For as long as I've been part of the prison, part of 'the group', I've been part of an 'us'. We come first, always, everyone else, you just don't know anymore. And I like that, it feels good to know people have your back, in a way that didn't quite happen at Woodbury.

Daryl wakes up a couple hours later, or at least it feels a couple hours, and he tells me I can go back to bed now, that'll he'll take over watch. It's not easy, but I manage to drift into a dreamless sleep. I wake up with sun shining through the window. I rub my face and roll over to face the other bunk beds, expecting to see at least Carol on top. Instead I see no one. I bolt up too quick and smack my head on the top bunk. I wince and hold my head for a second as I look around. Even the weapons are gone.

They wouldn't have left me. No.

I fumble to get my shoes on and tied and then I grab my pistol. It's just chance that something outside the window catches my eye as I start to head out the door.

Smoke.

I stop and stare out the window. Smoke coming from below. I turn and continue out the door down a couple flights of stairs and find my way to what appears used to be a break room, with coffee pots and vending machines and the like. I look out the window there and I see the fire, I see Carol and Daryl standing there, watching the fire. I shouldn't disturb them. There's no real emergency here. I think Carol even left her bag in the room. So I go back up the stairs and back to our room and sit back on my bed and wait for them to come back. It's not too long when they return, Daryl holding the door open for Carol.

"Have you been awake long?" Carol asks, she walks to her bag on the bunk.

I shake my head, "No, but I saw your bag on the bed and I figured y'all would come back for it." I sound more confident than I initially felt, and I don't even bring up the idea of them leaving me. Carol starts packing up her things and Daryl stays by the door.

"That car was headed downtown." Daryl says, "I say we get up in one of the tall ones, get ourselves a view, see what we see."

I stand up because we're about to move and I can't be caught bumming around.

"We can stay close to the buildings and keep quiet, but sooner or later, we're gonna be drawing 'em." Carol slings her backpack on her shoulder and then heads out the door, I follow after her and Daryl follows behind me.

Daryl's got something like a notebook in his hand. It doesn't take long for him to stash that so he has both hands available for any possible combat we may encounter. We exit the building filled with Carol's bad memories and head out onto the deserted streets of downtown Atlanta. We head down a couple blocks and pass a parking garage. We hear the dead all around us, so we keep at a cautious jogging pace. Daryl's taken to the front and Carol covers the rear.

There's a desolate car at the intersection ahead, front door strewn open, no windows, rusting black paint job. Only the rims remain on the wheels. Pilfers were here, scraping for what they could. Lonely little survival groups, probably similar to the size of our own. Of course they started with more, like our groups always do. But one by one they've been picked off. Couldn't run fast enough, too many walkers, went crazy, some may have ended it when they couldn't stand it any longer. That bullet was probably the best meal they'd had in weeks. The others, though upset, pondering the option themselves. Except for one, always driven to go on. Determined that there's something better. That the world can't just end. Those are the ones that survive. I guess that's us.

Daryl peeks around the corner and draws back quick. I guess he's found where the moans are coming from. Judging by the smell that's in the dead air, there's a lot of them. Must be real close too.

"All right, we can get up there. There's a bridge." he explains, he slings off the sack that's on his other shoulder and digs out that notebook. He pulls out a silver, metal cigarette lighter and pawns off its flame. Once it catches and flames up, he tosses, creating a distraction, hopefully moving the attention away from us. It lands in a pile of debris, cardboard boxes and paper, it creates a bigger flame and the walkers are drawn like moths.

We wait a moment longer and then he sneaks around the corner, I grab the bag he left and throw it on my shoulder. Then I follow, knees bent in a crouch, pistol in hand, safety off, rounds in the chamber. In other words, ready for hell. There's a parking garage about 50 feet away that Daryl runs into, Carol and I follow, we run through the covered area, and we don't stop moving but once we're in an open area Daryl slows down and reaches back for his bag, I hand it to him and we keep moving.

It's dumb I know, but I can't help but get the sensation we're being followed. Maybe it's just all the dead around us, but something definitely doesn't feel right.

There's a large, painted black arrow with the stenciled words 'Sky bridge', pointing towards a door much smaller than the actual arrow. Daryl heads for that door and opens it carefully, only slightly at first, so if there's a mob behind the door he can shut it real fast. There's not. Daryl peeks in and the groans come past him, but they sound almost muffled by something. I frown and am almost tempted to sneak a look myself just to figure it out, but then he moves so I can. He nods and Carol and I follow him into the room.

You don't see the walkers right away, we have to walk and turn the corner. I see something I don't think I've ever seen before. Walkers in sleeping bags. They're trapped. Like little worms- ok these would be the biggest worms I've ever seen.

Walker worms.

Yes. That's what they are.

There's also tents set up. There's dead ones in there too. They paw at the canvas of the zipped tents, never able to escape. It's rather sad honestly. We put the ones in the sleeping bags out of their misery and leave the ones in the tents. They're not hurting anyone.

Daryl stands up after putting out his last one, "Some days, I don't know what the hell to think." he walks to where he put an arrow in one and pulls it out and continues across the sky bridge.

These walkers lived in here, there's still clothing lines with wash clothes, and clothes scatter the floor. I feel my heart in my throat when I see a dress that couldn't have belonged to someone bigger than Judith.

I peer out the window and my eye catches movement in our building about a story down. It's too quick to be a walker. What the hell is going on? I stick close to Carol and Daryl, whoever that was, may not be alone.

What are you thinking? Don't you think Daryl and Carol would've noticed by now if we were being followed? I mean, this is Daryl we're talking about.

You must be imagining things, there's no other way. We aren't being followed.

I turn back around, "C'mon girlie," Daryl grunts through the arrow in his mouth, he's holding open a door with chains around the handles. Carol must've already slipped through. I squeeze on through, and then let Daryl in.

He hands Carol his bag and crossbow, and mutters "It's a good thing we skipped breakfast," as he wiggles through the tight opening. As soon as he's through, he kicks back up into a standing position and Carol gives him back his belongings.

We continue through a couple more halls and then take the stairs up a couple floors. We maze through a couple more hallways until we find a set of rather fancy double doors.

They're made of dark wood with golden handles. It feels out of place in this world. Don't the doors know we left fancy behind a while back?

Daryl approaches the doors first, I guess so he can scope the place. Carol holds my shoulders as Daryl lets the door creak open, He peeks his head in and when nothing immediately attacks him, he pushes the door all the way open and gives us a whistle to let us know it's ok.

I come in behind Carol and look around, it's definitely the office- or ex-office, I should say- of some head honcho, CEO type of guy, who was obviously raking it in. Expensive looking paintings and pottery decorate the office and huge, 10 foot windows let in the sunlight. It's a shame it's a pretty cloudy day. Once you walk in a little you notice a niche in the wall where two large, leather seats are. In the center of the office is another, even bigger leather seat where the boss must have sat. It's behind a mahogany desk that stretches out to be longer than I am if I laid across it. It all feels foreign to me. Like I don't belong here. As though this is some untouched tomb to the previous life.

I hate it.

I stand by the corner where the niche begins while Carol and Daryl explore the place a little more. Daryl studies a picture on the desk, probably of the boss' family, while Carol stands at the over-sized window, peering at the desolation below. Daryl joins her not too long after and I can't bring myself to go over there.

"How did we get here?" Carol asks quietly

Daryl gives a passive grunt, like he doesn't know either.

Do any of us know? I mean really? It's not like we chose this life. This isn't what anyone wanted.

"We just did." Daryl says finally, like it's the only thing he can think of. The only thing that makes sense.

"You still haven't asked me what happened." Carol comments, "After I met up with Tyreese... the girls..." she's lowering her voice even more. I get the idea that I shouldn't be listening. It feels wrong to. This is their private moment, what am I doing here? Yet, I want to know. What did happen? What changed? Because I know something has.

The girls. It registers later than it should. Lizzie and Mika. They're not here. And I don't mean here as in this building. I mean here at all, with our group, back at the church. They're gone. Dead. They were so young. A chill courses through my body. I mean, Lizzie was always a little crazy, but nothing I think she deserved to die for. She had a place in this world, she just hadn't found it yet. And Mika... I bite my tongue, trying to hold back the wave of emotions that hit me. She was so sweet, she definitely didn't deserve to die. So even though I shouldn't listen, I do, because I have to know how this tragedy came to be.

"Yeah, I know what happened," Daryl slings his crossbow onto his shoulder. He's probably done the same math I have. But Daryl's been through more than I have, so he doesn't wonder like I do, "They ain't here."

"It was worse than that," Carol's voice cracks slightly.

She swallows, trying to prepare herself, trying to find a way to tell what she knows. Daryl turns her head towards her. And he looks at her for a bit before finally speaking, "The reason I said we get to start over is because we gotta. The way it was..." he trails off.

"Yeah," Carol agrees, rather passively.

The two continue to stare at the window until Daryl shifts positions and he cranes his neck, shielding his eyes, to look out the window. He steps back from his position.

"You see something?" Carol asks, trying to spot what Daryl's scoping out.

"I dunno," he grumbles, still trying to see whatever it is caught his eye, "Hand me that rifle." he puts down the crossbow and takes the gun she hands him. He peers down the scope. After a few seconds, he puts it down and hands the rifle back to her, "Right there," he taps the glass. I decide I should walk over there and see what's up. I try and find out where Daryl's pointing. I squint a little and I see it. At least, I think I do. It's one of those big white vans, but from here it's not much more than a blob.

"It's been there a while," Carol comments, "Definitely one of 'em."

"Lemme see the gun," I ask, she hands it to me and I peer down the scope and I find the van. It's got blacked out windows and 2 white crosses across the back. Just like the ones on the car we chased here.

I hand the gun back to Carol, "Definitely some kind of lead," Daryl says

"We should fill up," Carol turns around and walks away from the window, Daryl stays. I look up at Daryl.

"Alright," then he turns around and studies the painting to my left. I stay by the window, but I turn around too. Carol's collecting water and Daryl's trying to figure out this painting.

Carol takes a drink of the water, "Hmm," she mumbles through her drink, "What?"

"Bet this cost some rick prick a lot of money," Daryl scoffs at one of the paintings on the wall. Carol offers him a drink, he takes the canteen, "Looks like a dog sat in paint, wiped its ass all over the place." he comments on the odd streaks.

He's not wrong. I crack a smile.

"Really? I kinda like it." Carol smirks

Daryl snorts, his own smirk as he looks at her, "Stop." he takes a swig of water then offers it to me. I gladly take it and take a good drink, the water feels good against my dry throat.

"I'm serious," Carol insists, "You don't know me." There's a joking tone in there, but sometimes I wonder if it's true. Do we really know each other? Or do we just know why we're banded together.

"Yep, you keep tellin' yourself that." Daryl smirks, Carol's gotten her bags back on her shoulder, we're about to head out. I fill up at the water spout one more time. We don't know the next time we're gonna see clean water. We gotta get it while we can.

We head back down all those stairwells and hallways until we're back again at the door to the sky bridge. Carol crawls through first again, Daryl holds the door open for her and I stand beside Daryl.

I get that feeling in my gut again, the one where I think we're being followed.

I should at least mention it to Daryl, get it off my chest.

"Daryl," I start, real quiet, because when we speak in hallways like this, it has to be that way, "do you ever get the feeling we're being followed?"

Daryl gives a quick shake of his head, "Nah, kid, you can put your mind at ease. We're safe-"

Just as those words pass his lips, Carol cuts in, "Daryl don't."

But he's already crouching to get through, he can't hide now, Daryl shoots me a look that I understand without any words, 'stay put'.

"Get up," I hear a voice on the other side of the door.

There's nothing I can do.

"Hands up. Both of you." the voice orders.

My hands curl into angry fists.

"Lay down your crossbow," he orders to Daryl.

I start forming a plan in my head. If you hear shots, run. Not much of a plan, but it'll have to do.

"You got some sack on you," Daryl scoffs, obviously not going down without a fight. Terminus still fresh on his mind.

"Look, nobody has to get hurt, I just need the weapons, that's it." he tells them lies, I can feel it, "So please, lay down your crossbow."

At first I hear nothing, then the slight shifting of metal, he must have put it down. And if this guy isn't asking for Carol's rifle, he must already have that.

"Back up," he snaps. My fingers wrap around my pistol, stuffed in my waistband.

More near silence, but I can just make out the moans of the tent walkers.

"Sorry about this," and I tense up, prepared for the bullets that must be about to fly. I pull the pistol, but my hands are shaking. Dread, I decide, must be the worst thing of all.

"You look tough," I hear again, "You'll be alright."

Not if you kill them!

I lift my pistol now, in case he decides to come through doors. I'm shaking so hard with this dread I couldn't possibly shoot straight.

I wait and I wait, but the sounds of the walkers just get louder. He must have sliced the tent, maybe he didn't completely disarm them. Daryl's got his knife, and I think Carol has a small revolver, and I recall her having a knife as well.

I hear a shot. And I clench my teeth. Do I run? Do I- Another shot rings out, my body turns now, but my feet won't go. They can't have gone that easily right?

"Sam!" Daryl calls, and I about collapse with relief. I push my way through the doors and Carol's running out the door, "C'mon." and he takes off after her, I sprint after him and we're stopped at the door to the parking garage, the filthy bastard must of locked it. Daryl curses under his breath, then we go back the way we came and we fly down a staircase to the next floor. Daryl walks quickly at the front as we try to find another way to the parking garage.

"Three bullets," Carol shakes her head.

"Actually I've got 10 in my clip." I pipe in quietly, Carol and Daryl are walking side by side now and I'm just keeping up behind them.

"Ok, 13, like it makes too much of a difference," Carol grimaces, "We're in the middle of a city. He was stealing our weapons." the way she speaks, I feel as though Carol was trying to make the point to herself, rather than to convince Daryl or me, "Did you think I was gonna kill him? I was aiming for his leg." Still Daryl says nothing and my suspicions grow stronger as Carol carries on, "Could that I have killed him? Maybe, I don't know. But he was stealing our weapons." she tries to rationalize.

We've arrived at a door, and when it doesn't open immediately, Daryl uses his knife to try and and pry it open, "He was a damn kid." Daryl grumbles, "Wadn't much older than Sam."

A kid? Why was he on his own then? At least I'm assuming, and why was he here? Unless he's with the people who took Beth.

"Without weapons we could die." Carol points out, "Beth could die."

"We'll find more weapons," Daryl insists

Carol lowers voice to almost a mumble, "I don't want you to die." then she raises it again, "I don't want Beth to die, or Sam to die. I don't want anybody at the church to die, but I can't stand around and watch it happen either." she's started almost pacing now like she can't stand being still any longer, "I can't. That's why I left. I just had to be somewhere else."

"Well you ain't somewhere else," Daryl snaps back, turning away from his lock picking for a moment, "you're right here. Tryin'."

Carol turns to me, "Sam, go over there and take watch, make sure any walkers don't sneak up on us or anything, ok?" she points about 50 yards away. I see what this is, she wants to talk to Daryl without minding what she says around me.

I comply and walk to where she suggests. Immediately I hear the hiss of whispers I just barely cannot understand. Then I hear the door pop open and I look over. Carol finishes, and Daryl looks at her for a moment and turns and calls to me, "C'mon kid."

We walk out of the parking garage and that's when we start running. Daryl in front, then me, then Carol. And I follow, knowing well that I'm the most well-armed, and that's pretty damn scary to think about. I almost offered Daryl my gun, because he could use it too, but I remember how awful it feels to be useless in a fight, and if I give up my pistol, I will be unarmed. At least Daryl has a knife.

We creep around buildings, trying to make it to the bridge, eventually we're out of downtown and you can see much farther, making it harder for a walker to sneak up on us, so Daryl slows down to a walk, and then I do, then Carol. Carol walks past me and keeps side by side with Daryl, I decide I'm ok with being in the back. Finally we're on the bridge, and I can just make out the outline of the van in the distance. Its front end is over the edge and dipping down, the back wheels are in the air.

When we reach it, it's Daryl who goes to open it up. The doors creak open but there's nothing inside.

"Alright, let's get this done," Daryl moves towards the doors like he's about to climb in.

"It's not stable," Carol shakes her head, "I'm lighter."

Well if we're gonna play that game, I'm obviously the lightest here.

Daryl ignores her, and hops up, the van creaks. But that's not the noise that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Groans. I turn and there are four walkers stumbling our way.

Daryl crawls into the van, carefully stepping. Carol nods her head at me to go. I gingerly step into the van. Each creak makes me stiffen. Once I'm up, I move to the side so Carol can get in, Daryl's checking out the front, but I'm afraid of moving that close to the edge. So I over near the door, bent over, ready to close the doors if necessary. Carol crawls through the front and at this point, Daryl's sitting in the front seat, rummaging through the papers. The van creaks and moans, warning us of our weight here. The sound of moans from walkers over powers the van's creaks and I peek my head out only to see at least 20 walkers headed our way.

"There's more coming!" I announce, Daryl and Carol look out of the passenger window, analyzing the situation.

"We're gonna have to fight through," Carol turns back to Daryl, there's a look in her eyes, she doesn't think we can do it.

I look out again. There's even more. Plus the four coming from the other side. Three of us, at least 30 of them. All attacking us at once. No, our chances of fighting through them do not look good at all.

"Yeah I see 'em," Daryl growls, he's got a plan in mind.

He gets up out of the drivers seat and flips over a gurney, "GMH, what's that stand for?"

"Grady Memorial, maybe?" I absentmindedly suggest. I went there once, I was on a field trip in Atlanta and I broke my arm. The doctors were nice there.

"Grady, the white crosses- it might be where they're holin' up." Daryl suggests. Carol hops out of the van and then Daryl, I've already clicked the safety off of my gun, and have a round in the chamber when I jump out. Carol fires, never a shot wasted. But her three don't go far, not nearly far enough. Daryl grabs one by the shirt, and stabs it with his knife.

BOOM! I fire one shot, it lands in the skull of my target and it collapses to the ground.

"Daryl!" Carol yells. There's too many. I knew there was too many.

BOOM! I fire off another, taking down my closest enemy.

"Sam, get yer ass in the van now!" Daryl commands over the moans of the walkers. He's protecting the entry to the van. I duck under his arm.

"Go, go, go!" he shouts to Carol. I push myself up into the van, and crawl backwards, I feel the creaking beneath my feet, and Carol pushes me further in as she enters next. Daryl makes it in and slams the door. The walkers slap against the door, their roars and moans only muffled, not silenced. The closer Daryl moves, the more I hear the van shaking. My heart rate rockets even higher.

"Anything we can use?" Carol shouts, the smack of the dead's hands against the van is loud.

"Nothin' but what we got," Daryl shakes his head. He dashes past me into the driver's seat and Carol goes to the passenger seat. My arms shake. What are we doing. What the hell are we doing.

"Sam," Carol grabs my arm, and pulls me into the seat with her, we're both built thin, but we're crammed into this seat made for one.

"Hold on," calls Daryl,"buckle up." I reach up and grab the seat belt and hand it to Carol, she buckles it in and she braces herself against the dash and pushes back on the chair. I grab the door handle fearfully and push back on the chair.

Daryl puts his hand on top of hers, "Hold on," he repeats and I squeeze my eyes shut. I can't stand this anymore.

My mind imagines all kinds of horrible things. Starting and ending with, this is how I go, this is how we go. There won't be an us to save Beth, there won't be an us to go back to the church. We won't be part of the us that comes first anymore.

Then the van dives, and for a moment, I feel nothing.

Dear God, if you're up there. Please save us.


A/N: Sorry everyone for such a long wait! It just takes some time for me to write the chapters with school and all, sometimes I just don't feel like writing or I get distracted, so my apologies for that. However I hope this was worth the wait, as always leave your opinions (perferably in ways that can help me as a writer, or just an extended opinion, the more detailed a review is, the more motivating that is to me, and I'm always open to hearing about things you didn't like about the chapter!)

Also, I will never just STOP writing a story, I will always let y'all know in advance if I'm ever going to go on hiatus or I plan to work on another story. So no matter how long a wait, just assume I'm procrastinating rather than I just left y'all hanging.

One more thing since I'm already leaving an Author's note... How would y'all feel if I started a series of oneshots about Sam's life at the prison? Keep in mind, this would be before the actually 'Sam' story started, so there wouldn't be much Carl interaction. But if you want to know Sam's thoughts or her experiences at the prison, this is the story for you :). If you want more details feel free to PM me, and if you think this is something you'd be interested, put in a review about that too!

Thanks so much to everyone for reading and reviewing it really does mean the world to me.