Guardian Angel - Rick Grimes

Chapter 3 - Daryl

Riley heard the chirping of birds through her tent along with a few voices, indicating that morning had arrived. Her eyes cracked open slightly to look around before she let out a small yawn and stretched her arms above her head, a small pop noise coming from her back.

When she sat up she grabbed a khaki green T-shirt and her black jeans to put on before lacing up her combat boots. Once dressed she unzipped her tent and walked out, seeing a couple of people already awake and doing chores.

She walked up to the RV and looked to the man sat on the top of it with his hat on.
"Mornin Dale."
His head turned towards her and he smiled and greeted her back before looking back over the quarry.

Soon Glenn walked towards her with a small scowl on his face and he looked at the sports car.
"What's up with you? Wake up on the wrong side of the bed?" Riley joked making the young man smile.

"They want to strip it for parts." Glenn pointed to the red car in front of them. "They don't need the parts, we have another car."

Riley smiled softly at the unhappy man next to her, "Glenn, cars like that go through gas quicker than most. We would be wasting fuel keeping it. Just be glad you got to drive it, I'm jealous."

Within ten minutes Dale, Jim and Morales were stripping the car while Glenn stood mumbling some curse words under his breath making the woman next to him laugh.

Rick walked over, after having just woken up, and stood on the other side of Glenn.
"Look at them, vultures." The Korean man mumbled to him. "Go on, strip it clean."

"Generators need every drop of fuel they can get, got no power without it. Sorry Glenn." Dale patted the young man's shoulder before walking away with a tank of fuel.

"Thought I'd get to drive it at least a few more days." Glenn looked at Riley, the woman having to stifle her laughter due to Glenn looking like someone kicked a puppy.

"Maybe we'll get to steal another one someday, if sheriff over here doesn't arrest us." She joked, causing Rick to roll his eyes at her. "Besides there's no speed limits either, we can go as fast as we want."

"Now that sounds like fun." The sheriff spoke, "But I wouldn't trust you behind the wheel, not after the way you were driving earlier." He looked at the woman, who's mouth dropped open in fake offence.

"I'll have you know I'm a terrific driver. Safe? No. But I've never crashed yet." The woman smiled, looking proud of that fact which only made the two men scoff at her.
Before Rick could respond, Shane pulled up in the van with water for the group and quickly hopped out.

"Waters here y'all," as he spoke people started to walk over to unload the van, "Just remember to boil it before use." He turned to the others and they all nodded and began dragging some towards the fire.

The calm silence of the morning dissipated as shrill screams invaded the camp, everyone's heads snapping in the direction they came from.

Without a moments hesitation, Riley grabbed her PPK from her holster and ran towards the screams the others jolting into action behind her. Lori's screams for her son could be heard as she was trying to run after the others, struggling through the trees and undergrowth.

Riley raised her PPK as she got closer to the screaming and within a moment she saw Carl and Sophia running towards her, faces ridden with fear and visibly trembling.
"Riley!"
"Riley!"

Their voices overlapped one another's and they embraced the woman tightly, who still had her gun raised looking behind the children to see a walker not to far away.

It's yellow eyes were no longer trained on the children but at something by its feet, causing the rotting man to collapse onto the floor. Her eyes not leaving the corpse in front of her she grabbed the children's shoulders and pushed them behind her.
"Go to your mothers."