Rick POV
Me and Daryl were out looking for food...again...with so many mouths to feed, the live stock at the Greenes farm wasn't cutting it. We weren't starving or thirsty but the food we had didn't fill you up. It was just enough to keep you going till the next meal. Daryl was in front, crossbow at the ready for any sign of a rabbit or buck, anything would be good right now, we had been walking for around half an hour and it was getting dark.
"Daryl, we gonna have to call this a day. The lights goin' fast"
"Shhhh! I think I hear something" Daryl whispered, moving forwards body hunched over his crossbow. I silently followed him keeping a distance. Then I heard it too...a russel of leaves and a soft whimper.
"Daryl that don't sound like no animal..." I said grabbing my gun from its holster.
"Shh, we'll follow fur a bit, its getting closer..." Daryl drawled quietly, his pace increasing.
We swiftly moved through the trees, visibility was becoming limited as the sun died behind the thick trees.
Then the noise stopped...
Who ever was making that noise had heard us too...
The noise increased again, the sound of moving leaves increased, what ever it was, it was struggling.
"You think its a walker?" Daryl voiced over his shoulder.
"I don't know, let move closer, if it is we can stop it from getting to close to the farm"
Without me having to convince him, Daryl was making his was slowly and silently towards the sound. Out of the trees a figure became visible. It was a girl, I could tell but the long blonde hair that hung down her small figure. She was leaning against a tree, hissing in...pain.
"Stop" I whispered to Daryl. "It's not a walker, its a girl." I pushed Daryl's cross bow downwards, but he held his arms firm.
"No, could be a trap, we need to get closer."
As we moved a few steps towards a tree that would block us from sight the girl stopped and tried to turn around and stumbled ..there was a clink of metal.
"Looks like she in a bear trap or somethin'" Daryl said putting his crossbow down. "She tryin' to pull her fuckin' leg out of it come on"
We moved forwards out of the shadow of the trees and the girl stopped crying. She placed her head in her hands and spoke hoarsely.
"Just kill me, just kill me Zack."
I looked at Daryl confused and he gave me the same look back, but even before I could open my mouth to talk she slumped sideways and dropped to the ground.
"What in the..." I moved forwards towards her. "She's a mess Daryl" I carefully held her wrist looking for a pulse..."well shes' still alive" taking my hands gently under her head I moved her onto her back.
Her long silvery hair flopped over her shoulder with her limp arms. Her face was covered in dirt and blood, her hair was matted and her hands were torn up and bloody.
"What the fuck happened here" Daryl said as he leant down beside her, gently moving her hair out of her face. "Lone survivor of a walker attack?" He questioned looking her up and down. "Has she been bit"
"No...she mentioned a name, and before that she was scared...she's been running from someone...someone that might have wanted to harm her..."
"We can't drag that sorta trouble back to the camp, we should just leave her er'" Daryl said standing back up, he looked reluctant.
"If Carl found himself in this state and someone found him, I'd want them to help..." I said looking at her closely. Her clothes were skimpy and ripped, she had pj type short on and a ripped plaid shirt and I could see she had nothing between that and her underwear.
"Wherever she was, she left in a hurry, check her bag" I said nodding my head over towards the small brown backpack that lay a few feet away.
"Just some pictures, water and a music player. This must be er' no weapons...no nothin" he said motioning one of the photos towards me.
You could tell the girl just by lookin at he hair, white blonde fallin in messy curl around her, she was with friends probably a party.
"She was normal, just like us. We can't leave her here" I said standing up defiantly.
He stood there, chewin his thumb for a second or two.
"Fine, lets get that trap off her leg first..." he said crouching down to hold her leg. "Shittt, she's bin walkin' round on this for a day or so..." he said inspecting the trap. "It's torn up her sneakers."
He began to prise open the trap, forcing the metal spikes out of her leg. She flinched.
"Stop, stop!" I said holding my hand out to him. She began to stir.
"Fuck it" Daryl said as he pulled the trap off her leg quickly.
The girl bolted upwards and screamed, looking around frantically. Her wild eyes flew between our faces as she tried to back away.
"No no wait!" I said putting up my hand. "It alrigh' we ain't gonna hurt you...please we are gonna help. You got caught in a trap and passed out, we have someone who can help please stay still." I said as she continued to push herself away, her back against a tree.
Violet POV
My eyes opened with a start as pain seared up my leg and through my body. I sat up sharply, the pain and adrenaline forcing me to move away from the danger. As my eyes began to focus, I was faced with two men. One had blackish curly hair and a rough beard covering a slightly weather worn face and the other had dark straight hair covering part of his forehead. His blue eyes pierced mine, his arms were tense and he held what looked like a crossbow at my face. I back away quickly, crawling my hands behind me to move me as my feet were feeling like bricks.
The one with the slicked back curly hair said something. I could see his mouth moving but it sound like I was hearing him from under water. I continued to back away until my back was so tightly up against the tree it scratched at my bare shoulder where my top had slipped off, revealing my black bra strap. I hastily pulled it back up over my shoulder and looked back at the man with the dark long hair. He looked confused, scared even.
The two men looked back and forth at each other their words a buzz in my ears. I shook my head violently and grabbed my hair roughly.
"Please stop please stop please stop!!!" I mumbled as I rocked my head further into my palms, digging my hands into my eyes.
I felt a something on my arm pulling my hand away from my face.
"Stop it ur' gonna hurt yourself" I looked up seeing the man wearing a sleeveless jacket holding my hand away from my face. "We want to help ya" he said, his blue eyes scanning my face and body.
"Jesus what happened here..." the other man said. He was looking at me with pity, I just looked down.
I realised the other one was still holding my arm away from my face, his large hand lessoned its grip and he moved backwards again, sitting down slightly on the damp earth, resting his hand behind him.
"Where did you come from...what...happened" I continued to look down and shiver.
"Alright, my names Rick, Rick Grimes...and this is Daryl Dixon. We are part of a group, at a farm couple miles away...we would like to take ya there, get that leg seen to...can we do that?"
I looked up again, my hair creating a yellow veil in the failing sunlight. Could they be trusted...what if they lead me back to the camp...maybe they worked for Zack...at this point did I even care? I glanced between them both, this Rick guy reminded me of my adoptive father...and Daryl...I didn't know what to think of him, but his touch lingered on my arm, it wasn't to hurt, it was to help.
I nodded slightly and looked them both in the eye, I nodded again.
"What's your name?..."
I hesitated...then I cleared my throat slightly..."Violet, my name is Violet" I said instantly looking down.
"Ok Violet. I'm gonna help ya up now, I'm gonna grab your arm, I need you to grab onto Daryl ok?" Rick said this so gently, lightly, I couldn't help but oblige.
I reached a dirty hand towards Daryl and gripped his hand tightly as Rick lifted my up from my elbow.
"Ow" I whimpered pathetically. And my legs gave out.
Not only was I hurt but I was dehydrated and exhausted from months of neglect. I fell a strong pair of arms wrapped around me and hold me before I hit the ground. I looked up into Daryl's blue eyes and quickly looked away.
"Ya can't walk alone, I'm gonna have to carry ya" a low southern accent drawled.
I didn't protest as strong arms engulfed my body and lifted me as if I was a feather. I felt so light, weightless, for the first time in a long time.
"Right, I've got your bag ok, you just sit tight, it won't take long to get back." Rick sounded from behind us.
"Rick, grab that rag from my back pocket and wrap it round her leg it don't look so good" I didn't even look down to see the damage, I just looked up at the sky, at the orange that appeared to merge with the darkness. Without city lights the sky was so clear.
I felt eyes on me, I looked slightly to the right and saw Daryl looking down at me, I blinked and stared back until we began to move.
We walked for a while before Daryl had to stop for a rest.
"I have, water...water in my bag" I croaked.
Daryl looked down and almost laughed.
"I'm alrigh' Violet, here you have some." I heard the bottle unscrew and he held it to my chapped lips. I drunk it happily, feeling my throat soak up the moisture.
I sighed. "Thank you"
"Ah so that what you sound like" Rick piped up. "Thought you sounded like a 40 year old smoker for a while there"
I nearly laughed as I sat up against the log. I winched again.
"You alrigh' Daryl said next to me sitting up slightly.
"I think I was shot." I lifted my top slightly to see a gash in my side. It had just grazed me...
"You didn't mention that earlier!" Daryl said sitting up looking at it.
"I didn't feel it" I said looking down.
"Where are you from?" Rick said, his face was twisted in confusion. I stayed silent.
"I mean where are you from originally, before...this..." he gestured to the world around us.
"Manchester, England" I said shuffling slightly
"Where are you here?" Daryl questioned.
"School" I said quietly. The both looked taken aback. "I dont mean high school or anything, I'm 24...I finished university 2 years ago, decided to carry on studying, came here for Civil War stuff..." I continued, I already felt like I had said to much.
There was silence... "So you don't know this area at all?" Rick said.
"No." I said tipping my head to the floor, showing I was done talking.
"Let's keep movin" Daryl said moving slowly to lift me up once again.
He carefully weaved his arm behind my legs and around my back. I again felt weightless, lying there in his arms.
"Don't fall asleep alright?" He said looking down at me.
I nodded against his chest moving my arm to lie lazily around his neck, my other hand balling into a fist around part of his jacket. I held myself to him like my life depended on it...this total stranger...
With Rick and Daryl I felt safe for the first time in months, would this last? I didn't know...were they telling the truth...I didn't know. But right here, right now I felt alright, for the first time in a long time...