in a dark meadow -- daryl dixon

peanut butter and spam

word count: 6349

warning: spice spice spice & mild drug use

Avery drummed her fingers along the wooden table, the tap, tap of her nails filling the quiet of the room. She sat alone in the prison library, studying the Southeastern road map splayed out in front of her. There was a tangle of lines and circles on the piece of paper, most representing major highways, county borders, or other towns and communities. Highway 85 would get her directly to Charlotte. She committed the route to memory, but ultimately decided to fold the map into a delicate square and stow it away in her pocket. Nobody would miss it.

It seemed so simple. Charlotte wasn't that far away. If she took a car, she could be in the city in a little over three hours. With a full tank of gas, she'd make the journey there and back without the need to refuel. Best case scenario, she was back the next day. Worst case scenario... She didn't let herself finish that thought.

She gazed round the room, taking in the small space. Round, wooden tables and chairs occupied most of the area, with bookshelves pushed up against the walls. If it hadn't been for the bars on the windows, the room would have resembled the handful of libraries Avery had found herself in when she was younger.

Rising to her feet, she eyed the row of books on the wooden shelves, fingers delicately tracing over the spines as she browsed. None of the titles interested her, but the long, boring months of winter might force her to reconsider.

"Avery,"

The woman jumped at the sound of her name. She whirled around as Hershel stepped into the room, seemingly surprised to see her there.

"The council's just about to meet. Are you joining us today?"

The council was formed when Rick decided he no longer desired to be their leader. They chose five members: Hershel, Glenn, Daryl, Carol, and Sasha, to make decisions and set rules when it came to the prison's community. Avery had initially been asked to join, but ultimately declined, confident that they didn't need her input on those matters. They typically only assembled when needed, or if there was a wave of newcomers who had joined the prison.

"No, sorry." She took a steadied breath, forcing her heart rate to slow. Though she hadn't done anything wrong, she still felt guilty for even having thoughts about leaving. "I forgot you were meeting today. I'll just be going."

Avery passed the members as they slowly filtered in, greeting them as she did, before making her way through the corridors. She could feel Daryl staring at her as she walked, and she quickly rounded the corner to escape his inquiring gaze.

Halfway through the hallway, she paused. Should she bring up her idea to the council? It would be much easier to get a hold of a car with the council's approval, though she predicted exactly how that conversation would go: Carol and Sasha's would list out everything that could possibly go wrong, Glenn would make her feel guilty for wanting to leave at all, and she was certain Daryl would just start throwing furniture. She didn't see that conversation ending well at all.

But then an opportunity was presented to her later that evening.

Returning from the showers, Avery was towel drying her hair when she stepped into their cell that evening. Daryl's back was facing her, hunched over the open backpack on their bed. She spotted his collection of bolts and a box of handgun ammo.

"You heading out again?"

"Tomorrow." He responded without looking at her, carefully slotting the bullets into the open chamber of his pistol. "Gonna pick up Michonne's trail out East. Take a car out to Athens."