Sawyer watched the vicious battle continue outside, he could hear some people inside too panicking and running trying to find a safe exit. He looked down to see Lily standing there with a horrified look on her face. Sawyer snapped into action.

"We have to go," he shouted over the clash of noise around them.

"Our bags!" Lily protested.

Before Sawyer could stop her, she ran off to their cell block disappearing quacking in the melee. Sawyer rushed after her, his knife bounced at his side carefully he withdrew it unsure if the enemies had entered the prison. He sure hoped not.

There were a couple dead bodies lying on the ground each with a hole in their head which gave Sawyer a little relief but then a man suddenly appeared before him. He stood a bit taller than average, messy dark hair and had a menacing glint to his features. The man stepped towards the terrified child reaching down to grab him. With blind panic Sawyer remembered the weapon in his hand and he swiped it wildly ripping open a gash in the man's palm. He shouted in anger and pain before lashing his hand out at the youth grabbing his hair.

"Argh!" Sawyer cried as the roots were pulled.

"You little shit," the man snarled.

Sawyer tried to attack again but the man grabbed his wrist and twisted at an awkward angle causing the boy to cry out again.

"Going to have fun kil- argh!"

Sawyer looked up to see the man arched back, almost like a taunt bow string. He released Sawyer who backed up immediately and watched as the man tried to pull something out of his back. Sawyer quickly stepped forward and stabbed him in the thigh. The man fell to the ground and Sawyer saw a hatchet buried deep into his lower back.

Lily was frozen to the spot. Sawyer yanked the hatchet out, grabbed the bags and her hand trying to pull her away from the scene but she remained.

"Come on!" Sawyer cried, "we have to go now."

Lily reluctantly moved and followed Sawyer out a backdoor.

Immediately a bullet spray exploded at the boy's feet causing him to crash back against his sister. Lily shrieked as she landed painfully. Sawyer raised his hand against the blinding sun and smoke, despite his obscured vision it seemed that everything was moving too fast for the poor youth to keep up. He saw several people absolutely massacre people who were trying to flee, in return one took a bullet to the head while the other two ducked behind cover.

Sawyer saw people make a run for the forest and knew that was his and Lily's only chance too.

"We have to get over there," he told Lily, she paused but agreed.

Carefully he waited for an opening and then he grabbed Lily's hand and they both ran.

XXXXXX

Sawyer stopped reminiscing. He let out a soft sigh feeling his body quake slightly as the memory assaulted him. Thinking about Lily hurt him too much to the point where he would cry uncontrollably. He tried to keep everything together but every time he thought about her, Sawyer would automatically tear up no matter how hard he tried not to.

Stop it! He thought harshly to himself. That didn't help at all. While he tried to be tough and strong, the still vulnerable nature in him took the thought to heart causing the tears to pour. Sawyer bit his lip to keep himself from crying aloud.

Sawyer looked over to Rick who was still fast asleep. He took out the pill bottle and read the instructions. It did say two pills for an adult, but then the sleeping pills could be out of date.

The boy felt bad for tricking his leader, but he thought it was necessary. Even after the first few hours of observing Rick, Sawyer knew that the man would try to move and consume energy during unnecessary point in time. He though back to what Hershel had told him about the different effects of fatigue on people with injuries and that it gets worse when people move to the point of permanent injury. This happened with Rick and his leg.

With the man knocked out completely Sawyer was able to re-stitch the wound on his stomach as well as properly patch up his side and get a good look at his leg. It had swollen a bit bigger than it should've and the bruising looked incredibly painful. The muscle looked almost twisted underneath the skin giving it a rather off putting look. When he saw his former leader, the Governor, kick Rick in the leg he thought he had broken it definitely.

Sawyer tried his best to fix it by wrapping it as carefully as possible, but even Rick seemed to feel the pain as he would groan occasionally in his sleep. Sawyer walked a few feet away to find a sturdy walking stick that Rick would need to until he gained his full mobility back. Sawyer knew that the leader wouldn't like the idea, but because of walking on it for four hours straight – this was his punishment. Sawyer just hoped it wasn't going to be permanent.

"You know my sister had a crush on you," Sawyer said quietly as he stared at the man. "It was kinda weird especially when she told me. You may not have known it but she would blush every time you passed."

Sawyer suddenly chuckled, he tried to keep it low but he couldn't stop himself and he laughed until his sides hurt. His laughs came to a halt and Sawyer found himself still smiling a little.

"I laughed at her so hard when she told me, she kicked me in the shin." Sawyer let out a playful huff. "Don't mess with a little girl's feelings."

Sawyer suddenly stopped and his expression became serious. He looked over to Rick who was still sleeping, Sawyer started to wonder if Rick heard every word. It would be quite embarrassing if he had, Sawyer wasn't exactly sure what happened during an out-of-date sleeping pill induced sleep.

Rick came around two hours later, the night time greeted him as he stared up at the billions of stars blinking in the sky and the quarter moon partially hidden behind the trees. He looked over to see Sawyer surprisingly still awake roasting a rabbit over a fire. The smell of meat was extremely inviting for the man and he couldn't stop his stomach from growling loudly.

"Sir," Sawyer nodded. "It'll be ready in a few minutes."

Rick nodded and struggled to straighten himself against the tree he was lying against. He felt well rested, with energy he didn't have before. He looked down to see his leg wrapped as well as his side and stomach re-stitched. He looked over to Sawyer who was concentrating on the meat.

"How do the supplies look?"

Sawyer let out a sigh, he knew he was going to have to deliver the bad news at some point.

"This meat is the only food we have left, we have half a litre of water left and as for medical supplies it's very sparse. Very little of the gauze roll left and nothing else."

"What about the painkillers?" Rick asked.

Sawyer tightened his lips and rubbed the back of his neck. Rick knew that something was up, he tried to shift but the pain kept him pinned.

"Those aren't painkillers," Sawyer cautiously admitted. "They're sleeping pills."

Rick gapped at the youth unable to believe what he was hearing. Sleeping pills?! What happened if the place was attacked by walkers or survivors? He would just be sleeping there completely blocked out of the world!

Sawyer saw the surprised look turn a bit aggressive.

"I-I only went to go check on the snares," Sawyer quickly said.

Rick tried to rise but the pain in his leg was close to unbearable, this caused his anger for the youth to sky rocket.

"I'm so-sorry," Sawyer stammered, he felt his bottom lip tremble. "But your body was shutting down…you ne-."

"Shut up!"

Rick's outburst was the loudest and harshest. Sawyer understood his anger, but Rick had to also understand his reasoning. If the leader hadn't stopped and rested properly then his bodily functions would slowly start to shut down, worse without food and proper medication it could lead to death.

"Are you trying to kill me?!" Rick demanded; his expression aggressive.

Sawyer was shocked, silent tears were already started to trail down his face.

"I'm trying to save you," the boy whispered abashed.

Rick let out a humph before leaning back into the tree – his hunger vanished.

XXXXXX

The night turned day after a few hours. Neither had the appetite for anything so silently Sawyer merely wrapped the food and put it in the bag. He kept the fire tended while Rick fell asleep again but this time with a scowl on his face. Sawyer wanted to check the man's bandages but since the sleep wasn't medically-induced then he would be sensitive to any movements. He was still a bit shaken up after the experience. Sawyer knew that traumatic experiences can cause rash actions but he didn't expect the leader's attitude to shoot up so fast, and his words so cutting. But Sawyer had experiences of his own, sure he got angry but never like that - was it because he was still a mere child? He thought he understood pain and anguish enough - apparently not.

He looked over at his leader and saw his eyes screwed shut and it was clear he was having trouble getting a good sleep.

XXXXXX

Rick felt his heart drop as he watched the Governor toss his son's body aside as if he were nothing but a rag doll. Carl's body landed crumbled and motionless. Without thinking Rick charged, he ignored the chaos around him, his only mind set was to kill the Governor. But the man was more than ready for his crazed opponent as he flipped his knife inverted and slashed quickly as soon as Rick was within range. The man immediately buckled under the attack and jumped back losing ground. The Governor didn't stop as he elbowed Rick's cowered form before brutally kicking him in the stomach. Rick gasped for air trying to get up but the boot assaulted his side and a finally kick to his head.

He could hear his heart pound heavily in his ears. Blood leaked heaviest from his nose, stomach and arm. Rick tried to reposition himself but the Governor slammed his boot down on his left leg.

Rick let out a scream as the pain was unbearable, he grunted as he tried to draw his leg close to him to protect it. He could feel the Governor loom over him, almost teasing him with his impended death. The knife with Carl's blood held tight in his hand. Rick tried to move but another pain shot through and he feared that the Governor had broken his leg.

"Would've expected more from a sheriff," the Governor commented nastily as he flipped the man over. Rick threw a couple punches but only one hit and it wasn't enough even to stagger his opponent rather just anger him more. The Governor grabbed Rick by the back of his neck and kneed him several times in the face and chest until Rick was positive he wasn't breathing. He was tossed to the ground and the Governor straddled him and grabbed his throat.

"Tell your son hi from me."

Rick clawed at the Governor's hands, he tried to get up, kicking his legs and twisting this way and that like a fish out of water. But with such little energy, it all seemed worth for nothing - he was loosing. Darkness edged his vision as he coughed up fresh blood which Rick felt speckle his face. Then the pressure was gone.

XXXXXX

Rick woke with a start causing him to move involuntarily to protect himself. His leg and side protested and Rick laid there for a few minutes in pain. He looked over to see Sawyer watching him with sad eyes. The leader turned away from the youth, he didn't need the boy's pity – he didn't want it. He wanted to have his son back, his daughter and wife – people he couldn't have.

"Get some sleep," he said looking over his shoulder.

The boy didn't respond. He thought that the youth still stung after the outburst he delivered. Rick ran a hand through his hair he had let his temper get out of hand again. He had to force himself to calm and not get short with the youth.

Thinking back to the prison, when they were going through all the new people from Woodbury, Rick remembered Sawyer and Lily being the only orphans. Every other child had a parent or guardian at least but when asked about the two no one came forward. As far as Rick could tell their parents died earlier on, and their 'guardian' in Woodbury was killed in action. Rick had seen Carol try to coax something out of the little girl but she remained silent, he had overheard Carl even ask the boy about his parents but get no reply.

He couldn't help but wonder what the Governor did to try and manage the two children. Suddenly a ball of anger and rage whirled inside causing him to involuntarily flinch as if struck. Rick coughed a couple times and pretended to be cold to hide his emotions. Quickly he forced himself to think of something other than his son's screaming, or the Governor's blade sink into his stomach. Rick balled his fists as tears squeezed out and slid down his face, with quiet shame he wiped them discretely and fell asleep.

XXXXXX

The next morning Rick was adamant about leaving. They had already stayed two days and he didn't want to continue the risk of being out in the open despite the odd lack in Walkers. With great hesitation Sawyer pulled out a walking stick. Rick looked at the thing as if it were a live Walker, then at Sawyer as if he were nuts.

"You have to sir," Sawyer insisted. "The muscles in your leg have swollen and are rubbing against your joints to heal you have to use it."

Rick finally realized how much Sawyer was paying attention to Hershel. He bit the inside of his lip when he thought of the older medic. To Sawyer's surprise Rick took the walking stick from his grip and walked a couple steps to get accustomed to the aid. Rick lowered and picked up a lesser weight bag while Sawyer grabbed the other two and they headed off.

A couple hours later they came to an empty road. It stretched for miles and disappeared into the distance. Sawyer looked around surprised that it was so empty usually roads were an attraction spot for Walkers to pick off survivors using the road as guidance. He remembered the bus driver, Tyrese, smashing through quite a few on the way to the prison from Woodbury.

Sawyer looked over at Rick who was rubbing his left leg absent-mindedly. It didn't seem that Rick was feeling too much pain or perhaps he was just hiding it from the youth. Sawyer didn't want his leader to hide his pain, yes it would be embarrassing for an adult to tell a mere boy that he was in pain but if Rick didn't let Sawyer know then he wouldn't be able to help him.

Rick was impressed with Sawyer's medic skills. Even though the pain was still there, the bleeding has stopped but his leg still throbbed. But then again that was his fault. Rick knew that it was stupid to leave the spot, it was stupid to leave the building but the faster he found his friends then the better he would feel.

Sawyer drew out the map and set it on the ground. Rick knelt the best he could without aggravating his left leg however he couldn't help but wince.

"During the attack I saw Michonne run off West," Sawyer said as he wrote 'M' in the West area. "Daryl ran off North along with Beth and Hershel," a 'B', 'H' and 'D' drawn in the North area.

Rick looked at the map, they were currently positioned for the West position so that would mean hopefully they would come across Michonne – and soon.

"What about Maggie and Glenn?"

"I couldn't see."

Rick didn't have a clue either, but now they had a general area of where they wanted to go which was better than yesterday.

"What about Sophia?"

"I think she ran off with a couple of people from Woodbury...West I believe."

A 'S' was placed a little ways from 'M'. Rick capped the pen and threw it back in the bag, he studied the map for a few moments.

"First things first," Rick finally said, "we find proper shelter before the night.'

Sawyer gapped, he looked at the map and from what he could tell 'proper shelter' wasn't for another ten miles.

"We won't make five miles!" the boy protested.

"We need to find a vehicle," Rick continued ignoring the boy. "It'll make travelling a lot easier in general."

What Rick failed to say in that sentence was 'proper' and 'filled' vehicle. Sawyer couldn't help but grit his teeth, for the first time in his life he started to find himself frustrated with an adult. It felt like the boy was talking to a wall –hell he might as well be talking to a Walker. At least it would pay attention to him…well maybe for all the wrong reasons though.

Sawyer looked left then right with no vehicle in sight he gave a dramatic sigh and then folded up the map.

"We should head East, there's supposedly a stream where we can refill out bottle."

Rick nodded and started to walk with Sawyer close behind.

They walked for another good two hours until they came to the stream. Rick groaned as he struggled to sit down against a tree. Sawyer was about to get the water when a shadow suddenly darkened overhead. He felt something grab the back of his neck and push him down.

"Si-," Sawyer's head was shoved underwater by the Walker as it leaned it. Rick struggled to his feet as fast as he could. He saw the boy's hands flail trying to grab his knife but his left arm couldn't reach and his right was pinned. His legs dug furrows into the ground to try and escape but the Walker was surprisingly heavyset.

Ignoring the pain Rick ran right up to the undead and kicked it in the face with his left leg.

"Argh!" Rick cried gritting his teeth as he fell back. The Walker turned to the leader and staggered towards him, its arms outstretched. Rick grabbed his knife and was ready to attack when the monster suddenly fell as his left leg was sliced off. Without hesitation Sawyer raised the hatchet and brought it down on the Walker's head slicing it in two. Rick looked at the boy who had a couple scratches on his face from where the rocks scraped his skin. His hair was flat against his head and eyes wide with shock. Without warning the ten year old turned and threw up.

After Sawyer was able to compose his self and Rick sat back down with great difficulty, the boy slowly walked towards the man and took out the medi-kit. The boy wanted to speak so badly, he wanted to tell Rick that it wasn't his fault he didn't know that the Walker was there. Then the way he took it down. Sawyer looked down his front to see blood splatted onto his jeans and shirt.

"Go clean your hatchet."

Sawyer looked up at the man almost as if to try to desperately send a message to him, making his expression as clear as day. But Rick ignored it and turned his back.

With a heavy heart Sawyer grabbed his hatchet and walked to the stream. He knelt and started to wash the blade careful not to cut his self.

Sawyer couldn't help but wonder if Rick had always being like this. If the Governor was right all along about the terrorists. But if so then why did Rick take them in? If he truly were a terrorist he would have just rounded everyone up and killed them. From what Carl had told him, Rick actually missed the beginning of the end of the world. He was in the hospital in a deep coma after being shot by a bad guy during a police chase. When he woke he met a man named Morgan and his son Duane. Carl had told Sawyer everything, and in return Sawyer told his story.