Dixon's Daughter

Chapter 14: Guts

Third Person's POV

Sadie waited as Rick and Morales dragged a walker inside, Glenn and Andrea taking up the rear behind them. When they got to the rest of the group, they let go of the corpse, letting it collapse on the floor.

Before the walker could get up or try anything, Glenn plunged a knife into its forehead, killing the walker as Rick used a crowbar to knock out the glass of the emergency container on the wall that held an axe.

Then Rick walked back to the rest of the group. Well, the rest of the group except Sadie, who was standing across the room, watching the action from afar as per his request.

Rick got ready to swing the axe down at the walker, but stopped at the last moment. He tossed his helmet with the protective shield and the axe on the ground before kneeling to feel around the walker's pockets, pulling out a wallet.

He opened it and inspected the insides, finding his driver's license and a little bit of cash. "Wayne Dunlap. Georgia license. Born in 1979. He had $28 in his pocket when he died. And a picture of a pretty girl."

Rick picked up the picture and read the note on the back. "'With love, from Rachel.'" Then he looked up at the group. "He used to be like us. Worrying about bills or the rent or the super bowl. If I ever find my family, I'm gonna tell them about Wayne." He caught Sadie's eye with the last sentence. Me too, Rick. Me too.

Then Rick stood up, put on his helmet and picked up his axe. "One more thing. He was an organ donor." Glenn added on. Rick nodded before swinging the axe down. He did this multiple times, chopping the guy open and mashing his insides.

Blood and guts were everywhere and the smell was horrid. Sadie couldn't see the walker very well, the bodies of the people in the group were mostly blocking it, but she did see some of the blood and gut splatter and she could smell it from where she was across the room.

Putting her fist against her mouth, Sadie turned away, trying not to puke. She had seen and smelled guts before, but only animal guts. This was different. It was rotten human guts. Most people in the group were having the same reaction, trying to keep their lunches down as they groaned.

After a minute, Rick passed the axe and the helmet to Morales. "Keep chopping." He told him. Glenn groaned loudly. "I am so gonna hurl." He announced. I know the feeling, Sadie thought. "Later." Rick told him as Morales took over hacking into the corpse.

Sadie was no longer looking, but she still felt sick everytime she heard the axe hit the flesh and everytime she was forced to inhale the sickening stench.

"Everybody got gloves?" Rick asked the group members around him. "Don't get any on your skin or in your eyes." He instructed and everyone around him groaned as they shovelled blood and guts into their hands and then smeared it all over both Rick and Glenn's jackets.

To really add to the disguise, they hung intestines around their necks. "Oh jeez. Oh, this is bad. This is really bad." Glenn groaned, shutting his eyes closed tightly.

"Think about something else... Puppies and kittens." Rick suggested. "Dead puppies and kittens." T-Dog commented and that was the limit of his self control for Glenn. He bent over and vomited on the ground.

The sound of Glenn vomiting made Sadie gag and almost puke, but she managed to keep it down. "That is just evil. What is wrong with you?" Andrea questioned as Sadie took a few deep breaths before turning to face the group again.

"Next time let the cracker beat his ass." Jacqui spoke as Sadie started to make her way over to them. "I'm sorry, yo." T-Dog spoke as Glenn stayed bent over, unsure if he was going to be sick again. "You suck." He groaned.

"Do we smell like them?" Rick asked as Sadie came to a stop beside him. "Oh, yeah," she answered, catching Rick's attention as he glanced over at her.

He didn't want her near the bludgeoned, bloodied body that the group had just mutilated. Sadie purposely kept her eyes from wandering to the body, knowing she might not be able to keep her lunch down if she saw it.

Andrea held out a gun towards the bent-over man. "Glenn. Just in case," she told him, and he glanced up at her before standing up straight. She helped put the gun in his pants waistband so he would have a backup plan if anything went wrong.

"If we make it back, be ready." Rick told the group, and Sadie crossed her arms at his word choice. If. She knew his word choice was correct, realistically, but she refused the possibility that Rick wouldn't be coming back.

"What about Merle Dixon?" T-Bone questioned Rick, who glanced at the young girl before tossing the key over to T-Bone.

"Give me the axe. We need... We need more guts." Rick announced, motioning with his head for Sadie to move aside just as she was earlier. She didn't want to leave his side, but she did as he wanted.

The group swung at the corpse and continued rubbing guts on Rick and Glenn's jackets. It took another few minutes, but finally they were ready.

They moved away from the corpse and Rick came over to Sadie. "I'm going to be just fine, Sadie. Don't worry." Rick tried to reassure her.

She looked up at him with determination in her eyes. "Damn right, you're gonna be just fine. You don't have another choice."

Rick nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

There was a moment of meaningful silence before Sadie turned her attention towards the group that was still across the room.

"Hey, Glenn?" Sadie called out to him, and he turned to face her. "Yeah?" He called back to her. "Don't get dead." She told him and the group let out a little laugh. "That's the plan," Glenn responded.

Sadie glanced at Rick one more time before he moved away from her to join Glenn. The two men took a deep breath before venturing outside together, unsure if they'd ever return.