DISCLAIMER: I do not own any part of The Walking Dead. This is for entertainment purposes only.

A/N: This one is fairly short but the good news is I am working my way right on through. I already have the next chapter finished for the most part, just have to look it over and fix a few things. I apologize if this one seems a bit confusing.


Hostages.

Up until this point, Leah had tried everything she possibly could to get free. She had bit, scratched, kicked, punched—but none of it made a difference. The guy with the bandana just kept a hold of her. It didn't take long for him to grab her by both arms and try to keep them pinned behind her.

Leah glanced to the side and bit her lip. The other two men were carrying Daryl as they had him by his arms with his feet dragging across the ground. He was still out cold. There was nothing else in her power that she could do. And when she caught sight of a campfire up ahead, she stiffened.

The fire illuminated a handful of figures as Leah realized that there were more than just the three of these guys. Of course. They were one large group, just like Leah's.

"You're not gonna give us any trouble now, are ya? Behave like a good little girl and do as I say." The man released Leah's arms and placed a firm grip on her shoulder. She could already tell this guy was up to something, that he was scheming. She didn't know what though.

Two people stepped forward as Leah and Daryl were brought into the camp. The one was a tall black male with a strong physique and a black stocking cap. It was a woman who accompanied him. They looked as though they could be related, family of some sort. Not to mention, they both looked confused.

Leah glanced back for Daryl again as she watched the two men carry him off a little ways away. Another man joined them, handing over a roll of duct tape as they set him on the ground and secured his wrists behind his back. A few pats on her shoulder drew her attention back to the mysterious figures.

"Found this little girl out there on her own. This guy tried attacking her. Lucky we found her when we did." He tightened his grip on Leah's shoulder once she flinched at his words.

"That's awful," the woman frowned. "But I'm glad everything worked out then… Are you okay?" She looked at Leah, directing the question towards her. But Leah kept quiet, she didn't move and she didn't say a thing.

"Probably a little shell-shocked. There are some sick people out there," The man with the bandana continued, shaking his head.

The man in front of Leah looked over towards Daryl for a moment, "So what are you going to do with that guy?"

"Figured we'll bring him back with us. All else fails, I think he'd be able to provide us with some helpful information. He had a Glock and a crossbow—pretty well to do if you ask me."

The man and woman just kind of nodded before retreating back towards the fire with other three. Seemingly satisfied in pulling off his lie, bandana guy led Leah over towards a different group of more men—two others to be exact.

"Think you can keep an eye on this one? I've got some business to tend to." Bandana guy nodded his head in Daryl's direction all while patting Leah on the head. She gritted her teeth in frustration but when he removed his hand, she couldn't help but look back. Daryl must have been awake now with the way the three were crowding around him.

Leah made to move towards them, to move to where she could at least see Daryl through them but was grabbed by the arm and yanked back.

"Little girl, you might want to find a better place to be."


When Daryl opened his eyes, he was half expecting to be blinded by some god awful bright light or the sun beaming down—but it was dark. It took him a moment to register everything. It was night, he was sitting with his back propped up against a tree somewhere in the middle of the woods, and his head was pounding. Not only that but he had the three men from earlier looming over him, and when he tried to move, he quickly found out that his wrists and ankles were bound.

"Would ya look at that, he's awake." The man with the bandana spoke, placing his hands on his hips. Daryl tried to look passed him and find Leah but between the three of them, they did a mighty fine job of blocking his view. "Got some questions for ya."

"Good for you. I ain't interested," Daryl retorted.

The Asian now bent down to his level, not far from his face. He grinned, "I'd be a little more cooperative if I were you. That little girl of yours? She's awfully pretty, if you know what I mean…"

Daryl gritted his teeth. He had no way of attacking this guy, the one thing he wanted more than anything in that moment. So he did the next best thing sure to get any man's blood boiling: he spit directly in his face.

The Asian flinched as he wiped Daryl's saliva from his face, cursing under his breath. The action didn't go unpunished so to speak as the Asian slammed his fist into the side of Daryl's face. The force behind the punch knocked Daryl onto his side, unable to catch himself.

"Tim," the man with the bandana's voice was full of warning.

"You would have done the same fucking thing, Crowley. Don't give me that shit," Tim harped.

This Crowley guy ignored him as he took Tim's place and crouched down to Daryl's level. "You look like you've been handling yourself pretty well. Surely there's more than just you and the girl… There others to your group?"

Daryl disregarded him and once again tried to see passed. He could make out a small campfire that was burning not too incredibly far from where he was lying but he couldn't pinpoint the figures.

"Alright, I'm going to take that as a yes," Crowley continued. "So where is it that the rest of you are hiding?" When Daryl still refused to speak, Crowley sent a kick to his stomach out of frustration. It didn't take much to realize these guys had no patience and a very low tolerance.

Tim grabbed Crowley by his arm and pulled him back for a moment, talking in a hushed tone. "If we bring these two back, I think the Governor will be pleased. Maybe we can get promoted or something. I mean, wasn't that the reason we came out here anyway?"

"Yeah, but we have the other five as well," Crowley replied.

"But those five are it; there aren't any others to their group. We have a chance to find more supplies if we can get this guy to talk. Or maybe the girl?"

Daryl tensed up at the mentioning of Leah. So far she must be alright then. There was no way in hell he was going to stand for these assholes to lay a finger on her. If it made them feel any better, they could just keep hitting him for all he cared.

The third guy had stepped away from Daryl now and joined Tim and Crowley. "Maybe we could just let them go. Like Crowley said, we're already bringing back those other five. And that black guy looks like he could be pretty valuable."

"Don't you pussy out on us now, Neil," Tim pointed a finger.

"I'm just saying… I don't want what happened to Tony and Dave to happen to us. I mean, Nate just barely made it back. And Randall—they're all dead, I'm sure of it. All because they got mixed up with the wrong people."

"They were all too smug and Randall was a complete waste of space, they had what was coming to them. That guy isn't going anywhere," Crowley motioned in Daryl's direction.

This conversation seemed all too familiar as Daryl could recall the name Randall. Surely it wasn't just a coincidence. It had to be the same guy. The kid that he tortured, the kid that Shane killed. The sudden realization sent a chill down Daryl's spine as Randall's words resurfaced from his memory:

"…One night we—we found this little campsite. A man and his two daughters—teenagers, you know? Real young. Real cute. Their daddy had to watch while these guys—they—and they didn't even kill him afterwards. They just—they just made him watch as his daughters—they just—just left him there…"

Oh, hell no.

Daryl struggled to try and push himself up onto his knees. He wouldn't be able to get on his feet and even if he could it wouldn't do him any good. But maybe he could try and pick at the tape binding his ankles. He had to do something. He couldn't let these guys touch Leah.

But just as he managed to get to his knees, Crowley walked back over to him in just a few swift strides and punched him in the face once again, causing him to land back on his side with a pretty hefty impact.

"Fuck you," Daryl spat, growling.

"Oh, you want to talk now?" Crowley grinned.

"Get this duct tape off me and I'll give ya lots to talk about," Daryl retorted, spitting bits of dead leaves and dirt from his mouth.

"Too bad that's not happening," Tim crossed his arms.

"Pussies," Daryl grumbled, narrowing his eyes.


Leah could hear some of the things that the men were saying but for some reason, that wasn't the part that bothered her. It's the fact that she could hear every hit they landed on him, whether it was a punch or a kick. The fact that he had no way to defend himself. And the fact that there was nothing she could do to help with these men watching her like a hawk. It took everything she had to bite her lip and hold back from crying. Shedding tears wasn't going to get her anywhere. She had to pull herself together and figure a way out of this mess. After all, it's partially her fault that they're there in the first place. She knew Daryl would come back to the motel eventually but she just wanted to be able to find him and apologize for what she said.

"Hey… are you okay?"

Leah turned at the soft voice nearby, coming to find out that it was the woman from earlier. But even though she was a woman, Leah had nothing to say to her. She didn't want anything to do with any of these people. Actually, that was a lie. She wanted her Glock back…

"Would you like to join us?" the woman tried a different approach.

There were a lot of things that drifted through Leah's mind that she could reply back with, most of them being bitter. But she bit her tongue and hesitantly walked over with the woman towards the small fire that was still going. The man from earlier was over there, as well as another man, a younger looking guy most likely in his teens, and another woman. They looked friendly enough but looks could be deceiving.

"My name's Sasha," the woman introduced herself. "My brother, Tyreese. And that's Allen, his wife Donna, and their son Ben."

Leah just looked at all of them as Sasha blurted their names. She still wasn't too fond on talking to these people, especially if they had anything to do with those men.

"You were out here all alone? Unarmed?" Tyreese leaned forward to get a clearer view of Leah passed Sasha.

"I had a gun," Leah crossed her arms, staring into the fire. "Those guys took it."

"The guy that attacked you?" Sasha questioned.

"No, the other guys. Everything they told you was a lie."

"What do you mean?... Who is that guy then? Were you with him?" Tyreese continued.

She wasn't sure why these people seemed so clueless. The thought crossed her mind that maybe they weren't really with those other men, maybe they're different. Maybe they had been picked up by this group too.

Leah bit her lip, "He's my dad."