Mercy on Me

"Shane!" I continuously shouted as Daryl and I pushed through the seemingly large throng of walkers attacking our group.

We would cringe at times when screams echoed through camp, but I wouldn't stop until I found my brother. If I ever lost him, I don't know what I would do. I pulled the trigger on my gun on an approaching walker as we finally reached Dale's RV.

"What are you doing!" I shouted at Daryl, who was shoving me into the RV.

"Get in there and don't you dare leave!" he shouted back as I fought against him.

"But Shane's out there, Daryl! I can't just sit here and do nothing!".

Daryl held on to my shoulders firmly as I pushed against his chest repeatedly, waiting for me to give up. I punched him lightly in the chest as tears started to form in my eyes.

"You done?" he shouted back gruffly, slowly lightening the grip on my body.

I ripped my body out of his arms and allowed him to slam the door in my face.

"Dammit, Daryl!" I muttered under my breath as a walker's body got shot into the RV, making it shake.

I let my body hit the floor in anger as I pulled at my hair; was he seriously doing this to me? I let out a huff of breath when I heard what sounded like a moan.

"You've gotta be kidding me," I whispered to myself, pulling my trusty knife out of my sheath; using a gun would be idiotic. I don't want to go deaf! I followed the moans under I heard a scream. "Andrea!".

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Before I had called out to the girl, a walker was trying to force its way into the bathroom, where Andrea apparently was hiding. I ran up to the dead woman as she turned to lunge at me and stabbed it, piercing its brain. I kicked it to the ground before flinging the door open, Andrea practically falling out.

"Thank you," she hugged me, before sitting down to steady herself.

We listened for a while until it sounded like it calmed down, but then we heard another piercing scream. It was definitely female, so the options weren't very large.

"It could be any of them," I looked at her, but was surprised to see her push out of the chair.

"I'm going to go get her. She can't get hurt!" Andrea yelled back as she pushed herself out of the RV.

As I sat in silence thinking about what Andrea had just done, I realized how much of an idiot I looked like. What if Shane was in trouble? Lori doesn't know how to shoot a gun and neither does Carl; he'd be screwed!

I picked my Glock off of the table and left the RV, ready to save my brother.

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In a few minutes, there weren't any walkers left. Shane and I were lying flat on our backs, panting. A walker had had Shane cornered, but I had jumped in just in time to get knocked flat on my ass by the walker. Shane killed it right on top of me; my face was currently sporting a wonderful shade of walker blood.

"Thanks." I muttered to him, wiping blood away from my eyes.

"Thank you, sis,".

I was letting out a deep breath when I felt myself get yanked from the ground.

"What the hell!" I shouted as I squirmed to get out of Daryl's roaming grip.

"You bit?" he asked me, but wasn't listening when I told him no.

His hands continued to search my body, lifting my shirt up to my chest and pulling my hair back to check; he wouldn't stop until he was convinced that I was okay. When Daryl finally pulled back, he muttered something to himself that I couldn't hear. I helped Shane off of the ground before brushing bits of walker guts off of my clothes.

"Where the hell were you the whole time, Harper? I couldn't find you!" Shane growled at me, the realization that I could've gotten hurt setting in.

"Mr. Hero over there couldn't help but shove my ass into the RV.. Why don't you ask him?" I spat, glaring at Daryl. Daryl scoffed and crossed his arms.

"Are you forreal, now girl? I saved your life. It was too dangerous," Daryl spat, rolling his eyes.

"Thank you for that, but I've told you already: I don't need protecting!" I spat back, getting in his face.

"Come on, you two; it was just a question," Shane jumped in.

"Stay out of this Shane," I ordered, pushing him away with the palm of my hand. Shane being the good brother that is, respected my wish and walked away to assess the damage and to find Rick.

"You clearly do need the damn saving, since I've been saving your midget ass for days now!".

"So stop jumping to conclusions, Daryl. You've never given me the chance to show you that I'm capable of taking care of myself!" I rambled on, throwing my hands up in the air. I stared at him as his squinted eyes glared into mine, not backing down.

"You wanted all the help you could get when Ed fucked with ya," Daryl laughed bitterly, gripping onto my arm. I flinched under the harsh treatment, trying to pull back.

"Stop it,".

"See? I can't even touch you without you panicking.. Not every guy is bad, Harper," Daryl replied, not letting go.

"Daryl, I said stop. Please,".

I guess Daryl noticed the hurt in my eyes, seeing as how he let go almost immediately. I refused to let a tear to fall, but I could still feel the anger boiling up inside of me.

"What's your deal, Dixon? What is it? One minute, you're 'Mister Nice-Guy', and the next you're a fucking prick. Get off of your high horse and realize that I'm done with your crap; I'm not putting up with it. I took shit from Ed, and he threatened to blow my brains out!"

"Harper—," Daryl tried to cut in but I wouldn't let him.

"I'm not finished, Daryl. Not only did I take shit from Ed, but I took a lot of shit form your brother. Your own damn brother, Daryl! He almost slit my fucking throat and all you did was stand there!" I was beyond furious now and I could that Daryl was too.

"You know I did all I could, Harper," he managed, barely able to control his rage.

I didn't answer him; if I had, I might've said something that I would regret. I simply stared up at his tall form, Daryl staring right back. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath when I heard a man whistling from behind me.

"Would'ya look at that tension? Damn Daryl, just fuck the girl already!" Merle hooted before heading back to his tent. Daryl glared at Merle before giving me one last look.

"Go ahead, Daryl. Run off to your brother, just like you always do. I don't need protecting, remember?" I said, knowing that it would hit home with Daryl.

"Fuck you, bitch," he spat before spinning on his heel and storming off towards his tent.

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"Where should we start digging the graves?" I asked Shane, biting my fingernail impatiently.

"Up over that hill. I'll grab us some shovels," he nodded towards the hill before patting me on the shoulder and heading for the RV.

I followed him and looked at the poor sight that was Andrea and her sister. Amy's dead body was strew in the dirt with Andrea hunched over her. Dale stood behind her trying to console her, but it wasn't working. I let out a sigh and headed up the hill, pulling my hair up into a high pony.

We had lost almost half of our camp; we had a fairly large amount of people before the walkers had showed up. Now all that was left was: the Grimes, Walshes, Dixons, Dale, Andrea, Sophia, and Carol.

"You okay?" I jumped at the sound of my brother's voice coming from behind me.

"I'm confused.. I mean, do you think it's bad of me to actually be glad that Ed's dead? Does that make me a bad person?" I asked him, feeling more tears start to form. I looked up to face Shane as he made his way over to my crumbling form, taking me in for a hug.

"Of course it doesn't, Harper; he did some pretty fucked up things to you AND Carol.. Who knows about Sophia! Carol and Sophia are safer now that he's gone," Shane said into my shaking shoulder. I looked into Shane's loving eyes before asking my next question.

"What do you think mom would think? And dad? Shane, I feel like I'm going crazy.. I can't handle this! All of the death, the fighting? I just can't," I sobbed, finally breaking down.

Daryl may not be allowed to see me cry, but Shane is Shane; he's my brother. Shane took me by the shoulders and shook me a little, snapping me out of my pity-party.

"Don't you ever say that, Harper. You're going to survive this, and mom and dad will be proud of you no matter what happens to you. Hear me now?".

I shook my head yes and let him engulf me in another hug.

"I love you so much, Shane. I don't know what I'd do without you," I said shakily, wiping tears and gross makeup from my face.

He shot me a crooked grin before running a hand through his curly hair.

"And you'll never have to know what's it's like. We're always gonna be there for each other. We'll survive this together, Harper,".

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"What's the next step?" Dale asked from the other side of the Shane's Hyundai.

"Yeah.. I mean, where are we going to go? We can't stay here anymore now that walkers are getting into camp!" Glenn pitched in, just as worried as everyone else.

"Everyone calm down," Rick's smooth voice erupted from the group that was circled around the car.

The group consisted of Rick, Shane, Dale, Daryl, Glenn and myself. I was wedged between Glenn and Shane, not wanting to be near Daryl.

"I think our best bet is to head to the CDC; if there's anyone left in Georgia, they're going to be there," Rick suggested, but Shane put his palms flat against the car, ready to disagree.

"The CDC? Are you crazy? We can't bring these people closer to the city! We should head up to Fort Benning, that's our safest bet,".

I watched the two best friends start to argue over where to go while thinking about each of their ideas. Shane wanted to get away from the city and to a place with high walls; security. Rick on the other hand, wanted to go to a place where we all knew was like a maximum security prison, and would most likely have supplies and weapons.

"I agree with Rick. Most of us know our way around the city, anyway; you know, if something were to happen," Glenn chirped in.

Eventually the arguing calmed down and we voted. I could see Shane's sadness when Lori sided with Rick, but that was to be expected.

Once the voting ended, it was decided: we were going to the CDC.

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I let out a sigh as I folded all of my just-washed clothes into the bag that specifically for my clothes. Another bag was filled with all of my bedding, while the third and final bag was filled with the stuff I couldn't leave behind (and makeup, of course).

I was awkwardly stuffing random shoes into random bags when I heard the zipper on my tent move. I jumped and shot a look over my shoulder to see Merle in my doorway (or tent-way, if you will).

"What do you want?" I asked quickly, standing up to face him. Merle threw his hands up in surrender before speaking.

"Calm down, girly, I ain't here to hurt ya,".

I crossed my arms and squinted at him, trying to read his face. He looked sincere, but I couldn't be sure.

"As of yesterday, you had a knife to my throat; now you expect me to believe that you won't hurt me?" I asked him, running my tongue over my bottom lip.

"Ooh, don't do that, girl; you're gonna start turnin' me on!" Merle winked, fully stepping into the tent.

"If you come any closer, I will scream," I threatened as I began to grab for my knife.

"Listen when I tell you I ain't here to hurt 'cha! 'Sides, you start screaming, little Darylena'll come runnin', and we don't want that," he sighed, sitting down roughly.

I stared at him like he was crazy but didn't sit down with him. I heard him chuckled as he patted the ground in front of him.

"Come on; sit your pretty ass down. We gotta talk,".

As I sat down, I pulled my knife out for good measure and held it tight in my lap.

"About?".

"About yesterday; I wasn't in my right mind," Merle shifted his position, looking uncomfortable.

"Are you apologizing?" I asked him in surprise, lifting my eyebrows.

"Fuck no! I'm just saying that I shouldn't have acted the way I acted is all," Merle shot back, squinting his eyes at me just like Daryl does.

"So.. You're apologizing," I let out, trying not to laugh.

"It ain't funny! Damn girl, let's just move on. Hopefully I won't be having ta put a knife to your throat again anytime soon," Merle rolled his eyes before standing up.

I followed him, meeting his gaze. I remained silent as I felt Merle's eyes raking over my body. He clucked his tongue as he shook his head back and forth.

"Daryl was right; you really are short,".

My mouth dropped open in shock.

"You two talk about me?".

He shrugged nonchalantly, as if it was no big deal.

"You're the prettiest piece here, why would we talk about ya? Too bad you're called for; I'd be all over you..." Merle snorted as he left the tent.

"I'm called for? By fucking who?" I spat, groaning as he walked away. I grabbed my bags and left the tent, prepared to take it down.

"Damn Dixons,".

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"Make it stop, please!" I groaned as I banged my head against Shane's car window.

"You can't tell me I'm a bad singer, Harper!" Shane laughed hysterically before continuing his terrible performance of "Living On A Prayer" by Bon Jovi.

It happened to be one of the only CD's in Shane's car at the time that the whole world went to shit, so I was currently stuck with my older brother, Shane Walsh, belting out the lyrics like a Bon Jovi fan girl.

"No, you really are terrible," I giggled, his laughing catching on.

"Woooahh! Livin' on a fuckin' prayer!" Shane hooted as he drove down the abandoned road, leading the pack.

"Those aren't even the right words!" I laughed full out not, unable to stop laughing.

"Please, my performances are always top notch," Shane scoffed playfully.

To make his performance even better, he started swerving the car left and right, making me slide into him. I jumped when I heard a horn honk behind us. I spun around to see Daryl glaring at me from his truck. I rolled my eyes and turned back around.

Once we both calmed down, Shane's singing had been toned down to humming and I rested my head against the window. We drove a couple miles in silence until something moved in the corner of my eye.

"Shane, stop the car!" I shouted, lunging forward as he slammed his foot onto the break.

I heard Daryl's truck and everyone behind him screech as well.

"The fuck!" I heard Daryl yelling as he pushed himself out of his truck.

"What is it, Harper?" Shane asked me, looking around.

"Look," I pointed over to what looked like a gas station with a convenience store attached.

I watched Shane's body freeze when he saw the body dash behind a gas pump.

It wasn't a walker, no; it was a living person.

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I bolted out of the Hyundai and ran for the gas station, ignoring Shane, Rick, and Daryl's protests. I heard them chasing after me, which only made me speed up. I slowed down once I reached the first gas pump to catch my breath and look around.

"Hello?" I asked out loud, even though I wasn't expecting the stranger to answer. "It's okay, we won't hurt you," I tried again. I looked in the corner of my eye to see the guys still making their way over to me, which meant that I was technically alone with the stranger. "Hello?" I muttered, but got pretty silent when a grown man stepped out from behind one of the pumps.

"Hey, pretty lady," he said, smiling cheekily.

"Hi.. Are you alone?" I asked him, crossing my arms.

"Yeah. Sucks, doesn't it? To be alone at a time like this?" the man replied, itching his head.

I studied him from head to toe, not liking his vibe. Although quite muscular, he looked like a sneaky guy. He raised an eyebrow at my onceover of him.

"Checking out the goods, hun?".

By this time, Shane, Rick and Daryl appeared behind me. I felt a hand on the small of my back and I turned to see Daryl behind me. He glanced at me quickly before looking back to the random guy.

"How long you been by yourself?" Shane asked the man, his hand on his gun.
"A while; especially when it comes to women. You sure are pretty darlin'," he drawled, smiling at me again.

I shot him a weak smile before he continued.

"What's wrong, pumpkin? You weren't this shy before your friends got here," he laughed before looking at Rick. "She was all over me before you got here! Shoulda seen the looks I was getting,".

"We don't find that very funny, man," Rick replied quickly, before reaching down for his gun as well.

"Can't say I'd be standin' over here if ya'll hadn't showed up... I mean, I know how to pleasure a woman! We'd be behind the store right now, ain't that right, cutie?" he asked me, winking. The man took a step closer to me, so I took a step back, pressing my body against Daryl's.

"She isn't interested," Rick cut in, sensing everyone's ease.

"Yeah, man. If I were you, I'd turn around and head out. Let us look 'round the store a bit and then we'll head out," Shane suggested, but I could see the danger in his eyes.

The stranger threw his hands up in the air, making all three guys flinch and almost draw their weapons.

"Woah, there! I just want to make sure that that's what she wants. Is that what you want, pretty girl?" he asked me, taking yet another step closer.

I pushed myself closer into Daryl's body, if that was possible before Daryl threw his crossbow up.

"Take one more step closer, buddy. I dare ya,".

I saw the man raise his eyebrows, as if ready to accept the challenge.

"You didn't let her answer the question. After all, she was the one who ran over to me; ain't that right, baby?".

I would have scoffed, but I didn't want to make a noise. This man was disgusting and was using almost every name in the book. The apocalypse had only made him worse. From the looks of it, the guy didn't have any weapons on him, so he must've just been feeling pretty ballsy.

"We just wanted to check on you; see if you were okay," I whispered from my spot, feeling incredibly nervous.

"Oh, I'm more than okay now," the man whispered back, matching my tone.

"Fuck's going on down here!" a voice called out from behind us.

"Oh, you know. The usual fucker," Daryl spat, turning to look at his brother.

There must have been some kind of code hidden in 'the usual fucker' because Merle's eyes quickly grew dark and angry.

"Ya don't say? So why haven't we shot the bastard yet, then?" he said out loud; loud enough for the stranger to hear.

"Woah, why would you want to shoot me! I just want to help the girl; she must have needs,".

"Oh, fuck this," Shane growled, whipping his gun out as he headed for the man.

"Shane, stop!" Rick ordered, making Shane falter.

"This pervert needs to die, brother," Shane growled through gritted teeth.

"Not this way, Shane. Let him go," Rick said calmly, trying to calm Shane down.

Shane looked at me and I nodded as well; if we just let him go, everything would be fine. Shane let out a deep breath and spun around to face the man.

"Get your disgusting face out of here; if I see you so much as hesitate, I will blow your fucking head off your damn shoulders, got me?" Shane threatened, still gripping his gun. The stranger shook his head in a rush and backed up, making me let out a sigh of relief.

"For once I actually agree wit'cha, man! Should'a shot the fucker up!" Merle called out from behind Daryl, who muttered something to his brother. Once the man started to walk away, we turned around as well and headed back to the cars.

"Once we get her back to your car, Daryl and I will head back down and check for supplies," Rick explained to us.

We all nodded and began to head up the hill. I felt bad about making the group stop for that weird man but stopped thinking when I felt a grimy hand yank on my hair.

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I let out a scream until a hand wrapped over my mouth and bolted back down to the station.

"This is my home, bastards! You can't take anything! So just leave me and the pretty girl and everything will be fine," the man rambled from behind me as I struggled to get out of his grip.

I saw Shane look to Rick in a hurry through blurred vision, tears falling from my eyes. At first it had seemed as if the man hadn't had any weapons, but he was not pressing a rusty knife against my throat.

"Move any closer, and I'll cut her!" the man shouted as he led me closer to the entrance of the store.

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When the bullet was shot, my life felt like it was moving in slow motion. I stayed perfectly still, praying it wouldn't hit me; it didn't. Merle's bullet hit the man square in the arm, making him shove me to the ground as he screamed in pain.

Shane sprinted forward to reach me, a string of curses leaving his mouth; Merle shooting his gun clearly wasn't part of the plan. Before Shane could reach me, the stranger grabbed me by the ankles and tried dragging me into the store. It felt like a horror movie. Even though I knew Shane was coming for me, I could only scream his name.

"Daryl!".

As if reading my mind, the man's force on my ankles halted. I looked back to see an arrow bolt in the man's head. My body was quickly scooped up into Shane's army to check for cuts from the man's knife.

"I'm so sorry, Shane! I didn't know he'd be crazy," I apologized to him, leaning my head into his chest.

"Harper, just shut up," Shane let out a strangled sob, thankful that I was alive.

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As Shane carried me up the hill to the cars, I watched Rick head up into the RV to explain the situation and the gun shot. Speaking of, I would have to thank Merle for saving my life.

"You must be exhausted," I heard Shane say to me, so I nodded. "Can you stand?" he asked me, so I answered him with another nod.

He let me down slowly and helped my shaky legs stay standing. I smiled weakly at him before heading over to Merle's bike, which just so happened to be sporting a redneck.

"Merle.." I started but he put a finger up to my mouth.

"No 'thank yous', sweetheart. I may be cruel, but I ain't gon' let some pervert put his hands on you,". I smiled against his finger.

"Thank you anyway, Merle,".

My smile grew wider when I saw Merle's mouth break out into a tiny smile. Getting past what Merle did to me in the city would take time, but maybe, just maybe, we could get past it. I headed back to Shane's car and frowned at it as I suppressed a yawn.

"What is it, loser?" Shane asked, rubbing a hand against the nape of his neck.

"Shane, it's a small car. I am not gonna get any sleep in that without getting neck cramps," I complained, making Shane roll his eyes.

"Sleep in the damn RV, then, Miss. Picky. As long as I know you're okay, you can sleep wherever you want," he said before pecking me on the cheek lightly.

I squeezed his hand in mine before allowing him to hop back into his car. I stood there, hands on my hips. The RV would be too crowded. I heard engines starting, so I spun on my heel and headed for the truck that was second in line: Daryl's.

He looked surprised when I tapped on the window. He rolled it down and squinted at me, as if he was unsure of why I was there.

"What?" he asked me in a rude tone.

"Need a buddy for the ride?" I asked him, sticking my hip out. His gaze slid down to my hip before answering.

"What about yer brother's car?" he asked me quietly, biting his thumbnail. I shrugged, leaning onto the window.

"Not very comfortable,". Daryl let out a loud sigh and made a hand gesture to me.

"Get in the damn truck,".

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"Yer tellin' me that he was singing Bon fuckin' Jovi?" Daryl asked laughing.

"It was terrible! Thank God Shane hadn't wanted to be a singer.." I giggled rubbing my eyes. Daryl took his eyes off of the road to look at me quickly.

"You tired?".

"Exhausted. Attempted rape takes a lot out of ya, you know?" I asked him. It meant to come out as a joke, but it sounded very serious.

"I wasn't gonna let you get hurt, you know," Daryl muttered, not taking his eyes off of the long road.

"Thank you, Daryl," I said simply; it was all that needed to be said. I didn't need to go off on some long rant about how thankful I was that he had saved my life; he already knew.

"Anytime, Walsh,".

We sat in silence for a while, but I couldn't keep my thoughts to myself.

"Daryl, I'm so sorry," I apologized, spinning to face him. I was sitting cross-legged on the seat when he turned to face me.

"You're gonna fly right through the damn windshield sittin' like that, you know," he chastised me, trying to change the subject. When he knew that I was going to change the subject, he gave in. "What for?".

"For being such a..." I tried, but couldn't find the words.

"A bitch?" Daryl suggested, raising an eyebrow. I smirked and shook my head.

"Yeah, that. Back at the Quarry, you were only looking out for me. Then I freaked out on you for actually caring. And then you make me feel worse by protecting me from some psychotic rapist!" I rambled as I put my face into my hands.

"I told you, Harper. I wasn't gonna let him hurt you.. I shouldn't have called ya a bitch either," Daryl replied, looking into my eyes. I started to blush when I thought of the pressure of Daryl's chest against my back, which he clearly noticed.

"Go to sleep, you must be tired," he suggested, putting both hands on the wheel.

"Okay," I yawned, throwing my arms up to stretch.

"Stop that," Daryl muttered from across the truck.

"Stop what?" I asked as I stretched.

Daryl rolled his eyes before leaning over. I let him tug my shirt down so my stomach was covered.

"Okay. Now you can keep stretchin',".

I let out a laugh before I pulled on the recliner for the chair, leaning back into the seat.

I fell asleep almost instantly, knowing that if something bad were to happen, Daryl would be there to protect me.

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"Wake up, Barbie. We're here," I heard Daryl say as he nudged me awake.

"Where's 'here', Ken?" I yawned, looking up. "Shit!" I muttered when I banged my head on the steering wheel.

I heard Daryl laugh at my pain above me. I looked up to see that I had once again, fallen asleep in his lap.

"You could've warned me that I was in your lap again," I growled, pressing against his thigh to sit up. He shrugged, non-blinking.

"Didn't want to wake you earlier than I had to," he admitted, giving me a once-over.

I followed his gaze to see that my tank top was pushed up to the bottom of my ribcage, so there was a decent amount of skin showing. Much to his dismay, I pulled the shirt down so I was completely covered and looked around.

"Where are we?" I asked him, confused.

"The CDC. Now get your ass outta my truck so we can look around,".

I turned to face him and stuck my tongue out, making Daryl roll his eyes.

"Come on, Barbie, git," he continued, kicking me out of the truck lightly.

"Calm yourself, will you?" I complained from outside of the truck before flipping him the finger.

He followed me out helped me unload all of my stuff before walking with me to meet up with the rest of the group.

"Remember what I said before; stay by me at all times. Don't lose me, Harper," Daryl instructed, looking me in the eyes.

I nodded and bumped my hip into his.

"Got it,".