Three

Really appreciate all the encouragement and feedback, guys. I haven't written any fanfiction in over a year-and-a-half. It's nice to come back to a supporting and wonderful community. I would like to send a special shout-out to Katarzyna88gb for being so sweet and encouraging me. Enjoy this chapter!

Holding June close to him, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck, Daryl continued to run after the group. There was an eerie silence between the two. June was replaying the past over and over again in her mind, being that there was no escape of it. It was like she was reliving the same nightmare and she wasn't able to shake herself awake. The blood curdling screams still rang in her ears.

Every few minutes, Daryl would glance down at June's expressionless face. Her eyes were dark and some-what empty. Some part of him wished he could know what she was thinking. Another was thankful that he didn't.

"They'll eat us…"

Daryl kept going over what she had said. Was she exaggerating? He didn't think so. After all this girl had been through, there was no chance that she was lying about this, of all things.

Looking up, he saw that everyone in the group was now very far ahead. He cursed at himself for getting so distracted in such a dangerous situation. Suddenly, the ground jumped up at him. From somewhere unknown, Daryl and June were being shot at. He silently thanked whatever God that the shooter was a shitty shot. Holding onto June even tighter, Daryl began to sprint towards the group, who were now climbing the fence. He caught up with them. Everyone except Michonne, Abraham, and Rick were on the opposite side of the wire.

Daryl leaned into Rick and whispered, "She can't climb this…"

The sheriff blinked and stared at Daryl, who was now biting the inside of her lip. He knew that Rick was going to try to convince him to leave the girl there.

"I can do it." A small, nearly silent June managed to say. Daryl looked down at her. She was gazing up at him, her big green eyes widened. "I'm not staying here. I can do it, if this is the only way."

Daryl looked up at Rick, who nodded. "If she says she can do it…"

"You gotta go quick, girl. We don't got much time." Daryl whispered, looking back towards Terminus.

Biting her lip, June slid out of Daryl's arms. She grabbed his hand for support as her feet his the concrete. Immediately, she inhaled sharply. Daryl could see the tears already forming in the corners of her eyes. She nodded and put a foot through the metal fence. It took everything she had not to scream out in pain, knowing that, if she did, Gareth would find the group quicker. With that in mind, she began to climb the fence. June looked down at Daryl when she had finally made it to the top, and gave small, barely noticeable, smile. Putting her foot down, she was grabbed my Glenn and Maggie. Daryl gave a small sigh of relief and began to climb the fence after her.

When he jumped down onto the other side, June had taken to the floor. She looked completely pale. Daryl took a knee next to her. She immediately grabbed his hand and saw that her bottom lip was completely bloody, as she'd been biting it to subdue some of the pain.

Maggie looked down, pressing a hand to Daryl's shoulder. "We have to keep moving."

He nodded reluctantly before scooping up June into his arms once again.

It seemed like hours that the group had been running. Once in a while, they would stop to catch their breath, only to hear the shouts of the Terminus group in the distance. They continued to run, until they reached a road.

Eugene took out his compass, and pointed down the road. "If we keep going north this way, we'll eventually end up in Washington."

"Washington?" Rick asked, a bit confused.

Abraham looked at him and smirked. "Eugene here has found a cure to all this nonsense. We're trying to get him to Washington to try and put it into action."

Glenn took Maggie's hand, then looked at Rick. "Are we gonna join them?"

Shrugging, Rick looked at Glenn, glancing from the man to his own son. "Why not? We don't really have anywhere to go anymore."

Everyone agreed, and slowly, they began to walk. For miles, there was nothing but a few stray Walkers, until finally, they came across a truck. Rick, Abraham, Eugene, Sasha, and Rosita all climbed inside with Abraham behind the wheel. The rest of the group, climbed into the bed. Daryl still had a now-sleeping June in his arms. They started to drive and Maggie took out a roll of gauze from her bag, handing it to Daryl. He began to bind up her feet carefully, trying not to waken her.

"You don't have to be so careful about it." Michonne mumbled. "She's probably passed out from the pain."

A dark, saddened silence fell over the group in the bed as they all stared at the short-haired girl in Daryl's arms. They had all seen things during these terrible times, but this was something on an entirely different level. Daryl felt a sense of guilt in his stomach. This girl had risked her life just to make sure they all didn't starve. In his eyes, this girl was somewhat of a hero.