Okay, soooo big things happen in this chapter and I don't know how I feel about it… I mean, I've been waiting for it, but I might want to rewrite it… I really need to know what you guys think about this one…
Disclaimer: I don't own the Walking Dead, but each episode gets better and better =D
Chapter Seven: Woods
"Hell, thought you knew that," he mused, jerking his chin toward my stuff, "thought you wanted to hunt? Ain't got all day, girl…"
Lips pursed, I hid my grin, scooping up my backpack and crossbow and pointedly ignoring the intrigued looks the ladies were exchanging behind my back. I'd be in for the Spanish Inquisition when I got back...
Wordlessly, Daryl and I slipped into the woods, the sounds from the quarry quickly dissipating through the branches, until all I could hear were our footfalls and the birds chirping overhead. At least some things didn't change; the forest was alive as ever, filled with all sorts of critters.
Unfortunately I would be putting a bolt through their heads… Or at least Daryl would be. I was fantastic against walkers – if I did say so myself – but they were big and plodding, occasionally taking off at you in a run but if you were far enough away, there was no question who was going to win that fight. But little chipmunks and bunnies… they were probably a little more difficult to get a hold of.
Careful not to let him notice, I peered at Daryl from the corner of my eye. He was facing forward, eyes moving to and fro, keen ears picking up every little noise. He didn't have his crossbow at the ready, probably because we were still too close to camp. Didn't want to accidentally shoot Carl, now did we? He was no tenser than usual, brow settled in a scowl against the bright light breaking through the canopy, back and shoulders taut. His stride was powerful but somehow his steps were quieter than mine.
He was like a tiger, big and powerful, stealthy and beautiful.
Stopping abruptly, I blinked, eyes wide. Okay, beautiful might not have been the best word – Daryl Dixon was definitely not that. He was gruff and dirty as humanly possible, foul-mouthed and rough around the edges. Edges? I quirked a brow, rough all over…
But still. He had an unexplainable allure to me; he was protective and surprisingly easy – okay, maybe easier – to talk to compared to most guys I had known pre-zombie invasion. He was attractive; don't get me wrong, he wasn't Gerard Butler status but who really was? There was something indescribably… sexy… about him.
Oh shit, I blinked rapidly, pressing a hand to my forehead, when did that happen? I think it had been building. Slowly at first, with an almost unwilling friendship and then… oh damn…
"Cat!"
Stopping suddenly, I found myself face to face with a tree. Face flushed, I glanced behind me to find Daryl staring at me with a confused, unimpressed frown on his face, one arm hanging loosely at his side, his crossbow leaning against his shoulder. He stalked up to me, grabbing my arm and pulling me roughly away from the tree, as though either it or I was going to attack one another.
"The hell were you thinking?" he growled angrily, shooting a scowl between the tree and I; I don't know which he was more pissed at.
"I… just got caught up in my head, Daryl; it's no big deal," I smirked easily, hoping the blush would disappear quickly, "no harm, no foul; well, except maybe a broken nose, but the tree'd be okay…"
Lips pursed in annoyance, he pulled me further into the woods, "Can't hunt if you're too busy thinkin'… Gotta have a clear head, unless you planned on knockin' the squirrels outta the tree by runnin' into it…"
"Could've worked," I mused, earning a reluctant smirk from the muscular hillbilly. Wincing, I fought to keep the side of me that was just recently aware of my attraction toward Daryl out of the picture. I couldn't even imagine telling him that… oh God, knowing him, he'd retreat into the woods and never come back out.
"Here's as good a place as any," he stopped, glancing toward the canopy and releasing my arm, quickly shooting me a grin, "don't go wanderin' toward anythin' else; there's some poison ivy an' hornets' nests out here…"
"Ha ha," I lifted an unmoved eyebrow, crossbow aimed harmlessly toward the ground as he hoisted his up, "let me guess; I get to watch the master at work?"
"Hell yeah; maybe you'll learn somethin'," he replied, amused, before falling silent and studying the forest around us. It didn't take long for him to crouch low to the ground, crossbow ready and waiting, and stalk forward into the brush.
He wasn't too far from me that I couldn't see what he was doing, so I scanned the area for any sign of his prey. Unbidden images of what it would be like to be on the other end of that hunter's gaze came to mind and I scowled, clearing my mind and focusing on the task at hand. It would be mortifying to have to explain to him why I was getting all hot and bothered in the middle of a forest surrounded by birds and chipmunks.
There. A rabbit was nibbling innocently on some clover, black eyes focused on its task. Nose wrinkled, I watched Daryl creep closer to the critter, hardly making enough noise to draw its attention. As much as I liked rabbits – and any animal, really – and didn't want to see them at the end of a crossbow bolt, I much preferred keeping up my strength on the off chance walkers found us out here in the middle of nowhere.
Refusing to move for fear of drawing the animal's attention, I watched Daryl ready his bow and take aim. The bolt cut through the air and clean into the rabbit; it never stood a chance. He stood, a grin on his face, and strode forward, cleanly removing the bolt and wiping it off with a handkerchief. He grabbed the limp animal by its hind legs and carried it over to me, holding it out.
With an unenthusiastic smile, I gingerly accepted the rabbit and looked it over. It was heavier than it had looked, though its stare was as blank as before.
"It ain't gonna bite," Daryl mused, letting out a snort, before turning back toward the expanse of wilderness ahead of us.
"I know that," I snapped, earning a mocking grin from the redneck, following him deeper into the forest, "doesn't mean I have to like toting a bleeding rabbit all over the place."
"Didja have a bunny back up north?" he jeered, clearly getting a kick out of the whole Cat-hates-dead-animals aspect of this trip, "stupid fluffy thing in a cage in the backyard?"
"Actually, he was a seventy pound black shepherd named Chase," I replied casually, frowning at the thought, "I wanted to take him with us on vacation; least I woulda known what happened to him."
"Prob'ly out there somewhere," Daryl replied, eyes darting to me in somewhat of an apology, "most animals aren't stupid enough t' get caught. Saw tons of 'em outrunnin' walkers when things first started…"
Humming in thanks, I ignored the dead weight – pun intended – in my hand and informed him, "Well, I'll hunt down squirrels, rabbits, deer; whatever. Just no dogs or cats if we come across any of 'em."
"Dogs, maybe, but no cats," he replied, scoffing.
"Oh, well, then we can't be friends anymore, Daryl, if you don't like cats," I laughed, brushing past him, keeping my eyes open for any more signs of life. Glancing over my shoulder, I shot him a mocking glare.
"Them little sons o' bitches are evil," he retorted, shaking his head slowly, sky eyes following my every step, "gimme a big ass dog any day."
Laughing, I shook my head, pausing and quickly turning in the direction of snapping twigs, Daryl's gaze a split second behind. Hitching my crossbow up, I mimicked his earlier actions; he only just caught the rabbit before it hit him square in the face.
Slowly creeping forward, I zeroed in on a monster of a squirrel. Seriously, it was like cat-sized. The gray fluffy tail twitched back and forth as it scratched through the underbrush in search of nuts.
Licking my lips, I peered down the crossbow and squeezed the trigger, stepping on a twig at the same time. The squirrel went down quicker than I expected and I stood quickly. Staring it down, I waited for it to stand or move, but it never did. Well, that was easier than I'd thought. Then again, if it would've made more noise before actually shooting, I never would have gotten it.
Jogging over to it, I stared down at it with a mixture of sympathy and accomplishment. Still, how was I to get the bolt out? Carrying a dead rabbit and pulling a fish out of the water was one thing… I didn't want to have to yank an arrow out of its little corpse.
Daryl strolled up beside me as I knelt beside the squirrel, commenting casually, "Not bad, for yer first try. Thing had to be deaf, though, t' not hear ya. Prob'ly old…"
"Thank you for ruining my triumph," I rolled my eyes, gingerly moving the end of the arrow, watching the squirrel move along with it. Eh…
Daryl sniffed impatiently, reaching past me and yanking the bolt out, cleaning it off and handing it over to me. As I grouped it together with the rest of my bolts, Daryl picked up the squirrel, weighing it in one hand, "Damn, heavy little sucker. Gonna have some good meat on him…" He turned to me with a roguish grin, "Wanna learn how to gut 'em?"
"Hmm, maybe after a few more kills," I replied with a laugh, sitting back on my haunches, wiping my hands together, "so, teacher, teach me… What'd I do wrong?"
He swept his eyes over me once more, lingering on my face for a moment before squinting out at the bustling treetops, "Well, ya weren't too bad 'til you hit the twig… Yer slow, that's good, an' steady… I can teach ya t' keep quiet. Things with the big stuff, the deer, they know yer there unless yer real good."
"Are there any deer around?" I questioned, scanning the heavily wooded area for any sign of a big, tan mass, "want me to climb a tree and watch you work?"
"Can you even climb a tree?" he queried, zeroing in on my less than built arms as I covered them with a self-conscious scowl, "haven't seen any signs around. Maybe once we get further in I'll pick somethin' up."
We stood, Daryl carrying our catch, and continued on into the forest.
"What's something you miss from pre-walker world, Daryl?" I inquired curiously, glancing at the scruffy redneck; we never really talked about anything from our pasts and I always was curious about what his life was like before all this.
"Beer," he chuckled, after a moment's thought, rubbing his jaw and groaning, "damn; I really could use one right now…"
Snorting, I smirked, "Maybe to go with those squirrels?"
He shot me an apathetic look, shaking his head as I laughed, narrowing his eyes at me, "What do you want, then? Make-up and dresses?"
"Pie," I replied with a laugh, "I could really go for some apple pie right now…"
He shook his head once more and snorted, "Pie an' beer…"
"Maybe they'll pick some up for us," I sighed wistfully, crossbow dangling from my hand. What I wouldn't give to be digging into some normal food instead of squirrels and canned veggies.
"Wouldn't count on that…," Daryl replied.
Humming, I frowned, shifting focus. Minding my step and scouring the ground for snake holes or poison ivy, I inquired carefully, "Mind if I ask you somethin' else?"
He grunted in assent, studying the animals in his grasp, never glancing back at me.
"Did you live with Merle before this all happened?" I asked, standing atop a log and surveying the area. I had no idea how far we were from the campsite – in all actuality, I was horrible with directions and probably couldn't even tell you which way we had come from.
"Sorta," he replied, back tense and a frown tugging on his lips as he peered back at me, "had my own place; when Merle wasn't in the joint he stayed with me, yeah. He was there when I came home from a job, told 'im about the walkers… Just went out from there, waitin' out in the woods 'til things calmed down a little."
"Merle being in jail doesn't surprise me," I shook my head, unimpressed, "how'd you come across the group?"
"On th' highway," he answered, taking aim with his crossbow and shooting, earning a sharp squeak from somewhere up ahead, before continuing as if nothing happened, "once th' walkers started tearin' through everyone, bunch of us just went off in th' other direction; got off the main road."
"And how long were you together before you guys found me and my crew?" I queried, jogging ahead to where his yellow-tailed bolt was sticking from a low branch in a fir, staring up at the impaled squirrel, fascinated.
He paused beside me, reaching up and pulling the squirrel and bolt from the branch, looking me over in confusion, "Not long, why?"
Shrugging, I gave him a half smile and replied, "Just glad you found us…"
Stepping out from under his intense gaze, I continued on my way, "We hadn't been together that long either; it was me, Jake, and Mike first. I came back to the hotel from gun shop nearby; there were walkers everywhere. I found Jake and Mike hiding from my dad; he got my mom and…" I cleared my throat and rid it of the lump rising there, "I took the kids and went to Walmart; that's where we found Danny. I tried to take Mike back to his parents, but they were already gone. Probably a day or two later, we found Riley and Tory."
Daryl was silent, trailing behind me, and I offered him an apologetic smile, "Not much longer til we found that guy…"
"How'd you get into it with him?" he questioned quietly, falling in step beside me, quirking a brow, "'sides th' whole… rape thing?"
"This guy was in the middle of the road and I was just gonna drive by until he called out for us to stop," I scowled at the visage of that rat bastard and his irritatingly clever idea, "he acted like he was hurt and I couldn't just leave him there. Even if he was gonna be a walker, I could've put him out of his misery, ya know? When I got close enough he pulled the gun and tried what he did… lucky I was quick enough to get away from him or you and I probably wouldn't be having this conversation."
He seized my arm, startling me and drawing me flush against him, staring down at me with blazing eyes. Heart in my throat, my question died on my lips as he ducked his head, face millimeters from mine and rapidly closing the distance.
"Shit…"
Daryl let me go almost instantly as Shane stared between the two of us in shock. Shutting his gaping jaw, he offered the two of us his most sheepish smile and rubbed the back of his neck, chagrined, "Sorry. Uh… didn't know you two were out here…"
"Just huntin'," Daryl replied, his voice gruffer and more irritated than usual. The deep timbre had my already racing pulse skyrocketing.
Holy hell…
Shane looked more than skeptical – like Daryl could honestly play it off like he hadn't seen him almost kiss me – before turning his gaze to me, almost as if asking if I was alright. If what almost just happened was against my will.
Grimacing, I fought the urge to retort, but thought better of it, simply nodding and replying, "Got a squirrel. Daryl got another one and a rabbit."
"You got a squirrel?" Shane sounded both surprised and impressed, earning a scoff from Daryl.
The atmosphere around us was getting rapidly awkward, and I took my crossbow up again and gave him a jerky wave, "Maybe I can get a deer."
They both scoffed at that one, before Shane awkwardly questioned, "You two headin' back? It's gonna be getting darker soon an' I don't like anyone bein' out too late…"
I glanced hesitantly toward Daryl, who was watching me like a hawk, his blue eyes piercing my dark ones, sending my heart into my throat. No, Shane, I actually would really like to stay here and see what happens next.
"Don't think there's anythin' else out here," Daryl shrugged a shoulder, squinting at Shane with a dark frown.
My gaze abruptly shot to him; well, that hadn't been what I was expecting. He gave me the slightest of shrugs and Shane nodded slowly, jerking his head in whatever direction camp was, tensely heading out ahead of me. The awkward scratching of the back of the neck told me he was beyond embarrassed; the question is would he tell anyone else? Like Lori?
Of course, that would be pretty shitty of him, seeing as he was doing worse things than that behind everyone else's back. Hopefully he'd be couth about it, but I wasn't really banking on it.
Licking my lips, I didn't even chance a glance behind me, a little more than disappointed. Daryl brushed past me, his strides powerful and irritated, before he paused a few feet ahead of me. Stopping suddenly, he turned and powered back to me, grabbing my upper arms and planting his lips firmly against mine.
He didn't give me a chance to react, releasing me quickly and following after Shane. Shell-shocked but grinning, I watched him go, nerves alight, excited, at the latest revelation in our odd relationship.
He sent a smug glance over his shoulder and jerked his head, "C'mon, girl; gotta teach you how t' gut these squirrels…"
Shane cast an unconcerned – if not unbelievably baffled – glance over his shoulder, still eyeing the two of us sheepishly, but Daryl never looked at me again.
Still, I couldn't help but smile, replaying that explosive kiss in my mind as I trailed after the two of them. He couldn't blame me for running into a tree this time…
WDWDWDWDWDWDWD
So… What did you all think! I'd really appreciate reviews from all of those reading! Thanks a million to those who have been reviewing; I'd like to know what you all thought about this one and if it needs reworking… I'm iffy at best with it…
RedLil: I haven't decided on that one yet =P Guess we'll see! Thanks!
Dalonega Noquisi: Thank you! So glad you're loving it! How'd you feel about this Daryl/Cat time?
sheenagoesRAWR: Haha, I can so see him being the jealous jerk =P Hope you're liking this one!
C011SI0N: Thanks! Oh, I know they're close, but I was just thinking that they're both hotheads and easily set off, so if he's at least partially interested in her and Merle won't shut up about wanting to screw her, he's going to be a little ticked. But I definitely understand what you're saying =) Yeah, just let me know when you get it up and I'll read it =)
MigratingCoconuts06: Thanks!
Aurora528: Haha, well, I thought he probably knows some things… I mean, I know Merle and his dad weren't around, and he probably dropped out – I think I'll be going into that at some point – but people sometimes remember random things from school haha… I still have to plan it all out, but he's definitely not going to be educated like the others. He'll still gonna be the hot-tempered redneck we all know and love =P
Nekuranekomegami: Wow thanks! I'm glad you liked them all and thanks for reviewing all of the chapters! I really appreciate the comments and I'm really glad you like my writing!
xXx Tinkies xXx: Haha thanks! Yeah, I figured it'd be pretty Daryl-ish to get jealous. I'm really glad you're liking it and I hope you liked this one too!
Nelle07: Oh yes =D
Loquaciouslethality: Muchas gracias! Haha I'm so glad you think so and I really hope I was able to keep him in character in this chapter too!
Grim1989: Oh, I know! I just kept sitting there and cheering him on like you can get up there, Daryl! GO GO GO! Haha; I hope he can get himself strong before any more crazy stuff happens! And yes, Merle's probably seen it, too! But since he's gonna get left behind, he's won't be able to go blabbing about it =P
BrokenWing-FallenButterfly: Thanks! I hope you liked this one too!
