Pretty When I Cry

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"Merle!"

"We're not alone here. Remember?" Rick hisses at Daryl as he yells out into what seems like another empty room. We've been looking around for a bit and still haven't found much about Merle's disappearance. I can tell Daryl's getting antsy for something, anything, to happen.

"Screw that. He could be bleedin' out. Ya said so yerself." Daryl moves forward into the room and we all follow behind him.

My nose immediately scrunches up at a horrible smell. I look glance back at Glenn and see the same face, and I nod at him. We both apparently are the only ones that notice whenever some shit stinks since no one else seems affected at all.

We walk in more and I scrunch my brows as well in confusion. There are burners turned on, fire still coming out the tops and a bloody belt that looks awfully familiar laid next to it over a pan. This is why you don't try to cook in the apocalypse.

Glenn is the first to speak up. "What's that burned stuff?" He asks in a whisper.

Rick picks up a piece of metal with blood and what looks like flesh stuck to the bottom of it. I immediately turn away in disgust, knowing exactly what happened. "Skin. He cauterized the stump."

Glenn's face scrunched up again and I step back away to get space from the awful smelling burners. I swing my crowbar up so that it's resting on one of my shoulders and I brush a stray piece of hair behind my ear.

"Told ya he was tough." Daryl tells Rick matter of factly. I hear Pierce scoff, but no one addresses him. "Nobody can kill Merle but Merle."

Rick keeps looking at the burners like he's trying to find the missing pieces to this puzzle. "Don't take that on faith. He's lost a lot of blood."

We move farther into the kitchen area and see shelves of bread. I have to resist to take a whole loaf for myself, even though it's definitely old and stale.

"Yeah? Didn't stop him from bustin' outta this death trap." Daryl walks toward a window with a Merle shaped whole in the glass. I sigh, letting my arm fall and the crowbar in my hand stays by my leg once again.

"He left the building? Why the hell would he do that?" Glenn walks forward as well with the rest of us and asks no one in particular. I move up to see the window better and catch a glance of the broken glass.

"Why wouldn't he?" Daryl looks out the window before standing up straight again. "He's out there alone as far as he knows, doin' what he's gotta do. Survivin'."

"You call that surviving? Just wandering around the streets, maybe passing out?" T-Dog retorts, and I can't help but agree. But then again, Merle has never been exactly sane or logical, nevertheless whenever he's high and has been in the sun all day. "What are his odds out there?" T-Dog asks.

"No worse than bein' handcuffed and left to rot by you sorry pricks." Daryl retorts to all of us, and I catch him glancing at me for a second and my heart sinks for the millionth time today.

Pierce scoffs and throws his arms out defensively. "I wasn't out there man." He says like we didn't already know. I turn around to kick his leg, but I guess Glenn saw me because he grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me away before I could do anything.

Daryl turns back to Rick. "You could kill 'em. Ain't so worried 'bout some dumb dead bastards." He gets in his face and retorts angrily.

"What about a thousand dumb dead bastards? Different story?" Rick asks calmly.

"Why don't ya take a tally? Do what you want, I'm gonna get him." He goes to move forward but Rick puts a hand on his chest and pushes him back. Daryl quickly steps away from his touch. "Get yer hands off me! Ya can't stop me." I cringe as he raises his voice and I look around anxiously.