Warning: This story is M rated due to the fact that it's going to be filled with lots of Daryl related smutty goodness.
AN: I am looking for a beta reader if anyone's interested, which means if you want to read the aforementioned smutty goodness before anyone else, you've come to the right place!
Disclaimer: If you've seen any content from this fic on the show "The Walking Dead", there's a 99.9% chance I don't own it.
The rain came down hard through the trees, but not so hard as to stop her. She was determined and focused, she had to get back soon. Alex forced herself to run through the downpour, sucking air into her burning lungs. Although her legs were tired she was careful to pick up her feet as she moved, the trail she was following was well worn, revealing gnarled tree roots. However, she did not anticipate how slippery the ground would be from the rain, the dirt shifted and her feet slipped out from underneath her, throwing her forward. Her head slammed against the ground and her vision went black for a moment.
When her senses returned, her sight was blurred and her head pounded. She could hear fallen leaves crunching and rustling in the distance. She squinted, trying to refocus, and in the distance could make out a dark figure. Her breath hitched in her throat as she realized what is was. The moans of the undead reached her ears, as more appeared between the trees. Alex frantically pushed herself up off the ground and began sprinting back the way she came. The pack of undead noticed her movements and began to increase their speed.
Alex was worried, she knew what was past the grove of trees, on open grassy plain that her pursuers could easily use to gain ground on her. While the undead moved fairly slowly through the forest, that was not the same for flat, open terrain. The trees began to thin out and the plains came into view. She looked behind her, at the mob that was shambling towards her, then back to the path. Without warning, she slammed into a wall of human muscle.
She stumbled and fell on her ass, gazing up at the man in horror. He had a crossbow aimed at her head and had steely stare that was boring into her. He glanced at the undead that were chasing Alex and quickly assessed her again. She guessed he must of thought she wasn't much of a threat because he roughly hauled her up by the collar instead of putting an arrow through her head.
"Pine tree on the left, climb it," he ordered.
She saw the tree he was talking about and ran over to it, the man trailing right behind her. Thankfully the branches of the tree were low and she scaled it quickly. She stopped about 10 feet up to catch her breath, but felt a slap on her calf.
"Higher," he grunted, pulling up beside her.
She followed his lead and managed to get a few more branches higher before the pack began to pass below them. A few of the undead stopped at the base of the tree, but they were at the point of decomposition that they were unable to climb the branches and were reduced to the simple actions of swinging what was left of their arms at the trunk.
"Stop," he hissed, and they both came to rest.
They sat in silence as the mob shambled on. Alex clutched at the branch she was sitting on with a white knuckle grip. As thankful as she was that the guy had helped her out, she was very wary. She had already come across a few men who had less than honourable intentions, and although her knife had been enough to scare off most of them, it wasn't much of a match for a crossbow.
It took some time, but eventually the undead left the vicinity in search of more easily accessible prey. At some point it had stopped raining, which was good, but it was late evening and the light was starting to fade rapidly.
The guy was the first to break the silence, "Name."
It was a demand, not a question, but she answered him all the same, "Alex".
"Daryl".
"Thanks," she said plainly, still unsure of his intentions.
"Yeah," he acknowledged.
They went quiet for a few more minutes before he spoke up again, "Got any food?"
"Some," she answered. She wouldn't mind sharing food with Daryl, seeing as he saved her from an untimely death at the hands of the undead.
"Save it for tomorrow" he commanded.
"Tomorrow?" she asked, slightly confused.
"We sleep up here tonight. It's safer than on the ground in these parts," he explained.
She noticed that he said 'we', but wasn't sure how she felt about it, "And how do you propose we sleep in a tree?" Alex queried skeptically.
"Do you have any rope in that backpack of yours?" he said, answering her question with another question.
"Well, yeah," she admitted, "but not much, only about four feet."
"That'll do. Climb over to my branch."
She cautiously manouvered herself around the tree trunk and found herself face to face with Daryl. He had a rugged handsomeness to him, he was wearing a shirt with the sleeves cut off, showing off his muscled arms. She joined him on his branch, and handed him the rope.
"You're facing the wrong way," he told her.
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him, but obliged and straddles the tree facing the other direction, her hand wandered toward the knife on her belt.
Daryl's hand shot out, grabbing her wrist tightly, "Don't bother, if I wanted to hurt you, I woulda done it already."
"Okay," she responded, her words implying she trusted him, but her tone told a different story.
He ignored her and wrapped his other arm around her waist, pulling her back flush to his chest. He tied their hands together, then secured them to the branch. Alex back was tense and rigid, every muscle ready to act just in case he made another move, but when he didn't, she finally relaxed.
"If one of us starts to fall we should wake each other up, but if that fails, at least we won't fall outta the tree," Daryl said.
By then the sun was setting beneath the horizon, colouring the sky with a brilliant red hue. The sunset didn't last long however, and the sun vanished from sight, allowing darkness to take over. In that time Daryl starting snoring, and Alex drifted into sleep beneath the night sky.
Reviews, good or bad, are always welcome!
Till next time,
ThreeFoldLaw :)