A/N: Thanks for sticking with this, guys! Two quick notes: 1. This is super long, please bear with it! 2. Please don't kill me. I'll make it alright again, I promise.

Chapter 15:

Daryl had always been a light sleeper – the couple of days when he had first stumbled across Carol and his body had been so beaten and exhausted that he couldn't help but sleep being an exception. But now things started to return to their old patterns again. He had been awake long after she'd fallen asleep against him and he was awake long before she awoke.

There was something about the closeness of another person, someone warm and soft and utterly trusting of him that both terrified and thrilled him. It wasn't how most of his life had worked and he felt so inapt at handling it now, constantly fearing that one wrong move would frighten it away.

So that's why nervous excitement had taken most of the sleep from him. He'd been too aware of her or too distracted by the smallest sounds, trying to decipher if they could evolve into potential threats or not.

He tilted his head carefully to look at her, hoping not to wake her. Outside, the sun had just begun to rise and its first rays lazily stretched up across the crowns of the trees and crawled in through the window faintly illuminating the room. Carol looked peaceful with her lips slightly parted and her chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. It was the first time he'd seen her this relaxed since their encounter at the house in the grove but knowing that he was the one who'd brought this change about was as surprising as it was wonderful.

"Are you watching me?" her lips curled into a smile against his skin.

"Was wonderin' if you're awake…" he mumbled, feeling caught and so hurriedly averted his eyes, "my arm's startin' to hurt."

It wasn't at all what he had meant to say but then again, what could he have said that wouldn't have sounded like something straight out of some goddamn chick flick?

Romance is dead, lil brother. You gotta be direct with women. They'll respond to that.

"Sorry."

Carol's smile grew bigger while she sleepily opened her eyes and tried to orientate herself. When you were constantly on the move it became increasingly difficult to remember where it was that you had last fallen asleep at.

"Do you want to get going?"

She pushed herself into a semi-sitting position and watched him do the same while rolling his shoulder.

"Yeah," he nodded, "got lots to do."

"So the plan is to head into Gordon, find some supplies and a car?"

"Yup, gotta go from there then. If we find one early enough we could start heading to Augusta, if not we gotta think of another plan."

"Alright," she nodded encouragingly, "hand me the backpack?"

Daryl shifted away, retrieved it from the floor and then set it down between them.

"Unless you fancy some vegetables, I suggest we share the last energy bar for breakfast?"

She pulled it out of the backpack and held it questioningly in the air.

"Go ahead." He shrugged and proceeded to watch her eat like he had done the previous night.

When she had eaten her share, she handed it back to him and got off the bed. She removed the knife whose cold metal had been pressing against her skin from beneath the waistband of her pants and placed it down on the bed. Then she turned her back to Daryl again and pulled the sweater over her head.

She felt his eyes on her, tingling up and down her spine but with great effort she reminded herself that now wasn't the time nor the place to give in to it and so she only pulled her bra off the edge of the wardrobe and began dressing herself. By the hurried rustling of fabric she could tell that he had seized the opportunity to do the same.

Wordlessly they settled into their routine; stashing away clothes, checking weapons and making sure they hadn't left anything valuable behind.

The old wood creaked as they made their way downstairs but otherwise everything was quiet.

"Hang on a sec," he hummed and walked past her towards the entrance of the house that he had booby-trapped the previous night by applying a thick film of several layers of tape just an inch away from the front door from one wall to the other and by distributing broken shards of glass that seemed to have once formed a wine bottle across the floor.

Carol watched him sweep them away with the sole of his boot and then began tugging the tape loose with great effort. Apparently he had hoped that intruders pushing against the door would make it catch in the tape a couple of times, so that they would be forced to apply more pressure and tumble into the house and across the glass shards before they could notice them lying there. The sound would've alerted them no doubt; alertness was a general state of mind these days.

Returning his nod she followed him outside where the air was still moist and fresh from the rain.

"Gonna check on the trap before we leave, alright?" he asked and she nodded a second time, watching him disappear into the line of trees that marked the border of the property.

A light breeze filled the air and leaves whispered in the background, making her suddenly aware of how exposed she was and how vulnerable she felt without him, just like she had done the very first day Rick had exiled her. Stranded and alone with your own thoughts was a dangerous state to be in nowadays.

Gooseflesh crawled up her skin and she pulled the coat she was wearing tighter around her shoulders. He wouldn't be much longer.

Daddy said he'd play with me. Big, disappointed eyes staring up at her from the laundry cabinet. I've been hiding for forever! A glance to the living room, to the flickering TV screen, the discarded socks, the beer bottle. He won't be much longer, sweetheart, I promise.

Her sigh was heavy, filled with longing. So many memories of her little girl, so many sad ones. Better than the last one, she supposed, but still not as good as the image Daryl had suggested she'd carry in her heart.

Some days were harder than others, especially those when she had dared to relax. Forgetting prickled like betrayal at the edges of her memories.

The mixture of wet soil and gravel warned her just in time to spin around and draw her knife.

"Did somethin' happen?" Daryl asked, looking only mildly surprised while she withdrew the weapon again.

"No, you just startled me."

She put on a brave smile, didn't want to admit to him that all the progress she thought she had made had been wiped away in a single moment, a moment in which she could've sworn to have seen a blue-eyed girl hiding out in the shed that was facing them.

His smile looked more pensive than doubtful while he peeled the backpack off her body and placed the dirty trap back into it. Her old self would've cringed at the mess this created, her current self had more important things to think about.

"Caught nothin'," he explained unnecessarily as she pulled the straps over her shoulders again, "would've been surprising if I had."

"It was still worth a shot," she told him with a little smile, "and you didn't take any risks setting it up. No time wasted, no harm done."

She gave his hand a soft squeeze and then began walking towards the main road. A faint mist had appeared and was hovering just above the tarmac as they were making their way towards Gordon but the comradely silence that was hanging between them was making Carol increasingly anxious.

What if her thoughts were to drift back to the dangerous issue?

What if they would take over again?

Searching for something to say to him, something to otherwise occupy her mind with she noticed him playing with something, Glenn's pocket watch that his hands rhythmically opened and closed over.

"Do you think Maggie was there as well?"

He glanced at the watch and then at her.

"Dunno…dunno if they made it out of the prison together."

She hummed and nodded, saw the dark shadow of anger pass over his face once more.

"I'm not sure if I should hope so or not." She commented quietly.

"Always thought it was stupid," Daryl shrugged.

"What was?"

"Their relationship…"

She arched an eyebrow, asking him to clarify. She was certain that he didn't mean it as bluntly as he had put it.

"What?" he shrugged again. "Falling for someone when the world's gone to shit can't be very smart."

He glanced at her quickly and almost guiltily and she could feel her lips curl into a smile.

"Sure," she acknowledged, "it isn't a particularly smart move but then no attachments are."

"Yeah but…" he tried to argue, clenching his hand around the pocket watch again, "that's different. We gotta help each other out…is human, I guess…or selfish cause we wanna survive and can't make it alone. So falling in love is one thing but actually starting a relationship? I dunno…"

Another glance in her direction, almost as if he was checking if she agreed or not.

"I know what you mean," she smiled wistfully, "because you're starting something new, you're getting more and more involved with that person. But maybe if you're in love like they are there'd be nothing keeping you apart either way."

Daryl's contemptuous scoff only made her chuckle.

"You know it's true," she persisted, keeping her focus on the road straight ahead, "or would you be able to stay away from someone you loved?"

The question hung between them, unanswered but Carol hadn't expected him to. She was long past the point where she needed to hear a great confession. He had shown her time and time again, so she knew.

The sun moved higher in the sky, trying desperately to pierce the mist that had grown thicker since they had left.

"Gonna complicate things," Daryl muttered, a look of deep concern on his face.

And he was right. With visibility considerably reduced it would be easier to be caught off-guard by walkers. They were largely dependent on their sense of hearing now while the walkers seemed to move blindly most of the time anyway, already used to relying on their sense of hearing and smelling or whatever else it was that drove them forward.

"Let's have our knives ready," Carol suggested and Daryl nodded.

He put the water bottle he'd been carrying, as well as the road map into his trouser pockets and took out his weapon. A tense silence fell between them this time while they cautiously progressed towards the beginning of the small town.

And not a second too late.

From one moment to the next the air was suddenly filled with bodiless snarls. Occasionally Carol thought to have seen a movement, a blur of colour in the whiteness of the mist but none of them moved in to attack yet.

Instinctively, they both shifted closer to each other and crossed the town line with their elbows touching. Daryl was on the lookout to their right, Carol covered their left.

Snarls and groans everywhere, some louder than others; it sounded as if half of Gordon's population had joined the death march.

"Should we grab one of them again?" Carol asked quietly.

"Don't matter," Daryl replied, "we're here for a car. The minute we start making noise our cover will be blown. I say we get in and out. If it's too dangerous we gotta move on. No point in going back now and risk passing through here again."

She nodded curtly, her body buzzing with adrenaline.

They advanced as they did before, each keeping an eye out for the other.

The sneak attack came nonetheless.

There was a split second in which she felt something hard and bony wrapping itself around her ankle and then she was on the ground. She heard the loud and angry snarl that intermingled with her own scream of surprise which had escaped her despite her best efforts of stifling it in her shirt. She could sense warm, hungry breath or perhaps she was just imagining it, then Daryl was on the walker and her ankle got released.

Her elbows were burning from the way they had impacted on the ground but there was no time to lose. Her scream had sounded like a gunshot through the overrun city and more and more walkers started emerging from the mist.

"Go!" Daryl ordered and yanked her back up on her feet and they both broke into a run.

The walkers couldn't give chase but didn't abandon them either and from the road in front of them more and more appeared, seemingly out of the blue so that Daryl and Carol often bumped up against their decomposing bodies.

Daryl had his hand firmly wrapped around her wrist, determined to tug her free should another walker sneak up on her. There was no way he'd allow her to become separated, there was no way he'd lose her like he had lost Beth.

But the road ahead was a hard one.

More bodies, more dead. Groaning, grasping, teeth flashing. They battled on. Pushing, shoving, killing as many as they could, until their arms grew tired from the same old movement, but even then they had to keep going.

"There!" he panted, pointing through the mist where the road right ahead of them forked.

She squinted, trying to make out what he had spotted and a couple of steps later she could finally see it, too. An auto shop, its yard littered with the skeletons of abandoned vehicles, its windows shattered or otherwise murky.

They both knew that spare parts and other useful tools were likely to be inside, but there was no quick way of gaining access through the shutter door.

"Let's grab a car and go!" he suggested breathlessly, checking over his shoulder for more walkers emerging from the mist.

"That one!" she shouted, pointing at a faded blue pick-up truck.

If they managed to get it out of Gordon unscathed it would be the perfect vehicle to transport supplies on their long drive to Augusta and beyond. Carol quickly jogged ahead, dragging him along this time and inspected the car. The sounds of the dead still echoed all around them and they knew that they only had a small window of opportunity if they wanted to make it out alive.

So without hesitation Carol yanked the truck door open, sending yet another groaning body onto the ground in front of her. Daryl crushed its head beneath his boot easily.

She hurriedly stuck her head inside the truck, weapon poised, to see if another unwelcome guest inhibited it. But all was clear, only the heavy stench of decay hung sickeningly in the air.

"Key's in ignition," she announced, flinging her backpack onto the backseat.

She didn't hear his response but quickly slammed the door shut and started the truck up and then drove off the second he had climbed in on the other side.

"Gonna run out of gas soon," she told him as they floored it out of the yard of the auto shop and across the train tracks that had once held such promise of hope.

Dead bodies tumbled into their path only to be squashed under the wheels of their car a second later.

"There!" Daryl yelled, startling her so much that she only narrowly avoided hitting a lamppost.

She cursed but forgave him a moment later when she saw a gas station looming across the street and just ahead of them. So she accelerated again to bridge the gap as quickly as possible. But the euphoria subsided as fast as it had come.

The minute they switched off the car they heard it, the hum, the buzz, that instantly reminded them of the herd they had encountered outside of Terminus. And as they turned to see where it was coming from they noticed that while the station itself was deserted, the parking lot on the other side of the road that seemed to have belonged to a supermarket, was crawling with walkers, all of which had been alerted by the sound of their car.

Carol glanced longingly at the gas pump that was just outside her window but Daryl shook his head.

"No chance. Get us out of here. We'll find a top up somewhere else."

And sighing deeply, Carol twisted the key in ignition once more, turned the car around and raced eastwards and away from the town.

Her heart was pounding heavily in her chest even after they had left everything behind and the street ahead of them was starting to clear. The panic and the constant fear for safety seemed to have gnawed its way into the very foundation of her body and she doubted that she'd ever be able to fully shake it off.

Next to her, Daryl's tension seemed to have morphed into more practical determination. He had extracted the road map from his trouser pocket and seemed to try and confirm their whereabouts by occasionally glancing out the window when a street sign whizzed past them.

"Stick to this road," he muttered after a bit, "it'll lead us to another small town and maybe we'll have enough time to get some gas there before we head off to Augusta."

"Don't you think it'll be overrun as well?" she asked, keeping her eyes on the road, always on the lookout for another herd that could bring their trip to a permanent end.

"Gonna find out in a moment." His voice was low and his expression grim and she knew that he was also still anticipating an attack.

They drove for a small while, past long stretches of field and forest and across a giant lake where they dared to roll down their windows to let the stench of decay escape the car. Buildings became scarce but they still noticed the walkers that lingered near the houses or tumbled across the street.

Their instinct to run drove them further and further until, finally, another sign announced their arrival at the nearby town Daryl had located on the map. It was there that Carol slowed down the car again and forced herself to be on the lookout for a gas station, a supermarket or any other store they could get supplies from.

The whole area stood in stark contrast to Gordon as it was almost eerily silent with no sign of life.

"Gotta turn right at the next intersection," Daryl told her but before they had reached it they both saw something that changed their mind.

A gas station on the left hand corner, as if it had been waiting for them all along. Carol accelerated and then parked next to one of the pumps, checking for any sign of walker activity before climbing out.

"You fill her up, I'll look around for a container so we have some backup once we hit the road."

She nodded and watched him walk away, his body hunched, his bow aimed and ready. She worried about him when he disappeared out of sight, even though she knew that he could handle himself, but their best bet was indeed to get back into the car and out of the region quickly and, therefore, it was vital that she did her bit while he was gone.

So she started filling up the car but her elation at having found a gas station at such a prime location instantly vanished when the nozzle started to sputter and the numbers on the dial stopped moving. They hadn't been the only ones who had needed gas to make a speedy escape.

Daryl returned a moment later, the crossbow slung back over his shoulder, two canisters in his hands. He could see by the expression on her face that something was wrong.

"Empty?"

"Practically," she sighed, "everything that was left is now in the truck."

"Alright," he hummed and tossed the containers into the cab, "gotta do for now then."

She shared a small smile with him and then opened the door to climb back into the truck.

"Out back there's a high school," Daryl told her, slipping inside as well, "dyou reckon we could scavenge there for food? Ought to have a canteen or somethin'."

Carol nodded and put the car into gear, although she felt an odd sense of trepidation bubbling up in her stomach.

"It's not overrun?" she asked, as they drove around the corner and the building came into view.

"Ain't seen nothin'," he shrugged, "cause could be different inside."

Swallowing against the growing nervousness she drove the truck onto the parking lot and then left it at the side of the building, close enough to the front doors should they need to make a hasty escape. They didn't leave any of their belongings behind and carefully approached the entrance of the school.

The doors were open but the coat of blood that had tainted it as well as the floors didn't bode well.

More panic, more fear and a growing sense of nausea.

"Let's split up," she blurted out, "we'll find the canteen quicker that way. Once we've located it we'll whistle, okay?"

Daryl looked surprised at her suggestion and eyed her with soft concern. "Ya feelin' alright?"

"Sure," she replied quickly, too quickly and spun around on her heels so he couldn't analyse her further. "In and out, right? I'll take this side." And she started marching off.

She didn't hear his footsteps dwindling away but felt his eyes on her still and so increased her pace. She couldn't explain to him why panic had gripped her so strongly. She didn't want to discuss the possible reasons. She just wanted to find supplies and leave.

Turning the corner, she felt great relief when she caught sight of the first sign pointing towards the canteen. It couldn't be very far now.

Cold sweat made her shirt stick to her back and her heart pounded forebodingly against her ribcage.

Just like the front door, the large double doors that led into the canteen weren't locked so with her knife in the air Carol advanced into the darkness that instantly swallowed her up. It was almost impossible to see a thing as the canteen was situated in the middle of the building and didn't have windows. Another opportunity when the flashlight they had found could've come in handy. But she was too close to her goal to back out now.

The first time she heard the sound it was so faint that she quickly convinced herself that she had imagined it.

Wiping her forehead with the back of the hand that was holding the knife she proceeded, peering into the dark where nothing stirred. Something soft brushed up against her foot and startled her but when she bent down to investigate she saw that it was only a coat. Breathing in deeply she dropped it onto the floor again.

That's when the sound returned a second time.

Soft, quiet whimpering that seemed to emanate from behind the counter.

She forced herself not to call out and quickly moved further.

Another obstacle on the floor, heavy enough to make her trip this time. She landed on her knees and her knife noisily clattered away from her. She fumbled around to grasp it again and then inspected the obstacle that had made her fall.

A corpse with a large hole in its head, nearby a gun.

Out of habit she stuffed the weapon into the waistband of her trousers where it instantly stained her clothes with blood.

The whimpering had turned into a soft sniffling now, occasionally interrupted by the smallest of hiccups.

Her breathing was coming ragged and chased now, the sense of foreboding was growing.

It can't be. Please don't let it be. She prayed but one look over the counter confirmed what she had instinctively known since the first moment she had heard that sound.

The little child had sought refuge in between two shelves of a cabinet that had once been used for food preparation. It seemed to have its arms wrapped around its knees, its deadly skinny body shaking with every whimper.

"It…it's okay," Carol tried, climbing clumsily over the counter, "they're gone now, you're safe."

But the sniffling sound began to build up, changing into the terrified wail of a toddler.

It's alright, Sophia, sssh, daddy will stop yelling in a minute.

"Hey," her voice cracked, "I'm not one of them. Don't be afraid, I'll help you."

She took another step closer, careful not to startle it.

Its bony shoulders shook.

Another step closer.

Was it the lack of light or did its skin look ashen?

"Don't worry, little boy, I'll get you out of here."

She was almost there now.

"I'll just pick you up now, okay? I'll pick you up and I'll bring you out to my friend and we'll look after you."

She reached out her hand and placed it on the little one's shoulder, then everything happened at once.

The little boy spun around, its eyes white and pupil-less, its mouth unnaturally wide open, a mask of death. The wailing sound of a toddler transformed into loud and angry shrieks that pierced her eardrums.

More sounds erupted all around her as if the whole school had suddenly come to life but Carol remained paralysed on the spot, the dead toddler in her arms.

"No…" her voice sounded oddly far away and the screams continued.

Its mouth opened and closed, so far that the jaw almost unhinged itself but it made no attempt to bite her.

Perhaps it was too young.

Tears rolled down her cheeks and her body shook while the cacophony around her grew. She barely heard it though, barely heard anything except for the ringing in her ears.

Her eyes remained glued to the little dead boy who had been failed, who hadn't been saved just like the little girls she'd been entrusted with. Children had once been called the hope for the future. This world had sacrificed so many of them that it was impossible to feel hope any longer.

A scuffle was happening not far from her, there was bumping and slashing. The toddler's skin felt icy against hers.

"Carol!"

Was that her name being bellowed?

She thought she recognized that voice. She thought she recognized that name.

We'll name her Sophia. It means wisdom.

"Carol!"

The name again, then someone touched her.

"Oh God…"

She tilted her head to look at him, tears clouding her light blue eyes, dripping down her chin. A look passed between them.

Too late.

Her body was wrecked with sobs, sounds so loud they almost drowned out the noise the toddler was making.

"Carol," he cleared his throat, "we gotta go now! This ain't safe."

She locked eyes with the toddler once more and shook her head. "I can't…"

"You don't have to…"

"Sophia, Mika, Lizzie, Judith…it's enough!" she yelled and once it was out, she couldn't stop.

She screamed and screamed until her voice was raw. Screamed for the unfairness of the world that had taken so many little children from her and their parents. Screamed until no sound came out.

But the tears didn't stop so easily.

"Carol…please…"

The toddler had become unsettled by her behavior and had begun to wiggle about in her arms. Its nails had dug grooves into her skin, its pointy teeth became visible now.

"I can't…" she whispered, "not another one…not again…"

"He'll be at rest then, Carol." Daryl persisted and gently lifted the little boy out of her arms.

It began thrashing around now, snarling like the rest of its kind, it's head bobbing about to find the right angle to attack. Still, Daryl cradled it in his arms like a newborn before turning his back to her.

"Sssh," he whispered, then everything fell silent.