Theme Song: "Wreak Havoc" - Skylar Grey

We stood frozen for a moment, assessing the situation. There were too many of them to fight alone and I started to look around frantically for anything. My heart hammered as the fear paralyzed me to the spot I was in. Daryl started to walk towards the door as if he was about to just charge them head on.

"Don't even think about it, Daryl. We can't take them all alone!" He whipped around to me and threw his hands out around him, "Ya' see any way out of this? We're pinned down and I ain't about to jus-," His voice was cut off as the horde pressed against the glass of the door and the sound of a crack rang out loudly.

It was like everything happened in slow motion as the horde pressed so vigorously that they started to crack the glass. I gasped audibly in surprise. In all my time alone I had never gotten pinned down while scavenging a store.

"The glass isn't going to hold long." My voice was strained as Daryl grabbed the back of my elbow and slowly started to pull me back farther away from the front door.

I just so happened to turn my head towards an aisle and in that moment I saw at least six empty liter Cola bottles on the floor and the gears in my head stared to turn quickly.

We had moments, maybe minutes, and nowhere to go. Time to improvise.

Daryl watched as I started to gather the bottles and he looked at me questioningly. "Get those bottles, stand them up. Now!" He didn't hesitate as I started to run around the store like a mad woman. "Mind tellin' me what ya' think yer' doin'?"

He was panicked, but still managed to sound so damn calm. I saw what I needed and looked to the heavens above. We were in luck, so far at least. I only needed a few more things so I continued on until I stopped at the aisle with the cleaners. My heart soared and I put all the cleaning bottles they had under my arms that I could manage to carry.

Once back at Daryl, I dropped them and turned to run towards the small supply closet we had passed towards the back door. I could hear the walkers moaning from the door, but paid no mind to them. I found only a couple more cleaning supplies and gathered them all in my arms before coming back to Daryl who was looking at me like I was completely insane.

Hell, I probably was. We hadn't a clue where the others were and if they were inside the store down the street then there was no way they knew Daryl and I were trapped. I could only pray they were not in our same predicament.

I pushed strands of auburn locks out of the way of my face so I could see more clearly. I worked quickly and didn't bother to look at Daryl now.

I grabbed the aluminum foil I'd found on the shelf and started to stuff large pieces of it into each bottle.

"You ever play with bombs as a kid, Dixon?" I didn't look up, but I knew he was probably taking in the cleaners and the aluminum foil as I worked with urgency. "Well, I did. And I have Henry to thank. I was kind of a little maniac when it came to this stuff." I snuck a glance at him now and he looked surprised at my admission.

"Swear to god, Red..ya' blow me up.." He muttered and I looked to him incredulously as I unscrewed all the cleaning supplies.

"You'll what?" I challenged hotly. "You'll probably be dead. But, either way, we are pinned down and I don't see you coming up with a better idea. So, explosives it is."

He was silent as I moved everything towards the front door. He looked to me and then the cleaning solutions, clearly still skeptical. His eyes were frantically calculating, but he kept calm all the while, watching me work silently and helping me when I asked him.

"I'm going to pour these solutions into these containers and we are going to have a short time before they explode once I screw the caps on. When I open that door take out the first walker and shove that guy as far back into the horde as you can so I can reach out and toss these in different directions. We only have seconds to work. And then..boom."

He nodded in understanding, helping me to close the lids as the cleaning solutions were already inside. "Go, go, go!" I yelled, dragging the liter bottles with me. With the precision of a slugger, Daryl wrenched open the door and used his crossbow to knock the head off the first guy and shoved his body back as far as he could into the group.

Another walker came from the left, but Daryl was already unsheathing his knife and stabbing him in the head. He wrenched his hands back quickly and I was already working in over time. I had wedged myself between his leg and the cracked door, tossing out the liter bottles in all directions as they started to bubble and steam from the inside.

I was triumphant as the last one was thrown out into the horde, except for the fact that one of the walkers had shuffled forward and kicked the bottle back towards the door by accident. Oh shit. I tried to kick it back, but it was futile. We only had moments now before the bottles exploded. Our eyes locked for a split second.

In one swift motion he pulled the door closed and I was already scrambling to my feet, grabbing onto his vest as we ran to the back of the store behind the last aisle to take cover. I got down quickly and just as Daryl threw himself on top of my small form, the explosives in the liter bottles went off.

It was the loudest I'd ever created and in such close quarters it sent the ringing noise straight through to my eardrum. The one closest to the store went off and I flinched underneath Daryl's body as the tiny store shook from the pressure.

My hands had somehow found their way to Daryl and they were wrapped around him tightly. I so happened to notice that though he had a sinewy build, his muscles were taut. Not the right time to notice that, Vicki.

Upon the silence that followed and the smoke that billowed into the store, I opened my eyes slowly, my heart hammering in my ribcage.

"I didn't blow you up." I muttered and he blew out a breath as if he couldn't believe what just happened.

Daryl helped pull me to my feet and I immediately unsheathed my sickles as the stray walkers from the horde started to filter inside through the shattered glass door.

We wasted no time in taking out the few that still stood and upon finishing them off I looked to Daryl and my smile was wide, giddy even. I was full of adrenaline. The hydrochloric acid bombs I'd created had worked.

Daryl looked equally impressed and he kicked a dead walker on the floor, "Boo yah! Take that ya' mangy, vile, good for nuttin' vermin." With each adjective he kicked it and I raised my brows at his funny choice of words.

I laughed lightly and he looked up to me with a smirk. "Well, that was fun.." I mused and he rolled his eyes, but behind the blues I could see how he tried to hide his excitement at what had just happened. Maybe it was the high from realizing we had survived, but either way we were full of smirks and smiles.

Body parts of walkers were everywhere and the blasts were big enough to send some of the walkers to an early grave. I thought about how well we flowed effortlessly as a team while I hesitantly headed towards the door and stepped out with Daryl on my heels.

My heart was still hammering and I saw the pride welling in Daryl's eyes as he took in their surroundings at the dead walkers. "Tha' hell were those things?" He asked, his crossbow hanging lazily by his side. I smirked and straightened up, "Hydrochloric acid bombs, but on steroids. I used all the cleaning solution they had and mix that with aluminum foil and well, you know the rest!"

Daryl shook his head, clearly in awe, and I saw him smile "Damn, Red. Didn't know ya' had it in ya'." He mused looking around. I started to fan myself, tossing my head back and forth in a cocky gesture. "I'm such a badass."

Daryl arched a brow at me now as I gloated, shaking his head, "Simmer down, pyro." I stuck my tongue out at him, but as I took in our surroundings the full realization hit me.

I did it. I saved the day and I got us both out unscathed!

"I did it!" I exclaimed excitedly, throwing my hands in air, still on my adrenaline high. Without another thought I had run at Daryl and jumped on him, my legs instinctively wrapping around him as I laughed.

He hadn't anticipated my outburst and neither had I honestly, but he caught me instantly as I hopped on him. I heard his bow clatter to the ground as he used both arms to catch me. My own arms latched around his neck and I buried my face in the exposed part of his neck.

I laughed aloud now and I heard a small chuckle escape his lips, but then he tensed and I realized I was hugging him..and tightly. 

He definitely noticed our close proximity, but after a moment of hesitation, I felt his body relax against mine for the briefest of moments. His woodsy scent filled me and I felt an uncontrollable need to be close to him, to rejoice in our survival together.

As our skin made contact, it was as if the world completely stopped. I could feel Daryl's large hands on my back as he held me. I had over stepped a boundary, I knew that. He didn't like physical contact at all, but he hadn't shoved me off either. And that was saying somethig.

I silently unhooked my hands and slid down him so that my feet made contact with the ground. His eyes were fiercely guarded and he looked unsure of himself. It was as if he hadn't known how to act and so I cleared my throat, smiling lightly, before looking up at him feeling a little embarrassed.

I was trying to form an apology, anything for my outburst as I knew how he was about his personal space. He was staring at me now, with his blue eyes and his cheeks slightly red. Whether it was from exerting himself or shyness, I didn't know.

I was about to say something, but Rick and the others had started running towards us and I quirked a guilty smile at Daryl, "Guess I got some explaining to do."

Author's Note: You guys have no idea how nervous I was googling hydrochloric acid bombs and making sure I had my specs right on how to make them. I didn't want the ATF at my door like, I'm doing research for a story..I swear! 😂😂