A/N: Hey guys,

I ended up writing a little more than I expected to, so instead of two parts, you will be getting three. I'm almost done with the third section now and it should be out tomorrow just in time for the new episode. It seemed like the reception I got from part 1 was definitely positive and I'm very glad for it. Even if none of this ever happens on the show, I feel like part of me will always wish that I'd gotten to see it acted out just for the sake of being able to see how these two amazing actors would handle this type of situation. Either way, I'm hoping you all at least enjoy reading it.

I will be getting back to Melting Into You very soon as well, but I can't make any promises on when the next chapter will be out. Unfortunately, I had some devastating news given to me yesterday and my thoughts are much more tuned into this type of a dark story right now than anything smut related so I apologize for that, but hopefully soon things will get back on track. When I do I will also have an amazing visual to go along with it as well, courtesy of a good friend of mine, so I can't wait for you all to see it! LLACO!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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It was ignorant to think that any of this was going to end well. Carol knew it the minute she got to the sanctuary. In a way, she hadn't truly believed that they'd find a place to go on the tracks, thinking maybe the man was just becoming delusional in his pain. To her complete shock, he'd been right, but now she had an even bigger problem to face than before. There was a community inside these walls with people just like their own. Even if they had a filtering system for who came in and who didn't, it was almost guaranteed that they would be allowed refuge for the simple notion of what they had with them. These people would never understand the impending danger they would soon be face to face with. Carol couldn't continue turning a blind eye to it all…it wasn't just going to magically go away the minute they walked in those gates. It hadn't worked then, and it wasn't going to work now. Before she could even think of stepping foot in a new place, she needed to deal with the demons lurking at her footsteps first.

Attempting to trace her steps wasn't easy when her mind was so cluttered with thoughts. She tried to remember the steps Daryl had taught her, but knew she wasn't doing a very accurate job. Lizzie walked along beside her, seemingly unfazed and unquestioning of it all. In truth, she was probably romanticizing the entire reason they were out here, not even aware of the fact that it was supposed to be a suicide mission. They continued walking along; Carol doing her best to keep the pace up for the sake of wanting to just find somewhere get it over with. She had no idea where she was really heading anymore, and she doubted anyone would come looking anyway. If they did, they'd never be able to follow their aimless direction. She had wanted it this way. No one else should have to feel the weight of this decision.

When Ryan came Carol weeks ago asking for some assistance with guiding Lizzie, she'd had no idea at the time just exactly what he'd been asking. He'd told her that she'd always had difficulties, even in school, with maintaining a sense of reality. If he had been completely truthful with her about the extent of her troubles, they probably never would have made it along this far. Carol had struggled with the burden for weeks, trying to decide the right way to go about handling the predicament, but in the end she'd chosen the wrong methods. Figuring that Lizzie just needed a better understanding of the world around her, she had tried to teach her the hard cold facts about the reality she was living in, and how dangerous it could be. She'd tried to make her realize that she needed to protect those she loved, not hurt them. She'd tried to make her see that there was no fantasy about it…but somehow the girl continued to daydream and carve out her own path of denial.

The day she discovered the bodies had been one of the most sobering days of her life. Lizzie had come to her in confidence, claiming to have wiped out the problem of the sickness all on her own; a smug smile plastered on her youthful face. Carol knew she still wasn't grasping the concept of how her actions affected others, but she'd been so wrapped up in her own fears of wondering if more of her friends might come down with the mystery illness that it had clouded her ability to see just how far gone this child really was. By the time she figured it out, it was far too late.

Walking into the cell, the smell hit her first. It was a smell she knew all too well…one she had grown quite accustomed to in the last few months. The smell of death. Her stomach churned violently, taking in the grizzly scene in front of her. Lizzie hadn't only killed Karen and David…she had mutilated them. Anyone who walked in would know that they hadn't been put down for the sake of their ailments. This was murder first and foremost in her mind. An act of violence for the sake of violence. What she couldn't understand was what had possessed this young woman to do something so senseless and cruel in the first place.

"Lizzie…why did you do this?"

"I saved us." She replied, her face unchanged. "I saved you. They're not a threat anymore."

Carol crouched down to her eye level, trying to make her understand. "They were never a threat to begin with. They were sick."

"They were a threat." She said it plainly, as if stating something commonplace. "They killed Nick and he never hurt anyone. They were a threat to all the walkers and now they got what they deserved."

The horror of her statement had stunned Carol into silence, and in that moment, she had panicked. There was no way to hide something like this, and she knew that if anyone saw it there would be a full out investigation and they would kill the person found to be guilty. Without any rational thought left in her body, Carol did what she had to do. Ushering Lizzie to go get one of the gas cans from the yard, she threw a sheet over the bodies before attempting to drag them out of bed. The amount of blood that had begun to pool around their heads and chests was much more apparent as she started dragging them out by their legs; the sheets picking up a large portion of it and leaving large trails straight down the hallway as she went along. Unfortunately, there was no time to worry about it right now.

By the time she got both bodies outside and unwrapped from the sheets, Carol was exhausted. She got rid of the evidence as quickly as she could, and pretty shortly after Lizzie came running back with the gas can.. Carol threw the contents of the can on both of the bodies, trying to douse any parts that she knew would remain in question if they were spotted. She pulled out a trusty zippo lighter that she'd found on a recent run and leaned down, igniting the fire. The bodies quickly became engulfed in the flames, nearly overpowering both of them in the process. Carol grabbed Lizzie's arm and pulled her off to a safe corner of the courtyard, once again kneeling down to her level.

"Listen to me closely." She was trying to remain calm. "You never saw this. You were never here. You don't know anything about how Karen and David died. Do you understand me?"

Lizzie looked confused, her trophy now ruined at the hands of the one person she had trusted enough to show it to. "But I…I thought you wanted me to do this."

"Lizzie…what you have done is unforgiveable, and the only reason I'm only helping you because I know what will happen if I don't." She looked her square in the eye. "If you ever do anything else like this, I can't save you. Do. You. Understand."

"Yes…I understand."

Carol stood and turned them both around. She knew they needed to get out now. "We can't be seen. If they find either one of us here…we're both dead where we stand."

In her naïve way, Carol had let herself believe the worst was over. Tyreese's reaction to the situation had set her on edge, but she knew there was still no hard evidence tying either one of them to the crime. It wasn't until Lizzie got sick that Carol realized just how far gone her faith in humanity truly was. In that moment of putting the girl in quarantine, she had actually felt a sense of relief in thinking that maybe nature would take care of the one thing she couldn't bring herself to do. Unfortunately, what should have ended there only got worse.

In hindsight, she knew that she had basically tipped Rick off about the whole thing. He had seen her erratic behavior and put two and two together just like she thought he would. By the time he finally brought it up, Carol had convinced herself that she was damned regardless of the truth. It seemed pointless to continue to lie about it now. It wasn't until she realized the extent of his disgust that she began to see exactly what he had been doing. He had never intended to let her come back with him once they'd gone out on the road. That one moment had changed everything and now she was on the outside looking in. How could she turn back to him and say that on top of everything else, she had once again put his family in danger by leaving the true threat back at the prison? Even if she could say it convincingly, he'd never believe her. Their friendship had been permanently damaged.

Carol had gone along with his plan and tried not to give him more cause him to doubt her any further. She had waited and figured out a plan to get back to the prison without anyone else seeing her, and would have succeeded in the process if it weren't for the disturbing scene she had come back to. Now aware that Lizzie's sickness was not as serious as she had thought, and after witnessing the incident with Judith in the woods, Carol knew exactly what she had to do. Whether or not heaven and hell existed, Carol knew she was never going to see any pearly gates after this. There would be no coming back from it. She was about to commit the most evil of all the sins.

Thou shall not kill.

This wasn't a walker. This was a living, breathing human child. The only thing keeping her from turning back was the fact that she was convinced that unlike other children, this one no longer had a soul. In her heart was a darkness; something that had taken over and couldn't be overcome with love and nurturing. If they lived in a different world, there may have been hope for her eventual recovery. Now…out here where the rules were kill or be killed…there was no room for error. Carol now realized that Shane had been right in his own way. He'd taken out the threats to his family for the simple act of survival. It was cold and cruel, but it was effective.

"Where are we going Carol?" Lizzie asked innocently, her face not even reflecting her concern. "I thought you said we needed to get to your car to get supplies. We're just going further into the woods."

"I know honey." She said; her voice coming out gruffer than expected. "We're going to do something else first. We'll be there soon."

"I'm glad you asked me to come out with you." She replied happily. "I like it when we spend time together alone. No one else understands me like you do."

Carol had to force her feet to keep moving; her heart and her mind conflicted once again. She couldn't put it off much longer. At this point, she was pretty sure even she couldn't make her way back if she tried. She wasn't sure if she even wanted to attempt to go back. What else would be left for her? No one would want her there after this. She looked up to the clearing above the trees, seeing a small patch of sky peeking in. God was watching her every move…she knew it. She was being judged even now.

"Yes…I do you understand you Lizzie. More than you know."

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Daryl was getting more and more frantic, trying to keep up the pace to get to them before it was too late. He still had a trail to follow, but from what he could tell they were still pretty far ahead of him, having gotten a good head start. He hadn't run into many walkers either, but it wasn't that surprising. Most of them were still probably up at the prison feasting on the carcasses of his friends in the rubble he used to consider home.

He understood what had happened now…it was all beginning to make sense again. Carol had been covering all along. He'd first suspected it when he and Rick made their way down to the tombs to find Tyreese and inform him of what she'd done. When they found the rabbit pinned to the board with its fur missing and its chest flayed open like a fucking science project, he'd started to figure it out. He'd seen Lizzie messing around with some of the rodents before and she'd told him that she was interested in learning how to skin them. He'd told her he'd teach her the proper way to do it but she said she wanted to try on her own. He'd thought it was off at the time but had never bothered to say anything neither. When Ryan had died and Carol had taken the girls in, he'd really thought that it would get better for them. It seemed like the all-around perfect scenario. Carol had lost her daughter, but now she had two new ones to care for and guide. It wasn't perfect, but he thought it could give them a new purpose in life. Now, he realized just how wrong he'd been.

He didn't know how she'd done it or why, but Daryl was convinced that Lizzie was behind the killings. Carol had probably helped her cover them up, knowing that if anyone ever found out the kid would be killed on the spot, but he wished she'd at least had enough sense to confide in him too. Having to carry a burden like that on her own must've been eating her up inside. No wonder she'd acted out in front of Rick. She had to know that it wasn't her fault…the kid was damaged goods before she'd even had a chance to find out. He had to get to her before she did something she could never forgive herself for, and he was running out of time.

The sky was peeking through the trees with a pinkish hue, telling him that it would be dark soon. This was gonna get ten times harder to do if he had to track them in the dark. The prints kept going out further in the woods, but there was no general rhyme or reason to any of it. It was almost like she was zig-zagging around to throw him off. Maybe she'd known someone might try to follow her and would eventually give up if they were too worried about getting back. The only one who could get this far along with it was him, and she knew it. Even if she didn't know that he would try to find her, she was prepared just in case. He'd taught her well.

Come on woman. Give me a break here. You gotta let me help you.

His feet pushed him forward under the duress of his body, which was heavy with exhaustion and grief. He hadn't felt this heavy since the day he'd found Merle out by the silo turned into the thing he hated most. On that day, he'd sworn he'd never go through something like this again, but here he was once again. It was becoming too much to bear.

You don't give up. You keep going. She needs you.

He knew the truth now. She was the only damn one he even remotely cared about anymore. He wasn't gonna let her go down this path alone…he needed to find them now.