Chapter Twenty-Nine

''Shit man, stab that one over there!'' Daryl yelled to Glenn, who quickly did what the hunter said, stabbing one of the walkers closest to the corner of the metal fence with a crowbar. Nearly everyone was standing in the front yard of the house, trying to fight off the herd of walkers that was pushing against the metal fence. They could actually see the fence moving a little due to the amount of walkers that were pushing up against it.

''How in the hell is this even possible?! I thought this thing was made from freaking metal!'' T-Dog called out before bashing another walker's skull in with a hammer, the blow of the impact making blood spatter against the other walkers standing next it that merely moaned while they looked at T-Dog, trying to reach out to him with their decaying hands.

''It's rusting on the lower sides, this fence is getting old!'' Rick replied, shoving a metal pole between the eyes of one of the walkers that was snapping its mouth at him, eagerly trying to get a hold of some fresh meat.

''Beth look out! Not so close!'' Maggie told her younger sister, quickly pushing the blonde girl back a little since she was standing too close to the fence while she was trying to stab another walker with a metal pole as well.

''Carol, Lori! Those ones over there!'' Rick said to the two women as he pointed to the left side of the fence, and they both ran over to two thin walkers that were trying to squeeze themselves through the fence, actually nearly splitting their own heads in the process by the force they were using. Lori stabbed one of the walkers right between its eyes with her knife, while Carol bashed the other walker's skull in with a crowbar.

''Dad! Over there!'' Carl shouted to his father, who looked at him, seeing the boy standing by the door of the house, pointing at five walkers pushing each other against the right side of the fence, the metal making a loud protesting noise since it was being bent by the weight pressing up against it.

''Fuck, I need my crossbow! That big walker at the end over there is pushin' those others harder against the fence!'' Daryl suddenly called out as he eyed the heavy walker that was standing behind a few thin looking walkers, pushing them against the metal fence with all of its power because it was so eager that it was seeing fresh meat after all the time it had been roaming the streets. Rick gave Daryl a quick nod that he had heard his comment before the hunter made his way over to the house again, quickly running into the hallway.

Daryl ran up the first flight of stairs, freezing in the hallway when he suddenly heard a voice scream out. ''Get off of me you asshole!'' A familiar female voice yelled in fear. Daryl's eyes widened since he would recognize that voice from anywhere.

''Riley,'' he whispered to himself, quickly running up the next flight of stairs as fury slowly began to build up inside of him. He opened the door to their bedroom, suddenly freezing for a split second at the sight in front of him. He saw a man on top of Riley on the bed, straddling her waist while she was screaming at him in fear, trying to pull her hands free from his hand that was holding her wrists tightly above her head while his other hand was fumbling with the button of her jeans, trying to open the piece of clothing.

''GET THE FUCK OFF OF HER!'' Daryl roared in rage before grabbing the man's shoulders, pulling him off of Riley in one swift movement. Riley cowered into herself, trying to close her shredded blouse while it was no use because the man had ripped it open in full force, the buttons had flown everywhere on floor. She quickly jumped off the bed, making her way over to Noah who the man had roughly shoved backwards against the closet when the boy had been pounding on the man's back with his tiny fists to stop him from hurting her. The boy had fallen against the closet with such a hard smack that he was lying unconscious on the floor.

''Noah? Noah wake up baby!'' Riley said as she shakily cupped Noah's cheeks. The poor boy had a bloody nose due to impact of the blow. Tears were falling from Riley's eyes as she looked at the small boy who was not waking up. ''Noah please,'' she murmured in a soft voice, pleading for the boy to wake up. Suddenly Noah slowly opened up his eyes, making Riley sigh a breath of relief before she gathered the boy in her arms, hugging him close to her chest.

''You fuckin' piece of shit!'' She suddenly heard Daryl yell as he threw another punch in the man's face who was lying on the ground. The man tried to defend himself, trying to push Daryl off of him but it was no use, Daryl was seeing red in front of his eyes. This asshole had put his hands on Riley, he had written his own dead sentence. Daryl was punching the guy so hard in his face that he could literally hear bones crushing underneath his fists as he now directed another punch against the side of the man's head. He hadn't even realized in all his rage that this movement was actually the final blow which instantly stopped the man from fighting back.

''Daryl look out!'' He suddenly heard Riley call out. Daryl looked up, seeing another man who was nearly twice his size running up to him. He got shoved off of the man he had now probably beaten to dead and fell down on the bed.

''Ya stupid fuck!'' The other man yelled as he had seen that his comrade was beaten to pulp on the floor. He attacked Daryl and was a lot stronger, making it difficult for Daryl to defend himself.

''Stay here,'' Riley said to Noah, leaving him sitting in the corner of the room. She quickly got up from the floor, running towards the two fighting men. ''Stop it! Get off of him!'' She shouted, punching the man on his back with her fists. He just grunted since Riley's fists were nothing to him but merely some irritating stings on his back, before he shoved her backwards, making her fall on the floor. She gritted in pain because she had fallen straight on her back, her injured shoulder blade screaming in protest.

''Riley!'' Noah called out, wanting to go over to her but she stopped him.

''Stay there Noah!'' She ordered him, making the boy flop back down on his butt again.

As she'd looked over at him, she noticed a gun lying on the floor next to the bed, realizing she'd seen it on the man that had initially attacked her. She quickly grabbed the gun from the floor and without thinking about it some more; she shot the man that was attacking Daryl right in his head. The man instantly dropped down on Daryl, who grunted at the full weight of the heavy man on top of him. He rolled the man off of him before getting up from the bed. He saw Riley sitting there on the floor looking at the dead man in front of her with widened eyes while her hands were barely holding onto the gun.

Daryl quickly crouched down in front of her, taken the gun from her shaking hands before tugging it in the back of his jeans. ''Are ya okay?'' He asked in concern as he looked at her. She didn't respond, still looking at the dead man in clear shock.

''Riles,'' Daryl said, gently taking her chin in his hands, making her look at him. ''Are ya okay?'' He asked again, needing to hear that she was alright. She slowly nodded as she looked into his familiar blue eyes before she threw her arms around his neck, relieved that he was there with her. Daryl wrapped his arms around her, hugging her close. Riley had been so afraid but the feeling of security washed over her the minute she was in Daryl's arms. If he had gotten there any later, who knows what that man would've done to her?

''I just- I just killed... He-he could've... killed you,'' she muttered in shock, making Daryl tighten his hold on her a little in comfort.

''Ya did the right thing, that man was dangerous.'' He assured her, trying to make her realize that she didn't do anything wrong. That man had written his own dead sentence by breaking into their house like that and attacking members of their group. After a moment Daryl pulled back from her before cupping her cheek, but he instantly pulled back his hand when she suddenly flinched at his touch. He frowned before pulling back her long hair, seeing she had a big bruise on the right side of her face. ''That motherfucker,'' Daryl said, his anger rising again.

He suddenly heard Noah silently sniffling to himself, seeing the boy rubbing the sleeve of his cardigan over his face that was full of tears and now also blood. Daryl's jaw tightened at the sight, making his way over to the boy who was still sitting in the corner of the room before crouching down in front of him. He pulled out the red bandana from the back pocket of his jeans and carefully wiped the blood off of the boy's face with the piece of cloth, before gently pressing it against his bleeding nose.

''Hold this against your nose kid,'' he said to Noah who did what he said. He helped the boy up on his feet and Noah quickly took a hold of Daryl's hand with his smaller one, frightened to let go. Even though everything surrounding them was screaming danger to Noah, Daryl's touch was able to calm him down since the hunter just radiated safety and protection to the young boy, even though Daryl might not have been realizing it himself.

''What the hell is going on here!?'' They suddenly heard Rick call out as the man had heard the gunshot from inside the house. Both Riley and Daryl looked at the door, seeing Rick standing there with a shocked expression on his face as he now noticed the two dead men lying on the floor.

''That fucker tried to rape her!'' Daryl said in anger as he pointed at the man that was bruised black and blue with blood all over his face. Rick's eyes widened at the news before he looked back at Riley who had a large bruise on the side of her face, seeing the blouse that she wore was nearly torn to shreds while she had crossed her arms in front of her chest, trying to cover herself.

Daryl led Noah to Riley who instantly took the boy in her arms, trying to calm him down. ''It's okay, we're okay now.'' She soothed the boy, brushing away the tears from his cheeks that just wouldn't stop falling from his eyes.

''Rick! Rick?! The fence is not holding!'' They all heard Glenn shout downstairs.

''Shit!'' Rick cursed in frustration and quickly ran out of the room. Daryl looked at Riley and Noah, seeing them looking at him with fear in their eyes.

''Ya two go downstairs and take your bags; we need to get out of here fast.'' Daryl said to them and Riley quickly nodded.

''I'll go and help Rick, you two stay away from the front door and wait till I come and get ya.'' He told Riley who nodded again, not being able to speak. Daryl brushed his hand over her uninjured cheek, making her look up at him. ''We'll get out of here, I promise.'' He assured her and pressed his lips against her forehead for a few seconds before he pulled away. He picked up his crossbow that was standing against the closet and ran out of their bedroom.

Riley quickly walked over to the closet, taking out a top and a thick cardigan, throwing the shredded blouse she currently had on onto the floor. She quickly pulled on her new clothes before she ran over to her nightstand, fishing out a large bandage from the bottom drawer. ''Come here Noah,'' she said to the boy as she sat on the bed. Noah did what she said and walked over to her before she quickly turned him around, lowering the hood of his cardigan. She eyed the bite wound on the back of his neck in concern before she placed the large bandage on it, covering it up.

She turned him around again, zipping up his cardigan a little higher so people were not able to see his neck that well. ''Don't tell anyone about what daddy did to you, okay? I'll take care of it.'' She mentioned to the boy who nodded again. Riley knew that what she was doing was wrong, but for now she had other problems to worry about and that was getting Noah out of this house and to safety. She stood up from the bed and quickly picked up her crossbow that was standing against her nightstand. ''Okay, c'mon, we need to get our bags.'' She said, taking Noah's hand in her own before the two of them ran out of the bedroom, making their way downstairs.


Meanwhile Rick and Daryl were standing in the room they used for keeping watch, viewing the scene in the front garden. They saw that the others were still busy with stabbing the walkers by the fences but the herd was only getting larger as they were attracting walkers from the park as well as the ones roaming the other streets. ''We need a distraction to get out at the back of the house. That herd will eventually tear down the fence and once that happens it will be a matter of seconds before they are able to enter the house. It's not safe to stay here anymore.'' Rick said to Daryl as he frowned.

Daryl stared a little longer at the scene in front of them before coming up with an idea. ''Those two upstairs, they're already dead, we dump them out of this window as bait and distraction.'' He said to Rick who looked at him in surprise.

''Think that will work?'' He asked the hunter who frowned. ''It'll work, I reckon. We just need to be fast. A couple of us gotta stay here to hold the ones off that will probably wander in the garden since those two bodies are probably not enough to keep them all distracted for long.'' Daryl mentioned and Rick nodded.

''We need to try and reach the cars; we're vulnerable on foot if we want to get away from here fast.''

''Alrigh', who's gonna stay behind?'' Daryl asked.

''You and me, along with T-Dog and Glenn. Maggie too, she's fast. The rest will head to the park and we'll all meet up there.'' Rick replied and Daryl nodded in agreement.

''C'mon, let's get those two,'' Rick said to the hunter and the two men ran out of the room again, heading up the stairs to the second floor.

In the meantime, Riley was giving Noah his backpack as they were standing in the hallway downstairs before she picked up her own backpack as well. She flinched at the sudden pain shot she felt running through her body as she felt the weight of her backpack, the wound on her left shoulder blade clearly bothering her. She pushed through the pain and took Noah's hand in her own while the other was still holding onto the heavy crossbow. They made they were over to the living room in order to wait for Daryl to tell them what their next move would be. Riley's eyes widened at the sight she saw in front of them when she looked out of the window. Countless walkers were standing closely behind the metal fence, trying to reach the members of her group who were trying with all of their power to hold back the herd from tearing down their last form of security.

She suddenly yelped out in surprise as she saw something fall on the ground right in front of the window. She frowned and walked closer to the window in order to see what it was. Her eyes widened as she noticed it was the man that had initially attacked her.

''Guys! Get inside of the house and get your bags! We're getting out of here!'' She abruptly heard Rick call out before she saw another body fall into the front yard.

She heard the front door open before hearing many footsteps and voices entering the hallway. Riley and Noah made their way over to the hallway as well, seeing everyone collecting their bags while Rick and Daryl were running down the stairs.

''That fence is not going to hold for long. We're going through the back and head over to the park. T-Dog, Maggie and Glenn, you're gonna stay here with Daryl and I to hold off the herd as long as we possibly can so the others can get out. When they have a head start on foot, we will try and get to our cars, we will need them since we're losing this house.'' Rick instructed, the rest nodding in understanding.

''Okay, c'mon people haul your asses!'' Daryl called out and everyone followed him over the kitchen before making their way outside. Daryl fired off a bolt at a thin walker who managed to squeeze through the fence, having lost one of its arms in the process.

''Shit! The fence is down!'' Glenn suddenly called out as he had looked behind him, seeing the walkers entering the front yard. Rick quickly ran over to the back gate, opening the lock with his key.

''Okay guys, run to the park, hide out there until we come and get you.'' Rick instructed Lori, Carol and Hershel while Beth was holding onto Carl's hand. They all ran out of the back gate before Rick locked it behind him again to at least have the walkers not entering the other gardens of the house that fast.

''Piece of shit!'' They heard Daryl call out, seeing him stab a nearing walker in the head.

''Go now!'' Rick said to half of his group, who quickly did what he said and they started to run into the garden of the next house. Rick and the others ran off in the other direction, fighting of the walkers that were now rounding the corner of the house.

Riley however was standing frozen to the spot with Noah holding her hand as she looked at Daryl who now pushed a walker off of him before punching it in the head with his crossbow. ''Daryl! We're not leaving you!'' She called out to him.

''Go to the park, we'll meet up there!'' Daryl shouted to her as he fired another bolt.

''But Daryl I can't ju-'' she started to protest since she didn't actually agree with the initial plan. She was afraid to leave Daryl after what'd happened back at the farm.

However, Daryl abruptly cut her off before she was able to finish her sentence. ''Get Noah to safety Riley! NOW!'' He nearly snapped at her before giving her a hard look, letting her know it was not up for discussion.

''You better come back to me Daryl, '' she said to him and he quickly nodded to her.

''I promise, now go!'' He told her before running over to the side of the house, stabbing another walker in the head.

''C'mon Riley!'' Lori called out and Riley looked behind her, seeing Lori, Carol, Hershel, Beth and Carl waiting for her in the garden of the next house. She looked back at Daryl one last time, seeing him shoving a walker off of him on the ground before smashing its head in with his foot.

Riley ran over to the rest holding Noah's hand tightly in her own, making sure the boy would not leave her side. They ran through the many gardens, occasionally jumping over some fences, before being stopped as three walkers made their way towards them. Since Riley was holding onto Noah's hand, she wasn't able to shoot with her crossbow. She stopped and let go of Noah's hand before aiming her weapon in front of her, gritting her teeth a little as she felt another pain shot through her shoulder due to the heaviness of the crossbow. She fired off a bolt, impaling the walker that was stumbling towards them. Lori and Carol managed to stab the other two remaining walkers before they continued running.

Riley felt that Noah was getting tired, hearing him breathing loudly as he tried to keep up with their fast pace. She knew it was because he was bitten since Carl was still able to run along with the rest without losing speed. She quickly slung her crossbow over right shoulder before picking the boy up into her arms. The total weight she was now carrying with her was wearing her down but she bit through the pain she felt in her left shoulder, trying to keep up with the rest as they now turned around the corner at the end of the street.

''Incoming!'' Lori suddenly called out and they stopped again, seeing four more walkers making their way over towards them.

''Noah, I'm going to put you down for a sec, '' Riley said to her cousin before carefully placing him down on the ground again. She quickly got her crossbow off of her back while Noah clung to her side in fear. She reloaded her weapon and fired off another bolt, hitting one of the bigger walkers in the head that instantly dropped down on the ground.

Lori and Carol took out another walker with their knives while Beth and Hershel were doing the same to the third walker. Carl was shouting at his mom that he could help as well but the older brunette just gave him one stern look that instantly made the boy back down. Meanwhile, Riley had quickly reloaded her crossbow, firing off another bolt. Only this time it impaled the remaining walker in the shoulder instead of its head. It stumbled a little before regaining balance and kept on walking towards them. ''Fuck!'' Riley cursed in frustration, her burning shoulder screaming in protest which clearly had affected her straight aim. In the corner of her eye she thankfully saw Carol making her way over to the walker before she stabbed it right in the head with her knife.

''C'mon, we need to get to the park!'' Lori called out before she started to run again, followed by the rest. As Beth was running behind Lori, Carl and Carol with her father, she noticed that Riley was falling behind.

''Stop everyone!'' She suddenly called out, making the others stop and look back at teenage girl in confusion. Riley took a few more steps before she reached the others.

''Why-why... are we... stopping?'' She barely managed to get out, being out of breath.

''Give him to me,'' Beth suddenly said to her as the blonde girl had noticed that Riley was in pain since she was holding a tired Noah in her arms while trying to keep up with the rest, carrying her heavy bag along with her crossbow.

''No, it's okay Beth.'' Riley started to protest because she didn't want to hand Noah over to another person as the boy was starting to show certain symptoms of the disease spreading through his body but Beth shook her head.

''This isn't good for your shoulder, please Riley.'' Beth said and Riley looked at Noah, seeing that the boy was slowly burning up. She got a lump in her throat as she knew what caused it. She knew that she was slowing down the others if she kept on carrying Noah.

''Okay, take him.'' She said to Beth after a moment. The blonde girl took Noah in her arms before the group started to run again. Beth had initially frowned as she held Noah in her arms, clearly feeling that the boy was burning up as he was clinging on to her, his forehead pressed against the side of her neck.


In the meantime back at the house, Daryl shot off another one of his bolts with his trusty crossbow, taking down a rather large looking walker with half of his face gone. ''Stay away from the fence!'' Rick called out to the rest as they dodged a few walkers while they were running through the grass at the side of the house since the garden of the house was now filling up with walkers, eager to gnaw on the dead men that Rick and Daryl had thrown out of the house earlier.

As they reached the front of the house, Rick saw ten more walkers coming towards them. ''Okay, we need to get those before we are able to reach the cars,'' Rick instructed them. As he was about to take a step into the direction of the street, a gunshot was heard.

''Ah fuck!'' Glenn suddenly called out, grabbing his arm in pain.

''Glenn!'' Maggie said in shock, making her way over to him.

''Shit get behind those dumpsters!'' Rick called out and everyone did what he said, running after him to hide behind two metal dumpsters that were standing at the side of the next house.

''You okay?'' T-Dog asked as he looked at Glenn, who pulled away his hand from his arm to inspect the wound. ''Yeah, I think it just grazed me.'' Glenn said in pain while Maggie now checked to see if he was alright.

''There are two more fuckers at that house across the street!'' Daryl suddenly called out as he had looked behind the side of the dumpster to see where the gunshot came from.

Rick looked as well and saw two men standing by the window of the first floor. ''Never gonna get to them cars ya stupid dumbasses!'' One called out with a big grin on his face while the other laughed in amusement.

''Fuck! How are we gonna reach them cars?'' Daryl asked Rick who frowned in frustration.

''Shit incoming! We need to get out of here!'' T-Dog called out, seeing five walkers stumbling towards them.

''We need those cars.'' Rick said to Daryl who frowned, trying to think of something.

''Alrigh', you distract them while I head over to that house.'' Daryl said and Rick looked at him as if he had grown a second head.

''Bu-''

''I'll make it, just fuckin' do it Grimes!'' Daryl snapped at the man in frustration.

''Okay, we got you covered.'' Rick said and Daryl nodded, hoisting his heavy crossbow securely on his back.

''Guys! When I make the call you start shooting at those two over there in that house across the street. Daryl is gonna go over to them and take 'em out.'' Rick informed the others that were crouched down behind him and they all nodded in understanding.

''Okay... one... two... now!'' He called and they all stood up, firing at the window of the house.

''Aah fuck!'' One man called out in surprise, quickly moving away from the open window while the other man was too late, Rick shooting the man right in his face.

''Go Daryl!'' Rick called out after a moment; now shooting down two walkers that were drawn to the noise they were making wit their guns.

Daryl ran towards the sidewalk, dodging at least five walkers before he reached the house across the street. The others were still firing at the man inside the house, making it impossible for him to shoot back. Daryl quietly made his way into the house, silently walking up the stairs with vengeance on his mind. That asshole in that room upstairs was going to pay for what he and his men did to Ade, Riley and Noah. He quietly opened the door, seeing the man standing next to the window while he tried to peek around the corner to see if it was clear to shoot again. He clearly hadn't heard Daryl entering due to the gunshots that were heard outside since Rick and the others were now shooting at the walkers that were nearing them while they were still hiding behind the metal dumpsters to avoid being shot.

''Hey, fucker!'' The man suddenly heard a gruff voice call out. He looked at the direction of the door, his eyes widening in shock as he saw the man he and his comrades had been calling Robin Hood the whole time, standing there with his crossbow aimed directly at him. ''Eat this,'' Daryl grumbled before he shot off his bolts, impaling the man right in his neck. The man coughed, chocking on his own blood as he looked at Daryl with widened eyes.

''Not so tough are ya now huh? Fuckin' piece of shit.'' Daryl said with no mercy in his voice as he looked at the man who was couching violently, blood pouring out of his mouth and onto his shirt. ''Filthy animal.'' Daryl grumbled as he looked at the man who continued to suffer for a few more moments before the hunter shot another bolt at him, impaling the man right between his eyes.

Daryl carefully made his way over to the window, trying to peek around the corner. A shot was fired again, nearly hitting him right in the head. ''Fuck Rick, it's me!'' He shouted at the top of his lungs. He looked out of the window again, seeing that Rick was now looking up at him. ''I'm gonna throw 'em out!'' Daryl hollered at him before he crouched down, pulling the man he just killed from the floor. He grunted due to the man's weight but his anger gave him the strength to hoist the man over the windowsill and out of the window, dropping the body in the front yard of the house.

The walkers had already heard Daryl yell and turned around at the sound, making their way over to the house. They spotted the body that Daryl had thrown out of the window and eagerly made their way over to it. Daryl hoisted the other man that was already shot earlier over the windowsill as well, dumping the body on the ground below.

He quickly made his way down the stairs again before running out of the backdoor. He ran towards the side of the house, spotting at least fifteen walkers surrounding the dead bodies in the front yard, feasting on the flesh as they were tearing out one of the dead man's intestines and stuffing it into their mouths. One walker was eagerly gnawing on an arm he had torn off, while another one was sitting beside it, biting off the fingers of the dead limb.

Daryl looked across the street, seeing Rick pointing into the direction of the cars that now only had six walkers surrounding them since the walkers had split up into two groups. He knew that if they would act fast, they were able to get to the cars and head to the park. He gave Rick a quick nod in understanding and Rick held up his hand, silently counting down from three to one with his fingers before everyone ran over to the street, trying to reach their cars.


Meanwhile, the other members of the group had finally reached the edge of the park after facing at least ten more walkers on their way over to the place they would gather. ''We need to get into some trees!'' Riley said to them, knowing that the park would probably have walkers roaming in it as well. It would be safer for them if they were sitting higher up.

''Near the fountain, the others will meet us there.'' Lori replied.

After five more minutes of running through the tall grass of the park, they finally reached the big fountain that Daryl had mentioned during their meeting this morning.

''Okay those two big trees over there will do.'' Riley said, pointing at two trees that had rather thick looking branches and was fully covered with leafs. They ran over to the trees before Carl was the first one to be climbing into one of the trees, followed by Lori and Carol. Beth made her way over to the other tree, climbing in first before she sat on a thick branch, hoisting Noah into her arms as her father held up the boy to her reaching hands. Hershel climbed into the tree as well before Riley was the last one standing on the ground.

''C'mon Riley, there are more walkers coming!'' Beth called out as she saw four walkers stumbling into the rusty gates that were separating the fountain from the wide open space of grass on the other side of the park. Riley quickly climbed into the tree as well, gritting her teeth again as her injured shoulder blade was screaming in protest. She almost lost her grip on the branch she was holding onto due to the excruciating pain she felt coursing through her body but a warm hand instantly wrapped itself around her wrist.

She looked up, seeing that Hershel was holding on to her to keep her from falling down the tree. ''C'mon girl, a little more.'' The older man said, using all of his strength to pull her up since she was not only carrying her heavy bag but also her crossbow. She finally reached the thick branch Hershel, Beth and Noah were sitting on and breathed out a sigh of relief, carefully leaning her back against the tree.

They waited there for nearly thirty minutes and began to get worried about the others. ''What if they didn't make it out of there?'' Beth said in worry, praying that her older sister was alright.

''They will Beth dear, don't worry.'' Hershel said to his daughter. Beth slowly nodded and brushed away Noah's bangs, feeling that the boy was now really sweating heavily. She looked at the boy in concern as he was tiredly trying to keep his eyes open. She noticed that Riley was looking at the both of them with an evident frown on her face.

As Beth was about to open her mouth to say something, they suddenly heard the sounds of cars in the distance. Riley's ears instantly perked as she heard the familiar sound of Daryl's motorcycle, breathing out a sigh of relief. They saw three cars nearing them, led by Daryl on his motorcycle. The vehicles stopped near the rusty gates and the others in the trees quickly climbed down the thick branches.

''Oh my God, I was so worried!'' Beth said to Maggie as she ran towards her sister, followed by Hershel. The small family instantly hugged each other, relieved that nothing had happened to either of them. Carl also ran over to his father, flinging his arms around his neck in relief. Even Lori stepped up to her husband, hugging both him and Carl.

Riley, who was standing near them with Noah clinging on to her waist looked at the sight, getting a lump in her throat as it instantly made her think back at her uncle. She had lost him and was also going to lose her cousin in the process as well.

Daryl quickly made his way over to her before pulling her into his arms. ''Ya alrigh'?'' He asked her as he hugged her close.

''I'm okay,'' she muttered in a soft voice, a few tears falling from her eyes because she was feeling both sad and relieved at the same time. If she had lost Daryl, she wouldn't even want to go on anymore. Daryl pulled back, brushing away the tears from her face with his thumbs. It broke his heart to see her looking at him with so much sadness in her eyes. He suddenly heard Noah sniffling beside her and he crouched down to the boy's level. He noticed that Noah looked rather flushed and was sweating but he thought it was probably due to all the running the others had been doing to actually reach this park.

Noah looked at him with a face full of tears and suddenly flung his arms around Daryl's neck, making the hunter freeze up for a moment before he pulled the boy into his arms. ''It's gonna be okay kid,'' he assured the boy as he gently rubbed his large hand over the boy's back. After a moment he pulled back and Riley pulled Noah in her arms again before they walked over to Rick, knowing that they needed to discuss what they were going to do now.

''We can't go back to the house, there were at least thirty walkers if not more,'' Rick said as they all stood near the cars.

''What are we going to do now?'' Carol asked, being worried about the unknown that was now lying ahead of them.

''I say we just continue and head up East to see if we can find a better place to stay at. There has to be some sort of place where we can stay permanently.'' Rick said and the others looked at him in worry.

''Well, we have enough gas to get as far away from this place as possible, who knows if that herd will eventually make its way over here as well,'' Daryl mentioned, trying to come up with some sort of plan.

Riley was barely listening to what the others were saying, not really caring where they would head off to since she had her own worries now with Noah. She looked at the boy in her arms, seeing that he was nearly falling asleep. She placed her hand against his forehead again, feeling the burning heat against her palm. She frowned, trying to figure out what to do.

She placed her hand on Daryl's bicep, gaining the hunter's attention. ''I'm going to go sit over there at the fountain, Noah's tired from all the running.'' She said to him and the hunter looked at Noah, seeing the boy was barely able to keep his eyes open. Daryl nodded in reply and Riley quietly made her way over the fountain.

''Daryl?'' He suddenly heard Beth say and he looked in her direction.

''I think something is wrong with Noah.'' The blonde girl said to him.

''What'cha mean? He's just tired from all that runnin'.'' Daryl replied since Riley had just told him that but the teenage girl shook her head.

''I think he has a fever or something, look at Carl, he's alright, tired but alright.'' Beth mentioned and Daryl looked at Carl, seeing he was only brushing the back of his hand over his eyes, but he was not red in his face anymore from all the running nor was he sweating either. Noah, on the other hand, looked like he had swallowed a hot pepper by the rate he was sweating. It actually didn't make that much sense since the group had already been able to get some rest in the past half hour or so.

''We need to find some meds or it just might get worse.'' Beth told him in concern, making Daryl frown at her before he looked behind him. In the distance he saw Riley sitting on the edge of the fountain with Noah on her lap, seeing her saying something to him as she brushed away his bangs from his eyes. The boy suddenly coughed loudly, and Riley gently tapped him against his back with her hand before she wiped the red bandana that Daryl had given to the boy over his mouth. What the hunter wasn't seeing from his spot at the group was that Noah had actually been coughing up blood now. Riley swallowed as she looked at the bloody bandana in her hand before stuffing it in the pocket of her cardigan.

''Is he okay?'' Daryl suddenly asked her in concern as he sat down beside her. Riley had been so distracted by looking at Noah that she hadn't even seen Daryl walking over to her.

''He's fine, just tired from everything that has happened.'' She replied as she brushed her thumbs underneath Noah's eyes, wiping away the boy's tears. Daryl looked at Riley, seeing that she was acting rather peculiar as if she wasn't telling him something. He looked at Noah, seeing that the boy was now sweating heavily. Maybe Beth was right and he was getting sick? He frowned, trying to understand what was going on.

''Riley is some-'' he started but she cut him off.

''Noah is fine Daryl,'' she curtly replied before she smiled at Noah, smoothening his cardigan. She didn't want to tell Daryl what was happening to her cousin because telling him would make it real. She didn't want it to be real. ''We're going to be alright huh baby? Find us a new place and you can sleep in our bedroom, how about that?'' She enthusiastically said to the boy and he tiredly nodded at her, brushing the back of his hand over his eyes.

''I don't feel so good Riley,'' the boy suddenly said to her as he was feeling rather nauseous and Riley wrapped her arms around him, gently pulling him against her chest.

''It's okay, it was a horrible day. You can go to sleep.'' She said to him, and Noah closed his eyes, leaning against her shoulder. Daryl had been viewing the entire exchange between Riley and the boy and it seemed as if she was actually in denial that the boy was sick. He didn't understand why though, they could find some medication and Noah would return into being his own energetic self.

''Riles, if the boy has a fever we ne-'' Daryl started again but Riley suddenly looked at him, anger flashing in her eyes which made him stop midsentence.

''He is fine Daryl, just tired.'' She nearly snapped at him before looking back at the boy in her arms. Daryl was now thoroughly confused. For some reason she seemed to be mad at him and Noah was tired, looking rather sick. He looked sideways, seeing Beth and Maggie staring at the two of them in concern while they were talking to each other. He realized that Beth might've informed Maggie about the matter as well. He motioned for the two Greene sisters to come over before he looked back at Riley again.

''Riles, give Noah to Beth. I need to talk to ya.'' He said to her in a stern voice.

''It can wait; I need to stay with Noah now.'' Riley replied as she slowly rubbed her hand over Noah's back. However, Daryl was getting frustrated by his confusion and how Riley was acting towards him so he abruptly got up and stood in front of her.

''Now,'' he demanded, clearly making no room for her to argue with him.

Riley sighed in defeat as she'd clearly heard the tone in his voice, knowing that she was fighting a lost battle. In the corner of her eye she saw that Beth walked over to them, followed by Maggie. She stood up and reluctantly gave Noah to Beth, the blonde girl gently pulling the now sleeping boy in her arms. Maggie looked at the boy with a frown on her face, placing her hand against his forehead since her sister had told her of her concerns. Maggie's eyes widened a bit at the heat she felt radiating off of Noah's skin.

Riley followed Daryl a bit further away from the group before stopping near a big tree. Rick had already noticed the pair walking off as he was in discussion with T-Dog and Glenn on what to do next. He frowned as he was wondering what was going on.

''What?'' Riley said, irritation edging her voice as she looked up at Daryl.

''What the fuck is going on with you?'' He now said in clear frustration, not liking the way she was acting towards him. He had never seen her behave like this before and it was ticking him off as well as scaring the shit out of him.

''Nothing is going on with me, I'm just tired and it's making me crabby, sorry.'' She replied before looking behind her, seeing Beth sitting on the edge of the fountain with Noah and Maggie. She noticed that Glenn was starting to walk over towards them as well as Carol.

Daryl had noticed that Riley was watching Noah like a hawk. He knew that Riley and Noah had just lost Ade, but the way she was behaving wasn't normal. ''Riles, if that boy is sick, we need to get him some meds.'' He said but he was merely met with silence as Riley was watching Noah in concern as Carol was now feeling his forehead with an evident frown on her face as she was talking to both Maggie and Beth. Glenn had already walked over to Rick, pointing at Noah. She saw the look of confusion on Rick's face before he also made his way over to the boy. Riley was inwardly freaking out because the others were slowly informing each other about Noah's condition.

''Riles, look at me.'' Daryl suddenly said and Riley looked in front of her again, but not meeting his eyes as a million of thoughts were now running through her mind, trying to come up with some sort of solution to help Noah but she knew there wasn't any, nothing could help the boy.

Daryl frowned as he saw the worried look on her face, knowing something was up.

''You're hidin' somethin', tell me what's wrong.'' He said to her but she shook her head, not wanting to say what was going on.

''No, it's no- '' she started but Daryl placed his hand underneath her chin, making her look up at him.

''Don't ya dare lie to me woman, tell me,'' he said to her with narrowed eyes, getting agitated that she was lying straight to his face. He hated it when people would lie to him and now that Riley was doing it clearly felt like a kick in his gut since she didn't seem to trust him with whatever was bothering her.

As Riley looked into his blue eyes that seemed to be able to look straight into her soul, her strength to hold up this lie was wavering. She couldn't do it, it was too much. She couldn't lie, not to him. Daryl's eyes widened a bit as he saw that her eyes started to water while her lower lip was trembling before tears were streaming down her cheeks, wetting his fingertips as he was still holding on to her chin.

Riley suddenly threw her arms around him, pushing herself into his chest as she cried. Daryl frowned as he looked down at the top of her head before wrapping his arms around her.

''What's wrong?'' He asked her, inwardly freaking out because she was crying and he didn't understand what'd happened to make her act like this.

''I can't lose him too.'' She sobbed, pressing her head against his shoulder.

Daryl was confused, pulling her back a little to look at her face. ''What do ya mean?'' He asked her and her lip trembled again as she looked at him before pressing herself into his chest against.

''Noah...'' he heard her murmur against his shirt. Daryl thought he understood her worries now, thinking that she was fearing to lose Noah since he was starting to become sick while they had just lost Ade. He frowned as he tried to find the right words to say in order to reassure her that they would get through this.

''Riles, I know that what happened to Ade is somethin' we all need to process, you and Noah the most, but the kid is gonna be fine,'' he tried to assure her. ''We just need to find a pharmacy and ge-'' he started but she cut him off, pulling back a little to look up at him.

''We can't.'' She replied as she shook her head, tears falling from her eyes.

''We can woman, we just nee-''

''He's been bit Daryl! Ade bit him when he'd already been turned! In God knows what time Noah is going to be one of those-those... Oh my God.'' She barely managed to get out before she buried her face into his chest again, tears falling from her eyes.

Daryl's eyes widened at the news. But that would mean- he started to think before he looked over at Noah in the distance, who was sleeping peacefully in Beth's arms while the others were standing around the pair, the worry and confusion evident on their faces.

Daryl looked back at the woman in his arms who was crying in despair as she fisted the back of his vest in her hands, holding onto him as if he was her only lifeline in this world. His hold on her tightened a little in comfort, not knowing how to make things better. He knew what this would eventually lead to and it broke his heart that Riley had to go through this yet again. She hadn't been able to mourn over her uncle yet who had died just a few hours ago and now she had to face the upcoming death of her young cousin. Daryl pressed his lips against the top of her head while he felt completely helpless.

What were they going to do now?

~ TWD ~


A/N: So what do you think is going to happen next? Will the group soon find another safe place now that they've lost the protection of their previous sanctuary? Will Daryl tell the others about Noah? How do you think Riley is going to react to what eventually will happen to her cousin? Will this affect her relationship with Daryl in the long run? Please let me know your thoughts on this chapter.

Many thanks to all of the people that left me a review; I can't thank you enough for your support. I hope you all received my pm's! Also a thank you to the new followers and people favoring this story, I can't believe the amount of people that are interested in reading it!

To the people I couldn't pm:

* Aria Miller: thank you for reviewing another chapter! Glad you are curious to read what happens next, I hope you liked this chapter. :)

* twd reader: thank you for the compliment, I'm happy to hear that you like my story.