When Hunters Become the Hunted

Chapter 4

Sharp Right Hook

Over the next couple days, Celeste found herself getting more accustomed to things. She was slowly settling in with the rest of them around camp, even Kenzie was. Celeste had noticed more times than not, Carl and Sophia would invite Kenzie to play with them, including her in their games. This in itself warmed her heart and put a smile on her face. It also took some weight off of her own shoulders as well, allowing her to rest a bit easier knowing that she had people watching out for them.

Something else that Celeste had noticed about Kenzie was how she'd continue to run to Merle and Daryl every time she saw them. She wasn't exactly sure why the young girl did it, but she didn't feel as bothered about it. Especially, when said brothers kept Kenzie away from Shane. It was already bad enough that Celeste felt on edge around the man now after their little conversation, she didn't need Kenzie around him.

"Howdy, Lit'le Bird," Merle chuckled.

Celeste turned her head to find him kneeling down in front of Kenzie, a grin on his rugged face. She watched as Kenzie made quick work in wrapping her little arms around the man's thick neck, Merle going and picking her up afterward.

For a moment, Celeste was reminded of Kenzie's father, Kyle. The man had been large like Merle, but he lacked Merle's strong southern accent. She also remembered how trim he had been. He'd always been a healthy eater and working out had always helped to keep him fit and in shape. Merle was no doubt still at the top of his game, same as Daryl, both pushing themselves forward as the days ran by and melted into one. She could tell that each of them was just as strong as their counterpart.

"Hey, Merle, have you seen Daryl?" Celeste asked, turning away from the book that she was reading.

"Darlina?" Merle questioned. "Boy's takin' a piss," he chuckled.

Celeste blanched at his words, her face becoming slightly red.

"Why ya lookin' for 'im anyway?" he asked.

"Well, I haven't really seen much of him since the other day," she confessed, scratching at the back of her head.

Merle let out a snort this time, swiping at his nose as he shifted Kenzie in his arm.

"Boy's always goin' out int' t'em woods," he told her. "'at's where he 'ides," he chuckled. "Don' worry though, you'll see 'im eventually."

"Merle, be serious," Celeste told him, giving him a skeptical look.

"'e's tryin' ta be useful," Merle told her. "That, an' I can guarantee 'at 'e don' like t'ese pricks none," he said, gesturing toward some of the people around them.

"And yet you put up with them," she said skeptically.

"T'ere's a differ'nce in puttin' up wit' somet'in' an' likin' it," he reminded her, before sitting Kenzie down on her feet and ruffling her hair.

The small child let out a squeak in response, before running off to play with Carl and Sophia who were playing tag a few yards away.

"Would you sit down or somethin'? You're makin' me uncomfortable," Celeste said.

At this, Merle let out a chuckled, but obeyed her request. He then plopped himself down beside her without a second thought, tossing an arm around her shoulders and squeezing lightly.

"Ah, much betta," he grinned, kicking his feet up a bit as he kept Celeste under his arm.

Rolling her eyes, Celeste ducked under his arm, pushing it away. She didn't like being touched all that much. Although, if she were honest with herself, she'd prefer the Dixon's over Shane.

"Come on, don' be a spoiled sport," Merle chuckled, a grin pulling onto his face. "'sides, I wan'ed ta talk ta ya 'bout somet'in'," he told her, propping his arm up on his knee.

"What about?" she asked, glancing over at him as she tried to go back to her book that had been seated in her lap for the last hour.

"Heard yer conversation wit' Mr. Friendly the ot'er night," he said, catching her attention.

"I-"

He stopped her before she could say anything, a smirk on his face.

"No need fer explainin'," he assured her. "Actually wan'ed ta thank ya fer standin' up fer me brother," he confessed. "Ain't many people willin' ta do somet'in' like t'at."

"Shane 'ad no right ta act like that," Celeste fumed, her accent peaking through just a bit causing Merle to grin. "Ain't got no right ta treat 'im like that."

Merle chuckled in response, his grin growing wider.

"What?" Celeste asked, brows furrowed in confusion.

"Nothin', just how ya can go from speakin' proper ta speakin' like a true southerner," he chuckled.

Celeste felt her eyes go wide as he said this, her face heating up a bit.

"I-I…" she stammered.

"Ain't nothin' wrong wit' it," he told her, clapping her on the back with his hand. "Although, 'm not sure why ya try ta 'ide it," he said.

"I hide it cuz I want people ta leave me alone," she muttered. "I've had enough crap to deal with over the years. I don' need no more."

"No need ta 'ide it though. In fact, I thank it's sexy," Merle whispered in her ear, his tone rough and husky.

Again, Celeste's face went red, quickly hiding it in her hands.

"Would you stop it," she groaned.

"Nope, don' t'ink I will, sugar," he grinned. "Ah, t'ere 'e is," he announced.

Out of curiosity, Celeste turned her head, finding Daryl walking out of the woods. He had a single squirrel dangling from the rope around him, a tired look in his eyes.

"Well, hey there Darlina," Merle greeted. "Ya done takin' a piss?" Merle asked, a smirk on his face.

"Shut the hell up!" Daryl growled, narrowing his eyes at his brother.

"Aw, come on, I's jus' jokin'," he chuckled, standing from his spot and walking over toward Daryl.

Before she knew it, the two were wrestling around on the ground, Merle putting his brother in a headlock.

"Merle, stop it!" Celeste yelled.

"Damn you!" Daryl hissed, pushing and rolling onto his side as he worked himself loose from Merle's hold.

He took this opportunity to send Merle on his stomach, sitting on his back and pulling his arm behind him. He pulled Merle's arm tightly, pressing his face into his brother's shoulder in an attempt to get him to surrender.

"Give it up, Merle," Daryl said, holding his ground as Merle struggled, kicking dirt up around him.

"Come on lil' brother, ya can do betta t'an 'at," Merle chuckled, contracting the muscles in his arm, before swiftly throwing Daryl off of him.

Celeste watched as Daryl was thrown a few feet away, his feet quickly moving to push himself back up. It didn't take him long though before he went back after his brother, jumping on his back and trying to choke him out.

"Good Lord, do you two always do this?" she asked, taking a step back as they tumbled toward her.

"Only on special occasions," Merle grunted in response, falling backwards and squishing Daryl as a result.

"Damn it, Merle, get off o' me!" Daryl winced, being crushed under the weight of his brother. "Get off o' me!" he grunted, his face starting to turn red as Merle's weight continued to press against Daryl's chest.

Shaking her head, Celeste stepped forward and grabbed hold of Merle's arm, pulling him as best she could. After a couple tries of pulling and digging her feet into the ground, it gave Daryl enough room to breathe and push him off the rest of the way, an appreciative look adorning Daryl's face for a brief moment.

"Damn, yer heavy," Daryl grunted, kicking his brother in the side halfheartedly with his foot. "Pain in the ass," he muttered, before turning toward Celeste.

He didn't really say anything as he stood there, merely nodding his head in thanks. After all, it was really all that he could think to do at the moment.

"You two done?"

They all turned toward Shane as he walked forward, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Besides, I thought you said you were joining in on the supply run?" he said, eyeing Merle.

"I am," Merle replied, pushing himself off of the ground and dusting himself off.

"Now, wait a minute!" Daryl said, turning to his brother with disbelief. "The hell you riskin' yer neck for these pricks for?" he asked.

"What betta chance to go out an' 'ave some fun?" Merle grinned. "'sides, I got a few t'in's ta pick up."

"Who are you calling a prick?" Shane asked, ignoring the conversation between Daryl and his brother.

"You!" Daryl shot back.

"Why you…"

Before they could attack each other though, Celeste got between them, glaring at Shane. She shoved the deputy hard in the chest, keeping her eyes on him the whole time.

"Don't you touch 'im," she growled, shoving him again as he attempted to get past her.

She then backed away a bit, coming to stand in front of Daryl as Shane glared at her. She still never broke her gaze with Shane though. The whole time, Merle was laughing, a grin on his face.

"I don't see why you're sticking up for this trash," Shane scoffed.

"Who you callin' trash?" Daryl hissed, taking a step forward.

Celeste merely pushed Daryl back, keeping a hand on his chest. The simple gestured subdued him oddly enough, keeping him in place as she faced Shane.

"I'd rather stick up fer someone like 'im than you," Celeste countered, eyes narrowed in annoyance.

She was tired of dealing with Shane's crap. Even though she knew that Daryl and Merle were a bit rough around the edges, she felt more comfortable with them than she did Shane. After all, people like Shane never did anything for her. They merely put her in shitty homes, before eventually taking her back out and placing her in another. This was why she never liked cops that much.

"And don' even try and argue wit' me on that point," she told him. "I've had enough of you self righteous bastards ta last me for a life time."

With that, Celeste removed her hand from Daryl, walking by Shane and bumping into his shoulder roughly. Normally, she had a fairly level and mild disposition, but Shane just seemed to fire her up. In fact, the man seemed to do the very same thing to Daryl. You would have thought that discrimination would have been tossed out the door after the world went to hell, but no, it just seemed to keep moving on.

T

It was about a hour later when everyone began gathering together, going over the list of needed supplies. Glenn, the Asian kid, was heading things. He knew how to get in and out without a problem and he seemed to know more about the city than anyone else. The only problem was, they were sending so many people out.

"I don't know why you guys are even going into the city," Celeste said, running a hand through her hair. "It's too dangerous."

"We need supplies," Shane said.

"Then we find it some other way!" she narrowed. "The place is crawling with those things. It's not safe."

"You're not even going anyway, so what do you care?" Shane asked, turning to face her.

"Alright, enough!" Lori yelled, getting tired of all of the arguing.

Celeste and Shane glared at each other for a moment as they stood there in silence, seeing who would lose the staring contest first. In the end, Shane lost, a look of satisfaction making its way onto Celeste's chapped lips.

"Okay, so if everyone's done, can we please get back to business?" Glenn asked, scratching the back of his neck.

He seemed a bit nervous in Celeste's opinion. Not that she could blame him though. He was the one that was going to be going into the city, so he had every right to be nervous. In fact, she was surprised that he was willing to go at all, considering how many of those parasites were roaming the streets of the city.

"So, who's going?" he asked.

Again, it was quiet for a moment, before people started to speak up.

"I'm goin'," Merle announced, pushing himself off of the RV.

"I'm going too," Andrea announced, stepping forward.

"What?"

The protest had come from her sister, the younger of the two blonds stepping forward and grabbing her hand. There was fear written all over the younger girl's face.

"Andrea, you can't go," she cried, clutching her sister's hand.

"Amy, please," Andrea started, pausing for a moment. "I need to go with them. Besides, I need to get some new underwear," she said, whispering the last part so that the men wouldn't hear it.

"But…" Amy tried again, but Andrea stopped her, taking her face between her hands.

"I'll be fine, alright?" she smiled, reassuring her sister.

Next to step forward was Morales. He was a Latino man, married, and father of two. He seemed to be fairly level headed in Celeste's mind from what she'd witnessed so far. Although, Merle didn't seem to like him that much, the same for the large black man named T-Dog. Now, he was interesting, the sound of the man's name making Celeste want to laugh.

"I'll go," Morales announced.

"Me too," T-Dog said.

"And me," came a quiet voice.

Everyone turned to find Jacquie standing there, her dark eyes glancing around at everyone. The woman had courage, that was for sure.

"An' what ya thank a tiny thang like you's gonna accomplish?" Merle asked, raising an eyebrow in question toward Jacquie.

"That's simple," she replied. "Scavenge supplies."

"You guys are nuts," Celeste said flatly, her hand on her hip as the other pinched lightly at the bridge of her nose.

"Aw, come now sweet cheeks," Merle chuckled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "'m sure t'ere's something' ya need," he said, pulling her flush against him. "Or maybe i's a bit more…personal," he said, whispering in her ear, before taking a strong whiff of her hair.

Celeste felt her face heat up at his words, his other hand coming up and stroking her side. It sent shivers down her spine and a twitch into her hand.

"Get off o' me!" she yelled in embarrassment, pushing away from him as she shoved him hard in the chest.

She could hear a bit of laughter around her, her eyes narrowing in irritation. This was exactly what she didn't want, to have to take crap from people again. She didn't need the gossip or talk or crude little jokes. She didn't need any of that. All that she needed was to be left alone.

"Is no' funny!" she snapped.

"An' t'ere she goes again," Merle chuckled in satisfaction.

It was like he took pride in messing with her, pride that he could get under her skin so easily, pride that he could get her to speak the way that she was truly accustomed to. It was also how he could tell how far he'd gotten under her skin. If her accent started breaking through, then it was all too obvious that she was irritated or flustered.

"Shut if before I knock you on yer ass," she threatened.

"Oh, I'd like ta see ya try," he laughed. "Come on, I'll even let ya take one fer free," he grinned, tapping the right side of his cheek for emphasis.

"Merle, jus' cut the shit," Daryl said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Why don't you listen to your brother, man?" T-Dog asked.

"Na', I wanna see 'er get it out o' 'er system," he chuckled. "Now, come on an' take a swing," he said, turning to face her again. "I know ya wanna."

There was a faint growl that echoed from her throat, her lip twitching as it pulled fiercely at the corner of her mouth. Her hand was shaking, each finger stuck in constant motion. It only took her a mere second to curl it tightly at her side, his laughing ringing in her ears. She just couldn't take it anymore and for that, she let her fist fly forward with a solid blow to the side of his face, inevitably sending him to the ground.

"Damn, girl."

Merle sat there on the ground, one hand bracing himself from the ground as he rubbed at his cheek with the palm of his hand. Everyone around him was silent for a moment, unsure of what to do or say. No one had ever actually gone and socked Merle before, especially one of the women. Now, this one had not only clocked him in the face, but sent him to the ground as well.

"Is that good enough for ya?" Celeste asked, her eyes narrowed in annoyance as she cradled her now bruising hand, a spark of pain running through it.

The young woman tried to alleviate the pain by shaking out her hand, but it only proved to sting. It was an automatic reaction for her though as she stood there, glaring down at Merle. The man just didn't know when to quit and was down right infuriating.

"Man, ya got a sharp right hook t'ere," Merle muttered under his breath.

Again, he rubbed at his cheek, prodding it with his forefinger. He couldn't remember the last time that someone had sent him falling on his ass like that. In fact, it was the first time that a woman had knocked him on his ass. Half the time, they were just screwing around in a motel room or the back of his truck, but this one was different. This little fire cracker kept her guard up and lashed out when threatened, just like one of those feral cats that he'd ran into when hunting once. Even a normal cat would have done the same, lashing out and scratching him with their claws.

"Hurts like hell, don' it?" Celeste narrowed, before taking a breath.

She was slowly losing steam, having gone and taken it out on Merle. Granted, it hadn't originally been her course of action, but he hadn't given her much of a choice in the matter. Either way though, he didn't really seem to care as a smirk slowly worked its way onto his rugged face, eyes dancing with amusement.

"If ya weren't a woman, I'd 'ave a go wit' ya," Merle chuckled, slowly pushing himself up off of the ground.

"I think that's enough," Shane finally said, slowly coming to stand between the two of them.

Even though he thought Celeste could be a mighty pain in the ass, the old deputy inside of him was going to stand there and take chances between the two of them. After all, Celeste was merely a woman, nothing in comparison to Merle's strength. At least that's what Shane thought anyway, stealing his gaze from Celeste's fuming expression of annoyance, to the grin plastered upon Merle's face.

"Somethin' funny to you?" Shane asked.

"Na', not a thang," he grinned. "Although, I'd be careful if I were ya," Merle said, turning his eyes toward Celeste. "Piss 'er off, she'll kick yer ass."

"Yeah, well, I think it'd be best if you get on goin'," Shane said, standing his ground as he kept his feet planted in the earth.

"Yeah, whatev'e," Merle muttered, before walking away with Daryl by his side.

As the two men walked off, Celeste stood there, a look of annoyance upon her face. She didn't need Shane's help. She could handle herself and she just proved that to Merle.

"I didn' need your help," Celeste narrowed, the corner of her mouth twitching.

"Or so you say," Shane said, giving her a once over as he stood there.

"Yes, I say," Celeste replied, mimicking him.

"Leave her alone Shane."

It was Andrea that had spoken, the blonde eyeing Shane from the spot by her sister's side.

"I wasn't talking to you," Shane replied.

"Shane!" Lori snapped, finally stopping him in his tracks.

More than anyone else, she was getting tired of all of this and the behavior that he'd come to attain. She didn't know why he had started acting like this, but she wasn't going to tolerate it.

"Enough," Lori told him.

T

After the group had left, there really hadn't been much to do. Sadly though, it had left Celeste without either Dixon. Once Merle had left with the others, Daryl had gone out into the woods, intent on hunting and bringing back something decent to eat. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate his work, but now she was left with people that she didn't really know that well.

"Hey."

Celeste turned around finding the young blond standing there, a smile on her face as she held a red bucket in her hand.

"Celeste, right?" she asked, coming to stand in front of her.

Slowly, Celeste nodded her head, rubbing her arm for a moment. Even though she had begun to settle in a bit, she still wasn't that comfortable with everyone.

"And you're Amy," Celeste stated.

With a smile, the blond nodded. It was now very obvious the resemblance that Amy held with Andrea. Celeste hadn't really taken the time to notice it originally, the heightened cheek bones, the full pink lips, even the color of their clear water eyes.

Biting her lip, Celeste tried to give Amy the best smile that she could muster, pushing her current thoughts from her head. It mattered not if Celeste had had siblings, most people were dead now anyway, so what would have been the point.

"I was wondering," Amy started slowly, chewing her lip for a moment as she took Celeste in.

The two hadn't really said much, so she was a bit unsure of how to approach the dark haired woman.

"I was wondering if you'd like to go with me, you know, to look for some mushrooms?" Amy asked, clutching the handle of the bucket in her hands.

Celeste watched as Amy's fingers curled tightly around the handle. The young girl was anxious, trying her hardest to include Celeste. It was obvious that she was more comfortable with people when her sister was around. She looked no older than 18, as if she were asking a boy out for the first time, nearly too nervous to talk to them.

When Celeste fully realized this, she felt the muscles in her back loosen up, her eyes blinking for a moment in order to fully process things.

"Sure," Celeste nodded, pushing herself up from the ground.

T

Pushing through the green foliage, Amy and Celeste kept their eyes peeled. They'd already found a few mushrooms, picking them and carefully depositing them into the red plastic bucket. Each time it would echo with a faint thump as it hit the plastic, settling with the other mushrooms at the bottom.

Even though Celeste didn't really see the point of hunting for mushrooms at the moment, she still decided to humor Amy. It was the least that she could do since Amy was making an attempt at being friendly with her. Celeste's other issue was, she wasn't certain if they could even eat any of the mushrooms that they'd found and picked. She couldn't tell if they were poisonous or not. Although, Celeste figured that if they found enough and took them back to the camp that at least one person might know the difference. Possibly Daryl since he was apparently always out hunting.

"Hey, do you think these ones are okay to eat?" Amy asked, kneeling down in front of a small patch of yellow topped shrooms.

"Honestly?" Celeste asked, kneeling down beside her to examine them. "I'm really not sure."

For a moment, Amy sat there, staring out in front of her. She was trying to think of what to do. Pick the mushrooms or leave them. She was also trying to think of who else she could ask about them, when Dale came to mind.

"I think I'm going to see if Dale has a book on mushrooms," Amy finally said, looking over at Celeste as she stood up. "Do you think you could keep looking while I go check?" she asked.

Celeste opened her mouth for a moment, about to protest for a moment, but closed it. She pursed her lips and merely nodded, letting out a soft sigh. She figured she could handle herself though as Amy ran off, leaving the bucket beside Celeste.

"So much for that idea," Celeste muttered, rolling her eyes as she plucked the mushrooms in front of her and tossed them into the bucket.

After that, she stood up, eyes scanning the foliage around her. There were so many different places where she could find mushrooms that she wasn't sure where to look. Although, after pinching the bridge of her nose lightly, she just decided to move forward through one of the slightly worn paths. It was her feet causing the leaves on the ground to rustle, the dirt rising up ever so slightly upon each step when she caught a particular leaf or twig. At the moment, it was one of the only things that she heard as she continued forward, kneeling down by a fallen tree and examining the bark. Large plate like mushrooms adorned the trunk, growing outward as it trying to touch the world around it. Celeste wasn't sure if they were exactly edible though, but picked a bunch nonetheless, making a mental note to ask Daryl about them when she saw him next.

With a sigh, Celeste stood back up, shielding her eyes as a ray of light shown down through the trees, blinding her as she stood there. Sadly, her sunglasses were in her backpack, and said backpack was back at camp in her tent.

"Some times, I hate the sun," she muttered, squinting her eyes for a moment as she moved forward, pushing aside a few low hanging branches.

As she went, her legs caught the outlining brush, scratches slowly adorning her legs. It was the same with her arms as she continued to move forward. After about another ten minutes of looking though, the sound of grunting met her ears. Her brows knitted together in question as she took a stepping forward, carefully making her way toward the noise.

Little by little, the sounds grew louder. She was also able to tell the difference in the sound, picking up on a second voice. That voice in particular though began moaning, causing even more confusion as Celeste slowly pushed away the side of a bush, quickly stopping in her footsteps. Her eyes went wide at the sight before her. Through the greenery around her, she could make out the figures of Shane and Lori on the forest floor, Lori's eyes practically rolled into the back of her head as Shane continued pounding into her like a crazed bull.

Quickly, Celeste's hand flew to her mouth as she tried masking a gasp. It did her little good though as Shane stopped what he was doing, eyes wide as he picked up on Celeste's presence, quickly pulling out of Lori and zipping up his pants.

"Shit!" he hissed, glaring as he turned toward Celeste's direction.

It didn't take Celeste any time at all to realize how much trouble she was in, quickly turning tail to run, Shane chasing behind her.

Alright everyone, I realize that you've been waiting quite some time for this chapter and I apologize. I figured I'd try and push myself to start updating since I'm getting ready to go back to school in a few weeks. ANYWAY, please REVIEW and MESSAGE me with any thoughts that you have on the story/ chapter. I'd also appreciate it if anyone has any song ideas for me to work from for the story. It gives me inspiration for writing which I've been lacking for the past couple months. THANKS EVERYONE!