Stray // Daryl Dixon

Fear of the Unknown

The herd was hot on our heels, maybe ten minutes behind us. We stumbled through the woods, my boots catching on roots sprouting from the forest floor and twisting my ankles in the soft dirt hidden under the leaves. My lungs heaved for air after an already long day of running, my lips cracked and my throat quenched for water. We followed the sound of the horn as did at least half of the herd. The fear of the unknown pushed us at an even faster pace through the woods.

"Try again," Glenn stopped for a brief moment, looking at Rick. My heels slid in the leaves, hunching over and placing my hands on my knees to catch my breath.

"Tobin, it's not stopping. Light it up. You hear me?" Rick said through the walkie. We paused for a moment, waiting for a response. The walkie crackled with static, hearing no response from Tobin. "Tobin!" Rick yelled again.

My head snapped up at the sound of a walker snarling ahead of us. We needed to keep moving.

"Michonne," I called out.

"Got it," she answered, slicing her sword across the head of the single walker.

"Shit! Shit! It was half," Sturgess cried out as he stumbled up behind us with the rest of Rick's team. "Jesus, it was more than half."

"We just gotta stay ahead of them. They walk, we run," Annie pushed Sturgess along after us.

We were jogging up a steep hill, weaving through the trees, back towards Alexandria. We were miles away though, if we wanted to get back to see what the hell was going on and stay ahead of the herd our only option was to keep running.

"Rick!" Daryl's voice echoed over the walkie.

"I'm here," Rick answered.

"What's going on back there?"

"Half of them broke off. They're going towards Alexandria."

"Towards you?" Abraham's voice then chimed through.

"We ran ahead. There's a horn or something. Loud, coming from the east. It's not stopping."

"I'm gonna gas it up, turn back," Daryl offered.

"We have it. You keep going," Rick immediately shut down that idea. We needed them to make sure the other half of the herd stayed on track. They needed to stick to the original plan, drive them twenty miles out.

"They're gonna need our help," Daryl fought.

"Gotta keep the herd moving," Rick yelled.

"Not if it's going down, we don't."

"The rest of that herd turns around, the bad back there gets worse. Daryl?"

"Yeah, I heard ya."

The sound of Annie screaming out caused us all to swing our heads back around. She was laying on the ground, rolling onto her back as she clutched her ankle. Glenn slid back down the hill, helping her to her feet and throwing her arm over his shoulder for support. By the time we finally reached the top of the slope, knowing that the steep climb would slow the walkers by a few minutes, Rick stopped to regroup.

"Alright, listen up. Here's the new plan," he called out, making sure the stragglers approaching could hear him. "I go back, get the RV, circle around the woods on Redding. I'll get in front of them before they get there. I can lead them away again."

"The RV's a mile back. I can go with you," David offered, heaving in a breath.

"I'll handle it. Just get home. They might need you there," Rick declined. "Glenn, Scar, Michonne," Rick called on us, nodding his head over for us to follow him away from the group. We walked a couple of meters away, out of earshot from the rest of the team. "If something's in front of you, you kill it. No hiding, no waiting. You keep going," he explained.