Carl felt numb as he saw Daryl standing there. It was like a mirage in the middle of a desert. He wasn't sure whether to trust it or not. He walked forward as he saw Thor jump up at him, wanting to believe it. Daryl must have noticed the splattered blood from the walkers streaking his face and said

"Are you ok?" If it had been anyone but Daryl he might have ran forward and hugged them. But he couldn't. He wanted Daryl to know that he was tough and able to survive on his own without breaking down.

"Ya! Do you know where the others are?!" He walked up to him and felt the full joy of knowing that he wasn't alone anymore.

"Candice is back at the house," he said, "She got burnt bad on her leg, we haven't moved since the night we got away from the fire." Carl's heart sank at the thought of Candice being injured but he was incredibly happy that she too was alive. This was his chance to prove himself to Daryl, to show him that he could take care of his daughter. "Have you seen anyone else?"

"No," said Carl, "Spent the whole night running from a herd."

"Well come on back," said Daryl, "We got food back at the house." They walked side by side, Thor happily panting behind them.

"Did you and Candice get out together?" Daryl nodded and said

"She saw Georgette 'n Athena trying to escape so they've gotta be out there too. Once Candice gets better we can start lookin'." They walked up an overgrown path and a small house came in sight. She was waiting on the porch, having heard them approaching.

When Candice saw Carl walk out of the woods with her father. She was unable to contain herself and she ran down the steps and jumped at him. He hugged her back tightly and she buried her face into his shirt. She didn't realize how strongly she felt for him until now. It had started out as a little crush but now it was different. She heard her father clear his throat and she quickly backed away and with a red face, pulled him into a hug too. She scratched Thor's head as the dog rubbed his head against her good leg. Excitedly she said

"You found us!" Carl had a huge grin on his face and he said

"I've been moving since I left the fire," he said, "Been hoping I'd run into someone." With a small smile he said "I'm glad it was you." She felt her father lightly take her shoulder and say

"We should all head inside, get somethin' to eat."

"I'm starving," said Carl, hurrying up the steps. Candice had already started cooking some rabbit meat over the fire and the three sat down to talk.

"Irving has to have made it out," said Carl, "He wouldn't leave his dog in the trailer and Thor wouldn't leave him." Candice voiced the question that had been in her head since the beginning.

"Did someone intentionally start the fire?" Carl shoke his head.

"I ran into a small group in a town after I'd gotten out. They knew about the fire and asked if it was spreading their way."

"Good," said Daryl, "That means we ain't bein' hunted by someone."

"I think my leg's healed enough," said Candice, "We should get on the road tomorrow." Candice could sense Carl looking at her wrapped leg. Her father moved over to her and said

"Lemme get a look at it." She was reluctant to take the cloth off, slightly embarrassed to reveal her burnt and deformed flesh to Carl. She slowly unwrapped it, revealing the damage. The open blisters were now big ugly scabs; the skin still had a charred look but seemed to be healing also. She cringed at its appearance but said

"See, it's much better!" Her father looked skeptical but Carl said

"It doesn't look so bad," She smiled up at him, his comment making her feel ten times better about it. Carl saw her father's disapproving face and said "We could leave tomorrow morning, give her another night to heal." Daryl nodded and said

"If you think you can travel." Candice smiled and said

"I know I can."

Irving and Michonne were on the move again. Michonne took the front while Irving stayed behind, watching out for walkers. When he saw two of them moving through the trees towards them he turned and went to get rid of them. As he finished stabbing the last in the head he heard Michonne call his name from back up the trail. He quickly pulled his knife out of the walker's head and ran back to where she was. She was standing on the edge of a steep rocky cliff. Through the trees and in the distance he could see a city. It looked small but it was definitely an urban area. Michonne was smiling and said

"Now we can figure out where we are." He looked down the Cliffside and said

"Gotta find a safe way down." He saw Michonne looking over the edge and her face instantly went cold. He stopped and said "What's wrong?" She seemed to try and shake it off and said

"Nothing, just don't like heights much." Irving didn't question her any further, not wanting to force her into talking about something that bothered her.

"Well I'm sure there's a different way down." The two walked alongside the edge, waiting for the steepness to flatten out and make it walkable but it seemed to only get worse. It seemed as if it would never end and eventually Irving stopped and said

"If we keep lookin' we'll lose sunlight."

"We should camp here then," she said, "Wait until tomorrow to find a good spot." Irving shoke his head,

"If a herd notices us we'll be boxed in. If we move now we could make it to the bottom safely. All we gotta do is move carefully." He wished they had some rope, then they'd be able to tie it to a tree and their waists to move down the steep drop. He sat down on the edge and slowly began to slide himself down until he reached a tree to brace himself against. He looked back up at her and said

"Once I get down to that next tree you slide down onto the tree I'm on now." She looked apprehensive but nodded. Irving took his time moving, not leaning to far forward to prevent himself from falling. When he reached the next tree he watched Michonne. She looked nervous and clearly fearful. When she reached the first tree she clung to it.

When Irving reached the fifth tree and Michonne sat behind him on the fourth there were no more trees to grab onto. It was a straight shot down to the bottom of the hill.

"We can slide down." He moved off of the tree and leaned back as he slid down the steep hillside. It was fast but he made it down. He saw Michonne slowly remove herself from the tree and try to slide down the exact way that he had. Instead, her foot got caught in a thick root. As she tried to pull it out she lost balance and was sent sprawling down fast. When she landed at the bottom on her stomach Irving went to her immediately.

"You ok?!" He went to try and help her to her feet but she pulled away from him and stood back up herself. He could see that she was hyperventilating and he decided to give her some space. "It's ok," he said, "Nuthin' bad happened. How 'boout we set up camp here? Call it a night?" She nodded and stalked off into the trees by herself. Whatever it was that was bothering her she needed her alone time. Just earlier she had been happy and hopeful, now it was different.

Ares was dreaming. He was a kid again, standing in the forest. Clutched in his hand was a pistol.

"You can do it, just like dad showed you." His sister stood behind him. Ahead there was a deer standing in the clearing. It hadn't noticed them as they were behind a group of close trees.

"I don't know," he said, his tone uncertain. "He's not here to help me or watch."

"I'm here," she said, "Dad would be happy to see you do it by yourself." He slowly raised his gun, aiming it at the grazing buck. When he was certain he had the shot he pulled the trigger. He missed, hitting the tree behind the deer instead. It dashed away quickly, leaving Ares with a feeling of failure and shame.

"If he had been here I would have been able to do it." He felt Athena's hand on his shoulder and he looked up at her. He could see the distress in her eyes that she held back. He knew she had to be strong for not only herself but him also.

"You can't think like that," she said, "It will only make things worse."

"But I lost our dinner!"

"Don't worry; we still have some squirrel meat left back at home." Despite his sister's uplifting tone he still felt shitty about it. "Come on," she said, "The sun's setting we have to get back." They walked back up the trail headed for home. As the house came into view through the trees, Ares heard the familiar snarling sound that haunted him. He turned to see a walker following them up the path. It was fast moving and he quickly fumbled with his gun, trying to pull it out of its holster. Before he got the chance he heard a gunshot ring out. The walker fell to the ground, his sister standing with her gun up, smoke rising from the barrel. She grabbed his hand and said "We gotta hurry, others could have heard that!" A major downfall of not having an adult around was they were not able to reach walkers heads with a knife unless it was a child. They had no choice but to shot them which could potentially draw in a herd.

When they got back to the house Athena quickly locked everything up. They had tried not to live on the ground floor since their father's death. All the windows were boarded up and no light ever got through. They quickly made their way upstairs which consisted of two bedrooms, a small library and a sun porch they used as a lookout. They used the library as a kitchen, using paper from the books to start fires and cook over. The third floor had three bedrooms. Athena's room, Ares' and their parents which they rarely went into anymore. Once they got upstairs Athena got right to cooking dinner. Are's took watch on the sun porch. It gave them a good view as it faced the front of the house. He sat in a wicker chair, his failure from earlier still clouding his mind. He'd shot a deer before with his dad when they went hunting but for some reason he didn't feel that same level of confidence when he didn't have him by his side. He was disappointed in himself and how he was unable to show Athena that he could survive on his own.

The sun was nearly set when he saw movement in the trees. He quickly blew out his candle and waited to see what it was. All at once, walkers started to pour out of the forest and into the front lawn. He quickly ran out of the room, headed to the library, blowing out candles that lit the hallway as he went. His sister had heard him coming and already had blown out her candle and the fire she'd been cooking over.

"Is it a herd?" Ares nodded fearfully, as he sat down with her and they sat against a bookshelf, keeping absolutely silent. He could hear them outside through an open window, snarling hungrily like animals.

Ares woke up on the cot he had chosen to sleep on earlier that night. It was dark but he could just make out Judith and Carlotta's sleeping forms next to him in their own cots. They were inside an old brick building that had clearly been used as a shelter when the turn happened. It was full of cots, old medication and other medical supplies. He lay back down on his pillow, kicking his covers off of him and trying to cool off.

Odilia and Pedro walked along the road, Sarah's death still heavy on their minds.

"Wish I had my four wheeler," she said, "We could move much faster." Pedro nodded and said

"How did you get a hold of one of those in the first place? Haven't seen a moving, working vehicle in years."

"I stole one from the village I escaped from," she said, "Our leader kept a bunch of them up 'n runnin'."

"Must have a lot of resources."

"He does."

"Has the village been there since the beginning?"

"I don't think so," said Odilia, "I know Vince organized it himself. He started out with a group of people 'n the more people passed through the more members he gained. He was able to fight off any attacks that came our way, takin' more 'n more people."

"He'll be tough to beat." Odilia looked up at him and said

"We have to get the group back together first, can't go in there by ourselves." With a dark look she said "He'll take us prisoner and torture us, I've seen him do it." A sign they were approaching caught their attention. It read 'Welcome to Bay Springs, Mississippi.' A large road sign further up ahead read 'Hattiesburg, 54 miles, south.' Odilia did not know Bay Springs but she recognized the name of Hattiesburg. She smiled and said

"This means we're movin' the right way!" Bay Springs was small and from what she could see, abandoned. It was a quaint little town that looked like it had been the usual small southern town. Off to the right was a large bayou. The strong reminder of home hit Odilia and she instantly thought of her mom and how much she missed her.

"You alright?" Pedro was looking at her.

"Ya," she said, "Just a bit of homesickness is all." They walked down the street, looking out for any supplies they could use or evidence that the group had passed through.

"I miss home sometimes."

"And where's that?"

"Calaceite, Spain." Odilia was instantly intrigued; she'd never met anyone out of the states before. She assumed she never would, considering the world was so broken.

"You lived there?"

"Until I was a teenager," he said, "My dad moved me and my sisters here when he was transferred by the company he worked at."

"What was it like there?"

"It was beautiful," he said, "It was in the northeast. I could see the mountains from my house."

"Where'd you move when you came here?"

"Georgia," he said, "My dad had to work out of Atlanta. We knew English so it wasn't a huge transition." Odilia smiled and said

"Maybe you can teach me some Spanish 'n I can teach you some French."

"French?"

"Ya everyone in southern Louisiana knows at least a little bit of French." He smiled and said

"Sure, I'd be happy too."

Michonne returned to camp later that night. Irving had already eaten but kept a piece of meat out for her so when she returned she could have it. She silently took the paper plate and sat down across from him, digging into her meal. He watched her with curiosity. She had run off so quick he hadn't even gotten a chance to double check that she wasn't injured.

"You ok?"

"Ya." She had the same serious, intimidating expression she had on the first day they were together. He didn't want them to go back to being distant.

"Wanna talk 'bout what happened?" She looked up at him darkly and said

"It was nothing." He was determined to get through to her.

"It was somethin'," he said, "You weren't just afraid, there was more, I could see it." She was silent again and finally said

"That was how Rick died."

"Rick?" She didn't seem to hear his question and said

"Carl fell down a steep hill and we went down to help him and Rick was swarmed. Carl and I got out ok but…."

"You're brother or husband?"

"No, he was the man I loved. He was Carl's father." Irving bowed his head as he remembered the pain of loving someone he loved. "He died from a bite and then it was just Carl and I."

"I'm sorry," he said, "I know how it feels." She looked at him and waited for him to talk. "I lost my girlfriend a long time ago. Her name was Shay. We lived in a village 'n it got overrun. I couldn't save her." Her eyes were full of emotion. "It's the worst feelin' in the world. I felt like I couldn't go on."

"I had too," said Michonne, "I had Carl to take care of. He kept me going." Irving nodded and said

"I left the village 'n found my own place to stay alone. I lived there for years until Georgette found me." When he spoke of Georgette he couldn't help but smile. "She helped me."

"Rick would want you to move on 'n be happy, no matter what that means to you." She nodded and said

"I just need to find Carl and Judith. I can't let anything happen to them."

Georgette and Athena were in the forest again. As they had expected, they had caught up to the clouds and it was raining. The trees provided enough cover to keep them dry and the soft patter of the drops on the leaves above made Georgette feel drowsy.

"Look at that." She turned around and saw Athena looking at the back of a large brick building. Georgette stood next to her and said

"You wanna check it out?"

"Ya," said Athena, "They could be in there, taking shelter or something." The two girls went up to it and Georgette spied a window further down the wall. "What do you think this place was?"

"I don't know," said Georgette, "Hard to tell from here." She walked over to the boarded up window and grabbed onto the lowest board, pulling on it. It fell off easily, the wood having of rotted away. She ignored the bugs that crawled out from where the wood had been and grabbed the next one up. Once they were all off she tried to swat aside the spider webs.

"That is nasty," said Athena with disgust. She picked up a large stick and said "Here use this instead." Georgette took it and cleared the window. It was cracked a little bit and Georgette pushed it up. With the help of Athena, she hoisted herself inside. It was clear that the place was a school. There were desks in rows and a chalkboard at the front. She leaned back out the window and said

"It's a school." She held out her hands for Athena and she grabbed on, pulling up onto the window. Once Athena was in they took a look around.

"Imagine being in here all day long every day except for two days a week." Georgette laughed and said

"Oh come on I always thought school would be fun. We used to pretend we were in school when Angela taught us stuff." Athena smiled and said

"What kinda stuff?"

"Like basic math, reading and writing." The sound of something falling over nearby alerted them both. It came from the other side of the room where it was dark. They both slowly made their way over, knives raised. The room narrowed and when they turned the corner they realized that there was a staircase leading down into a cellar. They looked at each other and Georgette wasn't sure whether it was worth it to go check it out. She quickly realized they didn't have a choice. The sound of snarling came from the hallway and walkers appeared in the doorway, pouring inside towards them. They ran down the stairs, and realized that there was a door at the bottom. They swung it open and ran inside. Georgette felt her foot get caught and she fell face first into a shelf of art supplies, knocking a whole bunch of expired paint all over herself. Athena pressed herself up against the door as the walkers slammed up against it. Georgette quickly got to her feet. The old paint smelled like rotten eggs and she was now the color blue but she didn't care, they needed to find a way out as quickly as possible. Georgette looked around for another door and felt along the wall, barely able to see. She felt a small latch and pulled. It wasn't a door but a vent near the floor, just big enough that they'd be able to fit tightly through.

"Are you claustrophobic?"

"No!"

"Well then come on!" Athena broke away from the door. Surprisingly, it didn't burst open but rattled on its frame. It wouldn't last long. Georgette let Athena crawl in first. She went into the vent backwards so she could full the vent closed after her. She wouldn't be able to turn around once inside and she'd have to move backwards. As she latched the vent shut the door burst open, letting the hoard in. They clawed at the vent but were unable to rip it open as she had locked it from the inside. Not wanting to see if they'd eventually be able to break in she moved backwards on all fours, making sure she kept up with Athena's movements.

Beth got back from her fishing trip late that afternoon. She and Donna had caught a good amount of fish but no gators. Beth picked up the large buckets full of fish and said

"I'll take these to the kitchen." Donna thanked her and they headed off in opposite directions. Beth was still wearing her boots and was covered in mud and sweat. She was in no mood for Vince to come up to her and try and flirt.

"Hey Bethy."

"Please don't call me that." He ignored her and said

"Caught a lot today?"

"Ya," she said, "for the cafe."

"You've been working hard lately." Beth just nodded hoping he'd go away. "You need a break don't you think?"

"Not really."

"How about you come to my place tonight?" She was done with him. How much clearer could she be that she wasn't interested.

"I don't think so Vince."

"Aw come on, you know you want too." He got close to her and wrapped his arms around her. She snapped in that moment, pulling away.

"Leave me alone! I said no!" He seemed shocked at her reaction and then got angry.

"How dare you, you owe me your life!"

"I don't owe you anything!"

"You'll regret this Beth, I swear it." With that he gave her a dark look and walked back in the opposite direction. She just rolled her eyes and kept walking towards the kitchen. She didn't have time to think about what Vince would or wouldn't do, she had a job to take care of.

Annalise sat against a tree in the woods. In front of her was the chain link fence that surrounded the village. It was quiet and there wasn't a walker in sight. She held her knees to her chest as she tried to think clearly. She was pregnant. She was the only one that knew and she wondered if it should stay that way for now. Beth was kind and loving, there was no doubt she'd be accepting but what about Beau? If she told them both it could drive a wedge between mother and son if Beth took her side. Beau had just seemed to start bonding back with his mother and she didn't want to ruin that now. Beth was a young mother, she had to be understanding.

Even if she was going to tell Beth first she needed some time to let it sink in. She had only found out an hour ago and she still needed some time to process things. She had always loved children, but what kind of mother would she make?

Thanks for commenting DarylDixon'sLover, K. Lynn Perks and TheTroubleWithNames :) You guys are great! I'm happy that some of you are enjoying the length as this story is consuming about 75% of my summer lol.

Thanks for reading,

Wanderlustt