Chapter Text
You were suddenly aware of the weight of your footsteps as you carefully treaded over crunching leaves and dry twigs. Thankfully your vision adjusted to the low light after some time, but not before you got a few scrapes and bruises. In the dark, it was hard to avoid smacking your face on the low hanging branches, or tripping over the messy system of roots protruding from the earth.
Needless to say, it wasn’t long before Daryl caught wind of his uninvited tagalong. You were loud. He let you keep up the sneaky act for some time, though. Mostly, he just couldn’t figure out why you’d follow him in the first place. He wasn’t doing anything special. He had originally snuck off for a cigarette, but when he realized you were clumsily lurking in the background, he decided to just keep walking to see what you’d do. Eventually, he managed to evade you, backtracking a bit and circling back to sneak up behind you.
By then, you’d realized you lost his trail and you were just blindly feeling in front of you for the next tree to support yourself. He followed you like this for a while, just observing, thinking of the past. It reminded him of hunting with his father when he was a boy, trying to keep quiet, out of the way. Dad would often bring his old friend Bo out with them so they could drink and shoot while Daryl fetched the kills. One time, Bo brought a rabbit trap with a bunny he’d caught in his wife’s garden, eating up all her greens. When Daryl, a boy of just six or seven, asked what the bunny was for, the old man just grinned and crouched down to the boy’s level.
“Foxes.” The geezer gleamed, breathing his whiskey-hot breath all over Daryl’s face.
“Foxes?” Daryl repeated as he tilted his head.
“Yup.” Bo affirmed with a proud nod. “See, when we get on down by the creek, there’s a few dens. I seen em last week. Foxes. We let the rabbit go, the foxes’ll follow.”
“Then we shoot ‘em?” Daryl queried.
“Exactly, it’s a trap.”
So, back to you. You were clumsy, as previously stated. You stepped to loudly, not careful enough with the underbrush. Had you been hunting for food, you’d have disturbed any tracks that could have led you to a meal. You were also careless. You stumbled around blindly without a single care for whatever may have crossed your path, be it a walker or anything else. You weren’t in tune with your surroundings at all. Hell, you didn’t even notice him stalking so closely behind you. You were out of your element, but he was right where he belonged. He kind of liked it that way, too. He was good at it. It reminded him of the animal documentaries he’d seen before; he was the lion and you were the gazelle. He reigned superior.
Back at camp, he often felt the opposite around you. With so many watchful eyes, he hated the vulnerable feeling he got when you were near. He was used to the criticism of others. He already didn’t trust anyone there. He barely trusted his brother, the last of his kin. He was a loner. But you had the kind of eyes that seemed to pierce right through him, tethering him to reality he didn’t wanna face. He liked being in his bubble, closed off from the others so he could avoid unnecessary attachments. You forcibly reminded him of the humanity of others when he much preferred to consider them colleagues at best.
The more he watched you, the more he realized how peeved he was to be affected so largely by something so small; so puny and defenseless. He’d watched you enough to know you were no survivalist. Even the gazelles in the grasslands had a sense for danger when the lions were prowling nearby. You lacked their innate instinct to survive. You were more like a bunny, which inevitably meant he played the role of the fox.
Adrift in a sea of thought, Daryl didn’t notice right away how alert you’d become. You’d begun to sense the danger of being watched. Your pace quickened, you jumped at the sounds of the night. It sparked something in him. He knew he was scaring you. He could tell you were trying to get away. Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to stop. Not a bone in his body felt the urge to step out of the shadows and declare his presence to be his. He didn’t know why. It wasn’t embarrassment that held him back, that much he did know. You followed him first, after all. Why was this so different? He was glued to your trail, unable to resist, regardless of whatever potential consequences awaited him. This must have been how those foxes felt, he thought. Back then he thought the foxes silly for falling for Bo’s tricks time and time again. Now he understood just how cruel this trap really was.
After trying to ignore it, you were finally sure you were being followed. The signs were subtle, but real. Even worse, you had no clue where you were. You figured the easy solution would have been to turn around and go back the way you came, as you were sure you hadn’t taken many twists or turns. It should’ve led you straight back to camp. The issue with that plan was the fact that you were sure someone was back there, and you weren’t ready to face that reality quite yet. You’d hoped you could just keep going, and whatever or whoever it was would lose interest, but you’d given up on that idea about forty paces back.
You guessed your only option was to run. Maybe you could lose them. With little time to second guess yourself, your adrenaline took over and kicked your legs into gear. You broke into a full sprint, unfazed when your shoulders smacked into passing trees. Daryl was caught off guard when you ran, but like a hungry beast, he chased after you. It was like you triggered his prey drive. His primal instincts had taken over.
Your voice began to betray you as you panted, winded from the chase already. Panic rattled your breaths. Your movements lost all fluidity. Eventually you lost your grounding and slid down the edge of a shallow basin. It wasn’t a bad drop — maybe three or four feet — but the roots and jagged layers of rock and dirt still tattered your top and scraped up the flesh beneath. Things were quiet at the bottom. You didn’t even hear any crickets as you sat there and caught your breath.
When you glanced up at where you fell from, no one was there. But, when you focused your attention to the other side of the basin, you saw him there. A tall, dark, burly figure. You didn’t recognize him at first, not until he stepped out into the light of the moon. You pushed yourself up to your feet in disbelief.
“You?” You whispered as he stepped toward you cautiously. “You chased me.”
He shrugged and felt around in his pocket for a moment, pulling a worn pack of cigarettes from within. He popped the skinny thing in his mouth and held it with his lips as he flipped open his zippo and took a long drag from the flame. A cloud of smoke shrouded around him as he exhaled. He took a step closer.
“What are you doing?” You demanded. He stepped closer. “Why’d you chase me?” You pressed on. He took a step closer. “I’ll scream.” You warned. He raised his eyebrows, amused.
“Nah. No point in that. It’s like ringin’ a dinner bell these days.” He rasped coolly.
“So then why’d you chase me?” You reiterated.
“Why’d ya follow me?” He shot back. You faltered, chewing at your lip.
“Well, why’d you come out here so late?” You wondered. He held the cigarette up. “All this for a cigarette?”
“Nah. Didn’t plan on comin’ out this far.” He admitted. “Just didn’t know what to think when I heard someone followin’ me.” He shot you an accusatory glare. You gulped and rubbed your arm in an attempt to soothe your racing pulse. You could sense his irritation. You wondered what he’d do to you for invading his privacy and following him. Surely, no good intentions could have led him to chase you so far away from the others before he finally confronted you for sneaking around. He took a final step towards you, shrinking the gap between you to about a foot of space.
You didn’t know what to say. He didn’t either. He didn’t even know why he said anything at all. He didn’t owe you shit, especially not an explanation. He should have turned around when you fell and left you to find your own way home. It would’ve served you right for creeping after him like you did.
“It’d do ya good to mind the business that pays you.” He warned, flicking ash away before taking another drag. “And, last I checked, I didn’t have you on my fuckin’ payroll.”
“I’m sorry.” You uttered quickly.
“The fuck does sorry do for me?” He scoffed. He looked down fiddled with the cigarette in his hand before he held it up in front of your face. “Here. Have some.” He offered.
“I don’t smoke.” You denied.
“I wasn’t askin’.” He whispered. You slowly reached for the nasty thing, pinching it between your fingers. The sickeningly sweet smell drifted up your nostrils. Your throat felt tight. Still, you managed a meek thanks. “My treat.” He said sarcastically.
You wrapped your lips around the dirty brown filter and took it in, exhaling smoothly.
“Pretty easy for someone who’s never smoked.” He commented.
“Didn’t say never. Just said I don’t.” You clarified. He huffed.
“You sure ya wanna be smart with me?” He asked.
“I’m not even sure I want to be alone out here with you.” You blurted.
“Just when I don’t know you’re there, right?” He retorted.
“I wasn’t trying to scare you, I just—“
A rough hand cupped your jaw and cut you off. His flared nostrils washed heavy breaths over your face. His fingers dug into your skin with a bruising force as he scowled down at you. Struggling was futile.
“Let me make one thing clear to you.” He growled. “I ain’t scared of nothin.” He spat, releasing your face harshly before he stormed away.
Tears welled up in your eyes as you rubbed over your sore cheeks and watched him disappear into the night. His chest was pounding with rage. How dare you accuse him of being afraid? Of you? Of anyone? Had he not proven himself fearless in the face of violence? His thoughts raced around his mind and consumed him. He wanted so badly to write you off as a little nuisance, nothing more. He couldn’t, though. He couldn’t stop thinking about it. Not that night, nor for days to come. You relentlessly invaded his thoughts at any given time. He didn’t even realize it then, just how comical it all really was. Not only were you the bunny — and he the fox — but he was also the hunter who set the bunny free. He walked right into his own trap.
