- DARYL -
Daryl knew loneliness better than most.
He grew up in a home with people who considered him only when he became too inconvenient to keep ignoring. He didn't have a single memory after his mother died of anyone asking him how he felt or how his day had been. Once, after he'd left home, one of Merle's girlfriends asked him how work was going and though he'd only grunted in response he'd nursed a crush for the woman much longer than Merle gave her a thought.
He'd been closer to Merle than he'd been to anyone, and there was a companionship between the two of them, borne out of necessity and the fact that they were the only ones that really knew what they had come from, but there was still this gaping hole that Daryl didn't even knew existed until he'd found himself part of Rick's group.
At first he tried to deny it, after all he'd spent years building defense mechanisms he wasn't even aware of. He acted like he didn't care about anyone, like it didn't matter to him if they fell off the face of the Earth, but he had every opportunity to leave them and he never did.
At the quarry camp, after Merle was gone, Daryl could have gone stalking off into the woods or searching for his brother. Either would have made more sense than sticking with a group that treated him like an unpredictable criminal, but when they pulled up stakes and headed to the CDC he went with them.
When they found themselves at Hershel's farm, a group at war with each other, the furthest he could manage to remove himself was the edge of the property and even then he knew he wasn't going to leave. The thought of being on his own worse than sticking around and being part of a group tearing itself apart from the inside out. He'd stayed, endured being insulted by Shane, manipulated by Lori and even filled the role of group torturer if that is what it took to be valued.
The months they had wandered after the fall of the farm had been grueling. They were cold and hungry more times than not and he didn't think there was a single day in those seven months that he didn't have to kill a walker. But still, sadly, he couldn't remember a time in his life before where he had felt more content. For the first time in his life people wanted him around.
Their time at the prison had easily been the best months of his life, despite the death and uncertainty around them. He'd grown to think of their group as his family and for the first time in his life his loneliness ceased to exist. This made the fact that it was senselessly torn away from them even more painful for Daryl.
The anger he felt about losing the first real home he had ever known was eclipsed only by the pain he felt without Kate and it both kept him going and threatened to drown him. She remained on his mind at all times with mornings filling him with renewed hope that today would be the day he'd find her and the nights a black hole of desolation that he'd fall inside until sleep rescued him.
Daryl stood on his knees at the edge of the stream and brought his cupped hands to his lips. He pulled the cold water into his mouth and swallowed. He sat back on his heels and looked across the moving current to the woods on the other side and wondered where they all had gone. He tried to ignore the ache in his chest, but it felt like it would swallow him whole. He'd spent four nights alone and five days searching for them. He hadn't found a single shred of evidence that any of them had been here. They'd vanished. Loneliness was so much worse when you actually knew what you were missing.
He stood and headed back into the woods, towards the railroad tracks. He'd come across them this morning, shortly after dawn. He didn't have a great reason to follow them, except that they led somewhere and that was better than where he'd been. And while he felt at home in the woods, he thought others might prefer the flat and cleared path the tracks provided.
He stayed on them for most of the day, but from time to time he would veer into the woods to look for a squirrel or rabbit. He wasn't hungry exactly, he'd kept himself fed easily enough, but the monotony of the tracks had started to get to him and the woods provided some relief. He'd just returned to the rails when he spotted a body up ahead. Bodies were easy enough to come by these days, but he'd been paying closer attention since he'd been trying to find the group, hoping he wouldn't find someone he knew, but forcing himself to look anyway.
As he drew closer he could see it was a walker, female. She was lying to the side of a white, metal shed, the kind that maintenance workers used to house electrical equipment. As it was adjacent to the tracks, he figured the shed belonged to the railroad. There was a large sign hanging on the side of it and he assumed it said as much, but as he moved towards it he saw that it was handmade - two signs, one hanging above the other.
SANCTUARY
FOR ALL.
COMMUNITY
FOR ALL.
THOSE WHO ARRIVE
SURVIVE
Below that was a map of the area with a large star in the center and a single word: TERMINUS.
He stood in front of it for a long time.
Community for all? They'd had a community. They'd offered sanctuary for those who needed it. It was real and it was good, but the Governor offered community too and in the end he'd slaughtered most of those who thought he'd provided them with sanctuary. Daryl was wary of strangers, always had been. His experience with most 'community' wasn't all the great either. If it was just him he wouldn't give the place a second thought, he'd walk into the woods and live off the land. But he wanted his people. He wanted Kate. Would they have gone there?
He headed back towards the tracks, stepping around the walker and weighing his options. He looked over his shoulder again, towards the sign and that was when he spotted it. Scrawled in walker blood across the front of the shed:
"GLENN
GO TO TERMINUS
MAGGIE"
Goosebumps erupted over his dirt covered skin . He approached the sign cautiously, as if it would disappear into thin air if he moved too quickly. This meant Maggie and Glenn were separated too. Glenn had just started breathing on his own the morning of the attack, surely someone would have helped him onto the bus. So maybe Kate, Beth and Judith were with Glenn. Maybe they had seen these signs and were making their way to Terminus, whatever that was, right now. It was all he needed to make up his mind, he didn't have another plan.
That night he found an abandoned building adjacent to the tracks and although there was still daylight, he didn't know if he'd find anyplace safer to stay. He'd continued to see the Terminus signs and Maggie continued to leave her messages for Glenn. Each one a reassurance that she had made it that far.
The second night there had been a vehicle abandoned on the tracks and he stayed there, eating a squirrel raw and washing it down with a bottle of Gatorade he'd found on the floorboard. He'd pushed the seat back as far as it would go and stared out the windows at the tops of trees as they moved against the night sky. The familiar embrace of loneliness wrapped around him like an old coat and he wondered for the millionth time where Kate was and whether she was safe. Daryl had never been one to share his feelings, but she had this way of working them out of him. Even before they had been together he found himself telling her things that he never thought he'd tell anyone. He wished she was here now, that he could talk to her about all of this. He wished he thought praying worked.
Darkness had already fallen on the third day. A day that had brought more Terminus signs, but none of Maggie's. It was troubling, but he hoped it meant that she'd found Glenn along the trail as he hoped to find Kate. Daryl was looking for a place to bed down for the night when he got a whiff of smoke. At first he thought it was his imagination, God knew there had been many times over the last few days where he'd thought he heard a voice or saw someone through the thick trees. This would be no different, he was sure. Merle used to tell him stories of men losing their minds in solitary confinement, maybe he had been by himself too long. But eventually it was too strong to deny and Daryl decided to head towards the smell with a cautious hope - hope that he'd finally caught up with them and this long, lonely nightmare would be over.
He worked his way quietly through the woods, he didn't have to remind himself that it was just as likely he'd find a stranger poking at a fire than someone he knew. Daryl had no interest in making a friend and he didn't need any enemies. He could barely smell the smoke anymore and might have moved on, except he thought he saw something through the trees. He crept closer. Barely visible in the light of the moon was an old truck, maybe a Suburban and he could make out shadowy figures hunched down in front of its bumper. He crouched and moved silently from tree to tree, crossbow held out in front of him and ready, until he was close enough to make out the faces. Rick and Michonne sat on a log, talking in low voices. Relief flooded through him, his muscles, which had been tense and posed for fight, relaxed and he stood to his full height, letting his crossbow fall to his side as he headed towards his friends with a sigh of relief.
He'd almost made it to the road when two figures emerged from behind Rick and Michonne and Daryl drew back into the shadows of the trees cursing under his breath as he realized he recognized the men.
"Oh deary me." A familiar voice boomed, as Daryl watched the man who had terrorized him and Kate press his pistol against Rick's temple. "You screwed up asshole. You hear me? You screwed up."
The other man, the one with the blue bandana wrapped around his head, the one who had 'claimed' Kate, kicked Michonne's sword away and pointed his weapon at her. Joe began again.
"Today is the day of reckoning sir. Restitution. The balance of the whole damn universe. Shit and I was thinking of turning in for the night."
Daryl raised his crossbow and aimed it at Joe, hoping Rick or Michonne would be quick enough to stop his man when Joe hit the ground. Joe had started counting down the seconds until he would blow Rick's brains out, "Ten Mississippi, Nine Mississippi….", so Daryl didn't hear the two men behind him until the gun was pressed into his spine and he was pushed through the trees and out onto the road.
The last time he had seen Joe, the man was storming through the woods in a murderous rage, hell bent on killing Daryl and doing God knows what to Kate for killing his men. Men who were clearly easy to replace since he was being pushed into the clearing by people he'd never seen before. He saw the glee light up Joe's face when he saw who they'd found and fear eddyed in the pit of his stomach.
"Well, well, well...this night just keeps getting better and better." Joe said with that sardonic grin Daryl remembered all too well. "It's Daryl, right? Where's that pretty little bitch that was followin' you around, Daryl? You didn't let her get gobbled up now did ya?"
Joe laughed and his men quickly joined in. Daryl clenched his teeth together, his jaw tensing. The gun was still pressed against Rick's temple and Daryl knew he didn't have the luxury of anger. He wouldn't fool himself, he knew there was no way Joe would let him live, but he hoped they wouldn't all have to die.
"Joe." Daryl started. "Hold up."
One of the pricks that dragged Daryl out of the woods spoke up from behind him.
"This is the guy that killed Lew, so we got nothin' to talk about."
Daryl wondered which of the men they'd killed had been Lew.
"The thing about nowadays is we got nothing but time. Say your peace Daryl."
Daryl looked from Joe's sickly amused face, to the gaunt, fearful stare of Rick and Michonne. All eyes were on him and he didn't know where to start. How to beg a sadist that had nothing but revenge on the brain to spare the lives of people he loved. He caught movement in the distance and looked towards the truck. His blood ran cold as he stared at the face of a man he'd left for dead. Carl sat panicked in the cab as the man pressed his rodent-like face to the glass and leered at the boy. Daryl hesitated, unnerved by the man's presence.
"What's wrong Daryl? You look like you've seen a ghost." Joe said, with a laugh. "Guess you ain't as good at killin' people as you thought."
"Joe, these people, you're gonna let 'em go. It's me you want. These people ain't done nothin'"
The collected, calm veneer fell from Joe's face for a brief second.
"Now, I, I, I, think Lew would disagree with you on that. I'll of course have to speak for him and all cause your friend here strangled him in a bathroom."
Shit. That complicated things.
"You want blood. I get it." He said, lowering his bow to the ground slowly and standing with his arms out in surrender. "Take it from me man. Come on."
He had nothing to offer except himself. He knew it wasn't likely to work, they were going to kill him anyway, why would they spare the others, but he had to try.
Joe's face, normally alive with brutality, fell flat. He looked bewildered, as if Daryl was speaking another language.
"This man killed our friend. We ain't lettin' anyone go.' And with the power of judge and jury he laid down Daryl's sentence. "Take him boys"
Defeat crumpled Daryl's face. He had nothing left to give and he knew what came next. The butt of the gun smashed into his gut and he felt the air leave his lungs. As they dragged him backwards, kicking and fighting for his life, he heard Rick yell out. The rabbit he'd eaten earlier threatened to come back up as they threw him against the hood of the vehicle, pummeling him with their fists and feet.
He could hear voices around him. Rick's. Joe's. The angry exaltations of his executioners. The sound of his body being battered and groans that he quickly realized were his own. He was aware of the ghost dragging Carl out of the truck and despite the pain and fear he felt, the thought of Carl at the mercy of these men brought a new level of terror.
They pulled him away from the hood and threw him to the ground. He could taste the blood in his mouth and he struggled to breathe, to block the boots that were breaking his body. He could hear Joe laughing.
Daryl's lungs begged for air, and he felt his consciousness threaten to slip away as his body sang out in pain.
The gun shot rang out, a loud crack in the middle of the chaos, that brought things back into focus. For a brief moment the beating stopped and Daryl sucked air into his aching chest. He struggled to make sense of what he could spy, his view mostly blocked by the men who loomed over him. He watched Rick fall to the ground and crawl across the dirt, struggling to get to his feet.
"I got him." Joe assured the men, who took it as their cue to continue on their orders to kill Daryl. "Oh it's gonna be so much worse now."
Another gunshot rang out, but this time the men didn't stop. They pulled Daryl to his feet and slammed him once again into the truck, fists raining down on him with no sign of tiring.
A strange scream was what halted the blows, followed by a gurgling sound. Daryl lifted his battered head to see Joe spurting blood from a gaping hole in his throat where his jugular was. Rick spat a mouthful of blood and skin into the air.
Joe's body fell to the ground, making unholy choking sounds. They all stared in shock, trying to make sense of the scene in front of them. Another gunshot rang out and the man in the bandana fell to the ground, a victim of Michonne's quick thinking. It was all Daryl needed to come to his senses and he sent his fist flying into the face of the man to his left. Michonne aimed and shot the other before demanding that the last man standing, the ghost, let Carl go. Daryl turned his attention to the man on the ground. He had flipped onto his stomach, trying to draw his knees up under him in an effort to stand. Daryl kicked him in the ribs and he fell flat in the dirt. With all the energy he could muster, Daryl thrust his boot down onto the man's skull with a sickening crunch. Daryl threw himself against the hood of the truck, leaning on it for support and trying to catch his breath, concern for Carl chief in his mind. But it wasn't necessary, the boy was safe in Michonne's arms, watching as his dad eviscerated the man who dared mess with Rick Grimes son.
They let Carl sleep. Daryl wasn't sure if any of them were really ready to head out yet. Not after what happened. He didn't sleep, couldn't. His body hurt, nearly every inch of it. They beat him good and he knew he wouldn't have been able to take much more. But Daryl had been beat before and there were many nights he'd gone to bed in pain.
What kept him up tonight was the sheer brutality of it all and trying to grapple with the idea that they lived in a world where a father would have to rip another man's throat out with his teeth in order to keep his son alive. And weighing heavily on his heart was the fact that Kate was somewhere out in that world without him.
They were back on the road early, walking single file down the leaf littered tracks towards a new unknown, even more wary than before. Daryl was relieved to be back with them, even if they were all nearly silent, the events of the night before preventing them from expressing any joy at the reunion. Rick had called him his brother though and that meant more to Daryl than he knew how to express.
They all traded their stories of escaping the prison. Daryl had been anxious for any news of Kate, but they knew no more than he did. Carl was the only other one to see her after the tank tore through the fence and he only knew she was running towards C-Block. Rick had been in bad shape, beaten bloody and nearly strangled by The Governor before Michonne ran the asshole through with her sword. Daryl was almost as relieved to know he was dead as he had been when he knew that Michonne had survived it all. She had left the prison alone, as he did, only meeting up with Rick and Carl a few days before in the house they had holed up in so Rick could recuperate. It was in that same house, while Michonne and Carl were on a run, that Joe's group ran into Rick for the first time and he had to strangle one of their men to escape.
They'd found the signs for Terminus too and were headed there themselves, wondering, as Daryl had, whether it was too good to be true. Daryl told them about Maggie's signs and how he hoped he'd find Kate there and maybe if she was there Judith would be too.
The last sign they found along the tracks was on the ground and covered in leaves, Rick brushed them off with his boot revealing the black star on the map.
"We're gettin' close." Daryl said, glancing down and back up at the rails. "We'll be there before sundown."
"Now we head through the woods." Rick said. "We don't know who they are."
"A'right." Daryl agreed and the four of them turned and headed into the trees.
Daryl was anxious. They were close to Terminus and it wouldn't be long until they knew one way or another if they were friendly or not. Whether Kate would be there or if it was another dead end. If she wasn't there, he wouldn't be staying.
Terminus was a sprawling railway yard, surrounded by chain link and woods. T-E-R-M-I-N-U-S was painted in large black letters across the front of the main building, a giant brick structure that took up the majority of the grounds. There were other buildings too, and train cars dotted around the property where the tracks from all over Georgia converged.
The four of them stood at the fence and peered through the bushes and weeds that had grown up and around the perimeter. There wasn't a soul in sight and the yard remained eerily silent.
"We all spread out, watch for awhile." Rick ordered. "See what we see. Get ready. We all stay close."
Daryl walked along the fence line, careful to stay where the overgrowth would keep him hidden, and crouched, staring down into the cement yard. He wondered if Kate was there, safe in one of the buildings. If this was such a sanctuary, why did it seemed so deserted? The signs along the railroad tracks seemed to have been there for awhile, he expected there to be more life.
They watched for an hour, maybe more. They saw nothing. Nothing that made them feel reassured, nothing that made them think it was a trap and so they stashed their bags in the woods, taking special care to bury their extra weapons, and scaled the fences. They moved in slowly and Daryl led the way across the tracks that curved around the side of the property they came in on and towards a light blue door that stood ajar.
Later, when he thought back on this moment, he realized it had been too easy. That a door hanging open, without anyone standing on guard was spectacularly stupid in this world, and that they were walking right into a trap. But in the moment all he could think of was Kate and that he might be minutes away from being with her again.
They made their way into the building, down a wide, dark hallway of painted white brick until they came to the first opening on the left.
At first glance it reminded him of a military base, or at least the way they looked on TV. Like maybe they had walked onto the set of MASH. There was a large map of the United States suspended from a metal beam, with a smaller map of Georgia taped over it. It hung behind a single metal desk, surrounded by file cabinets. A woman, with white hair and oversized headphones sat there repeating into the microphone the same message they had read on all the signs they saw along the tracks.
"Sanctuary for all. Community for all. Terminus."
Her peaceful voice faded to silence as Rick stalked in and announced their presence with a simple hello.
Once inside, they were standing in a sprawling warehouse. Across the room of metal beams and cement, was a command post of sorts with metal rolling tables and people quietly working on signs. At the sound of Rick's voice they all looked up calmly at the four strangers in their building.
A tall, thin man in a tan jacket stood looking mildly surprised.
"Well, I bet Albert is on perimeter watch." He said, sounding slighting annoyed and throwing his paintbrush down. He walked towards them slowly and Daryl was struck by how undisturbed these people seemed about finding four armed, uninvited people in their space.
"You here to rob us?" He asked.
Daryl couldn't tell if he was joking or not, the man's face remained completely impassive.
"No." Rick said with a firmness that communicated total sincerity. "We wanted to see you before you saw us."
"Makes sense. Usually we do this where the tracks meet." He said, clearing his throat and looking back towards the others that stood staring behind him. "Welcome to Terminus. I'm Gareth."
- KATE -
Willie let out a low growl and stood still in the middle of the woods, his eyes fixed on some point in the distance. The dog was remarkably good at sniffing out walkers and Kate learned quickly to trust his warnings. They grew still, listening for the tell tale growl. Sure enough, about 15 yards up, a walker came ambling out from behind the trees, dragging its left leg behind it. Josh moved forward to meet the threat and plunged his knife into its temple. The walker crumpled to the ground. Willie ran up and sniffed it.
Moving through the woods with Josh and Allison was odd for Kate. She trusted them well enough, whether she should or not, and she was incredibly thankful that they were helping her, but they were still strangers. She missed the familiarity of her family: the natural way Daryl moved through the trees, crossbow in his capable hands, his protective ways and the silent communications he and Rick would exchange when they came up against a challenge. Sometimes she expected to look up and see Carl's hat bobbing through the trees. Josh and Allison had spent plenty of time in the woods since the fall and they moved together in a comfortable partnership that reminded her so much of Maggie and Glenn. Everytime she noticed it the ache would squeeze at her heart and a nagging doubt would try to pull her down, whispering that she would never see the people that she loved again.
Josh was as mild as they came, even his face had a serenity about it. He moved slowly, except when the situation required him not to, and he didn't talk much unless he remembered some story he liked to tell. His stories were always funny, self-effacing and never took place after the fall. He managed to reminisce with none of the sorrow that others always seemed to bring to their memories. Allison listened with more patience than most spouses who had heard the same tales over and over. She would occasionally add a comment or roll her eyes, but for the most part she was all business. She remained as cold and distant towards Kate as she had from the moment they met. Josh had told her that they were helping her because if he and Allison ever became separated, he hoped like hell someone would help them. Kate didn't know if Allison actually felt the same way or if she was just going along with Josh, but either way the woman made every effort to make their outings a success. She took over map duties and seemed more decisive than either Kate or Josh about where they should head next.
It was the second day she'd been out searching the woods with Josh and Allison and most the time she tried to stay positive. She had shelter, food and people that were helping her. She could be in much worse shape. Despite that, doubt found ways to prick at her heart in the quiet moments and when it did she tried her best to not let discouragement take over.
The doubt made her question how realistic it was to be searching like they were, combing through the woods, hoping against hope that they'd stumble upon Daryl or someone else from the group. It was a great big world and the prospects of living in it without Daryl would start to creep into her mind. That thought alone was frightening enough in itself, but when she thought about attempting to raise a baby without him it was enough to make her want to give up altogether. She had been afraid of bringing a child into this world from the moment Dr. S had even suggested she might be pregnant and that was when she had a safe home, the promise of food and a survivor by her side. When she thought about these things too much, she started to resent the fact that she was pregnant at all, angry that she was in this situation, and feeling incredibly sorry for herself.
But she couldn't afford to wallow in self-pity. These thoughts wouldn't help her and she would do her best to shake them away and she did it in the only way she knew how - she kept talking.
She filled the silence by telling them about everyone in the group. She wasn't sure if they were actually interested, but they didn't stop her, and she figured she shouldn't be the only one knowing who they were looking for anyway. It made her feel better, remembering everyone in such great detail. She told them all about how she found herself alone, stuck on the road in a rental car, trying desperately to get back to the airport in Atlanta. How when the bombs fell on the city, she followed strangers onto back roads, eventually winding up at a rock quarry tucked into the woods. She told them about the camp and Rick's reunion with Lori and Carl. She mentioned that she had met Daryl in that camp, but left out the part about being afraid of him. She didn't want these people judging him on her own prejudices. They were particularly interested in hearing what they had learned at the CDC and they were shocked to learn that it had blown sky high, almost taking the entire group with them. She described Hershel's farm and as she did she marvelled at how naive they all had been, camping in the open and believing they had found some magical haven. She left out the part about Randall, only saying it was there they learned that the living could be as big of a threat as the dead. She didn't mention the fact that Rick had killed Shane either.
It was hard to talk about the prison, the pain of losing their home in such a sudden and violent way still too fresh. There had been plenty of awful moments behind those gates: Hershel losing his leg, T-Dog and Lori dying, Daryl not returning from Woodbury and the fear of the Governor looming over them. But they had built the cold, cement fortress into a bright and loving home, full of life and promise. It was in that gray prison that she realized she was in love with Daryl. It was in the courtyard, surrounded by concrete that he had kissed her clumsily for the first time and the up in the guard tower that they first made love. He'd told her he loved her and wanted to marry her in the middle of the field, surrounded by walkers lining the fences and a blanket of stars over their heads. They'd watched Judith grow, Carl return to the great kid they knew he was and Maggie and Glenn get married. They hadn't been there that long, but it felt like a lifetime in some ways and she felt the loss deeply, compounded, of course by the fact that the destruction of their home was the reason why she was separated from Daryl at all.
It was on this second day out, around mid morning that Kate had started to feel the first twinges of discomfort, but it wasn't anything she actually worried about.
Carol had given her a book just days after she had started to tell people at the prison that she was pregnant. She remembered, with gratitude, Carol standing in her cell door handing over a thick, dogeared book.
"Thought you might be able to use this." She had said.
Kate had taken the book from Carol's outstretched hand and looked down at the worn paper cover. There was an illustration of a pregnant woman sitting in a rocking chair and the title stood out in big blue letters, "What to Expect When You're Expecting".
"It was Lori's. I think she found it in one of the houses we stayed in that winter. It's been where she left it, in my cell ever since. I keep meaning to take it to the library, but, anyway, I thought you might want it. I had a copy when I was pregnant with Sophia and it was real helpful."
She thanked Carol who gave her a small smile and ducked out of the cell. Kate read almost the entire book that day. She'd always been a fast reader, but suddenly having all the answers she'd wanted for weeks made her particularly motivated. It was much more informative than the archaic book she had found in the prison library. She learned all about what the uterus was doing throughout the weeks of pregnancy, when it was likely that her baby had a heartbeat, and she paid especially close attention to all the little symptoms that had a tendency to scare pregnant women, even if they were perfectly normal.
So she didn't panic when she felt the first little cramps. They were barely noticeable really. They had pushed themselves pretty hard the day before, trying to cover the area between the house they were in and the prison. Hoping in vain to find any sign of Daryl or the rest of the group. She was sure that was the cause, she remembered reading something about feeling crampy as the uterus stretched to accommodate the growing baby. She probably just needed to drink more water. She was determined to cover even more ground today, feeling anxious that the days were quickly passing by without Daryl, and she wasn't going to let a little discomfort stop her.
Within the hour they'd gotten worse. Nothing unbearable, it felt like cramps she'd had on her period before, but she wasn't sure if this fell within the realm of "normal" and she started to worry. They'd stopped on a small road where an abandoned car was pulled over to the shoulder, its tires flat and doors hanging open. Allison spread their map out on the oversized trunk while Josh kept a watchful eye out for walkers. Willie paced along with him, every once in awhile sniffing the air. Kate sat down in the driver's seat with her feet resting on the black paved road. She put her head down and grimaced in pain.
"You ok over there?" Josh asked.
"Ya. I don't think I've been drinking enough water."
Josh grabbed the bottle he'd placed on the trunk and tossed it to her.
"Thanks." She said, catching it and taking a sip. She caught Allison's eye. The woman, who hardly looked her way all day, was examining her curiously. When she caught Kate looking back at her she quickly returned to the map.
"So we're about here." Allison said, pointing to some spot. "We have a decision to make. We either head East of the prison and check out this neighborhood, which would probably get us back to the house pretty close to dark or we could head back now, take a different route home and then tomorrow maybe take the car up Highway 34, go a bit past the prison and go on foot from there."
Allison put a hand on her hip and looked up expectantly. Josh looked at Kate and then up the road.
"I say we try and make it through the neighborhood." He said. "Might as well, we can still take a different route back. I know we'll be cutting it close, but we have the flashlights. Willie'll let us know if anything is near."
They both looked at Kate. She wanted so badly to go with Josh's plan, but the pain was increasing. Maybe it was normal, but if it got worse she wanted to be back at the house and not stranded out here away from supplies and Hershel's medical care.
"I think we need to head back."
Josh looked at her, completely puzzled. "Really? This morning you were all about getting further than we did yesterday."
"I'm not feeling very well, I think I need to get back."
"Like you're sick? Is it something you ate?"
"No." Allison said. "It's the baby, isn't it?"
Kate shook her head. Admitting it out loud causing tears to fill her eyes and run down her cheeks.
Allison quickly folded up the map and stuffed it into her pack.
"Finish that bottle of water." She ordered. "It will help."
Kate saw Allison and Josh exchange a knowing look.
"You feel alright enough to head back now?" Josh asked.
Kate finished the big gulp of water and nodded her head.
The trio started back up the road they way they came, Willie at their side.
"You haven't been having any bleeding, have you?" Allison asked, walking next to Kate for the first time.
Josh walked a little faster, purposefully giving the women some space to talk.
"No. Just cramping, it started this morning, but it wasn't very bad. It's been getting worse for awhile."
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"I didn't think it was anything at first and I didn't want to turn back too early, I didn't want to waste a day. Plus you guys are out here doing me a favor and I don't want to be the one slowing us down."
Allison shook her head and looked up the road ahead of them.
"Don't worry about us."
Josh and Allison left Kate in the concerned hands of Hershel. They offered to stay or to help out in anyway they possibly could, but Hershel encouraged them to go back home and rest.
"Put your feet up. Maybe you just pushed too hard." Allison had suggested. "You never know with these things. Everything could be fine."
There wasn't much Hershel could do for her either. Staying hydrated and resting up the only two things she could really do besides hope for the best.
Kate made her way back to the bedroom she'd been sleeping in and sat on the bed, untieing her boots and kicking them off. She peeled off her mud caked jeans and her sweatshirt and threw them onto the chair in the corner. She slipped under the sheets and curled into a tight ball, praying that the pain would stop.