"Please move," Hershel said after he heard the gunfire and Glenn and Otis moved out of the way. Hershel started examining Daryl when Daryl moaned and he moved his eyes to look at Hershel. "Don't move."
"Yeah," Daryl grumbled.
Glenn ran up the stairs when he stood in the doorway and he saw Rick near the railing.
"Where's Randall?" Glenn asked.
"Down there," Rick said.
Glenn walked to the railing when he looked down at the Walkers and he felt like he was going to be sick.
"Why does Hershel have Walkers in his barn?" Glenn asked.
Rick explained when Glenn saw a female Walker looking up at them and he notice she slightly resembled Beth.
"How's Daryl?" Rick asked, heading for the doorway.
"He's awake," Glenn said and they headed out of the barn.
Rick walked faster down the stairs when he knelt down next to Daryl and Daryl looked up at him.
"How is he doing? Rick asked, looking at Hershel. Hershel saw the anger in Glenn's eyes after Glenn walked to Rick and Hershel looked at Daryl.
"Other than a lump on the back of his head and a few scrapes on his arms and right knee, he's fine," Hershel said.
"Only fell down three steps," Daryl grumbled.
"Let's see if you can sit up."
Slowly, Daryl sat up as he felt a tiny bit dizzy and he looked over at the crossbow. Otis went to pick up the crossbow as he walked to Daryl and Daryl held out his hands. Rick helped Daryl to his feet as Daryl placed the crossbow strap over his left shoulder and Rick looked at Hershel.
"Randall's dead," Rick said then he explained what happened.
"There are Walkers in there?" Daryl asked, looking at the barn.
"Yes. Which is why I want the barn sealed," Hershel said with a sad look on his face.
Daryl frowned while holding onto Rick then Rick helped Daryl walk away.
The farmhouse
The sound of a slamming door and Henry's crying shot white light across Daryl's eyes when the door opened and his eyes moved to look at the doorway. He watched Carol enter the room when she headed for the cradle, picked Henry up and she turned to look at Daryl.
"What's going on?" Daryl grumbled.
Carol hushed Henry while she rocked him then she walked to the bed and she carefully placed Henry on Daryl's chest. She walked around to the other side of the bed when she softly crawled onto the bed and she went to snuggle next to Daryl.
"Rick and Hershel explained why there were Walkers in the barn and what happened to Randall," she said, lightly rubbing the baby's back. Henry yawned as he closed his eyes and Daryl cupped the baby's feet in his hands.
"What was that bangin' noise?"
"That was Beth. She was really upset when Hershel explained how two of the Walkers were her mother and their step-brother. Maggie was upset, too. Glenn took her for a walk to calm her down."
"Who's upstairs with Beth?"
"Patricia and Sophia."
"Sophia?"
"Yep. She said she felt like Beth needed her "little sister"."
Daryl felt a sense of pride building in his chest as he sighed and Henry made a tiny smile.
"She's a great kid," Daryl said and Carol kissed the side of his head.
"How are you feeling?" she asked.
"I'm a little sore an' my head kind of hurts."
"You're lucky you didn't break anything."
"Yeah."
Carol looked at the bandages on Daryl's arms and she saw the bandage around his right knee through the hole in his jeans and she lifted Daryl's right hand to kiss his knuckles.
"What am I going to do with you?" she teased.
"Love me?" he teased back.
Softly giggling, Carol placed her head against his right shoulder and Daryl looked at the ceiling.
"How are you doing?" Rick asked and Daryl moved his eyes to look at the doorway.
"I'm a little sore an' my head hurts," Daryl said.
"How's Hershel?" Carol asked.
"He's upset."
"Are we stayin'?" Daryl asked.
"Not sure," Rick said as he walked to the chair by the bed, picked up the crossbow, sat down then he placed the crossbow against the chair. "On one hand, we have a safe place to live…"
"Until those Walkers break the barn doors down and get out."
They became quiet as Carol watched Daryl lightly rubbing the baby's back and Rick frowned.
"Rick," made them look at the doorway as Lori walked in the room and she smiled after she saw how cute Daryl looked as he interacted with his son.
"What's wrong?" Rick asked, standing up.
"T-Dog wants to know if you want to get a start on the barn," she said. Nodding, Rick stood up as he placed the crossbow back on the chair then he followed Lori out of the room.
Daryl looked at Carol while she looked at the doorway then she looked at him.
"Go," Daryl said while gently moving the baby's feet back and forth.
"Someone had to stay here with you," Carol said.
"We're good," he said as he looked at the baby.
"And you don't like me treating you like… Well… Like Henry."
"Yep."
Kissing the side of his head, Carol got up when she walked to the door and he turned his head to look at her. She felt guilty about leaving them, but she knew they'd be alright. She headed out of the room then down the hallway when she saw Patricia walking down the stairs and Patricia smiled.
"How's Daryl doing?" Patricia asked.
"He's fine," Carol said.
"Rick came upstairs and told us they're going to be working on the barn."
"I know."
"And you want to go help them."
Carol knew she wasn't asking a question and she nodded.
"Do you want me to stay with Daryl?"
"No. But could you check on him and Henry?"
"Sure," she said with a grin and Carol headed for the screen door. Opening the screen door, Carol headed for the stairs then she went down the stairs and headed for the barn. She watched Rick, Dale, Otis, Jimmy and T-Dog placing the wood from the lumberyard into a pile and Carol walked to Andrea and Lori.
"What do you want me to do?" Carol asked.
"You can help us hammer the wood into place," Lori said.
"How's Daryl," Andrea asked.
"Tired and a little sore," Carol said while she looked for Glenn and Maggie. "Where'd Maggie and Glenn go?"
"They're walking around one of the paddocks," Andrea explained when she saw Glenn and Maggie walking closer. "Or they were."
Carol saw how angry Maggie was as Maggie walked to her, Lori and Andrea and Maggie sighed.
"Maggie…," Lori said.
"I don't wanna talk about it," Maggie said and they nodded.
Rick looked at Glenn as Glenn walked to the barn doors and he could hear the grumbling and gurling sounds from behind the doors.
"Maggie wants to leave," Glenn said, softly.
"Do you?" Rick asked.
"Yeah. We have to think about Hershel."
"Lori said the same thing about Judith."
"You think Daryl and Carol want to leave?" he asked, looking at Carol.
"Yeah, I think they might."
Everyone became quiet as they headed for the barn doors, but stopped when a loud banging sound came from behind the doors. The barn doors buckled outward as hands appeared through the opening and Rick, T-Dog, Otis and Jimmy pushed on the doors. The hands slid back as the barn doors closed and Lori and Carol hammered some small pieces of wood over the opening.
"Shit," Rick grumbled when he saw Daryl running to them and Daryl stopped in front of him. "What are you doing up?"
"Wanted to help," Daryl said, pushing on the barn door. He growled as something slammed against the door and he was nearly pushed backwards.
Carol, Lori, Maggie and Andrea hammered the pieces of wood while T-Dog and Otis held onto the wood and Rick, Glenn, Jimmy and Daryl held the doors closed. Carol noticed some blood on the bandages around Daryl's arms and knee, but he just shook his head and she sighed.
The sun was setting by the time they had sealed the barn doors shut and Carol led Daryl back to the farmhouse. They went up the stairs when they went inside and Carol saw Hershel sitting at the dining room table. He hadn't moved since he and Rick had told them about the Walkers and she could just see the sadness etched on his face.
"Hershel, Daryl needs his bandages changed," she said, but Hershel didn't move.
"I'll do it," Maggie said, following Carol and Daryl down the hallway and Carol started praying for Hershel to be alright.
A week later - the town
Daryl held the crossbow in both hands while he walked by the shelves and he scanned the darkness with his eyes.
Placing the crossbow against his back, Daryl placed the packages of new born diapers into the cart when Sophia appeared behind him and he turned to look at her.
Carol wasn't sure if Sophia should go with him, but Daryl assured Carol he'd look after her and Sophia smiled at him.
Sophia was armed with two knives in holders on her belt and Daryl had shown her how to use them.
"I want to learn how to use a crossbow."
"When you're older."
"How about a bow?"
"Need to find one."
"Knives?"
"Ok."
"Found some of these," Sophia said, holding out a few boxes of edible cookies.
"Put 'em in the cart."
She placed the boxes in the cart then she walked next to him and they headed down the aisle.
"Are we really leaving?" she asked, looking at him.
"That's up to Rick."
"But I like living on the farm."
"Me, too."
"I don't like having to leave."
"Sometimes things just don't work out."
"But Hershel said he was just trying to help."
"Yeah, but that's not why we might have to leave."
"Is it because of Judith, Hershel and Henry?"
"Maybe. Would you want anythin' to happen to them?"
"No," she said with a shake of her head. He moved her closer as he held her to his left side and she helped him push the cart toward the door. He saw Rick and Carl near the truck parked across the street and Rick was signaling for him and Sophia to duck down. Looking for a place to hide, Daryl led Sophia behind the counter and Sophia looked at him. "What's going on?"
"Dunno," Daryl said while Rick checked to see if it was safe to move then he and Carl quickly headed for the store. He and Carl ducked inside, moved to where Daryl and Sophia were hiding and Daryl gave him a confused look. "What's goin' on?"
"Remember those guys we saw at the lumberyard?" Rick asked while he and Carl sat next to them and Daryl nodded. "Just saw them going into one of the stores."
"Shit," Daryl grumbled.
"What are we gonna do?" Sophia asked.
"We need to find a way to get…," Rick said then he paused after he checked to see what was going on outside then he signaled for them to head deeper into the store. They carefully moved into the shadows when they found a place to hide and Rick looked at them.
"Dad, what's going on?" Carl asked.
"Just saw them heading for the truck," Rick said, trying to find the exit. Daryl slid the crossbow into his hands when he realized the cart was still near the door and he stood up. "Where are you going?"
"Left the cart at the door. They see it, they'll come in," Daryl said.
"Be careful, Dad," Sophia said.
Nodding, Daryl carefully moved by the shelves while he held onto the crossbow and he checked around the corners while heading for the cart. He suddenly saw three men walking in the store when he knelt down near one of the shelves and one of the men walked to the cart.
"Looks like someone left their shopping," one of the men said and they laughed.
"Spread out. Maybe they're still here," one of the men said.
Daryl watched the men move when he carefully turned and he headed back into the darkness. He found Rick, Carl and Sophia as he knelt down next to Carl and Rick looked at them.
"You heard?" Daryl asked.
"Yeah," Rick said with a nod of his head.
"What do we do now?" Carl asked.
"We need to move."
Daryl scanned the darkness with his eyes when he found the exit sign and he pointed. Nodding, Rick led the way as they headed for the exit then they stopped when something moved in the darkness.
"Well, look what we have here," made Rick and Daryl moved the kids behind them and Rick removed the Colt from the holster on his belt.
"Put your weapons down," the man said while he walked closer and he had a rifle in his hands.
"You first," Rick said.
"Do it or we kill the kids," made Daryl look to the left and he saw two men walking closer. Both men were armed with rifles and Daryl glared at them. He waited to see what Rick was going to do as Rick slowly placed the Colt back in the holster and he held his hands up in surrender. Daryl placed the crossbow on his back when he reached for Sophia and he held her to his right side.
"Good choice," the first man said, walking closer.
"Look, there is no need for violence. Just let us take our stuff and go," Rick said.
"Maybe we need your stuff."
"You need diapers?" Daryl asked after he saw one of the men had the cart. The man looked in the cart when he saw the packages of diapers and he snorted a laugh.
"He ain't kiddin'. There are diapers in here," the man said.
"Check the rest," the first man said.
The men moved the packages of diapers to check what else was in the cart then he removed the other things in the cart and the first man looked at Rick.
"Where's your camp?"
"Where's yours?" Rick asked with an angry look on his face.
"None of your business."
"Then we're not going to tell you anything."
"This says you will," the first man said as he aimed the rifle at Carl. Rick saw some fear in Carl's eyes as Rick sighed and he lightly shook his head.
"Don't hurt him."
"Where is your camp?" the first man asked when another man walked to him and the man whispered in his right ear. The first man looked at Rick, smiled and he lowered the rifle. "Seems like this is your lucky day. Move."
"Where are we going?" Rick asked.
"Move!"
Rick looked at Daryl when Daryl nodded and they moved Carl and Sophia behind them. They followed the men while Daryl removed his wedding ring and he folded his fingers around the wedding ring. They headed for the truck as the men removed the supplies from the bed of the truck then they headed for the other vehicles. Daryl scanned the men to make sure they weren't watching him when he knelt down and he placed the wedding ring and a crossbow bolt on the ground. The crossbow bolt was pointing in the direction where they were going and they stopped near the vehicles.
"Hold it," the first man said.
The men placed small sacks over Daryl, Rick, Carl and Sophia's heads, tied their wrists together with rope then helped them into the vehicles and the men got into the vehicles.
"Dad?" Sophia called out with a small whimper and Daryl moved closer. He leaned toward her as she placed her head against his left upper arm and he felt the anger growing in his chest.
The Greene Farm
"Have they come back yet?" Carol asked, walking toward Lori and Carol held Henry in her arms.
"No," Lori said, holding Judith in her arms.
Lori and Carol looked toward the front gate as Carol wondered where Rick, Carl, Sophia and Daryl were and a cold knot started building in her stomach.
"What's wrong?" Glenn asked as he, T-Dog and Andrea walked to them.
"Rick, Carl, Sophia and Daryl haven't come back from their run," Lori said.
"Where did they go?" Andrea asked.
"They went to town."
"Let's go," Glenn said and he, T-Dog and Andrea headed for the SUV. The engine started as Glenn put the SUV in gear then the SUV headed down the road.
Carol and Lori held onto the babies as they sighed and Carol sent out a small prayer for Rick, Carl, Sophia and Daryl's safety.
The town
The SUV came to a stop when the doors opened and Glenn, T-Dog and Andrea exited the SUV. They held the guns in their hands while they scanned the area with their eyes and Glenn frowned.
"There's the truck," Glenn said.
They headed for the truck while T-Dog looked in the back of the truck, but he didn't see anything.
"Should we search the buildings?" Andrea asked.
"Yeah," Glenn said with a nod.
T-Dog scanned the area with his eyes then saw something shiny on the ground and he walked away. He stopped when he looked down and he saw the crossbow bolt and the wedding ring.
"Hey! Look at this," T-Dog said, picking up the crossbow bolt and Glenn walked to him.
"That's one of Daryl's crossbow bolts," Glenn said as he looked down and he saw Daryl's wedding ring. He picked up the wedding ring when he looked at the ring and frowned. "And that's Daryl's wedding ring,"
"Why would he take it off?" Andrea asked, walking to them.
"Dunno," T-Dog said.
"Why would he place it there?"
"Uh, I think I know," Glenn said when he saw two men appearing out of one of the buildings and he placed the wedding ring in the inner pocket of his jean jacket. The men saw them as the men pointed their weapons at them and Glen sighed.
"Shit," T-Dog said, dropping the crossbow bolt on the ground.
"Don't move!" one of the men said.
"Look, we don't want any trouble," Glenn said, holding his hands up in surrender.
Andrea clenched her teeth when she saw the Walkers heading for the men and she frowned.
"What are you lookin' at?" one of the men asked. The gurgling sound made the men turn around when they started firing their weapons and the Walkers moved closer.
Glenn and T-Dog removed the guns from the holsters as they took aim, fired and the head of the male Walker exploded. The other male Walker had bitten into one of the men as the man screamed and the other man ran off. Glenn and T-Dog ran after the man while Andrea walked to the man lying on the ground and he looked up at her.
"Where are our friends?" she asked, pointing the gun at his head.
"I don't…," the man said and she banged the end of the gun against his forehead.
"Where are they!?"
"They… They were taken to our…camp."
"Where is the camp?"
"The map is…in my truck."
"Where's the truck?"
With a shaky hand, the man pointed and Andrea glanced at the red truck sitting near the store. Nodding, she fired the gun twice in the man's head and she walked to the truck. She opened the door when she saw the map sitting on the dashboard and she picked up the map. Closing the door, she looked at the store when she walked to the store and she saw the cart just inside the doorway. Walking in the store, she looked in the cart when she saw the packages of diapers and she pushed the cart outside. She pushed the cart toward the SUV while Glenn and T-Dog ran to her and Andrea spread the map over the top of the cart.
"Where did you get that?" T-Dog asked, looking at the map.
"One of them had it in his truck," she explained, pointing at the red truck. They looked at the map when she looked at the red line going from the town to a circled area and she folded the map. "Let's go."
"I think we should go get Otis, Hershel, Dale and Jimmy," Glenn said.
"There's no time."
"She's right," T-Dog said. Walking to the SUV, he opened the door, got in the SUV and Andrea and Glenn put the packages of diapers in the back of the SUV. Andrea opened the driver side door as she got in the SUV and Glenn got in the back. He had the map in his left hand as he closed the door and Andrea started the engine. She put the SUV in gear as she steered the SUV down the road and Glenn looked out the window.
The camp
The vehicles stopped in the center of the camp as the doors opened and the men helped Rick, Carl, Daryl and Sophia out of the vehicles. The men had taken the Colt, the gun Carl had in his belt, the knife Sophia had in her belt and the crossbow and the men who had their weapons walked to the cement building to their left.
"Move!" the man said as he pushed on Rick's back and Rick, Carl, Sophia and Daryl started walking. Though they really couldn't see, Daryl was counting how many voices he heard and his fingers barely moved. They headed for a large cement building when the man opened the door and they went inside.
"Where are you taking us?" Rick asked.
The man didn't answer when he opened the door and he pushed Rick into the room. The room had no windows and was lit by a single lightbulb. The man shoved Rick onto the chair when another man tied
Rick's hands behind his back and Rick grunted, trying to get loose.
"If you don't want the kids to die, sit still," the man said. Rick heard the truth in his voice as he sat back and the man watched the other man tie Carl and Sophia's hands behind their backs after the kids had been pushed into the chairs. The man looked at Daryl sitting in the chair in front of him when the sounds of footsteps came from behind him and the man turned around. "Hey, Boss."
The footsteps grew closer while the other man tied Daryl's hands behind his back and Daryl grunted after the man pulled him against the chair. The footsteps grew louder as Daryl tried to see who was in front of him and Daryl felt the anger building inside him.
"Take it off," caused his heart to jump in his chest. The sack was removed from his head while Daryl shook his head then he looked into a pair of familiar eyes.
"Merle?" Daryl asked.
"Surprise!" Merle said with a smile and Daryl glared at him.