What?

What is this? A chapter?

But it's not Monday.

A new cover too!? What is going on!?

I'll tell you what's going on, you fantastic fishies you.

I love you all so much it physically hurts.

No I'm serious, I hurt my foot, violently rolling on the floor and jumping like it was a hot pan days ago and it still hurts.

Why? Because I woke up last week, on a seemingly insignificant morning, and was just lounging in bed, until I could muster the motivation to get up. You know how it is.

I got on Wattpad, and I have never sat up so fast in my life. ESPECIALLY not in the a.m.

I must've stared for a solid minute at this little badge attached to Sneaky that said, "#1 ranked in AMC"

I

lost

my

shit

I didn't expect to be ranked in the top 10 of anything, let alone #1!

And if that wasn't enough, you guys took it a step further, and yesterday I saw the badge had changed, and Sneaky is #1 ranked in both AMC, and Daryl Dixon as of 5-17-2018.

So I decided to check the stats on here too and HOLY CRAP you guys. This story has over 23,000 reads!

I can't thank you guys enough. Thank you all so much, for reading and helping me achieve one of the greatest things that's ever happened to me. And to celebrate I'm giving you an early chapter with a few scenes I was originally going to cut.

Now enough talk

Enjoy!

I made my way down to Rick inside the barn. He didn't see me coming as he was looking around the interior; eyeing the rafters.

I watched for a moment, trying to figure out what he was doing before tapping my foot to announce my presence. He spun around but at least it isn't weapon first like I'm used to.

For someone who was just snuck up on, he doesn't seem too shook but then again, he was expecting me.

"Nice" Rick motioned at my hair and I smiled, glancing at the ends. But we're not here to talk about my haircut.

I shifted my weight to lean against one of the interior supports, and quirked a brow.

"I'll get straight to the point. How often do you use your gun?"

That came outta nowhere. I don't use it often, but he knows that. So why the sudden interest?

Rick observed my expression and must've found a good enough answer because he nodded. "Could you teach me how to use a knife?"

I looked at him curiously for a moment, tonguing my molars but nodded.

It's not like I got better things to do at the moment, and I don't think it's a bad idea that everyone learn how to use their knives properly.

He took out his knife, shifting his complete attention to me.

Oh he means right now— alright, then.

I pulled my own knife and paused, looking at the severe difference between our blades. My 6 inch man slaughterer vs his barely 2 inch switchblade that couldn't be used to mug a teenager half his size, much less kill a walker, or Merlin forbid a trained human being.

I licked my lips, scratching my neck. Mmm… This is gonna be tough.

The way I use knives will never gonna work for that little thing. Now that I think about it, my style is not something I can just teach either. Enough of it relies on my level of reflex.

The way I use 'em requires a certain degree of stealth & body awareness, that doesn't just happen overnight. It takes months —months we don't have— of dedicated practice to train that sort a thing in yourself.

I could teach him the core basics though. That should relatively easy, and maybe a few tricks to get him started. Those should work better for him anyway.

If he does it right, he won't need to know anything fancy like knife throwing, or fighting an opponent with a knife. I assume he wants to use them on walkers.

Maybe farther down the line it'll come in handy to teach how to face off against someone with a blade, but that's a lesson for another day.

For right now though, the beginner's course it is.

I motioned for Rick to follow me, out of the barn and to the treeline, to find a nice practice dummy.

"Knives are different than what you're used to with a gun. Knives are close quarters weapons, where guns are only effective at 20 feet or more." I twisted the steel blade in my hand. "They extend only as far as you do. And there's a lot of danger that comes with being close in a fight, but if you know what you're doing, it gives you the upper hand."

Rick nodded, listening carefully and watching my hands.

"First things first. There are different kinds of knives and it will affect how you wield them. There are a couple different ways to hold a knife. The most effective depends on which blade you're using. Whether it's long or short will affect how it's used." I demonstrated how most people hold a knife, firmly by the grip, blade straight out.

It's effective for quick stabbing or targeted deep wounds, but not for cutting and not the most effective if it drives through bone. The blade could break, or get stuck and then you've lost your weapon.

"This is my preferred method." I demonstrated. "Blade facing out, braced along the forearm. This makes the attack more difficult to avoid. As well as harder to knock the blade out of hand, and to avoid getting sliced. With this method, you can slice with forward motion" I demonstrated on the tree, cutting a slow clean line into the bark.

"And stab as you come back." I brought my arm back the other direction and imbedded the end of my knife into the bark hard enough to stick.

Rick looked impressed but also looked as if he recognized the move. Not surprising, he might have seen me use it before.

"This isn't effective for most short blades, but the longer ones are twice as dangerous this way and easier to control."

He nodded, scratching his nose for a second but didn't take his attention off the lesson.

"Short blades are meant for stabbing. Quick, decisive strikes. Pinpoint attacks. Aim for the weak soft tissues."

I tapped his stomach with my knuckles. "The gut"

"Arteries" I tapped several arteries in different places of the body; including his thigh, where the femoral artery is located.

"Exposed Tendons and joints when you can get them are the sweet zone for disablement." I lifted his arm and ran my finger in a 'slice' over the muscles that allow you to lift your arm, and again at the inside of his elbow, and gave a quick "slice" to the back of his knee.

"Don't ever underestimate how effective a strike to the knee can be. It disables your target from running, and you'd be surprised how limited movement becomes."

He nodded, eyebrows raising as he thought about it.

"Anywhere on the neck should be your target if you catch it left open. The jugular in particular." I rested two fingers above his collarbone, on the muscle protecting the jugular. "One strike, or puncture of any kind to this area and you'll either bleed out in minutes, be unconscious in a few seconds, or if it ruptures... near immediate death."

Rick nodded, and I motioned to the tree for him to try.

I can see why he was deputy. He's a fast learner. After only a few strikes he's getting the hang out it.

"In a knife fight, don't be afraid to use other parts of your body. A slice across the chest followed through with an elbow to the jaw can put most people on the ground like that." I snapped my fingers.

"Don't underestimate how effective a fast strike between blade attacks can be." I tapped his shoulder and he turned back towards me.

"Stab" I pushed on his solar plexus with my fingers.

"Strike" I dropped the side of my hand in a chopping motion on his jugular.

"Slash" My fingertips dragged across his throat. "A combo is your finishing move. If your opponent isn't down for the count by the end of one, it failed."

He nodded and I motioned to put the knife down and to try on me.

He repeated the same move I just did, but added a stab to the gut on the end.

I hummed, nodding; eyebrows raised. I'm impressed. He's picking it up quick.

"The less resistance, the better. Avoid bone whenever possible." I tapped his sternum, and pressed on another few points where tough bone resides beneath the flesh. "You could chip or even break your blade. Worse case scenario, it gets stuck and you lose your weapon in the struggle."

Rick nodded, "I know. I've seen it."

"A shot to the solar plexus with your fist is more effective than with a blade because it traumatizes the diaphragm, and causes the muscles to seize which could stun your opponent if they don't have exceptional muscle there."

He nodded, understanding and I motioned again. He re-tried his combo and this time if we had been having a real fight, it would have been deadly.

I smirked and gave him a firm pat on the arm with an approving grunt.

"Where you aim will differ between what you're target is. Something alive? All the good stuff from before. Something dead? The temple is your sweet spot." I pressed on the very spot.

"Base of the skull works well too." I found the point where the skull connects to spinal column.

"Eye socket's great, though it's better for longer blades because it squirts and blood makes your grip slick. Your aim should be to make quick, clean kills with as little energy expenditure as possible. It's easy to stand in one place and shoot things, but a knife fight is more physically demanding. You will get tired easier, and the more energy you spend, your chances of winning could free fall in a snap."

"In a tight spot, you can go up through here." I tapped his nose. "Works well for a long screwdriver. Best case scenario you hit it right and bone shards shoot into the skull."

Rick grimaced though he tried to hide it and shifted a little. I can almost hear him thinking, 'I don't even wanna know how she knows that.'

"Avoid the top of the head." I dropped my fist on the top of his head but not hard enough to hurt him. "The cranium is built to take impact. It's a protective case and takes more force than it's worth to get through. And if your blade doesn't break, it'll get stuck no doubt. Unless you're very lucky."

"Makes sense." He nodded again, leaning his weight to one leg as I removed my hand to motion a circle around my lips.

"Avoid the mouth area. Only thing that'll do, is get you bit. And it's not only walker bites that can kill you with that." His brow quirked, in peeked interest.

"The bacteria present in a human mouth, living or dead, could easily pass a life-threatening infection that we no longer have the means to treat. Like flesh eating bacteria. You should avoid mouth shots coming in contact with your bare skin no matter what you're using. Knife, gun, fist, club. You may win the fight, but in the end you'll lose the war."

Rick nodded and finally asked what I suspect as been burning his tongue since the lesson began. "You didn't strike me as the medical type. Where'd you learn all this?"

I shrugged, "Curious person. You pick things up."

"You pick up a lot a thangs." Rick turned back to the tree, practicing a few techniques I displayed and practicing a few combos; mixing and matching, creating his own, tossing in a few famous moves I recognized, and later putting twists on them.

Let it never be said that Rick Grimes is not a capable human being.