Hi there folks! I hope you are all doing well, and surviving the weeks without our favorite show without too much trouble. I managed to get this chapter done, so I wanted to get it out to you guys right away. I'm going to be completely honest and tell you guys that I have NEVER updated a story this frequently and I'm really surprised that I am working this fast on this one. I'm just thankful my muse is being so prolific. She usually requires blood sacrifices and gobs of reviews to keep her happy. So, I suppose this is also a slight warning... I may not be able to keep this rate up on the updates, but I'm going to try. Reviews will definitely help! Thanks to those of you that are showing your support with every update. I love to see new people adding me to their lists. It makes me very happy!

Guest: Thanks for your lovely review! Don't worry, the rest of the group will get brought into the story, but it will take time. I actually debated whether I should bring Beth or the other groups up first, but then I realized that no one knows about the other groups yet. We'll get there though! I hope this chapter answers some of your questions regarding the people that have Beth and the big camp. More will be revealed on both fronts in upcoming chapters, and I think there will be some pretty good surprises in there for you. As for the relationship with Daryl/Beth/Emma... well I think you will see some stuff in this chapter that will probably confuse you even more. I do assure you that this is a Daryl/OC story, but it is going to take time. I believe our other characters believe they have certain feelings for each other, and that has to get worked out first. I have a plan for that though, so have no fear! Thanks again for all your wonderful reviews! I wish you had an account so I could write you better messages, but alas... Thanks!

On with the show!

Chapter Seven – Victoria Falls

I wonder where do we go – where do we go – tell me where. I need something stronger – to keep my feet on the ground – are you content chasing shadows – I find no peace in what you have found – your hopeful unknown – tell me, where do we go

- Anadel

Daryl felt like he had suddenly been struck by lightning; every nerve in his body buzzing in pain and excitement. His hand jerked out to grab her shirt without him actually consciously doing it. He was rewarded with a very angry glare from her, and he promptly dropped the fabric that was enclosed in his fist. He patted the scrunched fabric, and blushed furiously when he realized that he had actually been roughly patting her breast. The electric excitement still remained, but it was slightly dampened by the mortification he was feeling for his actions.

He jerked his eyes from the onyx fury that was currently being directed at him, and cleared his throat. "Where's she at?"

He felt her shift away from him, and was a little guilty for making her uncomfortable. Not that he wasn't uncomfortable enough for both of them of course. He hadn't felt a woman up in years, and he had to admit to himself that even the brief contact hadn't felt half bad. Her breasts had been firm, and round, probably big enough to overflow in his palm… What the hell am I thinkin'!? He shook his head to remove the offending thoughts, and looked back at her eyes, his face feeling like it was a brilliant crimson color.

"She's safe." Squirrel said softly, not looking at him.

Daryl growled softly, the flush of embarrassment being replaced with one of irritation. "That ain't what I asked, girl."

She sighed softly and turned to look at him, her face filled with conflicted emotions that he couldn't even begin to understand. "She's probably a couple days walk from here, at an old dairy."

Daryl studied her for a moment, noticing that she seemed both closed and open at the same time. As if she was opening up, but really didn't want to. He could understand that dilemma since he was almost always stuck in the same place. He couldn't help but think 'bout what Beth could do for another person that was like him in that way. Maybe Beth would be able to get her to open up, to feel comfortable with the group the way she had done with him. He would never know if he didn't go out and find that girl.

"Which way?" he asked, surprising himself with how calm his voice was.

She lifted an arm and pointed to the west. "About a day west of the river, near a town. I don't know what it was called before."

He started to rise to his feet, "Well I better go get 'er then."

He felt a hand reach out, and forcefully grab his arm, pulling him back into a seated position. "You're in no condition to travel. I'll take Rick and go for her."

Daryl snarled down at her, meeting her eye with his fierce glare. "I lost 'er, I'm gonna be the one ta find 'er."

He noticed that her eyes had gone completely calm, maybe even serene. "You can't get her alone. You'll need me if you want to get her out safely. We'll leave in the morning."

He felt his blood seething in his veins. He didn't want to wait for morning, and he didn't want no one tagging along slowing him down. "I'm leavin' now, and I don't need no girl taggin' 'long to hold me up."

He saw that her expression hadn't changed in the least, and he was surprised. It had seemed that she had the same fiery temper that he did, but she wasn't rising to the occasion. She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by Rick's calm voice. "She's right, brother. You need to rest. You don't know where the dairy is, and even if you did, you wouldn't be able to attack it alone. I'll go with her tonight, after everyone gets a little rest."

Daryl glanced up to see Rick standing in the window reloading his pistol, a familiar expression on his face. He wasn't going to take no for an answer, and the subject wasn't up for discussion. Unfortunately for Rick this wasn't' somethin' that Daryl was willing to let up on either. He was about to tell Rick to go to hell, but that damn girl sighed with annoyance, and it broke his concentration.

She looked up at him with those big brown eyes, and he could see that the serenity was gone. It had been replaced by a look that he somehow remembered from all those years ago. She was afraid, and… and something else that he couldn't place. He hadn't been able to place it then either, but he knew he didn't like it. "Fine." She whispered. "We'll leave now. Let me pack some supplies, and we'll go." She gracefully rose to her feet and slipped back into the treetop cabin.

Rick stared at him for a long moment before he looked down and ran his fingers through his short, curly hair. "I should go with her. You're a mess, and you need to heal up." He paused and looked back at Daryl; his eyes were resigned, and unhappy. "But I know you're just going to fly off the handle and come after us if I tell you to stay. Carl and Michonne need someone here, so I guess I'll be that person."

Daryl nodded his appreciation, and slipped back through the window. He saw Squirrel checking Michonne's bandages, and could hear her quietly giving Carl instructions for her care, though he couldn't make out the words through the haze in his skull.

He walked over to the weapon wall and pulled a pack off of a shelf under it. He then strode over to the kitchen and pulled two bags of some kind of jerky off the shelf and shoved it into the bag. He also grabbed a can of tuna, two cans of tomatoes, and a couple bottles of waters before he swung around and made his way over to the blue medical bag by the bed. Be pulled out a few packs of gauze, some disinfectant, and some other random medical supplies and shoved them into the pack with the food and water. His last stop was the armory wall, and he stood there impatiently waiting for Squirrel to get over there and pick what her weapons would be.

He didn't have to wait long, as a moment later she was pulling the same holster on as she had the previous night, and selecting the same weapons. This time she threw an extra box of ammo for each gun into the pack, and cleaned the shelf of arrows, but otherwise she didn't change up her preparations in any way. He rammed a shotgun, and a box of shells into the pack after she had walked away. Then he took every last crossbow bolt and shoved an extra knife into the waistband of his pants. Then he strode toward the window without a second glance.

He had to stand on the ground below the base for a few long moments while he half listened to Squirrel give Rick directions to some other camp. He mostly ignored what they were saying, but when he heard his name he looked up at the pair. Her voice carried more than Rick's and he focused on what she was saying.

"As soon as she's able to move you guys head out, and we'll meet you there on our return trip. If everything goes according to plan we should all get there around the same time." She paused, and Daryl saw Rick nodding his head. "Daryl and I will get it opened up on our way out. That way you guys just have to get there and get in."

Rick smiled slightly, and Daryl felt annoyance for a moment. They should be goin' for Beth, not standin' 'round jawin'. He was about to interrupt their little chat and say that, but then Squirrel was climbing down the tree and walking toward him. She didn't look at him as she walked past, so he didn't talk to her. It would be better to just be quiet; talkin' was a waste of air. Air that he would need to find Beth.

Emma led the way through the forest the sun blaring on her back and making her already exhausted body protest even more. They had been walking for the last three hours straight, and there would only be daylight for another two hours at most. The darkness would at least give them a respite from the heat, but it would give them other troubles. It would probably take them at least five more hours to get to the big camp, and that would mean walking in the dark for a good long while. She considered saying that they would make camp at dark, but she doubted her companion would go for it, and she also didn't much like the idea of being on the ground while she tried to rest. There were too many things that prowled on the forest floor.

She continued on for another half hour, just trying to push on, but finally she had to succumb and call a short break. She stopped abruptly, and felt Daryl's body heat when he almost walked right into her. She turned around to face him and immediately noticed the hard glare in his eyes.

"What ya doin' girl?"

She fought the urge to roll her eyes at him, and grabbed the pack slung over his shoulder instead. "Water." He grunted and handed her the pack while he scanned the forest around them. She pulled one of the bottles out and drank deeply, feeling the warm water filling her with its life giving energy. She looked around for a moment then passed the bottle to the anxious man.

He looked at it with contempt for a moment, then took it from her hand and took a small drink. He held it in his mouth for a moment, as if he was tasting it to see if it was safe, and then he swallowed it and promptly chugged almost half the bottle. "Thanks." He grumbled as he handed it back to her. She took one last drink, then put in in the pack and handed the bag back to him. This was his little mission, so he could carry the damn pack.

She walked off again, and could hear the faint sound of him following her. She was just getting back into the silent rhythm of moving through the forest when his voice broke it. "So, we stoppin' somewhere?"

She paused in her steps for a moment, and glanced over her shoulder to meet his troubled eyes. Then she nodded and moved on. "We have to stop at the big camp. I need to get it opened up for your friends."

It was quiet again for several minutes, and Emma was relieved that the conversation seemed to be over, but before she could get too comfortable, he spoke again. "There other people there?"

She sighed loudly. Why couldn't he just let the subject drop? This was not a topic she much wanted to discuss right now. Hell, she didn't ever want to discuss it. She stopped and rounded on him. "No. There is nobody else there. They're all gone. We just need to get things opened up and safe so you guys have a place to stay. That okay with you?" She was surprised by how furious and loud her voice was as it came out.

Daryl's eyes were confused and a little angry after her outburst, but he raised his hands slightly in surrender. "Easy, girl." he murmured. He took a small step forward, and shook his head as if he was arguing with himself over the move. "I just figured you had backup someplace out here with the way Joe acted."

Emma's brain froze up for a moment, everything stopping and yet racing at the same time. Of course he would be curious about that… there wasn't really anything about it that would make sense. Even without the incident with Joe, her living alone in the woods probably wouldn't really make sense to him, not with his previous experience with her. Finally she broke free from her trance, and saw that Daryl was looking at her with a bemused expression. She cleared her throat, and though she had a little speech planned out in her mind, only one word passed her lips. "Oh."

Daryl cocked his eyebrows at her, obviously awaiting a further explanation. Finally she broke eye contact with him, and sighed. "It's just me. The others have been gone for a long time. Moved on. I had a run in with Joe's group a few months ago. It didn't go well for them… or me… but I came out on top. They remember stuff like that."

She chanced a glance at him, and could see that he was struggling with wanting to know more, and wanting to keep moving, so she made the decision for him and started forward again. The sun was already heading toward the horizon, and she didn't want to spend any more time out in the dark than they had too.

She didn't hear his footsteps behind her for a minute, but then they were there. She slowed slightly to allow him to catch up to her, and felt an odd sense of relief when he moved to walk beside her instead of behind her. It wasn't relief because she was afraid he would shoot her in the back or something, though. It was simply the relief of having another living person beside her after solitude for so long. That awareness scared the hell out of her, and she picked up the pace so she was in the lead again. She couldn't let herself get close to these people, it would only make it hurt worse when they were gone.

Daryl stood looking up at the hulking shadow above him. It was full dark, and had been for a few hours, but there was enough light cast from the sliver of a moon to see the outline of the monstrous building above him. He couldn't tell exactly how large it was, but he would guess it was at least the size of C block back at the prison. He noted then that Squirrel wasn't by his side anymore, and he glanced around for her. Then a light lit up above him and he saw her silhouette in a large window. The light drowned out almost the entire building, the brightness making the dark shape impossible to see, but he was able to spot a large landing and a rope ladder hanging down for him.

He approached it cautiously, and climbed up with a bit of difficulty. The few hours of unconsciousness he had had the previous night wasn't really cutting it, and his injuries were making sure he didn't forget about them. When he neared the top he saw her hand extended to him and grasped it gratefully as she helped haul his sorry ass onto the porch. He looked into the room behind her, and was shocked by what he saw. Though he could only see a small portion of the room, it looked like a damn mansion.

He looked down at the woman, and saw a tired smile flit across her face. "Welcome to the big camp." She shifted her gaze to the inside of the house, and he saw her face contort into an unpleasantly sad scowl. Then she climbed in the window and beckoned him in behind her.

Once he was inside he took a moment to let the surroundings sink in. The room was obviously a kitchen, though it lacked what most people would associate with such a room; only containing a long counter, and a camp stove. However, there were shelves filled with canned goods, and other shelves that housed more dried food than he had seen in a while. It actually reminded him of when he first walked into the pantry of the prison and saw all that food. It was a little overwhelming really, so he looked the other way. The middle of the room had four large picnic style tables, probably enough seating for about 40 people, if they squished up together. The back wall housed book shelves that had a large number of books, though they were far from full. There were two doorways at the ends of it, and a staircase that led above though he couldn't see what was up there. He also noticed that there were several more shuttered windows scattered along the walls.

"This ain't no camp." He mumbled, and was surprised when he heard Squirrel chuckle softly.

He looked back at her, and saw her shrug slightly, "Call it what ya want. I've just always called 'em camps."

"There are more a' these places?"

She nodded, "Yeah, the rest are like where we were. Small. Just for a couple people to go out hunting or scouting."

It made sense to him; places that people could find safety if they went out for food or whatever else a big group would want to do. Glen and Maggie would have loved the opportunity for real privacy. The fact that this place was as big as it was troubled him some though. It was obviously built for a large group, and they were nowhere to be seen. He would have asked her about it, but her little outburst on the trip there had cured him of that desire. He wasn't much in the mood to have his head ripped off by some little Squirrel.

He watched her stride over to the base of the stairs. She looked over her shoulder at him, and he could see the exhaustion tugging her down. "I'm going to take advantage of the shower. You can use it when I'm done if you want." With that she slowly climbed the steps up into the concealed room above.

Once she was gone Daryl slumped onto one of the benches and rested his elbows on the table before him, his head hanging limply. After a minute he straightened himself up and pulled a strip of jerky out of the pack, beginning to chew on it thoughtfully. He looked around the room trying to decide where he should sleep for the night, and was pleased to discover a row of padded benches over by the bookcases. He finished eating is meager meal and made his way over to the bench, removing his boots and reclining with an exhausted sigh. He would love to shower as well, but at that moment he didn't think he had the energy. They would be back there soon, and then he could get cleaned up.

He laid there for a few moments, his eyes closed and his mind drifting between wakefulness and sleep. Then he heard Squirrel's soft footsteps on the stairs and groggily opened his eyes. He jerked slightly at the sight of the woman. She hardly even looked like the same person. Her hair hung in loose, wet waves to well below her waist, and she was dressed clean, grey cargo pants and a black t-shirt that clung to her body. He felt himself swallow hard and wasn't entirely sure why. She was obviously a very attractive woman, but he knew his heart belonged to someone else. He just had to go get her, and then his foolishly hormonal body could stop acting like he was a damn teenager.

He closed his eyes, and pictured Beth's pretty, innocent face in his mind for a few moments. He felt himself growing calmer, and dared to peer out at the woman that had made her way to the bench, and was sitting by his feet. She had swept her hair back and was in the process of braiding it up again, the muscles in her arms moving gracefully under her faintly tanned skin. He looked up at her eyes and saw that hers were closed, but she must have felt his eyes on her because she spoke.

"You gonna hit up the shower?"

He closed his eyes again, "Naw. I'm too damn tired for that now. When we get back."

"Alright. Good night then, Daryl."

He felt her leave the bench, and then a moment later the large room was bathed in darkness. He felt himself slipping off to sleep almost instantly, but managed to mumble at her before he was claimed completely, "'Night, Squirrel."

Beth sat in a large family room surrounded by the people that were claiming to be her new family. She couldn't say that she really disliked the women around her, but she was also far too frightened by the situation to claim that she thought much of them at all. There were eight women, two babies under a year old, and nine other children that ranged from two to twelve. And then there was the man of the house. The same man that had taken her. He said his name was Solomon and that like his namesake, he knew it was his duty to God to have as many wives as he could. He said that God had spoken to him in a dream and told him that he was to gather all the surviving women in this world and make them his own. That he alone was to use his seed to repopulate this world.

Beth knew he was completely out of his mind, but she didn't dare say anything of the sort, because all the other women seemed to agree with him. She had been in the house for over a week, and other than Solomon coming to her the second day, and putting a ring on her finger, nothing had happened to her. Yet. She knew it was only a matter of time before he decided to consummate the marriage he had decided existed between them. She didn't know what she would do when that time came.

She had been given free run of the house at the same time the ring had gone on her, but there was no way to get outside. The windows were all barred and both doors to the outside were locked. Only Solomon and his first wife, Eve, had keys, and they kept them on their persons at all times. A few of the other women were allowed to go outside under the supervision of the two, but Beth, the children, and two of the newer women were under lock and key at all times. It was a desperate situation, and Beth figured she didn't really have any options. She could only try to be thankful that she was being fed well, and was safe from the walkers. Maybe someday she would be given the freedom to go outside, and when that happened she just hoped she would still have heart enough to run away. Based on the attitudes of the other women she wasn't completely sure.

Her ruminations were interrupted when Eve stood up from where she had been mending on the couch, and crouched in front of Beth with a kind smile. "Beth, honey, let's get you prettied up. We got you worked into the schedule, and you get to spend tonight with Solomon."

Beth felt her blood freeze and her head was suddenly spinning like she was going to faint. She felt as if by thinking of her predicament she had somehow brought the event up. She wanted to jerk her hand from the woman and run screaming through the house, but she held completely still, and fought to hold her tears at bay. This wasn't how it was supposed to be for her. Her first time was supposed to be with someone she loved, and that loved her. She had toyed with the idea that that person might be Daryl that night she was taken. The way they had sat in the kitchen, and the look he had given her. She had thought maybe he was going to kiss her then. Of course the walkers had to show up and ruin everything, and now here she was, about to lose her virginity to crazed cult leader.

She took a steadying breath and tried to force a smile for the older woman, it wouldn't help to act like a petulant child. "Okay," was all she managed to say, and then she was being gently pulled to her feet. They were headed to the long hallway when the strangest noise filled the house. She would swear that it sounded like someone was knocking on the door, but she knew that wasn't possible. The walkers sure didn't knock on the front door, and she knew there wasn't anyone living around to do it either. One of the women had told her the first night she was there that no one could get to the old dairy, and Beth was sure it was true.

Then there was the knocking sound again, and Eve dropped her hands, a confused frown on her face. She smoothed it away when she saw Beth looking at her, and smiled softly instead. "Well who could that be? I guess I better get the door. You wait right here dear. I'm sure I won't be long."

Beth remained standing in the hall, her heart blooming up with hope. Maybe Daryl had found her after all.

Thanks for reading! Please be so kind as to review! My muse likes it!