Beth woke up to the sound of light rain hitting the roof of the house. She almost forgot where she was until she sat up. For a brief moment she had thought she was back at home in her bed, safe with Annalise. The illusion was shattered when she saw the log cabin walls of the bedroom. She sighed and slowly got out of bed. The rain seemed to intensify as she walked out into the living room. A loud rumble of thunder shoke the house, bringing her out of a sleepy daze. Her stomach growled painfully and she remembered her plan to find weapons and hunt. She couldn't hold off any longer on it but she supposed taking a more thorough look through the house first wouldn't hurt.

She started in her new bedroom. There was no closet but a large wooden bureau. She opened all the drawers. While they weren't all full to the top and none of the clothing was women's it would work. Whoever had worn them had been a smaller guy and with the help of a belt, the jeans would stay up. She checked under the bed and found nothing. Next was the nightstand. At some point there may have been a gun in there but there wasn't now. Instead the only thing left was a Bible. She picked it up with shaking hands and instantly was reminded of her father. She was brought back to her childhood full of CCD classes, family Bible readings and singing in the church choir. Had it really meant anything? If God was real why did he let all of this happen? She knew what her father would say he'd quote Corinthians 13:12: "Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me." It would mean that Daryl and her girls had died for a reason and she didn't want to completely accept that. In her opinion there was no bigger picture to see.

She set the Bible down in the drawer again and moved into the next room. After a search of the living room and kitchen she was sure that her suspicions of the house being occupied after the turn were correct. The house couldn't have been empty for more than a year or two. While everything was covered in dust the house wasn't rotting and the glass was still in the windows. She had found several pairs of boots under the couch, silverware (which thankfully included a large butcher knife), plates, firewood, and a shovel. Unfortunately when she opened up the freezer she was met with a horrible stench. It was all rotted meat floating in disgusting water. She'd have to take care of it later when she had meat to store. Right now she needed to find something to eat that she could cook right away. She closed the freezer and grabbed the shovel and butcher knife. If she attached the knife to the other end of the shovel it could be used as a spear. She pulled some of the shoe laces off of the boots and cut grooves into the wooden end so that she could tie the knife on with the lace. Once it was secure Beth pulled on the second pair of boots and opened the front door.

There was a small river forming in front of the porch steps. The rain was heavy and a flash of lightning made her jump. As bad as it was she couldn't wait any longer. She walked out and was instantly soaked as she looked around. The small narrow pathway that the cabin was on was flooded so she walked along the side. It would eventually lead to a larger river or bayou where there'd be fish. Keeping an eye out for gators, she walked about a mile or so before the flooding water merged into the large river that the bridge she'd arrived on went over. Moving around the knotty roots and uneven ground, she stepped carefully. The water of the river was rushing fast and to get caught in it would mean a certain death. She held onto the trunk of a solid tree and looked down into the water. It was dark but the water near the edge was a lot less fast and she could just see the bottom about two feet down. She stood there for awhile and waited. When a school of small fish came into view she raised the spear and brought it down fast. When the murky water cleared and she pulled her spear out she saw that she had gotten one. It was smaller than the ones they'd catch back at the village but it would do for now. There would be no chance of catching any of the others as they'd scattered. Keeping the fish speared she walked back home to make breakfast.

Georgette and the others decided to travel in a southeastern direction rather than just straight south. They'd left the highway behind and taken back roads. Despite only being in Louisiana for a day Georgette felt strangely disappointed. Part of her had unrealistically envisioned that the rest of the group would be waiting for them at the border, smiling and uninjured. Athena saw her concerned face and smiled at her. She put an arm around her shoulder and said

"Can't be more than another day or two of walking before we get to the city."

"Odilia said it was crumbled to the ground."

"Good," she said, "We'll be able to spot them quicker without the buildings to look around." Suddenly they heard a gunshot ring out. She heard Irving's yelling in victory up ahead. Several feet from him lay a dead deer. He looked back at them with a smirk and said

"We'll be eatin' venison tonight girls!" Still recovering from the loud shot she said

"Did we really need to use a bullet for that?"

"Ya," said Irving, looking at the gun, "Still six bullets in there." She shoke her head at him in disapproval and sarcastically said

"Do I need to confiscate your gun?" Irving rolled his eyes and tossed it at her. He then went to pick the deer up, hoisting it over his shoulders.

"You girls take the lead now, I'll carry Bambi."

They had expected some sort of border town when they crossed in Louisiana. A place that they could break but instead they were met with miles and miles of endless woods, bayous and rivers. The road was overgrown and Candice kept her eye out for snakes. Carl was walking behind her and she couldn't help but feel self-conscious. Her leg had healed up but it had left behind an ugly scar that stretched from her upper thigh to ankle. She remembered how her sister had been embarrassed by the scar on her face. After awhile she'd gotten over it and told Candice that scars were like a badge of honor. It made sense for her. She'd been attacked by a mountain lion and taken it down like something out of a Tarzan book. All Candice had done was caught on fire. Where was the honor in that? Odilia was walking next to her, going on and on about how she was going to love Louisiana. She seemed to have completely forgotten about the evil dictator that ran her village or the fact that they were missing more than half their group. She was back in her element and Candice couldn't blame her being excited. Her voice took a darker turn and she said

"As soon as I get back I'm going to apologize to my mom. I'm gonna tell her how sorry I was for bein' a bad kid and worryin' her every night."

"Good," said Candice, "I can't wait to see the reunion."

"You know if we're lucky, maybe somebody will have taken the place over already. Maybe Vince and Beau were killed and it's not corrupt anymore." Odilia tried to imagine how great things would be. She knew Candice was only half listening but she was too lost in her own mind too care. Traveling with the group and getting separated had shown her that life was precious. Living inside the village walls as a child had not properly educated her on the privilege that life was. She could be dead tomorrow and she intended to spend every second towards her goal. Apologizing to her mother and hopefully overthrowing Vince would be a new beginning for her.

She had fallen silent and she heard a low whistle directed towards her. She looked up to see Daryl looking back at her. He nodded slightly and following his indications, she ran up to his side.

"Ya?"

"We're gettin' close," he said, "Need you to start makin' a map for me of this place. Not now but when we stop for the night."

"Do you have a plan?"

"It all depends on if we find the others or not."

The sun started to set when Georgette and the group had reached Covington, which to them was just another town to pass through. They had yet to realize how close they were. Irving's shoulders were numb by the time they found a house to stay in. He'd hauled the deer for miles before he was able to put together a makeshift sled to pull the carcass on. Even then it put a strain on his back. He had to face that he was aging. The turn had made people forget about age which was why he still acted like he was thirty-five. Another part of it could be trying to keep up with Georgette. She was young and seemed to be always on the move to do something whether it be helping with supplies or trying to ride his cock.

He dropped the sled to the floor and instantly fell down onto the couch exhausted. He watched as the girls got a fire started and cooked dinner.

"I'm gonna go take a look around the neighborhood," said Athena, "See what I can find." She wasn't even gone for ten minutes before she returned. She seemed out of breath but excited. "I found a map!" They were on their feet in seconds, all following her back out the door. She led them a few houses down until they turned into one.

The map was plastered to the wall in what seemed like an office. It was just of Louisiana. There were marks all over it. One particularly large drawn star where they were located in Covington. The rest of the pen and paint marks were drawn routes that people had gone on over the years. Next to the map people had written notes on the wall. They were all written to specific people. One read: 'Jason Wenham, go to Springfield, take route 22 but go around Ponchatoula, completely overrun.' Sure enough there was an X mark over the town of Ponchatoula indicating that it was overrun with walkers and then a passable route drawn around it. All he could do was stand there in amazement and scan over the names on the wall for anybody they knew. Some messages were more faded than others and the map had to have been there since the beginning. He heard Georgette say

"This is so perfect." Michonne seemed to be looking over the names as well and said

"Nobody we know is on here." There was a silence before Georgette said

"Look how close we are!" She pointed out the location of Covington. They were just above a large lake, on the other side sat New Orleans. For a moment he thought they were going to have to go around the water until Georgette said "There's a huge bridge that crosses through!" She traced the line with her finger. Although excited, Athena seemed apprehensive.

"Think we can trust it?"

"Don't know how old this thing is," said Michonne, "Or when it was last updated but it's the only thing we got." Irving looked around and spotted a can of paint underneath the rotting desk. It smelled terrible and was obviously expired but it would still write. He took a stick and dipped it in and began to write on an empty space. 'Survivors: Irving, Michonne, Athena and Georgette. Other survivors go to New Orleans.'

Eden Isle was a flat network of canals and peninsulas. The houses that were still standing were once grand and indicated that it had been an affluent town. Candice and the others made their way through the piles of bricks. It was like a maze. Beyond the canals they could see a wide open lake with a bridge that went on beyond their sight. They found the main road that led to the bridge. In front of both lanes were large cinderblocks and a barbed wire fence. Throughout the years people had cut a large gap in the wire to move through. But they didn't run forward instead they hung back. Candice looked to her father and said

"Think it's stable?" Everyone looked to Daryl for answers.

"Dunno," he said, "Unless we wanna try 'n go all the way around a lake 'n risk gettin' turned around we should probably take the chance." He moved forward first and went through the hole in the wire. She saw him look around and then said "it's alright, come on through." Candice followed Carl through the fence. The road was wide open and there were no cars on it. Candice couldn't see land on the other side of the bridge but according to the signs still hanging above the road it was the route to New Orleans. Carl nudged her and said

"Never seen anything like this."

"Me neither." The water wasn't salty and she was sure it was a lake and not the ocean. As they walked further Candice kept looking back at the land behind her. Slowly it started to disappear the further away they got until it was completely gone and they were surrounded by nothing but miles and miles of water. They stopped when a large for a rest and Candice immediately went over to the edge. She held onto the concrete side and leaned over. The water below wasn't moving fast and she could just make out the bow of a rusty boat sitting underneath the bridge. She leaned further, hoping to get a better look at. Her life flashed before her eyes when she felt the concrete barrier crumble away beneath her. She screamed and fell forwards. She grabbed for a large pipe below that ran below the side of the bridge. She let out a gasp of victory when she was able to grab onto it and wrap herself around it. Looking down with cold fear was her father, Carl and the others. She couldn't believe that she hadn't fallen to her death but it wasn't over yet. There was a look of pure desperation on her father's face as he grabbed towards her.

"Stand up Candice." His voice cracked with fear as he continued to reach towards her. She knew the pipe wouldn't hold her forever. It was already beginning to creak and groan beneath her body weight. Her body wanted to stay tightly wrapped around the pipe but she forced herself up. She moved carefully as she balanced herself out and slowly stood up on her two feet. Her heart was pumping fast and she felt light headed with fear. She leaned against the concrete and stretched her arm up. There was about a foot in between she and her father's hands. He swore angrily and said "Hold onto my feet!" Carl, Pedro and Odilia held onto Daryl's legs as he slowly pushed himself closer to her. When his hands finally grabbed hers he pulled her up with all of his strength. The other three pulled Daryl back and finally Candice was on solid ground. Her father's arms were around her, pulling her tightly to his chest. She could see Carl watching her, wanting to reach forward. Sensing his frustration she moved to him and hugged him next. She could feel the tension in his body wash away as she said

"Don't worry, I'm fine."

"Almost thought I'd lost you there." Trying to lighten the mood again she laughed and said

"It's gonna take a lot more than that to get rid of me."

Beau pushed open the door to his trophy room. Annalise was still sitting there like before. Her eyes were red with shed tears and she looked miserable. It hurt him to see her like this but he had no choice. He carried in two plates full of fish and some fruit for them to eat. She looked up at him with angry eyes but didn't speak. He set the plates down on the small wooden table and pulled up two chairs for them. He shut the door and locked it, pocketing the key. He took a seat and then looked over at her, expecting her to do the same. When she didn't move he said

"Come eat, don't torture yourself. This isn't your fault."

"What's not my fault? It's my fault that I trusted you and thought that you were a kind person. I should have just listened to my mother." He stood up and tried to help her off of the floor but she was a dead weight in his arms.

"Please come eat." His sanity was slipping and he could feel himself losing his mind. She finally stood up and he expected her to move to the table but instead she faced him.

"You're a monster," she said, "Your poor mother was a sweet woman and she was burdened with a monster. I know she didn't raise you this way. You were born this way." He finally snapped when she leaned in and said "I'm sorry I ever met you, I wish I wasn't pregnant and I don't love you." He saw red and before he knew it he had slapped her hard across the face, sending her backwards into the concrete wall. The last little bit of himself that he had been holding onto was lost in that moment.

Vince had turned around in Saint Bernard. He'd been on the road for two days and he hadn't seen any sign of her. He was beginning to think that maybe she had fallen into the bayou and been eaten by a gator or maybe even a walker. He didn't think she was that stupid but people did stupid things when they were afraid. He rode into town at sunset. He was instantly bombarded with the news that Beth had gone missing. He played the game of being concerned and worried but it was all an act that he was getting increasingly tired of playing. He checked with the other search parties, expecting to hear no news. It was when one of them approached him with a piece of white cloth that he felt his heart start to pump.

"We found this floating in the water," he said, "There are some bloodstains on it, looks pretty fresh." Vince noted the red splotches on the edges and said

"She was wearing a white T-shirt when she took off." He was certain it had been her. She was at the bottom of the bayou now probably half eaten. He smirked and said "Looks like I won't need to hide the body myself this time." He pocketed the piece of cloth and said "Good work, you can return home, and tell the others the same. All the searches are called off. We'll send some fake ones out tomorrow to keep the people settled and unsuspicious." Most of the men he surrounded himself with were like him and wouldn't think of giving him away. Some had to be persuaded. He promised them the safety of their wives and daughters if they kept his secrets and did what he told them.

His next stop was Beau's house. When he walked in Beau was at his table. Right away Vince could see that something had changed in him. He was hunched over, a face full of what seemed like deep anger.

"Hey," he said, "What's up with you?" Beau looked up at him with a cold, dark gaze.

"Got rid of her."

"Who?"

"Annalise." Vince felt a swell of pride and success.

"Great cause I'm going to need your full attention these days." He sat down across from him. He pulled the piece of bloody cloth out from his pocket and said "Some of the guys found this in the swamps. I'm sure it's hers." Beau took one look at it and said

"Good." Satisfied with Beau's reaction he said

"You remind me of myself when I was younger. Of course I had no mentor but I did pretty well for myself." Everyone in town knew the story of how the village had been established, or the one he'd tweaked to fit his image. People that had survived Terminus were still around and they'd helped fuel his story, believing it. He'd told everyone he'd saved a community of people from an evil dictatorship where eating your own kind was the norm. The survivors of Terminus agreed that the apocalypse had driven them to accept barbaric ideals and what they had done was wrong. They believed themselves to have been saved as Vince described. He'd led them here and they had thought of him like Moses leading the Jews out of Egypt and into Israel. He had become their hero; they'd never doubt or question his authority. There was an unspoken rule about never mentioning the name of Terminus. Vince didn't want to remember it and no one else did either. To the others who hadn't come from there it was known just as 'the town.' He momentarily remembered Beth and her reaction when he'd told her the story. She had rolled his eyes at his self-obsession but had then gone on to talk about how she'd once been caught up with a group of cannibals. She hadn't wanted to go into detail and the conversation had ended there.

"Before I settled here I was nothing." With a sound of disgust he said "My father was a pig. He didn't see that one day I would take things over. It was too late for him. By the time I rose to power he was already dead, killed by some of our prisoners that escaped the night before I returned from a run." He paused for a moment and then said "Although I do suppose it was him who showed me how great it is to cause others pain." Beau was listening but part of him seemed to be a thousand miles away, in his own world.

Annalise lay on the floor, curled up in a ball as she let the tears fall from her eyes. She wished she could go back and keep away from Beau. If she had she wouldn't be here. She'd be back in her mother's house safe. Her mother may have beaten her but it was never like what Beau had just done to her. He had come in and tried to act like what he was doing to her was normal. Like holding her here was just a part of the normal daily routine. She had regretted the mean words she'd said to him the minute they'd left her mouth. Not because she didn't mean them but because she knew it would make him wild. And it had. She had seen something snap inside of him snap. He had slapped her and nearly choked her out, leaving dark bruises on her cheeks and neck. As hurt as she was physically and emotionally she wasn't ready to give up yet. She and her baby's life depended on her keeping her chin up.

Thanks DarylDixon'sLover, K. Lynn Perks and dee22dee for commenting :) I posted the maps of all of the groups paths (except Beth's) on my profile. The second map won't have Ares & Co.'s path on it because they have yet to reach that area. It's a little choppy in some places cause I had to crop it together to make it all fit but it's clear enough to understand. If you're confused all of the places mentioned in the story are real, all you have to do is a quick Google Map search to find them.

Thanks for reading,

Wanderlustt