Angel vs. Demon

It seemed like they had been walking for days, but it had really only been several hours. The sun was still high in the sky, daylight remaining bright like it normally was. It was not hot but it was still warm. The cold weather was waning as the weather became warmer once again.

Rick led the group as they walked, Carl and Judith not too far behind him with Michonne, Glenn and Maggie. Sash, Tyrese, and Bob were following behind them. Marie, Cassie, Daryl and Carol were next, followed up by Gareth and some of his men from Terminus with Abraham, Eugene, Rosita and Tara bringing up the rear. They were being sure to keep an eye on the Terminus folks, no one seemed to trust them.

"Hey Daryl, what is it with you guys and those guys you said were from Terminus?" Asked Cassie.

"They tried to kill us." Said Daryl.

"What?" Asked Marie, making sure to keep her voice low enough not to draw attention but her tone said how angry she just became.

"There were signs and maps leading into what they called sanctuary. Michonne, Tyrese, Bob and I had heard a message over the radio about it when we went on a run for meds. When we got there, we snuck in so we could see what they were about. They were nice at first but it didn't take long ''til we noticed something was wrong. When we confronted them, they shot at us than locked us in a train car, they eventually tied us and gagged us. They put us on our knees in a row and threatened to kill us until we told about Eugene knowing a way to cure this and that we needed to get him to D.C." Said Daryl.

"And let me guess, they invited themselves along." Said Marie.

"In a manner of speaking, yes." Said Daryl.

"Well I know if they ever lay a hand on you again, I'm personally gonna kill them myself." Said Marie.

Daryl couldn't but smile slightly, giving a grunt-like laugh. It was good to have her there, it made him feel good knowing she was there and had his back no matter what.

Right then, Judith started to fuss. Carl looked at his dad, not entirely sure what to do.

"Alright everyone, let's take a break for a few." Said Rick.

Marie and Cassie set down their packs and Cassie grabbed a bottle of water from her pack. Marie watched as Carl tended to his baby sister. It was such a miraculous and wonderful sight to see.

Everyone else did whatever they needed, took drinks from bottles of water they carried.

Marie felt a nudge on her arm and looked up to see it was Daryl.

"C'mon, let's go do some huntin'." said Daryl.

"Alright." said Marie, taking a quick swig of water than grabbed her rifle and followed after Daryl.

"So how've you and Cassie managed to survive this long?" asked Daryl.

"Is that why you asked me along? To ask me questions?" asked Marie.

"Just curious." said Daryl.

"I was alone at first. Went home first but no one was there. Found Cas at the lake house, was hoping u would be there. After I found Cas, we went looking for you. That time of the year, I knew you'd be out hunting but by the time I got there you were already gone. I knew you were still alive so Cas and I agreed we'd search for you, never stopping 'til we found you." said Marie, pausing for a moment.

Daryl could see there was a look in her eyes and he knew what it was, he'd felt it often enough himself.

"We fought only when we had to, run when we had to, kept to ourselves. People can be more dangerous these days than the dead. And we didn't want to be around anyone else unless we knew they were people we could trust." said Marie.

"You can trust these people, Rick and them. They're good people. They've done right by me since I've been with them." said Daryl.

"I know, if you've been with them this long and you trust them than we can too. I know you don't trust just anyone and the fact you trust this group says a lot. And I trust you, I trust you with my life." said Marie.

Daryl said nothing, just gazed over at her, thinking how someone like her could possibly care for and trust someone like him so much.

"So how've u managed to survive this long? I mean, other than being with this group?" asked Marie.

"Wasn't always easy. I was huntin' when this all went damn like ya said, just knew something was wrong when one tried to attack me and instincts just took over. Merle and I ran together for awhile, surviving however we could. When we ran across a group of survivors, we were actually planning on robbing them of their supplies." said Daryl. He always knew he could be honest with her.

"What changed?" asked Marie.

"After staying with them for a while, we did the hunting so everyone could eat. Seemed we had a place in that group even though no one trusted us. Then Merle went on a run with a few, Rick found them, guess Merle got into with them so Rick handcuffed to a pipe on the roof they were on. They ended up having to leave him 'cause one of 'em dropped the key." said Daryl.

"Damn, Merle was an ass but he didn't deserve that." said Marie.

"I was pissed as hell when Rick told me. He and I and couple others went back for him. Unfortunately, we didn't find him. He cut off his hand and took off. Tried to find him, but never did. We ended up at this prison for a while, made it safe. Then we had a run in with this guy who called himself the Governor, had this place called Woodbury he was running with bunch of people living there." said Daryl.

"Let me guess, you found out Merle was there." said Marie.

"Yeah. When I brought him back to the prison, he wasn't exactly welcomed with open arms. We had a meeting with Governor, he and Rick talked and the Governor all he wanted was Michonne and he'd leave us be. Rick thought about going through with it, but ended up changing his mind. I guess Merle had a different plan. He took Michonne and went to meet with the Governor. At some point he let her go. By the time I'd tracked him down, it was too late. The Governor had killed him and he'd turned." said Daryl.

"And you did what you had to. He died trying to protect you. You couldn't just leave him like that." said Marie.

"It wasn't like him, to do something like that, for anyone." said Daryl.

"Regardless of what he would say or do, you were probably the only person he cared about besides himself. You were his brother and he loved you, that was his one way of showing it." said Marie

"He cared about you too, he never understood why you cared about us though." said Daryl.

"Well, that's 'cause I could see something in the two of you that no one else could." said Marie.

"Oh yeah? And what would that be?" asked Daryl.

"Despite your tough exterior, I could under it and see that you both were good guys." said Marie.

Daryl stopped walking for a moment, watching Marie as she kept walking with a look of bafflement on his face.