DPOV

I had been up for hours, hunting a rabbit for breakfast. It was a quick little thing, getting away from me every time I tried to shoot it with my crossbow. But now, I had it in my sights, and I could tell this was going to be the shot.

I pulled the trigger, the bolt flying through the air to hit the rabbit. But as mine hit it, another got it as well.

I spun around, seeing one of the guys from the group behind me, his own bow raised.

"What the hell you doin'?" I stood, pissed.

He just shrugged. "Catching me some breakfast."

"It's mine." I told him as I moved towards the rabbit.

"My arrow's the one that hit first. The cottontail belongs to me."

Crouching down I lifted the animal. "Been out here since before the sun came up." I pulled the bolts out of it.

"You see, the rules of the hunt don't mean jack out here. Now that rabbit you're holdin' is claimed, boy." he told me, watching as I threw his bolt over into the bushes. "Claimed whether you like it or not." as he went on I walked up to him. "So's I was you, I'd hand it over, now, 'fore you get to wishing you ain't never even got out of bed this mornin'."

"Ain't yours."

"You know, I bet this bitch got you all messed up. Hmm? Am I right?"

I passed him, not wanting to hear him talk anymore.

The mention of a girl had three names come to mind. Aly. I was worried about her, as if she were my one flesh and blood. Beth. I felt more guilt about losing her than anything else, we'd gotten close during our time together. And then there was Vic. Even a simple thought of her had everything inside me twist and pull in pain, guilt, regret...

"Got you walking out here like a dead man who just lost himself a piece of tail. Must have been a good one."

I stopped. Yeah, they were good girls. All of them. Strong. Smart. Caring. Sweet even though the world had turned bitter...

"Tell me something. Was it one of the little ones?"

That was it. I got my knife out of its sheath, ready to slice this guy into tiny pieces.

He sighed. "'Cause they... don't last too long out here."

I lifted my knife, turning as I got ready to swing and kill.

Suddenly Joe came out of nowhere, grabbing my arm. "Easy, fellas. Easy." the bow guy just laughed. "Let's just put our weapons down. See it we can't figure out what's really the problem here, huh?" Joe turned to the other guy. "Did you claim it?"

He adjusted his bow. "Hell yeah."

With that Joe turned to me. "Well, there you go. That critter belongs to Len."

"So let's have it."

I looked at both of them, not moving a muscle. This was my rabbit. I wasn't giving it to no one. If they wanted something to eat they could hunt for themselves. Especially this bow asshole.

"Looks like you may be wanting an explanation. See, going it alone, that ain't an option nowadays. Still, it is survival of the fittest. That's a paradox right there. So I laid out some rules of the road to keep things going Darwin every couple hours. Keep our merry band together and stress-free. All you got to do is claim. That's how you mark your territory, your prey, your bed at night. One word. 'Claimed'."

"I ain't claimin' nothing."

Len stepped up to Joe. "We're gonna teach him, right? The rules say we got to teach him."

"That wouldn't be fair to punish you for violating a rule you never even knew existed." one Joe started talking, Len sighed, shaking his head as he walked a little ways away.

"Ain't no rules no more." I stated, Len turning to me as we stared each other down.

"Oh, there are. You know that. That's why I didn't kill you for the crossbow." Joe said before he grabbed the end of the rabbit I wasn't holding.

"Hey." I raised my bolt, ready to fight for the rabbit.

"Easy there, partner." Joe backed up to the tree behind us, resting the rabbit against it as he used his other hand to grab his small axe and chop the rabbit in half.

He threw the head end to Len, who looked down at it. Happy with what he got, he just walked off, leaving Joe and I by the tree.

"Claimed. That's all you got to say." Joe shrugged. "Hey, ass end is still an end." he finished before walking off.

I stayed there a moment longer as they left. I didn't exactly want to follow them, but you can't be alone in the world these days. It didn't mean I could hang back for a moment to get some space.

I had a feeling the bow guy was going to be a problem...

"D-Daryl." someone coughed, saying my name weakly.

I turned around, seeing Zach come out of the trees, limping, looking weak.

"What the hell?" I rushed up to him putting my crossbow down as I helped him sit on the ground, leaning him up against a tree. "Where the hell did you come from?"

"I got out with Vickie and Aly." he told me as he groaned, face twisting in pain as he grasped his leg.

I looked down, seeing that he was bit. "Vic?" my eyes went wide at the thought of her being bit out there somewhere.

He shook his head. "She got away. They both did. Houdini too."

"You've been out here all this time?"

"Yeah, Vickie got us out. She's been taking care of us. Looking for everyone. Her family. You."

"Where? Where are they now?" I needed to know. I needed to find them. I didn't care if that meant leaving these new guys. Vic was what was important. Vic and Aly, Houdini too. Family.

But he just shook his head. "They're gone. Haven't seen them for since the night before yesterday. And I couldn't tell you which way I came from or they went. It's all the same to me."

"How long have you been like this?"

"Since that night. Vic was going to do it. End it. But I didn't want to leave her with that. Killing me after everything, it's too much."

I nodded, silently thanking him. He probably wouldn't understand how much that would have actually helped. With everything Vic's gone through, killing him would not have been good.

She'd been through a lot, and the smallest thing could bring out the animal in her. Not as bad as when we found her in the prison, but still not the Vic we all know today.

"Do you want me to do it?" I offered. I would have preferred not to, killing someone is never nice. But just like Dale, I knew it had to be done, to end the pain and misery. I was willing to help because of that.

He nodded stiffly. "Please."

Sighing, I stood, raising my cross bow. "I'm sorry." then, I shot him.

...

I walked behind the group, Joe beside me as the others walked ahead, keeping their eyes open for any movement. My head wasn't really here at the moment. I couldn't stop thinking about Zach and what he'd told me...

Vic was alive...

"So what's the plan, Daryl?" Joe asked, pulling me back to reality.

We were following some train tracks, walking under a bridge right now.

I shrugged. "How so?"

"You're with us now, but you ain't soon?"

"Yep." I answered simply.

"So what's the plan?"

Vic was the plan. I was going to leave these guys and look for her. She wouldn't have gotten too far. Not with Aly and Houdini, and her shoulder. Plus she was still recovering from being sick.

I shook my head, answering Joe. "Just looking for the right place is all."

"Oh. We ain't good enough for you, huh?" he took a drag from his smoke.

"Some of you ain't exactly friendly." I noted.

He grinned, shaking head. "You ain't so friendly yourself. You know, you need a group out here."

"Maybe I don't."

"No, you do. You should be with us." he suggested, just as a walker came into view, snarling. "People don't got to be friendly. We don't have to be nice. We don't have to be brother's-in-arms."

The others killed the walker, before moving on.

Joe kept talking. "We just got to follow the rules. You claim. If you steal, you keel. I know that sounds a little funny, but nobody laughs when something goes missing. And you don't lie. 'Cause that's a slippery slope indeed."

"What happens if you break them?

"You catch a beating. The severity of which depends upon the offence and the general attitude of the day. But that don't happen much, 'cause when men like us follow rules and cooperate a little but, well, the world becomes ours." whistling to the others, Joe gestured to the garage next to us. "Right there. That's our abode for the evening."

I stopped. "Hey. There ain't no 'us'." I told him, wanting to make that clear.

He turned back to me as the others moved towards the garage. "You leaving right now?" when I didn't say anything he went on. "No? Then it sure seems like there's an 'us'." turning, he moved to join the others.

"You a cat person, Daryl? I am. Loved them since I was a three years old. Vicious creatures. Anyway, I'll tell you, and this is true, ain't nothin' sadder than an outdoor cat that thinks he's an indoor cat." he finished before turning around again, moving towards the garage.

...

I walked into the garage after all the others, closing the door behind me as they checked the place out for walkers or supplies. There were a few cars, five, but it looked like they weren't going anywhere.

"They ain't here. Nobody's been here for a while." one of the guys noted. "Whoever was, they got all the gas."

Joe shrugged. "That don't matter. We're getting closer. I can feel it."

I walked up to one of the cars, looking through the window. It looked good to sleep in.

One of the others came along, kicking my stuff away. "Claimed."

"Claimed."

Everyone started calling out claimed. I just grabbed my crossbow, and moved towards the pickup truck.

"Claimed."

But of course, Len came along, throwing his things in the back of it. "Claimed." he stated, grinning smugly as he watched me move to the middle of the room where I dumped my things.

"Claimed."

There were no cars left, so I just sat on the floor, not even going to bother saying anything. I had shelter over my head, and I knew Vic was alive. Things could be worse. Lying down, I used my bag for a pillow as I looked up at the rood, ready to get some sleep.

But my mind was too busy and loud, as my head filled with thoughts and images of Vic...

...

Cinnamon stick in my mouth from the golf club, I looked up at the roof, thinking about the time Vic and I had gotten stuck in the cabin when she couldn't remember who I was...

"You got to be kidding me." Len groaned pulling me from my thoughts. "Christ!" I sat up to see what was going on, only to see him walking towards me. "Give it here."

"You step back." I told him, warning. I was not in the mood.

"My half was in the bag. Now it's gone. Now ain't nobody round here in'erested in no half a damn cottontail 'cept you." he turned to Joe. "Ain't that right?"

I stood up, sick and tired of this guy's bullshit. "You're the only one still thinkin' about that crap!"

He reached for my stuff. "Empty your bag."

Snatching my bag up, I kept it out of his reach, backing away. "I said, step back!"

Joe reached over, taking my bag. "Did you take his rabbit, Daryl? Tell me the truth."

"I didn't take nothing."

"What do we got here?" he emptied my bag, everything falling onto the ground. "Come on." shaking the bag to make sure everything was out, we all watched as the rabbit head fell on to everything else. "Well, look at that."

I turned to Len. "You put that there, didn't you? When I went out to take a piss?" I yelled, angry and close to enraged that this asshole was playing games with me.

"You lied."

I shoved him, ignoring his accusations as I asked again. "Didn't you?"

"You lied. You stole." he pointed his finger in my face, poking my in the chest. "We gonna teach this fool or what, Joe? Huh?"

"Whoa, whoa." Joe stepped between us, breaking it up before things got bloody. "Daryl says he didn't take your half of the rabbit. So we got a little conundrum here. Either he's lying, which is an actionable offence, or..." he laughed. "You didn't plant it on him like some pussy, punk ass, cheating, coward cop, did you? 'Cause while that wouldn't be specifically breaking the rules, it's be disappointing."

Len gave a short nod. "It would. I didn't."

"Good." Joe looked to me and I thought for sure he was going to believe this asshole over me. I thought for sure I was a goner. "Well..." suddenly he turned, elbowing Len in the face, who then fell to the ground groaning. "Teach him a lesson, gent. He's a lyin' sack of shit. I'm sick of it. Teach him all the way."

The others came to circle around Len, each of them kicking him while he was still down, not giving him the chance to get up.

Joe stepped up to me. "I saw him do it."

"Why didn't you try to stop him?"

He shrugged. "He wanted to play that out. I let him. You told the truth. He lied. You understand the rules. He doesn't." he grabbed the rabbit off the floor. "Looks like you get the head, too." he tossed it to me before walking off back to his bed.

I moved to my stuff, shoving it all back into my bag as the others continued to kick and punch Len as he stayed on the ground. I didn't look at them, I didn't care. But there was part of me that was questioning what I should do next. Whether I should stay and risk upsetting these guy. Or leave and look for the Vic and the others, alone, outside, with walkers...

...

A loud bang walk me up as the guys opened the door. I sat up, looking around to see what they were doing, only to have my eyes fall on the floor where there was a large blood stain...

The guys were all grabbing their things, getting ready to leave. Looking away from the blood, I did the same, getting up of the floor and grabbing all my stuff before following them to the door as we left.

I stopped.

On the ground, on the other side on the railing, was Len's motionless body. It was hardly recognisable, all bloody and swollen and bruised, with a bolt in his head.

Grabbing a sheet that sat next to the railing, I went to cover him. It would have been the respectful thing to do. But then I remembered everything he'd done, all the trouble he caused me, and I changed my mind.

Dropping the sheet on the ground, I turned and followed the others, not giving Len a second thought.

...

Joe and I were behind the others once more, walking through a field as we headed towards some more train tracks. I wasn't sure these guys were going, but it seemed they had an idea in mind, somewhere they were headed.

Joe took a drink from his flask before offering me some. "White Lightning." he told me as I took the flask. "Easiest thing to make with the east amount of supples. I'd start slow if I was you. Your stomach's probably emptier than you think."

Bringing it to my lips, I took a big drink. "Mmm." I nodded, handing it back to him. "I ain't been lit at dawn since before everything fell apart."

"'Fell apart'? I never looked at it like that. Seems to me like things are finally starting to fall together. At least for guys like us. Living like this, surviving, we've been doing this from the start, right?"

We walked on to the tracks, seeing the others standing in front of a sign that lead towards a place called Terminus.

"Getting closer." one of the guys said before they all turned to move on.

I pointed to the sign. "You've seen this before?"

"Oh, yeah. I'll tell you what it is. It's a lie. Ain't no sanctuary for all. Ain't gonna welcome guys like you and me with open arms." Joe said simply before walking on.

I followed him. "So is that where we're headed?"

"So now you're asking?"

"That's right."

"We were in a house minding our own business, and uh, this walking piece of faecal matter was hiding in the home. Strangled our colleague Lou and left him to turn. Lou came at all of us." he shook his head. "He lit out. We tracked him to these tracks, one of those signs, and thus we got a destination in mind."

"You see his face?"

"Only Tony." he pointed to one of the guys in front of us. "That's enough for a reckoning."

I looked to Tony, seeing that he was looking down at a small plant by the tracks, a peach growing on it. "Claimed." I called out before he could, moving to snatch the plant out of the ground.

Moving back on to the tracks, following the others, I pulled the peach off the plant, throwing the rest of it way. Maybe things won't be so bad. I just gotta follow their rules. Get to Terminus. It's where Vic will go...

VPOV

I looked up at the sign that sat on the side on the road. Terminus. Sanctuary for all. Community for all. Those who arrive, survive.

"Vickie?" Aly tugged on my shirt, standing on the ground with her other hand holding on to Houdini's collar.

I sighed, nodding as I looked down at her. "You think it's a good idea?"

Aly had noticed the sign, but couldn't read very well, so I had read it to her and explained what it meant. She'd brightened up right away. She was set on the idea of going there, because she thought it's where the rest of our family would go if they saw the signs.

The fact she'd been really down since we lost Zach had me thinking that maybe going to Terminus would be good if it kept her happy. But there was a little voice in the back of my head reminding me of the Governor and how he'd invited people into Woodbury even though he was a bad guy...

"What if it's a trap?" I asked her, knowing she was only a little girl and wouldn't exactly know much about the situation at hand.

She just shrugged. "You and Daryl brought people in."

She was right there. We had let people in at the prison and that hadn't been a trap. People were unsure about us too. Maybe I was just been paranoid.

Besides, I knew if Maggie and Glenn saw these signs, they'd follow them. They would have faith. Dad would at least give it a go, even though he'd be feeling the same way as me. Daryl... well it depends on who he was with. He might think I wouldn't go, he might think I would, it was hard to tell with him.

Sighing, I gave a short nod, seeing our chances weren't good either way, and it could only get better. "Okay." I told her. "We'll go."

BaMbY