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Snuff - Chapter Three - Safe
It wasn't like the tracker to get lost, and he really wasn't... Or so he kept telling himself. In his mind he was continuing his search for food, he knew it would be foolish to go back empty handed, especially if it had been found out that he'd taken off. At least if he brought back something good they wouldn't give him too much heat about it. Not like he'd stick around to hear it all, but he should would have loved to avoid those annoying tones and looks he knew Rick and everyone else would give him. It was bad enough he was bringing in another mouth to feed and soul to keep alive. He needed a peace offering to go with it. In a small way the girl wasn't so bad of a thing to bring in. She seemed to be good with a gun, from what he had seen and even better she wasn't as annoying as he had feared she would be. That didn't mean she got out of being watched like a hawk. Daryl had learned his lessons before on trusting just anyone. He let her keep her gun on her, since she had used it to save him once, he figured if she'd wanted him dead he would be. But that still didn't mean she'd earned his trust. For all he knew he could be leading her as well as plenty other followers into their camp. Which was yet another reason why he was taking his time getting home. He wanted to be very sure no one was following them.
"Are you sure you're not lost?" The voice behind him snapped him from his thought. He looked back at her with a small, low growl. She rolled her eyes and sighed loudly. They'd only been roaming around for about two hours, at least it seemed that long. He was thinking of calling it a night, not simply because of her random comments about his skill, but because he'd come to the conclusion they were indeed alone. But for how long, worried him.
"A'ight fine, c'mon" he said loudly, as she had fallen behind watching him. She was trying to figure out his ways and why he did the things he did. She had never before been around someone so rugged and knowledgeable of his surroundings. For a while she thought he was just putting on an act, but before long she could see a small trail that he had obviously planned out on his way outward.
"You knew the way back all along?" She questioned catching up to him. He nodded, but made no sound. Past a small shrub and a large tree she saw it, a large prison that looked as if it had been abandoned for years. She stopped in her tracks and stared past him towards the building, a small chill taking her over.
Daryl hadn't noticed she'd stopped till he could no longer hear her. He turned quickly, wondering if she'd taken off. He'd feared if she did run, it would be to inform her camp where they were, and he couldn't allow that. "You comin' 'r what?" He asked gruffly, not wanting to wait any longer than he had to. From the look of things his absence had gone unnoticed and he wanted to keep it that way for a while longer. However Kira just stayed in her spot, staring blankly ahead at the prison as if she was afraid it would get up and rush at her. He waited only a moment longer before making his way back towards her. "Whatchu doin' girl? I ain't got all day! Dem walkers gonna be makin' their way back 'ere soon enough an' I ain't gonna stick around to save yer ass!"
This small outburst brought her sight back to his as she gulped quietly. "I..it's a prison..." She said looking down at the ground below her. "Were you an inmate?... Are... Are all your camp members inmates?" She almost seemed to be stepping back a bit, as if the wrong answer would cause her to run.
Daryl was second away from another outburst and this one wasn't going to be pretty, but his brain worked faster than his mouth for once and he gathered where she was coming from. "We ain't inmates, we just took refuge here.. We got women in there.. Wives and daughters. Even a kid, you're gonna be safe" he spoke in a tone that surprised even himself.
Finally she brought her eyes back up to his and smiled just a little. It was a smile meant to be a mask, probably hiding the fear she felt he figured. He knew it had to be challenging to trust someone like him, especially walking into a place like this, but she nodded a bit and stepped forward urging him to lead the way. Which he did. He felt a strange sense of relief as well, he hadn't wanted her to run off again. He was sure if she had she'd been dead by nightfall. All seemed to be going well, the next task however burdened him more than the first, and that was introducing the Kira to the others.
