Instincts (Daryl Dixon FF)

o n e *updated* [SEASON 4]

This chapter has been rewritten, please keep in mind, that it does not completely match the rest of the story yet! :)

[Season 4, Indifference]

No P.o.V

"Whoa, Captain", she murmured softly, pursing her pale pink lips to release an uneven whistling sound, signalizing the black stallion to slow down. His large, barefoot hooves stomped loudly and regularly on the ground. The soil was dry and brittle, an agonisingly long summer with months of pure heat and sun had taken a toll on the nature of Atlanta. Leaves crumbled, fields of wheat turned grey, meadows lost their bright green colours. No morning dew, no rain, only puddles of pure liquid heat glistened on the asphalt streets.

Margo watched the hot steam wobble above the ground and smearing the sad, faded colours of pines and spruces of the forest border, which slowly had started emerging at the horizon. Finally. She grabbed both of the dark brown leather reins in one hand and reached for the old watch, which dangled loosely around her wrist. 2:38 PM. They were supposed to reach the forest in a good forty minutes, but the three clock hands clearly showed that a whole hour had passed by already. Not only that, she didn't find anything drink- or eatable either, the one gas station they had passed, had been emptied out completely. No food, no water, let alone the medication she was looking for. Only torn open wrappers and the remains of the once whole shop window, mixed with pages of distasteful playboy magazines and newspapers had covered the floor. It was a shame, but she knew beforehand that the former road B78, which they were following, wouldn't offer a lot of promising scavenging opportunities. However, it was the fastest route from their camp to her destination, the veterinary college.

Her father had been the one to come up with the idea. He remembered the facility from his own days as a young medical student, where he had shared biology classes with learning veterinarians there. The compound was huge, according to him, packed with medical supplies and well-known. It had been one of the most prestigious universities of Georgia back in the day and was directly attached to an animal hospital.

Margo absently wiped the sweat off her front and pressed her heels against Captain's sides. Through the woods and up the hill, approach from behind, get in fast, find antibiotics, get out even faster. That was the plan.
Lonely 15 minutes of forest passed by before a bright red brick structure suddenly pierced through the undergrowth. Once seen it could not be unseen. Even though some lonely twiners climbed their way up, the bloodlike colour practically begged to not be hidden. Margo reacted fast and pulled back the reins roughly, earning herself a displeased snort from Captain as he came to a stop.

"Sorry, bud", she apologized and softly patted his neck. As though Captain wanted to answer her, he puffed out some air through his dark nostrils and sank his head. A little smile passed her face as she drove her fingers through his thick black mane.

"Guess that means we're good then, ey?" Captain dodged the question.

She swung herself of his back. Tons of dried brown tree needles were covering the forest floor, swallowing even loud sounds easily and turning them into soft crunching noises. Margo's hand dipped down towards one of the daggers she had brought with on her belt.

"Alright..", she breathed.

She rolled the handle back and forth in her opened palm a few times and observed how the delicate grain of red cherry wood glistened in a sparkling gold as a few beams of sunlight crawled through the tree crowns and shone onto her hand. The blade was slick and sharp, polished with so much effort she could have seen the tiny freckles on her nose in it if she had wanted to.

Captain had started lazily dozing next to her, Margo playfully grabbed his ear, "You stay here, got it?", she said but he only pulled back his head in annoyance. Through the woods and up the hill: Check. Next step: Approach from behind. So far, so good.