Daryl was flying down the deserted country road on his motorcycle trying his damnedest to get back to Alexandria. Dust and dead leaves soared through the air in his wake. Rick's idea to lead this incredibly large herd of walkers out of the quarry and out of the path of Alexandria had almost worked…almost. Something had gone wrong at the last minute…really, really wrong and Daryl wasn't sure what had happened. He had heard the loud horn that had sounded, but where did that come from and why? All he knew is that they ended up only with about half the herd following him on his bike and Sasha and Abraham in their car. According to Rick over the radio the rest somehow ended up at Alexandria, the community that they all called home.
Daryl needed to get back there to help as soon as possible, so that's why when they hit the twenty mile mark away from their community, he left Sasha and Abraham literally in his dust. Their beat up old car was not a match for his fast motorcycle.
He had only gone about three miles when he saw a lone figure walking towards him. He knew he had two choices to make, either speed by them and leave them to the mercy of the herd they were sure to encounter or stop and convince them to change directions. He knew he had to stop, but at what cost would that be to his family left back at Alexandria? These past couple years with Rick and the group had changed him for the better. He no longer put himself first and all else be damned. At one point in time he would have left this person to their own ill-fated destiny, but not now. He wasn't that man anymore.
As he approached the figure, he could see that they held a knife in their hand and he knew he had to be careful. No one could be trusted anymore, not until they at least earned it. The good were few and far between and he had been burned too many times to count.
He pulled his bike up on the opposite side of the road and turned towards the stranger.
"Don't come near me," they said with a shaky voice. That's when Daryl realized that it was a woman and not a man.
"Don't want to go that way," he told her. There's a huge herd at the intersection a few miles down. You'll never make it through. Best to turn around and try another way."
Daryl noticed that she looked really tired and was probably hungry. "Hell weren't we all," he thought to himself. "Need food or water?" He didn't wait for her reply, but dug into his pack to give her something.
"I don't need your help. Just leave me alone," she said as she continued to walk slowly in the same direction. Dayna was tired, scared and about at the end of her rope. She has been one her own for the better part of a week, when the last few of her group got caught unaware by walkers. Dayna was the only one to make it out alive. She hadn't had anything to eat or drink in a day and a half and it was making her weak, but she vowed she wasn't going to be stupid. Her grip on the knife strengthened as she continued to walk down the empty road, she did her best to keep aware of the stranger by the motorcycle.
"Hey, I said don't go that way!" Daryl called out to the woman. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
Dayna turned to him in a fury, her knife still clutched in her hand. "What is wrong with me? Who are you to even ask that? You don't know me or anything about me, so just leave me alone!"
Daryl had enough. He was risking helping his friends and family to help out the ungrateful bitch. "You know what you're right. Why should I give a fuck that you are walking into a death trap? Here's a bottle of water." He tossed her the half full bottle, which she caught. "I'm outta here." Daryl walked back and straddled his bike.
"Wait," Dayna called out. She looked at the biker. He was shaggy, dirty and his face held what she figured was a permanent sneer. She had always steered clear of men like him as they frightened her. "Are you lying to me about the herd? Why should I trust you?" she opened the warm bottle of water and drank most of it down in one long swallow.
Daryl stopped just as he was about to start the bike. He turned towards the woman and noticed that she had taken a few steps towards him. She was dirtier than he was and that said a lot. "My friends and I brought them here to get them away from our…the place where we are staying. I didn't have to stop, could have kept on going and left you to find out the hard way, but I didn't. Just…go another way. That's all." He didn't care if she believed him or not, he had to get back to Alexandria.
He started the bike and looked towards this lone woman one more time. He had to go…he had to leave her, he didn't have a choice.
"Thank you," said Dayna to him. "And for the water too."
Daryl just nodded in her direction and just when he was about to take off, dozens of walkers started to emerge from the woods at the edge of the road. "Fuck!" he said. He realized the woman would never survive if he left her here and the fear in her eyes told him she knew that too. "Get on… quick!" he shouted at her.
Dayna realized that if she didn't get on the motorcycle with the stranger she was as good as dead. There was only one choice for her to make and she ran towards the biker and hopped on behind him. She barely had enough time to grab onto him before the bike sped off.
Daryl had the bike flying the moment she grabbed onto him and was trying to get to a road that was just a little ways down, but they weren't going to make it. "Hang on," he called out to her. He slowed the bike down and turned into the field on their right. He prayed there weren't any holes or tree limbs that would unexpectedly bring this desperate ride to a quick and unfortunate end as he couldn't see much if anything in the tall grass. The only thing he concentrated on was getting away from this piece of the herd that had broken off from the main group.
The bike bumped through the uneven ground, but they luckily never encountered any unexpected obstacles. After a lot of cursing under his breath, Daryl was finally able to maneuver out of the overgrown field and back on smooth blacktop. They left the herd behind them, but he was still zigzagging around stragglers that always seemed to be in the way. His passenger was hanging onto him tightly as he realized he was not getting any closer to Alexandria.
No matter what he tried and every turn he took if only brought him further and further away from where he desperately wanted…needed to be. The sun was starting to go down and he knew it was vital to find a place to hold up for the night. A few miles down the road he found a neighborhood that looked pretty clear. He pulled up in front of a blue ranch style house and turned off the bike. His passenger got off slowly and he followed.
She spoke for the first time since their manic ride started. "What are we doing?' she asked softly. He could hear fear in her voice.
"Night is coming and I can't make it back to my group. Gonna need to find a place to lay low for tonight and start back in the morning. This house is as good as any." Daryl saw the woman's eyes grow large and he knew she didn't understand. "Listen, I ain't gonna hurt you. I'm not like that. All I want is to find a place where we can be safe for a few hours and maybe get some sleep. That's all." He grabbed his crossbow off the back of his bike and threw his pack over his shoulder. "Follow me and stay alert."
The woman nodded to him and they set off to clear the house. The front door opened easily enough and Daryl quickly swept all the rooms. The occupants were long gone and luckily there were not any walkers inside. He had about enough of them today as it was.
Daryl walked down the hall heading back to the living room looking to secure the front door, when he paused in front of a mirror. He hadn't looked at himself in a very long time. "Damn, I look like road kill," he thought to himself. His hair was long, shaggy and simply a mess. He had gotten so used to his bangs being in his eyes that he didn't even notice it anymore. He had given up thinking about what he looked like a longtime ago. He was covered in a dust and dirt from riding all day down the deserted route that they had lead the walkers through. He had ripped the sleeves off his shirt ages ago and his pants had more holes in them than he remembered. The only thing that was in good condition was his favorite leather vest. "No wonder she was afraid of me, hell I think I'm afraid of me," he said to himself. Now he knew why Carol was always on his case.
Daryl and Dayna together moved a sturdy piece of furniture in front of the door to block it off from intruders. The best he could do with the back door was put a chair under the handle. Silently they worked on making sure the blinds and curtains were closed. They needed to remain anonymous in the house. Daryl had already made sure that his bike was now out of sight, but assessable if they needed it.
After all of this he still didn't know anything about this woman he had found, not even her name. He wasn't comfortable being in close quarters with a person he didn't know, but he didn't have a choice. Sleeping wouldn't be an option for him tonight even though he was bone tired, he'd have to stay alert or risk everything. He was smarter than that.
"Should be good for the night," he said in his gravelly voice. "I'm Daryl." When she didn't answer him he said, "Listen, I know you don't know me, but if I wanted to hurt you it woulda already been done. Told you I ain't like that. We'll rest up here tonight and move out at daybreak. It's up to you if you want to come back with me to my group…they're good people."
Daryl kept his eyes on the woman. He could tell that she had been on the road awhile. Her clothes weren't in any better condition that his and her face showed signed of her extreme fatigue. Her eyes were dark and dull and she was moving too slowly to have survived much longer.
"My name is…Dayna. Thank you for everything that you did. You don't know me and yet you saved me. I really...appreciate it." Dayna suddenly started to feel lightheaded she had to grab the back of a chair to keep her balance.
"Whoa, you better sit down," Daryl told her. "When was the last time you slept or ate anything?" He was concerned. Daryl grabbed her by the arm and steered her toward a soft chair. Dayna closed her eyes for a moment and relaxed. This was the first time in weeks she could actually not have to worry about anything...even if it was just for a few minutes.
She finally opened her eyes and saw Daryl watching her intently. "It's been a day or two since I ate last. We…I lost most of the supplies a few days ago when my small group had a surprise visit by a bunch of walkers." Dayna felt like she hadn't eaten in weeks, even though it was just a few days. She couldn't remember the last time she wasn't hungry.
Daryl went and searched his pack. Even though today wasn't supposed to have been the day they planned for this big walker move, when the quarry opened up accidently on its own, they had to make to make it work. He always carried water and food with him just in case, because nothing ever went according to plan. He still had a full bottle of water, a few protein bars and a bag of nuts. It was better than nothing. Daryl took out two protein bars and handed them to Dayna.
"Hey, take these," he told her when she didn't respond. "You need to eat." She looked up at him with huge sad brown eyes. Daryl squatted down next to the chair so he wasn't towering over her. He figured he looked intimidating enough.
Dayna took the protein bars that Daryl handed to her. She was so tired that she wasn't even afraid of him anymore. There was something about this gruff talking biker that made her felt safe. She hadn't felt safe in months or maybe years. "Thank you, "Dayna said looking past his dirty scruffy face and seeing his kind blue eyes. "I owe you my life. I don't think I can ever thank you enough for that."
"Just eat these, they'll help you gain some energy back. The herd was kinda my groups fault, so I'm glad we were able to get away." Daryl handed her the warm bottle of water. "Drink some too, you're probably dehydrated."
Dayna took the bottle from him and drank a few swallows and handed it back. She quietly ate one protein bars and stuffed the second into her pocket. The food felt good in her stomach, but her fatigue was quickly winning out. She brought her knees up to her chest and snuggled into the chair as much as she could and closed her eyes. Sleep overtook her instantly.
Daryl stood up and walked to the sofa across the room and sat down. He laid his head back and closed his eyes for just a second. He wasn't going to sleep, no matter how tired he was, but just needed a quick resting of his gritty eyes.
After maybe a minute or so he reopened them. Anything longer he chanced falling asleep and he didn't trust Dayna….not yet at least. He hadn't the slightest idea how old she was. After a good night's sleep, some real food and a shower, she'd be in much better shape. Alexandria offered all of that. The big question was what happened there in his absence. That thought repeated itself over and over again throughout the long night. He hoped his people had survived. Daryl then did something he had never done… he prayed.