In the Shallows

"Admit it, you only came back to Atlanta for the hat." Glenn joked as we started walking back towards the van. It had been a halfway decent day aside from almost being fooled into thinking that Glenn and I had been captives and were going to be fed to vicious man eating dogs.

Rick chuckled, "Don't tell anybody."

It didn't take long for someone to ruin the slight happy mood that had been floating around, and it didn't surprise me on who did it too. "You've given away half our guns and ammo."

Rick sighed, "Not nearly half."

"For what? Bunch of old farts who are gonna die off momentarily anyhow?" Daryl sneered, "Seriously, how long ya think they got?"

Rick sighed, "How long do any of us?"

I flashed Daryl an annoyed look, "What kind of people would we be if we walked out on them?" I questioned, my expression turning cold, "If we did and they died...that'd their blood on our hands. They're living, they deserve a chance, even if they're time is limited." He just grunted and looked away from me, just as we rounded the charter buses, we stopped dead in our tracks.

Glenn basically took the words out of my mouth, "Oh my god."

Daryl stood dumbfounded, "Where the hell's our van?"

"We left it right there, who would take it?" Glenn asked.

Rick clenched his jaw, "Merle."

Daryl and I exchanged looks, we both knew what he was going to do. He took a deep breath, breaking away from my gaze, "He's gonna be takin' some vengeance back to camp."

I ran a hand through my hair, "And it ain't gonna be pretty." I looked off in the direction that we were supposed to be heading into, I bit my lip, "It's going to be a long walk, we better start now if we're going to make it remotely close to sunset."

We all exchanged looks, readjusting ourselves with the various amounts of weapons, we started on our way. The first twenty minutes being completely silent before Rick spoke up, "We're going to have run, ain't no way we're gonna make it." He flickered me a look, "Can you keep up?"

Daryl interjected, his eyes narrowing, "What you tryin' to say?"

I rolled my eyes, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Stop."

Rick sighed, "Didn't mean to offend, I'm just askin'. Don't bite my head off. She's a little thin, don't want to push her too hard, not in a world like this."

I raised an eyebrow, flickering them a look, "Your kidding? I ran track throughout high school and used to run five miles every morning. The question is can you keep up." They all exchanged a few chuckles except for Daryl, he gave me an annoyed glance. He wasn't used to me being this talkative with other people, but maybe it was time to get out of my shell? Merle wasn't around at the moment so maybe Daryl could too. Even though I knew damn well that there was no way in hell Daryl would ever open up to these people anytime soon.

We had been running for what seemed liked hours, but I knew better. I slowed down my strides, even though it had been a good few months of me not running like I used too and non healthy eating, I was surprised at how well I was doing. Night had practically fallen and I was pretty sure that we had to be close. This part of the road seemed familiar and I could bet on that we had to be just a quarter of a mile away. A sudden strange feeling washed over me which caused me to stop dead in my tracks, not seconds later, we all heard the sounds of gunshots being fired and screams. I gave Daryl a horrified look while Rick spoke the words we were all thinking.

We booked it towards the noise, tearing through the little clearing between the shrubs and trees. I stopped dead while the others rushed out in front of me to stop all those geeks from taking any more lives. I quickly snapped out of my fear and pulled out my handgun, walking forward, I started to take some out, one by one. The clicking of an empty gun made my stomach churn, I shrieked as one came charging at me, full speed.

"Lex!"

I turned my head towards Daryl who threw a shotgun towards me, picking it up quickly, I went to cock it but the geek was too close for comfort. Falling on my back, I cocked the shotgun and shot it just as it fell on top of me. Whimpering, I sat up and pushed it off of me. By this time, every last one of them was dead. I started to gasp for air, I never had one that close to me. My body trembled from the blood that was splattered all over me, my hands shaking from fear that pulsed it's way through me. I looked around me, everyone either crying or screaming over lost ones. I pulled my knees to my chest, rocking back and forth, this had to be the most terrifying thing I had ever experienced.

These monsters used to be human, and now they weren't. What happened to this world? Why wasn't there anyone doing something about them? How did it get to be this way? I couldn't wrap my head around the situation and I didn't think I ever would. Daryl dropped in front of me, ripping the bow off of his body, his hands roaming over me, checking me for any signs of being bitten or chewed off.

"Lex? You okay? Ain't bit or nothin'?"

I nodded, still trembling, "I'm o-k-okay." I tried to collect myself, but I just couldn't seem too. My eyes started to water, looking into those blue eyes that used to comfort me when I was younger, "Daryl."

He shushed me, pulling me into a hug. "I know." If it wasn't for the fear racing through my body, I would be completely stunned by his action. He pulled us apart, his eyes narrowing into mine, "Ya gonna be alright."

I closed my eyes, tears slipping their way through. I only imagined what would have happened if Daryl would have gotten killed by those geeks. I didn't know what I would have done. Without Merle around, I was probably good as dead. I took a deep breath, forcing myself to stop the tears from pouring out.