We were near the house when the first gunshot sounded through the air. It came from behind the barn, but the way it echoed it wasn't that close. Daryl, Glenn, and I stopped for a second listening for anything else. After a few minutes behind the first one, another one was heard.

"Should we check it?" Glenn asked, and I tensed my jaw.

"Not yet. Let's go back in, calm everyone down, tell the rest about Randall." I said and started moving forward, we just came out of the forest.

"We'll wait for Rick for a bit. If he's not back, I'll go." Daryl added, and I heard his footsteps right behind me.

"You won't go by yourself, Big Boy."

There weren't any more sounds, and the farm was empty, everyone obviously hiding inside the house, like they were told. The closer we came, the brighter lights were, showing that indeed the group was safe in the building.

They were on us the minute we stepped through the doors.

"Rick and Shane ain't back?" Daryl asked before I could.

"No," Lori answered, looking at us confused; after all, they didn't know that we split up from the other men.

"We heard a shot." Great, let's make them more worried and nervous, Dixon.

"Maybe they found Randall."

"No, we found him," I said, moving towards my bags. My backpack was still packed, and so was the duffel full of guns. No one touched them, and I was grateful for that.

They're not back, Shane's crazy and there were gunshots. Yep, I'm going after them and better be ready for anything than being unprepared.

"Is he back in the shed?" Patricia asked about the kid.

"He's a walker," Daryl replied softly, and we watched people in the room sighed in relief but tense at this same time.

"Did you find the walker that bit him?" Hershel's question made me chuckle darkly, and that caught their attention.

"He wasn't bitten."

"His neck was broke," Daryl added quickly, a warning in his eyes.

"So, he fought back." Patricia tried to find a reasonable and realistic answer, but I knew that it was not that.

"The thing is Shane and Randall's tracks were right on top of each other. And Shane ain't no tracker, som he didn't come up behind him. No, they were together."

"Would you please get back out there and find Rick and Shane, and find out what on earth is going on?" Lori asked Daryl, tears in her eyes, and the hunter nodded, his features softening.

"Ya got it. El, move, woman."

"Charming, as always, Dixon." I followed him through the door running into his back when he stopped dead in his tracks. I furrowed my brows and walked around him to tell him off when I noticed why he stopped.

"Um, fuck. I guess that's not good." Andrea and Glenn behind me gasped when they saw a horde of walkers in the distance. I ran back inside the house, telling others what's happening. Backpack on, bow over it with my gun bag in my hands; I stepped out into the porch, to see what is happening and why nobody was fucking moving.

"Patricia, kill the lights." I heard Hershel speaking to the woman.

"I'll get the guns." Andrea walked past me, patting my shoulder.

"Maybe they're just passing like the herd on the highway," Glenn said, the uncertainty evident in his voice. "Should we just go inside?"

"Not unless there's a tunnel downstairs I don't know about," Daryl commented.

"He's right. They will rip the house down. Go, grab the basic things, get ready to leave." I turned around to the women, and they all nodded, Carol, Beth, and Lori running back inside.

"Carl's gone," Lori said when she came back moments later, Carol next to her both scared and unsure of what to do.

"What?"

"He- he was upstairs. I can't find him anywhere."

"Maybe he's hiding." Glenn offered. This fucking kid, always getting in trouble.

"He's supposed to be upstairs." Lori was breathing heavily when she spoke. "I'm not leaving without my boy."

"We're not," Carol told her, and I nodded, stepping next to them.

"Exactly. You and Carol go recheck the house, every room, basement. Go." Fuck, how did that happened? Did those gunshots lead the herd here? But they weren't anywhere near the house, so maybe it was Rick and Shane. They shot at something, and then the walkers followed them in here. That's good, it'd mean that they are still alive.

When Andrea came back, we opened our gun bags, so others could get them. I wasn't too sure about sharing mine. I had my collapsed sniper Barrett M107, and my three spare handguns. One shotgun which I passed to Hershel along with ammo. But the most priced once were two MP5's on the bottom of the bag. I grabbed three extra clips for my Glock and put them in the back pocket of my jeans.

I watched Maggie take two shotguns out of the other bag and pass one to her boyfriend, who was utterly surprised.

"Maggie-"

"You grow up in a country, you pick up a thing or two." She interrupted him and started loading the weapon.

"I got the numbers," Daryl kept looking at the approaching herd. "It's no use."

"You can go if you want," Hershel answered, cocking the shotgun, and we all looked at him.

"Hershel, we all have to go. There's too many." I told him softly.

"We have guns. We have cars."

"Kill as many as we can," Andrea added from next to me, loading Dale's rifle. "Then, we use cars to lead the rest of them off the farm."

I exchanged a look with Daryl for a moment before he turned back to the old man. "Are you serious?"

"This is my farm. I'll die here." I couldn't believe what he's saying. We had to leave, like five minutes ago, and they were considering staying and fighting? Wasting ammo and risk our lives? For what, an old fucking farmhouse.

"All right. It's a good night as any." Daryl replied and swang himself over the railing.

"You fucking crazy idiots," I grunted and reached for the MP5, extra magazines gone in my pockets. I zipped the bag and stood up.

"Dixon!" I shouted after him. "Be careful!"

"Always." He replied and then ran over to his bike.

"OK. T, Andrea, take the pick-up, go in that direction. Maggie, Glenn, take the Hyundai and go there." I quickly ordered them and handed Glenn my duffel. "Put it in the car, please. There's spare ammo if you need it."

"What about you?" The Asian man asked me, and I nodded towards Hershel.

"I'll stay with him. Make sure he doesn't fucking die. Jimmy take the RV and go towards the barn, cover Daryl if necessary."

The young man nodded and ran towards the Winnebago, turning towards the horde. They were closer now, and Hershel started shooting at walkers who got closer to the house.

"Fucking hell," I repeated Dixon's movements, and seconds later was standing next to the older man, using my Glock to take out the geeks.

I could tell that trying to lead them away by cars wasn't working. There were too many noises; the dead were confused. On top of that, someone set the barn on fucking fire. Giving me a new spark of hope that Rick is alive.

By the time walkers started to group more together in front of us, I had used two clips on my Glock and put it away into the holster. I rose the automatic and pressed the butt to my shoulder, gripping the gun tightly. Looking down through the custom scope, I started to fire, hoping to hit and slow down as many as I could.

"I don't think it's Agency issued weapon," Hershel commented while reloading, and I snorted, but the sound was lost in the chaos around us.

"I like guns."

"Hmm."

Nice chat, but how about shooting and not dying? My shoulder hurt from the constant force, to which I wasn't used to anymore, but I gritted my teeth and ignored it. Once Hershel cocked the gun again, I stepped back to eject the magazine and replace it with a spare.

I don't know how long we were standing there, firing, for how long cars were going in circles. It seemed like hours but probably was just minutes, adrenaline cutting off my sense of time. Still, with so many corpses on the ground, they seemed to keep coming from the field and woods. We going to run out of bullets before we finish it. I spotted T's car and waved him over, to come back to the house.

"Hold the front, will you?" I told Hershel and not waiting for an answer I ran back into the house. Women were watching through the windows, and when I came in, they surrounded me.

"Grab what you can and head for T-Dog's pick-up. We need to get the fuck out of here." I told them and grabbed Daryl's backpack from under the window. I already looked and felt like a camel, but it was not the time to complain about that.

"I'm not leaving without Carl!" Lori shouted at me, and I grabbed her shoulders.

"Lori. He's fine. He is a strong, smart young boy. I think he might have run off when he heard the first shot." I told her in a soft voice, searching for her eyes to show her that I was not worried. Even if it was the biggest lie of the evening.

"He's just a boy."

"I know. Look, someone set the barn on fire. I think Carl found Rick and they trying to make it back here, created a distraction. But you won't help anyone if you stay here. What would I tell Rick once we find him?"

"OK, alright. You're right. Where do we go?"

"Highway, by the car, we left for Sophia. That's the spot we all know. If they're not here, they would for sure go there." I looked at the women and nodded at them. "Come on, grab what you can and go!"

Once again, I left the house and spotted T coming around, once he was close enough, I shouted at him. "Wait for the women and take them away!"

I saw him nod, so I stepped back to Hershel. There were more walkers piled up, but there were still so many coming. I positioned the gun back against my shoulder and started the assault once again. Focusing on the walkers in front of me, I half-heard shouting when Carol urged other women to follow her towards the car.

It was absolute chaos, screams, yells, groaning of walkers, and guns firing all mixed in with each other.

It took minutes until I finally couldn't hear any other voices, the cars disappeared, and I turned to Hershel, who was bravely pumping his shotgun. We kept turns to reload, now it was his turn, so when he moved to stay behind me, I looked down the scope to take down the closest geeks.

The issue with machine guns is that they are less accurate, and it's harder to keep them in position, especially if you shooting for an extended amount of time. My shoulder was throbbing, and I was sure that come the morning I'll have a huge bruise, that is if we'll get to live in the morning. But I wasn't so sure about that, the only solution would be to physically pull Hershel towards the car.

Someone fired from behind me, but it wasn't sound of a shotgun, I turned quickly around pointing my gun in that direction, just to see Rick and Carl. He was standing behind Hershel, dead walker behind him.

"Where's Lori?" Was the first question sheriff asked us.

"T got them out. I told them to go to the highway."

"We have to go!" I agreed, but Hershel was still adamant about the farm and leaving it behind. "Find mom and the others."

"It's my farm."

"Not anymore!" Rick grabbed Hershel's arm and started to lead him to the car. I was watching their backs, firing at the walkers that got too close.

"Come on, Elena!"

Rick and Carl got to the car first taking the front seats, I pushed Hershel onto the back and quickly followed him, shutting the door, and we took off.

The old man was looking out of the back window, watching his home slowly disappearing from our view. I sat straight, thinking about the rest of us. The cars where gone, T knows where to go. I had to have faith that Glenn and Daryl will too.

Daryl, I haven't seen him since he took off at the very beginning. Neither did I hear his bike for a while before we left. All worst scenarios ran through my head, including the fact that maybe he finally left. No, I shook my head, scowling at myself, he wouldn't do something like that. He promised he would tell me, plus he seemed to accept the group more in the past days.

Day 67

We were quiet all the way to the highway, and when we finally reached, it was already morning. My heart dropped when I didn't see any of the others, as we parked next to the car we used for Sophia. The writing was still there, now covered in dust, and so were the supplies we left for the girl.

I got out of the car and walked over to them, grabbing them, loading to the trunk.

"Wait, where's mum?" Carl asked, looking around, finally realizing that we were the only ones here. "You said she'd be here."

He was talking to Rick, but I still felt terrible, it was me who told them where Lori went, and now she was gone. I cleared my throat and walked over to them.

"I told your mom to come here. We took a direct road, but I don't think the others did. It'll just take them longer to reach us." I really hoped this explanation would be enough for the boy.

"But why are we running?" He shouted in my face and then turned to his dad. "What are you doing? It's it is mom. We need to get her and not, not be safe a mile away."

"Ssh, ssh." Rick bent down to his son, putting a hand on the kid's shoulder, trying to calm him down. "We need to be quiet, all right? Please?"

Carl put his face down, for a second I thought he's going to cry, but then his face became angry once again. "Please? It's mom."

"Carl, listen-"

"No!" He walked away to our car and stood, facing the direction of a farm, looking out for others to come.

"Rick," Hershel started once we reached him. "You've got to get your boy and Elena to safety. I'll wait here for my girls and the others. I know a few places. We'll meet up with them later."

"Where?" Rick replied, looking agitated. "Where's safe? We're not splitting up."

"I agree, that would be stupid idea, dangerous. We just got here, we need to give them time." I told them, crossing my arms on the chest.

"Please, keep them safe." Hershel insisted. "I'll hide in one of the cars. If a walker gets me, so be it. I've lost my farm. I've lost my wife, maybe my daughters."

"You don't know that. They'll be here." Rick told him more forcefully.

I looked between two men and put an emotionless mask over my face. My voice was stern and low, with no space for arguing. "You both have to fucking understand something. I'm not moving from here, without the rest. Without Daryl Dixon."

I walked away, not looking back. I got into the car and searched through my backpack, finding the binoculars. I climbed onto the vehicle and kept watch.

I went ahead to relieve myself, I guess adrenaline finally wore off, and my bladder was screaming at me. Rick tried to argue with me that I should've taken someone with me, receiving a finger in an answer. Like hell, one of them will watch me pee.

When I finished and turned to go back, I spotted a lone walker heading at me, others nowhere in sight. I took out my throwing knife, chucking it in a swift motion, the blade stabbing the geek perfectly between the eyes. When he got to the ground, I walked to it and pulled the knife out, finally spotting the men.

"Where you hiding from one walker?" I asked them while wiping the blade.

"We have only guns, don't want to attract any more of those," Rick answered, squinting his eyes at me.

"We need to get you proper weapons."

"I don't know how much longer we can stay here," Hershel commented. Well, his attitude changed quickly, just an hour ago he was so adamant about staying here.

"I'm not leaving without mom," Carl stated simply.

"So we're just gonna walk away?" Rick asked the other men, and he just shrugged. "Not knowing my wife, your- your girls are still out there? How do we live with that?"

"You've only got one concern now, just one. Keeping him alive." Hershel pointed at Carl, and as much as I disagreed with leaving without the rest, he was right.

"Well, I wish you good luck in the future. I'm not moving without Dixon." I told them once again.

"Elena," Hershel turned to me know, his eyes pleading. "He's not here. You are a skilled fighter, we have a child to protect."

His words were hurtful, but only because they were the truth. I looked over at the boy, his sheriff's hat on, just hoody on his back. I swallowed, feeling suddenly how dry my throat got. I couldn't leave them alone, for fuck sake they don't even have weapons which don't make noise. But, the thought of leaving Daryl behind made my stomach twist and heart hurt. I wasn't so torn in years, I always put the others before me. The one time I was selfish, I lost so much. Should I follow my heart or my head? A few months ago, the answer would be simple; never follow your heart; that path brings only pain. Right now, I wasn't so sure anymore.

"Carl, it's not safe here." Rick crouched in front of his son, speaking in a soft tone. "I'm sorry."

Both of them looked like they're about to cry, and honestly, I felt this same. I was just better at hiding it.

Before any of us could say something else, we heard the familiar sound of a bike. I turned around and walked forward to the railing separating two lanes. There, in front of me, Daryl was leading two other cars to us. I smiled widely, seeing that Carol was safe with him, Glenn's car was right behind with T-Dog taking the back.

I put a hand over my mouth and took a few deep breaths to control my emotions. The bike stopped next to me, and I help the woman to get off, hugging her tightly. It was the first time I initiated that type of physical contact, but she didn't seem to mind. She wrapped her arms around my middle and squeezed. I finally let her go, smiling widely.

I could hear others laughing and crying, happy that in the end, we found each other. My eyes were on Daryl, who turned off the engine and now was standing next to me. His blue eyes were boring into mine, relief evident on his face.

Fighting the tears became harder, and my brain shut down. At least that's what I think because how else explain the fact that I moved and wrapped my arms around his waist, burying my face in his broad chest. But if that's the case, his brain cells were fried as well; he stiffened just for a second before hugging me back, pressing my body tightly against his.

I didn't cry, luckily, but I was so happy that he's alive, that they all are here. I memorized Daryl's scent, he smelled like forest and sweat, but not in that disgusting way. No, it was musky, manly smell, and it drove me crazy.

He pulled at my shoulders, pushing me away from him and looked me in the eyes.

"Ya OK?"

I nodded quickly, biting my lip. "Yeah. I'm now that we are all together. You?"

"Gotta be." He smirked, and I laughed, relive washing over my tired body. We were here, alive and uninjured, and Daryl Dixon was making jokes.

"Where'd you find everyone?" Rick asked, looking at Daryl.

"Well, this guy got his taillights zig-zaggin' all over the road. Figured had to be Asian driving like that." The hunter answered, making us all chuckle at that, even Glenn.

"Good one."

"Where's the rest of us?"

"We're the only ones who made it so far," Rick replied, shaking his head.

"Shane?" Lori asked. That's actually a question I'd like to know the answer to as well. I wasn't complaining that he's not here, but I was still curious where he is. Rick only shook his head, and I breathed out relive, Daryl, bumping my shoulder. Yes, we were both happy that this dick was gone.

"Andrea?" Glenn spoke up, looking around us. The last time I saw her, she was in the car with T.

"She saved me, then I lost her," Carol explained, what she saw.

"We saw her go down," T-Dog added. I furrowed my eyebrows, she was a bitch, but she didn't deserve to die like that.

"Patricia?" That question was asked by Hershel, she was after all a family friend.

"They got her too," Beth answered quietly, struggling to not cry. "Took her right from me. I was- I was holding onto her, Daddy. She just-" The man pulled his daughter to him, letting her cry into his chest.

"What about Jimmy? Did you see Jimmy?" Beth was sobbing, her voice shaky and full of pain.

"He was in the RV. It got overrun." Rick replied softly.

"You definitely saw Andrea?" Carol asked, looking at T and Lori.

"There were walkers everywhere." The dark-haired woman replied.

"Did you see her?" None of the replied to that, and Daryl started to move from beside me.

"I'm gonna go back."

"No." Rick stopped hunter from going any further, his voice stern.

"Can't just leave her."

"But we don't even know if she's there," Lori stated, and I had to agree with her. There were too many walkers, she wouldn't stay on the farm, she's not stupid like that.

"She isn't there. She isn't." Rick commented, looking at all of us. "She's somewhere else, or she's dead. There's no way to find her."

"So, we're not even gonna look for her?" Glenn asked, disbelieve on his face evident.

"We gotta keep moving. There've been walkers crawling all over here." Speaking of, there where two walkers approaching, so I moved ahead when Daryl reached for his crossbow. I put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"I've got this." I reached for two knives from my reins and rose the hands to my ears. I threw both of them simultaneously, hitting the walkers in the head.

"Show off," Daryl commented, I turned my head to wink at him.

"You know it."

"I say, head east," T-Dog said while I was retrieving my weapons.

"Stay off the main roads," Dixon added. "The bigger the road, the more walkers, more assholes like those ones." He pointed towards bodies on the ground.

"OK, we are short on gas, T-Dog we gonna leave your truck. It doesn't have enough space anyway." Rick started organizing everything, and soon we moved whatever was in T's pick-up into the other cars.

"El." Daryl waved me over to his bike, and I walked over to him and Carol. "Ya ridin' with me."

I rose my eyebrows and glanced at the other woman, she looked amused at Dixon's statement.

"What about Carol?" I asked him, after all, she rode with him before, I assumed she will now too, even if it was making my guts twist.

"Don't worry about me. I'll ride with Rick, the bike isn't for me anyway." She winked at me, smirking, and walked away.

I gulped, studying the machine. Shame to admit, but I never rode a motorcycle before and wasn't sure if I want to try. On the other hand, Daryl asked me something which never happens, and the perspective of my chest pressed tightly to his back was definitely alluring.

We drove for hours, I never thought I would say it, but the feeling was incredible. We weren't going fast, but the wind that was licking our skin, ruffling our hair, it was pure freedom. Now I could understand Daryl and why it was his choice of vehicle. I was holding onto his sides, although sometimes, when he increased the speed, I wrapped my arms tighter around his waist. My breasts were pressed to his back, angel wings right in front of my eyes.

One of the cars used the horn, making Daryl slow down and stop the bike. I dismounted it and stretched my back a little, watching as others spilled out of their cars.

"Ya out?" Daryl asked when Rick got closer, and the sheriff nodded.

"Running on fumes."

"We can't stay here," Maggie commented.

"We can't all fit in one car," Glenn recounted, and that was true.

"We'll have to make a run for some gas in the morning."

"Spend the night here?" Carol asked, looking around at the deserted road.

"I'm freezing," Carl commented, shaking a little, and I shrugged my vest off.

"You shouldn't have left your vest at the farm," I said, giving him mine. He looked away, ashamed.

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Have mine, I'll grab my jacket."

"We'll build a fire, yeah?" Lori added, hugging her son to her side to make him warmer.

"If ya go out lookin' for firewood, stay close," Daryl said, grabbing his crossbow from the bike. "Only got so many arrows. How ya doin' on ammo?"

"Not enough." Rick wasn't pleased, especially that we discovered back at the highway that his bag of guns was left behind.

"I still have some spare in my duffel. But we need to get you all some knives or other silent weapons." I told all of them, making them nod in agreement.

"Well, we can't just sit here with our asses hanging out," Maggie said, she was really agitated, clearly by what happened back at the farm.

"Watch your mouth," Hershel scowled her. "Everyone stop panicking. Listen to Rick."

"All right." Sheriff started. "We set up a perimeter. In the morning we'll find gas and some supplies. We'll keep pushing on."

"Glenn and I can go make a run now try and scrounge up some gas." The young woman kept arguing.

"Maggie, we're all scared. But we need to rest, get our strength back." I told her, furrowing my brows.

"Elena's right. We stay together." Rick added, trying to calm everybody down. "God forbid something happens, and people get stranded without a car."

"Rick, we're stranded now," Glenn said gently.

"But we're fucking together. Let's rest and calm down. In the morning, we can plan where to go for gas," I said, looking at the young couple. We just fucking found each other, why they keep pushing so much to do it now. We already gained a reasonable distance from the herd.

"I know it looks bad. We've all been through hell and worse, but like Elena said, we found each other." Rick was pacing next to Daryl and me, running a hand over his curly hair. "I wasn't sure. I- I really wasn't, but we did. We're together. We keep it that way. We'll find shelter somewhere. There's gotta be a place."

"Rick, look around." Glenn stepped closer to the sheriff. "OK, there are walkers everywhere. They're migrating or something."

"There's gotta be a place, not just where we hole up, but that we fortify. Hunker down. Pull ourselves together. Build a life for each other. I know it's out there. We just have to find it."

"Even if we do find a place we think is safe, we can never be sure for how long," Maggie said, she was a calmer, but still tried to argue with Rick. "Look what happened with the farm. We fooled ourselves into thinking that- that was safe."

"We won't make that mistake again," Hershel told her sternly.

"We'll make camp tonight over there." Rick pointed in the direction of a small, torn down building that was sitting just a few paces from the road. "Get on the road at the break of day."

"Does this feel right to you?" Carol looked between Daryl and me, she still didn't trust Rick and his decisions. We both nodded gently, not speaking. I already told them what I think, what else to add?

"But what if walkers come through, or another group like Randall's?" Beth asked Rick. I glanced at hunter on my right, and we looked at each other for a second, having a silent conversation.

"Ya know we found Randall, right?" Daryl spoke first. "He turned, but he wasn't bit."

Rick looked away, something in his eyes changed, his jaw was clenched tight.

"How's that's possible?" Blonde Greene asked him. She's really coming out of her shell, isn't she?

"Rick, what the hell happened?" Lori asked her husband.

"Shane killed Randall. Just like he always wanted to." Daryl stated, not even blinking at the accusation.

"And then the herd got him?"

But Rick was still avoiding our eyes, and it hit me, clear as day. Daryl told me after CDC how Jenner pulled sheriff close and whispered something in his eyes, just before we escaped. My face twisted, and I chuckled dryly, making the rest of the group look at me.

"We're all infected, aren't we, Rick?" His head snapped, and he stared me in the eyes, searching I don't know what for. He licked his lips and, after a second, nodded slowly.

"Jenner told me, at the CDC. Whatever it is, we all carry it." I turned around, I couldn't look at him right now, anger flowing through my body, I crouched down and hid my face in my hands. I really hoped that I was wrong, that sheriff would give us some other, more straightforward explanation.

"And you never said anything?" I heard Carol speak up after a moment of silence.

"Would it have made a difference?"

"You knew this whole time?" Glenn asked him.

"How could I have known for sure? You saw how crazy that mo-"

"That is not your call. OK, when I found out about the walkers in the barn, I told for the good of everyone."

"Well, I thought it best if people didn't know." I stood up and walked back over to stand next to Daryl. Rick glanced at us one last time and walked away, needing to calm down. Lori was quick to follow him.

I swallowed and listened for a moment while people argued over what Rick said if he was a good leader and what not.

"Shut up," I growled at them when I had enough of their bickering. I swear that they forgot I'm even here because their faces snapped to mine in shock. "Just fucking shut up. You're not happy. I get it, me neither. But we can't change anything now. What's done, it's done. Stop your fucking bickering. We need to rest, eat, and plan where we going tomorrow."

I glanced at the people, my face severe and voice telling them to not argue with me. "Glenn, T, and Maggie go check that building, we need to secure it. Daryl and I will get the firewood, see if they are any animals around. Carol and Beth, I want you to check the food, take only what we need for tonight, not too much we can't spare it until we find more. Carl, collect some blankets and see if we have any other warm clothes. Hershel, you stand watch, protect them."

No one was moving, they just stared at me, like I was speaking in a foreign language. I cocked my eyebrows and placed my hands on the hips. My voice grew colder when I spoke again. "Do you need a special invitation or something?"

By the time the night came, we've eaten and started a fire. We shared a few cans of beans and sweetcorn and three squirrels Daryl hunted down while I was carrying the wood. T was keeping watch on one of the walls, and the rest of us sat around, Lori with Carl, hugging him tightly. Greene family together, plus Glenn, who didn't leave Maggie's side since we found each other. I guess they figured out their differences. Daryl sat between Carol and me, digging at the ground with a stick. Rick was off somewhere, he didn't speak to us since we found out that we all carry the virus.

"We're not safe with him," Carol stated at some point, and I leaned forward to look at her. "Keeping something like that from us? Why do you need him? He's gonna pull you down."

"Nah." Daryl's reply was simple but full of unspoken words, and it made me smile.

"Carol, we are in a horrible position, but he tries to keep us together, safe," I told her gently. "Everything he did so far, was for the good of the group."

"Yeah, Rick's done all right by me," Hunter added.

"You're his henchman, both of you. And I'm a burden." She commented coldly. Did she really think like that of herself? "You deserve better."

"What do ya want?"

"A man of honor, or woman. Elena could lead us." I chuckled at that and shook my head.

"No, thank you. Too much stress, I'm better at following orders."

"It didn't look like that earlier today."

"Look, I can step up if needed. But Rick knows what he's doing. And frankly, I'm not sure if I'd tell you either, you know about being infected. Without proof, that would just start an early panic."

"I think we should take our chances." Maggie voiced her opinion looking at Glenn.

"In the dark? You're smarter than that." I told her, making her glare in my direction across the fire.

"Exactly, don't be foolish," Hershel told his daughter. "There's barely any food, no fuel, not enough ammo."

When he finished, the leaves rattled in the distance, making everyone sit straight.

"What was that?" Beth was first to ask.

"Could be anything."Daryl stood up, looking into the dark. "Could be a raccoon could be an opossum."

"A walker," Glenn added, putting others even more on edge.

"We need to leave. I mean, what are we waiting for?" Carol spoke up, looking at Rick, who just came back.

"T, can you see anything?" I asked and looked up at the man.

"No." He shook his head after looking through the scope.

"Which way?" Glenn asked, looking at his girlfriend.

"It came from over there."

"Back from where we came from." At the moment, I was the only one who was not standing beside Carl and Lori. Those people really needed to relax, being scared makes you dangerous.

"Last thing we need it for everyone to be running off in the dark." Rick finally said in a low voice. "We don't have the vehicles. No one's traveling on foot."

"Don't panic," Hershel added, speaking mainly to his daughter.

"I'm not," Maggie answered. "I'm not sitting here waiting for another herd to blow through. We need to move now."

"No one is going anywhere," Rick spoke forcefully, coming closer to the circle. At that point, I stood up, just in case the situation needed defusing. People looked at him, scared, tired, unsure of our future.

"Do something." Carol spat in his face.

"I'm doing something." He whispered-yelled at her. "I'm keeping this group together, alive. And I've been doing that all along, no matter what." Correct, and decisions he had to make sometimes weren't easy. It's easy for them to bitch and complain, but they wouldn't be able to handle the responsibility of other people's lives. Not the way Rick did.

"I didn't ask for this. I killed my best friend for you people for Christ's sake!" That confession from sheriff made everyone gasp. Not me, though. I expected that I mean Shane was crazy and unpredictable, and I suspected that splitting us up back at the farm, was just a ploy to kill Rick.

"You saw what he was like. How he pushed me, how it compromised, how it threatened us. He staged the whole Randall thing, led me out to put a bullet in my back. He gave me no choice." When he spoke, he looked mainly at his family, Carl was crying, and Lori was hiding her face in boy's hair.

"He was my friend, but he came after me. My hands are clean." He paused, looking around, finally meeting my eyes. I knew that my face showed no emotions, especially that I expected it, so I gave him a small nod. A little sign of support, something I knew he needed at the moment.

"Maybe you people are better off without me. Go ahead. I say there's a place for us, but maybe, maybe it's just another pipe dream. May- maybe I'm fooling myself again. Why don't you- why don't you go and find out yourself? Send me a postcard." I had to fight the urge to laugh at that, biting my bottom lip. He was really good at these speeches. Noone spoke; nobody moved anywhere. We were just starring at him, waiting for a punch line.

"Go on. There's the door. You can do better? Let's see how far you get." He pointed behind him, but again, people stayed frozen in their spots.

"No, takers? Fine. But get one thing straight, you're staying, this isn't a democracy anymore." He looked around, and I gave him a smirk, while the others stared at him in shock. After a few minutes of silence, he left again, but people didn't move.

"Alrighty, guys. Go to sleep, we need to wake up early." I told them, breaking them out of the spell.

This was the day I marked in my calendar as the beginning of Ricktatorship.

A/N: And that chapter marks down the end of season 2. I won't jump straight through into season 3, I'll show you guys little glimpses of what happened in that 8 months time gap. Is there anything you'd like to see? Any extra ideas for what could've happened to the group? Review and let me know!

Cheers:)