Iridescence

Living For the Ones You Couldn't Help

Mia hadn't slept through the night, that much was clear. She knew right from the beginning that she wouldn't. So, close to sun-up, she unzipped her tent and gathered her things. Then grabbing a hold of her knife, she carved a message into the ground to notify daryl of her where abouts. Mia was going hunting.

This morning, her body was sore, worn down, and tired. Bruises from all her past tussle were by now clear as day. But pulling the long sleeve black shirt down to her wrists, she was able to hide each one successfully. Her wardrobe hadn't changed much since she got here. But with the temperatures slowly dropping, Mia was happy to replace her hooded vest for the warmth.

With each step her backpack bounced silently. It was the natural feeling being engulfed in the woods again, except this time it was different. There was no goal at hand, no destination she had to reach. Scotty was gone. Now, she was simply in the woods for herself.

The morning was her favorite time of day. It's when things were calm, the world just barely lit around her. Every now and again you could catch the sound of a calling bird or animal. It seemed to be something that had gone untouched. The woods was a place that she could go to feel safe.

Catching a figure in the left corner of her sight, Mia rose her bow and drew aiming to the rabbit hopping away. Upon instinct, she released the arrow and the small grey animal was pinned to the forest floor with ease. Sure she felt bad for killing like this, but it was how she could live too. There was no denying this was a dog eat dog world now. Mia was willing to do whatever it took to live because it wasn't just for her anymore. Mia understood that she had to live for the ones who have fallen. She had to live for her mom, she had to live for her dad. Mia had to live for the ones that she couldn't help. Mia had to live for Scotty.

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Daryl approached the house with Mia's arrow in hand. He was relieved to know she was in the woods when he found her missing from the site. But deep down, he wished she would have slept in. It wasn't like him to care for others the way he cared for the girl. But he saw so much in her that resembled him no matter how bad she tried to hide it.

"What's that?" Rick asked as he approached the deck.

Shrugging it away, daryl looked to the officer. "Kid went out Hunting. Now what we gonna do with the one in the barn?"

"I was just heading out to find you."

"Why me?"

"I need you to interrogate him. Find out who he's with, how many there are, if they're a threat. After well have a meeting and vote on what we want to do with him."

"Say no more." Daryl nodded and headed towards the barn.

"But daryl." Rick interjected.

Upon hearing his voice, the redneck looked over his shoulder. There, their eyes met and Rick's stare was stern. "Keep it quiet, okay?"

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Daryl stood over the teenage boy an girly. This wasn't exactly what the others made him out to be. "Ya know, sometimes ya gotta treat a scab like a band aid." He knelt down pushing his knife into the kids crusted over knee. "And just rip it off."

"No no please!" He pleaded.

"How many of ya are there?" Daryl crouched before him staring violently.

"About 40. There's close to 40."

"And where are ya at?"

The kid shook his head. "I don't know man I don't know!"

"What do ya Mean ya don't know?!?"

"They move! Never stay in a certain spot."

Seeing the panicked expression wash across the boy, daryl took a breath and stepped back. "They got weaponry?"

"Guns, knives, everything you do. Just more. They'll win."

Daryl used his pant leg to clean off the blood on his knife. Then, stabbing it into the nearby wood block, he crouched before the boy. "You wanna say that again?"

"I was never a part of it."

"Part of what?"

"They're all men. We used to have woman and children like you, but the men found them weak. Kids would sick up the supplies without giving back. They cut them loose... but when they come for me, when they find you, they won't give you that option." The boys stare turned dark. "They'll kill you one by one, have their way with the women, make you watch. Just like that dad in the woods."

"What?"

"It was a nice family... dad, two daughters, real pretty. They made him watch..."

"You son of a bitch!"

"It didn't touch them I swear!"

"Forget it kid. I know who you are."

Rising to his feet, daryl ignored the pleas as he exited the barn. The kids fate was already decided in his head.

Once outside, he took in the fresh air and the empty farm before him. Rick was waiting inside already, the others wanting to hear the verdict as well. Suddenly, a soft feeling warmed his hand. In silence, he didn't even hear Mia approach. She had wrapped her hand in his catching him completely off guard. Quickly though, he calmed himself recognizing it was her.

With the look on her face, daryl knew she heard most of it. And when she enveloped her hand in his, the fact that she backed him up was clear as well. There was no separating them anymore. In that moment, daryl finally accepted that he gained more than just a friend through this shit hole of a world. Daryl gained a shadow.