Angel With A Shotgun (Walking Dead Fanfic)

Chapter Sixteen: Typical Daryl, Not Typical Daryl

Chapter Sixteen


Typical Daryl, Not Typical Daryl


▬ Third Person- No one’s P.O.V ▬  


     There was a lingering silence on the department store rooftop as Daryl was standing still, his breathing heavy whilst he loomed over the severed hand belonging to his brother, the bloody hacksaw and the handcuffs hanging from the pipes where his brother should be. Rick and T-Dog went to approach Daryl from behind as Electra and Glenn kept back, warily keeping their distance. Turning on the spot, Daryl pointed his crossbow at T-Dog who showed no fear before Rick pulled his revolver and aimed it at Daryl. 

     “I won’t hesitate,” Rick promised Daryl with no expression on his chiselled face. “I don’t care if every walker in the city hears it,” he stated causing Daryl to slowly lower his crossbow which made T-Dog exhale before Rick lowered his own weapon.

     “You do a do-rag or somethin’?” Daryl requested causing T-Dog to reach down into his trouser pockets to retrieve a blue rag and hand it to him without breaking eye contact. Daryl took the do-rag and put down his crossbow leaning it against the pipes. “I guess the hack’s blade was to dull for the handcuffs,” Daryl assessed, crouching down where the severed hand lay whilst unfolding the do-rag. 

     “Aint that a bitch,” Daryl murmured grimly as he picked up his brothers hand by the finger. Sighing, he placed the hand onto the do-rag and proceeded to wrap it up in the rag delicately. Standing up, he looked around and headed towards Glenn before placing it in Glenn’s backpack much to Glenn’s hidden disgust.   

     “He must have used a tourniquet….or his belt,” Electra pointed out as she analysed the blood trail Merle had left behind causing Daryl to look at her. 

     “There would have been much more blood if he hadn’t,” Daryl claimed looking down also at the blood trail before following it around the corner whilst T-Dog picked up the hacksaw and Dale’s tool box. The blood led them to another staircase going down from the roof. “Merle! You in here?” Daryl called down the staircase, when he gained no response he began to climb down it until the blood trail directed them elsewhere. “Merle!” Daryl hollered as he followed the trail into a room with a pink tiled floor. 

     “We are not alone here!” Rick hissed at Daryl in a frustrated whisper since he could not raise his voice in fear of attracting walkers which Daryl did not appear to care about. “Remember?” he snapped. 

     “So what?” Daryl did not turn his head to look back at Rick but kept on going. “He’s bleeding out, you’ve seen so yourself,” he said dismissively walking further into the corner, coming to the conclusion that they were a kitchen as they saw a stove where Sterno cans were burning next to an iron steak weight.

     “What is that burnt stuff?” Glenn questioned causing Rick to pick up the iron steak weight which appeared to be crusted with something.  

     “Skin,” Electra revealed as she examined the weight herself. “He cauterized the stump,” she speculated as Rick placed the steak weight back down on the counter.

     “I told you he’s tough,” Daryl bragged to Rick causing Rick to turn to face him. “Nobody can kill Merle but Merle,” he declared proudly. 

     “Don’t take that on faith: He’s lost a lot of blood,”

     “Yeah?” Daryl challenged as he followed the trail. “Didn’t stop him from busting out of this death trap, hmmm?” Daryl smirked as he saw the window that led to the fire escape broken. 

      “He left the building?” Glenn gulped as he moved so he could get a view of the window. “Why the hell would he do that?” he queried in shock. 

     “Why wouldn’t he?” Daryl retorted. “He’s out there alone as far as he knows. He’s knows what he’s got to do….he’s surviving’” Daryl stated about to walk into another room.

    “You call that survivin’? Just wondering out in the streets, maybe passing out from blood loss? What are his odds out there?” T-Dog interrogated Daryl sceptically. 

     “No worse than being handcuffed and left to rot by you pricks,” Daryl snapped at T-Dog before sauntering over to Rick. “You couldn’t kill him, why’d he be so worried about some dumb dead bastard?” Daryl shot at him, hoping to get a reaction out of him.

     “How about a thousand dumb dead bastards?” Rick snapped back at him. “Different story,” he lectured him wisely causing Daryl to stare at him.

     “You can keep tally,” Daryl retorted in his face. “Do what you want,” he said to all of them. “But I am gonn’ get him,” Daryl went to pass Rick.

     “Daryl, wait!”

     “Get your hands off me!” Daryl roared at Rick who had just shoved him backwards by his chest. “You can’t stop me!” he rebuked. 

     “I don’t blame you. He’s family: We all get that. I went through hell to find mine, I know exactly what you are going through,” Rick agreed with him. “He can’t get far with that injury….we can help you search a few blocks around but only if we keep a level head,”

     “I can do that,”

     “Only if we get the guns first,” Rick turned to look at T-Dog who was making a valid point. “I’m not strolling the streets protected by just my good intentions, okay?” T-Dog reasoned.

     “Now all we need is a plan,”



     “Naw, absolutely not,” Electra shook her head from her seat on the floor of the office they had found. “You are not going all by yourself, I won’t let you,” she told Glenn overprotectively. Glenn looked over at Rick for help but he simply nodded, agreeing with Electra.

     “Electra. If we go out there in a group we are slow and drawing attention. If I’m alone, I can move fast,” Glenn explained but Electra didn’t look convinced. “Look,” Glenn put a black binder clip on the diagram he had drawn of Atlanta on the whiteboard. “That’s the tank- five blocks away from where we are now,” Glenn manifested before screwing up a yellow post it note and also placing it onto the diagram. “That’s the bag of guns,” he said before pointing to another spot on the diagram. “Here is the alleyway I dragged Rick into when we first met,” he stated. “That is where Daryl, Electra and I will go,”

     “Why us?”

     “Your crossbow is quiet, so is Electra’s bow and arrow….quieter than his gun,” Glenn pointed out causing Daryl to nod before Glenn put a label dispenser and a purple sparkly rubber to represent them both. “Whilst Daryl and Electra wait in the alley, I’ll run down the street and grab the bag.

     “Where do you want us to go elsewhere?”  

     “You and T-Dog,” Glenn grabbed a sharpener and a highlighter and added them to the diagram. “You’ll be in this alley here,” he pointed. 

      “Two blocks away? Wh-”

     “I may not be able to come back the same way. Walkers may come and put me of….If that happens I won’t go back to Electra and Daryl,” he pointed at the rubber and mini label dispenser. “I’ll go forward instead. All away around to the alley where you guys are,” he demonstrated using his finger to represent himself. “Whichever direction I go, I’ve got you in both places to cover me and afterwards we’ll all meet back here,” Glenn clarified. 

     “Hey kid,” Daryl said to Glenn from his spot in the room causing Glenn to turn in his direction. “What did you do before all this?” he questioned. 

     “Deliver pizzas….why?” Glenn told them causing Rick, Daryl and Electra to share a look before nodding it, thinking it through. 


►►►


     Glenn, Electra and Daryl climbed down the yellow ladder which paint coat was peeling off as quietly as they could manage. They hid behind a big dumpster briefly for less than a minute whilst Glenn dropped his backpack down before continuing down the alleyway. Coming across a smaller dumpster right by the gate, they paused behind that one giving time for Daryl to load his crossbow and Electra to prepare. 

     “You got some balls for a china man,” 

     “I’m Korean,” 

     “Whatever,”

     Electra rolled her eyes and adjusted the strap of her quiver over her shoulder before Glenn sprinted out from behind the dumpster, Electra and Daryl following before Glenn gave them a nod and speeded out through the gate and around the corner out of sight. Sighing, Electra sunk down in front of the dumpster looking out through the gate. A second later Daryl sank down beside her earning him a look of surprise from Electra. 

     “Could be a little while, might as well get comfortable and keep down so we don’t get spotted,” Daryl explained causing her to look ahead again. 

     “I’m sorry..….about Merle,” she murmured, still staring out through the gate causing Daryl to turn his head to the side to  look at her.

     “You’re talkin’ like he’s dead,”

     “No. I meant I’m sorry he got left behind. That…..that shouldn’t have happened I-” Electra cut herself off turning her head to look at him looking in front of him. “I shouldn’t have let that happen….But I did and I’m sorry,” she continued causing Daryl to turn his head to look her in the eye.

     “You genuinely mean that….don’t ya?” Daryl enquired causing Electra to nod before a noise came from down the alleyway. 

     ‘Footsteps’ Electra mouthed jerking her head causing Daryl to straighten up. He pointed at her, then his eyes, then the alleyway and gestured downwards. Electra nodded understanding that he was telling her to keep down and watching out for Glenn whilst he dealt with the person. Daryl pooped out from in front of the dumpster aiming his crossbow at a Hispanic teenager. 

     “Woah!” the boy exclaimed. “Don’t shoot me,” he begged with his hands up in the air. “What do you want?” Daryl approached the teenager whilst Electra stayed put. 

     “Looking for my brother,” Daryl informed the teenager. “He’s real bad,” he explained to him. “You seen him?” he enquired.

     “I don’t know!” the teenager exclaimed nervously in panic. “Felipe!!!!!” he screamed causing Daryl to glare at the teenager. 

     “Shut up!” Daryl snapped at him. “You’re going to bring the geeks down on us!” he hissed at him. “Answer me!” he growled at him, the boy gave no response. 

     “FELIPE! JORGE! CAN YOU HEAR ME?! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!” he continued to scream out causing Daryl to hit him with his cross bow resulting in him falling down to the ground. “Help me! Help!” he continued to shout, this time Daryl aimed his crossbow at his head. “HELP! HELP!” he screamed as he wriggled onto the ground in a form of struggling. 

     “Shut up!”  Daryl snapped at him. One man with a metal baseball bat barged through the gate, marching straight past Electra causing her to shoot up to see Daryl looking in the opposite direction. He was going to jump him. 

     “Daryl!” Electra screamed for him causing him to turn around at the precise moment that he hit him with the baseball bat to the floor. “Hey! Get off of him!” she screeched, pulling back the tension on the bow aiming for his head. 

     Bam.

     Her bow went flying to the floor before she was roughly pushed up against the wall by a bald man who was now pinning her to the wall by her arms, painfully causing her to drop the arrow she was holding in her hand. With all her strength she went to knee him in the nuts but he dodged it simply laughing at her. Turning her head she saw the other man beating the hell out of Daryl, she could hear the grunts of pain and could practically smell the blood. 

     “Leave him alone you son of a bitch!” 

     Electra struggled fiercely, fighting against his grip on her arms as much as possible and flailing her legs, landing a firm blow in his stomach but he did not falter…So she did the only thing left to do- she pushed herself forward as much as she could go and bit down hard on his shoulder. The bald man jerked backwards, quickly releasing his hold on her and pulling his hand up to his bitten shoulder in shock and in pain. 

     At this precise moment Glenn barged through the gate with Rick’s sheriff hat in one hand and the bag of guns in the other. Looking forward at Daryl being beaten his eyes grew wide with horror as he froze.

     “Glenn! RUN!”

      Glenn turned his head to see her stood up against the wall still, the man beating Daryl’s head also turned to look at Glenn. 

     “That’s him! He’s got the bag! Take him!”

     “Glenn! Get the hell out of here!” 

     Electra’s instruction caused Glenn to start to back away from the men but the man who had been beating Daryl beforehand grabbed him and started beating him too causing the bag to drop to the floor. Whilst that was happening, the bald man picked up the bag when Electra pounced on his back. Daryl sat up and fired at arrow into the bald man’s butt causing him to drop the guns and flip Electra over his back resulting in her slamming to the floor. The bald man grabbed Electra and pulled her up whilst Glenn was grabbed by the other man. He gripped her tightly with one hand wrapped around her waist and the other hand holding her still, his fingers digging into her shoulder.   

     “GET OFF OF ME! GET OFF OF ME!” Electra struggled as much as she could manage, her spin in pain from being slammed into the floor beforehand. 

     “HELP US!” Glenn shouted at Daryl who looked down at the teenager beside him on the ground briefly as a car zoomed into the street causing them to proceed, dragging Electra and Glenn onto the street. 

     “DARYL!”

     She was desperate, she couldn’t fight against the hold.

     Daryl looked up and ran towards the gate as Electra and Glenn were thrown into the car before it zoomed off into the distance.

     “COME BACK HERE YOU SONS OF BITCHES!” 

     Daryl roared after them before he was forced to close the gate due to the walkers approaching him before turning to the teenage boy. 

    “Woah! Stop! Stop! Stop!” Rick and T-Dog arrived just in time to stop Daryl, Rick pulling him off of the teenager as T-Dog held the teenager against the wall wearily. 

     “I’m going to kick your nuts up your throat!” Daryl shouted at the teenager in fury, still being prevented from launching at him by Rick.

     “Calm down!”

     “They took Electra and Glenn! Those bastards are his little friends!” Daryl informed Rick in a growl causing Rick to turn and look at the boy. “I’m going to stomp your ass!” Daryl threatened as Rick was now holding him back reluctantly. 

     “Ellie and Glenn,”

     “Yeah! That’s what I said!” Daryl agreed with him. “Now let go off me so I can beat his worthless little skinny ass!” Daryl demanded. 


/////


Someone was trying to make her drink out of a glass, with her eyes shielded she had no clue as to who it was or as to what they were trying to get down her throat. No! She spat it out immediately. There was no way in hell they could force her to drink. 

     “She’s awake!” she heard a low voice call out, it was a man’s voice…..a man who sounded like he had an accent….a Spanish accent. Those bastards. That was when she started screaming as loudly as she could manage, screaming for Rick, Glenn, T-Dog, hell, she was even screaming out for Daryl.  “Shut up.” The same voice hissed, she would have lashed out but her hands were bound behind her back with rope from the feeling of it. 

     “This is the girl who bit Felipe?” another voice questioned much different from the one from before, the tone of his voice was cool and relaxed. 

     “Yeah….” The first voice she had heard said over her calls and screams. “Loca puta,” he commented causing Electra to scream even louder than she thought she was capable of. 

     “RICK! GLENN! T-DOG! DAAAAAARRRRRRYYYYYYYLLLLLLLLLLL!” 

      She felt a presence behind her and hands meddling with something near the back of her head. She came face to face with a stranger, a man: late twenties, near shaved head, brown eyed, of Hispanic descent. 

     “Hello,” the man greeted her pleasantly, this caused her anger to multiply by ten. Her kidnapper was being ‘nice’ to her, attempting to seem civil. 

     “Where’s Glenn?” she asked with determination plastered on her face. “Where are we?” she demanded before he could even hope to give her an answer. “What do you want from us?” she interrogated him, her jaw clenched and her teeth gritted together. 

     “I’m Guillermo and this is Jorge,” the man introduced himself and the other man who she recognized from the alleyway. “We are in a nursing home,” he answered her second question. Electra was disgusted, she didn’t want to know what they had done to the old folks who were occupying the home. 

     “And Glenn?”

     “The Asian boy is fine,” he assured her. “He’s with Felipe elsewhere…Felipe’s the man you bit and your redneck friend shot in the ass. He’s still angry, you ought to apologize,”

     “Fine?” Electra asked. “I’ll believe you when I see it,” she spat at him. “And I have nothing to apologize for, your people jumped my fr-” she cut herself off. “One of my people. I was trying to stop it and then he pinned me against the wall, it was self-defence,” she claimed.    

     “You’re talking as if we are the bad people here,”

     “Well that might be because you are,” Electra hissed at him. “What kind of people jump someone in an alleyway, beat up another one, then kidnap two?” 

     “We are good people,” Guillermo assured her. “We just want our friend back- Felipe’s little cousin. The boy your people took from us,” 

     “And you what?” Electra asked him. “You expect me to care?” she scoffed. “To help you?” she  turned her head to the side to focus on a wall. 


►►►


     “Get off of me! Let me go! You sons of bitches! I will kill you! You hear? I will kill you!”

     Electra screamed and cursed but it was no use. The sound she was making was muffled by the duct tape which they had forced over her mouth. She was currently being held by two men, on a roof top of a factory of some kind and she was not happy about it. Not happy about it at all, despite being oblivious to her location as once again her eyes had been shielded by something.   


///

     Rick stood there with his shotgun in front of the abandoned factory where Miguel had lead them two, Daryl by his side with his cross bow ready and T-Dog on a roof of a building nearby just in case this whole thing went badly. He had to get Electra and Glenn back, he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if something had happened to them…happened to Electra. God, he would never be able to look Shane in the eyes ever again. It would be all his fault. Whilst in mid thought, the gates opened and a man emerged through them.

     “You okay little man?” he questioned Miguel, looking him over and ignoring Rick and Daryl completely. Peering in through the gate Rick could see at least two men. 

     “They were going to cut off my feet!” 

     “Cops do that?”

     “Not him,” Miguel sighed, shaking his head. “This redneck puto right there,” he jerked his thumb in Daryl’s direction causing him to grip tighter to his crossbow. “He cute of some duds hand, man. He showed it to me,” he explained to Guillermo. 

     “Shut up!”

     “Hey!!” Another man emerged out of the factory, the one which Daryl had encountered in the alleyway. “That puto right there, that’s the one who shot me in the ass with an arrow man,” he informed Guillermo, waving his pistol around. “He’s de-” he started.

     “Hey, chill, esse” Guillermo breathed, placing his hand on Felipe’s arm. “Chill……Chill,” he ordered causing Felipe to take a step back, his pistol still aimed at Daryl. “This true? You want Miguelito’s feet?” he finally turned to look at Daryl. “That’s pretty sick man,” he commented, this time looking at Rick. 

     “We were hoping more for a calm discussion,”

     “The hillbilly jumps Felipe’s little cousin, beats on him, threatens to cut off his feet and Felipe gets and arrow in the ass,” Guillermo listed the indescressions. “You want a calm discussion? You fascinate me,”

     “Heat of the moment,” Rick spoke calmly. “Mistakes were made…..” he explained. “On both sides,” he added looking at Felipe and Daryl. 

     “Who’s that dude to you anyway?” Guillermo nodded at Daryl but his question was directed at Rick. “You don’t look related,” he commented.

     “He’s one of our group, more or less,” Rick stated looking to Daryl. “I’m sure you have a few like him,” he looked back to Guillermo. 

     “You got my brother in there?” Daryl demanded, trying to peak in through the metal doors which led to the factory inside. 

     “Sorry,” Guillermo apologized. “We’re fresh out of white boys,” he stated. “But I got a white girl….and an Asian. Interested?” he asked. 

     “I have yours, you have mine,” Rick remarked. “Sounds like an even trade,”

     “It’s not even to me,”

     “G. Come on man!”

     “We have two of yours and you only have one of mine. My people got attacked, where’s the compensation for their pain and suffering?” he questioned. “More to the point, where’s my bag of guns?”

     “Guns?” 

     “The bag that Miguel saw on the street, the bag Felipe and Jorge were going back to get,” Guillermo replied. “That bag of guns,”

     “You’re mistaken,”

     “I don’t think so,”

     “About it being yours. It’s my bag of guns,”

     “The bag was in the street,” he stated. “Anybody could come around and say it was theirs. I’m supposed to take your word?” Guillermo raised an eyebrow at him. “What’s to stop my people from loading on you right here and now and take what’s mine?” he questioned causing the two men beside him to cock their guns and the men back in the factory to straighten up. 

     “You could do that,” Rick nodded at him before he raised his eyes to the roof of a building nearby, Guillermo followed his gaze to see T-Dog ready to shoot Guillermo in the head. “Or not,” 

/////

     “JORGE!” 

     Electra could feel herself being shoved forwards. 

     She didn’t like this. 

     She didn’t like this at all.  

     Suddenly, the bag which had been placed over her head was removed and her eyes involuntarily closed. Electra tried to open her eyes but everything was ferociously bright. When she finally managed to open them she was staring down at the edge of a rooftop. Hyperventilating, she attempted to throw herself backwards but was kept in place by the two men behind her. Glancing down once more she caught Rick’s eye before being pushed closer and closer to the edge and began to concentrate on staying alive.  

/////     

     “I see two options,” Guillermo stated drawing Rick’s attention away from Electra. “You come back with Miguel and my bag of guns. Everybody walks,” he offered up the first reason. “You come back locked and loaded and see which side spills more blood,” he offered up the second reason before smiling smugly and walking back into the factory. The gates closing behind him. 


/////


          “Glenn!” Electra called speeding into the room Guillermo had lead her too, laying her eyes on a hospital bed towards the far wall, on it was Glenn. “Glenn!” she hissed again, racing towards the bed he was lying on. “Glenn?” she called out, a horrible feeling brewing in the pit of her stomach. “Glenn wake up, come on…” she was now shaking him roughly but he did not stir. “Glenn, no, Glenn,” her voice was now desperate and tears were in her eyes. “Please….” her voice cracked and she started to cry on his chest.

     “No….” he moaned under his breath causing Electra to straighten up. “Mom…..I don’t want to go to school today…..” he muttered turning away from her, she sniffed before slapping him across the face with the full force of her hand. “Yeow!” Glenn screamed shooting upwards before holding his cheek. “What the hell was that for?” Glenn demanded, now fully awake.  

     “You son of a bitch,” Electra growled at him shaking her head at him. “I thought……I…..I thought-” Electra started to explain when Glenn gave her a look as if to tell her to continue. “Never mind,” Electra dismissed her point wrapping her arms around Glenn.

     “Where are we anyway?”

     “Being kept hostage in an old people’s home, by some Hispanic gangsters who are actually caring for the old people…” Electra explained to Glenn causing his eye brows to shoot skyward. 

     “The two guys who jumped us?”

     “Yeah…..I know….” She breathed. “Turns out the one I bit was actually a nurse here, caring for his grandmother. Apart from the whole hostage thing they seem pretty….decent,” she turned her head to look at Guillermo as she spoke before turning back to Glenn again.

     “I see…..” Glenn trailed off, studying the room around him. “How are you?” Glenn asked, fluttering his gaze back to Electra. 

     “Yeah, I’m okay….you?”

     “Yeah, bit of a headache though,”

     “Probably a concussion,” Electra said, uneasily calm in the situation they were in. “We’re just waiting for Rick to come back with one of their men….and the guns,”

     “The guns?” Glenn asked Electra. “Are you sure they’re going to come back? I mean….Guns are more valued than people nowadays….” He said hesitantly. 

     “Rick wouldn’t leave us,” Electra dismissed Glenn’s thought. “He’s a good man, he’ll get us back. No matter what,” she promised him. 

     “I can’t believe Daryl didn’t save us….” Glenn frowned. “He was right there, he had the chance to but he just stared down at the ground…”

     “Daryl’s……well Daryl,” Electra sighed. “You can’t blame him, after all none of us saved his brother,” she stated. “Why would he want to save us?” she asked him causing Glenn to rethink. 

     “Sounds to me like you have a broken group,” Guillermo commented, leaning on the doorframe looking in on the conversation. 

     “Well she didn’t ask you,” Glenn snapped at him causing Guillermo to shrug casually muttering ‘fair enough’ under his breath before Jorge came and whispered something in his ear. 

     “Turns out you were right,” Guillermo said, looking onto Electra. “Your group have come back for you,” he explained causing Electra and Glenn to let out a breath of relief. “You two sit tight. Jorge, Felipe with me,” he called before heading out of their site.   
   
     “So…..you were a pizza man hey?”

     “Yeah,” Glenn nodded. “I was a Pizza delivery boy in Macon. I was swimming in debt and would’ve given anything to get out of it…Thing is….now that it’s all gone…I’d gladly take it all back if everything could go back to normal. Who wouldn’t? But I was really in debt, I would have to go back crawling to my dad and his new wife….the woman who he cheated on my mom with…broke her heart with. I never wanted to speak to them again bit now that I know I wouldn’t if I wanted….I kind of do….want to that is,” Glenn admitted to her.

     “Oh,”

     “I would give anything to talk to any of the people I hated before all of this, anything,” Glenn frowned. “And there were so many,”

     “Me too….” Electra agreed. 

     Well, all with the exception of one of them…. Electra corrected herself mentally.  

     “Help! Help!” 

     The call caused Electra and Glenn to go from sitting down cross legged on the cool floor to shooting up to their feet instantly, the voice was high and croaky. In the door way stood an old woman wearing a dressing gown, looking very distressed.


      “Ma’am?” Electra enquired watching the fear plastered over the ladies face before approaching her slowly not wanting to scare her. “Ma’am,” she reached out. “Please tell me what the problem is,” she pleaded. 

     “It’s Mr Gilbert,” the old lady took Electra by the hand and began to lead her (very slowly) towards the nursing home auditorium where several elderly people were gathered around a dark skinned man who was quite clearly having an asthma attack. 

      “Oh God,” Glenn exclaimed from somewhere behind Electra before hearing the yapping of three dogs sat in a pink basket.

     “Where’s his inhaler?” Electra questioned glancing at the old folk who filled the room but no one replied. 

     “My Grandson,” the old lady who had brought Electra there exclaimed from beside Glenn. “My Grandson Felipe has it,” she explained. “I will go get him,” she stated before shuffling over to the door.    

     “Listen to me Mr Gilbert, try to breathe,” Electra kneeled down before him looking into his dark eyes. “I know it’s not the easiest at the moment but you have to try alright,” Electra nodded at the man who nodded back at her and started to attempt to breathe but failed.  “Come on Mr Gilbert, you can do this alright?” Electra encouraged him. “In and out,” Electra demonstrated taking deep breaths in and out hoping to see Mr Gilbert copy this behaviour but there was no such luck. 

     “Is there anything I can do to help?”

     “I don’t know Glenn, I-” 

     The sound of the auditorium doors bursting open caused Electra to turn her head to lay her eyes on the old lady, Felipe, Rick, T-Dog, Daryl and Guillermo before shooting up to her feet. 

     “Oh thank God,” Electra breathed out of relief before approaching Rick and briefly wrapping her arms around him as Glenn continued to watch Felipe administrating Mr Gilbert his asthma pump. 

     “What is this?” Rick enquired glancing around the room surrounding him in confusion before returning his eye’s to Electra’s. 

     “An asthma attack,” Glenn informed him still looking on intently with his arms crossed. “Couldn’t get his breath all of a sudden,” Glenn elaborated looking at Rick for a moment as T-Dog glimpsed at him out of disbelief. 

     “We thought you two were getting eaten by dog’s man!” T-Dog voiced causing Glenn to turn and glance backwards at the three delicate dogs yapping away in the safety of their leopard print dog bed. 

     “Can I have a word with you?” Rick queried Guillermo quietly. “You’re the dumbest son of a bitch I’ve ever met,” Rick hissed before him and Guillermo treaded over to the side away from the others hearing range. 

     “Saw you on that roof top up there,” T-Dog voiced. “You looked terrified up there,” he pointed out. “They didn’t hurt you, did they?” T-Dog questioned her sensitively causing Glenn to look at her in confusion. 

     “No, no they didn’t hurt me,” Electra denied shaking her head as she crossed her arms in front of her chest awkwardly. “I’m not the best with heights, only managed to climb that ladder up to the roof because you guys behind me would have died and I wasn’t looking down,” she explained sheepishly. “The guys here? The care for the old and sick. They’re decent people,” she divulged.   

     “Decent people don’t jump people in an alleyway and then kidnap two of them,” Daryl grumbled unsatisfied with Electra’s opinion. He was still seething about the whole ordeal, anyone could see that. 

     “Scared people do,” Electra commented. “It’s kill or be killed now. You thought they were bad people? Well they thought we were bad people,” she pressed. “Heat of the moment,” she articulated causing Daryl to grunt and turn away and head into the room Guillermo and Rick had escaped to with the others following him.  

     “What about the rest of your crew?” Rick interrogated Guillermo as Daryl, T-Dog, Glenn and Electra flooded into the room. 

     “The vatos trickled in to check on their parents, their grandparents, they see how things are and wish to stay and it’s a good thing too we need the muscle,” Guillermo mused. “The people we’ve encountered….the worst kind. Plunderers. The kind that take by force,” he revealed.

     “That’s not who we are,”

     “How was I to know?” Guillermo questioned. “Our people got attacked and you show up with Miguel as hostage,” he stated. “Appearances,”

     “The world’s changed,” T-Dog informed him from his spot down on the floor where he was sitting down and leaning his weight on the wall. 

     “No,” Guillermo disagreed. “It’s the same as it ever was: The weak get taken,” he summarised. “So we do what we can here: the vatos work on those cars, talk about getting the old people out of the city….but most can’t even get to the bathroom by themselves so that’s just a dream,” he frowned causing Electra to stare at him. “Still, it keeps the crew busy and that’s worth something. So we bared all the windows, hammered all the doors shut except for the one entrance. Vatos, they go out and scavenge what they can to keep us warm. We watch the perimeter night and day and we wait,” he told them. “The people here, they all look to me now…..I don’t even know why,” 

     “Because they can,”


►►►


      “Admit it,” Electra urged from beside Rick as herself, Rick, T-Dog, Glenn and Daryl treaded back through the abandoned streets. “You only came back to Atlanta for the hat,” she teased. 

     “Don’t tell anybody,” Rick played into her joke causing Electra to grin from beside him as Daryl walked beside her ticked off. 

     “You’ve given away half our guns and ammo,” he growled. 

     “Not nearly half,”

     “And what for?” Daryl continued to ask. “Those old folks are gonn die any day now,” he shot at him causing Electra to throw Daryl a look of disgust. “Seriously, how long do you think they got?” he asked both Rick and Electra now. 

     “How long do any of us?”

     “Oh my God,”

     They proceeded to where they left the van except something was different….the cube van was missing, gone for good, it had disappeared. 

     “Where the hell’s out van?” Daryl demanded.

     “We left it right there!” Glenn fretted taking off his baseball cap and raking a hand through his dark hair. “Who would take it?” The question was directed to no one in particular. 

     “Merle,”

     Daryl looked on at the van once more. “He’s going to be taking some vengeance back to camp,” he predicted, and with no other modes of transport in sight they took off running for the hills.  


▬ First Person- Electra’s P.O.V ▬  


     I shivered, I was truly freezing. The dark surrounded me and the guys now, we were still making our way through the blasted wood land heading towards camp after being left stranded with no vehicles. A blanket of stars hung above me and I couldn’t help but stare up at them. It was weird seeing stars again; it reminded me of the times I had been taken out hunting as a kid.

     “Can you stop that?”

     I turned my head to see Daryl illuminated in the dim light of the stars, turning was probably unnecessary since I could recognize his thick southern drawl above everyone else’s but his words had taken me off guard.   

     “Stop what?” 

     “Yer chatterin’” he responded as if it had been the most obvious thing in the world as we continued to walk along side each other. 

     “It’s not like I can help it,” I said in my own defence. “It’s cold out: I am out and I am cold. Hence the uncontrollable chattering,” I spelled out for him. 

     “Whatever,”

     Typical Daryl Dixon. I thought to myself as I stuffed my hands into my jeans pockets and clenched my jaw in attempt to stop my chattering which was not only getting on Daryl’s nerves but my own. 

     Gunshots. 

     Four of them.

     Coming from the direction of camp.

     Panic surged through me as I found, not just myself, but every one of us had stopped in horror looking around the forest in horror.  

     “Oh my God.”

     “Let’s go,” I became able to move again and started to head in direction of camp. “Let’s GO! LETS GO!” I hollered quickening my own pace as the others followed behind me. 

     Ohmygod. Ohmygod. Ohmygod. Ohmygod. Ohmygod. Ohmygod. Ohmygod. Ohmygod. Ohmygod. Ohmygod. Ohmygod. Ohmygod. Ohmygod. Ohmygod. Ohmygod. Ohmygod. Ohmygod. Ohmygod. Ohmygod. Ohmygod. Ohmygod. Ohmygod. 

     I could not think as we advanced as fast as we could manage towards the camp and when we did we were greeted by complete chaos. Barely inhaling, the putrid smell of rotting flesh entered my lungs, choking me. I knew immediately what was going on. 

     A walker attack.  

     Walkers were attacking from all directions, grabbing and devouring people all over the campsite. 

     Lifting my head I laid eyes on a walker who was behind Stacie about to bite a chunk out of her shoulder blade. The microseconds stretched infinitely. I could feel my eyes opening wider and wider, even though I knew they were flying open.   Before I could raise my gun a shot rings out from behind me and the walker drops down to the ground dead. I turned my body to see Daryl. 

     Not typical Daryl Dixon.

     I nodded at him appreciatively before my eyes widened as the starlight illuminated a walker stalking directly behind him as he was staring at me. 

     BAM.    
      
      Before Daryl could turn to see what I had shot at the walker fell down dead by his feet. Joining forces, we instantly ran towards each other standing back to back as we fought off the walkers together who were surrounding us, defending our camp and we clearly weren’t the only ones judging by the number of gun shots which were deafening me but I did not waver.

     “You’re welcome,” 

     “’Scuse me?”

     “You are welcome,” I told him smugly. Keeping our tight formation, we span around where I came face to face with a walker. With little time to pull the trigger I kicked it back before firing a shot into its head. “For savin’ your sorry ass back there,” 

     “I coulda handled it,” Daryl remarked causing Electra to snicker. “Shut.” He shot a walker down. “Yer.” And another walker. “Mouth.” A third walker. “Mismatch,” I shot down the last walker down before silence fell upon camp. 

     “LOOOOOOORIIIIIIIIII!” I heard a holler which belonged to Rick. “CAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRLLLLLLLLL!” It was Rick somewhere off in the distance. His cries caused me to glance around remembering that my brother was out there somewhere, dead or alive. 

     “SSHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNEE!” I howled out for him. “SSHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNEEEE!” I screamed.

     “ELLLLLLLLLLLLLLIIIIIIIEEEEE?!” 

     I speeded as fast as I could in the direction of the voice calling for me. Eventually, I emerged out of the woodland to see the R.V with familiar faces about. 

     “SHANE!” I lunged towards him, slamming my body into his and clinging onto him for dear life. Whilst fighting with Daryl I had blocked out the fear and worry but it had come rushing back. I know I was probably acting like a clingy two year old but I didn’t care, I wasn’t letting him go any time soon. Arms wrapped around my waist and I didn’t have to turn to know that they belonged to Stacie.  

     “OH MY GOD! AMY! AMY! AMMMMMMY!” 

     Still clinging onto Shane tightly I turned my head to see Andrea bawling, holding a limp figure in her arms....Amy. Unable to watch, she turned again to cry into Shane’s shirt.

     “I remember my dream now. Why I dug the holes.”