Chapter Ten – Catching Pigs
Darci was lying in her bed, etching something into the knife she wanted to give to Lilly one day. As she began to carve a slight curve, she stopped at the sound of skipping. She didn't want Lilly to see it right yet, so she put the knife away just as her sister came into the room. She then pulled her sketch book out, "Hey there, Little Owl, you're just in time for me to draw."
Lilly giggled, "Actually, Mr. Grimes is looking for you!"
Surprise lit Darci as she sat up, hitting her head on the bottom of the top bunk, "Ouch..." After rubbing her head, she stood up, "What did he need?"
"I dunno, he asked if I'd seen you, and if I could come get you, so I did. He's waiting outside!" Lilly watched her go.
"Thanks, Lilly," Darci ruffled her hair as she headed outside, buckling her belt before exiting the block.
Rick was talking to Daryl and Sasha near the fence. A surge of pride coursed through her when she saw the newly built gate. Darci was lucky to have come up with an idea on how they should place the gate; They made it in a triangle-tipped shape, with wooden pikes all around it. If there were any 'Nightmares at the gate when they began to open it, it would push them into the pikes.
As she came closer to Rick, Daryl, and Sasha, she began to hear their voices. "...Need quite a few hands to help you with this. They aren't very keen on being caught," That was Rick talking.
Confused and curious, Darci called out, "What doesn't want to be caught?"
They all turned to her, and nodded greeting before Rick answered, "Pigs."
Pigs? They must have been talking about the wild pigs that roamed the woods, and scurried away from the hungry snarls of the 'Nightmares. "Lilly said you were looking for me?"
"Yeah. I want you to help Daryl and Sasha catch some of the pigs out there for livestock. It would be easier than trying to hunt if we had them. Glenn and Maggie have already built a pig pen."
"Okay." Darci raised a brow questioningly, but didn't argue.
She already knew it would take most of the day to do so, but perhaps it would be fun? Rick nodded, "Carol's got breakfast going, Patrick seems to enjoy helping her. You should probably eat before going out there, and keep a lookout when you are."
Returning the gesture, Sasha, Daryl, and Darci made their way to the cafeteria. Lilly crept up behind Darci, and poked her shoulder. She jumped in surprise, turning around, "You scared me out of my skin!"
Sasha began to laugh, "Hello Lilly."
"Hi! Darci, I thought by now you'd hear me coming!" Lilly giggled, "I guess not!" She closed her eyes, beginning to laugh harder.
Darci joined her, and ruffled her head, "Have breakfast yet?"
"No, was just about too!" Lilly looked around, "I was looking for Mika and Lizzy first, though. Oh! There they are, with Luke. Catch you later!" without waiting for Darci to say goodbye, Lilly dashed off to her new friends.
It's like nothing has changed in the world... As if the dead wasn't trying to rip apart the living. She stifled a sigh, and pushed away her troubled thoughts as she headed over to where Carol had food on a stand. "Hello, Carol. Having a nice morning?"
"Yes, a bit busy, what about you?" Carol smiled, looking up from putting something on a plate.
Darci returned it, "I'm doing good. About to head out with Sasha and Daryl, and hunt down some pigs."
Carol let out a bit of laughter, "Pigs?"
"Yeah, Rick wants to have some livestock, so we wouldn't have to rely on hunting so much." Darci began to put some food on her plate.
"Sounds like fun," Carol nodded, "Hope it goes well."
With another smile, Darci walked off to find a table to sit at. She found Sasha and Daryl with Glenn, Maggie, and Hershel at one of the tables, and went over to sit with them. They must be talking about today's work. She called a greeting before sitting down, and placed her plate of food on the table.
She then noticed Rick making his way over to them, and sat down next to Hershel. "You should take the truck, with a crate, for the pigs. That way you don't have to carry them back to the prison." There was a tiny hint of amusement in his voice. "I already left it out there, close to the edge of the forest..."
Darci wasn't paying attention as she watched Lilly across the room, talking with some of the kids. She's so happy... With a slight smile she began to hope it would always be that way. She snapped out of her daydream when Sasha nudged her shoulder, "W-what?"
She realized they were looking at her, as if a question had been asked. Feeling embarrassed at not paying attention, she cleared her throat, "I beg your pardon?"
She thought she saw amusement glimmer in Hershel's eyes as Rick took a breath, "I had said, we should make a council. It gets pretty tiring being the only one leading," Though Darci knew he wanted to spend more time with Carl, to try to bring him back from becoming cold, "And that way, if we find ideas we could hold meetings, and it would be agreed on. Things might just be simpler..."
She guessed this was his way of stepping down as leader. Darci began to nod, "Well... what did you ask me?"
"With all the help you're giving, pretty much non-stop, I think you could be a part of the council, as will Sasha." Rick concluded.
Feeling a bit flattered, Darci stammered, "Y-you're sure?"
"Why not? You and Sasha always pitch in to help. I think it's a good idea." Hershel nodded.
"Thank you!" She didn't know what else to say.
Rick nodded, "So, apart from you two, Hershel, Daryl, Carol, Glenn, and Maggie will be apart of the council. Agreed?"
They all agreed, and finished their meals. Darci took the plate and put on the top of a few plates. She went over to where Lilly still sat, and said she was going out for a bit. After saying Good-bye to her sister, she left and followed Daryl and Sasha outside.
Sasha let Daryl take the lead, and fell back beside Darci, "I'm glad you people let us in. You have a good thing going here."
Darci smiled, "Don't thank me, thank Rick, I didn't come here until a week before we went to Woodbury."
"I wonder if we'll manage to keep things so simple?" Sasha asked as they exited the field, and went outside.
"I'm sure we will. It can sometimes be peaceful enough to make you forget what's out here." Darci replied.
Daryl didn't turn around as he huffed, "Are y'all gonna stand around and gossip all day, or are we gonna find some pigs?"
Sasha and Darci exchanged looks, holding back laughter. They stayed quiet from then on as they searched for the slightest movement.
Eventually, they began to split up, but were still within eyesight of each other. She heard a 'Psst!' and turned to see Sasha pointing. She followed her gaze to see a pig snuffling among the trees. Looking for food I guess. She looked around to find Daryl, and, after seeing him a bit away, she called out softly, "Daryl! Over here!"
He turned around, and carefully made his way over to them, making sure he didn't step on anything loud. "What?" He asked silently when he finally reached them.
Sasha nodded her head to where the pig was still lazily putting his nose to the ground. Daryl put his hand toward one side, then pointed to Sasha. He then, with a hand signal, told Darci to stay put, while he moved to the other side. She looked around. Darci made sure no 'Nightmares were around, before turning back to where Daryl nodded.
Sasha and Daryl were beginning to creep on it from one side, and that's when it hit Darci. They're scaring it towards me, so I can stop it while it runs. She also realized the truck Rick left was only a bit away.
As soon as Daryl went to grab the pig, it seemed to realize there was danger, and ran off in the opposite direction of them towards Darci. The few bushes around hid her enough so that the pig didn't realize she was there until too late. She practically leaped on to it, and held its neck around her arms. Darci made sure to avoid its feet, which looked dangerously sharp. Daryl and Sasha ran over, and, they picked the pig off the ground. It began to flail, letting out loud squeals. She winced, for she realized any 'Nightmares close by would come to the sound.
Daryl grunted, "Can you two handle it?"
"Yeah," Sasha and Darci said at once.
"Good, I'll keep watch for Walkers," Daryl let go of the pig, and pulled his crossbow from over his shoulder.
Damn this pig is heavy! She and Sasha slowly made their way to the truck, which now seemed like miles away. Darci tried to keep control when she heard the moaning of a 'Nightmare. Daryl had already loaded his crossbow, and killed it when it came from around a tree.
Finally, they managed to get the pig into the crate at the back of the truck. Letting out a relieved sigh, Darci looked at them, "I suppose we need another of a different gender."
Daryl was looking around, "Mhm. That one's female, so we gotta find a male."
Not even daring to ask when he got a chance to see what gender the pig they caught was, Darci began to look around.
It was only a few minutes when she heard groaning, and Darci pelted towards a tree. Peering around it, she saw a 'Nightmare having a feast on what looked like the remains of a dead animal. What a waste, she thought when she saw the familiar look of a pig snout. She looked around once more, seeing to it that no other 'Nightmares were around, and threw her knife at the back of its head.
She realized she needed more practice when it hit the top of its neck, nearly missing the skull entirely. She took the knife back, and went back to looking. Not much time had passed when she spotted a swirly tail sticking out of behind a bush. Darci looked around, but couldn't see Daryl nor Sasha around.
I can't go looking for them or I'll lose the pig. She made her way around it in a wide circle. She realized it was male, and gave out a breath she had held. If I catch you, I think we'll be done. She slowly crept forward, watching out for fallen twigs and leaves. When she was a few feet away, and made sure it didn't plan on turning around, Darci leaped forward. The pig squealed, and ran just out of hands' reach, running off. Wincing at the sound, she quickly stood to her feet, and chased after it.
Come back here, you little... She almost ran into a tree, and, when she made a quick turn around it, practically ran right into a 'Nightmare, "Oh sh-" It let out a snarl and tried to grab for her. As fast as she could, Darci pulled out her knife- thankful Carol told her she should keep her shirt tucked behind the belt- and stabbed it in the eye.
"That was too close..." She sighed as it fell to the ground.
Looking up at the sound of another squeal, Darci saw Sasha had grabbed it. At least we didn't lose it... She tried to think on the bright side as she ran over.
Sasha nodded to the 'Nightmare back where she came from, "That was a bit close there, don't you think?"
"Yeah..." Darci cleared her throat, "I thought I was a goner."
She smiled friendly, "Not today, looks like. Come on, Daryl said he's waiting at the truck to make sure no Walkers got the idea to have a feast while we're looking for another."
She and Sasha carried the particularly fat pig back to the truck, when suddenly Darci looked around. "Mm... Sasha?"
"Yeah?"
"Which way was the truck?"
To Be Continued...
A/N: *Evil laugh* Sorry guys, as soon as I wrote down that last sentence, I couldn't help but think that it was the perfect way to end a chapter xD! Apologies for this taking like a month to get up, I had a major writer's block! Anyway, I hope you enjoy! I love creative criticism if you could spare the time to give it! c:
I also hope I got the message through when I mentioned the chapter skipping c: Have a nice day/night~