Back to Life
Chapter 10: Tension
Daryl
His eyes sparkled with relief at the sight of the woman appearing before him. "Daryl," the woman shouted as she proceeded to put her arms around him. Even though he was relieved to know that she was still alive, her body felt awkward pressed against his. He didn't know why. He felt Veronica's embrace become tighter as he thought of this. "I'm so glad to see you," she said, her voice a calmer one.
"You alright?" he asked her, out of habit. It was more of an automatic reflex, like the way a person immediately covers their eye at the sight of bright light after spending a long time inside a dark room. Veronica nodded.
"I know where they took her," she then said and Daryl's pulse increased. "I followed them," she continued. "Thank God they didn't see me. They were too busy trying to lose all those biters."
Daryl then looked at Rick. The man didn't seen thrilled at the news. Daryl wondered why he looked so serious.
"Let's go now. We'll catch 'em in the dark." Daryl then said, kind of hoping for a more lively reaction from his friend. Rick's remained emotionless. Daryl was confused.
"You alright?" he asked him as they walked through the everlasting greenery. He wasn't used to asking this to another man then felt stupid for thinking that. This was Rick.
"I'm fine," Rick replied. Daryl didn't believe him.
Rick
He spent the whole way thinking about why reuniting with Veronica had put him in a foul mood. Shouldn't it have had the opposite effect? It's not like Rick had hoped she had died or something but her presence had brought about some unexplainable disgruntle and that worried him. Rick thought about this thoroughly and came to the conclusion that he simply disliked Veronica because he had left Daryl without saying anything and although that was years ago, here she was. That bothered him.
He decided to distract his thoughts from that and just accept that so he could focus on the main task. Veronica then said, "It's about a mile more from here," as she looked into the distance, squinting her eyes a bit as if that would allow her to see further down into the forest. Rick observed her for a moment and tried to figure out if she had beauty and thought she lacked it. He smirked without meaning to then caught Daryl staring at him. His smirk disappeared right after that.
The sun began to set as they discussed their next course of action. The cool air sent a shiver down Rick's back and he figured that the night would be chilly. He had trouble understanding Daryl's plan as his eyes started feeling heavy with each passing second. He hadn't felt this exhausted since those long shifts as an officer back in the old days. I'm getting old, he thought, then was disrupted by Daryl's hoarse redneck voice. "Yeah?" he responded feeling like a high school student that had gotten caught taking a nap by a teacher.
"You listening?" Daryl asked, his eyes observing and cautious.
"Can you just repeat the last part?" Rick replied. He felt his face quickly become hot with embarrassment. He couldn't believe his level of distraction in these circumstances.
Daryl continued starting at him, this time his eyes seemed displeased. "I kill the look out that's going to be outside. There has to be a guard keeping them safe. You and Veronica go through the back and check the area for some kind of entrance without making a ruckus. Did you get that?" he said annoyed.
Rick only nodded at that. He was not happy that he had to be alone with Veronica even to do this. They continued walking soon after, his tired eyes barely able to see in the inevitable darkness falling upon them. He saw Veronica trying to keep up the same pace as Daryl who was in the front. Even in the dark, he could the angel wings on the back of his shadowy figure.
It was hard for him to step on the dirty without stepping on something that might create loud crunching and he wished he was wearing tennis shoes instead of his old boots. He wished for a lot of things,
After walking up a small hill, and grabbing on to what seemed to be a branch from a tree, Daryl pointed north with his hand at light that came from what appeared to be some kind of cabin. The sight was faint, but it was definitely a light and that meant that the group of sadists were holding up the place. "Is that it?" Daryl asked, turning to Veronica.
"Yes," she replied, her tone fearful. Rick wondered if she had had to deal with the same monsters Daryl and Rick had. He doubted it and felt guilty for thinking that.
"Hmph. Are you ready?" the squirrel hunter asked, looking at Rick more than the girl between the two.
Rick didn't have a gun, and although he wished he did, deep down he knew he didn't actually need one. Not right now. He was in a pissy mood and these men had no idea what awaited them out in the dark.