The group had heard of a refugee camp in Washington, D.C. They decided it was their best bet, and having nothing left to lose, they started their venture. They had stopped along the way to gather provisions, making camp when it was convenient.
They had stopped just outside of Chattanooga, TN to get fuel and rest. Daryl had gone out into the woods to hunt for supper and clear his head from recent events. Surrounded by mountains and streams, he could only hope that he would come upon a deer to feed them for a day or so. It had been a good while since he had venison.
He followed some tracks to a secluded meadow where he found a doe taking a drink from the stream. He slipped behind a tree and positioned himself to wait. A few minutes passed and the deer seemed to not notice his presence. At this distance he could have a clear, perfect shot. He steadied himself and pulled the trigger on his cross bow. He was just about to stand and start gutting his deer when a bullet flew out of nowhere and straight through the arrow he had shot into the doe's chest.
"What the-" Daryl exclaimed. He was sure he was alone in the woods. He looked in the direction the bullet came from and saw nothing but limbs.
"Who's out there?" he asked, but silence persisted. He got up and sauntered over to the doe. The bullet had completely split his bolt in two. Almost clear down the center.
"Whoever did this is a helluhva shot." Daryl exclaimed to himself while brushing his hand through his hair. He waited a few moments more but no one came to claim the deer. He grabbed the deer by the hind legs and started the trip back to camp. It wasn't a hard journey, just a long one.
Daryl had made it back without a problem and Carol had started making some venison stew over a small fire.
"Man, that sure was some deer you rustled up." Rick declared.
"Yeah man, I wasn't the only one who thought so."
"What do you mean?"
"Someone else shot her, too. Clean through my shot. Split my arrow, man. I'm running out as it is."
"You couldn't see who it was?"
"Naw. Ain't seen nothing. It practically fell out of the sky."
"Sounds like we aren't alone out here. Do you think we're in danger?"
"If they wanted to, they had a clear shot. Coulda taken me out no problem. Doesn't seem like they wanted anything more than the deer. Musta caught 'em by surprise."
"For all of our sakes, I hope you're right."