Chapter 32

Daryl was able to fall asleep for just a few scattered hours during the night. It helped take the edge off his fatigue, but not his anger. That and the adrenaline he had flowing through him helped keep him going. People were going to die today and he knew he wasn't going to one of them. Daryl looked out the window and could see that the sun was about to come up and he was ready to head out at the first sign of daylight. He was anxious to get going.

Rick was already awake and was rifling through his pack for something to eat. He grabbed a protein bar and handed one to Daryl.

"Gonna take a walk down the road just a ways to get a better look at the trail. I'll be back," Daryl told Rick.

"Okay. As soon as we get any daylight, we can head out."

Daryl gave Rick a nod of his head in agreement and got out of the car. His muscles were tight from sitting in the car all night, so after a quick stretch, he headed for the road. Daryl used his flashlight to scan the debris that covered the unused street and easily saw signs that a vehicle had passed through recently. They were still on the right path. The weather was calm overnight so it didn't do anything to destroy the tracks left by the other car. He continued about half mile down the road, before turning back. It was time to start the search again.

Rick kept his eye on his friend the entire time. He needed to make sure that Daryl didn't just take off on him if he saw something. They needed to do this together. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw him turn around and head back to the car. As soon as Daryl got back in, Rick took off. The sun was barely up, so visibility was difficult, but they still were able to follow the faint tracks.

A couple miles down the road they came to an intersection and Daryl got out. On closer inspection, he could see disturbances in the ground cover on the pavement that led towards the left, so they headed that way. About five miles down the road, they saw a car stopped in the middle with the hood up. They stayed back looking for signs of life, but saw nothing.

Rick slowly pulled the car up behind the vehicle and they both cautiously got out. With guns in hand, they cleared the car, but found nothing. "The water pump went," Daryl told Rick. "They abandoned the car last night."

"Look at this," Rick said. He had a blue bandana in his hand. It was on the floor behind the driver seat.

Daryl took it and brought it to his nose. "Yep. That's Emma's. I gave it to her when she asked if I had another. She kept it in her pocket. Her scent's on it."

"She's leaving us a trail," Rick stated. Emma was a smart girl.

"She sure is," Daryl agreed. He then scanned the area and saw where they headed into the woods. "They went in here. I bet they camped for the night and its early enough they could still be there.

"I'll follow you," Rick said.

Together they went single file into the wooded area off the road. Daryl followed the path the group had carelessly left. They weren't too far in when he could smell the remnants of a campfire. He signaled Rick to slow down and watch. Everything they did from now on was done with hand signals and looks. Slow and steady they approached the camp.

Rick and Daryl hid behind some dense brush and surveyed the campsite. They saw Emma lying on her side on the ground. Dwight was on his back with a knee bent, so he was most likely awake. There was another larger man standing up.

Relief flowed through Daryl. He had found Emma and she was still alive. Thank-fucking-God.

Emma was watching the two men that abducted her. She was trying to think of a way to escape, but the ropes that bound her hands behind her were too tight. She knew that someone from home should have realized she was missing by now. With any luck, Daryl was back and he would come find her. She had complete faith in him. She also knew he would find the breadcrumbs she had inconspicuously left along the way, her hair tie and bandana.

As she struggled to a sitting position she heard Dwight laugh at her. "Having problems?"

"If the ropes were so damn tight I could use my arms better, dickhead," she spat at him.

"Ain't no way, I'm chancing you getting away. You're my ticket up the ladder. Negan's been drooling after you since the night those idiots from Alexandria got captured." Dwight stayed reclined on the ground by the near dead fire. He wasn't in any hurry to start the day. It was still a long walk back to the Saviors main headquarters to give Emma over to Negan. With any luck they'd find another car along the way. He wasn't looking forward to walking the entire way back.

"D, I'm gonna go take a dump," the other man said.

"Shit, just make sure it's far enough from camp that I don't have to smell your shit, Jake," Dwight told him.

"Yeah, yeah," the big man told him. He wandered through the trees until he found a log that was down. That would give him a good place to squat. He dropped his pants so they were down around his ankles and perched himself on the log.

He wasn't looking forward to the long walk back to the compound. The damn car broke down and that screwed up their plan. "Man, today is gonna suck," he said.

"You got that fuckin' right asshole," Daryl said as he slit the man's throat. He was dead within seconds. "Yep, today just wasn't your day."

One down and one to go.

Emma knew that she should be afraid, but she wasn't. Dwight was a weasel and he would get his due. She had no intention of being handed over like a prize to Negan. All she had to do was sit and wait for Daryl, so she planned on delaying them as much as possible. When the car broke down, she almost laughed at Dwight. He was cursing and kicking the car as the water spewed all over the road. All she could think was, "Ain't karma a bitch."

"What you smiling about bitch?" Dwight asked her.

"You don't know how much trouble you are in. When Daryl finds you, you'll be lucky there's enough left for a walker to eat. You are so dead!" she hissed him.

Dwight started to laugh at her. "You mean you hooked up with that loser? Emma, you could have done so much better, but I ain't worried about Daryl. There's nothing he can do to touch me. He's too stupid and careless. I'm not worried about him at all."

There was a loud 'whoosh' and Dwight looked down at his chest. There was a hunting knife sticking out of it, right through his heart. He looked up in surprise and saw Daryl walking out of the brush. Dwight's eyes were wide with fear. He couldn't breathe as he felt the blood pouring out of his body.

"You should have listened to the lady, asshole," Daryl said strutting up to him. "You took my bike, I got it back. You took my crossbow, I'm getting it back now, he said as he picked the crossbow up off the ground. "But when you took my woman, you made the biggest mistake of your fuckin' life cause now you die. No one takes my girl and lives." He put his hand on the handle of knife and looked Dwight right in the eyes. Daryl's face gave away his hatred of the man and Dwight knew he was dead. Daryl's hand twisted the knife and the Savior fell back in a bloody heap… dead. Daryl pulled the knife out of his chest and wiped it on the dead man's pants.

Rick had already cut Emma loose from her bonds and she stood up rubbing her sore wrists. Daryl ran over to her and pulled her into his strong arms. They held into each other without saying a word.

Rick gave them some space by going through the men's belongings looking for anything useful. He pocketed a couple of guns with additional rounds of ammunition.

"Are you okay," Daryl asked Emma.

"I am. They didn't hurt me at all."

"Are you sure?" Daryl asked her again. Emma was strangely calm for someone who had been abducted.

"Weird, but I'm fine. Maybe later I'll crash into a heap of tears, but I knew you'd come for me. I never doubted that for a second," Emma told him. They kissed long and slow, until Rick cleared his throat.

"Let's get the hell outta here," he suggested. He handed Daryl back his weapon and the trio headed through the woods to the car.

Emma sat upfront with Rick and Daryl was in the back seat behind her. He kept a hand on her shoulder the entire trip back. No one spoke for a while.

"We gotta come up with a plan to get rid of Negan, Rick or we'll have the Saviors hanging over our heads forever," Daryl said from the backseat.

"That group is so damn huge, I can't come up with an idea that would work," Rick replied.

"I learned something from Dwight that may help," Emma offered.

"What was that?" Rick asked her.

"Apparently there will be a meeting of Negan and all of his Lieutenants in a couple days. Dwight wanted to make a big deal of handing me over to him then. It's at an old church that is near their basecamp, you'd have them all together in one spot," she explained. "Taking them all out at once would throw the group into chaos."

Rick looked into the rearview mirror and caught Daryl's eyes. He knew they were both thinking the same thing. It could be done. They had the ways and means to do it. Now they just had to find this church and their nightmare with Negan would go away.


A/N - Would love to know what you all think?