Fear The Living

Part One

Ever so slowly my eyes began to adjust to the new surroundings that I was faced will. A wrinkled man wavered above me, his hand gripped onto various medicines; a crutch in the other. The amount of medication I must have been given made me feel anxious. As I thought back to the happenings in the store that I sat trembling in, I only remember hitting my head.

'You hadn't eaten in a while,' the older man said softly, showing the label of one of the bottles; revealing that they were vitamin tablets. Without hurrying, I nodded my aching head in reply to the man.
Leisurely, I allowed myself to move into a more comfortable position. In an instant, my eyes were greeted by a younger man that leant against the door frame.

I took in each feature on the mans body, taking a deep breath in. Familiar bright blue orbs that had began to shine brightly in the dim light of the room; lengthy, dark hair that swept across his unclean face. Suited with a sleeveless, fitted jacket that revealed his muscles; that would be able to make any girl weak at the knees. For some reason I was unable to avert my eyes from the towering figure that stood before her.

'I'm Herschel,' the elder man had began to speak, holding out one of his trembling hands; gesturing me to shake it. In return I had introduced my own name and put my own hand into his, gently shaking it and grinning at him. Herschel began to speak of how the redneck had found me, injured inside of an abandoned convenient store. Though I had already been able to recall each of the incidents that were place in the shop; I still listened contently.

'Thank you,' I muttered, praising Daryl on his rescue of expanding my unneeded life span. Though the man did not reply with words, he merely nodded and scuffed the tip of his boot against the solid flooring. From his reaction I could see that he was not a man of many words and did not care for each bit of praise he was given. As the redneck disappeared behind the curtains, I was then met with another bearded man. From the look of admiration in Herschel's eyes and the way the new male stood tall and overpowering I could see that this was the leader of this group.

'How many walkers have you killed?' The man whom I did not know the name of began to question me, without hesitating. Though I understood why he had began to ask me such questions. As I had drifted between each of the groups I had found, I too had been faced with some of the most dangerous people known to this new world. Slowly, I answered his question with a soft shrug of my petite shoulders, as I had not kept count of each biter I had defeated.

'How many people have you killed?' he continued to question, his voice rough each time he had spoken; his hand brushing against his beard. Behind the curtain I could see the outline of Daryl's muscular body, as he listened into the conversation.

'One, because he was a danger to my group,' I muttered, as the images flickered through my head. Though I did not stay long with each group I was loyal to them all. If anyone or anything put someone in danger, I was a person that would never hesitate to defend them. After announcing his name, Rick walked out of the room without another word being spoken. With that I rested my head against the comfortable pillow, drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Humming along to my all time favourite Bon Jovi song I began to make my way down to my usual hiding place. Wearing my boyish shorts I winced each time a nettle stung my bare legs; yet I did not cry. Smiling from ear to ear I had finally reached the glistening lake, that I spent the majority of my time sitting by. Swiftly, I threw the nearest rock and watched as the clear blue water rippled with each hit, laughing to myself with triumph. The faint sound of the rustling of leaves made me turn on my heels. Though what I was faced without made me instantly relax as there stood my best friend, with his usual smirk spread across his grubby face.

'Merle,' I squealed in excitement, pulling him into a well needed hug. Merle Dixon was the only one of the brothers that I had ever gotten the chance to meet. Though he had his moments where his anger had gotten the better of him, Merle was still a good friend to me.

'Ew,' Merle giggled, wrinkling his nose in disgust as a girl was hugging him. Though I had terribly missed him, I couldn't help but hug the miserable, older boy.

* * *
Struggling to breath, I woke up with a shock as I dreamt about what little happiness I had in my past. Though I had not dreamt of my oldest friend for such a long time. There was just something about the redneck that reminded me of Merle Dixon. Pushing my thoughts to the back of my throbbing head, I decided to question Daryl about this tomorrow.