OKAY the new cover though. Also I just got two ducks. Idk why. But their names are Sam and Dean lol.
———
Seven's POV
I wait outside the shed that Hershel basically said was Randal's prison. Daryl is inside 'interrogating' him, while I wait outside. There is a crack big enough for me to squirm through incase Daryl needs me for anything but it's a tight fit.
I hear punch after punch while the kid continues to whimper. Daryl's not even asking questions part of the time. "I told you—" Randall weakly says before getting cut off
"You told me shit!" Daryl seethes. I hear a thump on the wall right after, indicating to me that Daryl might've slammed him against a wall.
"I barely knew those guys. I met 'em on the road." Randal pleads between sobs. There is a one foot by one foot hole in part of the shed, small enough so no human could get through nor a walker. Unless that walker was torn to bits. But it was barely big enough for me to squeeze through.
"How many in your group?" Daryl spits. I get into a sort of doggy army crawl and start to wiggle my way through the hole. I can only see Daryl from where I am, the stacked hale bales covering my view of Randal.
I watch as Daryl unsheathes his knife, "Uh, no no no no no no no no. Come on, man." I only have the front of my shoulder through the hole, while I continue my wiggle.
Daryl crouches forward, I hear the slam of a knife on wood and then a yelp from the kid. "How many?!" Daryl yells.
"Uh, thirty. Thirty. Thirty guys." The kid rushes out, fearing for his life. My shoulders are about half way through and I'm starting to get hot from the confine space. Some of my fur is getting ripped out while I make this tight squeeze.
"Where?" Daryl sternly says. If this kid knew any better he'd better give all the details before he loses an eye.
"Uh.." Randal screeches in pain, probably from the sound of tape tearing off of skin, "I don't know. I swear. We were never anyplace more than a night!" He shouts through gritted teeth.
"Scouting? Planning on staying local?" Daryl says in his 'interrogation' voice. I finally get my shoulder through, earning my self a triumphal snort.
"I— I don't know. They— they left me behind." Randal stutters.
"Did you ever pick off a scab?" Daryl starts while the kid pleas, "Start real slow at first. Sooner or later, you've just gotta rip it off." He finishes his threat, knowing Daryl he doesn't take threats lightly.
Randal quickly stammers out and answer, "They have weapons— heavy stuff, automatics. But I didn't do anything!"
"Your boys shot at my boys, tried to take this farm. You just went along for the ride? You're trying to tell me you're innocent?" Daryl growls out. I'm stuck.. are you shitting me?! I try to pull, twist, and push but I was stuck.
"Yes!" Randal yells, in a confident manner uncharacteristic to his stuttering and nervousness. "These— these people took me in. Not just guys— a whole group of 'em. Men and women, kids too— just like you people. Thought I'd have a better chance with them, you know? But, we got out, scavenge— just the men. One night we— we found this little campsite. A man and his two daughters— teenagers, you know? Real young. Real cute."
I sit in my dilemma, not like I have a choice, but I am finally able to see Daryl since he took a step back. We both know what he's hinting at, Daryl's face is blank, to my surprise. I figured he would've snapped more than he already had.
"Their daddy had to watch while these guys— they— and they didn't even kill him afterwards. They just— they just mad him watch as his daughters— they just-just— just left him there." Daryl faces slowly screws to anger. This kid is an idiot. Why tha' hell, would you tell us that if you were trying to live?
An idea suddenly popped into my head. I start to scratch at the dirt in an attempt to get more space for myself. "No, but-but— but I didn't touch those girls. No, I swear I didn't to—"
Before he continues Daryl lunges forward again out of my view. While the kid pleas Daryl continues to beat him. What tha' hell crawled up his ass and died?
Daryl eventually stops. His fists have blood dripping from them , some of it Randals and some of it his. Daryl is out of breath while Randal was beat until he was unconscious. He stands away from Randal, pulling out a black bandana from his back pocket to wipe his hands mostly clean.
He turns and walks out of the shed, passing me not seeming to notice. Damn it. If i get his attention then i'm askin' for help, it would've been better if he jus' found me. I hear his footsteps start to fade but before they are too far I bark loudly.
Soon the footsteps are coming behind me. "Really?" I can almost hear his damn amusement. I grunt, to me meaning Shut up. He starts to chuckle. He's actually laughing at me. I start to try and wiggle my way out to show him that I need help. "Alright, alright." I feel him grab my back legs, "You're gonna have to Hole In The Wall this shit, alright?" I compress my body as small as I can, "Alright, one..two...." Before he finishes he yanks me out of the predicament Id gotten myself into.
I instantly turn around with a glare on my face, knowing that he'd be grinning, which he was. I nudge his side and start off towards the direction of our group, him following after me.
We walk up together by the time we get there, his crossbow strapped to his back. "Boy there's got a gang, thirty men. They have heavy artillery and they ain't looking to make friends. They roll through here, our boys are dead. And our women, they're gonna— they're gonna wish they were."
"What did you do?" Carol asks. She cares.
Daryl glances down to his bloodied hand, "Had a little chat." He shuffles before moving away from the 'spotlight' myself following.
"No one goes near this guy." Rick announcers before we walk out of ear shot.
—
I lay by a pile of logs and arrows while Daryl continues to make more and fix any he doesn't deem worthy of a shot. My tongue is flipped out of my mouth while I pant and scan the surroundings. I don't move or alert Daryl that Dale is walking this way but he ends up noticing me staring at him while he walks over to us. Daryl scoffs, "The whole point of me coming up here is to get away from you people."
"Gone take more than that." Dale says finally making it to his destination. He has his rifle strapped to his back, but holds the butt of the gun in one hand.
"Carol send you?" Daryl asks, still not looking at the old man. What tha' hell is going on between Daryl and Carol? What am I missing??
"Carol's not the only one that's concerned about you, your new role in the group." Dale says propping his right leg on a log. Since when do you care? You're only here cause you need somethin'.
"Oh man, I don't need my head shrunk. This group's broken. I'm better off fending for myself." Daryl says while reaching over to grab his vest. Touché. Rick and Shane are at each other's throats and Lori is banging them both. Andrea has been a bitch, sorry, more bitchy than usual now that Amy died. Dale is trying to father the teenager-like adult. Glenn is trying to bang the daughter of the man who is letting us stay on this farm. Carol just recently lost her daughter. T-dog is chill though.
"You act like you don't care." Dale says, surprise in his voice. Why should we?
"Yeah, it's 'cause I don't." He shrugs out his vest before putting it on.
"So live or die, you don't care what happens to Randal?" Like I said, why should we care?
"Nope."
"Then why not stand with me, try to save the kid's life, if it really doesn't matter one way or the other?" I stand up and walk over to Daryl, feeling my anger start to rise. Why should we put in any effort for something we don't give two shits about?
"Didn't beg you for a desperate son of a bitch."
"Your opinion makes a difference." What is this? Congress? We votin' for some damn president?
"Man, ain't nobody looking at me for nothing, except for Seven and that's it." He leans down and grabs his crossbow. Please, tell me we're goin' huntin'.
"Carol is, and I am. Right now. And you obviously— you have Rick's ear." Daryl starts to walk in the direction of the forest. Why is Carol always bein' brought up? Someone explain this shit to me.. are they gettin' cuddly? And since when does Rick go to Daryl about shit?
"Rick just looks to Shane. Let him."
"You cared about what happened to Sofia," Daryl and I stop in our tracks away from the desperate man. Man, you don't know shit! "Cared what it meant for the group." I was how stiff and when I look up to Daryl I can see his jaw is now clenched and he is biting the inside of his lip. "Torturing people? That isn't you. You're a decent man. So is Rick. Shane— he's different." You acting like you know who he is, is bullshit.
"Why's that? 'Cause he killed Otis?" So you did know? Glad I wasn't the only one who picked up on that.
"He tell you that?" Dale says, his mood instantly changing to a more grim mood. His mouth is slightly agape as he walks closer.
"He told some story— how Otis covered him, saved his ass. He showed up with the dead guy's gun. Rick ain't stupid. If he didn't figure that out, it's 'cause he didn't wanna. It's like I said— group's broken." And with that, Daryl turns and continues his trek towards and into the woods with me to follow.
—
After hunting and stringing our game up, we head to the house to discuss what we're gonna do with Randal. I go to follow Daryl into the house but am stopped by Hershel writhing five steps of me being in the house. "I would normally be fine with Seven in the house, but he's a filthy right now, so please leave him outside until he's clean." Hershel tells Daryl. I look at myself, seeing my filthy coat and then look up and squint my eyes at Daryl.
Flashback
We'd left our camp and Dale to hunt. Right now we were tracking a rabbit, I follow it's smell close to the creak, it being hard to keep because of the water and mud. The mud coats my paws, something that would be easy to get off. Daryl walks beside me, something he doesn't normally do since he usually walks behind me and lets me lead. I should've known that meant something but I didn't do he pushed me in the damn creak causing me to get way more muddy than just my paws.
I get up and nip at his pant legs while he chuckles at my state. Douchebag.
Present Time
I nip at his pant leg again, and then walk back outside. Bitch.