When Hunters Become the Hunted
Chapter 3
Tumbles and Tribunals
Upon hearing the screams, most everyone in the camp jumped to their feet, eyes alert and searching for walkers. Most had no clue what was going on, but Daryl did, soon getting pushed out of the way by Shane.
"The hell's goin' on?" Shane asked.
"Outta my way," Daryl hissed, dropping his stuff to the ground and sliding down the hill, dust rising as he went.
Unlike some in the camp, he actually knew what he was doing when he did this stuff, not wanting to waste any time.
Within moments, he was upon the two, Shane and Lori following after him. Daryl was the first to lift the two of them up though, but was quickly pushed away by Shane, Lori riding up behind him.
"Keep yer hands off of me," Daryl narrowed, standing there as Lori began fussing over Celeste and Kenzie.
"Oh God, are you okay sweetie?" Lori asked, gently pulling Celeste into a better sitting position.
From where he stood, Daryl could see that the corner of her forehead was bleeding, a bit of blood dribbling down along the side of her face. He was actually surprised that she hadn't broken anything from what he could tell, her chin resting on top of Kenzie's head. Even the kid seemed okay. Although, if he had to take a guess, Celeste took most of the damage when they'd tumbled down. In fact, she'd held onto Kenzie the whole time, curling her body around her in an attempt to protect her from harm.
"Y-yeah," Celeste winced, blinking a few times.
She'd definitely hit her head, leaving Daryl shaking his own as he folded his arms over his chest.
"Now I know why I never tried having kids," Celeste joked half heartedly, pressing a hand to her head.
The joke seemed to fade away into the wind though as everyone set there, Daryl's blue eyes watching the entire time.
"Come here kid," Shane said, grabbing hold of Kenzie.
She began to squirm immediately, wriggling around in his arms and causing Daryl to smirk.
"No! No!" she cried, kicking him, before he let her go.
She went running over to Daryl without hesitation, hugging his leg as she buried her face in the material of his pant leg.
"Brat," Shane muttered, eyes narrowed as he looked over at Daryl.
Daryl met his glare full throttle, eyes narrowing like daggers as he sneered. Daryl never had liked Shane to begin with. Now, this was just another reason for Daryl to detest the man.
With that, Shane turned back to Celeste, grabbing her by the arms and hauling her to her feet. It sent her stumbling forward, grabbing for something to hold on to. Sadly, that something happened to be Shane, her fingers finding their way in gripping the front of his tussled shirt.
"Just take it easy now," Shane told her, placing his hands on her shoulders as he pulled her closer, enjoying the feeling of her body against his.
Such things went unnoticed to Lori though, but not Daryl. No, he'd seen the look in the man's eyes. If he could screw around with more than just one woman, he'd do it and Daryl knew that for a fact. It was already bad enough that Shane was screwing Lori, the poor woman's husband just dying. Heck, the man hadn't even the time to find a grave to roll into yet, no less finish breathing his last breaths.
"Let's get her back up there and seated somewhere," Lori said, patting Shane on the shoulder in order to get his attention.
She didn't want to be away from her son any longer than necessary, already feeling uncomfortable with him out of her line of sight. Even though the kid was 13, she still didn't feel he was old enough to be out and about on his own in a place like this, a place where the world was thriving with danger.
"Yeah," Shane nodded, lifting Celeste's arm and placing it over his shoulders so that he could help her walk.
Not seeing any reason to argue, Celeste allowed it, wincing at he pulled her along. She only had the time to look behind her though, making eye contact with Daryl, an apologetic look on her face.
"Get goin'," Daryl told her, watching as Shane and Lori began to guide her up the trail, her feet dragging against the ground as she stumbled a bit.
"Mmm!"
At the sudden noise, Daryl looked down, finding Kenzie staring up at him. She had her arms spread open, lifted upwards to be picked up.
"I don't think so kid," he told her, shaking his head.
"Mmm!" she tried again, jumping slightly as she flapped her arms a couple of times.
"I said no," he told her, crossing his arms over his chest.
Again, Kenzie ignored his words, continuing to jump up and down. Her arms were still open, flailing around freely in frustration. All she wanted was to be picked up and held, her lip beginning to quiver as Daryl ignored her.
"Please?" she pleaded, fingers managing grab at one of his belt loops.
She tugged a few times, pleading with him as he watched her, a look of suspicion in his eyes. After a few more tries though, Daryl gave up, quickly glancing around him. Merle was nowhere in sight though, so he figured that he was safe.
"Fine," he sighed, leaned down and picking her up.
She immediately threw her arms around his neck with a squeal of delight, snuggling against him as he held her firmly in his arms, his right hand curled around her leg. If he was going to carry the kid, he wasn't going to go and drop her just because he wasn't holding her the right way. No, he made sure that his grip was firm, but not too tight to where it would hurt her. He just wanted to make sure that she wouldn't slip from his grip and fall on the ground. After all, he didn't want to piss Celeste off by letting her little girl get hurt. So far, he actually seemed to be on decent terms with her, despite trying to ignore her. Celeste didn't seem to let that bother her though and in a way, he was silently grateful for that. He'd never actually had someone apologize to him before.
T
"You shouldn't even be up on your feet right now," Lori said, looking over the back of Celeste's head.
Lori was trying to make sure that the girl didn't have any more spots, but still managed to find a few, touching them tentatively with her fingertips. It only caused Celeste to wince as she sat there in the lawn chair that Shane had placed her in, closing her eyes in pain.
To be honest, it'd been a while since she'd taken such a tumble. In fact, she'd been a kid the last time that it'd happened, remembering how one of her 'foster' siblings had pushed her down an incline. The poor girl had ended up breaking her arm in several places and ended up in a cast for god knows how long. For that, she'd been taken back into children services and placed in an alternative home, giving her the time that she needed to heal. She still had a few scars from it even where it had been cut up.
"Try to stay still," Lori instructed, combing gently through the dark hair on Celeste's scalp. "Shane, could you get me a clean rag and some peroxide?" Lori asked.
"Yeah," Shane sighed, before walking off, giving Lori the chance to speak properly.
"Are you sure that you're okay, sweetie?" she asked, carefully moving Celeste's bangs out of the way.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Celeste nodded. "Lori, right?"
"Yep, that's me," she smiled. "Lori Grimes."
"Celeste Emerson," Celeste replied, introducing herself properly.
"And that adorable little girl of yours is Kenzie no doubt?" Lori asked, an affectionate look on her face.
"Yeah…but she's not mine," she confessed.
"Not yours?"
Lori's brows furrowed for a moment in confusion. It was all too obvious that Lori had assumed Kenzie to be Celeste's. In fact, most of the camp had probably assumed the same thing when the two of them had followed the Dixon's into camp. Sadly though, Kenzie wasn't Celeste's, merely reminding her of what used to be.
"She's actually my friend's little girl," she explained, fingers twitching as Lori pressed on a sensitive spot. "He…they didn't make it," she whispered, closing her eyes.
"I'm sorry," Lori said softly, pausing for a moment in her searching. "It was a brave thing you did though."
"Huh?"
Celeste opened her eyes, her brows furrowing together.
"Taking her in and keeping her safe," she added, finishing her statement as she gave Celeste a small smile, her eyes turning toward the slope of the quarry.
They watched as Daryl walked up the rest of the way, Kenzie wrapped up in his arms. The little blond was smiling as she clung to Daryl, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. Strangely, he seemed okay with it, at peace almost. He even had a faint smile pulling at his lips until he noticed a group of the campers staring at him, a glare quickly replacing the smile. It was obvious that he didn't really care for them that much, but Celeste wasn't really sure why. After all, he seemed okay enough with Kenzie, even tolerable with herself even. Although, that was stretching things. They'd only just met, so she didn't really know the extent of his temperament or tolerance level even.
"What ya'll lookin' at? This ain't some sideshow!" he ground out, glaring at the people around him.
"Quite the temper that one," Lori said with a sigh, lifting her head once Shane came back with the peroxide, a light blue rag in his hand.
"What are you two talkin' about now?" Shane asked, plopping down nearly Lori as he handed everything over.
"Just Dixon's temper," Lori replied dismissively, pouring some of the peroxide onto the rag, before pressing it to Celeste's forehead.
"Boy's got a temper alright," Shane scoffed, narrowing his eyes slightly as he looked over at Daryl.
Kenzie was still clinging to him as he walked over to his tent, pushing the flap out of the way and grabbing something. When he stood back up, he had a little pink blanket in his hand, draping it over Kenzie's head.
Celeste remained silent as he spoke, not wanting to get into it with him. She figured she'd ask him what his problem was later. Perhaps, even talk to Daryl a bit, ask him why he kept his tent so far away actually.
"Hey, Dixon!" Shane called, catching the younger man's attention. "Why don't ya put that kid down and do something useful!" he suggested.
In return, Daryl flipped him the bird, muttering something under his breath.
"What was that?" Shane challenged, walking over to him.
"Would the two of you stop it!" Lori yelled, hands on her hips as she turned to face the two of them.
"What do you want me to do?" Shane narrowed, turning his attention away from Daryl.
"Why don't you go watch Carl instead of standing around like you ain't got a clue?" Lori suggested, watching as he kicked at the ground.
"Fine!"
Celeste sat there the entire time, trying not to laugh as she watched Shane walk off somewhere.
"What in the world?" she breathed out.
"I'm sorry about him," Lori sighed, sitting back down as she went back to fixing Celeste up. "He can be a bit of a hot head at times."
"No kidding," Celeste muttered, turning her eyes back toward Daryl.
He was still standing there, a look of irritation on his face as he watched Shane stomp off. Although, there was just a trace that told her that he was in some way satisfied that Lori had sent the man away. Daryl had gotten satisfaction in the way that Lori had set Shane storming into some other direction of the camp, kicking up clumps of dirt as he went.
In all honesty, it was like a child throwing a tantrum. He'd wanted to cause trouble and now he was sent off to time out. He was left to pout on his own as others enjoyed the air around them, the grungy ground of autumn mocking him as he stepped on it, attempting to stomp out the life of the grass.
"She never did like conflict…" Celeste mused, eyes trailing toward Kenzie.
The little girl had never liked conflict and nor had Celeste. Things change though. Things change with the world. They change with the season and they change with the ages. Most of all, the world changes when you least expect it.
T
Before long, the day went, and so came the chilling night. The wind blew and scratched at the tents, jarring them and startling some people awake. Most stayed asleep though, some on better terms than others. Darly had been privy to everything around him. The sound of the wind as it beat on his tent, the whispers of the leaves as they chattered in the late night into the dawn of the morning.
He was laid back in his tent, resting peacefully on his cot as he stared up at the ceiling. He'd probably been awake for the last half hour, unable to fall back asleep. Normally, he didn't get that much sleep anyway, so it didn't really matter. Although, he still craved for that one time that he'd be able to sleep the night through and get a decent rest. Sadly, it was impossible though as he lay still, listening to the sounds around him.
In the next tent over, Celeste and Kenzie had been set up in a tent of their own, the small child sleeping seamlessly through the night. Every now and then though, he'd hear a rustle and then a groan, even a sob or two. In fact, it had woken him every time that he'd tried to nod off, quickly being jolted awake. Then, he heard the zipper of their tent as it opened and closed, a cough echoing as they went.
Again, there was another sob. It came out choked almost as though in an attempt to muffle it, but Daryl still heard it, turning his head toward the entrance of his tent. He knew that it could only be one person, one woman, one camper. He knew that it had to be Celeste that had made her way out of the tent in an attempt to keep from waking the young five year old that slept beside her.
"God, forgive me," he heard her choke out.
Slowly, Daryl unzipped the flap of his tent. He could still hear her shaky cries as she tried to keep quiet, the light of the fire illuminating her shaky form. It was like a scared child in Daryl's eyes as he slowly crept out of his tent, pulling his crossbow with him.
"Forgive me…" she whispered, hands clasped together as she kept her head down and her eyes closed.
As Daryl crept closer, he took in the shine of her hair as the light of the flames reflected off of it, casting shadows around the site. He could still see her shoulders shaking as she sat there by the fire, a wetness reflecting upon her face as it drizzled down the curve of her chin.
"Celeste," Daryl called out, his voice slightly hesitant.
Upon hearing his voice, Celeste jumped, her head snapping toward Daryl. It was like a deer in the headlights and she was the unfortunate young doe, her eyes large and frightened. For a split second, Daryl found himself comparing it to the deer that he had hunted, their eyes wide and innocent.
"W-what do you want?" she stammered, rubbing harshly at her eyes in an attempt to rid them of their tears.
It did her little good though, merely making it worse as Daryl moved closer, coming to sit down beside her after a couple moments.
"W-what?" she snapped, scooting away about a foot as she tried to hide her face a bit.
"Came out cuz I heard ya cryin'," he told her, eyes glancing over at her for a couple of seconds, before staring down at the fire before them. "All yer tossin' and turnin' kept me awake," he said bluntly, catching her off guard.
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"
Daryl held up a hand to stop her, silencing her. He wasn't sure why he was sitting out here with the woman, but he was.
"I don't sleep much anyway," he told her, the flame of the fire reflecting in the blue of his eyes. "As for you, ya should be back in that tent sleepin' 'side yer girl," Daryl said, hiking a thumb behind him toward their tent. "Ya need sleep."
"I…can't sleep," she admitted, running a shaky hand through her hair.
"And why not?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in question.
"It's nothing," she lied. "Just restless I guess."
Daryl narrowed his eyes for a moment, glaring at the ground at his feet.
"That's a load of shit an' we both know it," he narrowed.
It was silent after that, save for the pop of the fire, and the chirping of crickets. Both sat still as they stared in front of them, Celeste's hand shaking slightly. She was slightly shocked at Daryl's outburst, but knew that it should have been expected.
"I'm sorry…" she whispered, wiping her eyes again.
She had to take a breath of air, before closing her eyes again in an attempt to compose herself, her body quivering as a gust of wind blew through. She wanted to forget the thoughts in her head, but she knew that it wasn't going to happen any time soon.
"They just won't leave me…" she whispered, gripping the hair at the front of her scalp.
Daryl remained silent, giving her time to speak. Now that she had started, he had no doubt in his mind that she would continue. Although, he could always find other ways to get it out of her if he really wanted to.
"These nightmares," she murmured, hand trembling as she tried to calm herself. "They just…"
She was about to continue when a voice came over them, stopping any further confessions.
"What's going on here?" came Shane's voice, his form becoming clear as he stepped into the light of the fire. "Shouldn't you be in bed?" he asked, his eyes landing on Celeste as she sat there.
"I was just getting some fresh air," she told him.
"I see," he replied slowly, eyes trailing toward Daryl with suspicion. "And you?"
"Gettin' ready ta take my watch," Daryl replied, keeping a level gaze with Shane.
"I suggest you get to it then," Shane told him.
For a moment, Celeste glanced at Daryl, giving him a small nod. She'd talk to him more later.
"I'll be fine," she assured him, before putting her head back down.
She'd kind of wanted to talk a bit, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to. After all, it's not like she really had anything against Shane, but she felt more comfortable around Daryl.
Before she knew it, Daryl was gone, kicking the ground as he went. That left her with Shane, the man's dark eyes staring at her intently.
"So, where do you come from?" he asked, sitting down across from her.
"No where in particular," she told him, lightly curling her fingers into the side of her leg.
"You have to have come from somewhere," he reminded her, crossing his arms over his chest as he stretched his legs out.
"Georgia," she replied bluntly, turning her head away toward the direction that Daryl had gone.
"Oh, wow, that's a great answer," he said sarcastically.
"You asked!" she snapped, narrowing her eyes slightly.
"Just trying to get some answers," he told her, watching as she stood from her spot.
"Yeah, well, stop tryin' to interrogate me like I'm one of yer damned suspects," she told him, showing off some of her true southern accent, before turning her back and walking away.
Shane was quick in his reproach though, taking hold of her arm before she could get too far from him.
"So, you really are a true southern girl," he chuckled. "Although, I'd advise you to stay away from those methed up rednecks."
"Excuse me?" she said, taken aback.
"You heard me," he said, before continuing. "They're nothing, but a couple of messed up druggies. Daryl's no better than Merle."
Celeste narrowed her eyes, jerking her arm away from the outdated cop.
"Listen and listen good," she told him. "If I know one thing, then it's that Daryl isn't into drugs. Been around plen'y that have, but so far, Daryl's been nothin', but proper."
"Proper?" Shane snorted, a chuckle rattling inside his chest. "There's nothing proper about Dixon."
"Then there ain't nothin' proper 'bout me," she hissed, before walking off toward the quarry. "Pig," she grumbled under her breath, kicking a rock harshly out of her way.
Alright everyone, that was chapter 3. I REALLY hope that you guys liked it. Let me know what you think and let me know if I'm keeping everyone in character. The last thing that I want to do is have someone out of character.
REVIEW AND MESSAGE PLEASE!