Disclaimers, here.

As always, thank you for reading, following, and reviewing.

Be warned that the rating will change to 'M' very soon.

This tune is very Rea, if you haven't caught onto her darkness and metal/punk form, shame on you.

My first love was an arsonist

Black eyes, deep set and avarice

Red lips built like a tomb

You'll never get out of this (some day I'll see to this)

And moonlight I found would bow

To her slender hand stretched out

Fingers inside your heart and your mind

You'll never get out of this (some day I'll see to this)

Daryl stumbled backwards, his crossbow falling loose of his hands as Rick pulled him to the side, both loosing their footing as they watched this beast fall upon Reagan's small form.

The group scampered back, shock washing over them at this thing. Sasha moved forward first, raising the iron poll up and looking wildly around at her companions, "Oh my god! Do something-" "Get back!" Reagan screamed, cutting off the woman's panicked cry.

The thing was tall and towering, a slim elongated torso and long arms coming down into claw-like hands. What hair it still had was shining a white-silver hue in the dying sunlight, the normal fingers of walker and man alike seemed to have been shed, in their place were long bone-like structures and wide palms. Clearly once human, the thing was all black, like it had been charred at a barbecue.

Its wide mouth opened, revealing few teeth, all sharp and some broken, with its head thrown back, it's let out a long high-pitched scream. It's smooth yellowed eyes looked down upon Reagan as it's claws raised up over its skinny neck and head. Reagan's arms came up as it's claws started to shred into her abdomen, bits of black cloth and blood flying around her neck and it's arms.

Regaining his footing, Daryl lunged forward with his bow raised and aimed for the head, like he always did when he wanted a quick kill.

The arrow logged into the back of its black skull, only it didn't cease the rapid digging it was doing into Reagan. She lay on her back, one arm stretching out now for the fallen knife and the other shielding her throat as Daryl moved behind the creature, dropping his bow as he embraced the creatures throat and began to pull it backwards.

Rick was shouting for the others to get back, shouting out of fear and confusion, shouting because he'd thought they'd dealt with every kind of monster.

Reagan could feel the numb pain in her stomach, was sure that it's claws had been inside her body, her back arched as she drug her hand around the dirt looking for anything to stop the burning in her veins. Finally opening her eyes, she watched as Daryl pulled on the beast, trying desperately to give Reagan a chance to scurry out from its deathly claws.

Daryl looked down into her dusky eyes, the eyes he'd dreamed about for weeks, as he tightened his hold around the beast and jerked back. The thing was taller than Daryl by two heads, causing him to struggle to pull it up and back.

Finally feeling the cool metal of the knife in her palm, Reagan jerked her body upwards and swung the blade across the things throat; dark blood spraying across her arms and chest as she cut its throat wide, it's blood mixing with her own.

The creature shrieked again, loud and ear piercing, and raised its arms backwards, digging into Daryl's back. Feeling the pressing of its bony long, black claws into his flesh, Daryl gasped out, a small amount of blood slipping past his lips as Reagan screamed.

The pose of the trio would've been beautiful, Rick thought, like a mid-evil painting, if it wasn't real life and his best friend being torn into.

Reagan dove forward as Daryl's grip slackened, his arms falling slightly from the beasts neck as he tried to step back. They heard a loud pop of bones as it's shoulder dislocated, it trying to keep the hold on Daryl as it's face moved for Reagan, mouth wide and teeth sharp.

Michonne brought her sword down into the charred flesh of it's slimmed arm, hacking until it gave and blood surged from the boned stump, spilling onto the earth and over Daryl and Reagan.

"Move back!" Reagan screamed, thrusting the blade forward again, stabbing into its wide mouth repeatedly as Daryl fell back, finally free.

Pushing all of her weight onto the long torso, the creature tumbled backwards, shrieking and dragging it's clawed hand down her side, she felt the pain of her bleeding stomach and the ache of her heart as she saw Daryl's blood soaked shirt.

'It went through,' she realized numbly, watching his blue eyes grow wide as the same realizations ashes over him. Maggie and Carl were at his side the moment he collapsed against the dirt, everyone watching as Reagan screamed over and over, driving her knife into the things face as if to match the rhythm of her screaming.

Silvery hair fell into her face as blood splashed onto her hands and arms, the things shrieking finally starting to die off and she worked threw the wind-pipe now, not stopping the stabbing motions until mud mixed into blood.

Distantly, she swore she heard gagging as the claws finally fell from her battered ribs, tearing open the side of her flannel button-up as it did. Sitting back on her heels to catch her breath, she shivered as her veins were turning to ice. Dropping the knife as she crawled off the still body of the creature, Reagan shuffled on hands and knees to Daryl, who'd been moved to rest agains the same tree Reagan and Michonne had been moments before.

All of this...in only minutes. She frowned deep as her eyes glazed over in a blurry haze of tears.

Michonne moved towards the black body, taking in everything she was seeing as Rick made to stand next to her. Seeing the thing up close, they noticed how every bone was noticeable under the blackened flesh and defined, slim muscle ran across the arms and legs.

This was something else.

Rick tried to form words when Carol shrieked out, "What are you doing!?"

Everyone was gathering around Daryl now, Beth and Carol had begun to dig trough Bobs medical pack as he pressed onto the mans chest. That wasn't what Carol had screamed about, Rick noticed.

Reagan sat besides Daryl, one of his arrows clutched tightly in her hands as she drove it into her arm and drug it down to her wrist. "Trying to save him," she grimaced out, feeling queazy and tired all the sudden.

Rick and Michonne stood in shock as they watched Reagan pressed her bloodied hands to his chest, rubbing her blood of the mocking wounds before she began demanding Bob to begin a transfusion.

"If I can live threw infection, he can...he has to..my blood, he needs it.." Her voice was small and sad, Carl moved a hand to her shoulder as tears fell over her dirty face. He has to.

Bob began pulling tubes and needles from his pack as Carol shrank back, falling to her knees and cursing the day Daryl and the boys had brought Reagan back with them.

xxxx

Leaning against Carl, Reagan shuddered and pressed her hands to her head, running bloody hand through her tangled hair as she watched the blood flow through the tubes. This had to work, for everyone's sake.

They couldn't loose him.

She couldn't loose him.

Pulling herself from Carls shoulder and crawling towards his pale body, Reagan touch her shaky fingers to his throat, as she'd done every few minutes since the whole thing had started. Panicking when all she felt was cold, she ran her hands over his face and neck, finally grabbing his wrist as her erratic movements pulled the needle from her arm.

Rick watched numbly as the girl dropped his arm, shaking and bring her hands to cover her mouth as she finally couldn't hold in the heart-wrenching sob any longer.

He tightened his hold around Judith as Beth made to take her, all watching Reagan's shoulders shake as Carl reached to pull her back, a small knife in his trembling young hands.

"Rea, Rea you gotta go now. I gotta do this.." He whispered to her, his voice cracking as she shook her head, openly crying in front of them for the first time.

"He can't...he wasn't supposed to...I don't..how.." Reagan trembled as she looked down at Daryl's pale face, small drops of water falling over his cheeks as she spoke with a shaky voice. The lump in her throat was making it hard to form coherent words, her mind became empty as her stomach bottomed out and her heart slowed.

Carl moved to pull her aside as he raised his knife a bit, Reagan finally catching on as their eyes met. Squeezing her eyes shut and biting her lip, she fell back softly, finally letting go of Daryl's vest.

"Wait!" Glenn called, moving from Maggie's shaking embrace as he looked at Rick with wild dark eyes, "when you woke up, when you were bite...we didn't tell you everything.."

Glancing at Rick as he spoke, Glenn waited for him to say anything and when Rick nodded slightly, Glenn continued, louder now.

"Rea..when you opened your eyes, I...I was about to stab you." Voice growing stronger, Glenn realized he'd have to spill it all if he wanted to save Daryl.

"You Flatlined. No pulse. Nothing. Rea...you died.."

Glenn watched as the light dimmed in her darkening eyes, her mouth opening slightly as she peered at him for behind silver bangs.

Reagan looked back at Daryl's lifeless body as Carl sat back, his knife falling beside him as Daryl's fingers began to twitch.