I do not own The Walking Dead.

Previously:

A tall walker towered above her, blood splattering onto her clothes as it let out a gruesome snarl.

Faye's eyes widened in shock as she lost her voice.

When she found it, it was in the form of a cry.

"Carl!"

Faye scrambled back, breathing suddenly so much harder, as the large walker toppled over on to her legs. She obviously wasn't moving fast enough.

The girl could vaguely hear Carl shouting for her despite the pounding in her ears, and she didn't dare spend a second to glance over to see him scrambling over the bins.

Knife. Faye, get your knife. The gun is too loud, get your God damn knife!

Kicking as she pulled her jumper out the way to grab her blade, she felt alarmingly inexperienced. When was the last time she had fought a walker up close like this? Not through the confines of the fence, full blown fighting. Faye couldn't remember.

(Stop thinking and move!)

She was wasting time, if she didn't get her act together and stop being in shock she was going to be ripped apart! Faye did not want to die that way! Faye didn't want to die, period.

Pushing herself up, the girl grabbed the walker's shoulders as it reached with its mouth for her foot. The walker was strong, but was now far more interested in her hands than her feet. Faye wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but it gave her enough time to pull out her aching feet. They had been pushed down at an odd angle. Not enough to sprain the ankle, but the walker was heavy enough to make it hurt.

Her grip on the knife made her knuckles turn white as she finally crawled back, yanking back her wrist as the rotten hand reached for it. She had to kill it before it got up, the previously muscular body may have been decaying, but it towered above her.

Staggering to her feet, Faye coughed as she gasped for air. The girl must have been winded when she fell flat onto her back, breathing should have been easier than this, in a panic or not.

She cursed as it began to copy her. Why didn't they ever tire? Surely, rotting for over a year would make even the largest of people weaken and slow? Fay had barely gotten her breath back and it was already climbing back up.

Suddenly, the snarling grew louder as the body crashed down on to it's knees, the crack making Faye cringe before she was brought out of her daze by a call.

"Faye! Hurry up and do it!"

Carl.

The boy had pushed it down from the back and Faye quickly gained her bearings before striking forward into the growling walker's skull. Twisting as she brought it out a second time, the next blow halted any of its movements.

Faye stared at the fallen body for a few seconds before stepping over it and wrapping her arms around Carl. "Next time, you get the damn ball."

"Sorry," He replied immediately. Good. She would have stomped his ass if he wasn't.

(Like hell she would.)

"I should have gone with you." Releasing each other, Carl frowned. "What is it with you and guns? I get there's the noise but-"

"I'm not afraid of using guns." She scowled back. "Look at it, this isn't just a walker we missed when the blocks were cleared; no prison outfit. There's gotta be a breach, and if we shoot then that's just gonna bring more in from the outside."

The boy did as she said, studying the dead walker – as he did so, Faye congratulated herself on being so observant, she could tell Daryl all about it – before nodding. "Okay, no guns. We should find the breach."

Faye raised her eyebrows. "We should get the others. Already gotta come up with an excuse to why we were here in the first place. It might be a big breach."

"Or it might be a small one and we get the credit." Carl said, voice more firm. "I know you see it too. Dad doesn't trust me anymore; I can prove to him that I'm capable."

Faye tried to stop the look of pity reaching her eyes. Couldn't he see it? Rick didn't trust him because he shot that boy, not because he was incapable. If anything, it was the opposite.

Then again, maybe Carl was in denial.

"Compromise," Faye said slowly. "We check around if there are any walkers nearby and, if there aren't too many, we take them out. That way we see which direction they're coming from at least. Then we get the others."

The boy thought it over, obviously wanting his way. But, he was still smarter than Faye, and if she could understand the reasoning behind the plan, so could he. "…Fine." He submitted.

Nodding, she pointed to the small passage way before putting a finger on her lips. "We do this quiet. Knives, no guns, and we take 'em out one at a time."

He smirked, but lowered his voice as they walked towards the corner. "Looks like Daryl's been getting some logic into your head with those trips after all."

Faye was tempted to whack him, but he was right. She and the hunter had been on a few more trips since the first, and the girl had successfully shot three rabbits, four squirrels and a pigeon, but her traps were less successful. The only thing she'd caught with them was a mouse, but Daryl said it had just been bad luck. They had yet to see any birds, but Faye was still determined to get him to pluck one for once. She'd also like to think her tracking skills had improved too.

But, those weren't the skills Carl was referring to.

Whenever the two went hunting, Daryl insisted she would take the lead. Not that he would leave her out in the open, the man would always have her back, but Faye was the one making the calls. As long as they weren't too stupid, that was. She herself didn't see the decisions as major, but Daryl said they were important and she should be able to make her own plans. Faye didn't exactly object. At the very least, she was more confident and sure of herself.

The trip she was waiting for, though, was the one Daryl had promised for the next day – a two day hunt for deer. Deer! They would have to drive away for a little while, the man had said, but he knew a spot not too far away where they could set up camp. That was where she would need to step up her game-

(Ha! Game! Get it? Faye was hilarious without even trying.)

-because the two would be further away from the prison and if she made something go wrong, they would be too far away to get help.

That reminded her. She was yet to tell Carl of this two-day trip. He probably wouldn't like it. Now, however, wasn't the time. Everything would be fine.

"Yeah, he has," Faye didn't deny it. If Carl could see it, maybe she was doing better than she gave herself credit for. "Now put the damn gun away, Carl!"

"Alright, alright, jeez," He rolled his eyes. Faye was not the bad guy here, using guns was the wrong call! He was about to mutter something when the girl shushed him quietly. Instead of replying with a snarky comment Faye hoped he didn't mean, he remained quiet as the two lined themselves up against the wall, one behind the other.

Faye held her breath as Carl slowly peaked his head around the corner. Quickly, he jerked it back.

'Four!' He breathed, and Faye cursed under her breath. Was that too many to deal with? Carl would probably argue otherwise. Pulling at his sleeve, the girl pulled him backwards and took his place, wanting to get a look for herself.

How these four hadn't heard the fight with the other walker just then, she didn't know, but wasn't about to complain. The first two walkers were spread apart from each other; they could easily make a little noise and attract them, having plenty of time to deal with both. Unfortunately, the last two were stood as a pair, it would be harder to separate them.

Then again, it could have been worse. They could have all been in a pack, or there could have been more in the first place. Faye considered herself lucky.

Turning back to see Carl, whose face showed only little concern, she whispered the plan after going over it in her head a few times. "Alright, so we call them over, the first two walkers get the same plan. I go over there," Faye pointed behind her, in front of the entrance to the passage way. "and distract it. Then, you come up behind it and stab it in the back of the head, and I'll help from the front if something goes wrong. Same goes for the second walker, they're far enough apart to pull it off. You good so far?"

He nodded. "Sounds okay. But why do you have to be the distraction?"

"'Cause I said so, that's why." Faye quickly moved on before he protested. "The last ones are gonna have to be one on one. You get the one on the left, I'll get the one on the right. Draw them away a little so they aren't together, that way we don't hurt each other when we hurt them. Knife to the skull, job done. All four are dead."

"Alright. How am I supposed to get a walker with a knife if it's not in the back of the head, though? It's arms… flail about, and it's taller-"

The girl cut him off. "You give it a hard kick on the leg, it falls, your pretty much guaranteed a good shot. From my experience, at least. Besides, if something goes wrong, I'm right here. What are ya, chicken? Come on, sheriff, it's not hard!"

He scowled. "And you're sure you're happy with being the distraction, 'cause I can do it-"

Faye glared.

"-let's do it then."

Taking a breath in and out, the girl flexed her grip around her knife, striding out into the open. Before she could change her mind, Faye clapped her hands, the heads of the walkers peering up from where they stood, stumbling towards her. She gulped.

No, she didn't need to gulp. She had faith in her plan. Totally. Everything would be fine.

It obviously didn't matter that her plans had never included walkers before-

Shut up, Faye, a walker is coming towards you!

Stepping back slowly, the girl waited anxiously for Carl to make his move. Just as the walker was getting uncomfortably close, the body froze and fell with a final gurgle of blood. The body dropped to see Carl, who looked pleasantly surprised with his work. He blinked a little before nodding to her, as if assuring himself everything was still okay, and he returned to his hiding spot.

In a matter of seconds, the next walker was rounding the corner. Faye didn't like the way it veered the right – veered towards Carl – and she clapped her hands again. "Hey, over here! Little girl meat waiting to be eaten!"

The walker turned its head back to face her for a few seconds, blood splattering from its mouth as it growled towards her, but ultimately turned back to Carl who called to her. "I got it!"

(Oh yeah, Grimes? Your voice says differently.)

Ignoring him, Faye ran over to them both, the boy holding his knife up with a firm grip. Treading quietly as she approached the walker from behind, she quickly reached out and snatched the walkers hands behind its back, holding tightly to its wrists. It wasn't weak, thrashing around to try and free itself from her grip, its jaws snapping loudly as it tried to turn its head towards her. Carl must have taken this opportunity, as the walker fell limp and she let go.

The boy scowled. "I could have handled that."

"I don't care," She replied, already walking away into position for the final two, the problematic two. "It took you be surprise and I was worried. Now, get over here and prove that you can do it!"

Hell yeah! She told him!

Begrudgingly, he followed her and, before long, the two walkers stumbled out into the small area. As Carl left her side, a pang of fear flowed through Faye, knowing he would take on a walker-

No, she didn't need to worry. Carl would be fine, he was more than capable. He was tough. He was Carl Grimes, for God's sake. Faye had bigger problems to be worrying about, like the walker she would be facing.

The boy calling for his own opponent, Faye took a quick look at hers before whistling for it. The half chewed face turned to her, its matted black hair shining with sweat as she got an unwanted look at its open eye socket. She whistled again, louder. "Hey, pretty boy! Get over here!"

Carl glanced her way.

The walker was heading straight for her, now, and the girl gripped her knife. It's only the normal routine, Faye, nothing special. Just a little out of practice is all. Kick the knee, stab the head. The walker is dead, job done. Everything would be fine.

Following her own instructions, she let the walker get closer before suddenly running forward to get some momentum, kicking the left knee as hard as she could. As expected, the walker fell, and the girl got a clear shot through the eye, following the walker as it fell backwards. To more hits and the body lay still, a stream of deep red blood pooling in the already gouged eye.

Faye scrunched her face up in disgust as she stood. How the hell was she not traumatized from all this?

(She was, it had just become so normal no one noticed the change.)

A thud to her left made the child look up. Carl had dealt with the walker just fine. "See?" He waved his arm at the dead body. "I killed it fine!"

"I never said you couldn't, Carl, but you were caught unaware and I wasn't gonna let anything happen." Faye continued. "We should get
the others now."

"There were only four, we could-"

Faye shook her head as she began to walk away. "Doesn't matter that there were only four there, could be more. You're the one that agreed to it, now let's go."

"That was nothing!" The boy looked at her like she was insane. "There were five walkers all together and you think we need the adults?"

"Carl! Would you stop looking at me like I'm thick, 'cause I'm not. I am making the call here, and it is the right one. Daryl said we shouldn't do these things alone, you told me the exact same thing, so shut up and do what I told you to do!"

Faye snapped. She could put up with a lot for the sake of their friendship, so Carl would be happy, but she was not dumb. She might not have been… but… she just wasn't stupid! Daryl told her so! Andrea told her so! Dad told her so!

"You know what, if you're so bothered about finding the damn breach, I'll go and get it done properly. You get Rick and Daryl and whoever else you feel like and take as much credit as you like."

Carl was silent for a while and Faye avoided his gaze.

Well done, Faye. You made it awkward.

"I never said that." He said quietly. "You're not thick."

"Damn right, I'm not." The girl ran a hand through her hair. "Just go and get them. I'm gonna… stay here for a while, keep an eye on things."

Finally doing as she said, Faye listened to she rustle of the bins and his fading footsteps. She ran her hands over her face and cursed with the worst words she knew.

Why did she do that? She never lashed out at Carl! It wasn't like it was completely uncalled for, he had been pushing it too far lately, but she never fought with him over it. It wasn't like her to put herself in front of the friendship – if backing down was what kept them together, she'd do it. Carl wasn't going to, so the job lay for her.

What if she had just ruined everything?

The girl stood there for a good ten minutes, breathing in and out, waiting for anything to happen, and the silence only worked her up more.

Needing to get some of the frustration out, Faye strode towards the trash bags, kicking a path through. The others would need to get through quickly for the breach. Yes, that was a good enough excuse. When she got to the large containers, though, she gave up on kicking things in a different direction. Instead, she simply punched the hard blue plastic.

She probably should have learnt from when Daryl left that hitting things didn't fix the problem, but she did it anyway. Letting out an angry cry, she kicked the container, and raised her fist- only the growl that followed wasn't her own.

Spinning around, Faye's eyes widened with shock as more walkers came around the corner. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shitshitshit!"

The girl didn't give herself any time to count how many were coming, but it was far more than she could have hoped to deal with by herself.

It was like she had said earlier, they were lucky to have not been heard with the first four walkers, their luck had to run out sometime. Her luck had to run out sometime. Maybe this was the price for her messing up with Carl.

Scrambling over the large trash cans, Faye pushed as hard as she could to bring them together, before sinking down so she couldn't be grabbed by any of the walkers and got a good grip with her feet. This would be tough. Very tough.

But, so was she.

All she had to do was hold them off until the others came and voila, everything would be fine.

(Sure it would.)

Suddenly, any thoughts on her mind were ever so insignificant as the containers jolted forward from the force of the walkers, Faye squeezing her eyes shut with the effort, it quickly became apparent that the child would never be able to keep this up. She didn't like it, but the gun was her only option, whether it drew more walkers in or not. She'd rather have more walkers and be alive than dead with less.

Shakily pulling out the Glock, Faye turned it over with the one hand and flicked off the safety.

Alright, on three Faye, you run. The others can't be too far away now, they'll hear the gun shots and come running. Everything would be fine.

One.

Her fingers wrapped themselves around the trigger.

A sudden jolt of the trash containers sent Faye stumbling from her crouched position. Gasping in surprise, the girl had neither the strength nor time to fix the garbage back in place.

Impromptu three!

Bursting into a sprint, Faye realised the walkers still had to push past the rest of the rubbish before they could get to her. She had no choice other than to trust her panicked aim as she raised the gun and fired three shots. Two of the front walkers went down, blocking the path even further.

That was good. That gave her a little more time. Everything would be fine.

The girl managed to get another head shot before retreating back again, the walkers breaking through faster than she had anticipated. Breathing heavily as she ran, it wasn't long before she could hear the shouts of the others.

"Not a good time!" Faye yelled back, but it was too breathless to be called that. Daryl probably got it, he had good hearing. "I was having a party and walkers wanted in!"

That was it. Sarcasm, that seemed normal. Pretend everything was fine and it would be fine.

When Daryl, Rick, Carl, Glenn and T-Dog came into view, Faye would have sighed in relief if she could. But, she waited until she was behind them, the sound of their gunfire oddly reassuring. Looking back as she rested her hands on her knees, the walkers fell down, one after another.

Closing her eyes, she finally breathed that sigh. Everything would be fine.

After a few seconds, a pair of legs came into view. Glancing upwards, it was Carl. She didn't waste time apologising. "Sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you and I know you just wanted to show Rick you could do it."

Carl wasted no time in pulling her into a hug. "It's okay. Are you?"

She nodded. Thank God. She hadn't messed up too bad. He wasn't angry. Everything would be fine. Smirking Faye tried to lighten the mood.

"We hug a lot, don't we?"

"We do."

"I like hugs."

"I can tell."

Releasing him, the two joined the adults who were quietly talking.

"You two wanna show us the breach then?"

Faye grinned. It must have been amusing for the others to see how quickly her mood could change. Maybe they should invest in a timer. "Breach? What are you talking about? They just wanted beer and I only had soda."

T-Dog shook his head as they began walking. "Sometimes, I wonder what the hell goes on in that head a yours, Faye. Seriously."

She giggled. It felt good to distract herself. "Oh my God, what if that's the real reason the walkers are… well, walkers? What if they just really hate soda but no one has beer?!"

Strangely enough, it was only T-Dog who gave her a funny look. Maybe it wasn't just her who felt good to be distracted.

Maybe she wasn't deluding herself. Maybe everything would be fine.

(It wouldn't. It never was.)

Author's Notes:

I'm not really feeling this chapter. Don't know why. Maybe it's because I'm anticipating the next one too much!

So, we've had some very 'Carl orientated' few chapters, which I know a lot of you like, but we are going to have a little break from him to revisit a few characters we haven't seen in a while - or at all. I still have a few plans for chapters, and there are two more events before we have a bigger time skip of about a month. I don't want to drag this out so much that it bores you.

Also, I forgot to mention, this chapter and the one before is set a week after the whole 'roof-chocolate-fluffy' scene.

Please review, I love to hear your thoughts and advice.

Thanks.

Cobalt Flame.