I slowly opened my eyes, my entire body feeling achy.
I grudgingly sat up as the tent span a little. I had hardly slept that night, and now my body was sore. I was either too hot, too cold or just completely uncomfortable.
I pulled out a pair or leggins and pulled them on, only to rip straight through the seam in the crutch. Grunting, I launched them across the empty tent and pulled on a pair of jean shorts.
I finished getting dressed and pulled on my shoes, before climbing out of the tent. I ran my hands through my hair to brush it, wincing at the abnormal amount of knots that has formulated.
I ran my hand through my hair one last time before I felt myself falling forward. I managed to catch myself and looked back to realise I'd tripped over a guide rope to someone's tent. Growling, I corrected myself before I marched up to the campfire and slumped onto a log.
I tried ignoring the strange glance from a few of the group as I tried desperately not to scratch my cheek. My cut hadn't given me any trouble, but I guess that now it's scarring up, it's getting itchy. I laced my fingers and grimaced out of frustration.
"Food?" Alex asked cautiously, holding out a plate.
I took the plate off him with a stout nod and began eating. I knew Alex was watching me. But whatever. He knew to keep clear.
I took my final bite when my eyes filled up and pain throbbed in my mouth. I'd managed to bit a chunk out of my cheek. I groaned, and threw the empty plate on the floor as i tapped my cheek with my tongue.
"Are you alright Sam?" Alex asked.
"No." I snapped.
I heard a couple sniggers, and looked up to see Rick, Glenn and Carol trying not to laugh at me. I felt my blood boil.
"What?" I asked shortly, making them laugh.
My eyebrow furred and I crossed my arms, trying to ignore them. It only made them laugh harder, and even Alex joined in. Angrily, I threw my fork at him. It bounced off his chest, making him snort with laughter.
"I've got more stuff for ya." Daryl grunted as he walked from behind me towards the fire. I didn't bother looking up. I didn't really care.
He looked around confused as everyone was just coming down off their laughter. Alex wiped at his eyes and carol tried to hide her grin. I rolled my eyes at Daryl.
He sounded even stupider today. And he looked a mess.
"What's goin on?" Daryl asked, his eyebrows creasing.
"Sam." Rick smiled.
Daryl looked at me perplexed as I stared at him. Glenn sniggered again which was really irritating, making me squint my eyes and glare at him.
"Shut up Glenn." I hissed, and they all chuckled.
"Sam, what's up with you today?" Alex asked, wiping tears from his eyes.
"Nothing, before all you hyenas started cackling. I don't see what's so damn funny." I snapped, infuriated by his apparent lack of understanding.
I looked at every single one of them with as much venom as I could, but to my horror, even Daryl was smirking. So he found this amusing too? Great. Well, he's never going to hear from me again. Ever. I'm going to ignore every single one of them.
"Are ya huntin?" He asked, trying to mask his amusement.
"No." I growled.
"I'll go, then." He smiled. If I wasn't so angry, I would've been shocked at the smile.
"Go on then. Run along. Have fun!" I spat sarcastically, flicking my hands at him before crossing my arms even tighter.
His eyebrow raised at me before he walked off, making me want to hit him. To my disappointment, there was nothing heavy enough nearby that I could throw at his head.
I dumped the last load of clothes into the basket and begun hanging up clothes on our makeshift clothes line.
I'd bumbled about doing boring things all day, and managed to hurt or embarrass myself almost every time.
I'd bitten the inside of my mouth again, soaked my clothes whilst cleaning the second load of washing and managed to fully trip over the guide rope and land on my face. Frankly, I was on the verge of murdering someone.
I hung up the remainder of the washing, successfully managing to slap myself in the face with a number of the wet clothing. Angrily, I kicked the basket and stormed to my tent.
Once inside, I saw my machete and knew the small handgun was in my bag. Grabbing them both, I decided I would go hunting. I marched out of the tent and headed out of camp, my face set in a straight line.
"Sam, where at you going?" Dale cried from atop of the RV.
"Hunting. Or slash anything in my path. Whatever comes first." I howled over my shoulder.
"But-"
"Let her go Dale. She looks after herself better when she's super angry." Alex called to Dale, making me grit my teeth.
I got across the field in no time, and made no attempt to keep myself very quiet. I wasn't in the mood for sneaking. If anything was going to attack me, they would be the one in danger, not me.
I kept walking, heading further out than I normally did. A lot quicker, too. Maybe there'd be a walker or two about. I could really take out some aggression right now.
It was only after half an hour or so of solid marching until I heard some rustling far off, to my relief. I kept myself low, and started to walk quietly. I paused, the rustling getting louder as I walked in the right direction.
I stopped behind the few final trees and raised my machete to strike. I blew out a quiet breath, trying to get a gauge of what would be round the corner. There wasn't a lot of noise, so it sounds like there was something small or on it's own. That's fine. I can keep 'hunting' after this. Maybe this might make me feel a lot better, and I can head back to camp and try to gt some sleep before I keeled over.
Gripping my machete tightly, I sprinted round and brought the weapon down swinging to strike when Daryl's head shot up and stared back at me with a stunned look on his face.
"Daryl? What the hell! I nearly bloody decapitated you." I growled, moving away my machete that was hovering dangerously close to his face.
He didn't say anything, but merely began to smirked at me. Infuriated, I shoved his chest, making him stumble back. I'm wasn't in the mood for him to make fun, because I wouldn't hesitate to run him through with my machete.
I turned around to storm off, but he stepped forward to walk beside me. Whatever. He's not going to catch anything with me around, nor is he going to get much conversation.
"What's up with ya?" He asked after a minute or two.
"Nothing's up! Jeez, why has something always got to be up? I'm just fine." I grunted, my grip on my machete tightening.
"Fine." He said shortly, but looking at him told me that his stupid smirk was still there.
"What? Do you like making me angry? Is it entertaining for you?" I spat. He merely shrugged indifferently. I knew the answer though, as his smirk didn't drop with my confrontation. He definitely enjoyed it.
We continued walking and hunting in silence, and I knew that I needed to keep it hushed so we could get some food for the group. My blood was still boiling as we worked, though.
I had noticed that Daryl kept glancing at my face, although I didn't make it obvious. Ignoring the burning blush I felt, I caught him looking.
"What?" I hissed.
"Lookin' at ya scar." He said after a slight hesitation, making me feel incredibly defensive.
"Well it's your fault." I snapped.
He didn't answer, but just looked away and down to the floor. I felt the slightest pang of guilt after watching his reaction, but I wasn't going to say anything. I couldn't.
We pushed on through the trees, but I couldn't help but think about him. When did he stop arguing back? Experience with him tells me that he always fought back, just like his brother. He'd call me princess or storm off. Belittle me the best he could.
But I knew he wasn't Merle. There was an inkling of something that Daryl could be. He wasn't going to turn into his brother. And maybe after he had something to work for in finding Sophia, he's letting the real Daryl out. The less abrasive and more human Daryl.
Or maybe Carol was bringing it out in him. I swallowed hard and shook my head, wanting to think about something else.
"We betta go back." He said, looking up to the treetops.
I followed his gaze and noticed that the sun was gradually disappearing. I nodded and shifted my shoulders. I was achy, but I needed to get out of camp and do something. I was glad I did.
We started to head back. Or, what I thought was back, as I followed Daryl's direction. I was lost as ever.
We walked in silence, but it wasn't uncomfortable. It was just a kind of mutual quiet. Well, I thought it was anyway. Daryl was hard to read.
"I'm sorry." He grunted, but it wasn't aggressive. It sounded quite sad.
"What?" I asked, drifting back to reality.
"Ya scar. I'm sorry I did it." He sighed, his eyes fixed out in front of him.
"... No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. You were helping us- Alex, I mean." I said, my guilt overcoming my anger.
His eye flicked towards mine and after a short while he gave me a slight nod before picking his head up. We fell back into silence again, walking at a quick pace, but a nice sense of calm was settling over me.
We'd just passed a familiar-looking area to my when my foot got caught on a tree root. I tripped and flew forward, catching myself before I got too close to landing on my face. I felt a blush burning over me, especially when I heard Daryl grunt a single laugh. I stared at him as I felt my body began to grow infuriated again. I kicked the root in anger and faced him.
"I will hit you." I snapped.
"Oh really?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Was he playing with me? The thought made me falter.
"Why are you being so friendly and playful? You've never liked me. I thought you were with only like this with Carol, so this whole civil and nice thing confuses me." I snapped before I could filter anything. When I stopped talking, I almost choked on what I said. Not only did it not make much sense, but it was petulant and pathetic.
He stopped in his tracks for a second to walk level with me. He looked at me, eyebrows furred, his voice slightly darker.
"What?" He asked. A new-found confidence in my anger welled within me as his glare met mine helped me to formulate an answer.
"Don't play coy with me. I know you two are together. you're always sharing some look or both in the RV alone or with each other. It's always just you two. I'm not thick."
"Ya been watchin' me?" He asked. I groaned, his accent both irritating and intriguing my eardrums.
"Don't flatter yourself. It's not hard to see." I spat.
I half expected him to shout at me or to storm away, but he didn't. He merely looked at me for a second and shook his head.
"Nothin's going on. Honest." He sighed, slowing our pace down.
I looked at him for a second as he focused in front of him and examined his features. He was telling the truth, I could feel it. His blunt honesty made me feel awful since I've done nothing but snap. All the anger drained from me, replaced with a growing sense of feeling like a complete bitch.
"Daryl, I-"
"Sh, Sam." He said, holding a finger to his lips and his other hovering in front of me.
Confused, I stopped talking and listened intently. It took a minute, but I heard the low resonant moan of a walker. we both hunkered down, grip tight on our weapons.
My head snapped in every direction, but I couldn't see it. Daryl tapped my shoulder and pointed in a direction off to his left. Slowly, I crept ahead in the direction he pointed, and saw a walker.
It was completely emaciated. Well, as emaciated as you could get when you're dead. But it looked like it hadn't fed in weeks. Or maybe it had, but was still deteriorating. If that was the case, that could mean a lot of things. Maybe we could outlive the walkers. Or was I just being naive?
Feeling no fear, I slowly crept towards it and when it reared it's head towards me. Pulling back the machete, I swung it down on its skull, the reverberations heading up my arms. There was little resistance as the brittle bone snapped, causing the walker to quickly slump to the ground. I yanked free my machete and stood straight.
I heard a sound whistle past me, and there was movement in my peripheral vision. I looked up to see a walker a few feet away from me with an arrow between it's eyes. It crumpled to the floor, it's gargle dying in it's throat.
"Shit." I swore loudly. I hadn't even seen the other walker!
I span back to face Daryl. He lowered his machete as he looked at me and nodded slightly. I half smiled at him, reciprocating the nod. I blew out harshly as I walked forward and yanked free his arrow before heading back to Daryl, rubbing my face as I went.
"Thanks." I grumbled, handing over his arrow.
He grunted, his eyes still scanning the area and reloading his arrow. When he was happy it was empty, he motioned forward. We fell into step once again, my thoughts lingering on the walkers.
I walked towards that one walker with such ignorance that I didn't even notice the other. My mood was just so cranky that I was oblivious to anything else. If it wasn't for Daryl, I could've been bitten. I probably would have.
"I'm sorry for snapping. I sounded like a right bitch." I sighed, hanging my head.
And I was. I'd snapped at him for no reason, whereas he'd been nothing but unusually attentive to me. I felt really bad, especially after he saved my skin with the walker.
We walked in silence for a minute or two, before I felt something slide across my shoulder blades. Daryl's hand cupped my shoulder and pulled me into him as we moved forward.
It felt a little awkward, but there were butterflies in my stomach. With a small amount of confidence, I put my machete in my other hand and tentatively wrapped my arm around his lower back. He didn't move away, so I let my hand rest there, perplexed, but incredibly comfortable.
I didn't know what we were doing, what it was, what it meant. I just knew that it comforted me more than anything else had. Maybe that was what he was trying to do. That walker incident only moments ago seemed like a different world away. The butterflies in my stomach grew into birds and sent me soaring.
Our pace was slow, but we weren't in a rush to get back.
I looked up at his face, studying the stubble that grew, and the small mole above his lip that I'd never noticed before. It was precious, and I couldn't help the little smirk that grew. His pricing blue eyes stayed facing forward, bar a glance or two down at me.
Oblivious to my surroundings and having not paid attention to where we were for some time, I tripped over another random branch, lurching me forward for the millionth time that day. I managed to catch myself, and with the help of Daryl, stood straight again. I looked at him before bursting out laughing, more out of embarrassment that finding it funny.
A small smirk slid across his face as we continued walking, causing a small glow to well inside me. I made him laugh. A rare sight.
By the time my smile had settled, we'd reached the treeline that showed we were back by the fields.
The smile slipped off my face as I looked up towards Daryl. What did we do now? Separate, keep ourselves entwined or storm away?
"I... I don't know-" Daryl said awkwardly, and I nodded, my head low.
"Don't worry. I get it." I said, keeping as much hurt out if my voice as I could.
I pulled my arm back from his waist, and tried desperately to ignore the disappointment that was welling within me. His arm left my shoulders and I involuntarily shivered.
Once unattached, I walked through the trees into the field, uncaring if Daryl was behind me or not. I was angry that I was hurt by us having to separate. I walked quickly, trying to clear my muddled head.
"Bye Sam." Daryl said quietly beside me.
I virtually stopped and looked at him, forced smile on my face. I was surprised at how close he still was to me.
"Bye Daryl. And... And thanks." I said.
After a few seconds he nodded, his eyes assessing me, before meeting mine.
"I'll bring some over later." He said awkwardly, holding up the catch in his hands.
"Thanks." I repeated, before turning away and marching back up to the camp.
I walked towards the fire without looking back, my face burning. But my heart felt lighter. A lot lighter.
The fire in the near distance showed me that it was the evening, with the sun sitting just in the horizon. A tint of orange surrounded everything, and the heat was just perfect. I took a deep breath and pushed everything to the back of my mind, trying to soak up the warm atmosphere.
"Sam!" Alex called, kneeling up to greet me.
I walked towards the fire and slumped down in a free seat, melting into the chair.
"How were things while I was gone?" I asked.
"Quiet." He shrugged.
I looked towards him and saw his eyebrow raised at me. I smiled but ignored him. I don't know what he was questioning though. Maybe it was my mood change.
But it was visible. I was feeling a lot better than I did when I woke up. I felt alive. Maybe that's what being near death made you feel, because I was definitely nearly walker food.
"Rick!" I called, looking past Alex as Rick approached.
He faced me and waved and started heading my way. Before long, he was sitting next to me as we spoke, laughing and chatting. It was the first time I'd spoken to him properly, let alone see him laugh. The feeling or warmth in me grew.
Slowly, the group filtered towards the fire for dinner. A few people pointed out my mood that very morning, and looking back on it, I couldn't help but laugh. I pulled my hairband out and ran a hand through my hair, letting my self fully relax.
"Food." A voice grunted, but I didn't have to turn to know that it was Daryl. I automatically sat up from my slouch, but I tried not to make it look too obvious to the rest of the group.
He walked up beside Alex and handed over the catch he'd prepared. Everyone thanked him, while I avoided his eyes. With some slight confidence brewing in me, I brought me eyes towards him only to be met by his. I gave him a small but genuine smile. He nodded to us all, and with one last look, walked towards the RV.
Carol came and sat next to me, and I smiled at her. She reciprocated it softly, and we slipped into easy chat. I could feel Daryl's gaze on both of us, but I ignored it. I felt a lot better, but I made apoint to ignore him to save myself embarrassment.
"You were so moody this morning!" Alex laughed loudly, and I blushed.
"Jeez, I know. I'm sorry if I offended anyone." I laughed, my eyes darting to each member of the group before landing in my lap.
"Don't be silly." Carol laughed. "We all have off day. It was just that your off day was amusing."
I laughed, before wrapping my arms around and pulling her close to plant a kiss on her cheek. My joints clicked and I fought off a yawn, my body telling me to shut down.
"Well, as much as talking about my bad mood is totally hilarious, I think I'm going to turn in. Night everyone." I smiled.
I bowed out to a chorus of good nights. On my way out I picked Helena up and swung her round, giving her kisses over her face. She giggled every second until I put her down, making my smile grow.
I faced back to smile at the group. They all turned back to talking, so I looked up to the top of the RV and saw Daryl looking over.
I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and gave him a small wave. He nodded his head, but I couldn't sworn I saw a faint ghost of a smile on his face in the moonlight.
I made my way over to the tent, feeling a lot better about how my day had ended. I still, however, managed to trip over the very same tent rope.
Hey all!
I'm sorry I didn't upload last week - internet troubles, as usual. I hope this has tided you over, though. ;]
Thank you all for staying with me, reading, following commenting and favouriting.
- Loré. X