Today has been pretty heartbreaking. The music industry took another hit and this time it was one of my all time favorite vocalists alive. I was actually listening to him while I was trying to come up with a name for this story and so I figured I'd just use the song title that was playing at the moment. Now I'm really really happy I did.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and thanks a million for reading. It is much appreciated.

Chapter Forty One

It didn't take them long to see what the problem was and Daryl felt his gorge rise when they came up on the scene. The road down the mountain had been clear of vehicles and clear of walkers, which was what Randy had called them and the name stuck. It was pretty fitting, actually.

Out past the small tourist town, heading towards the bigger cities they came up on a road block, which had been expected. What was unexpected were the bodies littering the ground and the fact that Odin's truck was in the ditch, the door smeared with gore. His stomach rolled with nausea, not at the sight of blood but the sight of the truck itself.

Merle was in the jeep behind him and he was already hopping out, rifle in hand as his eyes scanned the area. Katherine and the girls had ridden with him while Daryl and Carol lead the way in the truck.

This wasn't what any of them had been expecting and the thought of seeing his family slaughtered out here made Daryl's knees feel weak. He looked over, meeting Carol's eyes and saw his own fear reflected in them. She gripped his hand, giving it a small squeeze.

"We don't know anything yet," she said.

He gave her a stiff nod and then turned to Merle who was now standing next to the open truck window. The man's eyes were trained on Odin's truck. He glanced in at Carol. "You go ahead and take the other side of the jeep so you and Piper can keep watch. Sophia and the other two need to stay inside, where I want them to stay."

Carol nodded and hopped down, her eyes moving everywhere at once. He had worked with her a little more and she was getting better. She wasn't at all the greatest shot out of all of them but he felt okay with her having his back. She smiled at him before stalking away but he saw the tension in her body, could read the worry in her expression. He knew the feeling.

Merle was studying the passenger side door as Daryl walked around, looking inside. Both doors were closed and the interior was devoid of blood. Merle looked at him from over the hood. "Looks clean. This thing could have made it around this mess, though. I don't get it?"

Daryl shouldered his bow and glanced around. "Could be as simple as a break down."

Merle scratched at his chin and nodded absently. "Could have been I suppose. I don't get it though. They woulda took another ride and they woulda been back by now. Something else had to have happened. They wouldn't leave our asses up there worrying if it was nothin' but car trouble."

Daryl crawled in and noticed the keys hanging from the ignition. Scooting to the driver's seat he cranked the engine and it roared to life. His heart sank, because if there wasn't anything wrong with the damn truck then they wouldn't have left it. None of this was making any sense.

"Not a good sign," Merle said, his voice dark.

Daryl turned the key and then listened intently to the quiet that settled over them in the wake of the engine. "Nope," he said, his voice low. He scanned the truck, looking for any sign, a clue that they could have left for him or Merle to find but there was nothing.

"Weapons and gear are gone," Merle noted.

Daryl shook his head. "The only thing we can do is keep movin'. Leave the truck here like it was. They didn't even take the damn keys. This don't make any sense," he said again.

"We drive to the next town and see if we can find somethin'. If they were killed out here there'd be somethin' left. Weapons, clothes, anything. There ain't shit but double dead walkers.

Daryl looked around them at the bodies and started counting. "There's close to thirty fuckin' walkers here."

Merle kicked one over, grimacing at the stench. "Some stabbed. Some shot." He walked over and knelt down in front of another body. "Looks like somebody got pissed off and beat the brains outta this fella. If they killed this many and there was still too many to fight off, then that woulda made for one massive heard. It almost seems like they weren't the only ones breathin' out here either. I think they ran into survivors, got overwhelmed here and then had to run on foot."

Daryl digested this and then nodded. "Well, we're gonna find out. I can get the truck around this mess if you think you can get that jeep through," Daryl said, wishing they had been able to find at least a clue as to where the others could have been.

Merle snorted and then flashed him that grin that told Daryl something dirty crossed his mind before shouldering his rifle. "Brother, you wouldn't believe some of the tight spots I've been. I can move a Jeep through this gap no problem."

Daryl shook his head. "Yeah, but you're outta practice when it comes to tight spots. Matter of fact, from what I can tell, you ain't exactly been in any tight spots your whole life. Just overused spots a man could drive a bulldozer through. Better if I take the lead. For this one, I'm the man with the practice."

Merle nearly stumbled at that, his brows raising and then he chuckled. "You dirty little pervert. Now that you're gettin' yourself a nightly dose you got jokes. I knew you'd loosen up once you were able to pound away the stress from the day."

Daryl knew he shouldn't have tried to goad his brother, Merle was just better at this kinda shit than he was, but he'd needed to break the tension, at least try to push some of his worry away and he knew that Merle would appreciate it, in his own way. He shook his head but then he looked up sharply when Piper let out a low whistle.

"Fuckin' Christ," Merle whispered as they saw the herd. He wasn't sure how many were there, or where the hell they could have come from, but there were a lot. More than they could handle, even with the extra fire power they had brought. "These things must be pouring out of the cities. They're runnin' out of food. Let's get our asses turned around and hit that back road we passed. We can't drive through them," Merle said, his eyes never leaving the monsters that had apparently caught their scent. They were moving faster now at the prospect of a meal. He shoved Piper into the Jeep and met Daryl's eyes. "We're gonna find'em."

"I know," Daryl said before gripping Carol's hand and pulling her to his own truck.

~H~

Damon eyed the small group of men that had formed some sort of mini society around Richard Sandoval's pretty words. There were twelve of them, not counting the man himself and his son, who wasn't exactly a real threat to anyone anymore.

"We cant just wait around anymore," Randy said, his good eye narrowed on the group of men.

Eli followed his gaze, keeping his voice low. "You're right, but we sure as hell can't make a run for it, now can we?"

They had been trapped in this building for days now and the things that had driven them here were still out there. They were damn lucky to have found this place in time but they had ran out of luck once they were inside and realized that they weren't the only group to take refuge in the big square building. Richards group weren't the only others either. The third group, which wasn't even really a group at all, were made up of families that had banded together after coming here. They numbered twenty seven and though none seemed like a real threat, none struck Damon as the type that would likely make it far in this new world. He felt bad for all of them, especially the ones that had that look in their eyes that told him that they agreed with his assessment. They didn't have long in this world and they knew it.

Odin leaned against a long shelf stocked full of soda, crossing his arms over his chest. "Merle and Daryl are probably either on their way or already figurin' out a way to get inside. They wouldn't leave us stuck here."

Damon's eyes never strayed from the men surrounding Richard. "Yeah, well, they best hurry the hell up, cause those goons are up to somethin'." Richard looked over just then and the corner of his mouth turned up. The look make Damon's skin crawl.

"Right now they ain't gonna be a problem," Odin muttered, his eyes on the group. "There's a dozen of them to just the five of us but they won't make a move with so many other people around. He'll keep up his little campaign. Until the rest of these people join his cause, we'll likely be okay."

Damon had his doubts. Richard wasn't the type of man that made a habit of losing and what happened on the mountain was a huge blow to his ego. Brody was still nearly unrecognizable as a human and without medical attention, his arm wasn't healing right, still handing at his side at an awkward bend. Maybe he should have felt a little remorse for what he had done, but he didn't. He had a bad feeling in his gut. A really bad feeling. The fact that the store was massive and Richard always seemed to be lingering close didn't help. He was watching Damon and his family closely.

If they didn't do something about these men before they left here, then they were going to regret it. He had been in his share of fights, all of them fair as far as he was concerned, but he wasn't exactly prone to violence. He had to be pushed there, and he had never actually thought about taking a life. It was against his nature. Fighting was one thing, killing was something else.

He looked over and caught Eli staring at him, his face unreadable. He gestured down the isle and turned, walking away from the others and Damon followed. As soon as they were out of sight Eli turned.

"What'd you come up with?" Eli asked.

Damon shoved his hands deep into his pockets and stared down at his boots for a few long moments. Eli was a good guy. One of the best Damon had ever known, so he didn't want to say what he needed to say but he had no choice. "Man, they've gotta go. We can't leave here while they're still breathin'."

Eli sighed. "At least we're on the same page. I don't want anything to happen to the people we left up there. The girls... I don't know. It's just better to handle things now while we can."

Damon knew that by girls what Eli really meant was Piper. He hadn't been able to go an hour without bringing her up since they left the damn mountain. But he understood where Eli was coming from. All of them had faced their own mortality more than once since all of this happened and it put things into perspective. Damon hadn't ever fallen for a girl like he'd fallen for Sophia and he thought maybe that had something to do with a shift in his priorities. Back before the world went to hell a person had time to contemplate things. They had time to think it through, they had time to second guess things like emotions and opportunity.

That wasn't allowed anymore. If you wanted something, you best reach out and take it now because the next hour wasn't promised. Anything could happen to anyone at this point so you had no choice but to act more impulsively, and feel more deeply. You hung on tighter to the people you loved and you didn't let chances pass you by. And Damon could see it in the other boys eyes that he felt an opportunity was lost as far as Piper was concerned. They could die down here, either at the hands of the monsters waiting to devour them outside the concrete walls, or by the monsters in here that society had shaped.

"They expect Odin and Randy," Damon said, his voice dropping. "They don't expect us. Even after what I did to that asshole, they still look at us like we're a couple of kids. So they'll be waitin' for our dad's to strike. That's who they'll be watchin'."

"You ever killed a man before?" Eli asked, his gaze intense.

Damon shook his head. "I think if Daryl and Merle hadn't shown up that night, I woulda killed him." He had thought about that night a lot since it happened. He hadn't ever lost control like that. He was big, sure, and he'd heard that he looked pretty mean, but he simply wasn't. That wasn't him. Not unless someone he loved was threatened and the look on Carol's face that night after that jack ass had hit her had flipped a switch in Damon's brain. Carol was one of the good guys, a huge part of his life and his family, she had been there for him when he thought his parents were gone. And seeing her hurt like that, seeing her scared, had given him that edge he had needed to actually take a life.

And his family was in danger again, so he knew, if push came to shove, he could kill if it meant keeping the others safe.

"You gonna have jokes if I end up puking?" Eli asked, his brow furrowed.

Damon threw an arm over his shoulder as they made their way back down the isle. "Hell no, brother. I'll even hold your damn hair back for you. But if I puke too it's a secret you gotta take to your grave, got it?"

Eli laughed nervously. "Sure thing."