Different Worlds |Daryl Dixon Fan Fiction- The Walking Dead|

Fifteen: Fresh Meat

               "Wake up. Grace? You gotta get up." Someone was shaking me, causing me to shoot upwards. My forehead smashed into something, causing my eyes to blur up when I tried to look around. "You could smash in a Walker's head in with that thing." A voice grumbled.
My eyes started to clear up, leaving me with a huge headache. I cursed, knowing that was really bad for my concussion. "Sorry." I sighed, finally able to make out Daryl. By the looks of it, my head had been in his lap all night. "I fell asleep? Did anything happen?" I asked, looking around to see that it was dawn.
"No, it was quiet. Surprised your snores didn't attract any, though." Daryl smirked at me, and I made a face while mock laughing at his joke. I whipped the blanket off of me and looked down at what I was wearing.
"I should go inside, so nobody realizes I wasn't in bed." I sighed, grabbing my things. Daryl reached out and gripped my arm to stop me.
"You don't want people to know?" He asked, looking slightly put off. I shook my head, a small smile creeping onto my face. I tried to hide it, though, knowing it'd only make him even more angry.
"My concussion, Mom'll go crazy." I reminded him. He nodded in agreement, letting me go. I threw the blanket over his shoulders, only now realizing how chilly the morning dew was. I also tossed a few of the remaining snack bars into his lap, grabbing two for myself. "I'll see you in an hour or two." I said as I left the roof. I went down the stairs and ladder, my boots getting a bit wet in the damp grass. It hadn't rained last night, or I would've been soaked, so all of this was just precipitation. I quietly made my way up to my room, nobody else was awake yet. I crawled into bed, kicking off my boots. I assumed I could squeeze in an hour or so of sleep in, so I quickly curled up and let myself fall back into the depths of sleep.

When I next awoke, it was to my name being repeated softly by a familiar voice. Instead of sitting upright in fear of hitting my head once more, I peaked open my eyes slowly to reveal my mother and Carol looking expectantly at me. "Good morning, hon, how do you feel?" Mom said softly as I sat up slowly.
"Better." I admitted. Even though Daryl and I had knocked heads, I felt measurably more attentive and awake.
"Carol's just gonna check you over, see if there's any changes." Mom smiled, stepping back by the wall as Carol looked at my eyes and asked me a few questions.
"You could've used a bit more sleep, but I can't blame you for being a bit restless. I know it was your turn to sit watch, but Daryl really didn't mind, and he wouldn't have let anyone else do the job." Carol concluded. Something told me she knew I'd tried to get Daryl to go inside and sleep last night, but I didn't say anything since Mom was watching me carefully.
"Yeah, I couldn't sleep for a while, I almost went outside to try and relieve him. But, I did end up going to sleep." I lied, and mom seemed to believe me because of the look she was giving me.
"You seem a lot better, so if you want you can do something today instead of relaxing. I don't suggest using guns, just because of the kick-back and sound, so unless you think you can really use that," She motioned to the bow on the floor. "I don't suggest going far from the house." I nodded, knowing she wasn't questioning my skills, but more warning me that it'd just be best to stay out of trouble.
"Thanks." I smiled as Carol got to her feet. She nodded before walking out, my mother following her and closing the door. I bounced out of bed, rummaging through my box of clothes Mom had put together. I picked out a simple with a grey v-neck t shirt, blue jeans, and my brown boots. I also grabbed my camouflage cowboy hat my mom had dug out of my old room, along with my camouflage hunting jacket my father had bought me when I started to go with him.
If I couldn't use a gun, there was something I could do that would benefit the group and didn't require one. I grabbed my bow and quiver, shoving my hunting knife into my boot. As I walked out of the door I also took my old canvas bag and draped that over my shoulder, too. It must've been obvious what I was going out to do, because while I ate breakfast, Carl started hounding me with questions.
"Have you hunted before?" He asked as we ate.
"Yeah, used to go all the time with Keith." I said, munching on my eggs.
"Daryl used to all the time while we were in the prison, he'd bring back a lot of stuff and everyone really loved him." I smiled, imagining a boy praising Daryl like a superstar and how awkward Daryl would have acted. I shook my head, trying to stop myself from laughing.
"Well, if he ever wants to come with me, he's more than welcome." I shrugged. I'd heard he was also a good tracker, and that was a big aspect of hunting.
"I'll grab my stuff." Daryl grunted, and I turned to see him lingering in the doorway.
"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" I asked, casting him a concerned glare.
"I feel more awake than ever." He chuckled as he filled up a plate and joined us. It was surprising how he didn't even show a sign of exhaustion except for the small bags under his eyes.
"Are you sure? I'm surprised your not falling asleep while standing up." Daryl looked up at me with a shrug. It had to be unhealthy to be able to function the way he did without any sleep.
"Can I come with you?" Carl asked, holding out both of his hands and letting Barnie and Mattie each nibble the bacon from them. The two dogs were back on their feet and more determined then ever, following Carl around as if they'd been given the task of babysitting him.
"Not this time, bud. I need a chance to look around, see what's out there. It's been a while. Plus, it'd be better to teach you a few things first, but I just don't have the time this morning. When I get back, though, we'll talk." I smiled as he nodded. He seemed satisfied with my answer and set off to collect plates, since it was his turn to wash the dishes. Daryl finished up with me and I took his plate to put it into the sink.
"Let's go-" I shook my head, turning his body towards the stairs.
"No, you're going upstairs. You can even sleep in my bed." I gave him a push before walking out of the front door to find Rick. He was standing by the garden with Judith, watching as Maggie helped my mom plant a few seeds.
"Hey." Rick smiled as I stood next to him. I smiled down at Judith, earning a cheeky one back.
"I'm going hunting, I should be back in a bit. Just let them know when they're done." I motioned at my mother, gardening, and my dad who was busy with the cattle. He gave me a nod and I walked off towards the trees. As I got to them, I heard footsteps pounding towards me. I turned to see Daryl as he slowed to a stop next to me.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, looking him up and down. It was a chilly day, yet he still wore his usual vest and long sleeved shirt.
"I want to look around, too. Besides, how am I supposed to know if you can really hunt." He eyed me, causing me to laugh.
"I take that as a challenge." I put my hands on my hips, raising my brows. Daryl smirked before walking in through the trees, pushing aside the damp leaves.
"What kind o' challenge?" He whispered back as we got farther into the forest.
"The kind where whoever wins shot the best prey." I responded, looking around through the branches.
"Fine." Was all he said, and we continued on without a word. Soon enough, I spotted a wild turkey all by itself. I quietly loaded my bow and drew the string back, releasing the clutch as I lined up the shot. With a thud, the arrow lodged into the bird's head. I hopped over the log and picked up my catch, examining it. I felt it's body, checking for any sign of injury. To my relief, it didn't have a single bite or scratch. I attached it to my bag and set off again.
To my left I watched as a flock of birds exploded from a bush, a couple falling from the sky. I could have sworn I saw arrows in their bodies, but I didn't want to waste time to see. I continued on, trying my best to avoid stepping on dead leaves and fallen branches. I spotted another wild turkey, and couldn't believe my luck.This one was running around in circles, clearly disheveled. Daryl crept up next to me as I shot it in it's side, weakening it to a stop. I retrieved it as he watched. I examined this one like the other, but to my dismay, I spotted a large bite on it's wing, explaining why it had been running around so frantically. It wriggled in my grasp and I got my knife from my boot, putting it out of it's misery and tossing it into the brush.
"A shame." Daryl scoffed, walking off in an unknown direction. He had a few squirrels and birds hanging from his belt and they all had a clean shot to the face. I had to admit I was impressed, but didn't tell him, walking off in the other direction. On my way through the trees, I managed to shoot a hare and two birds, shoving them into my bag. They weren't hit as clean as Daryl's but I was impressed at how well I remembered the area and the best spots for prey.
I circled back, finding a surprising sight. Daryl was hidden behind a tree, peaking past it, his crossbow lowered. I looked, too, seeing a buck grazing in the clearing. Without a sound, I pulled out and arrow and aimed right above Daryl's head. While he began to load his crossbow, I gripped the release and sent the arrow flying, hitting the buck clean in the heart. Daryl jumped, spinning around to glare at me.
"That was mine." He growled, walking over to the dead buck.
"Does it really matter?" I sighed, looking over the great catch. He shrugged with a small smile, looking up at me.
"I guess you win." He chuckled, bending down to retrieve my arrow, sliding it back into my quiver after cleaning it with his red rag.
"What?"
"You shot the best one, it's all yours."
"I'll give you credit for tracking it." I smiled, helping him to tie it's legs together and watched as he took hold of the rope and put it on it's antlers. I grabbed one end and he grabbed the other as we dragged it back to the house. The amount of noise we were making, plus the trail of blood, made me a bit uneasy.
I could just see the edge of the trees when a moan sounded from behind us. I dropped the rope and pulled out an arrow, raising my loaded bow. A Walker shuffled out of the trees and I quickly shot it, Daryl shooting another. I turned to see another approaching me, and I pulled out my knife, stabbing it in the eye and twisting before tugging it out.
"We better hurry." I huffed, grabbing my end of the rope. Daryl grabbed it from my hands, along with his own side.
"You watch while I pull." He said, easily pulling the buck along. I rolled my eyes, why had he made me pull so much of the weight if he could do it easily? "Pay back." He chuckled, reading my mind. I stuck my tongue out at him before retrieving our arrows. I put his crossbow bolt in his quiver before taking one of my arrows and placing it on my bow, just to be ready.
We had no other run ins, safely making it back to the house. However, I was worried about the blood-trail, and asked Glenn to go wash it away with some water so we didn't attract any Walkers. He did willingly while Daryl and I set up behind the barn to pluck and skin our kills. Word got out about our buck, and plenty of people came to check it out. However, they didn't stay, since there was plenty of naked animals laying around.
"We make a good team." I commented as Daryl and I stored the cleaned meat in the freezer.
"We do." Daryl smiled, wrapping an arm around my shoulder as we walked out of the house and onto the porch. We sat down on the bench, and I couldn't help but smile with relief as I saw Daryl finally relax.