Skin Deep

“Time to get up,” Daryl’s voice said quietly while my shoulder was shaken. My eyes instantly flicked open to see him crouching in front of me. I didn’t dare grumble, since his awakening was far more pleasant than Merle’s. He gave me a tiny smile before standing up and walking out of the cave. Merle was still snoring, the sticks were a pile of smoking ash, and the sun was only just starting to rise. Quietly I got up and began the short process of packing away my sleeping gear. With a quick sniff of my shirt I realised it was probably a good time to change my clothes. While Daryl was still outside and Merle still asleep, I pulled off everything I wore and exchanged it for clean underwear, denim shorts, and another oversized white t-shirt with a faded pattern on the front. Just as I pulled it over my head I heard a low whistle.

“Damn girl, you should have woken me. I missed the best part of the show!” Merle said, announcing that he was now awake. I turned and saw him propped up on an elbow, biting down on his bottom lip as he stared. It could have been worse… I could feel my cheeks reddening uncontrollably, so I bent down and picked up one of my black ankle boots.

“Shut up,” I mumbled, throwing it at him without much power. It hit Merle right in his stomach, making him laugh cheerily before tossing it back at me. The fear of Merle taking advantage of me had re-entered my mind when he had spoken, but now he actually seemed less intimidating. He was only being playful and messing around. I decided to let it go, and focused on putting my boots back on. Once I was done, I continued getting ready to leave. I was still limping so it was a bit of a challenge to walk everywhere, but I didn’t complain. Daryl was in a worse condition.

The brothers were also packed and ready to go by the time I was, so without another word we started our bikes and headed back to the asphalt. One way went northwest, and the other southeast, so of course we travelled on it northwest to continue to get away from the southern Biters. The sun got higher, brighter and stronger, and soon enough my thighs were starting to feel the burn again. I couldn’t begin to imagine what winter would be like in the desert; no doubt a lot different to Canada.

After about an hour of missing the fun snow and warmth of hot chocolates that made Canada winters so nice, the thoughts were shooed from my mind because we had passed a sign saying that a town was only a few minutes away. We all automatically slowed down until we came to the edge of it, and continued forward at a steady, cautious pace. Merle watched the left side, Daryl the right, and I kept on checking over my shoulder as if someone was following us. The town didn’t have much in it, just fifteen or so houses and a grocery store. Jackpot. We pulled into the abandoned parking lot and scanned the area.

“You see anything?” Daryl called out once all the motors were cut.

“Nothing. Don’t think anyone’s living here anymore,” Merle replied as I looked ahead at the small store. Something moved in the shadows and my hand flew to my side, touching my dagger on my belt.

“You see something?” Daryl asked me. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed he follow my eyesight and watched the glass doors too.

“I swear there’s something in there,” I answered, my voice wavering a little. I couldn’t help it. I hadn’t had to attack a Biter for over a month. Surely my skills would be rusty.

“We’ve gotta go in. We’re low on water and could do with some more food if it’s non-perishable… How many of them could there possible be in there?” Merle wondered casually. He had to be right. There weren’t that many houses here, so surely barely anyone or anything would be inside. We would be okay… Merle checked his gun had a full magazine before palming his knife. Daryl was loading an arrow into his crossbow, a blade also strapped to his hips. Without a second thought I pulled off my backpack and found my pistol, just in case my dagger let me down… I followed the brothers up to the front doors of the store and we looked inside.

“I see five,” Daryl stated.

“And I see bottles and bottles of drinks,” Merle grinned as he grabbed the door handle. I took in a deep nervous breath as he opened it and then rushed inside to the left with his knife raised.

“Just stay close,” Daryl muttered to me, entering after his big brother but turning right instead. He fired an arrow and I saw it stick into a Biter’s forehead. Dark brown blood oozed from the wound as the monster fell to its knees, then crashed forwards. The arrow hit the floor and was pushed further through the rotted skull and it come out the other side. I gagged as Daryl reloaded his crossbow. Merle let out a war cry and I whipped around to see what he was doing. His sharp blade had gone through the eye of a female Biter, his strong arm pushing her into a shelf of candy. After a short second of realising that the thing was dead, he pulled out the dagger and then continued on to the next one. Chunks of dark, bloodied brain flicked off the shining metal as Merle walked away. I began to wonder if it would be possible for me to wait outside and not do anything. Another thump came from my right, and I knew that Daryl had killed another one.

I looked straight ahead and saw a hell of a sight. A female Biter was staggering down the aisle towards me at a very slow pace, and half of her left arm was missing. Every inch of her skin seemed to be stained with blood, and her clothes were no different. Her mangled hair must have been a bright blonde, though it was currently grotty, and I’m sure she used to be pretty. But now she was mindless and hungry for human flesh. My flesh. I grinded my teeth as I walked towards her, my hands shaking as I knew that I was about to officially end her life. Somehow I managed to free a dagger from my builder’s belt and get a decent grip on it.

We met in the middle of the aisle, and with one last step towards her I reached out. My hand struck against her soft, decaying shoulder muscle as I got a hold of her. Before the monster could react, I dug my knife deep into its brains. I fell to the ground with her, ensuring that I had thrust the blade deep enough into her head. The store already had a putrid smell of decomposed foods, but now I could smell rotting human flesh too. Withdrawing my knife only made it worse. A part of the brain was stuck to the end, and it seemed like my knife had burst a bubble of putrid smell held inside the Biter. Bile came into my mouth, but I quickly swallowed it down and stood back up.

“Hey! A little help!” Daryl called, clearly distressed. I ran to the end of the aisle and turned to the right, continuing to jog until I found the row he was in. Daryl was struggling with reloading his crossbow, yet another three Biters were approaching him. Two stood between us, and one was behind him. Before I rushed in to help, I spotted Merle heading along the back row, and I guessed that he’d be behind Daryl within a few seconds.

I automatically jumped forwards onto the back of the male Biter, jabbing my already bloodied knife into the back of its head. It let out one last pathetic groan as we fell down together. I felt the tip of my blade hitting the floor so I heaved it out, spraying some clumped blood and brains against my bare leg. I looked up and saw Daryl throw his crossbow aside. Merle had come up behind and stabbed the Biter that was a metre away from his brother, but there was still one right in front of him. I was on my feet and lunging forwards as Daryl grabbed onto his own dagger. The Biter fell under my weight, landing next to Daryl and crashing into a shelf. It stopped squirming a split second afterwards when I slammed my knife into its skull.

“Holy shit…” Merle commented, sounding surprised yet pleased as he chuckled. I picked myself up and scanned the store.

“Any more?” I asked.

“Don’t think so,” Merle answered as Daryl pulled himself to his feet. “The hell happened to you?”

“Crossbow jammed,” he grunted while angrily picking it up.

“Well, how ‘bout we get ourselves some supplies?” Merle suggested, walking past us both as he headed to the refrigeration units. I grinned as I saw all of the bottled water. Fantastic! It was all worth it. Daryl grabbed my arm before I could follow.

“Thanks,” he said in a hushed voice.

“Don’t worry about it,” I replied with a small grin before heading off after Merle. Inside I was rather content with myself. I had seen it in Merle’s eyes, and now in Daryl’s thanks. They trusted me more.