Killer and a Sweet Thing (a Daryl Dixon story)

THEN winter makes the heart grow reckless

                  

A/N:

This is by far the shortest chapter I've written for this story and will probably be the shortest I will ever write. The last chapter was longer than all the rest, so I'm trying to level out (not really, I'm just making excuses). I don't know if you guys are a fan of Lexa's flashbacks, but I think they're pretty important to show how different she is now compared to the past. 

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Winter on the road was cruel and it was unrelenting. The snowfall fell greater this year than any other, that was the group's unanimous conclusion. Winter was now slowly drawing to a close, and the group were no closer to finding a near permanent home to reside in. A pregnant Lori was about to burst, and the constant moving, lack of food and running from the dead would surely take its toll on the pregnant woman and her unborn child. Lexa knew that if they did not find shelter or a place to bunk down and call home, the baby would be born on the street and its cries would risk the entire group's existence.

It was the 4th intact looking house they pulled up to in that same day, the last 3 completely overrun with walkers. The group was cold- not simply physically, but toward each other. The tension was high between each and every person- Lexa could cut it with one of her knives. The young girl who had missed the Christmas she was afraid to miss, was exhausted from the winter. Growing up in an area that was always sunny and hot, she adored the winter's cool caress, however now she was beginning to loathe it- the winter's air was not a sweet caress, but rather an angry bite and gnawing at her bones.

The clearing group, which consisted of Maggie, Lexa, Daryl, Rick, Carl, T-Dog and Glenn were stood outside a window of the house. Rick, sleeve pulled down around his fist, rubbed a spot in the window clear of dust and mud, and peered inside. Sighing, he pulled away,

"Got about 5 in there- least from what I can see. Easy clear," he informed the group. The remaining members of the group who had not taken positions on the clearing team were sat in the car, shielding themselves from the cold and watched the group by the window talk.

"I'll take the back entrance," Lexa stated without hesitation or expression, and before Rick or any other members could holler back at her, she was around the side of the house, knives out and ready as she approached the back door. Lexa could hear a person lightly jogging to catch up behind her, and without turning, she knew who it was. Daryl had taught Lexa well about tracking, and one of the skills he had taught her was differentiating the foot falls of differently weighted individuals. Lexa jiggled the door handle, and despite being fully aware it was going to be locked, she still sighed in frustration.

"Rick said to wait for his call," Maggie told Lexa, standing behind the young brunette with her axe raised.

"Pass," Lexa stated coolly, and stepping back slightly, she raised her leg and kicked the door in. The loud crack and slam of the door Lexa had smashed in made Rick curse and he readied his group and beat the front door down. Lexa took down most of the walkers around her and upon hearing a cluttering upstairs, she turned her attention away from the fighting group and jogged up the stairway.

Maggie Greene shared a look with Daryl Dixon and the two shook their heads at each other and jogged after the girl. Lexa could not hear their heavy footfalls as she opened each door in every room of the upstairs landing. Finally, she opened the bathroom door, and she was faced with a bathtub, full of slightly aged blood. Staring into the pool of almost brown, she did not notice the walker that had claimed the porcelain bathtub as their death bed, approaching her from beside the sink. The walker, clad in blood stained clothes, grabbed greedily at Lexa's shoulders, and Lexa's heart stopped beating as she attempted to rid the walker from her body. The sudden 'whoosh' of a bolt flew behind Lexa and landed in the walker's skull. In fury and frustration, Lexa shot around to face the door, where Daryl and Maggie stood.