I stood on the outskirts of Hershel's farm, a little ways in from the treeline. My knife hung loosely in my hand as I stared down the tree right in front of me. How the hell was I going to stand a chance against walkers when I couldn't even stab a damned tree?
"You ain't doin it right." Darryl grunted from behind me, making me jump slightly. I rolled my eyes, only for my face to fall as we watched the knife that I had just thrown, bounce off the tree and land with a thud on the ground.
"Damnit Dixon, if you're so sure then show me how it's done." I said with a huff before crossing my arms over my chest and turning to face him.
"Aight." He shrugged as he walked over to pick up my knife before moving away from the tree to stand beside me.
"Also, don't sneak up on me. I coulda hurt you."
"Not with that aim." A small smirk appeared on his face and I could feel my blood begin to boil. Fucking smartass.
"You gotta hold the blade." He continued to look me in the eye before swiftly throwing the knife at the tree, jamming it deep within the bark.
"You didn't even look!" I whined. I had been throwing that damn knife at the tree for almost an hour and I hadn't stuck it in once.
"It ain't hard y/n." He forcefully pulled the knife from the tree and held it out to me.
"Easy for you to say." I mumbled as I gripped the blade, my patience officially running out as it fell to the ground yet again. In defeat, I let out a growl and angrily kicked a small pile of leaves. "You know what, I'm done." I didn't even look at him before I stomped off deeper into the forest. Yeah, alright, storming off maybe wasn't the most mature thing to do, but I'm hungry and tired and annoyed as hell and I really didn't want to end up taking it out on Daryl.
I walked aimlessly through the forest, mumbling obscenities before suddenly stopping in my tracks. My eyes widened and I froze, just staring at the two walkers infront of me. I managed to get my feet to move and I ducked behind a tree as quietly as possible.
I quickly ran my hands through my hair before reaching for my knife, only to physically feel the blood drain from my face as I pictured it lying on the ground beside that stupid fucking tree. Shit.
I peeked around the side of the tree and the walkers were moving closer. Great. I debated making a run for it but I didn't want to lead them back to the farm. I had to kill them, so in an attempt to defend myself, I picked up a large stick and stepped out from behind the tree.
With all the force I could muster, I rammed the stick through the decaying eyesocket of the walker closest to me. It went limp and fell to the ground with a thud, promptly alerting the other walker of my presence. It let out a loud growl and I just stared as it stumbled towards me, my hands gripping the stick as I tried to yank it from the dead ones skull.
I took my eyes from the walker for one second and pressed my foot to the middle of the other's neck to try and give myself some leverage. The stick started to move, but it was too late. Just as I was about to fully pull it loose, I felt the walker grab onto my arm.
I let go of the stick completely and attempted to wrestle with the walker, who proceeded to launch itself forward, causing me to stumble to the ground.
"Son of a bitch!" It was on top of me now and I pressed my hands to it's jaw, focused solely on not letting it bite me. However, my arms quickly began to burn as I struggled beneath it. This was no way to die.
Suddenly, and just as my arms were about to give way, an arrow came flying through the undergrowth and impaled it through the back of the head. I just lay on the ground, shock overtaking my body as Daryl kicked its limp body off of me.
"You alright?" He asked as he gave me a hand and pulled me to my feet. I didn't answer him, instead I just stepped forward and wrapped both of my arms around his neck.
"Thank you." I whispered.
The sun had began to set and once we had returned to camp, I didn't speak to anyone. I just wanted to sleep. I made a b-line for my tent and crawled inside.
Hell, I hadn't slept in two days and I really needed it, but I just couldn't get that damn walker's face out of my head. Every time I closed my eyes I just invisioned it biting me. I could feel tears well in my eyes as I thought about how stupid I was. I could have so easily died today.
"Y/n, you in there?" Daryl's gruff voice called from outside, dragging me from my thoughts.
"Yeah." I said quietly.
After a moment or two of silence, he slowly unzipped the tent and crawled inside.
"Here." He sat beside me and pulled out my knife.
"Thanks." I slowly took it from him and set it to the side.
"I'll teach ya tomorrow if you want."
I continued to stare at the knife before nodding. "I promise I won't storm off this time." I said with a small smile.
"Better not, you ain't easy to track."
I looked over to him and for some reason, the small smile that was visible on his face made me start to cry. "I was so goddamned stupid Daryl. If you hadn'ta got there when you did then I'd probably be..." I couldn't finish my sentence. I brought my hands up and pressed them against my face, trying to stop the tears. Daryl was completelg silent, which made me feel even more embarrassed then I already did.
Suddenly I felt his arm wrap around my shoulders and pull me towards him. I held onto his arm and rested my head against his chest. "Please don't leave me. Just not for tonight."
"I ain't never gonna leave ya." He whispered, before placing a small kiss on top of my head.
