☣Operation: Sherry Birkin☣
He vented a breath past flared nostrils, his lips drawn into a stern line. His silence spoke volumes; whether a figment of his own sleep or otherwise, it unearthed old demons. Foes formed in light of his own trepidation like ghosts looming at his shoulder. Death had reached for the echo of every step he took towards survival, dogging his wake in the hopes that one day, he may slip and submit to the waiting Hell. He wasn’t ready, and that reluctance to fold to inevitability was what fueled his pace from its grasp.
Meanwhile, the pint-sized Sherry Birkin he held in tow was firing off questions in contemplative whispers while they roamed the desolation in search of a safe exit. He would let fly a bolt here and there should they encounter a straggler or two and make certain to recycle the ammo, carving a path through as little resistance as possible; avoid the brunt to minimise casualties. After all, one was harmless given you were armed— a crowd would prove overpowering. Tucking himself just around a corner for a breather, bringing her into his side, Daryl shouldered his crossbow and preceded his answer with an impassive stare.
➶} "don’t know ‘im none. some people do dumb things wit’ th’bes’ intentions. sometimes it ain’t their fault.”
➶} "—-you think y’r dad’s a bad person?"
☣Slowly did she shake her head,☣"No, I don't. Daddy loves me and Mommy very much and everyone says how smart he is and how great his research is. So that means that Daddy isn't bad, right?"☣A small smile on her face even with the horrors that were happening around them, it was as if she found a little ray of sunshine through all the doubt she had. But then her face stilled, slowly forming into fear, as even she could hear the sound of feet dragging and voices moaning in whatever infected seemed to feel. It seemed that they were not alone in this space, but they would be okay, right?
She wanted to peek or at least say something, but a look at Daryl's face told her that now was not the time. If Sherry wanted to be of help to this man, then she would have to be still and quiet until he said otherwise. After a few moments of waiting, the sounds had disappeared, they had somehow gotten through it without having to actually deal with the creatures. Obviously seeing that this was no longer a place to stay, and Sherry being considerably rested, the two of them once more set off to find an exit.
Now we time-skip to who knows how long it's been, hours maybe, and it seems they still haven't found a way out, either because of a wrong turn or because of too many infected. But they wouldn't give up, Sherry because she believed in Daryl, and Daryl because he didn't want to see anything happen to her. It was a certain point in their journey that they let their guard down. That proved to be fatal.☣
"Daddy?"was all Sherry's voice could get out before a mutated fiend who probably was once her father, snatched her and injected her with something. She was so confused that she couldn't even scream. Why was this happening to her?
