Something Worth Fighting For

Delilah's POV

There's a map laid out for us to see as we gather around it. "Alright, everyone's getting new search grids today. If she made it as far as the farm house Daryl found, she might have gone further east than we've been so far," Rick says.

"I'd like to help. I know the area pretty well," Jimmy steps up.

"Hershel's okay with this?"

"Yeah, he said I should ask you."

"Alright, thanks," Rick nods.

"Nothing about what Daryl found screams Sophia to me," Shane comments.

"Anyone could have been holed up in that farmhouse."

"Anyone includes her, right?" Andrea suggests.

"Whoever slept in that cupboard was no bigger than yay-high," Daryl gestures to show how short the height was.

"Maybe we'll pick up her trail again," Rick offers.

"No maybe about it," Daryl argues. "I'm gonna' borrow a horse, head up to this ridge right here." He points at the map. "Take a birds-eye view of the whole grid. If she's up there I'll spot her."

"Great idea, maybe you'll see your chupacabra there too, T-Dog teases.

"Chupacabra?" Rick questions, clearly confused.

"You never heard this?" Dale is surprised. "Our first night in camp, Daryl tells us that the whole thing reminds him of a time when he went squirrel hunting and he saw a chupacabra."

Jimmy laughs.

"What are you brayin' at Jackass?" Daryl snaps.

"So you believe in a blood sucking dog?" Rick asks.

"Do ya' believe in dead people walkin' around?" Daryl retorts.

Jimmy suddenly reaches for a gun and Rick stops him. "Hey, hey! Ever fire one before?"

"Well, if I'm going out I want one," he says.

"Yeah, and people in hell want Slurpees," Daryl replies.

We all split up and I follow Daryl to the horses. "I'm goin' with ya'," I say.

"The fuck you are!" he responds. "You're gonna' get your damn ass back to the camp and stay there. Ya' hear me? I ain't gonna' have ya' out there slowin' me down."

"I ain't gonna' slow ya' down," I argue. "Let me go with ya'."

"Why me? If ya really want to go why not Rick and Shane?"

"I don't like Shane."

"And ya' like me?"

I shrug. "You're better than Shane. Besides, they already got enough people. You're goin' out alone."

"I can handle myself."

"And so can I. You're wastin' time standin' here fightin' with me when we could be out there lookin' for that little girl."

"You're a pain in the ass," he shakes his head.

"Great," I roll my eyes.

We climb up on the horse together since it seems to be the only available one for the taking. I rest one hand lightly on his waist, keeping the other on my dagger. Rick gave me a gun before heading out so I have it safely strapped into my gun holster.

I'm startled when he suddenly raises his crossbow and shoots something. It turns out to be a squirrel, the arrow pinning it to the tree where he jumps down to collect it. He puts the squirrel in his belt and I make a face at him but don't say anything. I'm actually kind of impressed with his aim but I won't say that either.

The next time he jumps down to collect something, it's a doll in the creek. It must belong to the girl. "Sophia!" he calls out, but there's no response. He tucks the doll into his belt as well and gets back on the horse.

Neither one of us sees the snake until it's too late. The horse gets spooked and throws us off before running away. We both take a tumble. I land on a rocky ledge halfway down to the water. My head hits the stone and everything goes black.

When I wake up I look around confusedly. That's when I see Daryl fighting off walkers. I try to stand up and find a way down but I'm so dizzy and there's no safe way down that I can see. Daryl wrestles one of the walkers off of him and bashes its head in with a stick a few times. Then the other one is approaching. He falls onto his back and my eyes widen as he pulls an arrow out of himself. It must have gotten stuck in his side when he fell. He loads it into his crossbow and uses all of his strength to shoot it. It's a perfect shot of course and the walker falls to the ground.

I stumble and slip on the rock, taking another fall. I can't catch myself in time and fall down to the water. "Shit," Daryl says and makes his way over to me. He grabs onto me and manages to help me up. I sit down on a log and he sits with me. "You hurt?"

I shake my head. "Nothin' serious, dizzy..."

He takes off his shirt and ties it around his middle to bind his wound.

"You want me to look at that?"

He shakes his head. "I'll be fine."

I'm very impressed with Daryl. He's a real tough guy and I think I made the right choice to stick by his side today even with all of this. I'm glad that I'm here even if I'm not helping much because at least he's not alone.

He pulls the squirrel out of his belt and lays it on the log. He slices it open with his knife and takes some bloody meat out. He takes a bite and swallows, blood dripping down his chin. The sight of it makes me want to throw up and I give him a disgusted expression.

"Eat some," he suggests.

"No way," I say.

"It'll make ya' feel better. Ya' need your strength to climb."

I look at the raw squirrel with its bloody guts open. I still feel dizzy and weak and I have a nearly impossible climb up the cliff side to make. "Fine," I take some of the squirrel in my fingers and pop it into my mouth, chewing just a few times before swallowing. The taste of blood makes me gag at first but I force it down. "Happy?"

I'm not sure if he actually expected to eat it or not. I have had to do plenty of difficult things in my lifetime. I have to do whatever it takes to survive. This isn't so difficult compared to some of the other things. It's mind over matter. It's just squirrel meat. I eat it cooked. I can eat it now. We have to get out of here.

He gives me this expression that's a mix of amusement and being impressed. "You're a tough son of a bitch."

I shrug in response. If things were different I might laugh at that. It's a compliment and I'll take it.

As I finish eating and wipe my bloody hands on my shirt, Daryl goes and cuts the ears off the walkers. He attaches them to a shoelace from one of the walkers, making a necklace out of it. "What are ya doin'?" I ask him.

He shrugs. "Let's go." He picks up the doll again where it dropped, tucking it into his belt once more.

I roll my eyes but go with him to start climbing the cliff. It's one of the most difficult things I've had to do physically. It takes all of my strength and concentration. The cliff is really high and there aren't exactly a lot of hand and foot holds. I grab onto roots and rocks and small trees, anything I can reach. I have to test each hold before I go because some of them turn out to be loose and give way under my weight. Other times I have to throw myself upwards just to reach the next hold. Finally, I reach the top. My arms are shaking from the effort. I'm all sweaty and red-faced. I lay on my belly and reach out to Daryl.

He is muttering something under his breath about someone named Merle. I have no idea who that even is. "C'mon Daryl, you can do this," I encourage him.

"Shut up, I don't need your help."

He tries to reach for something then changes his mind.

"C'mon!" I insist. "Don't be a fuckin' pussy and get up here already. I ain't got all day to wait for your ass. You said I was gonna' slow ya' down, well now you're slowin' me down. You're gonna' let me beat you at this? You're a big tough guy who can't climb up a fuckin' hill?"

He responds to this. It seems to give him more motivation to climb. He reaches the top and I grab onto his arm, yanking him forward so that he doesn't slide back down. We both scramble to our feet. I am bruised and scraped up but I survived. He's worse off than me. I walk slowly with him as he limps along.

We make it into the field and a group comes running at us. It's Shane, T-dog, Glenn, and Rick. They have their weapons out ready to shoot but then they stop. "Hey," I greet them.

"Daryl? Del?" Glenn asks.

"That's the third time you've pointed the thing at my head," Daryl tells Rick. "Ya' gonna' pull the trigger or what?"

And a shot rings out, startling us all. "No!" Rick yells as Daryl falls to the ground.

I gasp then drop to my knees beside him quickly examining his wound and feeling for a pulse. "Daryl? Daryl wake up, c'mon," I say, but it's no use.

Andrea runs over. She's the one who shot him, thinking he was a walker apparently. "Oh my god, is he dead?" she asks.

"Fuck you!" I exclaim. I would do more but I'm too focused on Daryl at the moment.

"Unconscious, you just grazed him," Rick tells her. He and Shane pick up Daryl, holding his arms around their shoulders so they can drag him back to camp.

"Look at him! He's wearing ears! What the hell happened?" Glenn is clearly disturbed.

Rick gets rid of the necklace. "Let's keep that to ourselves."

"Guys, isn't this Sophia's?" T-Dog picks up the doll from the ground where it fell.

"What the hell happened to you guys?" Rick asks me.

"Long story," I say.