Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse

It was late when Leah, Daryl, and Merle woke up the next day. After having slept in the truck for the last few nights, being able to sleep in a bed made their bodies not want to get up. Finally, they pulled themselves out of bed and got ready to go. They decided to wait to eat until after they had made it to Sal's. Daryl moved the pieces of furniture he had used to barricade the door shut, and slowly opened it, watching for any signs of walkers. The coast was clear so the three darted to the truck and Daryl started it. With empty roads, the drive to Sal's wasn't quite as long as it used to be. Daryl parked in an alley next to the building in hopes of protecting the motorcycle some, and to keep it out of sight of walkers and hostiles.

The bottom floor of the building had large glass windows looking into the restaurant. It was set up like any average diner with booths lining the walls, tables scattered throughout the middle of the restaurant, and a bar with bar stools near the back of the restaurant. There was a large glass door, an 'OPEN' sign still hanging in the window.

Next to that door was another door, the one that led to the flat above the restaurant. Leah grabbed the handle and turned, but it was locked. Not wanting to bang on the door or shout, out of fear of attracting walkers, Leah walked over to the restaurant door, took a deep breath, and pushed. The door opened easily, and a little bell rang to signal that someone had walked inside. She walked over to the counter and Daryl asked, "What are you doing?"

"Sal always kept a spare key in the cash drawer." She opened the drawer and pulled out the tray that held various bills and coins. She picked up the small silver key at the back of the drawer and showed it to Daryl. She replaced the tray and shut the door before walking back outside. She unlocked the door and opened it, revealing a vary narrow hallway of stairs that led up to another door. The three crammed themselves into the hall, there was barely enough room for them to stand together without one of them being on the stairs. Leah shut and locked the door back before marching up the stairs.

As she got closer to the door she could smell something delicious. She stopped Daryl and Merle, "Smell that?" she asked, referring to the spices being used.

"What about it?" Merle asked.

"Sal's cooking."

She knew her appearance would be startling if her mother was there. After all, she had written in her note that she wasn't expecting her or Felecia to show up. Not to mention, there was the possibility of that door being locked as well. Leah raised her hand up, her fingers curled into a fist, and she knocked on the door with her knuckles.

Halle jumped when she heard the knock on the door. All three of the occupants were startled by it. They knew it had to be someone Sal not only knew but trusted as well to know where his spare key was. That, or it was a hostile who had picked the lock, or busted the door down. He handed the spatula to Jules to take over the cooking and grabbed a shotgun from a rack in the wall. He walked over to the door and unlocked it, leaving the chain in place, just in case. He opened the door and peered out of the small space between it and the wall. His eyes widened in shock when he seen Leah standing there and he quickly shut the door back to undo the chain.

Daryl was about to comment on how rude it was, but as he opened his mouth to speak, the door opened again, and Leah was pulled into a bear hug by the older, heavyset man. He had friendly brown eyes, and a receding hairline. The hair that he did have was graying. When he finally let go of Leah she was ambushed by her mother. Tears fell from Halle's face as she pressed her older daughter to her. Tears welled up in Leah's eyes as well. She didn't even notice Jules standing in the kitchenette, watching with a spatula in hand.

When her mother finally pulled away, Leah was ambushed again, this time by her mother's questions. "Are you okay? Who are your friends? Where's Marissa and Felecia? Are they safe?"

"I'm fine." Leah cut into her mother's rambling. "I'm fine. Marissa and Felecia....they....they...." Leah couldn't finish her sentence. All this time, Daryl had helped her keep her mind off of what had happened to her sister and her niece, but he hadn't actually helped her cope with it. The tears fell from her eyes and she fell into her mother's arms once more.

Halle understood that Marissa and Felecia were no longer with the living, and Daryl mouthing the words, 'They were infected,' only confirmed her thoughts.

Silent tears fell down Halle's face as Leah sobbed into her shoulder. Daryl took a moment to look at Halle. She looked just like an older version of Leah. She had laugh lines and small crows feet at her eyes, signaling the aging process. Daryl assumed she was in her late fifties and figured she must have had Leah at a young age, because the woman was still beautiful. The only differences between her and her daughter, was that her jet black hair was chin length, and both of her eyes were green. Daryl assumed Leah's father must have had brown eyes.

Finally, Leah took a deep breath and pulled away from her mom. "Who are your friends?" Halle asked again.

She pointed to Merle as she introduced him, "This is Merle, and this...." she paused to slip her hand into Daryl's, "...is my husband, Daryl."

"When did you get married? Why didn't you tell me? I should've been there."

"Last week. I had no way to tell you."

"Then does it really count?" Jules finally spoke up, causing all eyes to land on him.

Leah glared at him, "You mean to tell me the walkers didn't get you?" Anger filled her voice as she stared at the man she had once thought she loved.

"Leah!" her mother reprimanded her, "That is no way to talk to someone in a time like this. You should apologize."

"Never." Leah stubbornly crossed her arms over her chest.

"I never realized she was so mean," Merle whispered to Daryl.

Daryl smirked, "That's because you weren't around her and Marissa as much as I was. They were both mean."

In an attempt to ease the tension, Sal said, "Well, all three of you are welcome here." He smiled at Leah, "You know you're always welcome here."