Not There

Despite the fact that the group was still low on food, Rick announced plans to start heading up to the clinic in the mountains the next morning. With Maggie getting closer to her due date, they needed medical supplies and a safe place for the birth, and Appalachian Health seemed like the best option. Hopefully they could scavenge for more food on the way.

Jamaal hadn't decided yet if he would go with them. Reeling from the revelations about Lexie, he passed through most of the evening in a stupor. Although they were all polite, the group gave him plenty of space, for which he was grateful. He tried not to stare, but he found that he simply couldn't stop watching Trigger. He scanned the boy's face for traces of his mother's features, and although he didn't admit it to himself, he was secretly hoping that he would also see some of his own.

Watching Trigger meant watching Daryl. Jamaal wondered how it was that the man had come to be the toddler's guardian, and he worried more than a little that there might be something inappropriate going on. Part of him wanted to snatch the boy and run, but he was fairly certain that Daryl—if not the entire group—would hunt him down if he tried.

The watcher was also watched. Maintaining a careful distance, Carol kept her eye on Jamaal, much as she had with Lexie. Jessie noticed and brought it up.

"It's ironic, isn't it?" Jessie began.

"What is?" Carol asked politely.

"If you hadn't lied to Lexie, she probably would have been reunited with Jamaal a couple of days later. Likely, he would have taken her and Trigger away. But instead, she's dead, and now Daryl won't ever forget her because he has Trigger to take care of."

"What are you trying to say?" Carol asked angrily. "That I was responsible for Lexie's death? That I killed her on purpose? Is that what you think?"

Refusing to be drawn into an argument, Jessie kept speaking in the same calm, quiet voice. "I was there, remember. I know what you said to Lexie. And it was obvious that Daryl never had any intention of meeting her at the house."

"I must have misheard him," Carol said, unwilling to admit the truth. "I didn't mean for her to die."

"Maybe not," Jessie acquiesced, "but you definitely meant for her to be left behind."

"She was a threat," asserted Carol. "No one knows what she would have done."

Jessie shook her head slowly. "Maybe she was a threat to your relationship with Daryl, but she definitely wasn't a threat to the group."

Carol stiffened. "Daryl and I are just friends."

"Yes, you are," Jessie acknowledged. "I wonder sometimes if you remember that."

Carol didn't respond to that statement, but after a few moments, she asked, "Have you discussed your opinions with Rick?"

"No, I haven't," Jessie said, "but Rick's not stupid. Somewhere down deep he knows it wasn't an accident that Jessie got left behind."

Carol didn't believe her. "Then why hasn't he said anything?"

"He still feels grateful for what you did for the group at Terminus. And he thinks he needs you."

Carol took a breath as if she were going to say something in reply, but she stopped when Rick walked up holding Judith. He planted a kiss on Jessie's cheek and asked, "What are you two discussing so seriously?"

"Just thinking about the trip tomorrow," lied Jessie.

"We're a little worried . . . about Maggie," Carol added.


In the morning, Rick woke early, but Jamaal's eyes were already open. He was still staring at Trigger, who was cuddled up against Daryl, both of them sleeping on the motel room floor.

Rick headed outside to the picnic table to relieve Heath on watch, and Jamaal followed. "Have you made a decision?" Rick asked.

Jamaal nodded. "I'm coming with you. I think it's what Lexie would have wanted . . . and I don't know what else to do."

"We'll be glad to have you," said Rick. "There's safety in numbers, and you knowing Lexie makes you like family."

"I don't know about that," Jamaal replied, "but I'll pull my weight."

As the two men watched the sun rise and swapped a few stories, the rest of the group slowly came to life. They made breakfast from the few supplies they had left and packed up their meager belongings.

When it was clear everyone was ready to go, Rick addressed the group. "Listen up," he said. "These go-karts aren't going to get us all the way to the clinic, but we're going to get all the use out of them that we can. Glenn, I want you and Maggie to ride in one—save Maggie the trouble of walking, and she can hold Judith."

Maggie started to protest, but everyone else quickly hushed her. Michonne spoke for the group, saying, "We don't need you going into labor early."

Rick continued, "In the second go-kart, I want Jessie and Sam, and in the third will be Daryl, Carol, and Trigger. Get as far as you can on the gas you have, and the rest of us will follow on foot. Daryl, Glenn, I want you to scavenge for supplies on the way if you can. We're still low on food."

Everyone nodded their agreement, and within minutes the group on the go-karts were out of sight around a curve. Those on foot hefted their packs, checked their weapons and headed out behind them.

Carol worried that it would be awkward riding with Daryl. After her conversation with Jessie, she wondered if he had also put two and two together about her role in Lexie's death. But the noise of the go-karts made conversation impossible, and she had her hands full with Trigger. For the first fifteen minutes, he was excited about this new form of transportation and kept busy making engine sounds. Soon, however, boredom set in, and he began to squirm. That forced Carol to hold him more tightly, which did little to endear her to him.

Within an hour, the go-karts came up to an intersection with a gas station, a diner, and a bar that advertised topless dancers. Several miles away from the lake, this area obviously saw fewer tourists and catered to the locals. In the lead, Glenn slowed his go-kart to a stop.

Leaving the babies with Sam and the three women, Glenn and Daryl made a quick survey of the buildings. The gas pumps were dry, of course, and the convenience store had been completely cleaned out. Peeking through the windows of the diner, they saw a half a dozen walkers that had already been killed. Not surprisingly, the shelves in the kitchen were bare.

That left the bar. Glenn knocked on the door, and from inside came answering growls that let them know there were walkers inside. But without any exterior windows on the building, they had no idea how many awaited them.

"Walkers are good," said Glenn. "It means no one else has cleaned this place out."

"Yeah, or else they tried and got bit," said Daryl.

"We've gotta try," Glenn said. "We need the food."

Seeing what was happening, Maggie and Carol came over. "Jessie and Sam have the babies; we can help," Carol said.

Glenn didn't like the idea of involving his wife, but he knew they needed her. "Maggie, you work the door," he said. "Try to let them out one at a time. We'll handle them."

The plan unfolded as intended, although there were more walkers inside than anyone could have anticipated. Within moments they had a sizable pile of dead dancers and bar patrons, and a few people who appeared to be scavengers who had gotten more trouble than they had bargained for in the bar. Glenn tried to keep Maggie out of the fight, but she jumped in and took down two walkers on her own when it looked like they might converge on Glenn.

Now bloody and out of breath, Daryl and Glenn headed inside. They had hit the jackpot. The kitchen was fully stocked. Much of the food was rotting and smelly, but they found plenty of canned goods they could eat. Back by the dishwasher, they found a couple of metal carts and plenty of plastic bins. They began the process of piling it all together, determined to take as much with them as they could. They had nearly a full load when they heard the unmistakable roar of an engine outside. Both men dashed for the front door, weapons drawn and ready. Without thinking or stopping to look, they rushed outside and straight into trouble.

A tricked-out purple truck with a lift kit sat in the road between them and Jessie and the babies, both of whom were now crying. On the side nearer them stood a white man who looked to be about fifty. Decked out in high-tech hunting camo from head to foot, he had somehow managed to retain his beer belly despite all the hardships of the past year. He had a rifle trained on Maggie and Carol. On the far side of the road, someone who looked to be a younger version of the same man was yelling at Jessie to "hush up them babies," and Glenn and Daryl had no doubt that he also had a gun drawn.

"That's far enough," the older man called when he spotted the two men running from the bar. "Drop your weapons or I will shoot."

Glenn and Daryl slowly lowered their guns and the crossbow. "We ain't looking for any trouble," Daryl said.

"Well, now, you found it all the same," the older man replied in a thick drawl. "We'll take any supplies you have, and probably at least one of these women here."

"Daddy, I think we should take this one," called the voice from the other side of the truck. "She's not knocked up or old like 'em other two."

"That so? Bring her around here and let's have a look."

"What about these rug rats?"

"Just leave 'em there. All that racket's sure to draw the dead. They'll take care of 'em soon enough."

Daryl tensed like he was about to run for Trigger, but Glenn touched his arm and shook his head as the younger of the men dragged Jessie around to their side of the vehicle.

"Well now, you might be right," the older man said. "She's right purty. I've half a mind to keep her up here in the nudie bar where we can have her all to ourselves rather than share with the group down at the bridge."

On the far side of the truck, Sam was doing his best to calm the babies. Sitting on the ground, he held Judith in his lap, jiggling her up and down a little while he tried to interest Trigger in a rock he'd found. The babies' sobs were slowly subsiding, but Sam couldn't help but have the occasional sniffle or hiccup of his own as he scanned the edge of the woods for signs of trouble. He desperately wanted to call out for his mother, but he worried that would bring the monsters down on him.

"Git on up in the truck bed," the younger of the men said, prodding Jessie with his gun. Tears trickled down her cheeks, but she had yet to make a sound.

"Now, don't get ahead of yerself, son," said the father. "We gotsta see what these fine gentlemen got for us from the nudie bar. Work first, then fun." He turned to Daryl. "You," he said, "head on in there and show me what you found." In a louder voice, he added, "Anyone tries anything or I don't come out, you kill the girl, Kinny."

Before turning back towards the bar, Daryl chanced a look at Glen, who gave a nearly imperceptible nod. This would be their chance.


The group on foot was making better time than Rick had expected. After so many weeks on the run, even Eugene was in moderately good shape. Leading the pack, Jamaal and Michonne set a quick pace while Rick kept an eye on things from the rear.

The noise from the go-karts had drawn a few walkers toward the road, but they dispatched them easily enough. Rick was more worried about any other groups that might be in their vicinity, though they hadn't seen anyone alive since their encounter with the Wolves at St. Mary's.

It had been nearly two hours, and they were about halfway up a hill when they heard a loud engine up ahead. Then the engine cut off, and they heard some shouts.

Without needing to discuss the situation, everyone headed for the trees at the side of the road. "Come on, come on," Rick hissed, hurrying along Carl and Ron, who were straggling. The group waited a few tense moments, but nothing came down the road.

"Could be that was the others on the go-karts," Aaron whispered.

"Could be," Rick agreed. "Could be they're in trouble." Gathering the group around close, he continued. "I'm going to scout up ahead—see what's going on. Could be it's nothing to do with us; could be it's trouble. Aaron, Michonne, Rosita, I need you to keep an eye on things here, keep everyone together." Looking up, he met Jamaal's gaze.

"I'm coming with you," said Jamaal. "I'm quiet in the woods, and I can help in a fight."

Rick nodded agreement, thinking that it was better to have the newcomer where he could keep an eye on him than to leave him with Carl and the others. Before he headed off into the woods, he left the group with a parting command, "We're not back in an hour, you circle around and keep on heading up to that clinic."


At the truck, Sam was having a difficult time. Trigger had quickly lost interest in the pretty rocks Sam was offering. "Want Day," he said, looking for his friend. "Where Day?"

Sam wasn't listening; he was focused far too intently on the bushes in front of him to pay attention to anything else. He thought he heard a twig snap and then, unmistakably, the bushes started to rustle. He could keep silent no longer. "Mom?!" he yelled. "Mom, I think the monsters are coming!"

Jessie took a chance and hollered back. "Run, Sam! Take the babies and hide!"

The word "hide" worked like magic on Trigger. His eyes grew wide, and he bolted into the underbrush—directly toward the bush Sam had just seen moving.

Too frightened to worry about the toddler who had scampered away, Sam clutched Judith to his chest and also ran for the woods, but away from the direction where he thought the walkers were.

Displeased with her outburst, Kinny yelled, "Shut up, bitch!" and backhanded her across the face. To Jessie's thinking, it was good that he took the time to hit her because it meant he had less time to fire at Sam and the babies. By the time he raised his gun and took a shot, Sam was already disappearing into the woods. After he realized someone was shooting at him, the boy sprintedeven faster. Paying no attention to where he was going, he careened straight into Rick, who stopped him and took Judith from his arms.

"Sam, where's your mom?" Rick demanded in a quiet voice.

The boy sobbed out his reply. "She's up there in a truck, and there's a man with a gun. He was gonna let the monsters have us."

"What about Glenn and Daryl?"

Sam just shrugged. He hadn't paid attention to anyone but his mom.

Rick faced a quandary. At the sound of the shot, Jamaal had taken off running, and Rick had no idea where he was. Now, he had Judith and Sam to care for, and clearly Sam was in no position to watch over the baby.

"Sam," he said, "come with me right now. You have to run as fast as you've ever run, got it?" With that, Rick headed back toward the place he'd left the rest of the group, holding Judith with one hand and his gun in the other. Sam trundled along behind him, running as fast as he could and hoping he was fast enough to outrun the monsters.


As Jamaal approached he intersection with the truck, he saw a small dark shape dart in front of him and bury itself deep under a patch of thorny bushes. Unsure of what exactly he had seen, the tall man dropped to his hands and knees and peered under the leafy branches. Two scared brown eyes looked back at him. "Trigger?" he whispered.

The toddler put a finger to his lips. "Shhh! Hide!"

Jamaal smiled to himself. "Your mama trained you right. You hide, Trigger, and I'll come back for you in a minute."

But the toddler shook his head. "Day," he said.

Jamaal wasn't exactly sure what that meant, but he was positive that no walkers would be able to see or reach the boy in his hiding place. It was time to figure out what was going on. As quietly as possible, he crept toward the edge of the woods, looking for a place where he could assess the situation without being seen. He didn't know where Rick had ended up, but with shots fired, he wasn't going to wait for the man.

From his vantage point, he could see that there was one man standing in a truck bed with a rifle trained on one of the women from Rick's group—a blond, he wasn't sure what her name was. The Asian guy, the pregnant girl, and the other woman who had gone on the go-kart were standing nearby. There was no sign of Daryl, the one person from the go-kart group whose name Jamaal remembered.

Obviously, the guy on the truck was using the blonde as a hostage, and just as obviously, this wasn't going to end well unless someone eliminated him. The man with the gun had his back to Jamaal, meaning that it wasn't exactly a fair fight, but Jamaal didn't care. Knowing he would only get one shot, he crept as close as he dared and took careful aim. He squeezed the trigger and watched the guy in the camouflaged jacket fall when bullet passed through his head.

Startled by the sound of the shot, Jessie also dropped to the truck bed, not sure what was happening, but not at all sad to see the exit wound in Kinny's forehead.

At the same time, Glenn grabbed Carol and Maggie by their arms and half dragged them around to the other side of the truck. He had seen Jamaal for a split second before the shot—just long enough to understand what was happening.

"Nice shot," he said softly.

"Thanks," said Jamaal. "Where's the rest of your group?"

"The other guy took Daryl into the bar to get the food. The kids ran off into the woods to hide."

Feeling a little safer, Jessie poked her head a few inches above the truck bed. "We need to go find the kids before the noise draws in walkers."

"Trigger's hiding in a thorn bush back that way," Jamaal gestured with his head. "If the others are smart, they're doin' the same thing."

The three women looked at each other apprehensively. "Sam's smart, but he scares easy," Jessie said with an apologetic tone in her voice.

"We should go look," Maggie said.

"Hold up," Jamaal disagreed. "We've got to take care of that other guy in the bar first, the one who has Daryl. Also, Rick should be around here somewhere. He was with me, but we got separated."

Glenn shook his head. "Daryl can handle one guy. He'll be out any minute."

Right on cue, they saw Daryl peek cautiously around the doorframe as he attempted to see what was going on outside.

"You can come out, now" Glenn called. "Jamaal came out of nowhere and killed the other guy."

Still cautious, Daryl walked slowly toward the truck, stopping to pick up his bow and Glenn's gun on the way."Y'all okay?" he asked.

"We're fine; we just need to find the kids," Carol said.

Worried, Daryl asked, "Where's Trigger?"

"He's hiding in the woods back that way," Jamaal said. "I didn't see the others."

Just then, Rick and Michonne stepped out of the woods, both of them breathing heavily like they'd been running. Seeing everyone else gathered casually by the truck, they jogged over. After catching sight of Jessie's split lip, Rick ran toward her immediately.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Jessie said. "I know it looks bad, but I've had worse," she added with a half-hearted smile. "We've got to find Sam. He ran off into the woods with Judith."

"I already found them and took them back to the rest of the group," Rick said. "Can someone tell me what's going on here?"

Not wanting to waste any more time, Daryl slung his crossbow on his back and said, "Someone catch him up, I'm going to find Trigger."

Carol and Jamaal both chimed in, "Me, too," and followed on his heels.

Because he was the only one who actually knew where Trigger was, Jamaal rushed into the lead, but a second later his heart dropped in his chest. "No!" he roared. A walker was lying on the forest floor, arms outstretched under the very bush where the toddler had hidden. Jamaal dove onto the walker's legs and pulled him out from under the brush. Half a second behind him, Daryl slammed his knife through the walker's skull and then looked under the branches, calling, "Trigger!"

A second later, Daryl was back on his feet. "He ain't there!"