Searching for Beth was proving to be anything but easy. You’d stayed in the temporary housing building in the city for the night; it was secure and as safe as you could get. You were the only ones there that weren’t walkers. Or so you thought.

You had just squished your way through a chained and padlocked door, tents on tents of walkers laid before you. As you stood up you were met with another person; one holding a gun he clearly didn’t know how to handle. Before you could tell Daryl not to follow you, he was halfway through the door.

“Lay down your weapons.” The kid’s voice was a bit shaky, unsure as he spoke. He directed the gun at Daryl, who pushed the rest of the way through the door, still clutching his crossbow. “The crossbow. I need weapons, put it down.” You kept your gun, it was hidden in the back of your jeans. With all the reluctance in the world, Daryl set the crossbow down, earning a nod from the kid. He immediately took the surrendered weapon and stood back, looking the two of you over. “You two look tough. You can handle this.” He drew a blade of his own cutting a slit into each tent. As he made his escape, walkers began to encroach on your space.

————————————

After narrowly making it out, you found a hospital van abandoned on a nearby bridge. You both got in, searching for anything you could use to defend yourselves. One handgun with three bullets was nowhere near enough.

You looked out the passenger window. A herd of walkers was heading straight for the van. “We have to go. They’re coming.”

“Yeah. I see that.” Daryl grumbled, looking out his own window. They were coming from both directions, closing in. You scrambled to the back of the van, pulling the doors shut. As you got back in the passenger seat, double checking that the door was locked, the van rocked. The walkers were there, pushing the van. That was when the panic set in. “Buckle up.”

You did, your hands shaking. Daryl glanced over at you, giving a nod that was probably supposed to be reassuring. It wasn’t. He put his hand on the dashboard as the walkers began to push the van off the side of the bridge, inch by agonizing inch.

You grabbed his hand, keeping both on the dashboard. “Hold on.” He spoke gently.