A/N: Thanks again for reading and don't forget to review at the end of the chapter!

Chapter 10

Gwen and Maggie were nervous as they headed towards one of the vehicles. They knew everyone would be furious if they knew their real motivation for going on a run but it was a risk they both knew needed to be taken.

"I'm still not 100% sold on this...I can get Carol to watch the gate and I can go with you..." Glenn told them as he followed behind.

Maggie stopped abruptly and turned around. "Do you think we can't handle ourselves out there?...We always need a man with us to be safe?" She cut her eyes over at Gwen and smirked.

Glenn laughed awkwardly. "No of course not...I mean... of course not as in you need a man to be safe...not that you can't handle yourself...because you can...I know you can..."

"Then you have nothing to worry about...we're not going far...I love you..." Maggie told him as she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

Glenn started to walk down towards the gate. "Alright...just be careful..."

Gwen and Maggie climbed into the Suburban, tossing their backpacks in the backseat.

"Are you sure you feel up to this...you feeling all right? From the baby and all?" Maggie asked.

Gwen started the vehicle then looked over to Maggie. "I wouldn't go if I didn't feel up to it Maggie...I wouldn't do you like that...I've got your back."

"I don't doubt that...alright...sometimes when you want something done right...you need to send a woman to do it." Maggie remarked and both women laughed.

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Tyrese and Sasha located an abandoned cabin in the woods not far from Woodbury. They wanted to put more distance between them and the town but they needed to come up with some sort of a plan of where they should go. The cabin was well hidden and they almost missed it themselves. They felt safe for the time being. Sasha had woken first and checked the perimeter around the cabin to insure there were no walkers or signs of anyone else. She tried to be quiet as she entered back into the cabin but Tyrese quickly jumped to his feet.

"Relax...it's just me..." Sasha told him as he rubbed his eyes. He felt sluggish as he struggled to fully wake up.

"I don't know how you do it...you've always been able to manage on the smallest amount of sleep...I feel like I could sleep for days and still not think that's enough..." He told her.

Sasha smirked. "That's because you're getting to be an old man..."

"You're not that much younger, ya know..." Tyrese replied back. "Do you think we should've gone back?"

"To Woodbury?...I don't know...part of me wants to know what happened after we left but then a part of me doesn't..." Sasha told him. "What about you?"

Tyrese sighed deeply then laid back down on the cot, tucking his arm behind his head. "Everything just seemed to happen so fast...Martinez looked as if he had seen a ghost or something...I can't shake the feelin' that something really bad happened and us going back wouldn't have helped anyone, especially ourselves..."

"Well if that's how you feel about it..." Sasha started to gather her things.

Tyrese sat back up and looked at her confused. "It's not just about how I feel...what about you?"

Sasha stopped and looked at him. Her eyes started to fill with tears but she choked them back. "I think we should go back...sneak back I mean...those people were counting on us to protect them...I feel like we just abandoned them to save ourselves...why else would Martinez not want us gathered with the others...something horrible happened...I just know it."

Tyrese gathered up his things and started for the door. "Well then that's what we'll do...but the first sign of danger...we high tail it out of there. We can't be any help to anyone if we get ourselves killed..."

.

Gwen slowed the Suburban as the passed by the vehicles left by the Governor's men and saw the bodies strewn on the roadway and the field. They both had heard what happened but seeing it first hand was still shocking. It was clear by the way they were laying some were running away, shot in the back as they ran for their life. A life cut short by an angry Governor.

"That just makes me want to be sick..." Maggie said softly.

"Rick said this was where they picked up Karen..." Gwen remarked.

Tears welled up in Maggie's eyes as she stared out the window, she even looked over her shoulder as drove past. Quickly she turned back around, facing forward she wiped a single tear from her cheek.

"Are you alright?" Gwen asked.

Maggie nodded. "Just thinking how awful that would be if it were the people I loved...having to lie with them and watch them die...unable to do anything..."

They both remained silent the rest of the drive until eventually Gwen pulled off on the side of the road. "Maggie we're gonna have to hoof it from here so no one sees us approaching."

They exited the vehicle and cut into the woods. Gwen had a rifle slung over her shoulder and Maggie had a pistol holstered by her hip, they both were armed with knives. They wanted to try to remain as quiet as possible if they came across any walkers so they wouldn't alert anyone in earshot they were nearby.

Maggie tapped Gwen on the arm and pointed off to the left at two walkers staggering through the trees. Neither seemed aware of the women but Gwen watched as they suddenly tilted their heads up in the air, looking frantically around as if they had caught a whiff of their "live" scent.

"Take the right..." Gwen ordered as the walkers took notice and started to make their way towards them. Gwen didn't hesitate as she charged forward, slamming her knife into the forward of one as Maggie ran towards the other, grabbing hold of it's shirt and plunged her knife deep into the side of it's head. Both walkers dropped to the ground as the women quickly caught their breath. Soon they realized their triumph was short lived as they noticed it was just two slightly ahead of a small herd headed their way.

"There's too many...run..." Gwen told her as she started to run.

Both women ran as fast as they could in an attempt to put as much distance between themselves and the walkers. Soon they came to a slight clearing and Gwen looked over her shoulder just before slowing down.

"Maggie..." Gwen gasped as she tried to catch her breath. It had been a long time since she had done any running and it was taking it's toll.

Maggie stopped and leaned forward with her hands against her knees as she took a few deep breaths. She was in better shape than Gwen but couldn't help but be winded.

"Man...that was somethin'..." Maggie remarked.

Still out of breath, Gwen started to walk. "Woodbury is just beyond that clearing ahead."

Slowly they walked as they tried to recuperate from their mad dash and Gwen lowered the rifle strap from her shoulder. She drew back the bolt to make sure there was a cartridge in the chamber. She gripped it firmly, ready to take aim as soon as she needed and Maggie took queue of her actions and unholstered her pistol.

Suddenly Gwen started to pick up speed.

"Wait what's wrong?" Maggie asked as she took off after her. Both women ran into the clearing and Gwen abruptly stopped.

"Oh my God!..." Maggie uttered as she stood there with her jaw open.

Gwen was silent, as she began to walk forward, amazed at the sight before her.

All that remained of Woodbury was charred debris...

.

"I know they said the Governor set his home on fire leaving Merle to die but I didn't expect all this...everything's been burned...everything..." Gwen just stared in awe at what was left of the buildings around her. She and Maggie continued to walk through Woodbury's main street.

Maggie hadn't seen Woodbury before but still she was shocked to see it in shambles. "Why would they do this? I don't understand...do you think the fire just spread, like this was just an out of control accident?"

"I don't know why...but it's no accident...these buildings were burned on purpose..." Gwen couldn't help but be angry. She never liked Woodbury and always wanted to leave with Merle but now that it was completely gone she couldn't help but feel a little lost. It was where her relationship with Merle changed. It was where she conceived their son.

"How do you know?" Maggie couldn't take her eyes off of the buildings.

Gwen stepped through the door frame of one of the buildings. "See the color variation on what's left of the walls and framework?...That's where they used accelerant..."

"How do you know that?" Maggie questioned.

"Before I tried going to nursing school I toyed with becoming a medic for the fire department...I went on dozens of ride-alongs but realized I didn't want to work out in the field like that..." She told her.

"I feel like I've known you for so long but yet I know so little about you...ya don't really realize it until stuff like this comes up." Maggie told her as she turned and walked back out of the building. "This is just so...sad..."

"My life before doesn't even feel like my life anymore...it's a whole new world and we all have whole new lives..." Gwen stepped out and stood next to her. They both just stared at the other buildings remains.

"I don't want to be here anymore...I think we should leave..." Maggie insisted. "Looks like everyone is long gone anyways..."

Both Gwen and Maggie headed across the street back towards where they entered the town. Maggie turned down by one of the buildings still standing although black from soot but quickly froze as she stared down the barrel of a gun...

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