So I clearly can´t restrain myself from updating every other day, but it´s officialy 9th of February here, which means TWD is finally back, yay!

As usual I hope you enjoyed & let me know what you think

P.S: From now in I will update every Monday because my semester has began and I don´t know how much time I´ll have left for writing, hopefully enough :-)

CHAPTER 3 – FAREWELLS AND CHANCES

Rick's POV

The sun was rising over the horizon when I finished my watch and went away to talk to Morgan as usual. I had to let him know we were moving out from the quarry to CDC. I left a map along with a note taped to the Challenger. It was all I could do for him at that moment. I just hoped he was right about that place. A lot was at stakes at that moment. Jim's condition was getting worse with every passing hour and Kiara's wound was also in need of medical care. After I finished my little talk I walked back to the camp to wake her up and make sure everybody was ready to leave.

I was unzipping the tent when I saw Kiara putting on black tank top, her wild hair in a high ponytail and her gear already packed up and ready. I coughed lightly to alert her to my presence and she turned around slightly startled but then smiled.

"Hey, can you help me out? Carol left some bandages to redress the cut, but I can't reach the damned spot properly." frustration taking over her pretty features. I walked in and she handed me clean bandage. I peeled the cover off and lifted her tank top up a bit to get rid of the soiled one. I took it off and examined the cut. It looked irritated around the edges and I could see it was inflamed badly. I set out to clean it a little. As I was doing so I subconsciously brushed my fingers across her skin causing the goose-bumps to rise on the nape of her neck. She looked at me over her shoulder, blush evident on her face and my breath hitched in my throat. I quickly collected myself and put a fresh bandage on the wound and pulled her tank top back down. I turned her around to feel her forehead and I was right. She was running a fever.

"Ehm ... so ... how're you feelin' today?"

"Peachy" she smiled and dropped her gaze to the ground but I could see her face was strained from the pain.

"Yeah right, don't try to play the hero. I can see you're in pain. I'm gonna ask around and see if there are any painkillers or antibiotics. You're going to need them. And you're riding with me, Carl, Carol and Sophia. I need to keep my eye on you." I took her backpack with me to put it inside the car.

"But what about Lori? Wouldn't she want to ride along with Carl?" she asked sheepishly.

"Nope. She's goin' to be ridin' in the RV and help Jacqui take care of Jim. You're ridin' with us, end of discussion."

"Alright, bossy-pants." I turned around to see a crooked smile plastered on her face. I rolled my eyes at her and walked away towards the car.

Half hour later we were all gathered next to the cars. Shane was giving instructions for the road when Morales said they were leaving us. We were all a bit shocked by their decision to leave the safety of a group, but there was nothing we could do to make them reconsider so it was time to say our farewells. It got very emotional. We decided to give them one of the handguns and half box of ammo, Shane questioning whether our chances are any better than theirs. I really didn't need to hear that, I had enough on my mind already. We finally set out on the road – Dale leading the way in RV with Glenn, Jim, Lori and Jacqui, then me with Kiara, Carol and the kids in Cherokee, T-dog and Andrea in van followed by Darryl in his truck and Shane in his Jeep at the tail of our caravan. I felt hopeful and nervous at the same time not knowing what lied ahead of us but praying for the best.

After few hours of driving through the Georgia countryside, RV's radiator hose broke down again. Shane was just looking through his binoculars hoping for a gas station nearby when Jacqui jumped out of the RV telling us that Jim had taken turn for the worse. I stepped into the RV to talk to him while Shane and T-dog rode away to find something that could be used to fix the damned hose. I reassured Jim that we'd be back on the road soon and to my surprise the look on his face turned from one of pain into one of sheer horror.

"Oh no, Christ. My bones, my bones're like glass... every lil' bump...god. This ride's killin' me. Leave me here. I'm done...just leave me. I wane be with my family." He muttered weakly and my heart sank, the mere idea chilling me to my core. I sat next to him telling him that his family was dead and that he didn't know what he was asking. After all he'd been delirious most of the time. I couldn't just leave him behind, I couldn't. It would be my fault he didn't make it.

As if he knew what I was thinking, he told me he was clear and was definitely sure he wanted to stay behind and that it was his decision, that it was on him. I knew there was no point arguing and the least we could do was to grant the man his wish so I went to talk to the group. I could see they didn't like the idea as well but they agreed eventually. We said our farewells and set out on the road once again, the mood significantly heavier.

Kiara's POV

After we left Jim under that tree, the mood in the car was getting grimmer with every minute. I hadn't known him at all but I still felt sad about the poor man's destiny. I was a little groggy from all the ibuprofen Rick stuffed me with, but it definitely eased some of my pain. My stomach was churning and my throat felt scratchy but I wasn't the only one. None of us have eaten for two days and it was taking its toll on us.

"How'd you get to Atlanta anyway? Last time anyone had any information of your whereabouts, you were in Boston. So what happened? Where's Colin? Your dad?" I could hear a sincere concern in Rick's voice but the questions cut too deep, reviving memories I wished I could've erased from my mind forever.

"I... ehm... well my mom got attacked in the hospital she worked in and died. That's why I left for Boston in a first place. We didn't know what was happening at the time and I decided to stay with dad and Colin for a few days after the funeral. When the disease spread and everything started to fall apart, I tried to call your house, but no one would answer. My dad barricaded us in the house with supplies. He thought he could keep us safe there, but then one night when he was keeping watch, about ten Walkers broke through to our house. I woke up to my dad yelling at Colin to get me out of there and then he was attacked. We had our gear and supplies prepared and packed in the trunk of my truck in case we needed to leave the house in a rush. I have no idea how Colin got me out of the house or how we got through next days, but when I finally pulled it together I convinced him to try for Kings County or Atlanta. I knew we had to find you. We got to Charlotte but then we ran into some people. It got pretty bad and... and Colin... he got killed." I couldn't hold back my tears anymore at that point so I just let them stream down my face quietly not able to continue with the story. "I'm sorry... I can't... I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"God... I'm so sorry Kiara... I... I wish I could've done something." Rick sputtered, not knowing how to react. Carol reached from the back seat and squeezed my shoulder trying to soothe me. I tried to pull it together taking a few deep breaths to calm myself. I smiled at Rick and said:"I'm ok. It's just... I'm not ready to talk about what happened to Colin, not yet at least."

"It's ok Kiara. I'm here for you, we all are." he stroked my arm reassuringly instantly making me feel better. I relaxed to his touch and soon I dozed off.

Rick's POV

Kiara's story really broke my heart. I had no idea she had been through so much and it was killing me that there was absolutely nothing I could do to prevent that. Kiara dozed off again so I was making a small talk with Carol and kids just to pass the time away.

When we arrived to CDC, it was almost dark outside and the smell rising from hundreds of rotting corpses was absolutely overwhelming. My heart sank at the sight but I still held onto my hope. This had to be it!

We stepped out of our cars and started to carefully make our way towards the entrance covering our noses with hands and shirts, coughing from the nasty odour. We got to the entrance, but it was sealed with metal shutters and there was no sign of people anywhere, at least not living people. I tried to push she shutters open, Shane banging on them and people started to panic. Darryl screamed "Walkers" and kids started to cry, terrified. He went ahead shooting his crossbow and Kiara lunged forward swinging her sword, doing everything to keep everybody safe. Darryl screaming at me and people asking me what were we going to do. Lori yelling at me that we needed answers tonight. I started to panic, desperate, not knowing what to do. Everybody started to run for the cars and as I looked at the camera over the door, I saw it moved.

"The camera! It moved!" I yelled, everybody stopping in their tracks, Dale telling me I was imagining it.

"Are you sure?" Kiara asked, stepping towards me panting and holding her side.

"It moved. It moved." I kept on repeating and stepping closer to the device. Shane coming to my side telling me it was an automated device, but I knew what I saw!

"No!" I said and started banging at the shutters and yelling at the people inside to let us in. There were more Walkers closing in on us and people started screaming again. Shane started to pull me away towards the cars, but I was persistent. I couldn't just let this go! We needed to get in, we needed the shelter and food and medical care for Kiara. This couldn't be it! I kept on screaming that they were killing us by not letting us in and Shane finally managed to pull me away and shoved me towards the cars when the shutters suddenly opened, the bright light blinding us all temporarily.

We all made it quickly inside, our guns at ready, looking for a person that let us in. I was supporting Kiara as she was quickly losing any remains of strength she had left.

"Hello?" I called out. I heard a sound of a gun being cocked which made me raise mine along with others.

"Anybody infected?" A male voice called out from the shadows.

"One of our group was," I told him. "He didn't make it."

"What about her?" he asked pointing at Kiara whose head was slumping on my shoulder at that point, her eyes still open and cautious though.

"She was stabbed, not bitten. The wound is inflamed though and she's running a fever." I told him not wanting to withhold anything.

The man then stepped forward. "Why are you here? What do you want?" he asked.

"A chance."