Little Mouse

The Dixon's

I shoved the monster off of me, while Amy and Carol rushed to my side immediately. Miranda had ran back to the group.

"Are you ok?" Amy asked, grabbing my arm.

"More like is she bit?" A masculine voice called from the woods. It voice had a southern accent. And the way his voice cracked, I could tell he was a smoker. My dad had the same cracked voice.

"No. I didn't get bit." I stated in the direction of the voice. There was rustling, and two men appeared. One had grey hair that was buzz cut and some stubble. The other had dusty brown hair with a little bit of a beard. There was a little mole above the left side of his lip. He was wielding a crossbow, loaded with black bolts with orange and green feathers. He had icy blue eyes that glared at me. The other guy had blue eyes, just darker.

The one with the crossbow aimed it at us, glancing at the grey haired man. I held my hands up in surrender. The grey haired man chuckled.

"Well princess? Ya didn' git bit, did ya?" He demanded. He was the one who spoke earlier.

"N-no sir." I responded. This made him crack up.

"Sir? Well aren't we dealin' with a proper lady!" He laughed. The other guy chuckled, keeping the crossbow up. "Ain't we, sweetheart?"

"Um, yes sir...?" I responded, unsure how I was supposed to answer.

"Sir! I fuckin' love it!" The guy laughed. "So, where's yer group?" He demanded after a minute of laughing.

"That way." I answered, glancing up the trail.

"Well, hon, ye mind leadin' us there?" He asked.

"I guess not." I answered, my arms starting to go numb from holding them up.

"Ye can lower yer arms, doll." The guy stated, smiling at me. Cautiously, Carol, Amy and I lowered our arms, keeping an eye on the guys. He glanced at the other guy. "Lower that damn bow!" He snapped. The guy glanced at him, lowering the weapon. He still eyed us, inspecting us.

"A'right. Where's that camp of yers?" The grey haired guy demanded.

"F-follow me." I said. They terrified me. Especially the brown haired one. The way his ice blue eyes glared at me. I could feel them digging into my skin, hooking me. When I bent over to gather the fallen clothes, I felt his eyes on me, watching my every movement. Blushing, I turned away from his piercing blue gaze and started down the trail. We walked in silence, Amy and Carol on either side of me.

"What're we doing!? We don't know these guys, and we're bringing them back to our camp! Full of children!" Amy hissed, balancing Miranda's load.

"I don't know. They're scaring me!" I whispered.

"Why're ya scared of us?" I heard the grey haired guy ask. I didn't answer, keeping my eyes ahead of me. "Doll, we ain't scary. Tell ya what, I'm Merle." He stated. We stopped, turning towards them. Merle smiled at us, extending his right hand. Politely, I took his big sweaty hand. He shook it roughly, and for a second, I thought he'd rip my arm off. Then he let go, smiling.

"What's yer name, doll?" He asked.

"Courtney Baker." I responded, rubbing my arm. I glanced at the other guy. His gaze was down at his feet, but when he felt me staring at him, he glanced up. His chilly eyes sent daggers at me, making me look away.

"Tha's ma baby brother, Daryl. He don' talk much." Merle explained, gesturing to the other guy. Shyly, I stuck my hand out for Daryl to shake. He glared at it, then at me. I dropped my hand immediately, blushing at the rejection. Merle nudged Daryl. Ok, not nudge. Practically shoved him. Daryl glared at Merle, then rolled his eyes, sticking his hand out. Timidly, I took it. He shook it, avoiding eye contact. After a good three seconds, he dropped his hand.

"A'right. With that tension gone, let's git to yer camp." Merle stated. Nodding, I led the way back. I felt Daryl's eyes warming my back, making me uncomfortable. My hand still felt warm at his touch. Probably because he was hot. Hot as in sweaty.

About half way there, I heard several pairs of footsteps running towards us. Rounding a corner was Shane and a stranger. The stranger was thin, and had a bushy black beard. He looked fairly friendly.

"Courtney! Are you alright?" Shane demanded, looking me up and down. Then he noticed Daryl and Merle. "Who the hell are these guys?"

"Merle and Daryl. They kinda saved me..." My voice trailed off, while I looked down.

"Did he, now?" Shane demanded, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Merle smiled, while Daryl continued to glare.

"Names Merle." Merle stated, holding his right hand out. Shane glared at it, before reluctantly shaking it. When they let go, Shane still glared at them. Merle smiled. Daryl, who had his crossbow slung across his back, reached for it, just in case. Seeing him do that, I stepped back. He noticed, and (to my great surprise) lowered his hand, still glaring at Shane.

"Why should we welcome you?" Shane demanded, crossing his arms.

"Well, Daryl an' I can hunt an' track." Merle stated. To prove it, Daryl turned around, revealing several squirrels handing from his back. Shane's eyes widened slightly, before nodding.

"Welcome to the group."