Wings

Seeds

"Seeds of faith are always within us; sometimes it takes a crisis to nourish and encourage their growth."
—Susan L. Taylor

REMY

Before the sun had broken over the horizon, Remy awoke to the sound of camp breaking. Getting to her feet, she  folded and rolled her tarp, lashing it to her rucksack with paracord. She bowed her head in silence for a moment before  walking over and addressing the brothers and helping them break down their camp.

"So this prison you mentioned....the people there...what are they like?" Remy was ever an optimist, but she wasn't naive. She knew that the Fall had brought out the worst in people. She couldn't hold that against them. She knew the only reason she had made it was due to the protection of the Lord. So many folks in this world were wandering around faithless. Some had lost their faith because of the chaos. She felt blessed that hers hadn't been shaken.

"They're a bunch of pansy a**, stuck up—" Merle began until his brother cut him off.

"They're good folks. You' be aight."

"Tell her the truth, lil sister! Tell her about the Governor. Coming to make WAR with that soft sack of sh** that you were following around. He followed closer'n your mutt, over there, darlin! Good thing I come back when I did or this one would be nose deep up—"

"The Governor? There's still....still a government?" Remy hadn't even considered the possibility.

This earned a snort from Merle. "Nah! Calls himself the Governor. Don't think any of his folk even know his name. Real creep that one. Severed heads in tanks. I mean you oughtta see it! Anyway, he ain't too happy with Darla here's lil playmates. He's out for blood. Lost his eye to one of 'em. Grabbed our lil princess here. Barely got him outta there, but he's my little brother, my blood. What could I do?"

Remy felt nauseous the longer she listened to the man talk. She had a feeling that all his bravado was meant to make the younger man feel small, feel like he needed him when Remy was pretty sure it was the other way 'round. She tuned him out, dropping back, to address Daryl at a lower volume.

"He go on like this all the time, or do I just bring out the best in 'im?"

Daryl said nothing, just chuffed and continued to stare at the forest floor. Remy realized that he must be tracking. Always tracking. She wished she were better at it. Sure, she could see when there was plenty of animal sign but she wasn't as good as determining an exact animal, let alone singling out an individual to track down. She wondered if he might be willing to teach her some of what he knew, but the way the older one talked, they'd be at the prison sooner than later.

That was a disturbing thought. Walled in with a large group of strangers. At least out here, she could run. And with only 2 men to contend with (really one, as she read easily that Daryl was no threat), she felt reasonably confident that she could fend off any threat to her person. She carried a hammer and a big knife for more than just rigging traps and putting down corpses.

"Maybe I should wait it out....", she trailed off under her breath.

No reply. She hadn't really expected one. She'd already figured out that the younger brother was pretty closed up. Even his voice was raspy. Like his voice was so under used that it strained him to speak.

"Hey! Ya never did tell us how the **** you managed to keep singin' Victory in Jesus through all this mess!" Merle really was crass, but Remy wasn't fazed at all by it.

"Well, how could I not?", she began. "Sun is shining. I'm still here. Whole. And hey, got my pup back! I manage to keep myself fed. Healthy. Only trap I know is a simple snare. 'Been fortunate enough to avoid getting eaten by those corpses..."