Posting late because of internet issues! Story of my life, I know. Hope some of you enjoy this chapter and thanks for reading! =)

Chapter Six

Daryl scarfed down three Twinkies and half a bag of chips, chasing it down with a bottle of coke. They hadn't ran into anymore of those walking dead fucks inside the little convenience store and he was able to clean out a lot of the shelves. He didn't know when the hell the world was going to right itself again and the way he seen it, better safe than sorry. He took everything he could that was packaged or canned.

They drove on through the small town and had actually seen quite a few of those things. What they hadn't seen was any actual living people. They were probably all out there on the highway. The poor bastards still thought that there was hope to be found at Fort Benning.

"I still can't believe we stole all this stuff," Carol mumbled as she finished off a package of peanut butter crackers. She chased it down with a few sips of water.

He shrugged, his eyes scanning the parking lot, searching for any sign of danger. Considering how she had reacted earlier, if she had been on her own and one of those things had came after her, she would have been dead in seconds. She needed to learn how to protect herself. He didn't mind showing her if she was willing but she acted like the rifle was a live grenade, waiting to blow up in her face. If something happened to him, she would need to keep going.

"Do you think the owners have insurance?"

He sighed and finally looked at her. "I don't know. And I don't care. Look, this may not ever be fixed, okay? And if this is the way things are, you gotta be ready to do what you gotta do to survive."

She turned in the seat so her back was pressed against the door and she was facing him full on. He met her eyes in the dim cab. "You're right," she said, her chin going up. "I just don't know how to do that. I'm a single mother that works at a diner. I've never even held a gun until tonight. I'm not really the definition of a strong person."

He held her gaze for a long time. "I can show you how to use a gun." He shrugged and looked away. "As far as bein' strong... raisin' a kid on your own makes you pretty tough in my book. You never know what you're capable of doin' till you're forced to just do it." He didn't know why he felt compelled to reassure her. It wasn't really like him. But he hadn't lied. Sure, she was quiet and she was meek and she wasn't very skilled. She scared easily and she was a little jumpy. But there was something else there also. There was something just under the surface. He saw more than he let on and he saw a fire in this woman that had him completely captivated.

From the corner of his eye he saw her smile before she looked down and started picking at the label on her water bottle. "Where do you think we should look next?"

He stared out the window for a long time before he answered her. "I thought that we'd find them on one of them buses."

"Do you think..." her voice trailed off and he looked at her sharply.

"No. I think they're out there somewhere. I was thinkin' earlier. I think I might know where to find my brother and my uncle. Hell, for all I know, Merle got to Piper and Damon first. There's a cabin up north that's been in my family for a long time. It's up in the mountains and it's damn secure. I think maybe that's where they would go. If we had them with us to help look then I know we could find her. But I think me and you are a little over our heads here."

She blinked and then looked away, her teeth dragging across her bottom lip. Even in the dim light he could see the shine of tears in her eyes. He hated them. He wanted to help her because as far as he knew she could be one of the last people alive in the whole goddamn world. They needed each other. He wasn't used to feeling like he needed someone. "Do you think they would help?"

He nodded. "I know they would."

"What if the other kids are already with your family? Do you really think that they would leave a safe place to go look for some kid that they don't even know?"

He sighed. "I can tell you that my brother is an ass sometimes and maybe he ain't been the best person in the world, but he cares about his family. Blood is one of the only things that matters to him. My uncle is the same. They'll help."

"I'm not their blood," she whispered. "Other than Sophia, I have no blood."

"No, but I'm blood and I'm gonna find your girl. They won't let me do that on my own."

She didn't look at him and he was glad. The moment was too heavy. It made him feel like pacing but he was stuck in the cab of the truck. He started chewing on his nails instead. Finally she took a deep breath. "Where should we go for the night? We should probably get some rest. We have a long drive ahead of us if we're going to this cabin of yours."

"I know this place. There's a storage yard down the road that's blocked off on three sides and there's a fence so nothing can sneak in on us. We could probably pull in there and get a decent couple hours of sleep without worryin' about any of those things comin' at us."

She looked up at him then, that small smile gracing her lips. "I'm sorry, Daryl."

He frowned. "For what?"

"When I first met you... I thought you were kind of an asshole."

He snorted. "Yeah, I've heard that before.

Her eyebrows shot up and a real smile was able to shine through. "Something tells me you might bring that on yourself. But I think I was wrong. You're one of the good ones, Daryl Dixon."

He scoffed, shaking his head before he pulled out of the parking lot. He refused to look at her though. He had never heard anyone say anything like that about him before and he was surprised at how much he enjoyed it. Who would have thought? A woman could actually think that Daryl Dixon was one of the good guys? For some reason this had him wanting to prove to her that her assessment was right.

~H~

Sophia curled up on the seat but she didn't think sleep would come. She was scared. She was pretty sure that Piper and Damon were scared too but she knew they would never admit it.

"You keep squirmin' like that and you're gonna end up on the floor," Piper said from the seat across from her.

"You can't tell me that you're comfortable," Sophia grumbled.

Piper laughed. "It's one of the few perks of being four eleven. Let me bask in it, Legs. It's nice to see you people struggle."

"Us people?" Sophia asked, feeling a reluctant smile tug at the corner of her mouth.

"Yeah, you people. People like you and Mr. Ogre up there in the driver's seat. You have it easy with your ability to reach stuff from high shelves and that's all good, till you find yourself trying to get comfy in a bus seat, then I get to watch you struggle. Fills me with glee."

Damon yawned loudly and Sophia heard him pop the top on another energy drink. He refused to sleep. After watching what happened to Atlanta he opted to drive all night, no matter how much her and Piper argued with him. "Laugh it up midget. You won't be sayin' anything if I end up being as big as your granddad."

Piper snorted. "If you finally stop growing once you're seven feet tall I'll still be able to punch you right in the dick, jerk."

"Yeah that's true," he muttered, causing Sophia to laugh.

Piper raised up on her elbows. "Holy shit. You're laughing. I didn't think you had it in you."

"You two are ridiculous," Sophia said, rolling her eyes.

"Well, you can think we're ridiculous all you want as long as you think he's ridiculous and hot. It may be up to the two of you to repopulate the world."

Sophia's mouth dropped open with an audible pop and then her eyes widened when Damon didn't object to the idea. "I hate to burst your bubble, Piper, but I won't be repopulating anything, thank you very much."

Piper just sighed and laid her head back down. "Denial is an ugly thing, Legs. You were checking out his ass back there at the barn before the bombs dropped. Don't deny it."

"Oh my God," Sophia groaned.

Damon glanced over his shoulder but only briefly. "You were checking out my ass?"

"No!"

"Yeah she was," Piper said, sounding very sure of herself.

Damon chuckled and finished off his drink. "I don't mind, Legs. I was checkin' out your ass too."

The seat was probably close to melting since her face was so hot. "Would you two stop calling me that!" She grumbled. "And I wasn't checking out anyone's ass."

"That's unfortunate, for real," Damon said, sounding thoughtful, "Cause I've been told a got a great ass."

"Oh my God," Sophia muttered, turning her head towards the back of the seat and ignoring Piper's snorting laughter.

~H~

Merle woke up before sunrise. He was glad because he needed to get his ass on the road. He had dreamed of blood. His, Piper's, Daryl's, Damon's. Rivers of blood. When he unzipped the flap from his borrowed tent he was careful to stay as quiet as possible. He had his eye on Shane's Jeep. It was in good shape and it would be able to handle the rocky terrain and high elevation once he was closer to the cabin. The road that wound up that mountain that he was aiming for was a rough one and a man needed four wheel drive or an ATV to get to the place.

The camp was silent and he reached in and grabbed his bags. One gun was already shoved into his waistband but he felt better having the extra ammo on hand anyway. He was halfway to the Jeep when he heard someone clear their throat. His eyes shot up and he cursed under his breath when he saw the cop, Shane, sitting on top of the RV. Shane waved.

He spit off to the side and grumbled under his breath. Would the keys be in the Jeep? Would he have time to get the hell outta dodge before they tried to stop him if the keys were in the jeep? He cursed when Shane started climbing down.

"It's Merle, right?" He asked.

He tried not to glare at him. "That's right. What the hell are you doin' up?"

Shane just shrugged. "I took watch a few hours ago. I don't want any of those things sneaking up on us."

Merle nodded, schooling his features. "That's a smart call. Can't be too careful out here now."

Shane looked off towards the darkness, nodding. "Yeah, that's the damn truth."

Merle was running out of patience. Maybe Shane wasn't a bad guy. Maybe everyone in this group were good people. That didn't matter to Merle. What mattered was the fact that they weren't his people. What mattered was getting to his family and he wasn't going to be able to do that while standing here making predawn small talk with this guy. He looked up, his hand slowly inching towards the gun at his back. "What the hell's that?" Merle's asked, pointing to something behind the man.

Shane frowned and glanced over his shoulder and Merle slammed the butt of the gun into the back of Shane's head. He dropped without causing much noise. Merle didn't even wait around to see if he was breathing. He made a bee line to the Jeep and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the keys hanging there.

He tossed his bags into the back and hopped in. He glanced over his shoulder just as the door to the RV was thrown open. Andrea stepped out, glanced around with her flashlight until it landed on Shane's still form and then she hurried to him. Merle turned the key and pressed the gas. He tore away from camp, feeling better than he had since he got a flat down there on the highway. It wasn't going to be an easy trip but he was a lot closer to getting there than he had been earlier.

Reply to Guest: Thank you for the props! I really appreciate your kind words. As for the second half of your review, I really wish that I could argue with you, but I think you're right. I posted this story after receiving a message from the 23rd person, asking if I could post a story with Damon and Piper. I had forgotten all about it for a long time and posted just to appease those readers that enjoy those particular OCs. I mostly write prompts from readers and struggle to complete anything I start. lol So, I may have lost my touch, and it sucks, and it's sad. Maybe I'll come up with something epic someday, but until then, there's a lot of this story you haven't read yet and you might enjoy later chapters. If not, I completely understand. Thanks again for the review.