Daryl is not expecting the next encounter with a walker to be a stray runner. Those walkers that are faster, more aware, and generally louder than walkers have ever been tended to roam around with a few of their slower follows as back up. Daryl wasn't sure, but he was getting the impression they liked to hide among the slower ones to surprise their victims. Which was probably attributing way too much intelligence to the dead, but better paranoid and safe than lazy and dead.

When it came crashing out of the surrounding trees and into his side, pushing at him, Daryl reacted on instinct and put his modified nerf bow between himself and his attacker. A hard push would send what he assumed was a walker sprawling and in the next moment he had the bow up and aimed squarely at-

"...Beth?"

Her name escaped him like the whine of a puppy that had just been kicked: tiny, sad, desperate, and confused.