To all my readers, my name is Olivia and I live in Illinois, just wanted to let you know a little about me!9

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I hope you like this chapter. I gained 6 new followers just from last chapter alone. Holy Crap! Now if I could just get that many reviews... Sorry if Daryl is a little OOC. I'm trying here. Cut me a little slack! Enjoy!

Daryl POV

"I'm only human, and I bleed when I fall down. I'm only human, and I crash and I break down."- Human, Christina Perri

There were a lot of people that I hated in this world. My father, the racist, abusive, jackass of a man that I came home to every night. Then there was Shane. I don't know what it was about him, but I just hated that guy. And there was Diana, my ex. Ugh. Just thinking about that woman made me shiver.

But then, there were the people that I really really hated.

And this guy, Dave, he was at the top of the list.

I just sat there, steaming while he and Rick talked on and on.

"A farm?" The man mused aloud. "Old McDonald had a farm?" His friend, a large man named Tony, chuckled at this. I shot a glare his way.

Glenn looked shocked. "How did you kn-"

"Glenn!" I hissed, staring intently at him. I wanted to cut him off quickly. He had just given our camp's location away to two strangers, whom I didn't trust. Damn fool. The man instantly shut up, looking down sheepishly at his feet.

"So it is a farm." Dave nodded, looking us all over. "Where is it?"

"No way we're telling you." Rick stepped forward, crossing his arms over his chest. I was standing behind him, so I was leaning on the bar. Glenn stood on the other side of the room, closer to the door. Nicole was next to Rick, right in front of Hershel. I could tell she was on edge, because her hand was tightly grasping the handle of her axe.

"Why not man?" Dave questioned. "Don't you want to help us out? It's tough out there man. Come on. You don't know what we've had to do." His voice was pleading, but I could tell that it was fake.

"It's tough for everyone." Nicole growled, stepping closer to Rick.

"It can't be too tough for a princess like yourself." Dave winked in her direction, his voice hard, and paved with lust. His eyes roamed Nicole's body hungrily, and I saw her stiffen under his gaze. Subconsciously, she wrapped her large flannel shirt around her body, covering herself more. "I'm sure you'd love having us there too. What's a couple more men around to keep an eye on you?"

All of the sudden, a feeling flared in my chest, a feeling of intense protectiveness. Something about this man didn't sit right with me, and I could tell Nicole felt the same way. The fear in her eyes was almost not noticeable, but it was definitely there. A low growl escaped my throat as I glared at him. I stood up and walked over to her, so she was now standing between Rick and I, less visible to the disgusting man.

"This princess can handle herself, thank you very much." Nicole hissed from between us.

"Whatever you say babe." Dave winked. He then turned to Rick, his eyes ablaze. He sat down slowly on the chair behind him. "But why won't you help us out cowboy?"

"We don't know if we can trust you." Rick drawled. His voice was tense, but his demeanor was calm. I admired his steadiness, but I was starting to get irritated with these men. Something needed to happen. Either they have to leave, or I will make them leave.

Dave shook his head, chuckling lowly. "That's not a call you can make. You don't know anything about us. You don't know what we had to go through out there, the things we've had to do. I bet you've had to do some of those things yourself. Am I right? 'Cause ain't nobody's hands clean in what's left of this world. We're all the same…" he trailed off, staring intently at the three of us, crossing his legs casually.

He did make a compelling case. We didn't know these men. For all we knew, they were decent people, hard-working men. Maybe…...

"Except for maybe doll face over there." He added. "She's probably cleaner than us all." He looked suggestively at her. I heard Nicole hiss behind me.

After those words came out of his mouth, my mind was made up. Never mind. There was no way these were decent men.

"Why don't ya' shut the hell up!" I growled, placing a hand on the knife sheathed at my belt.

"Woah. Woah." Dave put his hands up in mock surrender. "Calm down Robin Hood." I was about to step towards him, but Rick put a hand out.

"Daryl." Rick said sternly. He gave me a knowing nod, and I begrudgingly stepped back, my hand still on my knife.

Dave turned and hopped over the bar, landing on the other side with a thud. "Now, where's the real stuff?" He wondered out loud, looking through the stock behind him. I saw the pistol in his back pocket, and immediately tensed. Nicole and Rick did as well.

"Hey!" Tony yelled, cocking his gun in his hands.

"Hey, calm down man." Dave chuckled. "We don't want any trouble, do we?" He cocked his eyebrow at Rick. Slowly, he reached for his gun, and slowly placed it on the bar. "No trouble?"

"No trouble." Rick nodded. I could see his hand go to his holster. I knew where this was heading, and it was heading there fast.

"Good. Good." Dave smiled. "Now…." He grabbed his gun off the bar, pointing it at us. In a blink, Rick pulled out his gun and let out one shot, nailing Dave in the head. I turned to take care of Tony, but Nicole beat me to it. She unloaded two shots, hitting him once in the temple. As quickly as it started, it was all over.

We stood there in stunned silence, looking around us.

"What just happened?" Nicole whispered, holstering her gun.

"We just got our hands dirty." Rick grunted.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"What the hell are we supposed to do with this kid?" Glenn asked, tapping the window in the front of the SUV.

I turned and looked out the rear view mirror, at the kid who was passed out in the bed of the truck.

He was young, only about 23 or so. He was on the smaller side and unarmed. He wasn't much of a threat alone. But it wasn't this Randall kid I was worried about. It was the thirty other heavily armed men that had me concerned.

"Not sure." Rick groaned, grasping the wheel tightly. "We can't just kill him."

"But we can't just let him go free." Glenn interjected. "What if he meets up with the rest of them, and brings them back with him? What then? We'd be outnumbered, outgunned."

Glenn was right. If we set him free and he led the rest of the group back? I didn't even want to imagine how it would go. They'd kill most of us, but the women, like Nicole and Maggie, I didn't want to think what would happen to them. If the way Dave was acting towards Nicole was any indication, it would be bad.

"We'll lock him up." Rick decided. "Until we decide what exactly to do. We'll keep him in the barn." I nodded, satisfied with that answer. We didn't have to decide anything right now. Which was good, considering what we had just been through.

After Nicole and Rick had taken down Dave and Tony, other members of their group had shown up looking for them. We tried to talk peacefully with them, but that hadn't gone over too well. A massive firefight had ensued. All the men from the other group had fled, except for the ones that had been killed in the crossfire. They had left Randall behind. We had been willing to leave him, but Hershel had convinced us to take him. The old man was now sitting in the bed of the truck with Randall, making sure he was still out cold.

Even though the other side had lost some men, we had taken a beating ourselves. Glenn had narrowly avoided being shot. His hands were bloody and raw from crawling and ducking to the ground. Rick had taken a slam to the chest, bruising a couple ribs. I had gotten hit with a little shrapnel, leaving cuts up and down my arms and one large one across my forehead.

Nicole had taken the worst of it. During the entire fight, the other men had been screaming obscenities and suggestive remarks the whole time. One man had landed a punch right on her head, knocking her out cold. Rick had just enough time to carry her to the car. She was passed out next to me, her limp body lying on the seat beside me. She was situated so her head was lying on my lap.

I looked down at her. Her blonde hair was spilling over my legs. I reached down and brushed a strand out of her face. Her right eye was swelling, and was now turning a sickly shade of purple.

I don't know what it is about this girl, but but she seems different than all the other women at the camp. Lori, she was whiny and dramatic. Carol, I liked her a lot, but she was timid, quiet. Maggie, she was naive. Beth, she was too gentle. No, not Nicole. She was reserved, yet confident, and hard, strong. She knew how and when to handle herself.

At least, that's what I assumed. I had only known her for a few days.

The ride seemed to drag on forever. Looking out the window, we seemed to pass the same fields three times, even though I knew each of them was different. Finally, after what seemed like hours, we finally pulled up to the farm, the sun was starting to set. The fire was glowing in front of the house, and I could see figures gathered around it. Rick put the car in park and turned so he could see me and Glenn. Hershel hopped off the back of the truck and walked over to the window, so he could talk with them. "Glenn. You and Hershel take Randall over to the barn." Rick stocked his hand in his pocket and pulled out a pair of handcuffs. "Cuff him to a beam. We'll deal with him tomorrow. Go around the house, so they can't see you."

The two men nodded. Glenn got out of the car, and they went to the back to get the man.

"Daryl, can you bring Cole toget tent?" He gestured to the unconscious girl beside me. I nodded, rolling my eyes a little. Of course I had to carry her. "Alright. Let's go."

Rick slid out the door. I opened the car door and stepped out, my boots hitting the ground with a soft crunch. Carefully, I pulled Nicole into my arms. The girl probably weighed 110 pounds, soaking wet, so her body was nothing in my arms. It reminded me of dragging a deer through the woods after you've shot it.

I followed Rick towards the camp, watching Hershel and Glenn carry Randall to the barn out of the corner of my eye. Everyone was gathered around the fire, with the exception of Maggie and Beth. A few of them stood when they us coming.

"Hey!" T-Dog called. "We starting to worry about you." I rolled my eyes. Of course they were. All these people do was worry.

"What the hell happen…..oh god." Lori's voice was hollow as her eyes landed on the limp body in my arms. "Nicole!" She cried.

"Is she…." Carol whispered.

"Nah." I shook my head. "Just out." Everybody released a large breath that they probably hadn't realized they had been holding.

"What happened out there?" Shane spoke up, stepping towards the front of the group. He looked pissed, but what's new. "Where's Glenn and Hershel?"

"Around back." Rick said. "Taking Randall to the barn."

"Randall?" Dale asked.

"Yeah. We ran into a little trouble at the bar…" Rick continued to regale them with the whole story, from our arrival at the bar to just now. I tuned it out, not needing the refresher. I walked away, carrying Nicole towards her tent, which was slightly away from everyone else, like mine was.

The door to her tent was opened, so I ducked in and set her down on her blankets, careful not to wake her. I placed her pillow under her head. The tiny tent was filled with all the different weapons in her arsenal, from machine guns to throwing knives. It was almost comical, seeing the tiny, sleeping woman surrounded by deadly corpses, her face blissfully peaceful.

"You're one crazy bitch, you know that?" I chuckled, turning out of the tent. As I was about to walk away, I heard her whisper something.

"No." She whimpered. "I said no Marcus."

"What?" I whispered. Who was she talking about?

"No. No. Not again!" She was yelling now, her arms thrashing in the air around her. "Why? No. No. Jack! No!"

"Nicole?" I called, leaning closer to her. I had no idea what she was screaming about, but she was obviously reliving some traumatic memory. Her breathing was ragged and her body was trembling, even in her unconscious form.

"Tell him I'm sorry." She whimpered. And after that, she went silent. I stared at her for a while. What was she screaming about? Who was Jack? Marcus? I had no idea.

But I was no stranger to nightmares. Nightmares were my entire childhood.

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