Rick ran through an open field, breathing heavily with a look of fear in his eyes, while carrying an unconscious Carl in his arms, who had a bullet wound to his chest.

Erika followed close behind Rick, carrying her first aid kit across her shoulder.

Further behind, Shane, Jane, and an heavy set man followed them.

Shane looked back at the man, angrily. "Hey, you move, Dickhead! Come on, get us there!" He snapped.

"Shane! Ease up!" Jane snapped at Shane.

"Ease up?! This piece of shit almost killed Carl and you want me to ease up?!" Shane retorted.

"It was clearly an accident, Shane. You'd be able to see that if you-" Jane started

Erika looked back at Shane and Jane as they argued. "Would you two shut the fuck up before I come back there?!" She snapped at them, cutting Jane off.

Shane and Jane stopped arguing. "Thank you." Erika said.

Rick stopped for a moment to get a better grip on Carl, Erika caught her breath for a moment before looking back at the other man. "Otis, how much further?" She asked.

"Another half mile, that way." Otis answered.

Rick then started running again, as fast as he could, with Erika following close behind him. "Hershel, talk to Hershel. He'll help your boy." Otis said to them as they ran.

Erika looked at Rick as they ran. "You heard that right, Rick? We're almost there." She told him as they ran, but Rick was more focused on saving Carl.

Otis, fell to his knees from exhaustion. "I'm sorry." He apologized.

"Let's go. Come on." Shane said, as he and Jane helped Otis stand up, then continued running.

~*~ ~*~

The Farm House

Two girls were standing on the porch of the farm house. One was in her early-to-mid twenties with short brown hair, the other one looked to be in her mid-to-late teens with long, blonde hair.

"Maggie, do you see that?" The blonde said, pointing out two people running in the distance.

Maggie pulled out her binoculars and looked through to see Rick, with Carl in his arms, and Erika running towards the house.

Maggie lowered her binoculars. "Hope, go get dad." She ordered her younger sister.

"Daddy!" Hope called out, running inside the house, Maggie followed.

~*~ ~*~

Rick and Erika finally reached the house.

Hershel stepped out of the house, along with Maggie, Hope, Beth, Jimmy, and Patricia.

"Was he bit?" Hershel asked.

"Shot, by your man." Rick said, approaching them.

"Otis?" Patricia asked.

"He said find Hershel, is that you?" Rick asked.

Hershel nodded. "Help me--Help my boy." Rick begged.

"Get him inside." Hershel said, leading them all inside the house.

~*~ ~*~

Inside The House

Everyone walked into the house. "Patricia. I need my full kit." Hershel called.

"Maggie?" Hershel called.

"Yeah?" She responded. "Painkillers, coagulates— grab everything." He told her.

"Hope." Hershel called. Hope looked at her father. "Clean towels, sheets, alcohol." He told her.

"I'm on it." Hope responded.

Maggie, Hope, and Patricia walked away to grab the supplies.

Hershel moved the sheets off of the bed. "In here." He said.

Rick placed Carl onto the bed, next to Hershel. Erika stood opposite of Hershel, beside the bed.

"Pillowcase." Hershel said to Rick.

"Is--Is he alive?" Rick stammered.

"Pillowcase." Hershel called again.

Erika grabbed one of the pillows off the bed, took one of the cases off of the pillow, and folded it like a pad. "Good, now apply pressure on the wound." Hershel told her.

Maggie, Beth, Hope, and Patricia entered the room.

"Is--Is he alive." Rick said again, still stammering and in shock.

Patricia handed a stethoscope to Hershel. Hershel put it in his ears and tried to listen for a heartbeat from Carl. "I've got a heart beat, but it's faint." He said.

Patricia slightly moved Rick. "I got it, step back." She said to Erika.

Erika moved her hands off, allowing Patricia to take over.

"Maggie, IV." Hershel called, taking off his stethoscope.

"We need some space." Maggie said to Rick.

"Your names?" Hershel asked Rick.

Rick stared at Carl, still in shock. Erika noticed and looked at Hershel. "His name's Rick, and I'm Erika." She said.

"Y-Yeah, I--I'm-- I'm Rick." Rick stammered.

"Rick, we're gonna do everything we can for him?" Hershel told him. "You need to give us some room. Now." He added.

Erika walked over to Rick's side. "Rick, come on. Let's go." She said.

Rick hesitated to leave. "He's got this, Rick. Let's go." Erika told him.

Erika led Rick out of the room.

~*~ ~*~

Rickstared at the closed door, breathing heavily, and his eyes were red from crying earlier.

Erika paced back and forth, took a few deep breathes. She looked outside to see Shane, Jane, and Otis still running towards the house. "Move!" Shane said to Otis as they ran.

Erika looked to Rick. "Rick." She called, motioning him to follow her outside. Rick followed.

~*~ ~*~

Outside the House

Erika and Rick walked outside to the porch. Rick took off his hat.

Shane, Jane, and Otis approached them.

"He's alive? He's still alive?" Otis asked.

Rick didn't answer, wiping sweat from his forehead. Carl's blood was smeared on his forehead after doing so.

"Yeah, he's alive. Hershel managed to find a heartbeat." Erika answered Otis.

Shane stepped closer to Rick, pulling a rag out from the bag he was carrying. "Okay. It's okay. You got blood, man." Shane said, starting wiping the blood off of Rick's forehead.

Rick took the rag from Shane and handed it to Erika, who started cleaning the blood from her hands

"Where is he? Is he okay?" Shane asked them.

"He's inside. Come on." Erika said, heading inside.

Rick, Shane, Jane, and Otis followed.

~*~ ~*~

Inside The House

Rick, Shane, Erika, Jane, and Otis entered the room where Hershel, Maggie, and Patricia were.

Hershel kept pressure over the wound. "You know his blood type?" He asked Rick.

"A-positive. S--Same as mine." Rick answered.

"That's fortunate. Don't wander far. I'm gonna need you." Hershel said.

Hershel then looked at Otis. "What happened?" He asked.

"I was tracking a buck. Bullet went through it, went clean through it." Otis answered.

"The deer slowed the bullet down, which certainly saved his life, but it did not go through clean." Hershel informed them. "It broke up into pieces. If I can get the bullet fragments out... and I'm counting six." He added.

Otis walked around to his wife, Patricia, with a guilty look on his face. "I never saw him, not until he was on the ground." He told her.

Erika approached Hershel. "Mind if I take over for a bit?" She asked him.

Hershel looked up at her and nodded. He stood up and allowed Erika to take over putting pressure over the wound. "You seem like you know what you're doing." He complimented Erika.

Erika looked at him. "My uncle was a hospital corpsman for the Marines, he taught me everything he knew. Plus I used to be a volunteer nurse before all this." She told him.

Hershel nodded at her.

Rick started to cry. "Lori doesn't know." He said.

Shane put an arm around him to comfort Rick. "'My wife doesn't--my wife doesn't know." Rick cried.

Jane looked at Rick empathetically.

Hershel looked at Erika. "Miss, I know we just met under unfortunate circumstances and if you don't mind me asking. Would you be willing to assist me and Patricia in removing the bullet fragments?" He asked her.

"I could use all the help I can get with this sort of thing." He added.

Erika nodded. "Of course." She answered.

~*~ ~*~

In The Woods

Daryl and Marlene were still leading the group back to the highway.

Lori stopped, turned around, and looked back

Andrea stopped, turning to Lori. "You still worried about that?" She asked.

Now, everyone has stopped.

"It was a gunshot." Lori said.

"No shit, we all heard it." Nathan said.

Lori turned to the group. "Why one? Why just one gunshot?" She asked.

Daryl shrugged. "Maybe they took down a Walker." He said.

"Or maybe one of them could've accidentally dropped their gun and it went off." Nathan suggested.

Lori rolled her eyes at Nathan. "Come on, be serious." She said.

Nathan shrugged. "Who said I wasn't?" He countered.

"I'm with Daryl, It could've been a Walker." Kristen suggested.

"Please don't patronize me." Lori said. "You know Rick wouldn't risk a gunshot to put down one walker, or Shane, or Jane, or Erika. They'd do it quietly." She added.

"It could be any number of things, Lori. They might've took down a Walker. One of them could've gotten clumsy and dropped their gun, making it go off. Or it might not have even come from them all, it could've been from somewhere else." Marlene suggested.

Lori shook her head.

"It was kinda weird how there was only one gunshot though." Tyler said.

"Thank you." Lori told him.

"Shouldn't they have caught up with us by now?" Carol asked.

"There's nothing we can do about it anyway." Daryl said. "Can't run around these woods chasing echoes." He added.

"So, what do we do?" Lori asked.

"Same as we've been. Beat the bush for the kids, work our way up to the highway." Daryl told her.

Andrea looked at Lori. "I'm sure they'll hook up with us back at the R.V." She told her.

Lori looked behind her before walking toward Daryl, Marlene, Tyler, Nathan, and Kristen.

Dani hesitated to go, but was comforted by Glenn. "We'll find her, Dani. Don't worry." He said

Dani nodded reluctantly before following Daryl and the rest of the group.

Andrea looked at Ellie and Carol. "I'm sorry for what you two are going through. I know how you both feel." She said.

"Yeah, I guess you do." Ellie said. She looked at the others. "Just the thought of them being out here by themselves. It's making me go crazy." She said.

Carol nodded. "Yeah, I just hope that they don't wind up like Amy." She said.

"Carol." Ellie exclaimed.

Andrea looked down, upset.

Carol looked at Andrea. "Oh, god. That's the worst thing I ever said." She said guiltily.

Andrea shook her head and forced a smile. "We're all hoping and praying with you, both of you. For what it's worth." She told her.

"I'll tell ya what it's worth. Not a damn thing." Daryl told them. "It's a waste of time all this hopin' and prayin'. We're gonna locate those kids. They're gonna be just fine." He said.

Daryl looked around at the group. "Am I the only one zen around here? Good lord." He remarked.

Marlene smirked and rolled her eyes at Daryl. "All right y'all, let's keep moving." She said.

Everyone continued to walk to the highway.

~*~ ~*~

The Highway

Dalewas stripping parts from one of the abandoned cars

Allie was searching through some other cars nearby.

T-Dog walked towards Dale. "We are gonna have quite a collection of spare parts, I tell ya." Dale told him.

"Shouldn't they be back by now?" T-Dog asked.

"It's still light. Let's not worry just yet." Dale answered.

Dale looked at T-Dog. "How are you feeling?" He asked him.

T-Dog didn't answer. He gave Dale a slight nod before turning away. "T-Dog. I asked how you were feeling just now. Please don't blow that question off." He said, out of concern.

"It really, really hurts." T-Dog answered. "It's throbbing something awful." He said.

Dale nodded, then turned to Allie, who was nearby. "Allie. C'mere a sec." he called.

Allie looked over at Dale and T-Dog before walking over to them. "What's up?" She asked.

"It's T-Dog's arm." Dale said.

"It just hurts a little is all." T-Dog said.

"Little things can turn into big things, T. Lemme have a look." Allie said.

Allie gently took T-Dog's arm and carefully lifted the bandage up, examine the wound. Allie winced at it looked.

She put the bandage down. "Ah! Don't—Don't touch it." T-Dog snapped.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Allie apologized.

"What—What is it?" Dale asked Allie.

Allie looked at Dale. "It's not good. His veins are discolored, he's got a bad infection. If he doesn't get any proper medication and treatment soon. He could die from blood poisoning." She explained.

T-Dog began to laugh. Allie looked at T-Dog confused. "I don't see how this is funny, T." She said.

"Wouldn't that be the way though?" T-Dog told her. "World gone to hell... The dead risen up to eat the living... and Theodore Douglas gets done in by a cut on his arm." He said, continuing to laugh.

"Yeah, that would be stupid." Allie said.

"I—I've been saying since yesterday, we gotta get him some antibiotics." Dale told Allie.

"Dale, I've tried. I've looked up and down this entire freeway and searched almost every car and found nothing. It's ridiculous." Allie said. "You'd think there'd at least be a small bottle of painkillers somewhere, right?" She said.

"Seems like there would be." T-Dog said.

"Well, that's what I think." Dale said.

Allie sighed. "Well, I guess it's worth checking at least twice." She said.

T-Dog and Dale nodded at her.

~*~ ~*~

At The Farm

Rick and Shane were sitting nearby the door. Jane sat in a chair across from them. Rick looked down. "Why'd I let him come with us? I should've sent him back with Lori." He said quietly, looking down.

"You know, you start that, you never get that monkey off your back." Shane said.

"Three kids go missing, you look for them. Simple." Rick said.

Rick looked at Shane. "You said, 'call it, head back." He told him.

"Doesn't matter what I said." Shane said.

"Carl got shot because I couldn't cut bait. It should be me in there." Rick said.

Jane shook her head. "Rick, don't. Don't do that." She said.

Rick looked at her. "It's should've been me." He reiterated.

Jane shook her head and looked down.

Shane lightly chuckled. "You've been there, partner. You pulled through, so will he." He said.

"Is that why I got outta that hospital? Found my family for it to end here like this? This some kind of sick joke?" Rick said

Jane stood from her chair and walked toward Rick. "Stop it! Just stop it!" She exclaimed.

Rick and Shane looked at her. "None of us could've predicted what happened today. It's no one's fault. Not your's, not Otis's, nobody's." She told them. "So just stop with that, all right?" She asked.

Shane and Rick looked away from Jane. Jane returned to her seat and looked back down.

"Three kids go missing..." Rick trailed off. "...you look for them. Plain and simple." He said.

Suddenly, the door opened. Maggie looked out quickly. "Rick." She called.

~*~ ~*~

Rick, Shane, and Jane walked into the room.

"He needs blood. Now." She told them.

Hershel, Erika, and Patricia were holding Carl down on the bed.

Carl was awake and crying in pain

Hershel looked at Shane and Jane. "One of you, hold him down." He said.

Shane quickly walked over and grabbed Carl's arm, helping them hold Carl down.

Carl was crying in pain. "Dad!" He cried.

"Hershel, how's it coming?" Erika said, struggling to keep Carl down.

Hershel was digging into Carl's stomach as he screamed. "Almost there." He answered her.

Patricia went over to Rick and took his arm. Jane quickly walked over and took over for Patricia in helping hold Carl down.

Carl screamed in pain.

"Stop, you're killing him?" Rick told them.

"Rick, do you want him to live?" Hershel asked.

Carl continued to cry.

Erika looked up at Rick. "Rick, he needs blood. Just do it!" She told him.

Shane looked at Rick "Do it now!" He told him.

Patricia took Rick's arm again, putting the needle in.

Carl stopped crying, his eyes closed.

Shane looked at Carl, worried. "Wait—wait, hey." He said.

Rick looked over.

Erika put two fingers to Carl's neck to check for a pulse, she felt one and had a sigh of relief. "It's ok, he just passed out." She told them.

Hershel pulled a bullet fragment from the wound. "One down... five more to go." He said.

~*~ ~*~

Carl had a bandage over his wound, still unconscious.

Rick was sitting in a chair at his side, transferring blood to Carl.

Hershel was checking for Carl's pressure. "Pressure's stable." He said.

Patricia pulled out the needle from Carl's arm.

Rick looked at Shane. "Lori needs to be here. She doesn't even know what's going on. I got—gotta go find her, bring her back." He said.

"You can't do that." Hershel said.

"She's his mother. She needs to know what happened. Her son's lying here, shot." Rick said.

"He's gonna need more blood, Rick, and you're the only person here with his blood type." Erika told him.

She's right, Rick." Hershel said. He looked at Shane. "He can't go more than fifty feet from this bed." He told him.

Shane nodded.

Patricia helped Rick stand up.

Rick almost fell, but Erika stepped over, grabbing his arm and helping him up.

Shane walked forward. "Hey, hey. Come on. Come on." He said.

"I'm all right. I'm all right." Rick reassured.

Shane looked at Patricia and Hershel. "I got him." He said.

Shane followed Rick.

Erika looked at Hershel. "So where are we at, Hershel."

"Well, he seems to be stable at the moment." Hershel told her.

"But..." Erika trailed.

"His pressure is dropping and his belly is starting to become distended." Hershel said.

"So there's internal bleeding." Erika guessed.

Hershel nodded

"Which means you're gonna have to cut him open to stitch up the blood vessel that got hit, plus get the rest of the bullet fragments." Erika said.

Hershel nodded. "Exactly." He said

"Well, you saw how he acted earlier. If he does that again-" Erika started.

"I could sever an artery. I know." Hershel told her.

"So what do we do?" Erika asked him.

~*~ ~*~

Hershel, Erika, and Patricia exited the room.

Maggie, Otis, Jane, Rick, and Shane stood up and looked at them.

"He's out of danger for the moment, but I need to remove those remaining fragments." Hershel said.

"How?" Rick asked. "You saw how he was." He said.

"I know." Hershel said.

Erika stepped forward, next to Hershel. "And that was the shallowest one, he's gotta go in deeper to get the rest of them." She added.

"Oh man." Shane sighed.

"And hold on, there's more good news." Erika said sarcastically.

"Which is?" Jane asked.

"His belly's distended, his pressure is dropping, which means there's internal bleeding. A fragment must've nicked one of the blood vessels. I have to open him up, find the bleeder, and stitch it. And he can't move while im in there. I mean, at all. If he reacts the same as before, I'll sever an artery and he'll be dead in minutes. To even try this, I have to put him under, but if I do, he won't be able to breathe on his own. Same bad results." Hershel told them.

Rick nodded. "What'll it take?" He asked.

Erika walked forward. "He needs a respirator. The tube that goes with it, extra surgical supplies, drapes, sutures. Stuff like that." She told him.

Rick looked at Erika. "If he had all that. He could save her?" He asked.

"If I had all that, I could try." Hershel said.

"Nearest hospital went up in flames a month ago." Otis said.

Hope walked in to the room, overhearing the group's conversation. "The high school." She spoke up.

Everyone looked at Hope, Hershel nodded. "Yeah, that's what I was thinking." He said, agreeing with her.

"Hold on, what high school?" Jane asked.

"My old high school I used to go to before all this. They set up a FEMA shelter there." Hope told them.

"A place like that could have what we need." Erika said.

"Place was overrun last time I saw it. You couldn't get near it." Otis said.

Hope shrugged. "Maybe it's better now?" She said.

Jane lightly scoffed. "Knowing our luck, somehow I doubt that." Jane muttered.

Shane nodded. "I said, leave the rest to me. Is it too late to take that back?" He asked rhetorically.

Rick shook his head. "I hate you going alone." He said.

"Who said he was going alone? I'll go with him." Jane offered.

"No, I want you to find Lori and the others. Let them know what's going on." Shane told him.

"Oh come on." Jane exclaimed.

"He's right, Jane. Someone's gotta let them know what happened." Rick said.

Jane nodded reluctantly.

"Well in that case, I'll go." Erika said.

"Nah, you should stay here and help out Hershel and Patricia any way you can." Shane said.

Erika nodded.

"Doc, why don't you do me a list, draw me a map." Shane said.

"You won't need a map. I'll take you there, ain't but five miles." Otis offered.

"Otis, no." Patricia said.

"Honey, we don't have time for guess work and I'm responsible. I ain't gonna sit here while this fella takes this on alone." Otis told her.

Patricia looked at Otis, worried.

"I'll be all right." He reassured.

"Are you sure about this?" Shane asked.

"Do you even know what any of the stuff he's talking about looks like?" Otis asked.

"Come to think, no." Shane answered.

"I've been a volunteer EMT. I do, now we can talk about this 'till next Sunday, or we could just go do it real quick." Otis told them.

"I'll take right quick." Shane said.

Rick looked at Otis. "I should thank you." He told him.

"Wait 'till that boy of yours is up and around, then we'll talk." Otis said.

Otis looked at Shane. "I'll gather some things." He said, then turned to walk away.

Jane looked at Rick. "I should get going too. If I'm gonna catch up to the others before nightfall on foot, I better get moving ASAP." She said.

Rick nodded.

Jane turned around to leave, only to see Maggie in front of her. "Where are they? Your people?" She asked Jane.

~*~ ~*~

The Woods

Everyone was looking around.

"We'll lose the light before too long." Daryl said.

"You think we should call it?" Marlene asked.

Daryl nodded. "Yeah. Let's head back." He said.

"What?" Dani exclaimed. "No, we can't." She said.

Glenn walked towards her. "Dani, it'll be dark soon."

Dani had an unsure look on her face.

Glenn looked at her. "I wanna find her just as much as you do, but it'll be harder if we can't see anything." He told her.

Dani nodded reluctantly. "Ok." She said.

"We'll pick it back up again tomorrow?" Carol asked.

Lori nodded. "Yeah, well find them tomorrow." She said.

Daryl whistled quietly, turning them around, leading the way.

Everyone followed, except Ellie, who had also had unsure look on her face.

Nathan looked back at Ellie as he walked. "Ellie, you coming?" He called.

Ellie looked back at Nathan. "Yeah, right behind y'all." She said.

She looked around one last time before walking quickly to catch up with the others.

~*~ ~*~

The Farm

Otis, Shane, Erika, Rick, Hershel, and Patricia walked down the porch, towards Otis's blue truck.

Rick put his hand on Shane's shoulder. "Just get what you need and get out of there." He told him.

"You sure you don't want me coming with? You know I'm good in a fight." Erika said.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Hershel could probably use you more than we could out there." Shane said.

Erika nodded, she held out her hand. "Good luck out there then." She said

Shane shook her hand, nodded.

Otis hugged Patricia. "You stay strong, all right." He said. They pulled away.

Rick walked toward Otis, and handed him his revolver.

Otis looked at Hershel, looking down at the gun, taking it. "That's a fine weapon, Rick. I'll bring it back in good shape." He said to Rick.

Otis put the gun in his bag.

Shane patted the truck before getting in the passenger seat.

Otis pulled out his rifle, walked toward the driver's side and got in the truck.

Otis and Shane put their rifles next to each other in the truck.

Shane looked at Otis's rifle. "Only one I got." Otis told Shane.

Shane shook his head. "Man, this turned into one strange day." He said.

Otis started the engine. "Didn't it, though?" He said.

Otis and Shane drove away.

Patricia shook her head before heading inside the house.

Hershel looked at Rick, patted his shoulder. "Let's go check on your boy." He said.

Hershel, Rick, and Erika headed inside.

~*~ ~*~

The Highway

T-Dog was sitting on a box, leaning against the R.V, looking exhausted.

Dale walked toward him with a white bag. "Found some more batteries, a bottle of very trendy pink water, and a new excellent machete." He told him.

Allie walked toward them with a guitar in one hand and a small bag in the other. "I found a few painkillers, some expired candy, and this." She told them, showing off the guitar.

"You play?" Dale asked.

Allie shook her head. "Nope, but hopefully someone in the group does." She said.

Dale sighed, sitting down on a bucket. He looked T-Dog. "You?" He asked.

"Ibuprofen and these." He said, showing a cigarette.

Allie sighed. "Well, at least we tried." She said.

"What are we doing?" T-Dog asked.

"Pullin' supplies together." Dale answered.

"No, I mean..." T-Dog trailed off. "What are we doing? People off in the woods, they looking for those poor kids and we're here. Why?" T-Dog asked.

Dale and Allie looked at T-Dog confused.

"Cause they think we're the weakest." T-Dog said.

Allie scoffed.

"What are you, 70?" T-Dog asked, before taking another puff from the cigarette.

"64." Dale answered.

T-Dog nodded. "Uh huh." He said.

T-Dog looked at Allie. "And you. Lemme guess, fresh outta high school?" He asked her.

Allie didn't answer, looking away.

T-Dog nodded. "Ah, still in high school." He said.

"Correction, was still in high school." Allie said, not looking at T-Dog.

"And I'm the one black guy. Y'all realize how precarious that makes my situation." T-Dog said.

Dale and Allie looked at T-Dog, puzzled.

"What the hell are you talking about, T?" Allie asked.

"I'm talking about two good-old-boy cowboy sheriffs, a girl scout, and a redneck whose own brother cut off his own cuz I dropped a key." T-Dog said.

T-Dog looked at Dale and Allie. "Who in that scenario do y'all think is gonna be the first one to get lynched?" T-Dog asked rhetorically.

Allie scoffed and got up from her seat.

"You can't be serious. Am I—Am I missing something?" Dale asked.

T-Dog had another smoke.

"Those "cowboys" have done all right by us and that "girl scout" has been making sure we all kept our heads on straight." Dale told him.

"Not to mention that if it wasn't for that "redneck," you'd be dead right now, T-Dog." Allie added.

"And don't forget about Andrea. Kills her own sister..." T-Dog trailed off.

Dale looked away. "She was already dead." He said

"...then tries to blow herself up. Yeah, she's all there." T-Dog said.

T-Dog looked at Allie. "Then there's Erika, who also tried to blow herself up, but then a few days later. Acts as if nothing happened. I'm sure she's all there too." He told them.

Allie scoffed. "I don't believe what I'm hearing." She said in disbelief.

"They're having a tough time. What is wrong with you?" Dale asked.

"The whole world is having a tough time." T-Dog said. "Damn, man. Open your eyes! Look where we are—stuck in this mess here!" He said, raising his voice with each word

Dale and Allie shushed T-Dog. "T, calm down, would ya?" Allie said.

T-Dog rubbed his head. "Let's just--Let's just go. Take the R.V." He said.

"What?" Allie said.

"You've gone off the deep end." Dale said.

Dale stood up.

"I mean it, man. Why are we on the side of this road like live bait?" T-Dog asked.

T-Dog looked anxious. "Let's go, just the three of us." He said, panting.

Allie stepped towards T-Dog. "Let's go before they get back." T-Dog told them.

Allie reached out a hand and put it to T-Dog's forehead.

"Oh my god." Allie said before snatching the bottle of Ibuprofen away from T-Dog.

"What--What is it?" Dale asked.

"His temperature's rising, which means the infection's getting worse. We've gotta lower it the best we can." Allie said, opening the bottle, and handing T-Dog a few pills. "Take these, T." She told him.

T-Dog put the pills into his mouth.

Allie picked up a water bottle and handed it to T-Dog. "Here, you need to hydrate. Drink." She told him.

T-Dog took a tiny sip.

Allie rolled her eyes. "Don't make me have to waterboard you, T-Dog. I said drink, not sip." She told him.

T-Dog did what he was told and took a bigger sip of water from the bottle.

Dale and Allie exchanged a look.

Dale looked out into the woods. "Where the hell are they?" He asked.

~*~ ~*~

The Woods

Daryl and Marlene were leading the group through the woods.

"How much farther?" Kristen asked.

"Not much." Daryl said. "Maybe a hundred yards as the crow flies." He said.

"Too bad we're not crows." Andrea said.

Andrea and Kristen walked slightly away from the rest of the group.

"What does that even mean? As the crow flies." Kristen asked her.

Andrea shook her head, then ran into a small net. "Oh." She said.

Andrea moved the net away from her, following the others. "As the crow flies me ass." She said.

A Walker appeared from behind the trees, groaning, walking towards Andrea and Kristen.

Kristen looked over her shoulder and saw the walker. "Andrea, look out!" Kristen yelled, warning her.

Andrea looked over her shoulder, seeing the walker.

Andrea and Kristen screamed.

The rest of the group stopped and looked around, seeing that Andrea and Kristen were not with them. "Andrea? Kristen?" Lori called.

They all ran toward Andrea and Kristen, following their screams.

Kristen ran toward a tree, and hid behind it.

The walker tried to grab Andrea.

Andrea stabbed a knife into the walker's chest, backing away, then tripped over a log, falling to the ground.

Kristen stayed hidden behind a tree, frozen. "Help! Somebody help!" She yelled.

The walker came closer to Andrea, trying to grab her.

Everyone ran toward Andrea and Kristen.

The walker was about to bite Andrea, then Maggie and Jane came riding in on a horse, toward Andrea.

Jane had a bat in her hand. "Heads up!" She yelled, swinging the bat, hitting the walker and knocking it down away from Andrea.

Andrea was breathing heavily.

Kristen came out from behind the tree, running to Andrea. "You okay?" She asked

Andrea, still shaken, didn't answer

Everyone had reached them.

Maggie stopped the horse. "Lori? Lori Grimes? She asked.

"I'm Lori." Lori answered.

"Rick sent me." Maggie said. "You've got to come now." She told her.

Jane got off the horse.

"What?" Lori asked.

"There's been an accident. Carl's been shot." Maggie told her. "He's still alive, but you've got to come now." She said.

Lori, in shock, looked at Jane.

Jane nodded. "She's telling the truth, Lori. Just go." She told her.

"Rick needs you. Just come." Maggie said.

Lori pulled her backpack off her shoulders, moving towards Maggie.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. We don't know this girl." Daryl said. "You can't get on that horse." He said.

Jane toward him, picking up Lori's bag. "It's all right, Dixon. We can trust her." She said.

Maggie looked at Glenn. "Rick said you had others on the highway, that big traffic snarl?" She asked him.

"Yeah." Glenn answered.

Dani took notice of the slightly entranced look Glenn had when he saw Maggie

"Backtrack to Fairburn road. Two miles down is our farm. You'll see the mailbox, name's Greene." Maggie told him.

Maggie turned the horse around, riding off with Lori.

Everyone looked at Jane.

"Jane, what the hell's going on?" Dani asked.

Jane put Lori's backpack on. "Look, I'll explain later, all right. Let's just get back to the highway." She said.

Everyone looked puzzled. "Let's move, people." Jane exclaimed

Jane walked quickly, towards to the highway.

Nathan looked over and saw the walker slowly sat up, wheezing. "Uh, guys." He said.

Daryl aimed his crossbow at the walker's head. "Shut up." He said.

Daryl shot an arrow through the walker's head.

"Well, okay then." Nathan said.

Everyone followed Jane.

~*~ ~*~

The Highway

The group returned to the highway.

"Shot? What do you mean shot?" Dale asked.

"Like I just said, Dale. We were searching for the kids and we came across a deer. Carl got a little closer to get a good look at it." Jane told him. "All of a sudden, a shot rings out and both the deer and Carl are on the ground." She said.

"Is he okay?" Allie asked.

"For right now, yes, but Shane and this guy named, Otis, went to gather supplies so that the doctor at the farm can perform the surgery to save Carl." Jane answered.

Jane walked away.

"I heard screams." Dale said.

Dale looked at Andrea. "Was that you?" He asked her.

Andrea walked past Dale, not answering.

Marlene walked toward Dale. "She and Kristen were attacked by a walker. It was a pretty close call." She told him.

"Oh my god." Allie muttered.

Dale looked back at Andrea. "Andrea, are you all right?" He asked her.

Andrea turned around, glaring at Dale, shaking her head, sighing, then headed into the R.V, slamming the door.

Dale looked back at Marlene. "She just needs time, dad." Marlene told him.

Kristen walked by them. "I'm fine too, just saying." She said.

~*~ ~*~

The Farm

Erika sat on the rocking chair out on the porch.

Rick walked out

Erika looked up at Rick. "Hey." She greeted.

Rick nodded.

"How is he?" Erika asked.

"He's still unconscious. Hopefully Shane and Otis get back soon." Rick said.

Rick looked out at the farm.

Erika got up, walked toward Rick, and stood next to him.

Erika and Rick looked at the farm and admired the beauty of it all.

"Can you believe this place, Rick?" Erika asked. "Seeing all this, you'd never know that the whole world went to hell." She said.

"Yeah, Hershel and his family are real lucky to have all this." Rick told her.

Hershel walked out, walked over to Erika and Rick, and stood with them.

"We were just talking about how beautiful your farm is." Erika said.

"Been in my family 160 years." Hershel told them.

"I can't believe how serene it is." Rick said. "How untouched... you're lucky." He said.

"We weren't completely unscathed." Hershel said. "We've lost friends, neighbors. The epidemic took my wife, stepson." He told them.

"I'm sorry." Rick said.

"My daughters were spared. I'm grateful to god for that." Hershel said. "These people here. All we got left is each other. Just hoping we can ride it out in peace 'till there's a cure." He told them.

"We were at the C.D.C..." Rick trailed off. "It's gone. There is no cure." He told him.

Hershel gave Rick a small smile. "I don't believe it. When AIDS came along, everyone panicked. One boy in town came down with it, and some parents pulled their kids from school, so they didn't have to sit in the same room." He told him.

"AIDS didn't make people start eating each other." Erika said.

"She's right. This is a whole other thing." Rick said.

"That's what we always say." Hershel told them. "This one's different." He said.

"Well, this one is, sir." Erika said.

"Mankind's been fightin' plagues from the start." Hershel said. "We get our behinds kicked for a while, then, we bounce back. It's nature correcting itself, restoring some balance." He told them.

Erika looked back out into the farm.

"I wish I could believe that." Rick said.

Erika looked out further into the farm and saw a horse galloping towards them. "Hey, I think it's them." She said, pointing it out.

Rick and Lori approached the house.

Rick went down the steps from the house, walked toward Lori and Maggie.

Rick Hughes Lori tightly, while Lori cried hysterically.

~*~ ~*~

Later On

Hershel and Erika were in the kitchen.

Lori helped Rick inside.

Erika held a glass of orange juice, handing it to Rick. "Thanks." He told her.

Lori leaned forward against a chair. "Okay, so I understand, when Shane gets back with this other man..." She trailed off.

"Otis." Hershel corrected.

"Otis." Lori repeated. "The idiot who shot my son." She said.

"Lori, it was an accident. He didn't mean to." Erika said.

"I'll take that under advisement." Lori told her. "Right now, he's the idiot who shot our son." She said.

"Lori. They're doing everything they can to make it right." Rick told her.

"Okay, as soon as they get back. You two can perform this surgery?" Lori asked.

"We'll certainly do our best." Hershel said.

"Okay." Lori said. "I mean, you've done this procedure before?" She asked Hershel.

"Well, yes." Hershel said. "In a sense." He added.

"In a sense?" Lori repeated

Rick took Lori's hand. "Honey, we don't have the luxury of shopping for a surgeon." He told her.

"No, I understand that." Lori told him, looking at Hershel. "But, I mean, you're a doctor, right?" She asked.

"Yes, ma'am." Hershel answered. "A Vet." He said.

"A veteran. A combat medic?" Lori asked.

"A veterinarian." Hershel told them.

Lori and Rick looked at Hershel in shock.

Erika looked down. "Oh boy." She muttered.

"And you've done this surgery on what? Cows? Pigs?" Lori asked.

"I—I have—I have to sit down." Rick said, grabbing a chair, almost falling and spilling the orange juice on the table.

Lori and Erika caught Rick, helping him sit on the chair. "Whoa, easy there. Rick." Erika told him.

Lori looked at Hershel. "Completely in over your head, aren't you?" She asked.

"Ma'am, aren't we all." Hershel replied.

Erika looked at Lori and Rick. "Hey, guys, I'm still here, okay? Y'all know what I can do. I may have never done a procedure like this before, but I've seen it done a bunch of times." She told them.

Lori and Rick looked Erika. "Hershel and I got this, don't worry." She told them.

Lori and Rick nodded.

~*~ ~*~

The Highway

Jane, Dale, Glenn, Dani, Tyler, Andrea, Nathan, Kristen, Daryl, Marlene, Carol, and Ellie were talking about going to the farm.

"I won't do it. We can't just leave." Carol said.

"She's right. I'm not going anywhere without my son." Ellie added.

"Ladies, the group is split." Dale told them. "We're scattered and weak." He said.

"And how do you think Shannon feels right now? Or Alex? Or Sophia?" Dani said. "What if they manage to get back and we're already gone?" She asked.

Tyler sighed.

Dani looked around. "What? It could happen." She said.

"If the kids found their way back and we were gone. That would be awful." Andrea said.

"Okay, all right. We've gotta plan this out." Jane told them.

Jane looked at Daryl. "Daryl, Rick put you in charge of the search, what do you think?" She asked him.

Daryl looked at the group. "I say tomorrow morning is soon enough to pull up stakes. Give us a chance to rig a big sign, leave her some supplies." Daryl told them. "I'll hold here tonight, stay with the R.V." He said.

"If the R.V is stayin', I am too." Dale said.

"Well, if you two are stayin', then so am I." Marlene said.

"I'll stay too. I wanna help any way I can." Allie said.

"Thank you, all of you." Carol told them.

Andrea shook her head. "I'm in." She said.

Nathan shrugged. "I got nothing better to do." He said.

"Well if you all are staying, then I'm—" Glenn started.

"Not you, Glenn." Dale told him. "You and Jane going to this farm. Take Carol's Cherokee." He said.

Jane nodded

"Me? Why is it always me? Glenn asked.

"You have to go with her to this farm, reconnect with our people, and see what's going on." Dale told him. "But most importantly, y'all have to get T-Dog there." He told him, pointing to T-Dog.

"He's right. The cut on his arm has gotten worse since earlier. He's got a very serious blood infection, and without proper treatment and medication. He'll die." She told him.

Daryl tilted his head, turned around, and walked over to his motorcycle.

"Well, if they're going, so am I." Tyler told them. "And besides, it seems like we'll have more than enough people out here looking for the kids anyway." Tyler said.

Kristen raised her hand. "You know what, I'll go too. I wanna check this place out. Plus, I think it'd be to nice to finally have a roof over my head again" she said.

Daryl grabbed a rag off his bike, opened a small bag, pulled out a plastic bag, and walked back to the others.

He threw the rag at Dale. "Keep your oily rags off my brother's motorcycle." He told him.

"Why'd you 'till now to say anything?" Daryl said, putting the plastic bag on the hood of a car, looking inside of it.

"Got my brother's stash. Crystal, X--Don't need that." Daryl said.

He pulled out a bottle, throwing it to Allie. Allie caught it. "Got some kickass painkillers." Daryl told her

Daryl pulled out another bottle, threw it to Dale. Dale caught it. "Doxycycline. Not the generic stuff either, it's first class. Merle got the clap on occasion." Daryl told him.

Daryl shrugged, then walked away.

Dale smiled, looking from the bottle in his ha d to T-Dog.

Nathan nodded, looking impressed. "Not sure which is more surprising. The fact that Merle was useful for once, or that someone out there actually slept with Merle of all people." He said.

~*~ ~*~

The Farm

Carl was still lying on the bed, unconscious.

Rick, Erika, Hershel, and Lori were in the room.

Hershel was checking Carl's pressure, then he looked at the others. "Pressure's dropping again. We can't wait much longer." He told them.

"Take some more—whatever he needs." Rick told him. "Then I'm gonna go." He said.

"Go? Go where?" Erika asked.

Rick looked at Erika and Lori. "He said five miles. They should be back by now. Something's gone wrong." He said.

"Are you insane? You're not going after them." Lori told him.

"You've given too much blood already, Rick. You can hardly even walk across the room, let alone go find them." Erika said.

"Rick, listen to them." Hershel said.

"If they got into trouble—" Rick started.

"You're in no condition to do anything about it." Hershel cut him off. "Erika's right, you've given too much blood, you're barely on your feet. You won't even make across the yard." He told him.

"Something happened. I have to go." Rick said.

"No, your place is here." Lori told him. "If Shane said he'll be back, he'll be back. He's like you that way." She said.

Rick shook his head. "I can't just sit here."

"That's exactly what you do!" Lori snapped. "If you need to pray or cry or tell god he's cruel, you go right ahead, but you're not leaving, Rick." She told him.

"Carl needs you. Here." Lori said softly. "And I can't do this myself. Not this one." She said softly.

"I can't... I can't" Lori said.

Rick stared at Lori.

Erika stepped toward the door. "I'm gonna get some fresh air." She said, leaving the room.

~*~ ~*~

Outside

Erika exited the house.

She went to the rocking chair she was on earlier, and sat.

Erika leaned back into the chair, and closed her eyes for a moment.

~*~ ~*~

[Sounds of screaming]

[The Atlanta camp was being attacked by walkers]

[People were being ripped apart, eaten alive]

- "Ian! Ian!" Erika called

[Ian showed his bite mark to Erika]

- "Didn't even notice until this morning" He told her.

[Ian and Erika looked at each in R.V, tears in their eyes]

- "I will always love you." He told her, tearfully.

[The caravan drove away as Jim and Ian were left behind]

[Ian stood in the middle of a dark room, the camera closed in on the back of his head]

[Ian turned around, showing his face, now as a walker. He growled at the camera, then lunged]

~*~ ~*~

Erika quickly opened her eyes, took a deep breathe.

Erika buried her face in her hands and cried silently.

"Hello?" A voice asked.

Erika looked up, looked around, and saw Hope by the door. "Oh, hey." She greeted.

"Are you okay?" Hope asked.

Erika nodded.

"Are you worried about that boy in there?" Hope asked.

"Of course, but I was a--thinking about something else." Erika said.

"Do you wanna talk about it? I've been told I'm a good listener." Hope told her

Erika shook her head. "No thanks, I appreciate the offer though." She said.

Hope nodded.

"Ok." Hope said. "If you change your mind though, I'll be around." She told her, before heading back inside.

Erika took another deep breath, wiped her tears away, then walked back inside.

A/N: Not a lot of action in this chapter, but there will be plenty more action infuriate chapters. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter.

I'll see y'all next time in Chapter 3: "Save the Last One."