I really love writing this story. Writing is a stress reliever for me. With that said, I'm still not exactly sure where this story is going. I could end it in a week or I can keep going with it for longer than that. I'm unsure what to do. Someone suggested that the length of this story was too much and it should have been broken down into different stories. I never really thought of that since this story simply unfolds while I am writing it. This thing is writing the hell out of itself! But I really would like to know what you all would like me to do. Should I end it and move on or is it worth sticking too? I like longer stories so it never occurred to me that the length of it may drive some people to stop reading it. If no one is reading then there really isn't any sense in writing ;) So any suggestions would be VERY appreciated! And I know that some people hate the thought of Merle and Maggie but Glen and Maggie, although I love them, bore the hell out of me and Beth wasn't strong enough to deal with THIS Merle.

Chapter Sixty One

Merle paced around the empty stall. He didn't know why he was doing this. He wasn't going to touch that girl anymore. It was the only goddamn thing he thought about all day long. He often found himself thinking about getting laid. He was Merle. But he had never in his life been so consumed thinking about any certain person. And when he thought about the crazy girl he didn't even really think about screwing her. He just thought about her. And it made him half sick. Stupid girl. He shook his head angrily.

So why had he agreed to meet her out here in the first place? Like some kid that had to hide from her daddy? Which is exactly what this was. Hiding out so they could mess around. He shook his head again. Messing around. Jesus, how fucked up was that? But he had agreed anyway, against his better judgment. But she was late. He'd been out there for a while now and he never seen a sign of her.

Maybe she had time to think about it and decided that she couldn't mess with some basket case like him. This thought sent a jolt of fear through him that pissed him off. Who gave a fuck whether that girl was going to continue all her bullshit pestering? But he knew that he did care. Cared a lot more than he wanted to admit.

He finally decided to leave the stall and go off to the other side of the barn to talk to his brother. He knew him and T-dog were in the loft, keeping watch on those woods. Not that it would do much good. He didn't think either of them would have been able to see anyone through all this rain in the first place. It was a waste of time as far as Merle was concerned. Maybe that was why Rick didn't bother to ask him if he wanted to take watch. Hell, he would have just went to sleep. No sense in bothering to keep watch for something that you couldn't see.

Climbing the ladder one handed was pretty tricky but he made it. He was getting better with just the one hand. Or getting used to it anyway.

Daryl and T-dog were both sitting in the open loft doors. Both scanning the grounds below them. He could hear T-dog rambling on about something but he couldn't make out what the man was saying because of the rain on the roof. As soon as he took a step towards them Daryl had the crossbow trained on him. He smirked. His brother was damn good.

Daryl lowered the crossbow and sat it back down next to him, giving Merle a nod before turning his attention back to the rain. He took a seat between the two men, letting his long legs hang over the ledge.

"What are you doin' up this late?" Daryl asked suspiciously.

Merle just shrugged. "Couldn't sleep."

"Sophia?" Daryl asked, keeping his eyes on the rain.

"Sleepin'. I checked the windows before I came out."

Daryl just nodded and fell into silence once again, the only sound being that of the rain on the tin roof. It was nearly deafening.

~H~

Carol wanted to race to the barn but it was so muddy that she would have ended up busting her ass so she walked. She was getting soaked but the rain made her feel more clean after that nightmare. She had been covered in sweat and she could feel the fresh water washing it away. Along with most of the lingering fear. She still had that overwhelming urge to see him though so she kept going. He would be furious, probably throw a tantrum but it would be worth it and she knew he would get over it quickly.

She thought she saw something from the corner of her eye by one of the outbuildings but when she turned her head there wasn't anything there. Her heartbeat picked up and she stopped in her tracks. She had been sure she saw something moving. She realized then that she was about halfway between the house and the barn. She was about to draw her gun when she felt an arm go around her neck and another around her torso.

She tried to scream but a hand clamped down firmly over her mouth. This wasn't like the other night when Daryl had came up behind her. This was a strangers touch. Whoever it was was pretty tall. She felt someones chest behind her head. This was not good. Not at all.

The man began dragging her towards the building where she had thought she had seen someone to begin with and sure enough as soon as he moved her behind it there were two more men standing there. And one of them had Maggie in much the same position as her own captor had her. But there was a gun pressed against her head.

If she could just get to her gun then they would at least have a fighting chance.

"Two? How the hell did we get so lucky?" The man behind her laughed. There was that accent again. "You seem to have a pretty dangerous group from what Randal here tells us." The man sneered. "One of your men killed my brother."

Maggie's wide eyes stayed glued to hers as the man spoke.

It was then that Carol noticed Randal standing off to the side, looking down. She would have thought he would look a lot happier to see his group but he seemed just as nervous as he had the last time she had seen him.

The man that was holding Maggie smiled bitterly. He looked a little familiar and then she realized this must be another brother to Dave. She tried to calm herself down but she couldn't stop wondering how many people from this group were here and where the rest of them were.

Maggie's captor glared at her. "Let's get these bitches to the barn. Let those men of theirs find what's left of'em in the morning."

Maggie's eyes locked onto Carol's. These men didn't know that there were already men in the barn. Maggie didn't look relieved. Carol didn't feel relieved either. Daryl and T could be killed.

Another man came around the corner of the building and stopped in his tracks when he saw what his companions had. He grinned and took in both women with hungry eyes. Carol felt sick, like she might vomit right into the hand that the man still had clamped over her mouth.

~H~

Merle finally had had enough. He was ready to go back in. Maggie was a no show and his brother was boring him to death. He stood up then with a sigh. "You two are about the most borin' mother fucker's I've ever had the displeasure of comin' across." he grumbled.

Daryl chuclked. "Where you goin'?"

"To bed. I've had enough excitement for one night, with ya'lls intrancin' conversations and all."

Daryl stood up too. "I gotta take a piss. It'd be best if I went down first, that away somebody would be down there to catch your big ass if you fall."

Merle snorted. "Best watch it, boy. I might just fall on purpose. Bring a whole new meanin' to the phrase 'stompin' yer ass'."

They made their way down but as Merle went to head outside Daryl stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, man. What the fucks wrong with you?" He asked.

"Don't know what you're talkin' bout, baby brother." Merle said but he wasn't looking at him.

"Somethin' is up. Not just this Maggie thing either, which, by the way, is completely fuckin' stupid."

Merle finally looked at him. Daryl actually looked like he was concerned. But Merle didn't need him nagging him about shit. He was just fine. And he already knew that what he was doing with Maggie was beyond stupid but he didn't need his brother on his case. There was nothing to be done about that one. "Ain't you got your hands full enough, boy? You got your own shit to concern you. Maybe you can get the fuck outta my business and off my back. Goddamn."

Daryl just glared at him for a second and then he shrugged his shoulder. "Fine." He growled as he turned away and headed for the front entrance to the barn. Merle didn't even want to look at him anymore so he turned towards the back door at the end of the isle. He was thinking about stopping by that stall one more time just to see if she had showed up but he forced himself to walk out of the barn. Screw that girl.

~H~

Sophia was running as hard as she could. No sooner did they get past the house they saw some guy come out of nowhere and grab her mom. They had just ducked behind another shed when another man stormed past. Had it not been for the rain they would have definitely been spotted. Carl and Duane were breathing heavily, eyes wide and frightened. She was pretty damn scared herself. This must have been what everyone was so afraid of. The men from the other group were finally here and they had no idea how many they were dealing with or how armed they were.

She had motioned for them to follow her. If she could get to the barn before those men took off with her mom then Daryl could save her. He would never be able to track anyone in rain this heavy so they had to keep going.

They had followed the man that had passed right by them until he ducked behind the chicken coop. They pressed their backs flat against the wood and then Sophia crouched low and peered around the corner. She took in the situation as fast as she could and then pulled her head back around and drew her gun. They didn't just have her mom. They had Maggie too. Did that mean that they had made it inside? And if they did was everyone dead?

She listened as hard as she could and heard one of the men talking about taking her mom and Maggie to the barn. That was where Daryl was and she knew she had to get there before those men did so she could warn him. If he knew they were coming then maybe him and T-dog could stop all this. She had faith in herself as far as the gun was concerned but she was kid and this was too big for her. Even with Carl and Duane. It was too big for all of them.

She motioned for them to run further out so they all took off and circled away from the chicken coop and made a beeline for the barn. Both boys were right on her heels. They were almost there. The service door at the back of the barn was in site and the door opened and someone came out. Sophia smacked right into the man followed by Carl and Duane.

"Mother fucker!" Merle yelled.

As soon as Sophia heard his raspy voice she pulled away and tried to catch her breath. The gun was shaking in her hands. Merle instantly knelt down and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Whats happened?" He asked with wide eyes.

"Men. Randal's gone. Men got mom and Maggie!" She panted. "There bringing them to the barn to hurt them."

Merle's face turned into a mask of fury that was so intense that Sophia backed up until she felt Carl behind her. He stood up and looked at the three of them.

"We have to get Daryl." Sophia hissed.

Merle's face got even scarier. "He's out there." he growled.

Sophia felt her knees go weak with this bit of new and Carl must had sensed it to because his arm went around her to hold her up.

Daryl was out there and those men were coming. They had guns and they were pissed. They were going to end up killing him before he could save her mom. Carl's grip tightened around her. She was going to lose everything. She was going to lose it before she had even had a chance to enjoy it. Suddenly she was filled with more anger than she had ever felt before. The whole world seemed to turn red and with that anger she felt a surge of hate so pure that it would have scared her if it wasn't for the fact that she needed it. She needed this.

She pulled out of Carl's grip and, with gun in hand, stormed past Merle and around the side of the barn. Merle grabbed her from behind and lifted her up off the ground. His angry voice was in her ear. "Not yet. You jump out there with that gun and you'll get everybody killed. I need you, you understand me?"

His voice penetrated her rage enough for her to stop fighting and listen to him. He put her down and spun her around. "I'm gonna go have a look and see what we are dealin' with, you understand?"

She nodded.

"You get your ass in that barn and get to that tack room. There's a rifle in there. You get it and then you get your ass right back around here, you got it? You go in low, take Carl with you, keep your gun drawn and your eyes open."

She nodded, grabbed Carl's hand and took off.

~H~

Daryl had barely gotten his dick back in his pants before he felt something cold press against the back of his head. He knew it was a gun. Thanks to Merle and his ability to piss people off this wasn't the first gun he felt to his head.

"Slip that bow off boy before I paint the grass with your brains." A voice as cold as the gun barrel said from behind him.

He slipped the strap over his head slowly. He had walked past the barn and around the other side so he knew he wasn't in view of T-dog and if this man stayed close enough to the barn entrance then T wouldn't have seen him coming up behind. Merle had gone out the back so he knew he was pretty much fucked.

"Turn yourself around there boy." The man said.

Why the fuck did everybody call him that? He turned around and then cursed. There was Carol and Maggie a few feet away, and Carol was being held by the biggest mother fucker that Daryl had ever seen in his life. The guy had to have been pushing seven feet tall. And he wasn't just tall either. He was fucking huge. And he had one long thick arm wrapped around her small frame. A hand was clamped down over her mouth. A hand so big it could have easily covered her entire face.

If these men had Carol and Maggie then they had been in the house. Where the hell were the others? Had they killed them all? He legs grew a little unsteady. Sophia was in the house. Why hadn't they brought her out with Maggie and Carol?

Another man was standing with the big guy and after squinting through the rain he realized it was Randal. The kid was looking at the ground but he knew it was him.

"Randal!" The guy with the gun hissed. "Is this the mother fucker that killed my brother?"

Oh fuck. The guy was going to blow his brains out right in front of her. His eyes met hers for a second and she looked terrified. He looked away towards Randal. The boy was squinting at him through the rain and Daryl waited for him to give the guy the answer he must be waiting for but then Randal shook his head.

Daryl frowned. What the fuck was this kid doing? Daryl hadn't been nice to him. Then he noticed how nervous the kid still looked. Maybe he was telling the truth when he had told them that he wasn't like the rest of the group.

Another man that Daryl hadn't noticed sidled up to Randal and threw an arm over his shoulder. "So, what are we gonna do now? Fuck him too? Thought we were gonna take these bitches to the barn and take'em for a ride? Chuck called dibs on that bitch so we gotta share this one here." he reached out and ran a hand down Maggie's face, "Cause ya'll know when Chuck gets done, nobody else can feel a thing." He laughed like he had just told a great joke.

Daryl's eyes widened when he realized who Chuck was. The giant asshole that already had a hold of her. That wasn't going to happen. He would chew the big bastards throat out first.

The guy that still had his gun trained on Daryl smiled. "Not right now boys. We don't know how many people they have here. Let's get them to camp. I want this asshole to get to watch."