Double Crossbow (Daryl Dixon) [The Walking Dead]

Chapter 61 ↣ Aren't they always?

"Know that we have met before and that we will meet again. I will find my way to you in the next life, and every life after that."

— Mia Hollow

↣ ↢

Kathryn

I PIVOTED TO deal with the other men that would surely be on my tail, instead I saw Rick was free of his binds. He took down one of the other men with a spear I had made for him. That left two. One for each.

However, as I started to approach, the man turned and ran. Well, okay, then. I returned to Daryl. He didn't wait one moment for his binds to drop to the floor before he was on his feet and looking at where Gareth's knife had sat.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "Your shoulder?"

I grabbed his hands from my face. "Hurts like a bitch, but this one was fucked up anyway. Let's just get out of here."

Daryl took a breath. "Don't gotta tell me twice."

Rick knelt beside us and undid Glenn. "If they got problems, we got a chance."

"It sounded like a bomb," Glenn said.

"Sounds like a damn war," Daryl corrected. He rose to his feet and held out a hand to me. I gladly took it.

"Mr. Magician, where were you hiding that thing?" I asked Rick as we approached a table and grabbed whatever other sharp things we saw.

He smirked over at me. "Took some pointers from you and hid it in my sock."

"What the hell are these people?" Bob asked.

"They ain't people," Daryl replied.

Bob went to stab one of the men in the head, but Rick stopped him. "Don't. Let him turn."

We moved quickly through the warehouse, but as we entered the next open space all of us hesitated. It was a full butchering line. Whatever minuscule food I had in my stomach threatened to make an appearance. I had seen a lot, but this was a whole different level of morbid. Why was this their solution? They had miles of woods around them. Were people really easier to hunt?

"Cross any of these people," Rick said, "you kill them. Don't hesitate. They won't."

I moved past all of them, not wanting to stay in that building one second longer. There was a doorway at the end of the hall. I peered around. "Half dozen walkers," I reported back. They were banging on the sides of another train car.

Rick looked over my shoulder. "If we run, we can get by them. They're distracted."

Glenn, Bob, and Daryl moved to stand on the other side. Glenn said, "We gotta let those people out."

I glanced up at Rick who was clearly not motivated to do any saving.

"That's still who we are," Glenn said. "It's gotta be."

Rick looked down to me, and I balked a little that he was looking for my opinion. I shrugged. "Someone told me recently that everything gets a return."

Rick considered it before nodding. We grouped up and moved as one outside. There were enough of us to easily clear the path to the train car. Glenn ran to the door and undid the lock. He tugged at the door, and when it was open, there was a moment where nothing happened. Before we could question our own sanity, a man ran out screaming, "We're the same! We're the same!"

Daryl stepped in front of me, blocking my view of the man. That is, until he stumbled to the far left and was swarmed by walkers. He cackled all the while. Well, we tried. That's all anyone could do. We couldn't have known who was behind that door. Daryl's arm reached behind him as he started to sidestep away from the scene, ushering me to the right and towards the cover of the train car. Daryl left my side for only a second and returned pulling Glenn by the collar of his shirt. It was getting loud.