Hey guys! Second chapter is a bit longer, hope you guys still like it. I do not own the Walking Dead.

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Iris stretched her stiff joints, sleeping up in a tree at night certainly was not the most enjoyable experience. Still tired Iris decided to lie on her stomach on the thick branch, and wrap her limbs around it. Pressing her cheek into the hard grooves of the tree, she yawned and watched as the light slowly leaked into the early morning sky. Iris knew she wouldn't be able to fall asleep again, but sometimes it was satisfying just to pretend.

Iris sat up quickly when she heard a stirring in the foliage beneath her. Thighs still tightly holding the branch, she pressed her back against the trunk and watched as a man slowly approached.

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Daryl left early the next morning to scout the area. He had been restless the entire night, tossing and turning with anxiety. He was slowly treading though the trees, eyes watching carefully for any movement. He made his way back to where he had initially met the girl, only to see not only a deer, but a dead walker strewn over it carelessly. It was dead of course, well, twice dead actually if you think about it.

He lifted the walker off to see that it had indeed bitten into the dead animal already. Fucking waste. She must have killed the walker a moment too late. How it even got up here who knows.

He examined the ground around the area for foot prints, after a moment he found the slight impressions of her feet. So tiny. He followed them, but within 30 or so meters they ended at the base of a tree. He gazed up, but could not see anyone. Daryl quickly circled the base of the tree, but the footprints did not continue.

"Fuck!" he growled loudly, kicking the tree "Not only do ya climb trees, but ya jump 'em too?!"

The woods have always been Daryl's thing, hunting, tracking, hiding, you name it; but he had never had to hunt something so large that could be untraceable. Unwilling to give up, Daryl checked the base of nearly every tree until he was lead back to opposite side of the camp he started off on. Breathing deeply Daryl looked to the ground for tracks, when he heard a feminine yawn coming from nearby.

There was no way in hell those lazy broads at camp were awake at this time in the morning, Daryl thought, it had to be that girl. Slowly walking in the direction he heard the yawn, he gazed up into the trees.

There she was, gazing down at him all wide-eyed. Her silvery-gold hair fell in waves around her face, and down her shoulders. She still had her hood up, but it barely concealed her at all at this point. She was a small little thing, but she had to be in her twenties. He watched her clawing at her back for her bow, but he raised his toward her first.

"Hands in front of ya!" Daryl yelled up at her "Try and grab at it again and I will shoot right into yur head ya hear?."

Iris settled her hands onto branch instead, her hands shaking with fear, and slight excitement. She did not speak to her predator, rather just examined his face. God, he was one dirty redneck, she thought, I know it's a rough time, but is it that hard to wash your face? His face was caked with dirt, and his hair looked rather greasy and ruffled. She was sure his features were appealing under all that grime, but that didn't seem to matter at this point.

"HEY!" Daryl yelled up as she continued to ignore him as he asked her questions about her clan and spying "Are you fucking deaf girl?"

"I had a deaf cousin once," she glared at him "It's not nice to use deaf as an insult."

"Seriously?" Daryl stared at her with disbelief " Sarry, didn't know people still campaigned about social injustices. Ya know, it's only a zombie fucking apocalypse."

Iris rolled her eyes. She never actually had a deaf cousin, but she still didn't like the term, zombie apocalypse or not. She dug what was left of her finger nails into the branch under her, she wished he would just leave her alone, but that wasn't going to happen.

"So are ya comin' down?!" Daryl yelled at her, irritated. He had many agitating people in his lifetime, but she had to be the worst.

"Nah, I think I'll stay up here a little longer" She smiled down to him mockingly "Thanks for dropping by though."

"I didn't mean that as an option," Daryl growled "Get your ass down here!"

"Maybe if you wash first," Iris said with an expression of mock-disgust " I can smell you all the way up here, I'm sure I'd pass out if I had to stand next to you."

"Funny,"Daryl replied, surprised at the girls guts "But I'm sure ya would pass out just as quickly if I lodged an arrow in yur head."

"Touche." Iris mumbled, barely audible.

"So come down!" Daryl bellowed at her.

"So come up!" Iris countered.

"Fuck that." Daryll scoffed, light his bow higher "Enough games. If ya don't get your ass down here in the next 10 seconds I will shoot this arrow, and I will not miss."

"Hold your horses." Iris replied bored "You're no fun."

She climbed down anyway, falling to each branch one by one. However, the moment she got close enough to the ground she set off in sprint away from the man trying to capture her. She ran as fast as she could, but she could not escaped the footsteps that fell just barely behind her own. She knew she couldn't afford to look back, but she couldn't help it. He was right behind her, a grim smirk playing upon his lips. Maybe this was his kind of game, the hunt.

Just as she went to look back in front of her she ran into the hard chest of a man. Falling to the ground, she tried to recollect herself, but she was already in the arms of her predator. She looked up to see that she had ran into a large black man.

Flailing her arms defiantly, she planted a hard punch into another man's eye, causing him to yell out in pain. She screamed out several jumbled versions of "Leave me alone!" and "Get your hands off me!", but it was no use. Her bow was already snatched from her back, and her arms now subdued with a pair of hand cuffs. Brilliant.

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Reviews:

FanFicGirl10- Thanks! First reviewer! You said to update soon, so I obliged :D. Hope you still like it ahah.