This chapter was one of those that just wrote itself once I got started, I was just along for the ride. I hope that's a good thing. Please don't get mad for where I ended it. I almost didn't but it's way better this way. Please review, tell me what you liked and what you didn't!
It was the biggest damn buck had seen since the dead had risen.
Daryl had been about halfway to Yellow Jacket Creek when he spotted the antler rub on the big oak. The trail had been evident from there. "Yep, big boy is too concerned with gettin laid to watch himself.", he had thought to himself as he climbed the tree that sat over what was obviously a well traveled spot.
He pulled out one of the packets Carol had placed in his pack as he waited. It was filled with trail mix, the kind with almonds, his favorite even though he wouldn't admit that out loud. He noticed a difference after a few handfuls and squinted down at what remained in his hand. The ratio was off, with many more chocolate chips than he knew were in the original container in the kitchen.
"Fuckin woman", he muttered with a smirk, "gonna make my ass too fat to climb up in these trees."
Daryl had sat for only around two hours (from what he could tell) when the doe had edged into the clear spot under the tree. He didn't shoulder the bow, remaining in his same position as he watched her. He knew the rutting buck would be hot on her trail, and he would provide more meat than she would.
Animal nature proved true when the movement of a rack rustled nearby bushes and what had to be two hundred pounds of groceries (as far as Daryl was concerned) walked into the clearing. He remained still, intending to let them mate before taking the shot. He had been concerned with overhunting the area around the prison, and giving this buck a chance to pass on his genes would give them a better chance for food down the line if by some miracle they were able to stay there another year or two.
After the usual grunting and mating rituals the buck had mounted the doe, an act Daryl had witnessed countless times before. But this time he had his own point of reference as his mind drifted back to his and Carol's first time in their cell. He had felt like an animal himself, acting on pure instinct and need. Afterward he was afraid he had been too rough but Carol had just giggled and said she was flattered that she had made him lose control like that. She had no idea just what she did to him.
He was so lost in his own thoughts that he almost missed it when the buck dismounted with a deep "hrumph" and sauntered to the shadows of the neighboring trees. Daryl came back to himself with a quick jerk, shouldered the bow and let the arrow fly in one smooth motion. It was a perfect heart shot, anything less at that close would have been embarrassing. He saw the flash of white out of the corner of his eye as the doe bounded away, even before the buck hit the ground. He climbed down out of the tree, and quickly pulled the rope out of his pack, setting up a makeshift way to bleed and gut his kill. This had to be quick, this much scent would surely attract every geek in the area.
Daryl soon had the animal field dressed and on a makeshift travois he had fashioned out of downed limbs. He looked down at the bucks hamstrings he held in his hand. He didn't think God or the Great Spirit or whatever there was existed anymore in this world. But he did hold to tradition and it didn't hurt to hedge your bets when you could. The hamstrings were placed over a branch of the tree he hoped was out of reach of the normal sized walker and he tipped his head back to give a terse nod, his best 'thanks'.
The liver sat on top of the animal where he had laid it after digging it out of the gut pile. He wasn't wasting anything, Woodbury might not know what it was like to go hungry but his group (his family) certainly did. If any of the new folks turned up their noses at liver they could skip a meal as far as he was concerned. He cut a strip from it with his knife before tucking what remained into the body cavity to keep the flys off. He didn't even grimace at the familiar iron rich taste as he chewed. The hamstrings may be about thanks but the fresh liver represented strength. He had needed plenty of that in the last year and probably would again sometime soon.
The travois had worked well and he wasn't completely exhausted by the time the outer gate of the prison came into view. He wouldn't admit it to himself, but part of him was excited about showing Carol his kill. She would be proud, he was sure. She always was, whether he brought in a load of venison or just a scrawny owl like their first night at the prison. She would also be as careful as he had been not to waste. It was one of the things he loved most about her, how she seemed to be his other half.
Daryl shook his head. Damn woman was making him soft, he was thinking about all this fluffy shit when he needed to be hauling ass to get this meat processed before it went bad. He topped the final knoll that separated him from his home. The lopsided grin he had on his face instantly hardened into a grimace as his boots froze midstep.
His end of the travois hit the ground and he was behind a nearby tree in less than a second. "FUCK!" he hissed as he slammed the back of his head against the trunk to clear his now panicked thoughts. Two unfamiliar vehicles, plus what looked like some kind of trailer were in the grass between the inner and outer fences. His mind raced, trying to recall if he had seen any of them during his time at Woodbury or when the Governor had attacked before. But his memory wasn't helping, he had been too busy with Merle the first time and down in the tombs with Carol the second.
Carol
His heart lurched. Please, woman, tell me you stayed inside today like I asked you to.
He turned to chance a look around the side of the tree, careful to keep his body out of the line of sight. He could see two unfamiliar people, a big blonde man, around Tyreese's size stood to the front of the black truck, looking like he was talking to someone out of sight on the other side. What looked to be a much shorter woman was busy at the back of a beat up white van, pulling what no doubt were weapons out of the back. The only ones he saw was a shotgun with the guy and then what looked like a recurve bow slung over the womans' shoulder. He paused for a moment at the woman. Who the fuck wears colors that bright now? Fine, it just makes it easier for me to put an arrow through you at this distance.
What really worried him was that damn trailer. Even from here he could tell it was rocking on it's axles. He thought back to the 'walker bomb' truck that had nearly ended so badly the last time.
That trailer was full of walkers and they were about to open the doors.
Daryl loaded the bow and took a deep breath. It looked to be only two people, three at the most. For all he knew it could be the Governor himself who stood on the other side of that truck. They didn't know he was here, he could drop two of them before they could even figure out where the arrows were coming from. He brought the bow up and swung around the tree. He sighted on the man first, knowing it would take the woman longer to ready her weapon.
His finger was just tightening on the trigger when a very familiar head of short salt and pepper curls emerged from around the truck and moved directly into his crosshairs.