The next morning, my eyes opened slowly. I looked around, and suddenly sat up. I relaxed a little once I remembered what had happened the day before. I was glad that Carol, Sophia, Sean, Daryl and I were safe. I smiled when I thought of Daryl's name. Daryl and Annie. Annie and Daryl. He was so perfect.

I got up and decided to check on my brother. I gasped when I saw his bed empty.

"Sean!" I called, panic rising in my chest.

"What's wrong?" Daryl yelled, rushing into my cabin.

"I can't find my brother."

"Let's go. We'll find him," Daryl assured me.

I nodded and ran with him into the woods.

"Sean! Where are you?" I called as I ran.

I saw a boy near the stream and relief rushed over me. He was just standing there. I figured he must have been scared, so I rushed over to embrace my brother.

"Annie, wait!" Daryl shouted.

I stopped dead in my tracks. What was wrong with me going to hug my brother?

"Stand back," he said. "That's not your brother."

"Are you trying to tell me that I don't know my own little brother?" I cried.

"No, I mean that's a walker."

I gasped. "He was bitten?"

"Look at his face. That's not Sean."

I examined the walker's face and realized that it wasn't my brother. It looked like him from behind, but the zombie had blue eyes and a face full of acne. He was probably around eleven, and just extremely small for his age.

"It's stuck in the mud," I told Daryl. "That's why it didn't come after us."

Daryl looked at the walker's feet and nodded. "Come on, let's keep looking. He couldn't have gotten far."

I heard a scream nearby and my spine stiffened. It sounded like Sean. I took off at a sprint and ran the fastest I had ever run before. Daryl followed close behind me, on the lookout for walkers.

"Annie!" Sean screamed.

"I'm here! Where are you?" I yelled back.

I heard a gunshot and ran faster. My heart was pounding out of my chest and I couldn't breathe, but I kept going. I felt something hit me with a thump and I fell to the ground.

"Annie!" Sean cried as he hugged me tightly.

"Sean! You're okay!" I was overjoyed to hold my breathing brother back in my arms. I let him cry into my shoulder until he sat up and wiped his eyes.

"Oh cool! A crossbow! Why didn't you show me earlier?" Sean said, seeing Daryl.

"You were asleep when I got dinner last night," Daryl replied. "I showed your sister how to use it, and if you're half as good with it as she was, you'll do great."

I met Daryl's eyes and grinned. He smiled back at me, and out of the corner of my eye I saw my brother looking back and forth between us with confusion. Our smiles disappeared a second later when we heard another gunshot.

Daryl ran towards the sound of the gunshot. Sean and I followed him. When we could finally see the people who fired the shot, my brother and I stopped behind Daryl, whose crossbow was raised.

"Who are you and what were you shooting at?" Daryl asked.

"Woah, Woah! Calm down, brother!" One man yelled.

"Take another step closer and you can be sure you'll end up with an arrow in your chest!" Daryl yelled.

"I think you'd better think about your options," the man replied.

"Daryl!" I screamed as I whirled around.

Daryl turned to see a fist collide with his face. He fell down and the man grabbed me.

"Let me go! Daryl, help!" I screeched.

Daryl raised his head to see the man with his arms around me, crushing me lungs.

"Let her go!" Daryl demanded.

"I don't think so," the man said. "Justin," he nodded to the man who had punched Daryl.

Justin kicked Daryl over and over as the man who held me laughed.

"Leave him alone!" I screamed.

I turned to see the woman holding Sean.

"Let them go, please!" I pleaded.

"Hey, it's okay, darling," the man said as he held me. "Gimme a little kiss."

The man pulled me closer as I punched at his chest, but he was too strong. I struggled with the man, knowing that he would win this battle.

Daryl suddenly jumped to his feet, surprising Justin. Daryl kicked him down and stomped his boot on Justin's face.

He turned to the man holding me and growled, "Let her go."

The man looked at Daryl and laughed. "Is this your little girlfriend?"

"Don't you fucking touch her!" Daryl bellowed.

He ran at the man and knocked him over. Daryl grabbed his throat and pushed hard. I scrambled out of the way, but Daryl kept going. The man was struggling for air and his face was getting red.

I ran to my brother and looked at the woman.

"Walk away," I told her.

She blinked at me and released her grip, but she didn't move.

"Go!" I screamed.

The woman ran off into the woods and didn't look back.

Daryl was still chocking the man.

"Daryl, let go!" I yelled. "You're gonna kill him!"

After a moment, he released his grip. Daryl pulled me into a bone crushing hug.

"It's okay, I'm okay," I told him as I hugged him back.

Daryl pulled away and pressed his face to mine. Our noses touched and he put his hand on my chin, tilting my face up toward his.

"He could've hurt you," Daryl murmured softly.

He walked away, leaving me standing there. I was breathless, but I cleared my throat and started walking again.

"Come on, Sean, let's go," I told my brother.

For the next week, everything happened normally. Well, as normally as it could go. Daryl and I went out to see if the men were still there, but they were gone. We continued to catch food for Carol, Sophia, and Sean. Daryl and I talked about our old lives, but nothing had really happened after our almost kiss. But one thing was certain: I definitely had feelings for Daryl Dixon.