Kali POV:

I would like to say that the rest of the night was peaceful after crying myself to sleep in my brother's arms, but it was quite the opposite. I was plagued with more nightmares. It was like a never-ending cycle, one that I couldn't break no matter how hard I tried.

When I woke up the next morning, I felt more tired than rested. As I got out of the tent I could see the concern on Daryl's face, no doubt seeing the bags under my eyes, but I didn't want to talk about it again. I just wanted to forget it all and move on. Plus I was a little embarrassed.

As I looked around, I saw that most of our things were already packed up and in the truck excluding the tent I was in.

Merle was nearby, and I could feel his eyes on me. "Well, look who's up," he said with a snort. "Sleeping Beauty finally decided to join us."

I rolled my eyes, not having the energy to engage with him so early in the morning. As I finished rolling up the tent, I heard Merle's voice behind me. "Oh, what, River Girl still not talking to Ol' Merle?" I gritted my teeth, trying to keep my cool. He was acting like nothing had happened the other day when he had gotten in my face and told me he wouldn't want me around if I wasn't family. I knew the Dixon's valued blood but it still hurt. I looked up at him, his eyes were bloodshot. He was clearly high again.

I tried my best to ignore his nickname for me, "River Girl." Our father had called me that when I was young, and for some reason, Merle had picked it up. I hated it. But I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing me react to it. Instead, I simply turned away from him and put my stuff in the truck before hopping in.

My brothers followed close behind. It was a tight squeeze with no backseat, so I found myself sandwiched between them, as usual. Whatever, I'll just put in my headphones like I always do. As Daryl started the truck and revved the engine, he tossed a peanut-free granola bar onto my lap. I wasn't feeling too hungry, but I gladly accepted and nibbled on it anyway, curling up my feet onto the seat to make myself as comfortable as possible.

Within an hour of the drive, my MP3 died, it needed new batteries, damn. I kept the headphones in for a bit though, trying to savor the silence. As I looked at my brothers, Daryl was concentrated on driving, probably enjoying the peace and quiet, and Merle was... being Merle, searching through his bag. I let out an audible sigh as he crushed up some pill on the dashboard.

"Do you really have to do that now?" I whined, it was giving me flashbacks ones, I didn't want to think about right now.

"It's a long drive, gotta keep myself entertained," he said snorting up the crushed dust.

I turned to Daryl, hoping for some support, "This doesn't bother you?"

He just shrugged, "He's a grown man, ain't gonna tell him what to do."

I wanted to argue with him, to tell him that it wasn't just about being a grown man, that Merle had a serious problem. Daryl knew it but rarely did anything about it. He'd probably tried in the past and given up. I sighed again and leaned my back, wishing I had brought some extra batteries for my MP3.

The rest of the way felt like torture. The road was bumpy and I couldn't get comfortable no matter how much I squirmed. Merle was fidgety too, and we ended up bickering every now and then. We stopped at a gas station to fill up and stretch our legs. Which felt really nice after being cooped up. The place was abandoned but in decent shape. I looked around cautiously, half-expecting walkers to ambush us, but luckily we were alone. Thank goodness, I did not have the energy.

Merle went inside the store to scavenge for supplies while Daryl stayed behind to keep watch. I leaned against the truck and looked up at the sky. It was a beautiful bright with lots of fluffy clouds. We were close about 2 hours from the Quarry, we were just stopping then pushing on.

Gas Station General POV:

Daryl approached Kali and leaned next to her on the truck. He figured now was as good as ever to try and get to know her. He didn't know what to say at first, he felt a little awkward but she seemed unphased.

"Hey," she said softly, almost sleepily.

"Hey," he says casually back. Daryl stood there for a moment, not sure what to say next. He cleared his throat and looked out into the distance of the gas station, he wasn't sure what to say at first. and he turned to the back of the bed truck and pulled out her bow.

Then he remembered, he walked over to the back of the truck and retrieved the bow from where it was stored. As he handed it to her, Kali's eyes lit up with excitement.

"I brought this," he said, holding out the bow.

Kali grinned and took it from him, pulling back on the string to test its tension. "Oh! Thanks, Daryl," she said. "I haven't used this in ages."

Daryl gave a small half smile, mouth closed. "Remember when I taught you how to use it? You were just a little kid back then." He taught her to use it when she was like 12 or something but it was too large for her at the time. Now, it fits perfectly.

Kali nodded. "Yeah, I remember. I wish we got to do more stuff like..." Her voice trailed off. She got to thinking about back then how there was never much conversation but he always taught her things, hunting, fishing, camping, now she realizes she wished they'd gotten to do more together. But unfortunately for her, she was either being neglected at her mother's or cleaning up at her father's.

Daryl's expression softened, though it was troubled. He felt that guilt creep up again, he should have done more he felt. "Yeah."

Kali looked at him, realizing how little she actually knew about her own brother. "We never really talked much, did we?"

Daryl shrugged. It was a bit of a punch to the gut. That was on him, he'd often shushed her if they were out in the woods or whatnot.

It's not like they were never around each other she knew the type of person he was, he played the hero complex in her mind anyway, she knew a few trivial things too. What more did they need? She never had any friends or anything to know what it was like to really connect with people.

But to the contrary, Daryl did know his little sister, she liked punk-rock music, lived in la-la-land while reading books, and was a talented drawer. Her favorite color was red, and she didn't trust people though she was very polite until you pissed her off and then you saw the Dixon side of her.

"Never had to," he replied after a long pause. Kali could see the emotions flickering in his eyes as he looked at her.

It was then that they both had a sudden realization. They may not have talked much, but they knew each other better than they thought they did.

The sound of an approaching vehicle made both of them tense up. Kali immediately asked, "Time to get Merle and go?" Daryl nodded in agreement, his face hardening. Kali got in the truck and waited in the truck settling her bow on the floor (it wasn't that useful without arrows), she knew the drill by now. Mentally she prepared herself to drive away if needed, while Daryl went to fetch Merle.

However, before they could make their move, the other truck pulled up. Kali's heart sank as she recognized the two men inside. They were her father's "coworkers" from over a month ago, and the last time they had seen them, things didn't end well.

Kali POV:

Fuck, out of all the people in the goddamn world it had to be them? Ah shit, they saw me, I was frozen staring right at them. The one looked me dead in the eyes and got out of the truck: shit, shit, shit. My nails dug into the seat and my teeth clenched unconsciously.

"Well, if it isn't the little tease, Kali," He advanced to the truck, I should lock the door, fuck, Merle's right I'm going to get myself killed. Why can't I move?! I hated myself at this moment.

I wanted to scream at him, to tell him to leave me alone, but my voice wouldn't work. Fear had taken over and I felt like I was suffocating.

The man reached for the truck door handle and my hand shot out, slamming it shut. I could hear Daryl and Merle coming back, their footsteps were loud and heavy through the convenience store door. Could they hurry up?

The man looked at me, his eyes cold and cruel. "You think you're tough now, don't you? But you're still just a scared little girl," he spat.

I wanted to crawl out of my skin, to disappear. The memories flooded back in, the unwanted touches, the burning sensation of drugs in my nostrils, the fighting. I could feel the bile rise in my throat, but I didn't want to throw up.

He went to open it again, shit, I forgot to lock it. This time he yanked my foot and grabbed it tightly, yanking me out of the truck with violent force. I fell to the ground hard, pain shooting through my body. I wanted to scream, but fear kept my voice locked in my throat.

I tried to scramble to my feet and run, but he grabbed me by the hair and pulled me back. My scalp burned with the force of his grip.

"Don't you fucking move," he growled, his breath hot on my face. "You're gonna come with us, little girl, finish what we started."

That was enough for my brain to click. I struggled against him, trying to break free, but he was too strong. Every move I made was met with more force, more pain. Tears streamed down my face as I realized I was helpless. I didn't want to cower, but I couldn't fight back either.

"Daryl!" I cried out, desperate to get out of this man's grip. He was holding me by the neck of my shirt with a gun to my head. Where the hell did that come from?

My brothers stood about 15 feet from us.

"Let her go!" Daryl barked raising his crossbow, but the man holding me only laughed.

"Don't try anything stupid," he warned, pressing the gun harder against my temple. "I just want all your supplies and then you can be on your way."

Daryl didn't drop his weapon, you could see the dark gaze he was sending the man, shoulders tense, if anything he was ready to strike.

"Ah, ah, ah," The man holding me said, "One move and she's done-zo, besides I have a settle to score with Merle."

Merle stepped forward, his eyes narrowing," I think you've got that mixed up," he gestured for Daryl to lower his crossbow for the moment, "You threw me under the bus to the cops and I had to go into hiding for months."

Is that why he wasn't around much this past year? Go figures that he'd be involved in selling drugs. I had my suspicion but this just confirmed it. Didn't they say that the best drug dealers were users or did I get that mixed up? Whatever, that is not what matters right now.

Merle was fuming, but his anger seemed to be directed more at Judd (the one holding me, I learned) and Griff (I heard Merle call out their names) for screwing him over than at the fact that they had me, hostage. It was as if I was just a pawn in their twisted game. I couldn't help feeling angry at Merle for putting us in this situation in the first place.

I stole a glance at Daryl, hoping he had a plan. He was looking at me intently, his eyes conveying a message, one that I didn't understand.

He made a small gesture with his elbow, and then I got the message. I bit the inside of my cheek, I wasn't sure if I could pull that off. But Daryl's look gave me strength. Oh, the balances of Earth please forgive me. I gave him a small nod, balling up my fists. He gave me the most subtle nod back and my elbow connected with the man's dick as hard as I could, and I felt him release me. But before I could take more than a step away, I didn't hear the sound of Daryl's arrow flying into Judd's shoulder, I only heard the ear-piercing and I mean piercing sound of a gunshot go off right next to my head. I stumbled and fell to the ground, my head spinning as I clutched at my ear, which was now ringing painfully.

Everything was a blur as I struggled to regain my bearings, the sound of gunfire and shouting filling my ears. It was hard to tell who was shooting and who was yelling, but I could see movement in front of me. I forced myself to focus, trying to make out the figures in the chaos.

My eyes landed on Daryl, his crossbow in hand as he fired another shot. I wanted to call out to him, to ask if he was okay, but my voice wouldn't work. The ringing in my ear was too loud, drowning out all other sounds. I stumbled to my feet, trying to make my way toward my brother, but my head was swimming and my movements were slow and uncoordinated.

It felt like an eternity before the chaos finally began to die down. The ringing in my ear gradually faded, kind of, everything was still so muffled, I was able to make out the sound of Daryl's voice, calling out to me. I stumbled towards him, my heart racing as I finally made it to his side.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice barely audible over the ringing in my ear.

I nodded, still trying to catch my breath. "Yeah," I managed to say, my voice hoarse. "What the hell just happened?"

I think Merle was trying to say something to me while Daryl gripped my shoulders. Did I ask a question? I think he was answering it, his lips were moving. My hand went up to my left ear, it was warm and slippery. I looked down at my hand. Oh, blood. I wasn't really registering my surroundings at this point. Was I in shock?

My attention slowly shifted from my bloody hand to Daryl's face. It felt like an eternity before everything came back up to speed like dial-up internet was upgraded to optic fiber. I turned my head quickly, taking in the surroundings. Judd and Griff lay on the ground unmoving. Were they dead? My heart pounded in my chest, and a wave of dizziness washed over me.

"-Move you," Daryl repeated, his grip on my shoulders tight as he tried to get me to my feet. When did I wind up on the ground? The ringing in my ears was intense, making it hard to concentrate on his words.

I nodded, using his strength to pull myself up. I stumbled forward, feeling like a drunkard. Everything was spinning.