Faded Scars (Daryl Dixon)

Chapter 37

It was peaceful until the screaming. It was peaceful until the walkers. It was peaceful until the gunshot.

Cell block D is where everyone rushed weapons drawn and getting people out as walkers bit into people's arms and legs. Carol and Sasha were killing walkers and moving people out quickly, focusing on making sure people survived. I shoved my knife into a walker's skull and motioned for people behind me to leave. Daryl's arrows pierced the skull of a walker and he stabbed his knife into another.

A walker lunged for me and I shoved it against a wall, my knife sinking into its brain. There wasn't a breach, these were people from Woodbury that had turned and we're now attacking us. I helped more people out, stabbing a walker that got to close in the head. "Go, now!" I shouted as Rick, Glenn, and Daryl shouted the same to some of the others. Glenn had now joined Leona in helping others out and I sunk my knife into the face of a walker, it's body dropping to the floor. I turned and ushered some more people out when I heard a scream of pain.

My head snapped towards Leona as she stabbed the walker and clutched her shoulder where a chunk was missing. Her eyes met mine and then glanced to my pistol. I stabbed another walker and heard her walk over. I couldn't look at her, but I knew what she wanted me to do. My fingers ran over my pistol and pulled it out, and I snapped towards her pointing it at her head.

"Don't let me turn, Scarlett." She pleaded, her voice small and her eyes watery. She gave me a small smile and grasped the wrist of my arm that held the pistol. "It's okay. Just know....I love you, sister. Now, pull the trigger, please." She said weakly and closed her eyes.

I turned away and looked at my feet, tears burning my eyes, and fired. I quickly pressed my back to the wall, my breathing raggedy and my head replaying the gunshot over and over again. I heard more growling coming from up the stairs and moved, I dodged the walkers' arms as they tried to grab me and pull me to them. My knife sunk into their skulls and I pulled it out as they fell back. I could see Daryl and Rick out of the corner of my eye. Daryl stabbed a young boy, I saw was Patrick, in the head before turning back to me. I walked into one of the cell and saw a young girl lying on the floor, dead. I crouched down on the balls on my feet next to her and quickly stabbed her in the head, exiting the cell. Daryl, Glenn, Sasha, Carol, Hershel, and I were all council members and as they gathered around a cell, I stayed farther back where I could still hear.

"No bites. No wounds. I think he just died." Rick said as Doctor S came up and crouched next to the body. "Horribly, too." Doctor S said, looking at Rick. "Pleurisy aspiration." Hershel looked at Rick. "He choked to death on his own blood, caused those trails down his face." Rick looked at the body again. "I've seen them before on a walker outside the fence." He said and Daryl stepped forwards some. "They're on Patrick, too." I glanced down at Patrick and saw the streaks of blood.

"They're from internal lung pressure building up." Doctor S explained. "Like if you shake a soda can and pop the top. Only imagine your eyes, nose, and throat are the top." He finished. "It's a sickness from the walkers?" Bob asked, walking up to where we were all standing. "No, these things happened before they were around." Caleb said and stood up. "Could be pneumococcal. Most likely an aggressive flu strain." He continued. "Someone locked him in just in time." Hershel said, looking down at the body. "No, man. Charlie used to sleepwalk, locked himself in. Hell, he was just eating barbecue yesterday. How could someone just die in a day from a cold?" Daryl asked and glanced back at me.

"I had a sick pig, it died quickly." Rick said. "Saw a sick boar in the woods also." Rick looked over towards me and then to Doctor S. "Pigs and birds. That's how these things spread in the past. Now with walkers in the mix. We need to do something about those hogs. They were most likely contaminated too and we couldn't risk it." Hershel said to Rick. "Maybe we got lucky. Maybe these two cases are it." Doctor S said and Bob scoffed.