Safe haven | Rick Grimes

087. WALKER SKIN WEARING FREAKS

Chapter eighty seven

"Walker skin wearing freaks."

Thunder crashed overhead, momentarily illuminating the sea of tombstones through the blinding fog.

"You die now..." a cold, guttural voice whispered from the darkness.

Daryl's dog was still barking frantically somewhere in the distance. The shadows began to close in, tightening their circle around the survivors.

Daryl kept his grip tight on Scarlett, pulling her flush against his side. "I ain't gonna let nothing happen to you," he vowed, his eyes fiercely tracking the movement in the mist.

Scarlett snapped her head toward the two new arrivals. "Go! Now!" she commanded. Yumiko didn't hesitate; she snatched the discarded skin mask from the mud before she and Magna bolted into the fog toward the exit.

Beside them, Aaron drew his blade and did the heavy, heartbreaking duty of stabbing Jesus in the head to prevent him from turning.

The moment he pulled his knife free, two walkers emerged from the gloom, stepping around a crypt. Daryl raised his crossbow and fired a precise shot, dropping the first one. The second creature lunged forward with a hidden blade, but Scarlett swung her handaxe with lethal force, splitting its skull.

"Scarlett!" Daryl barked, trying to steer her toward the gate.

"You have to help Aaron carry Jesus!" Scarlett ordered, her breathing heavy as she stepped into a defensive stance. "I will cover you!"

To prove her point, she whirled to her left, burying her axe into the chest of an oncoming attacker, before spinning to hack down another directly in front of her.

Daryl and Aaron hauled Jesus's limp body off the muddy ground, throwing his arms over their shoulders. Scarlett swung her axe down one more time, fracturing the skull of a final walker, and turned to follow them.

But the sudden, distinct sound of heavy, rapid footsteps behind her made her freeze.

She whipped around, her eyes widening in pure shock. A walker wasn't stumbling or shuffling toward her—it was in a full sprint, a rusted blade raised in its hand.

Before the attacker could reach her, an arrow hissed through the storm, embedding itself deeply into the creature's chest and dropping it instantly.

Daryl ran back into the fray, grabbing Scarlett by the sleeve of Rick's coat. "Come on! Let's go!" he roared, dragging her out of the courtyard.

They scrambled through the iron entryway. Daryl threw his weight against the gate, slamming it shut, while Scarlett frantically slid the heavy iron lock into place. They both stumbled backward into the mud, panting heavily as the dead—and the living masquerading as the dead—pressed up against the bars, their hollow eyes staring through the iron.

Turning away from the gate, Scarlett and Daryl broke into a sprint, chasing the fading shadows of the others through the thundering night.

The storm rumbled violently over Alexandria. Heavy sheets of rain lashed against the glass, and the deep cracks of thunder kept little Rick wide awake. He tossed and turned in the dark until a distinct, heavy click echoed from downstairs.

The front door had just opened.

Rick scrambled out of bed and rushed to his bedroom door, pulling it open a crack. Down the hall, a brilliant flash of lightning illuminated the wall by the stairs, casting a massive, terrifying shadow of a man holding a shovel.