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Richmond did not go well.

At Tyrese's funeral Noah was filled with even more guilt. There were now two people dead because of him. Tyrese was dead because Noah had wanted to go home… Beth too if he was honest… but just like everyone else standing beside him by the grave there was no going home for anyone.

The group packed up and the unspoken decision was made to head to Washington. Not because they had faith in Eugene's insistence that it would be safe… they just needed somewhere to go.

…

After the van broke down they stopped. The decision was made to split up and find supplies, before they continued along the forest road on foot. They would have one hour before continuing onwards. Noah found himself heading south into the woods with Glen, Abraham and Tara.

"Look for river beds or ditches." said Glen, "I know it's dry but there has to be water somewhere!"

Abraham and Glen headed off to the right while Tara hung back with Noah.

"How are you doing?" she asked eventually. "You haven't been saying much."

"I'm okay." said Noah quietly.

Tara put a hand on his shoulder.

"I know what you're going through." she said. "Before Glen found me I had no one left either."

"But you didn't get anyone killed." said Noah guiltily.

Tara gave a bitter laugh.

"Oh you have no idea." she said. "These people... I was in a group that went to war with these people; chased them from their home; broke them apart." Tara's face became a mask of regret. Noah, so used to her playful character, was shocked by the depth of sorrow in her eyes. "So many people died that day. I lost everything. They lost everything. I don't know why they let me stay but they did. They are good people and so now I'm paying them back a day at a time."

"What do you mean?" asked Noah.

Tara stood in silence for a moment trying to put her feeling into words.

"I mean… after my sister, my niece… after they were gone I found the only way I could keep going was to be useful. If I helped, made a difference, then it was worth living. If I'm not a burden then I can hold my head up… even though the memory of Maggie's father and that sword still keeps me up at nights. Being useful is how I live my life now. It's not always easy but if you are alive you help keep the rest of world alive too. That's your job. You have to use what skills you have to help."

"And that's what you do?"

"That's what I do!"

"And what if you don't have any skills?" asked Noah hesitantly.

Tara gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Everyone is good at something." she insisted. "Can you cook; fish; tie knots?"

"I'm not sure I'm good at anything." Noah admitted.

"Then you learn to be good at something." said Tara patting his shoulder reassuringly.

"Such as…"

"Well right now finding water would be the greatest skill ever!"

…

They had been following a slope down towards a likely looking hollow but there wasn't even mud at the bottom, only dust.

That's when they heard it; the moan that could only have escaped from dead lips.

Noah tensed as he turned and saw three walkers stalking determinedly towards them.

Noah reached for his gun, but Tara stopped him and showed him the knife in her hand instead.

"Guns will just draw more. Be steady; careful and quick. Try to do it with one blow."

Her words sounded tough but Noah could see the terror in her eyes as she stepped towards the nearest walker, an old man in stained striped pyjamas. She grasped the creature's collar, holding it at arm's length with one hand and thrusting her knife into its skull with the other. Tara then took two steps back as the body dropped to the floor and readied for the next one. Despite all her bravado, for the first time Noah could see that this still terrified her. Tara was scared, but somehow she was burying it and doing what needed to be done.

Noah realised that had to be who he was now as well. He had to face his fears. He just wasn't sure he had it in him. His hands shaking a little Noah dropped his crutch and drew his own blade. This was the first walker he had faced since Richmond.

Tara was stepping up to the next walking corpse but there was another close behind, a woman with half her scalp hanging off. Noah bunched up his courage. He grabbed at the creature's clothing, trying to avoid the mouth and struck at her head with his knife. The blade sank in easily but the creature's jaws were still snapping at him. He'd missed. As the walking corpse grabbed at him Noah fell backwards, struggling to hold the snapping jaws at arm's length. In desperation Noah struggled to pry free his knife but the creature twisted in his grasp, its rotten flesh coming away in his hands. Then Tara was there and plunged her blade in the back of the walker's skull.

She pushed the body aside and held out a hand to help Noah to his feet.

"We'll work on that as well." she said, with a worried smile.

Once Noah was standing Tara handed him his crutch.

"Can you walk?"

"Yeah," said Noah more embarrassed than anything else." I can walk."

He grunted with discomfort though when he tried to take a step.

Tara sighed.

"Come here. Lean on me. I'll get you back to the road."

…