Meant to be.

Daryl Dixon's hunting trip had been very successful, he had a string of twelve dead squirrels tied neatly around his chest. It was more than enough for the camp to keep going a few more days but he still wasn't satisfied. He liked the distraction of the hunt plus the other survivors back at camp didn't interest him at all, they kept their distance and he kept his. That's how he liked it, the only person he was close to, Merle, his brother, had gone on a run into the city with a few others for more supplies.

He knew Merle didn't go to help the group, his stash had been running low. The only thing his brother knew about and used to make a living from was drugs. That and chicks Daryl smiled to himself, remembering how many times his big bro had tried to get him laid and how many women Merle used to take for himself. On the bad side his brother was a tad racist, had a foul mouth, viewed women like pieces of meat, that sexist word got thrown at him alot. The camp only tolerated the Dixons because they knew how to hunt. As long as the food kept coming things were peachy.

Before long he had wandered out further into the forest than he meant to, the light was fading too. It was autumn, the few hours of light during the day giving way to a full moon that hung lazily in the sky. The ground was carpeted in a mixture of red, brown and orange leaves that would crunch under foot but Daryl was a natural hunter, his feet barely made a sound. Something else wasn't so skilled, every few seconds he heard rustling coming from different directions. He slowed right down, focusing on every tiny movement to pinpoint exactly where it was coming from, always alert and ready to defend himself. Everything fell silent for several minutes, the only audible motion where his own raspy breaths. The temperature was rapidly dropping, chilling even his immaculately toned exterior, his tattered sleeveless shirt doing little to warm him.

A deep moan howled from the left side and without hesitation he swung himself round crossbow at the ready. Narrowing his eyes he could just make out a walker hobbling along. It hadn't seen him yet, it was plodding around with a scent more interesting than his own clinging to its decaying nostrils. The side of it's was face missing, allowing pointy cheekbone to protrudes through aswell as one arm barely hanging on by strings of flesh. Flexing his biceps Daryl crept closer, crossbow aimed to it's squishy, bald head, eyes scanning the area for signs of more of them. As his finger pressed down on the trigger the walker's gangly arm hit the floor with a thud, crimson blood spewing onto the nearby trees. "Ewww" an unseen female voice shrieked in disgust.

Stepping out from behind a rotting tree was a slender female form silhouetted by the moonlight. Without thinking of the danger from either her or more possible walkers he sprinted over, one arrow flying ahead of him piercing zombie brain in a perfect shot.

Her green eyes glistened as an icy wind bit at her face, it was so cold but her cheeks felt hot. The mysterious man who had flown through the woods to her rescue retrieved his arrow, easily sliding it from that creature's skull with a squelch. "Ya'll right?" He asked, words slathered in a thick southern accent. Drawing a little closer he drunk up every part of her appearance that he could make out. Even in the darkness he could see her hair cascading down to her hips in a golden blonde mass. Her eyes were huge despite being sunken by dark circles, they looked up at him holding no threat or malice, just vulnerability. Her trembling lips where plump and had formed into a smile as she ate up his appearance just as eagerly. There was no doubt that she was pretty.
"I'm fine! I haven't seen someone...well someone alive..for ages!" He didn't respond, his instincts had kicked in. "You bit?" He demanded. "Nah." she shrugged carelessly, knowing the routine question very well by now. He moved towards her expecting her to back away like most women did to him but she stood her ground defiantly. "I need to check you." She gazed into his angry narrowed eyes, they were blue, deep like an ocean, full of pain and hurt but also held an almost invisible flicker of kindness.

She knew she should run away from a stranger especially being in the apocalypse and all but she trusted him, he had gone out of his way to help. Whether or not it was the right move she surrendered, every part of her being so sick of running. "Go ahead" she nodded, averting her gaze shyly from him before the frisk began. She lifted her arms above her head which caused her breasts to jiggle slightly as Daryl placed his hands on her, he noticed that, he noticed that her skin was a beautiful ivory colour and that she smelt earthy, she was young, slender but curvy. He felt a twitch in his underpants as his fingertips brushed against her hips and knew there was no chance to finish his examination, pulling his hands away and backing up. "Satisfied?" She smiled hopefully. He hadn't seen a smile like that in a long time, was she out of her mind? The dead were walking around, people were killing each other and she didn't seem aware of anything. "Why the fuck you so cheerful?" "I haven't seen survivors in months" her smile faded slightly from his hostile reaction. He scanned the open clearing around where they stood wondering where the hell she'd come from or if she was lying to draw him into some sort of ambush. "I'm by myself." she whispered, snapping him out of his thoughts. "How ya been survivin' then?" He challenged although his guard was dropping much quicker than it should have. Fastening his crossbow onto his shoulder he tried desperately to avoid making eye contact with this girl who made him nervous. She took the chance to stare at his face, he was covered in dirt with dried blood matting his brown hair, he had a little scruffy beard giving him that rugged unkempt look, his eyes were scrunched into a frown and his lips in a scowl, despite everything it was obvious that he was gorgeous...she felt drawn to him. "I move around alot, scavenge what I can. Came across a few groups of survivors but I wasn't willing to do the sort of things they did..." she replied solemnly. Murder. Torture. Rape. Leaving people to die without a second thought. He knew exactly what she meant, most people were like that now, becoming animals to survive. He nodded to the dead body on the floor "You ain't scared of 'em?" "Well.." she began, kicking it's lost limb across the floor "I'm not crazy about the smell and when their arms or legs fall off it really grosses me out.. but they're slow, I can kill 'em no problem." He remembered the sound she made earlier- it's arm falling off had given away her position, stupid girl. He couldn't help but smile though.

What now? Take her back to camp? Could she be trusted? There was no choice.
"Ya wanna come wi' me back to ma group?" He asked in a softer voice than he meant to, almost a plead. "I haven't got anything else planned. Lead the way." she shrugged with a grin. She'd been on her own for too many long months, she hoped this group would be different, she was sick of watching her own back every day, living in constant fear. When they arrived back at camp after a long walk in silence a group of ten or so people were sitting around a roaring fire. It was a nice little spot they had found, on top of the small mountain that was surrounded by woodland. There was a little make-shift car park with one R.V, a couple of cars and trucks. By that were tents dotted around like little houses on their own rural street, for the end of the world it was quite cosy.

Everybody was stunned into silence as the new girl came into view, lagging slight behind Daryl. They all flocked over to meet her out of sheer curiosity and partly fear of an unknown fellow human. She stood slightly behind Daryl as a burly man strode over to them, not looking too pleased. "What the fuck Daryl? Thought you went looking for food?" This dark haired man grinned menacingly, eying up Daryl's find. Straightening herself up like on a first day of school she prepared for the best first impression possible "Hi I'm.." she begun but cut herself off, so shocked that she couldn't remember her own name, it had been such a long time since anyone had asked for it.

Nobody cared that she didn't have a name, they were just overjoyed to see a new face, a living person that was as friendly and intent on surviving as they were. Taking it in turns to meet and greet they politely shared their own names instead. Acceptance was given almost instantly, she was bombarded with hugs and kisses as she was welcomed into the group like an old friend come back from a long vacation. The burly bloke Shane questioned her like a cop about everything, where'd she come from, how she'd been staying alive, that sort of thing. The way he looked at her made her uncomfortable and his body was too close, kind of like he was intimidating her and coming on to her at the same time. "I started from Atlanta and gradually worked my way around." she shrugged, pulling back from him, wriggling closer to Daryl who tensed up as she brushed against him. Not surprisingly he hadn't been among the huggers, just observing on the side lines. "Back off, asshole." he growled towards Shane. Lori, a skinny woman with long dark hair and a young boy by her side called Carl, intervened, "She's tired and hungry, Shane, just leave it. You can see she isn't a danger to anyone." Shane didn't even think about it, he did what he was told, backing off with a curt little "Welcome to the group lil lady."