𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇
straighten up little soldier

IT'S BEEN ABOUT TWO days since Daryl and Izzy had basically abandoned the group, and sought out to find Beth.

They were now walking down a long empty road full of nothing. On both sides of the road was tree's, and oh look... more tree's. Tree's were everywhere, nothing else. No houses, gas stations, train stops, nothing, nada. It honestly looked like something from a horror movie and Izzy was getting this uneasy feeling like something was about to happen.

"Don't worry," Daryl broke the silence and tense atmosphere. "We'll find her." He hated the fact that they had barely spoken to each other for the past two days. Weirdly enough, he wanted to talk to her, to hear her voice, to see her smile, to see that sparkle in her eyes reappear. He just wanted to do something that involved her, even if it was just her sending him a small smile.

And that is when he realized he got it bad. He cared for her more than any normal person would, more than a friend should. She wasn't just his leader, friend, ally, shoulder to lean on, no, she was the girl of his dreams. Though, he never dreamt of any girls or wanted to do anything with girls, but she was different.

She swooped in and took his heart without even knowing it, without him even knowing it. How could he not notice that she had him wrapped around her fingers? Most importantly, how could he not know that he had fallen in love with her?

He felt dumb for not realizing it sooner, especially the way he would react if she flirted or simply just looked at another guy.

Damn, this one girl tamed the Daryl Dixon and made him fall in love with him without even knowing it, without either knowing it.

Now that he knows this, Daryl started fidgeting and became fearful of what it would do to their friendship. He knew that she wouldn't feel the same way. There was no way, especially due to the looks she always sends Rick.

Izzy sighed, not knowing that Daryl was having an inner battle with himself and his thoughts. "I know." Her voice came out soft, but Daryl still flinched due to the noise. He hadn't expected her to say anything especially since it took her a good minute to say anything. "I'm just worried. About both Beth and the group. We just left them without even a goodbye. They could need our help."

"They have each other," Daryl grunted out after clearing his throat. "Beth has no one."

Izzy nodded, clenched her fists, and then opened them. She continued to do that over and over again to try and release some stress, but it did nothing but make crescent moon marks on her palms.

The two continued to walk in compete silence, Daryl too busy thinking about his feelings for her, and Izzy busy thinking about the group and Beth.

They were both too busy in their own minds to realize the group of people that approached them from the woods.

"Hello!" A voice echoed which made the duo freeze before turning around to face the group of people who wore police uniforms. "Do either of you need any help?"

"There's no where to go for miles!" Another member of the group spoke up, looking at the duo with narrowed eyes. "We have a place. Come back with us, we'll take care of any wounds that you may have."

"We're fine!" Izzy echoed back, her shoulders tense, and she flexed her fingers, getting ready to grab her gun which was in it's holster. She didn't trust these people, especially since they all looked bathed, fed, and they carried multiple guns in their personals. They also had this aura around them which had the Winchester wanting to shoot them right then and there.

"No wounds?" A man asked, stepping forward, his hand on his hip, near his gun. He tilted his head as he looked the duo up and down, mostly Izzy. He licked his lips in lust due to her wearing shorts and a tank top which showed off a lot of skin.

Daryl narrowed his eyes and let out a very inhuman growl, stepping in front of Izzy for protection against the creep. "She said we're fine!" He snapped, his hands on his crossbow, about to just shoot the damn bastard in the head. He then smirked as he thought about torturing him instead of instantly killing him.

"I don't think you are!" A woman called out, bringing out her gun, aiming it at Izzy who's eyes widened, and ducked just as she pulled the trigger. The bullet whizzed by, narrowly missing Izzy's arm, but it scraped her as it went by, making her let out a hiss.

Both Izzy and Daryl jumped into action.

Izzy brought out her machete and ran towards the guy who had checked her out, and sliced at his chest. Blood splayed all over her, covering her face and her chest. She grinned before kicking him away, and she let him wither away on the ground.

Suddenly, two gunshots went off, and two of the officer's dropped to the ground, revealing Beth and a boy neither Izzy nor Daryl knew.

"Kill them!" Beth shouted, her demand surprising both Izzy and Daryl, but they all jumped into action, and killed the police officers.

Within a minute, all the officers were dead, and the group was panting lightly before Izzy gained her breathing, and rushed towards Beth, bringing her in for a hug.

Beth smiled and hugged the older woman back. They stood there for a good minute, just relishing in each other's hold. Then, Beth pulled back and grinned up at her, allowing Izzy to see a long bruise that was on her cheek, a busted lip, her wrist which was in a cast, and a cut that was on her eyebrow.

"What happened?" Izzy asked softly, running her fingers over the cut's and bruises before her brown eyes landed on the boy. "And who's this?"

Beth stepped back, smiling at the boy. "We'll explain everything, but first, where is the other's?"

Izzy glanced at Daryl before looking back towards the blonde. "We left them behind to find you. We can head back seeing as we found you."

"You mean; we found you," Beth corrected before giggling at the glare the brown head sent her. "Okay. We can both explain what we missed on the way back to the other's."