The Walking Deth - Part I
An Unexpected Journey - Chapter VI
Making Claims
AN: This is just a small chapter to bridge between chapter V, Daryl's POV and chapter VII, Beth's POV. When I saw the sneak peak of Daryl and Len with the rabbit, and Len was taunting Daryl about the 'piece of tail.' I was thinking that is just too much of a coincidence, how did he know he had lost a woman and what was with that comment about 'little'un's? So my imagination went wild…
I had been tracking that damn Cotton tail since sun up and I had finally got it in my sights, ready to fire a bolt, when I felt the wind splitting movement through my hair. An arrow knocked into the rabbit at the same time as mine. I knew who that was, the idiot Len with his Airborne. He had taken issue with me ever since I had joined the group.
I turned to see an accomplished look on his overgrown bush of a mug. I got up from my crouched position to meet him at eye level.
"What the hell are you doin'?" I snarled.
His lips turned up at the side in a half smirk, and he gave a casual shrug.
"Catchin' me some breakfast."
"Nah that's mine." I corrected, waving my arm at what was clearly my property. I made my way over to the rabbit, a mess of grey fur and tumbled leaves, with two arrows sticking up out of it.
"My arrows the one that hit first." He protested. "Cotton tail belongs to me."
I strode over to my cottontail and knelt beside it.
"Been out here since before the sun came up." I said as I pulled my bolt out, then pulled his arrow out and tossed it aside.
"You see, the rules of the hunt don't mean jack out here." He glared angrily at the spot I where his arrow had landed among the leaves. "Now, that rabbit you're holding is claimed, boy. Claimed whether you like it or not. So I was you, I'd hand it over. Now before you get to wishing you ain't never even got out of bed this morning."
"It ain't yours." I growled at him, stopping just a few feet in front of him in an attempt at unnerving him and his dumbass attitude.
"You know, I bet there's a bitch, got you all messed up, hmm?" He waited for my acknowledgment.
I took a step back, my thoughts moving to Beth.
"Am I right?" He continued. I made my way around him trying to put as much distance as possible between us before I snapped and broke his neck or something.
"Got you walkin' 'round 'ere like a dead man. Lost yourself a piece of tail. Must have been a good'un."
I stopped in my tracks, trying to control my rage and urge myself to walk away.
"Tell me something - was it one of the little'uns?"
My fingers instinctively moved to the sheath on my holster. He knew what would set me off. In fact he knew a little too well just what would set me off. I popped the button on the sheath ready to gain access to my Busse. One more smart ass remark and he was a goner.
"Cause they don't last too long out here."
I pulled my Busse and turned it in my hand ready to drive it into his gas bagging throat, but as I went to lift it I felt the resistance of something holding me back and then there was someone standing in between us, the leader of the group, Joe.
"Easy, fellas, easy. Let's just put our weapons down. See if we can't figure out what's really the problem here, huh? - Did you claim it?"
"Hell yeah." Insisted Len.
"Well, there you go. That critter belongs to Len."
"So let's have it." Len called over Joe's shoulder.
"Looks like you may be wanting an explanation. See, going it alone, that ain't an option nowadays. Still, it is survival of the fittest. That's a paradox right there. So I laid out some rules of the road to keep things from going Darwin every couple hours. Keep our merry band together and stress-free. All you got to do is claim. That's how you mark your territory, your prey, your bed at night. your ah…" he trailed of and chuckled. "One word, claimed."
"I ain't claimin' nothin'."
"We're gonna teach him, right? The rules say we got to teach him." Len called aggressively.
"It wouldn't be fair to punish you for violating a rule you never even knew existed." Joe said in an mediative voice.
"There ain't no rules no more." I growled, while eyeing Len off.
"Oh, there are." Joe went on. "You know that. That's why I didn't kill you for the crossbow."
Joe took hold of the head of the rabbit, while I was glaring at Len, and I tugged back on it.
"Easy there partner."
He took the rabbit and hacked it in half against the nearby tree. He gave me the ass end and the other to Len.
Len didn't look too pleased and he started storming off in the opposite direction.
"Imma head back to base." Len declared angrily.
"Some of us still haven't caught anythin'." Said Joe.
"I got my catch." he said holding up the half rabbit dangling its lifeless head about.
"Now you know we're supposed to stay in our groups." Uttered Joe, raising a challenging eyebrow. "That's how we stay alive."
"I'm hungry, I needs to eat my meal." There was something about the way Len said meal that made me think he wasn't talking about the rabbit.
"You gonna head back on your own? With the freaks out there?"
He looked back to where we had set up camp that morning. "I can get someone to come, I'm sure they'll wanna share."
Joe didn't look too pleased about that arrangement but he held out his hand and gestured for Len to carry on. "Alright then, head on back, but the rest of us got to get our Catch."
Joe looked over at me.
"You comin'?"
Len stepped in beside me, like he had something to say on my behalf.
"He already got his, I'll take him back with me, maybe even share some of mine."
He was leering at me now. It was an awfully suspicious way to be acting over a rabbit, especially one he had just fought me over.
"I don't think he'll want what you have." Said Joe, while slowly shaking his head.
"Sometimes you don't realise how much you want somethin' until it's no longer yours." He dangled up his half of the rabbit mockingly.
I'd be damned if we were still talking about that rabbit.
"He's got to learn our ways sooner or later anyways."
Joe looked at me waiting for my response.
I decided to accept the challenge.
"Lead the way." I said to Len.
A satisfied grin grew on Len's face.