Someone Has To Do It

We Gotta Talk

Haley's POV

It's been three weeks. Three weeks since the world has gone to shit. A few members of our rag-tag group went on a supply run this morning. Food is becoming scarce, and weight is quickly dropping from our malnourished bodies, many looking like the dead walking around us. Yes, I mean dead because whatever these things were, they couldn't be among the living.

      Glenn, who has become one of my closest friends in camp, convinced me that we needed to take a trip to the city to see what we were up against truly and our being close in age meant we were the perfect pair for the job because we got each other in ways the others didn't. While the others took roles as leader, hunter, teacher, and clothes washers, Glenn and I were runners, or at least that's the name we came up for ourselves. Our first 'Run' consisted of just that running. We stumbled across a large group of those beings blocking an alleyway. Glen grabbed my arm and yanked me into a nearby building, barricading the door with a fallen broom handle and chair for good measure.

"This won't last long; we gotta move."   Glen began to search what used to be a convenience store. "Haley! Come on; we can't stay here!" He looks at me in frustration. I was frozen. There had to have been 30 of those things right outside this door, and there were only two of us. We had packed light to be able to move from place to place quickly, which meant for weapons we were greatly lacking. I looked down at the small hunting knife that Merle gave me before we left. Merle has been more tolerable lately, don't get me wrong, he's still an ass, but he showed Charlie and me kindness in his own way.  I shuffle on my feet. Charlie, I had to get back to him no matter what.

"Alright, I'm coming." There was new determination in my voice. That was until we heard a groan coming from behind the counter in the back of the store. "Shit! Is that one of them?" I stumble over to Glenn pulling my knife and holding it in front of my body, leaning slightly against him for reassurance. We always took them on together. We had a theory that as long as we could feel one another, we'd never be separated.  He shot me a reassuring look and pointed forward. We'd move in slow and silent.

"Help m-me." A voice sounds from beyond the counter barely above a whisper. They couldn't talk. My eyes widened. I yanked Glenn forward while he protested frantically.

"We have to help." I snap at him, cutting off the string of cursing coming from his mouth. He looks at me and nods with a sigh. "Hello! We're here! We're gonna come your way right now; stay where you are." We make our way around the counter, and it takes everything in me not to gasp loudly. Against the counter leant a man covered in blood. His neck hung in ribbons, blood pouring from the wound. He turned to us at the sound of our approach, giving us a glimpse at another wound on his shoulder, not as devastating but just as horrifying.

"P-please," He begged again and again. The look in his eyes was not of someone who wanted to survive; no, they were one of defeat. He knew he wouldn't survive this, but he wanted to go out in his own way. I nodded my head once in an attempt to calm him. The knife I had at my side shook softly. I brought it up and slashed the man's throat in a swift motion. Glenn gasped from behind me, startling back. The Man's breaths came out in gurgles before stopping altogether. 

"Y-you killed him!" Glenn gasps between sobs. Sometimes working in the healthcare field, you forget that most people are not wired the same. I saw a man in pain, this man who I knew would not have made it more than a few more hours at most, and I helped him in the best way I could have. I grab Glenn by the shoulder and turn him away from the body, not helping but noticing how he flinched at my touch.

"He was dead already." I knew not everyone would have seen it that way, but in a disaster situation, you save those who can be saved and comfort those who can't, and this was about as disastrous as it got. Glenn shakes his head in protest, looking close to passing out." Come on! we gotta go before they find their way in here." I point in the direction of a door a little ways behind the counter.

     Glenn freezes, pointing behind my shoulder. The man is there, his head dangling slightly from the force of my slash, hanging on by the exposed tendons. "W-what the hell!" I stumble back, reaching for my knife. Glenn shoots forward, stabbing the man in the temple. The body slumps to the floor with a sickening thud. "It's gotta be the head noted." I choked out, still in shock. Glenn whips his head in my direction, eyes widening.

"Seriously!" I shoot him an awkward smile and shrug. He turns away from me, motioning ahead of him. "Come on before we find anyone else for you to experiment on." I shove his shoulder playfully. Darting in front of him and through the door to the back alley.

We hadn't spoken of the man again. I think we both wanted to pretend that it never happened, but we both understood if we were going to kill them, we had to kill the brain. We kept our runs brief, grabbing only the necessities and nothing else, and maybe that's why the others wanted to go out themselves. I hear the women sometimes whining about their lost luxuries, and while I agree, I've been out there in the thick of it, and I know nothing is worth risking our lives for. I protested this run, begging them to listen, but they cast me aside, taking Glenn as their guide and casting me aside. I hoped I'd be wrong, but I had a terrible feeling about this one.

Daryl's POV
Merle left early this morning with the others stating that his stash was uncomfortably low and he needed to fix that. You would think the whole world going to shit would be the best rehab, but in his case, it was the exact opposite. I fear for Lynn. They had seemed to be getting close for some unknown reason. I'm afraid he'll fuck up like he always does, and I'll be forced to choose a side. I'd hoped I'd choose Lynn, but that was wishful thinking; Merle was blood, and there was nothing more important than blood.

      Haley had seemed to have found her place in the group, and she was growing mighty close to the Chinaman, much to my displeasure. Charlie stayed close to Haley, only leaving her side to play with the other children of the camp, leaving me an outsider. I had no place here. Which is why I decided with Merle gone, I'd go off on my own to see what I could hunt in the surrounding area, maybe bring home enough to watch Haley's eyes light up in admiration. Again wishful thinking.
      The land around us was thick with underbrush making staying silent enough almost impossible. I had managed to snag a few squirrels from the tree tops, but nothing sufficient to feed the group. That was until I spotted it. Its body was golden brown with light speckled throughout. This deer was young, but we no longer had the luxury of being picky. I raise the crossbow lining up the shot. "Shit!"

The arrow hit the back of the buck, wounding it but allowing it to get away. The hunt was on. I followed the trail of blood droppings and snapped limbs until I was met with screams. It sounded like Charlie. I took off in his direction, not caring about the buck, the surrounding tree limbs whipping around my body, leaving raised welts.

"Charlie!"

The screaming stops, and I fear the worst finally breaking through the brush into the clearing. Everyone from the camp seems to be holding up some sort of weapon. I see the head before I see the body of the corpse. The deer is off to the side, gnarled up by the thing unable to be eaten. I feel dread fill my body. I failed them; I caught the eye of Haley, gripping on to Charlie behind the group. "He alright?" I don't know what I was doing. Of course, he's alright, but I had to hear it myself.

"We're alright." She says with a small smile. She knew what I needed to hear. My shoulder sag, and I step towards the deer. I kick the corpse in frustration. Mumbling under my breath about the son of a bitch who ruined my hunt. A groan sounded behind me. The head began snapping its jaws. I raise my crossbow and take aim, but before I can pull the trigger, a knife sinks into its temple.

"It's gotta be the head." Haley pulls her knife from the skull and returns to Charlie's side. I nod in her direction, impressed. Clearing my throat to break the tension in the air.

"I got a few squirrels they'll have to do." I show the game strapped on my back. "Merle! Come on!" I don't see him with the others, but I figure he and Lynn aren't too far behind.

A man I have never seen before steps forward.

"We gotta talk. It's about Lynn and Merle."