Klreyes91: Death by suspense is the best kind of death.

ShutxThexFrontxDoor: Told you it gets worse. And oh yeah, they're real bad.

When they woke up, Daryl looked around. "Fuck!" he stomped the ground as he got up, "Fucker took my crossbow!"

Merle groaned as he sat up, "Lucy…" He blinked a few times as the incident came back to him. He jumped to his feet, "Lucy!" Merle turned and started running through the woods back to the cabin, Daryl following closely behind.

They hadn't been unconscious for too long. Everyone was standing out on the porch. Chanel, Marissa, Carol, Maggie, and Beth were huddled together, tears rolled down their faces. Fear was in everyone's eyes. Rick and Michonne stood off to the side; Michonne held the machete Glenn was fond of. As Daryl and Merle ran up, Chanel broke free of the girls and ran the rest of the way to meet them. "What happened? Where's Lucy?" Merle asked, clutching her shoulders.

"They got her! They took her and Glenn."

Merle steeled his jaw, muscles tensing. "We'll go after 'em…or I will." He started to the small shed were they kept all the weapons Lucy had brought with them. "Whoever wants to come with me can."

"I'm coming," Daryl told him.

"Me too," Michonne stepped forward, along with Rick.

"How many were there?" Merle asked, walking back with a sledgehammer in hand.

Chanel shook her head as she thought, "Three, at least. The one that grabbed Lucy and Glenn, and two came out of the woods."

"Any of y'all got the keys to the van?" Merle asked, looking at the crazies. With Daryl, Rick, and Michonne coming along, there wouldn't be a lot of room in the truck once they rescued Lucy and Glenn, assuming they were even still alive.

"I think Glenn left 'em in there," Rick said.

Merle walked over and opened the door. The keys weren't in the ignition. He checked the glove compartment, then the visor. The keys fell into his lap. He stood back up, "Got 'em! Whoever's comin', come on!"

"Will you girls be okay?" Daryl asked.

They all nodded.

"Go inside and keep the door locked. Don't come out here for any reason."

They nodded again. Daryl walked over to the van where Merle, Michonne, and Rick were waiting for him. As he started to climb inside, Carol called out, "Be safe!" He smiled at her and nodded his head. Merle started the engine and waited until all the girls were inside with the door shut before he pulled away.


Lucy fought her captor, but the man was bigger and stronger than her. He held her arms still as Dakota bond her wrists together. She was certain that if she survived, Merle wouldn't let her forget that he was right about the red-haired woman. "I love it when they fight," Dakota said, a sick smile on her face that earned her a chuckle from the man. "Drop her over there with the other one." Dakota nodded to where Glenn sat.

Lucy hit the ground hard, falling against Glenn. She glared at the red-haired man. He shared a resemblance to Dakota in more than just hair color. He smirked, a chuckle slipping between his lips. "Which one are we gonna eat first 'Kota?" he asked. Clearly she was the ring leader.

The black haired man that had dragged Lucy from her bed looked over at them, "I pick him, it's been a while since I had Chinese food."

"I'm Korean," Glenn muttered.

The man shrugged, "All tastes the same."

Glenn's face twisted in disgust, "They're gonna eat us," he said to Lucy as if she hadn't heard the conversation. He kept his voice low.

"Uh huh."

"Please tell me I'm just in one of your hallucinations."

"I wish."

The red-haired man walked back over to them, "We can keep her around for a while." He knelt down in front of Lucy, and picked up a lock of her hair running it between his fingers. "She's a pretty little thing."

Lucy spat in his face.

"Feisty little bitch, huh?"

He pulled his hand back to hit her, but was stopped by Dakota, "Shepherd!"

He stood, "You got lucky this time, sweetheart." He turned around, "How's that fire comin', Malachi?"

"Just gimme a minute."


They made their way quietly through the woods towards the glowing firelight. Using the cover of the trees, Merle and Daryl turned to face Rick and Michonne to go over the plan.

Quietly, Daryl crept forward, sticking to the shadows of the small clearing. He hid behind the large truck and slashed the tires. Merle, Rick, and Michonne followed behind him, staying hidden.

Malachi walked over and wrapped his hand around Glenn's arm, pulling him roughly to his feet. Glenn tried to fight, but it was pointless. Malachi backhanded him, knocking him to the ground before pulling him to his feet again, laughing.

Lucy's eyes widened when she seen the familiar face creep past in the dark. Daryl pressed his finger to his lips as he slipped past. Making his way over to where his crossbow laid abandoned. Lucy thought quickly, hoping to keep them busy and distracted, "Why are you doing this?" she asked, trying carefully to keep her voice steady.

"Why?" Shepherd asked, looking at her. He smiled, a malicious chuckle sounded from him, "Yer friends wanna take a chance and eat tainted meat, go ahead. We aren't stupid, though."

"You can't just kidnap and eat people, its wrong."

Shepherd got up and walked over to her, squatting down in front of her, "I haven't seen any cops 'round here tellin' me what I can or can't do. There's no right or wrong, you survive or you don't."

"Who are you to decide who lives and who dies?"

"I don't decide anythin'. It's survival of the—" His words were cut off by a bolt through his head. Malachi dropped Glenn to the ground again and turned to face Daryl. Daryl shot him to, the bolt going through his neck. Malachi dropped to his knees, his fingers pressed to the hole in his throat. Dakota made her way over to Lucy and grabbed her by the hair, forcing her to her feet.

She wrapped her arm around Lucy, pressing the blade of Merle's hunting knife against the skin at her throat. Dakota kept her head just behind Lucy's so Daryl wouldn't have a clean shot. "Drop it!" she told him, unaware that behind her, Rick was cutting Glenn free while Merle and Michonne snuck up on her.

Daryl slowly lowered his crossbow, keeping his eyes on Dakota, and one hand in the air; he knelt, laying it down before standing straight again.

"That's a good boy," Dakota smiled.

"Let Lucy go."

Dakota scoffed, "After you killed my brother and my boyfriend? I don't think so. Eye for an eye, sweetie."

"Hey, Red," Merle said behind her.

Startled, she turned around, losing her grip on Lucy. Glenn tackled her, knocking her to the ground. Lucy ran to Merle and he wrapped his arms around her. Merle started cutting her free while Glenn and Dakota struggled on the ground. He was on top of her, but her hands were around his throat and he was struggling to pry them away.

"Glenn! Watch out!" Rick shouted.

Glenn threw his weight to his side, so he was on the ground, and Dakota climbed on top of him, putting her weight into it in an attempt to crush his windpipes. She didn't realize that behind her Malachi had stood up, now a walking corpse. He grabbed a handful of Dakota's hair and pulled her up. She let go of Glenn who scrambled away as quickly as he could. Malachi bit into Dakota's shoulder and she screamed.

Daryl grabbed the crossbow and shot the new walker. It slumped against Dakota, knocking her to the ground with its body on top of her. She pushed it away and sat back on her knees. She pressed her hand to her bleeding wound and pulled it away to look at the blood on her fingers. As Dakota started to go into hysterics, Michonne swung the machete, decapitating her. Dakota's head bounced a couple of times before rolling into the fire. Everyone looked at Michonne, and she gazed back at them, completely expressionless. She lifted her head up, her back straight, "No tolerance for walkers."

Lucy smiled at her. She returned Lucy's smile and they all started towards the van. Daryl picked up Merle's hunting knife as he walked by it and handed it back to his brother. "I didn't even realize I'd lost it," Merle muttered.

Daryl smirked and retrieved his bolts before getting in the van.

When they got back to the cabin, Daryl banged on the door, "We're back!"

He heard the lock and Chanel pulled the door open, immediately wrapping her arms around Daryl, "We were so worried about y'all."

He awkwardly patted her back, returning her hug, "We're all fine."

She pulled away from him and hugged everyone else. When Glenn walked through the door, Maggie wrapped her arms tightly around him, "Are you okay?" she asked as tears rolled down her cheeks.

He nodded and cupped her face in his hands, wiping away her tears, "I'm fine." She pressed her lips to his.

Lucy smiled, muttering, "I knew they were supposed to be together."

Merle chuckled softly and put his hand on her back, rubbing it, "C'mon Sugarplum, let's get to bed."

She nodded and followed him to their bedroom. Merle shut the door behind them. When he turned to face Lucy she was already sitting on the bed, staring at the floor. "Everything okay, Lucy?"

She looked up at him and smiled slightly, "You were right."

He couldn't help the grin that broke across his face, "That I was."

She reached out her hands to him and he crossed the room to her, taking her hands in his. She squeezed them tightly; tighter than she ever had before. "Ease up on the grip, sugarplum," he said, gently squeezing her hands back.

"This is real?" she asked it for the first time since the day he brought her home rather than just stating it like she had been. Her voice cracked and he could hear the fear in it.

He got down on his knees in front of her so they were eye level, "Yes, Lucy, it's real." He watched the tears spill out of her eyes and roll down her cheeks. He squeezed her hands again, "It's real."

She pulled her hands from his and wrapped her arms around his neck. She pressed her lips to his, kissing him roughly. He wrapped his arms around her waist and sat back onto the floor, pulling her down on top of him. She straddled his waist as she kissed him and his hand went up to her hair, fingers wrapping around the long dark strands. Lucy pressed herself against him and bit his bottom lip.

They wasted little time getting their clothes off, and Lucy pushed him back onto his back again. A grin spread across his face as he watched her, she had never been so aggressive with him before. She pressed her lips to his in another rough kiss, her tongue darting inside his mouth. His hands gripped her hips as she settled herself on him, sliding down on his length. A low moan passed between her lips and he groaned as she started rocking her hips against him, working into a steady rhythm. Her nails dug into the skin on his shoulders as she came down harder, and he lifted his hips to meet hers. She moaned again, trailing kisses along his neck, biting him softly as she did.

His grip on her hips tightened so much he was certain she'd have bruises in the morning, but she didn't seem to be bothered by it. Her lips found his again and he grabbed a handful of her hair. He swallowed her moans, a few of his own filled the room too as she tightened around him, her muscles tensing as she orgasmed, causing him to find his too.

Lucy laid on top of him, panting in an attempt to catch her breath. He ran his hand over her back, rubbing it. They got off the floor and crawled into bed. Merle wrapped his arms around her, holding her against him as she fell asleep.