Michonne watched the road as we drove in the darkness, silence our only company. The road was more or less deserted, despite the late hour. Or early hour, depending at how you looked at it. I pulled over to the side of the road after three hours, my back aching from sitting so stiffly for so long.

"Slide over," I said quickly. We traded seats without leaving the car. She pressed down on the gas and tore off, her face set in a mask, hiding all emotion, as she drove. I leaned against the window, overly aware that maybe Angel and Hershel had been right. Maybe I should have waited until morning.

I drifted into a restless sleep. Michonne woke me some time later, gently shaking my knee.

"We're here," she said softly. I opened my eyes and blinked against the bright sunlight. Sure enough, we were in northern Florida. I knew the area well and wasn't surprised to see the old hospital still standing.

"Any walkers?" I asked her. I pulled my hair into a tight bun, carefully tying it so it couldn't get snagged on anything.

"None so far," she said, her face showing a little concern. "It's strange."

"Let's not question it," I shrugged. I opened my door, carefully stepping out into the warm air. Even though it was almost winter, the beautiful Florida sun shined down on us.

I started towards the hospital, the small wolf pup following at my side, his oversized paws tripping him up every now and then. Hunter looked up at me with beautiful golden eyes, his little tail wagging as he bounced around every time he almost fell. I smiled down at him before concentrating on the task at hand.

"We should split up," Michonne suggested. "We'd cover more ground."

"No, let's stick together. We don't know what we're walking into," I argued. She nodded and followed me as I pushed open the door.

Angel

"Hershel, it's no use, we can't stabilize him!" Maggie cried. Glenn was hovering close by, his hand lingering on his gun.

"We can't give up on him. Katie and Michonne are out there, right now, risking their life to find medicine," he said softly. He was worn out. We all were. Soon after Katie had taken off, Daryl's health took a turn for the worst. We were barely able to control the seizures, much less keep his vitals even remotely stable.

"He won't want to turn," I said grimly. "We should…you know."

"He's still alive," Rick growled. I looked at him with wide eyes. A moment earlier, he was arguing with me on trying to keep him alive.

"Make up your mind, Rick. You can't keep changing your mind," I muttered to myself as I looked down at the fallen hunter. His body seized again, the fifth time in the last 30 minutes.

"Even if he does survive, with a fever this high…" Hershel's statement broke off. We all knew what he was trying to say. There's no way Daryl would come out of this without some kind of lasting effect.

"Handcuff him to the bed," I said with a shrug, taking all emotion out of the situation. "I sure as fuck don't want to have to try and fight off a zombie version of the best hunter this prison's got," my words came off as cold, careless. But in reality, I cared. I cared because Katie was going to be devastated. Katie didn't deserve to lose anyone else.

Katie

"I've got the blood," Michonne said, reappearing at my side. I was shoving the last of the antibiotics into my bag. I nodded, a strange feeling filling my heart.

"Something's wrong," I hissed. We both ducked behind the counter, our hands on our weapons of choice. We waited for the sound of walkers, but it never came. Michonne shot me a doubtful look, before standing upright, her hands on her hips.

"You're losing it, girl," she said with a shake of her head. "Let's go, if we leave now, we'll be back before lunch."

"Yeah, yeah," I nodded, my heart still racing in my chest. She shot me another look before leading the way out of the hospital, into the warm late autumn air. We neared the car in time to see the herd of walkers slowly making their way down the street. There were hundreds of them.

"Shit," she hissed, looking at me.

"We'll be fine," I sighed, sliding into the driver's side of the car. "Hang on," I said as I spun the car around, slamming down on the gas without a care in the world. The car squealed on the pavement before tearing down the street, narrowly making its way through the incoming danger. It didn't take more than a mile or two to lose the herd all together.

We made it back to the prison late into the morning, both of us on red alert. As soon as we were through the gate, we knew something was horribly wrong.

Angel

I watched as one of my best friends came through the fence, my heart sinking to my feet. I knew she was going to hate us for the news we had to tell her. She was going to hate me for not going out to find her, to bring her back in time.

No one had the nerve to go back into that cell. No one had the strength to end his suffering. Maybe, looking back, we should have. We should have spared Katie of having to be the one to look at the man she cared so much about and watching him waste away in the matter of hours.

But we didn't. Instead, Rick simply shook his head as she ran past him, the bag long forgotten on the ground as she hurried through the prison, her entire body crumbling as she looked into the cell.

The snarls would haunt her the rest of her life.

Katie

"God, no," I whispered as I watched him jerk and pull at the restraints, his teeth snapping, his eyes wild. The man who had went against all instinct to save my group, now wanted nothing more than to devour our flesh. I watched in horror as the skin around his wrists began to peel back with every disheartening jerk.

"Daryl," I whispered, tears flowing freely down my cheeks as I walked into the cell, absolutely no fear even crossing my mind. I sat on his bed as he pulled towards me, hungry groans escaping his lips. "All you had to do was hang on a little longer," I whispered. I brought my hand up to touch his face. I didn't stop when he snapped at me. Instead, I brushed his hair gently from his eyes before bringing my other hand up, this time, wielding my sharp hunting knife. Without hesitation, I slammed the blade through his skull, the sickening crunch ending his hungry, broken moans.

I sat there in silence, cradling his now limp body in my arms, silent sobs tearing through my body.

Despite everything, we had been too late.