Hey guys! I wanted this chapter because I wanted to put out a note. My heart along with my family's goes out to the families and the community of Newtown, Connecticut. Y'all are in our prayers and we are very sorry for what happened. Thanks and as always, happy reading and God bless.

Chapter 7

*SLAP*

Reagan's head flung to the left as Merle hit her again. It had been three straight days of never-ending torture. He would let her off to go use the bathroom outside in an excluded area but that was it. She didn't eat whether they gave her food or not and she didn't drink. She was afraid they would put some kind of drug in the food, her father had told her of cases like that. There was no way out of this. She didn't have her knife and the chair couldn't be moved from the floor. She could see her tomahawk on the wall but she knew she would never get it. She had five, deep gashes on each of her legs and she didn't even want to know what her face looked like. The Governor had come in earlier… she didn't want to think about it.

"Why the fuck are you still doin' this?" Merle asked her. Merle was desperate to get her to talk. He had to get something out of her, then he could stop beating her. He had to dig deeper, hurt her emotionally. "Who are ya helpin'? Your cunt of a brotha? That little bitch ya have of a nephew? Deputy Dipshit ain't around anymore to save yer little ass. That nigga that always stood by ya? What about that cheatin' bitch of a sister?"

"Dead." She replied.

"So Lori's dead now?" Merle replied. "Pro'ally for tha best."

"I don't disagree with you." She replied.

"Ya know, I can just kill ya." Merle said as he brought the knife up to her neck. "With one simple movement. You ain't tellin' me nothin', so If I was you I'd start talkin'." Reagan weakly brought her head up to look him dead in the eyes.

"Death. First." She growled slowly. He roared in anger and cut the duct tape of her wrists. He broke the back legs of the chair and she fell backwards. She began to bring her hand up but he stomped it down. He forced her right arm straight out and brought out his knife. The edge dug into her skin and she wailed out in pain. It would drag down the width of her arm, exit, then start on another part of her arm. It wasn't deep enough to kill her but just deep enough to leave permanent scars. It took him a while to finish that arm. He stomped his foot on her right hand and dug his knife into her left arm. The pain was unlike any other. She passed out not long after he started her left arm.

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"That guy has been looking at you since we came here." Georgie told Reagan.

"I think he's wondering what a gay man is doing at a sports bar." She replied and Georgie laughed.

"I'm serious Reagan." He replied. "Besides, he's kinda cute in a rough kind of way."

"Like the brawny paper towel guy." Michonne added and Reagan laughed. Reagan looked behind her and saw the same pair of bright blue eyes that were there a week ago when she performed at that bar. They locked eyes but he brought his eyes up to the TV. She shook her head and looked back at her friends.

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Reagan walked around the perimeter around the cars in the middle of January. It was bitterly cold that night but she didn't dare complain. It was better than sweating like a pig in the middle of August. She had her tomahawk ready in case of anything. She wasn't really paying attention but she could still focus enough that she was able to protect the group. Rick had lost it, he really had. Lori wasn't making it all that much better. Reagan really thought the Rick would be the next to go if he kept this up. A breeze followed through and she hissed.

"Jesus." She mumbled with chattering teeth. All she had was a brown sweater that was heavier but didn't quite do the trick. She gave her blanket to Carl, which Rick was thankful for. Rick hadn't really talked to Carl and had definitely distanced himself from Lori. She heard a twig snap and she quickly got into battle mode.

"Whoa, I was jus' checkin' up on ya." Daryl said with his crossbow on his back. Reagan sighed and lowered her tomahawk.

"You need to start talking more." She replied and he actually chuckled.

"Where's your blanket?" he asked.

"I gave it to Carl." She replied. "He needed it anyways, more than I did."

"You'll freeze your ass off out here." Daryl told her and she shrugged.

"I'll warm up later." She told him. She heard him shuffle a little before warmth was added to her. She saw his poncho that he had picked up near her. "Keep it, you barely own anything with sleeves." She joked.

"Stop fightin' and put it on." He said. "People can see you shakin' from a mile away." She put her tomahawk into its sheath and he put it on her. She pulled her hair out of the hole.

"Thanks Crossbow." She told him.

"No problem." He replied and walked away.

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Daryl had snuck out of the prison earlier that day. There was no way he was going to let Reagan die there, no chance in hell he was. He was on foot as he approached the town. He had been walking for about two hours. He knew that it would be a longer trip back but it would have to do if he wanted to get her back. The group was right though, the town was more guarded and he would have to be sneaky. He had his crossbow in his grasp as he navigated his way through the bushes and hid behind trees. He finally got to the hole in the fence that was watched by circling guards. He waited for them to pass and he quickly passed through. He brought out his knife and was blood thirsty. If any of these men had touched her, he'd kill them. He crouched through the hallways until he came to a room with blood trailing from it. Little splatters of blood were exiting the room and his blood boiled.

"Now, I know that Merle hasn't touched you yet but that don't mean he hasn't told me not too." A man told Reagan. He looked into the room and saw Reagan breathing but faintly. She had a black eye, a swollen, broken lip, cuts in her legs, and something written into her arms. She had bruises and cuts all over her face and a line of dried blood just above her breasts. She couldn't move on her own if she tried. Her hair was a mess as it was pushed out of her face. "He'll get to you soon enough but I think I'll take the first spin." Her good left eye was squinting but shut completely when the man knelt down in front of her, reaching for the zipper on her pants. Daryl quickly shot an arrow into the man's head and Reagan opened her eyes as best as she could.

"Daryl?" she asked weakly. He saw her tomahawk on the wall and took it down. He cut the duct tape from her legs. He knelt down in front of her and helped her sit up. She winced in pain and tried not to cry out. Blood seeped through her shirt and pants.

"It's okay sweetheart, I got ya." He told her and scooped her up into his arms.

"Go back." She rasped out against his chest. "They're sick. They'll kill us."

"Not if I can help it." He replied and began to walk out. He checked the hallways and quickly began to make their escape. A man was right in front of the door so he set Reagan down and brought out his knife. He covered the man's mouth and dug his knife into his head. He gently brought him down and dragged him back on the stairs.

"Leave me here, they'll catch you." She tried to say loud enough. He figured out what she said but pretended he didn't hear her. He picked her up again and hurried over to the fence. The two men circling the area were in front of their escape but Daryl felt something being put against his chest. He saw a small pistol like the ones the men were carrying. Reagan must have taken it from the man he killed. Daryl looked down at her and smirked at her.

"Ya sneaky little thing." He told her and she tried to smile. He shot the two men dead with headshots and ran out of the town.

"What was that?" he heard someone ask.

"What the hell?"

"Is anyone hurt?" Daryl breathed hard as he tried to get away from the town as best as he could. With him running so fast though, it was hurting Reagan more. He would have to stop soon but he couldn't stop now. He ran into the woods, dodging all the obstacles in his way.

"Jus' hang in there, we'll stop soon." He told her.

"You shouldn't have come." She replied softly.

"Hush now, ya need to save yer strength." He ran but he stopped as soon as he saw a creek. He checked the area quickly and sat her down. He pulled the cloth out of his back pocket and put some of the water on it. He pulled out his canteen and helped her keep herself upright. He helped her drink the water, careful not to let it touch her lips so it wouldn't hurt. He brought the cloth up to her face and dabbed away some of the blood. She winced as he did so but he told her to be quiet and that he was sorry. He didn't touch the area near her breasts he would let Carol or Maggie take care of that. He lifted her right arm and saw death written on it, used with a knife. He looked at her left arm and inscribed was first. He gently dabbed the blood away and went back to her face. He had never seen a face so battered and bruised, not even his moms. It made him sick to his stomach that his brother, his own fucking brother, did this to her.

"Death first?" he asked her.

"What I told him." She replied but her eye was becoming droopier as she fell against his chest. "I'm sorry."

"I need ya to stay with me Reagan." He said but he heard rustling in the trees and bushes. He picked her up again and made sure he left no traces of them behind. "We gotta keep moving." He said and looked up at the sky. If they tried hard enough, they could make it back before dark.

"I didn't tell them where we were staying." She said.

"Ya were strong, stronger than I woulda been." Daryl admitted as he ran. She didn't weigh all that much now. Before, in the quarry, she was slender but was curvy. She didn't have Lori's physique to where she was just skin and bones. The girl had meat to her but most of that was gone now and replaced by pure muscle. Her face had thinned out more from the face he remembered seeing at a bar. He would see her familiar face either singing or laughing with her band or Michonne and some guy. He used to think the guy was her boyfriend but the man changed his opinion very quickly.

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"Hey there!" a higher pitched voice said. Daryl looked down from the TV at the bar and saw a shorter man with styled brown hair. He had porcelain like skin with rosy cheeks and bright blue eyes. He had a button up, black, dress vest with a white short sleeved button up t-shirt. The man was a fashion freak from what he could tell.

"Can I help you?" he asked. He was the guy that had been sitting with the pretty girl that night.

"My name's George." He told him and held out his hand. Daryl gave him an unsure look but shook his hand.

"Daryl." He grunted.

"Well, Daryl, my friend Reagan is the one you've been staring at all night." He replied. "She's funny, an amazing singer, the sweetest, happiest girl you will ever meet, and she will love you forever if you send some Jameson her way."

"Uh, thanks." Daryl told him.

"She thinks you're pretty cute as well. We all do." He winked and walked away. Daryl was just a little freaked out. Did a guy just hit on him?

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"Open the damn gate!" Daryl yelled and the gate immediately opened. It was almost dark and Reagan was barely hanging on. She needed water and she needed food, fast. "Come on, you can make it."

"Reagan!" Rick yelled as he sprinted towards Daryl and Reagan. Daryl ran as fast as he could without trying to hurt Reagan to give her to Herschel. Rick almost broke down again when he saw his little sister's face. Swollen, beaten, tears were outlined through the blood that stained her face. Her body was cut up, bruised, was she raped?

"Daddy!" Beth called and Herschel made his way over to Reagan as they laid her down on the first table they saw.

"Get the medical supplies!" Herschel told his daughters. Daryl stayed with Reagan as he finished laying her down by gently placing her head on the pillow.

"We're here sweetheart, we made it. You're gonna be okay." He told her but all she did was squeeze his hand tighter. Glenn was still recovering but shook his head and covered his mouth when he saw Reagan. Carl ran over to his Aunt and started to cry. He pushed Carol out of the way, with an apology, to see her.

"Aunt Rea?" he asked and she turned her head away from him.

"I don't want him to see me like this." She told Daryl in a voice that almost couldn't be heard. Daryl looked up at Rick and he nodded. He pulled his son away but Carl fought to stay with Reagan. Herschel came back with all the supplies and the girls had clean clothes.

"Alright, everyone go back to your cells. We need space and quiet." Herschel said.

"I ain't leavin'." Daryl said. He had already shocked the group enough with calling Reagan 'sweetheart' but this shocked them more. He had a good way of not showing emotions and staying behind the wall that he had built. But now, the dam broke and there was nothing that could stop the waters.

"Daryl, if you want her to be okay you need to leave." Maggie told him as she grabbed his arm. Daryl's jaw clenched but he did what was necessary and walked away from Reagan. They went back to the cell blocks and Daryl stood there, biting the skin around his thumb, pacing back and forth.

"Daryl." Rick called and he turned to his brother.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Thank you." Rick told him. "You saved Reagan and… well I can't-"

"Hey, it's no problem." Daryl shrugged.

"Yeah it is." Rick replied. "Your brother is back there, we need to figure out what we need to do." Daryl hadn't even thought about Merle. That wasn't his brother. Merle never hit women and wasn't this brutal. He almost killed Reagan, he tortured her, that wasn't his brother.

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Merle breathed like a horse running in a race. His eyes were filled with anger as he saw that his hostage had been taken away, not without a few of his men being killed. He wanted to know the motherfucker who did this, who deprived him of finding his brother. He looked down at the man that was shot and saw an arrow. A crossbow arrow. Merle's brows furrowed and his mouth opened slightly. Daryl had come back to get her. He had to find Daryl, he had to explain why he beat Reagan. Merle threw the arrow he had pulled out to the ground. He had fucked up big time, he needed to find Daryl.