Daryl's Angel: Saviour (Book Two)

Chapter 4: Carol, Daryl, and I

The tension is back, but for an altogether different reason. Daryl grips the steering wheel tightly in one hand, the other pressed to his mouth as he glares at the road. The vehicle with the white cross stays ahead, showing no sign of having noticed us.

"So it was just you two and Beth after?" Carol asks, leaning forward into the gap between the front seats. "I never asked how you all got out."

"Hope got out alone," Daryl says. "It was just me and Beth."

Carol's gaze darts to me and I don't miss the slight surprise that widens her eyes. She looks back at Daryl. "You saved her?"

"She's tough. She saved herself," Daryl says. "We got cornered, she got out in front of me and...I don't know, she was gone. I came out and a car's pulling out with a white cross on the window."

"Just like that one."

"Yep."

The car jostles as it runs over a bump and I look back. There's a walker lying in the road, head flattened, and I purse my lips as I turn back to the front.

"Rick's gonna wonder where we went," Daryl says. "Tank's runnin' low."

"We can end this," Carol says. "Just run him off the road."

"Nah, we're good for a bit."

"I'd rather follow them to where Beth is than have to risk interrogating them," I add. Carol purses her lips tightly and I glance at her. "It's the better move. If the driver doesn't talk, then it's another dead end."

"We got the advantage," Daryl agrees. "We'll see who they are. If they're a group, see what they can do. And then we'll do what we gotta do to get her back."

"They're heading north," Carol says. "I-85."

Remembrance hits me a second before the scenery confirms it. I find myself gazing at Atlanta's skyline in the distance, shrouded in darkness that's more than eerie, and I rub my arms as goose bumps erupt along them. I never thought I'd be back here.

Daryl keeps following the cross car through streets I recognize. We're close to where I used to live.

The car slows to a stop beneath a streetlight and Daryl parks in the shadow of the nearest building. The engine idles softly.

"They didn't see us, right?" I ask.

"Let's hope not," Carol says.

"What the hell's he waiting for?" Daryl mutters.

The red taillights we've chased so far blink off, and Daryl follows suit, shutting off the car. We're left in silence, just watching and waiting. Then, someone emerges from the passenger side, moonlight catching on the shinier parts of their clothes.

"Is that a cop?" Daryl asks.

The cop glances around, pausing as he looks down the road, and I hear something click behind me. Carol grips her gun.

"They might've seen us," she says when Daryl and I look at her.

But the cop moves on, wandering off to the right and out of sight. We all relax a little, only to jump out of our skin when a hand slams against the passenger window. I stare into the haggard face of a male walker, snarling and clawing at the glass keeping it away from us.

I turn away and try to ignore it, but the noise grates on my ears and does nothing for my nerves. Up ahead, the cop reappears, throwing down a few bikes, tossing a few items aside seemingly at random. The walker seems unbearably loud.

The cop starts back towards the car, only to stop again and look back towards us. I dart a glance at the walker. I can shut it up if I roll the window down a little, but if we're seen...