Daryl's Angel (10th Anniversary Edition)

Chapter 12: Cruelty

We stop once we're far away from the burning wreckage, trying to get our bearings and recollect ourselves. From what I can tell, all we have are a few things we left in the vehicles, my backpack, and the police duffel bag full of guns.

Daryl and I wait by the truck. I sit in the passenger side and look back at where we came from, at the pillar of black smoke still trailing into the sky. Daryl paces by the truck, crossbow at the ready, while Rick and Shane talk by the RV.

I startle as Daryl suddenly appears. He leans in the open window and lays on the horn. "RICK! SHANE! RUN!" he shouts.

I look in the sideview mirror just in time to see a horde of walkers rounding the corner of the nearest building. Daryl gets in the truck and honks the horn again before tearing off down the road. I look out the back window as the RV swerves in a giant half-circle, following after us as the walkers try to chase us down. We leave them in the dust.

"We really can't get a break, huh?" I ask.

Daryl stares straight ahead, jaw clenched. "Bet that explosion really tipped 'em off." He squints a bit, glancing at the rearview. "Where to now?"

"Maybe Rick and Shane have a plan?" I suggest. "Let them take the lead."

He nods, slowing the truck, and the RV pulls ahead. Rick motions his arm out the window, indicating for us to keep following. Daryl huffs a bit.

"Like I'd do anything else," he says.

We follow the RV. It doesn't take long before Daryl's brows furrow. All I can see is a giant brick building.

"Know this place," he mutters.

I don't. "What?"

The RV parks and he pulls in behind it. "You know those guys I told you about? Protecting the old folks?" he says. "This is their hideout."

He grabs his crossbow and heads out without much else. I follow and we join the rest of the group.

"I bet they're barely hanging on," Andrea says. "What makes you think they'll take in strangers?"

"With the guns we gave 'em, they'll probably throw us a party," Daryl says as he moves up to the front of the pack, near Rick and Shane. He glances at Rick. "Good call. For once."

We emerge into a courtyard surrounded by brick walls, with some sliding doors that lead me to believe it was a loading dock of some kind. There's graffiti on a few of the doors.

"Where are the lookouts?" Glenn asks.

Rick doesn't reply. Daryl sweeps any area we pass, crossbow up and ready. The men pull ahead, moving into another area, and I hear Shane curse.

"Son of a bitch!"

I finally see what they're talking about and the scene isn't pretty. I have to stop myself from gasping out loud even as Lori and Carol shield their children from the view. The courtyard is littered with bodies, some picked mostly clean, others still intact, and there are plenty of walkers snacking on them.

The walkers start to notice us. They lift their heads, snarling, groaning. One walker roars, half-chewed flesh dribbling from its lips. Daryl already has his gun out, crossbow held to his side.

Rick says something, but I don't register it before gunfire fills my ears. The women huddle, Lori and Carol hugging their children close, and the men take down walker after walker.

After multiple shots, silence falls, all the walkers dead, and I slowly raise my head.

"Come on!" Rick shouts. "On me!"