MARCIE GRIPPED HER KNIFE AS THE THREE OF THEM NAVIGATED THEIR WAY THROUGH THE WOODS.

They were trying to find the source of the fire they saw the night before, finding the person or group.

Instead, they came across body parts.

They were too late.

Marcie had seen a lot of messed up things in the past couple of years. But someone being dismembered, and parts being missing, was a new one for her.

"Whoever did this took what was left with them." Daryl informed them, "This just happened."

Yards away, there was another body. A naked woman was chained to a tree, with her guts spilling out of her abdomen. Marcie had to fight to keep her breakfast in her stomach,

"She's tied up." Aaron commented, "And they fed on her. Tore her apart." He turned to Daryl, "This just happened?"

He nodded, "Yeah."

"How the hell did this happen?" Aaron asked himself,

Daryl stepped forward and lifted the woman's head to reveal a 'W' carved into her forehead. The same letter that was in the forehead of another walker the week before.

The woman's eyes opened, revealing that she had turned. Marcie handed her knife over to Daryl and he quickly put her down.

It was truly a horribly way to die.

The trio went back two their vehicles and continued on their way. The vibration from the bike shot between her legs and Marcie tried to squeeze her thighs together.

She let out a small whine and rocked back and forth, tightening her grip onto Daryl. The hunter noticed her fidgeting and turned his head as much as he could to see what was going on,

"You okay?" He asked over the sound of the wind in their ears,

"Mhmm." She mumbled, pressing her face into his back and trying to angle her hips just right.

Daryl slowed down the bike and waved Aaron through. He stopped to ask if they were okay, but the archer told him to keep going, to not lose the man's trail.

"What are you doing?" Marcie asked as Daryl put the kick stand down, but didn't turn the bike off,

He didn't answer as he got off, moving to stand behind Marcie. When she tried to turn to face him, he forced her to turn back around.

She bit her lip to keep from moaning out loud as he grabbed her hips and pressed them forward, pushing her down perfectly onto the vibrating seat.

"So this is wha's gettin' ya off, huh?" He mumbled into her ear, 

Marcie squealed as Daryl grabbed her leg, pulling it around the seat so he could pull down her jeans, keeping her panties on, exposing her legs to the cold air, "Daryl!"

"If ya needed some help, all ya had to do was ask, darlin'." He smirked, swinging her leg back into its' original position.

Daryl got on behind her and scooted her forward. Marcie opened her mouth to speak, but Daryl pressed her hips down again and she let out the moan she was trying so hard to keep down.

This was bad. She knew they should've kept going, they were out there for a reason. But it felt too good to really care.

Daryl reached around her, sliding his fingers into her panties to check how wet she was before pulling back. She jumped slightly as he put more pressure on her bundle of nerves, which was already stimulated thanks to the vibrations from the bike.

He pulled her panties to the side and Marcie wondered for just a split second when he unbuckled his jeans before sliding himself inside her.

Marcie gasped, gripping the handlebars tightly and leaning forward, her chest pressed against the bike, "Holy shit."

"Ya like that?" He slid one hand up her back to grip her hair, "Huh, sweetheart?"

"Fuck, mhmm." Marcie groaned, pushing back against his cock.

With the combination of the bike's vibration and Daryl, Marcie didn't last long. Her entire body began to shake and she pressed her forehead into the space between the handlebars. Daryl gripped her hips and finished inside her, resting his head against her back.

"Fuck, girl."

"Damn, Vivian was right." Marcie mumbled as she sat up.

"Wha?" Daryl asked as he pulled out of her, cleaning himself off with his rag before stuffing himself back into his jeans,

"Nothin'." She got off the bike and pulled her jeans up, "Now I gotta be out here with dirty underwear." She mumbled,

"Was gonna be dirty either way." Daryl smirked, turning off the bike, "I was just helpin' ya out."

Marcie rolled her eyes, "Could've waited til tonight when we made camp." 

"With Aaron around? Yeah, don' think so." He got back into his own position on the bike, "You gonna behave this time?"

 The couple eventually caught up with Aaron. The three of them trekked through the woods, following footprints across a stream,

"Somebody came through here a while ago." Daryl informed them,

"If we see them, we hang back, set up the mike, watch and listen." Aaron stated,

"For how long?" Marcie asked as she stepped over a log,

"Until we know." He answered, "We have to know."

"You've sent people away?" Daryl questioned him as they made their way to the stream,

"Yeah."

"What happened?"

"It was early on. It was three people. Two men and a woman. Davidson was their leader. Smart as hell, strong. I thought they'd work out. They didn't." Aaron explained as he walked behind the two, "I brought them in and I had to see them out. So me, Aiden, and Nicholas, we drove them out far... gave them a day's worth of food and water and left them."

Marcie paused, turning to Aaron. After seeing those walls, seeing that community, she had a hard time thinking people would just leave without a fight, "They just went?"

"We had their guns. We had all the guns. I can't make that kind of mistake again."

They walked until they reached a clearing, a field with tall grass. Something stood out, a person wearing a bright red poncho. Aaron grabbed his binoculars and they watched the man as he reached down, grabbing something and rubbings it between his hands before rubbing it on his face,

"What's he doing?" Aaron asked,

"Wild leeks." Daryl answered, "Son of a bitch knows 'bout how to keep mosquitos off of him."

This was a man who really knew how to survive out in the wild. Marcie would bet he knew how to hunt and trap. Could be a potential asset to Alexandria.

Daryl tapped her arm, "C'mon." He said before they headed into the tall grass,

They eventually made their way out of the woods and to a small town. But they had lost track of the man with the poncho. They spent hours searching for him, but it was like he vanished, which is weird considering how much his poncho stood out.

"We checked the forest, we checked the roads. We can't find him." Aaron stated, "Sometimes they slip away. It happens. But... you don't come across something like this every day."

The trio had somehow ended up outside a warehouse, a canned food processing facility. And if they were lucky, those delivery trucks were full of food. Which could really help Alexandria,

"We do this now, it means we're giving up." Daryl replied,

"Home is 50 miles back. It's time to go. You both saw it last night. There's bad people out here." Aaron said,

"That's why we need to keep looking for the good ones." Marcie told him. She didn't want to give up looking for the guy, but the food was tempting.

"We need more people and we'll find them. But when we do, we'll need to feed them." Aaron reasoned,

"All right." Daryl sighed before tapping his knife on the fence, attracting the walkers towards them.

One by one, all three of them took the rotters out. Once they were all dead, Daryl clipped the chain that kept the gate closed before heading inside.

There were four trucks that were backed up against the warehouse, each of them sealed shut. Aaron got excited over an Alaskan driver's license and he kneeled down to unscrew it from the truck,

"Hey, listen, I don't like giving up either, but the guy is in a red poncho. You can see him from a mile away. We've gone a lot of miles here. No sign of him. But... if we come away with a trailer full of cans, I'd say that's a good trip."

Daryl crouched down, "Here we go." He mumbled, unlatching the door.

A wire went flying and the doors on all the trailers opened to reveal dozens of walkers. 

It was a trap.

Marcie grabbed Daryl's hand and the three of them sprinted between the trailers, trying to out run the rotters. But they were met with even more on the other side,

"Shit."

Daryl grabbed his knife and stabbed the closest one, "Stay close!" He ordered Marcie.

It was too many for the three of them to take on.

They climbed underneath the trailer, but more walkers came for them. Marcie stabbed the few that were reached for them as Daryl gathered up a chain, "Come on."

When they got out, three walkers approached them. Daryl used the chain, swinging it with enough force to slice the walker's heads in half. A walker grabbed onto Aaron's bag and Marcie stabbed it before it could get him.

They weaved between the rotters, avoiding their hands and teeth. Daryl reached a minivan and opened the passenger door, "C'mon!" 

Marcie climbed into the back seat while Daryl got into the driver's side. Aaron climbed in last, smashing a walker's head in the door.

She grew even more nervous as walkers surrounded the vehicle. There were so many that it blocked out most of the light from the outside,

"Glass will hold for a while, right?" Aaron asked nervously,

"Maybe." Daryl panted, "Maybe we can make it so they can't see us. In a couple hours, something will come by, they'll follow it out. There's got to be something in here we can use to block the view."

"We can cut up these seats." Marcie suggested.

Aaron tapped Daryl's shoulder, holding out a crumpled note that he found in the seat.

'bad people coming. don't stay' it read.

"Fuck."

They sat in the car for what felt like hours with no sign of it ending. Marcie laid down in the back seat, twirling her knife in her hands.

Daryl sat in the front seat, a small chuckle leaving his lips. She sat up at the sound, not quite used to hearing it come from him,

"What?" Aaron asked,

"I came out here to... not feel all closed up back there. Even now, this still feels more like me... than back in them houses. That's pretty messed up, huh?"

It wasn't. Not in her mind. She knew he was struggling back there behind those walls, and he was trying for the sake of the group, but Daryl wasn't going to force himself to be something he's not.

"You were trying."

"I had to."

"No, you didn't." Aaron replied, "Listen, I saw you with your group out there on the road. Then you went off on your own by the barn. Storm hit and you led your people to safety. That was it. I knew I had to bring you people back." He told him, "You were right. We should have kept looking for that guy in the poncho. I shouldn't have given up. You didn't."

Marcie stayed silent as she watched Daryl stick a cigarette in his mouth, "I'll go." He mumbled, reaching for his lighter, "I'll lead them out. You make a break for the fence."

"No." Marcie argued, "That's not happening."

"This was my fault." Aaron added,

"It wasn't a question. And this ain't your decision." He turned to stare at Marcie, his bright eyes piercing hers, "It ain't nobody's fault. Just let me finish my smoke first."

She shook her head, "No. You don't draw them away. We fight." Marcie grabbed his jaw and forced him to look at her, "We've been in this situation before, remember? At the prison, we were stuck in that car and we all got out. We're gonna do it again. We go for the fence. We do it together. All right? Whether we make it or not, we do it together." She let go of him and leaned back, "We have to."

Daryl was silent for a moment before nodding, "All right."

"Okay." Marcie whispered back, gripping her knife tightly,

"You ready?" He asked the both of them and they nodded, "We'll go on three. One, two..."

Daryl didn't get to finish before blood splattered against the windows. The door opened from the outside and a man stood there with a staff, taking out the walkers.

They all exited the car, stabbing and slashing until they made it to the gate, locking it behind them.

Marcie panted, turning to the man with the staff. Once she got a good look at his face, she dropped her knife, 

She hadn't seen him since Georgia, since rescuing Rick when he had first woken from his coma. He was one of the first good people she had met after the world fell apart.

"Morgan?"

He smiled at her, "Marcie?"

She jumped at him, wrapping his arms around his shoulder, "Oh, my god! You're alive! I thought after we couldn't reach you on the radio...." Marcie pulled away and glanced around, "Duane?"

Morgan shook his head gently, "It happened a few days after you and Rick left."

"I'm sorry." Duane was a sweet kid. It was a shame he didn't last long in this world.

The men behind Marcie cleared their throats, and Marcie turned to look at them, "Oh, uh, guys, this is Morgan. Morgan, this is Daryl and Aaron."

"And how do you know him?" Daryl grunted,

"We met outside Atlanta. We were the ones who found Rick laying in some yard." Marcie explained, "We were holed up across the street from each other. Morgan was supposed to follow us to Atlanta but... never happened." She turned back to Morgan, "How did you end up here?"

Morgan held out a map and Marcie stared down at it,

'Sorry I was an asshole. Come to Washington. The new world's gonna need Rick Grimes'

"Rick's not in Washington." Marcie stated, handing the map back.

"Where is he?"

"In a community, about 50 miles away. Called Alexandria." She answered, "That is, if you came all this way for him."

Morgan nodded, "I did."

"Then you're in luck." She smiled,

Aaron stepped forward, "Marcie, we don't know-"

"I vouch for him." Marcie turned towards the other men, "He's a good guy."

If he wasn't a good guy, he wouldn't have come and saved them. He saved Rick two years ago, and now it's come full circle.

If only they had come into contact sooner. Maybe she could've helped save Duane.

Aaron nodded, "Then let's go home."