Disclaimer:
I do not own the amazing characters of the Walking Dead unfortunately. But I do own my very own character, Candice Hobbs.
It was quiet. Almost a little too quiet. But that's how the world has been for a while now. Since the infection, there were no cars making noise on the road, no more airplanes flying across the skies, no more massive populations polluting the air, and lastly, barely any living humans. The sun shone down to the earth brightly and hazardously, making the temperature hot. Sweat droplets beaded down her forehead as she scouted the land. Sitting high up in a tree, this was her sanctuary. A light breeze hit her sticky skin while she searched through her binoculars, trying hard to find her dinner. It had been a couple of days since she had last eaten enough to leave her full and her hunger was starting to get the best of her. Letting out a small sigh of irritation, she dropped her hands in her lap and continued to keep watch. It had been months since the world had gone to shit and somehow she was still alive. Half wishing those who doubted her throughout her life could see where she was in her life; she then remembered that they were all probably the same flesh-eating parasites that she was running from on a daily basis. Imagining herself shooting each and every one of them in the head with her bow, a small smile crept along her lips.
Placing the binoculars over her brown eyes once again, right in her view was one of the most magnificent creatures she'd ever seen. A deer was not too far from her shooting range, and it walked aimlessly while its hunger searched for food. Slowly reaching for the bow, she placed her second pair of eyes in her lap and replaced the object in her hands with a bow. Aiming for the creature, she let out a slow breath before pressing the trigger to her crossbow. She watched as the arrow pierced through the deer's head which caused it to fall on the ground with an audible thud. Fist pumping the air and congratulating herself; she climbed down from the tree, dropping to the ground after there were no more branches to step on. Slinging her weapon over her shoulder, she casually made her way over to the deer. Because it was quite a-ways, she quietly hummed to herself while she made the trek to her dinner. Before the world changed, never would she had eaten half the meals she had in this new world. Everyone around her was so accustomed to having their food made rapidly and served in a tray or cooked in a kitchen brought from a super market. Deer, rabbits, even squirrels were never in her diet – until now. She'd have to admit, it took some getting used to but after a while she acquired a taste for the furry and helpless creatures. Now, whenever she bagged a little critter, her stomach would kindly thank her. But whenever a deer would miraculously swing by, the entire week thanked her. But as she neared her catch, the sound of trees rustling and twigs breaking caught her attention. Her small frame hid easily behind a large tree trunk, enabling her to spy on whatever was alarming her. 'If it's one of those goddamned parasites, I'll be sure to take my time killing it,' she thought to herself, a little frustrated that she hadn't retrieved her meat yet. But as she continued to scan her surroundings her dark eyes spotted the body of a living man walking toward her deer. Raising her crossbow, the man slowly made his way to her catch; her frustration moved straight to pissed off. Quietly stepping away from the protection of the tree, she opened her mouth and called out to the man while raising her weapon. Pressing the trigger, she watched as the arrow flew straight to the man, piercing his shoulder.
"Wha' the fuck!" he yelled in the air, falling backward to the ground. Walking up to the deer, she placed her food on a tree stump and looked to him. Taking one glance at the man one wouldn't even guess that he was alive with how dirty he was. And although his skin was filthy and smugged with dirty and only God knew what, his blue eyes still showed is apparent anger. "Wha' the fuck was tha' for?" he yelled at her, holding onto the wound. He let out a groan of pain before staggering up to his feet, using the tree as leverage.
"You always see a deer with an arrow sticking out and assume it's yours?" she barked back, not in the mood for any bullshit. The woman was hungry and food was what she was going to get.
"All this fer a fuckin' deer? Yer a crazy bitch, ya know tha'?" Leaning against the tree behind him, the man struggled with the thought of having to take out the arrow. Never had he needed to pull one of his own arrows out, thankful. But this time he wasn't so lucky.
"Watch your mouth around a lady or it won't be the first time I had human for dinner." Holding up her arrow once more, the woman was just about to threaten him with it, but hearing the voice of another man stopped her.
"And today won't be that day." Freezing where she was, the dark haired woman debated on turning but quickly regretted not shooting the man in the heart instead of the shoulder. "Put down the weapon." The sound of a gun cocking echoed in her ears; she twisted her head to see who the man was and if he could easily be taken down, but he stopped her. "I said put the weapon down." Now his voice was raised, and for some reason she thought she recognized the voice. But obliging to what he was demanding, she put her crossbow down and raised her hands up in defeat. Her dark eyes sent a glare to the man whose wound was starting to look worse than before. Turning on her heel, instantly she came face to face with good ol' Sheriff Rick. Raising a brow as he moved forward and handcuffed her small wrists the woman wondered if he remembered her as well.
"Where ya takin' her?" the injured man asked, pain easily being heard in his voice.
"We're taking her back to the camp," Rick answered while putting on a blindfold over her eyes. This concerned the female and made her slightly uncomfortable. "Take the deer." Anger boiled up in her veins; that was her deer. But they had her trapped; had her weapon and had her hands behind her back, there was absolutely no way she was getting out of this one. Rick pushed her forward and kept a grasped hand around her forearm.
Their trek seemed to take forever as they continuously walked through the forest, dodging obstacles and maneuvering around barricades. When they finally came to a stop, she thanked whatever gods were out there that they had. Her legs were sore from walking for so long without a rest; her entire day was filled with traveling and ending up in her tree. "Open the door." This command forced her to raise a row … where the hell were they? Hearing the sound of a car door opening, her hops were heightened as she realized she would be sitting. Rick pushed her into the car, forcing her to lie down on the seat – she happily agreed. And as the two men entered the driver and passenger side seats, she let herself listen to the sounds surrounding her. Little by little she could feel herself drifting off and before she knew it, everything around her was black.
-X- -X- -X-
Her eyes fluttered open again as she felt the car coming to a stop. Quickly her mind was put on high alert as she heard others calling out for them. The men exited the vehicle – she sat up. The woman highly expected for the men to retrieve her from the back seat and take her away from the group, but as she waited patiently she heard the faint voice of a young girl inquiring about the woman in the car and another raised voice asking if that was in fact an arrow lodged in the man's shoulder. A small smirk formed along her lips while she waited in the vehicle, proud of her handiwork. Time passed and it seemed like hours but finally they opened the door and pulled her body out from the car. "We set up a tent about twenty-five feet away from camp – no one is to come near the tent, got it?" Listening closely, this voice was of a man she hadn't come in contact with just yet. The men lead her to where she assumed was the tent they had pitched, her new place of residence. "Watch your head." Doing so, she felt herself in an enclosed space – the tent. Sitting and crossing her legs, she waited for the men to make a move. Finally, after a couple of minutes, the blindfold was removed from her eyes. That's when she saw them, Shane and Rick. Shane's jaw dropped before looking over to Rick. "Do you know who this is?" Shane asked him, his voice lowered. Rick shook his head. "Think back to high school." And that's when Rick's expression changed for the better.
"Candice."
"Great to see you too, Rick."
Author's Note:
So I previously had this story up as 'I Caught Myself' but I didn't really know where I was going with it. Now that I have a faint idea (a growing one) I can finally put this chapter back up and continue with it. Or should I? I'm not sure yet where in the show it's going to start though, so bare with me. If you're reading this, could you please take the small amount of time it is to review and tell me what you think? It'd be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much for taking the time to read! :)
