A nudge that moved my body jolted me from my sleep. I was scrunched up in a ball, my body aching from my muscles bering constricted and the hardness of the concrete floor. I could feel the sweat on my forehead and back that'd formed from the nightmare I had. I nervously peered up, wide-eyed. Daryl stood over me; he had nudged me with his foot.

"Get up," he muttered. I sat up, my mind still fogged with sleep. "We gotta go back," he stated, adjusting his crossbow that was slung over his shoulder. I couldn't remember what he was referring to, but it clicked inside my head after a few moments.

"I-I shouldn't go," I shook my head, my brow knitted together in worry. "It's too dangerous for me... and Rick--"

"You want 'im here, don't ya," Daryl questioned me, staring at me until I responded. I slowly nodded. "Then you're comin' with," he ended it, turning around and walking away. When he didn't hear me following him, he stopped and looked back me. "We ain't got all day," he spat, clearly annoyed. I groaned, my bloodied leg feeling warm again as I rose to my feet.

"I'm moving," I snapped. "Jesus," I mumbled, not at all fond of his bossiness.

Once I walked over to him like a dumb puppy following around his owner, Daryl pulled my sword out from behind his back. It was complete in its sheath.

"Some chick brought it back," he said, holding it out to me. I took it from him, a small smile tugging at my lips.

"Are you sure I should have it," I asked with suspicion. Surely he wasn't trying to make me look I was about to hurt everyone, right; frame me?

"I can take it back when you're done," he suggested. I nodded in agreement. It sounded like a good enough plan to me. I didn't wanna put my residency here at risk.

"Thanks," I grinned, gazing up at him happily. All he did was nod. He turned back around and began to walk forward past the regular cells everyone else slept in, all the way to the door. He put his finger up to his lips to keep me silent before cautiously opening it up. I crept under his arm quietly out into the sunrise. Daryl shut the door behind him, taking the lead once again to bring me out of the gates. I slung my sword over my shoulder while the gravel crunched underneath our shoes, quickly silencing as we drug our feet through the tall grass and headed towards the trees. It was surprisingly quiet around us; I wish it'd always be like that. We entered the woods, trekking through sticks and dirt for a long while as we moved on through. Daryl and I just barely talked to each other, the both of us nervous to even open our mouths. He decided to take the risk and break the silence, the sudden sound of his voice somewhat startling me.

"Andrea with you guys," he asked, not bothering to look over at me.

"Yeah," I answered, sighing. "I don't know if she's alive anymore, though. I'd figure she is since she's sleeping with my dad and all, but you never know." Daryl eyed me weirdly as if he didn't wanna hear that, slapping a branch out of his way. He hesitated before deciding to continue the conversation.

"Merle actually call you Red all the time?"

"Yeah," I felt my face begin to grow hot. It felt weird hearing Daryl say that. "Why?"

"Dunno... thought it was weird," he tried to explain, his voice low. "He said somthin' 'bout how everythin' 'bout ya was red. Besides yer hair, I don't really know what that means."

"Oh..." I trailed off, propelling myself into deep thought. Red. Red? I thought I was more of a blue girl myself. I mean, I was certainly a fiery soul but I was also very much the opposite of that. Blue was captivating. It was deeply emotional, deep like the depths of the ocean and as emotional as the height of a thunderstorm. Unpredictability: a characteristic blue also had, as did I. Now Daryl, Daryl was gray. He always seemed to be bitter and emotionless with no other dimensions to himself; his mere presence was the only one. Gray was intriguing, almost acting like an acquired taste, but it had the potential to be beautiful too. I'm not saying Daryl's beautiful, but there's just an unknown reason to him that makes his gray more unique than all the others.

A loud, low shriek ripped through the silence of the morning, interrupting me from my thoughts and scaring the shit outta me. My hands reached for my sword, pulling it from its sheath. I held it out in front of me as Daryl raised his crossbow.

"Stay here," he instructed me, hustling forward off deeper into the woods.

"Wait," I called out after him. He ignored me completely. I ran after him, weaving through the trees to follow his every move. I suddenly lost him. I frantically looked around in fear. Where the hell did he go? Chills ran down my spine at the feeling of being completely vulnerable, alone, once again. My chest shook with every nervous breath I took. I walked on, not wanting to stand alone for any longer. Something moving on the other side of the trees caught my attention. I diverted from my path to approach it, cautious with every step I took.

As I strayed out of the somewhat shielded safety of the woods, I discovered a building a few feet away. I carefully rounded the corner to look in the front, my sword straight out in front of me if I needed to defend myself. My eyes settled on a biter in the grass near an abandoned car that was rusted to shit. It casually ate out of a man's stomach, not taking notice of me at all. I stayed silent, not wanting to disturb it. I made the mistake of taking a step forward. The biter sensed I was there and lifted its head, bits of intestines tumbling from its mouth. My stomach sank, my hand flying to my mouth. I was gonna be sick. I blinked my eyes hard to make sure what I was seeing was actually real. My legs began to shake.

"No," I mumbled. Merle stood up, pulling himself away from the corpse. "Please, God, no," my voice broke as I began to cry. He tripped over the body as he staggered towards me. Blood soaked his white tank top; he'd been shot. I backed up, stumbling over my own feet as he continued to approach me. I gritted my teeth, swinging my sword through the air to keep him back. "Go away," I hollered, thinking he could still hear and comprehend me. The blade caught on his shirt, ripping it and slicing his stomach open. His intestines slipped out of the gash, Merle completely unfazed. He only snarled at me while he continued to limp on over. My jaw dropped in fear, my face going pale. I felt paralyzed with horror. I could barely move. I stared up at him with wide frightened eyes as he towered over me. I suddenly put my hands on his shoulders, holding him back. "Go away," I hissed, a tear running down my cheek. "Go away," I screamed at the top of my lungs for as long as I could, the anger rushing out of my body like water bursting through a dam. I pushed him away as hard as I could. He came back at me again in full force. I shoved Merle away from me again, this time even harder than before. "Go away," I bellowed, my chest heaving up and down as my heart pounded against my ribcage.

Daryl suddenly tackled Merle to the ground, whipping out his knife. He sunk it into Merle's head over and over again, grunting in frustration and his voice beginning to crack as his spirit shattered. I squeezed my eyes shut. I couldn't bare to watch this any longer. Daryl fell back, weeping. His shoulders shook as he stared at what used to be his brother. I whipped around and headed right back for the trees, stumbling with every step. I needed to get outta here.