Two days passed since they found the farmhouse and Daryl and Tyreese had gone to do some hunting. They brought back some more rabbits, some squirrels and an opossum for them to eat and he and Tyreese took turns patrolling the area.
The sunlight shimmered off the leaves while Daryl, Mika and Carol walked down the trail and Daryl scanned the area with his eyes. Mike asked him to teach her how to hunt and track and she had admitted she wanted to do it so she wouldn't be afraid anymore.
They had noticed Lizzie was becoming more unstable and Daryl had found several knives tucked under her sleeping bag.
"We need to do something," Tyreese said, but none of them knew what to do.
"Daryl," made him look at Mika as he stopped and she looked toward the trees. "Did you hear something?"
They stood still while Daryl scanned their surroundings with his eyes when the leaves on the bushes moved and he pointed the crossbow at the bushes. Carol pointed the bow and Mika had the rifle in her hands. Carol had taught her how to use the rifle, but Mika wasn't sure if she could fire it.
They watched the bushes when a doe walked out from the bushes and Mika's eyes widened. The doe looked at them as Mika took aim and she moved her right index finger over the trigger. She concentrated on the doe, but she couldn't pull the trigger. The doe moved its head side-to-side then walked away and Mika lowered the rifle.
"I couldn't do it," Mika said, softly. Daryl walked to her as he slid the strap of the crossbow over his right shoulder and she looked at him. He placed his right hand on her left shoulder as he knelt down on his haunches and she frowned. "Sorry."
"Don't be sorry. Look," he said as he pointed to the doe and Mika saw the doe walking toward the buck and two fawns. "Never a good idea to separate a family."
"But how do you know if it has a family?"
"You don't. That's why you have to respect the forest. Give thanks to whatever animal you kill for their sacrifice."
"What if it was a Walker?"
"Just shoot. Don't matter if you're scared or not."
"But… But I don't want to."
"Why not?" Carol asked.
"Because… Because of Daddy."
Daryl had heard about what happened to Mika and Lizzie's father and memories of what happened to Merle moved through his head.
"Did I ever tell you about Merle?" Daryl asked and she shook her head. "He was my older brother. No one was tougher than Merle. Feed him a hammer an' he'd shit nails. He was my hero. The only one who gave a damn about me."
He looked at Carol as he thought about her, Rick and the others and he sighed.
"Ok. Not the only one."
"What happened to him?"
"He pissed off the wrong person an' they killed him. When I found him, he had turned into a Walker,"
"Did you have to kill him?"
"Yeah, I did, but I didn't wanna. I kept pushin' him away from me, but he kept comin'. Finally, I just had to do it."
"Did you cry?"
"Hell yeah."
"Do you miss him?"
"Every day," he said as he looked at Carol and she saw the sadness in his eyes.
"Just like I miss Sophia," Carol thought.
"But I would do it again if it meant protectin' someone I care about or the group. So, the best thing to do when you see a Walker is just shoot 'em."
"Uh…," Carol said as she thought about Andrea shooting Daryl because she thought he was a Walker and Daryl snorted a laugh. He knew what she was thinking and he lightly shook his head.
"Just make sure they're really a Walker first."
"Why would I shoot someone if they weren't a Walker?" Mika asked.
"That's what I asked Andrea," Carol said then she explained and Mika watched Daryl lift her right hand to touch the left side of his head. Mika made a small giggle as he shrugged his shoulders then he smiled. He stood up as they watched the deer move down the trail and he took hold of Mika's right hand.
"Let's go," he said and they headed down the other trail.
They returned with some squirrels and two rabbits and Daryl admitted Mika wasn't half bad when it came to using a rifle.
While Daryl and Beth were in the kitchen cleaning the squirrels and the rabbits and Judith was sleeping in the crib, Carol, Tyreese and the girls were outside.
Carol was watching the girls when she thought she saw something sticking out of the back of Lizzie's jeans and she started walking toward them.
"Carol," made her stop and look at Tyreese as a sense of dread moved over her and she waited for him to say something. "We need to talk."
"Yes. We do," she said with a nod.
"Look, I know this is gonna sound weird, but I've been thinking those dreams I've been having."
"What are they about?"
"They're about what happened to Karen."
"I am so sorry about what happened to her."
"Thanks. What I have been thinking about is why she was killed. I know she was sick and all, but I wasn't giving up hope she'd make it. Sasha did. Yeah, Sasha was able to get the medicine you, Rick and the others went looking for. But Karen might have made it, too."
"She might have."
"Then why? Why did someone kill her?"
"Maybe someone was just trying to stop the spread."
"Yeah, I get that. But to just kill her and David like that…," he said as he looked over at Lizzie and Carol followed his gaze. Tyreese's mind replayed finding the dissected rat pinned to the wall as he frowned and he pressed his lips into a tight line. "Rick, Daryl and I found this dead rat pinned to the wall. It was cut open. At first, I was pissed off."
"I would be as well."
"The weird thing is where it was hanging on the wall."
"Was it at eye level?"
"No. It was about here," he said as he showed her and she nodded. "That made me think about those rumors of someone feeding rats to the Walkers. If it was one of us, we would just toss the rats over the top of the fence. The rats were being shoved through."
"Meaning whoever it was couldn't toss them that high."
"Yeah," he said with a nod.
"Someone who was child height," she said as she looked at Lizzie. Tyreese saw something in Carol's eyes as he waited for her to say something and Carol sighed.
"Yeah," he said with a nod then he cleared his throat. "Carol, be honest with me. You know who killed Karen and David, don't you?"
"Yes, I do. It was me."
"Bullshit."
"Tyreese…"
"You didn't kill them. Lizzie did."
"No, I…"
"Carol, please, stop lying."
Carol looked at him then at Lizzie when Carol frowned and she crossed her arms over her stomach.
"Fine," she said as she looked at the sky for a few seconds then she looked at him. "Yes, it was Lizzie. But I was the one who was teaching the kids how to defend themselves. How to kill."
"You were teaching them how to kill Walkers."
"Right. But… But if I had known about Lizzie, I wouldn't have."
"How… How did she kill them?"
"She had gotten hold of one of the guns I kept in the library. She then followed me when I went to check on them. I didn't know she was there until I heard the gunfire and I went to check on them. She was… She was just standing in the hallway. She told me she killed them so they could be Walkers and not be sick anymore. I took the gun and told her to go back to the cellblock. I stabbed them in the head to make sure they didn't reanimate, dragged them out into the courtyard and set fire to them."
"What did you do with the gun?" he asked and she saw the fury in his eyes.
"I hid it."
"Why didn't you tell Rick or Daryl?"
"I was afraid they would either kill Lizzie or you would."
Tyreese felt like she had punched him in the chest. Sure, he was angry, but he would never kill a child.
"Or they would banish her," Carol continued and something clicked in Tyreese's head.
"Rick didn't leave you behind because you wanted to get more supplies. He banished you after you told him what happened," Tyreese said and she nodded.
"He knew I could make it on my own," Carol said and he saw the tears in her eyes.
"Dammit, Carol. You should have told him."
Carol knew he was right as she blinked the tears from her eyes and he walked closer.
"Can you forgive me?" she asked in a soft voice.
"Yes, I forgive you. But I will never forget your part in what happened to Karen."
Nodding, she looked down at her feet and Tyreese looked at Mika and Lizzie.
Mika was playing with the rag doll while Lizzie scanned the area for Walkers and she frowned.
"Mika?" Lizzie asked and Mika looked at her.
"What?" Mika asked.
"I'm sorry for calling you weak and telling you that you were going to die."
"That was really mean. If Daddy had heard you say things like that, you would be in big trouble."
"I know."
"Why did you say that?"
"I just wanted you to like Walkers. They're our friends."
"No, they're not."
"What if I could prove they are friendly."
"How can you do that?"
Lizzie removed the knife from her jeans as Carol saw the flash of sunlight on the blade of the knife and Carol gasped.
"Lizzie!" Carol called out while she ran toward her just and Lizzie pushed Mika to the ground. Lizzie sat on Mika's stomach as she looked down at her sister and Mika screamed.
"What the hell's goin' on?!" Daryl shouted. He and Beth ran out of the house when he saw Lizzie on top of Mika and Mika screamed again. "Get off of her!"
"Help!" Mika screamed.
"Keep still!" Lizzie said, lifting her arm in the air and Mika looked at the blade of the knife.
"No!" Carol said as she smacked the knife out of Lizzie's hand then she pulled Lizzie off of Mika. Mika quickly got to her feet when she ran for Daryl and he picked her up, holding her in his arms.
"Let me go!" Lizzie said over and over as Carol fought to keep hold of her, but she moved when Lizzie tried to kick her.
"Lizzie! Stop! I don't want to hurt you!" Carol said.
"I just want to show her that Walkers can be friendly!"
"How?! By stabbin' her?!" Daryl asked while Mika buried her face in his neck. He felt her shaking as he rubbed her back and Beth turned, hearing the sound of Judith crying.
"I'll be right back," Beth said and she ran into the house. Daryl watched Carol trying to calm Lizzie down as Lizzie fought her and he looked at Tyreese. He noticed the glares Tyreese was giving Carol and Daryl wondered if she finally had told him what really happened.
"Tell me something," Tyreese said with a small growl while he walked to Lizzie and Carol. "Were you the one feeding rats to the Walkers?"
"What does that have to do with anythin'?" Daryl asked.
"You remember that dissected rat you, me and Rick found?"
"Yeah."
"Do you remember where it was on the wall?"
"No."
"It was about here," Tyreese said as he showed Daryl where the rat was. "Carol said that it was child height."
Daryl looked at Lizzie while she fought to get free and he lightly rocked Mika. Beth walked out of the house with Judith in her arms and she walked to Daryl and Mika. They looked at Lizzie as Lizzie growled and she pulled harder, trying to get free from Carol.
"Yeah, I was feeding them! No one else was! And I killed that rat to see if it would come back! It didn't!" Lizzie said.
"That's sick," Beth said.
"What about…? What about Karen and David? Did you kill them?" Tyreese asked.
"Yeah. If they were Walkers, they wouldn't be sick anymore," Lizzie said.
"That's because they would be dead!"
"They would still be Karen and David."
"I don't believe this," Tyreese said with a sigh and he flipped his hands in the air. They watched him pacing then he stopped and he looked at Lizzie. "Do you know Carol got banished because she told Rick she was the one who killed them?!"
"Tyreese!" Carol hissed and Beth gave her a shocked look.
"Is that true?" Mika asked as Carol looked at her.
"Yes, it's true. I told Rick I killed them," Carol said while trying to keep her hold on Lizzie.
"You shouldn't have done that! They wouldn't have hurt anyone!" Lizzie said as she tried to bite Carol, but Carol pulled her hands away.
"Yeah, they would. Just like Mika would have hurt us if you had killed her."
"I wasn't going to hurt her brain!"
"Wanna know somethin'?" Daryl asked as he placed Mika on her feet then he walked closer and Carol saw the fury in his eyes. "The truth is Mika wouldn't've been Mika anymore if you had killed her. We learned a long time ago that whatever part of yer brain that's you gets wiped out when you become a Walker. There ain't nothin' left, but a monster hellbent on killin' anyone they come in contact with."
"Mika wouldn't kill me."
"Bullshit!"
"Daryl…," Carol said in a calming voice and he sighed.
"Well, if Mika would've hurt us, I guess I'd have to turn Judith into a Walker," Lizzie said with a blank look on her face. Carol saw the rage on Daryl's face when she relaxed her grip on Lizzie and Lizzie pulled away from her.
Before Carol could grab her, Lizzie ran and Carol and Daryl chased after her. Lizzie ran down the road toward the railroad tracks when she came to the trapped Walker Tyreese had see earlier and the Walker reached for her.
"Lizzie!" made her run into the bushes when she picked up a stick and she started sweeping away her footsteps. She hid behind a tree as she watched Daryl and Carol stop in front of the Walker and the Walker grabbed for Daryl.
"Shit," Daryl said as he removed his knife and he slammed the blade into the Walker's head. Lizzie almost called out as she watched them looking for her and she pressed her back against the trunk of the tree.
"Maybe she ran the other way," Carol said.
"Yeah," he said as he scanned the tree line then he looked up at the sky. He saw the dark clouds moving across the sky when he smelt the scent of rain in the air and he frowned. "A storm is comin'. Why don't you go back? I'll try to see if I can find her."
"No, we need to stick together. We can cover more ground that way," Carol said. He knew she was right as he nodded and they headed back the way they came.
Lizzie watched them walking away when she noticed something lying on the ground and she slowly walked closer. The Walker was only a head and torso as it tried to move toward her and Lizzie frowned.
"Hello," Lizzie said. She slowly walked closer when she knelt down on her haunches and the Walker snapped at her. She slowly moved her right hand toward the Walker when the Walker bit off the fingers of her right hand and she fell back on her bottom. She looked at the blood oozing from the wound as she smiled and she looked at the Walker. Getting to her feet, she staggered to a tree then she sat down as she looked at the Walker. "Thank you."
She felt the first drops of rain and she looked up at the clouds. She went to rest on her back as the rain fell on her and she softly laughed.
Back at the house, Tyreese stood in the doorway while he watched as Carol and Daryl walked up the path and both of them were soaking wet. He saw the anger in Daryl's eyes and the sadness in Carol's eyes and he moved back so they could go inside.
"Where is Beth, Judith and Mika?" Carol asked.
"They're in kitchen," Tyreese said, closing the door then he looked at Daryl. "Did you find Lizzie?"
"No," Daryl said, shaking his head.
"Which means we're gonna have to leave."
"It's rainin' too hard."
"Doesn't matter. We need to leave now. Can't risk her sneaking in during the night and killing us in our sleep."
"Tyreese," Carol said with a sigh.
"You an' me will keep watch. Everyone else will sleep in the livin' room," Daryl said and Tyreese nodded.
"Did you find her?" Mika asked as she ran out of the kitchen and they looked at her.
"No, we didn't find her," Carol said and Mika pouted.
"What are we going to do?" Beth asked as she walked out of the kitchen and she held Judith in her arms.
"We're gonna stay the night then we're gone," Daryl said.
"We're going to leave her behind?" Mika asked and he knelt down in front of her.
"I know it's wrong, but she can't come with us."
"I know. She wants to hurt us."
"Yeah."
"Is it a bad thing if I wish she had died when everyone else got sick?"
Daryl didn't answer her as he stood up and she looked up at him.
"Anyone want something to eat?" Beth asked, changing the subject. They headed for the kitchen while Daryl held Mika to his right side and he felt guilty for wondering if it had been better if Lizzie was dead.
Later that night, Carol woke with a start from a nightmare of Sophia and Lizzie as Walkers and they had pinned her to the ground. Her heart was racing as she looked around the semi-dark room when she felt something touching her left forearm and she could just see Daryl lying next to her. Judith was sleeping on Daryl's chest as he held her and Carol saw the concerned look on his face. She settled down next to him while Daryl slid his right arm around her and Carol rested her head on his shoulder. He rubbed her upper arm as she closed her eyes and she drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
Carol woke up early the next morning as she quietly left the house and she held the revolver in her hand. She knew Daryl and Tyreese would have stopped her from going out on her own to look for Lizzie, but she felt responsible for what happened to her.
She walked behind the house when she headed for the glade and she sighed. She thought she heard something when she turned and she looked toward the tree line. Her heart slammed in her chest when she saw Lizzie stumbling toward her and Lizzie was making a low gurgling sound.
"No," Carol whispered as memories of seeing Sophia exiting the barn moved through her mind and she raised the revolver. Carol looked at Lizzie's filmy eyes, mud crusted hair, damp clothing sticking to her skin, but it was Lizzie's missing fingers which made her want to be sick. "Lizzie."
Lizzie stopped as she looked as though she recognized her name and Carol held the revolver righter in her hands.
"Lizzie, look at the flowers."
Lizzie seemed to understand her as she slowly turned to look at the wildflowers sticking out of the grass and Carol's eyes started blurring over with tears.
"That's it. Look at the flowers."
Carol knew she had no other choice as she took aim then she fired the revolver and the back of Lizzie's head exploded. Lizzie's body fell to the ground while Carol lowered the revolver and tears rolled freely down her cheeks. The revolver fell out of her hand when she felt someone sliding their arms around her and she quickly turned to see Daryl behind her.
"I heard you leavin'," he said in a soft voice and he pulled her into a tight embrace. She started sobbing while he looked at the body and he started rocking her.
Tyreese stood in the doorway when he saw Carol walking down the path and Daryl was walking next to her. Daryl was holding onto the revolver when Tyreese figured out what they had done and he sighed.
"Shit," Tyreese whispered and the anger and hate he felt toward Lizzie and Carol vanished. He watched Carol walking closer when he stood back and Carol walked in the house. "Mika's in the kitchen."
"Thanks," Carol said. Tyreese looked at Daryl as Daryl sighed and Tyreese nodded.
"Where's Lizzie?"
"She's in the glade," Daryl said, looking back at the road.
"I'll go see if there a tarp to wrap her in."
"Look for a shovel," Daryl said as Tyreese nodded then he walked by Daryl.
"Daryl" Mika called out as Daryl watched her and Carol walking closer. Daryl gave Carol a sad look and she nodded. "Is it true?! Is Lizzie dead?!"
"Yeah," Daryl said.
"Carol said a Walker got her."
"Yeah."
"And… And you have to kill her," she said, looking at Carol.
"Yes, I had to kill her," Carol said and Mika buried her face against Carol's side.
"Found a tarp and a shovel," Tyreese said as he walked to them.
"Let's go," Daryl said and they walked down the path to the glade.
Beth appeared in the doorway with Judith in her arms when Carol carefully moved Mika back, picked up the shovel and Carol went to dig a grave for Lizzie.
After the grave dug, they carefully placed Lizzie's tarp covered body in the grave and Daryl and Tyreese piled the dirt on top of the body. Once the grave was covered, they stood in silence while Carol prayed for forgiveness and peace and Daryl had slid his right arm around her waists. They watched Mika walked to the grave when she placed the rag doll on top of the grave and Beth placed the wooden cross she made at the head of the grave.
They went into the farmhouse as they packed some plastic bags with food, formula, diapers and plastic bottles of water then they left the farmhouse.
Mika looked back at the grave as the tears rolled down her cheeks then she turned and Carol held her against her right side.
A/N: I heard rumors about Lizzie being the one who really killed Karen and David. So this is my twist on what happened and Carol's part in it.
