Savage World •••Daryl Dixon•••

All Too Easy

Asher jerked awake, nearly slamming her head against a low hanging metal bunk. Where was she? She scrambled for her bow but clawed at nothing but empty air. They were gone. Fumbling instead for her pocketknife, she was shocked to feel her fingers skim across her own skin. These weren't her clothes.

"What the fuck?!" Looking down, she tugged on the loose fitting sheer bodysuit hanging over her underwear and sports bra. This definitely wasn't her clothes.

"Looks like you're finally awake!" Asher jumped at the voice in the darkness, her arms curling tightly around her stomach as her body moved in to ball up against itself. The man she met with before stepped out of the shadows, his cat-like grin still curling his mouth as he leaned against the bars.

"Where am I?" He shrugged limply.

"A safe place. What's your name, sweetheart?" Asher glared up at the man, the nickname sounding wrong coming from his mouth. Everything he's saying sounds wrong.

"What's it matter to you?" Teeth bit gently into his lip before running his tongue over the skin slowly.

"Just playing nice, sweetheart. What's your name?" A pair of hands clamped something around her neck and the rattle of a chain made her turn her head to see what they had done. Asher reached up and clawed at the thick metal collar lined with sharp spike pointed in at her throat. She noticed that there was a small gap in the bars, just enough room for the chain to slide through and give the holder leverage from all directions. A blackened figure handed the end of the chain to the man she was talking to before, a thick loop of leather sliding down his forearm like a massive dog leash.

"I didn't want to have to do this, but you're not playing nice, sweetheart. Now-" He yanked on the chain, stabbing the spikes into the back of her neck to force her from the bunk and out into the middle of the cage. She could feel warm blood trickling down her skin but she forced herself not to make a sound so she wouldn't give the man the satisfaction of hearing her cry out.

"I asked you for your name. Don't make me get rough." Asher wiped the blood from her neck and glared at the man through her long hair.

"I-I'm Esmeralda. Esmeralda... Whitman." That last name tasted like poison on her tongue, but there was no way she was going to be giving this psycho her real name. He softly chuckled and nodded in acceptance of her lie.

"See, that wasn't too hard now was it? And in return, I'll let you know who I am. My name is Zero. I'm the leader of this here fine establishment. Where ya from, Esmeralda Whitman?" He gently tugged on the chain twice to remind her of the punishment should she refuse to answer.

"I'm from Montgomery, just barely got out with my life. Been alone ever since. Why does that matter to you?" Zero shrugged to show that it didn't.

"Curiosity killed the cat I guess. Making conversation. Being polite." Asher snorted and clinked her fingernails against the metal collar.

"This is your idea of polite? You spike my wheels, kidnap me, change my clothes without permission, and then chain a torture collar around my neck for shits and giggles. That's far from polite if I remember correctly." Zero chuckled and ran his hand over his face before slamming all his weight back on the leash. Metal dig into her flesh and ripped sideways as the momentum and pain forced her to stumble forward. Once she smacked into the thick bars, he jumped forward and looped two fingers through the huge D-ring connecting her collar to the chain.

"I didn't ask for your opinion, sweetheart. Speak out of permission again and I'll make you regret it. Understand me, sweetheart?" Asher huffed out a broken laugh before stiffly nodding against the slippery collar. Zero smirked and reached through the bars to grab her jaw and push her head up, his sadistic smirk growing wider as she finally let slip a small whimper.

"That's a good little pet." Asher swallowed the urge to bite down on his hand and not let go until she tasted the marrow of his bones. But for now, she needed to pretend that he had the advantage over her. He released her collar and let her move back to the middle of the cage where she crouched on the floor in a small ball. Zero darkly chuckled before sliding the leather loop over an embedded pole outside her reach and leaving.

"Breaking you is going to be all too easy." He vanished into the darkness, followed by the loud clanging of a metal door not far in the distance. If it wasn't so dark then maybe she could figure out where she was and how to make her escape. Crimson blood dribbled off her chin and puddled around her bare feet.

"Shane that's enough!" Rick screams behind the walker he had on a dog restraint pole. His friend had completely crossed the line but he couldn't stop him, not without putting the others at risk. Asher could only stare as gunshots ripped through the woman Hershel was leading towards the barn. Shane scoffed and stepped upwards the growling walker woman.

"You're right. This is enough." Holding the barrel to the woman's forehead, he blasted a hole through her brain. The echo rang through the fields and Asher's mind. Asher reached out and held Carol's hand with a vice grip since Daryl was aiming a gun at the thrashing walkers.

Shane ran for the barn and threw off the thick beam across the door before banging on the wood with wild shouts to gain the attention of the other walkers inside. He backed up and prepared his gun, along with Andrea, T-Dog, and Daryl. The group of walkers shamble through the door, greeted by a hailstorm of bullets and shotgun pellets. Glenn joined in after he looked to Maggie to see if she was alright with what he was about to do. Within a few minutes all the walkers were dead and the gunshots faded. Daryl glanced back to check on Asher, his stern expression turning soft when he saw how tight her grip was around Carol's hand.

"Asher?" Her answer was stopped by the emergence of growls from inside the wood barn. Everyone snapped back into attention and lifted their guns for an attack. Tennis shoes shuffled into the sunlight followed by dirty capris and a soft blue tee and ratty blonde hair. The walker shied away from the light for a few minutes before adjusting and looking up with a snarl. Everyone's hearts shattered. They knew this walker. This poor little girl. Asher's grip slackened around Carol's hand as the horrific realization froze her brain and her blood.

"Sophia."