The Walking Dead

Chapter 3

Swing

Stab

Release 

Sweat dripped down my forehead as I looked around at the piles of dead bodies stacked up around me. My breath came in short gasps, my heart racing against my rib cage. I stood up and went around, collecting my arrows from the eye sockets of dead walkers. I put them away for the time being before heading back towards the camp, my emotions now under control. 

An hour later, I was struggling to lift my feet up as I took the last steps towards camp. I stumbled on a root jutting out of the ground, and fell, tumbling head over foot, finally coming to a stop in front of the fire. I groaned and sat up, the world swaying around me as dizziness clouded my vision. I shook my head vigorously, trying to chase away the swirling images. I blinked, a figure suddenly appearing in my view.

"Oh, how I hope your not a walker." I smiled loopily at him. Or was it a her? I couldn't really tell. I think I was exausted. Or I was just plain delusional. "Or Daryl." I added as an afterthought. Come on! Snap out of it! Your becoming delusional! My mind screamed at me. I shook my head hard, gritting my teeth against the delusion induced moments of life where I could be free. Having no worries of walkers for that short, sweet, time. I would have no worries of trying to protect myself, and have to deal with the trauma I suffered at the beginning of all this shit. No worries of Merle and Daryl, one being mean, the other trying to freaking kidnap me. Again.

 I groaned, clutching my hair and pulling tightly, hoping that the strain would shock me out of my delusional state. I shook my head again, trying to chase away the darkness that hovered on the edges of my eyesight. I forced them away, coming back to my normal mind, just as ice cold water made contact with my skin. I gasped silently, water running in rivulets down my body. I sat there for a second, fighting the shivers that threatened to rack my body. 

"The town is cleared from walkers for now." I sighed, seeing Rick and his son followed by his wife shortly. "Oh and thanks for the shower." I gritted. I looked up through wet strands of hair, scanning the people surrounding me, everyone's faces showing surprise or shock, or even a mix of both, for a bucket. My eyes locked on the form of Merle, he was holding a bucket, a delighted smirk gracing his lips. I glared up at him, my eyes turning to blue fire. I fought it down, feeling the familiar of  rage burning through my body. I took a deep breath, exhaling from my nose. 

"Where's Daryl?" I asked, scanning the ranks, but not seeing the familiar form of the cross-bow wielding warrior.

"I-I think he's in his tent." Carol stuttered in a murmur, her voice sounding dazed.

"Thank you ma'am." I smiled respectfully before hauling my exhausted, drenched body off of the dirt-and-gravel compact ground and starting to stagger my way over towards the tent Daryl and Merle shared. I made it passed everyone standing in my way, probably because they were still stuck in their shock induced state. But then a certain man just had to step in my way.

"Please move Merle." I asked.

"No." He answered.

I sighed. "Move out of the way Merle."

"No." He answered again. "I won't allow my brother to become soft because of some girl who doesn't even belong here." I could still see some of the shock in his eyes, but it was quickly diminished. "Some girl who hasn't even earned her place here. So until you do, stay away from my baby brother." 

I raised an eyebrow.  " I don't think that you have a say in where I go. You are not my husband, nor are you my father. Therefor, you have no say in my actions."  

"You will stay away from my brother. Do you understand me?" He said lowly.

"I will go near your brother if I want to. Do you understand me?" I said equally as low.

"No you won't. He's my brother. You won't get through me." 

"Oh really?"

I threw my fists at his cheeks, jabbing left and right before I threw my foot at his knee. He fell down as soon as my foot connected powerfully with his knee. He rolled down and I walked past him. "Will he never learn?" I grumbled.

Nervous butterflies shot semi-autos at my stomach, as I stopped in front of the tent, frowning as I realized that the feeling I was feeling was nervousness. I frowned but shook it off as I unzipped the tent and crawled in, when I looked up, Daryl was watching me through hooded eyes as he twirled a metal-tipped arrow around in his long fingers. My gaze followed his fluid movements, I soon became hypnotized. 

Daryl cleared his throat, snapping me out of it. My eyes flashed to his, seeing amusement flash in his eyes. A faint blush stained my cheeks as I looked away from him. "The town is cleared of walkers for now, if you want to take some people and go on a run, of course, you would have to ask Rick first. And I can't guarantee that the place won't have another surviving group that is taking advantage of this time." I rambled, my body fidgeting, and my gaze shifting from one object to another, never landing on Daryl or his body once. 

He nodded slowly, thoughtfully and continued to twirl the arrow. I swallowed roughly. "Okay, that's all." I murmured and turned to leave. 

"Faith?" Daryl asked. The way my name slipped off his tongue sent shivers down my spine. 

"Yeah?" I turned back to him.

"Did you clear the town by yourself?" 

"Yes." 

"So I was right.' He whispered, his eyes gaining a far away look as his fingers mechanically twirled the arrow. I turned and left the tent, sensing that Daryl was deep in thought and wouldn't need to speak to me in a while. Cool, night air caressed my face as I walked back to the tree that I had set my pack in, my crossbow bouncing along my back as I climbed up the tree. I quickly tied a knot around my waist and tucked my arms behind my head, propping it up so I could gaze at the stars.

I've always been fascinated by them. To me, they symbolized freedom to dream. Stars meant that anything was possible if you had enough will power to try. Stars were often my only friend in my childhood, explaining why I don't converse much with survivors, and why I am the way I am. Why I'm so defiant around men. I've never had pleasant experiences around them. My eyes drifted shut, to heavy to keep open. 

Meanwhile in the tent across the camp, Daryl's mind wouldn't stop replaying the meeting he had had just moments ago with Faith. Faith, he had a feeling that 'Faith' wasn't her real name, that it signified something that nobody knew. That the answers surrounded her dark past. He couldn't get the way her blue eyes had twinkled in the dim lamp light. When he heard the zipper of his tent, he had expected his brother to march in and demand that he get up and stop 'moping about a no good, weak girl who would just end up turning him soft.'

He had snorted at the fact that his brother had called Faith weak. 'If that's what you think, then it is how you see it. But I know the true strenght of that woman. She is far stronger than all of the other women here.' He and the others knew that she had strenght. He had seen it when she had stood up to his brother. When he saw the defiance that sparked in her eyes. 

She just wouldn't get out of his head, and it was driving him crazy.