Shared Blood (A Walking Dead fan fic.)

Sorry - Chapter 6

IN THIRD PERSON

"Hey Maggie, Hersh wants ya." Daryl broke the silence walking over with a knife and squirrel in hand. It looked like he was ready to skin it she wasnt quite sure but Maggie nodded and glanced at Caylx before mounting her horse and slowly riding back towards the farm.  Caylx turned around looking back into the dim lit forest with Daryl still standing there. Her body was slightly sore from the newly cleaned cuts and it hurt to grasp her bow to pull the string back.

"So....You like squirrel?" Daryl asked sitting next to Caylx on grassy hill.

"Yeah." She replied flatly grabbing her bow and nocking an arrow in it.

"Good you can skin it." He chuckled handing to her. Instead of turning to look at Daryl she just stayed quiet and continued to aim with her bow at something in the distance. Daryl didnt really know what to do given that people always paid attention to him or did what he said. He was caught off guard by Caylx's attention.

With a quick vibrating thrum of the bow string the arrow soared through the air for about 3 seconds until a large thud and almost exasperated sound came after.

"You just hit a walker?" He asked pointing in the direction of the arrow squinting, looking at Caylx and then back at the forest.

She nodded staying silent before dropping her bow next to her and picking up the knife a squirrel.

The two of them sat in silence before the bright moon appeared in the sky and they turned back.

"Err....Need a ride?" Caylx asked him mounting her horse and squeezing her bow across her shoulder over the quiver.

He chuckled at her. "Nah you get on going. They gon be worried where you been." He began to walk and walked past Caylx stumbling down the hill. 

She lightly smiled and raced down the hill quickly eager to get back. The chilly summer night wind blew through her newly cleaned hair and she smiled and leaned back against the horse.

"Well Ale...your someone I actually dont want to kill." She chuckled in the silence of the barn a slight tear threatning her at the corner of her eye.

"Ale always has been a good horse." The old man by the name of Hershel, the barn and home owner, walked out of the shadows from the other horse.

Caylx almost instantly raised her knife in a throwing position but lowered it in quick time as she realized he was just grooming the horse.

"Wow, wow now. Its just me." He replied holding his hands out a old brush attached to his left hand shoke a little.

"Sorry." She replied quietly slipping the knife back into her pocket.

Hershel walked back over to the other horse and began brushing its neck again and turned his head to face Caylx.

"Fast reflexes you got there." He held back a smile.

"Yeah." She replied removing the saddle from her horse, Ale.

"Dont talk much do you?" He asked her keeping up conversation.

"Dont trust people." Caylx replied walking over to a large trunk to put the saddle.

 "Ha," He chuckled, "I can see that."

The two of them groomed their horses in silence when Hershel walked over pulling a old stool across the straw covered floor.

"What happend to you?" He asked sitting on top of the stool.

Caylx sighed and sat on the trunk a few yards away while stroking the blade of her knife.

"Same thing that happend to you." She relied shrugging.

"See thats not the same thing. Everyone is different. Where were you when it started?" Hershel asked trying to keep his frustration oblivious to her.

"No. Not everyone is different. We all were either forced to live differently. Forced away from home. Forced to do things we didnt want to do. Forced to KILL." She aunciated the word. "Forced to leave our loved ones." She finished swallowing her anger.

"Ahh so thats whats wrong." He smiled stroking his chin and moving his legs to the side. "How many did you lose?"

"5. 6 if you include my cat." She rolled her eyes at the end.

"Hm..." He nodded. "6." After a few moments of silence he spoke up again. "I lost maybe 16-17." 

"Im sorry." She replied quietly moving her leg up so she could prop her elbow on it.

"No, no its fine. I've learned to accept what happend to them...toke some serious convincing though....but I did." He shrugged scratching the bright white hairs on his head.

"But thats what you have to do too eventually." He looked up at her with concern in his eyes.

"I know that.....old man." She spat back at him angrilly.

"Caylx....." He started. "Im sorry...."

"Ya, ya I know. Im sick of the condolences. You lost people too. We get it were all sorry." She rolled her hands into fists and fumed rage. Caylx hadnt felt this angry in awhile....well....not a living being. She was finally getting someone to listen to her instead of taking her anger out and killing already dead corpses that tried to eat her.

He stood and pushed the stool away. "Maybe we are all sorry. But its nice to say that we all are even if we already know that we are." He said wiping his hands on his pants and walking out of the barn back towards the house.

She groaned in frustration with herself and leaned her head back against the wall of the barn. Her eyes gazed up at the ceiling which the moonlight was drifting across. Her feet plopped onto the floor and she stood grabing her bow and quiver of arrows. She nocked one as always and ran out of the barn, spinning around to see if any walkers were near. Her gaze fell upon a frightend rabbit prancing away through the grass away from the barn.

She sighed and trotted down the hilly terrain, long grass grabbing at her legs with every move. As she neared the house she walked in and found a few people in sleeping bags and blankets around the living room. Silently, she tip toed yet again passed them into her new room and shut the door.

The cool breeze felt unsettling and unwelcoming as her boots slipped off her feet near the dreser. The jacket felt heavy and uncomfortable like the jeans that stuck to her with sweat and she looked around the room for a change of clothes.

The dark wood dresser next to her might have something in it she thought. Caylx hoped off the bed and opened the dresser that made a loud heavy scratching noise. She eased it open to find a drawer full of different shirts.

Some were black, worn, shirts that were barely wearable. And others that were light lacy yellows and others were off white tee shirts that smelled of an odd scent. Like a woman's perfume. 

Finally Caylx found a pair of warm socks and a long heavy teeshirt that looked to be a mans. She slipped it on and piled the clothes she had worn in the corner of the room by the door. She took her knife and put on the bedside table  next to her and slipped under the covers.

It only toke her seconds to fall into a long awaited deep sleep. Even though it was extremly comfortable for Caylx, she still had nightmares and visions of her family; The Walking Dead.