❝ You're caught in my crosshairs again. ❞
In which a Navy SEAL,
a doomsday prepper,
and an extroverted
12-year-old find life in the
apocalypse alongside a
group of...
𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐒. chapter forty-nine; Parental Authority " The thing about kids, Dixon. . . you're gonna have to break their heart a million times to keep them safe. "
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IT WAS SO quiet. Uneasily quiet. The only sounds left in the forest this late were the occasional leaves brushing together, and an animal scurry or chirp. No walkers. No people. No gunfire or voices.
Vex had only insisted she keep watch for this. For the silence.
Feeling the loneliness clawing at her chest was fine here. On the front steps in the dark.
Feeling it when she was inside, surrounded by people she knew and cared for was brutal.
She was lost in thought, staring out into the dark trees, her nail running in the scratches on her rifle.
Vex was brought to attention when a twig snapped loudly, announcing a presence.
She stood, lifting her rifle, peering through the same scope that had framed threats to her country.
Now those familiar crosshairs were pointing to a man she knew. Despite the distortion of color and the leaves still in front of half his face.
She knew it was him from the way he walked, from the outline of his shoulders. Vex knew it was Daryl by the crossbow hanging in his hand, by the vest on his frame, from the slightest movement in his face.
And the second he emerged from the thick forest, he knew it was her pointing her rifle at him in the dark.
"You're caught in my crosshairs again."
"You just like lookin' at me."
Vex lowered her gun, looking at him without a filter this time.
He was there. Returning to her, like perhaps he always would. He looked tired, a little less full of life than he had become, but Vex noted the way he looked at her.
Like he finally found the thing he was searching for, like despite it all he had a little bit more comfort now.
It took her seconds before she let go of the rifle, letting it hang at her side as she ran to him. She swore she saw his lips tug upward as she collided with him, her arms wrapping around him tightly.
Daryl didn't hesitate to lift his own around her waist, holding her in a tight hug.
"You coulda left a damn note," She grumbled, but her voice was tight with emotion.
"Didn't have time," Daryl breathed.
Vex scoffed, pulling away but leaving her hands on his shoulders. The woman looked him over for injuries, before meeting his gaze again.
