Thank you so much for all your kind reviews! I would never hope that some of you might actually really follow the story, it means really very much to me! Please keep reviewing...is the story getting better or worse? I plan on writing couple more chapters before I wrap it up so I hope you'll enjoy the rest as well!

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It was still dark outside. The whole group was up in a second when Glenn appeared at the door. He was trying to catch his breath.

"Three trucks, two heavy machine guns."

Rick nodded.

"Nothing we didn't expect. Stick to the plan, don't take any risks, all we need to do is to drive them off."

Judith started wailing in her crib and Rick's shoulders slouched.

"Daryl, Glenn and I will take the shooting stands. Michonne, Maggie, Carl and Carol will form the second line of defense. Make sure you will stay covered, fire only when you're certain you'll hit the target. If we get caught in a heavy fire and the first line falls, fall back into the prison and try to make it to the cars through the corridor, we made sure it's cleared."

Rick paused and looked at each one of them.

"If it really gets bad, hand over the guns and give up…hopefully they will spare women and children."

Carol felt a knot in her stomach and was afraid she would collapse before it all even started.

"Carol," Rick looked directly at her, "your car is ready, and I'll leave it up to you to decide the right moment. Andrea will be already in the car. Carl will stick by your side and Beth will be back in the prison with Judith and Hershel."

Carol swallowed and nodded. This all seemed too unreal. She was still in daze from Daryl's kiss and suddenly she was standing alone, listening to the instructions how to make it out alive from the oncoming slaughter. She felt sick and her eyes were desperately looking for Daryl's face in the dim light of prison. She didn't have to search for too long. He was staring directly at her, his body tense, mutely pleading her to follow Rick's instructions.

They heard the roaring of the cars and ran outside towards whatever was awaiting them.

The whole place was a chaos. Deep thundering sound of hundreds of fired bullets filled the pre-dawn air with such frequency that Carol didn't dare to poke out her head and motioned Carl to stay down. She knew she should be focusing but she couldn't help it and kept scanning the yard for Daryl. She had all three shooting stands in front of her and he took the one on the right. As well as the others, he was just hopelessly crouching behind the barricade, waiting for the heaviest fire to cease.

She saw him tense and he turned his head in the direction of sound she couldn't hear yet. When she finally heard it, the soft hair on the back of her neck stood up and she covered her mouth to muffle a cry. Dozens of walkers were making their way into the yard through the open gate. The sound of the battle must have attracted the large herd passing by.

The line of Governor's men was slowly falling apart as they started fighting off the walkers. It gave the group a unique opportunity to shoot back. The air was filled with the cries of living people dying and the croaks of the dead coming back to life. First few walkers got to Glenn and he took them down with an angry shout.

The strategy was soon forgotten as both sides were fiercely fighting against each other and at the same time fighting against their mutual enemy.

This was insane. The world had come to an end and here they were, fighting against living people, when mankind had become endangered species.

Carol had never stopped wondering about the amount of brutality present in each human-being. She had been going through hell with Ed, but it was nothing compared to the blind raging madness she saw in the eyes of some people attacking them. She took a side glance at Carl. The boy had his look fixed on his father's back and he was aiming at people, not walkers. Were they all slowly but inevitably turning into soulless and unscrupulous monsters, much worse than the ones walking the earth in bloodthirsty herds?

Carol crouched again and pushed back the strong urge to cover her ears and run away. She took a deep breath and squeezed the rifle. She needed to fight for her family, she couldn't face herself is she didn't help them while she still could.

She motioned to Carl and they waited for a few moments before quickly moving behind one of the barricades. She could see Maggie on her right, shooting with lethal accuracy. She again realized what an impressive fighter the young woman had become. She was none the worse than men. Carol saw a walker approaching Maggie from the left. She quickly aimed and fired, sending the walker to the ground. Despite the situation they were in, Carol couldn't help but smirk. Daryl trained her well. Maggie was startled and smiled at Carol gratefully. Michonne was on her left, but the woman definitely didn't need any help. Her catana was truly horrifying weapon and she had never seen anybody mastering it the way Michonne could.

It didn't take long before it was clear they were losing. Carol could see their movements becoming more and more heavy-footed and their faces under the layers of sweat and dirt were clearly exhausted. But the number of the Governor's men and walkers didn't seem to get any smaller.

They were out of ammo, they were outnumbered, they were defeated. Carol couldn't wait any longer. Her eyes desperately tried to penetrate the thick smoke coming from smoke grenades. She needed to see him. She needed to know he was alright before she would leave.

Carol could feel desperate tears streaming down her face when she could not get her bearings in the chaos. Bullets ripped through the thick air. Her head was throbbing from the pervasive screams all around them and she could smell the unmistakable tang of rotten bodies. She heard Glenn's painful shout from somewhere in front of her but when she turned in that direction but couldn't see anything.

Carol checked on Carl, but the boy kept his word he'd given to his father and was just beside her. She grabbed his arm and they started backing out. Suddenly she heard a whizzing sound followed by a thump just behind them. She cried out and turned sharply to found a walker body tumbled at their feet with an arrow sticking out of his head. She gasped and turned rapidly to scan the area, which the arrow had come from. She could finally see him, half covered in smoke, looking at her, about thirty yards away on her left. Only Carl standing by her side stopped her from running directly to him. He nodded shortly and started turning away from her, when another load of bullets cut the air.

She looked in horror as Daryl's body jerked and he fell to his knees, sending confused and incredulous look towards her before collapsing to the ground.

"Daryl!" she was sure that the world had stopped when she yelled his name. She felt an icy hand clenching her heart. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't think, she just kept starring at Daryl's motionless body.

"Carol," scared voice right next to her barely got through the heavy fog enveloping her brain, "Carol, we need to get Judith and Beth and retreat to the car."

She looked down at Carl, who was now dragging her away. She pulled her arm free with almost gentle tug.

"Lie down Carl and stay put, I'll be back in a sec," her own voice sounded foreign to her. Her brain somehow managed to maintain the basic functions as she watched Carl do as told. She turned and without a second thought started sprinting towards Daryl's crumbled body. Somewhere in the corner of her tortured brain she knew he would kick her ass for risking her life like this but she didn't care about anything anymore.

She was halfway to him when she suddenly felt a strong arm wrapping around her waist, lifting her off the ground.

"Carol, don't!" Rick hissed into her ear and pinned her to the dusty ground. All the emotions she didn't know she was holding spurted out. She attempted to break free from Rick's grip and tried to crawl towards Daryl's body, which was so close and yet so far, but Rick held her tight. She screamed, she scratched and kicked, sobbing sounds coming from somewhere within the depth of her soul.

"Carol please…," Rick was crushing her in tight embrace, rocking her tiny body with his, "please don't…"

It took her a few precious moments to realize that she wasn't the only one sobbing. She looked at him and tried to clear her blurred vision. He looked a shell of a man she'd met in the camp. She fully realized how much weight he'd lost and how much the worry had greyed his hair. Suddenly she wasn't sure if she was crying for Daryl, Rick or herself. She cupped his face and pressed her forehead against his, their tears mixing.

"My children…Carol…please save my children," his eyes were squeezed tight as he was desperately trying to control the trembling.

"I can't leave him like this," the fresh tears started rolling down her cheeks, "I can't let him…" She wasn't able to finish the sentence and crumbled into Rick's arms again.

"I'll take care of it. I won't let him turn, I promise," Rick's voice broke, "please take my children to the safety."

Carol nodded and with shaking hands pulled out the small knife Daryl had given her, handing it over to Rick. She looked at Carl, who was still obediently lying on the ground, watching them with eyes wide open. She hugged Rick tightly and with the last look towards Daryl, she headed back, while Rick backed her up.

When she reached Carl, she took his hand and they quickly ran into the prison.

"Carol, are you all right?" Carl's voice was full of concern. She automatically nodded and urged him to move faster. She didn't feel anything.

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Sorry for the cliffhanher! But it's almost midnight here and I need to go to work tomorrow so I am off to bed. Will update soon!