I really, really need reviews. School is insane- Trig, Chemistry, Spanish, AP World- it's insane. And reviews are what are motivating me to write right now. There will be a lot more Jamie/Carl in the next few chapters, by the way.

Daryl awoke to the early morning light filtering through the grimy windows. He smiled slightly when he saw Jamie was still asleep on his chest, mouth open slightly and head resting against his chest. His smile dimmed slightly when he remembered the vents of last night. Still, they had to keep on living, despite the fact that civilization itself seemed to have died.

But he couldn't help the way his mouth twitched up into a smile as he brushed a strand of chestnut hair away from her face, seeing the peaceful expression on her face. She looked so small while she was sleeping, almost child-like. She portrayed the very innocence she;d lost in the waking world.

"Jamie. Hey, baby girl, wake up." He spoke quietly.

"Mmmm..." she hummed, squirming slightly and nestling further against his chest. She clearly didn't want to get up.

"Jamie- c'mon. Get up." He gently shook her, and her eyes fluttered open. "What?" she muttered calmly.

"Mornin' to you too, sunshine." Daryl said, smirking. Even after the apocalypse, teenagers still didn't like to wake up early- go figure.

"You needa eat." He said quietly, pulling out the hindquarters of the rabbit they'd gotten yesterday. They had the head, as well, but he figured they might as well eat the ass first, since it had more meat on it.

Jamie took it hesitantly, eyes bright with concern. "Aren't you gonna eat any?" she asked quietly.

Daryl nodded. "Save me half." was all he said, before starting to pack up their little gear, pretending not to be watching her from the corner of his eye. He knew his girl, and he knew she cared for him far more than she should- he made certain she ate a good amount of the rabbit before setting it down and moving away.

Daryl picked up what she'd left, tearing a hunk of the raw meat off in his teeth and swallowing. It slithered down his throat, but they'd learned not to be picky. Besides, they'd be moving out in a few minutes, didn't have the luxury of a fire.

There was a puddle of gasoline a few feet away, and Jamie smiled slightly, crouching down before it and studying her rainbow-tinted reflection. Her hair was stringy and filthy, drawn back in a messy ponytail. Her Denim jacket was spattered intermittently with blood and grime, and her jeans were faded and had holes in the knees. There was a smudge of mud across her face, and blood on her lips from her raw meal a few minutes earlier.

She smiled sadly, brushing a stray lock of filthy hair from her face. She wondered if Carl would still think she was pretty. She was almost always dirty, of course- it was her nature, and no matter how much Carol had sent her off to attempt to wash and scrub the grime and blood from herself before joining everyone else at the prison for a meal, she couldn't just get rid of it. Dirt was a part of who she was, now, a part of her being.

She felt a pang, remembering those times. Sneaking out into the prison yard to lay on the dew-moistened grass with Carl and stare up at the stars, going hunting with Daryl, watching the younger children, whose innocence hadn't yet been stolen playing, and smiling sadly as she watched, knowing she'd never be that lighthearted again. Even though she'd known the people from Woodbury would never understand her, never see what she had, it'd been good- a stable place, fences, food- a family.

She scowled, turning from her reflection in disgust. Carol would've said she looked half-dead and ordered her to wash with a small smile on her face.

But it didn't really matter anymore, since Carol, too, was gone.

She turned to see Daryl's boots and looked up, seeing him standing, trash bag in hand, watching her.

"You ready to go?"

Jamie nodded, standing, and they strode out the back door, intent on joining the others.

Before they could, though, they found it- the head. Daryl almost kicked it on accident, not seeing it. He stopped only just shy of doing so when he saw Jamie stop dead and stare.

He, too, stood motionless as he stared. Len's decapitated head sat before them, mouth open in an undead howl. There was an arrow through his forehead.

He watched the emotions flicker across Jamie's face, the flare of his nostrils, she was scared, before it was replaced with morbid curiosity as she knelt down. And then, any trace of emotion disappeared as she quietly placed the heel of her boot on the dead man's cheek, holding the head steady as she reached down and pulled the arrow out, ignoring how it was sticky was congealed blood as she added it to her quiver.

Daryl couldn't really blame her- Arrows were precious, considering they didn't have time to stop and make more, and she could use all she could get.

They strode over to where the group was waiting, standing in a circle and chuckling quietly at mumbled, no doubt dirty, jokes.

Joe grinned as they approached. "Glad to see you." he said calmly.

Daryl nodded coolly, and Jamie heard twigs breaking in the woods to the right and looked over.

"It's just Tony, kid- he hadda take a piss." Harley informed her, and Jamie nodded, unconsciously stepping a bit closer to Daryl.

Joe didn't seem deterred in the least by their silence. "We're close. I can tell- the tracks get fresher. We get lucky, we can catch the bastards before night tonight."

Daryl nodded, choosing to ignore the glint in the man's eye, the blood lust that he;d seen so many times before in the eyes of a hound dog that'd treed its prey.

Tony strode over to them, zipping up his pants as he went, and Jamie made sure she was looking at her shoes. Tony grinned stupidly, however, gaze finding her pointedly, and Daryl made a point of glaring at him.

"We moving out, or what?"

It was an hour or so later when Daryl nodded to them. "We'll catch up in a few minutes." he said calmly to Joe, who frowned.

"Jamie has to piss." he explained.

Jamie fought back the blush that threatened to overtake her- she didn't have to piss, Daryl was lying through her teeth, but she didn't question it. He must have had a reason.

Harley smiled slightly. "We can wait." he said, mouth twitching suggestively.

Joe scowled at him. "He said he'll catch up, you sick fuck."

Daryl let out a relaxed breath as soon as they walked on, nodding to Jamie as they strode into the woods.

Jamie gave him a sideways glance, wondering what this was about.

Daryl sighed. "I wanted to talk to you. Alone."

Jamie nodded. She understood the need for privacy. It meant he was going to tell her something the rest of the group didn't need to hear, something that didn't concern them.

"We're leaving tonight."

She found herself feeling both relieved and slightly afraid. "You sure?" she asked quietly. Sure, it was rough here, a bit tense, but there were worse places to be.

"Yeah I'm sure." Daryl said, jaw clenching slightly. He didn't like being questioned. He was tense enough as it was. After seeing what they'd done to Len this morning and watching how the group was beginning to act towards Jamie, he'd decided he didn't want to stay here a second more then they had to.

"You heard Joe. He said they're gonna catch up to the people who killed his friend tonight. I don;t want to get tangled up in that shit- it's none of our business, anyways. We leave tonight, while they're trying to ambush whoever the hell it is. Just up and go. Got it?"

Jamie nodded, though she had a slightly anxious look on her face.

Daryl sighed, realizing he must've acted pretty rattled to make her look at him like that.

"Just... be ready, okay?"

"Okay."

And they walked on.

"You picked the wrong place to settle for the night, motherfucker." Joe sneered, smiling at Rick. Dusk had quickly turned to night, and the trio found themselves and the broken down jeep surrounded by the group.

"Thought you could get away with it, I'll bet. Killed our friend, didn't think anything would come of it. Well it's judgement day, motherfucker. Now drop that gun."

Rick glared at him and made no move to lower his weapon. Harley had his gun aimed at Michonne's head, Dan had taken Michonne's sword and held her at gunpoint, and Billy, Tony, and Lou were providing cover as they stood around the group.

Joe smiled. "Damn. It woulda been so much easier if you'da listened. We'd have made it quick. But now, we're gonna take your girl, and then your son, and you'll have to watch."

They'd been about to leave through the brush, but now sat watching the shit about to fly.

"We have to help them." Jamie whispered quietly, eyes wide with fear.

Daryl nodded. "Whatever happens- stay here, alright?"

She nodded, and Daryl quietly took off, circling around so he'd end up coming behind the truck.

"Them's good people." He spoke, knowing it probably wouldn't do any good.

Joe's eyes flashed dangerously. Daryl knew right then and there that he was fucked.

"See, that's where you're wrong. They killed one of our men. 's a shame- I liked you, Daryl. I really did." Joe nodded to Billy and Lou, who stepped forward. If it'd been a fair fight, he'd have stood a chance, but he fell to his knees in the leaves as one man held him so he couldn't fight and the other beat the shit out of him.

Joe grinned. "'S a darn shame." He muttered.

Just then, and arrow sang through the air and sunk into the meat of Tony's shoulder.

"Dammit bitch!" And Tony was gone into the woods. Daryl felt his heart sink even lower, if that was possible.

"Jamie." He choked out as they continued to pummel him. "Run."

Rick stared on in horror when, a moment later, Tony dragged Jamie, kicking and fighting, from the woods, throwing her down onto the leaves a few feet from Carl, unzipping his jeans and smiling. "I been waiting a long time for this, bitch."

"No!" Daryl growled, fighting desperately to no avail.

Carl stared up at Harley from where the man had him on the ground. He could feel the man's erection against his thigh from where he was being straddled, and he squirmed desperately, struggling for the knife that was just out of his reach.

Carl looked up numbly at Harley, eyes wide, groping frantically for the knife that laid just out of his reach in the leaves. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion from there as Harley fumbled to undo his belt.

All he could hear was Jamie's screaming and Tony's swearing as he tried to subdue her.

Tony managed to a minute later, straddling her and peeling off her denim jacket, smiling at her.

"I been waiting for a long time for this, bitch."

It was then she realized the knife that was just out of Carl's reach was within hers.

Tony fumbled to unzip her jeans, large fingers clumsy, as she managed to close her hand around the blade's handle.

A moment later she'd stabbed him in the base of his stomach.

He stared, eyes glassy, staring down at the knife in disbelief for a moment before starting to choke. Blood dribbled down the corners on his mouth and she watched, terrified...

He wasn't dead yet. That thought and pure instinct was the only thing that drove her to seize the knife handle and pull up, slicing through flesh, the knife stopping at the base of his ribs.

His entrails spilled out as he fell forward, landing on top of her and making horrible gurgling sounds as blood ran down his chin. And then, all at once, it stopped. He was dead. And she was trapped beneath his body.

Joe laughed at him. Rick fired his gun but missed, and Joe barreled into him, knocking the revolver from his hand.

One punch landed, two, and Rick was stumbling. Joe laughed, shoving him away. "What're you gonna do 'bout it, bitch?"

The next thing he knew, his teeth were in the man's throat. Warm blood filled his mouth, but he didn't care, tearing out the skin with his teeth and glaring, watching as blood flowed like a river and Joe fell to his knees and died.

Michonne, seeing the man holding her katana was distracted, took her chance, flying at him and pushing him back, grabbing her katana as he held the sheath and in one swift motion succeeding in decapitating him.

She moved towards Daryl next, to see the man land on top of one of his assailants, slamming his boot down and watching the skull crush from the force of it.

He could clearly handle himself.

She went towards Carl, about to stab Harley, when Rick pushed her away. "He's mine." He growled.

Carl found himself clinging to Michonne, eyes glassy with unshed tears, not wanting to watch but unable to look away as his father stabbed Harley's throat again and again, making sure he died slow.

Daryl slammed his assailant, the last man of Joe's group, down, drawing his knife from his boot and ending him.

He looked up to watch Rick stabbing the hell out of someone who was barely recognizable to him. That was when it hit him. Jamie wasn't standing beside him.

"Jamie!"

Rick looked up from his moment of total blackout rage to see Daryl running over to the fallen Tony. In one swift move he'd rolled the body off of Jamie and was anxiously examining her.

"He's gonna come back." Jamie rasped, voice hoarse from screaming.

"What?" Daryl asked.

At that moment Tony sat up, reanimated, and lunged at Daryl.

There was a gunshot, blood spatter everywhere, and Tony laid dead in the leaves between them.

They looked over to see that somewhere in the madness, Rick had managed to grab his revolver once again and had taken the shot.

Daryl nodded toward Rick, thanking the man with his gaze, and Jamie just clung to him, shaking like a leaf.

Tears rolled down Carl's face as Michonne stroked his hair, staring down at him sadly.

Jamie was gasping for air, crying from where she clung to Daryl, who simply ran his fingers through her hair.

"Shh, baby girl, shh- it's all over now."

BAM! I NEED AT LEAST THREE MORE REVIEWS BEFORE I EVEN THINK ABOUT POSTING AGAIN, SINCE I MISS YOU GUYS. PLEASE REVIEW!