Without even thinking Michael's hand was gripping Amity's arm and both siblings were dropping down low, following the line of the fence until they had a semblance of cover.
As they moved, Amity could hear the men in the yard scramble and she knew that they were going for their weapons. What she didn't know was whether it was out of self-defense due to a couple of strangers wandering up or because they planned to hunt down a couple of trespassers.
"Who the fuck are you?" Amity called out, gripping her bow so tightly in her hands that they shook as she carefully peered out from around the old piece of sheet metal that was leaned against the portion of the fence that they were currently crouching behind.
"I could be askin' you the same damned question!" One of the men shouted in return, his accent letting Amity know that he was at least semi-local though it sounded more Alabamian than Georgian.
"I asked first!" Amity shot back, ignoring the look that her brother was giving to her to shut her mouth as he sat crouched with his gun held securely in his hands.
"You walked up on our camp!" Another one of the men retorted, a Yankee that one was. She couldn't place the accent.
"Your camp is our old home!" Amity called out and that seemed to throw the men for a loop at least for a couple of moments so Amity met Michael's eyes.
"They could be friendly and just trying to survive like we are." Amity whispered to him.
"That alone makes them dangerous, Bug. People tryin' to survive do crazy things." Michael reasoned, keeping his voice low as well.
"But it doesn't make them inherently bad people." She replied.
"They can still put a bullet between our eyes without bein' your definition of bad, Amity Lynn." The older man retorted but Amity's huff of indignation was cut short by the Alabama man speaking again.
"You lived here? This was your farm?" He asked.
"We lived here, it was owned by a friend." She called back, not having a reason to lie.
"What was the name of the people who lived here then?" The Yankee asked hotly, trying to catch them in a lie.
"Greene." Michael said, his sudden willingness to answer surprising the redhead.
"They could have read that off the mailbox, man." Amity heard the final man say to his companions in another accent she couldn't quite place- it wasn't American though.
"There's five wells on the property. You found the remains of a body in the RV, the remains of a horse on the lawn. You may have found bags left in the house, a few that had been obviously packed but never taken. I guess that depends on if anyone else came by looting before you guys." Amity listed off, trying to think of any identifying features of the home and property that would say they were telling the truth.
The men were now muttering to one another, their words too quiet to hear until finally one spoke up.
"Y'all can come on out now. We ain't gonna hurt you." The Alabama man said and Amity shot a look at Michael who shook his head.
"Now, how can we trust that?" Michael asked loudly, his deep voice echoing over the farm.
"You can't, but I'll bet you came back here for a reason and should have a damn good story to tell. We'd like to hear it." Alabama continued and with that being said, and before Michael could stop her, Amity stood up.
She would later omit that part to Daryl when she got back and he demanded a recount of the events of their trip.
She didn't need to hear how stupid of a move that was.
"It's a pretty good story." Amity admitted with a sharp smile, calculating eyes roving over the three men in the distance before she fully stepped out from their hiding place. "If you have the time."
"I need to talk to you." A voice sounded behind Daryl as he entered the eating area, already seeing eyes glance his way that were filled with curiosity and something that still surprised him, respect.
It seemed that the people from Woodbury and the more recent survivors that they had taken in were concerned for their provider's well-being when it was made public that Michael and Amity were gone, though the council had simply said they were out on a long-distance run.
The tension that Daryl carried with him now more than ever alluded to his concerns on the matter though.
"I don't got a damn thing to say to you." The hunter spit back, not even bothering to turn around until a hand was on his shoulder and he was ripping himself away like he had been stung.
"Take a fuckin' hike before I stomp your ass." Daryl growled, now facing the doctor that had tried to approach him.
Caleb looked at the fuming redneck with wide eyes, hands held up in front of him as a show of surrender though Daryl wanted nothing more than to simply break one of those hands just for seeing the wariness behind his gaze.
The damn pussy would have left Amity to die if they got in a sticky situation out there and look where the guy was now while she was gone, all thanks to him convincing her that it was something that had to be done.
He was tucked safely behind the walls of the prison, yet he still seemed to have some kind of death wish.
Made sense why him and Amity seemed to get along.
"We need to talk, Daryl." Caleb insisted and Daryl scoffed almost immediately, debating whether to walk away and keep some of his sanity intact or drop the sumbitch and make himself feel better.
"Is there a problem here?" A soft voice asked as Carol joined them, the woman looking between both men.
While Daryl didn't take his eyes off of the doctor, Caleb looked over at Carol with a forced smile.
"There's no problem, just having a conversation is all." Caleb said, attempting to cover for the bit of a scene they were making in the entrance to the large and fairly crowded room seeing as it was dinner time.
"I think that the conversation is over now." Carol said simply as a reply, her voice holding no friendliness for the other man and that surprised even Daryl for a moment. "I think you've done enough, Doctor."
Blinking as if he had just been slapped, Dr. S took a moment to compose himself before he seemed to decide it was best to take Carol's advice and move on from the attempted conversation.
Watching as he turned and walked out, Daryl shook his head.
"I had it." He told his friend who shrugged slender shoulders in response.
"I needed a reason," was all Carol said before laying a hand lightly on Daryl's bicep for a brief moment then heading back to where the food was being served.
A couple of voices called out his name over the regular noise of dinner conversation as everything picked back up, and Daryl found himself looking around to spot Rick at a table with his son, Maggie, Glenn, Beth, Zach, and Hershel.
"Come sit with us." Beth insisted and after casting a glance around in an attempt to see if his brother was around, Daryl could find no reason not to.
He crossed the room in a few measured strides and took a seat on the other side of Carl that Rick didn't occupy, tapping the front rim of his hat down over his eyes as Amity usually did in order to bug the kid.
"I want to punch his lights out too." Maggie said, meeting Daryl's eyes to let him know that she was on his side when it came to the doctor.
It was obvious that the younger woman wasn't happy about her friend being away and it was then that Daryl realized he had underestimated everyone else's loyalty to Amity.
She was Maggie's best friend, Beth's mentor, she had gone through Woodbury with Glenn, always joked around with Carl, helped Rick through Lori's death, was the first of them to speak to Zach- the woman had an impact on all of them and they were united in hating the fact that she wasn't amongst them.
Daryl nodded at Maggie in response, a kinder gesture than he had offered over the past couple of days and a smile tugged at the brunette's lips as she returned it.
"So let me get this straight-" Alabama man, who Amity and Michael now knew to be Jake, said as he leaned against the tailgate of the truck that Amity was perched on, her brother standing at her side. "-you two rode horses out of here with biters crawling all over the place?"
"It made sense at the time." Michael said.
"No, it didn't." Amity interjected, shaking her head and pulling a laugh out of two of the three men.
As it seemed, Amity was right when she said that there was a chance the trio was simply doing as they were- trying to survive.
After coming out from hiding, the five of them met on the driveway and it took a fair amount of sizing one another up before they came to be sat where they were now.
"Plus, I didn't ride a horse out. I rode a motorcycle." Amity added, and that captured their attention once more.
"How'd that happen?" The Yankee, Tim, asked as he obviously tried not to seem too eager to get the details.
"Well, I saw Andrea, another member of our group, surrounded and went to help while Michael went after his woman." She explained, her smile only shifting from teasing to gentle when she caught a flash of guilt behind her brother's eyes. "It was because I told him to and she needed more help than me." She added. "But anyways, I went to help Andrea and the poor horse got taken out from under me. I fell and rolled, put a shot between the poor baby's eyes before rising and trying to find her but she was already off somewhere so I made a run for it while the walkers were distracted. I had just made it to the fence when one grabbed me. I wouldn't be here if a bullet didn't tear through it then."
"You would've." Michael insisted.
"You just don't want Daryl to be responsible for saving my life." Amity shot back at her brother with a laugh.
"Daryl?" Jake asked, searching for clarification.
"The guy who saved me. He came back on his motorcycle for me, circled around and shot the walker that had me so I could run and get on the back." She recounted.
"Damn good friend to have if he came back to a herd like that." Tim noted.
"He's the loyal type." Amity replied with a fond smile on her lips.
"Helps that he's sweet on her." Michael added and Amity rolled her eyes.
"So you two are an item then? Where's he at now?" Jake said, obviously confused about why the couple would be separated.
"I guess so." Amity answered, avoiding the second question by hopping off of the back of the truck.
"So if this place was overrun the last time you were here, why in the hell would you come back?" Tim asked, voice gruff.
"Now that is something that you guys can help us with." Amity replied with a smile.
"It's been four days." Carl told his dad as he pushed the blade of the shovel he held into the soft dirt with the sole of his boot.
"I know, Carl." Rick said, a sigh in his voice even though he wasn't sighing.
"It should have only taken four days, right?" Carl asked and Rick shook his head.
"With the car it would have, but her and Michael went on foot at least most of the way. Michonne said she saw their trail while out there and none of the abandoned cars around the area have moved." Rick reasoned, trying to soothe his son's worries the best he could.
"So when should they be back?" Carl asked almost immediately.
Pulling off the hat that covered his head, Rick wiped the sweat from his brow with the sleeve of his shirt as he thought over the question.
"Eight days, maybe ten. Depends on how fast they move and if they get held up anywhere." He answered honestly, receiving a nod from his son in return.
Rick waited a long moment for Carl to say something more, but as the boy focused all of his attention on his work, Rick realized that maybe there was nothing more to be said.
He just hoped his numbers were right and that they'd be seeing the redhead and her rancher brother again soon.
"It was a dark red bag." Amity explained, looking up at the house that she hadn't stepped foot inside in so long.
She remembered Lori, Andrea, and her fighting in the kitchen. She remembered trying to break down Beth's door and the first night Carl was brought to the house. She remembered Daryl laid up after Andrea shot him and her face being sewn up in the kitchen after Shane's explosion at the barn. She remembered T-Dog sitting at the table with Glenn talking about Merle's STD meds while blushing under Maggie's gaze.
So much time was held within the walls of that house and she couldn't find it in her to take another step up the stairs of the porch.
"There was a few bags in there when we got here, nothing useful inside." The third man said, speaking up for the first time in a while and Amity was finally able to place his accent as perhaps either Australian or Kiwi (New Zealand).
"No notebooks or papers?" Amity questioned, not understanding why anyone would take her notebook as most of her notes wouldn't be able to be understood by anyone outside of the scientific field, specifically the biological or psychological.
"No." The man said flatly and the redhead found herself turning to look at him, blue eyes narrowing as she scanned his face.
"Nothing at all that looked like it had been written on?" She asked and he shook his head.
"No."
"If you don't mind, I'd like to look for myself." Amity said, her words a bit sharp and before she could take another step, the man was reaching out for her arm and Michael was moving towards them with noise of warning.
"Whoa- hey. It's been a long day full of excitement, right? Everyone's on edge, but that's no reason to be rude. James didn't mean nothin' by it, did you James?" Jake cut in, apparently seeing the impending fight and wanting to put a stop to it before it happened.
"Not a thing." James replied, his voice holding no semblance of an apology.
"The sun's settin' though, and I know you two have to be tired after traveling here from wherever. Y'all can get some shut eye in the living room if you want- everything's been emptied out of the first floor but the couches are still there." Jake reasoned.
"And the bags that were left?" Michael asked, deep voice now holding a fair amount of suspicion.
"We've been movin' things around quite a bit, but I'm sure we can find whatever was left tomorrow." Jake reassured the older man, offering a friendly smile that Amity was now hesitant to buy with his company looking at her with such blank eyes.
The siblings exchanged a quick look, their suspicions being confirmed in one another's eyes- something wasn't right.
All the same, the woman felt that there wasn't much choice in the situation, so Amity nodded her head and reached out for her brother, wrapping an arm around his bicep.
"You're right, there's always tomorrow." Amity said, voice sweeter than it had been since they came across the strangers.
She felt that perhaps it was too late to play the ruse of innocent and helpless, after all, she had screamed out asking who the fuck they were while wielding a compound bow like it was an extension of herself, but it couldn't hurt to try.
She needed all the cards in her hand that she could at this point, that much she knew as she looked into James' eyes and saw nothing behind their hazel hue.
"Not anymore there isn't." James said, the tone of his voice sending shivers down Amity's spine.
The night was quiet at the prison.
Darkness had fallen like a veil over the grounds, the only light being from the moon in the sky as Daryl leaned against the railing of the guard tower.
The hunter had volunteered for watch that night, his empty cell being harder to face than he would ever admit.
His brother was stood leaning against the wall of the tower behind him, humming to himself as both Dixons' blue eyes scanned the tree line.
"You think Red's still kickin'?" Merle asked, his raspy voice grating against Daryl's eardrums as there was nothing the man wished for more in that moment than silence.
"Take a damn army to kill her." Daryl reasoned, his words confident though his mind wasn't.
For all he knew, she could already be walker chow and he'd be none the wiser to the fact that he'd never see her again.
That wasn't what he believed though. The woman was still alive, he could feel it as plain as he could feel the night breeze against his bare arms.
For some reason the man was sure that if she died, even hundreds of miles away from him, he would know.
The world would stop turning the right way, the sun would fade from the sky- something would happen and he would know.
"People die dumb- can't believe you let her walk her happy ass outta here." Merle said, his voice holding obvious annoyance which had Daryl turning and looking at him with a mix of anger and disbelief.
"I didn't let her do anythin', man. She just left!" He snapped and Merle scoffed in return.
"Guess I can't kick your ass over somethin' I didn't do either. Both of us should of lit out of here after her day one." Merle reasoned and Daryl shook his head.
"She didn't want that." He said, voice quiet.
"Do I look like someone who gives a damn what that red-haired fuckin' pain in my ass wants? I care about keepin' her breathin' and here you are carin' about her feelings." Merle countered gruffly. "You a damn Dixon or not, boy?" He asked.
Shaking his head at the way his brother seemed to be dead-set on riling him up that evening, Daryl turned back to the trees without another word.
Sometimes, when it came to dealing with Merle, it was best to just not to.
That night was spent with the Walker siblings dozing off in shifts.
Neither of the two particularly trusted the three men who had been on the farm when they arrived, especially not James, and they weren't willing to truly risk their necks to keep up appearances, but they did need to rest.
It was now Amity's shift, the redhead perched in an arm chair by the window as she took turns moving her eyes between the farmland outside and the darkened inside of the house.
It wasn't an interesting time, but Amity reasoned it was better that it wasn't. Excitement meant trouble.
Almost as if she had cursed herself simply by thinking as much, Amity heard the wooden floor above the living room shift as a small whimper sounded through the silence of the night.
The noise had the woman perking up almost immediately, her eyes sharp and curious as the sound wasn't one that any of the four men (when including her brother) should be able to make.
The issue was, Amity hadn't seen anyone else and their three new acquaintances had claimed to be the only ones on the farm.
Rising from her seat, Amity picked up her machete from the floor by her feet before she stalked silently towards the hallway.
While Amity had been mentoring Beth to fight, Daryl had taken his time with teaching the woman the arts of moving silently and tracking- not to mention most recently, the crossbow.
Only one of those talents were coming in handy in that moment.
Scanning the empty hall, Amity spared a glance back to her brother who was asleep on the couch before she continued on the familiar path to the stairs. Up them was the room that Daryl had stayed in after being shot, up them was the shower she had used to scrub away Walker blood from her skin when she thought that she couldn't fall any deeper into this hellish world than she had at that point.
What a joke that was.
Pausing at the bottom of the stairs, Amity looked up the darkened flight and stood stark still as she listened.
Again a small noise sounded, the tone high-pitched and that was what pushed the woman to place her boot on the first step.
As the sole touched the worn wood, a sharp pain exploded in the back of Amity's head and she found herself pitching forward, a cry escaping her lips before darkness covered her vision and the last thing she heard was her brother's voice yelling her name from what sounded like miles away.
Grogginess was what greeted Amity when the woman finally blinked open her eyes to be greeted with bright sunlight streaming in through a nearby window.
Squinting against the light, Amity's head spun as she tried to orient herself to her surroundings.
First, she noticed the wood under her legs and found that she was sitting on the floor of one of the second floor rooms of the farmhouse. Second, she finally comprehended the fact that it must be daytime for the sun to be shining through the window.
Before she could get any further, she heard her name from the other side of the room and looked over to see Michael sat with his back against one of the old metal radiators in the house.
"Michael-" Amity began, shifting to move towards him before finding that her hands were bound tightly behind her back. "Mikey, what's going on?" She asked.
Heavy footsteps sounded from outside of the door as he brother spoke up.
"Hey, Bug, it's okay. We're going to be alright." Michael said quickly, his words of reassurance not doing much to calm her as he didn't answer her question which was a big warning flag.
"You're right, mate. It will be as long as the both of you don't do anything stupid." James said as he entered, the heavy steps apparently having belonged to him as he stepped inside the room.
"Stupid? You mean like knocking the hell out of someone who was initially planning on letting you live?" Amity wondered, her words seeming clumsy on her lips as her head was still swimming.
"Sorry, Princess. It was more of a insurance policy than anythin' else. No hard feelings?" Jake said as he entered the room as well, her machete on his hip and as he met her eyes, Amity mustered up the best glare that she could.
"I don't get what's goin' on. We didn't do anythin'. Just- just untie us and we'll be on our way. No harm, no foul." Michael chimed in, his deep voice calm which was in stark contrast with the fire behind his blue eyes.
"Do we look stupid to you, Cowboy?" James wondered, scoffing at Michael's words and sparing him an annoyed glance before returning his eyes to Amity.
"No, we're not letting you two go. Sunshine here has something we need." James continued, tilting his head as he looked at the redhead, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
"Touch her and I swear to God I'll kill you." Michael growled, his words holding nothing but promise as Amity simply returned James' stare, trying to get a read on him.
"We won't. Well, not as long as she cooperates." Jake said, cutting off anything that James was about to.
"What could I possibly have that you need?" Amity asked, voice cold as ice. "You've tied us up, taken our bags, our weapons, surely all of our supplies. What else could I give you?"
Jake and James exchanged a look before James nodded and the other man left the room for a brief moment.
Silence hung over the space like a wet blanket, suffocating and heavy while Amity felt like she couldn't get a lungful of air.
"Deep breaths, Bug. We're gonna be fine." Michael said softly to her, sensing her impending panic as she couldn't help but strain against the ropes under the blankness of James eyes on her.
She was going to die there because of her decision to leave the prison in search of a few papers.
Worst than that, she had dragged her brother along to die too.
Amity was going to fight the three men who had taken them captive every step of the way- she had to- for Daryl, for Michael and Maggie and Rick, but in the back of her mind was the hope that she would die first out of the two of them.
She knew that even living with herself for a second after her brother's death would destroy her.
It was nearly a relief when Jake reentered the room, a familiar bag hanging from his hands as he dug into it and pulled out a familiar notepad stuffed with her writings and the brain scans that she had risked all of this for.
The sight of it pushed all of her heavier thoughts away, her eyes narrowing in on the notebook and she could see the satisfaction and pleasure behind their captor's faces when she did so, apparently revealing that it was, in fact, her's.
"You can give us a doctor." Jake said simply.