Author's note: I keep wondering what it would be like if Carol hadn't reunited after Terminus, so I finally decided to write something. Please be gentle, I don't write often.

"As much as I love recruiting with you, I really wish you had taken Daryl on this one." Eric looked out the window of the old station wagon as the rain pelted down.

"You're the one who said you wanted to get out for a bit," Aaron chucked as he spread the blanket over himself and his partner.

Eric had gotten a little stir-crazy being stuck in Alexandria with his bum ankle, but the initial injury had given way to Aaron's protective nature, and this was the first time in over a year that Eric was outside of the walls on a recruiting mission.

Aaron and Eric had left Alexandira two days ago for a simple scouting of the nearby area and had immediately noticed that someone was close. They were about 300 miles out from their community when they noticed the remnants of a fire. The survivor must have heard them coming and moved quickly; half a rabbit was left behind in the stomped-out coals.

Their search for the potential new resident came to a halt as the sky opened and the rain began to pour. The pair ran back to the vehicle and prepared to wait out the downpour.

"I think Daryl needed a break," Aaron was setting up the listening device, even though the chances of hearing anyone over the rain was slim, "Rick has him on babysitting duty for a few days, I think it'll be good for him."

Eric gave up on the binoculars and burrowed deeper under the blanket, "Maybe we'll get lucky and find another group like theirs."

Though it had been a rough start, especially when Rick and Daryl had found out about Pete and Jessie, Rick and his group had become leaders. After Reg and Pete had been killed, the community had taken quite a while to warm to the idea of upping the security and trusting these newcomers. Maggie and Deanna worked seamlessly together, Rick and Michonne were extremely well respected now, and even Eugene had become an integral member of the community.

They haven't had any new members since Morgan's arrival over a year ago.

Since Daryl and Aaron had gotten trapped by the wolves and then saved by Morgan, the scouting missions had been few and far between. Time had been better spent reinforcing the walls in case of an attack. Thankfully, the last year had gone quite smoothly, and they felt that they were in a good position to defend themselves in a worst case scenario.

This fire was the first sign of a living person that they had come across in a long time, and they weren't going to lose him or her.

Rainy nights were the worst.

That was the only thought going through Carol's mind as she curled herself into a ball and tucked herself under her tarp. Sleeping on the ground always made her nervous. With no one to watch her back, sleep was nearly impossible to come by.

Carol had gotten quite used to sleeping in trees, which is another reason that rainy nights were the worst. The potential for lightning made it too much of a risk to strap herself onto a limb and settle down for the night, so now she sat, huddled under her tarp as she leaned against the rocks.

She had found a small cut in the rocks, not big enough to be classified as a cave, but big enough to keep her relatively dry on bad nights. It didn't do much for her claustrophobia though, so her mind began to wander.

Though she had decided that being alone was best, it was nights like this that made her wish she had a proper roof over her head and someone else to keep watch while she slept. The insomnia made the memories come out in full force, and she found herself thinking of Sophia, Lizzie, Mika, and the family that she had run from.

After watching her family climb over the Terminus fence, Carol had run to Tyreese, given him Daryl's crossbow and Rick's watch, and told him to be safe. She would never forget the look of shock on his face or the way he shouted after her as she ran into the woods.

Don't look back.

That had been her mantra. She had been tempted to run back several times, but just kept telling herself not to look back. After Lizzie and Mika, she had discovered that she couldn't take anymore death.

Watching Rick, Glenn, Bob and Daryl being dragged from that container had caused an unbearable feeling of anger to bubble to the surface, and Terminus had paid the price. If she had to watch them die, she knew she wouldn't have recovered.

She just couldn't do it anymore.

Over the past year she had encountered a couple of small groups of survivors, but she never stayed. Her longest stay had been about a month, but the inevitable had happened. The herd ripped through the camp and they were all forced to flee. She found a car and returned a few days later to grab some remaining supplies, but when she noticed no signs of survivors, she drove off alone.

She mostly avoided as many people as she could, which is why this area was her favourite. She had been moving around the general area for a week or so and had yet to come across another living person. Her hand drifted to the bandaged cut on her forehead, a souvenir from her last encounter with the living, and remembered that sometimes it's better to be alone. Over the past month, the loneliness began to eat away at her, but the group of men that she'd stumbled upon a couple of weeks ago were not the remedy for that plague. There weren't a lot of good people left in this world, and sometimes she kicked herself for letting go of some of the best.

Her thoughts drifted to the people that had driven by earlier that day. She had heard the car coming through the woods and had immediately grabbed her supplies, put out her fire, and ran. Whoever they were, they were smart enough to drive the car off of the road and into the cover of the trees. She just hoped that they weren't a part of the last group she had encountered. If the wolves were near, she'd need to flee.

She still had hope that there were good people out there. Rick had been right when he told her that she would survive, maybe he was also right when he said she'd find a new group.

Rick had told her that she wasn't the woman that she used to be. That she wouldn't be afraid to be on her own anymore. At first, she believed him and really thought she could do it, but as the months went on, the doubt began to settle in.

The loneliness started to creep in on her as the rain kept pouring and she started to realize that she couldn't do this much longer. The long, cold nights alone were becoming too much to handle. She hadn't slept properly in weeks, and she was quite surprised that she hadn't gone a little insane. She would never consider just giving up. She had survived too much in her life to give in to those thoughts, but she needed a change.

She just hoped that she would find some decent people.

If there were any of those left.

As the sun began to rise through the trees, Carol packed up her things and started out for a morning hunt. The rabbits were plentiful in this area, and she had gotten quite good at making and setting snares. She was hoping to get some breakfast since she had left half of her meal behind last night.

She had gotten quite good and hunting over the past year, and was especially proud of herself for her ability to make shelter. She had managed to find a few safe havens similar to the grove along the way, but never stayed in one place too long.

She crept back towards the remnants of her fire from the previous night, making sure that she was as quiet as possible. As she got closer, she saw the telltale signs of walkers. There seemed to be more than she had seen in a while according to the mishmash of footprints along the damp ground.

She gripped her knife tighter as she kept moving. Walkers she could deal with.

"AARON!"

The yell was followed by the sounds of gunfire, which nearly made her jump out of her own skin. She hadn't heard gunfire in quite a long time as she preferred to take out walkers quietly with her knife.

Another voice followed, "Get in the car!"

"Aaron, move!"

She didn't know why, but she dropped her pack and moved as quickly as she could towards the frightened voices. There was something about the urgency of the call that drew Carol, and for some reason she felt that these people were worth helping.