When the dead roam - (Daryl Dixon)

Chapter 56 - Trust me now?

The house was eerily quiet. The only sound around them was produced by their feet bouncing off the floorboards. An unpleasant odor hung in the air, the smell of death invading their senses as they searched for survivors of the crash. Louise nodded to Glen, signaling for him to search with the others whilst she trailed behind Daryl, mimicking his every movement.

Being a hunter had it's perks; silent movements always seemed to come in handy in the middle of an apocalypses.

"This way" she whispered, using her gun to point to the right. He nodded at her and followed her direction, turning into a long narrow hallway.

Snarls ruptured the silence as a 'walker' emerged from a bedroom on the left. It reached for Louise, tugging at her clothes as she fumbled for the knife in her back pocket. Before it had the chance to sink its teeth into her flesh, Daryl pushed her sideways, forcing his own blade into it's skull and kicking the body to the ground. Louise turned quickly as a second body left the room. She tugged at the handle of her knife and sliced through the 'walker's' forehead, blood splattering on her cheek as the blade cut through decaying skin.

Daryl placed a hand on her back and she wiped the black blood from her face. "Yer alrigh'?"

"Yeah" she sighed, stepping over the body. "Let's keep going"

With a nod, they continued down the hallway, checking each room for any more dead. They turned into a small room at the far wall, moving swiftly as they resumed their search. An unknown male crouched in the far corner, hidden behind a wooden chair and blocked in by a wardrobe. They could hear his panicked breathing from meters away.

Louise paced towards him and pulled the chair away from his trembling form. He held his hands up and stood slowly.

"Hey!" she said quickly. "You're okay, you're alright"

"Come on" Daryl urged, placing a hand on Lou's shoulder.

"We're friends of Jesus. Let's go"

"I can't go with you" the man stated. "I'm looking for my friend. He's close and he's hurt from the crash"

She sighed and nodded. "Okay, we'll find him. What's your name?"

"Harlan" he said, dropping his hands to his sides.

"Okay, Harlan. Let's go"

She tapped his arm before they all took off into the hallway and back through the house. Abraham stood a few steps away from the front door, holding another unfamiliar man up against the wall. His hand was wrapped around his throat and he looked the stranger up and down before releasing him.

"Come on, man, lets go!" Daryl snapped, running past the ginger male with Louise and Harlan in tow.

"Come on, you got him?" Louise shouted back, pulling Abraham's shirt quickly.

"Yeah. Comin'" he said, pulling the man away from the wall and pushing him behind the small running group.

The door bounced off the brick wall as Daryl flung it open. Jesus had remained with Maggie and Shaun, a gun pressed to his back and a smirk on his face.

"You guys okay?" he asked his friends, visibly relaxing as they all emerged from the building.

"Yeah Jesus, we're okay" Harlan sighed. "Why is he in cuffs?"

"Incase he was trickin' us. Rick?" Lou held her hands out and caught the keys as Rick tossed them towards her. "Cheers"

Jesus rubbed his wrists. "Trust me now?"

Louise raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "Not even close. Get back inside"

She climbed into the RV behind Daryl and dropped besides him on one of the benches. They sat in comfortable silence for a while before she turned towards him. She spoke softly.

"You pushed me out the way back there, when the 'walker' came. Why? I can handle myself"

"I know you can" he stated, locking eyes with her.

She dropped her hand to the cushions below, her fingers brushing his briefly as she moved. His skin was soft against her own and she discreetly wrapped her fingers over his and squeezed. Neither of them moved away from each other. They sat, fingers connected until the vehicle stopped.

"Damn it" Rick grumbled from behind the wheel. "A storm must have passed through. We're stuck"

"No worries" Jesus said, standing up and leaning over Rick's seat. "We're here. That's us. That's the hilltop"

Louise furrowed her eyebrows at the huge barriers a few yards away from them. Tall wooden beams formed a perimeter around a small town, similar to Alexandria. Two bodies stood on guard, large poles in their hands - ready to be used as weapons if the situation needed it.

"Holy crap" Louise breathed, shutting the RV door behind her as the group exited the vehicle.

"STOP RIGHT THERE" the two men shouted from their look-outs.

Their group jumped, started at the sudden noise. As if on instinct, everyone aimed their guns at the two unfamiliar men and flipped off the safety.

"You gonna make us?" Daryl asked, his tone harsh as he took the safety off his gun.

"Paul, what the hell is this?" Louise spat, looking over at him quickly.

Jesus held a hand out behind him, attempting to defuse the situation. "Open the gates, Cal. Freddie's hurt" He turned towards the group. "Sorry about these guys. They get antsy standing up there all day doing nothing"

"They give up the weapons. Then we'll open the gates"

"Why don't you come down here and get 'em?" Daryl yelled again.

"Gentlemen, look, we vouch for these people, alright?" Harlan said, moving forwards. "They saved us out there"

"Lower the spears" Jesus insisted.

Rick shook his head. "Look, I'm not taking any chances. You tell your guy Gregory to come out here"

"No"

"Don't you see what just happened?" Jesus sighed. "I'm letting you keep your guns. Look, we ran out of amo months ago. I like you people. I trust you". He locked eyes with Louise "Trust us"

With a heavy sigh, Rick nodded and everyone lowered their weapons.

"Open the gates, Cal"