I'm with You

My head was shaking as I thought about Daryl. Daryl was...how should I put it? Guess you could say he was an asshole who cared about the group.

"Daryl is a complete asshole," I muttered to the window that I was staring out of again. "But he cares for the group and is willing to protect them." I chuckled to myself before wiping away any stray tears that still fell. "And I'm Lizzie Taylor, that clumsy girl who is now talking to herself. I've officially lost it!"

I stood up as something caught my eye outside the dirty window. Few flurries still fell from the grey sky, slowly covering the ground. A lone walker was staggering through the little bit of snow leaving a trail of blood from its injured body. Neither of those caught my attention. It was the fact that someone just ran into the boarded up store that did. I kept back from the window as my eyes stayed on the store's boarded up door, waiting for the person to come back out. I'm pretty sure that it was the only exit in and out of the store, so they had to come out sooner or later.

The minutes turned into hours when the person finally walked out of the store. They began walking down the street towards the apartments, checking around them for anything suspicious. My body was hidden from their view if they looked up towards the window. As they got closer, I could tell that it was nobody I knew, and I wasn't going to get to know them either. For all I knew, they could be with a bigger group that was hiding out somewhere close by, waiting to take supplies from their next victim. They got closer, and I was able to tell that it was a woman. Still didn't trust her though.

The woman looked to be in her early thirties. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail. Her clothes were all ragged and covered in blood like mine were, except hers were a lot dirtier. Her pale skin was covered in all kinds of filth except for parts of her face. She had a black backpack on her back. She held a pistol out in front of her with both hands, ready to shoot anything that got in her path.

The woman never took a glance up towards my way as she continued her way past the apartments, not giving them a second look. My eyes stayed on her though, curious to know what she was up to. She continued straight down the road, not looking back. I was wondering if she could feel me watching her, but I was sure she would have looked my way by now. She didn't seem like the girl who would ignore the feeling of someone watching her. Then again, I didn't know her and it was possible that she knew she was being watched, just didn't want to make it obvious that she knew.

I jumped back from the window when a gunshot was fired from outside, catching the attention of the lone walker that was stumbling around. My eyes widen as I looked back out the window. The woman was lying on the ground with a bullet wound to her head. Blood was changing the white snow around her into crimson. My eyes frantically began searching the nearby buildings and ground for any signs of the shooter. Was this the same person who boarded up the store? Did they know I was here? Why did they shoot the lady?! My eyes strayed away from the window when the walker began taking bites from the dead woman.

I sat back down on the couch as I began to wonder what I should do. It didn't seem safe here anymore. Someone shooting innocent people in the head right in front of me was not something I wanted to witness again. I needed to get out of here, but how? If they shoot her without reason, then what says they won't shoot me? She didn't seem to be carrying much supplies, but I would be. Maybe they thought she was the one stealing the food from the store.

I cursed before getting up and grabbing the backpack off of the floor beside the brown couch. Most stuff was already packed for emergencies. I placed as many cans of food as I could into it, jamming it full. Only ten cans remained, and I was quite happy for myself to stuff so many into the backpack. I had started with at least seventy cans of food, but have been eating two to three cans of food at least three or four times a day. That left at least twenty-five canned goods in the backpack with two flashlights, batteries, bottle of aspirin, shampoo, conditioner, and my gun. I placed eight of the remaining canned goods into the plastics bags I brought some of them back in. The other two I left out to eat before I left the apartment.

My boots were quickly being put on followed by the half empty water bottle being placed into the hoodie pocket. I took the the flashlight I've been using and placed it in there too. The other flashlights I found, I had taken the batteries out of in case I needed them. I grabbed the knife from the counter as I quickly opened the two canned goods. I sat back down on the dusty brown couch as I slowly began eating from the canned goods I opened, not wanting to make myself sick. I cursed myself for drinking all the water from the other water bottle. I was thirsty, but didn't want to drink all the water I had left.

After tossing the two cans to the side, I stood up. I put the straps of the backpack over my shoulders, the weight pulling me backwards some. I picked up the two plastic bags that held the remaining canned goods in my left hand. My right hand held the knife like usual. I made my way to the door and frowned. The plastic bags made too much noise, and I wasn't planning on leaving them behind. Food was hard to come by, and I would regret leaving them here. I placed the bags down before taking off my backpack. I placed my knife on the bookshelf blocking the door. I then opened the backpack up. I was determined to get these remaining canned goods into the backpack, just had to figure out a way how.

It took me a good ten minutes or so to shove all the cans into the backpack. It barely zipped closed, but it would have to do for now. I moved the bookshelf quietly out of the front of the door before grabbing my knife. I began making my way downstairs. Now came the hard part. I had to sneak my way out of this apartment and far away from whoever else was here in the town without getting killed. All I knew was that I had a knife and a bag full of supplies which they would probably want.