A/N: I've changed the rating to M because of this chapter. The implications made in the episode of the Walking Dead correlating with this chapter are not light enough to be considered "T" subjects. If you've seen the Walking Dead past season 4 (Aka where Rick and Joe's group meet up) or Walking Dead at all (it's rated M anyway), then this isn't really anything new, but just in case, trigger warning for implied potential sexual assault.

Chapter 12: Plans Go Wrong

A sudden light scorched through Riley's eyelids and she bolted up right, blinking open her eyes to see that the door was opening. The larger, balded man stepped into the room and she immediately pushed herself back to the wall, glaring up at him as she placed her tied hands in her lap.

"Don't worry, Just thought you'd better have a little somethin' for the road. Wouldn't want you starvin' on the way. We've got plenty more use for you yet," he said with a smirk, placing a few handfuls of berries and nuts on the slab of wood from last night. "Enjoy."

A loud slam followed him and then were left in silence again. Carl still remained on his side, but his eyes were open. "I really don't like the way he looks at us...let's keep away as much as we can, alright?"

She nodded slowly in agreement before scooting over to the food. "Hey um...I just wanted to say ah...I mean you know that I uh like taking care of myself and everything, but..."

His intense blue gaze pierced her own through the dark as he waited for her to finish. Releasing a gentle sigh, she shifted her gaze to the ground and bit her lip.

"I just want to say...thanks for looking after me and sticking with me...?" She grimaced a little, not really sure if she should have even said that at all. A lot had happened the past few days and she did want to show her appreciation, but she felt awkward about it since she usually kept her feelings inside. What the hell was she even doing? Why was she suddenly being so open like this?

"Ah nevermind," she said quickly, focusing on the food in front of them.

"No wait, hey..." Carl scooted closer, bumping her shoulder with his own. "You don't need to thank me. We look out for each other. That's just what we do. But, you're welcome. And I mean...honestly if you hadn't stuck around, I'd be alone on this and probably wouldn't have gotten out of anything we'd been through. I mean you went after me when I fell in the river. And we stuck together in the school and we made it out..."

Riley pressed her lips together, keeping her gaze planted firmly on the blackberry pile as the words sunk into her skin. He was so different than anyone she had ever been stuck with. Most people didn't hesitate to walk away, but he stuck with her, appreciated her for doing it, and even helped look after her. It was definitely something different than she was used to.

She wasn't sure how to answer him so she simply nodded, remaining still for a moment before continuing to eat. The two of them ate silently until they heard a rather loud ruckus from the other side of the door. She pushed herself to her feet, heading toward the door and pressing her ear against it to try and hear what was going on.

"Wait, let's try 'n sort this out. Are you lyin', Len?"

"Course I ain't! You gonna trust him over me?"

"Now hold on just a moment. Daryl, did you steal Len's half of the rabbit?"

"Nah..."

Riley glanced over at Carl with a confused expression on her face. What were they even talking about? Pressing her ear harder against the door, a sudden shout made her reel back and she grimaced as loud thuds and shouts of pain and pleading slammed against her eardrums. She took a few steps back, squeezing her eyes shut as ever thud and shout drew her muscles tighter and tighter across her bones until she was sure that she was going to suffocate herself from being so stiff.

And then it stopped.

A sickening silence stretched across the air and she opened her eyes, peering at the door for any signs of anything. Had it been Daryl? Her gaze locked firmly on the crack of the door as they waited and it had to have been at least ten minutes before anything happened.

The door creaked open slowly and her muscles loosened like a rubber band relaxing after being taut. It was Daryl.

"Come on," he murmured, motioning for them to come out of the room.

Swallowing a lump in her throat, she started forward after Carl. It took her a minute for her eyes to adjust to the blinding light, but honestly when she saw the faces of Joe and the others, she almost wished she was blind.

"Hope you two got some sleep. We got a long day ahead of us," Joe said before turning to his men. "Come on, boys. Let's get this show on the road."

Daryl placed a hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her forward. Carl followed suit and they headed outside. The first thing that greeted them was a white sheet and she was sure that it wasn't there for decoration. Why would they kill one of their own? Were they really that savage?

Riley looked away to try and keep it out of her mind. Just the image brought her head swimming back into survival mode and her first instinct was to run because she couldn't fight. But she had Carl to stick with and then there was Daryl, who she still didn't trust completely but trusted Carl enough to know he was alright. She couldn't leave them and if she ran, it'd be easy for any of them to get shot. There had to be a way to take control of the situation. They just had to get out of these bindings...

They started down the railroad tracks once more, Daryl and a few of Joe's loonies trailing behind while Joe led. It had to have barely been morning and yet the heat beating down on them was agonizing. She twisted her wrists in discomfort, trying to find some relief from the cloth digging into her flesh, but it was no use.

"We're going to be okay," Carl murmured quietly.

"I know. I just..." She bit her lip, trying to come up with the words to describe what she was feeling.

"You don't have to explain. I get it. We just...have to be careful."

Being careful was a lot harder than it seemed. She lowered her gaze to the ground and said nothing in response, just listening to the bickering behind them about objects being "claimed." They had a stupid code, that was for sure.

As they continued walking, the heat of the sun began to get more and more overbearing and soon enough, large beads of sweat trickled down her face and neck. There wasn't much to do but keep walking and try to ignore the bickering and occasional jeers aimed at them. These men acted like they were five year olds...

"Hold up!" Joe exclaimed, putting his hands out to stop them.

He knelt down, running his fingers along the slightly damp dirt at their feet. Sure enough, multiple indents shaped like boots engraved the dirt. If they were searching for Michonne and Rick, that had to be them.

"These tracks are fresh. They're close. Shouldn't be more than an hour or so ahead. We don't stop for nothin' unless it's water. Come on."

Anxiety rippled across Riley's skin. They were close. If they were close, they had to get the upper hand sometime soon so that this didn't end up badly. Once they got to Rick and Michonne, they'd have more of a chance against these guys. There had to be something they could do now...

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a growl and her head snapped to the side as a mossy-covered walker emerged from the trees. Daryl raised his crossbow in attempt to shoot, but Joe quickly got in the way so he wouldn't get it.

"Wait. I think we oughta have a bit of fun first," Joe said with a raised eyebrow before pushing Carl right toward it.

What the hell was he doing?

Carl hadn't been expecting the shove, so he tumbled right at it's feet, causing it to trip over him and land on top of him. She dove forward, attempting to shove it over to get it off him.

"Riley!"

She gritted her teeth as the walker grabbed her arm and she attempted to wrestle herself free from its grip. The laughing of Joe's men definitely wasn't helping and her cheeks flushed bright red. These assholes thought this was a game.

Carl wiggled himself out from under the writhing body and sent a kick flying at its jaw just as it was about to chomp down into her arm. Its jaw catapulted into the woods and she pried her arm free. Her hair whipped into her face as a sudden force rushed right past her cheek and the growls died out. Panting, she turned her gaze to the walker to see an arrow embedded into its skull.

Daryl walked past them and set his jaw. She could clearly tell he wasn't too happy about Joe's little game and neither was she.

"Way to ruin the fun, Daryl," one of them muttered, giving the walker a kick. "Get up."

She growled quietly to herself, heart still thrashing wildly in her chest as she got to her feet. "Are you okay?" she asked Carl, letting out a shaky breath.

"Yeah. I'm good. You?"

"I suppose so."

It was definitely hard to be "good" when they were being used as walker bait. At least Daryl hadn't left them to figure it out on their own. Definitely a few points of trust in his direction.

"We need to get these bindings off somehow," she murmured. Once they were free, they could more easily try to get hold of a weapon somehow.

"Quit chattin' and walk faster!"

She shot a glare over her shoulder, but picked up her pace anyway. The faster they got to Carl's dad, the faster they'd be able to get out of this.

Most of the afternoon was similar. They didn't come across any more of the dead, but they were still poked and prodded at. Most of the time, she kept her mouth shut, but it was hard not to snap back every once in a while, to which their comment would be something along the lines of "ooh feisty." The heat only intensified as the day sloughed on and the only water they had come across was a tiny, dirty puddle that didn't contain enough water for even one of them.

But a small little bridge stretched into view and her body perked up. Bridge meant water. She moved a little faster, locking her eyes on the stream that appeared as they got closer. They veered off the track to the edge of the stream and she quickly dropped to her knees to scoop up handfuls of water into her mouth. It was a little difficult because of her wrists being tied together, but she managed until she felt full with water.

She scooted backwards to rest against the trunk of a tree as Daryl and the others went to drink and collect their own water. The shade cast cool shadows across her skin, relieving her from the heat just a little bit. Her eyes flickered to their surroundings. It was still very wooded with hardly any clear spots at all.

Bringing her legs to her chest, she caught sight of something by her boot. A decently sized jagged rock. Immediately she snatched it up and looked over to the others to see that their backs were turned and they weren't paying her any attention. Taking the chance, she shifted so her hands were out of sight and slipped the rock between the bindings. It was difficult to maneuver the rock, but she was able to slip it between her wrists and awkwardly shift it back and forth against the cloth.

"Riley, what are you doing?" came Carl's hushed voice.

"Getting free," she muttered, continuing to saw at the cloth.

"They're going to notice!"

"Not if I'm quick." She smirked in satisfaction as the cloth began to fray. "Just a little more..."

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!"

Dammit. She dropped the rock and looked up as Joe came striding over and practically lifted her to her feet by the collar of her shirt. Coughs spluttered out of her lips as she gained her balance, only to be roughly knocked off balance again. She slammed against the tree, bark digging into her flesh like a bed of nails.

"You gotta know, you're not the one who makes the rules around here. We're not going to play your games, you hear? This is your last warning. You try anythin' like that again and it's not gonna end well," Joe drawled, looking down at her like she was a little child.

She glared up at him, pressing her lips hard together and saying nothing. Carl slowly shifted beside her so they were shoulder to shoulder and Joe finally turned.

"Let's get going. We've been wasting time."

Slowly, she peeled her skin away from the tree and started forward, keeping her gaze firmly on the ground.

"That was...kinda stupid. I thought we had a plan," Carl muttered from beside her, causing her cheeks to ignite.

He was right. She'd let herself get too eager about getting free and trying to take control. She needed to clear her head, try to keep it cool. After all of this time, she was so used to surviving and fighting that she needed to take a step back and realize when to slow down.

"I know I just...I thought I could figure it out..," was her reply and she failed to meet his eyes.

"Just trust Daryl. He'll get us where we need to be. Or at least trust me. You said you did..."

"I do. I..." I'm sorry...

"We'll be alright if we stay together."

New concept. She'd trained her brain that it would be alright if she didn't let anyone in and survived alone. She wasn't sure about his theory, but...well she did say that she would stick with him so guess she'd have to see how well sticking together would work out for her.

The rest of the afternoon, everyone stayed fairly quiet. The sun stretched down below the horizon and the darkness shrouded each of them. The only change besides walking happened when Joe would kneel down to check the dirt for footprints. He also sent one of the others ahead to scout out the area and they were currently waiting for his return. If Joe was sending out scouts, they had to be very close.

The two of them stuck close to Daryl and anxiously scanned the treeline. They were so close to Carl reuniting with his father and she could practically feel the anxiety radiating off his body next to her. After all this time, he was finally going to see Rick again. She suspected that they had never been separated like this before.

Movement caught her eye and she stood on her tiptoes to try and get a better look. Joe's scout moved out of the trees and she chomped down on her lip.

"Found 'em. Huddled by a fire off a little road just ahead. Easy to surround 'em," he said, a malicious smile flickering across his lips.

"Alright. Dan and Billy, y'all are gonna stay behind with the kids. Rest of us'll surround them and when I call y'all out, you bring 'em. Let's move," Joe instructed, glancing between all of them.

Wait what? She expected to have Daryl be the one staying behind, but they were being left behind with the two creeps. Billy came over to grab her arm and she reared back, slamming her head into his chest and struggling in his grip.

"Let me go," she growled, writhing and trying to pull all her weight to the ground to make it difficult for him to hold her.

"Relax, you'll have fun soon enough," Billy snickered, grabbing her other arm to keep her steady.

But the most brilliant idea by Carl Grimes had to be his idea of making as much noise as possible.

"DAD! WATCH OUT! HE-mpph!"

Dan slapped a hand over Carl's mouth and effectively muted him. Before she got a chance to continue with the noise-making, Billy followed suit.

"Shut your mouth, kid!" Dan hissed, wrapping an arm around Carl's middle to keep him from squirming.

This was not going as planned and she was beginning to feel the panic settle in. She opened her mouth and snapped her teeth down on the palm of Billy's hand and he let out a soft howl of pain, retracting his hand just long enough for her to shout, "RICK! I'M WITH CARL!"

And then the air was rocketed out of her lungs and she fell to the dirt, cringing as pain shot up and down her back. She didn't even get a moment of relief before she was yanked back to her feet, spluttering like a fish out of water.

"Try that again, and you're not gonna like what happens next," Billy growled, pulling her head back with her hair.

She still couldn't breathe so she merely gritted her teeth in response, glowering up at him.

"Might as well bring 'em out!" Joe called from somewhere ahead.

Sweet oxygen finally rushed into her lungs and she panted, stumbling forward. The two of them were forcefully pushed in the direction of Joe's voice and soon, a soft firelight came into view. Through the trees, she could see the figures of Rick and Michonne bent down with guns pressed to their temples. Daryl's body was crumpled against the nearby car as one of the others held him down and beat him.

"Lookie who we've got here," Joe taunted, looking down at a livid Rick Grimes at the barrel of his gun.

Dan shoved Carl to the ground with an ecstatic laugh and then knelt over him, pressing his face into the dirt as he struggled.

"Let them go. It was just me," Rick snarled, the deep rumble of of a primal animal emerging from his throat.

Riley stomach jolted as a knife suddenly came to her throat and she couldn't move or else her blood would spill from her neck.

"See now that's right!" Joe exclaimed, glancing up. "That's not some damn lie. Look we can settle this, we're reasonable men. First we're going to beat Daryl to death. Then we'll have the girls. And then the boy. And then I'm gonna shoot you and we'll be square."

His malicious laugh made her skin crawl and she squirmed uncomfortably in Billy's grip as Carl's grunts of frustration and fear reached her eardrums.

"Hear that little miss? Dan here's going to have a fun time with your little friend. But I get to have fun with you," Billy whispered in her ear.

Thick, nauseating saliva formed in the back of her throat and her stomach churned. Oh, she was going to be sick. One arm wrapped around her waist and the knife point slipped under her shirt collar and dug into the fabric in an attempt to slice through it.

No, no, no there was no way this was happening to her. She wasn't going to let it. She'd rather die.

"Let them go!" Rick repeated.

"You want me to have to hold you down too?" Billy laughed.

"You're squirming," Dan snickered.

Too much going on. She couldn't focus and everything was moving way too quickly. A sudden gunshot startled all of them and each of them froze, watching Joe stumble backwards and Rick gain his bearings. She blinked the dizziness away and instincts took over. Another bite to the hand had Billy letting her go and she tumbled away, falling to the ground. Rick and Joe were fighting themselves, but right now she just needed to get her hands free.

Chest heaving, she crawled away, right at the knife that had been dropped in the confusion. Every breath brought the dizziness swirling back until she didn't know what was upside down or right side up, but she reached the knife. She actually reached it.

Just as she turned over on her back to fumble with the blade, Billy gained his senses again and pounced on her, ripping the knife from her hands and tossing it aside.

"Don't freaking touch me!" she screamed, thrashing in his grip as everyone fought like hell to survive.

Blood roared in her ears and she turned her head to try and find anything that would help her, but what she caught sight of made her and everyone else freeze and stare.

Rick lurched forward and took a huge chunk of flesh from Joe's neck.

Shit.

Blood spurted everywhere, leaving both the men showered in red liquid, but Rick didn't care. He promptly spit out the hunk of skin and muscle before taking Joe's knife. Her vision spun with dark shapes and colors of all sort as gunshots echoed here and there and then the weight on top of her was lifted. She couldn't even move. All she could do was blink stupidly up at the darkened sky as her body tried to process what had just happened.

Rough hands lifted her to her feet and she swayed on the spot, tugging her wrists apart after they'd been cut free. Her body shuddered and trembled violently as she finally gained her focus once more. Daryl leaned onto the truck next to her as Rick continued to slash and stab at Dan's body. Michonne had her arms tightly around Carl. It was over. They were safe.

Riley's stomach churned and her body stiffened and the next thing she knew, she was on all fours, spilling the contents of her stomach into the dirt. She continued to dry heave for a few moments before her stomach gave up. Slowly, she moved to sit and drew her legs to her chest, resting her chin on her knees as she continued to tremble in shock. It felt like a nightmare. If only that was just what it was...


A/N: I knew I'd eventually have to change the rating due to the touchy subjects in the show, didn't think it'd be so soon haha. This was a little hard to write even for me because of the subject touched upon, but anyway, the imminent danger is out of the way for now with these guys. Terminus is just around the corner, so they won't be safe for long, but not that they can breathe, they have some time to get their thoughts straight. Hopefully this chapter wasn't so bad. Next chapter will delve a little bit more into the aftermath and the thoughts going on between the two. Thank you guys for all the support, you guys are really, seriously amazing! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!