Rising from the Ashes

*Disclaimer* I do not own the Walking Dead, or any of its Characters…I'm just borrowing them for my own amusement! This takes place from the end of episode 213, Beside the dying fire... This is my take on what could've happened if the group never found each other after they fled the farm. Rated M for later chapters. This will become a Caryl story, but I am trying to keep them as cannon as possible, so it's not going to happen easily, or right away…bear with me! It'll be good, I promise!

Chapter 1 - Separated

Paralyzing fear; that's what you feel in those moments that you become certain you are about to die. That was what Carol was experiencing at that moment. As she looked around her frantically for anything that could give her a speck of hope of making it out of this alive, She saw the flames of the barn rising higher, and heard the screams of her friends all around her as they all attempted to escape the herd. The walkers seemed to be closing in, only a matter of a few feet from her now. With the last bit of energy and fight she had left in her, she half limped, half staggered to the dirt road leading away from the farm house. Her heart was hammering in her chest, adrenaline driving her forward, with the single thought, "Keep moving, don't look back" like a mantra in her brain. It was at that moment she heard and then saw Daryl's Triumph swing into view, sliding to a stop just a few feet in front of her, signaling her to climb on. She snaked her arms around his waist, pressing herself tightly against his back as he sped off away from the farm.

She wasn't sure how far they traveled; she was lost in thought replaying the horror that had befallen them all that previous night, when she noticed the sun was rising. Daryl hadn't said a word to her, too focused on the road ahead. After a few minutes, she felt the bike start to slow as he pulled off to the side of the road. She loosened her grip on him and let out a deep breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"Did you see anyone else?" he asked her as his eyes scanned the trees around them for any signs of walkers.

"No, It was Dark…Andrea, She…" Carol's words were cut off as a sob threatened to break through. She remembered how she and Andrea had been running from the walkers, and Andrea had gotten separated from her. Carol felt a stab of guilt that she didn't do more to help her, but she had been so frightened, and she had no weapons. Her only option was to run.

Daryl nodded, he understood what she was trying to say, without having to make her say it.

"Thought I saw a few of the cars get out, not sure who was in 'em though. Only two ways they coulda gone; back to the highway, or on to Fort Benning."

The gravity of the situation finally hit Carol – They had survived, and most likely a few others did too, but they were all separated now, with no way to contact each other, and no plan in place on where to meet back up.

She took a deep breath, and looked over at Daryl, squinting from the sun's bright morning rays, and said, "I think it makes sense to head back to the highway, where we lost…Sophia." She had trouble saying her name, even now, and she saw Daryl wince at her words. "I think they might head back there, knowing that was the last place we were all together before the farm."

Daryl nodded, agreeing with her logic. They didn't have a plan, and this was as good a plan as any. He wouldn't think about the possibility yet, that they might not be there. He swung his leg over the Triumph and signaled Carol to climb back on behind him. Once again, her arms encircled his waist and her body was pressing close to his back as he started heading in the direction of the highway.

Carol let her mind drift again to how things had gone so terribly wrong that night. Where had the herd come from? They had been living at the farm in relative comfort for several weeks with barely any walkers making their way that far out. She had hoped that they could settle there, and be relatively sheltered from the madness and desolation the world had turned into. On the farm, Life still seemed to go on; there was food, shelter from the cold, and they had each other. The farm also had become Sophia's final resting place. Even though she was gone, Carol still sometimes woke up in the night thinking her little girl was still somewhere out in the woods, trying to find her way back to her, and then she'd remember that terrible day when Sophia had stepped out of the barn, a walker. Part of her died with Sophia that day, and then the all-consuming grief would roll in, leaving her feeling as if she had to face the realization that she was gone for good all over again.

She knew everyone had believed Sophia to be dead long before Shane opened the barn, except for Daryl. He had been the only one to really believe that they would find her alive. He gave Carol Hope, even when there was none, and for that she would be eternally grateful. Daryl had done more for her little girl that her own father had in her whole life. She thought about how intensely determined he was about looking for Sophia, and she couldn't help but wonder why. She knew that most adults felt naturally protective of children, but Daryl was different. He was not like Rick, who had a child of his own and understood what it was like for a parent to lose a child; he was hard, and closed off most of the time to everyone around him. She thought about the day she had been sitting in the RV trying to keep herself busy so that she wouldn't lose her mind with worry for her daughter ,when Daryl came in and quietly set a single Cherokee Rose on the counter for her. She had been so taken aback by his gesture, as he had barely spoken to her at all the entire time their group had been together, until that day when he told her the story of the Cherokee Rose. That was the day, he gave her hope. From that point on, they shared a silent understanding that regardless of coming from two different worlds, they were in this together now.

Once again, Carol shook herself from her reverie and felt the bike slowing down. As she peered around Daryl, she could see the abandoned cars up ahead signaling that they had reached the area of the highway where Sophia disappeared.

Daryl scanned the area carefully with his eyes for any sign of walkers as they slowly moved the triumph around the cars. Since there seemed to be no sign of any walkers, he shut off the bike and Carol stepped off stretching her legs and back. Both of them noticed the obvious lack of life, but neither wanted to say it aloud.

"They're not here." Carol finally said, a twinge of worry in her voice.

"They may've gone straight for Fort Benning." Daryl said as if the thought of the group leaving them behind was of no concern to him.

He could see the worry lines on her forehead as she looked down and fiddled nervously with the hem of her sweater. Daryl sensed her unease, and knew that the prospect of being separated from the group they've come to think of as family did little to give her relief after having survived the attack at the farm.

"We'll find 'em, it'll be okay" Daryl said in that same tone he had used when he told her the story of the Cherokee Rose. Carol's eyes slipped shut for a moment at the sound of his voice, and for the second time, Daryl gave her hope.