Chapter Fourteen

The sky was misty, and grey as the sun began to come up and Tara felt the humid heat starting to burn through her shirt, sweat forming underneath the thin cloth.

She wasn't sure how long she'd been walking, her mind was only on Maggie. Awful things crossed her mind, scenarios where she didn't make it to her in time, or that they were hurting her. She couldn't block them out, because to think of her was to think of the good and the bad. The danger was keeping her going, but being alone with her thoughts was torture.

She was glad that she didn't drag the group into this mess, even if she would have benefit from their help, she thought this was the best way. Foolish or brave? She thought. Either way her mission was simple: find Maggie, even if it meant putting herself in danger in the process.

Tracking wasn't easy, it didn't come naturally to her. She aimlessly fumbled around looking for footprints or broken twigs, some kind of evidence of force, like Daryl taught her. This was one of the times she could do with having Daryl by her side, this was kind of his thing. She hoped they were just behind her, catching up with her, but there was no use in looking back now, she had to keep going forward, moving on.

The more she thought about it, the more she realised that this was probably a bad idea. She was acting out of love and loyalty, rather than logical thinking. But she tried not to think about it, it was best not to.

That's when she stumbled across a camp. Tents strung up outside a small hut, no bigger than a house. It reminded her of a camping hut, the only difference being the pipes running along the sides and into the walls. She guessed it was some water filter they had made, something to filter through the rain, but she wasn't sure. Just outside a fire was lit, gently blowing out with the morning breeze.

Tara crouched behind a tree, a few metres away from the makeshift metal fencing that protected part of the camp, making sure her gun was loaded. She felt for her knife in the sheath on her side, just to be safe. A man walked out of the hut, brushing his hand through his hair, letting out a breath.

"Shit…" Tara muttered under her breath. Now she knew for sure this was them, seeing one of the men that had attacked her and Maggie. Tara carried on cursing trying to pluck up the courage to attack but fearing attacking too prematurely could ruin her chances.

Suddenly, another man came out, and joined the first one. They stood together at the fire, smoke rising turning darker as it dwindled down. The first man was poking it with a stick, playing with the ash it had formed.

"She's a fuckin' handful, I tell ya. She just won't go down easy." The man who joined him said.

"Yeah, had that with her last night. Just won't give ya the respect, you know?" The other man said.

"Fuck, it's not like we're askin' for much, just cooperation. She's lucky she's still alive. Makes ya think though, who's in this group she says is comin' for her, that she's so fuckin' confident that we're the ones that'll be dyin'"

"Ahh, she's bluffing. The only one we know for sure was with her is that girl… Tara was it?" The man asked.

Her ears pricked up, listening more intently now. Her heart was beating faster and faster, now she knew they had Maggie. She was alive, and she wasn't going down without a fight.

That's my girl, Tara thought, trying to shake off the pride in her and stay focused.

It was killing her knowing she was a matter of metres away, but she had to stay put and plan it out, when all she wanted to do is burst in there, kill them all and find her; hold her in her arms and breathe all of her in.

"She think one girl can take us on? Christ, we'd take her out in a second. Got no chance." They both laughed.

"She eaten anything yet?"

"Nah, offered her water, too, but she's stubborn."

"Fuck her then, she can die in there if that's the way she's wants to play it." They both shrugged, standing around the fire warming their hands, oblivious to the intrusion on the outside.

Tara approached the side of the camp, metal fencing blocking the way. She stood up to it, and placed her hand through the holes, trying to figure out a strategy. Looking on imagining Maggie alone beyond those walls, waiting.

One of the men moved away from the fire and entered the hut behind them. Tara figured that if she took this one out first, whoever else that was in there would come out and she would have a clear shot. She just hoped there wasn't many of them.

She made sure her gun was fully loaded, raised it up and pushed it slightly through the fencing. Her eyes narrowed and focused on the man, she squinted one eye to perfect her aim.

"That's it." Tara whispered under her breath, gently touching her finger on the trigger.

She looked up, making sure her aim was right, she had one shot at this it had to be right. But before she managed to push down the trigger she felt a hard object against the side of her head, the cool metal of a gun.

"Put the gun down. Now." a voice said, angrily, as he placed his hand down readying himself to take the weapon from her.