Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse

"I didn't do it, I swear!" Merle shouted as he jumped off the couch and looked around the room. He slowly realized where he was and started to come to his senses.

Sal and Halle walked out of their rooms, "What happened? What's going on?" Sal asked, turning on the lights as he walked.

Daryl looked at the dead body laying next to him. Seeing Jules's unseeing eyes staring at him gave him chills. He felt his chest and stomach, making sure he was still alive before sitting up. Leah stood there, the gun still aimed at him, she was in shock. Slowly he stood up and walked over to her. "Leah," he said softly, "It's okay. I'm okay." He put one hand over hers and carefully started prying the gun from her fingers. "It's okay. Just give me the gun."

She let go of it, and he sat it on the counter. She stood there staring blankly at Daryl. It felt as if she were staring through him, not even noticing him. He pulled her into his arms and she started crying. He held her tight while she sobbed into his shoulder.

"What happened?" Sal asked again, seeing the body laying in his kitchen floor.

"I'll explain in a few minutes. Just let me take care of her for now."

Sal nodded and Daryl picked Leah up. He carried her to their bedroom and turned the light on. He sat her down on the bed, and she continued to cling to him. "I was so scared," she whispered so low he almost didn't hear her. "I thought I was going to lose you."

Daryl cupped her face with his hands, "You'll never lose me. I'll always be here with you. I love you."

"I love you too." Daryl kissed her forehead and stood up. She grabbed him, "Don't leave me."

"I'm not leaving you. I'm just going to explain what happened, and help get rid of the body, okay?"

She nodded and let go of him. Daryl left the room and explained what had happened to Merle, Sal, and Halle. Halle squeezed her eyes shut and sighed. When she opened her eyes again she said, "I'm going to go talk to Leah."

No one said anything as she got up and walked to the bedroom where her daughter was sitting alone. "Well," Sal said, "I guess we should take his body outside quickly. I'm sure plenty of walkers heard that shot, and we need to dispose of it before they get here."

Daryl and Merle nodded. They wrapped Jules's body in a spare sheet Sal had in his closet and he and Daryl carried the body outside. When they sat the body down they could hear the walkers getting closer. Daryl looked around and seen a dozen running towards them. They ran inside and quickly shut and locked the door. They ran up the stairs and Merle shut and locked the door behind them. Daryl grabbed his crossbow and Merle and Sal held guns. Each of the men had their weapons aimed at the door, just in case the walkers managed to break through the doors.

Hours passed, they could hear the walkers outside, fighting over the pieces of Jules's body. Leah and Halle stayed in Leah's room, the door shut and locked. Daryl got up and walked over to the window. He pushed the blinds apart and looked down at the street outside. He could see bits of Jules's body torn apart and scattered across the sidewalk. He made a face in disgust. Most of the walkers were gone. There was still a handful walking around. Every now and then they'd look at the door, as if they were waiting for something to suddenly appear in the doorway. "Are they still out there?" Merle asked.

Daryl nodded, "Yeah. It's just five though. They'll probably go away soon."

"If it's just five, why don't you go take care of Leah. I'm sure she could use your comfort right now. I think Merle and I would be able to handle five walkers anyways."

Daryl nodded again and walked to his bedroom. He knocked on the door and Halle unlocked it, letting him into the room. "Are they gone?" she asked.

"Almost. There's only a few still hanging around." He looked from Halle to Leah. She was sitting in the middle of the bed, her knees drawn up to her chest, and her arms wrapped around her legs.

"I'm going to leave you two alone," Halle said as she slipped past Daryl and out of the room. He nodded to her and she smiled before shutting the door.

Daryl walked over to the bed and sat down. Leah looked up at him. Her eyes were red and swollen. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I can't believe I've killed two people."

"It's okay," he told her. "If you hadn't of killed Jules, I might've died."

Her mouth twisted into a frown. It wasn't something she wanted to think about.

"Come here." He opened his arms and she crawled over to him. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his lap. "It's okay. Everything we've done, we've done it in order to survive. I'm pretty sure it makes everything okay."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

They sat there in silence for hours, just holding each other. Daryl was about to fall asleep when Leah spoke. "Daryl..."

"Yes, Leah?"

"I've been thinking for awhile about the baby. What are we going to name it?"

"I don't know. I haven't given it much thought. Something tough, and manly."

"And if it's a girl?"

"I'm not having a girl."

Leah chuckled, "You can't demand that the baby be a boy. It doesn't work that way."

"Yeah, but if it's a boy I can teach him to hunt and survive. Our child needs to know how to do that with the world like it is now."

"You can teach a girl how too. After all, you taught me how to."

He smiled as he looked at Leah, "I guess you're right." There was more silence as he thought. Finally, he said, "Marissa. Marissa Felecia Dixon."

Leah smiled, "I like that."