PHOSPHENES¹ [the walking dead]

A - III

VATOS

Seeing the hand on the floor, Beatrix couldn't help but sit down on the ground muttering the words "I'm gonna be sick."

In front of her, Daryl pulled out his crossbow and pointed it at T-Dog's head. Immediately afterwards, Rick pointed his gun at Daryl. "I won't hesitate. I don't care if every walker in the city hears."

Daryl lowered his crossbow with tears in his eyes, he looked at the T-Dog and asked him for something to store the hand in.

"Oh, D. Don't touch it." He didn't listen to Beatrix and just picked it up.

"That's fucking disgusting." She gagged looking away. Her left hand daintily in front of her mouth.

He just continued as if nothing happened. "I guess the saw blade was too dull for the handcuffs. Ain't that a bitch."

Daryl put the hand in Glenn's backpack. "He must've used a tourniquet. Be much more blood if he didn't."

Beatrix noticed the trail of blood and alerted the others, with a grossed-out look on her face.

The group followed behind the young girl but not before remembering to pick up Dale's toolbag that was also left behind.

The trail of blood led them inside a building, and they continued following it.

In a hallway, they found two dead walkers.

"Had enough in him to take these two sumbitches. one-handed. Toughest asshole I ever met, my brother. Feed him a hammer, he'd crap out nails."

"Any man can pass out from blood loss, no matter how tough he is." Rick moved on and motioned for the rest to follow him.

After a couple of yells and pushes, they ended up in a kitchen.

"Hey! Ain't that Merle's belt?" Beatrix was the first to spot the thing next to a stove that was still on.

On it was a burned substance that confused the onlookers.

"What's that burned stuff?" Glenn asked.

"Skin," Rick explained.

"Yeah," Beatrix continued for the leader, "He must've cauterised the stump. I don't think a bandaid would have helped. 'So gross.'" She couldn't help but add that last part, very quietly.

"Told you, he was tough. nobody can kill merle but merle." Daryl complimented his older brother once again.

"Don't take that on faith. He's lost a lot of blood."

"Didn't stop him from busting out of this death trap, " Beatrix had moved forward, as far away from the burned skin as possible. A couple of feet to the left of the burner there was a broken window pane, next to it was a rag with blood on it.

"He left the building? Why the hell would he do that?" Glenn out loud.

Daryl gently pushed his sister aside so that he could also see what was going on.

"Why wouldn't he?" He explained while looking out onto the street. "He is out there alone as far as he knows, doing what he's gotta do. Surviving."