The last body was placed into the back of Daryl's truck. Nicole's heart ached when she saw how many people they'd lost. Daryl and Nicole's eyes locked together for half a second before he started making his way up the hill to their graveyard.

Cheyanne grabbed Nicole's hand as the remained of the camp began trekking up the hill. It was silent. No one talked, no one cried, no one had emotion. They were all blank faces as they climbed up the hill to seal their friends' fates. To seal them in a dirt-covered tomb. To send them away with one last wish of safe passage to wherever they may go.

When the group reached the top, Daryl was lecturing about burning and burying the bodies. Then he started off on another fit about rules. Nicole rolled her eyes at the man. Cheyanne glanced at the pile of people and buried her face into her mother's left leg.

"There are no rules," Rick stated.

"Well, that's a problem," Lori spoke up, "We haven't had one minute to hold onto anything of our old selves. We need time to mourn and we need to bury our dead. That's what people do."

Nicole nodded as Lori turned back around. Nicole placed a gentle hand onto Lori's arm. Lori gazed up to her best friend with teary eyes. She wanted to be safe. She wanted her friends alive and safe. The two women met in a hug. They wanted the same things.

One by one, their deceased members were lowered and buried in the ground. Every few people, one of the living would say something in a eulogy. When it came Donovan's turn, Nicole cringed. Rick and Shane lowered him into his grave gently.

"Would anyone like to say something for Donovan?" Rick asked. His eyes were obviously tired. He was so, so tired. Of everything. He wanted to sleep. He wanted to cry. He wanted to scream. But he held it all together with a gentle smile.

"I will," Cheyanne suddenly piped up. Everyone looked down to the little girl. She started to dig in her jean pocket for a melted bitesize Three Musketeer. "Donovan was very nice to me. He always said he risked his life when he stole candy from his sister." Chey's brown eyes watered as she gazed down to the little chocolate. "He always said he'd find something to give me. He always tried to make me smile and laugh -- said I didn't do that enough," she half laughed. "He always promised me that one day he'd get the biggest candy bar he could find, just so he could put a smile on my face."

Nicole crouched down, placing a gentle hand on her daughter's shoulder. Cheyanne was on the verge of tears. "I told him that I would split it with him," she sniffled. "We made each other a promise and since I can't so that now, I'm gonna give you this." She stepped forward and laid the melted candy on his chest. "I promised I'd share it. You can never break a promise." Chey turned around and said, "Rest in Peace, Donovan."

Cheyanne walked up to her mother, who engulfed her in a hug. Chey's legs wrapped around Nicole's waist as she stood up. Nicole had tears in her eyes. Rick and Shane each sighed and started to throw dirt on his body.

When the final body, Amy's body, got pulled out, everyone tensed as Andrea insisted she does it herself. She was trying so hard and Dale wanted to do nothing but help her. "I can do it," she cried as she finally got her sister close to the hole. Dale gently lifted her feet and lowered her into the grave. Dale helped her out and Andrea began piling dirt on as she bawled. This broke Nicole's heart.

Everyone started to make their way back toward camp. Nicole tightly held her daughter on her side; even though, Cheyanne was getting heavy. She couldn't put her down. Not right now. Not in this desperate time of comfort. Nicole noticed Daryl's absence from the group of people, so she assumed he'd be staying behind to bring the truck back.

"Nicole!" Carl's voice called out as he ran up beside her. "Can I walk with you?" Nicole smiled and nodded. She pulled the young boy into her side as they walked. She loved these kids.

When they reached camp, everyone sat around the dead fire. Carl and Cheyanne sat in the dirt beside each other. Nicole crouched down and grabbed a small twig. She began breaking it into the shape of an accordion.

Nicole saw Chey and Carl start to play tic-tac-toe in the dirt. Carl was trying to cheer Chey up and he managed to do it. Her little speech, about how she didn't smile much, hit him hard. He realized he spent too much time frolicking with Sophia and to little time with his close, close friend. He let his little crush on Sophia get to him and he ignored the one other person that made him happy.

Daryl walked by with his shotgun. He met eyes with Nicole. He saw how exhausted she was. He knew that she hadn't slept since they got back from the city. He knew that all of this death and action was taking a toll on her. He knew that none of it was helping her small concussion.

Lori walked over, grazing her hand across her tired friends back before she sat down. She pulled a small stick from the fire and began to sharpen it with her knife. Nicole shut her tired eyes. She didn't even notice as Shane, Rick, and Dale walked over. When Shane spoke up, it startled her. Let's just say she fell backward.

"I've been, uh--" Shane began, leaning his forward on his shotgun. "I've been thinking about Rick's plan. Now look, there are no-- there are no guarantees either way. I'll be the first one to admit that."

Nicole gazed up to Shane. "I've known this man a long time. I trust his instincts," Shane said as he looked around the fireplace. "I say the most important thing here is we need to stay together." Shane's eyes met Nicole's with a slight nod. "So those of you that agree, we leave first thing in the morning."

The sun was setting and everyone retreated to their tents to let this proposal stew. Nicole knew her decision. She was going to stick by her friends'. Glenn and Cheyanne walked to their tent. Nicole, however, needed to clear something with Daryl.

Night fast approached and Dale was on watch. Nicole could hear Jim's dying coughs in the RV. They were almost as loud as the cicadas and crickets that surrounded them. Nikki made her way to the hillbilly's tent. She stood outside his tent and sighed. "Daryl?" her soft voice called.

Daryl opened up his tent and stepped out. "What is it, Nik?" he sounded slightly concerned.

"I wanted to try and convince you to come with us to the CDC since I know you're not planning on coming--"

"I'm going,"

"I need you to come. You may get on my nerves, but I need you to come. Chey loves you and--"

"I'm going,"

"I need you to know where you are so I don't have to worry about you as much and so I can keep my promise to Jess,"

"I'm going," Daryl said slightly louder than the last two times.

"So I need you -- wait, you're going? Why didn't you say something instead of letting me trail off?" Nicole asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"Woman, I did. Twice before you heard me but you were to busy runnin' your mouth." Daryl gave her a smirk.

"Oh," she whispered, "Why'd you decide to some before I came to 'convince' you?"

Daryl didn't say anything; he just nibbled on his thumbnail while looking at the blonde girl's face. "Oh," she uttered as she picked her nails. "Okay, well, um, I'm gonna go to sleep," Nicole said as she started to turn away from him.

"Nik, wait," he spoke out.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry. For that shit I said earlier," he admitted.

Nicole didn't say anything. She gave him a gentle nod before walking back to her tent.

Morning came quicker than Nicole expected. Glenn wasn't in the tent and his gear was packed neatly for once. Nicole glanced down the Cheyanne, who's rash had dimmed slightly. She shimmied out of the sleeping bag and stood up. Nicole grabbed her pack and dug through to the bottom on it, where she found spare clothes. She had forgotten about them if she was being honest.

Nicole placed her hands at the bottom of her bloody tank-top and pulled it off. She shimmied out of her jeans after she pushed off her shoes. Nicole grabbed the green t-shirt at the bottom of her bag and pulled it on. She also pulled on a clean pair of black jeans.

Nicole slipped on her shoes and woke up her daughter. She gave her some medicine and gave her clothes to get dressed with. Nicole began rolling up their sleeping bag and clipped it onto her bag. She pulled on the straps and grabbed her bat. The two walked out.

Nicole was almost shocked when she saw that a majority of the tents were taken down. People were piling their stuff into vehicles. Nicole walked over to Daryl's truck. She noticed how his bag and tent were already inside of the trunk. Nicole tossed her bag into it as well.

She made her way over to Carol, who was helping Sophia get ready. The two met with a smile. "Moring, Carol."

"Good morning, Nikki," Carol replied.

"You ready for this daunting trip?" Nicole inquired as she bent down to Carol's level. Carol just laughed and said no. The two made some small talk before they each noticed Rick and Shane walking to the front of everyone. Other's did as well and began to huddle around the vehicles that were ready to leave. Nicole and Cheyanne walked over to Daryl's truck.

"Everyone listen up," Shane called out, "Those of you with CB's, we're gonna be on channel 40. Let's keep the chatter down, okay?" Nicole leaned against the dainty thing behind them. "Now you got a problem, don't have a CB, can't get a signal or anything at all, you're gonna hit your horn one time. That'll stop the caravan. Any questions?"

Nicole felt sweat begin to drip down her face. She quickly wiped it away as Morales spoke up, "We're, uh, we're not going."

"We have family in Birmingham. We want to be with our people," Miranda said with a quiver in her voice.

"You go on your own, you won't have anyone to watch your back," Shane tried to convince them.

"We'll take the chance. I gotta do what's best for my family," Morales stated.

"You sure?" Rick asked.

"We talked about it. We're sure," Morales said. Rick and Shane shared a look before bending down and pulling out a gun with ammo. They walked up to Morales and offered it to him.

Nicole saw Daryl biting at his nail. He started when they mentioned leaving. Nicole thought it was a dumb idea. She respected it, but it was a dumb idea. She understood wanting to find their family. She went through literal hell trying to find hers and ended up with no avail.

When Shane said that the box of ammo was half full, Daryl scoffed. Nicole got off the truck and made her way over to the family. After Lori kissed the childrens' forehead and hugged Miranda, Eliza gave Sophia her doll. Nicole took her turn giving Miranda a hug before pulling Louis and Eliza into a group one. "You take care of them, okay, little man?" Nicole chuckled as she pulled away.

Louis nodded as Nicole stood up. Cheyanne made sure to give her friends a hug. "We'll see each other again one day," she told them.

"How can you be so sure?" Eliza asked.

"I promise," Chey said with a smile. The three broke down and hugged each other again. Everyone said goodbye to them and they retreated to their car.

"Let's go. Let's move out," Shane called out. Everyone went to their designated vehicles. Jacqui, Jim, Glenn, Dale and Andrea in the RV, The Grimes and Peletiers in the Cherokee, T in the van, Shane in his Jeep, and Daryl, Nicole and Cheyanne in the truck.

Daryl and Nicole sat in silence as they drove. Her arm was out the window as she enjoyed to cool breeze that wisped past. Cheyanne attempted to draw in her book. It was peaceful. Nicole enjoyed this -- sitting in comfortable silence.

The group drove for about forty-five minutes before they had to stop. Nicole jumped out of the truck with her bat. Cheyanne and Daryl followed right behind her. "What happened?"

"Dale thinks the radiator hose blew out," Glenn told her.

"Fantastic," she said, placing the bat onto her shoulder. Dale opened up the front of the RV. Steam seeped out of it.

"I told you we'd never get far on that hose," Dale lectured Rick. "I said I needed the one from the cube van."

"Can't you just jury rig it?" Nicole asked as she watched the forest nervously.

"That's all it's been so far. More duct tape than hose," Dale paused. Daryl walked up beside Nicole nudging her back slightly to tell her that he was there. "And I'm out of duct tape."

Nicole sighed and nervously shifted her weight back and forth. "I see something up ahead," Shane announced. "A gas station if we're lucky."

Nicole scoffed under her breath, "There's no such thing."

Jacqui came running out of the RV, "Y'all, Jim. It's bad. I don't think he can take anymore."

Nicole lowered her bat and stared at the ground. She was so tired of losing people. "Hey, Rick, you wanna hold down the fort? I'll drive ahead, see what I can bring back."

T-Dog said he'd go too. "Y'all keep your eyes open. We'll be right back."

"You two better," Nicole called out as they pulled themselves into Shane's Jeep. T gave her a thumbs up before they drove off. Nicole shook her head, before walking back to Daryl's truck. Cheyanne was sitting on the passenger side, drawing on her notebook.

Nikki wished she could read her daughter's mind. She was so complex, but then again, she had Nicole as a mother. Nicole thought about how messed up this world would make her. She questioned the things that they would have to do to survive. Nicole didn't want her innocent little girl to experience anymore horror than she already had.

"What're you drawing?" Nicole asked as she bent down in front of the young girl. Chey held up a finger and scribbled down a few more lines.

"I drew the qu--" Chey stumbled, "Quarry." She turned the sketchbook around. "I drew all of our friends who died there and the monsters that did it."

"Why'd you draw the monsters?"

"Everyone deserves a place to be happy," Chey said, "They weren't always like that. They were people. They need a place where they don't hurt anymore -- where that virus can't hurt them anymore. They'd want to be in our heaven the way they were when they died."

Nicole admired the optimism in the little girl. She was so hopeful and so good. That added to the already long list of what Nicole loved about her daughter.

Shane and T-Dog came back with some supplies, not a lot, but it was something. Dale took the scrounged duct tape and jury-rigged the RV's hose quickly.

Rick called for a meeting and told the group that Jim wanted to be left here. That he said he couldn't take any more traveling. "It's what he says he wants," Rick told them.

"And he's lucid?" Carol questioned.

"He seems to be," Rick replied as he took off his hat and rubbed the sweat from his face. "I would say yes."

"Back in the camp when I said Daryl might be right and I got shut down, y'all misunderstood," Dale spoke up. "I would never go along with callously killing a man. I was just gonna suggest that we ask Jim what he wants. And I think we have the answer."

Nicole sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. "We just leave him here? We take off? Man, I'm not sure I could live with that."

Nicole thoughts trailed back to Jess and how Daryl and she left him to end it all. She glanced over to Daryl, who had the same hesitant look on his face as she did. He was thinking about his uncle too.

"It's not your call, either one of you," Lori said.

Rick sighed, before motioning Shane inside. Nicole picked at her nails as she thought about what they were doing. Rick and Shane pulled Jim from the RV and brought him over to a tree.

The group slowly made their way over to Jim, who cracked a joke to Shane. Shane didn't want this to happen so he tried to convince his friend otherwise. "It's good. This breeze feels nice."

Shane backed away and Jacqui made her way over to him. She kissed his cheek after saying something. She then ran back to the RV with tears running down her face. Rick tried to offer a gun to him, but he shot him down.

Dale went up and said his goodbye. Cheyanne and Nicole made their way up. Chey bent down and hugged the man. "Hey, sweet pea."

"I hope you enjoy heaven, Mr. Jim," she whispered. Her lip quivered as tears threatened to fall.

"My front pocket," he uttered, "keep it."

Cheyanne's nimble fingers went into his dainty pocket and pulled out a wedding ring. "Don't you want to keep this?" Nicole asked.

"I want her to have it," Jim whispered, "a gift to remember me by."

"Okay," Nicole whispered, "I'm so sorry this happened to you."

"It's okay," Jim murmured.

Nicole and Cheyanne both stood up and turned to walk away. Everyone else started to walk away with them. Tears streamed down their faces as they reached their cars. Everyone got in and one by one they started up. Nicole watched as Cheyanne waved at the dying man as they drove away.

They reached their destination. Nicole frantically searched for signs of life over the sea of dead bodies. She grabbed her bat and held it high. Daryl placed a hand at her back for a moment. "Stay close to me."

Nicole nodded as the group started going forward. "Chey, put your shirt over your nose and mouth," she whispered to the little girl and did the same. "Carl, Sophia, you too."

They did. The children clung to their mother's. Nicole had a bad feeling stirring in her core. If the bodies weren't enough, she wondered what would be for the group to turn around. Daryl stuck by Nicole's side as they group weaved through the bodies.

"Keep it together, c'mon." Shane waved the group to keep closer.

"Almost there, baby girl. Almost there," Nicole whispered to Cheyanne. Cheyanne nodded. She was too scared to say a word.

Rick and Shane reached the door. They tried to get it open, and when they couldn't Shane made a desperate attempt at pounding on it.

"There's nobody here," T-Dog spoke up.

Nicole held her child close; Daryl stood at her side. "Then why are these shutters down?" Rick questioned. Nicole didn't argue that he had a point.

"Walkers!" Daryl announced the monsters' presence. Cheyanne buried her face into her mother's legs. Daryl shot the monster with an arrow. "You led us into a graveyard!"

"He made a call," Dale said.

"It was the wrong damn call!" Daryl stormed forward but got cut off by Shane pushing him back.

"Just shut up. Do you hear me? Shut up." Shane pushed him back. "Shut up." He marched back over to his friend, "Rick, this is a dead end."

"Where we gonna go?" Carol cried.

"Anywhere but here," Nicole spoke. Daryl returned to her side, watching as a couple of walkers go into view. "Rick, we can't be here!"

"She's right. We can't be this close to the city after dark," Lori said as she cradled her son.

"Fort Benning, Rick. Still an option," Shane suggested.

"On what? No food, no fuel. That's a hundred miles," Andrea told him.

"125, I checked the map," Glenn corrected.

"Forget Fort Benning. We need answers tonight, now," Lori begged.

"We'll think of something," Rick said, trying to calm his wife down. Shane started to usher people back to their cars.

"All right, everybody back to the cars," he commanded. Daryl grabbed Nicole's arm gently and tried to pull her along.

"The camera -- it moved," Rick said.

"Rick," Nicole began but Dale cut her off.

"You imagined it."

"It moved," Rick insisted.

"Rick, it is dead, man." Shane tried to convince his partner. "It's an automated device, man. It's gears. They're just winding down. Now come on."

Shane started yelling at Rick that this place was dead. "Rick, please! Nobody's here!" Nicole yelled to her friend. She pulled out her .9mm and aimed out toward the incoming walkers.

Rick didn't listen. He banged on the doors. "I know you're in there. I know you can hear me."

"Get back to the cars now!"

"Please, we're desperate. Please help us. We have women, children, no food, hardly any gas left," Rick yelled. Lori ran in front of him to try to convince her husband. "We have nowhere else to go!"

Nicole was scared. She would admit that she was scared. More and more walkers piled into the courtyard, being drawn by the loud noises and yelling that the group was making.

"If you don't let us in, you're killing us! You're killing us!" Rick yelled, hysterically. Shane ran forward, grabbing his partner and pulled him. Rick continued to yell.

That's when a blinding light flooded their eyes. Rick was right.

hey guys! how was your day? good, i hope. i worked all day on 4 hours of sleep and a monster. i've got to stop depriving myself of sleep lol i'm gonna go to sleep (it's 11pm, and it's so early for me 'cause I've been going to sleep at like 3am. That's so bad :). i'm so tired and I gotta wake up and go back to school shopping with a friend tomorrow. (i've had way to much social interaction there past few days; i'm so socially exhausted) it's okay though. i haven't seen her all summer so i'm excited :) welp, i guess that's it. if you feel like it, drop a comment and a vote. it means a lot. i hope you have a great rest of your day/night and a great weekend. sleep and eat well, tell your parents you love them, say hi to a stranger. remember to be safe and be nice to one another. i love you all. peaceeeee -erin