Mercy on Me

Hey there, beautiful people! As always, I apologize for the long wait. Not only did I take forever to get this chapter done, I decided to start it over and bang it out in.. Let's see.. I started at noon.. And it is now.. 418 AM! I'm way to tired to count that. I should be going to sleep; cheer tryouts are at noon and then I will be at the Skate & Surf festival at Six Flags all weekend meeting Fall Out Boy and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (I won VIP Tickets).. But no. I was stupid and stayed up all night to bang this thing out.

I want to thank everyone who sent in a character bio for my lovely little competition! Check the A/N at the bottom for more info on that. The competition that inspired me to make my own will be announcing the winner MONDAY. I'm so friggen freakin frackin pumped!

I know some things in this chapter are going to seem a bit rushed, but don't worry, things will smooth out in the next few chapters. More will be explained and in more detail, so don't worry!

Can you guys believe I had NO computer trouble with chapter? Just watch, I probably just jinxed it.

Okay, get reading. Have fun!

*I don't own the Walking Dead.
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xXSad_GurlXx; definitely not! No worries though, they'll get it eventually. (:

C.K.Dexter-Haven; bios can never be too descriptive! Awesome bio, by the way! I'm up for some bets when it comes to Harper and Merle's games, but I guess that wouldn't be very fair, since I write the story.. I'm glad you enjoyed writing the bio! She's definitely a front runner(: (Don't tell anyone I said that).

HotRanger69; The weather here has been RIDICULOUS this week. Monday-Wednesday, FREEZING. I mean seriously, where the hell is Spring? Then Thursday comes, and BAM! 80s. Make up your damn mind, Mother Nature! I am one of the unfortunate souls that always burns and barely tans.. It's a sad life. Darn! A picture would've been great, seriously!lol. I am also on the Lucrezia/Cesare train.. I shouldn't be, but I (of course) am! Damn those writers... Not sure about the 'Click for something", I'll check it out. I haven't been on lately, but yes, I do have a Tumblr! And I HATE how it doesn't sent emails sometimes.. Very annoying. Ugh, cabbage, asparagus.. I hate all that crap! Oh, the unanswered questions! Of course, I can't tell you; don't want to ruin any surprises! Not long enough?! Goodness, I'll try and keep 'em as long as I can!! But ranting is the best way to express feelings, I mean come on! By the way, glad you're loving the story(: Incredibly random though, but I just looked over at the window and the SUN IS FRICKEN RISING. I'm crying inside, I really am. I'm down to four hours of sleep. Oh well, it's worth it to get this published! Talk to you soon!<3

Just.Breathe.; I'm glad you love my story so so so much! That makes MY day! Haven't had any WD dreams lately, but knowing me, I probably just jinxed it. Love that you're loving Daryl and Harper. I put so much work into them!(:

Thanks so much to everyone who reviews, favorites, recommends, blah blah blah. You are all AMAZING.
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"So.. What does this piece do again?".

"That piece is called a Bishop; it can only move diagonally, right?" I explained to the little Pelletier as I slid my own bishop across the board as an example.

"Got it!" Sophia smiled up at me.

When Sophia had waltzed up to me with a chess board, I almost fell over. Sophia, a little girl of twelve years old, wanted to learn chess?

"Now where did you find this, Sophia?" I had asked her with surprise leaking through my voice.

"Mr. Hershel gave it to me! Can you teach me?".

Now that everyone was healing up and resting, the air was calm; well, somewhat. During the day I barely saw my brother, but when I did, it wasn't for very long.

Ever since Otis' return, Shane hasn't been around as much. Don't ask where he is when the group is together; nobody really knows. When he's around, he's around; simple as that. Rick has pressed me to try talking to Shane, but I've refused. Confronting him would mean confronting our sibling problems, and I wasn't quite ready for that.

"And... Checkmate," I sighed, smiling at the shocked look on Sophia's face.

"Wait, what?" she asked me in confusion as she scanned her eyes across the chess board.

Shaking my head lightly, I pointed my finger towards my Rook.

"My Rook—yup, that one—can take your king from this direction. I still have my Bishops—here and here—that can take your king. If you were to take my Queen, my Knight could still come in to swoop up your King.." I explained, taking a much-needed deep breath. "In other words, I can take your King from any direction, which is called a 'Checkmate',".

Sophia's nose scrunched up in annoyance as her mouth popped open.

"So not fair," she huffed, crossing her arms.

"It was the first time you've played Chess! You'll get the hang of it eventually," I chuckled, messing up her hair with my hand.

"Cut it out!" Sophia growled, swatting at my hand. When I gave up on messing with the little girl, she looked up at me expectantly.

"What?" I asked, my voice raising in pitch.

"Well, aren't we gonna have a rematch? Come on, Harper, teach me how to set up the board!" Sophia urged me on with her hands.

"You know, you're slowly becoming that pesky little sister I never had," I smirked before taking hold of a few different pieces.

Sophia shot a beaming smile at me as she mimicked my moves in setting up the board.

"Hey, Harper?".

Sophia looked behind me and smiled at the voice, so I spun around in the dirt to face Rick.

"What's wrong?" I asked the man automatically; his tone was worried and filled with urgency.

"We need you in the house, now," Rick told me in a hurry, running a worried hand over his face.

Jumping up so I was face-to-face with the man, I extended my hand out to help Sophia up, who brushed her shorts off with her hands.

"Go hang out in the RV with Dale and your mom for a bit, okay sweetie? I'll come get you when everything settles down," I shot her a smile when I saw the worried look on her face.

Both Rick and I watched Sophia make her way towards the RV, just in case, before heading back toward the Greene house. Picking up my pace so I could keep up with Rick's brisk walk, I started speaking.

"What's going on, Rick?".

When Rick didn't answer me, I took hold of his shoulder and forced him to a halt.

"Harper, we can't—,".

"If it can't wait then tell me what's going on,".

Letting out a deep sigh, Rick pulled out of my grasp easily, heading back towards the house.

"It's Otis," he told me, giving me chills all over.

Why did Rick need me in the house for Otis? This won't be good.

"Okay.. What do I have to do with him?". I tried to ask my question with a calm tone, but my wavering voice gave away my worry.

"I don't know why, but it's not good; the moment Otis woke up and saw Shane, he freaked. Needless to say, we're going to need you in there," Rick explained as we both bounded up the front steps of the Greene house.

"Here we go," I sighed, pushing the creaking door open.

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"I want him OUT! Out!" a voice could be heard screaming from farther inside the house.

"Christ.." Rick muttered under his breath from beside me as he stepped in front of my path to lead the way.

"Does anyone else hear this prick? I didn't do shit!".

Now it was my turn to mutter my own "Christ..". Yup, that voice definitely belonged to Shane.

When we finally entered the kitchen, which was where Otis and Shane's apparent fight was, I stood in the doorway and surveyed the scene before me. Otis was being held back by Glenn and eventually Rick when the large man tried lunging across the table towards my brother; Shane, on the other hand, was being held back by Merle. I could tell by the look on Merle's face that he really just wanted to let go of Shane and let both men go at it, but was using his better judgment.

"What the hell is going on in here?" I asked the room.

"You know what he did! You KNOW!" Otis yelled, glaring towards Shane.

"You're damn right she knows! Harper knows that I didn't do a damn thing! Right, Harper?" Shane spat, turning to face me.

I stood between the two men as everyone in the room began to stare, waiting an answer expectantly.

"Know what?" I let out, knowing it was a dumb question.

"That man tried to kill me! He shot me in the leg and left me for dead with walkers all around! He had to have told you; you're his sister, aren't you?" the injured man snarled, although relaxing against Glenn's apparently very strong hold.

"Back off, man.." Daryl's threatening voice erupted from the group of people scattered through the kitchen. Shooting him a grateful look, I turned to face the angry man.

"Otis, I have no idea what you're talking about.." I stuttered, running a hand through my knotty hair. "But I'm sure that whatever happened when you and Shane were getting the supplies for Carl's surgery was just a misunderstanding!".

Otis' head began to shake almost violently back and forth.

"No. No! He was convinced that it was either me or him, and he made the wrong choice. Know why?" he continued, stopping to give us time to think his words over.

"Why?" Rick asked from his side, his voice filled with sadness and regret.

"Because unlike your lot, my family knows everyone who's still livin' around these parts. So what if I forgot to mention that we know the Miller family who lives minutes from that school?" Otis' eyebrows rose as if to say, "That's right. I won,".

The dread I felt when the color drained from Shane's face was indescribable.

"What are you talking about?" Shane managed to growl, but just by seeing the look on Otis' face showed that there was no point in fighting.

He really had won.

"You knew that if you shot me, I wouldn't make it; there were way too many of them walkers chasin' us! So you took the supplies, shot me, and left, ready to be the big hero, isn't that right?".

"No, man, that ain't right at all," Shane began, but the fight in his eyes was slowly disappearing. "I didn't mean to shoot you, man, you know that; I tried getting rid of some the walkers!" Shane rambled on, but my breath hitched in my throat.

"Shane.." I began, but Patricia, Otis' wife, cut me off.

"You what?" she asked in surprise.

Shane was looking at me when he realized his mistake—that wasn't the story he had originally told.

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I closed my eyes and let out a sigh. This wasn't going to end well, for anyone.

"You heard me; shot him by accident," Shane explained, slower this time.

Despite knowing that he screwed up, he couldn't change his story for a third time.

"He's a liar," Patricia said quietly as a tear fell down her face.

"We already knew that, sweetie—," Otis said as sweetly as he could, but Patricia had caught on. She wasn't a stupid woman.

"You told us that he sacrificed himself for the boy—that he owed it to Carl.." Patricia looked as if she was talking everything out so she would understand, but the whole group had heard.

"Shane, is that true?" Rick hesitated, but asked my brother.

"No! It isn't true! I wouldn't shoot the man and leave him for dead, I wouldn't! You guys have got to trust me! Rick, please," Shane pleaded with the group now, still pulling against Merle. With a heavy sigh, Rick released Otis, who stood still, a triumphant look plastered onto his face.

"Lucky for me, the Millers had heard the commotion and had watched the entire thing," he continued, an arrogant smile still on his face.

"That's not possible; they would've either done something or hid from sight," I told him, shaking my head.

"I know you don't want to hear it, Harper—you know, that your brother tried murdering someone—but he did,".

Feeling the tears forming, I spoke up.

"Just spit out the damn story of how you magically survived already, will you?". Rick shot me a warning glance, but I looked away.

"It's simple, really. They ran outside and set off one of the nearby cars' alarm. That's what they do for emergency backups. Didn't distract all of 'em, but it distracted enough of them for them to help me get away. They wrapped my leg up as much as they could, let me stay until the zombies left, then sent me on my way. Haven't been that scared in my entire life; thought I would get eaten or bleed out," Otis sighed, tears forming in his eyes as well.

Everyone in the room was listening to Otis so intently, I couldn't help but worry. His story was too convincing, while Shane's was too inconsistent.

To be honest, Shane's didn't make sense at all.

"Otis, don't get me wrong—I'm glad you're home and okay, but I really doubt that Shane would try and hurt you on purpose," I continued, clearly trying to save my brother's ass.

Despite the lies coming out of my brother's mouth and mine, the truth couldn't help but fight its way inside my body, reaching my heart; Shane Walsh had tried to kill Otis.

My brother tried to kill someone.

Otis didn't argue with me; there really wasn't a point. I looked over at Shane, who was standing on the opposite side of the room, shaking his head. Just by looking into his eyes, I could tell that he was thinking of something to say; and by the look of his body language, it wasn't going to be good.

"Shane," I said through clenched teeth, snapping him out of his thoughts. I shook my head no when Hershel finally spoke up.

"Rick, can we have a word?" he spoke, nodding towards the back door.

Silently, Rick nodded and followed him into the darkness, clearly heading off to decide Shane's fate at the farm.

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As soon as Rick and Hershel had left the room, Shane bolted through the front door, saying something about needing 'fresh air'. Looking around the room while my ass was plopped into a chair, everyone looked horrible. Tired, worried, scared.. The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife.

Scraping the chair legs against the linoleum floor, I made my way outside to go check on my brother. I wasn't even worried about our fights at the moment; I just wanted to hug my brother.

"Shane?" I called out into the darkness, but I didn't see him. Anywhere. "He's just walking everything off," I told myself, praying he hadn't left.

For the second time in two days, I threw my body down onto the front steps of the Greene house, leaning into my hands with a loud groan.

"It's gonna be okay," a voice told me minutes later.

"The world's already shit. Why does it have to get even more fucked up?" I asked indirectly, not expecting an answer.

Hearing the steps creak from underneath the extra weight, I looked over at Daryl, who was sitting down beside me.

"You're gonna dent the stairs, fatass," I muttered, trying to lighten the air. Although we would both normally find that funny, neither of us laughed.

"S'gonna be okay, Harper," Daryl repeated himself, making me shake my head.

"Stop. We both know it's not going to be," I sighed, laying my head against his broad shoulder.

Daryl didn't answer me, something I was thankful for.

"How ya doin', princess?".

"Not you, too. What is this, redneck therapy?" I said, my voice void of any emotion.

"Was that s'posed to be offensive?" Merle shot back, plopping down on my right side.

"I would like to think so.." I replied, sighing.

"Can't shake us that easily, Barbie," Daryl grunted, clunking his head lightly against mine. I yelped in surprise and scooted closer to Merle, but Daryl followed.

"You two are impossible," I joked, laughing; barely laughing, but it was a start.

"See? Got'cha ta smile!" Merle was beaming proudly, so I punched him in the shoulder.

"Tha's my girl," Daryl chuckled, reaching behind me to give Merle a good punch as well.

If I could've taken a picture of the three of us, I would've: the three amigos; my body squished tightly into a Dixon Brother sandwich, exactly where I wanted to be.

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To my relief, Shane had come back to hear what Hershel and Rick had to say. There might still be a chance that would let him off easy; if he ran that would be proof of his 'crimes'.

Shane was seated on one of the couches in the living room, his hands covering his mouth. I stuck by the front door, leaning up against the wall. Otis wasn't in the room, but I think that that was probably a smart move on his part.

"So what's the decision, brother?" Shane spoke from behind his hands.

Just hearing him call Rick 'brother' broke my heart. Brothers.

My brother tried to kill a man.

"Shane, you know I don't want to tell you this, but.. They want you gone," Rick told him, his voice laced with sadness.

Shane's lips were pursed as he nodded slowly, taking everything in.

"Couldn't sway 'em?" Shane asked numbly, almost robotically.

Rick crossed his arms before sighing loudly; the situation was clearly effecting him just as much as it was Shane. The three of us grew up together, after all. For the first time in all of our lives, we were going to be separated. It was like losing family all over again.

"Shane you can't leave! We need you here," Lori finally chirped from the couch that she was sitting on.

"Just do us a favor and shut up, please," I growled at her before finally breaking down. "No; there has to be something you can do, something you can say," I pleaded with Rick as I tried to hold back a sob.

"Hey, hey," Shane whispered, jumping up to hug me.

Throwing my arms around him, I let the tears flow. Hershel was kicking my brother off of the farm.

"You're going to be okay, sis. You've got Daryl, Merle.. Hell, you've even got Rick!" Shane tried to soothe me, but it wasn't working.

I couldn't lose my brother; I can't.

"You can't leave, Shane. It's not fair!" I cried, my tears now flowing.

"Harper, listen to me. You're going to make it through this. I'll be fine, you'll be fine. Remember that I love you and that I'm sorry. For everything,".

Sniffling loudly, I nodded as I tried to blink through my tears.

"We'll see each other in Hell, remember?" he added, shooting me a crooked smile.

I know what Shane wanted. He wants me to stay behind, let him go off on his own. In my head, I couldn't help but think that something was wrong with him; he was sick. Maybe not physically, but somewhat mentally.

We need each other.

"Hell's gonna have to wait, Shane. I'm going with you,".

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"You're just going to leave.. After everything tha's happened, yer just gonna leave?" Daryl growled while watching me pack my things that night.

"It's not like I want to leave; I don't want to leave at all!" my voice huffed.

With a mix of anger and sadness, I shoved random articles of my clothing into bags, not caring that they weren't folded.

"Then don't, Harper. Stay," Daryl shrugged, but the concern in his voice was so overpowering. It made my heart hurt just listening to him.

"I thought you didn't like getting mushy," I sniffled, trying not to cry in front of Daryl.

"I ain't getting' mushy, Harper. I just don't want ya leaving," he replied, crossing his arms angrily before leaning back against one of my little stands that held frames.

Looking around the half-empty tent made me second-guess my decision, but taking one glance at the pictures of my brother and me before the apocalypse made me continue packing.

"I have to go with him, Daryl. Shane isn't stable; he needs me," I tried explaining, but Daryl only scoffed.

"Tha's exactly my fucking point, Harper! The man ain't stable, yet you wanna be alone with him? It's suicide!" he yelled, throwing his arms up in the air.

"If I can help Shane, I'm going to do it. Whatever it takes; you would do the same for Merle, wouldn't you?" I shot back, raising my eyebrows at him.

Daryl's jaw jutted out as his teeth clenched together, clearly not prepared for this conversation.

"That ain't the same thing," he tried to say, but we both knew it was.

"That's a lie, Daryl Dixon and you know it. You would go the ends of the Earth for your brother, so don't expect me to act any differently for mine," I replied, staring into his clear blue eyes.

The confusion and hurt in his eyes was unmistakable but gone in seconds. Those eyes. I would definitely miss those eyes. Looking around the tent, I realized that I had packed, haphazardly, yes, but still packed. The only items of mine remaining were the three frames that were splayed across my tiny table, all three of me and Shane.

When I heard Daryl say the word 'please', my eyes shot back to face his.

"Harper, stay here. Please,".

Watching him carefully, I felt my heart begin to beat faster, caught up in the moment.

"Why? Why should I stay when there's nothing here for me?" I asked him quietly, my heart numb.

I couldn't leave Shane behind, but could I leave Daryl behind? Merle?

"Are ya serious, girl? If that's what you think, then maybe you should leave," he spat, shaking his head.

I watched him look down and inspect his fingernails. If it wasn't for the tense argument we were having, I would've laughed at him. Sitting cross-legged in front of him, my hands took hold of his as I looked up to face him.

"Tell me,".

"Tell you what?" he asked, clearly confused.

"Tell me why I should stay, Daryl,".

Daryl's eyebrows furrowed at that, trying to think. I needed to hear it; just once. Then, if I died out in the woods alongside my brother, I could go peacefully.

"Everyone here.. They need you," he replied, squinting his eyes down at me. Shaking my head, I spoke.

"No, Daryl. Tell me why I should stay,".

"I won't be able to deal with Merle with you gone,".

"No, Daryl, that's not good enough. Tell me; why do you want me to say?".

As I spoke, I shook his hands lightly with mine, as if shaking him would shake the right words out of him.

"I ain't good with this shit, Harper, you know that," Daryl began to stutter, so I cut him off.

"It's okay, Daryl. Just try to tell me. Try,".

I was practically begging him by now, wanting to hear those words so badly. We hadn't known each other long, but hearing those words, even if they weren't true, would make me happy.

"I.." Daryl started to say, but let out a frustrated sigh. "Harper, I need you here. Don't leave,".

My hands dropped his when I knew I wouldn't get it out of him. Looking around the stuffy tent made me want to cry; could I really leave everyone behind? Sure, Lori I could live without, but these people were all my family. Looking over at a frustrated Daryl, I leaned forward and pecked him lightly on the cheek.

"Good night, Daryl," I said, shooting him a sad smile.

Pushing off of my knees, I got up and headed for the tent flaps to go sleep in the RV. Staying around Daryl for any longer would make it too hard to leave.

What hurt even more was when I looked back and realized that he wasn't following me.

Picking up my pace to reach the giant RV, I felt tears begin to fall yet again, but I let them. I guess I could use a good cry. Again. I was only a few feet away from the camper when I heard his voice.

"Dammit, Harper!".

Spinning around, I felt the relief flood through my body; there was Daryl, half jogging, half running to catch up to me. Sniffling obnoxiously, I walked into his arms, which he wrapped tightly around my body. The wave of emotion that crashed through my body at that moment made my legs weak, but Daryl sensed it, holding my up.

Pushing up on my toes, I squeezed his waist as I kissed him hard, not wanting him to let me go. I was surprised at how much emotion was coming out of him; this wasn't Daryl. How much do I really mean to him?

When we finally pulled apart, my eyes fluttered close as I pressed my forehead against his, breathing hard. Daryl's thumbs moved silently as they wiped away some of my tears, but they continued to fall.

Eventually I took hold of his wrists and just stood there, pressed tightly against his strong, safe body. When I heard his voice whisper something against my ear, I let out a sigh; it was now or never.

"Stay,".

"Okay,".

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The next morning, Daryl rolled over in his sleep, still groggy from the deep slumber he had been in. He hadn't slept that well in a long time; don't get him wrong, he always slept pretty well when wrapped around Harper's small frame, but knowing that she was staying had made him sleep even better.

Barely awake, Daryl lifted his hand and adjusted it so he could wrap himself around Harper's body, but jolted awake when he felt cold blankets. Rubbing his eyes quite forcefully, he blinked over and over to see that she was nowhere to be found.

"Must be takin' a piss," he yawned, laying back down.

He decided to wait for her to come back so he could wrap his arms around her; he'd fall asleep quicker that way. But she didn't come back and he didn't know why.

Making his way out of the tent, he stood up fully and threw his arms over his head, stretching out of his groggy state. Had he slept in? When he saw everyone milling about, beginning their days, he grew confused. Didn't Harper play games with Sophia and Carl in the mornings?

That was when he saw it—Shane's tiny car was gone.

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"No no no!" he shouted, kicking the tiny bedside table Harper had left behind across the tent.

Too upset and too frustrated to be in the tiny tent, Daryl shoved his way past the tent flaps and began to pace, running his hands through his hair. Merle was thankfully nowhere to be seen, but the few people who were running daily chores outside had stopped and began to stare.

"T'fuck you guys' problem? Stop starin'!" he shouted out loud, not to anyone in particular.

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Daryl's hands gripped the steering wheel of his truck until they were ghostly pale, his teeth clenched.

Why the fuck would she just get up and leave?

How could she just up and fucking run?

"Dammit!" Daryl's voice bellowed through the truck as his fist slammed into the wheel, the horn honking slightly.

He couldn't help but notice how the truck still had her scent, the smell of her hair, the perfume she managed to find.

"Fuckin' bitch,".

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Pushing his way back into his beatup tent, his eyes scanned the opposite side of the tent where he saw something shining against the sunlight streaming through the entrance of the tent. Making his way over to the shiny object, he scooped it up and stared into the tiny Apple logo that was printed into the back of a tiny iPhone.

In silence, he flipped the phone over and pressed down on the 'Home' button. Sliding past the Unlock Screen, a giant picture of Harper kissing Daryl's cheek obnoxiously while he was fast asleep popped up on the screen.

"Bitch," he muttered jokingly, shaking his head at the sneaky picture.

Daryl slid his finger across the screen, trying to navigate the phone, but instead he opened up the phone's notepad. Seeing an entry that was dated from this morning, he clicked it open.

Daryl,

How's it going, Ken? I know, you're probably realllllly pissed off at me right now.. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine, as will you. Shane had to leave, which means I had to leave as well; he needs me, you know? Please don't stay mad at me forever. Take care of the group and don't put up those walls I worked so hard to bring down. Tolerate your brother; he needs you just like Shane needs me.. Told you our situations are the same! Take care of yourself; we'll see each other again someday.

Love (Yes, love, you big idiot),

Harper "Barbie" Walsh.

Resisting the urge to chuck the phone across the tent, he squeezed it in his fingers, rereading the little letter. His first thought was that she had lied to him; had just up and left.. But despite his anger, he knew that this would be easier for both of them, to not say goodbye.

Neither wanted to, so why bother?

Daryl clicked the phone off and shoved it into his back pocket, biting on a thumb nail. He wouldn't cry—Dixons don't cry—but he would find her.

And when he did find her, he would drag her back tooth and nail.

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Saying goodbye to everyone had been the hardest part; watching Sophia and Carl break down crying in my arms had broken my heart. Saying goodbye to Glenn was pretty hard too.

"I expect a pizza delivery from you sometime in the near future," I had told him, my voice muffled against his light grey t-shirt.

The hardest goodbye was Rick Grimes. My brother's best friend. My old-time friend.

My other brother.

His arms were wrapped around me as tight as they could possibly be, clearly not wanting to let us leave.

Glancing over Rick's shoulder, I saw Lori shooting me a glare, but I just rolled my eyes. I hadn't even bothered with her. Rick planted a kiss on the top of my head before cupping my face in his hands.

"Take care of him, Harper," he told me, holding back tears of his own.

"Take care of yourself, Rick,".

The only two people I had refused to say goodbye to were Daryl and Merle Dixon; I would never say goodbye to those two.

As we drove off in Shane's tiny Hyundai, I looked back towards the farm where my family stood and waved us goodbye before my gaze drifted to two zipped up tents where my two amigos lay, fast asleep.

"Looking is only gon' make it worse, Harper," Shane's voice muttered from the seat beside me.

Nodding, I turned around and pulled my knees to my chest, dreading the future.

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"Looks clear.. Place was picked clean a while ago, but I haven't seen any walkers," Shane called from the basement of a one-floor house that we had stumbled upon.

"We're good up here, too!" I called down, ignoring the growling sounds coming from my stomach.

"Hungry?" Shane asked, suddenly right beside me.

"Starved,".

Sharing a can of corn that we had scavenged from the CDC long ago, we sat side by side on the tiny couch that was placed in what I assumed to be the house's tiny living room.

"We're going to be okay, Harper. We'll make it," Shane tried to reassure me as I drank out of a canteen filled with water.

Passing the canteen to Shane, I watched him take a quick chug.

"I think we will too. Hell, we put that group together! We did it once before, we can do it again," I smiled at him as we clinked the now-empty can against the canteen in our form of a 'cheers'.

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That night, I pulled a stranger's covers over my head for the second time in two weeks. Sure, we've been in this terrible apocalypse for months now, but I still can't get used to it.

It just seems like some crazy dream that I've yet to wake up from. Maybe I'm the one who's actually in a coma; maybe Rick was never in one and I'm just dreaming.

Snorting to myself, I pulled the covers up to my nose; yeah right.

Just as I was about to fall asleep, I heard my door creak open. Sitting up as fast as I could, I whipped my gun out from under my pillow and aimed for the door, only to see Shane throwing his hands up in surrender.

"Woah there, killer! Save the bullets, you're gonna need 'em," he told me, so I did as he said.

"What's going on?" my voice asked automatically, as if that was always my response.

"Was watching the property when I saw some idiot run into my car,".

"Huh?" I asked, confused.

Someone literally ran into his car?

"Not like that, Harper! Christ. The guy's hiding out inside of the car; was being chased by walkers. Car's surrounded,".

Before I realized what I was doing, my teeth clamped down onto my thumbnail.

"What does this mean for us, then?".

"Well the good news is that the geeks don't know we're here.. Bad news is they've flipped the car. We should sneak out the back and get as far away from here as we can... Sleep in the trees, if we have to," Shane told me his plan, rubbing his bald head with his hand.

"Why can't we just stay for the night if they don't know we're here?" I replied, my curiosity getting the best of me.

"Because, Harper, once they break into the car and get to that man, they'll turn their attention to the next best thing. That's us,",

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Luckily, we had taken everything that we needed out of the car. Making sure out guns were loaded and our knives in their correct spots, we slid out the back door and into the night.

I followed Shane in silence, trusting him completely in the dark; I did pay attention to our route, however and noticed that something was up.

Why are we heading back to the farm?

"Shane," I whispered loud enough for him to hear.

He looked at me with a questioning glance which basically gave me the go-ahead to continue.

"Why are we—,".

"Going back towards the farm? Walkers came from the opposite direction. Farther we get from 'em the better,".

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Instead of making our way back to the highway, we stuck to the woods for the night. Since there were more cars out on the highway, that meant that more people had (hopefully) died on the highway, meaning less walkers for us to deal with. Sure, we had run into a few close calls, but we were still well and breathing.

Shane hadn't been kidding when he spoke about sleeping in trees, either. We have been sleeping in trees for the last four days, and I must say, it is very fucking uncomfortable. On the fourth day, I was tied to a large branch high above the ground, stretching my body from an uncomfortable night of sleep.

"Cramps.." I moaned, my heart aching a little at the memory of Daryl.

In the tree next to me, Shane was untying his rope. I watched him jump to the ground and begin to survey the area, checking for any roaming walkers.

"Clear," he called up, so I began to untie my rope.

By the time we had fallen asleep, the sun had been rising, so judging by the looks of the sky, it was at least noon. As soon as I plopped down onto the hard forest ground, I heard a loud scream of pain.

"Shane.. Was that you?" I muttered, my voice barely audible.

"No.. Was it you?" he asked me back, his tone matching mine.

I shot him an offended look before speaking.

"Do I sound that fricken manly to you? Damn, Shane,".

My body, as well as Shane's, froze when we heard a few moans before the stranger's voice died off to nothing. I felt chills sweep through my body as the noises died down.

Did we just hear someone die?

"Came from this way," Shane told me, nodding toward a large hill that sloped down on the other side.

The both of us slowly made our way up the steep hill, careful to avoid large branches or piles of leaves. When we finally made it to the top, we both leaned over to investigate the screaming body.

"Shit..." Shane muttered in surprise, but my surprise matched his.

The body at the bottom of the ravine must've fallen from the top, since some moss and bushes sticking out of the dirt had been recently flattened. Grimacing at the sight, blood was slowly but surely pooling around the man's side, where..

Was it an arrow? Yes, an arrow.

The man's blood was pooling around his side, where an arrow had smoothly impaled his ribcage. I tried to push the scene off and walk away when a though hit me.

How many people have I seen use arrows?

Holding on to Shane's shoulder, I stepped farther over the ravine and squinted my eyes, focusing on the leather angel-winged vest that had a neat new hole in the side where an arrow lay, sticking out of the man's flesh.

"Oh my God," I whispered, falling to the ground.

My mouth went dry at the sight of the dark wisps of hair that were draped over the man's face; the giant hole in the knee of his pants even more evident after the terrible fall.

"What's wrong, Harper?" Shane asked, flying to my side.

Sticking out a hand, I pointed to the man in the ravine below as yet another pesky tear fell down my face.

"That's Daryl,".
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