Bite Me - A Walking Dead Story (Negan x OC)

Chapter 3: Vultures

This time Ria felt like she had only just closed her eyes before being forced awake. The unusual and panicked feeling of being completely lifted off the ground made her stomach twist before she is placed upright. Daryl brushed some dirt off her shoulder before walking away to grab the bags. They had been walking for days, constantly bickering between Merle's lewd comments, Ria's frustration and Daryl's muttering.  No one spoke as the boys pack up, covering their tracks and covering the burnt out fire pit with leaves. Everyone was tired and dazed, shuffling around ignoring each other's existence. Merle didn't even look at Ria as he untied the ropes around her body. "What the fuck are you doing?" she quizzed him. As soon as she was loose her arms wrapped around her, rubbing the areas where the rope had dug into her. 

"Bout to reach the highway, lot more walkers up there. Can't be dragged down by your pretty defenseless ass." her face twisted at the mention of the highway and as it appeared through the trees she saw it in all its glory. Cars were backed up as far as the eye could see and Merle was right, the place was crawling with walkers as he called them. 

"Why would we be going up there?" she asked as they hovered along the tree line. 

"How else are we gonna make new friends?" he turned to her, his wicked grin making her sickly. He walked on and she opened her mouth to press further.

"Don't ask things you don't want to know" Daryl pushed past her, pulling his crossbow closer to him as they step onto the highway. They moved along the centre of the highway, swerving around abandoned cars. Merle moved on ahead, excitedly rummaging through cars and killing the walkers trapped in them. Ria stayed back with Daryl, without a weapon she relied on him to put down the walkers that kept lurking towards them. Occasionally, one would appear from behind or beside them and she would instinctively kick them away, far enough from Daryl to bury an arrow in its skull. The real issue was when Merle would pull a writhing walker from a car and shove it towards them with a laugh. Both Daryl and Rhiannon would curse him out but they had no real power to get him to cut it out. They shuffled along, stopping in sizeable cars and vans for the nights before continuing in the morning. Merle would make an effort of dropping his arm over her body, a wicked smirk as he held her in place. Whenever his hand moved to her chest she had no issue kicking him hard between the legs and shuffling out of the way of his rage. Daryl would just sit in his corner, an occasional grin on his face when his brothers face would blow up red, huffing with his arms across his chest. Ria didn't mind them so much now, other then their tempers and Merle's failing groping, she didn't see them as much of a risk. she would never admit it, especially in front of Merle but she was better off with them.

After a few days Merle was getting bored of the scorching sun and barren cars. "someone's been picking these through, damned vultures!" he slammed the car door.

Ria watched him with furrowed brows, "You're the one picking through them." Merle climbed out of the next car, slamming the door louder than before. 

"Not me, Someone's already been through an' takin' all my stuff!"

"C'mon Merle you're gonna bring the walkers at us" Daryl sighed.

"I'll calm down when we find these fuckers!" spit flies from the corner of Merle's mouth as he marches along, peeking into every car and slamming the doors, growing angrier with every disappointment. Ria rubs her face, sighing as Daryl nudges her forward.

Ria doesn't notice as dark falls over them. Her eyes glued to the floor after a walker grabbed her ankle an hour back. She had jumped back with a scream before stomping its head in, causing Daryl to laugh behind her. The dark made it harder to spot the corpses sulking towards them, they relied on the sound of their groans and their stunted shuffle. Of course Daryl's occasional grumble and shuffle of his feet kept them on edge, Merle and Ria spinning around with wide eyes as Daryl cackled.