Daisy | The Walking Dead

11. Wildfire Ⅰ

~Day sixty-one~

The atmosphere was buoyant, the air alive with a carefree spirit that swirled among the survivors. They sat huddled around the crackling warmth of the fire pit, relishing in the comforting embrace of camaraderie.

And then, in one searing instant, a sound erupted that shattered the fragile peace.

An agonizing, gut-wrenching scream that seemed to rip through the very fabric of reality, freezing time itself at the precise moment it pierced the night air.

As if the universe had come to a standstill, forever locked into the moment of raw terror that was 11:03 PM.

Daisy's world shifted on its axis, her third serving of fried fish tumbling from her hands and forgotten as her wide-eyed gaze darted towards the source of the scream.

In that split second, everything seemed to blur together - the flickering firelight, the muted conversations of her companions, the distant hum of crickets.

"Don't look back, Lady Linette!" Merlin's voice drifted faintly in her mind, his arms flailing in a desperate attempt to shield her from the sight. But it was no use. This was reality, and she had to face it.

He wasn't real, and this was.

Amy's throat was torn open, the putrid flesh of a decaying walker sagging and sloughing off as it gnawed at her flesh. Daisy stood rooted in horror, watching numbly as the walker fed on her friend's flesh with a sickening crunch.

Her mind blanked, the world fading away to a blur of motion and sound that she could no longer process.

The only thing that she was aware of was the racing of her own heart, the wild pulse of blood coursing through her veins, trying to escape the horror unfolding before her.

And yet, despite the chaos, she remained frozen in place, her senses dulled and unable to comprehend anything.

Time seemed to warp, each moment stretching out into an eternity, and then collapsing in on itself in the blink of an eye. Suddenly, the entire camp was thrust into a frenzy of chaos.

The tranquil night shattered into a nightmare of screams and shouts. The air was thick with the sound of desperate cries and the relentless moans of the walkers, their eerie symphony assaulting the senses of all who were present.

Andrea was hunched over Amy's body, her heart-wrenching sobs mixing with the cacophony of terror. Jim was fighting for his life, a walker clawing at him with ferocious intent.

Dead.

Dead.

Dead.

The word reverberated through Daisy's mind, each utterance like the tolling of a never-ending funeral bell. The sudden, inexplicable loss of Amy had brought the entire world to a halt. In a mere instant, the woman's life was snuffed out.

That was when Shane grabbed his rifle, his voice wild with panic. The fear etched on his face chilled her to the bone. Seeing a man she thought was unbreakable fall to such a level of terror was a fear in and of itself.

Daisy wanted to flee, to escape the horror that had descended upon the camp, but her feet were rooted to the ground, her body paralyzed by the terror that engulfed her.

Bang.

The sound of the gunshot echoed through Daisy's body like a violent shockwave, leaving her feeling as though she were drowning.

The sound of each subsequent shot was like a piercing dagger, tearing at her nerves and shredding her sanity. She clutched at her chest, her heart beating so fast that it felt as though it might burst from her chest.