~Daryl's POV~

This girl....this girl was different. It may sound cliché but I knew it the first time I laid eyes on her.

She was beautiful, no doubt. She had golden blond hair and doe-like blue eyes that automatically made her attractive. She had a curvaceous body and she managed to pull of the dirtiest clothes that hardly fit her right.

She must've had countless relationships and I bet plenty of them involved more than just the average hand holding.

Just by looking at her, you could ht. tell she was a fighter.

If she made it this far there must've been something fueling her to get here. She was alone and it seemed like she hadn't seen civilization in awhile. I knew by looking at her that I wanted her.

What man wouldn't? I thought tartly. That just made the chase even better.

She put the handgun down and reached for the carefully strung bow, loading it and pulling the arrow back, she released flawlessly.

She impaled a line of tin cans we had hanging to warn us of walkers. Her form was perfection and the way she held herself automatically made her look important.

Slowly, the group started applauding. I had to admit, she was good. If she could do that with one arrow, I wondered what she could do with a whole sheath of them.

The arrows may not be lenient, but she could definitely pull it off.

I didn't applaud, but I did lift a corner of my lips, giving her what I hoped was a sultry smirk.

I had given that same expression to a handful of girls and it always worked, but for some reason I felt like it might not work on her.

It didn't.

As soon as she caught my expression, she sent me a triumphant expression, as if I had handed her a gold medal.

I dropped the smirk and turned away to take care of the work that I'd left behind. Andrea and Amy had went fishing and left the dirty work of gutting the retched smelling things to me.

Sometimes I wondered why I even put up with women. I tried to avoid them, but it wasn't possible. It's not like I knew the first thing about washing my clothes, or cooking soup.

I had always counted on women for that and just because I wasn't looking for a relationship did not change that.

I rinsed the fish and started to peel off the skin carefully when Carol came and sat beside me on the rotting log.

She placed a hand on my shoulders and gave me a small smile, forcing me to look at her sad expression.

"What do you think of Rebel?" She asked me quietly.

That was the thing about Carol, she was quiet and reserved. She rarely spoke her mind, but when she did, you knew she was up to something.

I sighed and shrugged her hand off my shoulder, "She's a good shooter." I muttered honestly.

"And...?" She urged me.

"And what? She has a good aim and she's had the strength to survive this long on her own. That's all." I snapped at her.

Carol flinched at my harsh tone and guilt washed over my insides. As always, I didn't let my face show any emotion.

Becoming close to these people was dangerous, if I needed to up and leave I could go without feeling terrible for doing so.

Carol got up and walked back over to her little girl and husband, everyone knew her husband was abusive towards her, no one tried to say anything because it had gotten less over time, but it was still there.

~Rebel's POV~

I had nailed the shot, like always, and was welcomed into the group. As of now, we were scattered around the fire eating fish that was caught earlier in the day.

It was the best I had eaten since the outbreak and I was grateful for Andrea and her sister Amy, even though Andrea was a little bit of a bitch.

Seeing their sisterly love brought back fresh needles of pain stabbing into my heart. I knew that I would never see either my sister or my brother again.

Even if I did they would be dead or bitten. I couldn't bear killing them if they had turned. I would have someone do it and then probably hate that person for the rest of my existence.

I bit into my last pieces of fish and watched Carol's husband pulling her off to the side. The angle was at allowed me to see every thing they were doing, and if they were doing what I think they were, I would have to move.

Seeing romantic couples always made me sick to my stomach. I never wanted to be one of those lovey-dovey couples with anyone.

For some reason, I always thought my hearing better than others. This theory proved right when I heard harsh whispers and the soft beating of flesh from where Carol and her husband were.

I took my chances and peaked over to see what was going on.

What I saw sent me into a blind rage. Ed was brutally beating her and I snapped.

I dropped the fish on the dusty ground and rushed over and grabbed Ed's fist before it could connect with Carol's face once more.

He turned and looked at me. "You got a problem, Blondie?"

"Yeah," I spat, "I do got a problem. At the moment it's you. Let her go."

I could see out of the corner of my eye we were attracting attention.The group was shell-shocked that I stood up to a guy four times my size and weight. I had dealt with worse though.

Compared to the others, Ed was nothing special. I could take care of him.

"And if I don't?" he asked, an evil grin replacing the look of rage on his twisted face.

"Then....I'll do this."

I placed my hand on his wrist and twisted, snapping the bone clean in half. I used my boot to push on his back, sending him to the ground. I pressed my foot to his face, scrunching up his skin.

"And if you ever touch her again, I can guarantee you, it will be a lot worse."

I spat on his grubby face and walked back to group of stunned people around the campfire. I sat on the rotting log someone had pulled up earlier and crossed my ankles.

Carol came up beside me and sat down. "T-thank you." She stuttered hoarsely.

I nodded in acceptance and grabbed her hand in mine and squeezed it lightly.

"I'm so sorry for what he did to you. You didn't deserve it, you can find someone so much better than that."

I sucked in a sharp breath as icy memories from my past came rushing back in an unwanted flurry. I shut my eyes, willing the tears away.

It took a lot to make me cry, but my past was something that triggered it like a crowded flood way. My chest tightened and I removed my hand from Carol's harshly.

I stood and bid everyone a quiet goodnight before nearly running to my tent. I removed my shoes and zipped the entryway before flopping back on the deflated sleeping bag.

I let the tears flow freely now that I was in privacy.

When no one was watching, it was so easy to let go. It was easy to show the true you that no one ever saw for the fear of not being accepted by your peers.

I wiped my eyes and let out a small sniff before turning face down in my bag.

I was near to sleep when I heard the zipper moving softly and fluidly. Knowing that a walker was incapable of doing so put my mind at a slighter ease than before.

I reached for the bow and arrow that Rick had given me earlier and strung an arrow silently. I raised the bow as the blue material was moved back and prepared to release the arrow.

A dark face moved in front of the moon, blocking off all my light and ability to see. My fingers went rigid as the man climbed into the tent and settled himself beside me. Recognition crossed my face as I lowered the bow and pushed it off to the side.

"Easy there Slayer. Jus' me." The thick country accent coated his words and made my limbs relax momentarily. A frustrated huff left my lips involuntarily.

"Glad to know ye're on yer' guard." Redneck chuckled.

I rolled my eyes. "I never got your name."

"Why ye' wanna know my name?" he asked, looking genuinely curious.

"I like to know the name of my peers. It would be easier to call you by your name instead of Redneck." I retorted bitterly.

He let out a loud, full-blown laugh; I hissed and covered his mouth with my hand.

"Shut the hell up!" I whisper-yelled.

He said something but it came out muffled and undetectable. I cocked my head to the side and raised my eyebrow in confusion. Before I could speak I felt his tongue lick the palm of my hand.

"The hell was that for?" I removed my hand and wiped it on my shorts. He laughed quietly and removed his boots.

"M' name's Daryl." He stated simply.

I nodded my head and buried my face into my sleeping bag, trying to block out the insanity of this world. Not that it would work, escaping this world was impossible.

"Who'd ya lose?" Apparently getting some peace and quiet was impossible to.

I sat up again, "What do you mean?"

"After Carol talked to ye', ye' left. S'obviously a reason why. I jus' wanna know what the reason was." Daryl mumbled quietly.

I sucked in the cold air, now just realizing how much the temperature had dropped. Being in the mountains didn't really help either. I hugged my arms to my body and pulled the bag up to my chin.

"Bad past." I snapped.

I wasn't liking the idea of sharing my past with someone, it's too risky to lose someone because of the outbreak. Daryl grunted and shifted in his sleeping bag again, this time, he was facing me.

I was visibly shivering and Daryl had taken notice, as worry coated his eyes. His arm reached over to his zipper, unzipping his bag and then doing the same thing for mine.

"W-what are you doing?" I asked as my teeth chattered violently.

"You're cold." He cited plainly.

He zipped our bags together and I didn't protest when he tucked me into his chest. His arms wrapped around my waist and he buried his face in my flaxen hair.

I pressed my cheek against his shoulder and placed my hands on his chest.

The thing I kept repeating to myself was that this didn't mean anything. We were just two people trying to maintain body heat.

Nothing was happening.

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Picture on the side is Rebel.

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