Don't Fade Away

Chapter 4

The rest of the evening went by pretty fast, considering the fact that it was sunset when I first came here, and now it is pitch black outside.

It was peaceful here, that's for sure. And quiet, definitely quiet. I'm so used to hearing the growling and hissing of walkers around me, that I can't help but keep my guard up.

Luke had been gone for a few minutes, scanning the area. We had decided that we would be taking guard shifts, and we had agreed to switch every few hours.

When Luke wasn't back in thirty minutes, I began to grow restless. Sure, he wasn't my favorite person, but I couldn't let him die. I just couldn't.

I walk into the woods, cautiously touching the knife strapped around my thigh every few seconds. I hope Luke is okay, I can't deal with another death right now. Or ever.

I hear a twig snap behind me. Automatically, I grab my knife an hold it out in front of me. I took a few steps in that direction and then stopped. This time, I heard leaves crunching.

I knew it had to be another person. The steps that it was taking was rhythmical, not clumsy. A walker's steps are slow and unpredictable. These are fast and steady.

I press my back against a tree just in time to see Luke barreling out right in front of me. He circles around a few times before looking at me.

His face was muddy and red, and he was gasping for breath. His eyes were wide open and wild, not calm and collected like they usually were. They were showing emotion.

I slap Luke upside the head, not caring about pissing him off. "What the hell, dude! I thought you died! Why were you out there so long?"

He scrunches his eyebrows at me,"Really? I had to lead a group of walkers away from camp, thank you very much. God, you're a bitch."

Before I could reply, a walker suddenly crashes into me from the side, knocking me on the ground. The thing tries to bite my collarbone, but I grab its stringy white hair and pull.

It didn't do much good, because its scalp came off along with its hair. That's when I started freaking out. My knife had slid across the ground, so I was totally defenseless.

I was pushing the little bugger away from me with all of my strength, but of course, my arms gave out. Before it could bite me, Luke stabs a knife through its head, splattering me with blood.

He offers me his dirty, bloody hand, which I graciously take, and lifts me off the ground. Damn, that walker got way too close for comfort.

Once again, I slap Luke upside the head. I started to yell at him, "Yeah, g-"

I leaned away from him to throw up. I was covered from head to toe in walker blood, and the smell was just vile. My throat and nose burned terribly.

I could vaguely hear Luke groaning in that background, "God, I hate throw up. Come on, give me a break. I can handle walkers, I can handle broken bones, but I can't handle throw up."

I was once again standing upright, well, leaning on a tree. I scowled at Luke, "Yeah, great job with those hordes, Luke." My voice was practically dropping sarcasm.

He throws his arms up in the air,"You complain too much. If I hadn't been here, you would've died!"

I shrug him off, "I had it. Sort of. Okay, no I didn't. Thank you, alright? But then again, what's the worst that could happen? I mean, things clearly are never getting back to normal and we're all going to die anyway."

He chuckled humorlessly, "Of course you would be the first to give up."