When Hunters Become the Hunted

Chapter 1

You never know when things will suddenly go downhill. You never know when you might be facing your worst nightmare.

Celeste found all of this out very quickly when she'd stepped outside her door, her next door neighbor standing there with this dead look in his eyes. It wasn't Kyle anymore, his eyes coated over with a foggy film, mouth hanging freely with teeth bared. It wasn't the same guy that she'd been living next to for the last two and a half years that she'd been paying rent. No, this was different.

T

"Damn it!" she hissed, smacking her hand against the steering wheel as the car slowly came to a stop.

She heard crying. Turning, she saw tears running down little Kenzie's face, the five year olds lip beginning to quiver.

"I'm sorry sweetie," Celeste cooed, patting Kenzie's head as she tried to calm her down. "I didn't mean to upset you."

For the last five miles, Celeste's car had been running on fumes. The movement had finally come to an end. Originally, she'd hoped that she'd be able to get to an off ramp or something for gas. Sadly, that was asking too much of her precious car.

"I can't believe this!" she groaned, pulling at her hair as Kenzie continued to wail.

Taking a deep breath, Celeste let go of her hair. She tried to relax herself in an attempt to calm the child down, quickly getting out of the car and looking around.

"There's gotta be a way outta here," she told herself, eyes trailing over the surrounding area.

Right now, it was far too hot out to be walking around on the road with a five year old. Distance was an issue, the heat of the Georgian sun beating down on upon her head as she stood there. The only good thing was that her sunglasses were protecting her eyes, the thin frames keeping the lenses in place.

"Should have filled up at the last station," she told herself, scolding the bit of common sense that hadn't pulled her into the last gas station that she'd come across.

Turning back to the car, Celeste crawled back inside. She was out of options at this point.

"Kenzie, sweetie, we need to go," Celeste told her, gently wiping the tears from her face. "Do you think you can walk for a bit?" she asked.

"Where are we going?" Kenzie whimpered, rubbing at her face with her hands.

Her nose scrunched up as she rubbed at the skin, irritating it.

"I'm not sure sweetie," Celeste admitted, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Why do we have to go?" Kenzie cried, not wanting to leave the safety that the car gave them.

"Because we can't say here," Celeste explained. "There's no more gas and it's too dangerous for us on the road."

Kenzie let out another whimper as Celeste began to go through their things, consolidating what she could. She made sure to keep what water they had together in her large canteen, pouring what remained in the water bottles into it.

After giving Kenzie a drink, Celeste climbed into the backseat snatching up the pack of beef jerky that had been tossed behind the seat earlier that day. She made sure to put it in her pack, double checking the food that they had left.

All together, she had a couple cans of food, some jerky, chips, and half a dozen granola bars. That was about it. She also had a random container of oatmeal in her trunk with no way to fix it.

Looking through her pack, Celeste let out a sigh. She wished that she had taken the time to pack a bit better, a couple bottles of painkillers staring her in the face. It was a measly bottle of Tylenol and Advil, simple over the counter drugs that she occasionally had to rely on for headaches and pain. There was even a random pack of cigarettes in there from the last time that her friend had used her backpack for a trip. Why she'd left them in there, Celeste had no clue.

Other than food, there were also a pair of clothes that had been thrown in haphazardly. She even had a couple of shirts in her trunk that she'd been meaning to pull out for about a month, but she didn't really care. After all, she hadn't really had much time to grab anything, so she just snatched up the first thing she could.

"Grab your pack and lets go," Celeste said, strapping her own onto her back while climbing out.

She heard Kenzie's door shut as she popped the trunk, stuffing the oatmeal in her bag and grabbing the compound bow that had been left in her trunk. She'd always felt better keeping it there when she'd been at home, but now, the trunk no longer served a purpose in keeping it safe.

"Ready…" Kenzie murmured, coming to stand beside Celeste as the trunk was clamped shut, keys being tossed into Celeste's pocket.

"Let's go sweetie."

T

Out in the woods, two men walked down a beaten path, both dawning their weapon of choice. They were hunting down and killing what they called Walkers; the undead.

The youngest of the two stood, his position poised and ready to strike as he spotted a walker a few yards out.

"Come on, take the shot, chicken shit," his brother prodded, making other man's face twitch slightly in annoyance.

"Shut up," he muttered, closing one eye as he aimed at the back of the walker's head.

A second later, the creature was on the ground, an arrow through it's brain.

T

Celeste let out a sigh as she trudged forward. She was beyond tired at this point, the heat of the sun baking away at her skin. She swore, she'd end up with heat stroke if she didn't find a safe place for them to rest.

"There's gotta be some place that we can hold up for a bit," she ventured, looking around at the trees. "That is if I don't get lost first," she muttered.

They'd been walking for at least two hours now, her legs beginning to wobble from fatigue. The lack of sleep wasn't helping matters either, merely dragging her down further as she seemed to go in a circle, Kenzie trailing beside her with her thumb in her mouth.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of a twig snapping. She snapped her head to the left. There was a faint groan, accompanied by a gurgling. Her eyes went wide as she dropped her bag on the ground, pulling her compound from her shoulder. With nimble fingers, Celeste slid the arrow into place, eyes trained on the spot as the leaves rustled. Within moments, one of those parasites came into her view and her eyes narrowed through the sights of the bow. Without hesitation, her arrow sprung forward, sailing through the air and into the thing's head.

Again, Kenzie began crying, clinging to Celeste's leg as she sobbed. There was nothing Celeste could do to prevent it, slowly leaning down and pulling the girl into her arms.

"It's alright," Celeste whispered, trying to assure her that everything was okay.

With a shaky breath, Celeste bowed her head. She closed her eyes for a moment, before looking toward the motionless body. She'd lost count on how many she'd come across, how many she'd killed. No matter how many she got rid of, it seemed like there would always be another to take its place.

Celeste turned back toward the brush when she heard a grunt. Quickly, she picked her bow back up, drawing an arrow back against the bowstring. The moment she saw the top of the things head, she let it loose, watching as it shot through the air.

"Shit!"

Celeste's eyes went wide with shock. Those gnawing parasites didn't talk.

"The hell?" came the gruff voice a second time, their voice angry and annoyed.

Hesitantly, Celeste pulled out another arrow. She notched it, holding it in place. If this person was a threat, then she wanted to be prepared. She wasn't willing to put Kenzie in harms way.

"State your business," she ordered, watching as the man came forward, a look of irritation on his face. "I said state your business," she repeated, pulling her arrow back, ready to fire.

The man had her arrow in his hand, a cross bow slung over his shoulder. There was a scowl on his face as he looked at her, his eyes boring into hers. They flicked down toward the kid for a moment, before landing on Celeste again. It didn't last long though.

Before she could do anything, Celeste was grabbed from behind, the arrow shooting out and into the bark of a tree. Kenzie screamed, falling backwards and huddling against a tree.

Celeste squirmed in the intruder's grip, fear overriding her senses as she lashed out, bringing her elbow back into their ribs. Celeste brought her foot up next. She kicked it into the man's leg, before turning around enough in order to hit him in the nuts. He was quickly sent to the ground in pain.

"Lively lit'le thing, ain't ya," he chuckled, moving toward her as she laid on her back, her heart pounding away in her chest.

Without thinking, she kicked him in the face, rolling over and getting back onto her feet as she made her way to Kenzie. She was surprised though when she heard the other one chuckle. Celeste turned to find him standing there, a smirk on his face, his arms folded over his chest.

"Shut it lil' bro'her," the other growled out, quickly standing back up as he got his bearings.

He turned his eyes back to Celeste after that, a smirk slowly pulling at his lips.

"Feisty an' perdy," he grinned. "Why don' ya come wit' ol' Merle and we'll 'ave us some fun?" he asked, grinning at her.

"Go to hell!" she hissed, quickly pulling a knife from her pocket and flipping it open.

She kept a hand on Kenzie the entire time, keeping her behind her and out of view.

"Why don't ya just cut the shit Merle," his brother scoffed, uncrossing his arms and picking up Celeste's compound bow. "Little girl's gonna attract walkers all 'round," he narrowed, gesturing toward the little girl wailing behind Celeste.

He was getting annoyed with his brother's comments and the fact that he had no shame. Sadly, Merle had always been like that and it wasn't going to change any time soon. That didn't mean that he had to be stupid though. Unfortunately, that's how he got when he was high.

"Little shit," Merle muttered, taking a step toward his brother.

Celeste watched as Merle stood there, glaring at his brother. For a moment, it looked like Merle was going to hit him, the younger man looking like he might flinch.

"Pansy ass," Merle said, spitting on the ground beside his brother. "Why don' ya put that knife away bef're ya 'urt yer self?" Merle suggested as he turned back toward Celeste, giving her a look over, before staring at her chest. "And shut that kid up while yer at it."

He licked his lips for a moment, wetting them as he shifted his weight to the other foot, taking in the sight of her body.

"Back off!" she told him, her hand shaking as she stood there, her heart still pounding in her ears.

She kept the knife in front of her, the adrenaline pumping through her veins. It gave her the energy that she didn't have.

"Jus' calm down already," the younger one groaned in annoyance. "The lot of ya."

"Kenzie, sweetie, you need to calm down now," Celeste said quietly, trying to coax her into submission.

Celeste's eyes shot toward Merle's brother for a moment, eyeing him as he examined her bow, pulling at the bowstring a couple times as he tested it.

"That's mine," she growled out.

"Yeah? So? What'cha gonna go 'bout it?" he asked defiantly.

Celeste felt her hand shake again, her breathing uneven as Kenzie continued to cling to her.

"I want Daddy!" Kenzie sobbed, crying into the material of Celeste's pants leg.

"God, would you shut 'er up?" he hissed in annoyance, keeping an eye on things around them.

"I don't want any trouble," she told them.

"Yeah, well ya should of thought about that when ya shot at me!" he snapped lightly, placing the arrow that he was holding in its respectful place and drawing it back.

He admired it for a moment, before reducing the tension on it and letting it go slack.

"Ya know, that there's a nice bow," Merle added, a smug look on his face as he snatched the bow away from his brother. "Sure is a nice piece fer someone like you," he chuckled, eyeing Celeste as he tested the bow for himself, drawing the string back with ease. "Might even be a betta shot than you Daryl," he laughed.

Daryl glared at him, his lip twitching slightly. He didn't like being taunted about his skills as a marksman. Especially, since he could easily shoot Merle in the ass for it. Granted, his brother would beat the living shit out of him if he ever tried such a thing.

"Just give it back and I'll be on my way," Celeste said, taking a shaky breath.

Merle picked up on this, eyes flitting back toward her, before a smirk formed on his face.

"'ow long ya been on yer own?" he inquired, taking a slow step toward her.

"My whole life," she reply. "So that means I know how to handle trash like you," she growled.

"Oh, ho, ho!" Merle howled, slapping his knee. "She's a sweet talker too lil' brother," he grinned, taking another step toward Celeste.

"G-get back!" she yelled.

"She obviously doesn't need yer help Merle, so leave her be," Daryl said, crouching down and examining a set of tracks on the ground, his fingertips brushing over them lightly.

Unfortunately, they were a couple days old, so the deer that left them was long gone. They'd come up with a dead end on some decent food this time around.

"Why don' ya shut tha' mouth o' yers lil' brother?" Merle suggested, glancing at Daryl for a moment before turning back to face Celeste.

He managed to back her up against a tree, easily knocking her foot out from under her with his boot. It was probably one of the easiest things he'd ever done.

"Now, why don' we get rid o' this?" Merle suggested, grabbing hold of Celeste's hand and prying the knife from her grip.

Once he'd managed to do that, he let go, sitting there crouched down in front of her so that he was more at eye level with her.

"Why don' we start over? Name's Merle," he said, introducing himself. "Lit'le shit there's Daryl," he grinned, pointing back to his brother. "What's yers?"

"C-Celeste," she swallowed, her hands beginning to shake as the adrenaline started to fade, her arms wrapped tightly around Kenzie who was now sniffling into the front of her shirt.

"An' how long ya been runnin' from those ugly mothers?" he asked, placing a hand on the bark of the tree beside her head.

"Two weeks," she replied, not understanding why he was drilling her with questions.

"Tough lil' thing ain't ya?" he snorted, before taking a piece of her hair between his fingers and playing with it. "Gots us a camp a few miles out. Why don' ya come wit' us?" he asked.

"Why would I wanna go with you? I don't even know you," Celeste scowled.

"Gots others there. Women, children. Think you'd fit in perdy good there with tha' kid o' yers," he told her. "Sides, tha' prick of a cop's been harpin' on us ta bring back survivors," he added with distaste.

"Prick of a cop?" Celeste questioned softly, brows furrowing together as she looked up at him.

"He don' take too kindly ta us Dixons," Merle informed her.

"I wonder why," she said sarcastically.

Celeste sat there for a moment longer, thinking things over. If there were truly others out there, she'd have a better chance of surviving. She wouldn't have to keep watching her own back and maybe, just maybe, she could finally get some sleep.

"You said…you've got other women…and children?" she asked slowly, looking up at Merle.

It was silent for a moment as they stared at each other, Celeste taking in the blue of his eyes, and the lines on his forehead.

"Plen'y," he replied. "Although, if yer a comin', I suggest ya get yer ass up," he smirked, pushing up off of the ground and walking over to his brother.

Without a second thought, Merle tossed Celeste's bow to Daryl and quickly scooped up her bag, swinging it over his shoulder.

"Well, ya'll comin' or wha'?" Merle asked, glancing over his shoulder, before walking off.

T

"C-can you…slow up?" Celeste called out, trudging forward as her feet scrapped the ground.

She was carrying Kenzie on her hip as she went, nearly tripping as her foot caught part of a root. She barely managed to catch herself, righting her foot at the last second. The last thing that she wanted to do was drop Kenzie.

"Careful," Daryl grumbled, glancing over his shoulder at the two.

"It's jus' up ahead," Merle scoffed lightly as he pushed forward through the brush.

This was something that he and Daryl were used to. Celeste on the other hand, she wasn't. Yes, she had endurance. The problem was, with everything she'd been through she was on the verge of collapse, her body barely able to drag itself forward enough to catch up with the two men. It was falling apart, her mind clouding over, and her senses going numb with the ache of her muscles.

Celeste barely heard anything as she stepped into the clearing with them, the sound of arguing flooding her ears as Merle began throwing racist remarks around at other campers. It left mothers covering the ears of their children, glares set upon their faces. It also left Kenzie sliding down onto her feet, gripping at Celeste's leg, gripping hold of her as she buried her face in the material of her jeans.

"Who's this?" someone asked, coming forward to stand in front of the small group of four, the shine of gold that adorned the man's neck hitting Celeste's cheek as it met the light.

"This 'ere's Celeste," Merle announced, hitching his thumb behind him, pride filling his voice. "Perdy lit'le thing ain't she?" he chuckled.

"Daryl…?" Celeste murmured as she reached out to touch the younger man's arm, her other hand touching her face as her eyes closed.

"Huh?" Daryl asked.

He turned around only find her falling, legs giving out beneath her weight. Quickly, he leapt forward, catching her. Her breath came out in shallow bursts against the skin of his arm, an unfamiliar feeling flooding over him.

"Shit!" he hissed. "Well, don't just stand there. Do somethin'!" Daryl snapped, glaring at everyone that stood there staring, his arms pulling Celeste up a bit more as her body fell against him.

It didn't take long before Kenzie started crying again, crying to Celeste to wake up. She didn't like being by herself with people that she didn't know. Mommy had always said to stay away from strangers.

"The hell'd you do to her?" the ex cop asked, his tone filled with accusations.

"I didn' do nothin' asshole!" Daryl growled out, eyes narrowed in disgust.

"Lori!" the man called, causing Kenzie to flinch.

A thin woman with long brown hair quickly made her way toward the group, her jeans hugging her hips as she ran forward.

"Shane, what's wrong?" she asked, quickly making her way in front of them.

That's when her eyes landed on Celeste, a hand coming up to cover her mouth.

"Oh, God, what happened?" Lori asked, quickly stepping between Shane and Merle.

She reached her hand out without hesitation, placing it on the younger woman's face.

"The hell's it look like lady!? She pasted out!" Daryl sneered.

Why was everyone around him an idiot? They always asked stupid questions, just like they were now, either blaming him and his brother or something else that was completely and utterly useless.

"Watch your mouth!" Shane hissed, glaring daggers at Daryl.

"And why should I?" Daryl snapped, his brother watching on in amusement.

"I'll beat the shit outta ya, that's why," Shane narrowed.

"Shane, stop it!" Lori yelled, touching Celeste's forehead, the heat from it rolling off and soaking into Lori's hand. "She's burning up."

Turning around, Lori looked around, searching for the help she needed. Sadly, she knew that she couldn't rely on Shane to be level headed enough to help at the moment.

"Jaque, Carol, I need your help," Lori called, before turning to Daryl. "She hasn't been bit has she?"

"No' tha' I could tell," Merle piped up, answering for his brother before Daryl even got a chance to speak. "Wouldn' mind lookin' 'er over for ya though," he grinned.

"Now's not the time for you to be joking around Merle," Lori warned him, placing a couple of fingers against the underside of Celeste's jaw to feel for the girl's pulse.

"Who said I's jokin'?" he grinned, his eyes trailing over Celeste's body.

"Are you high again?" Shane asked, grabbing Merle by the front of his shirt.

"Would it make a differ'nce if I was?" he grinned.

"If you two are gonna fight, go somewhere else," Lori said bluntly, Jaque and Carol making their way to her side.

Lori finally found it, the vein throbbing lightly against the pressure of her fingertips.

"What do ya need, honey?" Jaque asked, Carol standing quietly by her side, her hands clamped together.

"Cool water from the quarry and a rag. We need to bring her temperature done," Lori told them, gently brushing Celeste's bangs from her forehead.

"I'll get the water, honey," Jaque nodded, quickly scooping a bucket up and heading down to the quarry to fill it with water.

T

Kenzie sat off in a corner, her eyes red and puffy as she sucked on her thumb. She had hold of her blanket in the other hand, her little pink backpack sitting on the dusty ground at her feet.

Kenzie didn't remember ever being this scared before, her eyes looking around at the others in the camp. Most of them were just ignoring her, going about their own routines. She caught sight of one of the men that had found them. Daryl. That was his name. He was seated outside his tent cleaning his crossbow, a scowl on his face.

Getting up, Kenzie slowly made her way toward him, stopping once she was about a foot in front of him.

"What do ya want?" he asked, looking up from what he was doing.

Kenzie didn't say anything though as she stood there, her thumb in her mouth as she clutched at her blanket. She was curious about what it was that Daryl was cleaning, her eyes crossing over the length of it. It was different from Celeste's, that was for sure.

"Look, I'm a give ya three options kid," Daryl told her, trying to hold his tongue. "Either tell me what ya want, sit down, or go away," he said bluntly.

With a faint whimper, Kenzie sat down on the ground, biting her lower lip. She wasn't used to people like Daryl, but currently, he was really the only one that she knew. Even though Shane was a cop, she didn't like Shane. She didn't like the way that he yelled because it scared her or even the feeling of his presence which seemed off for some reason or another.

"Shouldn't you be off wit' yer ma?" Daryl asked, wiping the cloth in his hand along the back of his crossbow.

He looked through the sights for a moment, brushing his thumb against the bit of glass as he wiped it clean. He then glanced over at Kenzie for a moment, taking in her silence for a short moment.

"Celeste's not my mommy…" Kenzie whispered, playing with the corner of her blanket. "Mommy's gone… So is Daddy."

Daryl stopped what he was doing, his brows furrowing as he looked down at the child beside him. He hadn't even noticed how small she was, her shoulders hunch as she let out a sniffle. If Daryl had to guess, she couldn't be more than six at the oldest, probably younger.

"No sense in cryin'," he told her, placing a hand on top of her head with a sigh.

He never did like crying much. He especially didn't like it when women and children cried. In fact, it gave him a headache most times because it was so incessant.

"Hm?"

Kenzie looked up at him through the curtain of her bangs, giving him a curious look. His hand only stayed on the top of her head for a few minutes longer, sliding back down to his side to work on his bow.

"I said, there's no sense in cryin'. Ain't gonna change nothin'," he told her, his words coming out slightly harsher than he'd intended them to. "And if ya start cryin', I'm a send ya on yer way."

Kenzie suddenly became quiet at his words, quickly sucking up her sniffles and tears. She didn't want to have to leave. She didn't want to be around all of those strangers.

Seeing her quiet down, Daryl glanced back at his bow, rubbing away the grime on the limbs. He'd never understand why it was he was talking to her, but he shook it off and continued talking anyway, not having anything else to do with his time save for cleaning his crossbow.

"What's yer name kid?" Daryl asked.

"Kenzie," she replied shyly, her voice bordering on timid.

"Ya got a last name?" he asked, eyeing her for a moment.

"Parish."

Daryl sat there for a moment. He'd known a couple by the last name of Parish when he was a boy, but they were older and in their 40's at the time. It wasn't a very common last name though, that much he knew.

"Is Celeste going to be okay?" Kenzie asked suddenly, looking up at Daryl as they continued to sit there.

"Ain't my area of expertise," he told her, swiping at his nose with his thumb. "Why don' ya go find out."

There was a moment of silence between the two as Kenzie sat there. She looked up at Daryl, before looking around the camp, chewing on her thumbnail. She didn't want to venture out on her own. She was never allowed to walk around outside on her own with a bunch of strangers. In fact, her mother would have had a fit and grounded her for a week.

Seeming to pick up on the issue, Daryl stood, stuffing his rag in the back of his pocket. This was why he didn't like kids at times. They were too scared to do anything on their own.

"Come on," he said in irritation.

Quickly, Kenzie shot up from her seat to follow Daryl, running up beside him and grabbing his hand.

Daryl nearly jumped out of his skin when Kenzie touched him, fighting the urge to push her away or reprimand her. He reminded himself that she was only a kid, swallowing the lump in his throat.

"Watch yer step," he told her, pulling her up with him into the RV.

It was here that the group had placed the young woman, laying her out on one of the makeshift beds.

Currently, Carol was seated beside her, replacing the rag on her forehead. She had a bucket of water beside her, the contents chilled from the rocky bed of the quarry. It proved helpful in fighting against the fever, the pills that they'd found in her bag reducing it further.

"Daryl," Carol greeted, nodding her head respectfully.

"The kid wanted ta check on 'er," he told her, pushing Kenzie toward the two women.

When he went to leave, Kenzie grabbed hold of his hand, her eyes pleading. She wanted him to stay and keep her company.

"Don't go!" Kenzie cried, clutching Daryl's hand tightly.

"Listen kid, I can't stay with ya all day," he told her, tugging his hand free.

He then made his way out of the RV without another word, disappearing from the girl's sight.

T

Later that evening, Kenzie sat around the fire with Daryl and Merle, sitting comfortably on Merle's lap. Even though the man was a bit strange, he was warm. His entire body radiated heat and it was comforting, nearly causing her to fall asleep as she curled against the large man's body.

"I can't believe that kid's actually cuddling up to that guy," one of the men said quietly, wrinkling their noses in disgust.

To them, Merle was nothing, but a piece of red necked trailer trash. They thought him, loud, obnoxious, crude, and disgusting. Nobody even really talked to him save for his brother Daryl, and even that was a stretch in the man's mind. In fact, the only good thing about the Dixon brothers were their hunting skills, but that was about it.

"I think it's time for the children to go to bed," one of the mothers suggested, standing with her own children as she led them back to their tent.

"I think she's right," one of the men nodded, turning toward Kenzie.

The child merely set there, giving the man a quizzical look as she continued to sit on Merle's lap, her back curled against the musculature of his daunting arm.

"Come on sweetie, you can stay with us," he told her, standing up and reaching toward her.

In response, she back away, curling against Merle further than she had been as her tiny hand began to clutch at the material of his shirt.

"Come on now, no sense sitting here with these dumb hicks," he told her, grabbing lightly at her wrist in an attempt to pull her away from the Neanderthal that was Merle Dixon.

"I suggest ya back off, fruitcake," Merle warned, grabbing hold of the man's arm in a vice like grip.

The term dumb hick was one that Merle had heard used against him and his brother all his life. Just because they didn't have the best schooling or upbringing, didn't mean that they were stupid. In fact, Daryl was rather resourceful, his mind calculating and alert. He knew how to make his own arrows from scratch, gut a deer, set traps and such. Just give him his hunting knife and crossbow and he could live on his own in the woods for a month easily. Daryl was a man of many talents as was Merle and they knew how to survive.

"'sides, ya ain't got no mo' room," Merle told him, before releasing his arm and tossing it aside.

"Like you do?" the man countered, narrowing his eyes at Merle.

"Actually," Merle grinned, before gesturing toward his tent. "I got plen'y a room."

"Oh, right, like that's the best place for a child," the man sneered.

With a whimper, Kenzie slid off of Merle's lap and out of his grasp, quickly running over and hiding behind Daryl. She'd grabbed hold of his hand immediately, gripping it tightly between the span of her own.

Looking down at the little girl behind him, Daryl swallowed. Regardless of how tightly she held to him, the callousness of his hand didn't seem to bother her. In fact, for a moment, it seemed to comfort her, giving her a faint sense of safety as an image of her father popped into her head. He too had calloused hands, the length of which were far larger than her own.

"Come on," Daryl said roughly, getting up from his spot on the log, the muscles in his legs aching.

He then tugged lightly at the girl's hand, a silent order to follow him. In his opinion, there wasn't much point sitting there if all it was going to do was get him a headache. Instead, per the child's request for safety, Daryl led her to the quiet sanctuary of his tent.

Alright everyone, this is my first attempt at a Walking Dead fic, so let me know what you think. I figured that now since season two is finally available on netflix it'd be easier to get more chapters out. Anyway, like I said, let me know what you think and if you have ANY IDEAS PLEASE LET ME KNOW!?

Please, REVIEW and MESSAGE!