A/N Quick and Massive thank you to my good friend Aidan for being my editor for this chapter and now on! Enjoy! xx

Chapter Nine

Everyone was getting restless and it wasn't long before Joelle couldn't take it, "I'm going after them."

"Don't they could be anywhere, and if Randall shows up we're going to need you," Lori reasoned with her.

The front door opened producing Daryl and Glenn, Joelle let out a sigh of release although the bad feeling lingered.

"Rick 'n' Shane ain't back?" asked Daryl.

"No," Lori answered stress colouring her tone.

"We heard a shot," Daryl pressed.

"Maybe they found Randall," Lori said, trying to find a reasonable explanation for Rick and Shanes lack of appearance.

"We found Randall."

"He back in the shed?" Patricia asked.

"He's a Walker."

"Did you find the walker that bit him?" asked Hershel.

Daryl and Glenn shared a quick look, "no, the weird thing is he wasn't bit," Glenn said with some hesitancy.

"His neck was broke," Daryl put in, "the thing is Shane's and Randall's, tracks were right on top of each other and Shane ain't no tracker, so he didn't come up behind him, no they were together."

"That would explain this," Joelle said throwing Shane's gun on the coffee table it landed with a loud thud. Shock marred everyone's faces as they looked at his gun.

"Could you please go back out there and find Rick and Shane and find out what on earth is going on?" Lori said, voice desperate.

"You got it," replied Daryl moving towards the front door with Andrea, Glenn and Joelle following.

Walking out on the front porch they heard numerous amounts of groans, hisses and moans their source coming from the hundreds of Walkers stumbling towards the farmhouse. It was a river of the dead.

"Andrea quickly go tell the others," Joelle ordered, Andrea left without question and returned seconds later with everyone trailing behind.

"Patricia, kill the lights," Hershel whispered quietly and Patricia ran inside.

"I'll get the guns," Andrea stated leaving to retrieve the guns.

"Maybe they'll just pass like the herd on the highway? Should we just go inside?" Glenn asked desperately.

"Not unless there's a tunnel downstairs that I don't know about, herd that size'll rip the house down" commented Daryl.

"Carl's gone! Sophia was sleeping and doesn't know where he went!" Lori exclaimed panicked.

"What!" Joelle shouted.

"He was upstairs with Sophia and I can't find him anymore. He's supposed to be upstairs I'm not leaving without my boy!"

"We're going to look again, we're going to find him!" Carol spoke before pulling Lori with her to search the house.

Andrea returned with the guns and Maggie picked up two, handing one to Glenn, "Maggie?"

"Growin' up country you pick up a thing or two," she explained.

"Ain't got the numbers it's no use," Daryl calculated.

"You can go if you want," responded Hershel.

"You gone take 'em all on?"

"We have guns we have cars."

"Kill as many as we can," Andrea agreed, "use the cars to drive the rest off the farm."

"You serious?" Daryl asked incredulously.

"This is my farm I'll die here."

"Alright, it's as good a night as any," said Daryl before jumping over the railing, Joelle jumping after him.

"Daryl wait!" Joelle called to him, he stopped and faced her.

"Yeah Elle?" Joelle stood so she was right in front of him before pulling off her dog tags and placing them around his neck.

"For good luck," she explained, she looked at him, hesitating for a second before crashing her lips to his, it took a moment for him to react but he did. Daryl's lips were surprisingly soft as they moved against hers, his arm snaked around her waist pulling her closer. She broke the kiss gasping for air, "Stay safe and come back to me okay, I'll find you, always, I promise," she moved out of his arms and turned before he could see the tears gathering in her eyes, she didn't let them fall.

Daryl ran for his bike before jumping on and riding away. Joelle headed for the house she had to keep Sophia and Lori safe. That was her task tonight, Lori was stressing out Carl was nowhere to be found. The barn suddenly caught fire, lighting the farm up enough for everyone to see where they're going.

"Lori listen to me you need to calm down I would bet anything he's with Rick, we need to go get the others! NOW!" screamed Joelle, making Lori snap out of her panic and move.

Lori came back with Patricia, Beth, Carol and Sophia, Joelle turned to them "you need to go I'll cover you, and Carol," Carol looked at Joelle, "Keep your baby girl safe," Joelle pulled out her handgun and started shooting any nearby walkers. Everything was going okay, they were okay, until it all went wrong.

A walker came out of nowhere and got Patricia, Lori pulled at Beth and they got away while holding onto Sophia. Carol got separated and Andrea saved her before going down herself. Joelle hadn't been paying attention and a walker grabbed her. She couldn't stop the shriek that escaped her lips as the walker tackled her down; she quickly shot it before its teeth could find purchase in her flesh.

She lay there for a minute to catch her breath, the smell of rotting flesh filling in her nose and the coolness of a walker's blood seeping onto her. She moved the walker off her and quickly got up. Pulling her swords free she sliced through numerous numbers of walkers before they pushed her around to the back of the house away from all the other vehicles. She was soon drenched in walker blood and smelled of rotting flesh.

A large group of walkers were near but ignored her as they chased the car lights of the red SVU, Joelle stumbled into the farmhouse and made her way to the basement before falling into restless sleep.

Daryl POV

Daryl let out a sigh of relief as they made it back to the highway with Glenn and T-Dog in tow, Rick, Hershel and Carl were standing there huge smiles on their faces. He gave a handshake to Rick as Carol got off the back of the bike and ran towards Sophia. Lori got out of her car tears in her eyes but with a smile on her face she hugged Carl and Rick tightly.

That's when Daryl noticed Joelle wasn't there. His eyes searched everyone's face frantically in hope he had overlooked her but to no avail.

Daryl caught Lori's gaze as she stood and she burst into tears. That's when Rick noticed Joelle's absences too, "No, no, no." Rick cried.

"She was keeping us safe, she was right behind us. We got in the car and I looked over before hearing her scream as a walker took her down." Lori sobbed hard and Carl cried out but it was Rick's expression that hit the group the hardest. Daryl felt numb.

Rick's face was blank but his heart was broken, the pain was there in his eyes. Daryl noticed how similar Joelle and Rick were with how they expressed their pain.

He wasn't listening when they spoke of the other losses. Joelle had said she would find him, she had promised. Suddenly he was filled with absolute anger, not at Joelle, at the world. It kept taking the people he cared about from him, first Merle and now Joelle.

He was silent as he rode away from the traffic snarl with Carol clutching at his waist, he had tears in his eyes but he didn't let them fall.

General POV (Joelle)

It took Joelle two days to convince herself she could leave the basement, when she did she was surprised to find the house fully intact with only a few walkers roaming around. She cleaned her weapons and had a shower before moving through the house. Taking a small backpack she filled it with the things she would need before leaving. She was searching Lori's room when she came across a small photo album with only a few pictures of Lori, Rick, Carl, Justine and Lucas. Quickly pocketing the album she left the house and made her way back to her bike.

Joelle sat high in a tree with a rope tied tight around her waist, she had to find Daryl she had promised she would and for the first time in weeks she felt alone.

Joelle cried and the sky cried with her.