Panics Note: Against All Odd is closing in on 100 followers and has grabbed 50 favs.

You guys cant imagine how happy that makes me as a writer. I never expected my first entry into the fan fiction arena to get the response and feedback it has. I am smiling like a completely insane person right now. I thank you all for staying around and reading! Anyways, Im here to present to you another chapter, give or take a few days, as promised! To make up for my horrible inability to stick to any type of an update schedule you get a longer chapter. I have this chapter and one more planned before I take on season 3. I will be thickening the plot, so to speak, in order to do a passable time skip. My heart goes out to all my readers, followers, favs, and reviewers (of which I seem to have run short on. Come back guys! I miss you!). Im sure you all are aware of this by now though. I like giving out love where its due =) So, grab your nearest weapon - mine so happens to be a soda canyeah - and lets get us some walker meat! Woo! Chapter 11: Empty Face A rough tug had been the second cue to Kyra that whatever held a tight grip on her arm wasnt about to sink decayed teeth into it. She couldnt bring herself to accept that she had been saved from a walker bite, if not feeding, while her eyes continued to stare absently at the burning fire yards in front of her. Tensed muscles flared along her arm. The surge of cold coiled down her spine again, yet this time in reaction to something other than walkers. This wasnt the ending to her stepping away that she had expected. In a weird, almost redundant, sense she never thought that getting closer to whoever was shouting ahead would put her in range of being captured. The edges of her mouth pulled in a faint humorless smile. Rick took the forefront of her mind as she remembered just how these types of encounters played out. The calloused hand tightened more over her slender arm encouraging the memory of Rick to fill out in her mind. It was the first memory that came back to her clearly and she found herself wanting to desperately protect it. She didnt have time to figure out why or even what she was going to do. Her hand flexed and tightened harshly against the splintered stunted edge of the arrow, while her entire body tensed ready to react. The only thing that she could do was keep that memory from being reclaimed by another. It was something she had left to cling to and something she would fight for. Matted chestnut hair flared out around her head in the dull moonlight as she twisted violently away from the tight grasp. She struggled against the quickly loosening hold. Her hand rose the second her body flailed around to face whoever had saved her life, yet at the same time claimed it. That wildly fierce idea pushed her towards the person with a weak step. The point of the arrow found a target in the broad muscles of a flexed arm. Her eyes narrowed in on the dirt stained flesh. She forced herself closer to the target and stabbed the arrow down. Not once did her gaze slip from the mark.

Kyra! Her name grabbed her entire attention in a rushed familiar harsh whisper. Her gaze remained trained on the arrow now protruding from the tensed arm as it dropped and a second hand moved to cover the wound. She couldnt bring herself to actually turn her eyes away from the wound she inflicted. She didnt want to face him after shoving an arrow deep into his arm. Crazy damn lady. Daryl grumbled, his hand slowly curled around the end of the arrow before yanking it free. Her gaze shifted over the wound as a fine trail of blood leaked from the puncture. It was the first strike shed landed that didnt entirely disconnect her, which became obvious as the twinge of a weak cramp grasped her stomach. Youre welcome, he grunted with a jerked gesture of his injured arm. Her attention continued to drift down until it landed on the crossbow. The dull steel edges of the weapon managed to hold her attention giving her the much needed distraction from owning up to her rushed reaction. Nothing in her thoughts made sense as she continued to absently stare in an odd state of shock. There was no way the person in front of her was him. Her tired mind wasnt able to believe what she was seeing much less form an apology for the harm shed inflicted. Her body jolted reflexively when the dull edge of the weapon moved to touch her thigh. The cool metal snagged her slipping attention as her eyes fell to the weapons edge touching her skin through a large tear in her mangled jeans. She found herself staring at the tear for a few seconds as her overworked mind tried to piece together when that had happened before her eyes finally shifted up to meet the intense, yet awkward, gaze of his. Daryl, she breathed, in a statement that came across more as a question. The expression she received in return seemed to be pulled between confusion and anger. A painful few seconds passed between them as she struggled to comprehend and accept that the man in front of her was real. At the same time she tried to find words to say. He offered her an odd tight nod before he shoved the splintered bloody tipped arrow back into her hand. Youre gonna need that, he bitterly mumbled, lifting the crossbow back up to rest against his shoulder. The feel of luke warm blood pressing into her palm pulled her away from the distraction of racing thoughts. She glanced from the arrow to Daryl haphazardly. All of this was starting to feel entirely too much for her. She returned a slight nod and finally opened her mouth to offer a delayed apology, but was cut off by the sound of gun fire blasting off in a battering chorus behind them. Shit, come on. Her head turned back and eyes focused immediately on the fire just as the pressure of a hand gripping to her arm returned. Instantly her attention was captured by the outline of a man restraining a walker. Her feet stumbled and dragged over the rough ground as Daryl started to forcefully pull her along with him. She craned her neck, jarring it to the right, giving her a brief view of a slanted blade glinting in the firelight. What in the hell are they doing? She asked, her voice dropped off unsteadily. The force behind Daryls grip pulled harder on her arm with each step deeper and farther away from the source they took. Not a single ounce of strength was left in her to struggle against or fight Daryls retreat. She found herself following his forceful jerks and tugs despite the fact that she wanted to actually get a hold on what was going on behind them. He didnt offer so much as a glance as he continued to pull them along in the

dark woods. Finally, her brain seemed to register the unnatural sounds growing around them. It wasnt until then that she realized what Daryl was getting away from. Worn tired eyes darted over the blur of dark weathered trunks, overlapping limbs, and the shadowed collage of moonlit leaves in an attempt to locate the walkers. Her gaze skipped over the shadows creeping between the tress, while she fumbled absently with the slick bloodied arrow. The staggered shuffle of one of the many shadows caught her scattered attention. A slight spike in her pulse sent the first slither of fear breaking through the barrier shes weakly created that morning. All of her focus turned on the dark walker just beyond her focus. Once again an image of Rick teased at her mind. His memory was quickly starting to serve as the only constant thing she could fall back and hold on to. Her face set in a hard line and an odd determination forced her to find a steady grip on the saturated arrow. Her sudden spike in determination and narrowed focus was jolted back to her front with a staggered stop. Daryls free hand flew back to roughly fall against her thigh while a startled grunt escaped him. Stumbling into him seemed to be enough to earn a half glanced glare. The steadying hand resting against her thigh shifted to push roughly against it. Kyra quickly took a blind step away from the disgruntled hunter. Her complete lack of attention threw her off balance mentally. Her gaze jerked unsteadily back to the surrounding forest as she once again tried to find focus on the walker. It was the only thing that would force her to pay attention. Rugged boots crunched over the wooded floor as she shuffled her feet in an attempt to find balance. The shadows were beginning to blend together in a twist of blacks and greys with each blurred pass of her surroundings she made. A stronger twinge of fear coursed back through her veins. Not a single thing was coming into focus. Her eyes squeezed shut and shot back open in a failed attempt to grab onto the threatening world that she needed to focus on. She took a weak step closer towards Daryl and shot a wide eyed glance in his general direction. Her body froze when her eyes found nothing standing to the right of her. Quickly, her gaze darted to her rear before shooting to her left. The fear she had pushed down so easily before came rearing back to life. Her eyes once again tried to desperately find something to focus on against the dark collage of woods around her. The shadows seemed to blur together in a sick mock of her incoherent and severely deprived mind. The littlest bit of focus she had left came to the horrifying conclusion that she had been hallucinating. That, she had been right to stand in shock. Her own mind was giving her what she wanted to see. She had known it the moment she saw him. There was no way anyone was coming back for her. Her chance for surviving had left with them and now she was finding some deeply sick peace of mind by this. Her tormented gaze shifted away from the unfocused blurs of shadows around her and came to rest on the arrow firmly within her grasp. White knuckles and a mix of grime met her weak focus. A faint tent of dark red splotched the arrow and just as quickly as she had thought shed found reality it slipped away from her. Her pulse fell down at the sight as the fear slowly pulled back. She took a shaky breath. Her eyes slammed shut again, while she shook her head tightly. The sight of Rick with a strong grip on her hand flooded back into focus. His deep soothing voice yelled at her to run. The pull of the memory made

the reality of where she was less alarming. It was enough to keep her eyes closed and the world around her blocked out. The momentary peace didnt last long, however when the crashing face of a mangled walker pushed the comfort of Rick back to the depths of her mind. Her eyes shot open at the mental image. Her heart soared back into action with a startle. Her head shifted back to her surroundings as her eyes finally managed to take in the details of the woods. A part of her leaped at the return of her limited focus, yet the painfully close sound of a dragged gait pushed that aside. Her body shifted to face the sound and walker that owned it. Pale moonlight made the details of the close rotted walker easy enough to distinguish. Instead of taking those in Kyra closed them out. Whatever forced her forward last time came back to her. She took a bold step towards the withered crackled corpse and allowed her mind to disconnect. In her current mindset it wasnt unsettling for her to hear the sick sink of an arrow entering its target or to see the blackened blood the erupted from the wound. Her body stumbled away from the remains of the dead and attention flew to her left at the sound of a faint swoosh. Come on, Daryl barked in a forced command. His broad shoulders and head jerked in a tight gesture for her to follow him. She barely heard the sound of another body hitting the dirt floor to her rear as she took the first steps to catch up with him. There wasnt any time left for her to collect her thoughts. Not even seeing what had moments ago been a certain hallucination could slow her movement. She knew somewhere amongst all the crashes of disconnected thoughts that her survival rested on the man in front of her, even if her mind was still struggling to accept that he was real. That was all she needed to remind herself of as she struggled to push her sapped body into a jog. The sole focus she could find that tied her back to the world around her came with the knife that was roughly pushed into her hand. With one glance she opened the blade and turned her attention back to Daryl. The off-white outlines of his wing patched vest moving away from her cued her to pick up her pace again. Weight from the knife gave her the first impression that she had managed to find a lose grip on the world. Daryl was willing to trust her enough to have his knife. That alone was a piece to his survival that he was giving up to her. Amongst everything that pulled her away from reality she found that Daryls ability to risk himself for her was proof that groups outweighed remaining alone. Despite every thought that contradicted her wants to stay with them there wasnt one that came across more strongly than this. The rugged hunter hadnt offered anything else, yet kept tabs on her with a quick glance every few minutes. His slowing steps were more than enough to drag her away from her constant internal battle. Her weary gaze shifted past his broad form to the woods surrounding them. Nothing jumped out at her. At that she couldnt seem to find a single distinguished thing in the mix of darkness. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to hear beyond the lingering blast of gunfire and distant ambient sounds. Again she came up empty as she turned her attention back to Daryl. His crossbow was cocked at the ready as he swept the weapon in a short span of the trees around them. His pace had turned into a quiet advance. Kyra watched him with cautious confusion. There was still

nothing that she could see or hear that made his weird shift in posture make any sense. She found herself wondering if she wasnt picking up on her actual surroundings again. Doubts crept back into her thoughts, while her gaze drifted back over their surroundings before it shifted back to Daryl. What- She started, a distinct edge slipped into her voice. She wanted to hear him speak or give her some indication that she wasnt truly starting to lose her mind. The question she wanted to ask didnt make it any farther. It fell short the second Daryl raised his hand. A slight frown crossed her face at the gesture. Whatever reassurance she had hoped to get faded as his calloused grimy hands counted off four and pointed in the general direction ahead of them. Kyras hand tightened around the rough rubber handle of the knife. She took a quiet step forward. Her eyes narrowed as she once again tried to find the targets Daryl had sighted. Her search was cut short by slight movement in her periphery. Her attention snapped back to Daryl as he moved off to the right. His fierce eyes met hers briefly. He pinned her with another awkward nodded gesture. She could barely make out his mouth move with the words he attempted to convey silently. A slight twinge of desperation tugged to follow after him. She had the sinking feeling that if he left her sights again she would lose him. Her confused thoughts pulled at each other as she forced herself to start moving slowly in the opposite direction, while her weakened focus drifted over the shadows again. There was only one possible thing he could be trying to get her to do. The first thing she registered was directionless shuffles and wheezed groans. Her body tensed at the sound, while her eyes shot in the direction of it. Each foot step she took fell with a soft crunch. The dim outline of tree trunks and low hanging branches were the only thing she could make out. It had never been her approach to find the walkers instead of them finding her. At that she wasnt even sure what the plan was. Fear slowly began to seep back into her. The steady rise of a climbing pulse echoed in her ears. She found her attention wavering back towards the fragments of uncertainties and jarring memories that had interrupted her progress earlier. Another small step forward landed with a loud snap. Her foot rose away from the broken branch she had neglected to step over. The basic instinct and reflex to run as fast as possible away from the noise bit down on her. Frantic glances shot out towards the surrounding trees in a desperate attempt to finally find what she had been seeking. The loud rustle and eager wheeze of her target sent another urge to flee coursing through her body. She flexed her hand taking a small step back. Her mind jumped haphazardly to the weight of the knife then back to Daryl. Close snaps and rustles grabbed her attention as her eyes darted to the trees at her right. The first paled line of a bony arm extended from it. She took another unsteady anxious step back. Every action she made only pushed her to get away from the walker. She shook her head slightly against the sudden overwhelming need to react like she always had. Running wasnt her choice anymore. She wasnt going to allow herself to fall back. The features rotting and withering away on flesh caught her gaze, yet again she pushed them out. Her eyes were locked to the walker, but didnt take it in. Her jaw jumped and teeth bore down in a tight clench. All of her thoughts came to another odd stop the moment her body took a step towards it. She didnt let the flail of its bony hand slow her approach. The eager staggered stumble it welcomed her

with was met by a poised blade. A slight twitch narrowed her vision as she thoughtlessly found her mark in a brittle mass of tangled clumped hair. She took a final bold step forward and jutted the blade out to meet the walkers skull with a forced stab. Kyras head snapped back to the right in a tangle of hair at the soft swoosh of an arrow. Her eyes looked through the mess of hair just in time to catch the second shadowed walker fall to the ground. Blackened blood flew away from her blade as she jerked her attention away from the dead to the gurgle of another. Not once did she let herself actively think about her actions. A part of her felt completely detached from them as she forced her way between the trees and towards the next walker. She vaguely heard the crunch of pine nettles and leaves behind her, yet nothing could gain her focus over the growing sound and etched shadow of her target. Again, she found herself reacting without thinking. Not even the blurred out edges of the walker seemed to make it through her absent locked gaze. She numbly registered her grip tightening down on the cracked rubber of the knife before she felt and heard the puncture of its blade. The entire act of downing this walker came through in a haze as she pulled the blade from its skull and stabbed it down again. The second round of seeping splattered flesh flecking up onto her arm sent her actual focus back to the walker she was driving the blade into. There was no reason or intent to what she was doing, but for the first time she felt a sick sense of power out of killing the damn thing. She withdrew the blade again in a swing of decayed flesh. Her heart rate climbed a bit as her mind finally caught up with what she was doing. The daunting and debilitating pull of her fears sparked back to life with them, yet she forced herself to plunge the knife into it again. Gimme that, Daryls aggravated tone cut through her unstable focus, but she pushed it back. Her narrowed eyes burned against dry tears as she twisted the blade deeper inside the caving battered skull. She slowly withdrew the knife with a shaky hand, while her gaze remained on the exposed slices sunken deep against it. Her mind couldnt catch up with her body as her hand shifted to dig the blade back into the skull. Aint got time for this shit, Daryl grumbled, a painful pressure twisted around her wrist. Drop the god damn knife. He added between clenched teeth. Her confused eyes shifted over to meet the intimidating glare of Daryls as the knife slid from her grip. She heard the faint sink of the knife reentering the overkilled walker, yet didnt tempt another glance at it. The tight pressure on her wrist released as Daryl shifted awkwardly away from her in his crouched position. Her gaze drifted to the rustle his sudden movement created and remained there for a moment, while she tried to garner any hold she could find on the world. You aint crazy. Youre damn stupid. Daryl grunted bitterly. She shifted her eyes back up to him as he slid the blade over his pants. The intense glare he fixed her with slowly captured her entire attention. Confusion and anger were once again pulled across his features. Stupid crazy, He harshly mumbled, while folding the blade back into the knife and shoving it into his pocket. I was just following your lead. She offered in a weak defense as she wearily pushed herself back to her feet. You, you wanted them dead, right? She added, her words caught and faltered the moment her gaze shifted down to the mangled remains of the head she had hollowly been stabbing. A sharp cramp

flared in the pit of her stomach at the sight, while a similar pain shot blindingly through her skull. Whatever disconnect and detached state she had found had left her. You should be right there with em. He grumbled in a tense tone. Kyra shook her head weakly against the pains. Her jaw jumped and eyes slammed shut at the rush of saliva sickly seeping into her mouth. Dont seem worth it, his rough voice sent another spike of pain through her mind, yet the brush of his broad shoulder bumping into hers was enough for her eyes to open and find focus on him. Actions, Her voice came out weakly as she breathed in a shallow breath. Her worn gaze fell on the walker one last time as a final biting pain branched out through her. They speak louder than words. She breathed out lamely, forcefully pushing herself to follow Daryl. There wasnt any sense of stability for her, yet walking away from and speaking created a distraction to keep her moving. It crossed her mind that she wasnt making much sense, but that thought didnt remain long amongst the many that crowded her delusional mind. Ya might wanna look to that. His head cocked to the side in a half glance back at her. The width of the crossbow kept her from distinguishing his expression, yet the biting tone was more than enough for her overworked mind to comprehend. Stupid crazy lady, he grumbled to himself after a few uncomfortable seconds passed between them. His shoulders heaved awkwardly and hand moved to readjust the crossbow before his pace increased. Kyra struggled to wrap her mind around his comeback. Her legs reached a new level of painfully numb as she stumbled and pushed herself to keep up with his longer strides. There was nothing left in her to even find a weak focus. She felt the slight pull of her thoughts with each attempt she made at actually considering her words and those offered by Daryl, yet none of it fell together. It was starting to feel that with each minute passed she was only falling farther away from keeping it together. There was nothing else her brain could even work out to say as she followed Daryl blindly. The roar and echoing clunk of metal hitting heavily against metal pulled her back to her surroundings. Strained blue eyes widened and shifted to the dark woods in front of her before moving haphazardly over and past them. She caught sight of bright high beams between a break in the tightly positioned tress. Not a single thought or glance went to Daryl as she moved to step around him. Her mind shifted back to the roaring fire, gun shots, and bladed man. It weakly occurred to her that these lights might belong to those people, yet it didnt stall her steps. The simple notion of collecting walkers shouldve raised red flags in her wary uncertain mind, but it didnt. Thoughts were still clashing together for her, which kept any attempt at making sound judgments low. She wasnt even sure why she was stumbling towards the flash of lights and rattling sound of a vehicle bashing over rough terrain. Dull curiosity about those people still nagged within her and that seemed to be enough to propel her forward. Slight stings flared along her hands and arms as she forced herself through a barricade of low hanging branches. Her gaze fell along the tire tracks that created a dirt trail within the dense woods. It caught on the distant red tail lights of the vehicle she had mindlessly moved towards. She felt oddly disappointed

as an annoyed grumble caught her attention from behind. Her eyes fell to left and came to rest on Daryls profile. The soft pale light of the moon was enough for her to clearly see him for the first time that night. Her eyes narrowed in slight confusion at the blank, yet guarded look forced on his dirt smudged face. He didnt seem to be paying attention to her as his head carefully followed the line of tire tracks leading away from them. His broad shoulders slouched oddly, while his legs bore down in a crouch. She watched with a blend of curiosity and confusion at the sight of his hand dragging over the deep tread of the tracks. What are you doing? Her voice came out in a dry question, while her mind struggled to find reason for his strange actions. If she had expected a reaction to her dazed stumble away from him it wasnt this. Although, she was still finding it hard to focus on reality along with her own thoughts and words that were slowly working their way back to her. Dont matter, Daryl answered. His voice came off awkwardly defensive as he turned his attention back to her and pushed himself to his feet. It aint good to be out in the open like this. His toned shoulders heaved in another awkward roll as he readjusted his crossbow. The repeated action mildly nagged in the back of her mind, while she tried to focus enough to speak again. Walkersll get drawn to em. He added with a slight nod towards the vehicle now gone. The statement sounded every bit like instructions to her. A sudden flare of anger and rage pushed forward with that. Is that your nice way of saying bye? She asked distantly as his intense eyes jerked back to glare at her. She wasnt even sure where the question much less thought had come from, but couldnt stop herself from voicing them. She knew she was jumping to conclusion and far from making sense. The shitty arrows were enough, Daryl. Ill play stupid crazy lady well enough without your instructions. Save them for someone worth it. Her voice grew increasingly more bitter and hostile as her mind made the leap to a connection of what hed said earlier. Aint a matter of if youre worth it. I cant have ya wastin my shitty arrows like that. Just standin there. Daryl fired back with a tight shake of his head. The hostility and aggravation hed been holding back came crashing through after her accusation. At least you figured out how to stab, he added as his intense faltering confused gaze narrowed into a hard glare. Maybe next time youll think to look around ya fore goin crazy bitch with a knife. He dropped his gaze back to the ground and took a step onto the treaded tracks. Again, he readjusted the crossbow with an odd heave of his shoulders. I dont know why youre acting surprised by it. Youve been calling me crazy lady since weve met. Last I checked you cant fix crazy. She threw back, a new edge rose in her strained voice. The sides of her mouth pulled into a tight forced smile, while her body moved to follow him. So if Im not worth it and bat shit crazy, she bit out the last few words before sucking in a deep breath and taking a quick step to catch up with him. She could see a slight jump in his shoulders as they tensed, yet he didnt slow down or acknowledge her. He seemed determined to ignore anything else she had to say. Why the fuck did you save my life? Her voice cracked as she reached an emotionally charged range, while her mind continued to shift between thoughts. In that moment she wasnt even sure of the point she was trying to make, yet oddly enough it was easy for her to unload everything onto the quiet man.

Her attention caught on the edge of his shoulders as they tensed even more. She found herself desperately wanting him to fight back against her biting words. It was hostile, brutal, and entirely unfounded. It was also the first time since leaving that she actually felt like her thoughts were coming back together. No, actually, she started with a jerk of her head as a sudden fact slammed into the forefront of her thoughts. What are you even doing out here? She half shouted at him as her boot caught within the groove of the tracks. Not a single thought went to the unsteady stumbled step forward or careful glance Daryl gave. All she could focus on were her spiraling thoughts along with the frustration of getting nothing out of Daryl. Were you following me? Was all of that some kind of mental twisted physical test? She bit out lowly, her arm flailed out in a wild waved gesture to the woods behind them. Her boots stomped firmly into the dried churned dirt beneath her as she came to an aggravated stop. You aint my problem, but that annoyin loud voice of yours will be. Daryl growled back. He tossed a quick glance back at her, while pinning her with a fiercer glare. Did Rick put you up to this? Kyra found herself asking before her mind could think better of it. The sudden pull of his memory and strength caused the edge in her voice to waver slightly. She found herself pulled between them and the challenging glare she held with Daryl as she tried to concentrate. The hells he got to do with anything? Daryl turned back to face her, his voice caught the same defensive tone. He aint here and damn well didnt go through that shit. He gave a stiff nod back to the woods. Kyra held his gaze, but couldnt hold the glare shed been returning. She wasnt sure what had set him off. The want to have him fight back came to a crashing stop as she saw the faintest awkward flash of pain cross his intense look. Her entire face fell into a blank and empty expression as she came to the realization of what shed said. Then why are you out here? Kyra asked, her voice falling back to its normal range. She watched uncomfortably as his gaze fell back to the ground, while he awkwardly kicked at the loose soil. A part of her thought he was finally done with her as he turned his attention back to the woods. I was huntin.He stated bluntly as the back of his hand brushed roughly over his forehead. In the dark? She countered, trying her best to keep from sounding bitter. Her head shook absently as she once again tried to make the connections between everything that had happened throughout the day. She felt the pull of her welcoming memories and the focus fall back to Rick, yet didnt linger on them. It didnt take much to notice the completely overclocked condition she was in. Dont worry bout it. Daryl grumbled, finally shifting back towards his original direction. Makes no difference to you, he added, giving her another awkward glance before completely turning his attention back to the line of trees. You were getting closer to them too, Daryl, She stated bluntly. Her words jolted the conversation away from her and to the people that had brought both of them together. She still felt a tug of curiosity

towards the bladed armed man and all the gun shots. It effectively rerouted her focus away from the mess her thoughts had landed her in. Dont worry bout it. Daryl harshly reiterated. Im not worried. I just want to know why. Kyra pressed, making her tired legs move to continue following him. We couldve hung back and figured out who they were or at least what they were up to. She stated with a weak shrug. They seemed like they mightve had a better grip on all of this. Shut the hell up. Daryl growled, fixing her with another heated glare from over his shoulder. I mightve gotten closer to that if you hadnt been attractin walkers. His voice grew louder, while he shook his head tightly. Nobodys makin you stay. There wasnt much time for her to understand the weight of his words as he crossed over the second tracks and headed quickly towards the next tree line. Why are you? Kyra called after him, her voice dropping even lower. You had every chance not once, but twice, to let me die. You could lose me right now, but youre staying, her tangled hair scratched along her face as she let her gaze fall to the ground with a weak shake of her head. The biting edge of her rash comments and accusations collided with Daryls responses, while her gait slowed to match pace with her unsteady jumps in thought. She could feel the dull throb of a headache starting in her temple with each jump. Thought I told ya to shut up. Daryl grumbled, his voice missing the harsh undertones. Her head bobbed in a small nod. She didnt have the processing strength in mind to figure out how to take that. Her entire focus seemed to be pulled between the insecure things shed said and her wild actions. She had the hollowing feeling that Daryl was right in his name calling. The amount of stupidity that tied into every bad move shed made in one day was sickeningly significant. A faint click of metal locking together dragged her unfocused attention back up. Daryl had stopped a few yards in front of her. His arm awkwardly held the bulky crossbow at an odd angle as he lined up a shot. The weapon kicked backed after he released a shot. Kyras eyes didnt waver to his target, but stayed fixed on the fierce redneck. She had caught the slightest twitch of a restrained wince at the shot. Her stomach dropped nauseatingly with it. Thoughts jarred back to the arrow shed jabbed deep into his arm and the clear damage that had done. Her stomach pulled down harder when she realized that by risking his own survival all hed gotten in return from her was physical and verbal attacks. She found her body shifting into action before she could think better of the thought. There wasnt any other form of apology she could think of as she took the final steps leading to him. Daryls gaze shifted over to her as he absently cleaned the shaft of the arrow on his worn jeans. She noticed the unsure step back he took at her close proximity. His expression flared in a display of awkward expressions the second she flung her arms around him in a loose hug. Thank you, she stated firmly, trying her best to sound sincere. Tense muscles jumped in a full body flinch at her sudden contact. She could feel his body relax for a fraction of a second before jolting fiercely within her weak hold. The awkward hug ended the second her

arms had looped around his chest. Get off. Daryl growled, his voice taking on a sharper edge of defense. He roughly jerked away from her with an uncomfortable forced glare. His eyes didnt possess the usual fierce intensity as she stared back at him. His gaze dropped awkwardly to the ground as he carefully swung the crossbow back onto his shoulder. Come or go. He ordered, side stepping the rotted dead as he entered the woods without another word or glance. Kyra blinked in a complete daze as she watched him recoil and retreat away from her. Her mind struggled to catch up, while she stood absently watching him slip farther into the shadowed woods. She was thrown entirely by all of it. Her entirely rushed attempt at thanking him had failed. Her feet scrambled back into motion as his figure blurred into the crisscrossing trees. The one thing she was able to coherently decide on was to follow him. A part of her felt that this was her last chance to live. That in some strange way Daryl had given her the final ultimatum on her life. She forced her body into a cramped exhausted jog. The final strains of energy she had left unsteadily brought her back within range of Daryl. Whatever had compelled her to hug the distant man didnt surface in her mind. At that she felt somewhat childish in even thinking a hug was appropriate or needed in order to say thank you. If she had the time or strength to pick through the last few days she had the sinking feeling that everything shed done up to this point in time were nothing but selfish. Of course, that wasnt something she was willing to accept or admit. I can, her voice caught as her eyes focused on the thick branching lines of fresh and dried blood running down his toned arm. The deep puncture wound shed given him glistened disgustingly in the dim light. I can fix that. She finished weakly with a tight nod; even in her current state she could tell the wound needed stitches. Aint nothin. Daryl grumbled, awkwardly shifting his shoulder and arm away from her view. His attention remained on the woods and ground around them. It gave Kyra the defeated impression that he was closing her out, yet she didnt have the need to keep pushing him. It had taken this much for her to finally become aware of just how much damage shed done to one of the few people who seemed even remotely interested in keeping her alive. She watched sadly as he heaved his shoulders again in an attempt to keep the crossbow from bearing down on the wound. Daryl, I- She tried, her voice trailing off at the hard intensely cold look he turned on her. Stop talkin. Just stop. He stated bluntly, while his uninjured arm crossed over and hand tugged the crossbow farther up on his shoulder. Heard nough of your shit to last me a life, he added in a low mumble. Kyra could make out enough of the mumbled words to understand that he was done talking to her and honestly she couldnt blame him. The off grey and shadowed woods were a blur to her as she followed Daryl in complete silence. Her thoughts once again managed to find the vocal point of her focus. It was completely useless for her to even try to make sense or connections between any of them. She was exhausted and each step and stumble she made behind Daryl sent new cramps flaring throughout her body. There was no point in trying to find a stronger focus on the woods or walkers that met the pointy end of an arrow. She didnt

know where the sense of trust in Daryl came from. Although a small part of her knew that the trust was just her own delusional false reassurance. She had no weapon left to use in her own defense. Her ratty worn boots scuffed over the pitch black pavement as they made their way across another road and towards a break in the woods. She vaguely caught sight of the Hyundai on the shoulder of the road before she turned her gaze back to Daryls back. The tension between him and her had only gotten worse over the expanse of time. To Kyra this silent walk back to the group was a walk of shame. She wasnt even sure if she was ready to face the people she had weakly walked away from much less accept the fact that she had to stay. This game she had been playing since joining them was over. Her mind shifted back to Ricks instructions and rested on the solemn expression that had crossed his face while giving them. He was an odd part to her getting back up and fighting against this new world. She still couldnt figure out why hed turned into a focus for her thoughts when everything felt as if it was crashing in around her. She pushed back that misplaced attachment. It was just another distracting delusional pull her mind was making. A sharp click echoed in front of them causing her attention to snap painfully back to the woods and the soft glow of a fire reflecting dully off low branches in the distance. Daryl didnt seem fazed by the sound or the camp they were walking towards. She found herself taking the slightest step closer to him and remained there. Her blood shot tired eyes narrowed in on the outline of a man standing against the soft light from the flame. His arm lowered and pistol pointed towards the ground as they approached. Couldnt find no damn squirrels, Daryl called out gruffly with a nod towards the man. Ricks shadowed appearance brought her right back to the memories that had pushed her to keep moving. The oddest sad smile flitted across her sharp features in his direction. But I did us one better. The glance that Daryl gave her went entirely unnoticed as they both came to a stop across from him. Pale blue eyes captured her entire attention, while a broad smile returned hers.

Panics Commentary: Six was the lucky number for this chapter. Sorry for the delay, but each write up just wasnt hitting the vibe I wanted to until I finally came up with this one! It was a bit of a struggle to find the right balance between Kyra and Daryl, while also working hard to keep Daryl true to form. Yes, this chapter does place a high stake on a Kyra that is even farther gone than the past chapter. If some of it seems a bit incoherent that was the point. Shes crossed that line and needs to come back. I find that a vital part of survival, so Kyra gets to live it. I wanted to show that she can fight but only in the absence of her active mind and by that I mean she has to shut herself off from what shes doing. I wanted to show the struggle of that notion and hopefully it came across well.

This does feed into my final freestyle chapter before getting us going on season 3. Ricks back and has a few things to settle with Kyra or at least start. The next chapter will give some more development on relationships within the group and from there I should be able to make a nice little time skip. Also, Im sure some of you picked up on one of those plot thickeners. =D This chapter was considerably longer than most. Im hoping it didnt drag or seem slow. Thats a bonus for you guys, because I may not be able to get another update out until the week after next. The week before spring break always happens to be the best time for professors to slam students with tests and theres this thing called Mega Con that Im going to. This nerd will be doing an interpretation cosplay for one of the walking dead cast. As always guys I give you the power in the form of a simple question. What did you think of this chapter? Reviews are of the dearest treasures to me. Flames. Flames. Go away. Come again no other day.