A/N: Hey guys! I'm back with another (short) chapter. Once again, I'd like to thank all of you for your continued support, we've been on quite a long journey together and I am overwhelmed by how well this story was received, it means so much. Please keep it up and enjoy!

I was disoriented when I woke up, not sure how much time had passed since I'd closed my eyes. It felt like an eternity since I'd been sitting and joking with Daryl yet my time with Shane, or whatever that was, had been so short. I didn't see anyone else in the room so Daryl must have already taken watch, meaning at least a couple hours had passed. I didn't know where T had gone but I was glad to momentarily be alone with my thoughts. I was visibly shaking, and I couldn't form any coherent thoughts due to the pure fear and confusion littering my brain. It had been Shane, but it couldn't be. Was I going crazy? But whatever it was, Shane had said exactly what I needed to hear. He'd given me the okay to move on, but in some weird way that made it worse because that was the Shane I loved and grew up with, not the one who had killed Otis and hurt me back on the farm. I couldn't be angry with him and he'd been so selfless in the dream or

vision or whatever, that the grief washed over me afresh.

I stood up on wobbly legs and riffled through my stuff until I found Daryl's jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders and headed to the door. I held the knob in my hand for a second, debating on whether or not to tell Daryl about what had happened. I decided not to just yet, not until I had time to work through it myself. I walked outside and the chill washed over me, the fresh air like a slap in the face, taking away the last of the grogginess left over from sleep. Daryl wasn't on the porch and I furrowed my brow in confusion as I looked around.

"Daryl," I called out softly, stepping off the porch with my bare feet. Where was he?

I walked down the street a ways, my heart pounding as I thought about how stupid this was. I had no weapon of any kind if anything happened and how was I ever going to find Daryl anyway. But I kept going, finding serenity in the still November night in my hometown. If I closed my eyes I could just picture the street full of laughing kids and smiling moms and the smell of freshly cut grass and damp leaves. I sighed and opened my eyes, continuing on my path. Maybe Daryl had gone to the edge of the town to do a patrol or something. The pavement was cold and sent a shiver up my spine. I should have grabbed my boots and a gun on the way out.

"Come on Daryl, where are you?" I muttered under my breath about to head back and just wait on the porch for him to return when I heard a moan from my right. I spun around quickly, just in time to see a walker emerging from the trees. "Shit," I whispered, quickly ducking behind some bushes in hopes it wouldn't notice me.

No such luck. It was heading straight for me. I sprung out of the brush and looked around for anything to use as a weapon. I could probably outrun it but I didn't want to lead it back to the house and we needed to take care of it anyway. A rock was the only thing I could find and I knew it was going to be messy but it'd have to do. Even though it was only one, slow moving, walker, my heart was still beating faster and my blood was filled with adrenaline. You couldn't risk getting cocky because one misstep and it was all over.

Once the walker closed the space between us I unleashed a kick to its chest and it fell to the pavement. I sprung on top of him, my knees on his chest with the rock raised above my head. I brought it down and his hands reached for me, his jaws chomping in anticipation for his next meal. Blood splattered me in the face as I brought it down again, narrowly avoiding being grabbed that time. With a grunt, I slammed the rock into his head one last time before he went still. I was covered in blood and I stood up, wiping some of it off my face with the sleeve of my jacket. That had been easier than I expected.

I knew it was dumb to keep moving after that, but now I was a little worried about Daryl so I kept moving, keeping an extra sharp eye out now. I made it to the only bridge in town and saw a familiar shape leaning against it. We were near the edge of the town, this bridge would take us back to the main highway, which fed back onto the interstate.

"Hey," I called out not wanting to be mistaken for a walker. He turned with a jolt of surprise and looked at me.

"What are you doing out here?" He asked in an exasperated tone. I couldn't help the smile on my face as I closed the distance between us and went to lean next to him. The lake was pretty, leaves coating the surface of the frigid, calm, water.

"Couldn't sleep. Was wondering where you got to," I answered and he turned to face me straight on now.

"What the hell happened to you?" He asked once he noticed the blood.

"Walker. Just one about two blocks from the house," I told him.

"Damn it. We need to get back," he said, picking up his bow from where it laid on the ground.

I nodded and we started off, walking in comfortable silence. I was wondering what he was doing out there but didn't ask right now. We were both more than a little anxious to get back to the house and make sure everything was okay. We made it back without seeing another walker and all was well, the house was still quiet. I released a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding as we climbed back onto the porch.

"So," I started, deciding it was safe enough to talk now. "What were you doing out there by the lake?" I asked, flopping down on the porch.

He was looking out at the street and cut his eyes to the side to look at me and sent me a smirk. "Nosy much Walsh?" He joked and I rolled my eyes at him.

"Just wondering. You know I used to go there a lot when I needed to clear my head," I told him with a shrug. He'd seemed about as absent from today as I had and I was more curious than I was willing to admit what was bothering him. It seemed like I had been opening up to him a lot lately but he hadn't done the same.

"I was just doing a patrol and stopped there for a minute. No big deal," he said and I narrowed my eyes, assessing the truth behind that statement. I stood back up and went to stand next to him, leaning on the porch railing and looking out into the empty streets that had a haunted feeling to them. I wondered if anyone I'd known was still alive. That was a slippery slope to let the mind wander down so I quickly pulled my focus back to the man standing next to me.

"You know you can talk to me, right? I mean, I've been unloading on you all this time, I'm here if you need me," I spoke softly and put a hand on his arm. His eyes went to where my hand was touching him before meeting with mine. I could almost see the walls dropping and I swear he was about to open up, then everything went to hell.

A/N: Ohh, cliffhanger! What will happen next?