That act of vicious 'justice', as well as the way I reacted, reminded me that I no longer fit in with a crowd like this. They're everything I spent these last few days tryin' to escape, a vicious flashback to my former life. I need to distance myself from them. The only problem is gettin' the chance to slip away. Joe frequently asks me if I'm stayin' or goin', but I ain't stupid enough to think he'd just let me leave. You don't defy him. The memory of Len's body flashes past me. I know I can't make my intentions obvious. I'd end up with one of my own damned arrows in the chest.

We're headed back on the tracks, Joe's busy talkin' my fuckin' ear off 'bout some revenge they're plannin'. I'm only half listenin'. I don't give a shit if one of their number was strangled by a madman in some abandoned house. If he was anything like the rest of these jackasses, he probably deserved it.

"So, that there's why we're on his trail. We're gonna find that sorry son of bitch an' burn his ass at the stake. I sure hope he has others with him. What good is a little retribution when there ain't no spectators to witness it? Like the wild fuckin' west. Right, son?" He shoves my shoulder. I don't give a fuck what he plans to do with that stranger. I can only concentrate on a way to get out from under them. I look just ahead an' see a sign posted on the track. I pause to read it.

Sanctuary for all. Community for all. Those who arrive survive.

Below that is a map of Georgia, specifically of these tracks. Dead center of the tracks, in bold black letters is what I figure to be this sanctuary, an' it's marked with a star.

Terminus

Joe tells me not to mind it, that there ain't no such thing as a sanctuary in this world. I think back to the prison, the funeral home, an' the ache I feel is the only proof I need that says he's right. So we keep travelin', lookin' for their revenge, an' I take my mind off any sanctuaries.

The sun is mercilessly beatin' the back of my neck. Joe offers me a smoke. I inhale it deeply, appreciative of the nicotine rushin' to my brain. Fuck. It's been just a few hours an' already I forgot how fuckin' bad I needed this cigarette. It makes sense considerin' I used to go through a pack a day. I remember how many fist fights were started with my jackass brother over missin' Marlboros. Back in the day, I had no shame sportin' sore ribs just to keep his thievin' hands off my shit. Bastard. I almost smile at the memory.

After another mile or so, we stop to rest. There's woods all 'round us. I lean back against a tree an' close my eyes. I just started to think back on Beth- all her features, her kindness, her pure heart- when I hear a round of gunfire. It made me jump, an' I looked 'round for its source.

"The fuck was that?" The postal carrier is wavin' that fuckin' rifle 'round again like he's gonna do something. Idiot. From deep within the trees, I hear someone scream. I turn to the other men, all standin' in place. Not one of them makes to follow the sounds. I turn to Joe.

"What the hell's that all about? Someone under attack?" He smiles at me, the image of that with the gunshots an' screams in the background sends a chill down my spine. He doesn't answer me.

"Well? Ain't we gonna go out there? It sounds like they could use our help!" Tony laughs. They're all laughin'. Joe just shakes his head at me. I can't fuckin' believe we're just gonna stand here an' listen while someone could be killed. I look 'round at the others. I can't carry on with people like them. This is too much like my own past, people seein' the shit that happens, people hear the cries, but nobody ever came to help.

"You gotta let go of your past."

"What if you can't?"

"Then it'll kill you." She placed her hand over her heart. "Right here."

I need to let go of this group. I drop my pack on the ground I stood, swing my bow out in front of me an' take off in the woods. I'm only vaguely aware of the men shoutin' behind me. Branches beat 'cross my face, I nearly tripped over a fuckin' stump. I keep runnin' to the sounds of yellin', there's more rounds fired off. I hear a woman scream an' I just barely miss hittin' a tree. Beth.

"Beth! Beth! I'm comin', girl! Hold on!" Adrenaline is pumpin' through me, my muscles scream with resistance. I push on. It's her. It has to be her. There's a man's voice now. It might be the poxy bastard that took her from me. She yells again, an' in that instant I don't give a shit who she's with, so long's she's alive. I break through a dense patch of brush an' see the walkers.

There's at least twenty of them. Whoever they're after, I can't make out. They're grouped over by a set of trees. A gun goes off an' one drops. I steady my crossbow an' drop another fucker. Two turn to me, big ass fuckers. I run up to them, kick the one in the chest to send him far enough back to give me time to grab my buck knife an' plant it between his eyes when he gets back on me. I throw his body into the other one that had seen me. He's on the ground, his mangled up buddy pinnin' him down. I put a bolt through his forehead. I can't make out how the people are doin', I assume they're still fightin'. One of the assholes keeps firin' that damn gun.

A noise causes me to turn 'round. Runnin' straight at me is that damn group of bastards, guns raised. For a split second, I thought they were aimed at me. But Joe steps to my left an' starts firin' at the walkers, the others follow suit. Before too long, we take out the rest. I double over, hands on my knees. Fuck. I need to get my shit together.

"Hey! Hey, wait! That's the guy, Joe! That's the bastard from that house!" Tony's yellin' draws my attention. But they're circled 'round whoever the fuck it is that killed their man. My heart drops when I realize whoever this bastard is, he has Beth. He killed a man, an' he has my girl.

Joe talks directly to the stranger, "I reckon you killed one of our own, pal. In this new world, we believe in an eye for an eye." I walk over to where the others are standin'. Tony speaks again.

"Claim. I call that female." I see red. He can't have her. I will kill everyone an' everything that stands in my way, but I have to see her first; I might not make it out alive killin' them all. I push my way to the front an' the sight before me almost puts me to my knees.

It ain't Beth. Instead I'm lookin' in the faces of three of my own. Only a portion of the family I thought I'd lost.

Rick. Michonne. Carl.