The soft morning light filtering through the cracks in the boards on the rotting shed hit the girl's eyelids. Her eyes fluttered open, fully expecting to be up in a tree like she always did at night. Carefully shifting her weight, the girl tried to get more comfortable. Her head felt cloudy, as if there was something blocking the clarity she so craved. She tried to shake the feeling off, and cringed at the blinding pain that followed. She tried shifting her weight again, wincing at the pain, eyes shut tight.

Clink. Clink.

She froze, all muscles taunt, and waited a moment before the pounding returned to her head.

All the girl wanted to do was to bury her head in her hands and shut out the rest of the world if but for a moment or two. She didn't care what was making that clinking noise, everything hurt.

Clink. Clink. Clink.

She winced again. This time the pain wasn't just from her head, it was from her wrists which were stuck behind her back and sticky with dried blood.

The girl hung her head and scowled. Son of a bitch. Those dumbasses she found in the woods had taken her captive. Shit. At least she hoped she hadn't been raped.

She sighed.

Damn, there's gotta be a way to get out of these.

She squinted up towards the sun, peeking though the cracks on its ascent in the sky. The shed looked like it was built to be sturdy enough to last a long time, but old enough to have some boards rotted through. The girl could only hope that she was tethered to one of those.

Dropping her shoulder and clenching her teeth to smother her scream, the girl prepared to try to break the board behind her. If she fucked up her arm in the process, it was all in the name of freedom. She took a deep breath. 1. 2. 3. PULL.

The pain throbbing through her body, pushing her adrenaline to the max, blocked out the amount of noise she had made. She didn't care. Let them come. Let them try to stop her. She dared them. They were no match for her. She was stronger, faster, and smarter than any of them. They needed a group to survive, but she had been through more than all of them put together. The girl took another deep breath and clenched her teeth again. Let's do this.

Daryl had been walking back to his tent to gather some supplies for his search today, when he heard what sounded like chains clanking. He groaned inwardly. The group still hadn't decided what to do with the bitch. Shane just wanted to get rid of her as fast as possible, Dale felt bad about sending her back into the wild, Hershel was still upset about people being on his land, Rick thought that she should be talked to first, and Daryl, well, he wasn't really sure at this point. The look on her face when they squared off in those woods had made his stomach uneasy, probably because he knew that look. He had worn it so many times before. It was a look of hate and...

Daryl shook those memories away. He couldn't let them mess with his head, he had to stay focused on finding Sophia. He couldn't let some random bitch they found in the woods mess with his head while he still had a mission. Daryl heard the chains clank again, this time with a more violent attitude, so he set out to inform Rick that the girl was up and apparently pissed off about being chained up.

He chuckled to himself, thinking about what remarks Merle would've been making right about now. Bitches and shackles. He chuckled again.

Daryl let those thoughts circle his mind as he sauntered back into camp, the ever-present steely look on his face hiding those warm, steel-blue eyes that the girl had circling her mind as she feebly tried to escape her prison.

The three men made their way over to the shed, Rick leading the way, with Daryl sauntering close behind, and Shane's uneven swagger bringing up the rear. Daryl still couldn't get rid of the uneasy feeling that Shane gave him. Although it had been a week or so since Shane had returned without Otis and instead with a questionable alibi, Daryl still couldn't place his finger on what had gone down that night. Of course he had his theories, but he wasn't entirely sure what Shane's limits were. And that made him all the more cautious. Daryl then let his mind wander back to the woods, the hunting that he had to do, and the search he needed to complete. Regardless of what the others thought, Daryl knew that little girl was still out there. She had to be. The men were still a ways away from the shed, but Daryl could've heard those chains clanking from a mile away.

The girl was still thrashing around inside, desperately hoping that she could free herself simply by breaking whatever she was chained to. She stopped for a minute to catch her breath, letting her pounding head fall back against the wall. Maybe if she... no. She closed her eyes and sighed. That would be way too painful, and would be quite an inconvenience in this new world. That would only be a last resort. An annoyed sound left her throat and penetrated the silence that surrounded her prison. She could barely hear the birds.

In the distance, she heard a man's voice getting closer. It sounded like he was talking to someone. Someone who obviously wasn't fond of keeping her around. She could only catch snippets of the conversation. Something about "the girl could be dangerous" and "should keep her tied up until we know" and "should've gotten rid of her when we had the chance" and "but she's only a kid".

That last bit made the girl so mad. She was no kid. Not anymore.

The girl scowled at the ceiling. She had to get out now. She started squirming around, now trying to squeeze her thumb out of the shackles while she tried to break free simultaneously. Her movements were frantic now. The girl had already learned her lesson, don't trust anyone - especially men. In this new life, it didn't matter if they already were taken or not. Now, everything was much more primordial now. Savage even. Men took what they wanted and left as soon as they had come.

The girl didn't glance up as the door swung open, just continued her attempt to escape. She refused to even look at her captors, she wouldn't grant them that luxury. She would get herself free, get her pack and bow, and never look back. Let them burn in hell.

The first thing Rick noticed when he entered the shed was the small form flailing about, still attached to the wall by his handcuffs. The second was the smell of blood stifling the small space. He frowned, not entirely sure what to make of the situation. The other two men filed into the room both surveying the girl, wondering what the hell was up with her. All Daryl could do was stare at the top of her head, trying to understand why she was doing this. She seemed possessed. What the hell was she doing? She must've realized by now that she couldn't break free. She was trapped. Daryl paused, mulling the word over in his head. Trapped...

Rick crouched down in front of her, and tried to command her attention, speaking softly so as to not startle her, "Hey, it's okay. You're safe. We won't hurt ya, but first, we gotta know who you are and what you were doing out there by yourself."

Nothing.

Rick sighed. "Please. Give us somethin' to work on. Something. Anything," he pleaded.

Nothing.

The girl continued her plight, and Rick backed off, not sure of what to make of this. Daryl narrowed his eyes, still trying to figure out what the hell this girl was. Rick leaned over to Shane, about to whisper something.

A new word popped into Daryl's head: animalistic. He had seen something like this before, it had been...

His thoughts were interrupted by Shane storming forward and getting in the girls face, yelling "Hey! When the man speaks to ya, ya listen! Ya hear me!"

Daryl swore he saw her hair stand on edge as she turned and got in Shane's face as she let out a bone chilling hiss. Shane leapt back. Daryl smiled behind his hand before going back to gnawing on his thumbnail. The girl promptly went back to struggling after Shane left her alone. Rick began discussing the girl's reaction in a hushed tone, but Daryl wasn't paying attention. He was too busy studying the strange girl. He now knew what she had reminded him of. She reminded him of a fox he had once found with its foot stuck in a bear trap. It was gnawing its own foot off to escape, and had snapped at him when he had tried to free it. This girl didn't like being trapped, and her red painted hands stood testimony to that. Daryl narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out what to do, but also unwilling to take on the role of a leader. But of course, he would never admit that.

All of a sudden, the girl's entire demeanor changed. She paused and seemed to twist her body in a way that would give her more leverage. Daryl watched her take a deep, cleansing breath. What was she trying to do? Daryl narrowed his eyes. He wondered...would she really be willing to... The girl clenched her jaw and squeezed her eyes closed. No she couldn't. She wouldn't. She couldn't possibly be that desperate. Another breath, and Daryl was lunging forward.

"No!" he grabbed her shoulder and slammed it into the wall behind her. "No!" he roared. She was going to break her bones to be able to wriggle free. Dislocate a couple joints. He knew it was going to be painful to watch, let alone feel. Daryl didn't know why he reacted like that, but he just couldn't watch this poor helpless creature do that. In response, the girl bared her teeth and let a low growl escape her throat, locking eyes with the hunter from the woods. He had foiled her plans. Damn, these dumbasses are smart.

Rick looking questioningly at Daryl. He had never seen the hunter have such an outburst as this, let alone really talk at all. Shane looked a bit pissed off - like always.

"Gimme the keys, and get his ass outta here." Daryl nodded in Shane's direction, his hand still on the girl's shoulder. Shane glared at Daryl.

"Go," Rick said to Shane, and Shane left like an obedient dog with his tail between his legs. Rick moved quickly over to Daryl, hissing in his ear, "What are you planning to do?"

Daryl hissed back, "She ain't gonna hurt nobody. She's just scared."

Rick nodded, and passed the keys to Daryl. He walked back to the table by the entrance, intending to sit on it, but instead walked to the door. Rick decided to tell Shane to lock him and Daryl in there with the girl. But Daryl wasn't paying attention to Rick. He was looking at the girl's face. The clutter of emotions that were smeared across it were unreadable, but the confusion and fear overrode everything else. She wanted to know what he was doing.

"Yer gonna be good, okay?" he murmured as the keys clicked in the locks. Her eyes widened.

The second the handcuffs were removed, the girl leapt to a corner in the room, trying to get as far away from the men as she could. She had startled the men, for both then had a hand on their weapons, a crossbow and a baseball bat. The girl eyed them suspiciously before bringing her injured wrists into a patch of sunlight. The two men watched as she thoroughly inspected her still bleeding wrists and scowled at the damages. She plopped down on the floor and got to work. She pulled off the tee shirt she was wearing, now only sitting in an undershirt, and started tearing strips in it. She carefully wrapped the strips around her hands, almost as if she had done it before. Daryl's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and he glanced at Rick, who also was profusely confused. This bitch was sure full of tricks.

After inspecting her work, the girl sat straight up, legs crossed and hands in her lap, with an innocent look on her face. Daryl lowers his crossbow to his side as Rick once again walks forward and crouches a short distance away from the girl. Sighing, Rick begins again.

"Who are you?"

Daryl takes a position behind Rick as they both watch the girl's blank stare at Rick. Then her expression changes.

She tilts her head to the side, and stares at the ceiling for a moment, looking at the sun. She looks to be contemplating. Both men turn slightly to see what she is staring so intently at, then turn back to her. Suddenly, her hazel eyes dart back to Rick's blue. An impish smile plays on her lips, eyes sparkling with mischief.

I am beautiful nightmare.

I do feel bad about how long this took to get out. School's been rough and this is honestly going to be my least favorite chapter. I hope that my characterization of Daryl and Rick meet that of the original characters. The "beautiful nightmare" is a reference to Beyonce's song, "Beautiful Nightmare", but I felt it was fitting for who this mystery girl is. Please, any reviews are welcome. I want to make sure that this story makes some sort of sense, and if they're anything wrong here, please let me know. Thanks so much for reading, and I hope I can get the next chapter out in another week or so!

With love, Toni :3