The ride to the high school was slightly nerve racking. Anthony had never done something like this before. His heart was in his throat when he saw the condition of the school. Walkers were everywhere and it was growing dark. His heart raced and he felt light headed but he shook it away. He had to do this – for Carl. Otis parked the truck a little ways from the school but not too far and they unloaded and picked a place as the sunset. They had found a police car that was filled with flares.

"See that container over there?" Otis pointed out a large blue storage container. "Everything we need is in there."

Anthony's heart dropped as he saw the herds of Walkers wandering aimlessly. But he gathered up as much courage as possible – this had to be done.

The plan was to use the flares to distract the Walkers, sneak in, get the items and then run as fast as humanly possibly back to the truck. Anthony snuck a few flares in his pockets before setting a lit match to one. The bright red light nearly blinded Anthony but he threw it a good few feet away from himself and Otis. The Walkers response was immediate, they reminded him of moths around a flame. They threw a few more to gather a larger audience before making their way towards the school with Otis leading.

XXXXXXX

Daryl spared no time as he ran all the way back to the freeway, he could hear the others huffing and puffing behind him but he didn't wait for them. Carl – shot. Those two words invaded every corner of his brain and he felt horror spread through his body. As he ran he couldn't help but think that this was the first time he had ever had this kind of feeling towards another being – ever. But he didn't think about that now, he couldn't. His mind was on getting to Carl as quickly as possible. When the barrier was in sight Daryl pushed himself harder and literally leapt over it and headed straight for his brother's motorcycle. Dale was startled by the young man's sudden energy.

"We need to talk about this," Andrea protested.

"Nothin' to talk 'bout," Daryl replied as he got onto the bike.

"You can't just leave like this!"

Daryl cranked the handle and the motor gave a loud roar. "Watch me."

Crystal, Mak and Hope ran to see what the commotion was. Immediately they noticed that Anthony was not with them.

"Where is he?" Crystal demanded. "Where is he?"

"Went with Carl and Rick," Glenn said. "Carl's being shot."

"Shot?" Mak exclaimed.

Glenn nodded.

"Where is he?"

"At some farm, a chick on horseback came out of the woods and told us and took Lori too.

"What are we going to do about T-dog?" Dale asked, they all turned to see the man huddled behind the RV with a blanket wrapped around his shoulder. Daryl dug into his saddle and then tossed Mak a whole bag of pill bottles. Mak's throat tightened.

"Merle's stash," Daryl said as he gave the handle another crank. With that he sped off leaving the others standing there in the dust.

XXXXXX

By the time Lori got to the house, the sun was nearly set. Rick was waiting for her on the porch and Lori was ready to advance when something stopped her. It was a gut feeling that seemed to grow with every second. She wanted to approach Rick, she wanted to comfort him and do everything a good wife and mother should when the father is in complete disarray and when the child is shot. But she couldn't bring herself too – she felt guilty. Guilty about what has happened back at the CDC and what is happening now. Lori was at a loss about what to do. Rick could sense her hesitation however lacked the knowledge to understand her meaning of stopping. He nodded for her to come forward and he led her into the room were Carl was currently placed. The sight made her want to throw up. The gut feeling was replaced with horror and her heart sank. Instinctively she held onto Rick to steady her, he wrapped his arms around her in an offer of comfort as he saw tears stream down his wife's face. He led her out of the room away from the current sight and then Rick forced Lori to sit. They sat in silence for a long time. Patricia tried to coax both into speaking but the only replies she managed to get were either a nod or a head shake.

There was a sudden cough from an engine that caught both their attentions. Lori was the first to stand and she rushed out the door with Rick behind her. She was shocked to see that it was Daryl – and only Daryl. The man leaned the motorcycle on its kickstand and then rushed up the steps onto the porch.

"Where are the others?" Rick asked.

"Coming," Daryl replied then muttered. "I hope."

He pushed past the parents and then entered the house.

"Where is he?"

"Right then go through the door."

Daryl followed Rick's directions and as soon as he opened the door he saw Carl. The bed sheet covered his lower half and a large patch of gauze covered where the bullet had entered. A thin sheet of sweat covered Carl's forehead and his chest rose slightly. Daryl sat in the chair beside the bed and then studied the boy. From the doorway Rick watched as Daryl observed his son, he took in a shaky breath and then released it while going over the story that Shane had given him back in the CDC.

XXXXXX

In the supply container, Anthony stuffed his duffel bag with two tanks of oxygen and a couple of medical kits thinking of not only Carl but also Shane and T-dog while Otis cleaned out the surgical supplies and took the respirator down from the top shelf.

"Let's go."

Anthony didn't need any encouragement. His nerves were jumping and he wanted to get out as fast as possible. He slung the bag over his shoulder and followed Otis out. As soon as they opened the door they were greeted by a small number of Walkers.

"Shit!" Anthony cried.

They both bolted around the corner and ran down a long narrowed path. Anthony could hear the groans getting louder and he took the Bowie out of his belt just in case. They turned around the corner and Anthony made a turn but encountered a Walker. He shrieked and backed up until he felt himself hit the fence. Anthony brought the Bowie down on the Walker twice before giving it a good shove and heading in the other direction. They made another sharp turn as Walkers closed in from all sides. Anthony looked to see that they were at the front of the school and he tried to pull the doors open but they were locked.

"Move!" Otis leveled his gun and shot the glass. It rained down in millions of tiny slivers and both men didn't hesitate and rushed inside. Anthony pulled closed the fence and used the stick to lock it. They watched in horror as Walkers pressed themselves up against the bars, their arms outstretched and their mouths working furiously as if trying to chew through the bars. Anthony pushed Otis towards the right side set of doors and then ran down the hall, ignoring the sound of the fence crashing loudly to the ground.

XXXXXX

Daryl had moved from the bedroom into the living room, he never once put down his crossbow ignoring Rick's commands to. He didn't know these people he wasn't going to let his guard down on second. Daryl wondered what the others were doing, if they were still talking or if they finally did some work. He snorted at the thought. That's what everyone in the group lacked – action. Sure talking over a reasonable plan was fine, it was safe and it was likely to not get you killed, but doing it for hours on end is just plain stupid. Reality changes. He was about to doze off when he heard an engine pull up into the driveway. Daryl immediately was on his feet and shrugged his weapon off his shoulder. He pushed open the mesh door and pointed his crossbow at the driver.

XXXXXX

Otis mainly led the way, Anthony just followed, turned and shot down at Walker once in a while. Both were out of breath but didn't stop for one minute. They came to a set of double doors sealed with a chain and lock.

"In here!" Otis said pushing Anthony forward. Anthony obliged and soon found himself in the gym. They jumped onto the bleachers and looked below to see the Walkers gathering already. Their arms outstretched towards the living and haunting sounds echoed all around the gym, deafening Anthony. Anthony turned to see a window on the other side.

"There," he pointed out, hope filled his voice.

"Maybe for you," Otis replied.

"Don't think like that man."

Anthony wasn't going to leave Otis here, he looked around and saw a door off to the side. Otis did too.

"Leads to the locker room," Otis informed, "I'll go I can destract them, it has windows more my size, I'll cross the field and come back."

Anthony nodded. Otis adjusted the bag on his back and the jumped. Immediately Anthony knew from his position that the land was going to be anything but comfortable. He was right. Otis landed right on his ankle and fell to the ground. Anthony raised his gun and shot immediately at a Walker that got too close. He continued to shoot as the man scrambled to his feet and ran to the locker room. Anthony turned the other way and jumped off and towards the window. His heart raced and adrenaline flowed through his veins. Anthony used the butt of his rifle to break the glass and turned just in time as a Walker lunged at him. Anthony shot it through the head. Blood and brain splattered onto the Walker behind it but Anthony already had the gun pumped and he shot the second one. He wasn't taking any chances. He tossed his bag out the window, put the safety on before tossing the gun and then climbed out himself. Anthony realized that fall was greater than he expected and he thought back to what Crystal had told them. Front roll over the shoulder. Anthony took in a few quick breaths and then pushed. Glass sliced deep into his flesh and he let out a painful cry. The surprise caught him off balance and he landed right on his shoulder.

"Ahh!" the pain was unbearable and Anthony gripped his shoulder tightly making sure that nothing was broken. To his surprise nothing was. He quickly got to his feet and slung the bag over his good shoulder and ran.

XXXXXX

Crystal got out of the vehicle ignoring a bolt pointed right at her head. She pushed past Daryl and walked straight into the living room where Rick and Lori were sitting. Rick immediately knew why Crystal was behaving in such a way.

"He volunteered," Rick said.

"And you let him," Crystal said, her voice was tight and deep showing Rick her disagreement and seriousness.

"Anthony said that he would be able to handle-."

"He's fucking colour blind."

Rick stopped talking. His brained absorbed what Crystal was telling him and he immediately felt a wave of guilt wash over him.

"Is he with anyone?" Crystal asked getting her emotions under control.

"Otis," Hershel said coming into the room. "Now are you sure that one of your people is colour blind?"

"Dichromacy," Crystal answered.

"He told me he was dentist."

"Anthony wanted to be a dentist but was denied because of his disability."

"Just for being colour blind?"

Crystal sighed. "Look, he didn't like getting into details, all we know is that he was close to getting his doctorate when they found out and he was stripped."

Rick let out a long sigh and tried to figure out what to do. From the door Daryl, Glenn and T-dog could help but overhear what was going on and gave each other nervous glances. A colour blind person out at night surrounded by Walkers wasn't the best scenario in the world.