The Walking Dead (Fanfic)

Chapter 4

It took us an hour to get to the city, and the drive was mostly quiet until Daryl shot T-Dog a threat. I shot him a glare, trying to get him to back off of T-Dog. Glenn stopped the car and told us we were walking the rest of the way. I jumped out of the back before fixing my back pack and hat, jogging to walk beside Glenn.

We jogged deeper into the city, in complete silence. "Merle first or guns?" Rick asked after climbing through a gap in a fence; Glenn kept the fence from catching the back pack as I climbed through. "Merle! We ain't even having this conversation." Daryl said with his crossbow raised to the sky. "We are." Rick snapped before turning to Glenn and I,  "You know the geography, its your call." 

We switched between fast paced walk and jogging, "Merle's closest. The guns would mean doubling back. Merle first." Glenn said as we jogged deeper into the city. Daryl looked agitated, and stressed out. He only wanted one thing, and that was to save his big brother. From there on out we barely spoke, we had to keep a low profile so every walker in the city didn't know we were visiting.

We were walking through the department store, Rick was leading while Glenn was protecting the back with T-Dog. Daryl and I were in the middle, he remained in the middle because he had the quietest weapon while I carried the bolt cutters. Throughout the store, Rick pointed at a walker that was mindlessly shuffling past a mannequin. Daryl crouched as he moved as quiet as a cat, the walker growled when he neared her. "Damn, you are one ugly skank." he mumbled before taking aim and pulling the trigger.

The arrow impaled through her head, but the only thing that was heard, was her body dropping to the ground. Daryl pulled the arrow out of it's head with a disgusting squelch. It was the sound of blood and brain matter mixing together. He swung his arrow, causing the blood to splatter on the ground. 

We all rushed up the stairwell, I handed the bolt cutters to the guys when we had finally reached the top. T-Dog said he had to be the one to open it, out of duty. The padlock broke under the pressure and fell to the floor, he tugged on the chain letting it fall to the floor as the rest of us stood by watching.

Daryl kicked the door open and was the first one through it, all of us followed. "Merle! Merle!" Daryl called his brother's name once we were all outside on the roof, I watched him even when the scattered tools on the floor threatened to take my attention away from him. Everyone froze and I didn't know why. "Aideen don't look." Glenn warned but it was already too late. "No! No!" Daryl shouted as he uncovered the scene before him.

On the floor was a bloody saw, a hand and empty handcuffs. Instead of Merle, there was only a pool of dried blood of where he used to be.

___

"Aideen, help me pick up the tools?" Glenn asked, and I nodded but did not speak. After seeing a severed hand, it was hard to think of anything to say. I helped pick up all the tools but I refused to pick up the saw Merle used. I walked over to Daryl, hoping I could say something to make him feel better. 

Instead he screamed into his teeth and pointed his crossbow at my head, I froze. He was breathing heavily, as Rick pulled out his own gun and pointed it as his head. Daryl's breath was shaking as he looked me in the eyes before moving his crossbow to T-Dog. Something told me how would shoot him, so I slowly move to stand in between them. "Aideen, move out of the goddamn way. This son of a bitch, left my brother handcuffed to the roof." Daryl grunted, his eyes trying to look past me.

"Put down the crossbow Daryl, or you'll never find your brother." I said raising my hand and slowly pushing it down. Rick put down his own gun after, and for a moment Daryl doesn't stay anything but watch me. "You got a do-rag or something?" he asked me, I nodded before pulling out a bandana that I had stashed away in my bag. I handed it to him, before receiving a nod.