Rick felt everything right now. Every inch of his body was on fire. He tasted blood, sweat, and bile. There was a pause before the next hit came. Then fire again. Pause, then fire. Rick wanted so badly to fight back, to reach up and hurt the man who had taken everything from him, to kill The Governor. He couldn't summon the strength. Rick knew this was the end. It was without irony to him, that in a world where the dead ate the living, he would still die at the hands of a petty criminal. Maybe the world hadn't changed so much after all. He thought of the people he had failed. There were so many. There was a path of death he left in his wake, and as the prison burned down around him, he knew he had failed everyone left living as well. After another brutal hit, Rick's head rolled up towards the sky. In the brief moment before the next punch came –the final one, he believed- Rick looked up at the clouds. For just a moment, with the sun shining down on him, Rick Grimes was okay.

But the final blow never came. In the same moment he had accepted his death, he was freed from it. Michonne's Katanna had speared the Governor, and Rick stood up as quickly as his aching body would allow. In a flash, he remembered all that he had been fighting for.

"Where's Carl?" Rick yelled at Michonne, without sparing time for a thank you. Maybe there would be time for that later, but for now he needed to find his son.

"Dad!" Rick turned, and saw Carl running towards them. Rick didn't try to hide the tears that formed in his eyes at seeing his son alive and unhurt. He leaned onto Carl, and hugged him tightly, and pressed his tears into the top of his head.

"Judith… where's Judy, Carl?" Rick sobbed into his hair. Carl gently pushed Rick back, and looked his father in his eyes.

"Dad, she's… she's gone. I saw her empty carrier. It was… it had…" Carl broke down in his father's arms. Rick didn't ask what was in the carrier. He didn't want to know, not right now. He had his son, he kept reminding himself, Carl was okay. Rick's memories of the beautiful girl with his wife's eyes were mercifully interrupted by the sharp sound of Michonne's Katanna being unsheathed. The sounds of walkers groaning were closing in. Fire burned around them.

"We need to go Rick." He looked at Michonne with shock on his face. In all the chaos, it was just now occurring to him that they had to leave their home. "The prison has fallen." Michonne reiterated, as she attempted to make eye contact with him.

Rick nodded, and was about to acquiesce when he heard the most piercing scream he'd ever heard. His head snapped back behind him, but he saw nothing. He searched among the ruins of the prison, and heard the wail again. This wasn't a scream of fear; it was one of desperation, of anguish. Michonne grabbed his arm.

"Rick, we have to go." She said sternly. Her implications were clear. She'd heard the scream too, but did not want to investigate. She was probably right, he noted. The prison was literally crashing down around him. Despite himself, he took a hesitant step in the direction of the wails.

"Rick, you can't help them!" Michonne yelled with desperation in her eyes. "We have to go!"

"You go, take Carl." Rick spat at Michonne. "I'll meet you out there. Remember that store we hit last week? Go there. I'll find you."

Both Carl and Michonne shook their heads vehemently.

"Rick you're in no shape to…"

"Dad I won't leave you…"

But he was already gone. Rick limped towards the prison, and remembered how much pain he was in. Every step was a struggle. Rick groaned inwardly at himself. He wasn't sure what he thought he was going to do. Of course this was a bad idea. Even if he found the person, he was in no shape to fight to save them. He could barely walk himself.

Rick made his way through the prison, adeptly avoiding walkers. He had his knife in one hand, but he couldn't move his other arm. As he turned the corner of the prison, he saw her.

Beth was on her knees in staring at something. Her sobs echoed against the prison walls. Rick was approaching her from the back, but so were many walkers. Rick hurried as much as he could behind her, and reached down to grab her arm. And then he saw what she was sobbing over.

Judith's baby carrier was soaked with blood.

/

Beth couldn't stop the sobs that wracked her body. Judith was gone, and it was her fault. She had lost her presence of mind after her dad. Her dad… a fresh sob wracked her body. She'd lost everyone. Maggie had tried to get her on the bus, but she had to go look for the kids. When she couldn't find them, Daryl had tried to get her to leave, but she had then tried to find Maggie. All she found were bodies, and then… this.

It was fitting; Beth thought ruefully to herself, that the biggest symbol of hope should die with what little they had left. Beth heard the walkers, but could not bring herself to get up. She knew she should leave. But what good would it do her? Without Maggie, or Daryl, it's not like she'd last long on her own anyway. Beth let despondency take her. There was no point in fighting. Her dad was dead, and the baby she'd been raising as her own was dead. Her sister was gone. What was left to fight for?

She heard the shuffling steps behind her. She didn't even look back. Just another walker that's broken into our home, she figured, just another way to die in this cruel world. When the walker touched her arm, she didn't even flinch. She didn't reach for her knife. She just couldn't bring herself to care.

But the walker collapsed next to her, and was hugging the baby carrier close to him and sobbing. Realization and reality settled in for Beth, and she recognized the bloodied Rick kneeling next to her. He barely looked like Rick. His face was unrecognizable. Beth stared at him for a moment in shock, and then a thought hit her. Rick would understand. Watching him clutch the carrier and sob Judith's name, she knew Rick would understand. Walkers were closing in on them, she realized. Beth shook her head to bring herself out of her reverie, and stood up, drawing her knife.

"Rick," she whispered her voice raw from crying, "Rick, we need to get out of here." She turned, and lunged towards the walker that was a few steps away. It took all of her strength to actually get her knife into his skull, decomposed flesh or not. When she turned back around, Rick had stood up, but was carrying the carrier in one hand. His crying had stopped, but his pain was written all over his face. Beth reached over, and gently tried to take the carrier from his hand. Rick's head shot up, and he gripped the carrier tighter. Beth understood clearly.

"I'm not going to drop it." Beth promised Rick. He regarded her carefully for a moment, then nodded slowly, and released the carrier into her hand. Beth walked to Rick's side, and pulled his good arm over her shoulders, allowing him to put some of the weight on her. The two of them walked slowly, in complete silence as they made their way out of the prison and into the woods. As they passed over the hill, Beth paused. Rick tugged her gently towards him.

"Don't look back, Beth… Please, don't look back."