They hammered on the front door, momentarily forgetting the existence of walkers, until T-dog flung the door open.

"What's wrong? Where's the others?!" T shouted after the two man hurricane that was tearing through the Inn stripping it of anything useful.

Carol stumbled into the chaos, muttering her daughter's name repeatedly like a women possessed, she just needed an answer to put an end to the never ending nightmare her life had become.

"She's there." Daryl threw an answer over his shoulder and continued to stuff cans into a backpack, not that those pieces of shit would be having any of it. Carol waited for Daryl to continue, she studied his pained face and swollen, red, puffy eyes. What had happened to Alice? She didn't dare to ask, for a man like Daryl to cry it had to be something dreadful. Rick filled T in with the necessary details, fully aware that Carl was listening by the doorway, but he had no words for his son, he couldn't guarantee his own or Lori's safe return, there was no point in giving him an empty promise. Apart from a single handgun, that would be Carol's only way of defending the Inn, all of the weapons and ammo were loaded into T-dogs backpack, Rick intended on using every last bullet to see the scumbags that held his people dead.

It wasn't long before a set of keys were jingling in the lock, a whoosh of air gushed in through the open door, penetrating the stuffiness of the small room. A scrawny man heaved the iron door aside to sneer at his prisoners, a greasy brown shirt hung off his skeletal form, it had once been a lovely bright white but it had been badly tarnished over time just like his soul.

"You. Let's go." he pointed a long boney finger towards Alice and forced his thin lips into a gaunt, emotionless smile that sent chills shivering through her body. This was bad, really bad, she just knew it.

The violent frisk they had endured upon entry was still fresh in her mind, constantly reminding her that she was defenceless as she trailed solemnly behind one of her captors. She tried to memerise the dingy layout of the warehouse the best she could, most importantly the exits, but it was so lacking of any natural light that it was almost impossible to make anything out, every window and door had been baricaded up into a makeshift equivalent of Alcatraz, escape looked nearly impossible. In every shadowed corner she saw Daryl standing with his arms wide open, every snaking crack in the wall was the outline of his rugged form and the leaks in the ceiling continously dripping stagnant water reminded her of the tears he had shed when he left. Her eyes carried a nasty sting that would rival chopping a hundred onions, she had survived so long alone but the impact he'd had on her life made it impossible to carry on without him, it was too painful. No matter what, she wouldn't let anything happen to Daryl, Rick or Dale when they returned- Daryl had saved her life that night in the woods, it was time to repay him.

"Relax." Never had Alice heard more stupid words spoken and in total contrast to the paralysing tension that engulfed her petrified body. Even by candlelight 'the leader' looked like something that had stepped right out of a gory horror movie, the hollowness of his eyes were more walker than human. It made total sense that he had chosen to dwell in a room with no windows, he belonged in darkness but for Alice's sake he had lit a few candles, he needed to see her face, her body...everything.

The metal legs of his chair screeched against the filthy tiled floor until it couldn't be moved any closer towards Alice's seat. The overpowering stench of stale sweat made her recoil in disgust before his calloused hand even grabbed her thigh. Channeling Daryl's ferocity gave her the courage to push his hand away and hold her own ground, Daryl wouldn't run like a coward he'd end this scumbag. All of the candles simmered down, like they were bowing to the smile on her face that was lighting the room far better than their tiny embers.

"What's so funny?" Alice's smile only stretched further towards her eyes, the more he tried to intimidate her the more it grew. "Oh, I'm just thinking about what's going to happen to you when my boyfriend gets here." she replied proudly. The scar under his lips crinkled grotesquely as he sneered at her, "Actually, IF he comes back, along with any other little friends you might have crawling around out there, I'm going to kill him, just like I should have when I first found you." Alice remembered he had made a similar remark about seeing her before but it still made no sense no matter how far back into her memories she traveled.

He leaned closer, coal black eyes eating up every inch of her ravenously, he had waited a long time to sink his teeth into her supple skin. After the CDC, when they had discovered the graveyard of cars, his own group had been in the area competing to see who could kill the most walkers as they often did but a hoard of the undead had been drawn to the commotion quicker than usual cutting their game short. His men spotted the other group scavenging in the abandoned vehicles, a traffic jam that would never move. It had brought a grin to his face, the idea of some unsuspecting victims being surprised by a cannibalistic army of former humans, the cries for help that would go unanswered made him shiver in excitement. Heading away from the impending scene of a carnage he spotted Alice, all alone, pulling a corpse from a truck. Her beauty had been obvious but it wasn't what was attracting him to her, it was the vibrant glow of life, she hadn't lost the will to live, she had something that kept the light in her alive and he wanted to destroy it.

"A road leading out of Atlanta, a fuck load of empty cars?" Alice's eyes widened in realisation, she knew it was strange for so many walkers to gather for no reason with no big sounds to draw them in.

"You led them right to us and never thought to give any warning?!" she snapped bitterly, Sophia's disappearance was his fault and he didn't seem remorseful at all. In fact he rose from his chair and dragged Alice to her feet at the same time, the inhuman, brutal strength behind the force of the pull left her feet barely able to touch the ground. This wasn't his plan, he had plan to claim her as soon as he had her alone but Alice was irritating him, that grotesque glimmer of hope that glinted in her eyes had to be snuffed out before he could enjoy her to the full. That's how he liked to have certain women that they captured, paralysed by fear and utterly hopeless.