I tried drowning out the sounds of people yelling as I stood at the edge of the crowd. I wasn't feeling up to the fight today but my mentor, Jax, had to pull some strings to even get me here.

"Now remember, Vesper, this guy is not one to fucking mess with. He is fucking ruthless and he hits fucking hard. Being light and fast on your feet will gain you an advantage." Jax's hands were rough on my shoulder. His usual pre-fight pep talk irked me for some reason. It was probably the nerves since this is the largest crowd I've been surrounded by. "Merle Dixon might go easy on you at first 'cause you're a motherfucking woman, but after you get a few hits in, his anger will take over."

"Got it. Angry, lumbering womanizer." I nodded, trying to soak the information in. My head really needs to get back on a swivel. The fight I had last night was rough - the guy tried to get his buddies to join him when he saw that he was loosing against me. Trying to defend yourself against four people before somebody decides to step in is hard. I'll definitely have to swing by the store to pick up more make-up in the morning.

"Strike hard, strike fast. And may god have motherfucking mercy on your enemies."

"'Cause I won't." We bumped our fists together before he pushed me out into the 'ring'. The crowd screamed around me, thirsty for blood to splatter on the ground. In my three years of fighting, this might be my most brutal fight yet.

A tall man with a slightly grown-out buzz cut stepped forward into the 'ring' with me and the crowd grew louder. His arms rose in the air as he soaked in the sound and the attention. Merle Dixon...

The fight coordinator stepped between us and quieted down the crowd a bit. He held a megaphone to his mouth and spoke into it. "Ladies and gentlemen! I hear this should be the fight of a lifetime!" The crowd went wild, then died back down when he spoke again. "To my right, we have the man, the legend - Merle Dixon! And to my left, we have this little lady who's rising through the ranks... She's quick... She's deadly... She's Striker!" The man went back into the crowd, leaving me and Merle to fight.

My brain flipped a switch when the crowd screamed again. One of us is going down and it won't be me. If this crowd wants a fight, they're gonna get it.

Merle Dixon shifted his focus from the crowd, to me. "You know I don't normally go fighting girls, so why don't you get on outta here and go paint your nails or some shit like that. Leave now and save yourself from the embarrassment, princess."

"Looks like you're about to see how this princess fights."

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty. I'm surprised you're awake." Daryl's voice pulled my attention away from the darkened sky outside my window. "How's your leg?"

"What's with you Dixons' and princesses?" I said quietly enough for Daryl to not hear. I sighed and chuckled before speaking loud enough for him to hear me. "My leg feels like shit, but at least I can feel it. Besides, it's not the worst injury I've gotten. How're you feelin'?"

"Eh, I could be doin' better if it weren't for fuckin' Andrea shootin' me in the head, thinkin' I was a damn walker."

"She shot you?" I tried to push myself up enough to get a better look at him, but I only managed to prop myself against my elbows. That small action alone made me want to vomit in pain.

"Yeah. You think I decided to lay down in a field and have a nap?"

I tossed the blankets off and swung my legs over the edge of the bed, not caring about the stinging pain in my thigh. "I don't remember much after climbing up that damn cliff, asshole." I glanced down to notice that I was only wearing an oversized shirt and underwear. The cool air felt amazing against my bare skin and was a nice change of the typical Georgia heat.

Daryl shifted forward in his seat with a weird look on his face and in his eyes. "Hey, what're you doin', woman? You shouldn't be gettin' up right now."

I scoffed, "What are you? My mom?"

"Nah, just makin' sure your uncle don't wring my neck again." I pushed myself to my feet with a huff, not caring about what either him or my uncle thought. I swayed, loosing my balance a bit, but before I could meet the floor, Daryl was standing with me in his arms. "Damnit, Vesper."

"You could've just let me fall and come to terms with my own stupidity." I grumbled as Daryl sat me back down on my bed before plopping back down in his seat.

"Like I said, I'm just makin' sure your uncle don't wring my neck. He wasn't too happy that you just 'bout died from losin' too much blood."

"That fall did a number on us both, not just me." I started to trace the stitches on my tattoo. Thankfully Uncle Hershel did a damn good job at lining up the artwork while sewing me up.

We sat in silence for a while. Daryl was picking at the frays of the hole in his jeans and I was sitting hunched over on the edge of my bed.

I was deep in my thoughts when Daryl pulled me out of them. "What did you mean when you said you've had worse injuries?" He was still looking down, picking at the denim. He had a blank look on his face but even in the dim lamp light, his eyes showed all.

"I, uh, used to do street fighting not too long before the dead started walking. If I've learned one thing from it, it's that grown ass men can be sore ass losers."

Daryl's jaw tensed, but his voice remained calm and steady. "What happened?"

"Depends."

"On what?"

"On which guy we're talkin' 'bout."

For whatever reason, I saw anger flare in his eyes. It was similar to the look he had when I talked to him before heading out to search for Sophia for the first time. "There was more than one?"

"Yeah." I let out a cold and humorless chuckle. "Only two have been bad enough to land me in the hospital, though." I studied Daryl's face as I tried to figure out what was going on in that brain of his. Why did he even look mad? Is it just a look he has often? Should I tell him since he's asking about it?

I pointed at the scar on my right knee. "The first time I went to the hospital 'cause somebody wasn't happy they lost to a girl was about five years ago, I think. I was about nineteen. Been in the official scene for about a year by then. It was the last guy I was up against and he was a grade A douche." I cleared my throat before continuing. "I was starting to get the upper hand and two of his buddies came out into the 'ring'... It was hell, but my trainer, Jax, had taught me how to fight off more than one person in case somethin' like that happened. I knocked out one of his buddies, one had me in a chokehold, and the main guy pulled out a sharp ass knife. I kicked at him and he stabbed me in the thigh, dragging it down me knee to the top of my calf. That's when the ref stepped in."

"And after that?" Daryl asked when silence fell between us again.

"After that, Jax rushed me to the hospital. I called Maggie, who brought Beth and Shane with her. I told them everythin' and we agreed to tell Uncle Hershel and Aunt Annette that I had gotten mugged. And when they asked why I didn't call one of them first, I told them that my friend called the first number that showed up, which was Maggie. As far as I know, they believed it. I think they were just happy it hadn't have gone worse."

Before Daryl got the chance to say something, footsteps were heard outside my door and Uncle Hershel had let himself in. He raised his eyebrow at me when he saw that I wasn't laying down or wearing any pants in front of a guy. "I'm glad to see you're awake and well, Vesper."

"Glad to be awake, Uncle Hershel." I said while giving him a small smile.

"And Daryl, it looks like you're doing well, too." Uncle Hershel looked over at the redneck with an unreadable look on his face.

"Yeah." Daryl stood up from his seat and walked towards the still open door. "Uh, get to feelin' better, Vesper."

My eyes stayed on him until he was no longer visible. His footsteps were oddly light on the stairs that he walked down. Turns out he was just as quite when he's not hunting.

Uncle Hershel cleared his throat and had a look of disappointment. "What were you thinking Vesper Greene? Not only did you let Jimmy go out there without permission, but also taking two horses out there. You could have died. You almost did!"

"I thought Jimmy had already asked you, which was he was out there. For once I put faith into him for not being that stupid, but turns out I was wrong. As for the horses... Everythin' was goin' fine 'til there was a snake. It spooked both of them."

"You let him take Nervous Nelly!"

"Nelly or not, it would've happened! Bear was one of our better trained horses and even he gets spooked by snakes."

"You wouldn't have been out there if it weren't for him."

"Maybe, maybe not. But I do know that if it weren't for Daryl, I wouldn't be here." I stood up, but this time I was much more stable. The bottom of my shirt fell right above my knees and one of the sleeves fell off my shoulder. "If it were Beth or Maggie, wouldn't you want someone out lookin' for them?"

"Not at the cost of someone's life!"

"Right now, that little girl is the cost! I wasn't just gonna sit around here and do nothin', knowin' damn well that I could be doin' somethin' of worth out there! It's not safe bein' out there alone and with the dead mixed in-"

Uncle Hershel cut me off. "They are not dead. They're sick."

"In what universe are they sick?" Shock flooded through me at the newfound information of Uncle Hershel's view on walkers.

"In this universe, Vesper. They're sick and just need the cure."

"No." I shook my head, trying to clear some of the thoughts that rushed into my head. "They are dead. Dead dead. They're rotting a-and have no heart. Uncle Hershel... What makes you think they're sick?"

"Sickness has been around since the dawn of time and God would not let the dead walk amongst us and kill us." Uncle Hershel placed a hand on my should and told me to sit - which I did. "Vesper, we have to have faith that there cure will come soon. Until then, we must stay safe and not take any more unnecessary risks." He patted me on the shoulder with an air of finality and left my room, closing the door behind him.

I started at the door in disbelief. He seriously thought- No, he seriously believes that they're just sick.

Despite the intense pain in my leg, I stood up for the third time and walked over to my dresser to grab a pair of sweat pants. I made my way over to my window, opened it, and popped the screen out like I've done a million times before. Throwing my bad leg over the ledge made me want to vomit, but I kept going.

I finally made it to the grassy ground without any incidents which made me silently cheer in victory. All I have to do now is make it over to Daryl's tent. I limped over as quietly and as quickly as I could, teeth grinding together in pain.

"Knock knock." I tried to even out my breath as I stood in front of my targeted destination. "I know you're awake, Dixon."

I heard him sigh. "What do you want, woman?"

"I know it's a weird ask, but can I crash with you tonight?"

The tent rustled a bit before Daryl unzipped it. "You came all the way out here to ask if you could sleep out here?"

"Out here with you." I corrected. " Look, I can't deal with my uncle right now or my cousins for that matter. And outta everyone on this farm, you're the only one I can stand bein' around."

He stared at me for a moment before sighing. He unzipped the tent a bit more and moved to lay back down. Taking that as a positive answer, I climbed in and zipped the tent behind me. I laid down on the floor in the empty space next to his cot, relieved to be out of the house and able to collect my thoughts about my uncle's insanity.

I don't know how long we laid in silence, but it was long enough for the sound of crickets and Daryl's breathing to lure me into a deep sleep.