Torn Apart • TWD

Chapter 13 - fear

Tessa's heart was pounding uncontrollably in her chest. She had spent ten minutes pacing the floor, then thirty to triple check the house was boarded up and secure, and the last hour has been spent sitting and watching.

The child has planted herself in front of the door with her arrow strung back in the bow, ready to be launched at the first sign of movement.

She's hasn't heard anything from outside the house, no talking or moving, no looking to find a way in, only silence; which made her extremely suspicious.

The child had thought that maybe one of them left for reinforcements back at the prison, which meant there would only be two to take on. She had considered opening the door an inch and shooting them, but fear persuaded her not to touch the blockade she had set up.

Her hand is clenching the arrow so tightly her fingers are numb and white with indentations. Her body feels frozen in place, like if she moves then they will force their way in, so she just sits on the cold and uncomfortable floor with her eyes unmoving from the house's only entrance.

When she was putting Dolores in her crib, away from the danger that was sure to come, the baby was giggling as if everything was normal which brought the girl a moment of peace before remembering those people were going to take her.

She knows they can protect the infant better than she can, especially since it's a group of people and not just a little girl, but this is harder than she had thought it would be.

She doesn't trust them, and the way they dodged past her traps only amplifies the hatred boiling in her. They had broken their agreement by following her, they had bypassed her security system, and they were pissing her off by making her feel afraid.

Three reasons why she is determined to shoot them on sight, but she is too scared to get sight of them.

On the other side of the door, Maggie is sitting on the grass and fiddling with the plants as she keeps watch for any movement on the girl's end. Rick is sitting before Lori's grave, saying a proper goodbye, while Daryl is checking out the child's various traps, he would never admit how he was almost impressed by the girl's ingenuity and resourcefulness on how she created them, the pain radiating from his arm forced him to not be completely impressed.

The two understood Rick's reasoning for wanting to let the girl have control over what will happen, but Daryl is losing patience. For all he knew, there could be a hidden exit and she could have left almost two hours ago.

He feels unnatural without his crossbow slung over his shoulder, and he had seen how the child had never seen one before in the way she played with it, she could screw it up and break it.

The hunter huffs after doing a second sweep for any traps he may have missed, and heads to the back of the house where Rick sits with his arms wrapped around his legs and his head hung low.

"This ain't getting us nowhere, go talk to her," Daryl stands to the man's side.

"She needs to make the first move," Rick replies without even lifting his head, his eyes locked on the patch of dirt sticking unnaturally from the ground.

"She ain't gonna."

"She'll talk," Rick states will confidence.

"She's had two hours to talk, she could be sleepin' for all we know," the crossbow-wielding-hunter-minus-the-crossbow throws his hands up in annoyance.

"She'll talk," Rick insists once more.

"How you know?"

"Because she's a child, and after fear will come curiosity," Daryl rolls his eyes and scoffs in response.