Daryl crouched in the brush with his eyes set firmly on his prey; a hare, about 20 feet away from him. He stayed as silent as possible. Since the group had been on the road, his hunting skills were valued more than ever.

He raised his crossbow, but just before he pulled the trigger, a hand grabbed him on the shoulder. He turned and fired his crossbow, expecting to see a walker. He saw instead a young girl. In his surprise, his aim had not been good and the arrow had pierced only the side of her thigh. The girl had fallen to the ground and was clutching her leg, with an angry and pained look on her face.

Daryl opened his mouth to speak, but the girl raised her finger to her mouth to silence him. She pointed to her far left. After a few seconds Daryl saw what she was pointing at; a mother bear and two cubs. They were a couple hundred feet away, and moving further from them, but she would turn and attack if she noticed the two people. Since civilization had diminished, the wildlife had been moving closer and closer to the roads and towns, and Daryl knew this. It was the kind of thing he would normally notice straight away, if he hadn't been so intent on finding food for the group. He was a little pissed that he hadn't noticed.

Daryl stared at the girl who had warned him. He squinted at her. She looked to be in her mid-twenties, but age has become harder to distinguish since everyone is usually covered in a layer of blood and grime. The girl had dirty blonde hair that must have originally been in some form of braid, though most of it had now fallen in front of her face. She almost had blue eyes, but they were dark. A smattering of freckles covered her nose and cheeks. Daryl was confused by her, she didn't fit. She looked as though she should be walking barefoot down the beach wearing a daisy chain, not lying in the dirt pulling an arrow out of her leg and swearing quietly. And wearing combat boots.

He silently looked at where the arrow had hit. He could see the other end sticking out the back of her leg. It had missed the bone, and all important arteries, it seemed. Not life-threatening, Daryl concluded. But certainly inconvenient. To say the least. The bear had moved out of sight, so the girl reached into her backpack and pulled out a piece of cloth. She put this between her teeth, and without warning, yanked the arrow out. Dark blood began to flow from the entry wound immediately. She grimaced. The girl looked at Daryl and waved his arrow at him. "I'm gonna keep this." She said, and put it in her backpack. Daryl said nothing. She pulled out a small kind of blowtorch and put the cloth back in her mouth. She cut the hole in her already ripped jeans wider, and began to cauterize the wound. "That really necessary?" Daryl asked. She ignored him and focused on the job at hand. When she was done, the blood was crystallized and the wound was weeping only a clear fluid. She tied the cloth from her mouth tightly around it. "Can't be bleeding out here" She belatedly replied.

"You spyin' on me?" Daryl accused. The girl snorted. "I'm doing the same thing as you. Though I'm clearly doing a better job." She retorted, pulling two rabbits from her backpack to show him. Daryl grunted. "What's your name then?" He asked the girl. She didn't answer. She began to zip up her bag to make her way to her feet, and Daryl took a step towards her, intending to help her up. He saw her whole demeanor change. She pulled a pistol out and pointed it at Daryl. Her eyes were wide. "Back up!" She said. "Don't come anywhere near me." Daryl held his hands up to show he meant know harm. She started scrabbling backwards to get away from him, and she tried to stand. As she put weight on her newly shot and burnt leg, her vision blackened, and Daryl watched the girl tumble back to the ground.