Greek Tragedy | Daryl Dixon

Chapter 14 | I Trusted Them

It had been a couple of weeks since the farm fell and the air was getting noticeably crisp in the mornings. Cassandra had started wearing long shirts under her coat and even Daryl had started wearing actual sleeves. Following Rick's startling speech around the campfire, the group had been constantly on the move, never staying anywhere more than a few nights lest the herd that tore down their sanctuary catch up with them. People were getting tired, Cassandra was getting tired, and it showed in every one of their faces. Despite their fatigue, the group was doing relatively well for themselves; they had been scavenging enough to stay afloat, even healthy. But winter was approaching fast if the golden mosaic of leaves that now covered the forest floors was anything to go by. 

This morning the group was camped out in a place that looked to be an old stable abandoned long before the end of the world as they knew it. I was serving well enough as shelter for now but was not nearly substantial enough to keep them through the winter. 

Cassandra sat on an oak tree stump behind the stable sharpening her ax with a whetstone as the crows cawed around her a morning breeze whipped up the scent of wet leaves and pine. Her cheeks were pink from the bite of cold and her fingers were going numb, yet she kept working and ignored almost everyone around her. She had barely spoken to anyone in the weeks succeeding her finding them again. Then again, barely anyone had tried to speak to her anyway. Mostly they seemed to keep their distance like they were still suspicious of her but did not know why.

The girl turned her head abruptly at the sound of soft footfalls behind her, red curls bouncing in the motion. Behind her stood Daryl, crossbow already slung across his back and prepared for a hike into the woods.

"You ready?" the hunter asked gruffly.

Cassandra nodded silently and stood, securing the ax in its place on her hip. She was, once again, fully armed and ready to go. Minus her own crossbow; she still couldn't aim with the thing worth a damn. Much better she brought her recurve bow instead.

Soon the pair were trudging through the soft mulch, thankful the rain that had led them to seek out that old stable had softened the autumn leaves beneath their feet. It made stalking prey much easier. 

Unusually, it was Daryl who broke the silence between them. Well...it was not that unusual these days but before the farm fell, annoying the redneck with conversation during a hunt was certainly Cassandra's job. He was out in front a bit, glancing back at her every couple of minutes to make sure she was still behind him as she guarded his back and kept an eye out for game. 

"Y'know ya gonna have to talk to them again at some point, don't ya?"

The girl just shrugged her shoulders and muttered, "None of them wanna talk to me, don't see why I'd make them." She kicked a soggy piece of wood covered in moss out of her way. 

"That ain't-"

"Yes it is and you know it!" Cass interrupted in a louder voice. Her eyes blazed as they met with Daryl's. Clearly this was a part of her existence that had more effect than anyone realised. "No one feels comfortable around me anymore. No one except you and Rick." She sighed and looked at her feet, wringing the grip of her bow in her hands. "Doesn't matter whether they believe Shane's story or mine, his was what they heard first so they're inclined to take it as truth. Doesn't matter if it fits. I see the way Carol gets tense when I'm around; she takes meat off me like I'm handing her a damn grenade! And Lori pushes Carl behind her whenever I'm around!"

"They'll come around," was all he could say to that. He knew it was true.

"Maybe," Cassandra's shoulders slumped in defeat. "I tried so hard to gain their trust at the farm and all it took for them to turn on me again was someone accusing me of something I didn't do. They held guns in my face and tied me up and wouldn't listen to a word I said. This is the second time that's happened with this group and it... It hurts, okay? I trusted them and," she sighed. "I thought they trusted me too."