I wasn't a horse person. Sure, I grew up in the country, surrounded by farms and horses and such, but I'd never been on the back of a horse in my entire life. The proved even more apparent as we slowed our pace, my entire body aching from sure effort.

"Whoa," I said softly to the beast. Scout had managed to keep up with us just fine, despite the horse's fast pace. The young dog was running beside us, his ears perked forwards. I was tired. There was no denying that this plan hadn't been my brightest. We were still in the woods. My sense of direction was completely shot.

"Shoulda brought a map," I muttered as I pulled the horse to a complete stop, my hands shaking from gripping the reins for dear life. "Don' went an' got myself lost again."

Had I been on the road, I'd know where I was going. I could drive through Georgia blind folded. But my bright ass had to decide to take to the trees. I surveyed the area, my heart sinking as realization really sank in. I really was lost.

An idea crossed my mind. I'd remembered the pack a bright red shirt, so if I was bit, the others would know because I'd tie the shirt to Scout's neck and send him back to the prison. I also packed a dull blue shirt. I tore the blue shirt from my bag and quickly tore it into little shreds. I tied one of the shreds to the horse's halter before tying another to a neighboring branch. This way if I started going in circles, I'd know right away.

By the time the horse's hooves hit pavement, the sun was beginning to set. I didn't like the idea of riding in the dark, but I didn't want to spend the night out in the open either. So I went with the original plan and kicked the horse into a gallop, Scout following close behind.

By the time we neared Tifton, I was physically exhausted. I could barely stay upright, much less ward off the Walkers that had caught our scent. Thankfully, Scout was not afraid of them and had no problem tripping them up, chasing them off, or letting them take swipes and nips at him. The horse, on the other hand, wasn't as confident. After almost an hour of dodging Walkers, he gave up. He neighed angrily and reared up, throwing me off his back. I groaned and landed painfully on the pavement. The world went black before I had a chance to react.

Angel

"It's been two weeks," I said nervously. I was pacing back and forth, racking my brain for a plan.

"She's going to be so heartbroken when she gets back," Carol said sadly. After trying our hardest, Mackenzie had died in her sleep after her fever spiked for the millionth time. It had come down to one of the Woodbury survivors to put her down. None of us could. We couldn't live with that kind of guilt.

"She's prolly dead by now," Carl said with a shake of his head.

"She'd've sent Scout back by now," I argued. "And that little beast woulda came straight here, no matter how far off they got."

"What about Daryl? He's been out there a week now," Carol said worriedly.

I sighed as I sat down against the cold, concrete floor.

Daryl had taken off after the 6th night. He'd been worried from day one, but after Mackenzie turned, he felt it was his duty to find her. Rick begged him not to go off, we all had, but he did anyway. He was a stubborn man, and I knew if anyone could bring my best friend – my sister – home it was him.

The sound of a dog barking caused us all to jump to our feet and hurry down the corridor leading outside. At the fence, Scout was barking up a storm, his claws digging into the ground as he quickly wiggled under the gate.

"Easy boy," I said to the dog as he started jumping up on Rick, barking loudly. I looked through the fence, my eyes training on the path he had taken back.

"Rick, look!" I gasped.

Katie

I didn't know how long I was out. When I woke up, the sun was burning down on me, the ground covered in a thin layer of snow. Scout looked like he hadn't slept in a week. Maybe he hadn't. It didn't take me long to realize I was very close to the hospital now.

I mounted the horse with shaky legs, kicking him into a slow canter through the town. When we reached the hospital, I was pleasantly surprised to see more dead on the ground than surrounding us.

I look down the small herd with little trouble, despite the ache in my head. By the double vision I was suffering from, I safely assumed I had a concussion.

"Keep it together, Katie," I scolded myself as I kicked open the hospital doors. Scout followed me inside as I made my way down the long, quiet corridor, grabbing small items to shove in my bag along the way.

I managed to come across a battery operated ultrasound machine, several clean packs of needles, countless bandages, and eventually, even Saline. It took longer to find the antibiotics I needed, but when I found the pharmacy, I was surprised to see it mostly intact. I shoved bits and pieces into my bag before the dizziness finally caused me to slump to the floor.

"I'm gon' die here, Scout," I said to the dog. My eyes shut, heavy from exhaustion. I didn't stir for a long time.

XX

I woke later in the week. I only knew time had passed because Scout was sitting in front of me, a dead cat in his mouth. He was chomping away at the meat intently until he noticed I was awake.

"Hey boy," I muttered as I pulled myself off the floor. My back ached from sitting for so long and my head throbbed like no tomorrow. I ignored the pain as I slowly stumbled down the hall, barely making it outside before my stomach made a sudden flip, causing me to fall to my knees groaning.

It took all my strength to reach the horse and get on his back. Once settled, I looked at Scout and told him to lead the way home. I was too weak to sit, so I settled with leaning forward, my head pressed into the horse's thick, matted mane.

We barely made it out of Tifton before stumbling upon a very unlikely, yet very welcomed presence. It was early in the morning when we crossed paths with Daryl, only, I hadn't been expecting to find him, much less like he was.

He was lying curled in a tight ball in the middle of the street. As we neared him, he didn't even flinch. Scout ran over to him, barking softly as he nipped at his arms and face. Still no response.

I groaned as I heaved myself off the horse's back, stumbling towards Daryl with no idea what I was going to find. I was surprised to see him still alive.

"You got'a wake up Daryl," I coaxed as I knelt beside him, shaking his shoulder. "C'mon now."

All I got in return was a harsh, ugly cough. I sighed and rolled him over. His face was slicked with sweat despite the cold wind. I wiped my hand across his face, surprised to find him burning up.

"Good god," I whispered. I quickly searched for the bite that would explain the fever but found none. When I was sure it was safe to move him, I tried my hardest to get him over to the horse with no luck. I fell to the ground, at a loss.

Then the most amazing thing happened. The horse came over to us, leaned down to our level and tossed his head, almost as if trying to tell me what to do. I looked at my options and decided the only way we were getting back alive was on the horse's back. So I used all my strength to get Daryl onto the horse's broad back before climbing up after him. The horse stood slowly, like he knew we were too out of it to hold on, and we slowly made our way down the body scattered street.

Angel

"Is that Katie?" Carol cried, rushing to my side. Scout had wiggled back under the fence and was now running beside the horse, barking softly.

"Has ta be," I nodded. Michonne and I ran to the gate, opening it carefully as the horse, followed by Scout, ran through.

"Oh my god," I whispered at the sight on the horse's back.