Hey there! Jeez, over 30 followers already? Wow, you guys are amazing.

So I this is a little overdue, but it's quite long so I hope that makes up for the wait.

Enjoy. :D

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"As the crow flies my ass!"

Andrea forced her foot over a rusty, moss covered log. She continued walking, temporarily separating herself from the rest of the group. A sudden growl from the side turned her head in instant panic as she lunged back to further herself from the oncoming walker. She screamed as her foot hooked onto a bulging root, sending her to the ground. The rest of the group was instantly alerted.

"Andrea?" Lori called out. Then there was another scream. Combing through thin trees, they followed her voice. Andrea kicked back, urgently preventing herself from being eaten alive. In the moment, time seemed to stand still as Lori, Carol, Glenn and Daryl dodged branches and trees to reach her. She turned her head to the side, beginning to brace herself for the inevitable. In the distance, something came leaping towards her., hooves vibrating the soil underneath. It could've been anything, but the first thing that came to her mind was hope.

The walker flew off her with a solid thud to the ground a few feet away. The horse stopped. Finally, the group caught up, stopping suspiciously as the girl on the horse tucked her baseball bat away into a bag and looked down at Andrea.

"L-Lori Grimes?" her thick Southern accent gasped. Her long, chestnut hair stuck to her face. A hooked finger brushed it out. Rick didn't give her a description of his wife, so being the first woman she saw in the woods, it was assumed that the blonde woman was Lori.

Naturally, the real Lori stepped forward at the sound of her name. "I'm Lori Grimes!" she put forward, cautiously trying to come up with a reason as to how the stranger knew her full name.

"Rick sent me, you gotta come now!" the woman fussed. They all looked at Lori for a response. She knew Lori's name, now Rick's too. Confusion possessed Lori slowly, the woman huffed impatiently. "There's been an accident; your boy, Carl's been shot." That got her attention. She knew Lori, Rick and Carl. Still, Lori was doubtful. "He's still alive. You gotta come now!" the woman elucidated. Lori hesitated, torn between believing her and naively falling for some kind of trap. The girl sighed, openly getting more and more edgy. "Rick needs you, Goddamnit, just come!"

That seemed to be enough to convince her. Without wasting another second, Lori slipped off her backpack and held it out for someone to take. Glenn tentatively took it from her while Daryl lunged forward, trying to stop Lori with protests.

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa!" he argued, shaking his head. "We don't know this girl! You can't get on this horse!"

The dark-haired woman held out her hand to help Lori up. Once she was safely on, she turned to the rest of the group, putting her focus on Daryl, who had decided to take on the roll of surrogate leader in Rick and Shane's absence.

"Rick said you have others on the highway –that big traffic snarl. Backtrack to Fairmont road, two miles down is our farm, you'll see the mailbox. Name's Greene," she rushed her words with panic and adrenaline overtaking her. Without giving anybody a chance to ask more questions, she turned her horse around and took off in the same direction she had originally come from.

They grazed through the woods effortlessly, having the privilege of not crossing paths with any undead. As they glided through the tall field of grass, Laura looked up with a hint of relief as the familiar white farmhouse came into view. She had always loved the farm. Everything about it, from the barn, to the stables, brought some kind of joy inside of her whenever she returned home. This time was no different. Lori held on tight without saying a word. They closed in on the farm and two figures on the porch were noticeable. The one she immediately recognized as her father, and the second she assumed was Rick.

"Easy, boy," her voice gently called out as her grip loosened. The horse slowed down, until finally coming to a stop right in front of the house. Lori hopped down and hurried over to Rick, who was still in some kind of shock, frantically pushing him out the way to get inside the house to see her son. Laura took her time, figuring that the family probably needed some space and time to gather themselves. Hershel stayed outside with her, silently admiring the field in the distance.

"How's he lookin'?" she asked him, hopping up the steps.

Hershel looked at her without a change in expression. "He's still asleep. Hopefully he'll sleep until Otis and Shane get back."

"When d'you think they'll get back?"

He shook his head slowly. "Hopefully tonight. If not, he may not survive," he lowered his voice, wary of Rick and Lori overhearing such optimism. The woman nodded and proceeded inside, where Maggie and Patricia sat scattered around the living room in silence. She took a seat beside her sister and bowed her head. Not in prayer –she didn't believe prayer could help much anyway. Her knee began to shudder, much to Maggie's irritation, and she waited for any sign telling her that the boy would be okay. She needed Otis and Shane back, back with the necessary equipment.

At least they got one of the six fragments out of him. They were lucky that the boy passed out before they went any deeper. He did get in a few good screams, though; screams that rang through Laura's head like a pounding alarm clock without any snooze button.

"Hey," Maggie whispered, her hand gently rubbing her sister's shoulder. "You okay?"

She lifted her head, looking at her sister. Her shoulder shrugged. "Ain't my kid. Still, he is just a boy."

"You saw the rest of their group? When you got Lori?"

Laura nodded. "Yeah. There were about five or six others. They're on their way here, I think. I told them our address."

If anything good came out of it all, it was the fact that there would soon be new people to talk to. At least that's how Maggie saw it. Not that she didn't enjoy talking to her family –she just needed some fresh faces, even if they were only staying on the farm for a week or so. She was going to make the best of it.

Laura however, didn't feel anything towards the newcomers. They were just staying until the boy recovered and then they would be on their way to wherever. A part of her hoped that they wouldn't stick around for any longer than they needed to. But, like Maggie, there was a sense of excitement deep inside. Since the outbreak, she had been so enclosed from everything on the farm that she hadn't even seen another actual person. But, until then, her feelings were mixed. She agreed to give them a chance to prove to her that they wouldn't be a burden to her and a family. And so, they waited, the two of them in the living room, with Beth coming and going with Jimmy and soon, it was night time…

Shane and Otis still weren't back by the time the sun had set. Lori and Rick were getting restless –and they had every reason to do so. The high-school wasn't that far from the farm, it should not have taken them so long. Maggie had moved outside to wait for them, sitting on one of the old wooden rocking chairs her mother used to sit in and read her stories. Sometime later, Laura went out to join her. She was getting nervous, fearing that the worst had happened to them. To Otis.

She hopped up onto the wooden railing, swinging her legs as she spoke to Maggie, who was sitting hugging her knees tightly. "If Otis ain't back soon, I'm gonna head out," she said softly, keeping her voice at a low level to prevent Hershel from hearing.

Maggie shook her head, her frown sinking. "No," she protested, "they'll be back. We can't have you runnin' around too. Dad has enough pressure as it is."

"That boy might just die," Laura whispered sharply, leaning forward, "Dad knows that he can't do the operation without the equipment. He just doesn't have the balls to tell –"

Behind them, disguised by the night's darkness, a car pulled up in front of the gate, silencing the eldest Greene. Maggie and Laura peered over with squinting eyes, hoping that they would soon see the memorable face of Otis, carrying bags of the needed equipment. Both went quiet as two car doors slammed shut. Footsteps began digging their way into the ground, getting louder and nearer.

The rush of excitement and relief was immediately erased when instead of Otis and Shane, two strangers closed in on the house. Laura faintly recognized one of them –the Asian one. He was part of the group when she found Lori. The other man, a black man, was wrapped in a blanket. She didn't remember seeing him in the woods with the others.

From what they could hear, the two were discussing whether or not to knock before entering the house –a conversation Laura and Maggie found both strange and entertaining. Neither had noticed the Greene's on the porch as they stepped up.

"Close the gate up the road when you drove in?" Maggie asked, making their presence known. Both men paused, nearly jumped, and directed their attention to them.

"H-hi," the Asian boy finally stuttered. He nodded. "Yes we closed it. We did the whole latch thing and everything..."

A small smile stretched Maggie's lips. It was a smile of amusement, probably at the boy's sudden state of nervousness. "Good."

He looked at Laura and cocked his head. "Well it's nice to see you again. We came to help."

Simultaneously, Maggie and Laura stood up to invite them inside. But, that's when both of them got a better view of the second man, who was wrapped in the old blanket. He let out a small wince of pain as he clutched his arm, which had been poorly bandaged up. Blood was begging to ooze from the wound underneath. As expected, the worst was expected. Luckily, the Asian was prepared with reasons of insurance.

"It's not a bite," he said quickly before they had a chance to cut to any more conclusions.

"I cut myself pretty badly," the man defended himself, pulling the blanket tighter. The wound looked bad. They couldn't just leave him with an infection of that scale.

"We'll have it looked at," Laura assured him, cautiously inspecting it with her eyes. "I'll tell 'em you're here."

As she moved closer to the door, the Asian quickly reached into his backpack and grabbed two small orange containers of pills. "Uh, we have some painkillers and antibiotics. If Carl needs any –"

"Thank you," Maggie cut in, taking the two bottles from him. "Come on inside, I'll make you somethin' to eat."

The two followed Laura inside, through the house and to the guest bedroom where Rick and Lori were breathlessly awaiting Otis and Shane's return. The house was quiet. Patricia and Beth were in the kitchen. Lori and Rick hadn't moved from Carl's side. Hershel was busy checking the boy's blood pressure when the two men entered. The Asian took off his hat, clutching it as he looked at Carl in awe.

"Hey," he breathed, looking at Rick and Lori. Neither looked at him, but they recognized his presence. Laura and Maggie stayed in the doorway, letting them have a moment with their group. "Um…we're here, okay?" he said, more confidently. It finally caught the attention of Lori, who forced a small smile.

"Thank you."

It was clear that what Rick and Lori needed was more space. Plus, the infected wound needed to be checked out and treated desperately. Laura took them back to the living room, where she sat the man down at the table while she got the first aid kit. Maggie made them something to eat, as promised.

"I don't think we caught your names," Laura said, sitting opposite him as he stretched his wounded arm across the table. She carefully began peeling off the makeshift bandage someone had wrapped it in, continuing the conversation to get his attention away from the sharp pain as it stuck to his open flesh.

"I'm T-Dog," he gasped, pursing his lips in pain.

The Asian, who was leaning up against the wall lifted his hand and nodded his head. "Glenn."

"I'm Laura," she introduced herself, pouring some alcohol onto a ball of cotton. "This is gonna sting," she warned T-Dog. He gulped, bracing himself for the worst. She worked as quickly as she could, cleansing each inch of the sore as precisely as she possibly could. He bit his teeth, shutting his eyes tight and taking short, tempered breaths. "Nearly there," she soothingly assured him, and just as she said, it was over.

"My younger sister, the chick with the short brown hair is Maggie and our baby sister, Beth is in the kitchen with Patricia. Patricia's husband is Otis –the man who shot the boy. My dad's Hershel. Jimmy's upstairs."

She scrunched up the ball of cotton and tossed it aside before accurately threading a needed to stitch it all up. "Thank God for these Antibiotics. Where d'you even get 'em from? Don't look like they were over-the-counter."

"This guy," Glenn responded, shoving his hands into his pockets, "Uh, Merle Dixon. He was some kind of dealer, I'm guessing."

Laura let out a small snort as she beckoned Glenn to pin T's arm down for her. "Merle Dixon," she repeated to herself, "your friend with the Antibiotics."

"Merle's no longer with us," Glenn clarified, holding the arm down, "his brother, Daryl, gave it to us."

"And I'm not sure I'd call him a friend," T-Dog wheezed, teeth clenched as she stitched him up.

She pulled on the last stitch tight, securing everything before she tied a knot. "Well he is today. He may have just saved your life."

"Here we go."

They all looked up. Maggie came in, bringing two plates of food for the new arrivals. Once Laura was done with T-Dog, they allowed them to eat in peace. Laura and Maggie continued their talk on the porch, going back to their respective spots –Maggie on the rocking chair and Laura on the railing. It was getting late. There was still no sign of Otis and Shane. Carl's time was running out and they both knew it. Hershel knew it too.

A part of Laura wanted to go out and find them herself. Maybe they had broken down on the way. That stupid truck Otis drove always gave him problems –if it wasn't the tires, it was the battery. Maybe it was acting up again. Or, perhaps they got lost. It was dark, after all and when it came to driving, Otis had a pathetic sense of direction for a hunter.

"Maybe I should go out after 'em. They should've been back," she said aloud for Maggie to hear. She immediately regretted sharing that thought with her sister.

"Are you crazy?" Maggie's eyes were wide with worry. Her lips were dry. "Didn't we just discuss this? How we all have enough pressure as it is?!"

Laura rolled her eyes, putting her focus on her boots as she swung her feet to and fro. Why was she the only would that could see the bigger picture? If Otis and Shane weren't back soon, the boy would most likely die, no matter how hard she and Hershel tried to save him. They weren't equipped to deal with something like that.

They sat in silence, a growing irritation towards each other. They didn't understand each other's point of views. Both truly believed that they were in the right.

"I'm gonna go see if dad needs any help. I can't just sit here on my ass," Laura huffed, getting up to go inside. She passed Glenn, whose head was somewhere else. He seemed distracted. He seemed troubled. She ignored him. Lori and Rick still hadn't moved from the past position. The only difference was that Rick was clutching his wife's hand with his as they watched their son sleep soundlessly.

"Dad," she whispered, pulling Hershel aside. "There isn't much time."

"I know that. He's losing too much blood. We're gonna have to do it without the equipment." Rick and Lori listened. Laura looked at the boy. He was so young. Too young to have to have gone through something like a gunshot. She looked at his parents. They were losing hope, especially Lori. She was losing hope too soon. Rick was trying to hold on for as long as he could, but if something wasn't done, he'd have lost it too. She looked at her dad, looking at her for one simple word.

"Alright," she nodded. That was enough. "We can do it."

Hershel nodded, putting a hand on her shoulder. She was nervous. But at least she had him with her. He turned back to Rick and Lori. "He's losing too much blood. Much more than we'll be able to replace. If we don't do it now, he'll just slip away."

Pacing himself carefully, Rick stood up. Lori helped him. It was time. "You need to tell me right now if you want us to do it, because I think your boy is outta time," Hershel went on. Neither of them said anything, but they didn't have the luxury of time to sit and hesitate. "You have to make a choice," Hershel insisted, getting impatient.

"A c-choice?" Lori gasped, glancing at Carl.

Rick took her by the shoulders gently. He wanted her to look at him. "A choice," he repeated, "You have to tell me what it is."

Lori brought her hand up to his face, her eyes about to tell him no. Laura and Hershel looked at each other, fearing her response. Rick feared too. But, she proved them all wrong.

"We do it."

Without a second to waste, they began to prep the room for surgery. Patricia and Maggie brought everything they needed –utensils, medicine, towels, bandages, everything they could get their hands on. Beth wheeled in a steel table, just about long enough to fit Carl's body on. With a corner for each one, Hershel, Laura, Rick and Lori grabbed the sheet as tenderly as they could and lifted Carl onto the table. Patricia brought a bucket of clean, hot water. Maggie moved the lamp to the center of the room, giving them as much light as she could get.

"You may wanna step outside," Maggie warned Rick and Lori before they began. They stayed put. Hershel and Laura could wait for them. They needed to start if they were going to save the boy's life.

But, then, the most miraculous thing happened that brought everyone to a standstill. Another car pulled up in front of the house. Otis and Shane were back.

"Stay here with him," Hershel told Patricia as everybody else filed outside, frantically to get the equipment. The familiar blue pickup truck was parked right in front of the house. They made it. The boy was going to be alright. The first person out of the truck was Shane, holding a huge bag of supplies which Laura grabbed immediately. He took out another one, which Glenn took.

For a moment, nobody checked to see if Otis was even there. It was unanimously assumed that he was sitting in the passenger seat. But, when he didn't come out for a while, Hershel was the first to raise the question.

"Where's Otis?" he asked, trying to get a better look of inside the truck. Nobody was there. Laura paused and looked back as she opened the front door of the house. Shane shook his head and looked at the ground. Otis was gone. Maggie's face dropped as her bottom lip began to shake. Otis was more her friend that anyone else besides her father.

There was no time to mourn. At least not then. Laura opened the door and proceeded inside, trying to get the thought of Otis dying out of her head. She had a job to do. Carl wasn't going to lose his life because of her stupid emotions. Shortly afterwards, Hershel followed her inside and they easily set everything up. Not one word about Otis was mentioned to Patricia during it all.

Everything was finally ready. They just needed to get to work.

"You ready?" Hershel asked Laura and Patricia, who were on the other side of the table.

They exchanged looks.

"It's now or never, dad."

And so, they began.

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And so it all starts...dum dum dum...

Don't forget to review, follow and favorite, you fantastic people. I'm going to edit the next chapter now.