Leon was surprised at the ease at which it took to pull the trigger. Not once but twice. Two little movements of his fingers and the lady was dead as the roadkill that littered the back roads of Jefferson. The action itself was easy. But the spinning sick feeling in his stomach was a hard knot he couldn't untie.

"Daddy!" Carl cried, running up to his father who took him in his arms.

"I got you, Carl, I got you," Rick was holding back his own tears. "Are you hurt?"

He searched his son for scratch marks or any signs of blood.

"No, I hided in the closet. Like you said I should if bad guys ever come," the little boy explained.

"Good job, son," Rick lifted his son into his arms, relief washing over him.

Leon hadn't been aware that Rick was approaching him until he felt a gentle grasp on his arm.

He turned towards the taller man, still startled at the events as they had unfolded.

"Thank you," he said, his crescent eyes sincere and shining. "We have to go now."

Leon nodded.

"That woman's sister," he said, searching Rick's eyes to see what he intended to do.

"I made a promise to Andrea," Rick stated. "Let's get over to OYO."

"Yeah," Leon agreed.

He was still in a haze from what he had done. But it had been done. And it had been done for a good reason. He may have saved Rick's life, kept his promise to Lori, and kept a father around for Carl. There would be time to lament later. For now, what was done was done, and they had to get out of there.

Rick led him out of the kindergarten classroom, holding his son tightly in his arms. His pace was slower now, careful to ensure that Carl wasn't rushed into any danger.

"It ain't gonna be easy gettin' Carl over that fence. We need another way around," Rick whispered.

"We can't cut through the school," Leon said. "You saw what the front door was like. We don't know what to expect in there."

"There's a gate that way," Carl pointed his little finger off in the distance. "Where Mommy picks me up from."

He was smart for a five-year-old, Leon knew that much. It was in the opposite direction that they came through, but if he squinted, he could see an open gate. That gate may just be the only safe way out of here.

"Can we get back to the car that way?" Leon asked.

"It should loop around if that's where Lori picks him up from."

Leon took point this time, running, but not too fast, across the field of dead yellow grass towards the gate. He looked back periodically to see that Rick was still just right behind him, his forty-pound son in his arms slowing his speed a bit.

They had stayed as quiet as they could, and that kept the infected ones from noticing them, distracted by the shrill wailing of parents in the background. A grief that would lead to their own demise. Then again, parents who just discovered the loss of their children may not be too worried about their own deaths.

They had gotten to the gate easily enough, a milestone that provided only a small relief to Leon.

Rick caught up to him, breathing heavily. Leon looked around, trying to calibrate himself to his new perspective. He followed the sounds of screams with his eyes, locating where the front doors to the school were. From there, he spotted the cruiser. Untouched and waiting to be taken far, far away from this place.

He and Rick ran to the cruiser, Leon catching just a little more relief at this. Rick didn't bother to buckle Carl in anywhere, just plopped the boy down on his own lap. Leon opened his door, but as he grabbed the handle, something grabbed him from behind.

He let out a reactive curse at the contact, fear seeding itself somewhere deep inside him. One of those things was behind him, he couldn't see it. It could get him before he could get it.

But he wasn't gonna give up today- or any time soon for that matter. He took his hand off the handle and reached behind himself, finding purchase on a warm cheek, feeling hot breath against his wrist as he struggled to push away.

"Leon, get down!" Rick's screamed.

Leon did as he was told, ducking down as quickly as he could.

A shot deafened him, and a body slumped on top of him. He pushed it off of him, seeing for only a quick moment the bloody bullet hole in what was once a man's head.

He could see through the rolled down passenger window that Carl held his hands over his ears, tears forming in his eyes, no doubt even more deafened by the gunshot, having been right on his dad's lap.

Having no doubt that this little boy had seen far worse things than he could have ever dreamed, Leon got in the car. Rick took off, driving over the grass once again to get back on the road.