Their work at Walmart was finally drawing to a close, the military truck and removal van crammed full. It was nearing three o'clock in the afternoon, and thus far the day was going exceptionally well, even by their low standards. Once they had cleared out all the essentials and begun packing them up, Abraham allowed them back inside in small groups, their new task being to retrieve items they desired solely for themselves. The notion had baffled Carrie, and she had no idea where to even start…she could have whatever she liked? Material possessions free for her to take…it wasn't the fact that they were looting as opposed to scavenging for survival that bothered her, but the idea that she could have something she wanted. If only she knew what that was.

Thankfully Rosita had come with her, as though she had sensed Carrie's uncertainty. They had slowly walked the store together, their eyes casting over an array of items they neither needed nor desired. Finally they made their way past the clothing and shoes section, Rosita immediately setting her sights on a pair of black stilettos. Though Carrie doubted she would ever have reason to wear them, Rosita reverently put them into her shopping cart, admiring them as they continued on. A little while later Carrie's interest was sparked by a pair of brightly coloured running shoes, the bright yellow and purple colour grabbing her attention.

"How big exactly is Alexandria?" she asked Rosita, looking at the running shoes.

Rosita shrugged. "A couple of streets."

"Big enough to jog around?"

"You don't exactly need exercise," Rosita told her sternly, looking her up and down.

Carrie agreed wholeheartedly, not liking the too slim shape of her body. "I know, but it's relaxing when you're not being chased by something."

Laughing at this, Rosita gave her answer. "Yeah, it's big enough to jog around. One of the residents takes her dog for a walk…sometimes I see them running together. I think it's Betsy…"

"Alright then," Carrie smiled, putting the running shoes into the shopping cart.

Thinking longingly of the days when she jogged through Manhattan and the yoga class in Central Park, Carrie had found herself some running clothes and a few sets of socks, departing from the usual thick socks required for wearing under boots. She and Rosita continued on together, Rosita heading to the sports section and grabbing some new yoga mats. They continued through the store, and Carrie paused as they passed by a rack of cheap jewellery. Choosing a pair of plain gold studs, she put them in her ears as she remembered the diamond earrings she used to wear, and the box of water crackers she had traded them for. By the time they had departed with their cart full of goods, Carrie had felt like she was on a high. Not only had she and Rick indulged in a quickie that afternoon, she had things for herself…even a hockey set. But still, it was difficult to comprehend the idea that she would ever use them. Like most things, it was too good to be true.

Tending to the plants in the greenhouses, Carrie balanced on the rear wheel of the military truck, trying to make the watering can reach the plants in the very back. She couldn't quite reach, but she didn't dare ask Abraham to help her move some supplies aside, knowing how tightly wound he was that afternoon. The plants and seedlings were doing alright after their removal from the prison gardens, if not a little wilted and sad looking, but they would survive well enough for another few days. She wondered if she would be asked to help with the gardens they had in Alexandria, praying she hadn't over stated her talents as a gardener. Though she fancied herself to be a green thumb, the only herb garden she ever owned was a few pots on the fire escape of her apartment…they had died with alarming frequency. Rick appeared to trust her talents though, having requested her help with the gardens at the prison. She just prayed she hadn't cursed these poor plants.

"Oh come on Grimes!" Abraham shouted in exasperation, making everyone look around. Rick was bringing out another shopping cart filled with supplies. "What am I supposed to do with all of this shit?"

Without skipping a beat, Rick put his hand on Carl's shoulder and stood behind him, using him as a human shield for a third time that day. "These are the last ones, I promise," he said. "It's important stuff…things we need."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know DVD's were essential to survival," Abraham scolded him, picking up a plastic case and glaring at it. "Oh, Sons of Anarchy…"

"They weigh nothing."

"But-"

"Oi'," Daryl cut in loudly, holding a box up in the air. "We got a fuckin' pasta maker. So everybody stop panicking…it's gonna be alright."

There was a chorus of laughter, Carrie smiling and shaking her head at them. The problem of the pasta maker had first been brought up at The BigSpot, Abraham citing it as their number one priority above all else. This announcement seemed to appease Abraham, who just shook his head in defeat and told them to hurry up. The trucks and vehicles were jammed full of supplies, with many of the lighter items secured on the roofs of the minivan and Hyundai.

As though not trusting Rick's promise that it was the last items they were scavenging, Abraham did a quick head count of their group and then headed over to the entrance. Pulling the heavy black gates across the entrance, he secured them with a long chain and padlock, keeping the store free of more Walkers. Hopefully it would be clear to anyone else passing through that the store was a safe haven now, that there were still some supplies and a safe place to hold up for the night.

Jumping down from the military truck, Carrie set to work helping them pack up the last of the supplies, cramming more items into the crib Rick and Carl had found for Judith. It was in the back of the delivery van Tobin had fixed up, and they were currently cramming it full of items, filling every nook and cranny of space. She wondered what they would be doing for the rest of the day, having overheard discussion about checking out a few places.

"Rick's in a good mood today," Aidan commented, coming to stand by Carrie. He watched as Rick started unloaded the final shopping carts, laughing at something Tobin said to him. "That's rarer than a friendly Walker."

Carrie just smiled, knowing Aidan was right. "It's Walmart," she shrugged. "What's there not to smile about?"

"True," Aidan nodded in agreement.

There was an awkward pause, and Carrie anticipated the next question before Aidan even began.

"We're heading out again, once we're packed up here. Got some places to look through."

"Ah huh."

"Team up with me?"

"Sure," she nodded politely, not having an acceptable excuse to refuse him. "So long as you think you can handle me."

Leaving their conversation at that, Carrie headed off and hoped she didn't look like she was trying to escape. Michonne's comments the other day still lingered, Carrie knowing that Aidan must be nursing a crush on her. Though he seemed like a nice enough guy, Carrie couldn't ever picture herself indulging his crush. Their experiences were far too different. He had been sheltered from the very worst of what the world had become, unlike her. Besides, his cocky and self-confident demeanour reminded her of Logan, her ex-husband who had cheated on her twice. If there was ever a turn off for her, it was similarities to him.

She occupied herself for a few minutes, helping Tobin distribute some of the newly found food among the trunks of each car. There wasn't much space left anywhere now, not with each car crammed full with supplies. Though she hadn't been there during the planning stages of this supply run, she increasingly got the feeling that they hadn't expected to be bringing back the amount that they were. If they hadn't found the military truck in fairly good condition, she figured they probably would have needed to leave a great deal of it behind, which went against the whole point of the supply run. Even with two trucks, they were abandoning the red sedan in favour of a shiny white delivery van where Judith's crib was being stored.

Abraham perched himself on the back of the military truck, rounding the group up and calling them to attention. "The day's not over, folks. Team up, groups of four. Carl, you're with me, your dad and Rosita."

"Team up with me," Carrie urgently whispered to Michonne, moving to stand next to her. "Please."

Michonne didn't say anything, detecting the urgency of Carrie's request. Giving a short nod, she folded her arms and looked around, slowly coming to understand when she saw Aidan and Nicholas approaching them.

"Just let him down easy," Michonne whispered, giving a polite nod as the two men came over.

"I will," she weakly promised, wishing she knew how.

"We've got heaps of medication from the bunker and here," Nicholas argued in exasperation. "Why are we looking for more?"

"I don't give two short and curlies what we have already," Abraham told him, opening up the map and spreading it out on the hood of the minivan. "Too much medication on hand is not enough. Rick and I are going to take the dental surgeries on this moan road along here, and then we'll double back to hit this vet surgery and the Planned Parenthood centre."

"Daryl, Tobin and I can take this area here," Aaron commented, indicating to the other side of town. "There's a pathology unit there. I've got the list Pete gave us, I'll see if we can scavenge any of the equipment. We can try the nursing home after that."

"Take Glenn with you," Abraham instructed, seeing he and Rick returning from their check of the carpark. "Carrie, Michonne? You take your group to this suburb here, Eastridge. There's a retirement village near the golf course…rich old folk have got meds."

"Sounds fine to us," Michonne nodded.

Developing good habits, Carrie checked her weapons again and found that she needed another magazine. Heading for the back of the minivan, whose arsenal of spares was easiest to access, she loaded herself up. Glancing over at Rick, she wasn't surprised to find his carefree attitude from earlier fading away while seriousness took its place. The group were separating, something they didn't often do, but time made it necessary. She watched as his eyes flicked around, critiquing the groups to give approval. As Carrie rejoined Michonne, Aidan and Nicholas, she saw surprise cross his face, his mouth twisting into a grimace. They made small talk as they waited, but from the corner of her eye Carrie was watching Rick, wondering if he would separate Aidan from her. Being a grown man hadn't stopped him feeling a twinge of jealousy towards Aidan's affections for her, and she'd noticed.

Carrie wasn't oblivious to the other reality though…she knew there was division between the Grimes' group and the Alexandrians, and that Rick's confidence in certain people was particularly lacking. While he had trusted Aidan to care for an injured Carl while the others took the prison, she had noted that his confidence in him was overall quite poor, and in Nicholas and Tobin too. It was like Rick and the others took particular care to watch over them, to supervise them and make sure they didn't stuff up. Feeling sympathetic, she suspected that's how they looked at her too. Aside from her introduction while wearing Walker guts for clothing, her poor marksmanship and gun skills must have made her seem like a liability.

"I want everyone back here before sun down," Rick addressed them. "We'll stay the night in the store there on the corner, the real estate office. We'll have good lines of sight to keep watch. If something goes wrong, reconvene here. If you get lost or separated, come here if you can. Otherwise find somewhere safe to hold up until we can come and get you."

"On that note," Abraham added, handing out maps they got from the information centre. "Do not break into less than pairs, and if you do, then make sure you have a radio and a map."

"Stay alert too. The group Carrie and I ran into the other day…there could be more of them passing through here."

A slight murmur swept through the group, although this wasn't exactly news to them. Shivering not from the cold wind, Carrie took a slow breath as she thought about Granger and the three others who she and Rick had killed. In the aftermath of all that, she had intentionally pushed almost every thought of them out of her head, dwelling on the incident only to remind herself about the danger from the others. The map marked with various routes indicated that there might be more of these groups out there, potentially as dangerous as Granger.

"None of those routes come into Franklin," Tobin began.

"One of them passes a little south of us," Rick corrected. "It would be naive to think they're not branching out, that they haven't gone off course for some other reason. We're splitting up into smaller groups today, making ourselves weaker, vulnerable. Act as if we could have someone on our asses at any second. Is that clear?"

There was a murmur of agreement, and with that everyone began breaking apart into their groups and heading for their cars, leaving the trucks behind for now. Following Michonne, Carrie swung herself into the back seat of the minivan as she began looking over the map Abraham had given them, passing it to Michonne for her to see. As Nicholas started the engine and Aidan gave directions to the retirement village, Carrie looked out the window at everyone else, mentally taking note of who was going with who, just like Rick did.

Speaking of him, she saw him holding Carl's crutches and helping him climb into the back of the delivery van, manoeuvring himself around the supplies while Abraham and Rosita got in the front. As if he felt her eyes boring into him, he looked around at her just as Nicholas started pulling away. Watching them go, he raised his hand in a polite wave, and she braced herself for his inevitable smile, disappointed when all she got was his usual scowl. She knew that he was worried about the groups separating.

Although he mistrusted Aidan and Nicholas, and that he worried about her skills with a gun, Carrie wasn't concerned. While she of course shared a certain amount of worry, she was confident of her group, particularly given that Michonne was a part of it. This would be a good opportunity for her too, particularly if she was given the job of supply runner when she got to Alexandria. Glenn was normally the one who teamed up with Aidan and Nicholas, the three of them still making an effort to get to know one another, so it wasn't so much of a stretch that Carrie do the same.

Hampered by their unfamiliarity of the town, they slowly made their way to the very outskirts town, finding that the grand gates and fences of the retirement village made it look more like a resort. Spacious bungalows flanked the winding roads, the community nestled amongst dense trees that would have afforded the residents privacy and a rather nice outlook. Despite its abandonment, Carrie could imagine what it must have been like prior to the outbreak, suspecting it would have been rather expensive.

But as nice at it looked, it was also equally frustrating. The roads appeared to be unmarked, and there were no maps or indications of where they were located or how they would get out again. They wasted twenty minutes simply driving around trying to find their way, driving past the same golf green three times without realising it. Eventually they came across the golf club and recreation centre, and it was with a relief that they saw a large centre map signposted by the car park. The four of them piled out of the minivan and headed over to it, taking down a couple of Walkers that came their way. Though she was largely desensitised to the Walkers she had to kill, having long ago stopped seeing them as people, Carrie felt the same type of sadness that came with finding children who had turned. The Walker she had taken down that day had once been elderly person, possibly rather frail given the slow way it moved about. Even after all this time, some of the kills she made still bothered her.

"Thank God," Aidan sighed, the group converging on the village map. "We'd be driving around all day just to find our way out."

Agreeing with him, Carrie scrutinised the large map, assessing where they were in relation to the various areas. Aside from the golf club and recreation centre, there were a variety of different zones including an infirmary and mini market. Making her best judgement, she started pointing out the different zones.

"The bungalows in the red zone near the infirmary, they were probably the older residents, the ones who needed it close. I'd say they'd have the best meds, if that's what we're after."

"That's not far," Michonne commented, looking up the road. "We should start there."

"Let's split up," Nicholas suggested, he too peering up the road. "Two of us can take the medical centre, the other two should go here."

"The reception centre and offices?" Michonne questioned, looking to where he pointed. "Why?"

"They'll have portable defibrillators in every major building," he explained. "They're on Pete's list, and we've only found one in the underground bunker."

Seeing Aidan turning towards her, a hopeful look on his face, Carrie spoke without thought. "You're right," she told Nicholas. "You and I should take the reception. Michonne, Aidan? You could take the infirmary if you want."

Just as she expected to, a flash of disappointment crossed Aidan's face. Either he was oblivious to what was going on with she and Rick, or he was choosing to ignore it. He nodded his head in agreement, but Michonne took a little longer to think on this, not liking the idea that they split up.

"We should stay together."

"We've got a lot of ground to cover," Nicholas shrugged. "We've already wasted over half an hour just getting to this point."

There was the unspoken agreement that as the only member of Rick's group, their final decision came down to Michonne, and Carrie wasn't oblivious to how much Aidan and Nicholas disliked this. With her arms folded and a blank look on her face, Michonne gave careful consideration to the suggested before glancing at her watch. With obvious reluctance, she nodded.

"You and Carrie take the car," she said to Nicholas. "The infirmary isn't far, Aidan and I can walk." She turned back to the village map now, pointing out the different areas. "We'll cover the infirmary and the bungalows on the red zone. If we have time, we'll branch out into the yellow here. Carrie, you and Nicholas stay in the blue. You're going to be far from us, so I don't want you straying on foot too far. Meet here again in one hour."

With that agreed, the four of them checked that they had everything they needed before splitting up, Carrie ensuring she had a radio clipped to her belt. Ignoring the look Michonne gave her, one that teased about how cowardly she was for still avoiding Aidan, she joined Nicholas in the minivan and together they set off for the reception centre. With only vague idea of where they were going, Carrie didn't bother trying to help navigate, having already forgotten what the map looked like. It suddenly occurred to her that she and Nicholas had never actually been alone together..hell, they'd barely held a conversation. Despite this, they sat in comfortable silence. Carrie knew she was going to have to make an effort to get to know Aidan and Nicholas a little better before they started supply runs together…and on that note, she'd had to let Aidan down before then too.

In minutes they arrived at the reception centre, and modern building standing out amongst the dense trees and gardens. For a moment the steep vaulted roof reminded her of a church, and she noted that the entire end of the building was framed glass. Pointing this out to Nicholas, they parked the minivan in the middle of the road and cautiously made their way over, using the enormous windows to their advantage. This moment afforded Carrie her first opportunity to gauge what Nicholas was like to work with, for while he walked straight through the gardens to look into the building, Carrie hung back, a little more cautious. Using her machete she rustled a few of the bushes before she passed them, not wanting to be taken by surprise by anything that might be hiding in there. As if to reiterate the importance of her task, she took note of a corpse that lay a few feet to Nicholas' right. The smashed in skull indicated that it wasn't animated, but she could tell he hadn't even noticed it.

Wanting to get on with it, Carrie rapped her fist against the glass and then waited, checking out their surroundings as she did so. A breeze rustled the trees, and the sound of a bird chirping set her at ease…it was rather peaceful here, particularly with the abundance of gardens. As she waited for signs of life from inside the building, rapping her fist against the window again, she listened to the bird that was still chirping.

"Let's clear the inside," she suggested, confident that it was safe to start.

Moving out of the gardens, Carrie and Nicholas stuck to the paths now and made their way over to the heavy glass doors at the front. Opening them, and taking note that a long time ago they had been smeared with blood, they headed inside with their weapons ready. Sticking close by him, they set about clearing the building, not letting the guard down until they were certain it was safe. To the left of them was a typical reception, to their right was a spacious and comfortable seating area and coffee cart. Straight ahead was a single corridor, but a quick inspection told her that all the doors were closed.

"All clear," Nicholas declared in satisfaction, looking around the large atrium.

"Looks like it," she agreed, holstering her gun.

She kept her hand on her knife as she looked around, admiring the high vaulted ceiling and expansive windows that looked out onto the gardens. Taking a few moments, she looked outside to be aware of their surroundings, seeing movement from the trees. When she saw a Walker emerging from behind one of the other buildings, she stepped away from the windows and returned to Nicholas, knowing they had a lot of ground to cover before meeting back up with Michonne and Aidan.

"Anything?"

"Yeah," he nodded, showing her the medical kit he had found in the office behind the reception desk. Opening it up, he began stuffing the contents into his pack, giving a nod of satisfaction when he found what they had hoped to come across at the Retirement Village. "Portable Defibrillator. We win."

"That's great," she smiled, doing an excellent job at not sounding sarcastic.

As she intended, Nicholas did not pick up on her sarcasm, and he happily went about clearing the medical kit, giving a nod of satisfaction when he also found an Epi-Pen, an unusual find for a standard medical kit. He had been right…splitting up to go to the reception centre had been a good idea.

"We should check those offices," Nicholas commented, zipping up the pack and dumping it by the door they came through. He looked to the far side of the building, to the single corridor that likely led to some offices and restrooms.

"Yes," she agreed, but for purely selfish reasons. Her lips were dry and chapped at the moment, and wanting to conserve the bottle of water in Nicholas' pack, she hoped instead to find a chapstick somewhere. New or used, she didn't care so long as she could get her hands on it. If she and Rick were going to try and sneak away again that night, she didn't want to kiss him with chapped lips.

Dwelling on that, Carrie was keen to get their day over with as soon as possible, and when each individual team had finished sweeping their designated area, they'd all return to the real estate office near Walmart. They would set up for the night, gorge themselves on the food they'd found and then go to bed early. Well the others would at least…she and Rick on the other hand would take the first opportunity to sneak away, perhaps to one of the offices, or maybe one of the cars in the empty parking lot. At least there they wouldn't have to be quiet.

Eagerly anticipating this, she headed for the hallway, keeping her footsteps light as Nicholas began following her. The bad smell that indicated Walkers was worse down this way, but its offensiveness was slightly offset by what she could see at the end of the corridor. A floor to ceiling window showed off the garden outside, and a lone bird sat preening its feathers on the edge of a murky brown pond. Smiling at it, she watched for a few moments before getting to work. Simply knocking on each of the doors, she stood and waited to hear anything inside, quickly locating the source of the stench.

They were already riled up from the sound of them hanging around, but when Carrie knocked on the second door in the corridor, the Walkers inside made their presence highly known. The door rattled loudly as they threw themselves up against it, rhythmic thuds indicating the way they pounded and clawed their hands at it. Carrie looked down at the door handle, glad to see that it was a twist knob, not a lever. The Walkers wouldn't be able to open it, even if it was unlocked, although she wasn't interested to find out if it was or not.

"Walkers in here," she said, looking over her shoulder for Nicholas. She felt a pang of annoyance to find he wasn't paying attention, that he was reading one of the pamphlets. "Nicholas. There're Walkers in here."

"Yeah, alright. Just leave them," he said, looking up at her. "They can't get out."

Though she wanted to tell him she had determined that for herself, she held her tongue. Feeling rather more sympathetic to what Glenn had to put up with, Carrie continued on down the hallway, knocking on the other doors. Down the very end were two sets of restrooms, and though she didn't open them to look inside, a quick knock assured her they too were free of Walkers. Glancing out the window, she took pause to admire the bird on the pond, but it was gone now. She glanced back at Nicholas, still annoyed to see that he wasn't paying attention, that he was now taking sachets of sugar and coffee from coffee cart.

"Nicholas," she called out as quietly as she could, not wanting to rile up the other Walkers any more than she had already. When he looked up at her, she gestured to the door at the end of the hall, requesting his help.

"Wait, I'll back you up," he nodded, taking out his gun as he came to her.

"That's what I was getting at," she muttered under her breath, though her expression was friendly.

"Why this one?" he asked, waiting as she got herself ready. He glanced back down the hallway towards the door holding back the Walkers, glad to hear that they were settling down for some reason.

"Nancy Phillips - Managing Director," she read off the name plate. "She might have left her hand bag behind."

Drawing her Ruger, she adjusted her grip, but on instinct she glanced down to where her knife was holstered on her hip. She still preferred to use that, but while she had Nicholas here backing her up, she had to try using her gun again. She'd done well that morning, particularly with Glenn by her side giving encouragement. Letting Nicholas take the lead, they opened the door and took a step back, both of them breathing a sigh of relief when nothing came jumping out at them.

Leaving behind the corridor, they swept inside and cleared it properly, both of them pleased to find it was empty. "Thank you," she said to Nicholas.

He just nodded, scratching the side of his nose and looked around the office. Holstering her gun, Carrie went around behind the desk and sank into the plush office chair, groaning in delight at how comfortable it was. Taking a moment to herself, she kicked off and let the chair slowly spin her around. The office was rather nice, and just like the rest of the building, large windows showcased the beautiful gardens outside. Looking back to the fountain she had been admiring before, she smiled to see that the bird was back again.

"You've got a son, right?" Carrie asked, noticing Nicholas looking at the pictures on the desk.

"Mikey," he nodded.

"I've heard Carl talking about him…he seems to like him."

Nicholas just shrugged. "To be honest, I don't really like them hanging out. But Mikey hasn't exactly much choice in friends."

Carrie hesitated, looking around the room. "Why's that?" she dared to ask, wondering what he had against Carl.

"You know what Carl's like. He's a little too much like his father."

Once again, Carrie bit her tongue, not saying the first thing that came into her head. She didn't like Nicholas' comments, but he was entitled to his opinion. No doubt Rick had plenty of his own. Before she could say or do anything, Nicholas turned on his heel and left the office, his sudden departure making Carrie frown. For the love of God…aren't we meant to be working together?

Suspecting he was probably heading back to the reception desk, Carrie grit her teeth and got back to work. As she opened the bottom drawer of the desk and found a light blue hand bag, she reminded herself that she couldn't make an enemy of Nicholas, not if she was likely to become one of the supply runners. She had to learn to work with him, just as she had learnt how to work with Glenn. Despite their mishap when they cleared the BigSpot, she and Glenn had both made an effort to work past the fact that they didn't know each other very well…barely a week later they worked together seamlessly. All it would take was a little effort with Nicholas, and she was sure the same thing would happen.

Still dwelling on his comment about Carl, she rolled her eyes to herself when she realised that Aidan and Nicholas must have no idea she and Rick have slept together, that it was turning into an ongoing tryst. If they did, she suspected Nicholas wouldn't have made the comment he did, at least not to her face anyway. Thank God she was never really interested in Aidan in the first place, particularly if he was so self absorbed he couldn't pick up on the fact that his affections for her were not being returned.

Taking the handbag, she sat it on her lap and opened it. Just as she had hoped, the bag had been left behind at the last minute, and so she rifled through it. Looking past receipts and an empty Tylenol blister pack, she opened the interior zipper and found two items, each of their own unique value. She set the pack of tampons on the desk to take back to the others, but the used chapstick was hers now. Opening the lid and winding the base, she smiled as she applied it to her lips, smacking them together and revelling in how much better they felt. For just a moment, she put her head back and enjoyed the moment.

Opening the rest of the drawers, Carrie frowned as she heard a heavy thud from outside the corridor, the sound making her skin prickle. She paused, time slowing down for a moment as she heard Nicholas shout in surprise, familiar growls echoing the sound. Scrambling to her feet, she clumsily stumbled around the open drawers in her haste, and the bottom dropped out of her stomach as she saw shadows filling the corridor outside.

"Nicholas!" she shouted, realising he had opened the second door, that he was under attack.

Before she could get far, a Walker came ambling into the office, giving a loud snarl as it set its eyes on her. Picturing Nicholas under attack, Carrie dove straight for the Walker and wrenched it aside, clearing the way for her to get out. Bursting into the corridor, she cried out in horror upon finding that it was filling with Walkers, that the narrow space meant they clumsily bumped up against one another and completely cut her off from Nicholas. The only reassurance she had was that he wasn't screaming, that he must be alright. But as the Walkers turned around at the sound of her voice and looked at her, she was unsurprisingly a little less concerned about Nicholas. Looking over her shoulder, she was horrified to see that she was trapped in the corridor…that she had no where to go.

"Carrie, run!" Nicholas yelled out uselessly, not realising she couldn't.

She couldn't see him, she had no idea what he was doing, but the sound of his voice reassured her that he was okay. Trying not to panic, Carrie automatically backed herself up to create space between herself and that which sought to harm her. Her hands trembling, she fumbled with her holster as she withdrew her gun and raised it to the nearest Walker. Confident that it was a good shot, she pulled the trigger and prepared herself for the recoil.

When nothing happened, her heart skipped a beat. The Walkers were shuffling towards her now, joined by the one she had shoved aside in the office. She pulled the trigger again and then yelled in frustration, realising there wasn't a round in the chamber. Furious with herself, for her own mistrust of her weapon was now endangering her more than it ever had, she tried to reach for the slide, but her brief lapse was all the Walkers needed. Having let it get too close, one of them lunged for her as its eyes widened in anticipation.

"Nicholas!" she shouted, dodging the Walker. Bumping into the wall, she fumbled with her gun as she nearly dropped it, and she was forced to shove the next Walker away. "Nicho-"

Her shove was poorly executed, and the Walker in question came crashing down on her, pushing her down to the ground before she could stop it. Her body took over, disregarding her panic and acting without thought. She fought against the heavy mass, keeping the hands and face far away from her as she scrambled backwards on the floor, kicking it away. A second came down at her, but she rolled and dodged it by inches, the heavy mass falling to the ground beside her. A third was there before she could even catch her breath, and it fell down to its knees as it hungrily reached for her, its jaws snapping and snarling. At the last minute, she caught sight of a name badge on the lapel of its suit…Nancy Phillips.

Letting them claw and grab at her legs, for they at least were protected by her jeans, Carrie kicked at them as she used her elbows to scramble backwards. Finding momentary reprieve as the Walkers scrambled over one another, she crawled backwards to get away from them, crying out when she realised she had lost hold of her gun. She tried to look for it, but there simply wasn't time, and the sight of more Walkers in the corridor kept her moving. Pushing herself to her feet she knew she had to find safety, that trying to take on that many in such a confined space was not going to work. As one pursued her, Carrie burst through the closest door, praying that her earlier presumption that it was clear was true.

She practically collapsed into the restroom, the darkness of it momentarily paralysing her. The only light was that which shone through the open door, but there was no turning back. She tried to slam the door closed, but its heavy weight and slow closing hinge worked against her, and the Walker in pursuit easily slipped in. It was on her in seconds, snarling wildly as it clumsily batted it's hands at her, clawing at her thigh when she used her foot to keep it at bay. As the door closed, her weight against it preventing the others from entering, so she kicked out and knocked the Walker over.

Panic told her to shrink to the ground and curl up, to use the darkness to protect herself, but she knew that's not how it worked. Though it certainly helped, the Walker didn't need light to find her, particularly given the volume at which she was breathing. Unable to help it, she screamed as she sensed the Walker coming back towards her, her terror compounded by those that threw themselves against the door, making it rattle. Blindly kicking through the darkness, she felt her boot connect with something heavy, and she listened as the Walker snarled and protested as it fell to the ground again.

It took all of her weight to keep the door closed, and her boots slid on the tiled floor, making it a constant struggle to brace herself against it. The Walker inside came at her for a third time, but when she used her foot to keep it away, her other foot slid on the floor, allowing the door opening a few inches. Filled with immense dread for what was happening, she felt herself struggling to breathe, another panicked scream breaching her throat as she felt the Walker clawing at the hem of her shirt, struggling to reach her as she held it back. Doing all she could to keep it at bay, she waited for Nicholas to help her, for him to take out his gun and start firing.

No such indication came, and in the midst of her terror she felt her body taking over, her hand moving without her telling it to. Reaching down, she pulled her knife out of its holster and gripped it as tightly as she could, thinking through what she was about to do. There was no light at all in the restroom, making any action she took completely blind, but she had no choice. Raising her hand high up in the air, she took advantage of the fact that she could feel it's hands on her hip, confident that it wouldn't scratch her.

Praying she didn't stab herself, she swung the knife down and plunged it into the Walker, quickly pulling it back again when she realised she missed the head. One more swing was all it took, and this time she felt the resistance of the rotting skull beneath her knife. But her efforts were possibly too late. The effort of keeping the Walker at bay and then taking it down meant the restroom door managed to open again, light streaming as while multiple hands and a face managed to slip through the gap. She could hear someone screaming as she started stabbing wildly, hacking at any moving body part that reached in for her, that sought to harm her. As blood and gore spattered over her hand and arm, she slowly realised that the person screaming was her. She kept going, targeting the final tendrils of flesh that were wedged in the doorway until they fell to the ground.

Finally the door closed again, and as her screaming diminished into breathless sobs, she braced herself against it once more. No longer needing to protect herself from the Walker inside, she put her full weight against the door and held it there as she waited. The growls and scratching on the other side did not stop, the door still managing to open a fraction every now and then as she momentarily weakened, but she didn't stop trying. Any minute now Nicholas would be there…any minute now the Walkers on the other side of this door would fall silent, and they'd both be okay.

Her feet were still slipping on the tiles, forcing her to constantly move them back on forth to find grip. Lowering herself down the door a few inches, she managed to stretch her foot back and find what she suspected to be one of the cubicles. It was just close enough, and so she readjusted her position and braced against it. It was a slight reprieve for her arms and legs, her muscles quickly tiring from the struggle to survive. Not giving up, she waited and waited…Nicholas was coming for her…he was…he definitely was.

"Nicholas?" she called out breathlessly, praying he could hear her. "Nicholas!"

The sound of her voice only reignited the Walker's interest in her, and realisation dawned on her slowly…Nicholas was gone…he had left her. A mournful sob passed her lips, and she tried to stem the rising panic. She wouldn't be able to hold this door shut for much longer, perhaps a few minutes or so. Nicholas had the advantage of space…he still had his gun, all his weapons, so where was he? Did he think she was dead already?

"Nicholas!" she called out again. Risking it, she took one hand off the door and reached for the radio clipped to her belt. Her heart sank even more as she realised it only the plastic of the broken clip remained, that it must have broken off during the scuffle. "Oh, shit…shit…"

As her fate dawned on her and panic rose, Carrie started to break down. She wasn't ready for this. After everything she'd been through, after Granger's group, losing Sue and then being on her own for months, she'd been ready to die, she'd accepted it and welcomed it. But in the space of just two weeks, everything had changed.

She wasn't ready to die anymore.

A/N Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed the influx of drama here. Things never quite run smoothly for Rick and the group. Please take a few moments to review, my beta AngieB and I love reading your thoughts and feedback. Thanks.