From the Shadows

The walk to the hospital was just as quiet as their first walk into town. Daryl kept looking over his shoulder, paranoid. “Don't like how quiet it is.” He saw Teagan walk down a street, away from the front door of the hospital. “Where you goin' now?”

“Most hospitals have a separate pharmacy department. Might want to check there first, keep us from weaving through the halls.”

“You know where it is?”

“Not exactly. If it isn't obvious from the outside, we'll just go in any door safe enough.” Daryl grunted in response.

After a few minutes of searching, Teagan sighed heavily and ran a hand through her hair.

“Somethin' wrong?” Daryl shifted his crossbow into a more comfortable position.

“No pharmacy department.”

Daryl cracked his knuckles. “Still wanna go in?”

“Yeah. Keep your weapon ready and eyes open.”

“Always.”

The pair headed towards the closest door, which was locked.

“Ain't getting' in this way.”

“Not quite.” Teagan knelt down and pulled out a bobby pin from her bag.

“The hell? You a lockpick now?”

After some wiggling and manipulation, the door became unlocked. Teagan stood up and smiled. “Some talents are a necessity.”

“I have a feeling you been doin' that long before 'necessity'.”

Teagan's smile dropped. “It's always been needed.”

The implication made the hair on the back of Daryl's neck stand on end. He mumbled an apology. “Sorry.”

Teagan quickly changed the subject. “No worries. Let's get in and out quickly; we're losing daylight.”

They slowly and quietly entered the hospital. They raised their weapons expecting walkers, but there were none. The two exchanged confused glances and kept going. Teagan took the lead; quick and quiet on her feet. She followed the signs to the pharmacy. As they got closer, more blood appeared on the walls and floor. The violence trailed off into a distant hallway.

“You hear that?” Daryl bit his lip and glanced down the red corridor.

“Yeah... how many do you think are cooped up down there?”

“Dunno. Don't exactly want to hang around and find out.” Daryl ushered Teagan to the pharmacy when they heard a door slam from a different part of the hospital.

“Someone's here. Go!” Daryl whispered harshly. The two quickly entered the pharmacy and locked the door.

“Now how do we get out?” Teagan asked.

“Let me worry 'bout that. Start grabbing shit we need. Time's wastin'.”

Teagan nodded and opened her bag. She felt like she was at Hershel's farm all over again. Pain medicine, sleep aids, anti-nausea, disinfectant. “Shit!” Teagan grunted under her breath.

“What's the matter?”

“Nothing, just... I'm looking for this particular type of antibiotic and it isn't here. It isn't a big deal but-”

“They got other stuff?”

“Yeah but-”

“But nothin'. Grab it so we can go!”

Teagan went to grab for more things when another loud sound from outside echoed through the hospital.

“Whoever it is, they're gettin' closer.” A door opened in the distance, and the familiar growls of the dead interrupted Daryl. “Shit.”

The groans and gurgles got louder and louder as the walkers approached. Teagan saw the mild panic rise in Daryl's eyes and she took charge. “They don't know we're here.”

“What?”

“The living person does; the dead don't. We were in here before they got out. If we stay quiet, they might walk past us.” She whispered.

“That's great n' all, but how we getting' out? Sounds like dozens are out there. We don't stand a chance cornered in here.”

Teagan scoured the room for an idea, and her eyes landed on the perfect plan. “There.” She pointed up at a vent.

“Don't even say what I know yer thinkin'.”

“Daryl, I can fit. I remember how to get to this room, and I can clear a way for you to get out.”

“You ain't goin' alone.”

“And you can't fit. I'm small enough. There is no way you'd make an inch, even without your crossbow. And I'll be damned if that has to get left behind.”

“And if you run into the bastard outside? He set those damn walkers on us. They ain't safe.”

“Look, Daryl... please. There is no other way. If we open that door, those dozens of walkers will flood in here and we both die.” She grabbed both his hands and held them. “I can do this.” She looked at him with glossy, childlike eyes. “I can get us out. I can fix this.”

Daryl closed his eyes and sighed. He squeezed her hands in response. “If you scream, I'm openin' this door. No questions asked.”

Teagan smiled. “Want to give me a boost?”

Daryl nodded, and positioned himself to hoist her up. “Got yer knife?”

She grunted as she pulled herself into the vent. “Yup. And a light. Stay quiet. I'll be back.”

As she crawled deeper into the vent, Daryl began to worry. He got full body jitters as soon as he stopped hearing her crawl through the clanky vent. “You better be on the other side of that door in one damn piece...”

He found a place to sit and waited. Feel so damn useless just sittin' here... He twiddled his thumbs and stretched. He was feeling antsy, and it took all his self control not to jump around and slam his fists on the wall. After a few minutes, his general exhaustion kicked in and he dozed off. When he awoke, he was confused. Where am I? Wait.. traveled into town... hospital! Trapped in this damn- wait, where's Teagan? How long have I been out? Is she alright? He stood suddenly, and carefully placed his ear on the door. He heard the gurgles of walkers roaming around the corridor. As he went to sit back down, two loud CRACKs echoed into the room and through his ears. “Shit.” Gunshots. She doesn't have a gun... “TEAGAN!” He yelled, forgetting he was trapped. Walkers started to pound on the door, and the hinges creaked. “Shit.” He braced all his weight against the door, but there were too many walkers. The lock on the door broke from the weight. Dirty, rotting fingers started to peel around the door and reach for Daryl. He had nowhere to place his feet for leverage. Another gunshot went off. “Goddamnit!” Daryl's shoulder began to ache; his feet were slipping. Sweat dripped over his eyes. All his weight and strength were not enough to keep the walkers out. He reached for the knife in its holster to stab the closest walker in the head. He stabbed one, and it fell to the floor. Its fallen, mangled body prevented Daryl from closing the door, allowing more walkers to bully there way into the narrow space. He focused on killing enough walkers to let him get outside. Where is Teagan? As Daryl went to stab another walker in the head, a bullet flew through it's head and brain matter splattered over Daryl and the door. Daryl took a step back, the loud firing still rang in his ears. He came to his senses and realized he wasn't sure who shot that last walker. Teagan or...? He readied his knife; his crossbow was too far from him. He waited for the figure to approach the door. When nothing came, he lowered his knife and listened.

“Daryl?”

The sound of her voice shot sparks through his spine. He swung the door open and stood over the pile of walkers. Teagan was covered in blood, pistol in hand. They stood awkwardly; staring at each other. “Daryl, are you okay?”

He coughed. “Yeah, 'm fine. You?”

“I'm alright.” She paused for a moment and looked at her gun hand. “We should get going. If there are any more walkers, they'll definitely beeline here in no time.”

“I'll get the bag.” Daryl reentered the pharmacy and grabbed the heavy medicine bag and his crossbow. He stepped over the bodies and joined Teagan. As they headed towards the exit, Daryl noticed a corpse that hadn't started to rot. “This him?” The boy's empty eyes stared at the ceiling. A clean bullet hole was visible in his forehead.

“Yeah. Damn kid was a shit shot.” Teagan's voice was cold and distant. Daryl could tell by the way she walked that she was sore. He face was covered in dirt from the vent and blood from the walkers.

“So, we uh.. got everything we need?”

“I grabbed almost everything of use. We should be set for a little while. Next town, I want to check again.”

“For what? Ya just said we got it all.”

“Almost got it all. Still trying to find this certain antibiotic. It shouldn't be this hard to find.”

“Well, we'll worry 'bout that later. You did enough for today.”