Here we go again! Thanks for sticking with me guys, you are awesome as always! Don't worry, Merle's gonna be back soon. Promise!

Own nothing walking dead related.

The next four days were probably the worst in Hannah's life.

She remained inside the dirty tent, only allowed out on escorted bathroom breaks. They were given only one meal a day, and an astonishingly small portion of water. Hannah figured it was because the men wanted to keep them alive but without much energy. That way they couldn't try to fight.

But Hannah wasn't one to lay down and give up. Andrea's words still rang clear in her head. So she attempted to give the men a hard time when dealing with her. Of course, they gave her a hard time right back. Anytime she spit at them, they slapped her round the head. She had tried to kick one guy, she had gotten a hard fist to the gut. Beth tried to get her to stop, but Hannah was determined. She would not be an obedient captive. Even if it killed her.

"You need to stop this," Beth sighed, pressing the edge of her blanket to a nasty cut above Hannah's right eye. "You look like one of them, one of those walkers."

Hannah looked down at herself. Beth wasn't lying. Her skin was caked with dirt and grime and blood, and there were a smattering of big purple bruises no matter where you looked. Her clothes were torn and bloody, her hair matted and wild. She imagined if she could see her face it would look pretty bad too.

"We gotta figure out how we're gonna get out of here, and you getting yourself beat to a pulp isn't helping," Beth sat back, a look of pleading in her eyes. "If you don't' put up a fight, they won't touch you. Please Hannah, stop all this."

Hannah looked away, not wanting to look at the girl's innocent face. Truth be told, she didn't think there was a way they could get out of this. If they tried to run, they'd surely be caught. There were too many men to try to kill them all. Plus in their weakened state, most likely they would be unable to get far or defend themselves. This was their last stop. Unless someone came swooping in to rescue them, they were resigned to stay here. That's why she fought. Maybe she couldn't get out of here, but she could still fight here. She could still hold her head up, say she wasn't beaten down.

Damn, how she missed Merle these past few days. It ate at her constantly, the heaviness of his missing presence. She'd gone so long always being with him, that even a few days apart was killing her. If only she hadn't run away! She'd beaten herself up over that so many times. If she'd only stayed, she'd be with him now. Screw her confusing feelings. If she had a choice, she'd rather be confused and around him then confused and not around him. He was like an iron anchor in the crazy world. Always constant, always there. A solid rock to lean on. Here, she had nothing, no one. Sure, Beth wasn't the worst company, but she wasn't Merle. Hannah wanted Merle. She wanted him to come crashing through the brush, kill all these stupid idiots, then gather her up in his arms and tell her everything was okay. That he was here now, and they would be together.

It was just a fantasy though. Hannah knew Merle had no idea where she was, and was probably out looking for his brother anyways. Despite his confession to her, she was sure he would pick his brother over her. Blood was thicker than anything, after all.

"Don't look so sad," Beth interrupted her reverie. "Everything will be okay. I know it will. We'll get out of this, don't you-"

But she was cut off by the tent flap being ripped open, and the man known as Erik stepping through. He grinned at them sinisterly, making his way over to where they sat. Hannah pushed herself to her feet, glaring daggers at the man.

"Hey, no fighting now, girlie," Erik chuckled, his little beady eyes sweeping her over. "You've got a date with the boss man. Seems he's deemed you unfit for when we sell. You know what that means, don't ya?'

Hannah continued to stare at him, although she could feel her insides begin to shake with fear.

"It means you get to stay here with him. If he finds you worthy, that is." He took a step towards her. "Guess tonight he's planning to find out."

Hannah's eyes grew wide with horror. And then everything happened all at once.

Beth suddenly lunged for Erik, clawing at his face with her hands. The man howled, taking a step back and raising his arm to protect his face. Hannah took the opportunity to dart around him towards the tent exit. She made it about half way through before she was grabbed around the waist. Erik pinned her against him, his arms way too strong for her struggles to mean anything.

"You ain't going nowhere," he growled in her ear. "You two whores are gonna pay for this, just wait until- AHH!"

Hannah felt his arms release their grip. She whipped around to see Erik slumping to the ground, a shiny knife sticking out of his back. Beth was standing behind him, looking utterly horrified.

"I grabbed the knife from his belt," she whispered. "He was gonna hurt us, I had to do it! Oh, what have I done?"

Hannah grabbed the girl's hand and pulled her away from the body. There was no time for whimpering. They had to make their escape. Now.

She started to run for the nearby tree line, aware of the shouts coming from behind them. Erik's scream had not gone unnoticed. She could hear footsteps hurrying, they were coming after them. She ran faster, dragging Beth behind her. If they could make it to the trees, they could disappear….

A bullet abruptly flew by her head, the shot ringing out loudly in the dark night. Beth screamed. Another bullet, another loud shot. Hannah pushed even harder, her legs aching and her lungs screaming. Beth let out another bloodcurdling scream, and Hannah felt her hand slip from hers. She turned to grab the younger girl, but it was too late. Beth lay twisted on the ground, a giant bloodstain growing on her dirty dress. Hannah let out a strangled sob, and dropped to the ground beside her.

"G-get out of here," Beth rasped, blood bubbling in her mouth. "I'm done, this is where I go. You save yourself."

Hannah shook her head, tears splattering down onto Beth's dying face. She went to place pressure on the girl's chest, but Beth feebly resisted.

"No," she whispered. "It's over. Get out of here before they catch you." She smiled a faint smile up at the redhead. "It was nice to know you, Hannah. Keep clarity in your mind and love in your heart. Goodbye."

And her pretty blue eyes became glassy, and Beth Greene was no more of the world.

Hannah sat by her body, numbness creeping over her. She hadn't known this poor sweet girl that long, but losing something so pure and innocent was heartbreaking. Beth had such hopes of returning to her group, of seeing her family again, and now they were dashed. She'd been good company for Hannah these past few days, tending to her bumps and bruises, telling her stories, curling up with her for warmth at night. And now she was dead, lying face up in a pool of blood, a giant hole where her heart used to be. Hannah felt the urge to be sick.

A gunshot startled her back to reality. She jumped up, bracing herself to run. More shots rang out, but she felt no bullets fly by her. She frowned. The men were not shooting at her anymore. She could hear shouts and screams coming from the camp, but none seemed to be getting closer. She looked back at the camp, straining her eyes to see what was going on.

Her eyes widened.

Walkers.

Tons of walkers. Where they'd come from, she had no idea. But a herd was descending onto the camp, tearing into the group of men who'd held her captive. She'd never been more grateful to see a herd in her life. She took a last look, preparing to leave, but wait….that man in the middle, he looked familiar….

"HANNAH! HANNAH! WHERE ARE YOU?"

Hannah let out a gasp. Merle!

Without a second thought, she was flying towards the melee. The fact that she didn't have a weapon didn't seem to matter. All she wanted to do was get to Merle.

He was in the middle of the fray, beating back walkers as they surged into the camp. She picked up a branch lying on the ground and swung at the walker nearest to her. It went down with a thud. She swung again, taking out another one. And another. And another. She was on autopilot, on kill mode. She barely paid attention to the screams of the camp men as they fought for their lives. All she could see was Merle, there in all his glory, wielding his silver arm like a kind of beacon, calling her home. She let out a cry.

Merle heard it, and before she could even kill the next walker he was barreling towards her, walkers flying out of the way like nothing. She felt his good arm close around her waist, and with a mighty bellow, he swung her up under his arm and began to run.

"YOU AIN'T EATING MY WOMAN TONIGHT, YOU DIRTY BASTARDS!" he yelled, using his apparatus to dispatch of the few walkers that were trying to follow them. "SO LONG, GEEKS!"

Hannah let out a strangled laugh from under his arm, tears of relief streaming down her face. Merle kept running, the walkers getting farther and farther away. Hannah bumped along in his hold, not caring that she was gonna bruise, not caring that her hair kept catching on everything, not caring about anything except the fact that she was finally back where she belonged.

Suddenly she felt Merle ground to a halt. She was tossed onto her feet, and before she could do anything, pulled forcefully into the arms she'd dreamed about.

"Thought you was dead," Merle sighed, squeezing her gently against him. "Thought you was dead. Oh Hannah, MY Hannah, you're alive, you're alive!" He suddenly pulled back, looking frantic. "You ain't been bit, have ya?"

Hannah shook her head, watching Merle's frantic look melt away into one of relief and happiness. He smiled that crooked smile down at her, his large hand coming up to gently rest against her cheek. She drank him in, her own smile plastered firmly in place. He was here. Merle was here, with his crooked smile and blue eyes and strong arms and warm chest. She was safe now. They were together again. And it suddenly came to her.

Her heart belonged here. Her heart belonged to Merle. And her heart was full.

She let out a happy sob, the realization washing over her like sunlight after a rain. There was only one thing left to do now.

And that was kiss him.

Yay Merle's back! And they're getting intense….oooh! Sorry I killed Beth, it seems she dies in a lot of fanfics, poor girl. Please review if you can!