A/N: Hello people!

I know…you're all like 'Okay what is this? Why is she writing something else before she's finished the last one?' Yes I know, and I'm sorry. I WILL finish Melting Into You—I promise—but I had to get this out of my head before I exploded.

After seeing this past week's episode (you all know which one I'm talking about) I just felt all the emotions I had been experiencing from the first part of the season come flooding back into my head and there was just nowhere to put it. This story is pretty much what I had planned to do with Safe in the first place, but it just got too far off track for me to bring it around to this point. Now that I have a much better idea of what's happening and where they're all headed, it has really come back around again, so I'm giving it another shot.

I have to tell you…I honestly had conflictions about posting this on the internet for people to read. It's kinda dark…probably the darkest stuff I've ever written. It's also something that is a personal theory of my own but I truly have no idea if any of it will come into fruition, so for now this is strictly hearsay. There are going to be differences in this vs. what is happening on the show. I'm not saying that if this sort of thing really does occur on the show that it's going to happen just like how I'm writing it. I had to crunch a lot of very important things into a very small timeline to get to where I needed to be, so I'm sure there would be much more to it acted out on screen. It's also not going to be long. I'm releasing it in two parts just for timing purposes but that will be the end of it, so I can also get back to the other stuff I'm working on soon (cause I KNOW you guys are ready to kill me for leaving you hanging on the smut...once again I'm sorry for that but smut had to take a back seat for a couple of days;-)

Also…no matter what you think of this, I'd like to know. Reviews, PM's, emails…I don't care. Just tell me what you think. This has been something that I've thought about long, long time and I'd love to hear some thoughts and even discussions about it. I know I've got an amazing team of friends out there to support me and back me up, and I have to give HUGE thanks to my two buddies Allidon and Equuleus86 for letting me use them as guinea pigs while I was working this all out. You ladies are amazing and I love ya more than puppies, kitties, and piggies combined!

Enjoy and Caryl on guys!

Disclaimer: I own nothing affiliated with The Walking Dead, and I have never seen any future previews on what is going to happen on the show.

WDWDWDWDWDWDWDWD

Burdened Souls

Carol had arrived back at the prison just in time to know exactly what was going on, but too late to actually do anything about it. The fight was already over. The bodies lay strewn across the field and smoke filled the air around the now crumbling structure. The walkers were roaming freely over the desecrated space that had once been her home. She had not been witness to some of the more horrific events—this she now knew. Watching the people she love die would have probably crumbled her resolve, but it was something she couldn't focus on right now. She had to find the girls. They were the reason she was here in the first place.

Somehow, in the midst of the chaos, she had managed to spot them. It was a miracle that she'd even been able to hone in on them with the distracting gunshots and explosions filling the air around her. She had also seen who they were with, which also complicated things. They were with the one person in the camp that could possibly do the most harm to them if he ever found out their secret. Abandoning the idea of trying to go back in to search for others, she followed them through the woods, but somehow lost the visual before she could actually get to them. As she neared the train tracks by the clearing, she heard voices crying out for help. People nearby were in trouble. Before she could get there, however, she heard an all too familiar voice just ahead, but there was something off about it. It didn't sound right. For one thing, she couldn't hear anyone but the girls anymore. Had he really left them alone?

"She won't stop crying!" Mika was panicking from the sound of her voice. "Lizzie! You have to do something!"

Lizzie must have had Judith, but the baby's cries were muffled. Carol ran towards the sound of a gunshot and finally spotted them. They had two walkers coming towards them, with Mika pointing the gun even though she was scared stiff, and Lizzie with Judith. Carol couldn't see her clearly than Mika, but what worried her was what she could see. Her hand wrapped around baby Judith's mouth tightly. The look of determination on her face….she'd seen it before.

"Lizzie!"

Walking out to the clearing, Carol came up from behind the walkers, taking them down easily in a matter of seconds. She stabbed them through the head just like she'd taught the girls, pushing them out of the way just in time to feel Mika's small body wrap around her legs tightly. Apparently someone was glad to see her.

"Carol! You're here!"

Carol looked back up at Lizzie, who was now staring back at her with a mixture of surprise and anguish. Judith was still howling, but she stepped in and grabbed the child from Lizzie's arms, bouncing her up and down to try and calm her. She looked back towards the girls.

"Where's Tyreese?"

Mika pointed towards the tracks. "He went that way. He said someone might need his help."

She ushered the two along in front of her and they set off towards the tracks. By the time they got there, it was clear he had fought a losing battle. Only one of the people was still left alive, and he'd clearly been bitten. Holding back all the fear she had left, she called out to him.

"Tyreese."

He spun around, the look of relief on his face was more than she had been expecting. He came towards her, embracing her as she tried desperately not to flinch away. This was not the welcome she had been expecting. It was almost too much to process.

"How'd you find us? Where were you?"

Before she could answer his questions, she had another problem to figure out. The man standing before them…the last of his group to survive. He cried out and fell to his knees, his realization of his errors coming up to haunt him. She felt sorry for him.

"Stay on the tracks." He looked down at his friends. "It was my mistake."

Carol walked over to him. "But the woods have more cover."

"No…you don't understand." He looked up. "There's a place. Up the tracks. It's safe. You can take the children there."

A safe place? This close to the prison? Carol almost couldn't believe it. She looked back at him, his eyes filled with tears. He was obviously being sincere. Turning back towards the others, she ushered them on, leaving the man behind to settle his debts with god on his own.

They walked along, Carol trying her best to fill in the story with pieces of the truth. Somehow, through it all, Tyreese hadn't learned about the incident from Rick. It did, however, sound like Daryl knew. They were just about to go and talk to him when the Governor showed up and ruined it all. She learned about Herschel, which was a painful but sobering remark. She learned that they had managed to save most of the others from the flu outbreak, but that they hadn't spotted the bus with most of the sick people yet. Sasha had fled with Maggie and Bob, which probably meant she was okay. They didn't seem to have any other information to give in that time, but one thing stood out above everything else-Lizzie had saved Tyreese's life.

"I thought I was a goner." The large man said as they walked along the tracks. "I was gunned down with nowhere to go, but then out of nowhere I see these two come along…" He gestured to the girls. "They stood and fought for me. Lizzie took them down with one bullet each. She's an amazing shot."

Carol looked to Lizzie, who was grinning smugly. She didn't need to ask why.

"Did you teach them that?" Tyreese asked, looking back at Carol. "They told me you'd been helping them train with knives. Are you the one who taught them how to use guns?"

Carol haltered in her steps; her face beginning to betray her. She couldn't do this now. Not with the children and not out in the open where they weren't safe. "I taught them some maneuvers for safekeeping. I taught them first and foremost to run."

Tyreese watched her carefully, his face continuing to stay calm. "Well…whatever you did, I guess I owe you all my life."

The words stunned Carol to a dead stop. He didn't owe her anything, but she couldn't exactly tell him that either. The whole situation was getting out of hand quickly as she felt her emotions once again beginning to unravel. Tyreese looked up, but he wasn't looking directly at her. There was something off in the distance that had attracted his attention.

"There…he was right."

Carol turned around and saw what he was talking about. There was a sign just up ahead on a post by the tracks. As they approached and read what it said, Carol couldn't help but feel wary of the situation. She should have been thrilled...relieved...something other than what she was feeling. Maybe it was just too soon to expect that things could go back to being the way they had been before. Perhaps she was worried that they might run into another situation with people who didn't have their best interests at heart. No matter what it was, she couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of dread. Something didn't feel right.

"Just let me and Carol do the talking." Tyreese said, looking down at the girls. "Hopefully we'll be inside soon."

"Maybe some of the others found this place too." Mika replied back. "They might even be inside already."

Lizzie looked up, her face full of hope. "We'll be safe here...won't we Carol?"

In truth, she had no idea what they might find inside, but everyone else seemed to think it was worth the risk. Carol knew that Judith wouldn't survive long out in the woods and at the moment there weren't many options left. She reached down and took the girl's hand; her body still feeling the effects of the anxiousness. She attempted to smile, but it felt forced.

"I hope so Lizzie. I really hope so."

WDWDWDWDWDWDWD

Daryl had had enough of everything.

Beth had tried to kick his ass into gear and make him see reason, but he wasn't having any of it. The realization that he'd just lost everything he'd ever cared about was weighing too heavily on his head and he couldn't be bothered to fix any of it. It was like none of it had ever existed. Despite her attempts to get him to do something, it all just seemed pointless. They'd all lost a lot but Daryl knew he'd lost more than anyone. He hadn't just lost his home or his friends. He'd lost what defined him. The things that had made him the person he wanted to be.

Hell…he'd lost hope altogether.

They wandered around aimlessly; his attempts to track were half-assed at best. They hadn't come across anyone else from the group, although he saw plenty of tracks scattered around, he figured most of them had to be walkers. Beth was still convinced that Maggie and the others were out there, but even if they were, the chances of finding them alive were bad. In a way, he just didn't wanna know. It was better if he could still think about them being out there somewhere rather than stumbling across their dead carcasses further down the road.

They'd found some smashed grapes along the trail and she'd been convinced that the others were nearby. She even started picking at the bushes, saying that they just had to keep the faith. Truth be told, he'd known that he was being unreasonable, but what had come out of his mouth had been uncalled for. Even despite it, he still couldn't bring himself to apologize for it either. Instead, he tried making a peace offering by handing her his handkerchief, hoping it might be able to say what his mouth wouldn't let him.

As they continued on, they came across something out of a horror story down by the tracks. Everyone was so mangled that it was too hard to tell who they were, but the sight had been enough to cause Beth to break down; her body wracked with sobs as she stood over the carnage. Once again, he had failed her, standing there with no emotions left to give. Deciding she just needed to get it out of her system, he stood by silently, trying to figure out their next move. When he looked down, he noticed some tracks leading up the opposite direction from the way he'd planned to go. There were four sets of tracks…two adult and two kids by the look of it. They still seemed fairly fresh too.

"Beth…" He said loudly, trying to distract her from her grief. "Look…there's tracks leadin' this way. Looks like maybe soma the kids are with them. We should go if we're gonna find 'em."

The shock of his words seemed to snap Beth out of her fog and she nodded, pulling his handkerchief back out to wipe her tears and following behind him. They walked together silently up the tracks, both hoping against hope that they would come across something that might give them a reason to go on. About a mile up the road, Daryl spotted it. There was a post not a few yards away with a sign. Beth saw it too and immediately started running so Daryl picked up the pace as well. When they got there, he couldn't believe his eyes. It was the same phrase that he'd heard on the radio station when he and the others had gone on the run for medical supplies. They'd finally found it.

Terminus…Sanctuary for all—community for all. Those who arrive, survive.

Daryl smiled for the first time in what felt like too long. This was it. He could feel it. Something good was gonna come outta all of this.

"Come on."

He ushered Beth through the arches, both of them running like their lives depended on it. When they got to the entrance of the gate, he could see people guarding the walls similar to what he'd seen at Woodbury, and he just hoped that whoever was in charge wasn't a fucking crazy psycho like the last one had been. There were a bunch of people lined up for what looked like some kind of inspection. Maybe it was newcomers who hadn't checked in with anyone else yet. Daryl searched through the crowd, and to his amazement he spotted someone he knew. Two someone's to be exact. Beth gasped when she saw them too. It was Tyreese, and he was holding Judith. If they'd made it this far, it only stood to reason that the others would too.

"Daryl…Beth…thank god." Tyreese said, walking over as soon as he spotted them. "Is there anyone else with you?"

"No, but we saw some tracks and figured it was someone from our group." He looked around, confused. "Saw a set of four…two of 'em was kids…s'it just you and Asskicker?"

"No, Mika's over playing with some of the other kids." He handed Judith over to Beth, who looked more than happy to see her. "Lizzie and Carol were with us too, but they left again. They should be back soon I'm hoping."

"Carol?" Daryl heard the words leaving his mouth before his brain could register them. "She was here?"

He nodded. "We ran into her on the road. She said she'd just gotten back when she found out what was happening and came to look for us. She took Lizzie and left as soon as we found this place. Said she had to get something she'd forgotten…supplies I think."

Daryl didn't understand. "Supplies? What supplies?"

"Not sure what she found, but apparently she had a car full of stuff she'd gotten on her trip." Tyreese replied. "I offered to go along with her but she said she wanted to take Lizzie. She thought it would be best if I stayed here with Judith."

"She say where it was parked?"

"No, but to be honest, I was kind of surprised." He admitted. "One minute Carol was telling me we couldn't go back because there was nothing left…then she seemed to change her mind. She seemed conflicted about something. Lizzie had been acting weird too." He leaned in a little closer so no one else could hear them. "She doesn't seem all…right in the head…you know what I mean? She was doing a lot of weird stuff. I think Carol really just wanted to take her and have a talk about it, but she didn't want to do it around other people."

Daryl stared at the man. His mind was reeling and there was a churning in his gut. He'd always suspected that there was something off about Lizzie, but now Tyreese had pretty much confirmed it. The kid was trouble…and if that was the case, then Carol was in more trouble than she could ever imagine if she was out there alone with her. Suddenly it all made sense. He knew exactly what was happening, and he knew it had nothing to do with supplies.

"Beth, you're stayin' here." He unstrapped his crossbow and turned back on his heels, his head already on the task. "I gotta go find 'em."

"I'm sure they're fine Daryl." Beth reassured him unsuccessfully. "We just got here."

"I can't wait around to explain, but I gotta go." He said; his body already on the move. "I'll be back. Keep everyone safe!"

They stared in bewilderment as he made his way back out of the sanctuary and down the road, following the tracks that led away and out into the woods. He had to get to them quickly if he stood a chance. It all made sense now. He knew what had happened at the prison. He knew what Carol was going out there to do.

He just hoped he could stop her in time.