When the dead roam - (Daryl Dixon)

Chapter 21 - swarmed

There had to be at least twenty of them. Huddled together at the end of the dark corridor.. blood dripping from their jawlines as decaying skin fell from their faces. The school uniforms they wore hung from their bones and the skin around their eyes had disappeared, leaving dark black holes in their place. None of them could have been older than 16 but each and every one of them were hungry and begging for the taste of fresh, warm skin.

"Fuck. Move. Now!" Lou shouted, turning on her heels as fast as possible before pushing the group's new member in the opposite direction of the horde.

"Holy shit" Daryl grunted as he placed his hand on the bottom of Lou's back as she forced her to run in front of him. They took of down the hallway quickly, refusing to look back as they attempted to find a clear path out of the building. School lockers stood across every section of the wall, leaving small gaps occasionally, just big enough to have once fit a class room door - nothing to provide them any safety. The idea of taking them out one by one was ridiculous so they had no choice but to outrun the dead.

Upon instinct Lou grabbed the knife from her right book and sliced through the neck of any walker they passed, jamming into their skulls shortly after and leaving them scattered across the premises. Every few steps she would have to jump over another decapitated body yet no matter how quickly they ran, more dead still added to the constant swarm behind them. They were trying to win a race with no finishing line - and they most definitely were not going to win.

She new they had exhausted all other options, so in a panic she grasped the edge of the nearest door frame and swung herself into the ransacked classroom. The more distance she could put between herself and the group the better chance they had to live, so she beckoned the walkers towards herself.

"Who's committin' suicide now?" Daryl yelled after her as the dead began to change course.

"Just shut up and run" she gripped the top of a small study desk, lunging it at the closest walker and forcing the leg into it's skull "I'll meet you at the other end.

"Lou-"

"Go goddammit!"

She didn't wait for a reply. It was their life or hers and there wasn't a cell in her body that thought she was more important than them. Although the situation was alarmingly familiar, she would never let someone die for her and as she sprinted towards the nearest exit she hoped this time it had a better outcome.

The fingers of her left hand wrapped tightly around the handle of her knife as her right hand held onto the barrel of Daryl's empty pistol, ready to use as a weapon if needed, Her arms continuous shook as she for the first time she feared for her life.