Welcome to my next endeavor. Without Darkness will be an interesting project. Part Tv canon, mostly AU fiction featuring a Negan/OC pairing. It seems like everyone's writing this pairing right now and I hesitated to post it because of that but I've been dabbling with this almost as long as I had been writing Saving Valentine, so I figured might as well. I will try to keep to canon characters but of course shit happens. Hopefully I can pull off a realistic work of fiction. Heh.

Checkout my tumblr for pictures of story and character inspiration. (Kayla is inspired by Octavia from The 100)

Thanks for following all my other fics, please review and let me know what y'all think.

ENJOY!

Aaron led the woman towards the gate at gunpoint, her hands tied tightly behind her back. Daryl walked to his left, his eyes scanning the woods for any possible friends of the road worn woman. With the threats of the mysterious Negan, Daryl wasn't taking any chances. They could be walking a member of his group right through the front gates. She had thick dark hair braided on the sides, the back trimmed shorter, almost jagged as if done in haste. Her forehead and dark narrowed eyes were partially covered with a swath of dirty bangs. The stranger looked haggard but fierce, her strong jaw was set tightly, the muscle thick with tension. The sneer that curled her chapped lips looked both angry and amused. Daryl wasn't sure why the expression seemed familiar but he could only really compare it to something his brother Merle would have worn, an arrogant smirk with an edge of dangerous.

"Home Sweet Home, huh?" She jeered with a mocking grin. He couldn't help but be irritated by the woman, she got under his skin like a jagged splinter.

"Why don' ya shut your trap and walk." He snapped pushing her shoulder forcefully, her body stumbling forward a few feet. Without her hands to catch her from hitting the pavement, the bound girl landed on her knees before crashing face first to the rough asphalt. She released a grunt as her cheek scraped along the gravel.

"Shit." Daryl muttered glancing at Aaron's wide eyes. He drilled holes into Daryl the size of Texas and growled, "you are out of line Dixon. Help her up."

Aaron had never raised his voice or ordered Daryl around once in all the many months they'd known each other. Daryl couldn't help but cringe at the tone, a deeply buried part of himself prepared to be hit. It had been a serious fuck up and if Aaron were his Pa, he deserved to be beaten bloody.

Without hesitating another second he flung his bow on his back and helped the woman up. She flinched at his nearness, the sight made his stomach clench, angering him even more than her words.

"C'mon." He barked, pushing her towards the gate. Daryl heard Aaron growl another irritated comment about his inability to show a little humanity but he ignored it. The man was lucky Daryl even agreed to help her ass get to the gates.

Fuck her and fuck him. Fuck this day all together.

Kayla hadn't meant to get caught by the redneck and the outdoorsy male model but there she was, trussed up like a holiday turkey.

If she were lucky, they'd kill her before they raped her and if life taught Kayla anything, it was that she was the unluckiest s. o. b. there ever was. If there was a wrong place and a wrong time she would be there.

The gate rolled open and she sauntered in, her bloodied lip curled obnoxiously, her eyes full of false bravado. Her cheek was throbbing from her face plant and a sharp sting of imbedded gravel made her grimace.

"Well, well, well. Look at this little slice of heaven in the middle of a shitstorm." She taunted her chest constricting with something akin to hope but she smothered it with hate.

Hate for all the false hopes she'd been given before and had ripped away. Hate for people like these who had some kind of safe haven. Hate for the world and everything in it.

"Stop. On your knees." A loud voice barked from the side, a large redhead with an impressive rifle stomped towards her. Kayla smirked at him and drawled, "A'right a'right. Calm down." She sunk to her knees, grunting as she pressed into her newly bruised and scrapped joints.

There were raised voices down the pretty little street, faces peaking out of porches and the gossiping housewives finally getting new entertainment.

A clacking of boots on concrete grew louder until they stopped in front of the kneeling woman. She didn't bother making eye contact, instead she sneered at a mousy woman and man wearing a priest collar.

"Found 'er bout a mile out. Tried t'jump us. No signs of a group though." The redneck informed the newest arrival, his road worn boots appearing in the corner of her eye.

"Hey." The new guy drawled, his fingers snapping to gain her attention, "don't look at them. Look at me."

Kayla snorted, turning her head towards the southern twang, a feeling of nostalgia hitting her. When her dark eyes met the crystalline baby blues of none other than Rick Grimes, Kayla thought she was hallucinating.

His mouth opened as if about to ask a question but his throat dried. She watched recognition hit Rick hard, his unstable feet bringing him closer.

"Kay?" He rasped, his eyes narrowing as he looked her over, his head cocked to the side.

"Holy shit. Rick fuckin Grimes." She muttered with a wry grin, shaking her head in disbelief. A sudden thought hit her like a freight train, a lightening strike of hope. Where there was Rick Grimes, there always was best friend, Shane Walsh. The loud mouth obnoxious meathead, none other than Kayla's big brother.

Her eyes shot over Rick's shoulder, skipping across the faces of others, her chest aching from the strength of her racing heart. Kayla stumbled to her feet, her mind reeling as the others shouted orders for her to kneel. Guns were raised and aimed at her but she could only focus on finding her long lost family. Rick was shouting over them, his hand up trying to pacify them while Kayla's wild eyes scanned the growing crowd. "Shane!" She screamed, her heart clashing as she searched for her big brother. "Shane!"

"Kayla!" Rick shouted, his hands gripping her shoulders. Finally meeting Rick's troubled gaze, she watched as he shook his head once, his chin dropping.

A fissure cracked open inside her chest and all the grief she had thought she processed, bubbled up again. Kayla felt like she had whiplash from the rapid change of emotions.

"Mind tellin' us what is goin' on and who she is Hoss?" The large redhead growled with frustrated tone, a rifle still aimed at her head. Kayla dropped to her knees and sat on her heels, her shoulders sagging as she swallowed thickly.

Not knowing was hard but at least it allowed a vague hope her brother was out surviving. Now she knew he was dead and gone, never to be seen again.

Rick didn't reply to his men only approached closer, bending to catch her eyes. "Kay... M'sorry."

She nodded, her eyes drilling into the ground as she fought back the burning under her eyelids. Shaking her head violently once, she glanced back up at Rick and asked, "Lori?"

The man's face hardened and he shook his head sadly, his eyes jumping to a teen watching from the sidewalk. He stood tall, his face partially covered with a large white bandage and low slung sheriff hat.

"Jesus. That Carl?" She gasped with a chuckle, "what're ya feedin him?"

Rick laughed dryly, his hand scrubbing his jaw and rasped, "not enough." He turned to the men who still had her in their sights, guns and bows raised and ordered, "Aaron take her to Denise, I'll be right there."

"How 'bout these ties Sherriff?" She asked with a cocky grin, her grief shoved back in its box. Rick grabbed her bicep, helping her up while rolling his eyes at her and shook his head, "same goddamn shit eating grin as your brother. They stay on, don't know each other anymore Kay."

"Well that's just rude Grimes. What would Mama say?" Kayla drawled, her arrogant smirk back as she followed the curly haired man down the street.

"Shut your mouth and go get some first aid." Rick ordered while pointing down the street.

Kayla shuffled towards the house they used for medical treatment and glanced back at Rick who now spoke low to several people.

Kayla sat on a cot while their doctor plucked gravel out of her cheek with shaky hands. Aaron stood guard, his hands holding his rifle but not aiming it at her. She didn't speak, only sat trying to reel in what emotions that were drowning her from the inside. There had always been the awareness that her brother Shane could be dead. It was more statistically possible than him living in some paradise, safe and sound. Kayla knew that but there had always been some hope that he was a survivor. When he had called her to tell her he was traveling to Atlanta she had been stuck at the border of Florida. He told her to go to Fort Benning and eventually he'd meet her there. She'd waited for a month and never saw hide nor hair of him. Eventually she travelled north, heading to Atlanta and what she found was burned out ruins.

"So you know Rick from before?" Aaron asked from his position by the door. Kayla glanced at him and nodded without speaking. She wasn't sure she could talk about the old world without opening the freshly opened wounds.

"Was he always soooooo... Serious?" Denise asked before adding, "this is gonna sting."

Kayla snorted and drawled, "Rick was always the adult. He kept Sha.." Shaking her head she looked away towards the window swallowing down her brother's name.

"He uh.. He's always been in charge." She finished with, her voice hoarse from holding back the anguish.

The two nodded silently as if knowing that before was off limits for now.

Rick entered with Daryl, their eyes jumping to Aaron and Denise, a silent conversation occurring while Kayla looked on.

"Can you take these ties off, bowman over there was none to gentle."

"Ya punched me in the balls, wasn't lookin' for a repeat." He drawled but his eyes read as regretful.

Rolling hers in return she muttered, "just protecting myself."

"More like tryin to steal from us." He growled causing Rick to put up a halting hand.

"Come on now." He drawled, "won't take them off just yet Kay. Gotta ask you some questions."

"Shoot." She responded before adding with a wide grin, "metaphorically speaking of course."

Rick only stared back before asking, "where have you been all this time?"

Kayla let out a puff of air, blowing her bangs off her face. She knew her scars were showing now, the burn spreading from her jaw and neck. Their eyes widened and mouths parted but no one wanted to ask.

Without explaining she started a breakdown of everything that happened to her. "I was near Florida when everything started. Got trapped by the border. I talked to Shane..." Shaking her head slightly and looked away, her mind going back to the day he called frantic and demanding.

"Told me to go to Fort Benning, said he'd meet me there."

Rick let out a sharp breath, his head bowing as he shook his head. She didn't ask only continued on, "I guess you know he didn't show... I uh waited for about a month and then the place fell. A few died inside and just... It was a massacre. Military gunned down anything moving. I got out with a few defectors. Travelled north towards Atlanta."

Kayla snorted and rolled her sore shoulders, the ties cutting into her skin. "Found it smoldering and over run. I figured then that he was probably dead. He had said he was taking Lori and Carl there... Said you hadn't made it out of the hospital."

Rick pursed his lips and looked away, pain flashing behind his eyes. Kayla paused before muttering, "I was with a few different groups. The guys I was with were good at surviving but we're pretty... ruthless I guess you could say."

Rolling her eyes she muttered, "it's what got 'em killed. Chose the wrong group to fuck with I guess. I wasn't there but I found them later. Assholes let them turn. After that I was alone for a long time. It was easier, no one to question me and no one else to feed. I stayed out of sight and moved at night."

"S'plains the night vision."

"Those were Kevin's." She replied softly, chewing her lip as she remembered how she found the poor guy gutted and turned, tied to a light pole. Shaking off the chill up her spine, "I fucked up and got caught by a group. They were looking for entertainment and got me instead." She snorted, "bastards lit the house I was in on fire, thought it would drive me out but I stayed instead. Picked them off with a rifle."

"How bad were your burns?" the doctor asked, her pen paused above a chart.

"Pretty gnarly. My neck, arms and ribs. Laid me up for a few months."

"Any medical treatment?"

"Found a nursing college with some supplies left. I didn't know much about burn care but luckily the place had some textbooks that gave me an idea how. Spent those months living off vending machine shit and stuff scrounged from the dorms. Lost so much weight I could count ribs." She chuckled despite it being the closest she'd come to starving to death.

"You look well fed now." Rick remarked with suspicious eyes.

Daryl muttered, "Prolly found some other poor fucks to steal from huh?"

"I did what I had too." She sneered, her eyes flaring with anger.

Daryl shook his head and muttered, "just like ya brother."

Kayla's eyes narrowed and she growled, "what did you just fuckin' say about my brother?"

"Daryl." Rick spoke firmly, "let's all calm down."

"No I'd like to know what this asshole has to say about my brother."

"Nothin' that we all don't know." Daryl taunted, "Ya brother was a selfish fucking asshole."

Kayla hopped down from the gurney despite her tied hands and shouted, "don't talk about my brother like that."

"Kay." Rick gripped her biceps, walking her back to the bed as she struggled, "Kay stop alright."

"What happen to him Rick. What happened?"

"Ya brother went fuckin' nuts that's what happened!" Daryl growled, his finger aggressively pointing at her, "you seem just like that twisted fuck."

"Daryl. Out. Now." Rick hollered while holding Kayla back.

The other man stomped out as Kayla continued to struggle and snarl.

"Kay stop." Rick demanded, shoving her onto the gurney, "stop."

Her breathing was elevated, her chest rising rapidly as she growled, "what happened Rick? Fuckin' tell me."

"Kay..." He started shaking his head, "let's do this later ok?"

"No, not ok." She growled, "I deserve to know what happened to my brother."

"He lost it Kay... He was unstable." Rick sighed, sitting down heavily on the bed across from her, "he uh..."

They sat silently as Rick tried to form sentences. She was bouncing her leg nervously as he seemed to struggle with the memories.

"He and Lori... They uh..." He trailed off and looked at her with what she could only read as anger and jealously. Kayla mouth dropped open, "She.. He? They did that to you?"

"They thought I was dead and I guess... Comforted each other." Rick explained while scrubbing his eyes, "when I got back... Well he wasn't happy about it. Wanted her and Carl for his own."

"Rick, I'm sorry."

"Don't. You didn't do it."

"I know I just... I'm sorry."

"It's in the past." He rasped, scrubbing his face, "He wasn't stable after that. He was upset everybody looked to me instead of him. He questioned everything I did, fought with me on everything. We found a farm, a nice place and he kept wanting to leave."

She looked at him and watched as something close to guilt flooded his eyes, "He wanted to go to Fort Benning."

"He did?"

"Yeah but he never said you were there. I always just thought... He never talked about you and I didn't ask, it seemed like it was because you were... Gone."

Kayla shook her head and glared at the ground. Shane had tried to get to her and Rick had refused."Why didn't he just tell you I was waiting, I don't get it."

Shrugging, Rick drawled, "Me neither. Maybe he didn't want to get his hopes up. I don't know."

"So he wanted to leave, you didn't. What happened?"

"He kept going off the rails. He wasn't thinking straight. The guy who owned the farm thought walkers were just sick, his farm hand collected dead and put them in their barn. Their family was in there and well Shane let them out, killed them all in front of the family."

Kayla cocked an eyebrow, "sounds appropriate."

"Not the way he did it. I was working with Hershel, I was changing his mind and getting him to let us stay but Shane went and fucked it up by having a shoot out."

Kayla bit back a scathing remark about Shane doing what had to be done and listened.

"We ended up with a prisoner from a group of roaming marauders, Shane wanted to kill him to prevent them finding us."

"That also sounds appropriate Grimes. Sounds like he had figured out the way the world works now before you did." She growled, her anger returning as the real reason for Shane's death wasn't explained.

"At the time it was extreme to me." Rick replied, "I know better now."

"Get to the fucking point Rick. How'd he die?"

"He tried to kill me Kay." Rick blurted out, his fists clenched as he paced.

She stared at him for a long moment before rasping, "how?"

"Lured me out into the farm looking for the escaped prisoner that he let go, tried to kill me because he wanted Lori, wanted my son."

"Tried?" She breathed out, her chest clenching as the realization of what happened to her brother began to become clear.

"I had t'do it Kay. It was me or him and..."

Kayla shot up to her feet, her teeth grinding and eyes filling with tears but didn't speak. She swallowed back a fury that she'd never felt before. It was burning through her so quickly that Kayla felt like she might burst into flames.

"M'sorry Kay. I... I never wanted that... I." Rick choked on his next words, his hand covering his mouth as he swallowed back a sob. Kayla glared at him as tears rolled down her cheeks, her chest still heaving with quick breathes, "you killed my brother." She made the statement without expecting a response, her heart feeling as it were being torn from her chest. "You killed Shane."

"I didn't want to Kay. It was-"

"Yeah I heard you the first time, you or him." She snarled, her hands fisted as she struggled with the ropes, the material rubbing her wrists raw. Rick hopped up and pushed her to sit down, growling at her to stop fighting with her binds.

"That why you kept me tied up huh Rick? To save your fuckin' ass when you told me?!" She snarled her head coming back to slam into his nose. Blood splattered across her chest and his as she kicked and cursed him.

The doors flung open and two people tackled her to the ground, her screams echoing in the tiny room.

"You fucking murderer. You fuck. He loved you. He fucking loved you." She screamed, "He saved your goddamn family. You asshole. Fuck you. Fuck you!"

Her feet were kicking out as Daryl and a large redhead pinned her to the ground. The doctor had come back in and looked terrified. Rick was pressing a towel to his face while ordering the men to be more careful. Kayla brought her foot back and landed a kick to the redhead's chest. A sudden fist landed on her temple making her vision blur sharply. More screams and shouting rose louder as Rick screamed for everyone to calm down. Kayla was gasping and growling as hands pressed her into the ground. A sharp prick to her arm brought her head around as the doctor retracted a needle from her arm.

"Fuck you. You drugged me you fucking bitch." She snarled, her head filling with cotton, her voice becoming slurred, "I'll kill you, ya fucks. Fuck you. Fucking assholes. Shane. Ya killed 'im. Ya killed my family. Rick.. Why... Ya... Don' touch me. don' fuckin' touch me. I'll kill ya. Imma kill ya." Her vision was blacking out and she heard the doctor ordering them off of her. Kayla felt them moving her but soon everything plummeted away, leaving her alone in total darkness.

Daryl watched her blackout, her body finally collapsing in on itself. He was panting hard as he pulled away. The woman was stronger than she looked, her struggling frame was almost too much for both Abraham and him to hold onto.

"Hells bells she's a fuckin' wild one." Abraham remarked, rubbing the area she had landed a kick to. Rick growled, "you shouldn't have hit her."

Daryl looked down at the redness on his knuckles and sneered, "I was tryin' to knock her out."

"Ya well it didn't work."

"Well I guess I shoulda figured she had a rock for a skull like her shithead brother." He snapped back his anger getting the best of him. Rick glared at him and growled, "Don't."

"Don't what? State the obvious. She's just as crazy as he was."

"I'm serious Daryl." He growled, "The same assumption could be made about you and Merle."

"Don't talk about Merle." He sneered angrily.

"Exactly." Rick replied, "Shane was all she had. I just told her I killed her only family. The person who raised her. I took that from her."

"He deserved it." Daryl sneered through clenched teeth.

Shaking his head sadly, "Doesn't mean it won't hurt her. Doesn't mean she doesn't deserve to be angry."

"We can't let her stay, Rick. We'll never be able to trust her." Carol spoke quietly after entering the room.

Glenn chimed in, his arms crossed, "Just look at how Shane was. He was off in crazytown.

"Glenn, you and I both know the 'us' now wouldn't blink an eye at what Shane was like. He wasn't wrong in what he thought, it was just poorly executed and not thought out. "

"He tried to kill you Rick." Carol reminded with pursed lips.

"And he killed Otis. Not to even mention lying about your death and fuckin' your-" Daryl's next words were cut off as Rick gripped his throat with whitened knuckles, "don't finish that fuckin' sentence Dixon."

The air thickened with tension as both men glared at each other.

"I'm just sayin' they ain't trust worthy." Daryl rasped, his hand gripping Rick's wrist.

"You don't know Kay." Rick growled, his hand yanking away as the fury simmered just under the surface.

"You don't either Rick, not anymore. Who knows, maybe she actually is with Negan and his men. We don't know if she's telling the truth." Glenn spoke evenly, his stance tense but his face calm.

"You thought you knew Shane too Rick." Carol added, her tone laced with sympathy. Daryl wanted to roll his eyes at Rick's desire to hold onto the girl he once knew. 'Bitch is crazy.' He thought angrily, his narrowed eyes glaring at her still body.

"She ain't him." Rick drawled, "she ain't and she says she isnt with a group."

"Man, that type of crazy runs in families and she is too fuckin' healthy to be on her own. She's gotta be from somewhere." Daryl rasped, his arms crossing and back straightening.

"Oh yeah? So you're just like Merle huh?" Rick growled, his eyes flashing. Daryl sneered, "I tol ya t'not talk about my brother. It ain't the same."

"It's exactly the same. You're judgin' her by her brother."

"I'm judgin' her by her goddamn actions Rick, she tried robbin' us, broke your nose. What more do I gotta know?"

"I just told her I killed her brother. I deserved a broke nose. Hell I deserved more, it don't matter that it was justified, I still did it." Rick sighed, "I figured you of all people could understand. Her brother wasn't the best person, he did wrong but he was all she had. Even before everything, he raised that girl. We all know what this world does to people. I'm not any different than Shane was."

"You ain't him Rick."

"I could be."

"Nah, you wouldn't kill me." Daryl drawled, shaking his head slowly, "Ya'd never even consider it."

Rick was silent and shook his head, "none of this matters. I'm not kickin' her out. She says she ain't with a group. Giving her a safe place to be is the least I can do for him. He was my-." His voice cracked before he cleared his throat, looking away and continued, "doesn't matter what ended up happenin' he was still my brother."

Kayla's whole body ached, her head pounded as she peeled her crusty eyes open. The room spun as her eyeballs rolled around without much control.

"Easy." A disembodied voice came from her right. Jumping slightly Kayla tried to bring her hands up and found them bound to the bed rails.

"Motherfucker." She growled angrily, her head still spinning as she yanked at her restraints. "Untie me."

"I can't. Rick's gonna be back this evening to talk to you."

"Un-fucking-tie me now bitch. Or I swear to god." She snarled, her feet kicking out, slamming against the metal footboard. The racket brought two guards in, the redhead and a black woman with a giant rifle.

"Easy there tiger." He drawled, his hands resting on his hips and an amused smirked curling under his mustache.

"Fuck you, you goddamn jarhead." She shouted, the sound of other heavy feet coming her way had Kayla straining her restraints again. She was so damn angry that she was tied up and at their mercy. It infuriated her that she had fallen into yet another trap.

"Kay!" Rick growled, "stop."

"Untie me now goddamnit." She growled back, "got no fuckin right. Let me go now."

"You just need to calm down." He spoke evenly.

"Don't use your damn sheriff tone on me Grimes or I swear to god I'm gonna kick you in the nuts." She threatened, her body arching off the mattress.

"She right, that's your cop voice." Red commented, stroking his facial hair thoughtfully.

After struggling for over a half hour, Kayla sank back into the bed, her body exhausted from freaking out. She turned her glare away from everyone and clenched her jaw. Coming to the conclusion that she wasn't getting free Kayla chose silence. She would bid her time and once she had a chance she'd leave.

There was nothing there for her. Rick had made sure of that and there wasn't any way she would ever be able to look at the man and not think of him killing Shane.

"All done princess?" A voice taunted, his amused voice making her grind her teeth. She kept her eyes to the wall and counted backwards from one hundred, the technique Shane had taught her when panic or anger overwhelmed her. It made her focus on her breathing and her heart rate.

The bed dipped next to her, making her lurch away, her body arching as if touched by flames.

"It's me." Rick rasped, his hands up. Kayla eyes darted around seeing the room was now empty.

Her hands were clenched into fists, tension running through her body as Rick spoke calmly, "you still countin'?"

Kayla looked away, her eyes burning with tears, her chest aching from the familiarity. Rick was a person who knew her before, before everything went to shit. It had been years since she spoke to someone who she knew before. At least she thought she knew him but it was looking rather grim. Keeping her mouth shut she kept her blurry eyes on the wall, her breathing still elevated as she counted inside.

"Kay. Talk to me." His voice was hoarse, his tone pleading, "it doesn't have to be like this."

She didn't reply, her head stayed firmly turned and eyes removed from anywhere near the man she once considered a big brother. Soon he stood up and drawled, "I'll be by in the mornin'. Get some more sleep."

Kayla laid there counting, her breathing going from panic to a steady lull. The doctor came back in to check on her but she no longer talked or made eye contact. She was shutting everything down because despite Rick being the leader of the camp, Kayla didn't trust them. Past experience had taught her that no one was trustworthy, apparently not even family.

They led her through the tiny compound, her wrists now bound in front of her. She hadn't spoken since the evening before and her face was a blank slate. Inside she was still counting, her anxiety thrumming just under the surface.

"Sit." The woman with long dreadlocks and sword instructed. Her hand resting on the hilt of her blade. Kayla sat down, her expression staying calm but jaw tightening.

"Rick thinks you'll workout here but I'm not convinced." She spoke after a long stretch of silence. Kayla kept her eyes straight and mouth closed, her back was straight and hands fisted.

"I never met your brother." The woman remarked, moving to lean against a window sill, her eyes pretending to look outside but Kayla could tell they weren't leaving her.

"Heard stories. Good and bad."

Despite counting Kayla's breathing began to increase, her anger bubbling up as a stranger spoke about her only family. Her murdered family.

"Carl talks about him occasionally."

She can feel her cheek ticking at the prodding, the other woman obviously trying to get her to speak. Kayla started from one thousand to make it more challenging, her mind having to focus of more numbers rather than the crushing sensation in her chest. She hadn't had such bad anxiety attacks since being on her own. The stress of the dead wasn't nearly as debilitating as living humans.

"Do you even want to stay?"

Clenching her jaw until her teeth creaked Kayla fought with herself to keep silent. She wasn't giving in now after making such an effort. There wasn't anyway that she could speak without feeling like a failure.

"I don't think you do. I think you've been out there too long, seen too much. Done too much." She pondered, "I think you wouldn't know a good thing of it bit you in the ass."

With her breathing at a normal rate she kept her eyes vacant but they rose as the door opened. Daryl stepped inside and nodded to the woman, "Rick's on his way, wanted ya to go help with patrols."

Kayla clenched her fists, the idea of being alone with the bowman making her cringe.

'This is where it happens Kay.' She told herself, her body tensing. The other woman headed out with a glance towards her before leaving.

The room was silent as Daryl took the spot the woman had stood in, his broad shoulder pressed into the molding.

"Where's the screamin' wreck from last night?" He drawled, a cocky smirk on his face. Kayla held in a growl and kept her eyes on the wall. She was on nine hundred and eighty seven when he rasped, "M'sorry bout what I said about your brother."

Her eyes shot up without permission, her mouth parting. He rolled his shoulders as if uncomfortable, "my brother was a dickhead but he was my blood. Ain't the type to take kindly to people talkin about 'im neither. Shouldna said nothin'."

Turning her head away she kept her narrowed eyes on the window, her fists clenched. Boots thumped up the front steps making Kay straighten up, her gaze landing on the front door. Rick entered, his eyes shadowed and mouth downturned.

"Mornin'," he rasped to both Daryl and her, his hands resting on his hips. "How're you feelin Kay?"

Staring at him without revealing any emotions, Kayla stayed silent. Rick cleared his throat, his hand cupping his mouth in thought. "Not everyone thinks you'll fit here."

"I don't want to be here. Give me my shit and I'll be in my way." She responded despite her desire to play mute, her eyes flashing angrily. "I didn't want to fucking come here in the first place."

"Don't start this shit girl." Daryl snapped, his chest puffing up and finger jabbing in her directions.

"I wasn't speaking to you hillbilly."

"Stop!" Rick shouted, his fingers digging into his tired eyes.

"Look Rick I don't wanna be here, you're people don't want me here. Give me my shit and I'll go."

"Kay, you need a safe place. You can't make it on your own."

"I've done just fine and the only fucking person I'd trust right now is dead." She growled, her eyes burning into his. He flinched at the comment, his eyes dropping to the ground.

The air was thick with tension, Rick shifting uncomfortably while Daryl glared at her.

"I owe it to your brother to keep you safe."

"Yeah.. My brother." She sneered, "can't even say his name huh? I have a feeling Shane wouldn't want me within 100 miles of you Grimes and I have to say, I'd agree. I'm safer on my own."

Rick stared at her with stressful eyes and a scowl. Daryl grumbled under his breath but Kayla couldn't hear him, her focus on the man she once knew. Nodding he ticked his head to the entryway, Daryl following him to the front door. They spoke quietly, Daryl arguing with him about something.

When Rick sauntered back he rasped, "we can't let you go Kay."

She was placed inside a room made of cinder block and iron. Kayla sneered at Rick as he closed the gate and unlocked her cuffs through the bars. She stepped away, rubbing her wrists.

"M'sorry Kayla."

"Fuck you." She snapped, pacing the floor of her new cell.

"It didn't have to be like this."

"Yeah, apparently it did because here I fucking am. You better hope i don't get outta here." Kayla threatened, her eyes prickling.

"Get some rest Kay."

"Don't talk to me."

The front door slammed shut and Kayla ground her teeth, her eyes scanning every inch of her new abode. Skimming her hands over the walls and barred windows she growled lowly. The thing was well made, the cement between the bricks new but cured. The bars were thick and not moving anytime soon. The only weakness she would be able to exploit would be human error. She needed an accomplice.

Without much to do other than think, Kayla laid down and rested. She needed her strength to get free. If she were to escape she'd need to fight her way out.

The door opened and a woman with gray hair walked in, a plate in one hand and a smile on her face. "I brought lunch." She quipped, her eyes bright.

'Liar.' Kayla thought instantly. The woman's demeanor was a facade, a wolf in sheep's clothing. Kayla saw right through it because she was of the same breed.

"Wonderful. I hope it's gluten free because I'm a little sensitive to grains."

The women's cheek ticked but she grinned sweetly, "I don't know about that but its beans with some fresh vegetables."

Kayla slide up from her cot and she sauntered to the iron gate. "So what's good cop's name? You look like a Karen. I knew a Karen, she was a two faced liar."

The older woman slide the plate under the gate and then leaned against the wall across the room.

"I knew Shane." She spoke blandly, her eyes studying Kayla's reactions closely. "He saved my life, my daughter's life a few times."

Kayla ground her teeth, the bite of food she swallowed rising back up in her throat. Her head was buzzing so loudly that the woman's voice was unrecognizable. She watched her mouth move but nothing made sense. Standing up she let the plate fall to the ground, food spilling across the floor.

"Don't say his name again." She snarled, pointing at her aggressively, "ever."

"Or what?"

"Or the moment I get out of here I will slit you scrawny throat."

Daryl and Rick began to interrogate Kayla about her time before arriving in Alexandria. They would bounce questions off her as she lay there prone on her mattress. It had become a daily ritual that was more than a little irritating.

"So you've been with groups before?"

"Does it matter?" She muttered at one point, her eyes drilling holes in the ceiling above her.

"Of course it does. When was the last time you were with a group?"

"I don't know." Kayla spoke with a sigh, "They're all dead so who the fuck cares?"

"You ever hear of Negan?"

"Nee-what?"

"A man, named Negan?"

Shrugging, Kayla held her tongue. She'd never heard of the guy, however she couldn't help but be obstinate. Rick wouldn't trust her for whatever reason and it made her dig her heels in at every turn. Every question they asked was another chance for her to fuck with them. She couldn't resist.

Daryl glared at her while Rick rubbed his eyes with rough fingers. Kayla bit back the smirk pulling at her lips as she stretched out on her cot with a relaxing groan. She didn't have much to entertain her, so prodding the men into a hissy fit had to do.

"Gonna answer the fuckin' question?" The redneck snapped, his hand clenching the cell door. Kayla rolled her head to look at him passively, "I'm kinda tired of answering the same fucking questions. I told you I wasn't with a group for months. You don't give a fuck what I say because it's always gonna be a lie to you, so go fuck yourselves."

"Kay."

"I'd prefer inmate."

Daryl punched the wall before stomping out of the home, the front door slamming shut with a rattle. Rick leaned on the gate, his arms resting between the bars. Kayla snorted at his serious expression, her arms crossing while she stared at the ceiling again.

"Kay."

"Inmate."

"Goddamnit Kayl! Jesus Christ. Could please. PLEASE. Stop busting my balls?" Rick shouted his hands gripping the bars with bleached knuckles. Sitting up slowly, her boots fell heavily onto the concrete.

"Busting your balls? Are fucking kidding me Grimes?" she sneered, her eyes blazing, "you're holding me hostage for no goddamn reason. None. Top it off I've known you for twenty fucking years and you still don't know me? Of course, I thought I knew you." She stomped forward and choked out, "I thought you were my brother but you're just another asshole in this shit stained world. I'm done. Done! Leave me to rot or execute me but don't fucking talk to me again. Ever." Her eyes were flooded, tears barely holding back and her fists trembled as she pinned him with look of total betrayal.

"Get. Out." She hissed before sitting on the bed, her head in her hands. Taking deep breathes and counting backwards, Kayla listened as the door shut with a quiet but resounding click.

Swallowing a sob, Kayla ground the heels of her hands into her eyes. Her chest was aching with a deep feeling of loneliness, worse than ever before. Even when out in the woods with nothing but biters to keep her company had she felt so alone. So hopeless.

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