When Hunters Become the Hunted
Chapter 5
Rick
. The pumping of adrenaline was the first thing that Celeste felt in her veins as she turned tail and ran, her flight or fight response kicking in quickly, the first being the obvious victor. It wasn't that she couldn't hold her own in a fight, but she didn't want to take her chances with Shane, the ex cop's angry face sending her into a frenzy of near fright. Behind her, she could hear Shane yelling profanities, and threatening death if she was caught. All of it merely pushed her further as she ran, the material of her shirt tearing around the arm as it caught itself on the brush.
. "I swear, when I catch you, you're dead!" Shane called out, continuing with his little game of chase.
. For Celeste, this wasn't the first time that she'd had to run away from someone, her mind going back and forth through past scenarios of her childhood. As a child, Celeste was always seen as an outsider, even from the very moment that she set foot in a new home. If any children had already come to occupy it, she'd be at the losing end of the stick, leaving her fending for herself. It wasn't like she had parents to do it for her. She'd been the one that had fallen through the cracks, scavenging for herself. Just as those thoughts ran through her head though, she saw a hand reach out to grab her from the darkness of the shade, her eyes going wide in fright. Thinking it was Shane or a walker, she acted immediately, throwing her leg out and into a round house kick. It was the only thing she knew that she could put enough momentum into with the sort of range that she had.
With the kick, came a resounding thud, accompanied with a raspy groan. Daryl was in front of her the next moment, a hand gripping his side just below the ribs from where she had kicked him, more dirt now adorning the front of his already stained shirt.
"Bitch!" he hissed, his face scrunched up slightly, before narrowing his sharp blue eyes at her.
The look in his eyes was like ice to her soul, stinging her heart and numbing the currently useless appendages that she called arms. The look in itself startled her, leaving her standing there like a bumbling idiot without a clue.
"D-Daryl, I-I'm sorry," she stammered, hand still clutching the handle of the red bucket as she shook, her breath heaving in and out.
It had been some time since she'd been put in a situation such as this. Over the years, she'd had to fight for her right to get by in life, while putting up with all of the terrors that came with it. The bruises she could handle, the scratches she could deal with, even the yelling over the years. What she couldn't handle though was hurting possibly the only opportunity of a friend that she even had. She'd been so on edge, so afraid that it had been Shane or a walker reaching for her, that she'd just lashed out in self defense. She hadn't expected it to be Daryl.
Again, she heard Shane's voice roaring through the trees, her eyes going wide in panic. She knew that her little stop would cost her and she'd likely be thrown out of camp to fend for herself, especially after assaulting Daryl. She wouldn't get the chance to ask for forgiveness and make amends. In fact, she wouldn't get the chance to do anything.
"Just wait until I get a hold of you!" Shane yelled through the brush, merely yards away.
After seeing the look of fright in Celeste's eyes, Daryl's glare faded away, his eyes darting toward the direction of Shane's outraged voice. It was obvious that the cop had frightened her, though he wasn't sure exactly why. Seeing her in a state of fear though, he let his body react on it's own.
"Daryl, I," Celeste started, but he cut her off as his calloused hand came to cover her mouth, pulling her against him with a tug and pressing his back against a nearby tree.
Shocked at the sudden change in direction, Celeste went to struggle, but Daryl held tight. His grip in particular was concentrated on her arms, restraining them at the waist. He didn't need her accidentally elbowing him in the side or ribs. He didn't need anymore bruising from the woman. So, holding tight, he lowered his chapped lips to her ear.
"Shut it," he whispered, although, his words came out a bit harsher than he intended.
Then, before either of them knew it, Shane came running by. From where he stood, Daryl could see the anger dripping from the man's face. Now, more than ever, it was obvious that the man was nuts. At the same time, Daryl could feel Celeste's body pressing closer to his, her back pressing harder against his chest as if it would make her sink further back into the brush. It did her little good though as he stood there, pulling her several inches further to the right as Shane turned his head to look around. He was searching for any evidence that would tell him the direction she had run in.
T
Shane's breath heaved in and out at a ragged pace. He knew that Celeste had seen him with Lori, he just knew it. He didn't need the knowledge of him and Lori to get out and jeopardize things with Carl. The boy didn't need to be drug into such affairs. After all, what right did the woman have in getting involved with their affairs?
Shane's mind rattled around a bit as he took in his surroundings, scanning the area with his eyes and ears. It was quiet around him. A few birds chirped in a tree above, their wings puffing out in a greeting toward one another. A squirrel chattered upon a branch overhead while gnawing away at a nut that it had managed to scrounge up, tail twitching, eyes shifting as only a squirrel's could.
"I know you're out here!" Shane snapped, eyes narrowed in a mix of anger and annoyance.
He wanted nothing more than to find her and straighten her out, tell her to mind her own business and shut her mouth. The mere thoughts running through his head put him on edge more than anything. Carl wasn't old enough in Shane's opinion to understand what was going on between Shane and Lori. Especially, after losing his father not that long ago. Shane had left his best friend to rot in the hospital, walker food, with only a gurney to barricade the door.
"Celeste?" Shane called out, turning his head from side to side. "Why don't you just come on out? We'll have us a nice little chat?" Shane tried, hoping maybe he could convince her to come out of hiding.
T
Standing there against Daryl, Celeste held her breath. She didn't want to be anywhere near Shane at the moment, but his pestering had yet to cease. The man was determined to bring her out into the open and within his line of sight. Daryl on the other hand, he wasn't going to let her move. Instead, he kept his arms around her, his back to the tree. Years of growing up with his father had taught him better than to trust an angry hot headed man like Shane.
To Daryl's surprise, Celeste was able to wait Shane out without a sound, staying quiet behind the tree with him. From past experience, Daryl had found other women to be impatient and antsy when waiting. Celeste on the other hand was the opposite. She had the patience to wait it out, even if she didn't want to and that was something that would likely save her life in the future. She had to have endurance if she wanted to last in this world.
"I take ya back to yer girl, you stay there, ya hear?" Daryl said, lowering his hand from her mouth, and unwinding his arm from her waist.
He then stood there, resting back against the tree as she turned, his arms crossed over his chest. She merely looked up at him, teeth biting down on her lower lip ever so slightly. She didn't say anything at first, just standing there and looking up at him, the fingers of her left hand slowly curling at her side. In that moment, Daryl took in the sight of her.
Daryl was almost a head taller than her, but not quite. Her hair was a large contrast compared to his. Where hers was long and dark, practically the color of rich, smooth dark chocolate, Daryl's was short and slightly bleached from the time spent in the sun. Her skin had been kissed by the sun, much like his. Her arms were thin and slender, her legs long and supple, and well defined. From when he'd held her against him, Daryl could tell that the plain of her stomach was flat and toned, which meant a well exercised body and a decent diet. If he had to guess, he'd say that she weighed no more than 120, not that he'd actually go and ask her though.
When Daryl looked back up at her properly, he took in her eyes. They were an interesting color of blue, with flecks of gold around the irises and a faint grey haze. He'd never seen eyes like that before.
"I'm sorry," Celeste breathed out, swallowing the lump in her throat.
"Just stay quiet and come on," he told her, grabbing his crossbow from the ground and swinging it over his shoulder.
Daryl wanted to get her out of the woods and back to camp where it was safe. He knew that Shane wouldn't pull anything inside the camp, so she'd be safe. Outside of that, he couldn't be sure.
T
Drawing in a breath of air, Celeste sighed quietly, the light breeze in the air blowing her bangs into her face. Her bangs were practically as long as the rest of her hair, coming down slightly passed her breasts. She'd been thinking about braiding it, but she'd never been that good at doing it herself. Normally, when she did, it ended up sticking out in weird places. At times, people would laugh and snicker as a result, but she always went ahead and blew it off. After all, there was really nothing that she could do about it.
Looking down at her hand, she looked into the red bucket that she and Amy had been using for collecting mushrooms. Half of them were now bruised, staring back at her in their variety of colors. Amy never had come back for her, Celeste's lips pursing ever so slightly. She should have expected as much.
Within the time that Celeste had been back, she'd already washed the mushrooms and dried them off, replacing them in the bucket after rinsing it out. She'd taken them to Dale to start with, asking if he could help her sort them out. During that time, they narrowed down an eighth of the mushrooms, throwing the inedible ones away. Dale only knew a little more about the mushrooms than she did, so they could only do so much. She'd tried asking around the camp to see if anyone else knew anything that would help, but came up empty handed. The only thing that she could think of would be to possibly ask Daryl, but that would have to wait until he got back from hunting. Unfortunately, that could be awhile.
T
"Kenzie, come to Mommy," Kenzie's mother called out.
The little three year old merely looked up from her spot in her miniature sandbox and smiled, her chubby little cheeks rising higher. Her eyes were alight as she looked over at her mother, dropping the tiny blue plastic shovel in her hand and letting it fall upon the sand. She then got up and toddled forward, taking large steps toward her mother, her tiny feet sinking ever so slightly and leaving tiny prints in the sand.
It was a curious thing to watch as she made her way over to her mother, falling into her arms. She had blonde hair like her mother and striking blue eyes. She had her father's smile though, wide and pronounced, easy to see. Her personality was a menagerie.
"Doesn't she look adorable in this dress?" Kenzie's mother asked, gesturing to the curtain of green and blue.
"She looks gorgeous, Karen," Celeste said, smiling at her friend.
It was just another day that Karen had invited Celeste out with her and her daughter, picking the little girl up in her arms and holding her close. Karen placed a kiss on her daughters head, smiling affectionately. The smile soon faded though, the healthy look on her face slowly crumbling into nothing. Skin began falling, sinking into nothing. The sound of teeth gnashing soon fell and the gorgeous blue of her eyes turned to a milky cloud of fog.
T
Gasping for air, Celeste jolted awake from her place on her sleeping bag. She had to bite back a cry as she sat there, the sound of a siren blasting in her ears. Looking around, she searched for Kenzie, only to find her nowhere in sight.
"Kenzie? Kenzie!" she cried out, tearing out of her tent.
The moment she stepped out, arguing hit her. Shane and Dale were standing in front of Glenn who had a child like smile on his face, a look of pride at the car sitting parked beside him. He was the only one with a smile on his face though as the alarm continued to sound.
"Holy crap! Turn that damn thing off!" Dale exclaimed.
"I don't know how!" Glenn cried, placing his hands in front of him in defense.
"Pop the hood," Shane said, walking over to the car.
When Glenn didn't respond, he asked again. At the same time, Amy was practically on top of Glenn, asking questions of all sorts, but mainly ones about her sister's wellbeing.
"I said pop the damn hood, please!" Shane yelled over the alarm, finally grabbing Glenn's attention.
In no time at all, the hood was up and Shane went looking for the appropriate part. Jim, one of the other campers was the one to find it first, quickly pulling out the circuit for the alarm. It quieted the car instantly, allowing Glenn to answer questions without shouting.
"Yes, yes, she's fine," Glenn said, answering Amy's questions. "She's just fine. Merle, not so much."
At the sound of Glenn's words, Celeste stood stock still, her brows furrowing. Was Merle gone? Was he dead? Injured maybe? She couldn't seem to narrow it down in her head, there were too many possibilities.
"What do you mean by not so much?" Celeste asked, stepping forward.
Glenn turned toward her, catching her eyes as he stood by the car. He bit his lip for a moment, thinking on his words. Most of the camp knew Celeste's relationship with the Dixon's. No matter how messed up some of them thought that it was.
"Well," he started, rubbing the back of his neck.
His speech was short lived though as everyone's eyes drifted toward the cube van that was rolling their way, stopping short of the camp. The first person out was Morales, who quickly ran to his family, picking his daughter up in his arms and swinging her around. He did the same thing to his son, holding him close and kissing the top of his head. He was glad to be back with his family.
"I was afraid I wouldn't see you again," Morales whispered to his family, tears in his eyes.
Next was Andrea, Amy quickly running toward her and hugging her. She'd been so afraid of losing her sister. T-Dog and Jacqui followed behind, heaving a sigh of relief to finally be out of the van. The stranger that hopped from the van after that left Celeste confused, watching as he turned toward the group, running a hand through his dark hair.
"Dad?"
Celeste's brows furrowed as she turned her head, her eyes landing on Carl. His voice sounded again, his lip quivering as his eyes began to water.
"Dad!" he shouted, running forward toward the man in question.
"Carl!" he exclaimed, walking forward before breaking into a run.
He then fell to his knees, wrapping Carl up in his arms as he held him close, his chest heaving painfully.
"Oh, Carl," he choked out, gripping his boy tightly.
Celeste took a step back as she watched this, her heart clenching in her chest. She could only imagine what it was like to have one's father back, especially, after thinking that he was dead. Carl was a little boy and he needed his father, that much was obvious with the way that he clung, not wanting to let go. He'd already lost his father once due to this strange new world and he didn't want to lose him again.
"Rick!?"
I want to apologize to everyone for taking so long to update. I'm finally on my break so hopefully I'll be able to get a few more chapters out. I also realize that this chapter is a bit shorter than the rest, but that was deliberate. All hell will break loose in the next chapter.
ANYWAY... please review and message me letting me know what you thought of the chapter.
What was your opinion on Celeste and Daryl's interaction?