A/N: Thank you to everyone for reading and continuing to follow! I'd especially like to thank those who left reviews and have recently added this story to their alerts! xoxo

Chapter warning: Violence.

The Governor let go of Amy's chin to tuck a mop of unruly hair that covered her wild eyes back behind her ear. She watched his unwavering gaze, as difficult as it was.

Slowly stroking her cheek, his smile reached his eyes. Amy's frown deepened as she tried to lean out of his touch.

"Here, let's get those off," he said with a nod to her hands tied behind her back.

While staring at her intently, the Governor withdrew a knife from his pocket and snapped it open. Amy drew a deep breath, but remained standing stiffly as he walked behind her. When she heard the snap of the zip tie popping off her wrists, Amy drew her hands in front of her and rubbed her wrists.

"Better?" he asked with an unnerving smile. He kept a hand on her arm and turned her back to him.

Keeping her mouth shut, Amy only frowned.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," he murmured as he stroked her hair. He stepped closer and drew her tightly against his chest.

Trapped in his arms, panic quickly claimed her. She clawed against him and when she gained just enough space, she kicked him in the shin as hard as possible.

The Governor growled in pain as he bent over, but he still managed to keep a firm hold on her even as she struggled against him.

Before she knew it, a great force impacted with the side of her face, and she was completely disoriented for a couple of seconds. A painful stinging radiated across one side of her face when she realized she was face down in the dirt. Amy groaned at what felt like were a thousand needles jabbing her.

As she slowly rose to her hands and knees, Amy touched her cheek and when she felt moisture, she looked down and saw blood on her hand. Struggling to take a deep breath, she readied to leap to her feet and have another go at him. But when Amy glared up at his face, she saw him chuckling smugly at something behind her.

Fear instantly quenched Amy's anger, and she turned to see two men holding back a struggling Daryl.

"It gets better," the Governor bemused dryly with an easy smile

Amy rose to her feet and turned on the one-eyed man to attack him. His infuriating smile, however, remained.

Amy leapt at him, but she was useless against his powerful frame. He easily caught her flying fists and yanked them behind her back.

"Let's not try that again," he growled under his breath.

Amy had to resist crying out at the pain she felt from his iron grip on her.

The two men dragged Daryl back to his brother, and the Governor led Amy as he approached the brothers.

"What should we do with them, huh?" the Governor asked the crowd as he indicated to Daryl and Merle.

"Kill them!" they shouted.

"What?" he asked.

"Kill them! Kill them!" they roared.

Daryl fidgeted and stepped nervously around as the crowd screamed for his and Merle's deaths.

Amy's breathing seemed to match Daryl's rapid and shallow breaths.

A woman with long blonde hair jumped from the crowd and beckoned for the Governor.

"Let him go!" she pleaded. The Governor's men prevented her from reaching him. "Let him go, Phillip!"

"No. The people have spoken," he stated evenly. He walked closer to Daryl and Merle. "Fight! To the death!" he commanded.

The crowd immediately roared in response.

"Winner goes free!" the Governor shouted. "Hell, I'll even throw in the girl," he added with a low chuckle.

Merle faced the crowd as he rallied them up. "Y'all know me!" he shouted before abruptly spinning back to Daryl to punch him.

Having no time to defend himself, Daryl fell to the ground. Lying in a heap, Daryl coughed as he slowly attempted to rise.

Amy's stomach dropped and she squirmed against her captor. She was completely helpless as everything was quickly tumbling out of control.

"I'm gonna do whatever I got to do…" Merle yelled while towering over Daryl, who still struggled to recover from the blow. Merle kicked him viciously in the side, and Daryl fell back to the ground, before Merle finished his speech, "To prove that my loyalty is to this town!"

"No!" Amy screamed. Tears sprung to her eyes as she tried to rip her hands away from the Governor's grasp.

The Governor jerked her hands in order to maintain his firm grip.

"Things aren't looking too good for your man," the Governor commented lazily as he slowly dragged her back to the crowd's edge with him given the fight was in full swing.

He ducked his head beside her own, and she felt his lips brush against her ear.

"Maybe I'll just keep you after all," he murmured.

Amy had her eyes desperately locked on Daryl the entire time. Both of their situations were growing direr by the second.

Recoiling away from the Governor, Amy managed to jerk one of her hands free and followed it up by raking her nails across his face.

The Governor hissed in pain, and his hold on her loosened enough for her to squirm free.

Running toward Daryl, another man caught her when suddenly a strong, yet familiar, hand from behind dug into her arm. Amy was violently jerked backwards and flung to the ground. The air rushed painfully out of her lungs, and she lay disoriented for a second before a boot collided with her side. Amy gasped at the tremendous pain she felt in her side and curled up protectively.

When no further assaults met her, Amy slowly opened her eyes to see the Governor towering over her. He held one hand over his cheek while glaring darkly down at her. Still gasping for breath and unable to even attempt rising, she half turned over to see Daryl still in the violent throws of fighting his brother.

A pair of nearby sneakered feet entered Amy's field of vision, and she looked up to see a middle-aged woman sneering down at her.

"Kill that bitch!"

Amy's rage fired up, and she hastily rose to her feet. Still stunned and in pain's clutches, Amy barely stood erect before two men instantly flanked either side of her. Each grabbing an arm, they dragged her further to the side of the arena as the Governor walked toward the middle.

When Amy heard a couple raspy growls behind her, she startled and craned her neck to get a look. Three men each guided a walker at the end of a metal pole with the clamps around the walker's neck. Stunned, Amy watched in wide-eyed horror as the men directed the walkers toward the arena's center. The few people standing on arena's edges parted as the men passed through.

Amy began to hyperventilate as she watched the men and their leashed walkers close in on the still fighting pair.

"Daryl!" Amy screamed.

Daryl nearly fell to his knees before he looked up. The men and walkers surrounded the pair, forcing Daryl to stand back-to-back with his brother as they slowly closed in from all angles.

"No!" Amy screamed. She strained against her captors but she just didn't have any strength left. The terror and pain she felt became too much as she sunk against the men's hold to the ground. "No…" Amy wailed in a strangled, weak voice. Several fat tears ran down her cheeks and her chest burned.

This was it. She knew it.

Amy's temples pounded and her throat constricted as her world grew very quiet again. Daryl kicked one of the walkers back toward its handler, but another was soon directed toward him. He resorted to punching that one.

Several gunshots split the night sky eliciting screams from the crowd. In a matter of seconds, Amy felt the life rushing back in her. More fired shots took out the arena's lights, and a couple of smoke bombs detonated after that.

Both pairs of hands on her loosened, and Amy ran and ducked beneath the smoke's cover. She instantly felt some hope knowing they had come back. She and Daryl actually stood a chance again.

Running hunched over, a hand grabbed Amy's arm. She jerked her arm away from whoever held her, but that failed to work. Amy turned to fight off her captor, and much to her distress, she saw that Merle held her back. Her eyes glittered harshly and she raised a fist, but he quickly held up his metal stump in a placating manner.

"Settle, sweetheart. I'm with y'all," he said quickly while still grasping her.

Amy glared at him, but then saw a glimpse of Daryl running through the smoke and ripping his crossbow back from a man.

"Come on," Merle said as he nodded toward Daryl.

Amy ran after Merle and Daryl, and when they exited the arena, they found Rick and Maggie crouched behind a dumpster. They all ran further away from the arena, and Merle directed their way to escape.

Rick immediately protested. "You're not going anywhere with us," he growled at Merle.

"You really want to do this now?" Merle countered.

Reaching the town's wall, Merle busted through the sheet metal panels while Rick, Maggie, and Amy all exchanged dubious glances with one another. Daryl kept his crossbow raised should anyone come after them. Once Merle had squeezed through the opening he created, Daryl looked to Rick.

"Rick, come on. We gotta go," Daryl said before dashing out.

The others scampered after him, but they all shared a feeling of reluctance as they ran straight for the wood's cover. This patch of brush was not nearly as thick as what they had approached Woodbury from, but there was no visible path either.

In their mad dash to safety, Amy only caught a short glimpse of Daryl until they met again at the wood's edge. Their eyes locked once more, just as they had numerous times throughout the night. In the midst of chaos, it seemed to be their only means of communication. She needed to see that Daryl was okay after the beating he took from his brother. Given how Daryl's eyes briefly flicked up and down her body, she figured he needed that same assurance. The tangle of trees that made up the woods severed their brief connection as they had to concentrate on navigating their way through.

Moonlight bathed the area in various shades of grey while Amy ran with the group which made it difficult to maintain their speed while weaving through the black maze of trees. Amy thought they were free from danger, but she and the others kept up their frantic pace to put as much distance as possible between them and that horrid town.

It soon turned out that the group's furious pace through the forest was needed.

A single gunshot cracked, and Amy nearly jumped out of her skin. She wasn't expecting it and due to shock, she froze for a second too long.

Amy heard a second gunshot followed by ripping pain in her upper right arm.

She grabbed her arm as she sunk to the ground. The pain snatched her breath away, and it took all of her being not to scream. Crawling across the ground, she took cover behind a large tree and collapsed back against it.

Her breathing came quick and ragged as panic set in. She had no idea how bad off her arm was, and her eyes watered as she gripped her injured arm tightly.

Her gun, tucked in the back of her jeans, dug painfully into her as she rested against the tree. With a great deal of effort, she managed to tug it free and toss it beside her.

Gritting her teeth, she squeezed her eyes shut while the roar of gunfire continued from both sides. Blood oozed over her fingers as she continued to cover her wound when she realized the crack of someone's gun was louder than the rest.

Amy forced her eyes open and saw Daryl firing from behind an adjacent tree.

Bark flew as a couple bullets tore into his tree's sides, forcing him to duck fully behind the tree. In doing so, Daryl looked to the side and saw her.

Wide-eyed, Amy stared back at him while she continued to draw shuddering breaths.

Daryl looked at her for a few seconds, before he abruptly turned to fire several shots around the tree and then sprinted over to join her.

Skidding to a stop, he knelt before her and, in an instant, dug through his bag. When he retrieved a rag from it, he drew closer to her and gently touched her hand that covered the wound in a death grip. The pain she felt was unreal and she didn't want to let go because of it, but she knew she had to. Amy released her tight grip and instead dug her bloody fingertips into the ground beside her. Even removing her hand from her raw flesh caused such a wave of pain she had to bite her lip to stop from crying out.

Daryl moved so he was at her side and studied the wound. He must have seen enough because he quickly worked to dress the wound with a rag.

"Jus' a deep graze," he murmured.

Amy felt somewhat relieved at the prognosis until he fastened the rag to her arm which elicited a sharp inhale on her part. She shut her eyes tight and gritted her teeth to prevent the threatening groan in her throat from escaping.

"Don't move!" an unfamiliar male voice growled.

He was close. Very close.

Amy's heart leapt into her throat, and her eyes snapped open. She glanced up to the Woodbury man standing over them with a revolver muzzle pressed against Daryl's temple.

Amy's mind exploded with fear as she thought furiously to quickly come up with a solution. When her eyes landed on the gun resting beside her thigh, she felt Daryl's hand on her injured arm slid down to her elbow.

Her racing thoughts came to a screeching halt when Amy met Daryl's steady and unwavering gaze. She knew he was silently imploring her to stop when a gunshot suddenly split the night air.

Amy involuntarily shut her eyes and cried out at the close and sudden shot.

Not having enough time to fully process what happened, Amy felt a light squeeze around her wrist.

Hope washed over her, and she opened her eyes to see Daryl still kneeling before her. He was staring off to the side at Maggie who stood nearby with her handgun raised. Amy saw the fallen man beside them, and Daryl nodded his silent thanks to Maggie. She nodded back and relaxed her stance.

Amy realized then just how quiet it was. No more gunshots filled the still night air. Maggie strolled away while still surveying her surroundings, and Amy heard the sound of other relaxed footsteps behind them.

Amy had never felt relief as strongly as she did in that moment as she looked back to Daryl and let a shaky, but relieved breath escape from her lips. Placing her free hand against his chest, she leaned lightly into him. She couldn't believe they were both still alive.

She felt Daryl fidget as soon as she drew close, and he immediately squirmed away. Letting go of her arm, she heard him scoot back and start re-packing his bag.

Amy, however, was still in shock at how close death had come. She could hear her heart pounding as she tried to catch her breath.

Once she had recovered slightly, she looked back at Daryl who finished zipping up the bag. He then paused a moment and withdrew his knife, leaving her confused for a second.

Daryl then reached over to the fallen Woodbury man, and Amy looked away. She had momentarily forgotten about that particular aspect of life as she heard Daryl stab him in the head. Amy sighed at what this world had become and she gathered her feet underneath her when Daryl's outstretched hand came into her view.

Daryl was already standing, and Amy's eyes flicked up to his face. He did not gaze down at her, but rather scanned the trees around them. Amy lightly grasped his calloused hand with her good hand, leaving her other arm to hang limp, and he helped her up.

Once on her feet, Amy expected Daryl would let go of her right away, but when he continued to hold her hand, Amy eyed him in mild surprise. Daryl's eyes finally flicked back to her face, but he avoided looking directly at her eyes. Something on her face held his guarded attention. Still holding onto her hand, Daryl hesitantly raised his other hand to gently prod the swollen wound on her face. Amy had since forgotten about the hit she had received, but when he touched it, the pain flared again.

Daryl retrieved a rag from his pocket and dabbed the oozing cut.

As she watched him, a corner of Amy's mouth turned up into a small half-smile at the tenderness he showed.

"Looks like ya been busy since you left me, baby brother."

As if molten lava had been poured over Amy, Daryl immediately let go of her and backed up several steps. Amy was startled too and glanced away as she felt some heat rise up into her face.

Merle stood off to the side with his arms crossed and chuckled lowly in amusement.

"Shut up!" Daryl growled as he busied himself with tucking the rag back in his pocket.

"Yeah," Merle drawled. "It's about time ya got some."

Daryl took a step toward Merle and sent him a vicious glare. "I said shut up!" he yelled.

Unfazed, Merle grinned and continued to chuckle.

Daryl, about to round on Merle, instantly stilled when Rick walked up. Wordlessly, Rick looked them all over with an inquiring look. Daryl ducked his head before turning and walking a few steps away from them all.

Maggie silently appeared again and they all paused for a second to recuperate. Amy glanced over each with relief to find everyone unharmed. Amy then realized the pitch black sky had given way to a dull grey, allowing swatches of muted color to break through the greys and blacks within the forest.

Rick quickly changed magazines on his rifle while glancing all around him.

"Can you run?" he asked while his eyes landed briefly on Amy.

"Yeah," she replied.

"Good, 'cause we don't know what…"

Crashing further away in the forest cut his words short.

The group took off running again and held their dizzying pace as they wove through the trees. Shades of pink poked through the foliage making navigation that much easier.

Amy's legs and sides ached along with a burning in her lungs at the exertion. Worst of all was the intense throbbing in her arm that made her eyes water. Just as she began to despair at the seemingly endless and tortured run, she saw a road and their SUV peaking through the trees ahead of them.

Glenn and the black woman jogged over to meet them.

"Glenn, I need you to back up. We've got a problem," Rick spoke quickly in a low voice.

Glenn's look of concern turned vicious. "What the hell is he doing here?" he yelled while pointing his gun at Merle who stood behind Daryl and Rick.

The other woman drew her sword and also loudly stated her displeasure at his arrival. "He tried to kill me!"

Daryl, Rick, and Maggie drew their weapons quickly in order to keep the two back.

Amy scooted off to the side to stay clear of the many drawn weapons and the heated exchanges between the people who held them. Amy gripped her arm again at the painful throbbing that had yet to ease up. When her fingers reached the cloth over her wound, she discovered that her blood had already soaked through it.

Merle mentioned some lady named Andrea who apparently was not only involved with the Governor, but the others, including the black woman, knew her. This revelation brought a brief pause to the fighting until Merle starting hurling insults at the others, including Daryl. Daryl repeatedly ordered him to shut up while he and Rick continued to keep Glenn and the black woman back. Merle ignored Daryl and continued to abuse the group with his inappropriate taunts, until Rick clocked him over the head with the butt of his pistol.

Merle fell to a heap on the ground.

Amy had only been paying attention due in part to not understanding who Andrea was, but her injured arm made concentrating difficult as well, but from what she had noticed in a few short minutes, she gathered that Daryl did not have the greatest relationship with his brother. To top it off, Daryl did not appear perturbed in the least that his brother lay knocked out cold. If anything, Daryl looked relieved now that they weren't being bombarded by his constant harassment.

With the situation diffused for the moment, everyone relaxed and lowered their weapons. The black woman stalked off, and Rick and Glenn looked down at Merle in disdain.

Glenn sighed as tucked his gun inside his waistband. "Where's Oscar?" he asked.

Rick only shook his head, and Glenn sighed.

Leaving Merle in the woods, the group walked the short distance back to the road, and Amy followed behind them while continuing to hold her arm. She found the black woman leaning against their parked car further down the road.

While trying to figure out what to do next with the unknown woman and Merle, another argument quickly sprung up. Amy hung to the edges as she silently despaired. Rick, Maggie, and Glenn all did not feel safe around Merle and believed he would cause too much trouble back at the prison. Maggie and Glenn did not want to cut the black woman loose which angered Daryl that they would choose her over his brother. Likewise, Rick did not want the mysterious woman around either. Quietly listening to it all, Amy felt so conflicted and unsettled, and she did not know what to think as a result.

Amy grimaced at the continued throbbing pain in her arm. She wondered how much blood she had lost when she felt some trickle past the sopping rag and down her arm.

Daryl's eyes flicked over to Amy before setting his bag at his feet.

"That's right. We don't know who she is. But Merle, Merle's blood," Daryl argued as he opened his bag to search through it. Pulling out a rag, Daryl motioned for Amy to come near.

Amy obliged and when she reached him, he undid the twine on her arm.

"No," Glenn said. "Merle's your blood."

Daryl kept one hand over the bandage and draped the twine over Amy's shoulder before adding another layer over the original.

Glenn continued talking. "My blood, my family is standing right here and waiting for us at the prison."

"And you're part of that family," Rick added as he tried to catch Daryl's eye.

Daryl may not have been fully listening, but Amy looked up to Glenn and Rick at this confession, and her heart warmed a little.

Feeling the sharp bite of twine around her arm, Amy winced audibly.

"But he's not," Rick stated.

"Fine. We'll fend for ourselves." Daryl muttered.

Daryl let go of Amy, and his face remained emotionless as he zipped up his bag.

After skipping a beat, Amy's heart completely froze over. Her throat constricted and her eyes stung as she desperately searched his blank face. She couldn't believe the worst case scenario was actually unfolding before her very eyes.

Amy desperately looked to Rick who silently studied Daryl in stunned disbelief.

"That's not what I'm saying," Glenn said.

"No him, no me. That's all I gotta say," Daryl said matter-of-factly.

"Daryl, don't do this," Glenn begged.

"It was always Merle and I before this."

Daryl passively slung his bag over this shoulder and re-positioned his crossbow, all the while remaining emotionally impenetrable to the pleads around him to reconsider.

"Don't," Maggie pleaded.

"Are you serious?" Glenn asked.

Amy, however, lost her voice. What could she say? How could she put the panic and loss she felt into words as she watched him turn away?

"Daryl!" Glenn called.

Daryl ignored him as he continued to walk away.

Amy stood stock still for another second before jogging after him. When she reached him, she stepped in front and grasped the front of his vest. He reluctantly stopped and looked out into the woods, where Merle slowly rose to his feet with a groan.

"Can you trust him?" Amy whispered.

Daryl avoided her gaze and shifted around a bit.

Amy tightened her grip on his vest and he finally looked back at her, but only briefly.

"I can't leave him again," he murmured as he edged away from her hold.

Amy's drew a shaky breath. "I know," she choked out. A couple tears spilled from her eyes.

Daryl nervously ducked his head and continued to fidget.

Amy saw Rick jog up to join them. She drew in a shaky deep breath in an attempt to remain calm, but it was to no use.

Keeping a fistful of his vest bound in her hand, Amy bowed her head as she drew another shuddering breath.

Daryl stiffened at how close she stood and grasped her elbow only to guide her toward Rick.

"Look after her," Daryl murmured to Rick. Without another word or look, he turned to continue walking down the road.

Amy clung to Rick's arm as she watched him away. A painful sob formed within her chest, and it felt comparable to the time that storm slammed her into the truck.

"Hold on a sec'," Rick murmured as he quickly let go of Amy. He jogged after Daryl, and Amy remained rooted in place.

Standing there helplessly, she felt so utterly broken and lost.

She saw Rick's mouth moving as he talked with him while Daryl gathered a few more items from the SUV's trunk. Any hope Amy might have felt at this last ditch effort fell to the ground with several more tears when Daryl retreated into the woods.

Rick looked nearly as crushed as Amy felt from where he stood beside the car and watched him leave.

When Daryl reached his brother, Merle had a huge grin on his face and an arm wrapped around his brother's shoulders.

Daryl, however, did not share in his enthusiasm.

As Merle led him away, Daryl looked back one last time, first at Rick, and then at Amy.

When Amy could no longer see Daryl through the brush, she let her gaze fall the ground and stared blankly at it for several moments.

Amy wanted so badly to run after him, but she couldn't ignore the facts. She wasn't as well equipped to survive anywhere like he could. She also did not feel comfortable around Merle. Like Glenn said, she could not leave the other people who she was beginning to regard as her family.

Realizing Glenn and Maggie had stopped beside her, Amy looked up to see the forlorn looks they wore too. Maggie reached out to give her a hug, and Amy sighed as she held Maggie, but her eyes no longer watered.

There was nothing left to be done to try and save the situation. It was over; she just couldn't bring herself to believe it yet. Not seeing Daryl again, it just wasn't possible in her mind, but it was the truth.

While she lagged behind the others, who also slowly made their way back to the car, she ignored the truth. She couldn't allow herself to think about it. They all had to get back home first.

But the back of Amy's throat burned. She was incapable of not thinking about it. Everyone she ever cared about seemed to end up leaving her, one way or another.