Red ~ TWD (Daryl Dixon)

The Calm Before The Storm

"Watcha think?"

I bit my lip, walking closer to the perimeter fence and pushing against the reinforced wall. The structure as a whole was decent, but there were noticeable gaps where the screws were rusted causing structural integrity problems. If you pushed just enough the metal bent away from the steel beams, allowing more than enough room for walkers and humans alike.

I sighed, turning and eyeing the copious amount of trees surrounding the town with growing concern. Any of them would provide an excellent vantage point for someone to set up a snipers nest that would give them an unimpeded view of 90% of the compound. It wasn't difficult to imagine someone sitting up there picking people off one at a time, leaving us with no way to defend ourselves.

Our one and only defense against such an attack was the clock tower, but as far as I could tell it wasn't utilized as a lookout point. None of this even account for the lackluster gate guards which were as useless as a concrete parachute. All-in-all the entire setup was like a scene straight out of Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

"I think we need to get our guns back," I answered, turning to look at Ariel and Merle.

"Wouldn't be hard to take it by force," Ariel mused, stroking his goatee thoughtfully, "These people are temptin' karma livin' like this. As soon as she's done sharpenin' her nails she's gonna fuck 'em in the ass without the courtesy of a reach around."

"And yet, I get yelled at for fucking gorillas."

Merle chuckled, slapping me on the shoulder as the three of walked back to our house. It was our first official day in Alexandria, and we were all using the time to adjust. And by adjust I meant spy, collect information, and deceive. Some may call it paranoia, I liked to think of it as being prepared.

"I'm gonna hose you down in your sleep," Carol threatened, eyeing Daryl over her shoulder as she walked down the sidewalk. "Afternoon guys."

Her 100-watt smile was so big and so fake it nearly blinded me. I didn't understand how anyone was falling for her harmless, housewife routine. The immaculately clean dress pants, crisp, white button down shirt, and blue sweater helped mask her arsonist tendencies, but you couldn't hide everything under heinous clothes. Her eyes gave her away. They were calculating and ruthless.

"You look ridiculous!" Daryl yelled, perched on the railing messing with his crossbow.

"Is it just me or does the female Mr. Rogers routine just make it that much more disturbing?" I asked no one in particular. Ariel and Merle nodded in agreement, the three of us giving Carol a wide birth when she strolled by.

"Alex, Daryl, help!"

My head snapped to the left, chest constricting in fear when I saw Beth running down the road. I ran forward, catching her as Daryl hopped off the porch, crossbow ready.

"What happened? What's wrong?" I searched her for any signs of harm. She had some blood splatter on her shirt and tears streaking down her face, but I saw no bites or scratches.

"It's Aiden," she panted, trying to pull herself together. "He took us on a practice run, told us we had to do what he said, but they're stringing up walkers. One of them got lose, and it almost killed Tara."

By the time she was done I was so pissed I was shaking. "Where?"

"Everyone's by the front gate."

I was gone before she finished her sentence, ignoring the shouts of everyone behind me. Lieutenant Douchebag had failed to mention he was in charge of scavenging when I ran across him earlier this morning. Not only did that piss me off, but it also made me seriously questions Deanna's management skills. I knew he was her son, but he was the definition of inept. The fact he put our people at risk made my blood boil.