Nicotine

Chapter 3: Lost

Narrator POV
Present
'Drop the crossbow,' the women demands, but Daryl only replies with,' Who are ya? You been followin' me?', with his crossbow raised and his heart in his mouth. He won't admit it, but she scared the shit out of him. There was no warning, no sign, no sound, there was only silence. One minute she wasn't there, the next she was, threatening to put an arrow through his skull.

Though he can only see the top half of her face because of the black bandana concealing the lower part, the way she holds herself and the way she glares at him conveys a lot. Her stance is solid and right now she has the high ground.

The way she looks at him is not how a hunter looks at prey. Her eyes show no desire of hunger or want, but only a gleam of annoyance and anger.

'I'm asking the quesions. Now drop the crossbow and I'll consider letting you walk.'

She talks with such seriousness, her voice laced with venom.

He drops the crossbow reluctantly, not breaking eye contact with her for a second.

She keeps an arrow drawn back in her bow, not moving a muscle. 'What are you doing here?'she asks,'and why are you alone?' 'Thats none of your business,'he spits. He may be a brat, but shes seen his kind before, dealt with his kind before. She knows what shes getting herself into, at least, she thinks she does.

Out of nowhere, she looks off in a different direction shaking her head, letting a light scoff leave her lips. Its the kind of thing you do when somebody comes at you with a lame comeback, or you've forgotten your car keys again. It's laughing at the irony but at the same time patronising a ridiculous situation. If she didn't have the bandana on, Daryl could swear she's smiling.

'I don't think you realise what you've just gotten youself into, or who your dealing with,'he forrows his eyebrows, his expression changing at the sudden new tone of voice,'I have you surrounded. You try pick up that bow or run? I'll have your thoat ripped out in seconds an' I'll gut you with your own knife.'

A quick chill runs itself down Daryls spine. She said those words so casually, like she was telling him about the weather today, or that they're having pasta for dinner. But thats not what she said. She threatened to kill him unmercifuly, and was very comfortable doing so.

And oh boy, did he believe her.

'Im only gonna ask you one last time. Why are you here, and why are you alone?'

He looks to the ground, trying not to succumb to defeat. She has him at arrowpoint, she knows these woods and hes completely unarmed apart from the crossbow thats out of his reach and the hunters knife,that she is fully aware is in his possesion, in its sheeth on his hip. Hes snookered.

He then looks her in the eyes again. 'I'm lookin' for a little girl. She got lost.'

The womens eyes widen slightly, her sadistic satircal streak leaving her body. Of course, Daryl noticed this. 'Ya seen 'er?' Her eyes find the ground when he asks her, giving the earth a thoughtful and almost sad gaze.

'No,'she says, lower and less threatening than before.

Soon she meets his eyes again, her previous seriousness resurfacing. 'How many are in your group?'

He weighs his options in his head quickly and decides to take the risk. 'Don't got one, jus' me an' her.'

She tilts her head to the side and raises her eyebrows. 'Really?' she says is mock shock,'Because I counted 3 women, 5 men, 2 kids and 1 inbred peice of redneck shit.' She practically spits the last part.

Daryl looks at her with nothing but disgust, a growl rising from his throat. 'You bin watchin' us?'

'Guess your not as dumb as you look,' is all she replies with.