We met up with the others in one of the darkened rooms downstairs. Everyone had found at least something on the list, with Bob having come up with additional medications – brutal but effective ones, to make up the time we had lost. As we finished boxing up our haul, I heard the sound of panicked footfalls in the hallways outside and made my way to the door.
Peaking out, I spotted Phee making her way around the corner from the stairwell, sweat making her tan skin glisten in the dim light. I could see the whites of her wide eyes as she ran down the hall toward me and I stepped free of the room, lifting my hands to coax her to calm.
“What the hell happened?” I whispered as she slowed to a panicked walk.
“There were so many of them. I – We were… We were trying to cross the hall but –“ Phee looked down and shook her head, coming to a stop before me and putting her hands on her hips. Her coiled shoulders rose and fell in quick succession as she struggled to catch her breath. “Claire. She… She fucking sneezed.”
I blinked, brows rising. “She… she sneezed?”
Phee nodded, lifting her gaze to meet mine. There was no humour there, only a deep sense of regret and guilt that twisted her thick lips into a tight line. “They came for us. We got separated. I – I ran for the stairs.”
A small, admittedly cruel smile spread across my mouth. “Are – Are you telling me that… a sneeze was Claire’s undoing?”
Phee’s brows furrowed. “Jacques.”
“I’m just – A sneeze? I mean, I’ve joked about her delicate sensibilities, but this is just –“
“Synnove.” Phee was looking at me with a disappointed frown and I forced myself to wipe the grin from my face.
I waved a hand. “You’re right, you’re right. I’m being disrespectful.”
Within the silence that followed my statement, I heard the distant sound of echoing growls and shuffling footfalls. My face contorted into a frown at a loud series of crunches reverberated through the hallway from the direction of the stairwell. I looked up to Phee. “Did you happen to bring some friends with you?”
Her brows rose, mouth opening in shock as she realised. “Shit.”
The two of us burst back into the room where everyone else was finishing packing and announced that we were about to have company and that it may be worthwhile leaving before they arrived. Everyone thankfully agreed and we began making our way back toward the entrance.
Only, the door to the stairwell was between us and the double doors we had entered through. The moment we rounded the corner, the damn thing gave way and a horde of walkers came spilling out into the hall.
“About face!” I called, grabbing Mason’s thin shoulders and spinning him around, pushing him back the way we’d come.
The others did the same and, as I was last in the pack, I gave myself a brief moment to wave a hand at the pile of upended desks nearby that had obviously been used as a makeshift barrier by some unfortunate soul once upon a time. The tingle of magic spread through my chest and down the length of my arm as I coaxed the air currents in the room to bend toward the underside of the pile, sending the desks flying across the hallway in a rather unsubtle attempt at blocking the way.
YOU ARE READING
The Monsters Among Us ➳ Daryl Dixon
Fanfiction𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘺𝘭 𝘋𝘪𝘹𝘰𝘯/𝘖𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘍𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳 Not human. She was not human. They all knew it. Could almost feel it, but couldn't make sense of it. That was why they were afraid. Not because of what she used to be Before. But...
