The sun streamed in the broken window, bathing Carol's face in its warmth. Her eyes fluttered open then quickly closed again. Carol groaned, the light not at all pleasing to her battered senses.
Almost as suddenly as she had awoken, Carol knew something wasn't right. It was the light. It wasn't supposed to be light. It was supposed to be dark. Very, very dark.
She and Daryl had been chasing after the car he thought was the one that took Beth. Nearly blind, they pursued it through the night. It had been a game of cat-and-mouse, the mouse never realizing it was being chased. Daryl drove at break-neck speeds in his attempt to keep them within sight of the white cross car. After an hour of back roads driving, Carol pointed out they were closing in on the outskirts of Atlanta. From then on, everything was a shadow and a blur.
They rounded a corner and the car they were chasing was gone. Carol couldn't even detect the red glow of brake lights anywhere around them.
"The hell," said Daryl.
"Where did it go?" asked Carol. "It was there ten seconds ago."
"Must've figured we're after 'em and turned their lights off," said Daryl. "Ain't any roads for 'em to take other than this one."
"They couldn't know we're here. If they hadn't figured it out in the last hour, they wouldn't now."
Carol heard Daryl sigh from the dark beside her.
"Ya think we're chasin' a ghost?" he asked quietly.
"We are going to get her back," she said. In what little light they had, Carol could see Daryl's face soften. "I know we'll get her back."
"And then kill the—" Daryl was cut off by a dark object looming up in front of their speeding car, then everything seemed to be happening at once.
Daryl swore and Carol was jerked as he slammed on the brakes. She was leaning forwards but then felt Daryl's arm slam against her chest, thrusting her back into the seat. Her breath was stolen away and then she understood what that dark shape was: another car.
It was light again.
Carol opened her eyes for good, not that she really wanted to. The world she was looking at was turned sideways. Blinking, Carol began to take stock of the wreck, discovering the car was on its side and she was only being held to her seat by its belt. She brushed pieces of glass off herself and they fell to the floor with a soft crackle. She wanted to turn her head but even the slightest twitch sent stabbing pain down her neck and into her back.
"Daryl?" she asked, her voice reduced to a whisper. "Daryl are you ok?"
She received no reply.
"Daryl?" she asked again, this time forcing her voice to be louder.
Nothing.
Finally she couldn't take it any longer. Ignoring the pain moving would cause, Carol turned her head to the left and driver's side.
It was empty except for the broken glass that glistened in a layer of blood.