Chapter One
Crisp red leaves whispered in the tower of trees above the thin dried creek bed as he stalked across it and up the bank. His feet glided over the blanketed forest floor without a sound, slowly stalking the lumbering prey barely fifty paces forward. The beast ahead wandered on oblivious to the bow slowly rising behind it and barely had a chance to turn before the whistle of the arrow that buried in to the soft flesh just behind its front leg. Daryl smirked as the deer stumbled and fell to the ground, and then he was upon it slitting its neck. After checking it for bites and finding nothing, he tied its back legs together before heaving it onto his shoulders and started toward the group's makeshift camp.
Autumn had been rough on the group after losing the farm, food was scarce to scavenge so it was left up to him to provide. He really hadn't known why Rick had wordlessly appointed him the new Shane but at least it kept him away from the group for a time and even though he would never say it to them, it was good to be appreciated for once. He had used his tracking skills to start a map and keep an estimated track of the hordes that roamed the area. They were surviving but continuously on the move but for the past couple days they had been able to hold up in an abandoned house although it was unlikely they would be there much longer. As he shuffled into the yard and up to the garage, he lifted the kill up onto the hook hanging from the ceiling.
"Wow," Carl clambered from out of the house and up to the deer, "that will feed us forever."
"Ya well, we'll see 'bout t'at." Daryl nodded, "Shut the doors will ya."
Carl pulled the heavy doors of the garage shut and went back to Daryls side as he began to gut the beast. The boy always seemed intrigued whenever he brought a kill home, wanting to know exactly how to gut and slice whatever it may be. He didn't really mind, Carl kept out from under foot and didn't as near as many questions what he thought he would the first day. Then Lori was at the door, with that frown on her face that looked like it could draw blood. He never really liked the woman, thought that she ruined the asset that Shane was and caused more trouble than what she was worth. He drug his wrist across his chin and elbowed Carl before nodding him toward his mother. As she left with her son Carol slid out behind her and over to the stool a few feet from him.
"Don't mind her, shes…"
"A bitch?" He dropped innards to the floor with a splat, "That boys gonna hate 'er if she dont let 'im take a piss wit'out her next to 'im."
Carol pursed her lips and eyed the deer, "The group will be thankful for the fresh meat."
"Ya, I'm gettin' sick 'o fuckin' squirrel."
"Will you….take me the next time?"
"Take you?" He laughed.
"Yes, why is that so funny? What if your bitten or something goes wrong while you are out there and you don't come back?" She paused and kicked at some dirt on the floor, "Its moronic that you go out alone anyway, I don't understand why you insist upon it in the first place."
"For one," Another pile of innards fell with a smack, " I'm Daryl Dixon, ain't a damn thing in those woods that could kill me. Two, nothings gonna keep me from getting back here, somebody's gotta look out for your scrawny ass. An third, you gotta be quiet and there ain't one person here who could keep their mouth shut."
"I suppose." She sighed and watched him clean the skin the beast.
He hadn't meant to upset her but he needed his peace in the woods or else they would all starve. The woods weren't for babysitting or chatting on about nothing they were for surviving, end of story.
The group was sitting in candle light in the living room of the house, full from fresh venison. Lori sat leaning against the fireplace with Carls head on her lap, staring across the room in silence at Rick with pleading eyes. The men were huddled in a circle looking over Daryls map trying to figure out their next move. There was a herd of about twenty or thirty walkers heading their way according to this calculations and they didn't have the man or gun power to fight though them.
"I say we head back though here," Rick traced his finger across the map, "towards Lopel and push east, maybe theres some more places to scavenge for supplies."
Hershel shook his head, "Theres nothing for miles that way, mostly big cattle ranches."
"Then north up past Brenton?"
"Too risky," T-Dog smiled at a memory, "used to party at a frat up that way and just a guess but theres probably plenty of walkers coming from there."
"I guess west is our only option then." Rick drug his head over his head and through his hair, "Let's just hope were headed toward something good."
Daryl watched as Carol stood from the seat, wrapped a blanket around her shoulders, and padded out into the hall. He waited a moment, rubbed his nose with the back of his hand, mumbled something about taking a piss, and headed out the behind her. It was dark outside of the warmth of the group but his as eyes adjusted he saw her slipping into a room at the end of the hall. When he made it to the door, she was leaning against the window frame staring out into the night.
"You should stay away from the windows." He sat down on the love seat behind her.
They sat in silence for a while before she finally spoke, "I still can't manage to sleep without telling her goodnight."
She laughed a sad little laugh as a tear rolled down her cheek, her eyes fixed on the sky. He slid a hand through his hair and sighed, he had never been good at comforting anyone it just wasn't in his blood. Somewhere between watching her bash her ass of a husband's head in with a sledgehammer and the searching for Sophia, this bird had made him give a shit. He reached out his hand and pulled her down to sit with him and hugged her.
"She's better off, ain't no reason to cry. We's the ones that got it 'ard now." He hushed her.
"Do you think we will find another farm?"
"Doubt it," he smirked, "ain't no one gonna be as fuckin' stupid as them keepin' walkers in a barn."
She laughed and whipped the tears from her cheek, "You know what I mean, someplace safe."
"Weren't never any wheres safe even before this shit." He took a breath, "But I said it before, somebody's gotta look out for your scrawny ass."