"Leave something for someone but don't leave someone for something." 

- Enid Blyton 

Aliya

I peered over my shoulder and raked my eyes all over the thinning herd behind us. We were so fucking close to closing this in. It was all going so smoothly. "That damn horn." I grumbled as I dropped my head up towards the sky, shaking my head in disdain. A pat on my thigh made me sit up properly. Daryl gave my thigh a gentle squeeze and re-adjusted my arms so that I held onto him tightly. He glanced at me over his shoulder for a brief moment before putting his focus back on the road ahead. 

Abraham lifted his arm out of the car to get my attention. He still had blood dripping out of his ears and splatters on his shirt. "Do I have tinnitus or is this shit not stopping?" He pointed up the sky with his finger and inserted it in his ear, shaking it off. I blew an agitated breath and shrugged at him, "Sounds like our future heart rates if it doesn't stop any time soon." I answered, trying to somehow lighten up the mood. 

I'm admittedly not as fun as the others. I cannot make anyone laugh for the life up me. When I try to joke around with them, they usually take a while before laughing because they say that it's hard for the to determine if I'm joking or not. 

When I received no response, I turned my head to look at Abraham. He was watching me quizzically before he shrugged once. "Huh." he exclaimed with a slight smirk before shaking his head at me in amusement. The hell was that about? I frowned at him before rolling my eyes. He's always random it's infuriating. I could hear him chuckle to himself as I look in front of us. 

I know he's trying to piss me off again and it's pissing me off that it's working. 

Hearing multiple leaves crunching on the side, I snatched the radio off of Daryl's vest and pressed to talk, "Rick! The hell's going on back there?" 

I heard the radio crackle before Rick's voice went through, "Half of them broke off! Going towards Alexandria." he answered, his voice forced and ragged. It sounds like they're running. I looked over Abraham and Sasha who were already looking at us for a reaction. Abraham looked over his shoulder, checking in on the herd and exchanged a worried glance with Sasha. He then frowned into the radio, "Towards you?" he asked. 

We could all hear leaves crunching and Rick's ragged breathing on the other line of the radio while the sound of the horn turned louder. They're getting near Alexandria. Daryl tilted his head towards the radio, "Gonna gas it up, turn back." he revved his engine only to be turned down by Rick. 

We had to stick to the original plan - keep the herd going until we get the herd where they should be. Rick and the others will do damage control, run ahead of the herd and get to Alexandria before they do. 

But it's hard thinking about how much help we would be if we run back to Alexandria right now instead of cruising down this stretch of road comfortably. I could feel Daryl tensing in front of me as he sighed in frustration. While my left arm rested on his shoulder as I hold the radio for him, I gave him a comforting caress using my other hand. He nodded at me silently as his grip on the throttle tightened. 

"Daryl?" Rick's voice called out from the radio. Daryl heaved a sigh before he responded, "Yeah. I heard you." he nodded, understanding what Rick has said. It might be bad back in Alexandria right now but letting go of this herd will just worsen the problem. It's a difficult decision to make but it might just be the only factor that will ease this situation. 

"The horn sounded really loud on the other side of that radio." I trailed off, waiting for his reaction. He looked at me over his shoulder and gave me a small smile, "Yeah." he hummed. "You know what that means, right?" I asked, trying to ground him. He didn't answer so I continued, "They're a few clicks away from Alexandria. Any minute now, that horn will stop." I explained. Daryl nodded and pulled me by my arms, closer to him, "Thanks." he hummed, squeezing my hand. 

I let my smile escape my lips as he took ahold of my hand and planted a gentle and grateful kiss on it. I could hear Abraham's obnoxious cough as he tried to clear his throat but we both just ignored him. 

"Wait!" I heard Sasha's voice over the growls and looked over at them. She pointed at the sky, "The horn stopped!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide and her lips curling up to a satisfied smile. I blinked rapidly and looked up at the sky, straining my ears. She was right. The horn stopped. I got so used to the sound that I didn't even realised it stopped a minute ago. I patted Daryl's back, "The horn stopped, D." I smiled, resting my chin on his shoulder. 

"They got it." I whispered, glad that the situation seemed like it was under control. I leaned back from Daryl and stretched, just now noticing how tensed I have been. With every stretch I did, multiple muscles popped with it. I could sigh in relief when I stretched the right spot. 

The growls behind us seemed to become more lively which is a good sign that the horn's initial effects are wearing off. Add it to the fact that we needed to speed up a bit since they started gaining on us. 

Daryl shrugged his shoulder at me, getting my attention. I nodded at him, "What?" I asked, starting to worry about the hesitant look on his face. He looked away from me and focused back on the road, "I'm planning on spinning around to go back." he confessed, making me frown in confusion. I thought we agreed on keeping to the plan?

Noticing my lack of response, he continued, "I can't ask you to come with me." he trailed off, leaving me to fill in the blanks. I could feel my face fall as the realisation hits and I'm quick to shake my head, "No." I sneered, angry that he would even suggest it. "Whatever plan is going on in your head, I'm part of it. You can't ask me to leave you." I ground out, unconsciously tightening my grip around his torso. 

He squirmed to look at me but I only tightened my hold on him, "I ain't not gonna make you do this. I-" 

"Well, shit on my fuckin' soup, Daryl. I'm doing it." I cut him off, rolling my eyes at the back of his head. He shook his head much more, "This is my plan, I'm not letting you endanger yourself for it." He argued, his voice on edge. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I take a pause on myself. I've heard myself utter those words so many times before. I've told people to let me do my job alone even if deep down inside, all I really wanted was to have somebody watch my back. I was afraid to sound selfish. 

"Be fucking selfish for once, Daryl. Tell me to come with you because I sure as hell ain't gonna lift my ass from this seat." 

He remained silent for a few minutes before he nodded his head. I sighed in relief and relaxed in my seat, loosening my tight hold on his torso for a bit. He revved his engine to get Abraham and Sasha's attention and lulled to their side, "We gone five miles out yet?" he asked over the growls and rumble. Abraham looked at me suspiciously and raised his brow, "Why you asking?" he drawled off, looking in between Daryl and I. 

"Next intersection," I trailed off, pointing ahead of us. "We're gonna spin around and go back." 

Abraham and Sasha exchanged glances with each other, both surprised and uneasy by our change of plans. They protested against it for a while, reminding us that we had agreed to go 20 miles - the safest possible distance between the desperately hungry herd and Alexandria. But in the end, they were unmatched by our collective stubbornness. 

Sasha sighed and shrugged, "Look, you guys want to go? You go. We can't stop you." she stated as a matter-of-fact. "But without you, they can stop us." she said, pertaining to the herd behind us. I followed Sasha's gaze and watched the herd for a second, taking note of their determined strides. I could feel the bike's sway as Daryl looked over my head to check on the herd for himself. He and I connected eyes in silent conversation before he turned back to focus on the road ahead. 

As if fated, a sign for Alexandria on the road caught our eyes. Daryl shook his head and looked at Sasha and Abraham, "Nah. We got faith in you." he exclaimed before punching the gas, pushing us forwards. I tightened my hold on his torso as I looked back at the distancing car, Sasha and Abraham's voices calling out to us. 

==+==

"Easy!" 

My eyes shot open as Daryl reached over behind him to pull me back. "Shit." I scooted closer to his back as I blinked away the sleep that unexpectedly came over me. He hooked my hands together in his stomach, "Don't go fallin' on me, now." he murmured while I wipe my face against his rough vest. I didn't even realise I shut my eye for that long. Driving in the dark must've gotten me incredibly sleepy. Thank the skies for his quick reflexes. 

The radio on his shoulder cackled, "Alright." Sasha's voice came through. Seems like we're close to closing in 20 miles. Daryl reached over his shoulder to press his radio, "That's 20?" he asked, peering at me a bit. I released a relieved smile and sighed my tiredness away. 642 was just a mile away, not long now we will be back in Alexandria. 

"Gotta put distance between us and them right before the turnoff." 

I nodded my head knowing that Sasha and Abraham's view are our back's as Abraham so kindly pointed out an hour ago. "Floor it." Abraham's voice carried from the radio, amusing Daryl in front. Daryl reached over the radio, "Try to keep up." he teased, speeding up ahead. 

It was already a good few minutes after that turn and now we're driving through a busted neighbourhood. "It's too quiet." I whispered to Daryl who nodded in agreement. I looked around, uneasy about the air around us when bullets started raining down on us. Daryl and I immediately ducked our heads as he tried to gain back control of the wheel. The abrupt change of weight distribution made the bike waver to the side. 

My heart hammered against my chest as we slid to the ground. I hissed as pain engulfed my side. I rolled over a stray bottle on the ground and my skin turned red and inflamed. Daryl's hand shot up to mine as he roughly pulled me back to him as we both frantically climbed back on. Bullets whizzed passed our heads as Daryl started driving in zigzags to avoid them. I held onto his torso using my left arm while I shot behind us with the other. 

I managed to shoot one of them in the head but a crash in front of us made me turn back. My eyes widened as Sasha and Abraham's car crash through a wooden fence, and into rubber barrels. The bike swerved violently in between bins while Daryl manoeuvred it to dodge the bullets. 

"Fuck!" I screeched as my body jerked when a handful of walkers took us by surprise on the turn. One pair of rotten hands reached out to be and I struggled to tilt my body to create a distance before I pulled the trigger. I felt warm goo land on my cheek as I heaved in disgust. Wiping away the walker's blood, I fired a few more times at the vehicle behind us. 

The car followed us for a while in steady speed, determined to keep up until Daryl found the perfect time to speed up and hide us in between the trees. My head followed their car as they sped passed us, showing no signs that they saw where we were. Thank God. After a few seconds, we strolled across the streets and drove down an overgrown street, away from the vehicle. 

We kept cruising for a while. No words were exchanged as we both heave to catch our breath. Ashy and burnt trees hover above us as the path became more and more rough. The bike staggered as we both weakly struggle to keep it up right. I gasped a bit when we both fell to the ground, the adrenaline finally revealing how tired and in pain we really are. I held onto my throbbing side as I close my eyes tight. 

"You alright?" he breathlessly reached for me, chest heaving up and down. I could only nod and reach back to hold his hand. "You?" I heaved out, throat sore from the force of air as we sped off. He nodded in response as we both looked away and up to the sky. A growl nearby made us both jump up in surprise. A burnt walker laid on the street just arm's reach from us, wearing a helmet. Nothing to be too worried about then. 

----

The leaved under my feet crunched loudly as I stumble wildly, still holding my bruised side. Daryl stopped in his tracks and turned to me, "Come on." he urged, tapping the seat on his bike. I put out my palm out to him and shook my head adamantly, "I still got it." I insisted, gritting my teeth as I catch up to him to help him push. 

He watched my face for a few seconds before he nodded, letting me help with the bike. When we reached an embankment of some sort, he pulled to a slow stop, "Here." he grounded out, lowering the bike gently to the ground. I grunted as I slowly stood up straight from lowering the bike to the ground. Daryl and I's eyes connected as we both exchanged a tired smile. He took ahold of my hand and pulled me towards him, giving me a hug. 

I buried my face on his chest as we both bask in each other's warmth. I squeezed him gently as I let my hand roam on his back before I let my hand fall to my side. He did the same until our right hand connected with each other. My head tilted to the side as I realised that his hand was wet and sticky. I pulled back from him and looked down, "Daryl, you're bleeding!" I exclaimed as I took his hand and followed the trail of the blood. 

"Take your jacket off." 

He raised his brow at me, amusedly. I rolled my eyes at his insinuation and turned him so that I was facing his back. He was hissing as he raised his arms while I slowly pulled his vest off.I was grimacing in sympathy, hearing him hiss and groan. "Just a little more to go." I whispered in reassurance and sure enough, we managed to pop the jacket off without complication. 

He twisted his left arm to see that he had scraped his entire elbow - the skin was red, irritated and bloody. Before I could say anything else, his hand lifted my shirt slowly, revealing the welting bruise on my side. I 'tsk'-ed and shook my head, "There was a bottle on the road back there." I explained, cringing at the sight of it. He pointed at it and looked at me in my eyes, "You're gonna get that checked back home." 

We covered his bike with dead branches and leaves while we took our stuff to go. He had his bow aimed, raising his hand at me, telling me to slow down and be alert. I looked around quickly, looking for anything suspicious and out of place. He walked ahead of me, heading straight to what got him on edge. I cocked my gun as I focused on our backs, aiming at the trees and towards the leaves crunching by the sides. 

I pulled the trigger only to be met with a disappointing click. My eyes widened as I scramble to get my small knife when a sharp but heavy force on the back of my head, knocked me to the ground. 

----

I groaned as I felt my body being shaken roughly. I coughed and jumped when they jabbed my side, making me curl up. "Get up!" the voice demanded. My eyes fluttered at the brightness of the sky as I pushed myself up from the ground. He pushed me towards the truck where his friends were, nodding at one of them to hold onto me tight. 

I watched silently as the man crouched down to Daryl's eye level and started to kick his boot, trying to wake him up. It took him a while until Daryl finally opened his eyes, glaring at him immediately. The guy pointed at my direction and said something only they could hear. Daryl's face turned cold as he pushed himself off of the ground, allowing the man to pull him on. 

It was the girl with dark hair in front of me while a blonde girl was the barrier between Daryl and I. The man that woke us up was at the end with his gun ready to shoot. A crackle of a bottle echoed in the air as my eyes zoomed in on the water bottle the lady up front had in her hand. Our eyes locked and I peeled away from her like it burned me. 

She offer the bottle to me and jabbed me with it lightly. I glared at her and backed up, almost knocking the blonde girl down to the ground. The blonde girl jumped up from the ground in fright while the bottle was still being offered to me. The man took the water bottle from the woman and offered it to Daryl, "Have it. We don't need any of you falling down." 

I watched Daryl as he warily took a sip, eyeing the man while he did so. He only drank half before giving the bottle to me which I gladly gulped in one go. I hissed as water ran down my sore and rough throat, forgetting the discomfort when my thirst slowly became quenched. 

They started rambling about some things that neither Daryl and I had any idea about so I just decided to tune them out. If they're gonna lead us to our death, I'd like my march to be silent instead. 

A gun clicking by my head made me turn around to meet with the end of the man's gun. He had his eyes trained on Daryl, "Tell me, am I being stupid?" he asked, genuinely looking for answers. Daryl took a step forward but immediately stepped back when the man pushed the gun deeper into my head. "We can make a deal. I can help you out." he negotiated but the man was deadset on doing things their way. 

He then took a hold of me before throwing me towards the woman with dark hair who roughly held me by my shoulders. He held Daryl in a rough grip and pushed him with his strides. We then arrived at a fenced lot with trailer parks named 'Pattrick Fuel Company'. The three rushed forwards, overwhelmed with the sight of their home overrun, momentarily forgetting about us. 

Daryl and I nodded at each other as I slowly backed away from them, towards where Daryl stood. We watched silently as they talked amongst themselves, in disarray about what their camp had come to. 

Our chance to escape came when the blonde girl collapsed to the ground, almost taking the other girl with her. "Now!" Daryl snatched the bag from the ground while we both booked it out of there, taking the three by surprise. 

Jumping over a fallen tree, we ducked behind it as Daryl undid his ropes with his teeth, untying mine afterwards. He took our radio out of the bag and pressed it to talk, "Sasha! Abraham! You there?" he called out, hopeful. 

But there was only silence.