A/N: Welcome to my very first AU story! I've been writing this in my head for a while now, and I finally have it in a place where I am ready to share. I will eventually post an update to Things Left Unsaid, but I was really excited to get this out.

This story is unlike a lot of my previous stories. It will be a multichapter, modern-day, Richonne AU. There will be smut, there will be fluff, and anything else my brain can think of in between.

Here's the prologue, and Chapter 1 will be out in the next day or two.

As always, your feedback is welcomed & appreciated!

Prologue - Stolen

Rick's boots pounded the ground as he trekked through the backwoods of Georgia. The temperature was dropping quickly this close to the Appalachian mountains, making it hard to breathe, but he did not let up his unforgiving pace.

He ran to the thrumming of his own heartbeat with his Colt revolver drawn as he searched for any sign that he was headed in the right direction.

"Rick, over here!"

He spun around blindly for a moment, unsure of which direction to place Daryl's voice, until he forced himself to take a deep breath. He then spotted his friend hunched over nearby, looking closely at the ground.

Maintaining a watchful eye on his surroundings, Rick lowered his weapon as he closed the distance between them. "Is it them?" he demanded when he glanced down and spotted tracks in the dirt.

"Dunno," Daryl grunted, his sharp eyes measuring the depth and width of imprints, "but they're fresh and they head south."

Rick didn't wait for further information, he immediately took off in the general direction he was given.

Time was of the essence and his fear was beginning to cloud his judgement with the more time that passed. Especially as the sun started to dip below the horizon, making the foreign landscape even harder to navigate.

"Hold up," Daryl called to him, but Rick didn't slow down. Daryl cursed under his breath as he hurried to catch up to him. "Rick! Wait a minute," he persisted, putting a firm hand on Rick's shoulder to turn him around.

For the first time Daryl saw how completely unhinged his friend, who was more like his brother, really was. In all the years he had known Rick, he had never seen him look so deranged, and to see it now sent a chill down his spine.

"Listen," Daryl started calmly, understanding this was one of the rare occasions where he would have to be the more level-headed of the two of them. "We'll find them, but we gotta be smart. It's cold as hell out here, they'll need a fire if nothing else."

Rick drew a slow, shuddering breath, nodding once to acknowledge he understood.

Daryl looked around, assessing the layout. "We gotta get to higher ground."

Rick nodded again, his shoulders rising and falling with another deep exhale. He allowed Daryl to take the lead, after all, tracking was more of his specialty.

They made their way to an incline with a ledge that could provide a better vantage point. With the advantage of a higher view, it was easier to spot the small puffs of smoke coming from a clearing about a mile and a half off from their current location.

"Come on," Daryl urged him, having already scouted the quickest route to descend.

Once they reached the forest floor, they ran in tandem through the woods until a small log cabin was in sight. It was nestled in a clearing with the backdrop of the mountains, making it appear almost idyllic in the picturesque background.

"Looks like it's just one level, one room," Daryl observed from the cover of the forest edge.

"He's in there," Rick said with certainty, nodding to the flickering shadow reflecting through the windows on the ground outside from the fireplace within. "I'm going to get a closer look."

He crouched low to the ground, to avoid being seen out of one of the cabin's two front windows. As he took to the right, Daryl ventured towards the left in the same manner.

Quickly and quietly, Rick did a sweep of the area around him, seeing nothing but a shoulder high pile of chopped wood stack neatly on the outside of the cabin. He also noticed two additional windows along the side paneling, but no other entryway to speak of when met Daryl around the back.

"I was right," Daryl whispered to him, "ain't much to this place."

"Head to the front," Rick told him, "I'll lure him out."

Daryl followed his instruction without another word while Rick returned to the stack of wood. He used the butt of his gun to push over the logs on top, causing an avalanche-effect for the remainder of the stack. He took a generous step back as they noisily rolled free from their confinement, knowing whoever was inside should want to come and check all the noise.

His prediction was accurate and as soon as the front door creaked open Daryl reached for the man inside by the collar and threw him out onto the unforgiving ground, leveling his pistol on him in one fluid motion.

Pete Anderson fell down with a pained grunt, but before he could gather his bearings the barrel of Rick's gun was already pressed to his temple.

"So you found me," Pete managed to chuckle even though he was wincing in pain, "she said you would."

Daryl rushed inside the cabin, but Rick had already done a sweep of the place from the window and knew Pete was in there alone.

"Where is she?" Rick demanded, unlocking the safety of his gun.

Pete chuckled, not buying his bravado. "What are you gonna do, Rick? Shoot me?"

Rick promptly redirected his Colt and pulled the trigger, shooting the smug smile off Pete's face with a bullet in the leg.

Pete immediately cried out in pain, "Fuck!" he bellowed as he gripped the bleeding appendage. "God damn it!"

"All that bitchin' for a flesh wound," Daryl scoffed, emerging from the cabin. "The place is empty," he told Rick as he approached.

Rick knelt down and pressed the hot tip of his gun onto its freshly made wound.

"You son of bitch!" Pete cursed as he lunged for Rick, but Daryl stepped towards them and aimed his gun at his hands, forcing Pete to reconsider his intentions.

"In the short amount of time you have known me, when have I ever played about my family?" Rick hissed, tilting his head, waiting for Pete to return his glare. "I missed your artery on purpose. Now, tell me where she is or next time I won't."

Pete's already pale features twisted into a grimace as he cried out from the pain of the hot metal cauterizing the wound. His cries melded into a sadistic laugh as he slowly lifting his dilated eyes back to Rick. "You're too late," he hissed, "she's a part of my collection now."

"He's drunk," Rick sneered in disbelief, pushing away from the ground to stand to his feet.

Daryl looked down in contempt at Pete and his pitiful attempt to keep pressure on his bullet wound. "Fuck this guy. I say we string his ass up on a tree for the police to find."

Rick shook his head. "Drunk or not, he knows where Michonne is and I'm not leaving here until he tells me where to find her."

"You know...I really don't blame you Rick," Pete rasped out, lifting his wavering eyes to level him a dark look, "out of all the ones I've had before, Michonne was my favorite."

Rick cocked his head at the man's words. "What did you say?"

"Don't listen to him," Daryl said in warning.

But it was too late, Pete could tell he had struck a nerve. "I'm actually impressed you managed to snag her up. She was stubborn, much more feisty than I anticipated, but it was worth it," he said, watching in twisted fascination as a myriad of emotions spiraled behind Rick's eyes, "you know what they say, the darker the berry-"

Before Pete could finish his crude remark, Rick had cold-cocked him with a powerful punch to the face. He then pinned him to the ground with his knees and continued to lay into him with a series of stunning blows.

"What did you do? What did you do?" he demanded, the question becoming more frantic with each strike.

"Rick, hold up! Hold up!" Daryl rushed to grab Rick from behind, hauling him off the man before he killed him.

But Rick was too blinded by his rage to see reason. Even as Daryl dragged him away and Pete coughed up spit and blood, all he could see was red.

So there was no need to think when he lifted his gun and pulled the trigger.