Nine Circles of Hell

by Solangelo-Infection332

Rick Grimes woke from a coma to find the world had ended. Fighting his way through cannibal corpses in order to find his family, the Alpha never imagined he'd gain a new one along the way. I don't own any of the rights to the show or its characters. This story is on AO3/Wattpad/Quotev under the same title. The sites with permission to publish, by me, are listed here. Don't Repost.

6. The CDC Part 2

After the CDC blew up, the caravan drove in the opposite direction until they ran out of gas, less than 4 hours away. It starts with Shane's truck, and with one honk, the group stops.

"What's wrong?" Daryl asks around his thumb where he was chewing on the nail. Coming up beside the sheriff, Shane gets out of the car, slamming the door shut.

"Out of gas." The Alpha spits on the ground. The group piles out of the cars to see what the commotion was all about. Once they explained the situation, they split up to siphon from the cars. Carol and Lori take the pups back to the RV to play a card game while everyone gets to work. Once they siphoned gas from the surrounding cars, the group started to gather anything of use with Rick's urging to replace the things they had lost in the CDC. They find a couple of bottles of aspirin and water and more clothes. They pile everything into the RV and come together to discuss what their next move would be.

"Fort Benning." It was the first thing out of Shane's mouth when the Alpha came over to the group.

"We won't make it, not on the food and gas we have left. We need to think more realistic; what can we do with what we have." Rick shakes his head, "Glenn, can you think of anything that we could use that is close by?"

The Asian Alpha considers the question for a moment before he answers. "We could go back…?"

It comes out more like a question as if he wasn't sure it was the right thing to say. Shane bares his teeth at the Alpha with a snarl, ready to get in his face. "Back!? You want us to go back to the fucking CDC? Next time we ask you for an idea, it better be a good one. We give you the chance to prove you're an Alpha and that's all you can come up with? I should put you to use with the other Omegas since that seems like all your good for."

Rick has the Alpha on his stomach, face in the dirt before Shane can lay his hand on Glenn. His teeth are biting down on his partner's glands, forcing yelps and whines from Shane's throat while T-Dog pulls Glenn away, the young Alpha baring his neck with a whimper. Daryl has his crossbow set against Shane's head, takes deep breaths, and glances at Rick's Pack to ensure they're ok. The Omega thinks about unloading an arrow into the Alpha's head and being done with it, but instead, he looks to Rick and waits. Rick rumbles loudly and threatens the other Alpha but sends Daryl a nod to let him up. The Omega archer huffs but pulls back; the arrow stays trained on the other Alpha.

Rick gets off Shane with one last rumble of warning and sits next to the man. "Glenn isn't a part of your Pack; he's one of mine. You have NO say in anything regarding them. Next time you say something out of line, or you try to put your hands on one of my own, I will make you submit… in true Traditional fashion. I don't think the Gamma life is appealing to you, is it?"

Shane lowers his chin slightly to the side with an angry rumble. Rick rumbles in warning before he gets up, pulling Shane up with him. "Go check on the others, see how they're doing with the cars."

Once Shane leaves, Rick turns to Glenn to check on the Alpha. Glenn steps right up to Rick and bares his throat entirely to the Prime, whining when Rick refuses to scent his neck. The Alpha lays his hand on Glenn's neck and rubs his scent into the skin, a gentle and comforting rumble whisper into the Packs' ears. Once Glenn had calmed down, Rick addressed the Alpha's decision. "Now, why did you want to go back?"

"I just thought we might be able to defend ourselves better if we had the guns, ammo, and military vehicles that we left in front of the CDC. We might not find another haul like that… ever." Glenn's eyes stayed glued to the ground as he whispered. "And most military camps would have medical supplies and food if they were there for a while."

Rick purrs softly and strokes Glenn's neck again, "I didn't even think about the stuff we might have left behind. Thank you, Glenn, for remembering them. I will talk to the Pack and see if everyone is willing to go back. But if we do, we will need gas; why don't you go over to Dale and help him out."

Glenn preens at his Alpha's approval and sets out to find the Elder. Rick turns back to his own Packmate and Daryl to see what they think. T-Dog was smiling and preening himself, a low purr of comfort rumbling softly in his chest. Daryl was pacing slightly, an arrow held tight in his fist, but his approval was easy to see if you looked closely. The Omega places the crossbow on his back and grunts. "Well… what are we doing?"

"What do you suggest we do? Go back for the supplies or keep going forward with Shane's idea of Fort Benning?" The Alpha asks.

The Beta picks up a bag of stuff he found in the cars and shoulders it. "Whatever we are doing is going to have to be closer. We have been siphoning gas and clearing out cars of anything useful for hours but haven't found any food, not to mention that it's gonna be dark soon. We need a place to sleep, and something to eat. Once we do that, we can decide what to do as a Flock."

They make their way back to the group, and everyone gets ready to leave. Most of the caravan had already left when the Walkers came. Around a hundred of them come out of the woodwork and surround the cars the Packs scavenged. Shane bares his teeth and tries to start his jeep. When the car just stutters, he swears loudly and grabs his things, jumping on a car close by as the Walkers swarms it. He starts yelling and screaming, praying Rick and the group will notice. One of the Walkers grabs his pants leg and pulls; another starts climbing the car. The Alpha snarls at the dead bodies and swings his gun at the thing's head as it yanks on his pants leg again. The other one climbs and goes for the Alpha, knocking him down. Shane places one of his arms on the thing's neck, keeping it from biting him, while his other fights the hands-off when it goes to claw his chest. The Alpha whimpers when the other Walkers get in a frenzy at the downed meal before them and start to try to claim a bit of him as their own. Shane starts to pray harder, begging anyone to help him. An arrow appears in the Walker's head, causing the corpse to go limp. Shane looks up in surprise as Daryl's truck circles the car, shooting one-handed at the Walkers. Once he has their attention, he drives away, a path cleared for the Alpha to climb into the RV, Glenn waving him in. Shane jumps in, and the group drives away.

…

It was days before they made it back to the CDC, having stopped at the nursing home that held Glenn for a place to stay, only to find the whole place wiped out. Pulling up to the CDC, the Packs stay in the cars, waiting to see if there were Walkers around. Noticing only a few crawling on the ground, the group gets out, except for the pups, Carol and Lori, and Andrea. There are more Walkers on the ground than the group remembers and where the building once stood was just a pile of rubble.

"Where should we start?" Shane scowls at Rick.

"Glenn, take one of the cars and T-Dog and check the area; let us know if a herd comes through. Dale, can you go tell Lori or Carol to keep an ear out for the radio. Tell them to contact us with any information." Rick starts directing everyone to positions. T-Dog and Glenn get into a jeep and take off, circling what's left of the building. "Shane you're with me, try to find anything useful. Daryl-"

"I'll check the vehicles, see if they got gas, or if we can take one of them instead." The Omega takes off towards a burnt tank, crossbow in hand, ready for any surprises.

"Alright, let go." Rick leads towards the Walker massacre, checking each head for a killing hit and missing the glare and snarl that Shane shot in the Beta's direction as he followed the Alpha. Glenn and T-Dog join the hunt for goods once they come back. Daryl was checking the last car, a Praga V3S, when he noticed something strange. A tent set up farther from the CDC than the rest. Grabbing his bow, he makes his way over to it, checking for Walkers on the ground and around every car. He taps on the metal poles when he reaches the tent and waits for any Walkers that might be inside. One comes out snarling, bloody skin hanging from its jaws. The Omega shoots the fucker and grabs his arrow before ducking inside. Where one of the tent's walls used to be was a hole, allowing the sunlight to illuminate the maps and boxes of rations packed inside. Some of the boxes held medication as well, Suppressants taking an entire box to themselves, both Omega and Alpha. Daryl checks the other boxes; rations, medical supplies, maps, more boxes of papers, Suppressants, etc. The Omega found boxes outside that were full of guns and ammo too. Did they just pack the whole camp in here?

The Omega starts to turn away, ready to get his Alp- Rick. He was going to get Rick. He wasn't Daryl's Alpha; Daryl wasn't part of the guy's Pack. He could grab these supplies, load up the Praga and be out of here before any of those assholes could stop him. Why? Why couldn't he? Why did he feel guilty just thinking about it?

"Baby brotha', you's was born of-a different cloth. You's not a Dixon, you's like Mama. And I'm a be fereva grateful you's is. You's better; you'll get out and make somethin' of yourself. Don't cha evera forget it k, baby brotha?" Merle had told him one night after Pops had passed out drunk on the couch, and the Beta was as high as a kite. "I'm a grateful you's an Omega like Mama, makes you's better than us all. It's why you's so sweet, Darylina, cause you's like Mama."

And like his Mama, Daryl could never turn his back on those in need. He turns around and goes to find Rick and the Packs, the phantom smell of his Mama's cigarettes tugging a smile to his lips.

…

Daryl finds Glenn and T-Dog before he finds the Alphas and has them help him instead. They load up in Daryl's truck and T-Dog's jeep and drive over to the tent. Almost done packing everything away, Daryl leaves the packmates to load the cars. At the same time, he makes his way back to the huge-ass truck that would make everything so much easier if he could get it running. Getting in the driver's side, he reaches under the wheel to see if he could hot-wire it. It takes a few tries but eventually, the engine starts up. Daryl swallows his smile, wanting to double-check the car was safe before he got the Packs. He reaches over to check the glove box when the engine hiccups before running well again.

Daryl had worked in a friend of Merle's auto shop one summer so that Daryl could get his own bike. And Merle had shown Daryl how to fix cars and bikes his whole life, a way to keep Daryl from being like everyone else in their lives. Daryl knew what that hiccup meant; something was in the engine that wasn't supposed to be there. Getting out of the car was a bit challenging when you were lunging for the passenger's door from the floorboard. Daryl gets out just as a spark lights the invisible wire thread through the doors. Daryl watches as the small flames on the wires split, each eating their way to the other cars and tanks quickly. Daryl runs.

'Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! It's a trap!' Daryl makes it back to Glenn and T-Dog and tells them to get their asses out of there; the camp was booby-trapped. He sprints to the Alphas, who were checking out more corpses for weapons, the sound of the truck and jeep burning rubber letting him know the Packmates were heeding his warning.

"RICK-" BOOM! Daryl goes flying as the Praga explodes in a fireball. The Omega was on his feet and running again before the shock wave had finished shaking the ground. "RICK!"

The Prime and Shane met him halfway, "Daryl what the hell wa-"

"The vehicles are fixed; we got to leave, and we got to do it now before-"

BOOM! BOOM! Two more cars blew up right next to each other, thankfully away from the group.

"SHIT!" Daryl shoulders his crossbow, "Get the pups and women to the RV! I'm a find Dale and anyone else that might be too close! Glenn and T are already there, I got to them first! Go, before the Walkers show up to see what's makin' the noise!"

Daryl takes off to find Dale, Shane, and Rick going in the opposite direction towards the RV. The Omega finds the Elder with Andrea going through another tent packed with supplies. Daryl curses, thinking about the fact that they would have to leave the stuff there.

"Hey!" The Omega takes a box from Dale's hands and drops it on the ground. "Come on, we got to go! Now, right now!"

"I don't know what the hell you're goin' on about Dixon, but this is stuff that our Packs need-"

"Andrea that's not-"

"I don't know who you think you are-" BOOM! BOOM! Two more cars explode, one right next to the tent.

"Did cha bleachin' your hair every weekend mess up your hearin' as well as kill damn near all ya brain cells? The cars have been exploding for a few minutes now. We gotta get out of here before they bring a herd down on us!"

"Daryl, I think it might be too late for that." Walkers were coming out of the surrounding areas in herds of ten to twenty. Five were already close enough to surround the Omega, and others were piling up.

"Shit!" Daryl tosses the crossbow and grabs his knife, stabbing the closest one while Dale keeps Andrea from screaming. Glenn comes racing up with Daryl's truck, knocking the remaining Walkers down. The Alpha throws the door open, sounding close to sobbing as he yells for them to get in. Daryl grabs Andrea and Dale and pushes them to get in. Once the truck is locked back up, Daryl hops into the back, just as the second wave of Walkers surrounds them. The Omega can hear the cries from the group inside and opens the small window. "Glenn! Calm down, you're the Alpha right now, ya gotta stay calm."

Glenn nods but still whines out a soft sob. Daryl reaches through the window and grabs Glenn by the neck.

"Don't hurt him, Dixon, he can't help it!" Andrea smacks the Beta a few times on the arm and face before Dale holds her arms to her sides. She couldn't stand Betas that took out all their frustration on Omegas and Suppressed Alphas. Andrea was about to scream at the older Alpha for letting Dixon hurt Glenn when she realized that the younger Alpha wasn't whining anymore. She watches as Dixon moves his hands from Glenn's neck, his palm slick with liquid.

Pulling his hand out of the window, Daryl licks his other hand. He reaches back in, placing his Scented hand on Glenn's other Scent-gland and squeezing. It released the tension there and allowed Glenn's scent to mingle with Daryl's, binding them as Packmates.

"You're good now man. Your Pack's right here, we gotcha. You're the Alpha right now until we get back to Rick though, so ya gotta tell us what we gotta do to get back to the Flock." Daryl grabs his bandana and rubs his gland's liquid on it before tying it around Glenn's neck. His scent would keep Glenn's mind clear until they could get back to Rick and T-Dog; his scent would only be temporary unless Rick claimed him for his Pack, but for now, it would do the job.

"We need a distraction, something to pull their attention away from us and towards another source."

"Alright, good." Daryl rubs the back of Glenn's neck as he says this, causing the Alpha to purr, "We can't send them to the others though, so we have to send them back the way they came right?"

"Yeah." Glenn glances at the Beta and Elder that are watching them in shock. "But the only way we would do that is if we could get them to find something more interesting than us."

"I got it." Daryl leans back and looks at Dale, "Keep them calm." The Omega closes the small window and moves to turn on Merle's bike. Glenn turns around as soon as the engine rumbles and shakes the whole truck, "DARYL?!"

The Omega opens the window again. "Get them to Rick! I'll circle round and drive them towards the city; buy ya'll some time. Go!" Dropping the tailgate, Daryl backs the motorcycle off the truck, gunning it backward to keep away from the grabbing hands and revving the engine to gain attention. The hunter circles the truck before driving slowly towards the city, the herd following and growing. He speeds up every time one gets too close, but he teases them with a meal to keep their interest.

Once they are clear, Glenn takes off towards the others. The group packed into their cars, and the RV and Glenn honked to let them know to head out. The Flock drives until they hit the highway leading out of the city and start making their way to Fort Benning. They stop at the road that leads back to the quarry to regroup and find out what happened. The group piles out of the cars and circles around the Alphas.

"Rick!" Lori jumps out of Shane's jeep, "What the hell happened? The cars exploded?!"

"Everyone calm down." Rick holds his arms out, waiting for everyone to stop talking over each other. "Daryl's the one that noticed and warned us. Let's let him tell us what happened. Daryl… Daryl? Where's Daryl?"

Glenn steps up to his Prime nervously and whines. When he has his attention, along with the Flock's, he points to the city in the distance, "He caused a distraction… so we could get away. He said he would meet up with us later."

"He's still in the city?"

"I'm sorry Alpha." Glenn ducks his head, causing the bandana to rub against his glands. Rick notices the movement and the scent coming off it. Daryl had acknowledged Glenn as a Packmate, and by default, Rick as his Prime. That sent Rick into another kind of worry. Where was Daryl?

"Alright let's regroup." Shane steps in, casting a glance at Rick, "We do a headcount and see where we are on supplies." The Alpha starts counting how many people were there, asking if anyone was still in the RV.

"Just Carol and the pups." Lori says, hands on her hips. Shane asked his Mate to call them out, so he could make sure they were ok. The Beta woman opens the door and calls inside, not even going in to check on them. Rick rumbles softly as the Omega woman and her daughter come out, standing by Dale.

"Where is Carl? Lori, where's our son?"

"He was in the bathroom, why are you attacking me? Carl is old enough to not need me to walk him to the potty, Rick." Lori turns the situation on her husband, not understanding what the problem was. It wasn't her fault that their son had a small bladder. Why hadn't Carol brought her son out when she came out. If the Omega had done her job of watching the boy, Rick wouldn't be yelling at her. Lori turns to the skittish Omega and asks her if she would get Carl out of the bathroom in the RV.

"He's not in there. That's where Sophia and I were hiding. I thought he was in the jeep with you and Shane." The Omega whispers, pulling her daughter close when she starts to whine in fear for the boy.

"What?!" Rick, Shane, and Lori yell.

"Check all the cars, everywhere! Find the pup." Dale directs the Flock as Rick takes off towards the RV. Everyone splits up and searches for Carl, calling out to the boy quietly.

…...

Daryl had led the Walker herd far enough away that the group would be safe. Circling, he made his way back to the CDC. The Omega stops to grab what he could fit into his bag and saddlebag on the bike, going for food and medicine above anything else. He was about to jump back on Merle's motorcycle when he noticed his crossbow on the ground. Cursing, the Omega runs over to it just as more Walkers break through the tree line. He grabs the crossbow and looks up, noticing the Walkers were targeting a car instead of him. The scent of a pup in distress was thick; had Sophia or Carl got left behind? Was it someone else?

The Omega rushes forward, thankful that only four Walkers are banging on the glass. He's quick to drop the gear he had on the ground, using his knife to get the dead bastards away from the car. Once they are dead, Daryl makes his way over to the car, considering the window to see who he saved.

"SHIT! Carl? Carl?!" The Omega bangs on the glass, trying to get the pup's attention. This close, Daryl can hear the boy's sobs, and it hurts. The Omega in him hurts at the sound of a pup (one he knew at least) in distress. Backing up a bit, he rams his elbow into the window, shattering the glass. Carl's sobs turn into screams, and Daryl yanks the door open, pulling the young boy out of the car by his feet.

"Please, please! I'm sorry, please don't eat me! MAMA! DADDY! PLEASE I'M SORRY!" The pup was going to run out of breath, dry-heaving, with the amount of crying and screaming he was doing. Worst, he was calling attention to the two of them. Daryl sinks his blade into another Walker when it gets too close, then drops to his knees in front of the boy. The Omega yells to be heard over the pup's sobs, pulling his hands away from his face. "CARL!"

The boy calms down at the sound, realizing it wasn't a Walker that had him. Opening his eyes, Carl throws his arms around Daryl's neck, "Daryl, help me, please. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I don't want to be alone, please. I don't want to die."

"Why aren't you with the Packs? Where are they?" Daryl picks the pup up, wrapping his legs around the Omegas waist, his arms around his neck. He starts making his way to the supplies and the bike.

"I had to go to the bathroom, but Sophia was in the one in the RV. I told mom I was going to go pee in the woods and would be right back like we used to do at cub scouts when we were camping. I heard some loud noises and screaming so I went back to the cars, but they were gone. Why did my parents leave me? Did they leave you behind too or did you come back to find me?" Daryl put the pup down next to his crossbow and backpack. Putting the bag on Carl's shoulders, he steadies the pup when the weight throws him off balance. Daryl notices the wet stains on Carl's pants; the pup had probably turned around as soon as he heard the noise without doing what he set out to do. More than likely, the pup had wet himself in fear when he noticed the group was gone.

"Easy there. You carry that and hold on tight. Have you ever been on a motorcycle before?" Daryl picks up the pup again and sprints to the bike.

"No."

"Well, you're about to." Climbing on, Daryl puts Carl in front of him, facing his chest. If things went south, Carl didn't need to see it.

"Mama said I wasn't allowed near them."

"Well it's this or we run, and I don't know about you but I think this is going to get us out of there faster than they can catch us." Daryl starts up the bike, and they take off fast. One Walker was fast enough to grab at them, though, and its arm got caught on the bike, so it came along for the ride. Carl screams when it pulls itself up enough to grab onto Daryl's arm. The Omega tries to shake the fucker off. Still, with the screaming pup and needing both hands to steer the bike, Daryl sighs, resigns to his fate. He prays that he can just find Rick and the Packs before it's too late, refusing to let Carl be alone in this again.

Suddenly the Walker falls limp, no longer grasping at the hunter's arm. Daryl chances a look down; Carl's arm was covered in blood, splatters reaching his chin and cheek only to be washed away with his tears and snot. The Walker hung limply from the bike, Daryl's hunting knife was planted deep in its skull. Carl had saved him, had taken his knife, and stabbed the Walker before it bit Daryl. If the grip the pup had on him was anything to go by, that was the first Walker the boy had ever killed, in the four months since the dead had risen, that was his first kill. Just over the roaring of the bike's engine, Daryl could hear Carl chirping. Oh shit. Pups only chirp when they're little and can't express emotion. They did it in extreme bouts of joy, sadness, nervousness, and fear. Carl was terrified, calling out to his parents to save him, find him, with his most basic instincts, and Daryl had to find some way to calm the poor boy down.

Daryl pulled over on the side of the road, next to a minivan. He shut off the bike and picked Carl up, standing him on the ground while the hunter kneeled before him. Carl watches him with red eyes, still chirping. Daryl pats down the boy's arms and legs, checking for any flinches the other might make. His clothes could be hiding bites, scratches, or bruises. After a minute, Daryl pulls off Merle's vest, the white, fading wings on the back clash with the faux leather and jean material. Daryl holds it up to the chirping pup.

"Alright, see this? This is my brother's. Imma let you wear it 'ight, cause my scent will help ya not be scared. But first I need ya to shut up, and we gonna find you some new clothes. You're gonna have to check your bottom cause I ain't some pervert. But you let me know if ya got scratches or anything cause that shit is life or death now, ok?" Carl nods, and Daryl stands up, massaging his scent into the other's neck as he guides him to the car. They find some clothes that are too big for him, but they will do with a homemade braided rope belt until they find something better. Carl checks himself over from the waist down, only freaking out once when he finds some red markings on the back of his thighs and calves. The Omega checks and waves it off as nothing more than friction burns and a rash from the state of his clothing. Putting the vest over the boy's shoulders, Daryl makes the pup look at him, serious.

"Now I want you to look at me. Have you ever tried to rip your jeans or leather before? Before you put your arm through I want you to bite down on the sleeve. Hard as you can, like you mean it. Can you bite through that? Walkers ain't gonna be able to do that either. Them wings there, my brother used to tell me them some angel wings. They are gonna protect ya from anything trying to hurt you, alright? You's got the wings, you got me, ya Mama and ya dad. That whole group, they gonna protect ya. Come on, let's get this on ya and get back ta camp' fore they send out the search parties or we get another herd on us. Grab whatcha can from the car and put it in the bags. I'm goin' get some more gas." Carl grabs Daryl around the neck and rubs his Scent glands against the hunters. The Omega in him was pleased that the pup smelled right, like comfort and safety, not distressed anymore.

"Thank you, Daryl."

"Come on before it gets dark."

…..

"Where the hell is he Lori?"

"Why the hell are you yelling at me? There are seven other adults here, including yourself and I'm the only one getting yelled at?"

"Because you were the one that said he was in the bathroom! Glenn, Andrea, and Dale weren't even around the cars when everyone was getting piled in, so you can't blame them! He's OUR responsibility, not theirs."

"Then where the hell were you?!"

"Making sure no one was dead and trying to hold off the Walkers so the group could get out of there in one piece!"

"Well, you did a great job! Daryl's gone and Carl's missing."

"Damn it Lori he's OUR responsibility, not just mine! What the hell were you doing?!"

"Rick… why is it always my fault, why do you always blame me for everything?" Lori starts tearing up, holding her sides like she was trying to comfort herself because her husband was hateful towards her. If Carol, the OMEGA, had done her job and taken care of the children, then the Beta woman wouldn't be the victim of her husband's tantrum.

"Enough Rick, leave her alone." Shane gets in between the two, "She's tired, all of us are, we can't attack her because of a little miscommunication. We'll find Carl, and everything will be just fine, ok brother?"

"You're right Shane. Lori, I'm sorry for taking my frustration out on you. We'll find our pup, it's not your fault." Rick apologizes with a sigh. Lori curls her lip and storms back to the RV. Of course, Rick apologized. Why can't he for once fight with her? Why did he always back down?! Some Alpha her husband was. She hopes Carl ends up a Beta, not some disappointing Omega, or a weak Alpha like his father. Well, unless he took after Shane as an Alpha. Still, she hopes he will be normal, like her. Before she can slam the RV door open, a motorcycle comes echoing around the bend. Great, the Dixon had come back.

…

Daryl siphons the gas from the van while Carl fills the bags. After filling the tank, the archer removes the Walker from where it was caught. Carl watches him from where he sat in the trunk of the van, Daryl's knife in his hands.

"Hey Daryl, you never answered me. How did you know that I was in the car?" The hunter looks at the boy and sighs.

"I don't sugar coat shit. Lettin ya know now." Carl nods, and Daryl continues, "I didn't; if I hadn't seen my bow I'd probably drove right past ya."

"Oh." The pup whispers, looking down.

"See, before I even give it to ya, the wings were looking out for ya." Daryl and Carl share a smile, and they get on the bike.

"Thank you, Daryl, for being a part of our Packs."

Carl faces the front this time, and Daryl plops a helmet on him as an afterthought. "If we gonna be breaking ya Mama's rule about the bike, better give her one less thing to scream at me about." Carl's laugh follows them to camp.

When they pull up, Glenn is the first to notice the pup with Daryl. "Rick! Lori! It's Daryl, I think he's got Carl too!"

Rick meets them as the bike comes to a stop, Carl already trying to get off. Daryl balances the bike with his thighs and lifts the boy over, turning it off as Carl yanks the helmet off his head, throwing it to the ground.

"Dad! DAD!" Rick swings his pup into his arms, both whining. Daryl's scent was powerful, and it took a second to realize the jacket the boy was wearing was the Omega's.

"Carl! Baby!" Lori shoves her way into the hug, taking her son from Rick. The Prime moves to the Omega and claps him on the shoulder in thanks. Daryl leans in and tells the Alpha what Carl had told him about the boy's accident, to keep one parent in the loop to watch out for rash cream if possible.

"Boy said he went to the bathroom in the woods cause the other pup was in there, came back when the cars exploded and found the cars gone. Hid in one of the surroundin' ones. If there hadn't been a couple of Walkers sniff around it, I'd of drove by without even knowing." Rick's grip on his shoulder tightened, giving a sobbing whine of fear at the knowledge that his pup had almost been entirely alone.

"I got him, he's here now, but that worried me, Rick. You and I both know how long it took the group to come together before they left, and if Carl was in the woods before them cars started explodin'… if something happened we wouldn't have even known 'til now, 'til it was too late. He got separated from the group for a while, and that means no one went looking for him neither. It was bad enough Before, but with the world as it is now… next time we might not be so lucky. Them pups need to be near someone at all times or we gonna lose 'em. And we both know ain't neither of their Mama's gonna be the one ta put 'em down." Daryl and Rick turn around, seeing Carl being herded to the Flock by his mother, her hands never leaving his shoulders. His leather-free shoulders. Daryl picks up the helmet and jacket from where Carl had tossed one in excitement and where Lori had torn the other off her child in rage and disgust. She moves him to the jeep for clothes that were his, then to the RV to change. Once the pup is inside, she makes her way to Carol and Shane, the Omega close to tears.

Snarling, the archer tries to make his way over to them, but Rick places a hand on his chest. "She's not one of ours; my Pack or unattached. If we go over there and start shit with Shane's Pack, the man might start taking shit out on mine, and Glenn's submissive enough with me. He starts getting two Alphas breathing down his neck and he's gonna regress more. As much as I want to say something, we can't. Not now, not yet."

"So, we just gonna let her live like that?"

"She was born Traditional, and she chose Traditional. We can't help her until she comes to us. I've extended the same offer to both of you, and her girl. It's up to her." Rick sighs, his hands in his pockets. "I want to extend my offer again, to mark you as Pack. After what you did for Glenn and my pup… anything you want…."

"Maybe; I'll think about it some more. We had a close call back there; Walker grabbed onto the bike and was clawing at me. Yer boy saved my ass; I didn't even know the kid had grabbed my knife 'til it was in the Walker's skull."

"Are you alright?" Rick searches his arms for scratches or bites.

"I'm fine." Daryl huffs in amusement, "I was wearing the jacket, and Carl took it out before it was an issue. He started chirping afterward; is that normal for someone his age?"

"Sometimes, if they're in enough stress. Thank you for telling me, I'll keep an eye on him. And I'm sorry about the jacket."

"Don't be. It's been through worse. Tell yer pup he's always welcome to use it. Told him the wings would protect him to get him to stop cryin'. Kids gotta have something to believe in, ya know?"

"Thank you, I will."

…..

The group cut down to only three vehicles after the failed attempt to get stuff from the CDC. All the food, clothes, and medicine they managed to get from that haul were in the jeep with Rick, Lori, Carol, and the pups. They were following the RV that Dale was driving with Shane's Pack, and Dale was following Daryl on Merle's motorcycle. They hit the highway and leave Atlanta behind them. They drive for a couple of hours, trading stories, cleaning the guns, anything to keep themselves busy. They drive until they hit a car pile; hundreds of cars left on the road, doors thrown open, from where the people had abandoned them trying to get away from the Walkers. Unable to get through and with the RV broken down again, they scatter and look for anything of value.

"Sophia don't wander off too far, always in eyesight, ok?" Carol reminds her daughter.

"You too, Carl. Stay where Carol… or I can see you." Lori adds like it was an afterthought.

Dale climbs up to keep an eye out for Walkers and the Flock members as they move around the cars. They start putting anything of value in front of the RV, sorted into piles. Shane finds a truck of water jugs and has Glenn help him take them into the RV to store them out of the sun. He signals Rick and Shane when the first Walker appears behind them.

"Herd!" He calls quietly.

Rick tells him to get down, motioning for Shane to take Glenn and Andrea into the RV and locking the door behind them. He makes his way through the cars, calling out to Daryl to warn him about the Walkers. They split up and get everyone under the cars just as the herd rounds the RV. Staying as quiet as possible, they wait for the dead to pass them. The herd is small, and Dale watches as Daryl pulls a body out of the car and drags it on top of him.

Knowing he was the furthest one from the rest of the group, Dale waits for the Walkers to pass where he is before getting up. The few Walkers around the cars shouldn't be a problem for the others to take care of. He sees Daryl helping T-Dog to his feet, the man's white shirt was soaked red, and he was holding his arm. Dale gets down from the RV roof, thinking over what medical supplies he has, when a loud cry echoes around them. The sounds of snarling follow it. The Elder moves to the front, the three Alphas inside pouring out and ready. They notice two Walkers quickly making their way to the trees, Rick following them with his gun drawn.

"What happened?" Shane demands.

Lori comes out of the cars, a sobbing Carol in her arms and a terrified Carl behind her. "Sophia was getting out from under the car and a Walker saw her. It chased her into the forest. Rick went after her."

Dale moves to help Daryl with T-Dog, the blood loss from the large gash in his arm making it difficult for him to move quickly. They get to work to stop the bleeding while the rest of the Packs stays on the highway, praying for a miracle, all of them trying to drown out the sounds of Carol's sobbing.