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Chapter 5

The distant sound of gunfire was drawing walkers from throughout the woods and it wasn't long before they were spotted by several. One lunged from behind a tree and crashed into Daryl. He managed to get his hands up and push it away before it could sink its teeth into his arm. He fumbled for the knife and shoved it into the walker's eye. The blade was too short to do any good and the creature snapped at him again. Desperately he tried to push it off him with exhausted arms. Suddenly it fell forward limply. He shoved it away and it fell to the ground. Cassie was there, the corkscrew in her hand, bits of skin and brain hanging off it.

He nodded his thanks and she gave a slight smile as they set off again, several walkers lumbering behind them. They found the old abandoned farmhouse and crashed through the door into the kitchen. It was just as Daryl remembered it from his search for Sofia. The pillow and blankets were still in the small pantry and he pulled out the bottom two shelves to give them room to stand, throwing them to the side as he shoved Cassie inside.

"Gonna have to hide in here, hope they don't find us" He slammed the kitchen door shut and dragged a table in front of it as the first walkers started banging against it. They both knew it wouldn't hold for long.

Cassie pressed herself against the far wall of the tiny space, making as much space as she could for Daryl. He squeezed in with her and managed to pull the pantry door shut. Through the slats in the upper part of the door they saw the kitchen door burst open and walkers spill into the room. They were pressed close together again, chest to chest and their eyes met. Both saw the fear reflected in the other's expression. Cassie turned her head and rested her cheek against his chest and he could feel her shaking against him. He wanted to put his arm around her to offer some small comfort but there wasn't the room to move and he didn't want to risk making a noise so he just stood there watching the walkers as they stumbled around the kitchen. Some wandered into the rest of the house but most of them stood aimlessly in the kitchen, heads turning as they searched for the prey they had followed here.

They stayed huddled together in the pantry for several long hours before the enough walkers left the house and they felt it worth the risk to leave the relative safety of the small space. Their bodies were aching and stiff from standing still for so long. A quick search of the untidy kitchen found a couple of kitchen knives, but no food or water. They thought about heading upstairs to see if they could find a shirt for Daryl but could hear the footsteps of more than one walker ambling around.

"Need to leave" he told her "Have to get back to my group, then we can get you back to your people"

She shook her head "I don't intend to go back to them, they just left me to those men. There's nothing I need to go back there for" She looked hopefully up at him. "Can I stay with your group?"

"Can't see why not" he reassured her, he would make sure the others let her stay. She'd saved him more than once so he felt he owed her something. Cautiously they left the house, knives held in front of them. They saw several walkers in the trees but slipped past them quietly.

Cassie followed Daryl for hours, impressed with how he could find his way through the woods so easily. He just seemed to glance at the ground or a tree and would adjust their course slightly, leading them in the right direction, back towards his group. They travelled for the rest of the day and it became harder when darkness fell, they were both exhausted, hungry and thirsty. When they came across a sluggish shallow stream, the water brown and earthy, both were so dehydrated they had no choice but to scoop up handfuls. She could see he was tiring, the adrenalin that had kept them both going wearing off. She had no idea how he was still moving, not after everything he'd been through in the last few days. She could see the cuts and bruises on his chest and back, as well as his face. She couldn't even think about how much internal damage there could be as a result of the electric shock torture. Finally, when he'd stumbled once again, this time almost falling, she caught his arm.

"We need to stop, you have to rest" she told him as he pulled himself free from her grip and tried to carry on. She slipped in front of him and put her hands on his shoulders, pushing him down. He found he didn't have the strength to resist her slight push and sank to the ground, back against a tree.

"Just for a bit" he told her, his head lolling to one side. He was asleep in a few seconds, all resistance gone. Cassie settled herself next to him, she was tired as well but determined to stay awake while he got the rest he clearly needed.

Sunlight was just creeping into the depths of the woods when she heard the sounds of people moving through the trees. They weren't trying to be quiet, moving confidently and with purpose. Cassie pulled herself to her feet, knife in front of her as she stood protectively in front of the still sleeping Daryl. He hadn't moved all night, not even when she'd taken out the walker that had stumbled across them.

The group of four stopped when they saw the young woman standing in front of them, swaying on her feet but still threatening them with what looked like a large kitchen knife.

"Keep away" she snarled, trying to look like she could take them out and wasn't about to keel over where she stood.

A man with dark hair and beard stepped forward; he slipped his gun into its holster and held his hands out to his sides.

"We don't want to hurt you" he told her calmly "We're just looking for our friend, he's been missing for a couple of days. She saw his eyes look over her dirty and dishevelled appearance.

"Do you need help?" he asked gently "We can spare some food and water if you want it" He turned to a pretty brunette woman at his side.

"Maggie, why don't you get her something to eat and drink. We can leave it just here on the ground, then you can get it once we've gone, if that makes you feel safer." The woman opened her backpack and pulled out a few cans and some bottles of water. Quickly she opened the cans with her knife and then took a few steps forward. She bent and placed them on the ground, a few yards from Cassie's feet. As she stood she caught sight of Daryl, still slumped against the tree. Her eyes widened as she took a few quick steps towards him.

"Rick!" she cried urgently "It's Daryl, he's here" As she tried to get closer Cassie span towards her, pointing the knife directly at her.

"Stay back" she demanded, all menace lost as she stumbled when she moved.

The woman held up her hands.

"That's our friend, Daryl" she said softly "We've been looking for him for two days. You can trust us. It looks like you both need help, please let us take care of you."

Cassie hesitated, looking at each of them. She saw a young Asian man and a young boy in a sheriff's hat. They were both watching her in concern, trying to see the man behind her.

The bearded man took a step closer to her,

"My name's Rick" he told her "Daryl went hunting for us a couple of days ago. When he didn't come back we set out to find him. It looks like you got there first. What happened?" He stole another step closer.

Cassie took a deep breath and lowered the knife. She felt she could trust them and she also knew she had no choice. Maggie was right they did need help.

"We were captured by a group, they tortured him to find out where his camp was, he lied and told them it was a farm and we managed to escape. He's exhausted and hurt but he managed to get us this far."

Maggie had gone to Daryl and was checking him over.

"He's taken quite a beating" she called over as Rick closed the gap between himself and Cassie. He reached out and took the knife from her unresisting hand and she sank down to the ground, letting him take over.

"They used electric shocks to make him talk" she informed them "he resisted a long time so they did it a lot."

"Where are they now?" The Asian man asked, glancing around as if he expected people to come pouring out of the trees.

"The farm he sent them to was one you'd been in before. He said you'd been overrun and forced to leave. He hoped there were still enough walkers left to take care of them. We heard a lot of gunfire so I guess there were plenty left." She told them as she reached for one of the bottles of water and drained half of it in one go.

"He sent them to your farm" the boy stared at Maggie, who nodded.

"It was a good idea" she replied to him "and it sounds like it worked."

Rick pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around Daryl and between them he and the Asian man, who introduced himself as Glenn, managed to get Daryl to his feet. He half woke as they lifted him and allowed them to guide him through the trees. Maggie helped Cassie and they worked their way through the woods and back onto the road where they had left the car they had arrived in. They strapped Daryl in the front passenger seat and then Maggie, Glenn and the boy, Carl, who was Rick's son got in the back seat. Rick helped Cassie slide in the car, lying across the legs of the three in the back, her head on cradled Maggie's lap.

Rick climbed into the driver's seat and they set off quickly, heading back to the prison.