Calista kept her focus on finding a vehicle.
What they needed was a car that could handle a long trip, was sturdy enough, and could still start. That was not going to be easy.
Leah stayed on the edge of the group the whole time, occasionally using her dagger to silently take out the stray walkers that wandered out from corners.
Her movements were clean and efficient, barely making a sound, and Daryl found himself glancing at her more than once.
They tested a few sedans and SUVs that looked like they were in better shape.
Some had completely dead batteries. Some had bird nests and rotted wiring under the hood. One of them even let out a thick wave of rot and a swarm of rats the moment they pulled the door open.
"Looks like this town's been picked clean more than once." Calista wiped the sweat off her forehead, sounding a little discouraged. "Anything that could still run was probably taken a long time ago."
Just as their hope was starting to fade, Merle spotted a black Chevrolet Suburban in the parking lot of a small supermarket.
It was a large vehicle, and the body was mostly intact. The tires were a little flat, but they did not look badly damaged. The windows were tinted dark enough that it was impossible to see clearly inside from the outside.
"Hey! This one looks promising!" Merle ran over excitedly and yanked on the door handle. It was locked.
He grinned and raised his metal arm. "Looks like we're doing this the rough way."
"Wait, Merle." Calista stopped him. She signaled for everyone to stay quiet, then moved closer to the window, shielding the sunlight with one hand as she tried to look inside.
The interior was dark, but she seemed to catch something moving.
"There's something in there." Leah noticed it too, her hand already resting on the dagger at her waist.
Daryl raised his crossbow, moved around to the other side of the vehicle, and peered through a narrow gap in the window. Then he said in a low voice, "More than one. Two in the front, three in the back. Damn. A whole family pack."
There was disgust in his voice.
The worst kind were walkers trapped inside vehicles. The space was too tight to move properly.
Now Calista could see clearly too.
There was an adult walker in the driver's seat and another in the passenger seat. In the back were three more, one of them clearly much smaller than the others. A child.
The noise outside had obviously disturbed them. Several rotten hands started slamming against the windows with dull, heavy thuds.
"Take them out." Calista immediately decided they were claiming this vehicle.
It was the most promising one they had seen so far. They could not give up on it.
The problem was how to clear it.
There was not enough room inside the vehicle for them to move properly.
In the end, Daryl came up with a solution.
He told Merle to use the pointed edge of the blade on his metal arm to carefully pry open the corner of the driver's-side window and make a gap wide enough for a crossbow bolt to pass through.
"I'll take the driver. Leah, you handle the passenger seat. Merle, get ready. As soon as we take out the two in front, smash the rear window and draw the ones in back. Calista and I will take them from the side."
Daryl assigned the roles quickly. In that moment, his combat instincts were on full display.
Leah nodded without objection.
The plan went into motion.
Daryl held his breath, aimed through the gap, and fired. The crossbow bolt shot out with a sharp whoosh and pierced the driver walker's head with perfect accuracy.
Almost at the same time, Leah flicked her wrist. A small dagger flew like lightning through a tiny opening she had already made above the window and buried itself in the passenger walker's eye socket.
Clean and precise.
"Now," Daryl barked.
Merle had already been waiting impatiently. The moment he heard the order, he swung his metal arm and smashed it hard into the rear window.
Crash.
The glass shattered.
The three walkers in the back, including the small one, immediately started screeching and trying to force themselves out through the broken opening.
Daryl and Calista had already moved around to the rear side of the vehicle.
Daryl used his crossbow to take down one of the adult walkers leaning toward the window.
Calista tightened her grip on her dagger. As another adult walker pushed most of its body out, she stepped in from the side and drove the blade hard into its temple.
That left only the child walker. It was stuck in the broken opening, its thin rotted arms flailing as it let out a sharp, piercing shriek.
Looking at the walker that had once been a child, Calista did not hesitate. Her hand came down in one swift motion, ending that chilling cry.
The whole thing took less than two minutes, and their coordination was seamless.
"Nicely done!" Merle shouted excitedly as he used his metal arm to knock away the remaining shards of glass from the window before eagerly pulling the door open.
A powerful wave of decay hit him in the face, but he did not care. "Now let's see if this beauty can move."
He climbed into the driver's seat, eager to get started.
Daryl also walked over to the front of the vehicle, ready to help if needed.
The key was still in the ignition. This family had clearly never made it out. Someone must have turned inside the vehicle before they could escape.
Merle took a deep breath and twisted the key.
"Vrrr... click, click... vrrr..."
The engine gave a few weak gasps. The dashboard lights flickered faintly a few times, and then everything died completely.
"Fuck!" Merle refused to accept it and tried several more times, but the result was always the same.
He slammed the steering wheel in frustration. "What the hell is wrong with it?"
Daryl had already popped the hood. He took one look and cursed.
"The wiring's been chewed to hell by rats, and the battery's completely dead."
It felt like their last hope had just gone with it.
The four of them stared at the heap of scrap they had worked so hard to clear out and fell silent.
Furious, Merle slammed his metal arm into the door, producing a loud metallic bang.
Daryl did not look any happier. He silently slung his crossbow over his back again.
Leah remained expressionless, still watching their surroundings as if the setback had nothing to do with her, though her lips were pressed tightly together.
Calista let out a breath and forced herself to calm down.
Getting angry would not solve anything.
"Looks like we need a different approach. Maybe... we shouldn't just focus on the cars parked out on the street."
Her eyes swept across the road and finally stopped on a sign not too far away.
It was an auto repair shop that looked fairly large. The sign was faded, but the words "Jack's Auto Repair" were still visible.
"Let's check there." Calista pointed at the repair shop. "There might be a usable vehicle inside, or at least some parts and tools."
Everyone agreed.
Instead of wasting more time here on this pile of scrap, they might as well try their luck there.
The repair shop's main door was half open. Inside, the light was dim, and the place was packed with abandoned parts and tires.
They moved in carefully, with Leah and Daryl covering the left and right sides, checking every corner. Along the way, they quietly took care of two walker mechanics wandering behind a tool cabinet.
Several vehicles waiting for repairs were parked inside the shop, but they looked even worse than the ones outside.
Merle kicked a tire in frustration. "Damn it. Another wasted trip."
Just then, something at the very back of the shop caught Daryl's eye. It was half covered by a waterproof tarp.
...
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on p-@-treon.
p-@-treon/GhostParser (45 Chapters Ahead)
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.