Chapter Eleven

Apparently Daryl misjudged distances, the same as myself.

We hiked through the forest in our small pack, the hunter leading silently while Sophia and I trailed behind. Toby seemed to be judging Daryl warily, a few steps behind the stealthy man and with his head tilted slightly. It was only a matter of time though until he seemed content with the man and bounded on ahead a little to take over the lead. I heard Daryl breath a chuckle, though I couldn't be sure if it was the wind or not. I said nothing of it.

The darkening sky made me cautious and I was anxious for this farm Daryl had spoken about to come into view so we could find some shelter for the night - and so Sophia could be reunited with her mother again. Though there didn't appear to be anything but endless trees and soon the night time settled and Daryl's pace slowed down.

"It's gonna take a little longer than I thought." Daryl muttered, coming to halt and glancing around. "Like I said, I rode here on a horse, which twice as fast as walking." He didn't seem to be talking to anyone in particular, just stating a fact. I studied the man silently, still hesitant and curious about him, before sighing.

"So, we make camp?" I asked, clutching Sophia's hand in my tightly. Daryl nodded once and made one last sweep of the area with his gaze before training them on us.

"Here should be fine. I'll take watch." There was a moment's pause before I reluctantly put down my bag.

I wasn't happy about sleeping on the forest floor as we were far too exposed and I wasn't sure how safe I felt resting with the strange presence of Daryl Dixon watching over us. I watched the man, suspiciously, as he went about making a suitable place for Sophia to sleep. Sophia seemed at ease with him though and that thought alone was a good enough answer for me to trust her judgement and this man for the time being. I still kept my eye on him though.

Toby had taken to taking watch too, lying nearby the hunter and ears perked up on alert. I caught Daryl once or twice patting Toby lightly before withdrawing his hand and fiddling about with his crossbow aimlessly. I couldn't help but smile slightly to myself. Sophia had curled herself up, one of my blanket's thrown over her. She was unconscious to the world quite quickly, exhaustion taking over. A blissful smile was on her lips and I knew she must be dreaming about her upending reunion with her mother.

Exhaustion wasn't in my favour, however. After several attempts at falling asleep, nothing seemed to make me content and I constantly fidgeted from my spot on the forest floor. I still wasn't happy about our location. My gaze stared up at the tree tops above us, longing for their protection for the night.

"You gonna stop movin' or do I gotta put an arrow up your ass?" A grunted tone muttered through the darkness. I didn't need to see who it belonged to and sighed, finally deciding to sit up.

"Can't sleep." I offered as a reply. From this new position, I could see the man in the darkness, the light from the moon illuminating him slightly. The hunter grunted once more before falling silent again. "You want me to take watch while you get some rest?"

"No offence, girlie, but I don't rightly know ya so I ain't about to go 'bed time' when ya could potentially kill me in my sleep." I breathed a chuckle, one quiet enough not to wake Sophia.

"You honestly think I'm going to try and kill you?" I asked, disbelieved and humoured.

"I don't know what to think anymore." Daryl shrugged. I silently agreed with him and chewed my lip thoughtfully.

"How do I know you won't kill me in my sleep?" I asked.

"If I was gonna kill ya, I'd have done it already." Daryl muttered. I hummed quietly before falling silent again.

My mind tinkered aimlessly as I judged the man in my presence. He was capable of dispatching me easily, that was for sure. But he hadn't and I knew that was down to Sophia. He had an unfriendly persona and yet he had softened in the presence of a little girl. I had gathered quickly that though I was not a threat to him, he did not trust me, and nor did I for him. My trust was unstable though, Sophia being a rare exception. And yet, here I was, willingly following this stranger and not taking off to leave when I had the chance. There was something that drew me to this opportunity. Maybe it was Sophia or perhaps the concept of living people. Whatever it was, I felt unable to pack up and leave. Not with the image of Sophia's broken face in my mind.

"Why'd ya do it?" Was the question that cut me from my thoughts.

"Do what?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Daryl gestured to Sophia's sleeping form.

"Ya saved a total stranger, probably putting yourself in danger in the process, 'nd hiked through a forest just to return her back to her momma. Ya her guardian angel or summit?" I chuckled again.

"I have morals, Mr Dixon. I was hardly going to leave a frightened little girl to be eaten by those things." I shuddered briefly and I couldn't help but notice Daryl grimace at the mention of his 'mister' title. "Wouldn't you have done the same? I expect anyone would have done what I did. It's really no big deal." There was a long moment of silence as the hunter contemplated his reply.

"Not sure everyone is as kind-hearted as ya make 'em out to be." Was his answer. I frowned at this, but made no attempt to comment. "You been on ya own since the beginning of all this?"

"I didn't think you were much of a talker." I pointed out, folding my arms across my chest and leaning back against a tree trunk. Daryl snorted.

"I ain't. I just wanna know who I'm bringin' back to my camp 'nd whether or not ya gonna be a danger to the group." I sighed.

"You don't have to take me back with you. Take Sophia back to her mother, like I said before, Toby and myself will move on-"

"Oh no, ya ain't abandoning her. The kid seems to have taken a liking to you, so ya coming with us if you like it or not. " I frowned and ran my hand through my ratty hair.

"I honestly don't understand you." I murmured, shaking my head.

"Get used to it. Now answer the God damn question." I held back a sigh and glanced at the man to see him watching me intently. He looked as though he was judging me, assessing me almost. From what I could make of this man so far, he probably was. True to his word, he was probably trying to decipher if I would be a danger or not to his people. Something I couldn't help but respect.

"My sister and I survived at the beginning and we were saved by a man. Laurent his name was. He looked after us." I explained briefly. Daryl's hard gaze didn't waver.

"'Nd where are your sister 'nd this Laurent guy now?" I shrugged, a half-honest answer. They have probably moved on from the location Laurent had directed on the map he had given me. Daryl's eyes narrowed. "They alive?"

"As far as I know." I replied with a sigh, not liking where this conversation was going. It seemed that I would be made to confess to this man if I wanted to carry on to this farm and meet his people, judging by his intense expression. While I wasn't overly fond of the idea, I couldn't blame his caution.

"'Nd why ain't you with them?" Daryl's hands twitched towards his crossbow, an action I didn't fail to register. I repressed another sigh.

"We met a larger group." I began, not withdrawing my gaze. "They provided protection from the dead, but they were-" I paused. "Bad people."

"'Bad people'?" Daryl asked, though his voice had lost a little of its grunt. I shrugged again, not wanting to explain anymore. "Ya mind tellin' me what that means?"

"Why does it matter?" I challenged, making the man glare at me.

"'Cos ya comin' back with us 'nd I wanna know what kinda person ya are. How'd I know, you ain't a 'bad person' too?" I glared back, though I knew I shouldn't be angry at the man for his actions.

"There were six women in the camp when we met this group. My sister and I were assigned alongside them all in the women's 'section' of the camp. We were given duties such as cleaning, cooking, sewing. Basically all the domestic and typical 'womanly' duties. Pretty soon though I found out that they weren't our only 'duties' in camp." I grinded my teeth together and looked away, between the trees and mentally visually each and every member of that camp dying a slow, horrific death. "You want me to elaborate some more, Mr Dixon?" My tone was harsh, competition with his own. I expected an equally harsh reply from the man and was surprised when I didn't.

"Nah, you don't." He murmured and I was definitely shocked by the tamer tone. "I get it." I snorted and titled my head towards him, my eyes judged him for a few moments before he spoke again. "Fuckers like that deserve to get ripped apart by geeks." I chuckled, bitterly.

"That's something I wish everyday." I admitted without feeling. Daryl's expression wasn't judging.

"So, you escape, I guess?" I nodded. "Without ya sister?"

"Without my sister." I confirmed, eyes still blazing and meeting Daryl's, strong. He contemplated this for a few moments before nodding.

"That group," He began. "They dangerous?" I swallowed hard before nodding.

"I don't know much about your people but I know quite a bit about them. They are strong, in force and number. Sophia has already told me there is only eleven of you and I can tell you for a fact they outnumber you."

"We've dealt with a lot." Daryl began. "More than enough. We're strong too."

"I don't doubt that, but they're more dangerous than walkers." Daryl raised an eyebrow at this and chewed his thumb, thoughtfully.

"They camped nearby?" I shrugged again. Thinking about the map, I wondered if they'd still be there, though it was very unlikely. Laurent had told me once that they didn't like to stay in one place for very long anymore. Not since I'd gotten away. Considering the man before me and the limited I knew about his people too, I didn't think picking a fight with these people was such a good idea either.

"I don't know. But they were on the highway the day Sophia and I went there looking for you. They were looting the cars and got overrun by walkers. We made our escape while they were getting rid of them. I was unfortunately spotted and I can imagine they'll be searching the area for me, trying to find me again." There was a long silence, only broken by a distant cry of some animal. It wasn't a pain-filled sound, but it still made me shudder. Daryl's eyes had darkened, though he continued to contemplate in silence. I wondered if I'd said too much, but realised that it was necessary.

"Ya gotta tell my group this when we get back to the farm." He murmured, softly. "Rick will need to know. He'll decide what we gotta do next." I nodded, absently, not liking the idea of retelling it all again to someone new. The hunter though seemed certain on the idea and I knew better already not to bother arguing with him. His eyes trailed down to Sophia and I saw him swallow hard. "I lied to her before." He said suddenly, his voice threatening to break. I frowned, but didn't say anything. "When she asked if the others are alright." He raised his eyes again to mine.

"Her mother's alright?" I asked, quickly, fearing the worse. I couldn't bare to imagine returning Sophia back to her group, her hopeful eyes as she searched for her mother's awaiting arms. Only for the realisation that her mother was hurt or even dead. Daryl nodded and I felt myself let our a sigh of relief.

"It's Rick's little boy; Carl."

"Carl's my best friend."

"He's been shot."

"Oh God," Was all I could muster up. My eyes stared down at the sleeping form between us, blissfully unaware of her friend's condition. "Is he alive?"

"Yeah, he's recoverin'. Farmer said he's gonna be fine." I studied the man's slouched position with a frown.

"He's going to live and that's all that'll matter to her." I replied, feeling strange as I almost attempted to console the strange man before me. Daryl shrugged.

"Still ain't nice for her to return back to find her friend shot. Couldn't bring myself to tell her, I mean, she was just so happy to see me." He sniffed loudly, wiping a hand across his face. "She'll be pissed at me."

"No she won't." I muttered with a frown. "She'll be too overwhelmed at being back with you all."

Daryl didn't say anything and I gathered that the subject was over. We remained silent for a few long minutes, my eyes beginning to droop slightly and I was glad that exhaustion was kicking in finally. Even leaning against the trunk of a tree was comfortable and welcoming.

"When we get back to the farm," Daryl's voice suddenly picked up. I opened my eyes immediately and tilted my head back towards the hunter. He was picking at his fingertips. "I'll tell them how I found ya 'nd you'll tell them what ya told me, about that other group. Ya won't have to tell everyone, don't worry. Just Rick. They won't throw you out, Sophia won't let them for starters. Rick's a good person, too good for his own, but he ain't gonna make ya leave. If ya wanna stay with us, then ya can." He paused and glanced up at me. "But ya gotta watch yourself." I tensed myself at that and narrowed my gaze.

"'Watch myself'?" I hissed. I had heard that before. Daryl must have realised his mistake and backtracked.

"We ain't like that." He said, forcefully. "Definitely not. But Shane-" He cut himself off and chuckled without humour. "He ain't right 'nd he hasn't been for a long time."

"Whose that, the other cop?" I asked, through process of elimination in my head. Daryl nodded. "What do you mean 'he ain't right'?"

"Not sure if the others can really see yet, maybe it's just 'cos I'm more observant than them, but I can see what's goin' on. He's vergin' on fuckin' crazy, and I suggest ya watch yourself when we get back to the farm. He seems to have every intention to go against everything the camp wants, 'nd feels the need to make things difficult. I guarantee that Shane will be the one who will disagree with your stayin'. All I'm saying is, just watch yourself." I processed this for a moment, along with the knowledge of what Sophia had told me about the rest of her group and nodded.

"I will, thanks for the heads up." Daryl grumbled something inaudible and sighed.

"Rest up, you're gonna need ya energy for tomorrow." He grunted, before falling silent. I studied the man for a few moments, taking in his words and his appearance. There was something about him. Whether it was his words, his looks or his distinguishable accent, I wasn't sure. But I was sure that something was recognisable.

"There's something about you that's familiar." I muttered before I could stop the words from coming out of my mouth. Daryl's eyes shot up to mine again in a flash and neither of us muttered a word. I tried to fathom what it was that was just so familiar but I was unable to place it. Daryl's jaw tightened.

"Doubtful." He replied. "I ain't ever met ya before."

"My mistake." Daryl nodded once before averting his eyes.

"Go to sleep." He murmured, playing with his crossbow's strings. I studied him briefly again, before obliging to his wishes. In doing so, hearing an echoing familiar laugh that reminded me of Daryl Dixon.

Jessica avoided Michonne and I like we were something rotten after the confrontation. When I returned back to our shared tent one evening, all her stuff was packed and gone without even a shred of an explanation. I didn't make anything of it though, merely stared at the empty tent, only feeling a bitter numbness for my sister's decision. She didn't believe us. She had made her choice.

We had not told her of our plans for escape, something we knew she would only run and tell to her precious Philip. No, we kept it to ourselves and would talk in hushed whispers about our plans when we were alone. I was definitely thankful that we hadn't confided in her as I knew the backlash from the boss knowing wouldn't have been pleasant.

I had contemplated telling Laurent, but I knew that was a foolish idea. Though I knew Laurent cared about me, he would only try convince me to stay. He wasn't aware of what us women had to go through, the fear and upending bitter sadness of our predicament. He was fine. He was the right hand man of The Boss. He was immune to whatever hell was misting through camp.

Michonne had told me that we were to leave the other women too, they would only slow us down apparently. They were weak, unlike ourselves, and would not survive beyond the fences. They were safer in camp, despite being used as toys to be used whenever the men pleased. At first I did not like this decision, I wanted to save everyone who needed it. But Michonne was stubborn and would not heed to anything I tried to say. Soon, I abolished all attempts.

"Hey, laundry girl." A voice cut through me. I turned around to see a grinning John walking towards me, a swag in his strides. I had passed his tent before, hearing the muffled cries from one of the women - Elizabeth, I thought. He was sufficed for today and I hated how that made me relieved. I kept my expression neutral as the disgusting specimen of a man stopped in front of me. "You're wanted." I raised an eyebrow.

"By who?" I asked. He didn't say anything, only beckoned me to follow him. I did so, knowing better than to argue, putting my basket of clothes down and bidding Toby to stay put.

We weaved through tents, passed rowdy men whose odours burned my nostrils and whose laughter made me flinch, until we finally camp to a halt at the far edge of camp. I recognised it to be the area Laurent had set up his tent and couldn't help but feel a little tense at the thought of being in this area, with full knowledge his neighbours. John led me into a very large looking, gazebo-sized tent which I knew who it belonged to immediately.

The boss - or Philip - was exactly how I remembered him, the same sleazy grin on his face. He was sat in a deck chair, his feet propped up on a table, and his attention focused on Laurent, who stood in front of him. Beside him, on another chair sat my sister, whose eyes widened at the sight of me and who tensed immediately. I managed to glare at her, before averting my gaze to the two men.

"Ahh, Ruby. It's so nice to finally make your acquaintance at last. I was beginning to think we'd never meet." The boss said, grinning.

"You did summon me." I muttered, unable to help myself. The man only chuckled, while Laurent remained rigid as I spoke, his eyes boring into me.

"Apologises for the lack of a formal introduction last time we spoke." The boss carried on. "I didn't have time to stop and chat at the time, being very busy running things and all that. Though after thinking things over, I realised I should change that and introduce myself properly to you. I mean, I've heard a lot about you. And I'm sure you've heard plenty about me." A pause and a grin. "I'm Philip." He waved his arms out in an almost majestic manner. I swallowed down the lump in my throat before speaking once more.

"I thought you were 'the boss'?" I asked, calmly. John has been beckoned to leave the tent, leaving the four of us. Philip chuckled.

"That's a title that the camp appeared to have taken a shine too." He said, speaking as if the whole charade tired him. I personally wasn't buying his attempt of a charming smile. "I personally prefer 'the Governor'." I held back a snort, keeping my face blank. Laurent beside him was staring intently at me, though I tried to avoid his gaze. "I think I'm going to try and get people to use it soon. I mean, 'the boss' is getting very tiring, I must say and 'the Governor' sounds so much better." I had to stop myself once more before speaking, attempting to clear my head. It was pounding hard and all my senses were telling me to get out of that place. I didn't like it one bit and knew I needed to do something quick.

"Is there something you want, sir? Only I have work to do." I asked, trying to keep my tone polite, wary of angering the man. Philip grinned.

"Yes actually, there is. There is a matter I wanted to discuss and resolve." His eyes turned to Jessica, beside him. I eyed him warily when he did this. "Your sister here has lodged herself in my company, telling me how you've been oh so very mean to her." His hand trailed over to my sister, stroking her cheek in an apparent affectionate manner. I swallowed back the bile. "I don't want the pair of you to fight." I swallowed hard, hating the way Jessica looked so content by the fact this disgusting man was touching her so intimately.

"Neither do I." I spoke, glancing to my sister. Jessica tensed at my gaze and had to look away quickly. "But she seems to prefer your company to mine. I suppose living with your sister can only be managed for so long." I knew she wouldn't come back, even if I begged her. I knew my sister and this was herchoice.

"Indeed." Philip agreed, curtly. He opened his mouth to speak, only to be interrupted when a man appeared at the flap of the tent. He glanced between us all for a few moments before training his gaze on Philip.

"He's awake, Boss." The man said. A sickening smile appeared on Philip's lips as he stood.

"Good, we're coming now." The man left and Philip turned to Laurent, who nodded once. "You ladies should come too, wouldn't want you the miss the show." He left no room for questions, merely took my sister's hand and pulled her out of the tent behind him. She avoided my gaze as she passed and left myself and Laurent alone.

"You should go back to your work." Laurent said, hollowly. I raised an eyebrow.

"I wouldn't want to miss the fun now." I retorted dryly. "Plus, the Governor ordered me to come." Laurent sighed, not arguing with that, and led me out and after the others.

We walked around the side of the chained fence, over to the far corner of camp before stopping by a van. Two men had already opened the back of the van when we arrived and there was a bustle inside, voices raised, before they appeared once more. With them though, they dragged out a third man.

The third man was restrained, though continued to make an attempt to break free. He threw out a long string of violent threats and swear words in a voice that held a strong Southern accent, something I couldn't quite place. He was pretty much bald and looked to be in his mid to late forties. The leather waistcoat, black vest and dark pants he wore were ripped and hung off him, though he still managed to look intimidating enough. He was strong looking, probably tall and had a mean snarl on his face as he continued to spit insults left, right and centre.

I hung back, beside Laurent, as the man was brought forward from the back of the van and thrown in front of Philip's feet. A rifle was held to his head, which stopped his struggles. He fell silent and glared up at everyone.

"You fuckers better get me the fuck outta this or I'm gonna fuckin' kill y'all!" The man hissed. I raised an eyebrow at the string of 'fucks', and waited to see what Philip would do. He did as I expected - he chuckled.

"Such admirable words for someone in your predicament." He taunted. The man glared at him. "Where'd you find him again?" He asked, glancing to the two men beside him.

"Side of a road." One of the replied. "The fool was trying to drive this van but must have passed out from blood loss, he was unconscious when we found him." Philip chuckled again.

"Interesting." He murmured. "What's your name, sir?"

"Fuck you." Was the reply.

"Expected." Philip shrugged, more to himself than anyone in particular, crouching down in front of him. The man took the opportunity to spit on his face, which was carelessly wiped away without much of a thought. "At least tell me what you thought to achieve driving with only one hand."

I hadn't even realised the man only had one hand until it was mentioned. Sure enough at the end of his right arm was a bloodied stump, that was bandaged up with some old rag. The blood around it was dry, though the skin looked black and I averted my gaze from the mangled sight of it and back towards the man's scowling face.

"I ain't tellin' ya bastards nothin'." He hissed. Philip shrugged and rose to his feet again.

"You will eventually." He responded evenly, before nodding once to one of the men. There was a thud as the retrained man was hit over the head with the blunt of a rifle and another as he fell to the floor, a brief grunt as he did. "Tie him up, put him in tent, guard it and inform me if he wakes up."

"Wouldn't it have been easier to do that when he was unconscious before?" I muttered, not knowing that it was loud enough to be heard by anyone other than Laurent. Philip turned to me, his face blank for a moment before his sickening grin appeared.

"I assign you, Ruby, to clean up his wounds and make sure he's comfortable enough for when I question him." He stated. I opened my mouth to speak, though he took some steps towards me and stared down at me with a daring gaze. "Do not let me down."

His words held a sickening tone behind them and it was with that final sentence that he made his departure. Jessica remained for the briefest of moments, her gaze between the unconscious man and myself, before she scampered off after him. Laurent remained still beside me before sighing loudly and walking away, glancing meaningfully at me as he did. I remained still for a few moments, staring as the heaved the man's dead weight back up into the van to move him to his next location. I swallowed hard before moving quickly to gather what I needed.

(Author's Note): People, hello! Sorry for the delay in an update, I've just been so very busy! I hope you can forgive me! Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and who put in on their favourites/alerts. It means a lot!

What do you guys think about this chapter then? More importantly what you think about the introduction to a certain someone at the end of it? Really nervous about adding him to the story, as I've already added Michonne and Philip (who is, as you have probably guessed, is based off the character 'The Governor' in the graphic novels). Please tell me what you think about this and where you'd like this plot line to go - it'll be interesting to see what you lovely people want!

Thanks again for the reviews, and don't worry - Sophia will be reunited with the group very soon! I shall update when I can.