CHAPTER 2

They spent a couple of days looking over a map of the area, plotting their course and making notes of what areas they would search, weapons they would need, etc. This was going to be a risky run. They'd be gone a total of 5 days, 2 days each way traveling, and a day for solid scouting. There was no guarantee they'd find anything, but they were going to have to chance it. They had found what looked to be a decent sized town south of their current position and hoped that it would produce results.

Rick walked up just as they were finalizing their plans, making sure they had enough fuel for the truck they would take, and tightening up the last few details.

"You guys all set"? he asked. They both turned at Rick and nodded.

"Guess I don't need to tell you to be careful. I wouldn't trust a run like this to anyone but you two, but I'll admit to not being keen on the idea of being without you for this long".

"Nah we'll be careful. But we ain't got no choice in going. People gonna start getting' cranky around here soon," Daryl replied.

Rick bowed his head, hand resting as usual on the top of his holstered gun. "I agree. Just keep your eyes open out there. Stay safe."

Later that evening, as everyone was settling in for the night, Daryl was sitting on the ground, leaning against a tree, legs crossed at the ankles. He was watching Mac, who was sitting a ways away on a rock, sharpening her blades. He let himself put his inner guard down for a moment and study her. He had to admit that he had really grown attached to her. Up until recently, the only person he trusted at his back was Rick. Even when Merle was around, he wasn't always 100% confident having him at his back. But Mac, well Mac he trusted the most. The sassy Scottish woman was an enigma. She was taller than most, probably only an inch or two shorter than himself, and she was fucking ripped. She wasn't a cover model beauty, but there was something that had caught his eye. Not that he would ever admit it to anyone. She had mad fighting skills, and he was curious where she had learned to fight. Her weapons of choice were a short sword and dirk, and she was deadly. And like him, she tended to stay on her own, a little reserved. She was friendly enough to everyone, but she wasn't like Maggie who was comfortable chatting and hanging out with anyone.

He had discovered though, that she made the perfect partner for him on scouting trips and they had bonded almost instantly. She could dish out whatever crap he threw at her and send it right back at him. If he barked at her she didn't wilt under his glares. She'd just bark back. He could get pissed and yell and insult to blow off steam, and she'd just stand there and let him, with a little smirk and smart retort for him when he was done. . He found himself enjoying their bantering sessions, and she was pretty quick with retorts. One of these days he'd learn what most of the Scottish names she threw at him meant. He reckoned they weren't lady like and snorted to himself.

He continued to watch her, noticing that she had let her hair down. Normally she kept it braided back to keep it out of her face so it wouldn't interfere if she needed to fight. But tonight it was loose, falling around her back and swaying slightly as her arms made the moves on the sharpening stone. A rich, brown color, with matching eyes. He kept watching her, becoming almost entranced as she kept up the repeated movements, and thought back to when they'd first met her.

Fourteen months earlier

Quiet as a snake, Daryl and Rick shimmied up the hill on their stomachs to get a view of the action below them. Shouting and the sounds of a fight had caught their attention and immediately put them on guard. Down below them was a fenced in area where two men were dragging a smaller one towards the gate. A small herd of walkers was outside the gate, becoming agitated by the noise made by the men. The bigger men each had an arm wrapped up and under the smaller man's arms, but the smaller man wasn't going quietly. A string of insults and curses was being thrown at the two of them while he kicked and tried to fight.

They came up on the gate and stopped. The little guy was a mess, bleeding everywhere and looking like he had taken quite a beating. One of the guards let go of an arm, which was immediately taken up by the other guard. He said something close in, but Rick and Daryl couldn't hear. The guard stepped back and pulled out a knife of some sort, it was huge. He then slashed the smaller man across the middle with it. Not enough to kill, but enough to seriously injure. They then threw the wounded man outside the gate at the walkers.

The guard with the knife laughed loudly and yelled "here you little bitch, I'll even help delay your being lunch a little bit!" and with that, threw the knife over the gate at the injured man, just as the walkers came up to him. Both guards laughed and walked back inside.

"Damn, that dude is toast" whispered Daryl. Bleeding like a stuck pig there was no way he'd be able to fight off those walkers with just a knife. Hell, he'd be hard pressed to win even if he hadn't been beaten and cut open.

Rick looked at Daryl. "What do…"

Just as he started to ask Daryl a question, they both sat up a tiny bit as the man below them started yelling at the walkers.

"Come on ye ugly fucking wankers, come get me you piles a shite!" The man took a fighting stance as the herd approached.

Daryl whistled softly, "he ain't going down without a fight".

All of a sudden the man below went into action. Knife moving at lightning speed, the man began hacking into the walkers. He swung around in a circle, leg flying out to kick walkers back while using his knife to split the heads of the others open. Daryl had never seen anyone move that fast, or do as much damage with one knife.

Daryl was seriously impressed. Rick's eyebrows were so high up in disbelief it was amazing they hadn't flown right off his head. The guy had taken down about half the herd already, but he was going to lose. The slash to his midsection was starting to slow him down and it was inevitable he wasn't going to win this fight.

Rick look back at the building the three had come from.

"Guards are gone…"

Daryl stood up and racked a bolt and looked at Rick. "Well come on then, times a wastin'.

They ran down the hill, Daryl aimed at the closest walker to the fighter and put a bolt through its head. He grabbed his hunting knife from his hip and he and Rick dived in to help.

The injured fighter hadn't even realized he had help. Blood loss was slowing him down and he had triple vision. Taking down the walker in front of him he spun around and swiped at the walker coming up behind him, only to bring his blade down on something metallic.

Daryl jumped back just as the guy brought his blade down on him, narrowly missing his wrist and instead catching the front of his crossbow. He immediately brought it back up and aimed at his head.

"Aw wass wrong fucker, am I taking too long to die on ye? Eh?! Fucking bastard!" He lunged at Daryl, but faltered when his leg started to give out. Daryl side stepped him and brought his bow down on the side of his head, cold-cocking him.

Laying on the ground, a bloody mess, the man looked at Daryl and simply said "well fuck, at least yer bonnie" before he passed out cold.

Rick and Daryl stood there looking at the mess of a guy, they had killed the remaining walkers.

"Shit, now what" asked Daryl. "What the fuck do we do with him. He's still breathin'".

They opted to leave him there for now and snuck in to take care of the inside of the building. They found the two guards inside laughing and joking and placing bets on how long it would take for their prisoner to die. Daryl and Rick dispatched them quickly, and scouted the interior, coming away with two guns and knives from the guards and what looked like a sword of some kind.

As they headed back out they looked on in disbelief as they saw their man up on his knees trying to stand.

"Fucking hell, he's a tough son of a bitch" Daryl muttered. They caught up to him and dragged him back to their truck, where they decided to bring him back and see what they could do with him. Even severely injured Daryl wasn't taking chances and tied his hands together.
Rick tried to pack his wounds a bit.

Daryl looked at the guy's hands as he tied them and snorted. "He's got awfully girly hands. If I hadn't seen him fight like that I'd say he was a pussy".

There was a soft "fuck off git" and Rick looked at Daryl and grinned. Rick had taken a good look at their fighter there and figured the pussy comment wasn't too far off.