I AM AN EVIL PERSON WHO IS SO SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG TO UPDATE. PLEASE FORGIVE ME.

When my eyes flickered open the next morning, I found myself facing Carl's sleeping bag, wrinkled and empty. Despite it being an obvious sign that last night was nothing but a dream, I still felt a small wave of panic wash over me at his absence, until a voice snapped me from my thoughts.

"Hey."

I looked up to find Carl sitting cross-legged by my head, his shaggy brown locks falling into his eyes as he leaned over me. Smiling, I removed myself from the orange bag I'd been curled up in, tucking my feet into my side and sitting up as he scooted back to make room.

"Morning," I murmured, sleep still evident in my voice. "Why are you up so early?"

"Happy anniversary," he replied, reaching behind him and pulling something from his back pocket. He pressed a small box into my hand, rounded and covered with a red fur-like material. I could practically hear my breath hitch as I stared it, my mind racing as I stared at the suddenly heavy box in my chest. Sure, it was early, and we were young, but there was only one thing that popped into my mind when I thought about small velvet boxes, and I was pretty sure I wasn't ready for that.

But at the same time, the thought itself wasn't so bad; it was actually kind of nice. Still, I found it ridiculous to be jumping to conclusions so early, so I took a deep breath and opened the box, blinking at the silver metal inside.

A locket.

I sighed, turning to Carl and flashing him a bright smile. "I love it." Swinging my head side to side to see if anyone else had woken up yet, I threw myself into his arms, trying to stifle my giggles as we went tumbling to the ground. His laughter rang out, quiet enough not to be heard, but somehow loud enough that it seemed to fill up every inch of silence in the building.

That was the last moment of bliss burned into my mind before chaos struck.

"Have you seen my dad?" Beth said, somewhat absent-mindedly. By now, everyone had woken up, and we were all sitting around in a circle, eating the food that Rick had dropped off. Apparently, the quarantine had been lifted, and they were going to be moving us back into the prison tomorrow, taking an extra day just to be safe.

"He went out somewhere," Carl replied, his arm wrapped firmly around my shoulder, while my head rested on his. "He'll be back eventually."

"I know," she mumbled, seeming slightly more worried than she was before. "He said he'd be back by now, though."

I opened my mouth to respond when a loud explosion rang out, shaking the floor beneath us and causing me to cringe as the sound echoed in my ears. In a flash, Carl was on his feet and reaching for his gun as he raced towards the exit. I trailed close behind, wishing I'd chosen to keep some weapon on me besides a knife. Nevertheless, I pulled it from its sheath as I followed him out into the courtyard, jumping to the side to avoid being clipped by the door. Before it could close all the way, Beth emerged, racing after me while Mika and Molly darted off towards the main building, the former carrying Judith in her arms.

Somewhere along the way, Maggie ran up behind me, and the four of us headed for the main gate, running into both Sasha and Bob. Heavy footsteps echoed behind us as Rick, Tyreese, and Daryl darted over to join us.

"Get back!" Rick shouted, his voice sounding distant despite the fact that I was certain he was only a handful of feet away from me. Nobody paid much attention, however; we were all too busy gaping at the scene lying at the bottom of the hill.

A huge tank was stopped just meters away from the prison fences, three cars lined up on either side. Many of them had doors open and people climbing out, all of them holding a gun of some sort. Standing atop the military vehicle was a figure, hands on their hips and their feet spread apart. Even from the distance, there was no mistaking the man's identity.

There, with a smirk on his lips and eye patch slapped on his face, was the Governor.

"Rick," he called. "Come down here. We need to talk."

Well, that was a short chapter. Despite it being quite a cliché way to end a chapter, I couldn't bring myself to add anything else after that last sentence. I promise, there will be another chapter soon, so be prepared.

And now, it's time for our favorite long-standing tradition that I totally didn't start last chapter. Get ready for the Milk Fact of the chapter!

Did you know that Reindeer milk has more fat than Cow milk?