Chapter 1: What Lies Ahead Part 1

Rick had made the decision to try to go to Fort Benning. It was our only choice for a safe place, but we had to lose some of our vehicles to save gas. We would keep the RV, Carol's Cherokee, and Ronnie's Dodge. Daryl would be taking his brother's motorcycle, T-Dog would lose his church van and ride in the RV, and Shane lost his Jeep to walkers and would also be riding in the RV. We were moving everything now, and I was putting my duffle into Ronnie's pickup truck; I would have my bow and arrows with me.

Daryl had offered for me to ride with him on the motorcycle. I said yes that way I wouldn't have to ride in the RV. I really didn't like the way Andrea was looking at Dale with anger. I also didn't want to have to explain what went on at the CDC between me and Daryl to my family if I rode with them. So, here we were riding down the interstate, Daryl and I at the front, Dale driving the RV behind us, Rick driving Carol's Cherokee, and Ronnie bringing up the rear.

My mind was wandering to the different things that happened, but mostly to how I would be able to deal with Alex. If he showed signs of healing quickly, then my pack might have to find somewhere to hold up for a bit. The full moon had just passed not long ago, so we had a little bit of time to figure something out. I looked forward as Daryl started to slow down to see a massive roadblock of cars. 'Well this isn't good.'

Daryl turned us around to go back to the RV. Pulling up beside it, Dale yelled to be able to be heard over the roar of the engine. "See away through?"

Daryl nodded his head to follow him. When he circled back, we led the way through the cars. That was until I heard the radiator on the RV blow. I tapped Daryl on the shoulder to get his attention and nodded behind me when he looked back at me. "RV's down!" I shouted over the engine.

He nodded and pulled over and allowed me to get off before he put the kickstand down. Daryl gave me a look as I stretched out my legs. "It's been a while since I've ridden a motorcycle that long," I answered his unasked question.

He nodded in understanding. "You did good though."

I smiled at his compliment before we walked over to the rest of the group. Daryl started to go through one of the nearby car trunks and I saw another one that I started to go through as well. I heard Dale start to complain about not having a radiator hose but cut himself off when he realized where we were.

"If you can't find a radiator hose here…" Shane trailed off.

"There's a whole bunch of stuff we can find," Daryl finished still looking through the car's trunk.

"I can siphon more fuel from these cars for a start," T-Dog offered.

"Maybe some water," Carol suggested.

"Maybe some food," Ronnie continued.

"This is a graveyard," Lori pointed out. Everyone stopped what they were doing to look at her. "I don't know how I feel about this."

I looked over to my family to see Alex trying to cover his nose from the smell and Leah looking a little scared. "We all understand how you feel Lori," I told her, and she looked at me. "But we need this stuff a lot more than they do, and we need it to survive."

T-Dog went back to the RV to grab what he needed to siphon fuel while Shane gave everyone the order to gather what they could. I nodded my head to my family to see what they could find. When the kids passed by me, I gave out an order of my own. "Alex, Leah, stay within eyesight of us okay?"

They both gave me a nod and went to look at some of the nearby cars. Abby, Ronnie, and Matthew came up to me, all with confused looks. "I think that Alex might be starting the change," I told them quietly. Abby looked a little alarmed and turned towards her son. I placed a hand on her shoulder to get her to focus on me again. "Just keep an eye on him. We have a little bit more time before the next full moon."

They all nodded at me and I went to look in a few cars on the other side of the highway. Dale was on top of the RV with Andrea inside and Rick had one of the rifles and was keeping watch from the ground. I found a cooler with a couple boxes of granola bars and a few bottles of water. In the same car, I found a first aid kit as well. That was when I heard a loud whisper of my name.

Looking back across the highway, Rick was trying to flag me and motioned for me to get under the car. He then ran off and I looked down the highway to see a large group of walkers coming down the highway. I quickly ducked under the car in order to not to be seen. I watched as a lot of feet shuffled by the car that I was under.

Closing my eyes, I focused my hearing to try and find the heartbeats of everyone. I could easily pick out the rapid heartbeats of the living among the slow heartbeat of the dead. Suddenly, the scent of blood hit my nose and a lot of it. I worried that whoever it was would be safe from the passing group of walkers. After what felt like forever, the group of walkers passed, and I climbed out from under the car.

A sudden scream and growls caught my attention and I ran over to the opposite railing to just see Rick run past into the trees. I decided to let him handle it and went to check on everyone. Abby, Ronnie and Matthew were unharmed, and Alex and Leah were okay as well. Carol was despondent about her daughter being chased by walkers and wouldn't leave the rail. Matthew took watch on the RV, while Shane and Daryl stood on top of the hoods of a couple cars for extra support.

T-Dog got a major cut on his arm and Abby was seeing to getting it fixed up. I had gotten the first aid kit that I found so she could look it over. While we were waiting, I was looking through a nearby car, when I heard footsteps approaching. Looking up, I found Alex standing next to the car I was at. He looked worriedly at me, like he feared what he was about to say.

"What's wrong Alex?" I asked him in concern.

"What's happening to me?" he asked in a small voice.

I frowned and bent down to his level. "What do you mean? What's going on Alex?"

Alex looked at his feet. "When Carl and I hid under a car, I got cut on my arm. However, I noticed the cut was gone when we got out." He showed me his arm where he got cut, there was some blood on his sleeve to show where he got cut.

I gave him a comforting smile and put a hand on his shoulder. "Have your parents told you much about the change?" Alex gave me a confused look and shrugged a little.

"Gale!" Matthew called from the top of the RV. "Rick is back!"

"We'll talk later okay?" I asked and Alex gave me a nod. Then we walked over to the railing as Rick came through the tree line alone.

*Running with the Wolves*

Shane, Daryl, Matthew, Glenn and I all followed Rick to the last place that he saw Sophia. We went to the creek and Rick, Daryl, and I climbed down into it in order to look at the spot. "You sure this is the spot?" Daryl asked Rick.

"I left her right there," Rick told him, gesturing to an opening in the roots of a tree at the edge of the creek. "I led the walkers way off in that direction up the creek."

"Without a paddle—seems where we've landed," Daryl muttered, looking around the banks of the creek.

"She was gone by the time I got back here," Rick continued. "I figured she just took off and ran back to the group. I told her to go that way and keep the sun on her left shoulder." He pointed in the direction that he told her.

Daryl and I went to look at the shoreline that he pointed to. "Hey, short round, why don't you step off to one side?" Daryl asked of Glenn, who was standing on the trail. "You're mucking up the trail."

"Assuming she knows her left from her right," Shane responded to Rick.

"Shane, she understood me fine," Rick argued him.

"Kid's tired and scared, man," Shane argued back. "She had her a close call with two walkers. Gotta wonder how much of what you said stuck."

I sent a glare at Shane. I didn't like how Shane was constantly second-guessing Rick. They were supposed to be best friends, but it seemed that he was blocking him at every turn. However, he then went along with whatever it was that Rick said at little later. I was starting to wonder if it had anything to do with Lori and Carl. From what I understood, Shane had saved Lori and Carl from the town they lived in by telling them that Rick was dead. But when Lori hugged me, I could smell another male on her; a smell that I later identified as Shane's scent.

"Got clear prints right here," Daryl announced, and pointed to them so that I could see. "She did like you said, headed back to the highway. Let's spread out, make our way back."

Shane gave Daryl a handout of the creek, who turned around to help me out. I gave him a nod as a thank you and got a nod in return. Daryl moved to the front of the group and I looked at Matthew. "Follow behind him and find her scent," I ordered him.

Matthew nodded and followed behind Daryl, finding the trail he was following and looked over his shoulder when he found her scent trail as well. We followed Daryl through the woods. His eyes were constantly on the ground following the trail. Instead of watching the ground, I found myself watching Daryl and the way that I could see his back muscles rippling underneath his shirt. I had to shake my head to get the thoughts that were forming out of my head and focus on the task at hand.

We came to a small break in the trees when Daryl stopped and knelt to the ground to get a closer look. "She was doing just fine till right here," he told us. "All she had to do was keep going. She veered off that way."

"Why would she do that?" Glenn asked.

"Maybe she saw something that spooked her, made her run off," Shane suggested.

"A walker?" Glenn asked.

Daryl shook his head. "I don't see any other footprints. Just hers."

"And I don't smell any walkers," Matthew agreed, looking at me for confirmation. I nodded because I didn't smell any either.

"So, what do we do?" Shane questioned. "All of us press on?"

"No, better you, Glenn, and Matthew get back up to the highway," Rick replied. "People are gonna start panickin'. Let 'em know we're on her trail doin' everythin' we can but, most of all, keep everyone calm."

"I'll keep 'em busy scavenging cars," Shane assured Rick. "Think up a few other chores. I'll keep 'em occupied. Come on."

Shane and Glenn went to walk back to the highway, and I grabbed Matthew's arm to stop him. When he looked at me, I gave him a serious look. "Keep an eye on Alex," I ordered him. "He's healing now and tell Abby and Ronnie to talk to him about the change."

Matthew's eyes widened but he nodded all the same. He followed Shane and Glenn back to the highway and turned back to Rick and Daryl. We followed Daryl, who was following Sophia's trail.

Rick gave me a side glance. "What's going on with Alex?"

I looked over at him before going back to looking at the ground. "Alex is going through what we call the change. It's were born werewolves get their abilities such as hearing, smell and healing. The rest come with their first full moon. However, I'm worried about when the full moon comes."

"How so?" Daryl asked, still following the trail.

"The first full moon for any werewolf is hard, whether you're born or bitten," I explained. "You get hit with anger and bloodlust, among other things and it makes everyone uncontrollable. Sometimes you can control them, but not always." I noticed the nervous look that Rick gave me. "We have a little bit before the next full moon to figure out what to do."

Rick nodded and looked back to the ground following Daryl. Soon, Daryl had to slow down and kneel a little to get a better look at the ground.

"Tracks are gone," Rick pointed out.

"No, they're faint, but they ain't gone," Daryl told him. He motioned to the forest floor. "She came through here."

"How can you tell?" Rick wondered. "I don't see anythin'. Dirt, grass…"

"You want a lesson in tracking, or you want to find that girl and get our ass off that interstate?"

*Running with the Wolves*

We kept following the faint footsteps until we heard a rustling in the woods. Immediately, the three of us ducked down and scanned the surrounding area. I sniffed the air and smelled a walker close by. I tapped both Rick and Daryl on the shoulders and pointed in the direction of the smell. Daryl pointed for the three of us to spilt up; Rick going one way and Daryl and I going another direction.

Rick nodded and moved off, and I followed Daryl. We found a walker and I stringed an arrow, aiming it at the walker. Rick whistled at the walker and, as soon as he turned to him, the walker started to growl. I let my arrow fly and into the walker's head. We all approached the downed walker, and I put a foot on its shoulder to take out the arrow. I smelled fresh blood on the walker and bent down to get a closer smell and Rick bent down next to me to look at the hands of the walker.

"Sophia!" Daryl shouted out. He then saw what Rick and I was doing. "What're you lookin' for?"

"Skin under the fingernails," Rick muttered in response.

"It smells like fresh blood," I told him as Rick rolled the walker over. "It fed recently."

Rick pulled out gloves and examined the teeth bringing out some flesh. "There's flesh caught in its teeth."

Daryl was knelt beside Rick and I looking at the flesh in Rick's hand. "Yeah, but what kind of flesh?"

Rick gave Daryl a hesitant look. "Only one way to find out." He took out his pocketknife, but Daryl stopped him by standing up.

"Here, I'll do it," Daryl offered and put on his gloves. He took his buck knife out and started to position it over the walker's stomach. "How many kills you skin and gutted in your life? Anyway, mine's sharper."

Before he cut the walker open, I stood up and walked a few paces away from where they were. "I'll keep watch," I muttered as I went. There was a stump and I got on top of it.

"The smell still bothering you?" Rick tried to tease me as Daryl started to cut into the walker.

I could hear Rick trying to keep the gag reflex at bay, and I scoffed. "Worse for me than you Rick."

I heard the grunts and squishing noises from where they were cutting open the walker. The smell wasn't as strong from where I was, but it still stunk.

"Now here comes the bad part," I heard Daryl mutter. I glanced over my shoulder at what they were doing and saw Daryl stick both hands inside the walker's gut. I turned back around to look back out at the forest to watch for more walkers. "Yeah, Hoss had a big meal not long ago. I feel it in there."

I heard a ripping sound and heard as they took out the stomach. "Here's the gut bag," Daryl said putting it on the ground.

"I got this," Rick told him, taking over cutting into the stomach.

It took a moment, but they eventually found what they were looking for. "This gross bastard had himself a woodchuck for lunch," Daryl commented.

"At least we know," Rick muttered.

"At least we know," Daryl agreed.

I looked over to them to see them standing and making their way over to me. Rick walked past me, and Daryl was smirking at me. I raised my eyebrow at him as I got off the stump and we followed Rick back to the highway. "What're you smirkin' at?" I asked him.

"Yer gonna have to get used to the smell eventually," Daryl pointed out. "The smell can't bother ya forever."

I just laughed at his comment. "That maybe true, but that day is not today."

Daryl chuckled at my comeback and we continued to follow Rick through the woods.

*Running with the Wolves*

It started to get dark as we made our way back. When we broke through the tree line, everyone was crowded around the railing. Carol was the first that we saw coming to us. She frantically looked around us, expecting Sophia to walk out from behind us. When she didn't see her, Carol started to tear up. "You didn't find her?"

"Her trail went cold," Rick explained. "We'll pick it up again at first light."

"You can't leave my daughter out there on her own," Carol sniffed. "To spend the night alone in the woods."

"Out in the dark's no good," Daryl agreed with Rick. "We'd just be trippin' over ourselves. More people would get lost."

"But she's twelve," Carol argued. "She can't be out there on her own. You didn't find anything?"

Rick looked back at Daryl and I, sharing a look with each of us. "I know this is hard, but I'm asking you not to panic," he said in a soothing tone. "We know she was out there."

"We tracked her for a while," I jumped in.

"We have to make this an organized effort," Rick told everyone. "Daryl knows the woods better than anybody, and Gale has the best nose and can help him to track. I've asked them both to oversee this."

Carol noticed the blood on Daryl's pants and started to breath heavier, and I heard her heartbeat speed up. "Is that…? Is that blood?"

Rick started to look nervous. "We took down a walker."

"Walker?" Carol gasped. "Oh my God…" Abby and Lori kept by her and were rubbing her shoulders and back.

"There was no sign that it was anywhere near Sophia," Rick tried to assure Carol.

"How can you know that?" Andrea asked.

Rick looked at a loss and looked to Daryl, who looked kind of startled to be put on the spot. "We cut the sumbitch open—made sure."

"Oh God…" Carol got weak in the knees and quickly sat down on the railing and Lori moved to sit down next to her, still rubbing her arm. Carol was trying to hard not to break down crying, but that just made her breathing more ragged. She then turned on Rick. "How could you leave her out there to begin with?" she accused him. "How could you just leave her?"

Rick knelt in front of Carol and the look on his face broke my heart. He looked so desperate for understanding and worry that Sophia would be alright. "Those two walkers were on us," he tried to reason with her. "I had to draw them off. It was her best chance."

"Sounds like he didn't have a choice Carol," Shane said in Rick's defense.

"How was she supposed to find her way back on her own?" Carol sobbed. "She's just a child. She's just a child…"

"It was my only option," Rick begged her to understand. "The only choice I could make."

"I'm sure nobody doubts that," Shane encouraged. I shot Shane a glare that told him to shut up.

"My little girl got left in the woods," Carol whimpered and continued to cry.

Rick stood up and started to walk away to rummage through more cars before dark. I sighed and climbed over the railing with Daryl right behind me. Ronnie walked up to me, slightly glaring at Daryl as he followed me. I smacked his shoulder and gave him a glare of my own. He quit glaring but still starred at Daryl. "What's up Ronnie?" I asked to get his attention.

It worked as Ronnie turned back to me. "We had a talk with Alex, and he understands what's going on now. But he'll still need the Alpha talk from you."

I nodded at him. "Maybe tomorrow. We all need to get some rest before we go out looking for Sophia."

Ronnie nodded at walked off to tell the others but glanced back at Daryl one more time. As he walked away, I shook my head at his protectiveness and looked back at Daryl when he tapped my shoulder. Daryl motioned for me to follow him and he led me to cleared out SUV. I smiled at his thoughtfulness and got in. Daryl followed me and closed the door behind me.

We put the double seats down so it would be more like a bed. The two of us laid down and just sort of stared at each other. Daryl was on his side, propped up on his elbow. "So, what's the deal with Ronnie?" he asked casually. "It seems like he got real protective all of a sudden."

I laughed lightly at his observation. "Ronnie has been my best friend since elementary school and has always been protective of me. Being protective of another pack member is normal, but Ronnie has always been overprotective of me. He knew about what my father would do to me and knew that he would never be the overprotective father, so he took on that role. He always gave the big brother speech to whoever I was dating along with my actual older brother, Casey."

"So, we're dating now?" Daryl asked with a smirk on his face.

I felt my face heat up and I turned my face away to hide it. I felt Daryl's hand on my cheek and let him turn my face back to him. Daryl's smirk went to an actual smile, before he leaned in and kissed me again. I closed my eyes and leaned into the kiss. This one was a little more aggressive than the other ones, and I reached up to run my hands through his short brown hair. We kissed like that for a while before we both needed air.

We both were breathing heavily as we stared into each other's eyes. I felt like his artic blue eyes were staring right through me. "So, I guess we are together?" I wondered.

Daryl simply smirked again at me before kissing me again. We kissed for a little while longer, then it was dark and we both got some sleep.