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How did it end up like this? The prison was gone, the entire group was scattered, and now Beth was gone, kidnapped by god only knows. And now Daryl was stuck with a group of men he was all too familiar with, the type of guys he’d spent time with growing up.
“Every man for himself,” their leader, Joe had said, “Just one word: claimed. Claim anything and it’s yours. That’s all you gotta do. Claim it.”
It was a ridiculously stupid rule and Daryl never intended on using it. He’d sleep on the floor before he “claimed” any bed. Probably wouldn’t have mattered even if he cooperated and played their game. One of the guys, Len, didn’t like Daryl at all so he was sure Len would dispute any kind of claim anyways. But being with these guys was better than trying to survive alone.
You had never really known anything but loneliness since they world ended. Yes, you’d been part of many groups but they never lasted. Either they all died or they all turned to evil you couldn’t bear to participate in. It made more sense to travel alone now. Occasionally, you stayed with a group but you never stayed for very long. Just long enough to recharge and to not forget what human interaction felt like. You weren’t an animal after all.
After a long morning of nonstop walking, you decided to sit down and have some lunch, opening up a can of peaches. It had been such a long time since you’d had fruit even if it was in a can and loaded with sugary syrup. It was a change from the usual canned beans at least.
You scooped a big spoonful of sugary peaches into your mouth, some syrup falling from the corner of your mouth. You quickly wiped it away with your wrist before it could drip off your chin. As you quickly chewed and swallowed, a twig snapped behind you and you dropped the rest of your can, syrup and peaches spilling and soaking into the dirt. Whipping your body around the tree you were leaning against, you raised your gun at a white haired man with a shotgun pointed at you with seven other men surrounding him with their weapons raised. There was only one man who didn’t have his weapon raised and that was the one standing behind the white haired man’s right shoulder, a crossbow hanging in his grip, dark hair covering his eyes that were focused on the ground.
Was the man their prisoner? No, that couldn’t be it. He wouldn’t have a weapon on him if he was. So why did he seem so composed and shy compared to these other men, who looked at you up and down with hunger in their eyes, which wasn’t any more surprising to you than the murder you usually saw in people’s eyes.
“What’re you doin’ out here all alone?” the white haired man said.
“Minding my own business,” you retorted, “Please, just keep going. I’ll do the same and we don’t have to get bloody.”
“Ooh, she got a mouth on her,” a scrawny, greasy looking man with a bow and arrow spoke up, “Doesn’t she, Joe?”
The white haired man, Joe gave the greasy man a nod, “That she does, Len. What’s your name little lady?”
“Y/N,” you said, using one hand to pack up your things, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m just gonna be going now. No tricks, ya got it?”
“Ya know,” Len said, tapping Joe’s arm, “She ain’t half bad lookin’ don’t ya think?”
“I agree,” another, chubbier man grinned as he eagerly agreed, “Pretty little thing.”
“Shut the fuck up,” you snapped, “You better get good and friendly with your right hand because I’m not touching you.”
“Thing is, it really isn’t up to you,” Joe replied, “See, we got a system around here, a way to keep everybody level headed.”
“You want it, all you gotta do is claim it,” Len said, “And what we want is you, darlin’. So-”
“Claimed!” everyone, including you, were shocked to hear the man with the crossbow shout and point at you. It was unsettling that these men used this system to claim anything they wanted even if it was a human being. You were tempted to run but there were too many weapons pointed at you.
“Daryl?” Joe said, “Since when do you give a shit about claiming?”
“Since now,” Daryl shot back, “And I’m…I’m claimin’ her. Got it?”
Joe turned to Len, whose cheeks were red with fury and he shrugged, “What’re ya gonna do? He claimed her fair and square.”
“Shit,” Len scoffed, lowering his bow, “He don’t even want her!”
“Fuck off,” Daryl snapped. The other men shrugged it off as Joe had and walked off with him, leaving you alone with Daryl. You took a step back as Daryl started towards you, your body tensing as you held your gun even tighter. Daryl stopped, holding his hands up, “Hey, listen, Y/N, it ain’t what you’re thinkin’ alright?”
“Don’t you come any fucking closer,” you said, struggling to keep your bottom lip from quivering, “I’m not taking part in whatever sick shit you guys have going! I’ll blow your goddamn head off right here. Just let me go. You can tell your little friends you killed me if you want to. Shit, take my knife or something if they need proof just let me go!”
“Would you stop?!” Daryl hissed, “They’re not my friends. I’m not with them.”
“Could’ve fooled me.”
“I ain’t ‘claiming’ you either,” Daryl said, “Only said it so they couldn’t. They’ll leave you alone if they think you’re claimed. Don’t you get it? If I didn’t do it, then that Len guy would. And you don’t wanna be claimed by him. You get it now?”
“Sure, I get it,” you muttered, “So, this means I’ve gotta travel with you guys now? Because I’ve been ‘claimed’ or whatever the fuck?”
“Pretty much,” Daryl said, “Just stick with me, Y/N. I ain’t stickin’ around much longer with these douchebags either. I know we just met but you’ve gotta trust me. Do you?”
Daryl’s blue eyes were more visible now and maybe it was all in your head, maybe you were distracted by how attractive he was. Hell, maybe you were more scared of these guys than you were apprehensive of him. But his eyes seemed genuine, like he meant what he said. And a part of you, no matter how stupid it might have been, felt safe with him.
“Yeah,” you finally replied, “I trust you. Do I gotta play this claimed game too?”
“Might as well,” Daryl said, “You want a bed to sleep in tonight you’re gonna have to. But I ain’t playin’ it. Just did it so you wouldn’t be Len’s little toy.”
“I get it,” you grumbled, “Now let’s go catch up to those assholes before their minds start to wander on what the hell is going on over here.”
As the day came to an end, the group found an old garage. Knowing that Daryl would allow the two of you to sleep on the floor before he claimed a car to sleep in, you shoved ahead of the other men and slapped your hand down on the first car you saw.
“Claimed!” you exclaimed, hopping up onto the hood as each man claimed their own car until one man was left to sleep on the floor. Daryl stared at you but made no move towards the car, “Come on, I’ll share.”
“Alright,” Daryl mumbled. He leaned against the side of the car, peeking inside over his shoulder, “You want the backseat or the front?”
“I’ll take the back,” you replied, sliding off the hood and opening up the back door, “Unless you’d be more comfortable.”
“Nah, I don’t mind the front,” Daryl said as he sat in the passenger’s seat, “Besides, I get a better view in case one of these assholes gets any ideas.”
“Who would do that?”
“Len might,” Daryl said, “He’s hated me since day fuckin’ one.”
“I’m sure we’ll be fine,” you said, “Just go to sleep.”
“How can you be so sure?” Daryl said, peeking at her through the rearview mirror, “You don’t even know these guys.”
“Hey,” you said, pointing your finger at him, “You told me that I’ve gotta trust you. And I am putting all of my trust in you. Do you not trust yourself or something?”
“I have my doubts.”
“Don’t,” you said, “You played their game to protect me from whatever Len had planned for me. Even if it was fake to you, it still saved me from complete violation. And so far, it’s worked. You’re doing fine, Daryl.”
You could tell by the way Daryl fidgeted in his seat and sunk a little lower that he wasn’t one to accept compliments. You weren’t about to push him further and make him uncomfortable so you simply laid back down, your hands rested on your stomach.
“Anyways, we should get some sleep,” you said, “Maybe consider ditching these guys soon.”
They both tried their hardest to fight sleep but it eventually overtook them. It had occurred to the both of them to lock their doors before going to sleep. But Daryl had woken her up sometime shortly before dawn so she’d be awake while he left her for a minute to go outside and use the bathroom.
You agreed to stay awake but you didn’t sit up. You just kept your eyes on the trash bag Daryl carried around. You didn’t think to ask what was in the bag but whatever it was, it sent Len coming to sniff around. The passenger side door opened with a loud creak and Len crawled in, sitting on his knees on the seat. He opened up the trash bag and dug through it, eventually pulling out the ass end of a rabbit. He grinned as he held it up to the weak morning light.
Before he could blink, you had your gun pointed at him, “I don’t know what the hell you’re doing but I’d suggest putting the rabbit back in the bag and getting the fuck out of here.”
“And why should I listen to you?”
“Because it would be stupid to ignore someone with a gun pointed at your head,” you retorted. Len sighed, lowering the rabbit slowly. You didn’t let your guard down for a second but you still didn’t see his elbow coming. His elbow hit you right in the eye and knocked you back. You felt his weight suddenly on you and his hands trying to pull the gun from yours.
“Stupid bitch!” Len snarled, “Got a big mouth on you. Probably should show you how to use it since Daryl won’t.”
“Fuck you!” you shouted, catching every single man’s attention which just made Len punch you again as if the damage hadn’t already been done. The second hit disoriented you a bit and your vision started to blur. Suddenly, Len’s weight was gone and there was a lot of grunting happening.
“You never fucking touch her!” Daryl thundered, “Ever! Don’t even fucking look at her!”
As Joe and the others interrogated Len, Daryl crawled into the backseat with you and lifted your head, wiping away the blood that trickled from your nose, “Don’t look broken, that’s the good news.”
“Well that’s good,” you said, sniffling as you sat up.
Daryl leaned in close as if he was hugging you but he needed to get close enough to be able to whisper, “We’re ditchin’ them tonight. You just follow my lead, Y/N. Ya got it?”
“I got it,” you murmured, “I trust you, Daryl.”