Damn the Dead

Mini Recap:
There was no noise except for the heavy breathing of the group. I readjusted my grip on the crossbow, anxious to let an arrow fly in the direction of the oncoming walker.

Sweat rolled down the side of my face, as I tried my best to be patient.

Suddenly, a figure broke through the trees.



“Glenn! What the hell?” Emily screeched, lowering her weapon as the Korean boy came into view. He was busy twirling the object he had in his hand, not noticing the surrounding people with raised weapons.

He glanced up, dropping the object and then took a step back, fear clearly etched on his face. “Whoa, whoa!” he practically yelled, hands up in surrender. Everyone lowered their weapons and let out the breath they had been holding.

“Jesus Christ, Glenn. We thought you were a damned walker,” T-Dog explained, putting his baseball bat down.

“What do you mean, you thought I was a walker!? You guys almost put bullets into my skull!” he said, dramatically flailing his arms.

“Kait was in the woods about two miles back and said that a horde of walkers was coming this way. We thought you were one of ‘em,” Shane explained nonchalantly.

Glenn looked over at me, the fear back on his face. “Are you serious?” he questioned. I nodded my head mumbling, "Surprise," before turning around and going towards my stuff.

“We need to get out of here, it’s only a matter of time before those damned things find their way here,” I called over my shoulder. I heard muttered agreements, and then people started racing around to get their belongings in order.

“Are you alright?” Emily asked, coming up behind me. I looked over my shoulder at her, smiling as big as possible.

“Yeah, everything’s fine,” I said. She obviously didn’t believe a word coming out of my mouth, and I didn’t expect her to. She’s been around me long enough to know when I’m telling the truth and when I’m full of bullshit.

“Kaitlyn, don’t lie to me. What happened out there?” she prodded. I opened my mouth to start talking, but stopped as someone approached us. It was Daryl, and he looked around the camp to see everyone hurrying about, a curious look on his face.

“What’s with e’ryone movin’ like they got a fire under their asses for?” he asked, eyes still following members of the group. Glancing up at him, I noticed he once again was chewing on his thumb.

“Kaitlyn here was in the woods about two miles up, and spotted a horde of goddamned walkers coming this way. We heard a noise in the trees, thought it was walkers, but turned out to be Glenn. And now I’m trying to figure out what the hell happened to my sister because she is looking awfully pale and…”

“Damn, you both ramble don’t ‘cha?” Daryl mumbled, looking down at the ground.

“Yes, asshole, we do. Now if you excuse...” I didn’t hear the rest of what my sister was saying.

There was a ringing in my ears, and my vision was going in and out as I swayed back and forth. I reached out and grabbed on to the nearest thing to me, and tried to regain my balance. The arm was sweaty and muscular, and definitely not my sister. At the moment I didn’t even care, I just needed to stay balanced. A warm hand grabbed my arm and another, my waist, as the person tried to keep me standing.

“I need to sit down,” I muttered, collapsing to the ground. The warm hands slowly lifted off of me as I sat there, my head in between my knees.

“Here, drink some water,” Emily said, thrusting a canteen into my face. I took it from her and brought it to my parched lips and took a deep drink. The water felt nice against my throat, and cooled the warmness in my stomach. Before I even knew it, the canteen was empty but I still felt as if I could drink more.

“Damn, she’s prolly dehydrated,” a male voice said above me. Blinking I looked up at where the voice was coming from and saw Daryl standing there, an almost nonexistent, yet concerned look on his face, and he was illuminated in sunlight.

He grabbed the canteen that was strapped across him and offered it to me. I took it from him, unscrewed the cap and chugged down the water that was inside. After everything in it was gone, I pulled it away, wiping my hand across my lips.

I lay back on the ground, my arms propping up my head and closed my eyes. I slowed down my breathing and tried to relax as much as possible. I sat there for a few minutes before remembering the horde of walkers coming this way.

“Shit,” I mumbled, jumping up off the ground. I swayed back and forth a little bit, but with the help of Daryl, I was standing straight again. “We need to get our shit and go now, we’ve already wasted too much time,” I said, grabbing my rucksack.

Emily nodded her head at me and grabbed her own rucksack, before heading off to where the others were. Running a hand through my disheveled hair, I looked back over at Daryl who was still standing there.

“Are ya alright?” he asked quietly.

Putting on the best smile I could muster up I replied, “Yeah, just fine. Thanks.”

He nodded his head and started towards his belongings.

Rubbing my temples I looked around the camp, seeing everyone hustling to get everything packed into the RV, the jeep, and truck.

It was only a matter of time before those walkers showed up, we need to get out of here right the fuck now.

“Guys, are y’all ready to go? I’m getting an anxious feeling, and that is never good,” I said, raising my voice a little so everyone could hear me.

They all looked around each other before nodding in agreement. Everyone that could fit began getting into the RV. Carl, Sophia, Rick, Lori, Carol, Andrea, Emily and Dale were packing into the cramped space, and I knew there would be no room in there for me. Shane, T-Dog, and Glenn piled into the jeep, meaning that I would have to ride with Daryl.

I placed my Berettas into their holsters, making sure that I never left without them again, and grabbed my crossbow.

I was skeptical of riding with hot-tempered redneck because I knew the guy didn’t like me much, even if he did help me a few minutes ago. I trudged over to where he was packing his remaining belongings next to a motorcycle in the back of the truck and stood next to him.
He glanced over at me, then at the other vehicles before offering me a hand. I looked at him quizzically, and he rolled his eyes and took my rucksack from my hands before placing it next to his own things.

Biting my lip, I turned and made my way to the other side of the truck and climbed in the passenger seat.



We have been on the road for a few hours now, stopping every so often for bathroom breaks and to stretch our legs, and we were finally making some headway on this trip to Savannah.

I was anxious to get there and find my dad. I just know he is alive; he is a survivor, it's what he does. I just only hope I can survive this life because a few hours ago, it could have ended very badly for me. I don't ever want to cut it that close ever again, it is just too risky.

Resting my head against the inside of the truck, I closed my eyes to try and stop some of the vertigo I was experiencing. Never before have had I had this problem, but I guess when you don’t eat or drink anything all day and then turn around and run two miles, it really takes a toll on a person’s body.

“You doin’ alright over there?” Daryl asked quietly. Cracking open my eyes, I looked over at him.

“Yeah,” I replied stifling a yawn. I sat up a little straighter in the seat and glanced out the window, taking in the surroundings. The sun was high in the sky, not a cloud in sight. It’s amazing how perfect the weather could be, even if the world had gone to shit.

“Thanks, by the way,” I said glancing to where Daryl was sitting. One hand on the wheel, and his eyes trained on the road he sat there chewing on his thumb. A habit that I’ve noticed he does when he’s glancing at everyone around camp, or in an uncomfortable situation.

“For what?” he questioned, his eyes finally leaving the road and looking at me.

“For helping me out back there when you could have just let me fall or something. For someone who claims to not have feelings, you seemed pretty concerned to me,” I said with a chuckle.

Getting more comfortable in the seat, I brought my knees up to my chest and rested my head across my folded arms.

“I wasn’t just gonna let ya fall, Kait. And…” he paused, “I do actually have feelings. Just don’ really show them to anyone.”

Furrowing my eyebrows I asked him, “Why is that? I mean, I’ve noticed that most people like, shun you, or something. I just don’t understand.”

Sighing, he rubbed his free hand across his jaw before speaking again. “When my brother was in the camp, he was an arrogant sumbitch and I s’pose everyone thought I was too. Then when I heard he was left behind in Atlanta I got so fuckin’ pissed…”

“And you flipped out. Yeah, I heard. But still, that’s no reason for anyone to hate you. Hell, if it weren’t for you these people would be living off of canned beans for the rest of their damned lives,” I said, gesturing my hands wildly.

“Why do ya even care?” he questioned. I stared at him for a while, noticing how he wouldn’t look in my direction.

“Everyone needs to have someone to care for them,” I mumbled. “Including you.”