War Of The Damned - (Daryl & Beth) - The Walking Dead

9. Dangers In The Flowers

9. DANGERS IN THE FLOWERS

| DARYL |

By midday we had split inta two groups. Group A was Tyreese an' the kids who were workin' on Walker-proofin' the home so it was safer ta sleep in at night. Group B was me, Glenn an' Blondie, scourin' the woods lookin' for Maggie an' any other survivors. We didn't bother returnin' ta the prison, ain't no way any one would have went back there. An' we didn't bother retracin' our steps back ta the caravans we'd stumbled across. Instead we started followin' the train tracks further up, passin' anotha' "Terminus" sign.

"Those who arrive survive? Do you truly believe that?" Lookin' behind me, I realize Blondie's talkin' ta me an' not Glenn. I brush off her question like dust on my shoulders.

"Ain't nothin' good no more Blondie."

"I don't believe that." She says as if it's fact. My eyes narrow at her. I thought she was over bein' that naive farm girl? "I'm with good people right now and we're looking for good people, Daryl. Wow that sounded like something Daddy would have said."

I smirk at her. The girl just continued ta surprise me.

"So you wanna' learn ta shoot a crossbow?"

"For real?" She stops walkin' an' there's that beamin' smile I'm addicted ta. It brightens her face in a way I know it shouldn't. She was...what's that word...stunning.

I take the gun from her an' give her my signature weapon. It looks a little heavy for her but still I think she suits it. She lines it up ta her eye ta test it out, grippin' the weapon till her knuckles turn white. I see her back isn't givin' her the support ta keep all the weight off of her arms, an' I put a hand on her lower back an' smooth it up, silently tellin' her ta straighten up. She does. Her arms automatically find the proper alignment an' we all start walkin' again.

"How far does this thing shoot?"

Before I can answer there's a noise that draws my attention. Scannin' the fringe of the forest, Glenn does the same with his gun forward. There's the noise again, like hooves crunching fallen leaves.

"Could be a walker?" Beth says quietly.

"Nahh it's too steady." Droppin' the gun as realization hits me, I smirk at her. "Looks like it's your lucky day Blondie. We got us some fresh meat an' a movin' target all in one. You ready to shoot?"

Blondie smiles behind the ass end of the crossbow as she follows me an' Glenn ta the cause of the noise. Everythin' is peaceful and still, the lack of life creates the illusion that the world is ours an' we're the last ones standin'. Of course I know better. Still it hurt ta contemplate.

I pick up the tracks in minutes.

"How do you know?" Blondie an' Glenn whisper together.

Shruggin' my shoulders, I answer, "Call it a hunter's intuition." Truth was it was all in the shape of the prints an' the consistency between each step. An' it helped that there were sets of four an' not two. Blondie was lookin' at me skeptically, so I point ta the clues on the ground. "If it was a walker, the prints would'a been all over the place. These ones are shaped like crescents. That usually means it's some kind of animal. Probably a deer or even a horse. Damn ain't had horse since I was a kid."

"That's disgusting Daryl!" Beth protests but she's smilin' too. I guess what I said wasn't too bad afta' all. Half-smilin' I put a finger ta my lips ta tell her we are close, that she has ta be more quiet than dead silence itself. She seems ta get the hint an' repositions my weapon again. Thin branches separate ta reveal ta us a healthy lookin' golden game 'bout a half a mile up.