A/N
Thanks to DarylDixon'sLover and Kilema for reviewing and Lewis7 for favouriting.
Chapter 14
Daryl scanned the ground, intent on finding the tracks that would hopefully lead them to Katherine.
"Looks like she killed him here, blood on the ground and sprayed over the bushes. You can see the drag marks where she dragged the body to the pond. I guess she waited for him to turn then gutted him in the water" he informed Rick and Sasha as they trailed along behind him.
"Two sets of tracks here, one small and one looks like it was dragging a leg behind it. She probably hurt him to get him here then made him walk through the trees until she finished him off"
He followed the two sets of footprints back until they came to a narrow dirt road, the fresh tyre marks obvious, even to the untrained eye.
Cautiously they edged down the track, watching the surrounding forest for any sign of attack. Eventually the dirt road turned on to the pavement and , despite his best efforts, Daryl could find no further sign of either Katherine or her vehicle. Reluctantly they headed back to the farm house.
They stopped off to check the snares on the way back only to find the narrow rope Daryl had used hacked into useless, short lengths.
"Goddammit!" Daryl was furious, "Aint nothing else left to make more snares with. Whole farm was pretty much stripped bare before we ever got here" he ranted as he searched the area for any sign of the intruder.
"What do we do now?" Sasha asked, her usually unflappable manner beginning to unravel.
"We've no fresh water, barely any food and no transport. Where do we go from here?"
"We stay calm and head back to the others. We'll stay here tonight and in the morning we'll send a party out to find more water" Rick reassured her. "We've enough left to last 'till morning if we ration it. We'll make it, we've been through worse"
Daryl returned, pale and angry and Rick suddenly remembered he'd been injured only the day before.
"Come on, let's get you back" he put a hand on Daryl's arm "You need to rest"
"Can't find any sign of her, she's like a damn ghost. Remember her saying she was with some survivalist for a while, he must of showed her how to move without leaving a trail" Daryl shrugged Rick's grip on his arm off.
"Gotta find her 'fore she hurts anyone" he muttered.
Rick suddenly realised that Daryl was blaming himself for Katherine's attacks.
"This isn't your fault" he told him quietly as Sasha lead the way back to the house.
"Yeah it is" Daryl argued "Should've let that walker get her back at the hotel, instead of sticking a bolt through its head. Hell was I thinking?"
"She'd just risked herself to save my kids. You weren't to know she'd come after us like this. You've gotta let it go. She's going to get cocky and screw up soon and we'll get her then" Rick glanced at him.
"Trust me, we will get her" he said darkly "and this time we'll make sure she's dead"
Katherine sat by the small fire she'd made on the side of the road. The rabbit she'd taken from the snares before destroying them had been delicious. She wondered if they'd found them yet, laughing to herself as she thought of Daryl's reaction when he saw the useless lengths of rope left behind. She'd done that on purpose, leaving irrefutable proof it was a deliberate act. She didn't want them thinking the snares and anything caught in them had been carried away by either a larger animal or a walker. She wanted them to know it was down to her.
The sun was setting as she kicked soil over the fire, it was time to carry out the next part of her plan. It was time for the group to lose their refuge, for them to be on the road again.
Carol and Morgan were patrolling the veranda and Glenn and Rosita were on duty inside the house when the she struck.
A burst of gunfire raked the front of the house, tearing holes into the wooden facia just above the lower floor windows, causing Morgan and Carol to throw themselves to the ground. The shots were too high to cause injury but the noise was enough to cause panic among the sleeping members of the group as they jolted awake. Rick and Carl automatically reached for Judith, Spencer pulled Deanna behind him and Maggie screamed Glenn's name as she made a dash for the stairs, desperate to make sure he was okay. She met him halfway down, as he was running to check on her.
Daryl and Sasha headed outside, relieved to see Morgan and Carol unharmed, but shaken and the four quickly made their way back inside.
It was as they all came together in one room that Tara suddenly announced.
"Can anyone else smell smoke?"
Handing Judith to Carl, Rick made his way to the nearest window. Thick black smoke billowed across the yard and he saw that the nearest outbuilding, a large, dilapidated wooden shed was ablaze, the flames soaring into the night sky.
"She's torched the barn" he faced the others. "The noise of the gunfire and the flames are gonna bring every walker for miles right to our doorstep. We have to go now"
Jessie stared at him with wide eyes.
"We can't. It's night, we're on foot. We don't stand a chance" she bit back a terrified sob, as she clung onto Sam tightly.
"We don't have a choice" Rick told her softly.
"The direction the winds blowing, there's a good chance the house will catch alight. We have to go now before too many walkers show up. We won't be able to fight our way through a hoard of them and we can't risk being trapped in here if it does start to burn" he explained.
With a sigh, Deanna drew herself up.
"He's right Jessie, I know you're scared but we have to go"
Silently they gathered up the few items they'd managed to scavenge from the house, slipping out the door as the first walkers arrived in the yard, drawn by the sound and sight of the fire.
Bringing up the rear with Morgan, Daryl turned back in time to see the first flames begin to lick the roof of the house they had just left. It wouldn't be long before it became an inferno. He couldn't help the shudder as he thought back to being trapped in the burning house back at Alexandria.
"Looks like Rick made a good call" he heard Morgan mutter as they made their way toward the road.
They walked for the rest of the night, nerves frayed as they stayed alert. They were all scared, angry and exhausted. Rick couldn't understand how one woman had been able to get through their defences time and again. He realised he'd totally underestimated Katherine and regretted not killing her when he'd had the chance.
They stopped when the sun came up, allowing themselves a few sips from the rapidly dwindling supply of water.
Stretching her back, Maggie rose and headed deeper into the trees, needing a moment of privacy.
"Wait!" Rick called out "No one goes anywhere alone. Glenn, go with her and keep watch. Make sure you're armed"
Glenn was already on his feet, not needing to be told to protect his wife. The two disappeared from sight, the eyes of the group staring after them, willing them to hurry back.
Ten long minutes passed with no sign of them. Rick exchanged a look with Daryl and the hunter nodded in return. The two men rose, gathering their weapons, but before they could move Maggie burst from the trees.
"She's got Glenn" she cried, "He was a just few feet away, just the other side of a tree. We was talking, then he went quiet" she was crying and shaking as Carol tried to comfort her.
"When I looked Katherine had him. She had a knife shoved under his chin and a gun in his side. She told him she'd shoot me if he tried anything. She said to tell you if we want him back we have to come get him, that there's a town about five miles down the road and she'll be waiting for us there"
Her knees buckled and she sank to the ground, sobbing.
"If we know she's going to be in that town we should head in the other direction and get some distance between us" Deanna spoke up "Hopefully she won't be able to pick up our trail again if we can get far enough away"
She wasn't fazed by the hostile glares aimed her way.
"You're saying we should just leave Glenn and save ourselves?" Tara was incredulous.
"I'm saying we sacrifice one to save the rest of us" Deanna continued "It's how we've always done things at Alexandria"
"It aint how we do it" Daryl spat, not believing what he'd just heard "We don't leave our own behind"
Deanna was about to reply when Rick cut her off.
"If she'd taken Spencer would you say the same? Would you abandon your son to save yourself?" Her silence was all the reply he needed.
"Don't worry, we'll get him back" Rick reassured Maggie "We'll get him back and we'll finish this once and for all" His face was impassive, eyes dark and hard.
"She doesn't get to live, not after this"
Final confrontation coming up in the next chapter.
Thanks for reading.
xxxxx