The Wilting Daisy

[4]

  "We met at a pond north of here. I saved her life and she told me where I could find you."
-Daisy Newman in The Wilting Daisy

iv.| The Farm

-•-

    I was held at gunpoint upon reaching the farm, a panicked voice shouting at me to put my hands in the air. Carol had neglected to mention the possible hostility I'd be met with so there I was, staring down the barrel of a Remington 700 with my hands held high above my head. The woman wielding the gun threw me an icy glare as she cautiously stepped closer. She looked frazzled with her nappy blonde hair pulled up into a ponytail, a few random strands sticking out every which way. Her tired eyes stayed glued on me as she spoke.

    "Who are you?" she questioned in a stern voice. She was trying her best to appear calm, but I could tell her demeanor was heavily put on. If I had to take a guess I'd say she'd never been in a situation such as this before; she looked unsure of her abilities and didn't come across as someone who was fully comfortable with the weapon they possessed.

    "My name is Daisy Newman. I'm looking for Rick." I answered quickly, wanting to keep the conversation civil. "Is he here? Carol sent me."

    We were drawing in a crowd of onlookers, a young boy no older than ten or eleven stepping out from behind a skinny woman with long, dark brown hair– possibly his mother.

    "How do you know Carol, a–and where is she now?" the blonde pressed for information, ready to shoot me if my reply wasn't up to their standards..

    "We met at a pond north of here. I saved her life and she told me where I could find you," I began to explain, leaving out certain details I felt Carol would want kept between us. "Told me to tell Rick, or whoever asked, that she was washing up."

    The group looked amongst themselves anxiously, as if each praying someone else had the proper answer to what they should do. I slowly began to drop my arms, but the blonde didn't trust my movements as she pressed the muzzle of her rifle into the pale skin of my forehead. I closed my eyes, and just when I believed my time had come a male voice spoke out.

    "What's going on? Andrea?"

    Opening my eyes I soon spotted a man approaching the small cluster of survivors, who in turn stepped aside so he could get a better view. The woman, whom I now knew to be Andrea, lowered the firearm and gave him her full attention.

    I could have used this opportunity to retreat, run as fast as I could until they were nothing but a distant memory, but my legs stayed cemented to the ground beneath me preventing me from making such a drastic decision. I wasn't dead yet. This could still be what I'd been searching for.

    "She turned up out of nowhere Rick—told us Carol sent her." Andrea explained quickly. 

    Rick looked at me through squinted eyes, his face void of any emotion that could help me understand what he was thinking.

    "We'll let her stay for now, at least until Carol gets back so she can help settle this." He spoke softly, looking around at the group, all of which didn't bother to argue with him on the matter. "If Carol approves, you'll get a trial run."

    I quickly nodded, accepting anything he was willing to give. I was, after all, a stranger and possible threat, so him being this generous was something to be thankful for.

    "Thank you." I whispered graciously, and with a nod the man wondered off.