Daryl's Girl

Chapter 152

I was the first to wake the next morning. I took my crossbow and went outside to take a piss. The sun was only just begining to come up. I went back inside and most of the men were up.

I went and lay down again just waiting for what ever move they were making next. "You've gotta be kidding me. Christ." Len snapped and started walking towards me. I sat up and looked at him. "Give it here."

"You better step back." I growled.

"My half was in the bag. Now it's gone. Now there ain't nobody round here interested in half of a damn cotton tail except you!" He started to yell which drew the attention of the others. "Ain't that right."

"You're still the one thinking about that crap!" I snapped back.

Len walked forward and tried to take my stuff. "Empty your bag."

"I said step back." I picked the bag up.

We stood eyeing each other and Joe snatched the bag from my hands. "You take his rabbit Daryl? Tell me the truth." Joe startd to open the bag.

"I didn't take nothing." I growled at Len. I knew my innocence over this situation.

"What have we got here. Come on." Joe tipped out the contents of my bag on the floor. The last to drop was the rabbit head. "Well look at that."

I saw a smirk on Lens face. "Man you put that there didn't you. When I went out to take a piss. Didn't you." I pushed him.

We were face to face. "You lied. You stole. We gonna teach this fool or what Joe?" He stepped towards me.

Joe got between the pair of us just like he did with the rabbit. I glanced around and the other men were all stood watching. "Now Daryl says he didn't take your half of the rabbit. So we got a little conundrum here. Either he's lying, which is an actionable effence. Or." Joe began to laugh as he turned back to Len. "Or you didn't plant it on him like some pussy, punk ass, cheating, cowardly cop did you? 'Cause while that wouldn't be specifically breaking the rules it'd be disappointing."

All through Joes little speach me and Len kept our eyes on each other. Then he turned to Joe. "It would. I didn't." Len spat in Joes face and turned back to me.

"Good." Joe turned back to me. I couldn't believe that he was taking all this bullshit. "Well." Joe spun and punched Len to the ground. "Teach him a lesson gents. He's a lying stack of shit and I'm sick of it. Teach him all the way. I saw him do it." Joe walked over to me.

"Why didn't you try to stop him?" I asked over the sound of grunting and the others kicking the shit out of Len.

"He wanted to play that out. I let him. You told the truth. he lied. You understand the rules. He doesn't." Joe picked up the rabbit head and handed it to me. "Looks like you get the head to."

I watched as Joe walked back to the others and I picked up my stuff to put it back into my bag. I listened as Len yelled as the others dragged him outside. The others came back in and grabbed their stuff before heading back out again.

Joe nodded at me and I picked up my stuff and walked out with them. I walked out behind them all and saw they'd killed Len and stabbed him with one of his own arrows. I picked up some old cloth and was about to throw it on top of him.

I stopped and thought about who this man was. He tried to kill me. He was an ass from the moment we met. I threw the cloth down and walked on after the others.

Once again Joe slowed down to walk besides me but instead of a cigarette he had a bottle of alcohol. He offered it to me and this time I took it. "White lightning. Easiest thing to make with the least amount of supplies. I'd start slow if I was you. Your stomachs probably emptier than you think."

I took a drink then handed it back to Joe. "I ain't been lit at dawn since before everything fell apart."

"Fell apart. I ain't looked at it like that. Seems to me that things are starting to fall together. Easy for guys like us. Living like this. Surviving. We've been doing this since the start right?" We walked up to the other men who were stood on the tracks looking at a sign.

"We're getting closer." Harley pointed.

I looked at the sign. 'Sanctuary for all. Community for all. Those who arrive, survive. Terminus.' I looked at the sign and saw that all the tracks met at the same place in the middle.

"You seen this before?" I asked Joe. Maybe the others could be there. If they're alive that is.

"Oh yeah. I'll tell you what it is. It's a lie. Ain't no sanctuary for all. You think there gonna welcome guys like you and me with open arms." Joe shook his head.

"So is that where we're headed?" I asked. Hoping that if we get there it might be a starting point for me to go and find Lily.

"So now you're asking." Joe smiled.

I nodded. "That's right."

"We were in a house. Mindin our own business and this walking piece of fecal matter was hiding in the home. Strangled our colleague Lou and left him to turn. Lou came at all us. He let out. We tracked him to these tracks. One of those signs and that's where we got our destination." Joe shook his head at the person managing to get away.

"You see his face?" I asked.

"Only Tony. That's enough for a reckoning." Joe pointed.

I looked up at Tony and he was looking at something in the ground. From the looks of it, it was a beetroot. "Claimed." I spoke out and picked it out of the ground. It didn't seem right when I said it but as long as I'm with this group I could at least respect their rules.

Joe looked at me and nodded his head. I looked down at the beetroot and started to remove the dirt as there was a big cat wrapper stuck between the tracks.

As long as I stay with this group for a while it will give me a better chance of finding Lily.