Double Crossbow (Daryl Dixon) [The Walking Dead]

Chapter 73 ↣ Soft like this?

"Look, there's a great big hunk of world down there, with no fence around it. Where two dogs can find adventure and excitement. And beyond those distant hills, who knows what wonderful experiences? And it's all ours for the taking..."

- Tramp, Lady and the Tramp

↣ ↢

Daryl

Kathryn walked back out of that house. Unharmed. She walked down the steps and gave Rick a shrug. She then looked at me. "You're next. Want me to hold that?"

I passed the possum to her then turned to face the steps.

Kathryn said behind me. "If I take my knife out to skin this, are you gonna try and shoot me?"

I walked up to the door and looked back at her.

Nicholas shook his head but looked green. "Will you puke?" she asked.

That was my cue, and I crossed the threshold.

Deanna sat on her couch, staring at me. The table between us had a bunch of pointless shit arranged on it. I reached down and grabbed some glass stones in a fancy tray.

What the fuck were these for? She had paid money for these. I looked around the whole room. If I totaled everything in here, it would probably be more money than I had ever had in my whole life, including that sum I stole from the golf course.

My throat tightened, and I smelled peaches.

"You're welcome to sit, Daryl. I won't bite," Deanna said.

I dropped the stones back into place, except one which I palmed. "Yeah, I'm all right."

"Daryl, do you want to be here?"

Pacing in the space between the armchair and table I said, "The boy and the baby, they deserve a roof. I guess."

"You would rather be out there?"

"Here, there...don't matter."

Deanna nodded. "What did you do before?"

"Nothing."

I narrowed my eyes as Deanna smiled. "You and Kathryn so far have very similar answers, though I believe you have summed it up in far fewer words."

My stomach turned. This stranger was drawing conclusions about us. Her next question would now be, How did some white trash manage to convince a smart woman to take his name?

"It's a blessing to have a partner in this world. Don't you agree?"

I stopped pacing. I didn't understand what she was trying to get at. "S'ppose so."

"Scary though. People have always died. It's the one thing we all share, but to go out there and not know if they'll come back...that fear is far more visceral now."

Was she threatening us?

Deanna leaned forward placing her forearms on her knees. "See...now you've got that look. You aren't afraid of what will happen to Kathryn out there but what will happen in here? Why?"

I didn't answer.

"Hmm, so let me make sure I have this right. Neither you nor Kathryn are too fond of being inside these walls. However, you believe it is the right thing for your group. Are you willing to put her in danger for them?"

"You saying this place is dangerous?"

"No. I'm saying you think this place is dangerous."

Anger tightened my hand around my bow. I couldn't take these mind games or her putting words in my mouth.