bullseye ➵ daryl dixon

f o u r t e e n - cold

CHAPTER FOURTEEN | c o l d
21/01/18

Adira and Carl rushed back to the room as quickly as they could, knowing that Rick needed supplies before he lost his leg. Before they could reach it, though, they were met with a hall full of walkers. They turned almost immediately, their skinny bodies obviously having not been fed in months and ravenous for their next meal.

"Shit," the two survivors breathed in unison. Adira didn't even bother telling Carl off for his language; they both needed to get out of that situation immediately, or they were dead. They went back the way they came only to be met with yet another herd. Where had they all come from?

Somehow, though, through all of their running they made it back to the room and ran in, shutting the door and pressing their backs against it in hopes of preventing the pounding monsters from breaking through. The rest of the group, though stunned at first, leapt into action and pushed the unoccupied bed across the door. There were so many, which was strange considering the place had been silent prior to the unwelcome discovery of the monsters.

Adira was scared. Sure, she'd been out on her own before, and now had a large group to help her, but she didn't know what they were going to do. The pounding on the door, the scratching of their nails, the incessant moans and groans; it was all so much. Her hands started to shake and the first-aid kit tumbled out of her arms, her fingers uncurling as they failed to function. The only things her mind could focus on were the constant grunts coming from just feet away behind the door. Beth looked on in concern but busied herself gathering up the group's items, previously splayed out across the television table and the desk next it, into bag upon bag. She knew something was wrong with her friend, but told herself that if someone didn't pack up their things, they'd end up running like always and would not possess the few things they did at that moment any longer.

Only the Grimes family remained where they were before, one injured, one a child, and one very much pregnant. The strongest of the group leaned against both the door and the bed blocking it to keep it from breaking down under the force of what seemed like a thousand walkers. Corners of the door screeched against the wall and splintered as it was shaken back and forth, side to side by the monsters awaiting their meal in the hall.

The entire group was silent save Adira's shaky tears and young Carl's whimpers as his mother hugged him into her chest. No one was really sure what to do; the one man who typically had a plan was close to being out cold with what was probably excruciating pain due to the blood seeping out of his rather large wound, and their only exit was currently compromised.

Somewhere in the confusion, a lightbulb flickered on in Adira's head. Her tears dried and her shoulders stopped shaking as she slowed her breathing into something much more calm and allowed herself to control her actions once more. She looked around at the group of good people who were facing a very imminent death should the door break any time soon, and she knew she had to do something. Perhaps she didn't much care whether she lived or not, the prospect dancing around her mind as some sort of a sweet release from the clutches of that cruel world, but none of those people deserved to die. She let her eyes wander through the room, analyzing what she could see as she desperately searched for a way out. And there it was.

The window. In the haze of confusion which blanketed the group of frightened survivors, the curtains had covered the window and escaped the irrational minds of people too focused on the splintering door. Her sudden move as she snapped out of her sobs startled Beth and Hershel as they finished zipping up the bags. She sprinted to the window, her hands no longer shaking as she opened it with ease, fighting the urge to shiver from the chilly, wintry air. Luckily, they were on the first floor, which meant they didn't need to worry about dropping down to the ground safely.