Stepping out of the house, they head down the road walking steadily and not looking behind. They cross the street and head straight into the woods. They keep walking, not speaking to one another and moving as silently as they can. They hear cars rumbling on the road beside them as Rick start maneuvering them down the incline. They move down into a small gulley, pressing against the rocks behind them as they look up. They hear footfalls overhead as they brace themselves.
"DAMN IT!" Daryl curses. "I had their trail and now its gone! Damn it!"
"Your friends are good," one of the new voices says.
"They're too damn good," Daryl huffs.
"Daryl, what's going on!" Maggie shouts as she comes over with Carl.
"Had their trail then they hopped the gulley and I lost them," Daryl replies. "They could be anywhere by now."
"Why can't we see them? The woods are flat enough," Carl says.
"There's hills and things we can't tell from here, elevation changes and such. Don't worry, they probably didn't get far, depending on the shape your dad's still in."
"He has my sister and my daddy taught her all he knew about healing people, Abraham," Maggie snaps. "She's good at what she does."
"Well let's definitely make sure we find them then," the one called Abraham says as they head off.
Rick holds his finger to his lips as they notice Daryl kneeling down. He sits there for a moment, turning to look over his shoulder on occasion. "You coming!"
"Be there in a minute, just trying to see what direction they're going," he calls back. They hear the cars crank and speed off. "You two can come up now."
Rick throws his pack up beside Daryl and helps Beth into his waiting embrace. Rick climbs up behind her as Daryl embraces him too. "Kept my mouth shut, just like you wanted."
"Good man," Rick acknowledges. "How long can we stay ahead of them?"
"If we don't find you two by tonight, Abraham's calling off the search. I can stay out because I don't want in the sanctuary … I feel like I'm in a cage."
"Come with us then," Beth pleads with him. "Help us find Judith."
"You think lil ass-kicker is still alive?"
"There was no body in the car seat, only blood," Rick states. "I think someone took her and either killed a walker or was covered in blood."
"Well that's a good enough reason to stay gone," Daryl smiles then grabs hold of Beth and hugs her tight. "You scared da hell outta me girl."
"Sorry," she whispers.
"How will you handle them?" Rick asks.
"Let me deal with them," Daryl chuckles.
"You're not coming with us?" Maggie asks, walking up with Carl.
"No we're not," Beth says, intertwining her fingers with Rick's. "We're going after our daughter."
"She's not your daughter!" Carl snaps.
"Yes she is!" Rick hisses back. "Beth has every right to help me find Judith!"
"So do I!" Carl snaps.
"No you don't! You lost that right!" Rick snaps back at him. "You lost that right when you started shooting walkers for no reason after we found the car seat."
Carl stares at him then turns and takes off running. "I'll stop him," Maggie says and takes off. They watch her tackle Carl and try to wrap him up. They see Glenn step out from a tree and wrap a bandana through Carl's mouth.
"Go while we can hang onto him," Glenn replies. "You two don't belong in the sanctuary, we can hold them off while you run."
"I'm going with them," Daryl replies.
"Maybe we all should," Michonne smiles and walks up with Tyreese, Sasha and the one named Abraham. "Like the hog collar."
"What we had to do," Maggie growls as Carl tries to kick her.
"We can't ask any of you to come with us, not even you Daryl," Rick states and lays his hand on Daryl's shoulder. "We believe someone took Judith and that she's alive. We're going to find her."
"Who's this Judith person?" Abraham asks.
Rick looks at Beth and smiles. "Our infant daughter. All we found was a bloody car seat and no body. Walkers would have left something behind, but there was nothing. We have to go, we have to find her. If someone has her, we can't leave it to chance."
"What about him?" Abraham asks, grabbing hold of Carl.
"Sit on him for all I care," Beth grumbles.
"Oh I've done that before," Tyreese chuckles and lifts Carl off his feet. "We'll deal with him, you two get a move on before anyone else shows up."
"What about you, Daryl?" Glenn asks.
"I'm going after Carol," he replies. "I ain't no animal on show."
"Could Carol have the baby?" Maggie asks.
"I have an idea of who might have her," Beth speaks up. "It's a long shot, but that's our starting point for now. We might find our way back to all of you."
"Let's go, I think I hear the truck coming back," Abraham says as he looks around.
They turn to look up the hill then back to see Rick and Beth have vanished along with Daryl. They hear Daryl's motorcycle on the road as it tears away.
"Bye sis," Maggie speaks as tears flow.
Down in the gulley, Rick holds Beth to him as her own tears start flowing. He cradles her head against his shoulder and kisses her. "Are you sure?" he whispers into her hair.
She nods her head 'yes' as he holds her closer.