Daryl saw the gas station up ahead and turned into it. They'd tried the last three, but had no luck. He was hoping this one would have some gas.
Pulling over in front of the pump, he and Merle hopped out. Walking around to the back of the truck, he began unstrapping the cords when he heard something move.
"What the hell?" Daryl said, drawing Merle's attention.
Motioning for Merle to get the other side, they began unstrapping the tarp. Nodding his count, Daryl and Merle pulled the tarp off at the same time and prepared to attack, but they didn't see anything. Climbing into the truck bed, Daryl started moving stuff around to see if an animal had gotten inside. Sliding a box away from the back, he was startled suddenly when a pair of crystal blue eyes stared up at him.
"Come ere!" Daryl shouted, grabbing at the body that was now scrambling out of Daryl's grasp.
Oof! Daryl grunted, getting kicked in the gut by the termagant.
The bundled body jumped over the edge of the truck, but didn't see Merle. Leaping from it, Merle was able to grab them midair, bringing both of them tumbling to the ground.
Daryl leapt over the side of the truck to help Merle wrangle the wild animal they'd found but when they started shrieking in terror, he pulled back. Even Merle went still. He didn't release them, just stopped moving and held tight.
Daryl crouched down, studying their captive. Covered from head to toe in snow gear, he couldn't tell the age or gender but he could tell they were scared.
"Hey. We're not gonna hurt ya." Daryl said softly, thinking back to his first meeting with Katelyn.
Daryl helped Merle stand them up so he could see the face inside the pile of coats. Merle held on though, not letting go while Daryl took hold of the furry hood. Pulling it back, he revealed the frightened face of a teenage girl with a hell of a shiner.
"You're freezing." He stated, taking in the blue lips and shivering.
Daryl sighed. He knew the look in her eyes and glanced at Merle who was at a loss as to what to do with her. Normally he'd be making nasty comments to her, but for once, he'd kept his mouth shut.
Daryl squatted down in front of her so he wasn't standing over her.
"You hiding from someone?" He asked, his eyes narrowing as he thought back to the people they'd talked to who had their girl's kidnapped.
She watched him warily, but didn't answer.
"You have any family still?" He tried again.
Tears welled in her eyes and Daryl let out a sigh.
"Sorry." He said, looking down for a second while he tried to think of what to do.
"I can't leave you stranded out here. You're gonna hafta come with us. We ain't gonna hurt ya, k?" Daryl said, looking up at her sincerely.
She blinked, looking around at the desolate landscape and drifts of snow and burst out crying.
"Aw, shit." Merle muttered. He hated it when women cried. It set his teeth on edge.
"You don't gotta cry. We're looking for our friends. We got separated from them. They got kids and families with 'em. You'd fit right in. They're good people." Daryl told her, moving Merle's hands from her arms so she didn't feel trapped.
She was terrified but had no other choice and Daryl knew it. Smiling reassuringly at her, he motioned for her to get in the truck. She hesitated for a minute but knew she was trapped, so she gave in.
"You might wanna take off some of that stuff. We got the heat runnin' so you're gonna get hot." Daryl said, making conversation to put her at ease. "We got warm clothes in the back if you wanna go change. There's bathroom's over there."
She looked toward the small station and sighed, watching Daryl rummage through one of the bags. Pulling out a flannel shirt, he tossed it to her.
She caught it and looked down at it.
"Thank you." She said softly before turning to walk toward the bathroom.
Daryl looked at Merle who rolled his eyes at him.
"What the hell you want me to do? Leave 'er?" Daryl asked, frustrated at the turn of events as well.
"Yeah." Merle said as he grabbed the siphon from the back of the truck.
"Hell no. I'm not leaving some poor girl stranded out here. Yur such an asshole." Daryl scolded, helping Merle fill the tanks.
The girl came back out of the bathrooms, holding her snowpants and coat in her arms. Daryl smiled as she approached, looking at her jeans and flannel and nodding approvingly.
"You can stuff your gear behind the seat in case you need it." He said, nodding toward the cab of the truck.
"The names Daryl. This is Merle." Daryl said, as he continued to fill the tanks.
"Sara." She said quietly, her eyes flitting away as she avoided eye contact.
"You hurt or is that shiner your only injury?" Daryl asked, trying to be nonchalant so she wasn't uncomfortable.
She crossed her arms over her body protectively.
"I'm not hurt." Was the only thing she said.
Daryl stared at her for a second, searching her eyes for the truth, before nodding.
Whatever damage had been done, it was too late. He thought to himself, swearing in his head as he thought of what Katelyn went through.
"Here. You can put the caps back on these for us." Daryl said, pointing at the caps for the extra tanks.
Sara moved quickly, grabbing the caps and screwing them on. She watched them out of the corner of her eye while she worked.
"Let's load 'em." Merle said, lifting two of them to the bed of the truck.
After they were done, Merle nodded toward the cab.
"Hop on in. You're gonna hafta sit in the middle." He said to the girl, frowning with irritation at playing "rescuer".
Sara looked at the truck, her face falling into a frown.
Daryl moved around to the driver side and Merle stood, waiting for the girl to crawl in. When she didn't move fast enough, he picked her up.
Squealing with fear, she quickly moved to the center.
"Leave 'er alone, Merle." Daryl chided, shaking his head at his brother.
"She's slow." Merle whined, climbing in after her.
Squeezed between the two men, Sarah tried to put as much space between them as possible but it wasn't working. Holding herself tightly, she sat ramrod straight.
"You look like you got a pole up yur ass, girl." Merle muttered, looking at her and thinking she was ridiculous.
"Merle!" Daryl snapped, glaring at his brother before starting the truck.
The engine muffled out Merle's response and they took off down the road.
They traveled for a good ten minutes before Merle couldn't take the awkward silence anymore and reached for the CD's.
"I swear if you put in that damn CD again, I'm gonna chuck it!" Daryl growled, causing Sara to look at him with startled eyes, but both brothers weren't even paying attention to her.
"Well I ain't puttin' in yur sissy shit." Merle snapped, digging through to find something they could both stand.
Sara almost smirked, and felt relieved that they were ignoring her.
"How 'bout a little KISS?" Merle suggested, puckering up his lips toward his brother.
Sara couldn't help it this time. She giggled and Daryl looked down at her.
"Fine. As long as you don't sing." He retorted, feeling a little more relaxed now that she wasn't so uptight.
"He breaks glass when he sings." Daryl informed her playfully.
"I do not! I have a fine baritone." Merle explained, beginning to sing in order to prove it.
"Oh god." Daryl groaned, shaking his head with annoyance.
Sara, however, relaxed, slouching into the seat a little, and listened to the two brothers bicker as they drove down the road.