"Got anything?" Tanner asked as they came back together.

"Some veggies." Charlotte said. Tanner swore.

The familiar sound of hissing and moaning filled their ears and they wall grabbed their weapons, whipping around to the sound. "Oh, fuck." Charlotte said, lowering her weapon. It was Jack limping toward them. His skin was a green tone and his eyes were dead. She glanced in time to see Ruth heaving.

"I'll take him out." Tanner said, holding his bat up. "Sorry, friend." Charlotte winced as Tanner took a running start and bashed his friends head in. When they were positive Jack was dead, like dead dead, they left the store.

"Where is the jeep then?" Charlotte asked.

"I bet it was those fucking bandits." Tanner hissed. "Fuck." He kicked a trashcan over.

"Calm down." Ruth said, rolling her eyes.

"I'm tired of getting fucked by these guys Ruth. Every time shit goes right, they come along and take it all away. I'm fucking done with it." He looked around at them. "I'm done. We need to take care of them."

"How?" Charlotte asked. "How do you plan on taking care of them? They have more men, and more weapons. And they don't give a shit about killing any of us. Think it through, Tanner." He kicked the garbage can again. "Take it up with Michael, there's nothing we can do for now."

"So let's keep getting fucked." He snapped.

"Guys." Ruth tried to interject.

"No, we won't keep getting fucked."

"Guys!"

"Then let's do something before we get fucked again!"

"THE FUCKING CAR IS GONE."Everyone stopped and looked. Sure as hell, the vehicle they had driven into town in was no longer there. Tanner started to scream a line of obscenities.

"Son of a bitch." Charlotte muttered, throwing her weapon to the ground and running a hand through her hair.

It took until night fall to get back to the Motor Inn. When the group of four walked in, Michael seemed relieved. From the look of their faces it was clear things didn't go too smoothly. "What's the damage?" he asked.

"We ran into Jack." Tanner stated, throwing his backpack to the grown and walking past Michael. "And the car is gone. The one we took and the one Jack took, actually."

Michael pulled his eyes away from Tanner and looked at Charlotte. She nodded. He threw his hat to the ground and started to pace. "Fucking bandits!"

"That's what I said." Tanner muttered.

"We need to have a meeting tonight when the kids go to bed." Michael said. "We gotta do something."

"Did you know Daryl was married?" Andrea asked as the women sat around doing laundry. The women collectively stopped and looked at her.

"Daryl?" Lori asked. "Doesn't-play-well-with-others Daryl Dixon?"

"I knew that." Carol said quietly. She hadn't said a lot since Sophia went missing.

The attention was turned to her. "How did you know?" Andrea asked.

"He told me." Carol said. "He keeps his wedding band in his pocket. I was talking to him about Sophia and he told me how him and his wife were tryin' to get pregnant before this whole mess." She looked around at them. "Well you all can't be that surprised, he's still a human being. He had feelings and he had a life just like everyone else."

Andrea looked at her hands. "I know it's dumb, but I picture him doing what he does now; hunt, shooting things. I can't really picture him doing else. It's sad thinking about him having a wife. What happened to her?"

"They got split up when this all happened." Carol answered.

"So she could be alive then." Andrea said.

Carol shook her head. "She was in Atlanta when it went up in flames."

"He's doesn't know that for sure."

"He's positive she's dead." Carol said solemnly. The group got quiet as they looked to Daryl, who was leaning up against the truck while the rest of the men huddled around the hood looking at a map. He was staring at his feet, chewing on his thumb nail.

"How long were they together?" Lori asked.

"They were married about four years, together before that for a couple more years."

"It's so sad." Lori said.

"Not all of us can have our spouse brought from the dead." Andrea muttered bitterly.

Michael was pacing around as the group sat in a circle staring at each other. The bandits in the woods had been messing around with the group for a while, and it was a matter of time before they found out where they were held up. "We have two options." Michael said.

"I see one." Tanner stated. "Kill all of them."

"Or we can go talk to them and try to make peace." Charlotte added. "They're survivors like us. What if they have children?"

Tanner rolled his eyes and stood up. "They are assholes that steal medicine and food and shoot at us in town."

"We need to explore all options." Charlotte said. "We can't just jump in their half-cocked with guns and start a fucking war. We have kids here we need to watch out for."

"Or we can pack up and leave." Ruth started. "Get the hell out of here."

"And where would we go?" Tanner asked. "With what vehicles?"

"Before we decide anything I want to send a group out to spy on their camp." Michael said. "Tanner will lead it. We need your tracking." It was obvious that Tanner was hoping for more, but he would take it.

"I'll go with." Charlotte offered automatically.

"Fine but just you two." Michael said. "In and out, quickly. Report back."

"Let's get going now." Tanner said. "They're all asleep, its perfect to check it out now."

Michael looked Tanner in the eye, looking unpleased. "Ya'll need to be careful."

Charlotte went to her room(hotel room) and started to pack up. She heard a knock on the door. "Come in."

She turned to see Michael. He closed the door behind him but didn't really step into the room. "I don't like you going."

Charlotte continued to pack. "Who else is qualified to go? Tanner can't go alone and my husband taught me the art of tracking and being quiet. He'd let me go with him hunting, and that is a lot for him, considering his standards of 'quiet'."

"I just don't like how you are out there every day risking your ass." He continued, sitting on her bed. "We need you hear, alive. With your EMT training and your one of the only people walking around with a brain in your head. Believe it or not, you keep hope and well-being in this group, with your moral and your right and wrong shit."

She stopped packing and sat down, grabbing his hand. "You keep us alive. These people would be dead if it weren't for you."

He shrugged. "They don't like me."

"Stop being so professional and maybe show you can be fun, it won't kill you to show personality." Michael looked into her eyes and suddenly she felt uncomfortable. He leaned forward and his lips barely grazed hers before she leaned away. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to kiss you." It was no secret that Michael had projected his feelings on her, but Charlotte believe that he was just looking for the first young pretty girl, which were few and far between.

"I'm married." She said, irritably. Michael rolled his eyes and stood up.

"Maybe it's time you accept that 'your husband' probably didn't make it."

Charlotte stood up. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means he's dead." Charlotte felt her face get warm and her chest get tight with anger. Michael walked out the door and she slammed it behind him.

"Clearly you don't know anything about my husband!" she yelled through the thin walls.

She turned around as her eyes welled up. She hugged her body, she was wearing Daryls red plaid shirt that formed to her body. Not once had she ever considered the possibility that Daryl could have been dead. Her body shook as tears trickled down her face when she heard her door being opened. "We goin' or not?" Tanner asked. She sniffled and wiped her eyes. "Oh god, are you on your period or something?"

Charlotte snorted. "No, let's go."

The tracking took a while, but the bandits didn't know how to cover their tracks. Tanner never minded Charlotte going along with him, she knew how to be quiet. Tanner came up to a stop and singled for her to stop. He looked her in the eyes and instructed her to stand behind the tree to take cover. He snuck up and pointed toward the campsite. Charlotte could see tents, but no walking person.

Tanner turned back to look at her but froze. His eyes widened, and that's when everything went dark.

Her hands were numb, is the first thing Charlotte noticed when she came to. Her vision was blury before everything started to come in focus. She looked around. "Well look who's up." A low voice purred. She focused in on the voice. He had thick dark hair and a full beard. He had a disgusting smile. "Hello there, Red." He stroked her long red hair. She jerked away and he laughed. The situation started to become clear- they had been taken hostage.

"Don't fucking touch her." She heard tanner yell. She looked to see him kicking violently. Charlotte turned back to the man with the beard. His smile was evil.

"So you wouldn't like…" he slurred out, stroking her neckline. "If I did this?"

Charlotte pulled away with some force. "Keep your hands off me asshole. We have about ten men who are on their way right now and they are going to fucking kill you when they find out you attacked us."

He laughed again. "Right. What are you doing spying on us anyway?"

"You're the assholes who keep fucking with us." Tanner spat. "You take are cars, steal are supplies-"

"We are just surviving man." He said. No remorse on his face. "Maybe you should up your game."

"We have children." Charlotte gave him a deadly look. "And women. Who are you assholes to just go around and take what isn't yours?"

He kneeled down and got very close to her face. "I'd choose my words carefully honey. You are not in any position to be a bitch." He laughed. "We are going to have a lot of fun with you."

This one turned out shorted then I expected. Long chapters coming! Please leave a review! The next part will mostly be about Daryl.