A simple supply hunt for a source of water in the middle of Atlanta turns sour quickly for Erin as she come fist to face with a fuming, handless Merle Dixon.
Alone in the middle of the apocalypse with only a racist guy who doesn't know the differen...
"What a shame we all became such fragile, broken things." - Let The Flames Begin, Paramore
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"How long was ya alone? Big group must fuck with ya head, huh?" Daryl's hushed tone returned Erin's focus to him after she'd drifted off, her mind fixed on the shadowed trees around them as they trekked through the forest they'd come through when Sophia had first gone missing. It had only been two or so days but it felt like a lifetime, though Daryl was still determined they would find her alive.
His sudden concern for her well-being startled her, but she didn't question it. The feeling of someone actually caring was so foreign to her by now that he might as well have asked her in Spanish. "Before? Nearly a month... Merle was, in his own way, a good crash course on dealing with company again."
Daryl hummed softly, briefly glancing at her as he held a larger tree branch aside for her to pass, "How about the people? Think ya trust them?"
"Think I've found if I stay out of everyone's way, they can tolerate me," she replied without actually answering his question, her eyes still alert to any movement in the undergrowth, "Apart from Shane - he wants to kill me wherever I am, it seems..."
"He's always been like that," Daryl's gaze was also focused on their surroundings, but he retained enough attention to keep the conversation going, "Hates me, too, but he wouldn't dare try anythin'. Gotta stand ya ground and he'll back off..."
"I'm not so sure..."
She trailed off as the roof of a building came into view on the horizon, most of the tiles broken or falling off though the beams seemed to still be intact somehow. It's once white outer walls were stained grey by age, and by the silence in the air, she guessed it was deserted - still, instinct warned her not to be so certain.
Daryl immediately abandoned the conversation, his focus now entirely on the house as they continued to approach it. Their footfalls were muffled by the grass leading up to and around the structure, yellowed as though leading the way to Oz, but this place looked more like a scene from a horror rather than a fantasy movie.
An echoing bang resounded through the hallway as Daryl kicked open the front door, his crossbow aimed at head height in case any strays came charging at them. He gestured for Erin to head upstairs, his eyes scanning the doorways to the downstairs rooms as she obeyed. The steps creaked in complaint at the pressure from the balls of her feet against the wood. She halted at the top, two knives ready in her grip for any attempt at an ambush from a stray lurking in one of the bedrooms. If Sophia was there, she'd have to have hidden herself very well...
Rounding one of the doorframes, she held the blades ready, breathing a small sigh as she was met with an empty room in surprisingly pristine condition despite the state of the exterior. Light yellow paint coated all but one of the walls, the final surface taken up by a wide window, bringing in bright sunlight which splayed across the array of furniture arranged simply on the cream-coloured carpet.
