My Hunter || Daryl Dixon

Chapter 22

I lean against the stairs in the cell block as we all stand around discussing the raid yesterday. Belle stands with Daryl upstairs and I'm a little hurt, wondering why she doesn't want to stand by me.

"We're not leaving." Rick says, cocking his gun.

"We can't stay here." Hershel argues.

"What if there's another sniper? A wood pallet wouldn't stop one of those rounds." Maggie says.

"We can't even go outside." Beth adds.

"In the daylight." Carol clarifies.

"We're not running." Glenn repeats.

"No, better to live like rats." Merle says from behind the locked cell door and I roll my eyes at him, still furious.

"You got a better idea?" Rick asks.

"Yeah, we should have slid on out of here last night and lived to fight another day. But we lost that window didn't we? I'm sure he's got scouts on every road out of this place by now." Merle states.

"Yeah, we ain't scared of that prick." Daryl says.

"You all should be. That truck through the fence thing, that's just him ringing the doorbell. We might have some thick walls to hide behind but he's got the guns and the numbers. And if he takes the high ground around this place, shoot. He could just starve us out is he wanted too." Merle says.

"Let's put him in the other cell block." Maggie says, fiddling nervously.

"No, the asshole has a point." I say and he glares at me.

"This is all you, you started this!" Maggie yells at him.

"What's the difference who fault it is, what do we do?" Beth asks.

"I said we should leave, now Axel's dead. We can't just sit here." Hershel says as Rick begins to walk away.

"Get back here!" Hershel yells at him.

Rick stops and turns to face him as Hershel walks towards him, "You're slipping Rick. We've all seen it, we understand why but now is not the time. You once said this isn't a democracy, now you have to own up to that. I put my family's life in your hands, so get your head clear and do something."

Rick looks at him for a moment before unlocking the cell block door and walking past Merle. Everyone walks off and goes their own way. I sigh and run my fingers through my hair, before turning to walk up the stairs. I begin to walk up the stairs when I run into somebody and I look up startled. The Georgian blues of my hunter look down at me, but I can't read them.

"Excuse me." I murmur, trying to move past him.

"Hay." He says.

"You don't get to call me that, you made your decision. The only reason I am letting you even talk to Belle is because I know it would break her heart if I told her she couldn't. You see I actually care enough about her to think about how she feels." I sneer.

He looks taken aback for a moment before his face hardens, "I came back didn't I?"

"That's the thing, you shouldn't have left in the first place." I say, pushing past him.

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I sit down with Belle in our cell, cutting the spilt ends off of her hair. Maggie is sitting in the room with us, waiting for Rick to come off his watch so she can take over. She sits in front of Belle and plays chicken with her. Maggie hits her hand and Belle moves back.