Blood Soaked Arrows (On Hold)

(11) The Dream

I dreamt of fire and death. Everything around me was burning to the ground and the sounds of screams filled the air like the thick layer of smoke. Images of the people I held dear flashed in front of me. Dr. Candace Jenner, Adam, ….Sophia. What made those images so horrific was the fact that in each flash their bodies were presented by being mutilated and covered in blood.

In my nightmare I searched for the Geek that had done this to them. I wanted to cut its body up until there was nothing left. I wanted some sort of revenge even though I knew that the monster wouldn’t be able to feel a damn thing. When I looked for it though I couldn’t find it, in fact I couldn’t find any Geeks, there were just puddles of blood soaking into the ground and balls of fire burning off in the distance.

I searched and searched but found nothing until another scream rang through the air. Instantly I spun around in search of where the scream had come from but when I turned I met a pair of cold black eyes. Those eyes held me in a trance not because they had belonged to the Geek that I had been looking for, oh no, they belonged to a much more sadistic living person.

A slow wicked smile crept along his rough features before he jerked something out of me. There was a sickening bloody slice that made my lower lip tremble in horror. I knew what he had done to me without even having to look at it but still I looked down. A dark red stain was consuming my white tank top and right in the center of it was a hole where his knife had made. My shaky cold hands reached up to touch the bleeding hole in my chest and as soon as it touched the warm liquid it became covered in it.

I fell to my knees then with a scream and looked up at the Bryan. He laughed at my pitiful state while he flipped his blood covered knife around in his hand. I realized then that it hadn’t been a Geek that had killed my loved ones, it had been him and the scream that had made me face him…was mine.

As my breathing became labored and filled with more screams of agony he knelt down beside me. Bryan pressed the tip of his knife into my tear stained cheek and pressed until blood was oozing out of it. Only then did he lean forward and whisper into my ear, “I’m commin’ fer ya’.”

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My body snapped into a sitting position as my eyes wondered frantically around my car, looking for Bryan. My chest was heaving out breathes with each moment that passed in fear that he might show himself. When Bryan didn’t appear however I put a hand to my chest and let out a thankful sigh. Thank God, I thought gratefully. Thank God it was only a dream.

My body trembled as a cold breeze blew against my skin and I turned to see my door open. Not remembering why I had left it op I reached over to shut and noticed the dark figure leaning against the outside of my ‘tank’. Fear gripped my throat as I stared at the blob and my body started shaking from something other than the cold. Had Bryan really found me? I thought worriedly and reached into my pocket for my knife. With a quick flip and a gentle click the blade was out and I leaned out of the open door a little to get a better look. The body moved then making me jump back with a pair of wide eyes and half of a scream lodged in my throat. I was about to wildly throw myself forward and plunge the knife into his throat when he spoke.

“What the hell are ya’ all jumpy for?” I froze at the sound of Daryl’s voice and then vaguely recalled that I had asked for him to stay with me before I had passed out.

Feeling mortified that I had almost attacked him I hid the knife in the crack of the seat and sat up. “I didn’t think that ya’ would stay.”

The waxing moon offered very little light this night because of all of the clouds but a small amount managed to sneak through, casting a blue-ish glow to Daryl’s features as he notched his head up to look at me. His blue eyes sparkled with the heavenly glow making them even more breathtakingly beautiful. My heart was going crazy inside of my chest as I stared into those eyes and my throat felt tight.

His southern drawl was as tempting as warm honey when he huskily whispered, “Said I would.”

My chest grew tight with a warm liquid that slowly slid into the pit of my stomach. My eyes drifted from his gorgeous blue eyes, to the chiseled sides of his jaw and finally down to perfectly formed lips. I don’t know why but suddenly I had this overwhelming desire to touch them. Knowing that it was strange for me to even think of such a thing I moved my hands underneath my upper thigh to help subdue my temptation.

“A little chilly outside don’t ya think?” I pried my eyes away from his lips and looked back into his eyes. “Ya’ could have come in here if ya’ wanted to.” I gestured to the empty space besides me.

Daryl gave a shrug of his shoulders before turning his attention to the far off campsite. “Always preferred sleeping outside, besides… ” He picked himself up off of the ground and slung the strap of his cross bow over his shoulder. “Cold breeze kept me alert.”

“I see.” I said feeling a little more warmth sink into my chest. Knowing that he had been awake this whole time kept watch over me made me feel…cared for. A sense of caring for him filled me as well as I watched him slowly moving away towards the camp, suddenly I had this need spill out what was on my mind. “I want to go to Fort Benning.”

Daryl stopped instantly and looked over his shoulder at me, a frown forming on his face. “What?”

I slid out of my car and pulled my jacket tightly around my body to try and protect it from the cold. “I need to see if Adam is really dead.”

He face me fully now and but didn’t budge from his spot. “Rick said that it was gone Evie.”

“No,” I countered. “It was folks from Bryan’s group that said that. It’s not that unlikely that those men couldn’t have lied ya’ know and even if they did happen to be telling the truth there is still a chance that he’s…..He could still be alive.”

Daryl was already shaking his head. “I understand your need to see if your brother is really dead, I get it better than anyone else could but putting yourself in danger on just a chance. That’s not right.”

“He’s still alive.” I cried tightening my grip on my jacket. “I know he is.”

“Rick’s not gonna let ya’ leave and the group’s not going to want to leave this safe haven.”

“I can leave if want to. I ain’t a part of this damn group and Rick can’t stop me.” I spat.

Daryl’s eyes hardened into a glare as he took a few steps towards me. He stopped inches away from me and leaned his face in closer. I kept my head held high as I sneered into his threatening glare. “Rick might not be able to stop ya’ but I sure as hell can.”

I scoffed. “No ya’ can’t Daryl.”

Something fierce simmered behind his cold gaze and I saw the twitch in his jaw as he took a slight step back. “Try.”

I looked at the small gap he made between us and felt a little bit of my anger disappear. Given the fact that I had been trained all of my life in combat I knew that I could get away from him without any problems but a strange feeling held me back. I didn’t want to fight with Daryl and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to deal with being alone again. No matter how tough and well trained I was I didn’t want to go back out into this hell by myself, so maybe it was best to wait…at least for now.

With an aggravated sigh I ran my hand through my dirty hair and turned away from him. “I’ll stay for now Daryl, but ya’ all can’t keep me here forever.”

I had managed to hop back into my ‘tank’ and get comfortable before Daryl responded. “We’ll see.” He scoffed and then walked back to camp.

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