S u r v i v o r s [ Daryl Dixon ]

Chapter 20

The next day we cleared one block and we moved there our belongings and occupied the cells that now became our rooms. I was lucky enough to have mine all to myself and I couldn't believe that I really had my own space. I lay down and stared at the ceiling. I used to do everything so that all those who posed a threat would come here, and now it has become our asylum, where we could feel safe.

Paradox.

The next day we decided to walk through the next corridor in search of food and medicine. I walked with Rick, Daryl, Glenn, Maggie and Hershel. We all went out into the corridor and tried to move as quietly as possible while marking the corridors so as not to get lost. Suddenly, a dozen or so Walkers came around the bend, so we started backing up. Everywhere we turned, there were zombies. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Glenn and Maggie being cut off and having to retreat. I wanted to do something, but there was no time. Together with the rest, we hid in the closet and waited for the zombies to disperse instead of being in one group. When that happened, we slowly came out of hiding and began to back away, or at least we hoped so, because we had no signposts. We started to weave through the corridors, I was in front, Daryl behind me, then Rick and Hershel. I turned around, and seeing Hershel gone, I felt panic rising.

"Where is Hershel?"

I heard his scream in response. We ran that way, and seeing one of the zombies biting off a piece of his leg made me feel sick. Rick jumped on him and killed Walker. And from the next corridor came Glenn and Maggie.

Hershel's scream lured the zombie. They started walking towards us, so Rick and Glenn helped Hershel to his feet while we continued weaving through the corridors. We got to the door which was locked with handcuffs. I quickly opened it with some metal pipe that was lying nearby and we went inside. Daryl closed the door and blocked it with a metal pipe. Maggie rested her father's head in her lap.

Rick took off his belt and, without thinking, put it on as a tourniquet around Hershel's leg.

"Hold him down!" he shouted in a shaky voice to Maggie and Glenn. "Alright. Only one way to keep him alive!"

Then he took out his axe, and before I could do anything, he began severing Hershel's leg. Blood gushed out, I stopped breathing. Nevertheless, I dropped to my knees and helped hold Hershel. Hershel screamed then passed out from the pain. Rick, though he looked like he was about to vomit, kept punching until he finally separated his leg from the rest.

"Oh... He's bleeding out" Rick said.

Then I looked up, and at the same time as Daryl, I saw four men in the next room through the hole in the wall. Daryl touched my thigh lightly, then looked at Rick.

"Duck" he whispered, and as Rick complied, Daryl and I stood up at the same time, aiming at the strangers. Me with the gun, Daryl with the crossbow.

"Who the hell are you?" Daryl asked.

"Who the hell are you?" said one who seemed oddly familiar to me.

"He's bleeding out, we gotta go back!" Rick said, but I didn't even glance at his side to see what he was doing.

"Come on out of here. Slow and steady" Daryl told the strangers, and they slowly obeyed.

One of them nodded to Hershel. "What happened to him?"

"He got bit."

"Bit?" he asked incredulously, then suddenly pulled a gun from his belt.

"Hey, hey" I finally said. He looked at me and his eyesight changed a bit. "Don't even try" I said slowly.

Glenn got up and, without thinking, walked past the prisoners and entered the room where they had been hiding before.

"You got medical supplies?"