Sightless

Meg Genovese

~ Today ~

Daryl Dixon

My lungs burned, my legs ached, every step felt like knives into the soles of my feet and I'm sure there was going to be a bruise on my back from where my crossbow hit with every step I took, but I couldn't stop. 

Merle betrayed us. 

He stole the van, and was probably heading back up to camp to either kill people, or take their shit and I couldn't have that right now. 

I still hadn't figured out a way to protect Meg and Max, and there wasn't no way that I was gonna be leaving before that was settled. He just needs to chill for a minute, let Rick and T explain what happened with the cuffs and then everyone can just chill while I figure it out. 

The screams that rang through the air made my blood freeze in my veins. 

"Oh my God." I heard Rick mumble behind me, and then we were sprinting harder, faster, as fast as we could up the hill. I had never hurt this much on purpose, but damn if I was gonna stop. 

"Go! Go!" Glenn yelled, but I didn't pay any more attention to them, they were falling behind and I had to get there. I had to protect them.

I broke through the trees, and what I saw made me want to puke. 

There were bodies scattered around like dolls, being chewed on by the ravenous walkers above them. I shot the first four that I saw, and then pounded in the heads of two more before I was able to actually see what was happening. 

"Baby! Carl!" Rick was yelling, but I was searching for them. I saw the dog first. It was pinned against the side of the RV, snapping and growling at a Walker that was stumbling up to it. 

I couldn't even think about the fact that I was abandoning humans to save a dog before I had moved and killed the thing. When I turned to look at the dog, I realized there was someone cowering behind it. 

"Where's your ma?" I yelled at Max who was hiding behind Hendrix, and when his eyes met mine, all I could see was fear. 

"She ran into the woods. She got separated from us and I think she just ran to where there was no noise." He cried, and I wanted to collapse. There was no way. 

"Which way'd she go?" I asked, and following his finger, I left the others behind, with one last call over my shoulder. 

"Get in the RV! Now!" 

I didn't wait for a response, I killed two more, and then I was in the tree line, and all the noise seemed to disappear instantly, leaving behind the dead, eerie quiet of the forest at night. 

"Meg?" I called, but no answer, so I turned my attention to the dirt, begging for answers. 

There were tracks, leading off down towards the lake, and it didn't take me long to catch up. She was up to her waist in water, and two Walkers were coming in after her. 

I reached for an arrow, but came up empty, cursing the people I had used them to save, I pulled out my knife, and went in after her. 

"Meg! I'm coming hold on!" I yelled as I stepped into the water, pushing the panic aside I forced myself to take another step as she sobbed. 

"Daryl! Oh God..." She cried, but I couldn't make out the rest of her words, I was too focused on not falling into a panic attack so I could help her, and not getting bit by the two Walkers who were now heading towards me. 

I lunged forward, slipping a little on the rocks but I was able to nail the one on my right in the temple, and it dropped. I pulled my knife free before it could hit the water, and turned to the next one. 

This one was bigger, uglier, and it looked angrier. Maybe it was newer, who knows, but when I got it in the temple, it took a shit ton more force to shove it in, like the bone hadn't started to deteriorate yet. 

And still, it dropped, leaving me with two dead bodies separating me and the sobbing blind woman who was about two feet deeper into the water than I was, and I didn't know if I could hold the panic off long enough to get her out.