Aidan P.o.V
"Well, took me long enough to find you." My eyes flew open as I looked around the room, my eyes finding his instantly.
It was him.
He found me.
I tried to jump from the bed, but my hands were handcuffed to the bed frame.
I was trapped, with no way to escape.
"You've found a nice little place here, food, water, friends. It's such a shame you got them all killed. They might have had a nice life if it wasn't for you." He said with glee, a sadistic smile on his face.
Wait.
Did he just say dead?
"It's quite funny, isn't it Aidan, last time you ran from me, you got your entire family killed. Do you remember Aidan? The look of betrayal on their faces as they realized that you had led me right to them?" I sat there in shock, unable to move, unable to breathe.
He said everyone was dead. That couldn't be. They were resourceful, but at the same time, they wouldn't have just left me here. They would have saved me.
"Oh, but don't worry, I won't make you watch as I kill them this time, no instead I just killed them, but don't worry baby," He said as he made his way over to the lightswitch, his finger right underneath it.
That's when I heard the moans. They were quiet at first but were getting louder by the minute.
"I wanted to make sure you had a chance to say goodbye." He said as he turned on the light.
My eyes widened in horror as a scream tore through my throat. All of them were dead, all of them were walkers, and they were all coming to kill me.
"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." I cried out at them as they shuffled closer. The leader of the herd was Daryl. He got close enough to the bed to grab my hurt ankle and squeezed.
Another scream of pain tore through me. His dead eyes looked into mine before a snarl came from his mouth, and he bit down on my ankle.
"Aidan. Jesus, wake the fuck up!" I heard as I jumped up quickly, my heart racing a million miles. The knife I kept under my pillow in my hand as I began to wave it around haphazardly until it met with flesh.
"Fucking christ woman, put that thing down before you kill someone." The voice from my left grumbled out before a hand gripped my wrist, forcing my hand to open up before pulling the knife away gently.
I sat up, my eyes squeezed closed as I began to rock, quiet sobs escaping from my lips.
They were dead, all dead. It was my fault. It was just like he said, I killed them.
I felt someone's hand touch my shoulder hesitantly before I scrambled away to the other edge of the bed. "Don't touch me you bastard! Leave me alone!" I choked out in between sobs.
"What is going on! Daryl, what did you do to her!" I heard Maggie scream as she walked into the room.
Wait, Daryl?
I opened my eyes and looked up to see Daryl. Alive.
"Fuck if I know, she was screaming! I came in here to wake her up, and she started freaking out." He replied, obviously unhappy about the entire situation.
"Aidan, sweetie, what's wrong? What happened?" Maggie asked me as she came and sat down next to me.
I didn't know what to say or what to do. I was so sure that they were all dead.
"Is everyone ok?" I asked quietly as I looked back down at my feet, trying to stop the tears from flowing.
I needed to know that everyone was alive. I needed to hear the world.
I needed to know that he wasn't here.
"Yea, other than the nasty cut you gave me, everyone's fine." I heard Daryl say. I looked up at him, confused. What cut?
He lifted up his arm and showed me the cut I made.
"Oh god, Daryl. I-I'm so sorry, I thought you were someone else." I said quietly.
"Eh, is just a cut, but next time be careful." He said as he stood up and walked out of the room.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" Maggie asked me, hesitantly, carefully.
"No, what I want to do is go shoot something," I said, quietly the anger building up inside of me.
I moved to the edge of the bed and put my feet down slowly. It had been a few weeks since my ankle breaking adventures, and I was finally able to walk on it without that damn boot, but still, It hurt like hell.
"You are still healing! Dad will have your ass if you go adventuring into the woods." Maggie said sternly, her voice laced with concern.
"Fine. I won't go into the woods. I'll stay within the tree line, but I need to do something, Maggie. I've been stuck in this bed for weeks." I complained as I gingerly walked over to the desk and grabbed my bow and quiver.
"Fine. Daryl was heading out to be on watch. Please stay where he can see you." I nodded my head towards her before walking out of the room.
My mind was reeling, restless.
What if me staying here really did get them killed?
I knew he would never stop hunting me.
I knew that I was putting them all in danger by staying.
I knew what I needed to do, but I didn't want to leave.
I had finally found a home. Trustworthy people.
I had finally found some form of peace.
I made my way outside and found a little area to practice my archery.
In the middle of the field was a single archery target, which i'm assuming Daryl used to hone his skills.
I took a deep breath as I grabbed an arrow from the quiver before nocking it on the drawstring. I drew it back and let loose an arrow. It missed the target narrowly and instead hit the tree behind it.
Why did I miss it? Fuck.
I drew two more arrows, shooting them in concession, both of them missing the target as well.
I turned my head to see Daryl standing a little ways away, shaking his head at me.
'What do you want." I snapped out at him as I walked forwards, grabbing my arrows from the tree and ground.
"Oh nothing, just admiring your crappy aim is all." He said with a smirk.
I walked back over to the fence and sauntered over to him, My eyes trained on him. "What did you say to me?" I seethed out at him.
I watched as his smirk turned into a full-on grin as he walked closer to me, "I guess your hearing is as bad as your aim, no worries, I'll repeat myself. I said that your aim is shit, Princess. Whatcha gonna do about it?" He asked, a gleeful look in his eyes.
How dare he say that to me.
I was going to show him.
I drew my bow, aimed, and hit the target dead in the center.
"Think you can do better? Prove it, big boy." I said, using the sassiest voice I could muster.
"Hmm. How about a friendly wager then Princess. Whoever hits the center the most times wins." He asked me as he got even closer, our faces only inches apart.
Hmph, he thought he could challenge me? Please. I would show him.
Granted, I have never actually seen him shoot his crossbow, so he might be a pretty damn good shot, but I would not let an attack on my honor go unpunished. He was gonna learn today.
"I accept. What are your terms?" I asked him as I placed my bow on the ground before crossing my arms against my chest. My eyes trained on him like a hawk.
"If I win, you have to tell me something about your past, it could be about that tattoo or about that dream, but you have to actually talk." He said, his voice going from a playful, fun tone to that of a somber one.
I took a step back, my eyes going wide. "No, fuck you. My past isn't some game!" I yelled out at him as I snatched my bow from the ground before angrily stomping off.
"Oh, I get it! You're just a big chicken, aren't you! Well, fine, run away like the scaredy cat you are." He said from behind me in an arrogant voice.
God, he was so irritating. He was baiting me, and unfortunately, I fell for it.
I spun on my heel as I stomped over to him, putting most of my weight on my right foot. If he wanted to piss me off, he did a damn good job. I was not scared of him. He was just some redneck guard dog, and me? I was trained by expert archers. There was no way in hell I was going to lose to him.
"Fine, but if I win, you get to teach me how to use that crossbow of yours." I responded, my voice a deadly quiet.
Back at-that place, I was trained in almost all weapons that I wanted, but we never had a crossbow on hand for me to mess around with. Granted, I'm sure that it would be the same as a regular bow, but I would like to know how to use one correctly, should the time ever occur that I needed to use one.
"Deal." He grinned out at me again as he held out his left hand.
I shook it with my right hand, the deal struck.
Now it was time for payback.
Daryl P.o.V
I got her.
Hook, line, and sinker.
In many ways, we were similar, which made it way too easy to get under her skin.
I know that she would never willingly talk about the things bothering her.
She needed a little push.
We walked over to where she was shooting from initally, and got set up.
"Alright, we will take turns shooting, in rounds, whoever hits closest each round gets the point. First-person to five wins." I said as I looked over at her, studying her features.
She had a serious, concentrated look on her face, but at least the sadness was gone. She might not admit it, but I think she was enjoying the challenge.
"Ladies, first!" I offered as she let loose an arrow. It hit right on the outside of the center circle.
I stepped up and shot my own arrow, but mine hit dead in the center.
I briefly considered letting her have at least one round won, but It would have pissed her off more if she found out.
"Guess this round is mine, Princess." I said as I took a step back.
I could tell she was getting angrier and angrier, her shots hitting farther and farther from the center.
Some people focused better when they were angry. She did not.
The five rounds ended pretty quickly, considering she only hit the center once.
"Fuck you, Daryl," She mumbled out as she stomped over to the target, and grabbed her arrows before shoving them in their quiver.
"You did good, Aidan. You just let your anger get out of control. You need to learn to redirect it instead of letting it take you over." I said as I walked over and grabbed my arrows as well.
"Whatever. You win. Fair is fair, I suppose." She mumbled quietly before walking back over to the fence. She hopped up and sat down, kicking her feet against the wooden panels.
"I promised you answers so, what do you wanna know? You only get one question, I promise to answer truthfully, but you can't tell anyone here about what I tell you. It must stay a secret," She said as she looked down at her feet.
I walked over and hopped up next to her, pulling a kit kat from my vest pocket. "I uhh… found this the other day when I went into town. I heard you tell Maggie you missed these things. Would you like to split it?" I asked her as I smiled a reassuring smile at her.
Truthfully when we went into town, I searched quite a few convenience stores for one. I wanted to repay her for saving me. I knew it wasn't much, but I just wanted a way to say thank you, which didn't require me to say the words.
Before looking back up at me, she looked at the candy bar, a small tear forming in her eyes. She smiled at me before nodding.
I opened the small package and broke it in hanf, handing her the small piece. She took it from me gently before reaching up and placing it in her mouth. She smiled as she took a bite.
It was a real smile, not a fake one she put on for the others.
Seeing her smile, well, it made me smile. Sure she was a pain in the ass, but she had a good heart.
"I promise," I said as I took a bite of the bar. I knew she needed to hear me say those words before she could ever open up. Whatever secrets she was hiding, they terrified her and weighed her down.
"Why don't you tell me about that tattoo of yours?' I asked her quietly as I took another bite of the bar, finishing it off.
She looked down at her wrist before looking back up at me.
I watched out the corner of my eye as she flipped her hand over and gripped the post beneath her.
I knew this wasn't easy for her, but she needed to talk about whatever was causing her nightmares. Otherwise, they would never go away. That I knew from experience.
"When I was younger, about 15, I lost my parents and was taken in by a man. At first, he was kind, offered me shelter, even 'adopted' me," She took a deep breath before continuing.
"Last year, when I turned 18, he branded me. This tattoo is his brand. It lets everyone else know that I belong to him and him alone. As you saw with the men in the shack, they also had brands, but those are different." She said as she reached up and curled a single piece of her silver hair around her finger.
"Those were ranked tattoo's; it lets everyone know your status. They were hunters, middle class. Certain ranks grant you certain perks. The only thing mine offered was a leash. It's why I keep it a secret. If he ever finds me, then… I'll be forced to live a life worse than death. I would rather die than go back." She said quietly as she kept her eyes trained on the ground.
"I… I'm sorry, I know to you I'm just some stranger who gets on your nerves. Still, I promise you," I said as I reached over and lifted her head to look me in the eyes before continuing," I won't let anything happen to you. None of us will, like it or not, your apart of the family now, Aidan. We take care of our own." I said as she nodded, a single tear falling on my hand.
"Listen, I uhh, need to go on a hunt. Why don't you head back to the house and try to get some sleep? Your foot isn't going to get any better if you keep putting pressure on it." I said as I hopped down, before offering her my hand to help her down.
She took it before hopping down gently, making sure to land on her uninjured foot.
As she took off to the house, I turned and sped walked into the woods, waiting until I was out of sight to let my anger out.
I turned towards the nearest tree trunk and swung, hitting it so hard my knuckles began to bleed.
What the actual fuck.
Whoever the fuck this was needed to die, and now. How the fuck do you groom a child to become your bride? Is that the fucking world we live in?
I knew one thing for sure. Whoever this was better hope that we never cross paths because I will kill him.
Hey guys! What did you think of the new chapter? I really wanted to give you guys a look into her past while growing her relationship with Daryl. Please tell me what you guys think and thank you for reading 3