Daryl's Angel (Book One in the Apocalypse Angel Trilogy)

Chapter 69: Claimed

Hope's POV

If it weren't for Augustus, I don't know what I'd do. The dog has helped me with walkers, and kept me company for the few days that we've known each other. He gives me someone to talk to. Not much of a conversationalist, but he's a great listener.

Two days and three nights have passed, and with them goes the same routine. Wake up, split a can of soup, walk, repeat. Sometimes I find myself crying again, but Gus always cheers me up.

I don't even know where to go, but I do know that I have to find other people, because no one can make it alone in this world.

This morning feels different. I wake up, Augustus and I eat, and we start walking through the woods.

I see what looks like a building up ahead, and I rush forwards, eager to see what it is. Augustus follows at my heels.

We reach a cemetery, with a funeral home overlooking it.

I head into the house, where I'm immediately greeted by a large amount of dead walkers on the floor in the entrance. Augustus walks ahead of me, sniffing. I step among the bodies, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. Augustus trots down a set of stairs, where we find more walker bodies, but nothing else.

I go into a kitchen, where some food sits on a table. Jam, jars of pigs feet, two large bottles of cola, and a lot of other stuff.

I pick up a half eaten jam jar. Judging by the dried jam around the rim, the last time anyone ate out of it was at least a few days ago. I toss Augustus a pig's foot and he gnaws on it happily.

There's a scrap of paper on the floor, and when I pick it up, there's writing on it.

"Thank you for the food. We greatly appreciate it," I read out loud. "There's no signature." I put down the note and grab the pig's feet jars and the jam, shoving them into my bag.

"Augustus! Let's go!" I whistle, and the dog comes trotting.

We walk back outside, where there are more dead walkers. Augustus runs towards a black bag and sniffs it curiously.

I race to the bag and pick it up, opening it to find more food from the house.

"Might as well take it, right?" I say, and Gus' tail wags.

I sling the second bag over my shoulder and start walking down the dirt road.

We walk for what feels like a few hours when suddenly, Augustus' hackles raise and he sprints into the forest.

"Augustus! Gus! Come back!" I yell, chasing after him.

I lose sight of him in the bush, but I keep running. I hear barking, then loud growls. A gunshot shatters the barks and silence fills the air.

A sick feeling creeps into my stomach as I keep running. I eventually see a caramel covered lump, and when I get closer, I see the form of my loyal companion, a bullet wound in his chest.

"Oh no. Augustus...no. No, no, no, no!" I wail, tears starting to fall freely, wetting Gus' fur.

I hear a loud snap behind me, and I spin around, my knife in front of me.

"Woah! Woah! Hold up there little lady! No need to get violent." A grey-haired man with a matching goatee stands in front of me, his hands raised.

He smiles at me, and my mouth curls into a sneer. There are five other men that have shown up, and they've surrounded me. They're all carrying bows or assault rifles.

"Claimed," a man with a black beard and black hair says, pointing to Augustus' body. "I shot it after all."

Anger surges through me and I face the man. "You shot my dog?! You son of a bitch!" I scream.

Usually, I try to keep cussing to a minimum, but I'm not exactly happy right now. I lunge at the man, but the grey-haired one grabs my shoulder, pulling me back.

"Len, did you know this was her dog?" he asks.

"'Course not," the man, Len, says. "It looked like a wild animal. Good meat."

I grimace.

"See? It was just an accident." The grey-haired man smiles. "Name's Joe."

He extends his hand to me, and I back away.

"Don't touch me," I growl.

Joe smirks and steps back, lowering his hand. "You ain't a bowman."

"She ain't even a man, Joe!" one guy says.

"And she ain't got a bow!" another adds.

"Only that rifle and that knife!"

"And there's a pistol in her belt!" one more says.

"Dan, Harley, Billy, Jack," Joe says, and they shut up. He looks back at me, his eyes glinting in a way that makes my stomach churn. "What to do with you..." he murmurs, tapping his chin. "What do you boys think?"

"I have an idea," one guy, Dan, says. He licks his lips and looks me over.

"Get. Away. From. Me," I spit in his face.

"She's a rude one, ain't she?" Harley asks.

Dan grabs my arm, and the other men advance towards me. The glint I noticed in Joe's eyes is also in theirs. My stomach twists even more as I back away, my heart pounding in my chest and my eyes wide.

"Claimed," a voice says from behind Joe.

The men back off, but my mouth only falls open in shock. That voice...

I know that voice. It's the same voice I used to wake up to every morning, the voice that makes my heart rate speed up.

It can't be, I think.

"I was wondering where you had gone," Joe says.

I turn to see the man he's talking to, the one who claimed me, and my heart almost stops.