he said. He had Daryl's crossbow loaded in his hand and he raised it slightly. "Still gettin' the hang of her, kicks like a bitch but-"

"I shoulda done it" Daryl grumbled.

"What was that?" he asked. "Seriously, I didn't catch what you said"

Daryl shifted on his feet. "I shoulda killed ya"

"Yeah" he nodded and pursed his lips. "Yeah you probably shoud've"

It was then that Louise tore her eyes away from Denise and locked eyes with the scarred male in front of her. The left side of his face had been severely burnt and his long blonde hair draped over it slightly. barely covering the skin. He was a thin, scrawny looking man and it didn't take a genius to realize he was part of the group that had taken Daryl's bike a few weeks ago.

"Like I said...kicks like a bitch. It's nothin' personal" he continued, nodding towards the body on the tracks. "Look, this isn't how we like to start business arrangements but, well, you pricks kinda set the tone didn't you?"

"What do you want?" Rosita snapped.

"I'm sorry darlin', I didn't catch your name" he offered an unnerving smile. "I'm D, or Dwight. You can call me either. So...what's your name?"

She shifted on her feet. "Rosita. What do you want?"

"Well, Rosita...it's not what I want, it's what you girls and Daryl are goin' to do. You're gonna let us into your little complex" he chuckled slightly. "It looks like it's just beautiful in there and then, you're gonna let us take whatever and whoever we want...or we blow Eugene's brains out...then yours...then hers...and then his"

Louse risked a look at Daryl, who moved ever so slightly closer to her.

"I hope it doesn't come to that, really, nobody else has to die"

"Nobody had to die in the first place" Lou snarled, through gritted teeth.

"Well, like I said, you pricks set the tone" he moved the crossbow to his other hand. "We just try and start with one. You know, maximum impact to get our point across. So, what's it gonna be?"

"You wanna kill someone?" Eugene trembled. "You start with our companion hiding over there behind the oil barrels. He's a first class a-hole and he deserves it so much more than us four. Go, check it out"

Cautiously, the saviors spread out. Eugene nodded at Rosita and turned sharply before biting down on Dwight's crotch. His teeth sunk into his jeans and latched onto his shaft within, earning a loud cry of pain. Abraham rolled out from behind the barrels and began pumping bullets into their opponents.

Daryl wrapped an arm around a Savior from behind and dragged a blade across his neck. He dropped to the tracks, clutching at his bleeding neck as the hunter moved on to the next person. Louse grabbed his gun, aimed and shot through the head of a brunette female before diving into cover. She pressed her back against the car door and fired through the smashed windows, narrowly missing the Saviors as they retreated back into the trees.

"FALL BACK! FALL BACK!" Dwight yelled as he fired a bullet into Eugene's stomach and took off with his group. Daryl's crossbow clattered to the ground and he quickly ran to reclaim it.

As the rest of her friends focused on finishing the fight, Louise dropped to her knees beside Denise and wrapped her fingers around her cold hand.

"Daryl stop!" Rosita shouted after Daryl as he raced towards the forest.

With a heavy sigh, he stopped and turned, his eyes locking onto a crying Louse. She pulled the arrow from her friend's skull.

"God..." she whispered, throwing it to the side. "I'm so sorry"

"Louise, lets go!" Abraham called as he lifted Eugene's body with the help of the others.

"I can't just leave her here!"

Daryl dropped to a crouch beside her. "We'll come back for her later...but we have to go Lou"

She nodded reluctantly and allowed him to help her up off the floor. Louise took one last look at her friend before wiping her eyes, grabbing Eugene's leg and carrying him back to Alexandria.

- - - -

Splinters made their way into hers fingers as she forced the shovel into the dirt. Pile after Pile of compost was dropped onto the white blanket that held Denise's body. Louise had once thought that burying the dead would give her closure but now, it only reminded her of what she would inevitably loose. The raven haired women had spent months isolating herself and avoiding attachment but the second she had laid eyes on Daryl everything had changed; even if she refused to admit it.

The hunter stood on the opposite side of the fresh grave, chugging a small bottle of Jack Daniels. He wiped his lips and threw the plastic bottle to the ground before continuing his task.

"You can't blame yourself" she sighed, leaning against the handle of her shovel.

He looked up from the ground for a split second. "Yeah I can"

Louise sighed as she studied him. He made her blood boil and her stomach churn at the same time. He forced her heart to beat quicker and her lungs to tighten. His very presence sent her head reeling and every time his eyes locked onto hers, she was forced to question everything that she had once thought about herself. Sure, Louise could pretend that she didn't feel anything for the man before her but the truth was...she felt absolutely everything.