The Archer and The Airship » 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕒𝕝𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕕𝕖𝕒𝕕 «

Chapter Five

5. On the Road Again

'I am not a victim of my life
What I went through
Pulled a warrior out of me
And it is my greatest honor to be her.'
-Rupi Kaur

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ONE WEEK LATER

DAYS came and went, the time passed quickly when it was filled with scavenging, hunting, and keeping watch for walkers. Food was scarce and tensions were high, and one point Zepp had wondered how long before the group turned on each other. But that day never came.

  They watched out for each other, split the work of cooking and hunting and guard duty. They cared for each other, the way a real family would. Or what she imagined a real family would be like.

She couldn't really pinpoint the moment she decided to stick with them, before she knew it, the days had melted together and a week had passed. But it was a constant thought in the back of her brain, one foot always poised to run if the time came.

So she spent most of her time hunting with Daryl or keeping watch off to the side with Rick at her other point, and she began to wake up and actually look forward to her time with Daryl every day. They had a silent understanding between them as they crept through the woods.

One morning, when the sky was splashed with cotton candy ripples, the group prepared to move on. Rick organized teams of two for supply runs, sending them in different directions. "Be back in one hour or we'll come looking for you."

Maggie and Glenn headed off together while T-dog and Rick went the opposite way. Daryl and Zepp nodded at each other and walked side by side away from the others. They trekked through the trees in silence together, keeping a watchful eye and ear on their surroundings.

After a few moments of only the sound of their boots crunching twigs and leaves, Daryl's voice sliced through the heaviness in the air.

"So.. how did you get so good at surviving an apocalypse?" he asked, half a smile on his tanned face.

"Hmm," she hummed and kicked a rock out of their path. "My life was always kind of about surviving, so.. lucky me I guess.." she trailed off, crouching low to uncover a deer print in the wet soil. "This way."

He grew quiet again, following just a few steps behind her. Every so often, she could feel his sharp blue eyes burning into the back of her head. It seemed more frequent these days, especially now.

Daryl and Zepp rarely spoke about anything other than the group's survival, and while she trusted him to have her back, she wasn't quite ready to dive into her past. Probably never would be.

"My life was that way too," his voice was just above a whisper flitting through her ears. "You don't need to gimme any details or nothing, just know I understand." He stopped as she did and they locked eyes, their rising and falling shoulders matching as their breaths came and went. Daryl cleared his throat and looked away, following the tracks as he quickened his pace.