The McManus' - Chapter 4: Soldier On
Tyler watched from behind Rick as Glenn radioed to whoever was in his group to take out the ‘geeks’ in the alleyway, raising an eyebrow at the two men that came out in riot gear, wielding baseball bats.
“Let’s go!” Glenn motioned for them to follow him while the other two took out the walkers, leaving a clear path for the three of them. Tyler followed slowly, watching the two guys bash the walkers brains in before Rick pulled her past the doorway by the collar of her uniform. She fixed him with a glare before a streak of blonde obscured her vision and Rick’s being pressed against a stack of boxes, a gun pointed at his face. The owner of the gun was a small woman with a fierce look on her face - she just wasn’t expecting to have a gun pointed at her own face. Tyler kept her face blank as the woman turned her head a bit to stare at her, kept her arm steady as the muzzle of her Beretta brushed the edge of the woman’s nose.
“I suggest you lower your gun, unless you want your head blown off,” Tyler growled, barely moving her mouth as she glared at the blonde woman. Said woman just glared back at her and didn’t move, keeping her stance against Rick with the gun under his nose. Tyler cocked her head and flicked the safety off her gun, the resounding click making everyone freeze and prompted one of the men from alleyway to sidle up to the blonde woman.
“C’mon Andrea, do what she says, lower the gun,” The man whispered, a pleading tone underlying the request but the woman - Andrea - didn’t back down - if anything, she just shoved her gun further into Rick’s face.
“Why should I? We’re dead because of him and his bitch,” She snarled, her eyes heated in fury and despair. Tyler just shrugged and jabbed the muzzle of the Beretta against the woman’s temple, taking note of the lady’s body language at the action before darting her gaze towards Rick, making sure he was alright for the time being. Something on the woman’s gun caught her eye, though, made Tyler snort with incredulous.
“Well, for one, the safety on your gun isn’t even off,” Tyler stated casually, acting like she wasn’t holding a gun to someone’s head. “Really? You’re in a city full of walkers and you don’t even know how to turn the safety off. Do you even know how to handle a gun?” She asked the woman, taunting her a bit with a condescending smile as she crowded Andrea’s personal space.
“Tyler!” Rick snapped, glaring at her pointedly when she turned to look at him. She merely rolled her eyes and dropping her arm, flicking the safety back on the Beretta before tucking in the back of her fatigues, taking a step back from the over-emotional blonde. The other man - a Hispanic, now that Tyler can see him properly - also finally convinced the blonde to back off Rick, sparring Tyler a once-over glance and took in her uniform, a spark of interest in his eyes that she knew all too much of. He thought she was there to save them, that there was an actual refugee center and she came to rescue them; she snorted at the thought - the world was completely overrun with the dead and it took the government with them. She was a soldier that followed her instincts blindly, not used to not having orders and being on her own - it was one of the reasons why she’s still with Rick, she could feel the leadership that practically flows off him. Plus, the fact that he was attractive and doing things to her body that she hadn’t felt before was a bonus, no matter how frustrating it was.
She snorted, muttering, “Pathetic,” as she stalked past the small group, her combat boots making dull thumps on the concrete. Tyler stopped when she stormed into an empty clothing store, the mannequins still stood and she eyed them warily; a muffled pounding noise brought her attention to the store’s doors, narrowing her eyes when she saw the horde of walkers banging on the glass - one of them even had a brick, which made Tyler scratch her head in wonderment.
Hearing the others walk up behind her, she looked over her shoulder slightly and gave a brief nod to Rick as he stopped next to her.
"Didn't think they had the brain capacity to know how to handle objects like weapons," she muttered, nodding her head towards the doors. Rick just made a noncommittal grunt before patting her arm and heading towards the others. Tyler rolled her eyes and sighted, turning on her heels to stare at them from a distance - she still didn't trust them and the looks the Hispanic man were giving her was making her uncomfortable. Tyler really didn't want to crush whatever hope they had but she'd have to if they were going to hound her for answers that didn't exist.
"What the hell were you doing out there?" The Hispanic man asked, exhaustion and weariness coating his tone. Rick rubbed his neck awkwardly, sparring Tyler a glance before turning back to the group, hands resting on his hips - such a cop thing to do in Tyler's opinion.
"I saw a helicopter, was trying to follow it," he tried to explain and Tyler could already tell the strangers thought he was crazy.
"We saw the helicopter, went to follow it, ran into a street-full of corpses," she explained further in choppy answers, voice monotonous so it'll tell them she had no interest in talking to any of them. She half listened as they tried to convince her and Rick what they saw wasn't real, that they were just dehydrated and seeing things - which Tyler knew was a load of bull; she didn't know about Rick but she sure as hell was dehydrated, she knew what it fucking felt like,
She watched on as one of them - a dark male, probably mid-thirty - try to find a radio station, to contact their group, she guessed. She had to shake her head at Rick who asked if he was trying to contact the refugee center - he should know from when they came in that the likelihood of a refugee center was slim to none. She didn't blame him for asking though, the guy was just trying to find his family.
Muffled gunshots interrupted her thoughts and she swore she heard the blonde woman mutter a name she thought she'd never hear again.
"Oh god, is that Dixon?"
Tyler wasted no time at all bolting from the room and towards the staircase that lead to the roof; if it was who she think it was, she'd have a friend from the past - something she really needed at the moment and although she liked Rick, he didn't know her at all and how to deal with her issues.
With the others hot on her tail, she burst through the metal door with a loud crash and looked around wildly until another gunshot brought her attention to the ledge, a wide smile stretching her lips as she took in the familiar figure. Bringing a hand to her mouth, Tyler whistled sharply, gaining his attention and probably damaged everyone else's eardrums. The goofy smile that lit up his face, along with the unforgettable raspy laugh as he jumped down from the ledge filled her with a welcoming warmth she hadn't felt in so long.
"Is that Lil Red I see standing before me?"
Tyler let out a brief bark of laughter before she strode forward and brought Merle into a tight hug, pleasantly surprised when he returned it - he had told her about his home like one night when they were both drunk out of their minds; it was their second month into deployment and Tyler was determined to know why he didn't want her touching him - or anyone, for that matter. She knows he was only there to stay out of jail and not out of the kindness of his heart to serve his country but that didn't bother her, she got a best friend out of it and she couldn't be more happy to know he survived.
Noticing the uncomfortable silence behind her, she patted Merle on the back before letting go, stepping back with a wide smile. Turning around, she was met with different expressions - most were confused curiosity but there were a couple that had disgust and distrust mixed in. Tyler merely rolled her eyes and went into her commanding stance subconsciously, arms folding neatly behind her.
"Dixon and I were in the same platoon," she stately flatly, gaze empty as she regarded them, giving Rick a small smile when her eyes landed on him, smiling a little more genuinely when he returned it. She turned her attention back to Merle and noticed his eyes were slightly glazed and unfocused; narrowing her eyes in suspicion, she gives him a once over before tugging his vest open aggressively, frantically searching his pockets and ignoring Merle's jeers. Feeling and hearing the slight crinkle of a plastic baggie, she glared at him furiously before whipping the bag out and over the side of the building, down into the walker infested streets.
"Hey! Whatcha do that for? S'was my stuff-" Merle snapped his mouth shut when he finally took in the furious look she was giving him - he felt like he was back in boot camp with the drill sergeants at her look.
She just shook her head at him, a look of disappointment shining through the layer of anger, making Merle feel ten times worse than when they were back in Iraq; she turned away from him and walked to the other side of the building, resting her forearms against the warm concrete, Merle watching her go with sad eyes.
Everyone just looked at each other, completely lost to what had just happened, and went their separate ways to do their own thing, a couple of them crowded around the man with the radio. Rick, however, went up to Merle and motioned him over the ledge where he was standing not too long ago.
"What can I do for you, Officer?" He asked, his body language and attitude subdued with Tyler's disappointed face playing over and over in his head.
Rick shrugged, leaning against the ledge with his arms crossed, "Tell me about yourself, about Tyler and her sister and what it was like to be in the military with them," Merle sighed and scrubbed his face roughly as he tried to compose his muddled thoughts.
"Not much to tell about myself, got a Lil brother, ma died early on - fell asleep with a cigarette in bed, the dumb bitch. Pa would be out on the bender a lot and we'd get into fights often - I was always gone at some point or another, in and out of juvie, ya know. Joined the military to do some good, thought I'd get my shit together and take my brother away, take him some place good and happy," Merle snorted, laughing bitterly. "Load of shit that was, it just screwed me up more when we got back from Iraq. Got honorable discharged since I took a landmine to the side and had to be sent home for 'recovery'.
"The only thing that made the whole thing worth it were those McManus sisters, I tell ya, when they let you in, your family forever in their eyes and whoever gets the honor of that should be grateful because they go to great lengths to protect their own. The last time I saw Tyler was when she was helping them load me into the humvee. I meant to find her when this all started but her house looked like it hadn't been touched in months; besides, I figured if she was still in service, they'd put her somewhere in Atlanta, be stationed at the CDC, ya know - I had lost hope when we came here today but you brought it back, you're the one who found her, didn't you?" Rick was lost for words, not expecting Merle to just open up like that but they always to not judge a book by its cover - he just nodded, answering Merle's question and gestured for him to continue.
Merle nodded, "I don't say this often but thanks - if there's one McManus sister still alive, the other ones bound to be, too. They're the kind of people you want with you when the world goes to shit, they'll keep you safe and sane and if there enough booze around, they'd get you black-out drunk," he chuckled, shaking his head fondly.
Rick went to tell him the thanks wasn't necessary but a voice behind them made birth men turn, smiling widely at the slight irritated look in Tyler's eyes, "You talkin' shit about me again, Dixon?" He scoffed as she smirked before turning to Rick, "They're having trouble contacting the group, maybe you should go over and think of a plan," her eyes sparkled mischievously, causing him to instantly be suspicious of her.
"And what are you going to do?" He asked, hands resting on his hips like a scolding mother; she just laughed at him and shook her finger at him.
"That's a surprise - besides, I'll have Merle with me, it'll be okay," she reassured him with a dazzling grin; Rick narrowed his eyes at her and pursed his lips for a moment before nodding reluctantly. She rewarded him with another bright smile and a chaste kiss on the cheek before grabbing Merle by the wrist and dragging him over the other side of the building and climbed down, out of sight.
Rick sighed heavily as he made his way over to the others, not liking that Tyler was not with him. He had gotten a brotherly vibe from Merle when he was talking about their military days and yet he can't help the small ball of jealousy that blossomed in his chest - even though he had no right, he was looking for his family, he shouldn't be jealous of anything. He growled, angry at himself for feeling these things. The world was shitty enough without the drama from the old world.
"So, what are we doin' down here?" Merle asked after he took out a walker; he looked over at Tyler to see her looting her own walker and chuckled. He shook his head at her cry of victory when she found a crushed pack of cigars.
"We're looking for ingredients to make an IED, give a distraction for the others to get out, meet up with them at camp," her tone of explanation was so matter-of-factly, Merle laughed loudly at her thinking.
"You always knew what to do in shit situations," he cuffed her on the shoulder with a playful shove and chuckled when she stuck her tongue out at him. They continued on until they came across a small kitchen with a gas stove; Merle set to work on getting the stove working while Tyler went to look for a janitor closet - if this place had any type of alcohol, they could make a molotov and throw it down the street a ways to make some noise.
"We could probably make a few molotovs, throw them onto any cars left around here, make a few explosions if we're lucky. Not much to be made around here," suggested Tyler, voice slightly muffled as she rifled through a closet. "I bet at least one of those desks or cabinets back at that office we passed through has a bottle."
"And if there ain't?"
Tyler sighed, her knees popping as she stood up, "Then I'll just go looking in one of the neighboring buildings,"
"You?" Merle interrupted, voice high with incredulous. "I thought the whole point of bringing me along was to do this shit together, if you're going then I'm goin' with ya,"
She glared at him, “If you would let me finish,” he just smiled sheepishly at her. “We spilt up, pick a neighboring build and come back here with our findings. Overall, it’d take five-ten minutes tops. No side trips,” Tyler gave him a look as she pointed her finger at him; Merle raised his hands in surrender as he went to one of the windows and smashed it open, jumping out onto the fire escape before Tyler could say anything more. She rolled her eyes at his antics as she strolled back into the office complex, rummaging through the drawers and came up with nothing. Huffing in annoyance, she climbed out a broken window and jumped on the neighboring roof, doing a tuck-and-roll as she landed.
Hearing the thunder rolling not too far off, she hurried over to the heavy metal door that sheathed the narrow staircase, echos from her boots clomping down the metal stairs resounded heavily on her ears - she really hoped there weren’t any walkers in the stairwell, she felt embarrassed enough for making this much noise.
She opened the first door she came across, stopping to pull her machete from her pack and her gun from her waistband, bringing her arms up in a T formation with her gun on point and the machete downwards, she set off towards the unknown. Tyler didn’t give her eyes any time to adjust, relying more on her instincts and senses as she glided through the dark passageway, hoping she’d wind up in a well windowed room.
As her luck would have it, a few snarls and moans sounded from her right with a couple coming in from her left - knowing she didn’t really stand a chance going against more than a couple walkers in the dark, she backtracked until she found a secluded closet, feeling around inside to make sure there were no hidden surprises. Praying that they’d go away so she could get out of there, Tyler hoped that Merle found what they needed and went along with the plan without her, hoped that he didn’t do anything stupid and left after the group, hoped they’d get to camp before night fell and payed no attention that she was missing. She had a feeling that Rick’s family was with Merle’s group, they just had to be, her gut feeling was always right and it hasn’t failed her once so far.
But she knew Merle - hell, she knew Rick and she only knew him for a few hours - and they wouldn’t really leave her behind. If they had by accident, they’d come and get her at first light. She just had to wait.
Yet, she wasn’t really a patient person and even being a couple minutes in the tiny closet was already enough for her, her skin itchy to get out of there and bolt, aching to have the warm Georgia breeze on her skin again. Pressing her ear against the door, she couldn’t make out any walkers beyond the beating of her heart pounding in her head; deciding to test her luck, she swung open the door, stopping it just in time to keep it from hitting the wall behind it - as far as she could tell, there weren’t any walkers around her area, so she bolted before she could question it, taking the stairs two at a time and bursting through the rooftop door just in time to get belting in the face with rain.
Tyler laughed joyfully, feeling refreshed for the first time in months, her face turned upwards so that the rain washed over her, a pleased smile lighting up her face as she relished in the brief moment of freedom.
“Let’s go!” Glenn motioned for them to follow him while the other two took out the walkers, leaving a clear path for the three of them. Tyler followed slowly, watching the two guys bash the walkers brains in before Rick pulled her past the doorway by the collar of her uniform. She fixed him with a glare before a streak of blonde obscured her vision and Rick’s being pressed against a stack of boxes, a gun pointed at his face. The owner of the gun was a small woman with a fierce look on her face - she just wasn’t expecting to have a gun pointed at her own face. Tyler kept her face blank as the woman turned her head a bit to stare at her, kept her arm steady as the muzzle of her Beretta brushed the edge of the woman’s nose.
“I suggest you lower your gun, unless you want your head blown off,” Tyler growled, barely moving her mouth as she glared at the blonde woman. Said woman just glared back at her and didn’t move, keeping her stance against Rick with the gun under his nose. Tyler cocked her head and flicked the safety off her gun, the resounding click making everyone freeze and prompted one of the men from alleyway to sidle up to the blonde woman.
“C’mon Andrea, do what she says, lower the gun,” The man whispered, a pleading tone underlying the request but the woman - Andrea - didn’t back down - if anything, she just shoved her gun further into Rick’s face.
“Why should I? We’re dead because of him and his bitch,” She snarled, her eyes heated in fury and despair. Tyler just shrugged and jabbed the muzzle of the Beretta against the woman’s temple, taking note of the lady’s body language at the action before darting her gaze towards Rick, making sure he was alright for the time being. Something on the woman’s gun caught her eye, though, made Tyler snort with incredulous.
“Well, for one, the safety on your gun isn’t even off,” Tyler stated casually, acting like she wasn’t holding a gun to someone’s head. “Really? You’re in a city full of walkers and you don’t even know how to turn the safety off. Do you even know how to handle a gun?” She asked the woman, taunting her a bit with a condescending smile as she crowded Andrea’s personal space.
“Tyler!” Rick snapped, glaring at her pointedly when she turned to look at him. She merely rolled her eyes and dropping her arm, flicking the safety back on the Beretta before tucking in the back of her fatigues, taking a step back from the over-emotional blonde. The other man - a Hispanic, now that Tyler can see him properly - also finally convinced the blonde to back off Rick, sparring Tyler a once-over glance and took in her uniform, a spark of interest in his eyes that she knew all too much of. He thought she was there to save them, that there was an actual refugee center and she came to rescue them; she snorted at the thought - the world was completely overrun with the dead and it took the government with them. She was a soldier that followed her instincts blindly, not used to not having orders and being on her own - it was one of the reasons why she’s still with Rick, she could feel the leadership that practically flows off him. Plus, the fact that he was attractive and doing things to her body that she hadn’t felt before was a bonus, no matter how frustrating it was.
She snorted, muttering, “Pathetic,” as she stalked past the small group, her combat boots making dull thumps on the concrete. Tyler stopped when she stormed into an empty clothing store, the mannequins still stood and she eyed them warily; a muffled pounding noise brought her attention to the store’s doors, narrowing her eyes when she saw the horde of walkers banging on the glass - one of them even had a brick, which made Tyler scratch her head in wonderment.
Hearing the others walk up behind her, she looked over her shoulder slightly and gave a brief nod to Rick as he stopped next to her.
"Didn't think they had the brain capacity to know how to handle objects like weapons," she muttered, nodding her head towards the doors. Rick just made a noncommittal grunt before patting her arm and heading towards the others. Tyler rolled her eyes and sighted, turning on her heels to stare at them from a distance - she still didn't trust them and the looks the Hispanic man were giving her was making her uncomfortable. Tyler really didn't want to crush whatever hope they had but she'd have to if they were going to hound her for answers that didn't exist.
"What the hell were you doing out there?" The Hispanic man asked, exhaustion and weariness coating his tone. Rick rubbed his neck awkwardly, sparring Tyler a glance before turning back to the group, hands resting on his hips - such a cop thing to do in Tyler's opinion.
"I saw a helicopter, was trying to follow it," he tried to explain and Tyler could already tell the strangers thought he was crazy.
"We saw the helicopter, went to follow it, ran into a street-full of corpses," she explained further in choppy answers, voice monotonous so it'll tell them she had no interest in talking to any of them. She half listened as they tried to convince her and Rick what they saw wasn't real, that they were just dehydrated and seeing things - which Tyler knew was a load of bull; she didn't know about Rick but she sure as hell was dehydrated, she knew what it fucking felt like,
She watched on as one of them - a dark male, probably mid-thirty - try to find a radio station, to contact their group, she guessed. She had to shake her head at Rick who asked if he was trying to contact the refugee center - he should know from when they came in that the likelihood of a refugee center was slim to none. She didn't blame him for asking though, the guy was just trying to find his family.
Muffled gunshots interrupted her thoughts and she swore she heard the blonde woman mutter a name she thought she'd never hear again.
"Oh god, is that Dixon?"
Tyler wasted no time at all bolting from the room and towards the staircase that lead to the roof; if it was who she think it was, she'd have a friend from the past - something she really needed at the moment and although she liked Rick, he didn't know her at all and how to deal with her issues.
With the others hot on her tail, she burst through the metal door with a loud crash and looked around wildly until another gunshot brought her attention to the ledge, a wide smile stretching her lips as she took in the familiar figure. Bringing a hand to her mouth, Tyler whistled sharply, gaining his attention and probably damaged everyone else's eardrums. The goofy smile that lit up his face, along with the unforgettable raspy laugh as he jumped down from the ledge filled her with a welcoming warmth she hadn't felt in so long.
"Is that Lil Red I see standing before me?"
Tyler let out a brief bark of laughter before she strode forward and brought Merle into a tight hug, pleasantly surprised when he returned it - he had told her about his home like one night when they were both drunk out of their minds; it was their second month into deployment and Tyler was determined to know why he didn't want her touching him - or anyone, for that matter. She knows he was only there to stay out of jail and not out of the kindness of his heart to serve his country but that didn't bother her, she got a best friend out of it and she couldn't be more happy to know he survived.
Noticing the uncomfortable silence behind her, she patted Merle on the back before letting go, stepping back with a wide smile. Turning around, she was met with different expressions - most were confused curiosity but there were a couple that had disgust and distrust mixed in. Tyler merely rolled her eyes and went into her commanding stance subconsciously, arms folding neatly behind her.
"Dixon and I were in the same platoon," she stately flatly, gaze empty as she regarded them, giving Rick a small smile when her eyes landed on him, smiling a little more genuinely when he returned it. She turned her attention back to Merle and noticed his eyes were slightly glazed and unfocused; narrowing her eyes in suspicion, she gives him a once over before tugging his vest open aggressively, frantically searching his pockets and ignoring Merle's jeers. Feeling and hearing the slight crinkle of a plastic baggie, she glared at him furiously before whipping the bag out and over the side of the building, down into the walker infested streets.
"Hey! Whatcha do that for? S'was my stuff-" Merle snapped his mouth shut when he finally took in the furious look she was giving him - he felt like he was back in boot camp with the drill sergeants at her look.
She just shook her head at him, a look of disappointment shining through the layer of anger, making Merle feel ten times worse than when they were back in Iraq; she turned away from him and walked to the other side of the building, resting her forearms against the warm concrete, Merle watching her go with sad eyes.
Everyone just looked at each other, completely lost to what had just happened, and went their separate ways to do their own thing, a couple of them crowded around the man with the radio. Rick, however, went up to Merle and motioned him over the ledge where he was standing not too long ago.
"What can I do for you, Officer?" He asked, his body language and attitude subdued with Tyler's disappointed face playing over and over in his head.
Rick shrugged, leaning against the ledge with his arms crossed, "Tell me about yourself, about Tyler and her sister and what it was like to be in the military with them," Merle sighed and scrubbed his face roughly as he tried to compose his muddled thoughts.
"Not much to tell about myself, got a Lil brother, ma died early on - fell asleep with a cigarette in bed, the dumb bitch. Pa would be out on the bender a lot and we'd get into fights often - I was always gone at some point or another, in and out of juvie, ya know. Joined the military to do some good, thought I'd get my shit together and take my brother away, take him some place good and happy," Merle snorted, laughing bitterly. "Load of shit that was, it just screwed me up more when we got back from Iraq. Got honorable discharged since I took a landmine to the side and had to be sent home for 'recovery'.
"The only thing that made the whole thing worth it were those McManus sisters, I tell ya, when they let you in, your family forever in their eyes and whoever gets the honor of that should be grateful because they go to great lengths to protect their own. The last time I saw Tyler was when she was helping them load me into the humvee. I meant to find her when this all started but her house looked like it hadn't been touched in months; besides, I figured if she was still in service, they'd put her somewhere in Atlanta, be stationed at the CDC, ya know - I had lost hope when we came here today but you brought it back, you're the one who found her, didn't you?" Rick was lost for words, not expecting Merle to just open up like that but they always to not judge a book by its cover - he just nodded, answering Merle's question and gestured for him to continue.
Merle nodded, "I don't say this often but thanks - if there's one McManus sister still alive, the other ones bound to be, too. They're the kind of people you want with you when the world goes to shit, they'll keep you safe and sane and if there enough booze around, they'd get you black-out drunk," he chuckled, shaking his head fondly.
Rick went to tell him the thanks wasn't necessary but a voice behind them made birth men turn, smiling widely at the slight irritated look in Tyler's eyes, "You talkin' shit about me again, Dixon?" He scoffed as she smirked before turning to Rick, "They're having trouble contacting the group, maybe you should go over and think of a plan," her eyes sparkled mischievously, causing him to instantly be suspicious of her.
"And what are you going to do?" He asked, hands resting on his hips like a scolding mother; she just laughed at him and shook her finger at him.
"That's a surprise - besides, I'll have Merle with me, it'll be okay," she reassured him with a dazzling grin; Rick narrowed his eyes at her and pursed his lips for a moment before nodding reluctantly. She rewarded him with another bright smile and a chaste kiss on the cheek before grabbing Merle by the wrist and dragging him over the other side of the building and climbed down, out of sight.
Rick sighed heavily as he made his way over to the others, not liking that Tyler was not with him. He had gotten a brotherly vibe from Merle when he was talking about their military days and yet he can't help the small ball of jealousy that blossomed in his chest - even though he had no right, he was looking for his family, he shouldn't be jealous of anything. He growled, angry at himself for feeling these things. The world was shitty enough without the drama from the old world.
"So, what are we doin' down here?" Merle asked after he took out a walker; he looked over at Tyler to see her looting her own walker and chuckled. He shook his head at her cry of victory when she found a crushed pack of cigars.
"We're looking for ingredients to make an IED, give a distraction for the others to get out, meet up with them at camp," her tone of explanation was so matter-of-factly, Merle laughed loudly at her thinking.
"You always knew what to do in shit situations," he cuffed her on the shoulder with a playful shove and chuckled when she stuck her tongue out at him. They continued on until they came across a small kitchen with a gas stove; Merle set to work on getting the stove working while Tyler went to look for a janitor closet - if this place had any type of alcohol, they could make a molotov and throw it down the street a ways to make some noise.
"We could probably make a few molotovs, throw them onto any cars left around here, make a few explosions if we're lucky. Not much to be made around here," suggested Tyler, voice slightly muffled as she rifled through a closet. "I bet at least one of those desks or cabinets back at that office we passed through has a bottle."
"And if there ain't?"
Tyler sighed, her knees popping as she stood up, "Then I'll just go looking in one of the neighboring buildings,"
"You?" Merle interrupted, voice high with incredulous. "I thought the whole point of bringing me along was to do this shit together, if you're going then I'm goin' with ya,"
She glared at him, “If you would let me finish,” he just smiled sheepishly at her. “We spilt up, pick a neighboring build and come back here with our findings. Overall, it’d take five-ten minutes tops. No side trips,” Tyler gave him a look as she pointed her finger at him; Merle raised his hands in surrender as he went to one of the windows and smashed it open, jumping out onto the fire escape before Tyler could say anything more. She rolled her eyes at his antics as she strolled back into the office complex, rummaging through the drawers and came up with nothing. Huffing in annoyance, she climbed out a broken window and jumped on the neighboring roof, doing a tuck-and-roll as she landed.
Hearing the thunder rolling not too far off, she hurried over to the heavy metal door that sheathed the narrow staircase, echos from her boots clomping down the metal stairs resounded heavily on her ears - she really hoped there weren’t any walkers in the stairwell, she felt embarrassed enough for making this much noise.
She opened the first door she came across, stopping to pull her machete from her pack and her gun from her waistband, bringing her arms up in a T formation with her gun on point and the machete downwards, she set off towards the unknown. Tyler didn’t give her eyes any time to adjust, relying more on her instincts and senses as she glided through the dark passageway, hoping she’d wind up in a well windowed room.
As her luck would have it, a few snarls and moans sounded from her right with a couple coming in from her left - knowing she didn’t really stand a chance going against more than a couple walkers in the dark, she backtracked until she found a secluded closet, feeling around inside to make sure there were no hidden surprises. Praying that they’d go away so she could get out of there, Tyler hoped that Merle found what they needed and went along with the plan without her, hoped that he didn’t do anything stupid and left after the group, hoped they’d get to camp before night fell and payed no attention that she was missing. She had a feeling that Rick’s family was with Merle’s group, they just had to be, her gut feeling was always right and it hasn’t failed her once so far.
But she knew Merle - hell, she knew Rick and she only knew him for a few hours - and they wouldn’t really leave her behind. If they had by accident, they’d come and get her at first light. She just had to wait.
Yet, she wasn’t really a patient person and even being a couple minutes in the tiny closet was already enough for her, her skin itchy to get out of there and bolt, aching to have the warm Georgia breeze on her skin again. Pressing her ear against the door, she couldn’t make out any walkers beyond the beating of her heart pounding in her head; deciding to test her luck, she swung open the door, stopping it just in time to keep it from hitting the wall behind it - as far as she could tell, there weren’t any walkers around her area, so she bolted before she could question it, taking the stairs two at a time and bursting through the rooftop door just in time to get belting in the face with rain.
Tyler laughed joyfully, feeling refreshed for the first time in months, her face turned upwards so that the rain washed over her, a pleased smile lighting up her face as she relished in the brief moment of freedom.