Day 191

Daryl, T-Dog, and I were walking through the woods. It was our turn to get water, soft snow under our feet made crunching noises; it was exceptionally cold today. I could see my breath, creating a small fog. We had five canisters to replenish our supply, and T was hanging on to the pickaxe we were going to use to break through the ice.

We had warm jackets on, and I put an extra pair of socks this morning, to protect my feet. When we reached the clearing, T-Dog immediately got to break the thick layer of ice covering the lake.

"Let's try not to get wet, guys," I told them, watching from a safe distance.

"You're not very helpful." The black man commented, dipping one of the canisters into the water.

"I'm not going anywhere near that. Last time scared me for a lifetime, thank you very much."

"Hey, ya alright, now," Daryl said softly, taking the full bottle from T's grasp and passing him another one.

"Yeah, and I have you to protect me, Big Boy." I smirked at him, making him roll his eyes.

"Hey, what about me?"

"Oh, T, don't get jealous, now. It doesn't suit you." I commented, winking at him.

When they filled all the containers, we moved back towards the house. It was a beautiful day, regardless of how cold it was. We were nearly back at home when Daryl stopped, making me walk into his back.

"Shh." He gently placed the bottles in the snow and took a crossbow off his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" I whispered, watching our surroundings, for whatever triggered the hunter. He pointed at the ground, and I finally noticed the footprints. Four different ones spread widely, but they all pointed towards the house. It wasn't us, and yesterday snowed heavily, so they had to be fresh.

"T, leave the water," I ordered quietly, taking my gun out of the holster. "This way."

I led the men between the trees, hoping they would hide us, circling the property towards the front.

"Here," Dixon waved at the ground, showing us another two sets on prints. Fuck. I swallowed hard, trying to think quickly how to do it.

"What's happening?" T-Dog asked Daryl and me, making us look at each other with grim expressions.

"Six people. Walked towards the house." The hunter answered, crouching, and watching the main entrance.

"I can't see any extra cars," I stated, looking for any movements from the inside. Oh, how I wished to have my sniper with me now.

"What ya thinkin'?" Our vehicles were still here, we didn't know if our people were hurt or not. If they had enough time to hide. Doors where closed, and footprints led to the property, but not out of it.

"Who was on watch?" My heart rate sped up, thinking about solutions.

"I think Maggie," T answered, worry evident on his face. I nodded and took a deep breath. OK. It was time to act; every extra second we spent out here, we risked our group's lives. I took out my bow and quiver from my back and gave it to T-Dog.

"Lose it, brake it, I'll make you pay," I told him lowly, making him look at me in confusion. Next, I passed him my Glock, leaving me only with my hunter knife and throwing knives, hidden under my jacket.

"El," Daryl grunted under his nose, making me look at him.

"So, plan. Six people, potentially holding at least Maggie. Daryl, you have your bow and your gun; T, you got my gun. Once I'm inside, give me ten minutes. If I'm not out, come in."

"El!" I grabbed Daryl's hand and squeezed it tightly.

"Do the footprints looked like men's?" I asked him gently, he furrowed his brows and then nodded sharply. "If you go, and they not friendly, they'll kill you probably straight away. But I am a woman. I'm more valuable. They can use me."

With every word, his jaw grew tenser, as he realized what I mean.

"I'll be fine. Ten minutes, and then I expect you to fucking save me, Dixon."

I unzipped my jacket, and pulled out two knives, hiding them in my boots. Not the most comfortable solution. I reached up, pulling on my ponytail, making my hair spill down my shoulders. I grabbed one of the bottles and quickly marched up to the gate.

Calming my breathing, remembering my training, I put a natural expression on my face. When I reached the fence, I noticed that padlock was busted, so that's how those people got in. I pushed the gate open, making sure to make noise. My first priority was to find out if they hold any of my people.

"Mags, I'm back, open the door, it's fucking freezing," I spoke loudly, making my way to the door. Before I reached it, they swang open, revealing three men. They were dirty, their hair shaggy, and full of dried mud. Skinny, I'd say, and they had only blunt weapons, as far as I could see. No guns. That's good.

I dropped the water to the ground, gasping, bringing my hunter knife up, pretending to be scared.

"What you doing in my house?" I yelled at them, and one of them stepped forward, raising his hands.

"We don't want any trouble, lady. We just looking for a place to stay." His voice was surprisingly high for a man, making me cringe internally.

"What did you do with my friend?"

"There was no one here. That's why we thought it's abandoned."

"I told you it's not, looked too fresh," Added one of the shorter guys; he was probably just a few inches taller than me.

"Look, I get it. You want to stay great. Just let me grab my stuff, and you can stay. I don't want any trouble." I pushed as much fear into my voice as I could, watching the men exchange glances.

"Why don't you come in. My name's Alan. We won't hurt you. We ain't that kind of guys." I swallowed thickly, making sure it shows and nodded. Putting my knife away, I slowly made my way to the house.

"I'm Michelle, my bedroom is upstairs," I told him, playing with my fingers.

"And what of your friend?"

"She must've run when she saw you, she's timid."

I walked into the house, trying not to scrunch my nose at the foul smell that came from those guys. The other three men were spread on a sofa, one of the holding a radio.

"It's a small house in the woods. About fifteen miles from where you're." One of them was saying, making my blood boil. There was fucking more of them. "Small pharmacy next to it, we'll pick you up. Just pack everything and move out."

"Hey Joey, it's Michelle, she lives here." The guy who greeted me spoke to the radioman.

"Um, hi. I'm just- gonna take my stuff. I already told Alan, that- you can stay here. I need to find my friend. I think you spooked her," I faked a giggle at the end, glancing at the bookshelves, which were luckily closed.

"I see. That's very nice of you." He stood up from the coach. He was tall, probably around six feet, and he was more well-build than the other men. "You don't mind Alan and Max going with you, right?"

"Oh, no," I shook my head. "I understand. You don't know me. It's this way." I led the way, noticing that they already checked the rooms, all doors were opened, wet spots from their boots all over the floor. My head was spinning from all the thought running through my head. I had about seven minutes left until Dixon will break the doors. And probably max thirty minutes until the rest of those people will come snooping.

I walked into my bedroom, straight up to the wardrobe, hearing other men, stepping in behind me, and a simple click of closing doors. I slowly turned around, smiling at them gently.

"You not gonna let me go, will you?" I said softly, and Alan shook his head, grinning at me.

"Sorry, doll."

I sighed and licked my lips, suggestively. "Well, we can make it nice for everyone then."

The other guy, Max, whistled and circled me, so now he was behind me. Alan looked me over, walking closer. I cocked my head at him, making my eyes linger on his lips. He was bigger and older, he was more dangerous.

"How about starting with that?" I spoke in a low, husky voice and put a hand on his chest, climbing on my tiptoes, ghosting over his lips. I felt disgusted with myself, but that was the easiest way I could get rid of them.

"Hm, it seems like it was a long time for you, doll." He slammed his lips on mine, and it took all my willpower to not flinch, to kiss him back. I wrapped my arm around his neck and moved the hand on his chest, slowly sneaking it under my jacket. I moaned and moved my hips slightly to distract him more. When I had a good grip on a handle, I pushed forward, my mouth covering his cry while the knife pierced his heart.

I spun around and chucked it at the other men's head, it landed in his eye. I quickly moved to the bed and reached for a wooden chest that was under it.

OK, breathe in and out, control your breathing, Elena. I opened it quickly and took out one of the spare handguns. Glock 17, I had it with me for years until I upgraded to 19. I checked the magazine and slammed it in.

There were footsteps, only one from what I heard, silently I moved behind the door, taking out my hunting knife, holding it tightly.

"Alan, are you alright?" Someone called out.

"They fine, honey," I yelled back. "We're having some fun, do you want to join?"

There was no answer, but moments later, someone pushed the door, and immediately I was on him, slitting his throat. I layed him gently on the ground, making sure to not make too much sound and then walked into Max, taking the knife back. I struck Alan in the head, stopping him from reanimating, then doing this same to the new guy.

Three left. OK. Deep breath, I can fucking do this. About four minutes left, I crept down the stairs, avoiding the step that always creeks. I sneaked up down the corridor, towards the living room, but then I saw only two guys.

Reacting quickly, I shot one between the eyes, the other tried to stand up, but I fired again, first in the chest, then at his head.

"Drop it." I could feel something pointy pressed against my back. I swallowed hard and did as the man said, letting the gun go and then kicking it away.

"Joey, was it?" I asked him, cockily, I didn't have to pretend anymore. But he should know better and aim for my throat.

I stepped forward and spun around, pushing the hand that holds the blade away and swinging my fist at his face. He stumbled a little, and I used that to kick at his wrist, making him drop the knife to the floor.

"You killed my guys."

"You invaded my home. And I heard there's more of you coming."

He didn't reply, just swang his fist at me, I moved to the side to avoid it, but he was better than I thought. He quickly stepped to the right, throwing his other hand right into my stomach.

I whimpered in pain, that was enough for him to hit me in the face, putting me to the ground. I could feel the blood running down my face, tears in my eyes made it harder to see. I moved to my back just when he came above me. He was smirking, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"You could be useful to us."

"Fuck you." I kicked out, hitting him in the knees, and rolled over, swinging my fist at his stomach. He stumbled back, and I used that time to get back to my feet. Not waiting for him to recover, I sent two quick punches into his side, to the kidney. I brought my knee up to his face, hitting him in the face.

He grabbed my leg and yelling he lifted me up and slammed me to the floor, hard. It felt like all the air left my lungs, and I could see black spots.

I could feel Joey's weight on top of me, and his hands wrapped around my throat. Oh, for fuck's sake, not again. I reached up, blinking rapidly, trying to clear my sight. I swiftly used my fingers to stab him in the eye, making him cry out in pain. Twisting my hips, I pushed him off me, climbing on top of him. I grabbed his head in both hands and slammed it into the floor. He was holding his eye, I could see blood slipping through his fingers.

I slammed his head down, again and again, until he stopped moving under me. I reached for the knife and quickly plunged it into his head, panting heavily.

Holding my head, I stood up, my legs shaking, and moved towards the door.

"Clear," I shouted, and not waiting for an answer, I crossed the room to the bookshelf. We didn't have time to waste. I banged at the wood three times.

"It's me!" I groaned in pain when I pulled and opened the secret passage. "Rick?"

"We're here." Came the answer from the bottom of a basement.

I ran down the stair, looking at the scared faces of my family. "Pack, quickly, we have about ten minutes before more of those pricks show up."

"You're alright?" Hershel asked me, moving in my direction, but I waved him off, going towards mine and Daryl's mattress.

"No fucking time. I'm not joking. Get basic food, our weapons, maps. We need to get out of here."

"El?" Daryl's worried voice came from the top of the stairs.

"Here, hurry up."

I threw the clothes I could see into my bag, people around me moved to their spots and were packing urgently. Luckily our guns were secured in my duffel, and the majority of our food was stored in crates.

"T, Glenn, get the food to the cars. Beth, Carl grab as many blankets and covers as you can," Rick started giving orders, moving to his own pack. I threw ugly poncho at Daryl, who appeared next to me, looking at me intensely.

"Not now, Daryl. Pack," I told him shortly.

Minutes later, we packed the cars with basic clothes, guns, blankets, and two crates of food. Guys brought over the water canisters, and we already had gas in the bed of the pick-up, next to Daryl's covered bike.

"OK, load up, we going! Channel One," Rick shouted, he threw one walkie-talkie to me, and the other to Hershel, climbing into the car. Lori, Carl, and Carol following him.

"Come on, woman." Daryl grabbed my hand and pulled me into Hyundai, Glenn was already behind the wheel with Maggie next to him. Hershel and Beth got into the pick-up with T-Dog.

"We're taking the route around the town, toward the place we picked up, as next one. Don't get lost." Rick's voice sounded through the radio. We moved out, taking down the gate and speeding out of town.

"El." Daryl twisted, so he could see me better and gently ran his fingers over my cheek. I hissed in pain, and he quickly stopped.

"I'm fine, Daryl," I told him, giving him a reassuring smile.

"You can't see yourself," Maggie spoke and passed me a water bottle. I didn't realize how thirsty I was until I gulped down the first sip. Now, that adrenaline left my body, I could feel all the bruises.

"Alrighty, I get it. I'm covert in blood. But it's just bruising."

"What happened?" Glenn asked, looking in the rearview mirror, over to me.

"Guys, I love you. But I'm going to tell this shit just once. So, now I'm going to take a nap, and you'll find out once we stop."

I leaned my head on the window and closed my eyes. After a second, I felt something warm covering me up, and I could smell Daryl's musky scent.

"Keep your ugly blanket," I mumbled, already on the edge of sleep.

"Shut up and sleep, woman."

We drove for about thirty miles, far away from Palmetto and potentially from the rest of the hostile group. We got to the edge of a small town; once we slowed down, I woke up and looked at my surroundings.

Rick stopped the car by one of the houses on the edge of a town, and we got out of the vehicles. Hershel walking to the front with his shotgun, Carl and Beth, on the lookout at the back. I pushed the poncho off me and jump out of the car. I walked over to T-Dog, and he handed me over my bow and quiver, having familiar weight on my back, helped me relax a little.

"Not even a scratch." The man joked quietly, making me lift my lips in a strained smile.

"I knew I could trust you with it."

"You sure you wanna come with us?" Rick asked me when I approached him, I rose an eyebrow at him, frowning.

"Try to stop me, Officer."

"Ya with me, El," Daryl grunted from the door, and I rolled my eyes.

"When am I not?" I replied snarkily, prepping my bow while he banged at the door. After we couldn't hear anything, I tried the knob, and pushed the door open, when it eased up. Daryl barged in first, quickly followed by me. We swiped through the living room; after that, we were first to approach the stairs, with Maggie and Glenn right behind me. Slowly, we climbed up the stairs, there was nothing on the landing.

I pointed to Maggie, to follow Daryl and beckoned Glenn to me. The hunter kicked the first door on the right, while I did it to the one on the left. I hissed in pain, breathing deeply. I moved to the side, letting the Asian man go in first. There was a walker next to the window, it turned when we barged in, but before it could move, Glenn plunged his hatchet through geeks head.

I checked behind the door, and the build-in wardrobe, both places were empty. Daryl and Maggie already moved on to the last entry, and came out, shaking their heads. We walked back downstairs, Rest of the group already bringing our things together.

"Bring just your packs, blankets for tonight, and one crate with food, leave rest in the cars," Rick ordered. "We can't risk staying here longer than necessary."

I moved to the door, but a heavy hand on my shoulder stopped me. I growled internally, waiting for Him to speak.

"Ya sit yur ass, I'll bring it 'ere," Daryl's gruff voice sounded in my ear, he pushed me gently towards the armchair.

"I hate you, Dixon."

"Sure, ya do, princess."

Maggie made kissy noises when Daryl left the house, but her face showed remains of fear and tiredness, so did the others. How long were they stuck in that basement, planning how to get out of it? Hoping that we'd come back soon, and take care of it. I mean, we did, I did. But our safe haven was gone. Another one.

We sat down in silence, eating small amounts of food, now we had to ration again, who knows when we going to find more.

"You gonna tell us what happened?" T-Dog asked finally, looking over at Rick. The sheriff sighed, running a hand over his hair.

"I was on watch," It was Maggie who answered, her face grim. "I saw them approaching the fence. You were gone, most of our guns in the basement."

"I told everyone to go down until we'd figure out how many," Rick added. "I thought- maybe after a while they'd move on."

"We were there maybe twenty minutes, when we heard you," Hershel spoke, looking at me.

"We found footprints," Daryl started our point of view, and I sent him a grateful smile. "Six of them. We circled around to the front."

"When we saw the cars, we knew you were still inside." I finally spoke, glancing at Rick. "You were either dead, hidden, or taken hostage. Whichever, we had to know."

"Prints looked like men."

"So, I figured, they won't attack a woman on sight," My voice was monotonous, almost automated. "I picked them out, one at the time. Um, they let me in, but I knew that I won't be able to leave. They were all guys, possibly seeing a girl for the first time in a while."

That made Lori and Carol visibly flinch. I couldn't blame them, I don't even want to think what those guys would do if they'd find them.

"I took two of them upstairs, pretended to play along. Then another came. I found my old gun under the bed, took down the other two. But the leader was smarter. He sneaked out on me. Anyway. When I came in for the first time, I heard them contacting someone on the radio. Saying that they found a good place to stay."

"You shouldn't come in by yourself," Maggie said quietly, and I chuckled dryly at her.

"We thought that they can have you," I said, looking her directly in the eyes. "I knew they won't hurt me. Not until they'd have their fun. And I know how to deal with people like that. It's done, we're fine. That's what matters."

"How about you?" Hershel stood above me, looking me over.

"Nothing broke. I'll have a nasty bruise on my face and neck, and potentially ribs. But no trouble breathing. So I'll live. Thank you, though."

"OK, we sleep in here. Daryl, barricade the front door. T, you take the back ones."

In my dirty, bloody jacket, I was laying down on the ground, covered only in a blanket. Oh, and that stupid poncho, with Dixon behind me. He pulled me towards the corner of the room, away from others. He insisted on me sleeping next to the wall, so he can be outside, in case something happens.

"Ya were stupid," He whispered in my ear after a while.

"I know." I could drop my guard; he was the only one with whom I felt I could ultimately be myself. I reached out, behind me and found his hand, pulling at it, I made him wrap his arm around me.

"I was scared," I admitted. And that was the truth. All that time, short ten minutes, I was running purely on adrenaline, pushing forwards, trying to shut emotions off. But I knew that one wrong move could cost me my life or life of others.

The men beside me went stiff for a moment before shifting and bringing me closer to his chest.

"I ain't letting ya do it again."

"I might have a hero complex." His body shook slightly. "Are you laughing at me, Dixon?"

"Yep." He whispered against my neck, making me shiver.

We lost another safe place, but we were together, and we were alive. We going to find another secure space. But I knew we won't be completely fine. Because now, the rest of the group properly realized that we aren't just trying to survive the walkers. We were trying to live in a world where trusting other people is equally dangerous. It didn't mean we couldn't trust others, but we had to be very careful.

A/N: After this one there's only 3 more chapters before season 3! And I'm so excited and can't wait for all of you to read what I did there ;)

But also I have a question. I have certain plans, to take this story in different directions, to make some changes. So, my question is, out of the characters in the show that died, who would you like to see alive. Who do you think Elena would be able to save?

Read, and review!

Cheers :)