Starting Over...

-DARYL POV-

Outside the prison in'a woods, the summer heat wasn't as intense. The canopy'a tree branches above my head gave me plenty'a shade... Sure was muggy, though.

My hair stuck to the thin film'a sweat formin' on my forehead, but I just ignored it. There was no point in wipin' it away, it'd only take about 10 seconds for my hair to wind right back up stuck to my damn forehead... I just stopped lettin' it bother me.

I was just thankful all my shirts were tank tops, or else I would'a ripped all the sleeves off'a 'em by now, anyway.

I tried my hardest to keep my footsteps light 'n quiet as I weaved my way through the trees. I was headin' in the direction I'd seen that man 'n girl go off in, 'n I didn't wanna be drawin' any attention to myself; human or walker.

Speakin'a walkers, I hadn't run into a single one yet. Usually, you'd have 10 or 12 right on your heels, quick as you stepped outta your safety zone... if ya had one. But, when I stopped to listen for any warnin' signs, the forrest was quiet.

I could hear a bird chirpin' up in a tree somewhere, 'n the leaves on the branches rustled together when the breeze came through.

Other than that, nothin'. I had to admit, it was a little eerie... I kept my crossbow pointed out in front'a me anyhow, ready to fire on the first thing that crossed me the wrong way.

I was patient, walkin' just a little bit farther in quiet, surveyin'all around me as I went. Finally, I caught my first sight'a walkers since I left the prison yard at least a half hour ago. The walkers ahead had their backs to me..and they were all staggerin' 'n stumblin' toward the same place. I was far back enough for them to not notice me.. except for one, approachin'me from my right side. I glanced over at the livin'corpse; a man, or what used to be, with a buzz cut. Its face was distorted 'n rotted away, but its jaw was still intact, 'n snapped hungrily at me.

I held up my crossbow with just my right arm. When the walker got close enough, I fired at point blank range. The arrow speared the walker, shootin' through its forehead and out the back'a its skull.

The force from the power'a my bow launched the walker backwards about two feet, pinnin' it to a thick tree trunk. I waited a second as the creature squirmed, then fell limp; eyes 'n mouth hangin' open, like its face was frozen in a scream. I walked up to the body 'n firmly gripped my arrow.

"Nice try..." I grumbled at the corpse, then gave the arrow a good, hard yank. "Bastard."

The sharp arrow tip wedged itself free from the tree bark, rippin' through the corpse's skull with the sudden motion. It took pieces'a skin and bone with it, which splattered across my shirt.

With nothin' to hold it up now, the body flopped forward, landin' face down in the grass at my feet. Dark red blood formed in a pool under the walker's face, 'n I felt my face twist into a sneer while I stared down at it 'n reloaded my bow.

Luckily, I hadn't been distracted too long; I could still trail behind the larger group'a walkers all headed in one direction. They were all bein' drawn to somethin' like a magnet... or maybe more like a dinner bell. When walkers were this focused, it only meant one thing: people were near by... 'n I had a pretty good hunch that I knew exactly who those people were.

So, I held my crossbow pointed forward in attack-mode, 'n crept along behind the undead, quietly as I could manage.

Sure enough, the walkers led me about fifty or sixty feet forward to a clearin', where the man 'n girl I'd seen were surrounded.

Thinkin' on my feet, I ducked behind a thick tree trunk to avoid bein' seen by the two strangers. I watched them from a bit of a distance... I wanted to see what they could do.

The walkers went straight at the pair from all sides, and I could clearly see a look of panic on both of their faces. But, they didn't run. They stood their ground, and the girl made the first move.

She surprised me when she whipped out a razor sharp huntin' knife 'n stabbed the first walker straight down through its skull, takin' it out instantly. In a split second, she had the blade torn out of the first walker, flipped the blade in her hand and drove it into a second walker's temple.

This time, before she withdrew her knife, the girl placed her foot against the corpse's chest, 'n shoved it backwards. This motion alone yanked the blade free, while the body knocked into a group of four snarling walkers, topplin' 'em over like dominos.

Behind the girl, Blondie was busy hackin' away at a group'a maybe about 6 or 7 walkers with his machete. The blade cut through the rotten flesh like a hot knife through butter, sendin' blood flyin' 'n heads rollin'.

I loosened my grip on my bow'n kept watchin' those two mow down each 'n every walker that came their way. Honestly, I was impressed. They'd obviously had a lot'a practice.

Just as that thought left my mind, I noticed the girl startin' to look a little worn down. Her motions were strained 'n her limbs looked heavy as she moved. I could see the pain in her face.

I put my hand on my cross bow, tryin' to decide if I would either A) Help these people out if the walkers got the best of 'em or B) Wait for the walkers to be done with lunch, then raid the bodies for weapons 'n ammo.

I was still 50/50 between the two.

But before I knew it, that chick had shoved her hunting knife back in its sheath, 'n whipped out two pistols from a hulster on each hip. She turned her body so she could point one handgun behind her at the walkers tryin' to devour her partner. She pointed the other one straight in front'a her at the walkers hobblin' her way; 'n I was directly in the line'a fire.

"Oh, shit...!" I grunted as I ducked down, right as the first shot was fired. The bullet must've blown straight through its target, or missed it all together, causin' it to deflect and score the bark'a the tree right above my head.

I flinched a little bit, but kept my cool, layin' low near the tree roots. I counted 14 shots before everything got real quiet again.

I stayed down on my stomach by the tree roots, hidden by the brush, and waited out the silence.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to that..." I finally heard the girl talk. Her voice was delicate 'n real feminine.

It was safe now, so I sat up, real slow 'n quiet, and crouched near the base'a the tree trunk where I could spy without bein' visible.

Blondie knealt down to the ground and rubbed his bloody machete against the grass to clean it.

"Crazy how they just come outta nowhere." He said as he flipped the blade over. This time he wiped the blood in a fresh spot'a grass, leavin' a fresh red stain.

The girl kept quiet 'n put her pistols away in their hulsters. She still seemed shaken up from fightin' that herd'a flesh munchers. Her breathin' was ragged 'n her face looked drained.

I watched as Blondie stayed in the kneeling position, starin' at the girls backside. Well, I couldn't blame the man... she had a cute face and a hot, fit body, wearin' a pair'a those real snug jeans. 'n with 80% of Earth's human population wiped out, ya couldn't blame a guy for sneakin' a peek at a nice butt if it comes along... 'n if its in your group with ya, then more power to ya... Just as long as you ain't crossin' any lines.

After gettin' a healthy eyefull, the man slowly stood up, makin' his way over to the girl, who still had her back turned to him. His footsteps made loud thuds as he drew closer.

Then, I watched as he crossed the line.

"Well, we're alive, so we might as well keep looking for food." he said when he got right behind her. Then, in one swift motion, he opened his palm, drew his hand back, and gave her rear a firm slap. "Good job, killer."

And by the look on her face; Shocked, wide eyed, and cherry red; this guy was definately NOT her boyfriend.

I had personal experience with that look... all women had it. Back in my bar hoppin' days in my twenties, I'd get shitfaced and try pickin' up some drunk slut.. and I'll admit I got a little handsy, just like this fella here.

But, I was 37 now, almost 38, 'n the thought'a treatin' women that way now was just disgusting, and well... embarassin' really.

But maybe that was just my age talkin'. Or maybe it was the fact that I'd been livin' in some kind of unbeatable video game for the last year 'n a half... Who the hell knows?

But, despite all'a that, the man kept on walkin', disappearin' into the trees to the right. I watched the girl closely as she took a deep breath, 'n recollected herself. I was pretty sure she was gonna let that little violation slide... Hm. Girl had better will power than me.

She turned to her right, showin' the back of her reddish-brown hair, which was in a long braid down the back of her head. Hey, I don't know all the fancy, girly names for hair-dos, I just know its a braid.. 'n even that's a stretch.

She took a few steps in the same path her partner had taken, tryin' to catch up with him.

I assumed it was safe, 'n braced myself to stand upright; One hand on the ground, the other on my knee. But, just as I was about to push myself up off the ground, the girl stopped in her tracks and turned back around.

I froze, hopin' she didn't see me. Her eyes scanned the area, passin' right over my head... but she didn't notice me. I felt a bead'a sweat roll down my forehead as I held completely still. It felt like she stood there forever, waitin' for somethin'.

She couldn't see me, but I knew she could feel me watchin' her.

"Kayla??" Blondie's voice hollered out. It was faint; he had already covered a little distance. "You keepin' up?"

"Oh," The girl gasped, as if she forgot she had been with someone, "Yup, I'm coming!"

Then, she jogged away to catch up with her partner. This time, I waited for her footsteps to trail off a little before standin' up and takin' off after those two again.

Kayla... Kayla... I repeated the name a few times in my head. Never knew when or why I might need to remember it.

-LATER-

I must'a stalked that girl, Kayla, and her friend for at least two hours while they hunted for food.

They managed to kill two squirrels 'n a small rabbit, 'n I knew that wouldn't make much've a meal... But huntin' out here was scarce, 'n you took what you could get.

Kayla and Blondie stood under the trees with their 3 catches looped together on a string, 'n I stayed hidden. I listened as they talked to one another.

"It's startin' to get dark," Blondie observed, "We should probably head back."

The girl didn't say nothin' at first. She stayed quiet, like she was thinkin' it over in her head. It really wasn't too smart to be roamin' around after nightfall out here, or anywhere for that matter. Walkers creep up on ya twice as fast. Might as well be walkin' around blindfolded.

"Yea, you're right..." I heard Kayla finally agree, "These three will have to do. We're just gonna have to split it five ways."

Five ways? So they had more people with 'em. I knew I'd seen one; the dark haired guy in the ballcap. But I never saw the other two.. Maybe they could be a threat to our group..?

What the hell was I sayin'? Of course they were a threat... a potential threat. Everybody was these days.

But unlike the old Daryl, I didn't jump the gun. I decided to just keep my eye.on.'em. Scope 'em out.

"All right, well then let's get movin'." Blondie suggested, "We got about 2 hours left of daylight."

With that being said, he led the way,'n Kayla followed behind him as they backtracked to the camp.. unknowingly leading me the whole way there.

It didn't take long to reach their campsite, only 15 or 20 minutes. There had to'a been a shortcut thrown in'ere somewhere.

While Kayla and Blondie were still treckin' up the small incline leading to their site, I hid myself in the brush so I could look at their set up.

It was a pretty decent size, maybe about 2000 square feet all together. The boarder was marked off with the ropes I'd seen from the watchtower, strung with severed walker parts to keep the live ones away.

Near the back'a the camp, a black SUV was parked. Looked like a Jeep, but I wasn't 100% sure. The doors to the SUV were propped open, but I couldn't see inside; A blue sheet was draped over them, creatin' what I assumed was some kind'a shelter. Next to the SUV was clothes line I'd seen, 'n there was a wash bucket full'a water underneath it. In the middle of the sight was a fire that was slowly beginnin' to smolder out.

The guy with dark hair I had seen from behind my binoculars suddenly appeared from the other side'a the vehicle, 'n I crouched just a little lower in my hidin' spot.

He had a load'a branches 'n twigs in his arms, 'n he was missin' his ballcap this time. He had a scruffy face that matched his dark mop'a curly hair.

"Zach!" The girl from before, Kayla, called out as she and Blondie finally made their way to the middle of the site.

"Hey," Dark Hair, or Zach now, greeted his buddies, "Catch anything good?"

Kayla held up the string of small animals and shrugged with a discouraged look on her face. I knew how she felt.

"Better than nothing." Zach said as Kayla tossed him their catch. "Danny, do me a favor and go grab me my knife out of my front seat?"

"Gotcha." Blondie, now Danny, spoke up with a joking salute. Then, he walked over to the SUV 'n disappeared around to other side of it.

So there was Kayla, Zach, and Danny... I burned the names with the faces in my head. But that was only three, where were the other two?

"Tina and Jessie have been asleep in the Cherokee since you guys left," Zach told Kayla as Danny came back with the knife, "Why don't you go wake them up so they can help us get dinner going?"

Well, I guess that answered my question.

"Okay." Kayla agreed, walkin' over to the vehicle 'n duckin' under the sheet. Just a few seconds later, she appeared again, only this time she had two other chicks with her. One was tall and skinny but looked young, maybe 18 or 19. The other girl was shorter, with long curly blonde hair. She looked closer to Kayla's age, which I guessed was around 23. I couldn't tell you which girl was who, but that didn't really matter much at that moment.

I stuck around for a while, watchin' them interact with each other, cookin', jokin' around 'n talkin' about nothin'.

When the sun started to set, I decided I'd seen all I was gonna see from these strangers. They reminded me a lot of my own group... Just people tryin' to survive this shitty life together.

I decided I was gonna let them slide by under the radar. Just this one group, just this one time.

It was time for me to head back to home base; The prison.

But, as I started to turn away and make my way home, I heard Kayla bring up a topic'a discussion that stopped me in my tracks.

"So, those people in the prison... What are we going to do? Keep spying on them forever?"

"I don't know yet..." it was Zach's voice this time, "We'll figure it out."

Well, so much for my original thought.

-TO BE CONTINUED-