It was getting quite late, but Daryl knew he couldn't give up. True, the walkers were getting ready for their nightly rounds, but he didn't care about that. He was a good shot. He could take care of himself if need be (and he was sure the need would soon be.) But it was Carol he was worried about. Yes, she was stronger than most people gave her credit for. But thoughts of how she was when he first met her came to mind, and it drove him crazy.

00000

She hadn't said much to anyone. Always busying herself with laundry or preparing food or whatever else needed to be done, nonetheless she hadn't quite "fit in" with the group. Like he did? Anyways, it wasn't like Carol could get a chance to get to know the the ladies, to make friends. That piece of shit husband of hers had his eyes on her, and not cause he was worried about her safety.

0000

Daryl didn't much like thinking about those days. There were so many things that bothered him- Merle, Ed- and little Sophia. It wasn't like he didn't want to think about the kid, but whenever he let himself go down that road it would only lead to him kicking himself for not knowing, not doing more, not keeping her safe.

0000

Damn that Rick. Daryl'd just started to respect him again, to see him more of a leader, then he had to go and pull this shit. What he was thinking, Daryl didn't know. All he did know was that Rick had better hope that nothing happened to Carol, or the walkers would be the least of his worries.

Squinting, looking around for any sign that Carol had been around, it was starting to look bad. There was nothing.

Just then a walker came up to him from behind, and Daryl knew what he had to do. He had developed a pretty good instinct of those things, and so he quickly turned around, knife in hand, and without hesitating he took care of the blasted thing.

Of course he knew better than to believe that was just a lone straggler, out there by itself. Where one was you can bet there would be at least a dozen more right around the corner. He knew he had to find shelter. He wasn't going back to the prison without Carol, no matter what.

He had a small flashlight- the batteries were dying so the light was quite dim, but that was actually probably for the best. Best not to attract more attention than he had to. So after doing a quick inventory of the yard, his eyes turned to the street. By now the walkers were going house to house, but the cars for some reason they were leaving alone.

So he approached the first car, partly hoping for anything he could salvage (food, tools, clothing) but mostly for a sign, any sign, of Carol. Rick had said he'd left her with a car, hadn't he?

He thought about the search with Sophia. What was it they'd done when they realized she was missing? They left messages on cars, instructing her to stay put. Maybe Carol remembered that too. Maybe she decided not to wander too far off, in case.

After searching about a dozen cars, he was ready to give up. The low moans of the walkers were getting bad- the smell was nearly gagging him, although Daryl had tried to act like he'd gotten used to it. How anyone could get used to the smell of death, he didn't know.

Ready to give up for the night- tired, angry, frustrated- Daryl decided to find shelter for the night. A few feet away was another walker. Figured, he thought as he reached for a bow. But for some reason-this never happened to him- the sweat of the palm of his hand got the best of him, and he dropped the bow. Thinking quickly, he picked it up when he saw something he hadn't seen before.

Footprints. Small footprints. He took care of the walker again, then decided to follow the trail using the nearly dead light of the flashlight.

He quickly saw where they led.

It was small, too small for the walkers to gather, but maybe just maybe it was big enough for a small woman to discover.

It probably wouldn't lead to much. But still, Daryl just had to know one way or the other.

Quiet as possible, he looked around the environment, always mindful of any potential threats, he quickly opened the door.

He was right- the little building was occupied. He was met by the sight of a knife pointed at him. Through the crack of the door the moonlight hit them, and then his would-be-attacker's eyes widened with recognition.

Their eyes met, and then after giving Carol a quick visual once-over, he felt sick to his stomach. Rick would pay for what he'd done to this woman.

tbc