𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒍𝒇 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 ➪ «𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑦𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑥𝑜𝑛»

ch. XXIX - 《jealousy, thy name is...》

oOo

It wasn't without more arguing on the subject that Diana finally got them to agree with her; her parents were right; she did get her way more often than not. But in her eyes them leaving her behind on this made no sense. What if, what if, they all died and she was left alone, what would she do then?

Rick had offered her a pistol, but Diana refused it in favor of her bow; it didn't feel right, and she'd never shot a gun before, so it wouldn't serve her well.

They arrived at the gate, the paint peeling off and the promise of a bloody fight beyond it. It screeched open just enough to let them through, and Daryl pushed Miguel inside first, the boy with his hands tied behind his back and rag over his mouth, before the rest of them followed through.

Diana heard her pulse in her ears as she passed a large man with a face tattoo who stared her down and then flashed her a depraved grin. Her grip on the bow tightened and she stepped away from the man and closer to T-Dog, who joined her in glaring at him.

The gate closed and they were immediately surrounded, the men forming a tight circle around them. Facing them was Guillermo. He frowned, giving them a once-over, and spoke, "I see my guns but they're not all in the bag."

"That's because they're not yours," Rick said, tilting his head, his aim just a few centimeters below Guillermo's face. "I thought I mentioned that."

"Where's Glenn?" Diana asked, cutting through the crap, her voice imposing and sure, and she took a step closer to him. "I wanna see him."

Guillermo looked at her and at her bow with a cocked eyebrow and chuckled. It made her insecure and almost caused her to retrace her steps but she held her ground, unwilling to back out now.

"Your girl there seems a bit eager," he said to Rick and then addressed her, "What's that trick you do with that thing? How's that work, mami?"

Diana gritted her teeth at his assumption and spat, "I'm nobody's girl and none of your business."

He hummed in pleased contemplation and eyed her from head to foot, which made her squirm in place, uncomfortable at the sudden attention; maybe she shouldn't have spoken up after all.

In a stab at her pride, Rick stepped in front of her, blocking her from Guillermo's sight and bringing the conversation back to him. "I think this is our deal," he said and wiped out a knife to cut Miguel's bonds free. "You have your man. I want mine."

There was unrest amongst Guillermo's men, something that almost made them fidget in place. Guillermo screwed his face in anger, his lips pursed, and he took a threatening step towards Rick. "I'm gonna chop up your boy. I'm gonna feed him to my dogs. They're the evilest, nastiest man-eating bitches you ever saw. I picked them up from Satan at a yard sale," he hissed up in Rick's face, and Diana's heart skipped a beat in distress at the mental image. "I told you how it has to be. Are you woefully deaf?"

"No, my hearing's fine," Rick calmly said, "You said come locked and loaded."

Everyone cocked their weapons and Rick pointed his at Guillermo, who stared down the barrel with an unyielding stance, his chin in the air. Diana raised her bow and drew up an arrow, aiming only at shoulders and other weapons, ready to disable and disarm if it really came down to it.

She saw herself facing down some guns as well, her heart in her throat. She could almost see the entire scene from a third point of view, feeling like her soul had detached itself from her body. She could swear she was about to faint from the stress.

She prayed inside her head and apologized to her parents and siblings and sent them her love through thought, feeling quite uncharacteristically pessimistic.