They crept quietly out of the cabin while Hope did her best not to look back at the mutilated corpse of the man.

"We're still pretty far, we should be there by nightfall." The woman flicked an errant dreadlock out of her face. She winced and stumbled on her bad leg.

"You should take those pain meds now. Here," Hope held out her water bottle.

The woman gave Hope a sideways glance before dipping her head and taking the bottle. She ripped open the small packet with her teeth and tossed the pills into her mouth. After gulping down some water she handed the bottle back to Hope. She limped ahead to the front of the group.

"Making new friends?" Daryl asked from behind her.

Hope fell into step with him. "Just trying to keep her going until we get there." She nudged him with her elbow. "Jealous?"

Daryl snorted, "Hell no, ain't nobody that can compete with me."

Hope smiled and rolled her eyes. She sobered immediately however when she thought about Glenn and Maggie. "Do you think they're okay?"

"Don't know, this governor seems like a mean son of a bitch."

Hope bit her lip and looked away.

Daryl nudged her. "Glenn's tough and Maggie's pretty bad-ass. They're fighters, if anyone could make it out it's them."

"You're right, they won't give up without a fight."

The rest of the walk was mercifully uneventful if not slow going because of the woman's injury. They reached Woodbury sometime after nightfall. As they crept up to the main gate Hope's heart thudded wildly. Though the railroad was at their backs, Hope kept glancing nervously behind them. There were five armed guards patrolling the gate. It looked pretty secure, Hope couldn't see a way in and neither could Rick since he studied the wall silently. A rustle of leaves to the left alerted her to the fact that they were now down a member.

"Hey!" Rick hissed. "Get back here!"

"Shit," Daryl cursed. "What do we do now?"

"We gotta downsize," Rick said, taking off his pack. Rick traded weapons with Oscar, he traded with Hope. Oscar put the bat she held away and gave her a hunting rifle instead.

"There's no way we can check all those buildings, not with all those guards." Daryl said.

A twig snapped and all four people aimed their weapons behind them. They immediately relaxed when they saw who it was. The woman waved her hand and motioned for them to follow. She led them to a back entrance to one of the buildings. It was barricaded just enough so that walkers wouldn't get through but it wasn't proofed against regular people.

They entered cautiously, the woman took point and Oscar brought up the rear. Silently they moved through the building, every sense was on high alert.

"This is where you were held?" Rick asked.

"This is where I was questioned." The woman answered.

Daryl moved in front, "Anywhere else they could be?" He peeked through a curtain. "Thought you said there was a curfew."

"The street is packed during the day, those are stragglers." She snapped.

Rick shook his head, "Anyone comes in here we're sitting ducks. We have to move."

"They could be in his apartment," the woman offered.

"Yeah and what if they ain't?" Daryl huffed.

"Then we'll look somewhere else," she growled back.

"You said you could help us," Rick chastised.

"I'm doing what I can."

"Then where in the hell are they?" Oscar hissed.

"Guys this isn't helping." Hope shifted. "He'd need somewhere isolated, away from people. Some place no one would hear them scream but not too far away from help if things got hairy. Is there any place you can think of that fits that description?"

The woman shrugged, "I didn't stay here very long."

"Hey," Rick gestured for them to talk off to the side. "If this goes south we're cutting her loose."

"You think she's leading us into a trap?" Oscar asked.

"Right now it's the blind leading the blind," Daryl answered. "Let's split up."

Hope shook her head, "I don't like it."

A key turned in the lock to the front door. Hope ran to the wall and sank down behind a shelf. Rick hid behind a curtain with Oscar, Daryl and the woman.

The door opened and a man's voice called out. "I know you're in here."

Hope's pulse jumped in her throat.

"I could see you moving outside. You know you're not supposed to be in here." The man moved further in, passing Hope's hiding spot without a second glance. "Come on now, who's in here." The man stepped further into the room.

Rick sprung out if hiding spot and cover the man's mouth. He pushed him into the wall. "Shut up, don't make a sound. Hands behind your back." He jerked his head, "Zip-tie him." Hope pulled out a zip-tie and handed it to Daryl. "Where are our people?"

The man shook his head frantically. "I don't know, I don't know nothing I swear."

Rick examined him for a moment, "Open your mouth." He stuffed some cloth in the man mouth. The man tried to scream around the makeshift gag to no avail. Daryl hit him over the head with the butt of his gun, then dragged him to the back out of sight.

Gunfire erupted outside. Hope cocked her head, "Glenn and Maggie?"

"Might be, come on." Rick lifted his gun and cautiously led them outside. The street was deserted, all the guards drawn to the sound of gunfire. They made their way quickly to where the sound had originated.

The noise led them to a building away from the others. Rick pushed the door open and moved down the hallway. He stopped short at a corner and pressed himself against a wall. When the threat moved past he moved further in.

Hope heard a distinct southern twang not unlike Daryl's. Something pinged on the edge of her consciousness but it slipped away before she could grasp it.

"On your feet, move!" Rick cursed and readied a flash grenade. Daryl followed suit. Hope, Oscar and the woman moved back. Hope gripped the rifle and tried to keep her aim steady. They threw the grenades and rushed in. Hope could see Glenn and Maggie with sacks over their hands standing in the middle of the chaos. She grabbed Maggie and ushered her back. Rick did the same for Glenn.

They hurried out of the building. Glenn leaned heavily on Hope and Maggie. He was bruised badly and favoring his right side. Rick quickly ushered them into another building. Glenn dropped to the floor groaning. Hope dropped her pack and began to examine him.

"Ain't no way out back here!" Daryl yelled.

"Rick, how did you find us?" Maggie asked.

"How bad are you hurt?" He asked Glenn.

"I'll be all right."

Hope shook her head. "He's in bad shape."

"Where's that woman?"

Rick looked around, "She was right behind us."

"Maybe she was spotted?" Oscar offered.

"Want me to look for her?" Daryl asked.

"No," Rick answered. "We gotta get them outta here. She's on her own."

"Daryl," Glenn called as Maggie covered him with a blanket. "This was Merle. He did this."

Hope gasped. "What?"

"You saw him?" Rick questioned.

"Face to face. Threw a walker at me, he was gonna execute us."

Hope glanced at Daryl. He looked pale. "So my brother is this governor?"

Maggie shook her head. "No, it's somebody else. Your brother is his lieutenant or something."

"Does he know I'm with you?"

Glenn groaned. "He does now, Rick I'm sorry. We told him where the prison was. We couldn't hold out."

"Don't, no need to apologize."

Hope urged Glenn to drink some water she shuffled two pain tablets into his hand. "I can't patch you up here but once we're out I'll fix you up in no time."

"We have a car a couple miles out, can you walk?" Rick kneeled next to him.

"I'm good." Hope and Maggie helped him to his feet.

"Wait if Merle's around I need to see him," Daryl said.

"Not now, we are in hostile territory," Rick reminded him.

"He's my brother-"

"Look at what he did! We gotta get outta here now."

"I can talk to him, maybe we can work something out!"

"Daryl please," Hope pleaded. "We need you."

"Are you with me?" Rick asked.

"Yeah," Daryl said after a moment. He locked eyes with Hope then quickly glanced away. Hope swallowed thickly.

As soon as they entered the main street, bullets started flying. Hope did her best to keep Glenn upright and out of the line of fire. She stayed to the right of the street and used the various benches large potted trees as cover. Rick and Daryl went up ahead clearing the way to the gate. There was a thick cover of smoke from the flash grenades they'd used. Rick ushered them to a small cove.

"How many of them?" Rick called.

"I don't know," Oscar yelled back.

"Doesn't matter," Daryl reloaded his gun. "There's gonna be more of them. We need to get out of here."

"Any grenades left?"

"Uh-huh."

"Get them ready," Rick ordered. "We gotta gun it to the wall."

"You guys go ahead, I'll lay down some gunfire." Daryl zipped the bag of weapons back up.

"Daryl-" Hope tried to protest.

"Go I'll be right behind you!" He stepped out of the cove and threw the grenade.

Hope, Glenn, Maggie and Oscar ran to the front gate. Oscar hopped up onto the bus that formed one part of the gate. He helped Glenn up first. Hope fired at where the bullets seemed to come from. She couldn't see very well and hoped that she was actually hitting something. Maggie was next up the bus. Hope gave her the bag of supplies. She could see Rick a few feet ahead of her but Daryl was hidden from view.

"Hope! Come on!" Oscar yelled.

Hope slung the rifle's strap over her shoulder and started to climb onto the bus. Oscar's grip loosened on her hand and Hope slipped back. Oscar fell off the bus, blood streaming from a gunshot to the stomach.

"Shit," Hope scrambled to her knees. She pressed her hand to the wound. "Hold on, Oscar. Just hold on." Hands shaking she peeked at the wound. Dark red, almost black blood gushed out. She immediately covered the wound again. "Rick! Help! Daryl!"

Maggie peered back over the gate. "Hope what's wrong?"

"Oscar's been shot!"

Maggie clambered back over the gate. "How bad is it?"

Hope looked up at her and shook her head. Oscar grasped weakly at her hands. "Go," he gurgled.

Hope blinked back tears, "I'm sorry." Hope lifted her rifle and shot him in the head. Oscar was a good man he didn't deserve to die slow and turn.

"Come on!" Maggie reached her hand down to help Hope up.

Hope grabbed it and tried to climb up. A sharp pain brought her up short and she felt herself slip back once again. Time seemed to slow as Hope fell on her back. She hit the ground hard, her head thudding against the concrete thoroughly disorienting her. Maggie was yelling something but she couldn't make it out. In fact, the only thing she could seem to hear was the blood rushing through her veins. Some distant part of her mind registered that she was in shock but the thought seemed fuzzy and unimportant.

Rick's face loomed over her, he tapped her face a few times. He aimed his gun and fired off a few rounds. He lifted her bodily and practically threw her on top of the bus. Maggie lifted her with Rick's help over the gate. Rick hopped down next to them and took the brunt of her weight. He practically dragged her down the street because her legs didn't seem to be working properly.

They reached the railroad and Rick set Hope on the ground. Glenn hovered nervously over her. "What happened?"

"She's been shot, hold her steady." Rick pulled her shirt up and prodded around the wound. "It went straight through, I don't think it hit anything vital. You're gonna need stitches."

The world came back in a rush. Hope let out an anguished cry. She grit her teeth as Rick continued to poke around her ribs. "M-my bag. I have b-bandages."

Maggie sifted through the bag until she pulled out a small bottle of vodka and bandages. Rick passed the bottle to Hope who took it with shaking hands. "Take a swig of that. You're gonna need it."

Hope pressed the bottle to her lips and took a swig of the burning liquid. She choked down another gulp before giving the bottle back.

"Ready?"

Hope nodded. "No."

"Okay, on the count of three." Rick hovered the mouth of the bottle over her wound.

Hope clenched her jaw so tight she thought her teeth would crack. The first drop felt like fire on her skin. She convulsed but Glenn and Maggie kept her steady. She thrashed around wildly until he stopped pouring. She lay back on the ground, breathless and exhausted.

Rick applied the bandage. Using some duct tape to secure it front and back. "This'll have to do for now. We'll stitch you up when we get back to the car. Let's go back to the rendezvous point, Daryl's probably already there."

A knot settled in the pit of Hope's stomach as she realized that Daryl was not with them. She nodded and got unsteadily to her feet with Rick's help. "Come on, I want this night to be over."

Daryl was not at the rendezvous point. Rick cursed, "Come on, Daryl."

Hope leaned on a tree and focused on not puking all over herself. She felt cold and shaky, and her side felt wet. She could only guess how much blood she lost.

A branch snapped and the woman crawled out from under one of the train cars. Rick pointed his gun at her, "Where the hell have you been? Put your hands up. Turn around."

The woman pivoted slowly, limping as she did. In the dim light Hope could she was bloodied and bruised. Someone had roughed her up. She looked vacant, lost.

Rick pulled the woman's sword out if its sheath. "Get what you came for?"

"Where's the rest of your people?"

"Oscar's dead," Maggie answered.

"Where's Daryl?" Hope croaked. "Did you see him?"

"If anything happens to him." Rick started.

"I brought you here to save them."

"Thanks for the help."

"You'll need help, to get them back to the prison. To find Daryl. Like it or not you need me." The woman pleaded with Rick, her eyes wide.

Rick wiped his forehead with his arm. "All right, you take Glenn and Hope back to the car. Maggie and I will go find Daryl."

The woman looked like was going to protest but thought better of it. Rick gave her the bags to carry.

Hope grabbed Rick's arm before he left. "Bring him back, please."

Rick touched her hand. "I will."

Hope nodded tiredly before heading in the direction of the car with Glenn and the woman.