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I AWOKE TO someone's hand on my shoulder, shaking me gently and telling me that I needed to wake up. My eyes fluttered open and blinked a few times to get used to the new bright sunlight. Once my eye had adjusted, the figure of Maggie hovered over me as I come to.
I was drenched head to toe in a liquid that I assumed to be water. My clothes were stuck uncomfortably to my skin as I stood from my spot against the rough tree. While looking up at the dark angry clouds droplets fell from the sky, misting my eyes. "Raining?" I asked. Rubbing my weary eyes with the back of my palm. "Yep." She answered, helping me up from the muddy ground.
I shivered slightly. The sun had failed me once again caught behind a thick layer of clouds. Droplets fell continuously making the atmosphere humid and bitter cold. Everyone was already up, my guess was they were going out to patrol the area once more before we packed up and headed to Terminus.
Who knows, there may have been more survivors. Sasha and Bob were chatting about Terminus, more like bickering. Sasha thought it was a bad idea, she plans to settle in a nearby city surrounded by taller buildings and higher ground she had the possibility of starting a new beginning for herself. The rest of the group wanted no part in that, they needed to at least check out what Terminus had to offer.
If there was any chance survivors from our prison group ended up there, we had to go no matter how risky it might be. Maggie was dead set on going, nothing could change her mind about it. My eyes glanced around the camp but someone was missing. Where did he take off to in such a hurry?
That was when I caught a glimpse of the faded wings on the back of his vest. His crossbow was hanging over his one good shoulder as he moved through the brush and away from the camp. Hunting in weather like this? I guess the early morning is good for catching deer.
"Hey, Daryl!" Maggie called out, cupping her hands around her mouth. Daryl stopped in his tracks and turned his attention to Maggie. "Take this one with ya!" She nudged me forward. Why would I go with him? He was able to bring enough food back for us all to eat, I didn't see why another person had to go with him. Was she just trying to set us up?
"Hurry up, I ain't got all day!" He shouted back. I sent an unamused glare in her direction. She just had that smug looking smile across her lips, the same one she had worn yesterday evening. "Go get 'em." She patted me on my shoulder as I moseyed over to grab some weapons. "Yeah, right, thanks," I said in a monotoned voice. It was too early for this.
I was searching through the weapons they had brought when my eyes landed on something big. It was a bow. Not a fancy crossbow like his, but an archer's bow. My eyes locked onto the weapon of choice, that I was just itching to get my hands on. In the long run, it wouldn't waste any of our depleting ammunition and I was a good shot with a bow.
I swung the enormous thing over my shoulder, it wrapped around my back and ran across my chest. Things got even better when I noticed they had brought the quiver along with it. "Is it alight if I take this with me?" I asked, trying to be polite even though I wouldn't take no for an answer. Once I finished up my morning hunt I would return it, no questions asked.
"Go ahead, take anything you need," Sasha replied. So I did, I brought the archer's bow, the quiver, and a canteen of water. I was about to make my way over to Daryl when I was suddenly tossed into an embrace. It was Maggie. "Be safe out there." She whispered.
I didn't like hugs, but for some reason, I melted into her arms. "What's gotten into you? It's just a small hunt, I'll be back before you know it." I reminded her. It's not like I was going anywhere dangerous. Her arms released their death grip from around my torso and she gave me a weak smile.
"Come on!" Daryl shouted once more and I scurried along. I guess it wasn't unusual for someone who had just lost a loved one to be worried about others who are close to them. She had just lost her father and her husband, she couldn't afford to lose anyone else right now. I hurried to Daryl's side and gave a small wave back to camp.
