Thoughts raced through my mind as we sped back toward the church. Would the antibiotics save Mika, or was she infected and beyond anyone's help? I wondered if Lizzie had succumbed to her injuries, and if so, how had Carol and Rick handled the situation? Carol wasn't Lizzie's mother, but she had clearly grown to become a sort of surrogate parent to both the girls.

Selfishly, I also thought of the kiss I'd shared with Daryl. What had it meant to him, if anything? He'd definitely seemed surprised by it, despite his arms clearly being around my waist at the time. Maybe it was just a moment of light-headedness from the relief of the discovery that his fate hadn't been sealed by the monster's bite.

It took a few hours to return to the church and darkness was falling as we rolled up to the gates. Michonne was standing guard with Carl. They'd kept the gates clear the whole time, anticipating our arrival.

Michonne greeted us on arrival: "You get what we need?"

Daryl nodded curtly as he delved into his saddlebags to retrieve the precious antibiotics.

Michonne watched Daryl's retreating back. "Anything happen out there?" she said to me, one of her eyebrows raised in apparent interest. "He seems a little quieter than usual." Could Daryl even get quieter than usual?

"You know Edison?" I questioned.

"Sure, I was there once on a quick run with Daryl. The place didn't seem worthwhile at the time. I'm surprised that's where he thought to try first; I don't even think that town had a drug store," Michonne recalled.

I shrugged, "We got what we needed and more. But someone's moved into that town since you were there last. We never saw them, but we saw their work." I continued on, explaining what we'd seen and my theory surrounding the bound and labelled walkers.

Michonne nodded silently, taking everything in. "You think that this person – or this group – is going to be a threat to us? Edison's far enough away, but not that far away," her eyes held mine with a steady gaze as she spoke.
I pursed my lips and looked at the ground. "I don't know," I replied honestly. I knew that this group had been driven from their previous sanctuary by a madman they simply called 'The Governor'. They had good cause to be wary of other groups trying to take what they had worked so hard to get. "But I think we need to be cautious – like I said, I think the experimenters poisoned whoever it was that turned and came after Daryl. Maybe he volunteered, but he looked pretty healthy other than the fact he was dead."

Disgust flickered across Michonne's face – she was all too familiar the kind of brutality this world could inspire. "We should see if we can't find them before they find us. They know someone had to put down their walker, and if they're smart they'll guess we can't be too far."

I nodded in agreement, "I'll come with you to scout tomorrow if you like – until then it might be a good idea to post-pone any non-essential trips outside of the walls."

Michonne just nodded again as she bent to take a seat before the gate.

It was uncomfortable, but I had to ask, "How are things here? Has . . ." I couldn't bring myself to finish the question about Mika and Lizzie. I didn't know them well, but seeing children having to deal with their own and others' mortality on such a regular basis was painful. What kind of adults would the children of the apocalypse grow up to be?

Michonne's lifted her steady gaze to meet my own, "Lizzie's gone. Carol put her down in the end. Mika hasn't changed much – she seems about the same. She has a bit of a fever, and she can't keep food down. She's scared for herself, and she's just lost her sister."

I exhaled loudly. I had been anticipating that Lizzie would be dead before we returned. As for Mika, it looked like her future was still unsure. The fever could just be the result of the infection she was battling from her wound, and the vomiting could be because of the antibiotics – or both these things could be the first stages of the thing that had just claimed her sister.

Michonne added, "We're having the service tomorrow."

I felt tears welling up in my eyes. It's strange how we're taught to fight back tears. If any situation called for tears, it was certainly the death of a child. I decided to change the subject, "How long have you been on watch, Michonne?"

"Too long," she sighed.

Michonne must have been exhausted – she was usually the last person to complain.

"Let me take over. I could use time sitting in one spot for a bit," I offered. "Are you waiting for anyone else coming in from a run?"

Michonne shook her head, "No, you and Daryl were the last today."

"Great," I replied, "If that's the case, I'm going to head up to the spot on the roof. Can you let Rick know if you see him?"

"Yeah. He'll already be asleep though – he was planning on waking to take the watch a couple of hours before dawn," Michonne informed me.

"Okay, well I'm sure he'll know where to find me."

Michonne and I walked toward the church. I waved goodnight as we parted, she to her bed, and me to my station on the roof. The roof was a nice place to be – it felt secret, it felt safe. It could only be accessed through a window in the topmost part of the church that had been mostly used for storage. The view from the roof was glorious. The moon was full and bright tonight, illuminating the forest around our hilltop church. I could hear the faint babble of the creek in back, and the rest of the church was surrounded by the silent woods.

After what must have been hours, I'd seen very little of interest. I'd seen one walker, then a pair of them. All three had passed by church without incident. If I'd been tasked with this job in my old life, I would have been bored out of my mind. At the present time, this was a relief. I wasn't running, I wasn't starving, and I wasn't cold or wet. Silence was a blessing in this world. If only I'd appreciated it before.

My peaceful concentration was broken by the noise of someone clambering through the window and onto the roof - Rick must have roused for his shift on watch.
Without turning my head, I called out to him in a hushed voice, "You can head back to bed if you want - I'm not tired, and there's no sense in neither of us getting any sleep."
"I ain't sleepin' anymore neither," Daryl responded. "Anything good on?"

I laughed, "Not really. I've been watching this terrible infomercial for the night sky."

Daryl took a seat a few feet behind me and leaned back on his elbows. "Make sure to write down the 1-800 number if they say it again."

I couldn't see him, as he was positioned behind me, but I could feel his presence on the roof. So we sat together in silence, watching the night sky, waiting for the dawn.

What we didn't know at the time is that someone was watching us.

OooOoOOOo! I started writing another story you guys might like called "We, The Glorious Dead". I started writing it mostly because I was starting to feel a little trapped by the first person narration style I chose for this story. Anyways, check it out! I kind of hate the title, and so if you read it and have suggestions on a better title please let me know via comment or PM!
A big thanks to all my wonderful reviewers and readers - truly, I get so excited whenever I read a new review or see a new follow/favourite. XOXO!