A/N I should be doing the next chapter of Hotwire ( will be coming soon) but I found this on my computer and decided to throw it out there and see what you think. Please let me know.

Enjoy and thanks for reading.

Chapter 1

Daryl had been hunting for most of the day and only found a couple of squirrels and a few rabbits. The woods felt off somehow. He'd hunted there often enough he knew when something wasn't right. There was no bird song and all the small animals seemed to have gone to ground. He couldn't hear the tell-tale sounds of walkers so that meant there was something else causing the wildlife to hide away. He decided to call it a day and return to the prison. It was getting late and he had a good six or seven mile hike before dark.

As he turned back he heard something, at first he thought it was just an animal but then when it came again, he realised it was human, probably a woman. It wasn't a scream, more of a whimper but defiantly someone in trouble.

He hesitated before turning away.

"Come on Dixon, go home, can't save everyone" he told himself as he started to head away from the sound.

"Please, don't" the woman's voice was clear and nearby "No" she pleaded.

With a sigh, he turned back, there was no way he could ignore that.

"Gonna regret this" he told himself, as he crept closer, crossbow raised. He heard a thud and a small cry as if someone had fallen. He heard a man's laugh and peered through the trees ahead of him. In a small clearing he could see a man leaning over the fallen body of a pretty, young woman. As he watched the man laughed again and grabbed at the woman's shirt, pulling it from her shoulders and throwing it to the ground. She tried to crawl away from him, but he grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled her back.

"You aint going anywhere until I finished with you" he sneered.

Daryl raised the crossbow, taking careful aim at the man's head, his blood boiling. Men like this made him sick. His finger tightened on the trigger and he was about to release the bolt when a twig snapped somewhere to his side. His head shot round and he found himself staring down the barrel of a rifle. He span the crossbow round, now aiming at the man smiling at him from behind the gun.

"Hell boy, you shoot me and you're dead before I hit the ground" The man told him. He heard a weapon cocking behind him and then the man from the clearing appeared, holding a hand gun. He was surrounded.

Cursing he lowered his weapon, seeing no alternative at this time.

"My Hero" an amused voice commented and the woman he'd been trying to rescue stepped in front of him buttoning her shirt back up. She reached out and pulled the crossbow from his hands. He swore again as he realised he'd been set up.

"Nice work Becca" one of the men smiled as she sauntered away. Daryl saw the man's attention had drifted slightly as he spoke to the woman so he took his chance. He lunged forward going for the man's rifle. His fingers grabbed the barrel and he tried to wrench it away but the man was stronger and faster than he looked. He jerked the gun up and twisted it, pulling Daryl off balance. The other two men jumped forward. Daryl let go of the gun and started to throw punches. Most made contact but he was outnumbered. A rifle butt smashed into the back of his head and he went down. As he tried to struggle back to his feet he caught a glimpse of the woman approaching from the side. She swung his crossbow and bought it down hard. Everything went black.

When he woke he was being dragged from a car and into a rundown farm house, his hands bound tightly in front of him with rough rope that was already cutting into his wrists. He was shoved through a door and into a kitchen. He started to fight as the men tried to get him through a door in the corner of the kitchen.

"God damn son of a bitch!" one of them muttered as Daryl caught his nose with his bound hands. He swung the butt of his rifle and hit Daryl in the small of the back, causing him to stumble forward. The woman, Becca, opened the door and stepped back.

"How hard can it be to get one man down there?" she exclaimed in annoyance.

"Are we having problems?" a tall, man with greying hair walked into the kitchen. He took in the situation with a grin.

"I see, we got a feisty one have we?" The three men had managed to get Daryl to the doorway but he was refusing to go through it. He jammed his foot against the frame and pushed back with all his weight. The men holding him lost their balance and staggered back, one of them falling. Becca gave a loud sigh and pulled a hand gun from her waistband. She aimed it at Daryl.

"Just hold still" she ordered as he caught sight of her. Her cold look gave him no doubt she would shot to kill without a second thought. He straightened and glared directly at her. She indicated with the gun,

"Just go through there, no more bullshit" she demanded. As he passed her he kicked out, sweeping his leg behind hers, knocking her to the floor.

"Don't you point no gun at me, bitch" he snarled. The greying man laughed as she jumped to her feet, eyes blazing.

"Bastard!" she snapped, raising the gun again, half turning to the greying man. "Michael, let me kill him" she requested.

"Not just yet, Becca. You can have him later" He reassured her as he nodded to the other men. Warily they approached Daryl, this time managing to get him through the door. There was a flight of wooden stairs leading to a basement and they shoved him down. When they were about half way down Michael stepped past the men and kicked Daryl in the back of the leg. With his hands bound he had no way of regaining his balance and he fell down the remaining stairs. He landed in a heap on the earthen floor of the basement, hearing them all laughing. He rolled to his feet as they surrounded him. Two of them picked up baseball bats from where they were leaning against the wall.

"You gotta use bats 'cos you too pussy to take me out without them?" he goaded as they approached.

Michael gave him a cold smile.

"They use bats because it hurts more" he explained as the first blows landed.