key

*thinking*

Note: This is my first fanfiction. I have very bad spelling and I don't have a word processor. So I have people look at it for me. I have always wanted to write a fanfiction but always been too scared to do it because of the spelling. I have been playing with this story in my head for a while now. So some friends encouraged me to write it.

Special thanks to: Prongsie18

-World of the walking dead-

Daryl's point of view

It was supper busy at this Friday's carnival. The carnival's lights shined brightly in the night sky. Laughter as well as sounds from the game booths filled the night. Kids ran around the place with cotton candy in their hands as well as couples walking around holding hands.

Daryl watched a man playing darts trying to get his girlfriend a stuffed pink bear. Erotic, rough moans and banging came from inside against the porta-potty door temporarily distracted him. Daryl just smirked. Nodding his head he took a bigger gulp of his beer. He knew Merle was just about done when he started to bang this loudly. It wasn't like he enjoyed hearing his brother fuck some woman. Merle wanted Daryl to keep "watch". Like some person will try to use this restroom were someone is obviously having sex or magically open a locked door. His brother most likely really just wanted Daryl to hear him getting some when he wasn't. It was not like he had a problem in the bed room and he did have the urges after all he is just a man. All he had to do was pick up some prostitute, relieve himself and call it good. Although sometimes he did wonder what it would be like to have a girlfriend, someone more than just a good fuck. Someone who...well just loved and cared about him...like a life mate. Fuck he really was sounding like a fucking pussy!

Shaking his head Daryl looked back at the couple by the booth. The man had obviously had won the stuffed bear since the girl was happily jumping up and down kissing him. Who was he kidding a girl would never want him. He was a dirty redneck, scars all over his chest from his alcoholic father and having Merle for a brother. There was no way in hell that a girl would stick with him. He really needed to stop this train of thought. Life was no fairytale, especially his life. Because Daryl was in deep thought he never heard Merle sneak up from behind him and placing his left arm around Daryl's shoulder.

"Whatcha doin' baby brother?" Startled, Daryl slightly jumped causing him to drop his beer bottle. Merle not being able to control himself let go of Daryl and laughed like he had just heard the world's funniest joke. Daryl turned to face his brother and angrily pushed him.

"Wha' the hell Merle!" Laughing harder now, Merle bent over to rest his hands on his knees. Daryl walked over to pick up his beer bottle that he had dropped thanks to Merle. Realizing that his once half-filled beer bottle was now empty. Daryl angrily threw the beer bottle back on the ground. If it weren't for the grass it would have shattered the beer bottle. He faced his brother once again. "Now ya owe me a new drink Merle!" Merle stopped laughing. Standing back up with a stern expression on his face took a step forward to Daryl right up to his face. Daryl did not take a step back. It would be a sign of weakness if he did.

"News flash Darlena, I am not the one who dropped their baby bottle. So I owe you nothing" Shaking his head Daryl replied. "I'm gettin' another beer. Want one?"

"Na, I'm good. Are ya sure ya don't wanna tap that before ya go?" Merle said gesturing towards the prostitute that he had just got done with. Daryl took a quick look at her. The color purple was obviously her favorite. She had a purple bra with a pot pink netting shirt, skirt, heels, eye shadow and lip stick that was smeared across her face from the rough kissing.

"She can barely stand up straight. Besides I can git my own woman"

Merle smirked and replied "Riiight well I'm off to see if my dealer friend is around."

"Wha' ever bro. I'll find ya once I'm done" With that Daryl left to the place where he got his last beer from.

He was now in a different part of the carnival were there was a lot less noise and people.

*I thought it was somewhere around here* As Daryl was about to turn back, he heard an old lady begging for someone to stop. Daryl ran, following the voice. He ended up at the end of the carnival, to a lonely booth. He stopped so he could see what was going on. A little old lady was in need of help. She was a little person dressed in an old styled gypsy gown with gold coins dangling around the trimming. A pitch black bandanna held back her long ageing hair. She must of had a bad back since she was hunched over, but that didn't stop her from trying to reach a little brown box that a man had holding high up in the air, taunting her with it. "Please give it back! Don't hurt him!" Cried the little old lady with tears forming in her eyes. That's all Daryl needed to see and hear. Sprinting up from behind the man, he quickly placed him in a head lock. Off guard, the man dropped the small brown box that the little old lady snatched back up.

"Ya alrigh' ma'am?" Bringing the box up closer to her chest. She nodded yes. Grunting, Daryl threw the man on the ground and spit on him. "Git the fuck outa here!" The man scrambled on to his feet and ran away from them.

"Oh, thank you so much for saving Mr. Long Tail!" Daryl looked back at the old lady with a confused expression on his face. Before he could ask what she meant, the little old lady gently took out a medium sized, white rat missing his left, red eye. She placed the rat on her shoulder. "My name is Archie and this is Mr. Long Tail. I wish very much to repay you, but I don't have much. I can however give you your fortune!" Archie pointed to her lonely red booth. That said "Fortunes by Archie for $5" in yellow lettering. In front and behind the booth were old oak chairs. Before Daryl could say anything. Archie took Daryl's hand and pulled him towards the chair in front of the booth and made him sit down. Even though he did not believe in this kind of stuff, he would just humor her.

"Don't ya need a crystal ball or somthin'?" He asked, noticing that the counter was completely empty.

"Oh heaves no! Those ideas are only in the movies. No, the only thing I need are your eyes." With a confused look Daryl leaned over the counter. "You see the eyes are the gateway into the soul" Archie placed her hands to the sides of Daryl's face. "Now what would you like me to look for?... Oh I know how about I tell you about your soul mate? A good man like you! Every girl would be jealous of her!" A deep shade of red came across his face.

"Um I, um don't think that's-" Archie gave a light slap to Daryl's right cheek so he could not finish his sentence.

"Shush now. I don't want to hear any of that. Before we begin I want to tell you something about the first time you will see your soul mate. At first glance you will be drawn to her. At first touch, you will feel the overwhelming need to love and protect, but I can already see that you have more animalistic qualities in you. So in your case, at first touch, the overwhelming need to love, protect and dominate. Now on with the reading. Look only at my eyes and try to keep your mind clear." Closing her hazel eyes Archie took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes again, her eyes were completely pitch black. Daryl sat paralyzed in his seat. After a few minutes, Archie eyes went back to normal.

"Oh dear, the god of mischief really did a no no this time" Daryl pulled his head back from Archie's hands and sat back against his seat. Daryl could not stop thinking about how Archie's eyes went completely black.

*Must have been some type of trick* A sad look spread across Archie's face.

"I am afraid that your soul mate was born in to the wrong world." Archie's face went from sad to happy when an idea popped in her head. "Well lucky for you Daryl Dixon, that my main job is to take care of misplaced souls. So don't you worry, I will find her and send her to you. Now, before you go I have a clue on how to identify your other half. Look for a 'wolf guarding her next meal.'"

"How ya know 'bout any of this?" Archie chuckled at his question.

"Every woman has her secrets. You best remember that. Now shoo I have much to do!" Rolling his eyes Daryl got up from the chair and walked from where he came.

"Whatever lady" Stopping in his tracks Daryl turned back around. He would give her the ultimate test to see if Archie was telling the truth. "Since ya an expert on 'magic' an' shit, I wanna know if there is any such thing as the Chupacabra." Archie looked at him with a smile.

"Of course" Daryl smirked not knowing what made him more happier; knowing that all those sum-a-bitches were wrong when they told him that there was no such thing as the chupacabra so he never seen it (and he knew that he did!), or the fact that, besides her living in a different world, he had a mate made just for him, but Archie just had to clean that smile off his face by saying "Just not in this world"

*I knew it. The bitch is a fraud.* He knew for a fact that he had seen the Chupacabra!

Archie's point of view

Archie watched Daryl walked away. *This is truly bad.* With one look into Daryl's soul, she knew everything about Daryl. Found out his name, strengths, weaknesses, likes, dislikes. Even the things he does not know about himself, like his soul mate. His soul mate was born in the wrong world, which was very bad. Not only for Daryl, but for the rest of this world as well. His mate had a very important role to play in this world and if not played or not played correctly, this world was done for. Without a minute to spare she left this world and into Daryl's other half's world; Helena Smith.

-Our world-

Helena's point of view

Helena was packing a small amount of clothing into her dark green camping backpack. So far she packed up her favorite navy blue hoodie with a white eye of Horus on the back. Two tees, two tank-tops, a pair of shorts and a pair of jeans, along with socks, underwear, and two bras. She had to get out of the house for a while. Camping out in the woods for a day or two would help her with what was missing in her art piece or maybe another idea for a canvas.

Being a wildlife artist was not always easy, but she loved it. It was only a bonus that she was supper skilled at painting and drawing. While her twin brother Jason was not good at painting or drawing, he was very skilled with building things like pottery, jewelry and odd technology. For her 22nd birthday, Jason had made her an iPod charger that could use normal batteries to charge up the iPod. She all ways seemed to have her iPod with her and Jason knew that. Thinking of Jason made her stop packing as a sob escaped from her lips. Looking up from the dresser, she looked to a picture of her twin brother that was tucked in the corner of her mirror. As expected her twin looked a lot like her. Besides him being a male, they both had very pale skin that caused the neighborhood kids to say that they were related to snow white. They also had dark brown hair, but their most striking feature was their eyes. Both of their right eyes were blue while their left was a light gray color.

The next thing she looked at was the only thing she had left of Jason. It was an onyx and cateye beaded chocker necklace that he had made. She always wore it along with another necklace she always wore; a medium sized Native American, wolf figure pendant carved out of a deer bone. The pendant was attached to a simple brown leather cord. The wolf necklace went just above her breast, so the two necklaces worked perfectly together. Making sure that she and other people could still see the necklace, she always wore low cut t-shirts and tank-tops.

Helena was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of Daryl Dixon's voice coming from her favorite TV show The Walking Dead. She ran over to the living room were the walking dead was playing on her laptop. Her friends would make fun of her with on how much she loved The Walking Dead. If they cried so did she, if they were happy she would be smiling ear to ear for them. They were like her second family in an 18'inch screen. Deciding to take a small break from packing, she sat down on the couch with the laptop in her lap. She watched Daryl as he found out that Rick and the others had left Merle on a rooftop back in Atlanta. She always had a thing for Daryl, yeah sure lots of other Walking Dead fan girls did too, but something about him that made her want to protect him...to love him. Daryl's lips just screamed at her to kiss him and the wild look he always seemed to have made her wet and bothered. Oh and his voice! His voice seemed to hold promise to her which made her shudder in pleasure.

Helena turned off her laptop before her mind totally went down into the gutter, deciding that she could just finish up the episode later. After all she did own all the Walking Dead seasons 1-3 on DVD and on her iPod and when season 4 comes out on DVD she will personally throw a mini party for herself like she did with all the other seasons. No work for the whole day. Just cherry coke, chips and her most comfy pjs and maybe, just maybe, her friends. If they did not give her a hard time about it.

Walking in to the kitchen, she grabbed a few trail mixes and water bottles to put in her back pack. The next thing she packed was a first aid kit and her iPod along with the charger that her brother gave her. Placing everything in her back pack, she took one last look at the picture of her brother. Hesitantly, she took the picture and packed it up as well. The last thing she needed was her sketchpad and drawing pencils that were located in her art studio where she worked. Walking down stairs she packed it up. Giving one last look over at her back pack with her favorite camping black and blue plaid blanket rolled up and strapped up on top of her back pack. Everything else that she needed was already in her yellow jeep, like her tent, camping gear and instant food. Throwing her camping back pack in the back of her jeep. Helena went back to the house to lock up, until a voice stopped her.

"Miss Helena Smith?" Looking behind her stood a little old lady, dressed in an old style gypsy outfit with a white, one eyed rat resting on her shoulder. Being slightly confused, Helena was thinking that maybe she had missed an appointment, but quickly dismissed that when she knew for a fact had she had not taken any appointments because she was working on one job that will be a highlight of her career. She had been hired to paint all the inside walls of a new casino that was being built. The owner of the casino had gone to a hotel that had bought one of her wildlife paintings for their lobby. He had loved the painting so much that he wanted her to paint an Alaskan theme to his casino. Since this was her biggest job yet, she did not want to mess up which was the reason why Helena was going on this mini camping trip to the nearby woods.

"Um, yes?" The old lady walked closer to Helena.

"Ah yes, I can see you better now. In deed you are Helena Smith. It is so dark out that I could not see you very well. Although it is so dark out, the stars are shining extra bright tonight. Don't you agree?" Helena looked up at the night sky thinking that she was right. Since Helena was distracted, the old lady quickly grabbed Helena's right wrist. Looking back, Helena tried to break the old woman's hold on her, but the old lady had an unnatural grip on her.

"What are you doing? Let me go!" The old lady's eyes went completely pitch black, but Helena had too much adrenalin running though her to really care. With a calm reply the old lady said

"I am making things right" That moment the old lady started chanting, time seemed to have stopped. She could no longer hear the crickets and frogs sing into the night. Her surroundings were trying to change its self into...a hospital room?

*I swear to god I have seen that room before.* Another voice could know be heard.

"Nurse. Nurse, help… Nurse…" Helena's eyes widened.

*I know that voice!, but its impossible because that voice belongs to Rick Grimes!* Helena began to understand to chanting. Little did she know that it was the last part of the spell that Archie was casting.

"Oh mighty gods of time and space. I have found a soul that you have missed place. Grant me the power to send her through worlds. So I can send her to her rightful place." The old lady let go of her wrist and disappeared. Helena's heart began to beat rapidly. Her lungs couldn't seem to get enough air, her vision blurred and then she felt like she was falling in to a void, but then nothing.

-The World of the Walking Dead-

Helena's point of view

"Miss... Miss can you hear me? I need you to wake up." Helena slowly came back to her senses. She felt someone squeeze her shoulder while shaking her. Her eyes fluttered open and looked up at the man leaning over her. The man leaning over her she knew very well. He was the husband to Lori, father to Carl and the leader to her most favorite survivor group; Rick Grimes. Eyes widening, she wildly looked around her surroundings.

*This is the hospital room that Rick woke up in the very first episode of The Walking Dead.* Looking over at her right side, she found Rick's hospital bed that he had woken up from. Her eyes then traveled from the end table to... her own hospital bed!? Helena looked down at herself. She too was wearing a hospital gown. Rick, feeling the tension grow from her shoulders, tried to calm her down.

"Miss, I don't know what is going on, but I am sure everything is going to be alright. My name is-" but Helena never gave him the chance to finish. Shaking her head no, Helena interrupted.

"No this is not real, you're not real. NONE OF THIS IS REAL!" Helena fought against Rick's hold on her. Rick still being shaky from waking up from his coma tried to get her to relax again, but lost his hold on her. Helena fell to the ground on the left side of her hospital bed. A sharp pain came on her arm, not from the fall, but from the I.V. that was ripped from her. Crawling to the nearest corner. Siting on the ground, Helena brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

*Oh yeah, everything is handy dandy! Let's just say that everything is real. Never mind the once upon a time, the once happy, lively people now want to tear your guts out and eat you! Yup, other than that everything is good!* Rick slowly walked over to her with his hands out showing her that he was not going to hurt her.

"I know you are scared. I am not a fragment of your imagination. I am not going to hurt you… I am a police officer."

"Don't talk to me like I am a child Rick!" Helena snapped.

Rick, being taken back by this, asked "How do you know my name?" She knew she could not just say 'because in my world you are a main character in my favorite TV show,' so she quickly thought of an answer to give him.

"Um, I remember this guy that was by your bed. He called you Rick. I don't remember much, sorry I must of fallen back unconscious" Watching Rick closely, she had hoped he had bought her lie.

"Do you remember what he looked like?" A sense of relief washed over her.

"Yeah, but only a little. He had short, black, slightly curly hair, Caucasian and he kinda had a big nose." Rick let out a chuckle and walked closer to her, offering his hand.

"That sounds like Shane. Do you remember anything else?" Taking Rick's hand, Helena pulled herself off the ground.

"No sorry. Like I said it's all blurry before I fell back unconscious." Rick looked slightly disappointed, but gave her a reassuring smile.

"It's alright, it's not your fault. Well since you know my name, I think it is only fair that I know yours." Helena was happy about remembering Shane's flashback about when he had asked a unconscious Rick about what he should do with him while the army was shooting patients out in the hallway.

Smiling Helena answered Rick. "I am Helena Smith."

"Nice to meet you Helena. My full name is Rick Grimes. I am the sheriff around here. You are very lucky. I was just about to leave, before I heard you whimpering in your sleep. When I first woke up I thought you were dead, but then I knew you weren't so I couldn't just leave you behind" She nodded her head to Rick letting him know that she was thankful. Even though she has a gut feeling that this was all real, she just needed to make it 100% sure that she was not dreaming. Then something green caught her eye. It was her green back pack, laying on the chair that was in the room.

"Thank you god! My camping back pack!" Sprinting over she snatched it up and hugged it. *Wait a minute, if I am dreaming. I would not be able to get dressed.* Well according to her book on dreams that is. Rick quickly averted his gaze from Helena's now completely exposed back side.

"So I assume that is yours?" Helena turned her head back towards Rick briefly wondering why Rick won't look at her in the eyes, then realized that her hospital gown did not cover her back side. Running to the bathroom, she peeped her head around the door to face Rick.

"Um y-yeah. It's my camping backpack. They really need to consider about redesigning the hospital gowns for the girls huh? Is it all right that I change my clothes?" Rick looked back up at Helena

"Sure, as matter of fact, that's a good idea. I have a bad feeling that something is not right. Wish I had something to change into."

"Thanks Rick, I won't take long." Shutting the door. She placed her back pack next to the sink. Luckily, even with the door closed and the electricity down, she still could see. Looking in the mirror, Helena was happy to see that she still had her two necklaces on. Reaching into her pack, she noticed a tattoo was on her right wrist where the old lady grabbed her that she had never had before. The tattoo was big on her wrist. It was a circle with the map of the planets and stars inside of it. Another circle was inside it. Within that circle was the different phases of the moon.

*How on earth did I get that?* A flashback played before her of when the old lady grabbed her wrist and chanting. *Is she the reason why I am here? Well if this is real any way. I guess it's time for the moment of truth* Taking off the hospital gown she put on her tan shorts and an orange tank-top. The Question was answered. *Everything is real...Very real*

Note: I would like to know if I need to make the chapter longer next time. Please comment! It makes me more motivated, but be nice I just started doing fanfiction and I don't have a lot of confidence in my writing skill. If you guys think I should continue, I would just like to say wow and it may take me longer only because I watch the episode then rewatch it while I am writing. Then once a chapter is finished I have people look at it for spelling when they have time. If you would like to help with the spelling, I would be SO grateful! I will of course put you name on the credits.