infection | D. Dixon

chapter four

allies

Tessa was shaking violently, and I knew it was because she was having a panic attack. I didn't move to help her, instead, I kept staring at the two men in front of us. She backed away from all of us and walked over to the edge of the roof to look over at the departed trying to find the meal that had been roaming the streets.

Merle was watching my sister with an uninterested look, watching her try to calm herself down. He walked over to her and sat next to her on the wall.

I looked back over to Daryl, who was watching his brother with shock. He seemed genuinely surprised to see Merle consoling my sister. In a split second, though, his eyes were back on me and Rick.

"What the hell were you thinking running around making all that noise in the dark?" Daryl hissed at us, slinging his weapon over his back.

I holstered my weapon to show that I, too, was no harm. "We were caught out there!" I hissed back. "This store looked heavily secured..."

Daryl crossed his arms over his shoulders. "It was." he retorted.

Rick stepped in, acting as the mediator between the fight between me and the hot-headed Daryl. "Look, everyone is safe right now and that's all that matters, we will be out of your hair by tomorrow," Rick said, placing his hand on my shoulder.

He pulled me out of the fight and over to my sister. I gave Merle a look and he climbed off the wall and walked back over to his brother.

Rick glanced at me with a stern face. "What do we do about them?" He asked, glancing towards them.

I frowned. "I don't know," I admitted, looking at their setup. It looks like they were here for a while.

"We are the intruders," Rick said. "I think we should cross over to the other building and leave before light."

I shook my head. "It's too dangerous as night," I responded, holding my breath for a moment. I needed to keep my family safe, no matter what, and right now these guys were a threat. I touched my face with the palm of my hand, pressing it into my eye. "Be ready in case this goes to shit," I whispered. "There are three of us, but they're counting Tessa out, so be ready," I said directly aimed at Tessa.

She looked up at me with teary eyes. She was trying to force herself to work up to it.

I sighed and put my hand on her shoulder. "Take the blankets and lay down, if anything happens keep your head down," I said, looking at my nineteen-year-old sister with pity.

She nodded and stepped down from the wall to make up a bed. Rick looked at me with surprise. I shook my head at him and glanced over at the men, who were sitting in lawn chairs with cigarettes between their teeth.

Daryl glanced over at me and nodded. I nodded back, releasing my grip on the wall. "Let's go make friendly," I said to Rick, gritting my teeth.

Rick followed me over to the men and leant against the wall. I sat cross-legged on the ground and accepted the cigarette when it was offered to me. I tried not to cough when I took a breath of the cancerous toxin but I failed.

Daryl didn't laugh, but he smiled. Merle howled in laughter and slapped his knee. He wiped an imaginary tear and tried to calm himself down. "First fag, girl?" he asked, breathing deep on his cigarette.