They'd been walking for a good hour or so and the sun had finally dipped below the horizon, the darkness spreading out before them. The eerie blackness had only added to Lizzie's fears and she'd become more skittish as the evening went on- something that hadn't gone unnoticed by Daryl.
When she jumped for the thousandth time at the sound of an owl hooting he let out a sigh, quickening his pace and cutting her off, rounding on her with a frown.
"What's your problem?" He asked, sensing that something was wrong.
"Nothin'," she snapped, shaking her head and trying to step around he, "we gotta keep movin'"
"I ain't stupid," he persisted, stepping with her and blocking her escape, "somethin's up."
"Besides the fact that we're out in the woods in the pitch black with an armed rapist runnin' around somewhere?" She hissed sarcastically.
"Don't forget all the walkers," he reminded her, "plenty of those out here too."
She sighed, rubbing her face with her hands. She didn't have to take it out on Daryl, she didn't want to, but she didn't feel like talking about it either.
"I'm jus' worried, okay?" She shrugged, watching as he raised his eyebrow.
"I gotcha back," he said, mirroring her shrug, "you don't gotta worry about anythin'."
"I'm worried about Rick," she admitted, looking at the ground, "I ain't buyin' Shane an' his stories… He's gotta be up to somethin'."
"Like what?" Daryl snorted.
"Him an' Rick ain't exactly been seein' eye to eye lately, have they?" She asked, stepping around him and continuing forwards.
"Y'think he's gonna try somethin'?" Daryl asked, stepping up alongside her.
"Y'think he ain't?" She replied, looking up at him.
"I think I'd rather take my chances alone out here with you," he answered, "but Rick knows him better, he can take care of himself."
"I hope you're right." She sighed.
Daryl had handed over his flashlight, ordering her to only use it in an emergency or if he asked her to. She hadn't argued, knowing that the light would be likely to give away their position to anyone alive or dead in the area.
She'd let him take the lead again, his eyes firmly fixed on the floor, searching for any signs of disturbance that might tell him which way Randall had run. He still hadn't seen anything- after almost two hours- and he was becoming increasingly irritated by the wild goose chase Shane had apparently sent them on. If it hadn't been Rick that had given them instructions on which direction to take, he would have been certain that Shane had sent them away on purpose, hoping to get the glory of catching or killing Randall himself.
He stopped suddenly, almost causing Lizzie to walk into him, and sighed heavily.
"This is crazy," he growled, turning to look at her, "pass me the damn flashlight."
She did so without hesitation, watching him as he swept the beam across the woodland floor, trying to find any sign of life.
"Nothin'?" She asked as he sighed again, turning the light off and handing it back to her.
"Ain't nobody come nowhere over here," he growled, moving off in a different direction, "Sonofabitch is settin' us up."
Toldya so… She thought, obediently following him but wisely choosing to keep her mouth shut.
She foolishly wondered if Rick and Shane were having better luck, shaking her head to dispel the thought as her suspicions crept up on her again.
If he wanted to get everyone away from Rick so he could get him alone then he's done it damn well, she thought, handing the light to Daryl as he reached for it.
"Ain't we already been here before?" She asked, hoping she hadn't sounded too much like a whiny child.
"If you're gonna do somethin', might as well do it right." He replied with a shrug.
"You think Rick sent us off in the wrong direction?" She asked, frowning as he fixed his eyes on the ground again.
"I think Shane made sure he did." Daryl admitted.
"He's up to somethin' right?" She asked, inching closer to him.
"Maybe," Daryl replied, "there're two sets of tracks here, Shane musta fallen sooner than he said."
"Hey," she said suddenly, grabbing his wrist and directing the beam to a tree trunk, "is that blood?"
They moved to the tree, Daryl leaning in close to have a better look. He had to admit that he was impressed with her for spotting that but he wanted to make sure that it was part of their trail.
"Looks about Shane's height…" She muttered, her suspicions roused again.
"Fits his story." Daryl shrugged.
"Said he got hit by a rock, not a tree." She corrected him.
"Maybe he reeled into the tree?" Daryl suggested, not wanting to point fingers just yet- although he had to admit that Shane's story was ropey at best.
She chose not to answer, only giving him a look suggesting that he was being foolish if he believed himself. He looked away from her, scanning the floor again and seeing more tracks.
"This way," he said, motioning for her to follow as he frowned slightly, "looks like they were walkin' in tandem."
"Tandem?" She snorted, "They were followin' each other?"
"Somethin' went down here," Daryl explained, shining the light on a disheveled patch of leaves, "they wised up to bein' followed."
"Shane ain't stupid," Lizzie muttered, "I don't believe that Randall coulda followed him for so long without him noticin'."
"Randall dumb enough not to know?" Daryl asked, looking over his shoulder at her.
"Randall's scared enough to run fast an' not look back," she answered, "he knows Shane's bad news, I don't believe he'd take his chances tryna take him down… He'd jus' run."
"Think he could run blindfolded?" Daryl asked, stopping as he looked down.
"What?" She asked, stopping next to him and frowning up at him.
"Take a look." He nodded towards the ground where the light was resting on Randall's blindfold.
"How'd he get from the shed to here wearin' this?" Lizzie asked, stooping to lift the rag, holding it in front of her face as she studied it for answers.
A rustling sound behind them suddenly caught their attention and they whirled around, Daryl raising his bow as Lizzie tensed, scanning the darkness for the source of the noise. Daryl grabbed her arm, pulling her behind a tree and stepping to another next to her, leaving a gap between them to peer through.
She leant around the trunk, ducking back when she saw a shambling figure in the moonlight. She caught Daryl's eye, raising a finger to show there was only one walker, watching him as he looked around the tree.
"Get ready," he whispered, nodding to her, "it's comin'."
She nodded back to him, tightening the grip on her axe and letting out a deep breath, closing her eyes momentarily.
C'mon girl, get in the zone, she thought as she opened her eyes again, edging forwards, ready to strike. Daryl whistled sharply at her and threw her the flashlight, nodding to give her the go ahead for an attack.
She caught the flashlight, flicking it on with her right hand as she slid her left hand down the handle of the axe, holding it halfway to distribute the weight evenly as she hefted it over her shoulder, ready to strike.
She stepped around the tree, about to drop the axe through the walkers head, and froze when Randall's newly reanimated face was illuminated.
Daryl saw her hesitation and leapt into action, pushing her aside as he let off a shot, missing his target completely. Randall threw himself at his attacker, knocking Daryl off his feet, forcing him to drop his bow to try to fend off the attack.
"Lizzie!" He growled, looking for her in the dark, "Lil' help here!"
She was crawling around in the dirt, trying to find her axe- she'd dropped it along with the flashlight when Daryl had shoved her away, not wanting to hit the ground with her head and knock herself out.
She had been surprised by the walker- by Randall –and her breathing was ragged, a million things running through her head, questions that needed answers, new fears and theories.
At the sound of Daryl's voice she shook her head, getting her focus back and clenching her teeth, determination setting in. Get it together, she told herself, her hand finally finding the familiar wooden handle, you gotcha axe, go getcha man.
She scrambled to her feet, grabbing her axe at both ends and throwing it over Randall's head, pulling the handle back into his throat as she pulled with all her might, dragging him off Daryl.
Her momentum took her and she lost her footing, crashing to the floor with Randall pinned to her chest, letting out a grunt as the air was knocked from her. She could feel Randall squirming in her arms, letting out angry snarls as he was denied his meal.
"Lizzie!" Daryl cried, pushing himself up and drawing his hunting knife as he realized she was trapped. As he hurried to her side, he was surprised to see her throw Randall's corpse to the side, pinning him down with her knee as she raised her axe above her head.
She paused for a second, axe raised, looking down into his face, a myriad of emotions running through her. Part of her felt sorry that it had come to this, that he had suffered such a terrible fate but then part of her remembered what he had told her in the shed, what he had done since the world ended and she narrowed her eyes before letting her axe fall, cleaving through his skull, an arc of blood spraying the front of her shirt.
She stayed frozen for a second, breathing heavily as she looked down at her kill before pulling the axe free and pushing herself to her feet, shaking her head.
"Hey," Daryl said, stepping up behind her, resting his hands on her arms, pressing his body against hers as he kissed the side of her head, "you okay?"
"Funnily enough, I feel a lot better," she said, grinning up at him as she rested her head against his shoulder, "I think I needed that."
"Sick bastard," he grinned back at her, letting go of her and moving to the body, looking down at it for a second, "toldya he wouldn't last out here."
"Kinda ironic though, right? Gettin' away from us an' then gettin' bit?" She asked, watching as Daryl crouched beside the body, lifting its clothes to see any bites or scratches.
"More like gettin' his neck broke," Daryl replied, looking up at her, "he ain't got no marks on him, broken neck's what killed him."
"Then why's he still walkin' around?" She asked, frowning as she crouched down, double checking to make sure Daryl hadn't missed anything.
"Your guess is as good as mine." Daryl shrugged.
"So he never escaped," she said quietly, sighing a little, "Shane cut him loose, bought him out here an' killed him…"
"He had it comin'." Daryl interrupted, not wanting the sight of a reanimated Randall to cloud her judgment.
"Damn straight he did," she snapped, wanting Daryl to know that her opinion hadn't changed, "Shane did the right thing, he wanted to protect the group so he eliminated the threat… So why'd he bring us out here if he already knew Randall was dead?"
"He went against Rick's orders," he shrugged, "don't wanna own up to it, it's easier for us to find him like this an' assume that…"
"Oh my God," she gasped, pushing herself upright, "Rick!"
"What about him?" Daryl asked as he stood.
"This ain't never been about Randall," she cried, lowering her voice when he shushed her, not wanting to attract any more attention to themselves, "it's all about Rick!"
"How the hell you figure that?" He asked, shaking his head.
"Shane's the bad cop, right? What happens if he gets bored of playin' that?" She asked, "If that ain't enough motive, what about him bein' in love with Lori? Then there's the baby…"
"The baby's Shane's?" He asked, shocked by the revelation.
"I dunno, it could be," she shrugged, "you tellin' me that wouldn't drive a man wild?"
Daryl let out a deep sigh, thinking over what Lizzie had said, If it was true and Shane had planned this all along to get Rick away from the group then they needed to go after them, stop anything from happening between them but if it was all in Lizzie's head...
"C'mon, let's go." He said, taking hold of her wrist and tugging gently.
"Go where?" She asked, letting him drag her along.
"We'll head back to the house; see if they're back yet." He answered, waiting for her to resist.
"An' if they're not?" She asked, narrowing her eyes.
"You really think Shane's gonna try somethin' to take the group an' Rick's family?" He asked, stopping to look at her.
"Yeah," she said, nodding, "I do."
"If he comes back alone, like he did after he went out with Otis, then we go," he said, "we leave 'em to it an' get the hell away from him."
She was quiet for a moment, thinking over what he was saying. She didn't want to leave Maggie and her family behind, not after they'd been so good to her, and the thought of saying goodbye to Carl… But she couldn't stay around Shane- he was too unpredictable, too dangerous, just like Mark had been.
It's for the best, she thought, sighing slightly, you get outta there an' save yourself, it's what you do best, right? She pulled her arm free of Daryl's grasp, taking his hand in hers and squeezing.
"Okay," she said quietly, nodding slowly, "we go."
