Bonjour my lovelies! I made it in one piece to Paris! 17 hours of flight time and I-lost-count of how many time zone changes later, I'm here! And because I have a minute to catch my breath, I figure I'd send this along to you. Enjoy!

jalenreedmua: This story makes me wish there was a character like Fox in the show.

I kind of had that feeling too, which is part of the reason I wanted to have an OC like her in my own Walking Dead story :)

SilverAdvenger12: Loved the last two chapters! As always!

Yay! I hope I continue to hold such enthusiasm

Emberka-2012: Something I did not like the way Shane looks at Daryl. Maybe its good that they not went by the whole group to the CDC.

It is a good thing. It wouldn't have ended well, because this is where my plot starts to diverge from the canon.

DancingUnderMoonlight18: Ahh I love this (: That's a really good way to write, write what you would want to read. I can't wait until the next chapter

I try to use that standard with everything I do in my life. If I wouldn't want it presented to me, then I try not to present the same to someone else and vice versa. Seems to be working out well if I do say so myself, lol ;)

FanFicGir10: Loved Loved Loved Their Talk :) Loved that both love to ride on Daryl's motorcycle together. Update soon!

There shall be plenty more talks between the two of them to come ;)

X23 Maximoff: Another brilliant chapter! I really love the way you have Fox and Daryl interact. Both of them are such guarded people, their conversations are like dances - a little give, a little take. But never too much. I love it. I also really like how you're giving Glenn a lot of shine time. He's such an integral character, and so many people forget about him with writing! And the tension with Shane and...well, everyone, is amazing. The emotions are palpable, and I like the way you're writing his slow downward spiral of sanity. Fantastic! And the part about the animal inside everyone, where it just matters how close to the surface it is? Oh my lanta! So great! People do underestimate Daryl's intelligence, so I really like the way you portray him - observant, calculating. He knows soooo much more than he lets on. It's all part of his master plan. Awesome chapter! Please update soon! -XM

Glenn is by far my favorite character right after Daryl. He's such an unusual person to survive, but it works for him and makes him unique. Ahhh yes, Shane…you'll just have to wait and see what happens as far as he's concerned as the plot really starts to thicken in the next few chapters. And yes, the animal that's inside all of us. I absolutely love stories that play on this idea (Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Clause and the Strange Angels series by Lili St. Crow are some of my favorites that do this) and since neither Daryl nor Fox really have much of a filter so to speak, it's only natural that their's lurks just beneath the skin. But we'll see how everything evolves as the story moves forward, eh? ;) Keep writing in such nice long lovely reviews, it really makes my day =D


Glenn pulled over on a set of train tracks maybe half a mile out of the city. The same place where they'd left their van the first time when they went looking for Merle. He was nervous about leaving his bike here unattended but there wasn't much choice. He locked it up tight and then padded quietly to where the van had last been parked. The ground showed signs of disturbance, rocks kicked up and a wide track of tire chewed grasses that were poking through the ground. It led back the way they'd come- out of the city.

"Where are you?" Daryl whispered as he bent down to the ground and let his fingers gently rest against the sunbaked earth. Where would Merle have gone? Their original home had been overrun by the time they'd left, surely he wouldn't have thought to go back there, would he have? If his brain had been deluded by sunstroke and blood loss, he might have. Daryl certainly hoped that wasn't what had happened, he'd be killed for sure. But for now, all he had to go on was his brother had made it out of Atlanta alive and that was it. His stomach clenched painfully but when Glenn got his attention out of the corner of his eye, he turned away.

"Alright, here's how this works. Half a mile is when the buildings of the city start getting close together, and that's also where the geeks will be. Daryl, do you remember the ally we were in when the vatos took me hostage?"

The roughneck nodded and he caught a quirked eyebrow from Fox but he didn't bother to explain.

"If we get separated, we meet back at that ally. It should still be barricaded and that will stop most of the geeks from getting through. Don't go any further into the streets than you have to. Stay low, move quietly, do not under any circumstances fire your gun unless you can make a dash for safety and that's your only option. We need three things. Gasoline, food, and water. I've been getting gasoline from an abandoned parking lot, maybe five blocks away from the ally. Lot of trucks and cars still there, I'd only drained three or four before our last run. The food and water is in the opposite direction. The nearest and best bet will be six blocks to the east, there's a grocery store there. The last time I was there, most of the stuff was still in the store. When shit hit the fan people didn't even have enough time to get supplies before the city was abandoned."

"We have a whole convoy of vehicles that need to be refueled, not to mention the RV. One person won't be able to carry all that gasoline." Fox reasoned quietly. Glenn nodded and then looked cautiously at Daryl.

"She's right. It's going to take all of us to get the gasoline, but honestly, that's the most risky part. I say we go for the food and water first, and then the gas, because we can travel by foot if absolutely necessary. We can't eat fuel." They all waited for him to continue and he became even more jittery if that was possible. "We're gonna end up making a lot of noise getting the gas. I have dozens of containers in the back of the truck to hold it, but it'll take time to fill them all, and I'll need the truck actually in the parking lot if we're going to have chance of getting it back out of the city. Time is all they need to find us. Two of us will get gasoline while one distracts the geeks."

"Bait." Fox said softly.

Glenn nodded, the color rapidly draining out of his face. "Yeah…basically. Now I'm not Rick, I'm not going to order one of you to do that job. Frankly I think you both could kill me if I tried." He swallowed heavily and Daryl, to his credit, remained expressionless to not freak the kid out, but it was still amusing. Fox seemed to think so to, but he could only see it in her eyes.

"I'll play bait. I'm fast and light on my feet and I know the city. How long will you need?" Fox sounded resolute and determined that she do this. Daryl believed what she said about her skills but the thought of her drawing away dozens, maybe even hundreds of Walkers was unsettling to him.

"Hopefully no more than twenty or thirty minutes. I know it's a long time…" Glenn looked almost like he might be sick from so much anxiety. Daryl didn't really blame him. The last time they'd been here, they had nearly been killed, and not just by Walkers. He just hoped the kid didn't go to pieces in the middle of a firefight if it came to that.

"I can buy you that. But if we need to get the food and water first, then we should go. Before it gets any hotter and our live smell becomes more potent."

Glenn nodded and Daryl was surprised by how much she acted like a hunter. What else about this punk girl did he not know? It occurred him he didn't know very much, and maybe more startlingly that he wanted to know more. Daryl was usually content to just let people alone and be by himself. Other people weren't necessary. She was different. She made him want to know more, and he wasn't too sure he liked that.

They started off on foot shouldering empty backpacks. They passed by the tracks and the train station and that was when they began to creep. When they came to the next main street they paused as Walkers were hissing and growling in their path, staggering and shuffling randomly. They paused around their last Walker free corner and Glenn looked ready to pass out from anxiety alone. He clutched the shotgun he'd brought with him to his chest and leaned his head against the brick wall. "Fuck my fucking life." He whimpered before he beckoned his companions to follow them, creeping low to the ground right up against the wall behind cars that were still parked on the street. They hurried, moving as swift and lightly as they could, ducking and pausing when there was a Walker too close for comfort in their way.

"How much further?" Daryl hissed after they'd gone about a block and half. Every nerve ending was on fire, every hair was standing up. The smell of rot and death was so thick it made him want to puke every time he inhaled and even Fox's perfume wasn't enough to drown it out. They were ducked behind a parked truck but from underneath they could see hundreds of shuffling feet.

"Gotta cross a street and then go east. It wasn't so crowded last time I was there, maybe the geeks have left it alone." He whispered, almost to himself. He touched Fox by the shoulder and pointed directly across the truck to where someone had graciously parked a semi in front of an ally, blocking the Walker's access to it.

"That's the ally I was talking about earlier. In there is a door that leads to a department store's stock room. The front room is exposed but the stock room and the roof is secure. If you have to get away in a hurry, that's not a bad place."

Fox nodded and then looked ahead at the crossing they were going to have to do. Atlanta was an old city, and only loosely built on a grid system. There might be a way to use that to her advantage. They peeked over the truck they were hiding behind, seeing about thirty Walkers in their way. Daryl already had his finger on the trigger of his bow, sweat beading across his face. Glenn wasn't doing much better but they were going to have to move soon because the Walkers were starting to turn towards them.

"Six blocks east you said?" she asked in a hissing whisper.

"Yeah. It's a big parking lot and building, can't miss it." Glenn hissed.

"Ok, head that way. I'll meet you. I'll draw the zombies off and give you time to run." She eased herself into a crouch and Daryl actually grabbed her by the wrist. She hissed, the wound there still tender and he eased his grip.

"Are you crazy? You have no idea how many of those things are out there? You could get killed!" he growled, low and deep in his throat. He couldn't believe she was going to do this. She either had a death wish of epic proportions, or she really was just out of her mind, and it was a hung jury on which one it was.

She knelt back down and shrugged off her bag, unzipping it and pulling out the gallon size bags of medicine. She turned and divided them between Daryl and Glenn, shoving them into their bags and zipping them up before redoing her own and sliding it on her shoulders. "That way if I don't make it back, you still have those."

"You're a crazy bitch, you know that right?" Daryl panted as she got up to her feet.

"You love it." She teased and despite being surrounded by death his face and neck burned with embarrassment. Glenn fortunately was far too frightened to even notice. Fox slunk around the car and withdrew her largest knife and held it confidently in her hand before stepping into the street. She danced through the Walkers who by now had of course noticed her and were lunging straight towards her.

"Come on you ugly sons of bitches! Come and get it!" she yowled her husky voice to the sky like she was some rock star riling a crowd on stage. The Walkers snarled and rattled their death growls and began to shuffle after her.

"Go! Get going, right now!" she yelled, still attracting the Walkers. A few were still blocking Daryl and Glenn's access but nothing they couldn't handle. She watched out of the corner of her eye as they sprinted across the street, swerved, and cut through one of the side streets.

No more time to daydream. She had work to do. She went running up the street, dodging Walkers that grabbed for her like she was running a gauntlet. She slashed one freak across the face and kicked the body away, climbing up onto the hood of a car and running across the windshield, her boots making a racket on the metal. That was good. That drew more freaks towards her and away from Daryl and Glenn. She tried not to think about them and only on the task at hand. She forced herself to do so. It was the only way she was going to make it out alive.

She sprinted across the car and jumped for the next one. A Walker threw itself on the hood where she landed but she sprung off the metal like she had wings on her feet. More growling right behind her, hordes more zombies going to block her escape. She paused for just a moment on the roof of the car and slashed another Walker in the face, kicking him back and leaping into the tail bed of a truck. Her boots slammed the metal hard but she was safe for only a minute. She scrambled to its roof and then down its hood. The next car was too far away for her to jump.

"Come and get it bitches." She growled unsheathing her small knives and throwing, one, two, three, dropping them like she'd hit them with bullets. Her aim was true each and every time and she leapt off the hood of the truck, her knees absorbing the impact. She ran forward and snatched two out of the three knives and bolted for her life.

The washed out canvas of the city became a blur of grey, brown, and tans with splashes of black and red thrown in. She couldn't tell if she was crying out at every turn when she saw a Walker grabbing for her, or if her sounds were drowned out by their incessant hissing growls. The stress of the sun, the impact of her body weight on her already weakened frame, and the copious amount of adrenaline slamming through her system was rattling her already skewed judgment. She cut another Walker across the face but had to throw herself into its body to avoid being snagged and bitten by another. She was gasping for air, sweat pouring down her skin as her heart beat frantically. Life, life, life, it was all she could think about. Time seemed to stretch and contract and narrow to a single focal point of each breath, each heartbeat. Drums pounded in her ears that were either her footsteps beating on the concrete or her own blood roaring through her veins like a freight train. Sweat slicked her skin as the sun climbed higher and she finally realized where she was headed.

The only good thing about Walkers is that many of the corpses were still stiff from the cold, clenching grasp of death. She loosened the muscles in her legs as much as she could and ran full out, sprinting as hard and as fast as she could go knowing speed was her only chance. They still surrounded her and formed a pack that was following her, but the amount she ran into and had to kill to get out of her way was thinning. She thanked God for small favors and bolted, deciding to risk a side trip. She swerved down a wide but lonely ally and was feeling very grateful that there were only two geeks inside it and nowhere near the door she was going towards. She reached it, the horde that had been following her coming around the corner and she towards the door. She was amazed to find that it was still unlocked- whoever had been here before her must have been in a helluva hurry- and she escaped inside, slamming the door hard and flipping the latch, chaining it as well as the Walkers shoved against it. She leaned on the door, not to keep them out, the chain was relatively thick and so was the lock, but she used it for support while she caught her breath. She tried to slow the rapid beating of her heart, amazed she had made it out alive. There had been so many close calls and now that she wasn't running they all flashed through her mind's eye.

"Get up, get what you need, get out. They're waiting for you." She told herself. Its what she had told herself not so long ago when there were others waiting on her as well. She pushed those memories away and got to her feet.

The building she'd run to was an army surplus supply store. The only reason she knew it was here was because when she'd moved to Atlanta with her mother, she'd come here looking for cheap combat boots, but now that the world had gone to shit, they had a lot of stuff that could be useful, but there was only one thing she was looking for here, and wonder of wonders, it was still there, hanging on the wall behind the glass counter. A pair of medieval looking kukri knives complete with leather holster. She jumped over the counter and took them off the wall, pulling the blades free of the holster and examining them. Even in the fractured sunlight leaking in from the dirty glass of the storefront the blades gleamed, the razor edged just begging to taste blood. She smirked and buckled on the holster, the blades resting against the small of her back. She also snatched a black and white bandanna from a rack and tied it around her neck, pulling it over her nose and mouth to help stop the awful smell of the streets as she dared to creep out the front door.

Most of the horde was still around the back, but a few straggler geeks saw her leave. They turned and let out their rattling death growls, signaling to the other monsters that there was food and it was getting away. She turned tail and bolted, her feet pounding the concrete, kicking up loose pebbles, throwing dirty water as she splashed through puddles and sending pieces of debris tumbling into the street.

She dared to skid to a halt and turn to see another mob of Walkers coming from one end of the street, but up the ways looked like a better shot. She swerved and headed east, running as fast as she could. Her endurance was starting to wear out and she knew that it wouldn't be too much longer before she was going to have to find a place to hide, unless she found Daryl and Glenn first.

"Oh shit!" she screeched, sliding to a halt in an intersection that was blocked by a ravenous mob of zombies. As soon as they saw her they turned and opened their ruined mouths, black blood spilling from between chewed off lips as they staggered towards her, their rotting hands stretched out in a sick, deadly embrace. "Fuck it." No fear, only a snarl in her voice as she pulled out her new blades. She had never used them before, but she knew the concept wasn't all that different. It didn't take rocket science to kill Walkers. Just a good shot to the head.

She ran towards the side of the horde, seeing another smaller group to her left out of the corner of her eye. She swung her right arm and took one head clean off, the kukri knife slicing as cleanly and as easily as hot metal through butter. She ducked and rolled, stabbing another in the leg on the left to cripple it before she shoved herself forward. She couldn't get her feet under her in time and her cheek scraped the filthy pavement as she kicked and scrambled wildly, trying to get her feet under her, hands full of blade and asphalt. She squealed in fright when she felt hands on her legs and her limbs kicked out violently as she stabbed and slashed and shrieked, fighting for her life. When she finally got her feet under her she lurched forward, running for her life, anger, pain, rage, and fear howling through her vocal chords.

"You motherfucking sons of bitches! Fucking die!" She lopped off another head that was in her way and kept running. The kukri blades sang as blood spattered the streets and dripped down the metal but she didn't dare stop moving. Her feet ate the ground like ravenous teeth and she shot forward, clearing another two blocks and leaving most of the horde behind, only encountering a few here and there that she either dodged or killed for the last time.

The buildings were starting to thin by the time she'd gone four blocks east and she was worried maybe she had the wrong street when all of a sudden a set of trees blocking her view cleared and she saw a grocery store parking lot. This had to be the place. She ran forward, dodging several Walkers in the parking lot, and noting that there were fresh kills lying right next to the door. She stepped through the broken glass and leaned against one of the buckled frames, trying as hard as she could to catch her breath without gasping too loudly.

She heard a rustle coming from the back of the darkened store. It was too dark and there was too many overturned shelves and debris flung every which way for her to make out what had made it, but she held her new blades deftly, ready and willing to kill whoever got in her way. The cracking and rustling continued and she finally pushed herself to her feet, heading towards the noise. And then, at last, she heard voices. Voices she never thought she'd be so glad to hear in her life.

"I am not carrying a ten pound bag of rice!" The Southern husky drawl from the redneck was matched by Glenn's smoother, younger tone.

"Oh come on, its good and it'll go along way!"

"Drag it yourself Chinaman!"

"Boys, might wanna lower your voices." She said as she came around the corner and saw them arguing over said ten pound bag of rice that was sitting in a burlap sack unopened on the floor at their feet.

"Holy shit. What happened to you?" Glenn panted as he came jogging over. It was just then that she realized she was smeared with grit and filth from where she'd went down in the middle of the street. Her lungs were still burning as she inhaled, trying to steady her rapidly pounding heart.

"Got away is what. You got the stuff?" she asked, looking more at Daryl than Glenn.

"Yeah, unless you wanna be the one to drag his rice." Daryl muttered, nudging the bag with his foot.

"I got it." She said, picking it and stuffing it in her backpack before zipping it up and shouldering it, adjusting the straps so it rested higher on her back so it wouldn't drag her hips and legs down.

"Those are new." Daryl noted the kukri blades when she set them down in order to adjust her bag.

"Ducked into an army surplus shop when I was getting away. Took them off the wall. Damn useful." She said as she picked them up again, tucking one in her belt as her bag was blocking easy access to her holster and the other she kept in her hand. Daryl still had an arrow notched in his crossbow and Glenn's shotgun's safety was still on. That was good. They hadn't run into much trouble.

"Alright now, back to the vehicles. We drop these and then go for the gasoline. Or if its too overrun, we get the hell out." Glenn said as his pack settled on his thin shoulders.

"It's pretty overrun. But I think we can still get the gas. All we need is a distraction." She said. She could hear that she didn't exactly sound like herself, and when she took a step forward her thighs trembled something fierce.

"Stop." Daryl growled as Glenn was heading for the door. Fox leaned against one of the still standing shelves, trying to get her breath back but the tremors running through every limb made her feel even more unsteady.

"Hey. You ok?" Daryl asked as he carefully set his crossbow aside and laid a hand on her back. He could feel her shaking clearly, the tremors now running up into his own arm and he withdrew his touch, surprised at what he'd felt.

"I'm fine." She panted. She struggled to pick her head up again and take another step but she couldn't make it more than two or three paces before she actually collapsed into a pile of leather boots and red hair.

"Jesus Christ, you're dead weight." Daryl muttered. "Yo, Chinaman, get over here."

"I'm Korean for the last time." Glenn growled but he came and crouched down next to Daryl where he was helping Fox sit up against the metal shelf rack.

"When was the last time you ate?" Daryl asked. He took Fox by the jaw and forced her head down to look in his eyes. "Come on, when was it?"

"Three days ago? Shit I don't fucking know." Her eyes were swimming and her breathing still hadn't slowed down.

Daryl dug through Glenn's bag while the kid kept glancing nervously over his shoulder. When he finally found what he was looking for, Fox's eyebrows lifted just slightly.
"Gatorade? Really?" she asked as Daryl unscrewed the cap, strong hands breaking the seal easily.

"The sugar will perk you up. You try solid food now you'd probably throw it back up again. Come on, drink. Don't got all day." He reminded her, handing her the bottle.

She nodded and took it from him, taking a long swig. It actually hurt to swallow so much at once and her stomach clenched so tight she groaned, doubling over.

"Easy." Daryl murmured. "Keep it down. You're not going anywhere till you finish this. It won't last long, but it'll be enough for now. Come on." He took the opportunity to be gentler with her than his brother had ever been with him.

She kept drinking, going in smaller sips, several times having to lean her head back and just breathe because she thought she'd be sick otherwise. "Remind me to smack the shit out of Rick when we get back." She panted.

"There you go." Daryl said, unable to stop the thin half smile that found its way onto his face. It had been Rick that ordered the restriction of food, and she hadn't eaten anything since she'd been caught.

"Come on guys, we can't wait much longer." Glenn said impatiently. He was on his feet now staring out the shattered doors of the grocery store into the parking lot. There were more Walkers headed their way and Fox took down the last of the Gatorade before staggering up to her feet. Daryl instinctively moved to catch her and her nose was pressed into the muscle of his forearm for a moment. She breathed in deep his scent of sweat, musk, and something that reminded her of sunlight and finally gained her feet.

"You good?" he asked.

"Yeah." She forced herself to stand up straight, holding onto her new knife deftly. "Let's go." Her legs were still trembling but she refused to let it show in her face.

"Alright, what's the plan?" Fox asked as they stood just outside the broken down doors.

"The fastest way to the truck is a straight line. There are some fences in the way but the second time I came I brought wire cutters and cut a path. As long as we stay quiet any Walkers in our way we can dodge or kill with the blade. We'll come out on the other side of the train station than before, but once we're there we're in the clear."

Daryl nodded. "Let's go."

They all crept through the parking lot, going behind cars, moving as though playing Red-Light-Green-Light, except this time for their lives. They waited for the shambling corpses to shuffle past before skittering to the next car. Once they were at the street they made a break for it, loping as fast as they could without attracting attention. The bag of rice was weighing Fox down but she muscled down the pain and kept moving. The fluids had done her good and even though she didn't feel back up to speed where she had been, she could keep going. She was going to have to. She'd be damned if she died in this God forsaken city. She'd lost too much, given too much of herself away, spilt too much blood she loved to let that happen.

They crawled through fences and weed choked lots, for the most part left entirely alone by the geeks who were crowded in the main streets. A few times she and Daryl bashed in a skull in order to keep their hiss-growls from attracting another mob, but other than that the journey back to the tracks was smooth. They darted around the dilapidated building, crossing one last fence, the truck and Daryl's bike finally in sight.

"Never thought I'd be so happy to see this rust bucket." Glenn panted as he tossed his bag into the floorboard of the truck. Daryl and Fox did the same, and her back thanked her mightily after shedding its ten-pound burden.

"Yeah well, we gotta go back." Daryl said, spitting on the ground and shouldering his crossbow. He looked at Fox out of the corner of his eye. "Can you make the trip? Be straight right now, because if you drag us down and we get killed, I swear to God when I come back I'll eat you first."

She actually laughed despite the seriousness in his voice. "I can make the trip. Just let me breathe a minute." She said.

Glenn seemed to agree with this assessment and they all stood catching their breath by the truck, the sun continuing to beat down on them mercilessly. After several minutes they turned to Glenn who seemed more comfortable now about giving orders.

"The parking lot where I've been getting gas is ideal for us. There's a deep ditch behind it that the Walkers fall into which leaves only the sides and the front for us to worry about." He took a stick and began to draw the layout in the dirt, just like he'd done at the warehouse.

"We should access the lot from the side. There's cars over there I haven't touched yet, I know there's gasoline in them, and it's a smaller side street, less likely for there to be a mob. From the front is the problem. There is an overturned semi-truck that helps block their view from the main road, but who knows how many are actually wandering in the lot."

Fox nodded. "If we had to draw them away, what's our best bet for leading them on a chase and then circling back around?"

"Across the ditch." He answered, indicating behind his square drawing of the lot where he'd scrawled the word 'gas' into the dirt. "It's wide enough that if you were running and you jumped you'd make it, but only just. Behind the ditch is scrub that developers never cleared, kudzu and things like that, and beyond that is someone's yard and a little neighborhood. The Walkers fall in the ditch and get stuck in the mud and take a long time to climb out, but who knows what might be waiting for you across it. If there's nothing you can just wait for them to follow you over and then run and cross at a different spot and come back to us."

"And if there is something?" she asked.

"If it's a few, I know you can handle them." He said, nodding at her freshly blood stained blade. "If it's a mob…try running parallel to the ditch until you can find another place to cross. They're not smart enough to walk out into the street via the path that leads to the neighborhood and block your access back across the street, at least not on purpose. If you make enough noise, they'll just follow wherever you go. Then get a running jump back across the ditch."

"Hopefully there is nothing waiting for us and we can just keep out of sight and get what we need and go. If its mobbed, we'll get the hell out." Glenn said, standing up.

"If we gotta take the vehicles, how are we getting in?" Daryl asked. "My bike's exposed, if we go the main streets, they'll rip me to shreds."

Glenn nodded. "Follow me. I'll take the sides streets, plenty of places you can get away that's not so crowded. We'll get out the same way we get in. The only time we move on foot is if we're getting the gas and we need a distraction." He turned to Fox. "Can you run again? That was some impressive shit you did back there."

"Only if I have to. And let's hope that's not the case. Let's go."

She climbed back onto Daryl's bike and he kicked the engine to life as Glenn cranked up the truck. Both vehicles made far too much noise for anybody's liking, but true to Glenn's word, as soon as there was an opportunity he zoomed away from the main streets and took side ally ways and one way turns, going the wrong way, but for the most part, they only passed a few Walkers. Up ahead was what had to be the lot Glenn had been getting gas from. There was the ditch and scrub to the back and the overturned semi in the front. There was a small mob of Walkers, maybe fifteen in total, mingling around, shuffling slowly and then turning when they heard the engines.

"Go, deal with them, I'll get the gas going!" Glenn huffed as he jumped out of the truck and grabbed the containers. Daryl and Fox swung off and approached the group of geeks. It was business mixed with the pleasure of destroying what had tried so hard to annihilate them. Heads flew, blood spattered and slicked the pavement and their boots as they made short work of the undead bastards.

"Those knives are damn handy." Daryl commented as Fox cracked the last skull in the nearby vicinity.

"No shit. Come on, sooner we get what we need, the sooner we get out." She panted. They jogged back to where Glenn was and grabbed canisters and plastic tubing, using suction to start siphoning off the gasoline. There were thirty containers in all, and if they wanted to not have to get gas for a while, this was as good a time as any to fill them all.

"I can't believe it." Glenn said as he wiped sweat off his brow as he watched another canister being filled. "I can't believe they haven't found us yet."

"Maybe there is a God after all." Fox replied, flashing him a small smile. He returned her look, but only for a moment before he ducked away. Under the pretense of wiping sweat from his face but Fox knew better. She'd seen the flush that wasn't from the sun. It made her smile inside.

Daryl marched over carrying another two containers and adding them to the large pile in the back of the truck. "Quit your braying and work. Sooner were out of here, the better."

Glenn rolled his eyes and Fox snickered a little, but nonetheless, she did start to hurry. It was as she was on her way back to take another container from Glenn that she almost froze.

"Guys. We got company." She said, looking over the bed of the truck and seeing a mob of Walkers heading straight for them, parallel to the ditch beside them.

"How much longer till we're done?" Glenn asked as he also ran and put his container in the truck.

"Only two more." Daryl panted.

"You two fill 'em up, I got these. I'll run them into the ditch just like Glenn said. When you're done swing back around and pick me up." Fox unsheathed her knives and nodded once to both of them, not leaving them time to argue before running straight for the zombies.

"Death wish. Has to be." Daryl muttered as he grabbed the last container. He ran to the nearest abandoned vehicle but it was already drained dry. He tried the next two over and still nothing. When he finally found one with gasoline he could see that Fox had already leapt the ditch and was crashing through the scrub and kudzu across the ditch. Just like Glenn had said the Walkers were following her, falling into the muck and mud and only slowly climbing out. He could still faintly hear her crashing wildly, making as much noise as possible to draw the Walkers to herself.

He screwed the cap on the gas and ran towards Glenn who by now was almost frantic. More Walkers were headed their way from the main road. They threw the last two canisters into the back of the truck and Daryl shoved the tail of the bed up to keep them contained. He jumped on his bike and kicked it to life.

"Lead! I'll follow!" he yelled over the roar of the engine as Glenn clambered into the truck. Glenn tore out of the parking lot as fast as the tires of the truck could get a grip, smoking a little as the back of the bed swung back and forth threatening to fishtail. He swerved out of the lot and onto the street parallel to the ditch, Daryl not far behind.

"Come on girl, come on, come on!" he panted as he followed the truck, still not seeing her distinctive red hair clear the ditch and into the road. His heart was between his teeth and slamming so hard he might be sick until he finally saw a flash of red through the trees. He watched as Fox jumped the ditch, dodging a small pack of Walkers, cutting one with her new blades and he shot forward as she tumbled to the ground hitting her shoulder hard. She had gotten her feet just as he'd rolled up and she flung herself onto the back of his bike, clutching him fiercely as he let the throttle loose and surged forward.

When they had cleared the Walker infested neighborhood and swung back around to the train tracks to get the hell out of the city she screamed so loud it threatened to shatter his eardrums, but he actually didn't mind. He understood. She had survived. They all had. And they had something to take back to the group. They'd survived.

His reaction was not as intense as hers, and no one but her heard the laughter that the wind tore free from his throat as he sped down the road after the truck, thankful to just be alive.

A/N: The kukri knives I'm describing in this chapter are a common weapon amongst Nepalese soldiers and police. The blade is about the length from the elbow to the wrist and is crooked slightly, like a bent machete almost with a rounded head rather than pointed. They can be used for stabbing, but slashing and cutting work best and can be wielded be a single weapon or be used in tandem with another blade.