Beautiful Disaster

by My Writing Is This

The dead were walking and surviving was imperative. Caroline had hit the ground running. She tried to never look back. She was alone for too long. Learning to live and love again wasn't easy. People still mattered. Many would come in and out of her life and not all was as it seemed. She had to learn to be a person again and to find her place. And the one she was meant to be with.

10. Time to Go

Chapter Ten: Time to Go

The sun was warm, making me smile when as I opened my eyes to it. Soon a hand slid across my stomach, pulling me closer against a warm chest. Turning my head, I smiled at Caesar, rolling over so I could wrap my arm around him. Kissing him sweetly, I rolled out of bed and got dressed. Going down to the street, I took a deep breath, turning to get breakfast only to jump as I came face to face with Michonne.

"Thanks for giving me a heart attack." I frowned at her.

"What's the plan?"

"There is no plan yet." I stated. "But I am hungry." She sighed and nodded, falling in step with me as we walked to get some breakfast. "You can't rush this. We still have to figure out a way to convince Andrea to leave with us."

"I'll take care of it." She told me matter-of-factly.

"Getting out will be easy once that happens. All we need to do is wait for them to have their backs turned. I have enough allies here that it'll be easy to slip out."

"Okay." She nodded.

"But once that happens, what is your next move? Just to keep moving and do the best we can?"

"Pretty much." She replied.

"You mentioned people that Andrea was with. Where are they?"

"We don't know." She stated. "She was separated from them when the farm they were on was overcome with the dead. I found her in the woods and we've been together ever since. For all we know the rest of the people she was with are dead."

Nodding, I sighed, "I hope that's not the case."

"Yeah. Me, too."

Getting breakfast, we ate on the move, going back to the apartment that the Governor had given to her and Andrea. It was time she convinced her to leave and if I could help, I would. Only she wasn't there. Michonne was clearly agitated and I couldn't blame her. Andrea was more than likely with the Governor and he was more than likely filling her head with reasons she needed to stay here with him.

"I need to go act natural for a while." I told her.

"What?" She frowned.

"I'm not usually the sneaky type. I'm straightforward and a bit of a bitch. I don't sneak."

She nodded, "Okay. I'll do the sneaking."

"You seem the type." I smirked at her.

She laughed lightly and nodded, "Alright then."

Turning, I left the room and started to move back to my apartment. I needed to get to Caesar and I needed to get him to take me on a run or something. I needed to act normally despite the fact that I was freaking out. I'd agreed to leave and now the thought was all encompassing. Not just the farm had given me hope but Michonne as well. There were people who understood. People who didn't want to live under the heel of another. The Governor wasn't the leader either of us wanted. Someone better had to be out there. Otherwise we would be better. We could lead the people down a path of non-violence against the innocence of the world. We couldn't lose our humanity. I needed to hold on to mine. I needed to find it again.

"Princess." A raspy voice told me.

"Dog." I said without looking at him and without slowing.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?" He asked.

Turning, I walked backward, keeping the distance between us. "To find a real man who can make me scream." I smirked at him.

He frowned before rushing toward me. Gripping him, I threw him over me as I fell backward, flipping onto my stomach as I watched him role away from me. Springing to my feet, he rushed me again, only before he could reach me, my waist was grabbed and I was spun out of Merle's path.

"I don't think she was referring to you." Caesar smirked at Merle.

Laughing, I hopped on my feet a little as I waited for the confrontation to go down. This was going to be a show and I was more than ready to watch it go down. I'd been waiting for this. Caesar could take him easily. If the fights weren't staged then Merle would have been beaten a long time ago. But there was something about a man with a bayonet-hand that seemed to just get the people going. Only now they were going to see that he really was just a mutt who needed to be put down.

"Enough!" A voice bellowed before they could even start.

Sighing, I turned to see the Governor moving toward us. "Fun killer." I muttered under my breath.

"What is the meaning of this?" The Governor asked.

"Just defending my woman." Caesar replied.

The Governor looked at me for a long moment before he turned his gaze on Caesar. "We both know that your woman doesn't need defending." He told him with a smirk. "She could take the both of you without breaking a sweat."

Okay, in this moment I kind of liked the guy. "Thank you, sir."

He nodded at me. "And that is not what we do here. In fact, we're going to have a party to acknowledge how far we have come. We deserve a little reward! Don't we?!"

The crowd that was surrounding us burst with cries and applause. Caesar stepping up to me, wrapping his arm around my waist, "Hear that, babe? We're gonna have a party."

Putting my forehead against his, my hands on the sides of his head, I kissed him quickly, "Can't wait."

"We have a few hours before we have to be anywhere." He said wrapping me in his arms.

Laughing, I kissed him again, "And I think I can guess what you want to do."

He brought his lips to mine, "Anything to spend time with you."

Laughing louder, throwing my head back, I shook my head at him, "You're ridiculous."

"Am not." He said with mock hurt.

"And I am not worth the praise. Hell, we hardly talk. All we do is fool around."

"Not my fault." He smirked.

I nodded, running my fingers through his hair, "You're right. It's mine."

He got an odd look on his face, "Do you want to talk?"

Smiling, I kissed him once more, "I want to moan."

He laughed before practically yanking me off my feet as he took off down the road, my hand in his.

Racing back to his apartment, we undressed each other before falling onto the bed. Rolling back and forth, we made love more times than I could keep count of. When we were finally done, Caesar was asleep and I was sneaking out of bed, getting dressed again before leaving the room. Going back to my home, Michonne was already sitting on the bed.

"Here to see what the plan is?" I smirked at her and I started to undress.

"Is there a plan?" She countered.

"No." I replied.

She frowned and followed me as I walked to the bathroom in just my bra and underwear. "Were you ever going to leave?"

"Oh, I'm leaving." I smirked at her.

"Then what's the plan? You know this place better than I do."

Turning to her, I unhooked my bra, "Are you really going to watch me get naked and into the shower?"

She just stood there and crossed her arms. Laughing, I nodded and took my bra off, my underwear following. Pulling my hair out of the ponytail it was in, it fell down my back. Looking at her over my shoulder, I smirked before stepping into the tub. Going through the motions, I could see her start to pace through the curtain.

"The plan is easy." I told her. "The party will start in less than an hour. The Governor will provide enough food and alcohol to keep people happy. The guards on top of the wall will be distracted. All we have to do is wait for them to fail at keeping watch and then we simply jump down and leave."

"Just like that." She stated with a hard tone.

Scoffing, I shook my head, "What did you think was going to happen? Did you want me to bomb the gates and let the dead kill everyone? Did you want to find some sort of laser to make a door in the wall? Come on, Michonne, what were you expecting?"

"Something different I guess." She replied and I watched her sit on the toilet.

"Have you convinced Andrea to leave yet?"

"No." She replied. "But I'll have her convinced before tonight."

"And if you don't?" I asked next.

There was a long moment of silence before she spoke again. "I don't know."

Turning off the water, I pulled back the curtain and grabbed my towel, starting to dry off. Wrapping it around myself, I wrung out my hair as I stepped out, blowing my nose before wiping out my ears. The routine that made me still feel human. The killing was the monster inside of me. But the routine I did every day was what made me feel like I was still me. Taking the towel off, I flipped my hair over as I bent forward, wrapping the towel around it before straightening again. Looking at Michonne, she was staring at the floor.

"You don't have to stay here you know. You don't have to watch me parade around my apartment naked."

She laughed and looked up at me, meeting my eyes, "If you turn on some music, I'll get naked and start to dance with you."

Laughing, I nodded, "That's awfully tempting."

She grinned and averted her eyes again, "I used to be fun before all this."

"I believe that."

Brushing my teeth, I combed out my hair before going to get dressed. Picking matching black bra and underwear, the best pair of jeans I had, and a long sleeved dark green shirt, I put on my favorite pair of boots before I stood and faced her.

She looked at me up and down, nodding, "Comfortable."

"And easy to run in." I told her.

She smiled, "Okay."

"Okay." I repeated with a nod.

She looked at me for a long moment before her brows furrowed, "There's something I need to do."

"Then do it." I told her.

"You're not going to ask me what it is?"

I shrugged, "If you need to do it, would me saying anything stop you?"

"No."

"Do you need help to do it?"

"No."

"Then you do what you need to do."

She smiled against and nodded, "Meet you at my place."

"Your place." I said and scoffed. "Careful. I might think you're getting used to it here."

"All the more reason to make sure we're out by tonight."

"Agreed."

She left, leaving me once again alone in my apartment. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I was going over everything in my head. I knew this place well enough to know that I could get us out with little to no effort. It was where to go once we were out that was the problem. The Governor wouldn't rest until we were either captured or killed. I didn't want either to happen but our choices were limited. Thinking of the horses, if we made it there, we could mount and take off. We wouldn't be able to take any of the other livestock with us and I would hate to see them in the hands of the Governor.

Knocking on the door broke me from my thoughts, looking at it to see Caesar slip in. He smiled and came and sat next to me. "What's going on?" He asked softly.

"Nothing." I replied.

"You're buddying up with her and you can't."

"Why not?" I frowned at her.

"She's no good."

"You have no idea who or what she is." I frowned at him. "And you do not dictate who I can "buddy" up with."

"Sorry." He said holding up his hands. "And I know. I just worry."

"Worry about someone else." I shot at him. "I am more than capable of taking care of myself."

"I know." He replied.

I sighed, "What do you need, Caesar?"

"Nothing." He said gently as he took my hand. "Just your company."

Looking at him, I did care about him, but at the same time I was not going to feel bad about leaving him behind. Leaning toward him, I slowly pressed my lips to his, wrapping my arm around his neck as I deepened it.

Placating him for a while, I finally left, slowly making my way toward the apartment that Michonne and Andrea were given. Looking around, everything was as it should be. Decorations were being made and the party looked to already be starting. Leave it to Woodbury to be able to through an all day party just for the hell of it. The Governor knew how to keep morale up and he was good at it. He was good at making people fall in love with him. Lesser people. Weak people. The smart ones knew better. Even if they played along with him.

Letting myself in, both women looked a bit off, "What's going on?"

Andrea shot me a glare before she looked at Michonne, "We gotta talk."

"We gotta go." Her friend told her.

"The Governor told me what happened." Andrea explained. "Michonne, you can't do things like this. You're freaking people out. You're freaking me out."

"What did you do?" I asked Michonne as I crossed my arms.

Michonne looked at me, "The northeast wall is guarded by some girl. We can escape there after dark."

I nodded, "Maybe. We'll have to wait and see. Either way, I'll get us out."

"We are not prisoners here." Andrea stated. "You shouldn't listen to her."

Michonne frowned at her, "No one who comes here leaves."

"What are you talking about?" Andrea shot back. "It's safe. There's food, there's shelter. There's people for God's sake."

"She's right, Andrea." I told her. "You can always get it but you can never get out."

"You get out all the time." She shot at me.

"I am allowed out to do the job I have here." I corrected. "If they ever thought that I had left, they'd come after me and either bring me back or kill me. It's that simple."

"That simple?" She frowned. "You've been living here and you're telling me that it's not worth it?"

"No."

"No." She said shaking her head. "No. I don't buy."

"You need to trust me." Michonne told her. "Trust her."

"And you need to give me more to go on. We got a good thing going here."

"Only on the surface." I told her quickly. "Deep down, this place is death."

Michonne was frowning at her, "And I thought this was temporary."

"And I think we need this. I want to give this place a real shot."

"I tried."

"Breaking into houses? That is not trying. That is sabotaging."

I did a double-take, "Wait, what? You did what?" She sighed and nodded at me. "Michonne, are you trying to ruin us before we've had time to escape?"

"No."

"Then what were you thinking?"

"I was thinking I needed my sword in order to get out of this place." She retorted. Running my fingers through my hair, I sighed heavily, starting to pace in front of them. "This place is not what they say it is."

"Listen to her." I told Andrea. "Like you said, I've lived here and I'm telling you to go."

For a long moment she just looked at us, then she finally nodded, "Alright."

"You're not just saying that?" Michonne asked as she took a step toward her.

"Let's go."

Smiling, I nodded, "Good."

"What about you?" Michonne asked.

"Don't worry about me." I smiled. "I'll find you."

"Why not just walk through the doors with us?" Andrea asked.

"Because they'll think I'm leaving with you and that will be unacceptable." I explained. "I can slip out after and then we'll figure it out."

Michonne nodded, "Okay."

"Okay." I smiled. "Pack and get the hell out of here."

Staying with them, I watched Andrea's every move as they packed. She still seemed reluctant but was going through with it. Michonne was clearly anxious about it all, making me anxious. The thought of getting out of here was both exhilarating and nauseating. But to feel free again would be amazing. I wouldn't be alone and we could move on and build a life that was nothing like this. A new start so I could become the person I used to be.

Walking toward the gates with them, we were nearly there when Dog's voice came calling from behind us, "Hey, hey, hey, girls! Where y'all off to in such a hurry? Huh?" Andrea stopped but both Michonne and I pulled on her to keep her moving. "Hey, come on, now. Come on. Hey, hey, hey. Y'all are breaking my heart running away like that."

"Shut up!" I yelled at him. "They were told they could go, so they're going."

"And what the hell are you doing with them?"

"I'm seeing them out to make sure nothing happens on the way." I shot at him.

"It's almost curfew." He stated. "I'd have to arrange an escort. I mean, the party's still going on."

"What the hell do you think I'm doing, dipshit?" I shot at him.

He ignored me, looking at them, "All right. Wait here a second." He walked toward the gates, calling up to Caesar, "Brownie. Come here. Listen up bro."

"I hate when he calls him that." I said under my breath.

Andrea clearly was questioning what Merle was saying to Caesar, stepping up to them, "The Governor told us we were free to come and go whenever we liked."

"Sweetheart, nothing personal here, but you're gonna have to step back."

She listened but then I was stepping toward them, "Baby, what's going on?"

"You tell me, babe." Caesar asked.

"They get to leave." I shot at him.

Caesar looked at Merle, "I don't know what game you're playing, but she's right."

Merle glared at me, looking up at Caesar with a knowing expression. Only then the all clear was given and the gates started to open. He turned back to Michonne and Andrea, "Now if I was y'all, I'd find some shelter before nightfall."

"They knew we were coming. This was all for show." Michonne told Andrea.

"Do you hear yourself? How can you know that? And why would they bother?"

"Ladies." Merle smiled.

"Close the gates." Andrea told them.

"No." Michonne and I said together.

"You need to leave." I added.

Andrea looked at Michonne, "I practically begged the Governor to let you stay."

"I didn't ask for that."

"You didn't have to. That's what friends do for each other."

"It goes both ways."

"So you want to run around out there with walkers on chains eating twigs? I mean is that – is that right?"

"We held our own."

"Eight months." Andrea was trying to reason with her. "Eight months on the road moving place to place, scavenging, living in a meat locker. That was no life. I'm tired. I'm tired. I don't have another eight months in me. Not like that. And you, I…"

"What about me?"

"I'm afraid you're gonna disappear." She replied sadly. "We always talking about this place, didn't we? A refuge. That idea is what kept us going."

"Are you coming or not?"

"Don't do this. Don't give me an ultimatum. Not after everything."

"Are you coming or not?" She asked again but Andrea had clearly made up her mind. Michonne hardened herself. "You'd just slow me down anyway." She moved toward the gates, walking out of them. She didn't bother looking back.

Andrea called out to her but Michonne didn't slow as the gates shut. Then she turned to me, "This is your fault."

I glared at her, "Blame me all you want. You know that she's right. If you don't, then you're just as stupid as everyone else here."

The party was well underway and the fights had been prepared for tonight. Andrea would see what Woodbury did for fun and she had to change her mind. If not…God, she would be so fucking stupid not to realize what this place was and what they did. It wasn't good. No matter how good it seemed. It wasn't good.

"You ready?" Caesar asked me as he came into my room.

"No." I told him. "I'm not going."

"What? Why not?"

"He always makes you lose and I'm just sick of them. You know I don't like the fights. They're barbaric and not what the dead should be used for."

He sighed, "I feel like we've had this conversation before."

"We don't need to, Caesar." I retorted. "Just go without me."

He leaned over and pressed a kiss against my neck, "Okay."

He left and I spent the majority of the night staring at the ceiling. I needed to leave and yet part of me was afraid to. I felt watched, making it the wrong time to try and make a move to leave. I felt like I had to stay for at least a day or two to make sure there were no suspicions about me. With my luck, Andrea would tell the Governor about what I was doing and then I'd be imprisoned.

"Damn it." I muttered to myself.

Deciding that morning was a better time to figure it all out, I slept, knowing that I'd need the energy when I made my move. Also, I had a strong feeling that the Governor would send someone after Michonne. That wouldn't happen until morning. If I slept now I could get up early and try and stop anything bad from happening. Or rather, anything worse from happening.

As soon as the sun was up enough to see by, I made my way toward the gates, being stopped by Caesar, "Where are you going?"

"Out." I told him.

"Why?"

He pulled me aside, "It's not a good idea."

I frowned at him, "Why?"

"Merle took a search party out." He told me softly.

"They went after her already?" I asked as my heart started to race. He nodded. "Damn it." Turning, I ran from the room, racing to the armory. Caesar was right behind me, gripping my wrist as I reached for a rifle.

"What are you doing?" He frowned.

"They are going to kill her." I shot at him, grabbing a clip for the handgun in the back of my pants. "I need to go."

"She's one person." He frowned harder. "You've never been one to save anyone."

Keeping his eyes, I knew he was right. But I didn't want to be that person anymore. "I am now."

"Caroline, don't do this." He said following me.

"I'm doing it." I said climbing up onto the wall.

"Care." Shumpert said with a deep-set frown.

Stopping, I stepping up to him. "We don't have to be these people." I told him. "We can be better." He just frowned at me. "They are going to kill her, Shump. I need to stop them. She doesn't deserve to die for simply not wanting to stay here."

"She had a choice."

I frowned at him, shaking my head, "You know that's not true. The Governor isn't the man you think he is." He just continued to frown at me. "If you want to stop me you're going to have to shoot me."

"Caroline." Caesar said gripping my hand.

"I know." I nodded at him, tightening the sheath around my thigh. "I don't know what's going to happen." I told him, kissing him deeply. "We had a good run."

His grip on my hand tightened, "You're not coming back?"

I took his head in my hands, "I don't know."

"You're not going." He stated with his hands firmly on my hips.

Smiling, I kissed him again, "I'll see you later."

Pulling away from him, I dropped from the wall, sprinting into the woods. Running as fast as possible, Michonne was good, but Merle was better. He's been raised a hunter and he could track better than anyone I'd ever seen. If he found her first, I wasn't sure if there would be anything left afterward.

It didn't take long for the first remnants of ta fight to be found. There were body parts but all of them looked like those of the dead. Then I came across her message. GO BACK. I couldn't help but grin. At the same time, that meant they were on to her. Then I heard the fighting and the gun shots. Rushing forward, Crowley and Tim were already dead. She was fighting Merle. She managed to get out from under him, rushing off into the woods. He fired after her, but I couldn't tell if she was hit for not. Rushing around the scene, thinking I'd gone unnoticed, someone gripped my shoulder and I cried out as pain seared through my side. Looking down, I saw Merle's bayonet sticking out of it. He quickly took my guns and my knife, tossing them as far away from us as he could.

Turning to look at him, he was grinning at me. Elbowing him in the face, I pushed him away from me, the blade pulling out of me as he fell back. Rushing in any direction, hoping to find a weapon, I managed to find my knife. I gripped it tightly before rushing after Michonne. The wound was bleeding pretty good, making running hard. It hadn't made it far when my hair was grabbed and I was yanked onto my back. Rolling quickly, I narrowly missed his blade, getting back onto my feet and faced him.

He laughed, "What do you think you're gonna do, Princess? You don't have any fight left."

"Really?" I frowned at him. "You've known me for a while now and do you really think that I give up that easily?"

"If you keep bleeding like that, you won't have a choice. You'll be dead."

"I'd rather die from blood loss than by your hand."

"I stabbed you, didn't I?"

Scoffing, I shook my head, "If you're going to kill me, let's get it over with."

"This isn't going to save Michonne. She's still gonna die."

"Fine." I told him. "I'm not really going to care much if I'm already dead."

He laughed and nodded before he was rushing toward me. Falling backward, I gripped him, throwing him over me, slamming him into the tree behind me. Getting up I was already moving. My side was throbbing. I hadn't gone far when a walker stepped out in front of me. Skidding to s stop, a fell to the side, straightening before I stabbed it through it's skull. I'd barely killed it when there was pain as Merle cut the side of my knee. He'd caught up quickly. Falling to my good knee, my knife was still in the skull of the walker. Then he was hitting me, feeling my face split open. My arms and back scraping against trees as he slammed me into them. My head was next and I fell dazed to the ground.

"I guess this is it, sweet cheeks. Time to die." He told me and I knew that this was it.

Gripping a rock as I pushed myself onto my hands and knees, he simply laughed. He stepped closer to me, but before he could kill me, a set of walkers appeared. He sliced one in half, letting the contents of it fall over me. He was still taking down the second, giving me time to escape. Running to the walker I'd killed, I pulled my knife from its skull before I sprinted away as fast as humanly possible, I didn't look behind me to see if he was coming. I needed to get away from him and I needed to find Michonne. Following red on the leaves, I finally saw her pulling her things from a tree.

"Michonne." I said softly.

Her head shot up and she looked relieved. "Linny."

Hugging her tightly, I took in her leg, "You'll be okay."

"What about you?" She frowned.

Smiling, I gripped her around her waist, "I'm peachy."

She laughed lightly and nodded at me. Starting to move, I couldn't hide my grimace as soon as she wasn't looking. My side ached and I couldn't stop the shaking from moving through me. She looked at me with worry but didn't say anything. Bouncing her against my good side, we kept moving. Blood was soaking through both our clothes and I couldn't deny that I was starting to feel a little lightheaded.

Stumbling, we both went to the ground, panting hard. Looking at her, we both knew what each other was thinking. Sighing, I furrowed my brows. She mirrored my expression. Nodding, I got to my feet, hopping on my good leg, helping her to hers before putting one foot in front of the other. Moving forward, the dead started to appear around us. We hadn't even noticed that they were there. Initially jumping, thinking they'd smell us, they simply walked past, not acknowledging us. Smelling us, we smelled like them.

Sighing with relief, we kept moving, the trees giving way and a building appeared. Moving to the end of the building, I peeked around the corner, seeing nothing but abandoned cars. Looking at her, we started to move, only then we heard an engine, quickly ducking behind a car. It pulled in front of the shops just ahead of us. I held Michonne tight to me as we watched two people get out. A young Asian guy and a pretty girl. They seemed relaxed.

"Clear outside." She told him.

The Asian boy smiled at her, "All right, let's take a look."

"Hey." She said getting his attention. He looked at her before she kissed him. "It's a beautiful day."

My stomach was turning, almost hating seeing them. I thought of Ben. Wondering what we would be doing if he were still alive. What would Hannah and Mozzie be doing? Where would we be? I missed him. It made emotion start to creep in and it took all of me not let our presence be known.

We watched them cut the bolt and then he went inside.

"Glenn, get that duck." She told him.

"What?"

"Get that duck."

He laughed, "Are you serious?"

"Yeah." She replied. "A kid growing up in a prison could use some toys."

I frowned and looked at Michonne. "Kid? Prison?"

"Shh." She told me.

"We just hit the powdered formula jackpot." He told the girl.

"Oh, thank God." She replied with relief.

"I also got beans, batteries, cocktail wieners, many mustards." He told her. "It's a straight shot back to the prison from here. Probably make it in time for dinner."

"I like the quiet. Back there, back home, you can always hear them outside the fence no matter where you are."

"And where is it y'all good people are calling home?"

My blood ran cold and I attempted to dart out from behind the truck but Michonne stopped me. "No. Let me go."

"We can't help them."

"Michonne." I said struggling against her.

"Hey. Hey." She said making me look at her. "Neither of us is in any condition to help them."

Looking back, Merle was pointing his gun at them and his bayonet is still on his arm. The couple reacted quickly though, both of them holding guns on him. Two against one. The odds were good. But they didn't know Merle. They didn't know what he was capable of. I needed to help them.

"Merle?" Glenn said with surprise.

Merle laughed and put his gun down on the ground, holding up his hands. Frowning, it turned out I was wrong. They knew each other. Looking at Michonne, her expression mirrored my own.

"Wow!" Merle exclaimed as he moved toward Glenn.

"Hey, back the hell up!" The woman shot at him.

"Oh, oh, okay, okay, honey. Jesus." Merle replied. God I hated that man.

"You made it." Glenn told him.

"Can you tell me, is my brother alive? Huh?"

"Yeah."

"Hey, you take me to him and I'll call it even on everything that happened up there in Atlanta. No hard feelings. Huh?" Merle replied but neither of them moved. They were smart. Merle was too though and he knew that they weren't going to listen to him. He laughed at them as they took in his arm. "You like that? Yeah. Well, I found myself a medical supply warehouse. Fixed it up myself. Pretty cool, huh?"

"We'll tell Daryl you're here and he'll come out to meet you." Glenn told him.

"Hold on. Just hold up." Merle replied, getting pissed as he stepped toward them.

"Whoa. Whoa." Glenn told him threateningly.

"Michonne." I whispered.

"No, Linny."

The woman is looking nervous and Merle is still slowly moving toward them. Clearly something happened in Atlanta and Merle was left behind. That much I understood. His brother Daryl must be at the prison. It was a small world. Most people never found each other once they were separated. But it was clear that this was not a happy reunion. To make it worse, Merle pulled a second gun from the back of his pants. He yelled and blew out the window of their car. The couple darted to either side and I lost sight of the woman…and Merle.

Then I heard Glenn. "Let go of her. Let go of her!"

"Put that gun in the car right now. Put it in the car, son." Merle told him. I could hear the gun get tossed. "There you go. Now we're gonna go for a little drive."

"We're not going back to our camp."

"No, we're going somewhere else. Get in the car, Glenn! You're driving! Move!"

"Woodbury." I frowned at Michonne. She nodded at me but didn't move.

We watched the couple get loaded and then they were off. Moving from behind the truck, I fell over before I'd gone three steps. Michonne looked down at me with a knowing expression. Nodding, I hit her hand away from me as I got to my feet. My knee was killing me. My side was still bleeding. The cuts, bruises, and abrasions were letting their presence be known. Stumbling forward, I saw the formula in the basket. Looking at Michonne, she nodded at me. Picking up the basket we started down the road. It was a straight shot to the prison. All we had to do was get there.

"I never even considered the possibility of having kids in this world." I told her as we kept moving.

"Me neither." She replied.

"It was bad enough that people have to raise their kids in this. Who would willingly get pregnant and bring a child into world as fucked up as this?"

"We don't know the circumstances."

"No. We don't." I agreed. "I'm sure it was an accident."

"I'm sure it was."

We were quiet as we kept moving. My good side was aching from supporting Michonne's weight and both my arms were sore from her and the basket of formula. The thought alone of knowing a baby had been born in this world was both exhilarating and terrifying. How was someone supposed to raise a baby in a world where the smallest noise brings danger from every direction? How could a baby survive? How was the mother feeling? How had the labor gone? So many questions kept running through my head.

Seeing the prison in the distance, we slipped into the woods, wanting to take it in before we made a move. Keeping the gray buildings in sight, when the trees gave way, the prison was laid out before us. It was impressive. But it wasn't just the prison that was here, there was a line of walkers as well. There were lining the two sets of fencing. The outer one was swarmed with the dead. A gap between fences to walk.

Fear started to fill me again. If we were in no position to take on one man then how the hell were we going to take on a herd of walkers? Then movement caught my eye and it took all of me not to leap out of the way. Walkers were coming out of the woods, drawn by the sound of the others. Looking at Michonne, we looked and smelled bad enough that they were simply passing us by. Slowly moving forward, she jerked on my shoulder, making me give a little cry. Freezing, they didn't seem to be fazed by it. Keeping moving, we inched toward the fence that could very well be our death.

We didn't stop until we were at the fence looking in. There were people. We saw people talking and smiling. We saw the baby. Only then she was handed off and the man who had been holding her started to walk toward us. He was clearly unsure of us. We had given them no reason to trust us.

"Caroline." Michonne whispered as the walkers started to notice us.

"It'll be okay." I whispered back.

Shoving her against the fence, I took out my knife, moving to the walker closest to us. Stabbing it through the top of its head, I did the same to three others before one pressed against my back. Shoving it away from me, I shoved my blade underneath its chin, yanking it out as I heard Michonne cry out. Spinning toward her, she had cut down several, lying in the middle of them. Others were already coming down on top of her.

"Get up." I told her as I fell to my knees after taking out another that was about to bite into her. "Michonne."

"Caroline." She said as her eyes fluttered.

"Get up." I pleaded as I forced myself onto my feet.

Putting my blade through another, I jumped as a gun shot rang from behind me. Turning toward it, I had only a moment to register the man and boy who was rushing toward us. They were helping us. Moving toward the walkers nearest me, I continued to take them out. Stepping backward, I took in the many that were starting to swarm from the commotion we'd been making. Looking at Michonne on the ground, the man was now rushing toward us, I knew my fate. But if she lived I'd be okay. It would be my redemption for everything I'd done.

Meeting the man's eyes, the blue of them bored into me, with curiosity, anger, fear…everything that a person should feel coming across someone new in a world like this. But he was helping. As of right now he was helping. He needed to help her.

"Carl." He said to the boy, watching as he shot several more walkers.

He was just a boy and he was taking them out like they were nothing. He was older than Hannah. What was it like to be raised in a world like this when you understood what it meant? Having lingered too long, I heard the growl, turning to see a walker in my face. Only in the next second a shot rang in the distance and it jerked as the bullet moved through its head. Looking back through the fence, people were in the towers.

People.

Multiple people.

There were people here.

Looking at the man again, I felt determination start to fill me, yelling at him as I pointed to Michonne, "Help her!"

He didn't respond but I was already moving. Stabbing a few more, I realized that there were too many of them. I only had my knife. This wasn't going to end well. Stabbing one, my feet were taken out from underneath me by another. Stabbing them, their weight fell onto my legs. I wasn't able to free myself when another fell to their knees next to me. Stabbing it through its head, its weight was on top of me as well. Continuing to stab them, I could hardly feel my arms anymore, but I kept stabbing them. I stabbed another.

And another.

And another.

And another.

By the time I was done, I was completely covered by the dead. I was breathing rank air. I could feel fluids covering my body that weren't my own, making me pray that because it wasn't saliva that it wouldn't make me turn. I didn't want to turn. I didn't want to die. I hadn't died. Instead I was simply and literally covered in death and yet I was alive.

For a while I still heard shots. For a while I still heard the growling of the dead. Then they both subsided and I was simply lying there, pinned to the ground by the bodies of men and woman who had been unable to survive this world. Feeling tears, I started to sob. I thought this was the end. This was the second time I thought the end was here after I'd lost Ben and Hannah and Mozzie. This time I thought I was giving my life to save someone else's. I was ready. I thought I was ready…

But I was alive.

Finally moving, putting my knife back in its sheath, I shifted my body, pushing on the bodies that were surrounding me. It was strenuous and disturbing and disgusting; but inch by inch I made my way out of my tomb of corpses. Thrusting my arm out, I felt the breeze of fresh air, forcing myself to twist as I used the bodies around me to propel myself out from inside of it. I felt like this was what being buried alive was like. Only instead of dirt I had blood and guts and corpses. The smell made me vomit more than once before my lungs finally tasted fresh air, gasping it to replace the stench of what I was surrounded by. Pulling myself free, I fell forward, hitting the ground hard. Pushing myself up onto my knees, I sat on my heels, letting my hand rest in my lap. Checking my knife, it was firmly in its sheath.

Sighing, feeling empty, every inch of my being aching from damage that had been done to it. Looking to where I'd last seen Michonne, she wasn't there anymore. Neither were her sword and the basket of formula.

Nodding to myself, I pushed myself up onto my feet, looking back at the prison. Taking a deep breath, letting it out slowly, I turned and started to move back into the trees. I reeked of death, passing the dead as I moved in the opposite direction of the prison. I walked through them as if I weren't even there. Bumping into them as I stumbled through the forest. But even then they didn't acknowledge me. They let me pass them by. They let me continue to live.

Attempting to find the cabin, I had to backtrack twice before I finally found myself on the right path. The sky was starting to dim and I was utterly exhausted. My body was sore and ready to shut down. I was covered in grossness but was too tired to make my way to the stream. I needed to do something to clean myself up and yet I couldn't seem to move in the direction I knew it to be in. Instead I felt relief when found my buried stash of guns, taking only one of them, afraid to take them all. Holding it loosely in my hands, I continued to walk again, feeling even more relief when I finally saw the wreckage of the cabin. More than that I saw the animals were still safe. Going to the barn, I let myself inside of it. The smell of weeks of the animals living alone hit my senses like a brick. Not that I cared. I managed to find the least disgusting corner of the barn and laid down. Exhaustion was quickly setting in, not thinking twice about the day's events before falling asleep.