Between Arrows and Hearts - Daryl Dixon

One second

Cass had heard about how adrenaline takes over in moments like this. How it sharpens some into action and turns others into stone. How it rushes through your veins, numbing pain and silencing logic. The mind splits in every direction at once: scream, run, fight.

One second could change everything.

And it already had.

She was on the ground. The air was knocked from her lungs as she hit the floor with a bone-rattling thud, her mind spinning as the room tilted around her.

Move.

Her body bucked and twisted, legs kicking wildly, heels scraping against the floor as she thrashed against the crushing weight of the man on top of her. He growled, pinning her wrists above her head with one massive hand.

"Stop fightin', bitch!" He snarled, his free hand fumbling to move her clothes.

No, no, no.

The second man had taken the butcher knife from her, gripping it like a predator savoring his prey. His other hand clamped tightly over her mouth, muffling her desperate cries and leaving her gasping for air.

His face contorted into a malicious grin as he pressed the cold steel of the blade firmly against her cheek. "Got ourselves a feisty one," He sneered, his voice laced with mockery. "Better keep quiet now, or I'll make this worse."

Cass barely registered the words. They were just noise, blending into the roaring pulse in her ears. Her mind was a blur of panic and survival instincts, thoughts snapping through her head like lightning.

Daryl's upstairs. He'll hear this.

She twisted her body violently, the slickness of her sweat loosening the grip on her wrists just enough. She yanked one hand free, her nails clawing upward in a desperate attempt to fend off the man above her. Her fingers raked across his face, leaving red streaks behind.

"You fucking bitch!" He bellowed, slamming her free arm back down and twisting it painfully. The sharp jolt of pain made her cry out, the sound muffled by the hand still clamped over her mouth.

Seconds. It's only been seconds.

The knife-wielding man leaned closer, pressing his knee harder into her ribs to keep her still. His patience broke.

The blade slashed across her cheek.

A sharp, burning pain tore through her face, stealing her breath. She cried out against his palm, her scream lost in the gagging, desperate noise that came out instead.

 "Stop moving! You little—"

But Cass couldn't. She wouldn't. Her head snapped forward, her teeth sinking into the hand clamped over her mouth. Hard. She didn't stop biting until she tasted blood, the metallic tang mingling with the panic choking her.

"Fuck!" The man screamed, jerking his hand back.

That was all it took. Cass inhaled sharply, screaming desperately. "Daryl!"

Her voice was a raw, guttural cry that tore through the air, but the name hadn't fully left her lips before the crushing weight on her chest was wrenched away.

Daryl hit the man like a train, his shoulder slamming into the man's ribs with a force that sent him sprawling. They crashed into a cabinet, the wood splintering as the impact drove them to the ground in a tangle of limbs and unbridled fury.

Cass gasped, her chest heaving as she scrambled backward, blood from the gash on her cheek dripping onto her shirt. The man with the knife stumbled backward, his eyes going wide with shock as Daryl's fists landed blow after blow on his partner.