Candice was exhausted. She couldn't see anything. All she could hear were the hisses and moans coming from the walkers down below. She could feel herself nodding off every once in awhile, her head and eyelids drooping. She needed a way to get down. She needed to get back to her sister. But without light it would be impossible. She leaned down so she was lying on her stomach, her legs and arms hooked around the branch. It was uncomfortable but it was better than sitting up.

When light started to dimly illuminate the forest again Candice was half asleep on the branch, aware enough to keep her grip. She opened her eyes, seeing the walkers still clawing at the tree. There weren't as many as there were last night but still a group gathered at the base. She looked around for another possible way out. She looked up and saw that the trees grew thicker together higher up. She slowly turned her body around and braced herself against the trunk. She started to inch her way up. The next branch was several feet above her. When she finally was in touching distance of it she grabbed for it with one hand. She missed and quickly grabbed back onto the tree as she felt her body tipping backwards. She lunged for it again and got ahold of it. By pushing on the trunk she was able to lift herself up. She got a face full of leaves as she pulled herself onto the branch. It was hard to see much with the thick foliage but that's exactly what she wanted. After awhile she could no longer hear the walkers. She pushed aside the leaves and saw that they stopped swarming and were walking off. She carefully inched her way back down the tree, being as quick as possible. Some of the walkers had already spotted her again and were making their way back over.

As soon as her feet hit the ground she ran and didn't look back. Along the way she found the branch she had picked up yesterday and decided to grab it again. She wasn't going to waste any time getting inside and breaking Georgette out. When she came up to the gas station she stopped running and looked up at the broken window.

"Georgette?"

"Candice is that you!" Her voice sounded frantic and worried.

"Ya,"

"Are you alright?! You've been gone all night?"

"Ya, I'm fine, I'll explain to you later." She slowly made her way around the front of the building. She didn't see the man anywhere. With her back against the wall she looked inside. She saw their horses tied up at the back of the room and there were no chains on the door like before. She quietly pulled it open and went inside. The door to the hallway was held open by a rock placed in front of it. She thought about just getting Georgette out, getting on the horses and leaving but they needed their supplies, especially their map and guns. She saw the door on the left and placed her hand on the doorknob. What would she find behind the door? Was the man there or was he out? It'd be better if he was out, then she could hide and ambush him. She didn't want to wait a second longer; she pushed the door open and raised the branch above her head. Below her stood a little boy, looking up at her with a confused and shocked expression. She lowered the branch and looked around the room. There was a couch, an old vending machine and a table. The boy had tears in his eyes. His voice was full of fear.

"Who are you?" Candice couldn't help but feel herself soften. She didn't know what to say. Before she could reply she heard someone walk in behind her. She turned around to see the man standing there, shocked to see her. She wasn't as much of a fighter as Georgette was but instinct took over and she lunged at him, seeing the handgun in his belt. She grabbed it and pulled it out, holding it up to his face.

"You let my sister out and give us back our supplies and we'll be on our way." The man looked afraid.

"Wait, wait," he said, holding a hand up in defense, "Please don't hurt me."

"You didn't seem to care about hurting us."

"Listen I was just trying to feed my son. I'll let your sister out; just don't hurt me or my boy." Candice felt slightly sympathetic. But she kept the gun pointed at him as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring of keys. He made his way over the door, his hands shaking as he tried to get the key in the lock. He twisted the knob and the door opened. Georgette was standing there when the door swung back. She came out; looking angrier than Candice had seen her in a long time. She pushed the man into the wall and held him there. As she was reaching back to punch him in the face the little boy ran forward and grabbed onto Georgette's leg.

"Don't hurt my dad!" He then beat on Georgette's leg, trying to get her to let go. To Candice's surprise Georgette released the man who stayed with his back to the wall. The little boy ran over and grabbed onto his father. Georgette still looked fired up.

"Where's all of our stuff?!"

"Look I'm sorry about what I did to you," said the man, "I just needed to feed and protect my son, I did what I had too. I left you locked up in there because I didn't know what to do with you. But trust me my intentions were never to kill you."

Georgette still didn't let her guard down.

"This your permanent home?" she asked, looking around at the water damaged moldy walls.

"No," said the man, "We're headed out west to Oregon, hopefully to meet up with some family. Not even sure if they're still alive but it's worth a shot. We used to live in Michigan." Georgette saw the truth and fear in the man's eyes. He wasn't tricking her. She looked down at the little boy, frightened and clinging to his father. She lowered her gun and said

"We're headed east to Georgia, also to meet family." She followed the man into the back room. It was an old break room with a couch and table. The man walked over to a small closet and pulled out their bags.

"Here," he said, "Your horses are out front." Georgette saw the defeated look in the man's eyes and felt bad for him. She knew she shouldn't do it. They were in desperate need of supplies themselves, but the look in the boy's big blue eyes swayed her. She unzipped her bag and took out a bag of apples that they'd picked up back in Cheyenne. They barely had enough ammunition left for themselves so instead of a gun Georgette pulled one of the knives.

"Here," she said handing it to the man, "It's not the best but it's all we have to give." If the man had been alone she would have left him there with a broken nose and bruised face but seeing the little boy made her think back to when she, Angela and Candice were on the road to Wyoming.

Georgette awoke to see that she was still in the backseat of the car. Candice was strapped into the car seat next to her. The car was still moving and Angela was driving. She wasn't sure what had woken her up until she felt the sharp pain of hunger in her stomach. She wrapped her arms tightly around her body, trying to make it go away. Besides Candice, they hadn't eaten all day. They had found some baby formula and canned fruit for Candice. Angela had wanted to give Georgette the fruit but she refused, knowing her sister needed it more than she did. Candice had liked the canned fruit but Angela had a hard time getting her to take the formula. Her mother had breast fed her and Candice was not used to the formula. Angela must have heard her groan of pain and looked at her in the rear view mirror.

"I know you're hungry, just wait a little longer, there's a rest stop up the road."

Ten minutes later, they were pulling into the parking lot. Angela got out and came around to unstrap Candice from her seat. Georgette hopped out on her side and they started walking towards the building. "Stay beside me the whole time," said Angela. Georgette knew the drill. They had stopped three times so far. She still wasn't used to seeing the walkers coming for them, all bloody and cut up. Angela kicked in the double doors, her gun in one hand and Candice in the other. The place seemed to be deserted. They made their way towards a door that led into the kitchen of one of the restaurants. It was dark inside, the only light coming from a few narrow windows near the ceiling. It was like a maze. There were lots of old stoves, sinks and refrigerators. They were going round one of the corners when a man's voice spoke up from behind them.

"Put your guns down." They turned around to see a man holding a long shotgun up at them. Angela lowered her arm but kept the gun in her hand. In a steady voice she said

"We're just looking for some food." The man didn't lower his gun instead he repeated

"Put your gun down." Georgette saw the fear in Angela's eyes. She stepped forward and looked up at the man and pleaded with him.

"Please sir, me and my sister are very hungry." She saw the man's hard expression fall. He dropped his gun and said

"Where are you coming from?"

"Georgia," said Angela, "We're trying to make it to Wyoming. Our camp was attacked and destroyed." The man looked at Candice, wrapped up asleep in Angela's arms. Then he looked back down at Georgette. He nodded and said

"Stay right here." He moved past them and went further into the kitchen, disappearing from sight. He came back a minute later holding a bundle of meat, a few cans of soup, a box of matches and a large butcher knife. Angela smiled and said

"Thank you so much, you're so kind." Georgette went forward and hugged the man's leg.

"Thank you sooo much Mister!" She heard the man laugh and say

"It's no problem, I have more than enough for myself."

Ten minutes later they were back in the car, Georgette scarfing down the cans of soup until her stomach felt full.

The man looked extremely grateful and said

"Thank you."

"Don't worry about it." They walked out front to the main area of the store to see their horses tied to a pole. Georgette considered leaving one of the horses for them. But she and Candice wouldn't be able to fit both on one horse, especially with the bags. She turned to the man and said

"There's not much between here and Wyoming. It's all highway with a few farms here and there. When you reach the border of Wyoming and get to a town called Pine Bluffs go around it, it's overrun. Even in the woods be careful, we almost got taken down a herd. After that go straight to Cheyenne. There's a huge community there. They'll give you everything you need to get to Oregon. Tell them Georgette and Candice sent you." She reached into one the bags and pulled out their map of Wyoming. "Take this with you." The man thanked them again and said

"Good luck, I hope you find who you're looking for." Georgette smiled and said

"You too." They waved goodbye and then they were off.

Once they were back on the highway Candice turned to her and said

"I can't believe you gave them that stuff."

"Why you think I shouldn't have?"

"No, I think you were right too but it's so unlike you to do that. Especially after he kept us prisoners." Georgette shrugged and said

"I just thought about when we were on the road back with Angela." There was a silence between the two before Georgette said "So what took you so long to come back and get me?" Candice began to tell her about her night spent up in the tree. When she was finished Georgette was shocked. Her sister was really stepping it up since they'd left Wyoming.

"I was worried about you all night," said Georgette, "Didn't get any sleep." Smiling, Candice said

"I can handle myself."

Not a long one or my best writing but the next one will make up for it and I know you're all excited to see what happens with Beth and Daryl :) Thanks to DarylDixon'sLover, K. Lynn Perks, Eliza G and MaddyMarie1212 for your reviews! I love getting long and and excited feedback lol :)