Seth took the lead—it was more efficient that way with his bow—and he led them at fast pace through the woods, taking out the walkers directly in front of them, but leaving everything they could avoid alone. Eventually the area they were in seemed clear. The only noise Asha heard was her own harsh breathing and the rapid sounds of their footsteps beating through the brush.

'Hold up Seth.'

She slung her spear across her back out of the way and pulled out the compass. They'd been going in generally the right direction, but she corrected their course slightly and gestured for Seth to keep the lead with his bow.

'You're pretty good with that,' she said, stuffing the compass in her back pocket. 'Where'd ya learn?'

He snorted. 'High school archery. The basics anyway.' He held out the bow. 'Scavenged this early on and had lots of time to practice.'

'You hunt? For food I mean.'

He shrugged. 'I never had to, always managed to scavenge enough to eat. Guess I'll have to try some day.'

'There's a guy at our camp that hunts, he's pretty good. Might be able to give you some pointers.'

'Yeah?'

She shrugged.

They walked in silence for a bit, accompanied by the occasional bird noise and the constant hum of a thousand insects calling, scuttling and generally living their lives out among the trees. Asha drank it in. It felt good to be in the woods again. She liked the fact that although humanity might be fucked, nature was otherwise kicking along the way it always had.

There was a sudden discordant note in the woodlands noise. Her head jerked up, and a walker staggered snarling from behind a tree off to their right. Seth glanced at her before altering course to take them around it. It wasn't moving fast enough to concern them so they let it be.

'You aren't afraid of them are you?' Seth asked.

'Not really, not anymore.' She gestured dismissively at the one they'd just passed. 'And definitely not just one.'

'They're part of God's plan,' Seth said.

Asha rolled her eyes at the back of his head. Some plan.

'It's the people you have to watch out for these days,' he continued.

Asha's eyes narrowed, remembering the warehouse in Braysville. 'Yeah, about that. Did you see anyone pass through town recently, group of about five or so men maybe?

'No. You're the first person I've seen in months.'

Asha frowned, it wasn't impossible that those men—whoever they were—hadn't gone down the main street, but seemed unlikely. As Seth had said, everyone went down the main street to scavenge.

'Who were they?' Seth asked.

'No-one.'

'Bad men?' His lips were compressed into a thin line as he glanced over his shoulder at her.

'Probably. What about a tall skinny guy, late forties I guess, with an eye patch. Might have been alone or maybe with a couple of other guys.' She rubbed her forehead. 'He could have come through...any time since the end of last summer I guess.'

'They were bad men,' Seth said grimly. 'All of them. Eye patch, the hispanic, the black guy. Bad men.'

'You saw them.' Asha took a couple of quick steps and grabbed him by the shoulder. 'When?'

'Ages ago. About the end of summer, maybe the start of fall. It wasn't long after your brother, I think.' He shifted his bow from one hand to the other and started walking again.

Asha dropped her hand from his shoulder.

That didn't make sense. If Seth had seen Nash about six months ago, that would have been after the Governor came through.

'I was going to kill them,' Seth said, looking back over his shoulder. 'God wanted me to, they were bad. But there was three of them, and I wasn't sure I could get them all before they got me.'

'Pity,' Asha muttered.

Seth's eyes flashed to her quickly.

'Have you ever killed anyone Asha?' he asked softly.

Asha missed a step. Well, the Council was going to ask him the same thing. She supposed he had a right to ask too.

'Yes,' she said flatly.

He nodded. 'I thought so. I can see you're strong. Knew you'd have to be to be the one who's going to help me.'

Asha sighed. 'What is this help you think I'm gonna give you Seth. I'm just taking you back to my camp.'

He grinned at her over his shoulder, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

'Do you want to know a secret,' he said.

'What secret?'

'The one they didn't want anyone to know about before…before it all changed.'

'Why didn't they want anyone to know about it?'

He looked at her like she was an idiot.

She shrugged. 'Fine, what's this secret.'

'You already know it.'

'Don't reckon I do.'

'Yeah you do. You know what it takes to survive.'

She looked at him.

'Go on. Say it. You know what you gotta be willing to do.'

Asha narrowed her eyes at him.

'You've gotta be willing to kill.'

His eyes burned with a startling ferocity as they pinned her over his shoulder.

Asha ignored the tremor in her stomach and shrugged. 'Don't know that that's much of a secret anymore.'

He giggled. 'Nah. That's why there's another secret. A deeper one. Hidden inside the first one. The real secret. It's the key to this world. It's the real one that they didn't want anyone to know.' His head twisted from side to side as he spoke. 'They piled society on top of it, tried to bury it in rules. But it was still there…oh yes, it was still there, waiting to come out…you know this secret too.'

Asha's skin crawled. She was suddenly very happy that she'd kept him out in front of her where she could see him.

'I don't know what you're talking about.'

'Don't hide Asha,' his voice was teasing and his eyes overly bright. 'I've seen it. It's in your eyes. You know it. You know it and I want to hear you say it.'

'Why don't you tell me what it is?'

He frowned, looking almost childish in his petulance. 'But I know you know it.'

'Maybe I want to hear you say it.'

She didn't, but there was definitely something not right about Seth and she wanted to divert him before he realised she had no idea which particular tree of crazy he was barking up.

His feverish eyes lit up. 'Yes, yes. I should say it.' He licked his lips, eyes darting around. 'It's easy.'

'What's easy?'

'Killing people, it's easy.' He giggled. 'That's what they didn't want anyone to know. Life isn't sacred or special its just—' he held out his hand and blew on his palm like he was blowing away dust, '—pfft.'

Asha felt sick to her stomach. There was no way she could take Seth back to the prison with all the people there. Maybe she could knock him out and leave him somewhere in the woods.

'I thought all life was sacred to God,' she said. 'Didn't he tell us not to kill each other?'

Seth nodded vigorously. 'Once maybe. But he made life fragile too, and he can take it away anytime he wants.'

Asha cast about desperately for something to say. 'The man with the eyepatch, how did you know he was bad?'

'He was alive.'

Asha waited for him to continue, and then slowed when he didn't say anything further.

'That's it?'

'Yes.'

Seth looked around at the leaves in the trees, a strangely peaceful expression across his handsome features. 'This is all part of God's plan Asha. God is wiping out mankind for its sins—and can you blame him. We're lost. We've been lost for years...'

Asha came to a dead stop. 'You really think this is God's plan?' She could feel the sneer starting on her face and fought it down. She didn't need to aggravate him.

He wouldn't have noticed.

His face was alight, eyes lost. 'Yes. It's like the flood...or the plagues in Egypt. It's the rapture Asha. All the good people have been collected and God is wiping out the rest. All of us who are left are bad people. Bad, bad people. God wants us all to turn. The whole world is being washed clean in blood, and at the end, when all the dead eventually rot away...it will all start again.'

She stared at him in horror, and then shook herself. 'So why not just kill yourself, if God wants everyone left to turn?'

Seth's eyes were wide and feverish. 'At the end, if it comes to it, I will. But for now, God's chosen me to help him carry out his plan.' He smiled widely. 'And God has sent you to be my helpmate. That's what the sign was for.'

'What do you mean, what plan?'

He frowned, brow creased. 'People are stubborn. People are fighting it, trying to stay alive. That's why God chose us to help.' His eyes locked on hers. 'We're going to kill them all—starting with the people at the prison.'

Asha reeled back as if slapped, chest heaving as she struggled to breathe. 'I never told you where we were going.'

'I know. But I had my suspicions when you were looking at the map back at the car—and you just confirmed it.'

Shit.

Guess she wouldn't just be knocking him out.

Asha swallowed hard. 'And when we get there, you want to...'

'It's the only way Asha.'

Her mind gaped, an open chasm blank with shock at what he was saying—but then she suddenly she saw half a spray painted sign. He still had information she needed.

'What was on the bottom of my brother's sign Seth.'

'No. That wasn't the deal. I'll tell you when we get back to your camp.'

'But you know where the camp is now,' she said, struggling to keep her voice calm. 'It's only fair that you tell me about the sign now too.'

His brows furrowed. 'That sign is only a distraction for you Asha.'

'Do you even know what was on the bottom of it?'

'It doesn't matter. It served its purpose. It brought you to me.'

'You tell me now,' Asha hissed, temper fraying. 'We don't take another step until you do.'

'This isn't right,' he said, lips twisted suddenly and head turning from side to side. 'You aren't supposed to care about him. The sign brought you to me. Me…I had to make sure you stopped. I had to. I tore down that bottom part myself—' Asha's intake of breath was sharp '—but it doesn't matter what it said.'

'It matters to me.'

'Maybe now, but once you give yourself over to God's plan… You won't even remember his name. Don't you want to be a servant of God?'

Asha growled in her throat. 'I don't give two flying fucks about your God or his plan,' she hissed. 'I want to know what was on the bottom of that sign, now.'

She didn't see him swing his arm, but his open handed slap connected solidly with her cheek and her head snapped sideways.

'That's blasphemy Asha. I won't have it.'

Her cheek glowed.

She snarled. 'Blasphemy? There is no fucking god you crazy shit.'

He backed away, shaking his head. 'You don't mean that, you're supposed to be my helper.'

Asha's voice was flat. 'There. Is. No. God.'

Seth's face blanched for an instant before settling into resignation. He scrubbed his hand through his curly hair.

'That's what Nash said, but you...Asha, you were supposed to be different.'

Asha stepped back, heart racing and throat dry. She sucked her teeth, desperately trying to work some moisture back into her mouth.

'How…' Her voice failed. She tried again. 'How do you know my brother's name?'

He smiled at her, a falsely warm smile that went nowhere near his eyes. 'You told me. Back at my apartment.'

'No,' she shook her head backing away. 'I didn't.'

She knew she hadn't.

Her eyes narrowed and she hissed at him. 'You spoke to him. You lied to me.'

'Doesn't matter. He wasn't important. He didn't believe. But you were supposed to be different. I'm so disappointed in you Asha.'

Wasn't.

Asha's stomach dropped.

Had Seth always talked about her brother in the past tense?

Her right hand was hanging loosely by her side, close to her knife. Asha wondered if she could get it free quickly enough.

Seth's eyes flicked to her hand.

'What did you do to my brother Seth?'

'I freed you from him.'

Asha snarled. She clawed at her knife and it near flew into her palm—but Seth was watching and he seized her wrist roughly before the blade was entirely free of the sheath.

Her right hand was the decoy.

She swung with her left. A roundhouse blow driving all her weight behind her fist—her stainless steel mesh clad fist—into Seth's temple. Eyes glazed, he reeled sideways, fell to a knee, pushed himself upwards and staggered away, hand clutched to his head.

Before he'd taken two steps Asha's knife was out, glinting in the sunlight, as she dragged it across the back of his knee.

There were still answers she needed.

The tendons twanged and snapped under her blade and Seth gave a high pitched squeal and pitched face first into the dirt. Breath hard, sneering, Asha kicked his bow away and loomed above him, white knuckles tight around her blade.

'Tell me. My brother. What did you do to him?'

At first she thought he was choking, then she realised he was laughing into the dirt, plumes of leaves and dust billowing under his breath.

He clawed himself forwards, upwards, forcing himself over onto his back. He giggled and choked, eyes watering, snot streaming and blood pooling in an ever increasing expanse below his leg. His giggle rose to a laugh, then an open guffaw.

Asha's breath ripped in her chest. She grit her teeth, took a step forwards and swung her boot—collecting him under the jaw and snapping his head back. He keeled over onto his back, but came up spraying blood and teeth and laughing still. Fury seething in her stomach she drove her gloved fist into his face, feeling his nose crunch as he sputtered.

'Tell me,' she spat. 'Tell me or I will leave you here for the dead—' her mouth twisted, 'for God's own children—and you can see how much God's plan counts for then.'

She could hear them in the trees around them—drawn by their fight. Not many yet, but there would be more.

'Oh Asha. I am so disappointed in you.' His voice was cloyed through his broken nose. Blood dribbled down his chin and he tongued the new gap in his teeth. 'You had the chance to be part of God's plan….but you're throwing it all away.' He pulled his knees into his chest, having to wrap his hands around his crippled leg and pull the weight in manually. 'I'll tell you what I did to Nash...'

He suddenly launched himself at her—with surprising agility and strength given his one legged support—collecting her just below the ribs and driv ing the air from her lungs as he landed on top of her. Her knife flew backwards out of her hand.

She twisted desperately away, trying to dislodge him by swinging her pack into his face as she rolled over—from back to stomach to back again. It almost worked and she felt his grip slip but then tighten around her hips. She gagged for air, struggling to drag herself backwards along the earth trying to create some distance between them.

'I killed him Asha.'

Mouth open, gaping for air, she could barely move. His words opening a pit in her mind that she could feel herself slowly slipping into.

Nash was gone.

Seth's hands clawed further up her waist.

'At first I thought he might be the one who was going to help me. But he laughed at me when I spoke about God,' —spittle sprayed at his words— 'he said this world was proof there was no God. He couldn't see it, so I didn't tell him God's plan.'

She was transfixed by his words. She could hear Nash laughing at him.

'But I lured him in Asha, helped him, and whilst he was sleeping in my apartment, I crept up on him.' His twisted face crept ever forwards. 'And do you know what I did then Asha, after looking at your giant brother sleeping...'

There was something hideously intimate in the way he kept repeating her name. His hand clamped on to her shoulder and she felt the weight of his body dragging along hers. She twisted violently, but he pinned her right hand with his good leg.

'I stabbed him, right here—' a harsh finger drove into her chest, just to the left side of her sternum. 'Right in the heart.' He giggled, mad eyes looming and streaming face dripping blood and mucus on her chest. 'And then I let him turn...just like I'm going to let you turn.'

His belt knife was in his hand.

Nash was gone, because this crazy fucker had murdered him in his sleep.

Asha snarled, teeth bared and body bucking futilely under his weight. She scrabbled desperately with her left hand trying push him away. 'You're gonna bleed out from that leg and the dead will get you anyway,' she hissed.

He giggled. 'God's plan, God's plan.'

His swung with his knife at her chest and and Asha met it with her gloved left hand, taking the blow in the back of the hand as she protected her chest. Her hand exploded in pain at the force of the blow and the blade bit through the stainless steel mesh part way into her hand—but stopped well short of her chest.

She howled.

Seth growled in frustration and yanked the blade free, weight shifting off her right arm. She smashed her right fist into to his face, and again. Blood splattering to the side his gripped loosened on the blade momentarily and she wrapped her left hand around it and wrenched, ignoring the scream of the bones grinding together in her hand.

Hand slick with her own blood she dragged the blade across Seth's throat.

His watery eyes bulged and he choked and spat and drooled in her ear and across her neck, hands clawing her arms a long moment before he gave a gurgling hiss and slumped dead eyed on her shoulder. The warmth of his blood pumped out across her chest.

Wide eyed, she stared blankly for a moment. The world was silent. Above her, the leaves moved gently in the breeze and the dappled sunlight danced across her vision.

The pumping blood slowed to an ooze. She moaned softly and grappling with the body with her good hand heaved and rolled it off her.

She rolled onto her knees, rocking there for a moment, cradling her agonising hand to her body and feeling the still warm blood trickling down her face, down her back and between her breasts. The sound of rushing blood filled her ears, white noise that blocked everything out. Nash was gone, the thread that held her together undone, she was adrift. The woods around her ceased to exist and everything started to fade away.

Then she remembered to breathe.

She drew a shuddering breath, tasting blood, and just like that, the sound of the world came rushing back, and her body broke. She pitched forwards onto her good hand uttering a low moan that built into a wail.

Too late she remembered the walkers when she heard the animalistic groans behind her. She twisted, clawing for a knife that was no longer there, scrambling backwards on her butt and one good hand as it came towards her, blinking frantically trying to clear the tears and blood from her eyes. A part of her just wanted to lay down and let it happen, but the bigger part scrabbled desperately at the strap of the spear gun still slung across her back and tangled in her pack. As she tugged the the strap over her head, struggling with the weight of the gun one handed, the walker rocked back, its forehead suddenly decorated with the red fletching of a crossbow bolt.

Red just like the bolts she'd given Daryl a few days ago.

Her head whipped around, and there he was. Bare armed and scowling he strode towards her. A walker lurched for him and he swung his crossbow like a club and splattered its brains against a tree.

He isn't here, I'm hallucinating.

She choked on a sob, keeping her eyes on him and waiting for the instant when he wavered and disappeared.

He slowed as he came nearer, and then stopped short a few paces away, glancing at Seth. His eyes roamed across her, scouring every inch of her skin and searching her face. He took another step forwards, and then stopped.

'Asha?' His gravelly voice was uncertain.

She couldn't move.

'Asha?'

His voice was so soft.

Her spear gun dropped to the ground and she lifted her shaking hand to her face to wipe the blood out of her eyes.

'Are you really here?' Her voice trembled.

Suddenly he was crouching down next to her, laying his crossbow on the ground and wrapping his hands around her upper arms.

'Yeah I'm here.'

Her shoulders shook and she started sobbing uncontrollably.

'He killed my brother Daryl, he killed Nash.'

Hearing her own voice say it was too much, too real. She tipped her head back and screamed.

'Asha!' Daryl shook her, not hard, but firmly enough to bring her back to him. Her head tipped forwards under the weight of her tears. He pulled her chin up. His hands were red where they came away from her.

'Sorry baby, just..' He held a finger up in her face. 'Just stay.' He spun to his feet, grabbing up his crossbow and in some detached corner of her mind that still functioned Asha heard him taking out the handful of encroaching walkers.

Then he came back into her field of view, cross bow and Seth's recurve bow and quiver across his back. Her pulled her to her feet with his free hand, picking up her spear gun and pressing into her hand. He pulled her knife from the back of his pants and put it back in the sheath strapped to her thigh. Then he grasped her by the arms and his blue eyes pierced into hers.

'We gotta move. Ya ok to follow me?'

She nodded.

'Good.'

He kept hold of her arm as they moved.

[A/N: So, got the author's note at the end of this chapter instead of the start, because I didn't want to influence you before reading it. I am nervous about this chapter! It is fairly pivotal for the story but I am not sure I've done it justice. I've probably rewritten this chapter more than any of the others and I am still not 100% satisfied with it.

It needed to be brutal, but is it too brutal? Is Seth believable as a crazy nutter? How do you feel about Asha hamstringing and then killing the guy? What do you think about Daryl finding her at the end?

Would love your feedback on this one!

Also, as usual, welcome to the new favourites and followers and much love for the reviewers for last chapter. For those of you who picked up that Seth was not trustworthy - you weren't wrong!]