I do not own TWD or it's characters.
The night passed in a whirlwind. Split between dancing and chatting, Dan stayed by her side the entire night. Her brother did eventually make his way over to her, chatting with Dan while her and Sandy exchanged pleasantries. Unfortunately, she was raised to be responsible, so after a few hours of enjoyment, she told Dan she needed to go to bed.
"So soon?" he asked, a smile glinting in his eyes.
"It's pretty late. And I have hunting in the morning." His smile broadened.
"So, you joined up with our hunters? Come on, I'll walk you home." She laughed silently at his offer. They were gated, and she was more than able to defend herself in most any situation. But it was gallant and it made her feel soft and special. A few steps in, he nonchalantly grasped her hand in his, and they walked in comfortable silence for a few minutes.
"What do you do here?" she asked, breaking the silence.
"I work in the forge. My dad did metal work before the turn. With Eugene's help, he got a furnace set up. So now, with scrap metal, we can make almost anything we could need." She nodded, unsure where to take the conversation. She'd never been particularly good with people. She almost walked right past Carl's house when he stopped her. "This is you, right?"
"Uh, yeah. Sorry. Daydreaming." She released his hand and turned to him tentatively, unsure how to say goodnight. Before she could think of anything, his lips softly brushed hers. He pulled back almost instantly, and pushed a strand of copper hair behind her ear.
"Goodnight, Judith." Leaving her breathless and staring on the porch, he turned and left. She watched as he continued further down the street before disappearing inside his own place. Shaking herself, she opened the front door. An indelicate screech escaped her seeing Daryl sprawled out on the floor.
"Jesus, Uncle Daryl! You scared me!"
"Here one week and already got yerself a boyfriend?" Daryl smiled over at her.
"He's not my boyfriend," she immediately defended.
"Not yet. But he will be. Just be careful." She gave him a quizzical look. "It's safer now, yeah. But things still happen. Thought Carol and I were safe."
"I get it. But, I'd rather enjoy the time I have with him if it's going to be cut short. You know, rather love and loose than never love at all."
"Been reading too many of your aunts books," he sadly chuckled, referring to Carol.
"Much as I can," she agreed. "Night, Uncle Daryl."
"Night, 'Lil Asskicker." Turning, she headed up the stairs to the room that her brother had given to her.
She had finally fallen to sleep when rough shakes woke her. Not again, she thought. Her eyes opened and focused immediately upon Daryl's face.
"Up." Without questioning his order, she climbed out of bed, dressed, and grabbed her bow and quiver. She grabbed a spare pair of boots she had gotten, since hers were still at her aunts.
"What's up?" she asked him once she was ready. She pulled a backpack onto her back, layering the quiver and bow on top of it.
"Another turn." Her eyes penetrated his as she mulled over this information.
"Not a coincidence." She stated. It wasn't a question.
"Nah." He led the way out of the house. Carl and Sandy were standing by the door having a silent discussion.
"Ready?" Carl asked Daryl. Daryl simply nodded. Opening the door slowly, he brought his crossbow up. Gripping her bow in her hand, Judith grabbed an arrow from her quiver, ready. Their lawn was relatively quiet, but chaos greeted their eyes as they looked toward Maggie and Glenn's house.
Daryl whistled, getting everyone's attention. He pointed toward the opposite end of the road, which would eventually lead to a back gate. Nodding, they all filed out of the house behind him. A few walkers impeded their way. A bolt and arrow put them down silently. Carl was holding a machete. His wife a mean looking knife. Approaching the house Judith had seen Dan escape into the night before, she halted the group.
"Gimme a minute." She whispered. Not waiting for a response, she jogged up to the door. Taking a deep breath, steeling her nerves for anything, she threw open the door. She nearly slammed into Dan, who was making his way out. Putting her fingers to her lips to indicate silence, she beckoned him to follow. Her heart thud painfully against her chest bone when a girl his age followed him out. Pushing the hurt down, she concentrated on getting out of Hilltop alive.
Rejoining the group, they made their way steadily and quietly to the back gate. Once out, Daryl led them into the forest. None of the walkers had made it out here, so they made good time. A few hours later, he finally stopped.
"Should be far enough now. I'll take watch." Climbing a tree, Judith suspected this was another of his hunting blinds. Not wanting to speak with Dan quite yet, Judith followed. Daryl grunted in response when she settled down beside him.
"Jon?" she asked him. She didn't have to elaborate. Jon was a fishy character from the men who tracked her. She wanted to know if Daryl thought he caused it.
"Think so," he muttered, eying their surroundings. She kept a continual watch as well. They were miles away, but a stumble in the right direction could cause a walker, or a hoard of walkers, to infiltrate their camp.
"But why?" she asked. Her uncle brooded over this for a few minutes before answering.
"Supplies. Think about it. Makes sense for a group of men to send one into a community they find. Wait till lights out, Jon just had to kill someone. Then he runs out and lets the walkers do the rest. Once everyone is run out, they go in and scavenge."
"Think that's what happened to Providence?" He nodded. Anger burned in her heart, replacing the hurt and jealousy from earlier. "Assholes," she muttered. "What are we going to do to them?" she asked, sometime later.
"We ain't doing shit. I'll take care of it."
"No." She would follow him or do it on her own. But she would get revenge against these men.
"Yer dad wouldn't want you to be killin' people."
"Those people are the reason my dad's not here." He nodded slightly.
"Yer brother won't like it."
"He'll get over it."
"I'm only agreeing cause you'd do somethin' dumb like do it yerself if I didn't." She nodded at him, confirming his suspicions. They sat in silence for a few more moments before Daryl broke it.
"What's up with you and Dan?" he asked softly.
"Nothing," she answered, not wanting to talk about it. The best part about her uncle was that he understood not wanting to talk. Shrugging, he simply went back to his watch.
The sun tinged the morning horizon magenta when she finally climbed out of the tree. It appeared as if no one had slept. Seeing her, Dan jumped up and came to her.
"You okay?" he asked her. She merely nodded, looking down at her brother.
"We should probably hunt. I don't have any food in my bag." Carl considered this.
"I'll go relieve Daryl. He can go with you. No one should go out alone." Nodding, she waited as her brother scaled the tree clumsily. He lacked the grace of climbing her and her uncle had.
"I could go with you," Dan offered from her side.
"You'd scare away prey." She remembered the loud clumsy steps of the entire group the night before.
"Oh." Hurt, he slunk away to sit beside the girl from his house. She looked angrily at Judith. Ignoring the look, Judith turned and walked to the edge of their makeshift camp, looking for trails.
"Find anythin'?" Daryl asked from beside her.
"No." Without a word, the two stalked into the vegetation. They hunted in silence, neither wanting to scare away prey. If they were honest, they had nothing to talk about. They had always existed in a comfortable silence, neither one being overtly emotional. Catching a few rabbits, and a possum, they headed back to camp. Done hunting, Judith looked over at her uncle carrying the possum.
"That possum is all yours." Smiling, he glanced at her.
"What? Possum's good for ya." Shaking her head, she faked a shiver.
"No thanks. Disgusting." Just outside of camp, they stopped to skin their catch. Finishing, they entered camp to find a small fire already going. Skewing the animals, they propped them over the fire. Daryl pulled himself back up into the tree. Waiting for her brother to come down so she could go back up, she was startled by a hand on her shoulder. Turning, she faced Dan and the girl from his house.
"Hey, Judith. I, uh, want to thank you for coming to get me last night." She shrugged, glancing back at the tree. "Uh, I wanted to introduce you to my sister." She remained looking at the tree, not wanting him to see the look of embarrassment that fixed itself to her face. Shaking off the emotion, she turned back to the pair and forced a small smile.
"Nice to meet you," she murmured lamely, shaking hands with the older girl.
"Heather," the girl introduced. "We're twins." Looking at the two of them, Judith kicked herself for being so stupid. Of course they were twins. Wanting out of the awkward situation, she glanced at the tree before turning to them.
"I've got to go relieve my brother," she muttered. She began climbing the tree. Settling herself up by her uncle and brother, she sighed softly.
"I can keep watch with Daryl for a bit." She glanced at her brother.
"I don't really want to be down there right now." Seeing her pink tinged cheeks, Carl relented. Carl climbed down and she scooted closer to her uncle.
"What happened?" he asked her when she didn't volunteer any information.
"It's his sister," she whispered. Daryl, always able to understand her, nodded. He allowed her to sink into her thoughts as they kept watch.
Sorry for the short chapter! I'll try to make the next one longer.