Perfect Storm || Daryl Dixon

8: respect for the un-dead

"I don't wanna be left for my demons to find..." Sacrifice, Zella Day

--)->

After about an hour of driving, the tension between the two people in the cab was unbearable, thick enough for Erin to put her blade through and bring a chunk of it back. She'd stuck to the empty back roads through farmland and woodland, keeping the engine noise as low as possible while keeping the speed up as she took the most direct route she could remember from Atlanta to the CDC.

She didn't know why she hadn't thought of heading there before. Surely if anyone had the answers to all of her questions, it would be someone at the CDC. After all, they had been the ones looking into the virus when it first broke out.

Merle remained looking straight ahead through most of the journey, but every so often she would see him glance at her when he thought she wasn't looking before quickly turning away again. Quite a way back, she'd started to wonder if she might have been a little harsh on him, but a voice in the back of her mind told her he needed someone to put him in his place once a while - otherwise he'd just be an ass for the rest of his life.

The road ahead of them had been clear ever since they'd left the city, but that was understandable in the circumstances; Erin would probably have been more worried if it hadn't been empty. Not a single stray had been seen by either of them as the truck rumbled along, which both eased and worried them - it was beyond strange that they'd all seemingly disappeared...

"Maybe they followed the camp," Merle spoke up just as they passed a sign for yet another farm, seeming to read her thoughts, "They had a lotta cars and things, maybe the creepers followed the noise they was makin'..."

"Maybe..." Erin kept her eyes peeled nonetheless, slightly shocked at his sudden choice to speak, but thankful for the break in the silence.

Soon, they were headed through much denser woodland, the road beneath the truck's tyres becoming rougher as they drew closer to their goal. Then, she saw something in the distance...

Squinting partly while keeping the majority of her focus on the road, she could just make out the figure of a man, seemingly stood stock-still in the centre of the road. Merle must have noticed him too as he leaned forward on the dashboard, resting his elbows on the plastic casing and narrowing his eyes to see more clearly.

"Is that-?"

"A stray? I think so," she clarified, but he was shaking his head.

"I know what it is," he replied matter-of-factly and she swore she saw him roll his eyes at her, "I meant I recognise 'im. Pull over."

The last part was more of an order than a suggestion, so Erin turned the steering wheel, easing on the breaks as she brought the truck to a stop on the grass verge alongside the road. Merle got out first, heading around to the back of the vehicle and fiddling with the clasp on the tailgate until it fell open. Unsurprisingly, the stray corpse Erin had shot back in Atlanta was still pinned to the side as she hadn't thought to get rid of it so Merle's eyes widened slightly in surprise at the sight of it sprawled all over the weapons.

"Gah!" he turned his head away as the stench hit his nose, "Fuckin' ugly bastard... Help me shift this."

Reluctantly, she climbed out of her seat and walked round the truck to grab the legs as he yanked the dagger from between its eyes. He dropped it with a clatter in the bed of the truck before taking a decrepit arm and lugging it out of the way. He didn't seem to struggle as much as she thought he would with one arm as he managed to prop the rest of its torso up with his stump. They carried it about ten metres into the woodlands beside the road, keeping an eye on the 'live' one which seemed to just stay still, and dumping it behind some trees.

As she wiped her hands on her jeans, Merle headed back over to the truck and pulled out one of her pistols, one with a silencer. Without a word, he clicked back the safety and aimed for the live stray's head.

"What are you doing?" Erin called over to him, slightly alarmed. Surely if he knew him, he'd be a bit more apprehensive about shooting him straight through the head.

"Puttin' him outta his misery," he replied simply, and seconds later the stray collapsed to the ground, barely a sound made by the gun. He dropped it promptly back in the truck and began walking over to the corpse, glancing over his shoulder to see if she was following, "Don't say I ain't respectful. Ain't no way to live, turned int'a one of them..."

In that moment, as he knelt down to grab this one's arms, she could have sworn she saw a more human side to Merle. It faded almost as soon as it appeared as he looked up at her, gesturing towards its legs, his face steeled over once again.

Instead of looking at him as she took one leg in each hand, she stared down at the face of the stray, seeing its cold grey eyes stare lifelessly back at her. He had been in his late thirties by the look of his features, short brown hair hung limply across his forehead, drenched in his own blackened blood from the single bullet hole which adorned his forehead. "What was his name?"

Merle gave her a questioning look as though asking why the hell that mattered, but he answered anyway, "Jim, I think... Seem to remember Daryl sayin' that was his name..."

Erin just nodded, looking back down at 'Jim', "How did he get out here? Do you think they left him...?"

What sort of group was this if they didn't think to put down the bitten? Surely being shot would be less horrible than reanimating and having no choice but to wander for eternity...

"Prob'ly."

He didn't say anything else as they placed the corpse nearby the previous one. She felt guilty for not having time to bury him, but they had to catch up to Merle's group whom Erin was having more and more doubts about as time went on.

Who were these people? Abandoning a guy on a rooftop and then leaving another to die at the side of the road? She wasn't sure if she really wanted to meet them...

Merle suddenly cleared his throat, bringing her away from her thoughts as she realised she was just standing and staring at the body. "We need to go. Don't want 'em gettin' too far ahead of us."

Blinking away the dryness in her eyes, she realised he was right. As horrific as the sight in front of her was, it at least confirmed they were on the right track. Merle's 'group' had been here, on this road.

She straightened up and headed straight past him, ignoring the weird look he gave her as she passed. She could feel his eyes on her the whole way back to the truck as he trailed a few feet behind her, almost as if he was watching her with caution, trying to figure her out; maybe he was - if that was the case, perhaps she'd have to be more careful about showing emotion around him.

Couldn't have him thinking she had a weak point and deciding to use it against her...

She shut the door behind her as Merle climbed back into the passenger seat seconds later, slamming his door with a definite bang. Starting the ignition, she turned to face him only to find him looking out of the window to his right, causing her to forget whatever it was she was going to say.

All she knew was that it was probably another harsh remark and he probably wouldn't have listened anyway. She doubted he was paying attention to anything at the moment, except the possibility on the setting horizon of meeting back up with his brother, sooner now rather than later...