Beth pulled herself up from the floor, her head dripping with sweat. The steel of the van felt cold against her hands, but the air around her was stuffy and oppressing. She blinked the sweat out of her eyes and looked around, kneading her fingertips into her stiff, sore shoulders. Her body ached from all of the running, her calf muscles burned and her back was sore and stiff from sleeping in a cold van. Some time in the night, Maggie had rolled away from her. She lay just beside her now, on her back, her dark hair matted and dishevelled and there were deep, dark purple bruises beneath her swollen eyes. Beth knew she had been crying, and her heart ached. Beth wiped at her own face, feeling her own dried and caked on tears, and pushed her damp hair back and out of her face.

All around them was silent, and it began to feel ominous to Beth. Hidden away within the metal, there was no way of knowing what was happening in the world outside of them. For all they knew, they could have been surrounded in the night, by walkers or humans, or swept away in a flood, or driven off by maniacs. The darkness of the vans interior was worse than the dimness of the prison, and Beth ached for the familiar comfort it had provided. She had grown tired and weary of the same grey walls, the same lino floors, the same barred doors, but now she missed it, and she longed for the comfort of her small bunk and blanket door. And most of all she longed for Daryl, as he pushed the fabric aside with his crossbow and murmured a good morning to her, sullen and quiet, but caring.

Maggie shuffled slightly then opened her eyes, a movement which looked painful by the furrowing of her brow, the grimacing of her hollowing cheekbones and she scrunched her eyes. It took her a little while to focus on her younger sister, then she sat herself up with a groan.

'Okay?' she asked, her voice croaking. It felt strange to break the silence of the van, but Beth felt herself comforted by the voice all the same.

Beth nodded.

Maggie looked around them, her eyes tired.

'Let's get out of here,' she sighed.

'Yeah,' Beth agreed.

The van creaked as the sister's crawled towards the doors; the could have easily stood up but there was something about the vehicle which stopped them. It didn't feel entirely safe, and Beth often thought back to the dent in the side, the bumper wrapped around the tree. Beth pushed it open and squinted out into the morning sun.

Outside, all was calm. There was no horde of walkers, no ambushing humans, no devastation. In fact, the morning was calm and peaceful; the sun filtered down through the trees and bathed the world around them in a soft, green glow. Beth pushed the door open a little more and looked around them. It was eerily quiet, but Beth's ears were still ringing from all the gun-fire before. The quite was oppressing.

Maggie jumped down first and brushed herself down, then took in their surroundings and held her gun steady. Beth followed, then pushed the doors back together before the two of them set out together, side by side, deeper into the under-brush. They left the van, their temporary rest stop, behind them, and ventured back through the trees, further away from the place they had spent the last six or so months. All was quiet around them and Beth gathered most of the walkers that had been in this part had been drawn to the noise at the prison grounds yesterday, for they saw no sign of any. In fact, it was a little over an hour before they came across any life at all, and this came in the form of a small squirrel, which Maggie shot dead from afar. Beth was relatively confident in her abilities to hunt and set traps, but she was too sore and too tired to do too much this morning. So she let her sister shoot and skin the little creature, simply passing her her own hunting knife to do so, which Daryl had kept sharp for her.

The sister's found a sheltered place to sit beneath a large tree and struck up a fire between them. It took a frustratingly long time and Beth's mind continuously wandered to Daryl, who could have set one in his sleep. She felt vulnerable and painfully ill-prepared without him.

'If we get back on the main road we might be able to find the bus,' Maggie said as she turned the meat over the flames, 'or track it down. Daryl showed you how to...' she trailed off.

Beth nodded, trying to ignore the lump in her throat.

The rising smoke from the cooking meat was beginning to take on a acrid smell and was starting to choke Beth. Her stomach began to knot and the smell was beginning to make her flesh prickle, a crawling sensation of heat spreading over her. She peered through the smoke, a cold sweat appearing on her forehead. She felt weighed down beneath the canopy of the trees and the smoke was suffocating her, creeping down her dehydrated throat.

'I think – I think it's done.' Maggie said.

Beth nodded, and her mind turned once again to Daryl; he had taught her how to hunt, how to construct traps, how to cook the finds, how to skin them -

Beth gulped.

'Here – you want to -' Maggie said, but Beth just about managed to shake her head before she turned away from the smoking squirrel her sister was holding up and retched. Her stomach cramped and her throat burned as she coughed up anything that was left inside of her across the mud beneath her, her eyes watering.

Once she believed she was done, she wiped her mouth on the back of her sleeve and turned back to her sister, who was looking at her steadily over the fire.

'Are you okay?' she asked.

Beth nodded, taking a deep, shuddering breath.

'Just – just so worn out,' she admitted, 'and the smell-'

Maggie nodded.

'How's your shoulder?' she asked.

Beth shook her head.

'It hurts. I don't know. I haven't checked it.'

'We ought to-'

But Beth shook her head again.

'Not right now.' She said. 'I'll be okay.'

Maggie regarded her for a moment, then she sighed.

'Okay.'

It was well past midday when the sister's re-found the road, and neither of them could be certain it was the right one.

Daryl would know, Beth thought, and she longed dearly for him.

She was completely exhausted; her eyes burned, stinging as though the inside of her lids were made of sandpaper every time she blinked, scraping down over her sore eyes., like grains of dirt. Her limbs were tender, her muscles aching and her back burned from having slept on a hard floor. It was painful for her to keep walking, but it was all she could do. If she just kept walking, perhaps they really would find the others. Perhaps they had gotten out together, Rick and Carl and Daryl, and perhaps they had set up a camp not far from where they were. If she just kept walking and listened out hard enough, maybe she would hear them. Hear Judith's cry or Carl's laugh. And she would recognise Daryl's voice from anywhere.

As for Maggie, there was a fierce determination about her. She was always a few steps ahead of Beth, her gun in one hand, her head held high. Beth knew she was pinning all of her hopes on finding that bus, on finding Glen, and right now she was certain she would and everything would be okay again. Beth wished she could be as optimistic, as tall and as strong, but she was feeling broken. Broken and sick.

Her stomach ached, an unpleasant mixture of hunger and queasiness. Her body cried for her to stop, but she could not. Walking began to grow painful as her stomach grew in pressure, her insides feeling as though they were wriggling around within her, trying to get out. They swirled around within her like acid and Beth found herself hugging her arms around her waist.

'Come on, Beth, I think we're near,' Maggie said.

'Near where?' Beth asked through gritted teeth.

Maggie stopped for a moment to look back at her younger sister. Maggie's eyes were wide and shining but Beth could see that she was close to the edge, that there was a hysteria about her. She looked Beth over and bit her already sore and broken lip.

'Beth you look like death,' she said, frowning, 'are you okay?'

'I feel sick,' Beth said simply.

Maggie walked back towards her and placed the back of her hand against her sister's sweating head.

'You feel hot.' she said, and Beth saw the fear pass across her sister's face, 'you were exposed back in A block. You might be sick.'

Beth swallowed.

'Come on. We need to find the others. It's even more important now. Put an arm around me.'

Maggie wrapped one arm around Beth's waist as Beth wrapped one weak arm around her sister's shoulders. It was in this awkward manner that they carried on, walking along the dusty road, Beth's feet occasionally dragging across the dust as her energy slipped.

'There are car tracks here' Beth said after a while.

'Hm?' Maggie stopped and looked down to where Beth was pointing. Amongst the dirt of the road were clear tire marks, leading away from them. Maggie's face lit up and she hurried them both along. Beth kept her eyes on the road, watching as the tire tracks grew more and more erratic. From straight, they began to swerve from either side of the road, and grew deeper in marks. Beth swallowed, but Maggie's demeanour did not change.

They turned the corner and straight ahead of them was the bus, plunged off the side of the road and towards the dipped edge of bushes and trees.

Maggie stopped. She was breathing heavily, her chest rising rapidly. Then, with a deep breath, she let go of Beth and headed towards it.

'Maggie!' Beth called, but Maggie did not stop. She took off at a run and so Beth limped after her, trying to force her body to go faster.

Maggie slowed as she approached the bus, rounding on it and heading towards the windows.

Beth arrived just as a walker appeared at it, slamming up against the window and making both sister's jump. Beth took several steps back as an elder walker leaned out of a broken window, growling low in its throat and reaching an arm out towards them. More arms reached out as Maggie walked towards the back doors.

'I have to know if he's in there,' she said to Beth, her voice breaking.

Beth looked over the bus, taking in the puncture wounds, the bullet holes. The bus must have been caught in the cross fire, everyone within it must have died. Her heart beat profusely in her chest, almost painfully against her empty stomach. She looked at her sister, at her dark eyes as they tried to hold back tears, the pale lips she was biting, steadying herself. She was trying her hardest to look strong, to look calm.

'Okay,' Beth said. 'Let them out one at a time.'

Maggie took a deep breath and nodded. Slowly, Beth opened the door, allowing one walker to fall out. He growled deeply as he pushed past the door and fell to the gravel. It wasn't Glen.

Maggie stabbed him through the head. She stood up, shook her hair out of her face and looked to Beth. She nodded. Beth let another out. And another. But after the third, the walker's inside had figured out what was happening, and had all piled their bloated bodies against the door. Their hands pushed against the door with vigour, the guttural growls of their dead throats loud and threatening, the stench overpowering.

'I – I can't hold it!' Beth grunted as the metal began to push her backwards.

Suddenly, several of the walkers fell out of the door and hit the floor, picking them selves up quickly and heading towards Maggie. Beth took her knife and wrestled with as many as she could whilst Maggie stood aside, staring off into the oncoming walkers. She was breathing shallowly, her mouth open.

'Maggie!' Beth cried, as a walker advanced on her; her shoulder burned as she grappled with it, trying to keep it off of her. It's teeth gnashed towards her face, its own face swollen and purple, eyes blank and unknown. Beth could only surmise that a death within the bus had triggered this outbreak, spreading too quickly for anyone to control.

Then Maggie was there; she pulled the walker from her sister and kicked it to the floor. As the walker attempted to stand itself back up, Maggie grabbed it by its hair and slammed its head against the side of the bus, again, and again, and again until its face was nothing but a pulpy, bloodied mess, eye sockets caved in, flesh dripping from its shattered bones. Then she pulled its flailing body off and plunged her knife deep into its skull with a scream. She let the body drop and stepped back, wiping her arm across her head, breathing heavy.

Beth could see she was close to tears as she stepped away from the bodies and looked over the ones littered across the floor.

'Maybe he got away,' Beth said, looking over the bodies too. None of the faces or the bodies matched up to Glen.

Beth swallowed hard as her eyes moved across the bloodied mess on the side of the road as she recognised some of the distorted faces, some of the items of clothing.

'They were good people' she said softly. 'All of them.'

Maggie looked up at the bus.

Before Beth could say any more, she had run to the bus and pulled herself up into it. Beth saw her disappear inside, heard the growl of a walker, then the silence that followed. Her heart was in her throat as she waited.

Slowly, she approached the bus and peered in. Maggie was sitting in one of the seats, surrounded by blood and gore, torn apart bodies and guts strewn all around her. And she was sobbing.

Beth pulled herself up in after her and looked around the bus. She made her way down the middle aisle, her boots squelching as they trod across the innards that littered the floor, soaked into the carpet. She could only imagine the devastation that had taken place here, terrified people fleeing for their lives, trapped within the bus, unable to escape as their friends, family, loved ones died around them, bullets piercing the bus, killing them, reanimating them, then being torn limb from limb, their wounded flesh feasted on as the bus drove itself off of the side of the road.

'He's not here,' Maggie cried, 'he's not here.'

Beth slowly approached her sister and laid a hand on her shoulder. Her sister's body shook as she cried, tears pouring down her face, leaving streaks through the mud and the grime and the blood that caked it.

'Then we'll find him.' Beth said.

Maggie, sniffing hard, placed her own hand atop Beth's. She nodded.

Maggie's violent outburst with the walkers and tears seemed to have grounded her somewhat, and the sister's were able to walk away from the butchery of the bus a little more together. They walked side by side and in silence for what felt like a long time, keeping to the road. They discovered a few abandoned cars on their way, from which they found one bottle of water and a few granola bars. Beth was unable to eat anything, despite her hunger, for her stomach was not in its best shape, and it lurched as she took a bite of the stale bar, her mouth turning cold and sour until she was forced to spit it back out. She managed some of the water however, relishing the liquid as it momentarily soothed her raw skin. One of the cars they found Beth leant in the back and was shocked suddenly to see a babies car seat still strapped in the back. It was bloodied but thankfully empty, yet it took Beth's breath away for a moment. Her mind forced an image of Judith strapped within the seat and she felt her heart lurch. Where was Judith now? She had not been able to find her at the prison, so she hoped that meant someone else had got her. She was not on the bus, at least. Beth reached out and gently stroked the side of the fabric, noticing how dirty her nails were against the dark blue, until Maggie gently pulled her away.

'We'll find them,' she said simply.

A little while on from the car and its baby seat, they came across a truck stop. It was one of those tiny, old places with the neon sign outside and a greasy spoon diner attached. Gingerly, the sister's made their way towards it, treading carefully.

'Do you think the other's ever found this?' Beth asked softly, keeping her eyes on their surroundings.

'Maybe.' Maggie shrugged. 'They would go out pretty far.'

'A lot of gas here, and those abandoned trucks could easily be siphoned from.' Beth said.

Maggie glanced down at her, a smile playing across her lips.

'What?' Beth frowned.

'Yer Daryl's gal aint ya,' Maggie grinned, trying to imitate his particular accent.

Beth laughed, but it was bittersweet. She missed him.

The light fixtures inside the small building were falling from a decrepit ceiling and still flickering, casting the store and the outside step in a creepy, ominous light. The front door was smashed in, so Maggie stepped over the threshold and into the weirdly lit store beyond. As could have been told from the state of the door, the inside was ransacked, the shelves fallen and the till pulled apart.

Slowly, the two women made their way around the small store, picking up what they could and inspecting them. There was not much left, but they managed to fill a plastic bag with a few bottles of juice and bags of dried fruit, pork scratchings and nuts.

'Check behind the counter for ammo,' Maggie told her sister, pointing towards the counter.

Beth did as she was told, stepping carefully over the broken glass. As she went, she noticed the door to the greasy spoon was open ajar. Beth passed it slowly and ducked behind the counter. She rummaged through what was left; there was one soggy pack of cigarettes but no ammo. She pocketed the cigarettes and stood up to shake her head across at her sister. She was just about to speak when her head suddenly went foggy.

Blinking hard, she put her hands flat down onto the worktop, ignoring the tiny specks of glass that pierced her skin. She took several deep breaths, keeping her eyes trained on her shaking hands.

'Beth? Are you okay?' Maggie hurried across to her.

Beth shook her head, swallowing hard as a coldness swept over her. Eventually, as she regained composure, she looked back up and into the concerned face of her sister.

'I'm okay,' she breathed, 'just came over faint.'

'You feel sick?' Maggie asked.

Beth considered it for a moment, regarding her own body. She definitely felt queasy.

'A little.' She confessed.

Maggie nodded.

'I think we've got all everything we can from here, let's go.'

'Let's check the cafe first,' Beth said, 'might be water.'

Maggie eyed the door, its hanging 'open' sign still visible. She nodded.

The cafe was much the same as the store, except for more natural light through the wall of windows, at least where they were not stained with grime and dirt. The sister's stepped through the booths, their boots sticking to the floor as they walked. The smell in the cafe was almost too much for Beth to take, and she regretted suggesting they ever enter the room. The stench of stale grease filled the air, mixed with decaying flesh and dust. It was over empowering and Beth felt herself becoming light headed again.

Maggie, unaware of Beth's predicament, headed towards the counter which was thick with grime, dust having settled atop the grease and forming an inch thick layer of filth. Maggie passed it and headed for the small kitchen behind it.

Slowly, Beth followed her.

The smell in the kitchen was even worse, and Beth had to cover her face to stop herself from gagging.

Maggie headed to the pantry door and pulled it open a fraction of a second too late; Beth saw the panic flit across her face as she turned the handle, as both herself and Maggie heard the groans. The door fell open and bodies fell out with it, knocking Maggie to the floor and taking her breath away.

The walkers converged on her, some picking their-selves back up and heading for Beth.

Beth kicked and shoved her way to her sister and used all of her remaining strength to pull her sister out from beneath them. Maggie kicked them off of her, pushing herself back with her feet. With Beth's help, she found her footing and stood back up, but the room was full. There must have been at least fifteen, all crammed into the one small kitchen.

'There!' Maggie called to her sister, 'the back exit!'

Beth looked to where her sister had nodded to see a small glass door leading out to a car park. She nodded as she held a large walker at bay and struggled to get her knife between his eyes. As he fell, he brought Beth down with him, crashing her knees into the tile below. She cried out in pain, but rolled herself off of the body. A smaller, female walker was on her before she had even got to her knees, their bony fingers digging into her collar bone. She cried out again and grabbed a handful of the walker's hair, pulling it down over her shoulder and to the floor before her. Grabbing at the oven, Beth pulled herself up then brought her boot down on the walker's face until it caved in.

Maggie was evading the walkers as best she could, dodging them before going in for the kill. The room was too small for her to fire her remaining bullets, they could easily have reverberated and hit either herself or Beth. She was sweating profusely, and blood and bits of flesh were hanging from her shirt and hair. Walker's were getting between the two sisters, until when Beth glanced over again, she could no longer see Maggie, only hear her.

Beth felt something at her ankle and looked down to see a walker had clamped onto it and was dragging itself towards her. Beth cried out and tried to get away but the walker's teeth connected; Beth screamed and stamped her foot down again, smashing the head in around her own boot. Tears were pouring down her face as she pulled herself out and away from the mess, her heart beating so fast she thought it would burst. She collided with another walker who instantly pulled her into a death hug from behind. She screamed and kicked out, smashing her head into its nose. Beth heard the crack of bone, but the walker did not release her. She threw herself forward with all of her might, bringing the walker forward with her. Once they hit the floor, Beth rolled out of its way before swinging her knife back towards it. She did not allow herself a second to breathe before she pulled herself away and crawled hysterically towards the back-doors. She was sobbing as she pulled herself up by the handle and forced open the door; the fresh air was a fantastic relief to her and she gulped it down as she fell out onto the concrete. She struggled to her feet and fell forward several steps before her legs gave way and she crashed back down again.

Her head was spinning and her stomach was rolling; she retched up again and again, tasting the salty wet of her tears on her lips and seeing her lank hair blood stained as it hung before her. Beth could not get the air down her throat or into her lungs, and her head was pounding and her heart hammering.

She was gasping in pain; was she under water? Her vision was swimming and she simply could not breathe. Had she closed the door behind her? Were the walkers converging on her? Her entire body was shaking and sweat was pouring from every inch of her body. Her throat and her chest were beginning to burn in agony as she tried to get her breath back, but her heart was lodged in her throat and would not allow it. The world around her was beginning to grey, then the concrete of the ground was coming up towards her and her head it the ground. Everything went black.