bullseye ➵ daryl dixon

s e v e n t e e n - care

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN | c a r e
14/06/19

She wasn't actually awake, though her mind was racing. It thought and it imagined and it dreamed, dancing around ideas and writing stories as she lay there on the soft ground that cool spring morning. Her fingers grasped at the bright green blades of grass underneath her, twisting them and just feeling nature as she slowly began to wake up. The girl's body wasn't quite up yet, though; she didn't know the last time she had been able to sleep comfortably and safely, so having this one peaceful night, should it even be her last, was enough to lull her into a deep rest that nothing and no one could shake her from.

To add to the tranquility of the day, a bird chirped out cheerfully in an otherwise quiet world; it wasn't often that something so beautifully alive consumed the sound waves in the air rather than the rotting, revolting cacophony of the dead. Her mind honed in on the sound, treasuring its musical genius and sweet notes. She wished she could listen to it all day.

Around her, almost a dozen other people were enjoying the same gift of a morning. Only two men were actually awake, and for different reasons. One of them, the dark-haired, bearded father paced around the perimeter of the oasis-like field as he surveyed and verified its potentially misleading image of safety. He hadn't slept. The previous night, it had taken hours for his pregnant wife to convince him to simply lay down, and he was up again the second her breathing slowed.

The other, wearing a sleeveless shirt that was simply a flannel shirt with the sleeves ripped off, stared out into the wilderness keeping watch. The forest, where they had spent their previous eight months, was his turf. Inside of a fence, he felt caged. He felt as though he didn't belong. The only thing keeping him there was the slight sense of duty he felt to the people sleeping behind him, as well as the subtle hint that perhaps they actually cared about him. He didn't know much about that, though; he wasn't one for connecting with others emotionally.

The peaceful time was coming to an end, though; Rick was set on pushing the previous day's success even further by expanding their lands. Today, they would tackle the courtyard and perhaps even part of the prison itself, the field not being a suitable living area on its own.

Adira understood. With Lori due any day now, a field would not muffle the cries and whines of a little human who knew no better. She still didn't want to let go of the morning, though; it was sufficient for now, and she didn't see the point of rushing through the lazy, blissful feeling she had at the moment.

But she had to. She could hear the others getting up, feet tip-toeing and voices softly murmuring as they allowed the girl to sleep in. No one could deny how peaceful she looked, quite the opposite of her normal state of demons plaguing her mind. She knew it wasn't long before they were to be fighting again.

The sudden clang of metal startled her though, and her newly opened eyes betrayed her awakeness before she was able to pretend to continue sleeping. She sighed and stood up, stretching and wincing as countless nights of sleeping on the ground took their toll on her tired body. The group was all gathered by the gate to the courtyard, so she walked over there as well.

They discussed the plan for a few minutes, walkers in prisoner uniforms groaning just feet away from them and clutching at the metal fence, desperate for their next meal. Adira wasn't originally meant to be apart of the group that would go in fighting due to that same cut on her arm, but she argued that they needed all the hands they could get to ensure that the circle remained tight and that they could handle as many walkers as possible.

"Ready?" asked Hershel, right next to the gate alongside Rick. Without anyone responding, Rick opened the gate, and the circle carefully stepped into the courtyard, weapons up and ready to be used. They fought their way further in, beheading and slashing and cutting walkers as they went. The rest of the group stood at the fence, rattling its chain links and shouting in an attempt to draw some of the walkers' attention towards them. Any monsters that stumbled over soon ended up on the ground with a large hole in their head made by the pipes the rest of the group was stabbing through the fence.