»How many Walkers have you killed?«

Rick’s words echoed in your head as you ran through the grass at breakneck speed. Your neck burned with the effort, the blood pumped into the temples and the adrenaline showed no signs of decline.

“Hurry the hell up, Y/N!”

“I can’t!”, you reply in a low voice, gasping. All you wanted was to stop and rest.

“Goddamn! Move on! I have no intention of dying ‘cause of yer lazy ass!”

You turned around. The herd was getting closer. The fear almost paralyzed you and your legs became heavy because of the tiredness. A hand grabs your arm and pulls you forward, forcing you to continue your run.

“Run! Or do ya’ want to end like those bastards?”

The faces of the people around you came to your mind. Those who have become your family lately. Carl, Glenn, Michonne, Rick…

Tears rose in your eyes and moistened them. It would be your fault if you wouldn’t be longer with them. You should have protected them.

»How many people have you killed?«

»One.«

“Want some more tea 'nd cookies, damn it, com’ on, Y/N!”, screamed the one who was with you.

When you heard your name, you suddenly came back to reality. A reality in which you don’t want to live anymore, so absurd that even your worst nightmares couldn’t be enough. You started running again without knowing where you would end.

»Why?«

»Because that person wanted to kill me.«

After a silence that seemed endless, Rick Grimes nodded. »You belong to us now. You’re a part of this group, this family.«

Now you just want that all to be over, but it does not happen. The clearing has turned into a forest and you both kept running. “Over there, look!”, you cried out.

A house was to be seen in front of you, a few meters away. It was small, probably not safe, but maybe enough to catch its breath. If you stay out here, you’ll die anyway, so it’s worth a try.

“Let’s hope there’s an exit on the back…” Daryl took a moment to look at you, with those eyes that constantly challenged you to hurry to the hiding place in front of you. In front of the entrance, he doesn’t even bother to see if the door is blocked or not: He opened it with a heavy kick on the lock and then threw himself in, waiting for you to cross the threshold and you fell exhausted to the ground. The man blocked the door with a dresser and then imitated you. He threw himself on the floor with his arms raised.

Meanwhile, the Walkers who pursued you gathered at the entrance. You heard them hiss, agitated with your scent and fear, pushing their living dead bodies toward the door, unable to feel pain or fatigue.

You looked at Daryl. “So what now?”

He got up and inspected the house. It’s like an apartment made entirely of wood, with a sort of living room in the room you were in and, you suppose, a bedroom in the other room.

“Gotta find a way out.”, he answered slowly with his crossbow in his hand and walked to the other room. “Everything’s safe.”, he warned you. Finally you stood up and your breath was back to normal. As you walked into the other room, you saw Daryl swinging the cupboard against the wall, trying to make as little noise as possible. You helped him, lifting it to the side and you discovered a grip behind it. You looked at each other and you, with a slightly raised corner of your mouth, said: “It seems like the first time the luck is on our side.”

“Let’s get away from the house, we’ll go left. Saw a road when we were in the woods. Ya’ ready?”

You nodded with your head like you were ready to die. Daryl slowly opens the door; When he saw that no one was waiting for you, he rushed out and gave you a sign with his hand. Before you left, you glanced at the other side of the little house, and you noticed that the herd of Walkers started breaking through the door; the gray and skeletal hands of those who once were humans sprout through the broken boards. You closed the door behind you and ran to Daryl, who has since slowed his escape.

“Where are we going?”, you asked. Daryl walked beside you, his crossbow over his shoulder and now in a slower pace again. It was quiet as always. Since you’ve known him, you have rarely heard him speak inappropriately. He seemed to have lost his voice lately. But you could see how all his senses were on alert.

“Only a few hours left 'til sun sets, we better hide 'til tomorrow. Dunno…”

You risked the question that none of you two had ever asked. “Do you think the rest of our group is-…”

“…-dead?”, Daryl added.

You nodded. You hadn’t mentioned the other members of the group since you had to left prison a few days ago.

“Possible, ’s far ’s we know, only we’re alive.”

“Or maybe not.”

Daryl stopped and looked at you coldly. “We can’t know, stop talkin’ 'bout it.”

“And what are we talking about then?”

“Shut up.”

Daryl. Daryl Dixon. Did you have to deal with him? Of the whole group, he was the person with whom you had less and less contact during these weeks. There could be a attack in jail and you should run away with him then? Nonsense… You still can not believe it. Hershel. The Governor. You knew he would kill him while he was kneeling at his feet, but part of you hoped he would somehow save himself, that Rick would find a solution to it too. But he isn’t invincible. None of us is. And Hershel is dead. You can barely remember anything after seeing the Governor sink Michonne’s katana down his neck. You just remember how you screamed and how you looked for Maggie and Beth. You remember the older sister of the Greene’s collapsed on her knees on the floor while her father fell to the ground on the other side of the fence. The deafening noise of shots, the fence being pulled down, the Walkers. You had no weapon with you. You decided to wait in the shelter of a car for this damn hell to end. Rick, in the field, other people responded to the enemy fire and everywhere you heard screams full of fear. The Walkers, who had now entered the prison area, spread and began to deface the place, the yard, the places you all had been living in before. Your home… You would have died, but you made it through. By killing as much as possible. To quarter them with a machete and use it as a shield. Then suddenly they were too many. And then, then came Daryl. »Move ya’ fuckin’ ass, Y/N! Don’t have all day!«

Daryl and you reached the crumbled remains of a city just before sunset. You entered the house where you wanted to stay and barricaded you there. It was the first of several terraced houses that formed this ghost town, on two floors, with a modest garden in complete abandonment. Inside, the disorder prevailed. You wondered what happened to the family who lived here. Could they escape? In any case, the house was now empty and safe, at least for one night. You reinforced the door by barricading it with one of the armchairs in the living room and pulling in the curtains. You found some candles on the fireplace; So you put these on the floor, but when you tried to turn them on, Daryl stopped you.

“Don’t, these curtains aren’t that thick, the light would attract them.”

You sighed and sat on the couch. Maybe it would be ideal to go to sleep immediately, but Daryl did not leave you alone. He plundered the bag he had with him and tossed you a portion of dried meat. “T'morrow we’ll search for something useful at this place. Go to sleep when ya’ done.”

The meat tasted enormous. It looked like cardboard. Like spicy tasting cardboard. The man handed you a bottle of water.

“Thank you, Daryl.”

He looked surprised. “For water?”

“Not just for the water - for everything.”

He remained silent for a moment. “Go to sleep. ’S was a damn long day.”

So you took off your boots and put a knife under the pillow. Instead, Daryl sat down in the other chair beside the extinguished fireplace.

“We’ll find 'em, if they’re still 'live we’ll find 'em.”

You didn’t answer and let the tears escape your eyes in silence…

»Well, Rick, did ya’ miss the damn princess?«

»Daryl…«

»Holy shit, Rick, ya’ didn’t want her to join us 'cause ya’ worried she might pose a threat 'nd now she’s joining our group, what’s wrong with ya’!«

»She needs us. She is alone. She could die out there. Here she could help us to defend the prison.«

»She doesn’t even know which direction she’s holdin’ a damn gun, I’ll tell ya’ for sure she’ll kill us!«

»We’ll teach her how to do it, and you’ll teach her how to use guns too.«

»What? Ya’ kidding? I’m not a fuckin’ teacher!«

»I’ll teach her to defend herself.«

»Rick, that’s bullshit!«

»No, it’s decided now.«

»Fuck!«

»Daryl, something else…«

»What do ya’ want now?«

»You will take care of Y/N.«

»How many Walkers have you killed?«

Rick’s words echoed in your head as you ran through the grass at breakneck speed. Your neck burned with the effort, the blood pumped into the temples and the adrenaline showed no signs of decline.

“Hurry the hell up, Y/N!”

“I can’t!”, you reply in a low voice, gasping. All you wanted was to stop and rest.

“Goddamn! Move on! I have no intention of dying ‘cause of yer lazy ass!”

You turned around. The herd was getting closer. The fear almost paralyzed you and your legs became heavy because of the tiredness. A hand grabs your arm and pulls you forward, forcing you to continue your run.

“Run! Or do ya’ want to end like those bastards?”

The faces of the people around you came to your mind. Those who have become your family lately. Carl, Glenn, Michonne, Rick…

Tears rose in your eyes and moistened them. It would be your fault if you wouldn’t be longer with them. You should have protected them.

»How many people have you killed?«

»One.«

“Want some more tea 'nd cookies, damn it, com’ on, Y/N!”, screamed the one who was with you.

When you heard your name, you suddenly came back to reality. A reality in which you don’t want to live anymore, so absurd that even your worst nightmares couldn’t be enough. You started running again without knowing where you would end.

»Why?«

»Because that person wanted to kill me.«

After a silence that seemed endless, Rick Grimes nodded. »You belong to us now. You’re a part of this group, this family.«

Now you just want that all to be over, but it does not happen. The clearing has turned into a forest and you both kept running. “Over there, look!”, you cried out.

A house was to be seen in front of you, a few meters away. It was small, probably not safe, but maybe enough to catch its breath. If you stay out here, you’ll die anyway, so it’s worth a try.

“Let’s hope there’s an exit on the back…” Daryl took a moment to look at you, with those eyes that constantly challenged you to hurry to the hiding place in front of you. In front of the entrance, he doesn’t even bother to see if the door is blocked or not: He opened it with a heavy kick on the lock and then threw himself in, waiting for you to cross the threshold and you fell exhausted to the ground. The man blocked the door with a dresser and then imitated you. He threw himself on the floor with his arms raised.

Meanwhile, the Walkers who pursued you gathered at the entrance. You heard them hiss, agitated with your scent and fear, pushing their living dead bodies toward the door, unable to feel pain or fatigue.

You looked at Daryl. “So what now?”

He got up and inspected the house. It’s like an apartment made entirely of wood, with a sort of living room in the room you were in and, you suppose, a bedroom in the other room.

“Gotta find a way out.”, he answered slowly with his crossbow in his hand and walked to the other room. “Everything’s safe.”, he warned you. Finally you stood up and your breath was back to normal. As you walked into the other room, you saw Daryl swinging the cupboard against the wall, trying to make as little noise as possible. You helped him, lifting it to the side and you discovered a grip behind it. You looked at each other and you, with a slightly raised corner of your mouth, said: “It seems like the first time the luck is on our side.”

“Let’s get away from the house, we’ll go left. Saw a road when we were in the woods. Ya’ ready?”

You nodded with your head like you were ready to die. Daryl slowly opens the door; When he saw that no one was waiting for you, he rushed out and gave you a sign with his hand. Before you left, you glanced at the other side of the little house, and you noticed that the herd of Walkers started breaking through the door; the gray and skeletal hands of those who once were humans sprout through the broken boards. You closed the door behind you and ran to Daryl, who has since slowed his escape.

“Where are we going?”, you asked. Daryl walked beside you, his crossbow over his shoulder and now in a slower pace again. It was quiet as always. Since you’ve known him, you have rarely heard him speak inappropriately. He seemed to have lost his voice lately. But you could see how all his senses were on alert.

“Only a few hours left 'til sun sets, we better hide 'til tomorrow. Dunno…”

You risked the question that none of you two had ever asked. “Do you think the rest of our group is-…”

“…-dead?”, Daryl added.

You nodded. You hadn’t mentioned the other members of the group since you had to left prison a few days ago.

“Possible, ’s far ’s we know, only we’re alive.”

“Or maybe not.”

Daryl stopped and looked at you coldly. “We can’t know, stop talkin’ 'bout it.”

“And what are we talking about then?”

“Shut up.”

Daryl. Daryl Dixon. Did you have to deal with him? Of the whole group, he was the person with whom you had less and less contact during these weeks. There could be a attack in jail and you should run away with him then? Nonsense… You still can not believe it. Hershel. The Governor. You knew he would kill him while he was kneeling at his feet, but part of you hoped he would somehow save himself, that Rick would find a solution to it too. But he isn’t invincible. None of us is. And Hershel is dead. You can barely remember anything after seeing the Governor sink Michonne’s katana down his neck. You just remember how you screamed and how you looked for Maggie and Beth. You remember the older sister of the Greene’s collapsed on her knees on the floor while her father fell to the ground on the other side of the fence. The deafening noise of shots, the fence being pulled down, the Walkers. You had no weapon with you. You decided to wait in the shelter of a car for this damn hell to end. Rick, in the field, other people responded to the enemy fire and everywhere you heard screams full of fear. The Walkers, who had now entered the prison area, spread and began to deface the place, the yard, the places you all had been living in before. Your home… You would have died, but you made it through. By killing as much as possible. To quarter them with a machete and use it as a shield. Then suddenly they were too many. And then, then came Daryl. »Move ya’ fuckin’ ass, Y/N! Don’t have all day!«

Daryl and you reached the crumbled remains of a city just before sunset. You entered the house where you wanted to stay and barricaded you there. It was the first of several terraced houses that formed this ghost town, on two floors, with a modest garden in complete abandonment. Inside, the disorder prevailed. You wondered what happened to the family who lived here. Could they escape? In any case, the house was now empty and safe, at least for one night. You reinforced the door by barricading it with one of the armchairs in the living room and pulling in the curtains. You found some candles on the fireplace; So you put these on the floor, but when you tried to turn them on, Daryl stopped you.

“Don’t, these curtains aren’t that thick, the light would attract them.”

You sighed and sat on the couch. Maybe it would be ideal to go to sleep immediately, but Daryl did not leave you alone. He plundered the bag he had with him and tossed you a portion of dried meat. “T'morrow we’ll search for something useful at this place. Go to sleep when ya’ done.”

The meat tasted enormous. It looked like cardboard. Like spicy tasting cardboard. The man handed you a bottle of water.

“Thank you, Daryl.”

He looked surprised. “For water?”

“Not just for the water - for everything.”

He remained silent for a moment. “Go to sleep. ’S was a damn long day.”

So you took off your boots and put a knife under the pillow. Instead, Daryl sat down in the other chair beside the extinguished fireplace.

“We’ll find 'em, if they’re still 'live we’ll find 'em.”

You didn’t answer and let the tears escape your eyes in silence…

»Well, Rick, did ya’ miss the damn princess?«

»Daryl…«

»Holy shit, Rick, ya’ didn’t want her to join us 'cause ya’ worried she might pose a threat 'nd now she’s joining our group, what’s wrong with ya’!«

»She needs us. She is alone. She could die out there. Here she could help us to defend the prison.«

»She doesn’t even know which direction she’s holdin’ a damn gun, I’ll tell ya’ for sure she’ll kill us!«

»We’ll teach her how to do it, and you’ll teach her how to use guns too.«

»What? Ya’ kidding? I’m not a fuckin’ teacher!«

»I’ll teach her to defend herself.«

»Rick, that’s bullshit!«

»No, it’s decided now.«

»Fuck!«

»Daryl, something else…«

»What do ya’ want now?«

»You will take care of Y/N.«