Choosing the Right Path

[Rick Grimes]

Although he'd made the final call he wasn't sure if he was okay with Daryl or Jesus wandering into the woods. But they had to find somewhere to camp the night and staying on the highway in the cold just wouldn't work. Rick watched both men cross the field in the distance and he immediately spotted the walkers heading their way. He knew they could handle themselves. If anyone knew how to handle walkers it was those two. Yet, it put him on edge. Everything did these days--they’d lost so much, so fast. He pulled his gaze away and turned to the group.

"Let's move. We'll camp near those trees over there for now. I know we can all use some rest." He glanced at Maggie and grimaced. She was holding up but if they stayed on the road any longer she’d collapse. It felt like deja vu. Lori had been pregnant and surviving on the road during the winter too. The crisp air and biting winds had beat her down, but she’d survived--until she didn’t. To lose his daughter after all of that... The sick way she’d been taken from him haunted his dreams when he finally managed to fall asleep. He could hear her tiny piercing cries, the terrified, hopeful gleam in her eyes as she reached out to him. And then a savior cut her throat as he ran toward her- he’d seen nothing but red after that. The saviors blood still clung to his face, a constant reminder that he’d lost one of the last precious people in his life.

Rick shook his head to clear the memory and trekked alongside Ezekiel, his eyes watchful of Carl who walked close by. The older man had fallen silent days ago. His gaze was clouded by loss as well. Carol had sacrificed herself to save him and his people against his wishes. He’d tried to comfort the man but Ezekiel didn’t seem to hear him. He was better left alone to his thoughts. He knew from experience that words could not mend a broken heart.

”I’m freezing my ass off.”

Rick heard the half hearted laughter behind him and he grimaced. They all were. Leave it to Nadia to voice what they all were thinking. The girl reminded him of Andrea, a bit eccentric and bold. He glanced back at her briefly before turning forward and continuing on.

Once the group settled down, he moved back to the road and peered down the interstate. Daryl and Jesus would be heading west. He glanced at his watch and noted the time. They had forty more minutes before he radioed them. He patted the walkie hanging from his waistband and turned to face the group.

“I’m gonna check further down the road. Anyone is welcome to come.” He knew some of them got restless when they weren’t moving. He did. He needed to feel useful or he’d slip back to the past, to the hope he’d promised his people that had been ripped away.

Tag: Anyone

[Daryl Dixon]

Daryl managed to turn in time and with his forearm, push the second walker back against a car and pin it by its neck. It grasped and clawed at him, its rotten teeth snapping. Quickly he put the poor soul out of its misery by sinking his knife into its temple. As he did this he heard Paul cry out from behind him and looking back over his shoulder, in one swift move he pulled his knife free, the walker dropped with a thump at his feet. He saw Paul struggling with a walker, one almost upon him.

Rushing, he jumped and slid over a car hood towards his companion. Paul managed to the walker he had been struggling with, yet nearly fell over the bridge with the car he had pinned it against. Daryl watched as Paul fell over. Thankfully Daryl managed to reach the second walker that was nearly upon Paul’s toppled form. Coming up behind it, he jammed his knife up into the base of its skull and then groaned a little from his increasing exhaustion as he pushed it away. He then offered his hand out to Paul to help him up.

” Come on, I know you can do better than that.” He helped the man up. Hopefully not crushing his pride too much. He then turned and looked towards their incoming challenge. More walkers were drawn to them by all the noise, especially after the car had hit the water. ” We should move together, use the cars to our advantage.”

He took his bow off his back and aimed at the nearest walker to them, firing the bow made a Whizzz noise and then sunk deep into the walker’s eye. Normally he didn’t like using his long-ranged weapons, but he figured Paul needed a moment to regain himself and the other walkers now making their way towards them would be stopped up by some of the cars.

” Ready?” His eyes didn’t leave the walkers as he asked.

 Paul Rovia

[Paul Rovia]

Paul watched Daryl take down the walker closest to him with ease. He moved to stand, gripping Daryl’s hand and pulling himself up. “Shut up.” he said, cracking an half smile. He was never like this and it bothered him that he was so starved and weak that he couldn’t handle a few walkers. Depending on Daryl to protect him bothered him more than he let on. Becoming a liability wasn’t why he’d volunteered to tag along. He glanced Daryl’s way as the man raised his bow and took aim.

He could do this. He needed to get it together.

“Yeah,” He said with a nod, moving forward with his knife at the ready. An arrow zoomed to his left as he drew a walker toward him. He opened a car door and when the walker moved closer, used it to block its path so that he could stab it in the head. He stepped around the side of the car, stepping across the fallen walker and took aim at a second, then a third. Each time one went down he could feel himself getting dizzier, but he pushed on because he didn’t have any other option. Using the cars as barriers made it much easier. He stomped the head of one of them in and kicked a few strangler over the edge of the bridge. Their decaying bodies could be heard splashing into the water below.

He heard the whistle of another arrow taking down the last one as he leaned against the bridge railing, his eyes squeezed shut as he caught his breath. The air around them smelled like death and odd coagulated blood--a smell that seemed to have gotten ten times stronger over the past few days. He pulled his bag down his arms and dug inside for his water bottle.

He gulped down a bit of it and then held the rest out for Daryl to take. “I need to rest.” He said, feeling his stomach lurch again. “Just a second than we can go.” He pulled his beanie down over his head and then wiped at the abrasion on his left hand. It was only a flesh wound--filled with dirt, but minor. Taking a deep, steady breath, he turned, gestured that he was ready and continued across the bridge.

They’d need to sneak around any other walkers. Facing them head on was going to wear them out very quickly. Daryl was sweaty, but he wasn’t showing any signs of slowing down any time soon. He peered around them as they walked and when they reached a point where the road branched he stopped. There was gray building to their left and as he looked further around he spotted a larger building next to a huge parking lot. That could work.

“Wanna check it out?” He asked.

Daryl Dixon