AN: Hello dear readers here is another Daryl and Oc story Co - Written with Kit – cat99 read her story "One Of These Days".
Summary: On the hunt for Sophia, Daryl gets gravely injured. Almost certain he was screwed; he gets a surprise in the form of an old friend.
Into The Woods enemies
Chapter 4
Song – Girl With One Eye – By Florence And The Machine
She told me not to step on the cracks
I told her not to fuss and relax
Pretty little thing stopped me in my tracks
And now she sleeps with one eye open
But that's the price she'll pay
I took a knife and cut out her eye
I took it home and watched it wither and die, well
She's lucky that I didn't slit that smile
That's why she sleeps with one eye open, woah
But that's the price she'll pay
I said, 'Hey, girl with one eye,
Get your filthy fingers out of my pie.'
I said, 'Hey-ey, girl with one eye.
I'll cut your little heart out, cause you made me cry.'
I slipped my hand under her skirt
I said, 'Don't worry, oh-oh, it's not gonna hu-u-urt.'
OH my reputations kinda clouded with dirt
That's why you sleep with one eye open
But that's the price you'll pay
"Should we have been?" Aleigh asked, eyebrow raising. "If I remember correctly, you don't exactly like me."
"First impressions aren't my strong point." Shane admitted. He held out his hand which Aleigh reluctantly accepted. "Shane Walsh."
"Oh, Rick's best friend." Aleigh remembered her conversation with the Sheriff.
"Yeah...and you are?" Shane prodded.
"I think the little Angel said my name earlier but in case you've forgotten, it's Aleigh...Aleigh Blaze." Aleigh answered, not entirely liking this man. She looked at Sophia then nudged at the officer before leaving the tent and the child to take care of the rest of their things. She glanced around, already knowing she wasn't going to find Daryl. She had heard the fuss he made about having Hershel, who was apparently a doctor of some sort, look over his wound.
"So how did Daryl find you?" Shane asked.
"I found him." Aleigh pointed out. "Found Sophia too. Stabbed walkers for both of them. Wasn't for me, neither of them would be here."
"You're pretty sure of yourself." Shane mused, eyes drifting over the woman. Aleigh narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms. "Well...I'll be keeping an eye on you. Nothing personal, but I don't trust new people."
"Sure." Aleigh muttered, not really caring. She watched Shane walk away and watched with mild interest as he interacted with Lori. Her green eyes moved along, taking in the rest of the group. Aleigh mentally did a head count, picking up little things on each person that could identify them later. She looked over at the barn and frowned, not liking that it was full of walkers.
Maybe she should go talk to Rick.
She was about to turn when suddenly Daryl was at her side, a wary expression on his face. Aleigh tilted her head in curiosity before darting her eyes around again, finding Shane and Lori suddenly looking their way, both with frowns on their faces.
"What were you talking to Robo cop for?" Daryl asked.
"He started it." Aleigh mumbled, pouting over the fact that she got stuck talking to the man. Daryl looked at her then chuckled at the miserable expression on her face. "What's your take on PDA?"
"PD what?" Daryl's question was answered as soon as it passed his lips as Aleigh draped her arms around his neck and kissed him with full force right in the middle of the camp. He paused for a moment, realizing that eventually every eye would be on them, but then he didn't care as he put an arm around Aleigh's waist and yanked her flush against his body. She giggled slightly, such a girlish sound escaping out of her mouth to his.
"Public display of affection." Aleigh finally translated, pulling back just enough to be able to see his full face. "You know...I love getting the snooty folks something to sneer at."
"Crazy woman." Daryl grumbled, although he really didn't mind. "Why is there a tent next to mine?"
"Sophia." Aleigh answered simply. She slid her hands under the neck of his shirt to rub at his back lightly. "Carl offered her to stay with him and his parents but she wanted to stay with us. Plus it pisses Lori off that someone got chosen over her."
"You already got yourself an enemy in this group?" Daryl mused, not sure why he was surprised. "Damn girl, you work fast." Aleigh leaned her head back, laughing.
"Oh great another trashy redneck, damn it Shane I thought we weren't letting anymore people into this group" a young woman snarled at the ex cop, Aleigh noticed.
"If I remember correctly blonde bitch, this so called trashy redneck saved that little girl's life while Daryl is stopping you all from starving to death bitch" Aleigh said coldly. As she turned, Daryl put his other arm around her and held her in place. He knew damn well what Aleigh had running in her head, she hated being called trashy. "Next time you're gonna bitch about someone; maybe try doing it so they don't hear you."
"That was pretty much the intention." The young woman remarked. Everyone who had been watching, even Sophia as she popped her head out of the tent to see what the noise was about, jumped when one of Aleigh's sais impaled itself in the tent post next to the blonde woman.
"Listen up Barbie." Aleigh ground out, pushing Daryl's arms off of her as she walked over to retrieve her weapon. "I'm not exactly here to make friends. I'm only here, because that little girl wanted me to be here and I'm making damn sure she stays safe and sound." She tugged the Sais free then pointed it at the blonde's face. "I got no problem getting kicked out of this group if it means putting stuck up fancy pants bitches like you in place."
"Aleigh!" Sophia called. The red head paused then put away her weapon before moving away from the woman and turning a cheerful face to the girl.
"Hey sweet pea, wanna go for a walk?" Aleigh suggested brightly. Sophia blinked in surprise at the change of emotion then smiled and nodded, hopping out of the tent and zipping it shut to keep out mosquitoes or flies. Aleigh was at her side in an instant, taking her hand and heading off for a quick little refreshing walk.
Daryl just stood there, watching them go, with the most amused expression a person could have without actually laughing. He looked like he wanted to though and almost did when he turned to look at Andrea to see her seething over the fact that no one had said anything during that whole exchange.
Behind her, Shane had his eyes on the retreating form of the red headed woman who was now skipping along with the child next to her.
Aleigh walked with Sophia to a stream near the camp, she glanced at the little girl with a softened look on her face.
"How you holding up kiddo?" Aleigh asked softly, she knew the pain of losing a parent all too well.
"I'm ok, Aleigh, I miss my mom but I know my mom wouldn't want me being sad" Sophia explained sounding very wise for her age, Aleigh was impressed.
"Your a brave girl, Sophia your mom would be proud of you sweetie" Aleigh told her, giving the girl a hug.
Unfortunately the hug didn't last long because a walker growled at them causing them to turn around and see a female walker with what seemed to be remains of a wedding dress, with long curly black hair.
"Oh shit, Sophia get behind me sweetie" Aleigh ordered and Sophia hurried behind her as Aleigh whirled out her two Sais against the walker.
The walker snarled at Aleigh and stumbled towards her, growling and snapping at her.
Aleigh stabbed it in the damn head, blood sprayed out but Aleigh dodged the blood splatters and hurried back to Sophia.
That was when Aleigh heard more growls and saw six more walkers' stumbling towards them.
"Sophia get your gun out honey" Aleigh said calmly and Sophia took out a nine miller meter pistol without hesitating.
Aleigh kills the first two by slamming her two Sais into their heads, while Sophia shoots one, her aim precise and perfect.
"Get back to the farm Sophia, I'll be right behind you sweetie" Aleigh yelled and Sophia ran back towards the farm, Aleigh taking out any walkers that got too close to Sophia as she ran behind Sophia.
Soon they could see the farmhouse up ahead, "Sophia go on I'm right behind you girl" Aleigh said firmly, and Sophia ran towards where the group was camped, while Aleigh took out one of the walker's by stabbing it in the head.
Aleigh wrenched out her Sais and was now taking on the last two, when she saw Andrea watching her with an unreadable expression on her face.
Aleigh slammed both her Sais into the two walker's heads killing them, feeling sweat and adrenalines rush through her as she glared at Andrea.
"You stupid bitch, why the hell weren't you on watch, for fucks sake Sophia and me could've have been killed" Aleigh yelled at her as the others came running towards them.
"What the hell is going on?" Shane asked annoyed.
"Andrea here wasn't keeping watch like she said she was and a herd of seven fucking walkers attacked me and Sophia" Aleigh said angrily.
Daryl felt his heart beat quicken at the thought of Aleigh and Sophia being in danger.
"Are you two girls alright?" Dale asked ever the concerned parent.
"We're fine aside from getting wet, but do us a favour Andrea, put your petty little feelings aside and keep an eye on people" Aleigh spat, and she and Sophia walked towards their tent.
It wasn't long before Daryl joined them looking just plain mad. Aleigh was sitting on the ground with Sophia between her legs and a pen in her hand, drawing on the girl's arm. Daryl moved around them and dropped down behind Aleigh, copying her pose. She leaned back against him which ended up bringing Sophia back as well.
"That fucking bitch is getting her ass handed to her for not keeping a good watch." Daryl explained. He didn't let on just how much he hated the thought of anything happening to either of the girl's in front of him. It would have made him look soft and that wasn't something he ever wanted to seem to be.
"Good." Aleigh muttered. She leaned her head back onto Daryl's shoulder and tilted it slightly, nuzzling his cheek unconsciously.
"Did you actually sleep last night?" Daryl questioned suddenly. Aleigh grunted, shrugging slightly. "Do you ever really sleep anymore?" That got a slight shake of the head as a response and Daryl wondered just how long she had been on her own. "Get some rest Aleigh; you ain't gonna be any use being tired."
"Fuck you." Aleigh mumbled. Her arms circled around Sophia as the young girl cuddled into her, seeming just as tired as the red head.
After having the nap from heaven, Daryl decided that they should eat the leftovers from the squirrel with the rest of the group.
Lunch was a quiet affair, with the death of Carol, Sophia's return and Aleigh's arrival everyone was quiet, until Aleigh spoke.
"Rick can I talk to you for a moment it wont take long" she told the ex sheriff. Rick looked at the red head and raised an eyebrow in curiosity before nodding and standing up from his place with his family.
"Honey..." Lori started, shooting a look at Aleigh.
"I'll be right back." Rick assured her, not seeing the look. Aleigh led him to a place away from the group then did a quick scan around. "What's the matter? If this is about Andrea..."
"No, no, not her." Aleigh cut in, shaking her head. "I just...I figured you guys should know something." Rick tilted his head, curious about what his companion would know. "Before you all came here, I was already in this area, hunting around and everything. I saw this place and I saw this big guy steering a walker into that barn over there. When the door was open, there was dozens of them, I'm not even kidding."
"There are walkers in the barn?" Rick asked, worry flashing over his face. Aleigh nodded slowly, keeping her eyes on him, making sure he knew that she wasn't just out to start a fuss.
"I'll tell the others, does Daryl know?" Rick asked still in shock.
"I told him last night Rick, look listen, Hershel thinks these people are sick and in that barn are his wife and step- son and he thinks there will be a cure, but you know as good as I do there isn't a cure" Aleigh told him firmly.
"I'll talk to him, he trusts me the last thing we need is Andrea, Shane and T-Dog creating a panic" Rick said sighing.
"You mean it's not just a new thing because of me that they get crazy over?" Aleigh asked, partially joking.
"Sadly, no." Rick sighed, shaking his head. "They're...well...I don't know, I think everything is really starting to get to them."
"Think might have to add your wife to that group." Aleigh muttered softly. Rick heard her and frowned slightly. "No offense or anything but she's been watching us this whole time. She doesn't like me."
"She doesn't know you." Rick tried to reason, even though Aleigh could see that he didn't quite believe it. Whatever was going on, Rick didn't seem to be his wife's biggest fan. "I'll get things sorted Aleigh, don't worry. If anyone tries anything on you, just let me know alright?"
"I know how to take care of myself." Aleigh explained, careful to say it in a way that wouldn't offend the ex sheriff. She did like him, he seemed like an okay guy, but she didn't need babysitters.
They returned to the group and Rick cleared his throat getting everyone's attention.
"I don't want anyone to panic but I thought you all should know that there are walkers in the barn" Rick said in a calm but firm voice.
Just as Aleigh predicted all hell broke loose. She flinched as several of the group started yelling.
"Could, have announced that a little better." Aleigh muttered, sitting herself back with Daryl and Sophia both already knew but that didn't stop Sophia from clinging to Aleigh as the woman sat down.
"How do you know she's not lying?" Lori asked.
"There's no reason to believe her." Andrea added in.
"She's not lying." Maggie suddenly announced, looking down. All eyes shot to the young girl. Glenn took her hand and gave it a squeeze.
"Maggie?" Rick asked gently.
"It's our family...our friends." Maggie tried to explain. Aleigh watched her and then drifted her eyes over to the barn. Chances were, if things were completely quiet, the group may be able to hear scratching and moaning. As it was, someone was always raising their voice.
"We have to take them out." Shane declared. "That's not safe for anyone."
"NO!" Maggie shot back, head coming up. "Please...please don't."
"Maggie, Shane's right. It's not safe." Rick tried to reason. He held his hand up when Maggie tried to explain further. "I'll talk to your father about it."
While Rick hurried off to talk to Hershel, Aleigh decided to stay where she was when Sophia spoke to her.
"Aleigh will you teach me how to use your sais?" Sophia asked hopefully.
Aleigh grinned "Of course sweetie" and they went to a spot near their tent and Aleigh handed Sophia her spare set. She ignored the fact that several sets of eyes were on them, knew that most of those eyes were probably narrowed. She knew what was passing through the minds of more than one person in the group.
What does that woman think she's doing? Giving dangerous weapons to a child.
It was stupid, especially these days. The kids needed to know how to defend themselves. Aleigh had seen children abandoned because their parents had given their lives to save the child, only to have the kid unprepared for the world and dead soon after themselves.
"The main thing you gotta know is grip." Aleigh instructed, getting down on her knees to be level with Sophia. She took the girl's hand and adjusted it to hold the sharp bladed weapon properly. "And when you sharpen it, don't get so far down. See, you have your fingers through there, makes it harder for someone to get it out of your hand. But if you sharpen the whole way down, when you're gripping it hard, you'll cut your fingers open."
"Ow." Sophia muttered. "Have you done that?"
"Oh, hell yeah." Aleigh laughed. "Made, me learn. You'll likely do it at least once yourself." Sophia turned bright blue startled eyes to the woman and received a gentle smile in return.
Daryl watched as Aleigh made Sophia slash her hand through the air. Pleased that the girl was finally getting some proper teachings, he turned his attention elsewhere, looking over the group.
"But mom, dad said I can and Shane said I can." Carl complained, frowning at his mother taking away the gun that the young boy had been given.
"You don't need this." Lori argued. "There's enough people around with guns, you shouldn't have one."
"Sophia's getting to learn how to use things." Carl muttered.
"Well she shouldn't. You two need to be kids, not hunters." Lori declared. From his spot, Daryl chuckled, shaking his head at the ironic thought process he was having over that declaration.
Aleigh then taught Sophia how to raise her arms, and making slashing movements with the, sais.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING" Lori screamed at Aleigh as she marched towards the young woman and Sophia.
"Teaching Sophia how to protect herself against walkers and people" Aleigh said calmly to the enraged woman.
"She's just a child for god's sake, you can't give Sophia weapons" Lori yelled at her and she was pissing Aleigh off.
"Being a beautiful little girl isn't going to stop walkers from attacking her or stop people is it Lori?" Aleigh asked annoyed.
"Carol would be turning in her grave if she knew what you were doi-"Lori was cut off by Aleigh punching her squarely in the jaw.
"Number one, bitch, I am the one who saved Sophia's life! Number two, I'm pretty damn sure that Carol would be happy that I am teaching Sophia how to protect herself from walkers. Maybe if she had known this stuff before, she wouldn't have needed me to save her when she had to run for her life." Aleigh snarled. She was through with this. She had only been there a damn day, not even that, and already had people looking at her like she had committed the biggest of all sins in existence. She gently took Sophia's hand when the girl lifted it up and the two of them walked away.
"Are you okay?" Sophia asked.
"Yeah, sorry about that Angel." Aleigh apologized. "Shouldn't have done that in front of you."
"It's okay." Sophia assured her, nodding her head. "You're right. My mom would be happy that I know this. She'd want me to be alive and safe."
"You feel safe?" Aleigh asked curiously.
"With you and Daryl, yep." Sophia replied, smiling.
Aleigh was just about to reply when Shane began yelling and giving everyone guns including her.
"These walkers need to be taken care of NOW" Shane informed her firmly and he handed her a rifle.
And broke the chain to the barn door with a pickaxe and the walkers ran out.
Aleigh grabbed Sophia and put her next to Lori as much as Aleigh disliked the woman, she knew Lori would protect Sophia.
Aleigh lined up beside Daryl, and began quickly putting down the walkers and end their suffering.
She thinks someone shot Maggie and Beth's mother because when one of the female walkers fell, the girls screamed. Aleigh kept track of how many she shot. Soon as she realized Daryl's mouth was moving silently, she figured he was doing the same. She wondered vaguely on if there would be a prize for whichever of them shot the most.
Everyone stopped shooting when it looked like there was going to be no more. The guns were lowered and several people sighed.
One last groan from the barn brought everyone back to alert. Stumbling out of the structure was a young girl, probably no older then Carl and Sophia. Aleigh couldn't help but to stare as she lowered her gun and took a step back. Daryl paused and glanced at her then turned his full attention to her, knowing everyone else would have theirs on the child walker. Aleigh had gone pale as her green eyes stayed glued to the girl with black goo dripping from her mouth.
Rick was the one to step forward, moving around the fallen bodies. When the girl saw him, she let out a growl and made to run for him. One shot to the forehead and she hit the ground, unmoving.
"What's the matter, Blaze?" Daryl asked carefully, keeping his voice low. "Ain't ever seen a kid turned?"
"I haven't been alone through all of this apocalypse." Aleigh muttered. She sighed when Sophia ran to her side and hugged her waist.
I said, 'Hey, girl with one eye,
Get your filthy fingers out of my pie.'
I said, 'Hey-ey, girl with one eye.
I'll cut your little heart out, cause you made me CRYYY,
You made me CRYYY,
You made me CRYYY,
You made me CRYYYYYYYYYYYYYY, UH
I said, 'Hey, girl with one eye,
Get your filthy fingers out of my pie.'
I said, 'Girl with one eye.
GET YOUR FILTHY FINGERS OUTTA MY PIE'
I said, 'Hey, girl with one eye,
Get your filthy fingers out of my pie.'
I said, 'Hey-ey-ey, girl with one eye.
I'll cut your little heart out, cause you made me cry.'