FALLEN ANGEL ➵ DARYL DIXON [1] ✓

1: The Hunter

1

Today was the day I was going to propose to Kendra. Proposing to her has been in my mind for weeks now, but I never found the right time.

Today was her birthday. Today, I was going to propose.

I had it all planned out since last week, going over and over the ways I would say it to her.

I didn't really know how to say it. Maybe it will just come to me? I hope so. I know one thing: I'm going to take her out for dinner and propose there. I gulp down my nerves, wanting to murder them violently.

It's going to be okay. It's going to be okay. It's going to be oka-

My phone starts ringing. A picture of Kendra shows up. Shit.

"Hello?" I say.

"Hi Daryl! Sorry I'm running late... I'll be there shortly!" She practically screams into the phone.

She's breathing heavily.

"Sure, sure. No problem. Where are ya? Are ya with someone?"

I hear someone else breathing. It's definitely not her.

"What? No. I'm by myself," she reassures me and I nod.

"How long will ya be?"

She's silent for a moment. "About... Fifteen minutes or so."

I blink, fixing the collar of my new shirt that I bought. "I'll see ya then, Kelly."

She speaks through her smile. "Yep. I'll see you."

She hangs up.

A thought comes to my mind. I'll go and surprise her by landing at her front door with flowers instead.

And that's exactly what I do.

I go to the local shop, buy red flowers, and hop back into Merle's pickup truck. The drive is short and I drive up to her house, the sun beginning to set behind the roof of the mansion.

A light is on in the living room and I see her through the window, smiling.

I scroll down the pickup truck window to get a better look. Markus is with her. What's he doing here?

My heart begins to crack.

Markus is holding her in a flirtatious way, holding her hips, railing her in and whispering in her ear. She knows she shouldn't be listening, yet her arms are wrapping around his neck.

My heart begins to form a cave.

She's looking deeply into his eyes and he's doing the same, like some type of staring match. The way she stares into my eyes.

My heart begins to form an arch.

Kendra leans in. Markus does also.

My heart is at the final stage. It is now broken.

Markus makes the move and kisses her softly on her lips. She doesn't even try to move back. In fact, she does the opposite.

The ring feels like a million tonne in my pocket, the oder of the red flowers fill Merle's truck. I shift the truck into reverse, not wanting to see the cursed image of my girl, my girl, with another man. I drive out of their lane.

A million feelings hit me at once: betrayal, anger, sadness, jealously, bitterness and even guilt.

My world explodes.

Literally.

Two helicopters fly over me and another explosion takes place about a mile from here. The fire and the smoke lifts up and the sound of gunshots fill my eardrums. A person accidentally runs into the pickup truck, rolling over the bonnet and landing on the ground. I was about to go out to see if they were alright, but they got up, sprinted, and shouted. "My uncle tried to bite me!"

Another explosion.

My breathing increases. Is this the end of the world? Has aliens invaded us? My head is engulfed by so many absurd queries that I feel myself getting light headed by just thinking about it. So many people are running and screaming. A little boy runs up to his mother, a chunk out of his neck, like a wild dog had bit him.

That's when I first saw them, limping slowly and flesh stuck in between their teeth. They surround the pickup truck and I quickly hit the pedal.

Another explosion.

Welcome to the apocalypse.