So yeah, this is another Daryl/OC fic. And yes, I have no self control. But bear with me here, because I tried really hard to not make her a typical Mary-Sue. So, y'know, just read it, and if you have any problems with it (or if you like it), a review would be great! Thanks to anyone who gives it a chance!
Grace slinked through the woods, hiding behind trees and bushes, keeping low so that her target wouldn't catch sight of her. The creature she stalked was six foot tall, hunched over, dragging a leg which looked broken, and uttering quiet grunts while it stumbled along in search of food.
Grace gripped her axe tightly with both hands and darted behind another tree, closer to the monster. She moved slightly to look around the trunk, when her foot slipped, and she heard a loud snap. "Fucking twigs," she thought, as she prepared herself to jump out and attack.
But there was no time for an attack. The monster fell to the ground with a loud thud and lay motionless. Grace blinked and peeked out from behind the tree again, eyes darting everywhere around the dense forest. She glanced back at the dead creature and noticed a bolt from a crossbow stuck in its head. She blinked again, then jumped back as a sudden rustling of plant life sounded behind her.
"Next time move the hell out of my way quicker,"
A man in about his forties fought his way out of a shrub with ease and stepped in front of Grace, glowering down at her.
What the hell was this redneck talking about? She hadn't even seen him when she set off to follow the monster. She shot him a quizzical look and then stood up straighter. Maybe to seem taller.
"Excuse me? I don't even know who the hell you are. I had this handled," She snapped.
"Right," he muttered as he trudged over to the corpse and pulled the bolt from its brain. "what the hell you think you're doin' out here alone anyways?" He asked, looking at her again with nothing but anger.
"What's it look like? Hunting."
"Fine then, hope you have fun," he spat, as he turned away
"Wait!" she called out, feeling defeated. But this might be her only chance.
He turned to look at her again, seeming more annoyed by the second.
"Do you know where I could get a car? I'm just trying to get back home. I got stranded out here, and I just need to get back home right away," she blurted desperately.
He watched her for a moment, frowning.
"Alright, c'mon. I'll take you to camp and you can talk to someone else about gettin' some wheels."
He slung his crossbow over his shoulder and stalked away. Grace hesitated. This guy seemed insane. Almost crazy enough to kill her... but if she didn't get to a car soon, god knows what could happen.
"Are you comin' or what?" He yelled back at her impatiently.
She sighed and sped up, catching up to him. She slung her axe onto her shoulder.
"So, what's your name?" she asked, trying to avoid any awkward angry silence.
"Daryl," He muttered.
"I'm Grace."
"Don't care."
She sneered at him. How was it that he could save her life, yet be so rude to her? What was this guys deal? "Wait, saved my life?" she thought, "I had it under control. He just had the quicker weapon." she assured herself.
After a few more minutes of silence, she spoke up again.
"So, camp, huh? How many people are there?"
"Dunno. About twenty, maybe,"
"How far is it?"
"Not far. Now shut up before you get another one of them damn walkers on our ass," he hissed.
"Walkers? Is that what you all call them?"
"What do you call 'em?"
"Monsters."
This gained a slight grin from Daryl.
"Well you'd be right about that."
They trekked on for another half hour in silence before Grace saw any other signs of life. She spotted a young girl and boy, playing in the dirt together, as a grey haired woman sat by, cleaning dishes in a small plastic bin. Two other women were hanging clothes on a makeshift clothesline, as another man stood on top of an RV, looking around the area with binoculars.
"Back from your hunting trip already, Daryl?" the man on the RV called out.
"Found a survivor" Daryl grunted.
The brunette woman who was hanging laundry stepped over and looked at Grace somberly.
"Are you bit?" She asked.
"No," Grace replied honestly.
"Scratched?"
"Do you wanna strip search me?" Grace snapped, losing her patience. She wasn't in the mood for Twenty Questions right now. She knew she wasn't infected.
"Look, all I need is a car, and I'll leave your group alone."
A blonde woman walked over now. Crossing her arms, she leaned closer to Grace.
"What do you need a car for?"
"I need to get home—"
Before she could finish the blonde girl laughed. "Home? Newsflash, none of us have homes anymore."
"No, I don't mean my house, you ignorant bitch. I mean my city, where I'm from. I need to get back there."
"Where are you from?" the blonde girl asked, gaining more and more attitude as she talked.
"Tallahassee, Florida," Grace spat.
"Tallahassee?" The brunette asked, "That's a pretty far distance—"
"I know!" Grace yelled "But my son is there, for fucks sakes. I need to make sure he's okay! Hes only five. He was at his father's house when this all happened, and I was visiting my Grandmother at the hospital in Atlanta. I have no idea what's happened to him!"
Everyone fell silent. They first glanced at the brunette, then back to Grace.
The brunette frowned. "I'm sorry. We're just all really on edge. Look, if I had a car to give you, I would, but we just had a group of people head into town, and they took the only two cars that we have. When they get back, maybe—"
"If they get back" Daryl muttered.
Grace ignored him and looked at the brunette intently. "When are they supposed to get back?" She asked.
"We don't... really know, exactly," the brunette admitted, looking sympathetic, "but you're free to stay here until they do."
Grace bit her lip hard, trying to hold back tears. If only she hadn't crashed her SUV... She took a deep breath, wiped her eyes, and looked back at the brunette.
"Fine. But when they get back, I'm taking a car if I have to."
"I'm Lori," The brunette explained, trying to change the subject.
"Grace."
"Are you hungry? We have some... well, to be honest, all we have is some squirrel and some mushrooms."
"I'm fine, thanks." Grace mumbled.
Daryl stepped in now.
"I'm heading back out. Try an' find some decent food."
Grace looked up at him. "I'm coming with you."
"The hell you are" He said as he pushed by her and started trailing back towards the bush.
She followed him closely, gripping her axe firmly. "Look, I can't just sit here and do nothing until they get back—"
"Then help with the laundry or somethin'"
"No! I can make my own decisions, and I've decided I'm coming with you if you like it or not!"
He scowled at her.
"You best not get in my way," He said finally.
"Only if you stay out of mine," she replied.
The two of them made their way back to where they had met, so Daryl could get back on track from where he'd left off. They hiked for a while, not saying anything, just listening for any odd sounds. It was starting to seem that only the one walker had managed to venture this far.
"Tired yet?" Daryl asked sarcastically.
"Not even close. Look, I'm not some prissy house wife. My dad was a hunter, and a damn good one. He taught me and my brothers everything we know."
"Brothers?"
"Two."
"Where are they?"
"Dunno. Either still in Tallahassee, or dead."
"You don't seem to have much faith in 'em"
"I hope they're alive, but at the same time, I'm really trying to be realistic about this whole situation."
Silence.
"And your son?" he asked finally.
"I'm going to do everything in my power to find him. Even if he's dead. I need to know, at least."
"What if he's a walker?"
Grace said nothing and dropped her eyes to the ground. "I dunno," she mumbled.
Daryl stopped suddenly, causing Grace to walk right into him.
"What the f—"
He quickly covered her mouth and motioned for them to both get lower. She did as instructed and looked over the fallen log they were hidden behind.
A walker, female, was stumbling aimlessly towards them. Luckily, she hadn't noticed them.
Without hesitation, Daryl quietly lifted his crossbow, took aim, and shot a bolt right through its skull, letting the rotting corpse fall limply to the ground.
"Nice shot," Grace admired as she stood upright. Daryl quickly glanced around the area to make sure there weren't more. After deciding it was safe, he made his way over to the corpse and retrieved his bolt yet again.
Grace sat down on the fallen log she'd been hiding behind and pushed her hair out of her eyes. Daryl noticed and leaned against a tree, silently agreeing it was time for a break.
"So that's two out here now. They must be getting closer."
Daryl nodded "Should probably tell the others once we get back."
"Two walkers and not one damn animal. Maybe those freaks ate them all already."
Daryl chuckled, and Grace raised an eyebrow in response.
"I ain't out here looking for animals."
"Then what are you doing?"
"Gettin' away from everyone back at camp for a while. If I find food, bonus. But that ain't the main reason I came out here today."
Grace smirked and rolled her eyes "And I'm just ruining it, huh?"
Daryl paused, staring at her for a second, then dropped his gaze.
"Ain't so bad," he murmured, shrugging.
Grace grinned. "Why are you with all of those people anyways? From what I've seen, you could probably head out on your own and do just fine."
"Strength in numbers. Plus it was my brothers idea."
"Brother?"
Daryl nodded. "Merle. He's with that group in the city right now."
"Ah. Well, I hope he comes back."
Daryl shifted his weight. Seemingly making up his mind about something, he walked over and sat next to Grace on the log.
"Yeah, me too," he paused "And I hope you find your son. Alive."
Grace smiled weakly. She opened her mouth to say something, but became overwhelmed with emotion. Fear, guilt, sadness, anger, and more fear. She finally broke down and felt the familiar sting in her eyes. Lately, she'd been trying so hard to keep her emotions in check. To keep it all together until she found her son. But she couldn't anymore. She hated crying in front of people, especially strangers. She quickly hid her face in her hands, and cried silently, her body shaking.
Daryl looked at her gravely, then after a moment of hesitation, placed a hand on her back. She sat up quickly, feeling his touch, and he snapped his arm back. She looked at him, and he looked frightened. Without thought, she flung her arms around his neck and cried into his shoulder. Daryl, looking even more alarmed, dared not touch her for a second. But then slowly, he wrapped his arms around her waist, hoping to bring her some comfort.
She cried for the better half of ten minutes before finally finding the strength to control herself. She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
"I'm sorry" She blurted, "I don't usually..." she trailed off.
"It's fine." Daryl said quickly, then grabbed his crossbow from the ground and stood up in order to sling it over his shoulder. "We better get movin'. Don't wanna stay in one place for too long."
Grace nodded and stood up. She took another deep breath and followed Daryl deeper into the woods.
They found an old farm house, completely deserted. It looked as if the family had taken most of their stuff with them, including a lot of the furniture.
"Look for some food in the cupboards" Grace instructed as she moved into the kitchen.
Daryl followed and the two of them found a few cans of nonperishable food.
"Well, it's better than nothin'" Daryl stated.
"Let's see if there's anything upstairs worth taking" Grace said as she moved to the stairs. Daryl grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "I'll go first. We don't know what's up there."
"You know, I can handle myself just fine—"
"Would you stop arguin' and just follow?" Daryl snapped.
Grace sighed with exasperation. "Alright, fine, we'll do things the tough manly way."
Daryl glared at her before slowly making his way up the stairs. Grace followed close, axe at the ready.
"You hit me with that thing and you won't have to worry about no walkers" Daryl said, motioning towards the axe.
"Yeah, yeah," she replied.
Daryl quietly checked every room before glancing at Grace. "It's all clear. Grab what we need and let's get the hell outta here."
Grace picked what looked like the main bedroom and began checking the bedside table drawers.
"Daryl, get in here!" she called out, trying not to laugh.
Daryl burst into the room two seconds later, crossbow set to shoot.
"Whoa, calm down there Rambo. I just wanted to show you this," she said, as she held up a box of condoms, looking amused.
"Guess the marriage wasn't that great. They took the couch but left the bed and the condoms," she joked.
Daryl looked away, awkwardly. He obviously was not as entertained as Grace.
"Alright, so it's not funny. But we should grab them anyways. These things have an expiration date."
"I wouldn't know" Daryl mumbled, scratching the back of his head as he looked at the floor.
Grace looked at him, wide-eyed. "Never?"
He shook his head.
"Not once?"
"No, dammit! Christ do I gotta prove it?"
They both stood in stillness, looking at one another.
"And how would you go about doing that?" Grace finally asked, moving closer to him.
He seemed to step back, almost scared.
She reached out and grabbed his hand. "Don't be afraid—"
"I ain't afraid!"
"Fine, then," she said quietly. She moved in closer and kissed him. "Then prove that."
[insert sex scene here]
Grace awoke to the sound of chaos the next morning. She sat straight up and held the sheets to her naked body, as she grabbed her axe from the floor and burst into the hallway. She found Daryl there, fully clothed, pulling a bolt from another walkers head.
"What the hell just happened!" She shrieked.
"Walker," Daryl explained calmly.
"Yes, I can see that. I mean, what happened?"
"I woke up, got dressed, walked into the hallway, and it was there," he shrugged.
"How the hell did it get in!"
"Guess it found a way in. We gotta leave. The groups probably wonderin' where we got to."
"Fine. Let me get dressed."
Grace put her clothes on quickly and tied her hair up before seizing her axe. She made her way outside, where Daryl was already waiting.
"Alright, so which way—" she trailed off as she spotted something they hadn't seen yesterday. A small detached garage hid in the bushes behind the house. "Daryl, look!" she said excitedly, as she began rushing towards it.
"Grace, hold on! You don't know what's in there!" Daryl called out as he followed her.
Grace looked at the padlock on the door. She took a step back and swung the blunt end of her axe at it, breaking it immediately. She removed the broken padlock and kicked the door open, axe ready in case there were any walkers hidden inside.
But what she found wasn't walkers. It was a Jeep.
Grace hurried forward and found the driver's door unlocked. She searched for a key, but found nothing.
"Damn, no keys," she started. "Hold on."
Grace ran out of the garage and towards the house. A moment later, she was running back. She scrambled back into the driver's seat.
"Found a key in a bowl near the door. Let's hope it works!"
She started it successfully and was grateful to see it had a full tank of gas.
She got out, beaming. She saw Daryl, and found him looking quite opposite. He looked entirely let down.
"Daryl, this is good! We can get out of here, head towards Tallahassee and—"
"You can." He said flatly.
"No, no. You can come with me, we'll go together!"
"I ain't ditchin' my brother."
Grace frowned. "I'm sorry... but I can't wait any longer, now that I have this Jeep. I have to go, I have to find him."
"I know."
She moved closer and kissed him. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I never meant to leave like this... but—"
"It's your son. He's family. I understand."
"If I find him. I mean, when I find him... no matter what, if he's alive, or dead... I'll come back and find you afterwards."
He scoffed "Good luck,"
"I will," she said more sternly. "Just you watch,"
She gave him one last fleeting look as she got back in the driver's seat. Daryl opened the rolling door and watched as she drove away.