Catch Fire | Daryl Dixon

MARKED

Kennedy's POV

We followed Cole and Elijah through the woods, their footsteps steady and sure while Glenn and I lagged a bit behind, keeping close enough to talk but far enough to keep our voices low. The trees were dense around us, heavy with the scent of moss and old pine. The quiet settled around us like a cloak, but even that wasn't enough to keep Glenn's protective side at bay. He cast another wary glance at my shoulder as I shifted, trying to ease the dull ache that had settled there.

Glenn shook his head, clearly biting back whatever was on his mind. I rolled my eyes, already anticipating the lecture.

"Don't start," I muttered.

"Ken," he sighed, keeping his voice low. "This... you shouldn't be out here. We should've waited for Gabe and Aaron to come back. You're still hurt."

"I'm not useless, Glenn," I shot back. "We don't need half of Alexandria to meet these guys and see if they're legit. I can handle it."

He huffed, giving me one of those looks. "And what if it's not what they say it is? You don't think there's any chance they're leading us somewhere we don't come back from?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Come on. You think they're luring us out here to get ambushed or something? If they wanted to hit Alexandria, they wouldn't need us two specifically. They already slipped in once; they know how to get past our walls."

He sighed, frustration evident in his step as we moved through the underbrush. "I just don't like it, Ken. The timing, everything. Feels off."

"Everything feels off," I snapped, "because nothing has been right for years. But sitting around waiting for things to fall apart isn't doing us any good."

"We could've had backup."

I huffed, already tired of going in circles with him. "Gabe and Aaron'll be back soon, and if this turns out to be nothing, then we'll have wasted a few hours. Big deal."

Glenn shook his head, mumbling something under his breath.

"What?" I asked, irritation flaring up again.

He threw his hands up. "Nothing. Just... What if you end up getting hurt again? Or worse. What then? You think Daryl's gonna be thrilled about that? Or Willow?"

I glared at him, pushing aside the guilt he was trying to throw at me. "I won't get hurt. And if you really thought this was a trap, you wouldn't have come either."

He opened his mouth to argue again, but before he could, Cole's voice cut through the tension.

"How long you two been together?" he asked, voice full of amusement.

Glenn and I both turned to him, confused. "What?" Glenn asked.

Cole glanced back at us, a smirk tugging at his lips. "You fight like an old married couple," he said, sarcasm dripping from every word.

Glenn, flustered, stammered, "We're not— I mean, we're not like that."

Cole shrugged. "Hey, whatever you say. Just an observation. Seems like y'all are either a hell of a team or a disaster waiting to happen."

I glanced at Glenn, who just rolled his eyes at the comment, clearly still too worked up over the whole situation to even respond to the jab. I sighed, brushing off the tension that still hung between us, trying to focus on what was ahead.

"How much further?" I called out, watching Cole and Elijah stride ahead as though we hadn't been hiking through the woods for half the day.

He glanced over his shoulder, a smirk on his face. "Patience, alright?"