Sunday again! Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend! I'm sick so I have been sitting and writing for most of the day. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter, this was going to get very interesting for our poor Pandora.

Anyway thanks for reading, and a huge thank you to my wonderful beta reader

Moving

It didn't take long for the panic to become a dull roar in her brain. The moving was slow, with enough space between them and the dead that she could calm down just a little bit. Just enough so that the black spots no longer crowded her vision, so that her arms were not a vice grip around Daryl.

"Pandora!" He shouted over the din of the bike and the dead. "We are gonna lead them down the hill, then Sacha and Abraham will be right there ok?"

She nodded; she felt his heart beating quickly as she pressed her head tighter against him. He was frightened she thought, it wasn't just her this time. This whole situation was beyond terrifying and he felt it too, his heartbeat couldn't lie. She was sure though if she could see his face it would be blank, a schooled expression to hide his fear. That was the difference she thought, she couldn't push her emotions down like he could. She was floating helplessly on top of the sea of her emptions whereas he commanded his.

"S'alright?" Daryl asked her.

"I'm fine." She responded, though she obviously wasn't.

Her head rested against the back of his shoulders as she wasn't calm enough to lean back, not yet.

"We're at red balloon at the bottom of the hill." She was close enough to hear Sasha's voice through the walkie clipped to Daryl's jacket.

"Alright here comes the parade." He answered, his voice a calm mask giving no sign of the rapid beat of his heart.

Raising her head up, she tried to look over his shoulder but he was taller than she was so she could only lean out and look around him. She could see the old beat up car parked down by the red balloons. They had made it, which was good. Loosening her grip on Daryl, she turned her head back slightly to glance behind her.

The sight of them made her breath catch, she had never seen so many before and they were all following behind them. One with enough speed could pull her right from the bike; it would be over fast then.

"Hey! Ah-"

"I'm ok," She cut him off turning back towards him lifting her head off his shoulder a little bit. She leaned back creating some distance between their bodies, in an effort to prove her words. How could he believe she was ok if she was clinging to him like he was her lifeline?

"Don't do that!" His voice was sharp, the first hint she heard of the panic she felt in his heartbeat. "Ya keep holding on tight."

"Ok." Her voice was smaller now right under his ear, her arms tightened around him again, her chest pressing against his firm back. They rode in silence then, not much to talk about. When Sasha and Abraham's car turned out in front of them, she could see Abraham turning to try and look at them.

Pandora didn't look in front or behind her again, when she felt Daryl slow her eyes squeezed shut tightly.

"Imma slow down to make the turn, you're alright ok?" she only nodded, the shaking starting up again. Once she felt the bike turn fully, he was moving fast again to put more distance between them and the dead.

When they got back, she was never going to leave from behind the walls again she decided. What were the odds that this would be the day it gave in? They had been planning for at least two weeks now, and the one day she comes out it all goes to hell. The universe was cruel she decided, it cared nothing for her mental well-being.

The ride was quiet, if it wasn't for the walkers behind them it would be like any other ride they had taken together. It wasn't though seeing as a parade of the dead followed them down the road. After a while, she leaned back again putting only inches between their bodies.

"I'm ok Daryl." She leaned close and half whispered it knowing he would hear it despite the noise.

He gave a quick look back at her his features becoming soft for a moment, but she could see her fear reflected in his eyes. So much so she needed to turn away, unable to bear seeing that.

"Ah'm sorry," He said slowly. "Ah shouldn't have brought you, it's never safe."

Giving him a tight squeeze she pressed her head to his shoulder again, "I'm ok Daryl this isn't your fault." I'm ok had become her new mantra, she figured if she said it enough it might become true. It was slightly shocking how composed she appeared, something about life and death forced her to focus.

Silence stretched between them then, the only sounds came from under the bike and the dead behind them. It wasn't until the sound of a horn came blaring from the distance did she raise her head up. She was about to ask what was happening, but Daryl was already on the walkie so she waited.

"Rick?"

"I'm here"

"What's going on back there?"

"Half of them broke off they're going towards Alexandria."

There was rush to his voice, running he must be running. Her hands tightened around Daryl's frame, a slight tremble in her arms. She could taste fear now in the back of her throat. They had lost some of them, half were heading back home. Would they have anything to return to if they survived this?

"Towards you?" Abraham's voice was sharp.

"We ran ahead, there is a horn or something coming from the east it's not stopping."

There was a pause; she could feel Daryl stiffen under her. "I'm gonna gas it up and come back"

"No, you keep going"

"They gonna need our help"

"Gotta keep the herd moving"

"Not if shits going down we don't."

"The risk that herd turns around the bad back there gets worse." Rick was right, she knew that, but Daryl didn't seem to understand that.

He is pausing, another glance back at her muttering a curse under his breath.

"Daryl?"

"Ya I heard yah." She picked up on the sharpness in his tone when he spoke.

Pandora waited a moment, letting him calm back down before she spoke.

"This is how we keep them safe; this is how we save our home." She told him, there was hardness in her voice that she had never heard before. She didn't feel it as inside she was terrified that they were riding towards her doom. All she needed to do was convince him, convince him she was ok and they could keep going. She knew the concern was for the family he had back home, but also for her the unknown variable no one had factored into this plan.

He didn't believe her though because the next moment they were riding beside Sasha and Abraham.

"Hey" She winced, watching them roll down the window. "We gone five miles out yet?"

Abraham eyed them through the open window of the passenger side. "Give or take some yardage you got a reason for asking?"

"Next intersection I'm gonna turn around and go back." Daryl's voice was loud, carrying over the din of the noise around them. Pandora tightened her arms around him to get his attention.

"What are you doing?!" She hissed at him panicked again. He ignored her struggling so she tried to follow along with the conversation.

"Plan is to go 15 more."

"Ya I'm gonna change that five is gonna have to work."

"The magic number is twenty, that's the mission, that's making sure they are off munching on racoons the rest of their un-dead lives instead of us." She felt Abraham's eyes on her then so she turned her head away to avoid his gaze. If he saw her like this she was almost sure he would get out of the car and drag her inside with him.

"You wanna go we can't stop you, but without you they could stop us." Sasha, always the voice of reason, but she was on the verge of pleading now.

"Naw I got faith in yah." Then he was turning, speeding forward quickly causing her to slip backwards.

The panic that she had felt before washed away, replaced with white hot anger. He hadn't even taken her into account. She was here now and did not want to leave. She was part of this and wanted, needed, to see it through. When they were far enough away from the herd she let her arms slip from around his waist.

He snapped his head back to look at her. "Stop the bike Daryl." Her words had a bite to them that he must have heard because he stopped, his expression guarded.

She was off the bike before he even had the kickstand down. "You didn't even ask me!" She hissed pacing. "You don't think I know what the rest of your group thinks of me! Useless, damaged, what is this going to make them think?" She was seething now, anger burning like fire in her veins, breathing ragged.

"They will think it was me that made you turn back, you just left them! Sasha and Abraham needed you." Didn't he see what he was doing here? They would never believe him if he said he chose to come back. The blame would fall on her, she would be the one who put their lives in danger.

She didn't notice the tears until he was standing in front of her, thumbs wiping away the wet tracks on her cheeks.

"Ah have to you have to know that, and Ah can't leave you with them, do you understand?" She held up her hand to silence him, stepping away.

"Take me back Daryl, I'll ride with Abraham."

"Ah can't do that. They need us back home."

Despite the rage in her voice a moment ago she felt it all drain from her then. She found herself sitting back on the bike, eyes titled upwards. Daryl stood unmoving, arms crossed over his chest. She couldn't decipher the emotions she watched playing over his face. Turning away, she wiped her eyes.

"Let's go Daryl, home, I don't care." Turning to the side, eyes still turned upwards. She watched him half turn away when the walkie went off.

"Daryl?" Her heart thudded in her chest as she waited, Rick's voice was over the line again.

"I'm here."

"Won't be long now they are almost here, get them going your way again."

"Hear that Daryl they will be coming our way." Sasha's voice? She struggled to hear it, he was moving further away from her.

"Gun fire coming from back home we gotta sit with it and hope they can handle it. I think they can. We keep going forward for them we can't turn back because we are afraid"

"We ain't afraid." Abraham's voice now.

"This is for them going back now before it's done that would be for us. The herd has to be almost here."

She let Rick's words wash over her, he is right; going back now is for them. They have to stay and do this for everyone else they left behind. Part of her brain whirled in panic, but somehow the panic was smaller now. Maybe she was too tired, maybe somewhere her brain knew that now was not the time. She was so lost in her own thoughts that she almost didn't notice them pulling back alongside Abraham. With her head resting on his shoulder again she smiled softly.

"Ahm sorry" He said turning slightly over his shoulder.

"I know Daryl."