Whew! Today was a VERY LONG DAY…I don't think I ever walked so much in my life. I now have shin splints, aching feet, sore calves and a vibrant sunburn. But on the bright side my energy level is up and I feel like writing!

So here's where I see this going in my mind: Dale is gonna live and Shane is gonna live. Jimmy and Patricia will go out the ways they did and the farm will burn, but after that I'm taking this story a different route because I've not been able to read the comics up to any further than first season so I have no idea where it's going from here. So…yep, brand new!

P.S.: if the last chapter's description of the deer butchering was disturbing, I apologize. But that IS how we do it here in Missouri ;)

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This farm was starting to feel much too crowded for Daryl's taste and he could literally feel the tensions running high and tight. Maggie and Glenn were acting strange, Shane was in Rick's face a lot while Rick tried his best to sidestep him. Lori was getting even more snappy than usual. Carl was feeling ignored and was trying to make himself useful and noticed. Andrea was getting gun happy again and was demanding more responsibility as a protector. T-Dog was silent and avoided any sort of confrontation. Dale was busy trying to get in everyone else's business to try and fix it. And Carol…Carol was getting clingy and was getting weepy again.

Daryl told Rick he was going to go looking for Sophia again that afternoon. He planned to borrow a horse from the stable and cover more ground that way and so he walked to the stables and saddled up a chestnut colored mare. "Nelly" was the name over the stall and he gave her a test trot around the yard outside before accepting her as a sturdy and reliable mount, then he set off toward the river he planned to follow downstream where they hadn't checked yet.

The woods were calm and the sound of the river running soon erased the stress of the camp from his mind and he fell into his natural tracking mode and managed to shoot a squirrel that was running up a tree. After that he urged Nelly downhill past a smooth rocky waterfall until they came to a pool at the bottom that turned into the river again and it was there that he spotted the speck of brown and white stuck in among the branches of a fallen tree. Daryl dismounted and tied Nelly's reigns to a tree and went to investigate.

He picked up the lumpy clump of material and examined it for a moment. When it hit him what he was holding his heart jumped into his throat. This was the ragdoll that Sophia had consistently carried around, she had had it with her when she disappeared! He scanned the area, searching for signs of her presence.

"SOPHIA!" he yelled, silently praying for an answer. But the woods remained silent except for the sound of wings as birds took flight in fear from his voice. But he knew now that Sophia had made it this far and that she was moving upstream so he got back on Nelly and turned her around and back up the steep hill until they reached the top of the ravine that the river ran through. Daryl was never a fan of heights and the view made his guts clench nervously. Nelly seemed to be nervous too, he noticed as a flock of birds flew up in front of them and she shied and nickered. Daryl patted her neck and soothed her for a moment before kicking her into a walk again, he looked off to the side and that's when he felt her tense under him. Nelly let out a frightened whinny and reared, throwing Daryl out of his thoughts and then she reared again, throwing him out of the saddle.

At first Daryl didn't feel very afraid because he felt like he was flying, then the feeling of impact against the ground was a little harsh but after he rolled through a few leaves and brambles he felt cold stone strike his body hard and stars shot through his vision, then another pounding of rock on his shoulder, then his other shoulder, then his hip, then he lost track of every direction and sensation until he felt the cold shock of water hit him and some of it went in his throat as he gasped from a sudden, blinding pain in his right side.

"Damn it!" he gasped, turning onto his hands and knees and half crawled, half floated towards the nearest shore. He felt disoriented and woozy from the long fall and the pain in his side was enough to make him bite back a cry. His hands flew to the painful area and he was horrified to find an arrow protruding from his side. "Oh, shit…"

Knowing better than to pull it out, he took a moment to get himself together again and let his body adjust to the pain. Then he looked up the way he had fallen and groaned…it was a long way up but he had no choice in which way he had to go. He grabbed a sturdy stick and leaned on it to release some of the tension from his throbbing side and his sore leg. He looked down at his side and decided he had to stabilize the arrow so he tore off his sleeves and tied them tight around him, hissing as it tightened over the arrow. After a moment of letting the pain fade…he began the climb.

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It took forever to reach where he could see the top of the incline within a few feet, but he knew his strength was running out by that point and he began to lean on the stick for more support. But the stick broke suddenly and he lurched forward, cursing at it and tossing it aside, it was all up to his own strength now.

But as soon as he grabbed that vine and the loose dirt slipped and his footing was lost, he knew he wasn't going to make it to the top. He felt himself falling and he closed his eyes tight as the pain returned with a whole new level of fury. The arrow, he knew had just ripped even more of his tender flank from the jarring of the fall and he felt his skin tearing against the rocks as he rolled and then that water covered his face again and e managed to hold his breath…but this time, as soon as his head broke through to the air, his vision faded to black and he lost consciousness.

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Daryl's dream had been so weird…Merle had been in it and he was kicking him in the leg, telling him to get up and stop being a pansy ass. Daryl almost smiled as he opened his eyes and still felt the sensation of his leg being moved by a second party, he raised his head slightly and looked down to greet his brother but came face to face with a Walker chewing hard in the toe of his left boot.

Oh, God, it bit me! It's eating my leg off!

Daryl started panting anda small whimper escaped him as he pulled his leg away and scooted back, the Walker growled angrily and turned to start moving upwards toward him. Instinct and survival took over and Daryl no longer felt pain, just pure adrenaline and he kicked the walker upside the head hard enough to send it sprawling before it came back at him. Daryl gripped it's arms and forced it onto it's back where they grappled for a moment for Daryl finally overpowered it and he grabbed a large stick and brought it down on its head…HARD.

But he didn't have time to think before a second zombie emerged from the bushes and came charging at him.

You're gonna have to do something crazy or you're going to die. And you're going to go out as an all you can eat buffet for that freak!

Hell no he wasn't! Without hesitating, Daryl grabbed the arrow's half that was sticking out his front and pulled it right out of him, the feathers going through him made him growl in pain but he didn't slow down. He placed the arrow between his teeth and put his whole strength into pulling back the string of his crossbow, pain shooting through his side from the effort. But the sound of the string setting made him release the breath he was holding and his nocked the arrow, took quick, but steady aim and let it fly!

He heard the familiar sickening thud of the arrow sinking into skull and he saw the walker fall next to him. He lay there panting heavily, coming down from the adrenaline rush. He groaned loudly once more and he fell back into that black unconsciousness.

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Walkers! Closing in fast!

Small eyes widened in fear and horror but small feet remained planted on the spot, not able to move!

You HAVE to! You have to help!

Splash! Splash! Splash! The feet ran across the shallows of the small river and their owner knelt beside the unconscious man. Small hands gripped his arm and shook him hard. But then they scooped up water and splashed it onto his face and he woke quickly, sputtering.

"Wha..?" Daryl shook his head and sat up, his head spun and his whole body filled with pain when he did. He was aware of the danger and noticed two more walkers coming his way. He pulled out his buck knife and stood shakily to his feet, braced as best he could. The first walker came at him and he side stepped, lashing out with the blade and caught it right along the back of the skull, severing the brainstem. The walker fell and Daryl's legs gave out as well and he fell to his knees in the river, dropping the knife before he passed out once again.

No! No! There's another one! Get up, Mr.! Please get back up!

Small hands gripped his shoulder but this time he didn't even respond to the water splashing and those small hand had no choice but to pick up the knife from the water and hold it out in defense. Luckily, walkers are not smart and the small hands landed a deadly thrust into the eye socket of the second one as it knelt to feed on the unconscious man in the water.

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When Daryl woke again, the world was spinning and the sun beat down on him and his brain was fuzzy and confused. Something had happened, he had discovered something very important but he couldn't organize his thoughts at all!

"Sir?" a timid voice flitted across his senses and at first he thought it was only his imagination but then he blinked rapidly to clear his vision as his mind began to un-numb. That voice…it was familiar.

"Sir, are you ok?" No…it couldn't be…could it?

Daryl turned his head slowly toward the sound of the voice and the face he saw made everything else fade to nothing. Blue eyes, blonde hair, pale skin…it looked like…Sophia.

"S…Sophia?" he asked slowly. This must be another dream.

"Yes! You, you're part of our group! From Atlanta!" the little girl clasped her hands together and her eyes widened.

"Can't believe…found you…fine'ly…" Daryl was annoyed at how hard it was for his voice to work! "Gotta…gotta get you to your mom…"

Sophia's eyes glistened with tears and she nodded fiercely. She suddenly threw her arms around Daryl's very sore neck and began sobbing heavily into his chest.

"I thought everyone had stopped looking for me!" she whimpered, the sound went straight into Daryl's heart but he pushed her away and looked at her seriously.

"No, we didn't," he assured her, "Now let's get out of here before more come back."

Together the pair of them made their way toward the incline, Daryl stopped only to claim the ears of the dead walkers which he strung on a shoelace around his neck. He didn't really know why he did it…it just seemed appropriate. Sophia eyed him warily.

"That's gross…" she stated, backing up slightly.

"Yeah well you don't have the luxury 'o being picky about your rescuer's fashion sense," Daryl said, scanning the incline for the path of least resistance.

They began the climb and Sophia reached the top easily. Daryl imagined Merle at the top, criticizing, insulting, telling him he was weak and couldn't make it…but Merle was wrong, he had done the impossible…he had found Sophia! This damn climb wasn't going to put him down. When he pulled himself up the final time and felt firm ground under him, he pushed Merle's words behind him and stood in triumph, mentally flipping off the entire woods.

He limped along, dragging his crossbow behind him as he stumbled from the pain and the weakness of his sore muscles. Sophia tagged along behind him and it occurred to him that she didn't truly trust him and that she was only following him because he was the only human she had seen in the last few days.

By they reached the edge of the wood, Daryl was on his last leg. But he kept walking, slowly…limping and dragging his more sore leg slightly behind him. He imagined he didn't look very good…because he sure felt like shit!

He heard the sound of footsteps coming at him fast and he raised his head slowly and painfully. Rick, T-Dog and Shane skidded to a stop in front of him, weapons raised. They stopped short and looks of horror filled their eyes.

"Is that DARYL?"

God…they think I'm a walker! I must REALLY look terrible!

"That's the third time you pointed that thing at my head!" was all he could think to say, but he knew he had to speak to show them he wasn't a walker, "You gonna pull the trigger or what?"

Rick's expression changed from fear and uncertainty to relief and amusement quickly and he lowered his pistol. Shane and T-Dog lowered their weapons and Daryl couldn't help but chuckle slightly even though the effort hurt his ribs. He was just about to step forward when he heard a distant loud noise and a sudden burning pain shot through his head and he felt himself jerk back and fall heavily to the ground.

He fuckin' shot me! What the hell!

But then he felt arms lifting him and heard Rick shouting angrily, sounding terrified. He felt T-Dog let go and Rick too his place at his side.

"I was kidding!" he mumbled, not really sure what had just happened. There was a sound of fast approaching footsteps again and he heard Andrea speaking in a panicked voice but he ignored her, trying to make himself heard over the noise to tell them Sophia was behind him.

"GUYS!" he heard T-Dog's voice from behind and he sighed, knowing that Sophia had been spotted. "I…I can't believe it…"

The last thing Daryl heard before the blackness took him again was Carol's sobbing laughter and Sophia's squeal of happiness.

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Yeesh! That was a lot of writing and I'm officially very, VERY tired! Got a very good day planned tomorrow (today!) so I'm gonna hit the hay now! Reviews are delightful to wake up to ;)