𝑩𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝑺𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒔 | ᵀᵂᴰ

19: Let The Angels Sing

Daryl, Rick, T-Dog, Carl, and I raided a house we found in the woods. Carl stuck by my side just in case.

He entered a room, and the groans of a walker filled it slowly. I went to grab an arrow from my quiver, but Carl stopped me and raised his gun. The silent shot didn't make me uneasy, but his gun did. It looked like the one my dad used.

The walker fell to the ground, and we walked back to Daryl, Rick, and T-Dog. We let the rest of the group in, and Carl trailed off to the kitchen.

We all sat in a room, catching our breath and taking a minute to relax. I fiddled with my necklace when Carl came back with random cans. Daryl was plucking the feathers off an owl he found. Rick grabbed the can Carl had opened, then threw it in the corner.

"Psst." T-Dog said. A group of walkers was headed towards the house. We packed up our things and headed out.

➳

We pulled over on the side of the road, and T-Dog pulled out a map. "We got no place left to go." He said.

"When this herd meets up with this one, we'll be cut off." Maggie said. "We'll never make it south."

"What would you say? That was about a hundred fifty head?" Daryl asked.

"That was last week. It could be twice that by now." Glenn answered.

"This river could have delayed them." Hershel said. "If we move fast, we might have a shot to tear right through there." "Yeah, but if this group joins with that one, they could spill out this way." T-Dog responded. "So we're blocked." Maggie said.

"Only thing to do is double back at twenty-seven and swing towards Greenville." Rick said. "Yeah, we picked through that already. It's like we spent the winter going in circles." T-Dog told Rick. "Yeah, I know. I know. At Newman, we'll push west. Haven't been through there yet. We can't keep going house to house." Rick said. "Need to find someplace to hole up for a few weeks."

"Alright, it cool if we get to the creek before we head out? Won't be long. We got to fill up on water. We can boil it later." T-Dog asked. "Knock yourself out." Rick replied. I stared at Lori in the car for a moment. A baby doesn't deserve to be brought into this world.

"Hey, while the other wash their panties, let's go hunt." Daryl said. "That owl didn't exactly hit the spot." Rick, Daryl, and I headed into the woods.

We came across some train tracks and followed them down. "That's a shame." Daryl said as we came across an overtaken prison.

➳

Rick cut through the fence, making an opening. "Watch the backside." T-Dog said.

"Got it." Lori replied. Rick opened the gate, and we all crawled through. "Hurry. Hurry!" Rick told T-Dog. They both crawled through, and Daryl and Glenn wired the opening shut.

Walkers came running towards the fence as we ran to an entrance. "It's perfect." Rick said. "If we can shut that gate, prevent more from filling the yard, we can pick off these walkers. We'll take the field by tonight." "So how do we shut the gate?" Hershel asked. "I'll do it. You guys cover me." Glenn volunteered. "No. It's a suicide run." Maggie told him. "I'm the fastest." "No, you, Maggie, and Beth draw as many as you can over there. Pop 'em through the fence. Daryl, Isabela, go back to the other tower." Rick said.

We nodded and ran to the guard tower. Rick ran for the gate. Carol accidently shot at the ground in front of Rick. "Sorry." She called out.

I bit my lip, trying not to jump at every shot. I felt the familiar metallic taste in my mouth. I stopped biting and let it bubble up. I felt it drip down my lip and quickly wiped it with my sleeve.