Chapter 3: Another Day
Beautiful grass, long and free, lined the round clearing. Leaves swayed downwards, tickled by the air's gentle push. Bright rays provided warmth to whoever dared to enter their vision away from the cooling shade. In the middle sat a large bush, spotted with white roses around its edges, that seemed blissful yet out of place. Suddenly, he appeared several feet away from the bush. Nothing looked familiar, he had no clue where this place was or why he was here. As if reading his mind, a voice called out his name. It was soft, his ears barely picking up the familiar sound. A voice he hadn't heard in a while, a voice he missed. Running to the source, behind the bush, he wanted nothing more than to see if it was true.
"Beth?" he called out as he passed the bush. And there, in the field of empty grass, lay Beth. Blonde hair glimmering a golden tint, large blue eyes blinked at him with recognition and happiness. A gasp escaped him. She looked exactly the way he last her, tank top and blue jeans freed of any dirt or blood though. He bent down, daring to touch her extended hand and help her stand. The contact sent him shrinking backwards, feeling as if a flame burned his skin.
"You don't touch the dead, Daryl." whispered the blonde. When the words left her mouth, the grass around them burst into flames and formed a large circle. The white roses bled, turning into black as burning branches fell beside them. When he turned back to Beth, ready to grab her and run, he froze. Blue eyes, now lifeless and dull, stared back at him, blonde hair no longer shining but instead covered in blood. A bite marked leaked streaks of blood down her torso, staining her clothes. A threatening growl emitted from her black and bloodied lips. This couldn't be happening. Everything was fine moments ago, he thought, panic setting in. Then she moved, so quick he just had enough time to catch her wrists as she snarled angrily at him.
"You did this to me! You don't deserve to live!" she yelled, hate dripped with each word, baring her teeth like a rapid dog.
Daryl jumped backwards, rushing away from his makeshift pillow. Panting, he looked around. He was inside the tent, the tent he shared with Natalie for the past week. It was dimly lit outside, almost reaching dawn. It was only a dream. The words repeating in his head, trying to calm his breathing. It meant nothing. No, that was a lie. It was all true, it was his fault. Nothing could change that. And he knew, the realization slapping him until another voice called out to him.
"Daryl? Are you okay?" the brunette turned to look at him from her position in her sleeping bag. Concerned eyes scanned him for a silent answer.
"I'm fine. Thought I heard somethin' outside." The lie didn't seem to convince her but she nodded and bid him a good night, leaving it alone. It was too early to be awake. A few more hours sleep would do him good. Lying down again, head resting on his pillow and eyes close, the fresh images appeared and forced his eyes open. No way he was sleeping now. He sighed, settling to stare at the ceiling of the tent. Trying to distract himself, he wondered what to do today. They had to move, it was too risky to stay any longer before a herd or people noticed their location. Moving on meant surviving. They were headed East until... he let the thought trail off, not wanting to think about that. Looking at the young brunette opposite him distracted him. She was nothing like Beth, physically anyway. This one had medium brown hair that ran in small waves down her back, dark brown eyes would look at him, instead of the light blue he was used to. Tanned skin covered her young body, nothing like the flawless pale skin. They were similar, though, in which they both held an optimistic view despite everything. This one had a smart mouth, however, and she dared to test him. Sarcastic little shit. She was shorter, almost 5 foot 2 inches if he guessed correctly. Beth, last time he checked, was nearly 18 or 19 years old so she had been tall for her age. It made sense considering Maggie held a perfect posture and height as well. Shut up, he told himself, stop thinking about the past. The silent murmurs of him counting his breaths relaxed him. An old trick Merle had taught him when he had trouble sleeping as a kid. He forced the thought away and continued counting. Soon, his entire body relaxed and he fell back to sleep.
"Where are you going?" Natalie shouted to him, controlling the volume in case any unwanted guests were close. There she sat on the edge of a pond. It was a quiet pond Daryl had found days ago. Small, yet quiet, it also provided them a chance at seafood when he was getting tired of eating fruits and veggies. He was a man, he needed some kind of meat. After finding the pond, they decided it was a good idea to wash up before departing. The girl stared at him, awaiting a reply.
"Gettin' outta here. Never been the kind for a peep show." Merle was always good at that, spying on unsuspecting girls until they're were nude. The stupid pervert.
"Can you stay, please? Just a few minutes, I'll be quick." Red colored her cheeks and she turned away from him in an attempt to hide it. "I don't wanna be here by myself."
Damn it, was she serious? This was a young adult asking him to babysit her. Stupid girls, always afraid of something. "Fuck," was muttered under his breath. "Fine, hurry up. And don' worry, I ain't a perv so I'm lookin' the other way. Watch out for walkers or somethin'."
"Thanks!" was all he heard before turning the opposite direction. She must've been getting undressed this moment. It shouldn't take long considering she was wearing a pair of jeans shorts and a white tank top under a black T-shirt. The sound of slight splashes filled his ears. Stupid kid, she was supposed to wash in the water, not play. Ignoring it, he glanced around the area. A couple of large rocks covered them, there was about three trees with little shade. That, hopefully, warmed up the water. The sound of water moving quickly caught his attention. He held the crossbow firmer, resisting the urge to whirl around.
"Ya alright over there?" A zipper closed and he heard a sigh of relief.
"I'm good, just about finishing getting dressed." she replied.
He raised an eyebrow in thought, then stopped realizing she could not see it. How did she finish so fast? Only ten or so minutes passed. "The hell. Ya sure you finished already?"
"Yeah, I never liked long showers. And definitely not baths or swimming. I always avoided it, even during summer." The way she spoke, he wondered if she was glaring daggers at the cursed liquid. That made him snort. How childish. Water was the most important thing to humans, and this one wanted nothing to do with it even after the end of the world.
"Water ain't gonna bite you, unlike some things out here."
He felt her presence immediately before hearing her words in that damn sarcastic tone. "Haha, you're so clever. I'm not afraid of water, I just avoid it."
"'Cause you're scared of it." he said, looking over his shoulder to make sure that she was decent. Her tanned skin seemed to lighten up after washing. A feeling inside told him she wanted him close in case the blue liquid swallowed her up. That was idiotic in this day and age.
"I'm not scared!" A very defensive tone for someone denying fear. "I don't like it. There's a difference, Rambo."
The last part came out after he handed her his knife, it was twice the size of hers and much sharper. A square-like rock stood beside her so she sat on it, holding his crossbow in one hand and his knife in the other. She shifted awkwardly, not used to the extra weight of his weapon.
"Keep tellin' yourself that, Princess." An upwards tug of his lips couldn't be helped after she mumbled something, perhaps irritated, and waved a dismissive hand at him. The back of her dripping hair was all that faced him now. This was the part he always hated, getting undressed. Wasting no time, he kicked off his boots and brown pants. He left his jacket on the ground, not caring about dirtying it. Next came his sleeveless button-up shirt. It was definitely time for new clothes. A final peek towards the young girl assured him that she was not watching so he finished undressing. Jesus, he hadn't realized how messy he was until the water mixed with blood and dirt. Not his blood, thank God. The lukewarm water swirling around his body felt great, he did the same sigh of relief she did earlier. An awkward noise nearly had him tripping. He grabbed the closest edge of the pond to balance. Looking up, he saw that she was singing. It wasn't loud but his expert ears picked it up. The words flowed quietly as she rocked side to side on the rock. It was nothing like Beth's singing, this one was too awkward and nervous.
There's a place I know if you're looking for a show, where they go hardcore and there's glitter on the floor!
The song rang in his head, begrudgingly familiar. One of Merle's slutty girlfriends liked the singer, who was obviously another slut.
"Hey! Shut it over there!" he hollered towards her. Thinking he could not hear her, she was startled and nearly fell off the rock.
"My bad!" she yelled back before changing to an offended tone. "Wait, screw you! Not my fault you have ears like a dog!"
He rolled his eyes and worked down his body, scrubbing at various points. "Yeah? Least I don't sound like one bein' kicked. And why a song by some drunk slut?"
An annoyed groan echoed from her mouth as she tried to ignore him, failing miserably since she kept mumbling something. This time he had to strain his ears to hear it. Deciding he was clean enough, he jumped out and grabbed his pile of clothes. It didn't take long to dry due to the sun shining directly upon them. After redoing his shirt, he looked at her sitting there while she still sang. Much quieter now. God, he wished that he had earplugs. He let out a small laugh at the happy thought. The next second, before he saw it coming, a little rock nipped him sharply on the side of his head.
"What the fuck!" He stalked up to her, wondering if it was time to give her that promised haircut.
"That's for laughing at me." she said and turned away from him. A hint of amusement in her voice caused a twitch in him. "It was just a little rock. Take it like a man."
"What'd ya expect me to do, you ain't exactly Britney Spears! And fuck you!" Get a hold of yourself, he thought, it's just an annoying little shit. No need to lose your temper. The last time that had happened had been a while, back in Atlanta if he remembered correctly. Over the year he learned to have more patience and understanding with those around him. A good ass whipping would teach her some respect, though, he heard an inner voice tell him. He smirked at the idea then shook it away. He wasn't this girl's father or brother so he held no right. The haircut plan was probably best.
"Are you ready to go or what?" she asked, standing to hand him his weapons which he gladly took. The urge to pull her by the hair and slice it all off made him walk faster and ahead of her. Don't do it, he repeated, not yet.
"What kind of music do you like?" The question caught him by surprise, she asked it casually like they weren't bickering minutes ago. "I like mostly pop and a few hip-hop songs."
A low chuckle came from him. Pop music always annoyed him, the beat was just too sappy and girly. Even with male singers. Hip-hop was okay, but he was not a huge fan. "My brother showed me all these different bands, half of them sucked ass. The words were alright. Hated those screaming pricks, though. Metal, I think Merle called it, drove me fuckin' crazy. Had to yell for him to turn the shit down."
By this point she started walking beside him, both looking ahead of them and enjoying the quiet woods. It was times like this that almost made him forget there was dead corpses trying to eat them alive.
"Heh, I know what you mean. My brother loved rap. It was so annoying cause he blasted it whenever he could. I wanted to break every CD but he'd just buy new ones. So yeah, that wouldn't work." The sentence finished with her laughing.
The gesture forced a genuine laugh out of him before he even realized it. The next second she fell sideways to the ground, tripping over a branch. No laugh came from him as he tried to rush at her side until two rough hands grabbed him by the shoulders, tackling him to the ground. The crossbow fell from his grip and he struggled to hold the dead man away. The undead bastard hadn't even made a sound or caught their eyes before attacking. The monster growled, frustrated by Daryl's fight. With his arm held against the monster's throat, he tried reaching for his knife. A pop caught his attention and he looked up to see Natalie holding his crossbow, eyes closed and her finger still on the trigger. Just as he guessed, she nailed him straight in the skull where a pretty red and black arrow stuck out. Pushing the disgusting body off of him, he exhaled deeply and pulled out the arrow before standing up. Then a thought hit him.
"Thanks," he said sincerely, it faded seconds later. "But good Lord, keep your eyes open! You coulda shot me instead of assface down there!" He pointed to the rotting body, which he almost forgot about. Walking over to it, he cursed and delivered a swift kick with every curse. A flashback of when a walker ate his deer appeared in his mind. "Fuckin'. Piece of. Shit!"
The sight of Daryl kicking an already dead guy had her giggling like a 4 year-old. He rolled his eyes before continuing their walk, very alert now. The rest of the walk was silent. A glance to her face, eyes staring down and lips frowning, confirmed his guess. Shit, he had clearly upset her. The words came out pretty harsh, he recalled.
"Look, I appreciate ya for savin' my ass back there." He almost reached out to grab her shoulder but pulled himself back quickly. "Bit of practice is what ya need."
"With your crossbow?" she asked in disbelief, aware of how precious it felt to the hunter. A nod from him caused her to beam, he chuckled at how easy it was to change her mood. "But why?"
"If I get another jam, ya gotta keep your eyes open and aim. Been shot before, ain't exactly a bee sting." A snort of amusement escaped him as he recalled the time Andrea grazed him. Luckily, for her, she didn't have the nerve to try it again.
That bright smiled crossed her face again and she let out a chirpy 'Okay!' that made him roll his eyes. They needed to find a good spot to shoot, secluded and big enough to place targets. An image of the clearing in his dream appeared, he shuddered. Not time to think about that. Besides, he had no clue if the place even existed. Likely his mind playing tricks again, he said inwardly while they walked back to camp. Another thought occurred: he was going to play teacher. Shit.