Daryl found himself sitting on the pew again. Rick was on his left and Glenn on his right with Michonne next to Glenn. Both Glenn and Michonne winced when they saw the extensive nature of his injuries. Cassy, Greg and Johnny were guarding them while three other men went to get Maggie and Sasha from the store. Tommy was still on watch. Cassy was eating a bag of trail mix. Johnny was exploring Michonne with his eyes. "Why are you doing this," Glenn asked.

Cassy shrugged. "We're bored."

"Facing hordes of undead isn't exciting enough for you," Glenn asked incredulously.

Cassy tipped the bag of trail mix so that the rest of the food spilled into her open and waiting mouth. "They're already dead," Cassy said through a mouth full of food.

"Not much accomplishment in killing a dead thing," Johnny agreed.

"Whereas tormenting people who are tied up and can't fight back is an accomplishment you can be proud of," Michonne said in a caustic tone of voice that made Cassy grin.

The blond got down on one knee in front of Michonne. "Do you know this one? Jump in any time if you do." Cassy started to sing softly. "Southern trees bear strange fruits. Blood on the leaves and blood at the root." Daryl saw Michonne stiffen and look at Cassy with loathing.

"Stop," Daryl begged. "Please stop."

Cassy ignored him. "Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze. Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees." Daryl remembered the cooked flesh he'd seen last night when he was roasting that squirrel. He smelt gasoline, even though he knew it was just his imagination.

"Go to hell," Michonne said.

Cassy smirked as she got to her feet. "Maybe I will. Who can say?"

"Nah," Greg said. "We're God's chosen, remember?"

Cassy brought her hands together so that they produced a loud clap. The sound bounced off the walls and made the room unbearably loud for a few moments. "Story time!"

"What," Greg said.

"Didn't you ever go to missus Dixon's Sunday school class? There was always a story."

"Please stop," Daryl whispered.

Cassy ignored Daryl. "Who wants to go first? I think I will."

"What kinda story you gonna tell Cassy," Johnny asked.

"I think I'm gonna tell a story about my family," Cassy said. "You know it Daryl."

Daryl stared at the floor intently, trying to block out what was happening. He could feel the eyes of his friends boring into him. "Is this the one about your grandma," Greg asked.

"You got it." Cassy walked over to Daryl and grabbed his chin, forcing his head up so that he had to look at her. "Pay attention mutt. I'm only going to tell this story once."

"Like you said, I already know it," Daryl muttered.

Daryl glanced at his friends and saw that they were all looking at him. Cassy started her horrid tale. "My granddaddy hated my momma, on account of he didn't think she was really the product of his own seed. He thought she was Forest Dixon's bastard. For a little while that was just a rumor, but the older my momma and Forest's son got the more people saw how the two of them looked alike. Ain't it the truth Daryl, didn't my momma and your daddy look like they could be twins?" Cassy shoved his head to the side, trying to get his attention. "Well?"

Daryl didn't see the point in lying. "Yeah, they did."

Cassy grinned. That was the answer she wanted. "So if my momma was really your daddy's half-sister that means you and I are cousins. A proposition I look at none too fondly."

"But I thought you dated his brother," Rick said.

Cassy's grin widened. "Well you know what they say about us inbred white trash."

"Gross," Glenn said, sounding slightly ill. "You had sex with your own cousin?"

"He wasn't really my cousin. We weren't related by law. Forest Dixon wasn't ever gonna claim my momma as his own. As far as the blood, well I wasn't ever gonna carry his whelp."

Glenn and Michonne looked absolutely disgusted by Cassy's story. Daryl could see that Rick was barely paying attention to her though. He was watching Daryl out of the corner of his eye for some reason. Daryl felt a deep sense of shame. He knew Cassy was only getting warmed up. She had plenty more stories to tell. "Well who the hell would want to carry a red baby anyways," Johnny asked. "Merle turned out all right, but we all saw how the buffalo blood messed up his brother." Johnny smacked Daryl for emphasis. "He's a damn freak."

"Yeah," Greg said. "You wouldn't want one of them in your belly."

"What are you talking about," Glenn asked.

Cassy shook her head. "It's Daryl's turn. He's going to tell a story now."

Daryl closed his eyes. He wondered if Cassy knew how much Daryl had loved his mother's stories and if this twisted perversion of that innocent tradition was designed to ruin those memories for him. That seemed like a stretch even for her. "I don't have anything to say."

There was the click of a gun being cocked. Daryl looked over and saw that Cassy had her gun pointed at Glenn's face. "I'm sure you can think of something if you try real hard."

Daryl swallowed. "What do you want me to say?"

Cassy reached out and brushed a strand of Glenn's hair behind his ear, making the young man shiver. "I want you to tell me one of your mother's stories. Or you could recite one of those pretty poems. Do you remember them? Did she? Did she write them all back down after we stole her book and ripped out all the pages? I remember the look on her face. You were only four years old, so maybe you don't. I had never seen such a sad expression in my entire life."

Daryl was spared having to respond by the sound of gunfire.

…

When Cassy and her two compatriots ran toward the front of the church to see where the sound of gunfire originated from Daryl immediately began pulling at his cuffs again. Glenn took hold of one of his silver bracelets and tried to pull it off his hand. He only succeeded in cutting his wrist. Daryl thought about his brother. Had this been how he felt before he chopped off his own hand? Daryl shivered. He looked over his shoulder at their preoccupied captors. Rick subtly nudged Daryl. Daryl turned to look at him and Rick whispered something in his ear. Daryl gave Rick a nod so slight it was almost imperceptible before whispering to the frantic Glenn.

The front door of the church slammed open and one of Cassy's men came running into the sanctuary. "Those bitches ambushed us!" The man slammed the doors shut, panting heavily.

Cassy slapped the man hard enough to make him stumble. "How the hell did they ambush you when you knew they were in there you stupid incompetent shithead?!"

Johnny and Greg shook their heads. Daryl knew these people; they were always eager to find a scapegoat or an outcast. You could be in one day and out the next. It all depended on which way the wind was blowing. "They were hiding! They started shooting at us the moment we went inside! I barely got out! They killed the rest of us!" Daryl saw the man catch sight of the prisoners and Daryl anticipated the idea he would have. Daryl was correct. He saw the light go off in the man's eyes. The man stormed over to them. "These assholes were part of it!"

"No shit," Greg said sarcastically. "Those were their people that shot at you."

The man slapped Glenn in the face. "I say we kill them right now!"

"Calm down James," Cassy said. "All things in good time."

James scowled at Cassy. "And what are we going to do about those bitches?"

Cassy shrugged. "They aren't going to leave without their people. If they come near here we take them out. If they don't we deal with it later. For now I want to hear the half-breed's story if you don't mind." Cassy walked back up to the pew. "I'm still waiting Daryl."

Daryl looked at James. "I can't believe you let two little girls kick your ass."

"The hell did you say to me?!"

Daryl smirked. "When did you become a little bitch?"

Johnny laughed. "Damn, when a bitch calls you a bitch you know you've been an absolute pussy." Johnny and Greg snickered while James' face turned the color of cherries.

"I ought to cut that tongue right out of your head boy!"

"You don't have the balls," Daryl said.

James got right in Daryl's face to reply to that, but before he could Daryl threw his hands over James' head. He pulled the chain between his wrists taut, choking his captor. "Get off!"

Rick jumped to his feet and barreled into Cassy. She scratched Rick in the face, opening four long bloody rivets in his cheek and neck. Michonne kicked the woman in the ribs while Glenn kicked her gun out of her hand. Johnny and Greg pointed their guns at their prisoners, but Daryl had a human shield and both Rick and Michonne were too close to Cassy to shoot without possibly hitting the blond. Glenn picked up Cassy's gun and aimed it at her coconspirators as he backed up close to James so any shot at Glenn risked hitting him as well.

Johnny sighed. "What the hell do you think you're doing Dixon?"

"Let us out of here and we'll let them live," Daryl said.

Michonne wrestled Cassy's rifle off of her back. She couldn't hold it properly to shoot it with her hands cuffed, but now Cassy couldn't use it either and it made a good club. The blond tried to scramble away from them, but Rick grabbed ahold of her hair and pulled her close.

"You really think you can win this," Johnny asked. "You're only making this worse for yourself boy." Johnny lowered his gun. "If you really want us to let you go then we will. I guess you've earned it. But we'll hunt you. We'll hunt you like my ancestors hunted yours. I'll rip your scalp off. I'll hang the black bitch. I guess we'll bury the chink under a pile of rocks. I'm not sure what we'll do with your white friend, but we'll figure something out. We'll slaughter you."

"It would be better just to stay," Cassy said.

Rick tightened his grip on her blond hair. "Shut up."

Johnny looked at Greg. "Open the door."

"We're really gonna let them go?"

Johnny sighed. "Did you not hear what I just said?"

Greg gave Johnny a confused look. "Alright," he said.

"Uncuff us," Glenn ordered.

Cassy reached into her pocket. Rick watched her closely to make sure she didn't have a weapon, but what she pulled out was the handcuff key. Michonne snatched the key, releasing first herself and then Glenn. Glenn took the cuffs off of Rick while Michonne leveled the rifle at Greg and Johnny. When Rick was free he forced Cassy to her feet and Glenn put the gun to her head to keep her still. Rick carefully took the cuffs off Daryl. They didn't want James to use the opportunity to escape. He seemed too nervous to try. Daryl put his cuffs on James and forced him to sit on the pew. Rick put a pair of cuffs on Cassy. "You're coming with us. We'll let you go when we're out of sight of the church," Rick told Cassy. "If you know what's good for you then you and your people will let well enough alone once we're gone. Do you understand?"

Cassy didn't even look at Rick. She stared at Daryl. "Do your people know about all the things you did? Do they know how hard you tried to be one of us? I bet they don't."

"Shut up," Glenn said. "It's your turn to be the hostage, and you get to be quiet."

"Where's the fun in that?"

Rick yanked Cassy forward by her shoulder. "Move," he said.

The two groups kept their weapons trained on each other as Daryl, Rick, Michonne and Glenn left the church with their hostage in tow. "I'll check the store," Glenn said.

The other three members of the group headed toward the vehicles Daryl and Rick had driven in. "They took our car," Michonne said. "We'll all fit in this one though."

"We're not taking her." Daryl pointed at Cassy.

"No," Rick agreed. "We'll leave her here."

"Are you at least going to leave me a knife so I can get free when you're gone?"

Rick shook his head. "Your people will come for you."

"What if a walker gets here first?"

"Then that would be unfortunate for you," Daryl said.

Cassy snorted. "Oh Dixon, I'm going to pull your guts out through your throat."

"Hey," Michonne said. "Play nice, or we'll break something before we leave you here."

Glenn came running over. "They're not in the store."

Rick swore. "Where could they have gone?"

"They must have run towards the woods," Daryl said. "They had no way of knowing we were going to get free. They probably figured someone would come after them to pay them back for the guys they took out. Maggie won't get far on that leg. We can catch up to them quick."

"Okay," Rick said. "We bring the hostage with us in case her people get it into their heads to follow us." Rick forced Cassy to walk in front of him as he started towards the forest that had started to violate its boundary with the community. Daryl had a sick feeling as he followed his friends into the shade of the trees. His dark feeling was proven apt when they had gone a little ways into the forest and caught sight of one of the most gruesome things Daryl had ever seen. Glenn actually had to grab a tree to steady himself. The young man almost vomited.

Daryl looked at the bodies. There were at least a dozen in this spot alone. Daryl had a sneaking suspicion this wasn't the only section of the forest with bodies like this. They were all strung up in the trees. It was impossible to determine the gender or appearance these people had possessed as they were all burnt to a crisp. The fact that the charcoal-colored bodies were gnashing their teeth and reaching out for them made Daryl suspect that these people had been alive when they were strung up and set on fire. "Did you do all this," Daryl asked in a whisper.

Cassy responded by starting her song again. "Southern trees bear strange-"

Michonne tore Cassy out of Rick's grip and threw the woman up against a tree, her head smacking the bark with a loud thump. "Shut up!" Michonne raised a fist to punch the blond.

Cassy didn't flinch. "Go ahead. Violence is the nature of your people."

Glenn gaped at the woman. "How could you do something like this?"

Cassy chuckled. "If you let animals run wild they tear up your crops, attack your children and lay waste to your home. There is only one way to rid yourself of an infection."

Daryl closed his eyes. The smell of burnt flesh only grew stronger when he did so and he ended up doing what Glenn had managed to stop himself from doing. Daryl threw up onto the forest floor. The smell of his own vomit only increased his nausea, and his concussion certainly wasn't helping the situation. Daryl wobbled a little and probably would have lost his balance if Rick hadn't caught his arm. You was stupid baby brother. You shouldn't have done what you did.

"Daryl?"

At the sound of Rick's voice Daryl yanked his arm from the man's grip. Daryl stumbled, but he managed to keep himself from falling. "Don't touch me." Daryl stared at the charred reaching corpses. Daryl wondered if she had looked like that when the fires were working on her.

"Gruesome, isn't it," Cassy whispered.

Daryl spun around and stormed over to where Michonne still had the woman pinned to a tree with her hair splayed against the bark like a halo. "What kind of sickness is in your head?!"

Cassy responded with barking shrill laughter. "This doesn't break the rules. It's us vs. them, and we didn't attack anybody we didn't have the right to. We didn't attack you until you broke the rules." Cassy locked eyes with Daryl. "You wanted to be one of us, and we would have accepted you just like we did your brother if you hadn't done what you did. You were a pathetic little brat, but we were willing to let you in anyway. We weren't going to let a disgusting degenerate roam our community thinking he could do whatever he liked! You don't get to play the victim! You should have known better than anybody that actions have consequences."

Daryl pulled out his hunting knife. "Move," he instructed Michonne in a chilled voice.

Glenn ran over. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, we need her. If we run into those people again, or if they found Maggie and Sasha, we'll need her as a hostage." Glenn reached for the hand Daryl was using to grip his knife. Daryl backed away out of Glenn's reach. "Daryl think about this!"

"Yeah Daryl," Cassy teased. "Listen to Mr. Sulu."

Michonne shoved Cassy to the ground. "Shut up."

Rick walked up to Daryl. "Hand me the knife," Rick whispered.

"Screw you Grimes! You ain't the boss of me!"

"You're not thinking straight." Rick lowered his voice even more, so that Daryl could barely hear him. "We need her. When this is over we can kill her, but not right now."

Daryl's grip tightened on the knife. He looked up. The sky was white. Daryl rubbed his eyes with his free hand, but it didn't change anything. Daryl looked back down and saw that Rick was looking at him with deep concern in his eyes. Rick glanced up toward where Daryl had been looking, but Daryl knew there was nothing there to see. "These people…" Daryl couldn't adequately finish the statement. "They have to die. They…" Daryl took in a shaky breath.

"I know, but not right now," Rick said. "Trust me."

Daryl sheathed his knife. "Yeah,"

Cassy snickered. "But should you trust the mutt? Now that's the question."

Michonne kicked Cassy in the ribs. Cassy grunted in pain, but the attack did not discourage her in the slightest. She grinned at Michonne. "Keep your mouth shut," Michonne enunciated to the woman. "We might not be about to kill you, but we'll gag you."

"Ooh, kinky. Is that the kind of thing you're into Dixon? Do you let Mr. Grimes over there chain you up before he bends you over the table and-" Michonne yanked Cassy to her feet by her hair and then shoved her to the ground again. Cassy snickered. "Testy, testy,"

Glenn spoke in a tone saturated in frustration. "We don't have time for this. We have to find Maggie and Sasha before those assholes do." There was a tinge of desperation in Glenn's expression when he spoke. Daryl knew that losing Maggie would kill him if it happened.

Daryl looked around. "We should take them out. We can't leave them like this."

Daryl watched his friends scrutinize the corpses again. A second viewing was no less horrifying and was perhaps even more gruesome than the first. Daryl pulled out his hunting knife again and started toward the closest tree. Rick put a hand on his shoulder. "Later, there isn't enough time right now. But we'll do it later." There was a sincerity in Rick's eyes that made Daryl want to trust Rick even though he knew they might never get the chance to end this.

"Ugh," Cassy said. "You two make me sick."

"What are you talking about," Glenn asked.

"Those two faggots are making me want to lose my lunch."

Rick turned to Cassy and gave her a look of complete confusion. "What are you even talking about?" Rick looked like he was about ready to produce the threatened gag.

"I'm talking about your little lapdog over there. Does he follow you around with that pathetic eager-to-please disposition because you're screwing him or just because he really, really wants you to plow into him?" Cassy snickered again, thoroughly enjoying the expression of complete and utter confusion on Rick's face. Michonne reached her limit and pulled a rag out of her pocket. She forced the fabric into Cassy's mouth and then knotted it at the back of her head.

"Thank God," Glenn said. "Let's go."

Daryl walked behind all of his friends, making sure they couldn't see him. He heard his brother's voice in his ear for the entirety of their trek. Conversations buried in his oldest memories returned to him. Occasionally Rick, Michonne or Glenn would look back at him, but he pretended to have spotted something in the trees and avoided their gazes at all costs.