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Daryl

The clock on the dash said it took six minutes to get into town. That was six minutes after someone was desperate enough to send up a flare and risk bringing a whole town full of Walkers down on their head. I wanted to jump out of the RV as soon as Abraham slowed it but that wasn't the way to get this done. Without Rick here I was in charge and I needed to take care of the group. Rick was depending on me to take care of his family. We needed to make sure the vulnerable members of the group were taken care of before going off into the night. 

I tapped Abraham's shoulder twice to get him to stop. He parked the RV in the middle of main street. I leaned forward, looking out the windshield, but I didn't see a single walker. Not a good sign. This wasn't a huge town but there had to be some left. They all went somewhere. 

"Stay here," I said, turning to the door. "Keep it runn'in for now. If they come, just go. I'll meet ya back at the barn at sunup." 

"Yes sir," Abraham called after me giving me a nod of respect. 

I swung my crossbow down into my hand and opened the door. I jogged down the steps and turned to slam the door behind me only to find Jo on my heels. 

"I'm just-" I started to say but she was already shoving her way past me. She had her kukri in one hand and the large hunting knife I gave her in the other. I shook my head and slammed the door. There wasn't any point in arguing with her, she never listened anyway ain't no way she'd start now. 

I led the way as usual. She was right behind me, her tread almost silent on the black top. I moved over to the side walk and crept toward the next cross street. I flattened myself against the brick wall of the corner and peaked around it. It was an open alley that ran down to the next cross street. There were no walkers in sight. It would be a good place to park the RV. I crept into the dark alley and jogged to the opposite end. I pressed against the building to peak around the corner. The side street was clear as well. They would be able to get out in a hurry if they had to.

I turned back to Jo and jerked my head back towards the RV. She nodded and we walked side by side back towards the main street. I glanced over at her. She looked alert but calm. There wasn't a hint of fear on her face. It was a dark night, no moon and the clouds blacked out any light from the stars. Going out into a strange town on such a dark night was going to be risky. I was gonna have to decide who to send out after the flare. I wasn't sure if she was up for it just yet. 

"Jo," I said quietly. 

"Yeah?" she whispered back without looking at me.

"We are going to need to go out in a couple groups to try and find whoever sent up the flare."

She nodded. "Sounds good," she replied, studying the doorways we were passing looking for Walkers. 

"Are ya good?" my voice caught and I cleared my throat so I wouldn't sound so unsure. I was leading, I needed to sound like it. 

She stopped and looked back at me in confusion. "What?" she asked sharply. She finally tore her eyes away from the area around us and focused on me. I couldn't see their green color in the dim light, but I could see that they were narrowed dangerously and it was directed at me. 

I jerked my chin towards her. "I can't have ya out there if ya ain't one hundred percent." As soon as the words came out of my mouth I knew it was the wrong way to say it. She wasn't going to take it how I meant it. 

Sure enough, she scoffed angrily. "I'll pull my weight Dixon," she snapped and spun on her heel and marched off towards the mouth of the alley. 

I pinched the bridge of my nose. I didn't mean to offend her, I just couldn't have her out there if her ribs were still bugging her at all. I would drive myself crazy worrying about her. I heaved out a sigh. Damn woman was going to be the death of me. I ran after her. I reached out and snagged her arm pulling her back to me. "Not what I meant," I growled out the words more gruffly than I meant to and it didn't help matters. "If you're still hurt'in any I need ya to stay back." 

"I'm fine," she replied indignantly.

I stared at her a long couple of beats trying to decide if she was being honest with me. There was a snarl behind one of the doors to our right. Jo shot me an angry look and stalked towards the door. 

"Jo stop!" I called after her. 

She ignored me and kicked the door open. It slammed back, knocking the Walker off balance. She could have killed it then easily but she didn't. She waited for it to right itself and stagger towards her. She glanced over at me as though to make sure I was paying attention. I sighed, and resisted the urge to lift my crossbow. It would only piss her off more. I adjusted my grip so I was ready in case she got into trouble. 

She backed away from the Walker to give herself some space and took two running steps straight at it. She jumped at the last minute, kicking it in the chest with both feet together. The showy kick threw her back onto the pavement. She landed on her back lightly, rolling with it and then threw herself onto her feet. The walker was knocked onto it's back as well. It was just sitting up when she landed on her feet. She did another over the top kick with a spin to the Walker's temple. Her kick knocked it's head most of the way off. Still turning she threw her knife, snapping it off into it's skull. The walker fell back dead with a dull plop. 

She looked back at me a defiant set to her chin. 

I sighed and stepped up to her. Her shoulders were tight and she was ready to argue with me. After all we'd been through she somehow still thought I doubted her. Guess I wasn't the only one with confidence issues. I shook my head. I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into me. She resisted at first but then some of the tension left her body. 

I tipped my head down so my lips were almost brushing her ear. "I have no doubt in your ability to fight. I just wanna make sure you're safe." She shivered in my hands as my breath touched her skin. I never thought I would have something like this with someone. I fought the urge to smile. I dropped a kiss on her head and walked off back towards the RV. 

Jo followed a few paces behind and in the dark she wasn't able to see the smirk on my face. I had surprised her. Jo was smart and great at reading people but she sometimes got lost in that head of hers. It was good to catch her off guard sometimes. 

When we got back to the RV the light feeling from teasing Jo vanished. We had some serious business to take care of tonight. I pulled open the RV door. "Pull the RV in that alley, it's empty and it's got a clear exit. Kill the lights and stay quiet."

Abraham did what I told him. Once it was parked I turned back to the group. "Jo and I will sweep the east side of the street and-" I turned to Abraham questioning. He nodded thoughtfully. "Abraham and Rosita the west. The rest of ya stay here and keep quiet."

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Jo

Daryl and I turned to head back out the door. The clock was ticking on whoever had sent up that flare and I could feel Daryl's impatience like a physical presence at my back. I checked over my knives and didn't argue when Daryl shoved a hand gun at me, jerking his chin towards the empty holster on my shoulder rig. I checked the clip and made sure the safety was on before securing it. He seemed more relaxed knowing I had it. I nodded to him. I was ready to go. 

"Wait!" Carl called after us, jumping to his feet to follow us. "My dad's out there."

I stopped and put a hand on Carl's shoulder, stopping him. "And your sister's in here," I said in a quiet voice. I jerked my chin towards where Judith was asleep in Tara's arms. "You make sure your sister is safe. We need you and Carol to look after everyone. Okay?" I lifted her eyes to Carol, looking for confirmation.  Carol nodded and flicked her gaze over to Maggie. 

Maggie was already standing. "I'm coming," she said defiantly. She checked the gun at her hip and rested her hand on her knife. I couldn't say I blamed her. Glenn was out there. If it were Daryl out there no one would be able to keep me in the motor home. 

Daryl looked back at her and impatience flared in his eyes. Abraham stepped forward. "She can come with me. Rosita'll stay with the rest of the class. Drive the bus outta here if the shit birds start flying." 

Rosita nodded in agreement without question and climbed into the driver's seat of the motor home. I glanced at Daryl and wondered if sometimes he wished I was that mindlessly agreeable. Seeing him with his crossbow in his hands and a scowl on his face, I for some reason didn't think so. 

The four of us walked out of the motor home. As soon as the door closed behind us Daryl started explaining the grid he wanted us to run starting from the water tower and working out way back towards the motor home. It surprised me a little that Abraham was so willing to follow Daryl without argument. Listening to Daryl explain his plan for finding our missing group members it would be stupid to make waves, even for Abraham. Daryl knew what he was talking about. He was competent and took everyone's safety very seriously. 

"Alright, things go south, and ya gotta get clear make your way back to the barn, agreed?" Daryl asked. 

Both Abraham and Maggie nodded. Daryl turned to lead the way to the water tower where we would be splitting off to search the east/west sides of the grid. Maggie was right on his heels. Once they were a few paces ahead of us Abraham reached out and touched my arm gently. Stopping me. 

I turned back to face him. His face was grim and set in a hard line. His rifle held at the ready across his chest. He really could be an imposing guy when he wanted to be. "The ribs up for this little nighttime adventure little sister?"

I felt the same indignant anger flare through me that had when Daryl asked the same thing. Which wasn't fair. Both men were just trying to make sure I was all right and in fighting shape. Which I hadn't been for fairly recently. Someone was going to be depending on me to watch their back and not get myself into an unnecessary trouble. It made sense for them to check. I was finally feeling back to normal and just wanted people to stop treating me like I was made of glass. Daryl had shown me that maybe I was feeling a wee bit oversensitive on that subject. Abraham had done a lot to help me when I was injured and he was just making sure I could handle this. So, I bit back the caustic retort that was on the tip of my tongue and nodded instead. 

Abraham flashed me smirk as though he knew exactly what was going through my mind. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and gave me a playful shake. "Let's go save Rick's ass then huh?" 

I snorted and nodded, pulling away from him. We jogged to catch up to Daryl and Maggie who were moving down the main street at a brisk pace. Abraham and I took up positions just off their flanks. I was about ten feet behind Daryl and about five feet closer to the sidewalk. Every now and then I would see a walker slam against the glass of one of the shop windows, but so far the only ones we spotted were contained. The seven blocks to the water tower went fast. We combed the area as a group and then broke off into pairs. We were going to sweep five blocks out and ten blocks down and then circle back up the main drag to rendezvous at the motor home. Daryl estimated it should take us about half an hour if we didn't run into any trouble and kept a brisk pace. 

Daryl and I worked silently. We swept through the alley's and down the blocks. Every so often Daryl would let out a low two note whistle. There was never any answer. It was unfathomable that we would be able to find them this way. If it was a member of our group they could easily be hiding in any one of a hundred houses we were passing. It was eerie, all these dark, empty houses in this dark empty town. It seemed like it was a nice neighborhood, one I would have liked to live in back before the turn. But now it was twisted into something lonely and ugly. I shivered as I thought about it and hurried to keep up with Daryl. 

We were three blocks off the main drag, not far from the water tower when I heard the first growl. I was following behind Daryl but I stepped up and touched his arm. He stopped and looked down at me. I touched my ear and closed my eyes. When I opened them he had turned his focus to the noise. He walked a small circle, his eyes narrowed. I tapped his shoulder and pointed down a side street. I was pretty sure it was coming from that way. 

He nodded and moved down the street at a more cautious pace. Another block down and I heard a man yelling. Daryl and I exchanged a look and took off running towards the voice. As we got closer the sound of snarling and growling grew louder and louder. We rounded the corner and I sucked in a breath. 

There was probably fifteen Walkers surrounding a rusted out carcass of a car. There was a man trapped under the car yelling his head off but we couldn't see who it was. Daryl grabbed my arm and jerked me back out of sight before any of the Walkers spotted us. 

The man yelled again but it wasn't a voice I recognized. Not Glenn or Rick then. Not that I believed either one of them would yell like that even if they were trapped. But it could be Aaron. It didn't matter that he wasn't part of our group just yet. We weren't just going to leave him. 

"How do you want to handle this?" I asked. I unzipped my jacket all the way so I had complete range of motion and could reach my knives easily. It had been a while since I fought with a handgun in the holster but I was pretty sure I would adapt quickly. 

Daryl's face was grim and his jaw set. He took a step closer to me so we could speak quietly. "We draw them off, split them between us..." he hesitated and met my eyes. Even in the dark I could see he hated this. He didn't want me out here facing an unknown herd of walkers in the dark. Too many things could go wrong. 

I took a deep breath and stared into his eyes letting him see my resolve. "I faced ten in the ring Daryl. More when I fought my way out of the cell block. We can do this...I can do this." 

He sucked in a breath and nodded. He looked at my knives. "Do you have enough?" 

I nodded reassuringly. "Absolutely." 

It was a complete lie, I really didn't have enough. I only had five counting my kukri. Which would be fine as long as I didn't get stuck and have to start throwing them. I drew my kukri and the hunting knife. Hopefully I wouldn't have to throw any. I rolled my neck and shrugged my shoulders a few times. 

"Ya ready?" his voice rasped with tension beside me. 

I looked up at him and nodded grimly. We stepped around the corner.

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I hope you enjoyed the update. Guys I am so overwhelmed and humbled by the sheer volume of reads/comments/votes. We cross the 7,000 mark today and I am stunned. I started this story in July and it wasn't until September that anyone other than me read it. This last week has brought so much support. Thank you, thank you, thank you all. 

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