Faded Scars (Daryl Dixon)

Chapter 30

My feet hit the ground at a fast pace, the sounds of moaning behind me. "Pieces of shit." I grumbled and pulled myself into a tree, they finally caught up and clawed at the bark. I unsheathed my knife and stabbed one in the head, then moved to the next one. I kicked one back and stabbed another one in the head. I jumped down and stabbed the one that I kicked to the ground in the head. I clutched my side as I continued walking in the woods. I couldn't stand to spend another moment with Leona, who had been driving me crazy about releasing my anger. I scoffed and continued on my way. I pulled out my bow when I saw a squirrel and aimed. When I fired, the arrow struck the creature and as I walked over a walker with no legs, snatched the squirrel. I walked over and crushed the walker's skull with my boot. I grabbed my arrow and kept walking, until I heard a twig snap and I snapped my head towards the sound.

My bow was ready as I tried to pinpoint the cause of the noise. "Well well, Gorgeous can hunt." I snapped around, the tip of my arrow was pointed at Merle's face. "Easy, there, I ain't gonna hurt ya." I scoffed and lowered my bow. "What are you doing out here?" I asked and move deeper into the woods. "Huntin, what else woman?" He chuckled back. "You're not going to find anything." I said and he followed me. "Hey, what bout that new girl, huh? She got ya freaking out or something?" I rolled my eyes and ignored him. "Awe, come on Gorgeous." I spun on my heels to face him. "What the hell do you want, Merle?" I spat, but he just stood there. I pasted him and walked back towards the prison.

When I came up to the prison, Leona was waiting there next to the gate. She glared at me. "You tryin to get killed, you can just go wandering off into the woods like ya use to, Scar." I ignored her and kept walking, some of the group watching us. "Hey, I'm talking to you!" I kept walking, but could hear her behind me. She grabbed my wrist and pulled me back, but I shoved her away. "Back off, Leona, I'm not some child." I said and walked back to the prison. Suddenly, I was shoved against the prison and I saw people move towards us. "What the hell are you doing, Scar, trying to prove something?" I winced as she kneed me in the stomach, and I shoved her off. "I'm not going to fight you, Leona." She rolled her eyes and shoved me back against the prison. "Come on, Scar, just once." I shoved her away again and she lunged at me. I grabbed her shirt and threw her to the ground. "You've gotten better." She sneered, I scoffed and walked away from her, except Leona had other ideas. She grabbed me from behind, a knife to my throat and I saw everyone hold their weapons up. "Leona, what are you doing?"

"Show me, Scar." I tried to pull the knife from my throat, but she was too strong. "Come on, Scar, you know what to do." She pressed it closer to my throat. "I'm sorry, May." I whispered and dug my nails into Leona arm. She winced and released the knife, and I elbowed her in the face and shoved her to the ground. The others had their guns pointed at me, except one. He watched from the fence and I faced him before quickly running from the courtyard, while Leona laughed behind me.

I worked on my bow, fixing the string and creating new arrows, as people past my cell. "You look bored." I looked up to see Leona leaning against the doorway. "Can't you just leave me alone?" I said and added an arrowhead to my arrow. "I know you hate me, Scar, but I will never leave you alone." I chuckled and began to work on another arrow. "You were her favorite." I sharpened the point and looked up at her. "That wasn't as big an achievement as you think it is." I said and went back to work, my fingers skillfully building the arrow. "Why don't you yell at me, scream, try to kill me? You have the chance to make me pay for everything I've done and yet you throw me on the ground and walk away." I ignored her and continued to work. She walked in front of me and crouched down. "You should hate me." She said looking up at me. I looked at her and then just continued working. "Please." She begged. "It wasn't your fault." I said simply and looked at her. "Show me...the scars." She said and backed up. I placed my bow and the arrow I was working on down on my bunk.

Standing up, I lifted the tank top over my head and saw her eyes roam my body. She saw the bruised and scarred stomach and the scars that ran down my arms and back. "Has anyone else seen these?" She said and reached out to touch my skin, but I moved away. "One." I said and pulled my tank top back over my head. "Who?" She said giving a small smile. At that moment, Daryl walked by with Rick and our eyes met for a brief second before I turned back to her. "Someone I trust." I sat back down and picked up my bow. "Do you really trust these people, Scar? What if they hurt you" I looked up at her. "They aren't like that, Leona, trust me." She sighed and moved near the cell entrance. "You know I do." She said before leaving.

I left my cell and walked up to the group, who eyed me carefully. I sat away from them and listened to their loud talking and laughing. I played with my hands and looked up as Daryl came over eating a cooked squirrel. He looked at me and then continued eating. I smiled, nothing could ruin Daryl's appetite. I watched the group some more and saw Leona move on top of the bus, she never did like crowds. I was nudged in the side and looked over at Daryl. "What was that for?" He didn't answer and just looked at me. "Aw Gorgeous, ya feelin left out?" Merle cooed and I rolled my eyes. "Shut up, Merle." Daryl said, not paying any attention to his brother. I smirked at Merle and watched as Leona watched us. She slowly made her way off the bus and walked over.

"You gotta problem, buddy?" She questioned as she walked past Merle, who watched her every move. She snapped her fingers in front of him. "Eyes are up here, boy." She said and moved to sit next to me. "Ain't no problem." Merle said and glanced at Daryl before walking away. Leona begin to laugh and then looked at Daryl. "He your brother?" Daryl nodded and looked at Merle. "I figured, although he ain't nothing like you." She said and turned to me, giving me a small smile. "Your hunting skill have gotten quite good, Scar, by the way." She said and looked at the group. I rolled my eyes and turned to Daryl, and our eyes met. I slowly stood up and knew that he would follow me.

"Where are we going, woman?" He bickered. "Oh quit your whining." I said and found the oak tree I spotted this morning. I grabbed one of the branches and pulled myself up onto the tree. "You coming or staying down there to be walker chow?" He groaned and did what I had done to climb into the tree, as I climbed skillfully up a few thick limbs of the tree. When I reached the right point, I watched him struggle, but soon make it to where I was sitting on a tree limb. "You drug me out here for a tree?" He asked, his voice throaty. "I didn't drag you out here, you followed me." I smirked and he rolled his eyes. "Just look up." I said and watched him look up at the navy blue sky decorated with stars. I smiled at seeing the shining lights dancing over the dark, night sky and looked over at Daryl. He looked back up at the sky when I saw him staring at me. I chuckled and felt the cool breeze on my back, touching each of my scars. "How did ya find this?" He asked and I turned to face him. "Well before I was interrupted by Merle, I saw the tree and it reminded me of the one I used to hunt from. There was always a spot like this and I would sit up there for hours, just watching the stars." I looked back up and saw a star shoot across the night sky. I lightly touched the ring that hung around my neck and then felt a nudge in my side. I turned to look at his blue eyes watching me. "Don't think like that." He said and fixed the strap that held his crossbow. "How do you do it? How do you read me so easily?" I asked and he ran his hand through his hair. "How do ya do it then?" I looked at him curiously. "How do ya get in my head, woman?"

"I don't know." I said softly and turned to look at him. He slowly made his way down and I followed behind him at a faster pace. Once we hit the ground, I heard moaning and Daryl pulled out his crossbow while I pulled out my knife. I ran forwards and stabbed the walker in the head while he shot the one next to it. I pulled his arrow out and shoved it into a walker that had come to close. I walked back to him and handed him the bloody arrow. I walked past him and heard his footsteps behind me, when he caught up he nudged the back of my arm and I glanced over at him. His bright, blue eyes shined in the night as we made our way back towards the prison. "I swear I don't do it on purpose." I said as we reached the gate and he rolled eyes. "Or maybe I do." I said and gave him a small smile.