RIDE OR DIE | DARYL DIXON

keep on

THEY RAN the second they heard Noah's cry for help.

Their feet pounded against the pavement along the different streets of Shirewilt, all of them drawing themselves closer to the source of his yelling. He wasn't where they had left him and Tyreese, he was at one of the home's deeper inside the community. They cut through a couple of the yards to get to him quicker, immediately hearing a few walkers in his vicinity. He was crouched down on the front porch of the home, holding a broken fence panel in front of him as a shield against the walkers.

"Noah, hold on!" Glenn was the first to reach him, swinging a bat at a walker and taking it out with his knife.

Michonne had taken a swing at a walker with her sword, but a large metal rod had blocked her shot. She faltered back a bit when the walker got a hold of her. Willow caught up and drew her knife, but couldn't get a clear shot from her position. Instead, she grabbed the walker by its neck and slung it over her shoulder, throwing it to the ground behind her. The thrashing of the walker made it even harder for her to nail it in the head with the rod protruding from its neck. She kept her foot on its stomach while she grabbed the rod, pulling it from the muscle and skin of the walker and jamming it straight down into its head. 

"It's Tyreese!" Noah's voice was panicked. 

"Where?" Rick stood up after killing the final walker.

"My house. He's been bit." Noah was already running ahead of them, and they followed quickly behind.

They weaved through more houses before finally getting to his.

"You still got her?" Willow asked Daryl, gesturing to Sienna in his hands.

He nodded quickly as the rest of them rushed into the house, taking turns down long hallways before they finally got to Tyreese. He was huddled under a table in a child's bedroom, his arm bleeding profusely by his side. 

"Help me get him up!" Rick rushed forward, Glenn too.

They struggled to get Tyreese up for a moment, his knees buckled and all of his weight was on their shoulders now. Michonne and Willow took point as they guided them back out of the house  to the rest of the group. They were careful where they guided them, being sure to not take them down a longer path than needed. The front gate wasn't far ahead, but any sliver of hope they had was quickly stripped from them when their eyes rested on the walkers that surrounded the gate. 

"Can you hold him up?" Rick turned to Noah. He nodded, taking Tyreese into his grasp.

From the number of walkers in front of them, they pulled out their guns. They took out as many as they could with their knives and quieter weapons, but the more they poured through the gates, the more bullets they had to use. Rick fired the last shot at the remaining walker and quickly got back to Tyreese with Glenn. They hoisted him up again with loud grunts as they ran through the cleared gate. They carried themselves down the street a ways and into the woods, not even bothering with the few walkers that noticed them. The hard part was getting him through the barbed wire fence. They all helped Rick and Glenn get him through, holding the wires up and out of the way. The prongs stung against their palms and fingers, but their adrenaline didn't let them feel it. 

"Carol!" Rick yelled as he carried Tyreese through the remainder of the woods

Carol, Carl, and Sasha had stayed back at the vehicles to keep an eye on them. 

She rounded the van and froze for a moment at the state of Tyreese. Sasha was about to come into view too, but Carol turned her away. 

"We need to cauterize the arm and wrap it." Glenn and Rick set him down gently against a tree.