Bruised Not Broken

Chapter 5

Mia's breath got caught somewhere between her chest and her throat at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. The berries that were once in her hand fell to the ground as she moved just her eyes to look at the man. 

"That's Nightshade, don't you know nothin'? That shit'll kill you. Unless that's what you wanted..."

As he continued speaking she eased up slightly, allowing herself to fully face him. He wasn't muscular the way Shane was muscular, but lean. His hair was short and he wore a t-shirt with the sleeves cut off. Slung over his shoulder was a crossbow and Mia could see that he was equipped with a hunting knife as well. She didn't want to stare too long without answering him, so she gave a shaky response.

"No, that's not what I-- Thank you. Thanks." 

It seemed that the man, whose name she still didn't know, was not all that convinced by her answer at first. He began to size her up the same way she had done to him. She didn't know what it was, but something had apparently changed his mind and he replied with a small and silent nod. 

"I'm Mia." 

Almost animalistic, the man's ears perked up at something and his small eyes darted past her. He quickly put a finger to his lips, obviously a signal to Mia to shut the hell up, and crouched down readying his crossbow. She hadn't heard what he had apparently found so important and she tried her best to stay quiet and still as he carefully and silently slunk by her. When she turned and saw the deer not 50 feet away, it was already falling to the ground. 

"Daryl."

"What?" 

Mia was no stranger to hunting, after all she had grown up in rural Georgia. Her father took her and her sister out to watch him a couple of times, ignoring her mother's objections. She'd seen him kill before and it used to upset her, though she'd never let him know. Vera would always give her the 'don't cry in front of Daddy you don't want to make him mad' look, and she'd hold back the tears that wanted to form. One day he had a double kill; the mother first, and her confused fawn right after. She couldn't hold it that day, and he ended up getting mad, just like Vera predicted. That was the last time he took her out with him, though he would still bring home fresh kills for food or mounting if it was impressive enough. She was older now, not a child anymore, so she understood the need for hunting. It wasn't as traumatic as it would have been when she was 10. What took her aback this time was how skilled and fast this kill was. Her father would have been impressed by... 

"Daryl."

Daryl. He walked by her, not looking for a response of any kind, and took his arrow out from the animal's neck. She watched him, thinking about what had happened, about to open her mouth to ask him how long he'd been hunting when another voice startled her worse than Daryl's had. 

"You get that deer or what?"

The man who Mia assumed to be Daryl's older brother, looked at the deer and then at her. He surveyed her up and down as if she was the piece of meat instead of the dead animal Daryl began to try to heave over his shoulder. 

"Well, well. You got quite the catch here. Picked yourself up two li'l does."

Mia knew he was not talking about the deer, but Daryl, who had not been paying attention to where his brother was focused, did not seem to pick up on that.

"Yeah, well are you gonna help me lift it or what?"

When Daryl looked up, he finally understood and gave a frustrated sigh. Mia shifted uncomfortably and touched her knife, not sure if she would have to use it or not, but just to make sure it was there. Merle's eyes followed her fingers touching her knife and he chuckled to himself.