Several hours later she was drenched in sweat and cussing the women heartily under her breath. The three women with her were barely sweating as they had been standing around talking instead of unloading the truck. She saw Deanna approaching and the women were suddenly very willing to work. Carol could only shake her head. Without saying anything Deanna started to clear things out of the truck. The truck was soon empty and it was time to go inside and inventory everything. Carol had never been so happy about cooking as she was when it was time for her to leave and prepare the food.

It was night before Carol had time to sit down and relax. She was sitting on the couch with her head back when she heard the door open. Michonne walked in, a strained expression on her face. Seeing Carol she stopped, "Have you seen Sasha?"

Sitting up Carol answered, "No, I just sat down," before the words were completely out of her mouth Michonne took off up the stairs. Less than a minute later Michonne came back down. She was heading for the door when it opened wide and Maggie stood there, tears in her eyes. Carol stood and went to stand by the others, "They found her about a mile from here, she was in a pit of walkers, and her wrists were slit."

Carol wasn't really surprised by the news, Sasha had been on a downward spiral since losing Bob and Tyreese. She stood back as Maggie and Michonne comforted each other. She had never really been close to Sasha. Deciding to leave the two alone she went to her room. She was napping when there was a knock at the door, "Yeah?"

Tara poked her head in, "Rick wants everyone downstairs." With a sigh Carol hauled herself to her feet. When she made it downstairs everyone was waiting, even Gabriel who watched her move across the room. She stood against the wall arms crossed.

Rick started talking, "I know everyone knows what happened by now. I don't know why she did it."

Carol couldn't help the scoff that burst forth. Everyone's head jerked in her direction, "She did it because she was weak."

"How can you say that? She lost..." Michonne started, but Carol cut her off.

"Everyone in here has lost someone," Michonne gave her a hard look but didn't argue. Rick put his hand on Michonne's shoulder and squeezed.

"It doesn't matter why now. It's done. She deserves for us to honor her." Glenn said giving Carol a look.

Frustrated, Carol pushed herself away from the wall and walked out the door. She knew she was essentially throwing a tantrum, but she had zero tolerance for weakness these days. Once outside, she just started walking. She walked the perimeter near the walls and after two circuits she started feeling closed in. She made a decision, even knowing it wasn't a smart one. She went back to the house. The others were still in the living room, they turned in her direction but she didn't acknowledge them. Walking up to her room she grabbed two guns, she had hidden in her closet, along with an oversized jacket that had big pockets that she had a bottle of water and extra ammo in. She went back downstairs, once again ignoring the looks thrown her way. When she ignored someone calling her name she felt childish, but she needed to be away from everyone for a while.

When she got to the gate there was a guard standing nearby. Without saying a word she simply walked to the gate and opened it and walked out. She made sure the gate was secured behind her and then walked away. Her mind wandered as she walked through the woods.

She had been walking for at least an hour when she heard voices. Stopping to take in her surroundings she realized she could smell smoke and see the faint glow of a small campfire. She started to reach for her gun when she heard the leaves behind her rustling. She took a step to start running, but she was met with a wall of resistance. She saw a flash of something and then nothing.

Carol could hear voices again though they were distorted, but were close. She knew she was laying down, but she wasn't in the woods anymore. The ground was cold and hard. She was trying to wrestle her eyes open, but couldn't get them to cooperate. After a considerable amount of time she managed to get them open. She was momentarily blinded by the light from a fixture above her.

"Look who finally decided to join us," she heard a female voice announce. Getting her bearings she was able to sit up. Looking around she saw she was actually in a cage, and there was about 10 women standing against the walls. All were bruised and bloody and in various states of undress. The woman who was talking was outside the cage, "John is going to like you. He likes em' old."

"Where am I?" Carol asked knowing she wouldn't get an answer. The woman just laughed and left.

Carol finally managed to make it to her feet. She looked around at the other women, most of them not making eye contact. Until she me the eyes of a woman standing in the corner. She was covered in bruises and dried blood and her clothes were torn and filthy, but she stood tall, her arms crossed. She reminded her of Michonne.

"What's going on here?" Carol asked the woman. She didn't think she was going to answer and then finally, "You're the newest member of the meat market. You're lucky John wasn't here or you would already be dead or want to be dead."

Carol felt to make sure she had her weapons and she did, "Who's the woman?"

The woman had yet to change her stance, "Mandy, she John's second hand. Don't think you're going to get any sympathy from her," the woman gave a snarl, obviously remembering something.

Looking around again and taking stock of the cage and the women, Carol could tell most of them were already broken. They had their heads down and were curled into themselves. The cage was large, probably 20ft by 20ft, but with eleven women and three dirty mattresses it was crowded, "How many people are out there?" Carol continued her questioning.

The woman seemed to be getting annoyed, but still answered the question, "Twenty or more."

"How armed are they?" The woman cocked an eyebrow, "They all have guns." Nodding Carol looked around again. "Are they watching us now?" After another strange look the woman answered, "No, they're not that sophisticated."

Moving to the nearest mattress Carol kneeled and pulled out her weapons and ammo and put them under the mattress. When she looked at the woman this time, she had definitely perked up. Carol could hear voices outside the door. She was startled when the woman stepped close to her, "John gets off on women fighting back." Carol gave a nod and then the door opened and the same woman from before came in the room.

Mandy was smirking as she opened the cage doors. Grabbing Carol by the jacket she pushed her out of the cage. Pushing her against the wall she turned and locked the cage always keeping one hand on Carol. She was then shoved roughly out the other door. She took the time it took Mandy to lock the door to take in her new surroundings. They were in a building and it was bright with light. She found herself briefly wondering how many generators and how much gas it took to keep so many lights on and what a waste it was. There were men and women milling about. The place was filthy and smelled of urine, unwashed bodies and stale beer. She could see the tell-tale wobble of several drunk people.

She was brought back from her thoughts by Mandy once again pulling her roughly by her jacket. She was pushed and pulled until they stopped in front of a bearded man sitting on an old worn out sofa. Mandy sat beside him wearing the same smirk. All the activity had stopped and she heard people murmuring about "John breaking a new one."

The man, Carol assumed was John was giving her a once over. "Take off your jacket." Carol didn't move wanting to see what happened. After a bit John nodded to Mandy and she stood up and slapped Carol across the face, before grabbing the lapels of her jacket and ripping it off. She wasn't too fazed by the hit. She had been hit much harder.

"It would be smartest if you just did what I say," Carol didn't respond in any way. She let out a grunt when Mandy grabbed her hair and yanked her head back roughly. Putting her face right up against Carols, "Say, yes sir," she snarled.

Carol faced off with Mandy before finally saying, "Yes sir," causing everyone around to chuckle and cheer. She could see John taking her in. He had a predatory look in his eyes that Carol was very familiar with. Suddenly his eyes flashed and he lunged out of his chair. Carol barely had enough time to brace as he slammed his fist into the side of her head. She dropped to the ground instantly.

The room erupted into cheers. She looked up at John, standing over her, he was looking at the cheering crowd. She realized this was all a show for him and she felt anger and hatred radiating through her. Ignoring the pain in her head she forced herself to stand. She wanted to smirk when she saw his smile disappear. The room was quiet as they waited for John's reaction. She wasn't surprised when he punched her. The blow landed on her cheek and she went to her knees. Instinctively bringing her hand to her cheek she felt blood. She heard laughter again. She looked up at John again and saw a familiar look in his eyes. It was the look Ed would get before he sent her to the hospital. Forcing her mind into a familiar blankness she was soon lost in herself, barely feeling the repeated blows John dealt.

She came back into herself when she felt herself hit the floor. When she looked around she saw a very mad Mandy standing over her. She couldn't help saying, "Finished already?" she had no idea where it came from, but the frustrated huff and watching Mandy stalk off was reward enough. As soon as Mandy left the stranger from before moved beside her, "Wow, he really did a number on you."

"I never thought I would say this, but having an abusive bastard of a husband came in handy today," she was in a lot of pain and could taste blood. "I bit my tongue," she heard herself say as her eyes started to grow heavy. She heard a chuckle and then she was asleep.

It seemed like only seconds later she was jerking awake at the sound of someone banging on the cage. There was shouting and the then gate opened. Mandy sauntered in holding a jug of water and a large opened can of beans. Setting them on the ground she addressed the group, "You know the drill, three at a time. Line up," Carol was confused, but she was pulled up and placed in like with two other women. They were led through the building and out the door. They were taken behind the building and when the other women pulled their pants down to relieve themselves, Carol finally caught up to what was happening. This new world didn't allow for modesty so she pulled her own pants down and took care of business. She wandered why they allowed them to do it outside, but figured it had to do with clean up. Then she saw people standing nearby with smiles on their faces and knew the real reason. Disgusted she finished quickly and rearranged her clothes.

On their way back to the cage she tried to take in as much as possible about the building and people, looking for any weakness. She saw several people passed out and there was several piles of beer cans at least waist high. There was a man and woman yelling at each other and throwing things. These people were unorganized, but they were armed and they were hostile, which made them even more dangerous.

Once they were back in the cage Mandy took more out. The women were all sitting on the ground sharing the water and food. When the stranger from the day before patted the ground beside her, Carol gingerly sat down. The water jug was passed to her and she took a grateful drink. Then the large can was passed to her and she scooped out a small amount with her hand. Her hunger helped her work past the questionable sanitation. She really missed Alexandria.

"So what's your name?" the woman asked causing Carol to jump. "Carol." The woman held out her hand, "Joan." Carol smiled and shook her hand. "You have a group out there?" Joan asked. Carol looked at her trying to judge if she should tell the truth, "No," she decided to lie. Joan looked at her seeming to not believe her, she just shrugged, "I understand, I wouldn't trust me either."

"You planning on using those weapons?" Joan asked quietly. Carol looked up as the water and beans made it back to her, all the women were looking at her expectantly. Mandy came back to get the final women. When she was gone Carol answered, "Yes," she saw smiles on even the most despondent faces.


3 Days Later

Daryl pulled up to the gates of Alexandria. The trip had been cut short when the group they were following had been over-run by walkers. There was no survivors. Usually he would be reluctant about being behind the walls, but since the kiss with Carol he had been thinking of little else. When they were let in the gate he parked his bike where he normally left it and headed toward the house.

When he opened the door he could hear conversation coming from the living room. When he stopped in the entrance of the space, everyone got quiet and turned. Rick, Deanna, Michone, Maggie and Glenn all sat staring. "What's going on?" he asked, dread coursing through his body.

Rick stood and gestured toward an empty seat, "You should sit." Not wanting to, but tired from the trip he sat down. Putting his elbows on his knees, he put his hands on his face scrubbing the tiredness away, "Just tell me."

Rick sat back in his chair taking up a similar position. Looking Daryl in the eyes he hesitated only a second before announcing, "Carol's gone."

The words didn't register immediately, "Wha... What?"

Rick sighed, "She's gone. She went out the gate five days ago and there's been no sign of her since."

Daryl's chest was hurting and he couldn't breathe, "Why... why would she leave?" Daryl got to his feet and started pacing.

"She was upset about Sasha and just left."

"What happened to Sasha?"

Everyone looked uncomfortable before Maggie finally explained, "She killed herself."

Daryl flinched, "Jesus," pacing back and forth Daryl tried to work things out in his head, "Did you look for Carol?"

Rick frowned, "Of course we did, for two days. The ground was too messed up to find any tracks."

Daryl nodded. Not knowing what to do he left the room and headed up the stairs. He stopped in front of Carols closed door and hesitated. He opened the door slowly hoping to see her on the other side, and it would all be a sick joke. However, when the door opened the room was empty. The bed was made and it smelled of a candle Carol would burn a little at a time to make it last. Laying on the end of the bed was one of her ridiculous homemaker sweaters. He couldn't help the tears as he lay on the bed holding the sweater against his chest.