Part 3: Time flies

Daryl Dixon had never been much of a social being so after the transformation into a vampire, his social life really didn't suffer that much. He was still a loner who kept to himself and shut people out of his life. He didn't see the need for that nonsense and didn't want to depend on anyone but himself. So in a way, he was thankful for his new life for the simple fact that humans now kept their distance even more than if he were still human. Children looked at him curiously and adults would automatically shield them from his view, probably urged by their fear of him. And also the fact that he sent glares in every direction when in the presence of them.

Starting out, he had hunted animals without even thinking. As a human, his family had relied on their hunting of animals for sustenance. So when he became a vampire, the idea of hunting game and devouring them in a different way, was second nature to him. He had always been accustomed to it.

But after a while, he became bored with the hunt and seemed to come across the same animals constantly. He grew bored and wanted a challenge. He wanted real blood-curdling fear to come from his prey and he just wasn't getting it from deer, rabbits and the like.

An Undetermined Time, Earlier

His thirst had started becoming unbearable as the days passed him by. Due to there being human hunters in the woods near his home, he didn't have much of a chance to quench his thirst. He knew the season was coming to an end and the humans would return back to their homes, none the wiser that the animals they hunted were slowly dwindling in numbers with a new predator on the loose. That predator being him, of course.

So when the last day of deer season approached, he grew anxious to start hunting again. It had been too long and he had held out as long as he possibly could, to avoid being near the alluring scent of the humans' blood. He had no intentions of becoming a full-fledged monster but if he was being honest with himself, he was becoming bored with his existence.

As he made to chase a lone buck that had been following a doe, his instincts once again took over. Only this time as he stealthily approached his prey, a new but familiar scent filled his nostrils causing him to stop dead. His lips curled over his teeth automatically, a low growl rumbling from his chest as his mind shifted into a blank slate, only one thing on his mind. Blood.

Some part of him screamed to himself to stop, that he was currently tracking a human. But another part; a much darker part that he didn't know existed, whispered to just let go. Enjoy the hunt and damn to hell anyone that stood in his way.

Not caring to debate with himself he kept tracking the human, listening as it's heartbeat grew closer and closer. He could practically feel the blood pulsing through the mans' veins and his mouth pooled with the silver liquid that pulsed through him.

Climbing a tree, he perched himself on a branch as he watched the man collect traps from various places in the forest. Daryl was taken back to memories of himself doing the same as a human and a little part of him felt guilty for what he was about to do. But of course the darkness inside himself overpowered that guilt as quick as it came.

Grinning to himself, he decided to play a little. He hadn't had any fun in ages, it seemed and he felt superior now. Maybe even a little vain.

Swiftly climbing from the tree so the human wouldn't hear, he made a rustling sound as he walked. He wanted the man to hear him. Taking a stance he hadn't took in a long time, he felt somewhat like his old human self.

"Having any luck today? I swear these damn deer ain't wantin' to come out today." he said, catching the man off guard. "Name's Daryl. Just wandering round out here 'fore I head home to the ol' lady."

The man visibly relaxed although he still seemed a little wary. "Yea… Same here. S'Like they hear us comin' or somethin'.." He picked up another trap and continued to walk away but Daryl wasn't deterred in the least. He even side-stepped the man to pick up another trap that had been set before it could be picked up. Handing it to him, Daryl made sure to light graze the man's hand letting him feel the cold-ness of his hand.

He shuddered momentarily before backing up once again, away. Daryl felt absolutely giddy at that moment. He could smell the faint scent of beer on the man and knew he was slightly intoxicated. Much like his old man once was, most of the time.

That seemed to trigger something inside Daryl because one minute, he was standing idly by taking his time. The next minute, the man's neck was already snapped in Daryl's hand. Not bothering to think, he started to drink and once again, was taken by the darkness.

He grinned at the memory as he walked the streets of his local town, in search of some stimulation for the night. The hunt was all he craved, all he wanted.

And he'd do anything to keep that feeling going. To feel the rush of the hunt, the fear of his prey. It was so palpable that he could feel it rush through his whole being.

Since he didn't sleep, time seemed to lag on but at the same time it flew right by before he could make sense of anything that was going on.

One day, all things were right in the world and the next, people were turning into the un-dead left and right. He kept his distance, waiting to see how it all would turn out. Observed the behavior of the infected people and how quickly it spread. And most importantly, how to kill the damned things.

They took mere hours to turn (unlike himself) and after the turning, they were like nothing he'd ever seen. They decayed quickly but their thirst for human flesh was unquenchable. Anybody they bit or ate for that matter, turned into the same things once a certain amount of time passed. And the cycle went over and over. It was very repetitive, in his opinion and the humans were freaking the hell out.

And in a way, he was freaking out too. Because the more humans that turned, the numbers of sustainable blood sources were diminishing. He didn't like that.

If he could feed on the un-dead, he would but the mere scent of their rotten flesh turned his stomach. He knew if he fed off of them, it wouldn't satisfy him at all and he wasn't quite sure what it would do to him.

So as the humans panicked and turned on each other, he thoughts of plans. Ways to keep himself sustained but still under the radar. He knew he had to infiltrate a group of people or person, who could supply him with what he needed. He still didn't know how he would accomplish it without the humans noticing but he knew he had no choice in the matter. It was either that, animals or starve. He wasn't necessarily opposed to the drinking of animals but that was his last resort. He knew it would be difficult to quit human blood cold turkey and he'd probably alternate between the two. But for the time being, he had to keep up the human diet for just a bit longer…

He was an addict and he didn't forsee himself quitting that addiction anytime soon.