Freak

I own nothing! Everything belongs to Robert Kirkman and AMC.

Just a warning I know the punctuation is a little off. I've had to live with open office and let me tell you it SUCKS!

I speak like a Dixon therefore I write like one. There will be swearing.

Daryl ran through the forest towards the screams. His heart pounded as he came upon what he feared the most: Sophia, trapped in a tree by nearly a dozen walkers. Daryl looked around, there were more walkers closing in. he knew, there was no chance of this ending well, so he pulled his side arm and began firing. As the walkers realized there was an easier target, they changed course from the little girl and began heading towards him. Daryl knew, he wasn't walking away from this one.

"Sophia! Run! Follow the river, you'll come to a farm. Ya mom's there!" Daryl shouted as the first walker grabbed him.

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Sophia sobbed as she saw the walkers descend on Daryl She hadn't known him well, staying with her mom most of the time. But here he was, dying for her. And it was for nothing. Even as Daryl yelled her directions, Sophia knew. There was no way she could get to the river with out going past the walkers now rampaging towards Daryl They were both dead.

Sophia watched as the first walker grabbed Daryl pulling him to the ground. The walkers teeth found his neck, sinking into the flesh. At the same time, three other walkers bit Daryl on the shoulder, leg and forearm.

Sophia heard Daryl still fighting, ripping the walker from his throat before it got a good bite. But he was pulled down and was soon covered in bites. As the walkers prepared to rip into him Sophia turned away. But that instant, a blue flash exploded across the forest.

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Daryl quickly came back to consciousness. He heard some one sobbing his name. As he opened his eyes he saw Sophia crying next to him. But that wasn't what caught his attention. Surrounding them, was over a dozen walkers- dead on the ground. Motionless, with out head trauma.

"what the fuck?" Daryl tried to sit up, but his head exploded in pain and he sank back down to the ground.

"Daryl?!" Sophia reached up grabbing his shoulders, accidentally grabbing one of the bites. Daryl panted in pain as he grabbed her hand away. In an instant he realize the state of affairs- he was bit, dying and he still needed to get Sophia home.

"you okay?" he asked the little girl.

"yeah. But..." Sophia started sobbing as she saw the dozens of bites covering his body.

"hey hey, none of that now. We ain't got time for that shit. Gotta get you home." Daryl stated as he staggered to his feet. His body felt odd. Like...power. Nothing like how he imagined he would feel while dying.

Daryl picked up his cross bow from where it laid on the ground, then turned to Sophia

"listen ta me okay? I ain't gonna be here much longer. Need to get you back to your mom. Lets get goin'."

With one shared last confused look back at the fallen walkers the two headed off into the forest.

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Rick stood on the Hershel's porch with Shane, Tdog and Glenn at his side. The whole group was up in arms since the odd blue flash off in the distance in the woods less than an hour before. Rick was worried, Daryl had said he would be back before sundown, but as he looked to the last fades of yellow, rick knew. Something had happened.

"rick! Look!" Glenn handed rick the binoculars and pointed out to a patch of the forest.

As he looked rick felt ecstatic. Off in the distance stood Daryl, with Sophia

"he found her!" rick shouted. As the call went out for carol, rick looked back up to the binoculars. What he saw broke the happiness rick was feeling.

Sophia appeared to be sobbing as Daryl knelt in front of her. From where rick stood, the vicious bite on Daryl's neck was clear.

"No!" rick screamed as he jumped off the porch, running to the pair with Shane quick behind him.

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when he heard the call go out, Daryl had turned to Sophia

"here, take these." he quietly said, handing over his crossbow, gun and knife. "here comes rick and Shane, go on. I'll make sure you get to them before I leave."

Sophia looked up to him with big blue eyes.

"you're leaving?"

Daryl sighed and knelt down in front of her.

"Sophia, I ain't gonna make, you know that as well as I do. "

Sophia nodded as she started sobbing. Daryl looked to where rick and Shane were drawing close. Daryl looked back to the little girl and did something he had never done in his life.

Sophia was surprised as she felt Daryl hug her, but she hugged him back with everything she had. And when he spoke she took his words to memory.

"take care of your mom for me okay? You two were always good to me. Gonna miss you girls. Just remember, keep a knife at ya side and never let your guard down."

Sophia nodded as Daryl pulled away. With one last look to the two men running across the field, Daryl disappeared into the forest.

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"Rick! What's going on?" Shane shouted as they crossed the field. Rick shook his head as he ran up to Sophia's side. The little girl now stood holding Daryl's crossbow, sobbing her eyes out.

Shane looked to Rick, and in an instant they knew what had happened. Daryl had been bit saving Sophia.

"Sophia, honey, come on let's get you back to your mom okay?" rick asked. He wanted to run in the forest after Daryl, try to find him. But the hunter had made his point clear. Daryl knew he was a goner, and brought Sophia home before the infection took him down.

"D-Daryl. He got bit, there were so many! Then the blue!" Sophia sobbed as rick picked her up. When she mentioned blue, ricks eyes met Shane's. What had happened?

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the group crowded into Hershel's living room. The mood was dark, the loss of Daryl hit the group hard. As rick stepped into the room, he could feel everyone's eyes on him. Only carol was absinth, having stayed upstairs to comfort Sophia after she told rick and Shane what she saw.

"what did Sophia say?" dale asked quietly.

Rick looked around at the group. They were all staring at him, wanting to know what had happened.

"she was trapped in a tree. around a dozen walkers below her. Daryl found her, tried taking out the walkers, but there was too many. He ran out of bullets. Before he went down, he yelled to her directions to get back her. Then... remember the blue light a few hours ago?" rick asked the group.

As they all nodded, Shane looked at rick. They knew what happened next seemed impossible, but the only explanation.

"Sophia saw as several walkers took Daryl down. But right as they started to...to kill him, Sophia saw a bright blue flash come from the sky and go into Daryl's eyes. That second, all the walkers surrounding him, fell dead. The rest of the walkers in the area, maybe 6 or 7 more, also dead. No head trauma."

the group was shocked into silence before Andrea spoke up.

"wait a minute. Are you telling us Daryl killed a bunch of walkers, with out touching them?"

Shane stood up and walked next to rick's side.

"that's what Sophia told us. Also the only thing that makes sense. Daryl was bit, badly. Rick saw one on his neck through the binoculars and Sophia said there was a 5 more bites a least. Daryl knew he was dying. But he brought Sophia home. Once he saw that we'd spotted them, he took off for the forest. Daryl left his gun, knife and cross bow with Sophia"

rick continued. "from what Sophia said, Daryl had no idea what happened either. All he knew was that he was dying and wanted to get Sophia home before it was too late."

Glenn spoke up next.

"so Daryl is out there now, dying? We gotta find him rick, you saw how it was with Jim. We cant let Daryl go through that."

Shane nodded. "i know. But Daryl definitely wouldn't want pity. And besides, if he didn't want to be found, there's not a chance in hell we can find that man in the woods."

rick turned to Shane "in the morning, I'm going out looking."

Shane scoffed at rick. "what the hell for man? Daryl will be dead by morning. We all know that."

rick turned back to the group. "i know. But that man, he's dying because he saved Sophia. Daryl deserves to be buried."

dale stood up. "I'd very much like to go with you rick."

Glenn stood next. "count me in."

Tdog, Andrea, and Maggie all stood.

Rick smiled at the group. "thank you. This isn't going to be easy, we all know what we're searching for. But Daryl.. he wouldn't want to be one of them. Thank you."