Rick left Carl's house on a war path. As he stormed over to Gregory's he didn't have a concrete plan of how he was going to find Carl, but he knew no one in that house was leaving until Carl was found. As he walked, his hand instinctively rested on his gun, and his entire body was tense with rage.

How dare Gregory think he could try something like this? How dare he think he could do something to my son? I'll kill that son of a bitch. If Carl's hurt I will kill him.

When Rick was a few hundred feet from Gregory's house a movement caught his eye. He turned his head and was shocked to see Gregory making his way down the steps of the big house. Rick quickly shrank back into the shadows and watched as he nonchalantly strolled towards his home. Carl was nowhere in sight. Rick waited until Gregory got closer and he quickly revealed himself, cocking his gun and pointing it at Gregory's head. Gregory leaped back startled.

"Where the fuck is my son, Gregory?" Rick asked, moving closer to Gregory as he tried to discreetly step backwards. Gregory's eyes widened with fear and he seemed lost for words, not expecting to run into Rick. Gregory's eyes flickered back and forth, looking for someone he could signal for help.

Rick quickly strode forward and grabbed Gregory's shirt with his left hand to stop him from backing away. He then pressed his Colt to Gregory's head and stared into his eyes. "Talk" he commanded.

"I… I don't know. I haven't seen Carl since the funeral…" Gregory started, and Rick smashed his gun into the side of Gregory's head. Rick paused and stared into Gregory's eyes again. "We can do this one of two ways. Way #1, you can tell me where Carl is and possibly live, or way #2, you can keep lying and I'll have to get the truth out of you some other way, and then you'll definitely die."

Gregory was shaking. "I… I don't know… I haven't seen him…" he began.

"Way #2 it is" Rick said, dragging Gregory off towards Carl's house.

"Please Rick" Gregory begged, "this isn't you, you're not a man that hurts innocent people. I… ok… I have seen Carl, he just stopped by my house for a few minutes but then he left! I don't know where he went after that."

Rick, already done with Gregory's lies, knocked on the front door of the trailer. While they waited for one of the women to get the door he whispered in Gregory's ear "My children are sleeping. If you wake them, you'll regret it."

Gregory audibly swallowed and within a few seconds Michonne unlocked the door with her katana in hand. She seemed slightly startled to see Gregory and Rick together, but it only took a glance at Rick to realize what was going on. She nodded and moved aside, letting the two of them in, and Rick took Gregory straight to the bedroom so the kids wouldn't be woken up.

Enid, who was sitting in the kitchen, watched the two men walk by and then she quickly took a kitchen chair and brought it into the bedroom, immediately realizing what was about to happen.

Rick pushed Gregory down onto the kitchen chair that Enid had brought, and when Gregory opened his mouth to protest, Rick snapped "shut up".

"Where is my husband?" Enid demanded, getting in Gregory's face. "I already know he went to your house for some bullshit meeting. What did you do to him?!" she screamed.

"Yes… ok, yes… he did come to my house, my followers can back me up on that. And we talked, I told him it would be in both of our interests to work together to run this…" Gregory's sentence was cut off by a punch from Rick.

"She asked what you did to him." Rick growled.

Michonne quietly let herself into the room and silently closed the door behind her. She stood by the door katana in hand, staring at the scene, as her katana glinted in the light.

"I… I… I didn't do anything to him" Gregory stuttered. "He left after the meeting and I didn't see him since!"

Enid glared at Gregory, and Rick moved dangerously close to him. "We know that you went somewhere after Carl left your house. Where were you?"

"I went to the big house, where you saw me coming from just now. I was there the whole time. I was looking for the blue prints of Hilltop. Carl and I had discussed possibly creating more look out towers to stop attacks like this from happening again." Gregory lied.

"You weren't at the big house" Enid said, her voice getting dangerously soft. "I checked there, no one had seen you or Carl. I personally checked all the meeting rooms, including the room with the blue prints."

Gregory's eyes now nervously flashed from Enid to Rick. Rick punched Gregory in the face, causing spit to fly everywhere. Gregory grabbed his face in pain and let out a wail. Rick quickly grabbed Gregory by the throat and squeezed.

"Shut the fuck up. My children are sleeping. I told you you'll regret it if you wake them up."

Gregory looked terrified as he quickly nodded his head.

Not terrified enough to tell the truth Rick thought as he let go of Gregory's neck.

"No one is believing your lies" Rick said in a soft, calm, whisper. "This is your chance to tell the truth. What did you do with Carl?"

Gregory, still thinking he had a chance to lie his way out of this said "Ok… I saw two men drag him off… I couldn't see who they were…"

Suddenly, Michonne moved from her spot by the door, lifted her katana, and with the skill of a woman who's been using a weapon for years, she quickly severed one of Gregory's fingers from his hand.

"Ahhhhhhhh!" he screamed in agony, and Rick wrapped his hands around Gregory's neck again to silence him.

"My children…" Rick whispered.

Gregory finally realized he wouldn't make it out of this room with all his limbs if he didn't talk now. Rick let go of Gregory's neck again and Gregory breathed heavily until he caught his breath.

"Ok… ok… this is what happened. Carl came to my house like I said, and we talked. He left, but I had two men follow him. We took him out the gates… to the Walker People camp."

"What?" Enid gasped.

Rick looked like he was going to strangle Gregory all the way this time.

Michonne narrowed her eyes, she could tell that wasn't the whole story. "Carl could take on two men. There's something you're not telling. And how the hell did you get him out of the gates?"

Gregory clutched his bleeding hand and looked at Rick with fear. "He was drugged so he wouldn't put up a fight."

While Gregory was busy staring at Rick, Enid punched Gregory in the face. "You bastard! You drugged my husband?" she screamed. She continued to punch Gregory until Michonne gently moved her away and she plopped down onto the bed, tears pouring down her face.

Rick was unnervingly calm as he moved his face closer to Gregory's so that they were eye to eye.

"How did you get him out of the gates?" Rick asked.

"There's a tunnel underneath the big house. It leads out of here." Gregory moaned.

Rick glanced at Michonne and he spoke to her using just his eyes.

I'll go get our son. You hold things down here.

Michonne nodded slightly, and Rick turned back to Gregory, grabbing the nub where his finger used to be. Gregory cried out and Rick shoved a hand over his mouth.

"You're gonna take us to the Walker People camp, and you're gonna get my son back. And you'd better pray Carl doesn't have a scratch on him, or that finger will be the least of your problems". Rick took his finger and dug it into Gregory's wound, making him whimper.

"Now get the fuck up and take me to that camp. And if you try to signal anyone, or warn anyone about where we're going…" Rick dug his finger into Gregory's wound further, causing him to cover his own mouth with his other hand to prevent himself from screaming out loud.

Gregory nodded vigorously. Enid leaped off the bed and picked up a satchel. She quickly started filling it with supplies they may need. Rick looked at her curiously.

"You're not going Enid" he said.

"Yes. I am." She said, continuing to pack her bag.

"No. You're not putting that baby in danger."

"What are you gonna do?" she asked, staring Rick down. "Look, unless you knock me out, I'm going. You can't stop me, so don't even try. I'm the only one medically trained, and if he's injured he needs me. I'm going." She emphasized again.

Rick glanced at Michonne to see what she thought. Michonne looked at Enid and then back to Rick, raising her eyebrow. She knew that if she were Enid she'd say the same thing. The only thing stopping her from going was the children sleeping in the living room, and the fact that she knew at this point in her pregnancy she couldn't run fast enough to keep up. She gave Rick a slight nod that it was ok and he sighed.

"Fine. But you're gonna hide out until we get Carl back safely. You don't let them see you. Got it?" Rick warned.

Enid nodded her head. Rick turned back to Gregory. "Who on the Hilltop defense team is not one of your followers?" Rick asked.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Rick, Enid, and nine other members of the defense team suited up to follow Gregory to the Walker People's camp. Gregory named members of the defense team who he claimed weren't his followers, but Rick and Enid went through each name and tried to assess if they'd seen any of the named people at his house. It seemed to check out that he was telling the truth. Finally. Rick quickly filled the defense team members in on what was going on, as Enid stitched Gregory's bleeding stump closed in the living room.

The children had been woken up by the commotion of the defense team arriving, and they had been put back to bed in Carl and Enid's room, even though Michonne knew they'd never go back to sleep now.

Michonne nervously paced as she listened to the briefing happening in the living room. After Rick briefed the team members, he met with her in the kitchen, and silently wrapped his arms around her, not speaking a word. She buried her face in his neck and rested there for a few moments, breathing him in. She then kissed his neck and then his lips. "Bring him back" she said. "I will" Rick replied, kissing her, and then he leaned down and kissed her belly.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Before Rick left, he informed trustworthy members of Hilltop's defense team to keep an eye on Gregory's followers. The team then followed Gregory into the basement of the big house, where he showed them the entryway to the underground tunnel, hidden behind a false wall. The tunnel was small, but allowed the team to walk through it one by one if they crouched down so that they didn't hit their heads on the low ceiling. They walked for 15 minutes in the small claustrophobic space until Gregory said "the exit is up ahead".

They looked up to see a hole in the ceiling, with a small ladder leading upwards. One by one they climbed upwards through the opening, squeezing from underneath the parked car on top of the hole. Gregory lead them through the forest for twenty more minutes, Rick's gun trained on the back of his head the entire time. Suddenly, Gregory stopped walking.

"Their camp was just up ahead" he said, clutching his hand. "Like I told you during the briefing, I only saw about 25 of them, but there could be more".

Rick looked over at Enid and she nodded her head, unholstering her gun and taking cover behind some bushes.

Rick pressed his gun to Gregory's back and commanded "move".

Gregory started moving through the woods again, approaching the camp. He walked for a minute or so and then stopped suddenly causing Rick to bump into him.

"Why'd you stop?" Rick hissed angrily.

Gregory looked around confused. "This is where the camp was" he said, "They're gone".

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Carl sat leaning against the tree, deep in thought. It was against everything he believed in to send Omega back to these people after what he'd been through, but if Carl didn't give him up people would die.

Is this kid worth more deaths? More people getting hurt? Putting my dad and Michonne and Enid and my sisters in danger? Is he worth putting my baby in danger?

Carl closed his eyes briefly as he thought. He already considered Omega part of the family and he'd only known the little boy for two days. The boy had opened up, started speaking, started living like a person again instead of an animal. He couldn't give him back.

Carl opened his eyes and searched his surroundings. He could see Alpha off by the fire, talking to another person. He looked around and didn't see anyone watching him. Sucking in a breath, he quickly pulled himself to his knees, ignoring the sharp pain in his shoulder from where he'd been stabbed.

Suddenly a voice behind him whispered "Sit".

Carl whipped his head around to see another Walker Person who was standing behind him in his blind spot. He had missed her due to his missing eye. Carl slowly lowered himself back down. She kneeled in front of him, smelling as bad as a real walker. Although he couldn't see her face through the mask she wore, he could tell she was young, probably his age. She grabbed his wrists and quickly tied them tightly with rope.

Carl, at a loss for what to do to get out of this situation, tried talking.

"My name's Carl, what's yours?" he asked.

The girl glared at him and rolled her eyes. "You will die soon".

Carl chuckled, surprising the girl who stopped to stare at him. He leaned his head back against the tree and sighed. "That would suck" he said, shaking his head. "My wife's pregnant with my first baby, and I'm here probably about to die, and I'm gonna leave her all alone… I told her that she'd never be alone again, and now look. I was trying to do the right thing, y'know? Meeting with that man, I was trying to do what was best for my people. I never should've let my guard down around Gregory" Carl said, talking more to himself than the girl that stood in front of him. "This whole thing… it just sucks…"

The girl stared at Carl curiously for a few seconds. "Why do you keep Omega? Return him and this will end for you and your people, as well as for us."

"Omega is happy where he is. Are you really happy here?" Carl asked, staring into the girl's eyes. She stared back, but their gaze was broken by Alpha who began walking back over. The girl quickly scurried out of Alpha's way.

"Did you make your choice?" Alpha asked Carl.

"Yes, it's the same as it was 15 minutes ago" he said.

"Very well" Alpha said, "Sigma, blindfold him. We're moving."

"Yes Alpha" the girl said. As Alpha stalked away, the girl glanced at Carl and whispered "no" before tying a blindfold around his face.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"When we get inside we will need to bring the walking ones with us. They will protect us and cause a distraction." Alpha said. "We will go collect another herd. They will go ahead of us and clear the way. Once inside, we kill the towns people and find Omega."

Beta nodded her head. "Yes Alpha…" she paused for a moment as if considering if she could continue speaking. "Alpha, may I ask a question?"

Alpha turned and looked at Beta, her second in command. "Speak" she said.

"Alpha, I am not questioning your will. But I'd like to know why you are putting so much of our resources and warriors in danger for this boy. You have taught us that the strong survive and the weak die. He is weak. He ran away. He doesn't want to return. Perhaps we should let him live with the weak and move on."

Alpha stared into the eyes of Beta who quickly looked down. Alpha knew Beta wasn't trying to go against her, she just didn't understand why Alpha cared about the boy so much. Alpha had never told any of the others her relationship to Omega. She hadn't even told Omega. The members of the group that had been there long enough had just known that he was the son of the former Beta who had challenged Alpha and failed.

"Yes, he is weak" Alpha agreed, "but I have an interest in keeping him here. One I will not share."

Beta knew when the conversation is over. "Yes Alpha" she responded.

"Tell the others we're leaving now."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Rick stared Gregory down. "What the fuck do you mean they're gone?"

Gregory flinched at the venom in Rick's voice.

"The leader told me they don't stay in one camp long. They must've left. She said if I wanted to contact her I'd have to find her."

Rick slammed Gregory up against a tree by his neck, his eyes boring into Gregory's terrified eyes. Rick pulled his gun and brought it to Gregory's temple.

"Rick" a member of the defense team said. "Rick, we still need him. Killing him won't get your son back."

Another team member studied the ground nearby. "They couldn't have left more than a half hour ago. The footprints seem fresh and there's still smoke coming from the remains of the fire. We can still find them."

"I… I can help you Rick. I can help you find him." Gregory stuttered. "Please, I can talk to her. Convince her to let him go."

Rick let go of Gregory's neck. "Find them" he growled.

Rick whistled so Enid knew it was safe to come out of hiding. In a few seconds she was there with the rest of the group.

"He's not here?" Enid asked, panic rising in her voice.

"Enid you should go back" Rick said. "We have to track them down, go back and tell Michonne and the rest of the team what's going on."

"No!" Enid said stubbornly. "I'm pregnant, not handicapped. I am going. Don't ask me to go back again." She then kneeled down and looked at the directions of the tracks. "They went this way" she called, and then she made her way off in that direction, the rest of the team following behind her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Carl was blindfolded and forced to his feet by Sigma as the Walker People began to move from their camp. "Stay still" she whispered to him. He suddenly felt something foul smelling and sticky being poured over his body.

"Ugh! What… what is that?" he asked.

"It is the blood of the walking ones. So they don't eat you. Be quiet" she hissed.

Carl felt himself being lead through the woods. They walked for quite a while when he heard the sounds of walkers in the distance, but this was unlike anything he'd heard before. It sounded like a massive herd, growls, moans, and snarls creating a loud chorus. The stench of rotting bodies was overpowering. He thought he was used to the smell of walkers after living in this world for so long, but Carl felt nauseous and it took everything to hold in the vomit.

Carl could hear Alpha whispering directions not far away from him.

"Split the herd, we only need half. The lowers will tend the other half while we're gone."

What are they going to do with this herd? I have to get away, maybe if we're surrounded by walkers it'll be easier for me to escape.

Carl tried pulling on the ropes around his hands again, but they were tied well. Suddenly he was forced to start walking again by Sigma, and he could hear walkers on every side of him. They were bumping into him, moving past him. He realized he was now inside of the herd, and the herd was probably on its way to the Hilltop.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Rick, Enid, and the rest of the team followed the Walker People's trail as much as they could. They walked for a while, unsure of if they were going in the right direction. Rick knew this was getting more and more dangerous. It was dark and they had no idea where the Walker People were. As far as anyone knew they could be surrounded right now. As much as Rick hated to say it, they had to go back to Hilltop and wait until it was light enough outside to resume the search.

Just when he was going to open his mouth to say what he was thinking, the forest opened up into a clearing. "Look!" Enid whispered, pointing downward. Using the moonlight, Rick looked where she was pointing and was horrified to see footprints everywhere.

Either the Walker People have huge numbers, or… or this was a herd. A huge herd of walkers.

The rank smell lingering in the air confirmed Rick's second idea. "Rick" a member of the team called, "All the footprints are going back that way."

Rick felt like his heart stopped. The footprints were heading back to the Hilltop.