The day didn't get much better. We spent hours getting the fences to a position where we could leave them, everyone exhausted. Some of the walkers that were lured away by the pigs went back into the woods seeing fewer people outside. It was a relief.

Me, Rick and Daryl spent a little while sitting outside in the barbeque area, none of us knowing what else we could do to help. I sighed, leaning my head against Rick's shoulder, just finally happy that I was able to sit down for a minute or two.

There would be a run soon, and I doubted I'd get much of a break then either, whether I stayed here on the fences or went on the run, it would be a long day.

I jumped when I heard yelling, looking around at Tyreese who was marching around the corner, "Hey! Daryl! Rick!"

"What is it?" Rick asked, standing up.

"You're all gonna wanna take a look at this," he said, addressing all of us this time.

"Why?" I asked. "What happened?"

"Someone killed Karen and David!" He said, and I understood now where the anger was coming from when he spoke. "I went to see Karen and she's dead!"

"Where?" Daryl asked. "Where are they?"

"You need to see it." Tyreese turned and marched back into prison.

I stumbled to get my leg out from under the table and followed after them. Daryl was ahead of us, followed by Carol as we entered the tombs. There was a gut-wrenching pain as we walked further and further, but Tyreese stayed quiet as he led us to the cells where they were staying to get better.

But they weren't there, and this trail of blood was. One that led out of each of their doors and down the hallway. But Tyreese didn't stop or explain anything, and he just kept walking. We all followed in silence now, taking a moment to look at the trail before following it.

And then we made it to the courtyard outside.

The smell was my first indication of what happened, and my worries were confirmed when I saw two charred bodies on the ground, the trail of blood ending just there. The smoke was still coming off them, and there were remnants of their clothes, one male and one female. Karen and David.

"Fuck," I whispered.

This had to be one of our own.

Everyone remained silent. I couldn't think of anything to say that would make this better for anyone. I felt my body sway as I shook my head, taking shaky breaths. There was a hand on my shoulder and I glanced back to see Carol. She gave me a nod and then took a step forward, and my eyes returned to the bodies.

"You found them like this?" Rick asked after a moment.

"I came to see Karen," Tyreese started, "and I saw the blood on the floor . . . then I smelled it."

My eyes were wide, and I couldn't bring myself to say anything. I was completely appalled. Someone killed Karen and David, someone in our group killed Karen and David. I wondered maybe if someone had put them down, that they'd already died, but there was too much blood. If they'd died already, someone would have said something.

I almost flinched when he started yelling. "Somebody dragged them out here and set them on fire. They killed them and set them on fire!"

"I'm sorry," I got out.

Tyreese spun around to face Rick, but Rick didn't meet his eyes. "You're a cop. You find out who did this and you bring 'em to me. You understand? You bring 'em to me!"

"We'll find out who—" As Daryl grabbed his shoulder, Tyreese shrugged him off.

"I need to say it again?" he asked Rick.

"No, no. I know what you're feeling. I've been there, you saw me there." I was instantly taken back to the day when Rick had lashed out around Tyreese and his people before they left and found Woodbury, the things he did—said, all because he was mad. Tyreese would be a lot harder to subdue than Rick. "It's dangerous."

"Karen didn't deserve this! David didn't deserve it! Nobody does!"

"Tyreese, we're going to work this out," I said. "Murder, it's completely unacceptable."

Tyreese glanced at me out the side of my eye, his arm raising to the side to point at me as he continued staring at Rick. "Maybe if you didn't put a kid in charge, this wouldn't have happened."

I clenched my teeth and breathed out a long breath through my nose. He was only saying those things because he was grieving, pissed. Tyreese was there the day I was asked to be on the council, no one had any doubts then. The only one who was unconvinced that I would be a good leader was me.

"All right, man, let's—"

"Man, I ain't going nowhere till I find out who did this!" As Daryl went to grab him again, Tyreese spun around and pushed Daryl against a gate. Daryl's arms came up under Tyreese's and he stopped me or Rick from trying to pull him off. Carol—who got a hand on Tyreese's back—stepped away.

"We're on the same side, man," Daryl said.

"Hey, look, I know what you're going through, we've all lost someone. We know what you're going through right now, but you've got to calm down."

As Rick placed a hand on his shoulder, Tyreese spun around again and slammed his hands against Rick's chest to push him away, and he stumbled back but kept his footing. "You need to step the hell back!"

When Tyreese looked like he would make another move, Carol held up a hand. "No."

Rick looked pissed, and I could see that he was doing everything he could not to lash out. His eyes met mine for a second, and I shook my head. So, instead, he turned to Tyreese and said, "She wouldn't want you being like this."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Tyreese took a swing at him and punched Rick straight in the cheek, which knocked him to the ground.

"Stop!" Carol screamed.

I rushed forward and tried pushing him back with my whole body weight before he could punch Rick again. Tyreese grabbed my shoulders and threw me away from him. I landed on the ground with a thud and I groaned, rolling onto my side. I wasn't too far away from Rick who was trying to regain his balance.

"Stop!" Carol yelled again, but I heard the punch land and saw Rick fall back down.

Daryl grabbed Tyreese from behind, jumping up so he could wrap his arms around Tyreese and pulled him back away from Rick.

"That's enough," he said. "That's enough!"

As I pushed myself to my feet, I saw Rick with a hand under his mouth, catching blood that gathered from the punches. He stumbled up with help from Carol, and before I could even see it coming, stepped forward and punched Tyreese while Daryl was holding him and he fell to the ground.

"Rick!" I yelled.

With Tyreese on his knees, Rick was able to walk forward and kick him in the ribs so he fell onto his back. He stepped over Tyreese and started punching him, once, twice Daryl called his name, but he didn't stop.

I could see the blood dripping down his hands.

For a moment, I didn't know what to do. I stood there with my mouth a gape. Rick pummelled Tyreese, and all I could do was watch. I'd seen him lose it before—I'd seen him kill people. But this? It wasn't as easy as taking a gun away from him, not like that night he started hallucinating. Daryl seemed flustered too, and that's when I remembered that Daryl missed that night. He was gone with Merle.

I took a step forward, ready to do the same thing I tried with Tyreese, but Daryl held up a hand to stop me. He rushed forward and grabbed Rick's arm, before wrapping an arm over his other side and pulling him away from Tyreese.

"Stop!"

"Let go of me!" Rick yelled.

"No!" Daryl said and continued dragging him away. "No!"

"Let go of me!"

"No!"

As he moved Rick further away from Tyreese, Rick spun around and shoved a hand against his chest, pushing Daryl away. Daryl stumbled back but made no further move to subdue Rick, who was staring down at his bloody hands.

Tyreese was trying to breathe on the ground beside me, blood coming out of various wounds Rick made. He made no move to stand up and remained on the ground gasping for air, laying on his side to make it easier for himself.

"Last time he lost it like this, Ace helped him," I could hear Carol whispering to Daryl. I looked over my shoulder and saw them talking quietly in the corner, out of earshot of Rick.

When Daryl realised I was looking at them, he flagged me over with a wave of his fingers. "Ace, take yer ol' man to his room. We need to get Tyreese to his cell so Hershel can take a look at him."

"Okay," I gave a nod.

Rick had his back to Tyreese, still not turning to look at what he'd done. His eyes remained fixated on his hand and he let out a long shaky breath. I saw his eyes close for a second, but he didn't make a move until I made my way across the courtyard to him.

"Rick?" I questioned cautiously.

He glanced my way and gave a nod.

"Come on," I said. "Let's get you cleaned up."

I walked back to C Block in silence with Rick at my side. He continued to his cell when we made it to the common room, and I stopped only to grab a bowl full of water and a rag before following after him.

Rick had his hand up on the table, slowly trying to clench his fist, but I could see him wince in pain as he squeezed his fingers closed. He glanced up to the side when he saw me standing there, and sighed when he looked back down at his hand.

I glanced at his second chair and asked, "Can I?"

Rick only gave a nod.

I sat down, placing the bowl on the table next to his hand and pulled the cloth down from over my shoulder. I put it in the water and squeezed out the excess water before bringing it to Rick's hand as gently as I could, but as soon as the cloth made contact, he winced.

"Hershel will probably need to look at it," I said after a moment. "I'll get him when he's done with Tyreese."

He nodded but didn't say anything. I hated that he wouldn't say anything, but I understood for the most part. I guessed he was feeling ashamed, maybe. The look on his face certainly didn't say that he was proud of his actions.

"Thank you," he got out after a moment.

I raised a brow. "For what?"

"Being here," he said after a moment. "I didn't mean to do what I did, I just . . . you tried stopping him and next thing I knew you were on the ground. I just—I lost it. I didn't think you'd wanna be here after that."

I nodded but continued wiping away the blood. "I know why you lashed out."

"But you shouldn't," he said. "You shouldn't know any of this. But you, and the others, you're running this place better than I ever could have. I just keep messing everything up."

"I know you haven't made the best decisions, but you have to remember I did the same," I said. "When you said we had to kill people, I did. When you said we were trading Michonne, I didn't like it, but I didn't stop you. Both of us made those same mistakes."

Rick nodded. "I'm just glad you don't hate me after everything."

"I can't hate you," I said. "You've been there for me since the beginning. I mean, you knew me for less than a week and you were trying to make sure I was okay and letting my dad know where we were going. You've helped me through a lot more than you seem to realise."

Hershel cleared his throat from the doorway and waited for one of us to say something. He had a small case in his hands and was looking at Rick who barely even glanced up to meet his eyes. I pulled my hands back and turned on the chair.

"That was quick," I commented.

"Tyreese wouldn't let me look at him until he's done digging graves," Hershel said. "Bob went to try and convince him, said he'd do it himself, but it isn't looking too good. Daryl said there might be something wrong with your hand. Can I take a look?"

"Yeah," Rick nodded.

I stood up and moved to the back of Rick's bed, really having nowhere to go and wanting to make sure that Rick was going to be okay. Hershel had brought some cotton balls with him to help clean Rick's wounds, some of them were still bleeding I noticed.

"This is gonna be sprained for at least a week," Hershel said. "Good news, none of these cuts need stitches. I wouldn't plan on much typing the next few days."

Rick remained quiet, much like he had been with me. He continued to wince, leaning his head into his other hand as Hershel started cleaning the wounds. Hershel sent a glance back my way, but I just shrugged and pulled my knees to my chest.

"You okay?" Hershel asked.

"It hurts."

"I wasn't talking about the hand," he said. "We just went through something terrible. Everything we've been working so hard to keep out, it found its way in."

"No. It's always there," Rick said.

Hershel gave a nod, putting the bloodied cotton onto the table and reaching for another. "Council meeting tomorrow morning. Thought you should know. We just lost some of our own. Two more we killed in cold blood. We could be facing an outbreak."

"I think I've done enough damage for one day."

Hershel was quiet for a second, but said, "I've fallen off the wagon before."

"That's what this is?"

"Pretty close," Hershel said and wrapped Rick's hand up. "When it happened, I didn't stand around feeling bad about it. I got back up. I had responsibilities, people to keep safe."

When Hershel was done he left the cell to check on Tyreese again. Rick just remained sitting at the table, his head resting in his good hand as he sighed. I knew why he was upset, he just lost himself again, he couldn't see his kids and now he was in pain. I wished it would get better for him over the next few days.

I stirred awake when something knocked my back, and realised that Rick had probably woken up and hit me with his legs. There was a pain in my side from sleeping on the ground, but I ignored it and kept my eyes closed.

After a long moment of silence, Rick let out a sigh. "Pass my shoes?"

Giving myself a second to wake up, I eventually moved my arm forward, grabbing the shoes before lifting them back up behind me. Rick grabbed them off me, and I heard shuffling from where he was trying to get his shoes on.

"You didn't have to sleep on the floor," he said after a moment.

"I did last time," I yawned, pushing myself up. "Left a pillow and a blanket under your bed in case I had to again."

"Really?" Rick asked with a chuckle.

"No," I shrugged. "Grabbed them from my room last night."

"Well you didn't have to stay and watch me," he said.

"It wasn't just for you," I said and looked up at him. "It was mainly for me. After everything, I couldn't get myself to sleep. I just . . . you're not the only one who appreciated having someone there for you all the time."

"We'll get through this," he promised.

"Yeah," I breathed out. After stretching my arms into the air, I asked, "Are you going to come to the meeting?"

"No, I can't," he shook his head. "But you should head in there soon. I'll put your things away for you."

I nodded, pushing myself to my feet. "Thank you."

Grabbing my weapons I walked out of Rick's cell, turning for the library where we were supposed to be having the meeting. I didn't see anyone on the way, which meant that they either started without me or weren't ready yet. If they weren't there I could have a couple of minutes to try and stretch out my legs. I was aching after my night on the ground.

But everyone was there when I arrived in the library—no, not everyone. Sasha wasn't there. Michonne and Carol were there, only now showing up for meetings since things had been going wrong, but Sasha, a regular council member, was gone.

No one seemed confused by this, only me.

"Where's Sasha?" I asked.

Hershel just nodded for me to take a seat at the table, which I did, sitting down next to Glenn. Everyone was eerily quiet as Hershel took his seat. I saw Michonne standing across the room so she was involved but not close enough to be exposed. I wasn't sure it mattered in a closed-off room, but at this point, I wasn't sure it mattered anyway.

"It's spread," Hershel started. "Everyone who survived the attack in cell block D. Sasha, Caleb, and now others."

"Oh, Jesus," Daryl muttered.

"So what do we do?" Carol asked.

"First things first. Cell block A is isolation. We keep the sick people there like we tried with Karen and David."

"What the hell we gonna do about that?" Daryl asked, referencing Karen and David.

"Ask Rick to look into it. Try to make a timeline, who was where when," Carol said. "But what are we gonna do to stop this?

"There is no stopping it," Hershel said. "You get it, you have to go through it."

"But it just kills you?" Michonne said.

"The illness doesn't. The symptoms do. We need antibiotics."

"We've been through every pharmacy nearby," Daryl said. "And then some."

Hershel was quiet for a minute, thinking. He was the only one who could come up with a new place for us to start searching for supplies. "That veterinary college at West Peachtree Tech, that's one place people may not have thought to raid for medication. The drugs for animals there are the same we need."

"That's miles," Daryl said. "Too big a risk before. Ain't now. I'm gonna take a group out. Best not waste any more time." Daryl stood up, and then stopped, looking my way. "Ace, you coming?"

"If you need me," I gave a nod.

"I do, we ain't gonna have a lot of people in on this."

"I'm in," Michonne says.

"You haven't been exposed," Hershel said. "Daryl has. You get in a car with him . . ."

Michonne grinned and said, "He's already given me fleas."

There was a chuckle from the members, and then a moment of silence.

"I can lead the way," Hershel stood up. "I know where everything is kept."

Daryl shook his head. "When we're out there, it's always the same. Sooner or later we run."

"I can draw you a map," Hershel said after a moment.

I assumed this was where we were leaving, starting to help the children out of C block and getting ready for the run, but as I pushed my chair back Hershel glanced around at everyone expectantly, and I guessed there was more to talk about.

"There are other precautions I feel we should take," Hershel said.

"Like what?" Carol asked.

"There's no telling how long it'll be before Daryl and his group return," Hershel said. "Wouldn't it make sense for us to separate the most vulnerable? We can use the administration building. Separate office, separate room."

"Who is the most vulnerable?" Glenn asked.

"The very young," Hershel said.

"What about the old?" Glenn asked.

"I know what you're suggesting," Hershel said. "But with Dr. S already sick, there are things that I can do to help here."

Glenn gave a nod, but he didn't seem sure.

"First we'll evacuate everyone. We should all wear a mask in C while we show the children to the administration office," Hershel was saying. "And we need to check on everyone there. We don't know if anyone could've gotten it from Sasha."

So we got into action. Everyone covered their mouths and got gloves on so we could tell all the people we needed that they should be separated from the rest of the group. We also had to check on everyone in case they showed any symptoms and needed to be sent to Cellblock A.

Glenn went up to his cell to grab some things while Maggie was staying in a different one for a few days. I didn't know what he wanted, but he didn't look okay as he went in. I just assumed he was missing Maggie.

It went smoothly for a little while. Beth took Judith to the administration building almost immediately, giving us a chance to escort everyone else from the cell block. Everyone who'd been exposed stayed back out of the way while Carl and the other kids moved their things out.

Carl didn't look happy, not that I blamed him.

Maggie stepped out of her cell. "Glenn's sick!"

And my heart dropped.

No, no, no, I thought desperately. Not Glenn.

I rushed over to his cell with Hershel and saw Glenn sitting as far back in the room as he could with a rag in his hand.

"I've been really hot today but I only started coughing now," Glenn said. "I'm sorry, I didn't think I had it, I—"

"It's okay, son," Hershel said. "You couldn't have known before now."

"I know, but I should have said something," Glenn said.

"It'll be okay. When everyone has been moved you need to go to A block," Hershel turned to me. "Will you help him get ready, and then check on Isaac?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I can."

Hershel left to go help some of the others. Maggie had been talking about him going to the administration building with the rest of the vulnerable, which Hershel had been arguing about. Either way, he had to help the others get out or we could never move the sick people.

I stepped forward and held out the box in my hand.

"Take a mask," I said. "Just until you get to A."

He nodded and grabbed one from the box, pulling it up and over his face. Glenn was just staring at me and I let out a breath that I didn't know I'd been holding in. He looked worse now, sweating, pale, almost white. Worse than what he looked like twenty minutes ago in the meeting. It was quick because earlier you never would have known.

"You're worried." It wasn't a question, he could probably see everything I was feeling in my eyes.

My chest tightened, and I said, "I'm terrified."

"Don't be. I'm gonna be okay," he promised. "We'll get through this. You'll be back with the meds at the end of the day and we're all going to get through this."

If they last that long. Glenn was strong, and I was less worried about him making it to the end of the day over the state he was going to be in. For some, I knew that our getting back would be too late, and we would lose more people in that time.

I just nodded my head, and I didn't realise for how long until I stopped. "I need to check on Isaac, make sure he isn't sick and is going to be okay here on his own."

"I'll wait for you," Glenn said. "I want to say goodbye."

"I'll walk with you to A," I promised.

As I left the cell I looked around for Maggie. The last person to have seen Isaac would have either been her or Michonne because last I knew he was helping them inside the day before. Michonne was busy, but that was when I saw Maggie across the room, away from Rick and the others.

"Maggie?" I called. "Have you seen Isaac?"

"Not since yesterday," Maggie said. "Try in his cell, I haven't seen him around outside or anything."

I nodded and turned to Isaac's cell. I heard small coughs form inside, and I clenched my teeth. Please don't be sick, please don't be sick. And then the coughing got worse, and a feeling of dread settled in my stomach.

"Isaac?" I pulled back on the curtain.

"Don't!" Isaac snapped, but I entered the room anyway.

Isaac was sitting on the ground beside his bed, paler than Glenn. He rocked back and forth in short, slow movements. Beside him, on the table, was an empty bottle of hand sanitizer that he must've had in his bag since he came here.

"I have it," he said quietly. "I have it, I have it."

"Isaac," I started. "You need to go to cellblock A—"

"No! No! I can't go there, I can't! They're all—" Isaac choked off with a string of coughs, but I knew what he was going to say:

Infected.

"Please," I said again. "Please. Caleb is there and he can take care of you."

"No, no, no, no," he shook his head, before hiding it in his knees. "No, please. I can't go."

Seeing him like this was killing me, squeezing at my chest to the point where I felt like I couldn't breathe. He didn't want me to touch him before because I had grease on my hands, and now I had to send him into a room full of people who were sick.

He was sick too, but I guess that didn't matter. Maybe he was worried that being there would put him at a higher chance of catching something else, I didn't know. But he couldn't stay here. Maggie and other people who weren't sick were here.

"Just stay here," I whispered, leaving his cell.

In the cell block, I saw that Glenn was out of his cell now, standing as far away as he could from everyone. Maggie also stood away from the group, in the opposite direction, and I knew they were getting ready to leave to take Glenn to Cellblock A.

"All the vulnerable have been moved out," Hershel was saying as I walked over to them.

"Then we can disinfect cellblock C," Rick said, glancing at Maggie.

"Isaac is sick," I blurted, and all eyes shot to me. "He's sick, and he won't go to A."

"Oh my God," Carol said.

"I was worried about this," Hershel said. "We could put Isaac in own his cell in the tombs, but I would have to check on him continually."

"Daddy, you have to be in the administration office."

"Maggie, he won't stay in A block with the others," Hershel said. "I can separate him and check on him to make sure he's okay. The last thing we need is for him to hurt himself because he's worried about catching something else."

"No," Maggie said. "You could get it too, he has to go with the others."

"I can look after him," Glenn said, coughing from the stairs. "If he comes to A I can look after him. Keep checking on him making sure he doesn't freak out or anything."

The room was silent for a while.

"Will that be okay?"

"This isn't a good solution," Hershel said. "He needs extra care."

"Right now, it's all we have," Carol said.

"I don't like it," I said. "But we still have to convince him to walk all the way there with Glenn and stay there."

Glenn nodded and followed me to Isaac's cell. He hadn't moved from the position that I left him in, if anything he'd managed to tighten himself into a smaller ball, squeezing one of his hands in the other as he mumbled to himself.

I wondered if I should've fought more for Hershel to take care of him in a different cell, but if anything happened to him while Hershel was busy, Isaac could die. His going with Glenn and them being there with Sasha was the best thing for him right now, even if he didn't see it.

"Isaac," I said. "Glenn is going to take care of you in A."

"No, no," he shook his head, but he entered the room.

Glenn kneeled almost a metre away from Isaac to give him the space he needed because I knew that Glenn being ill was enough to make Isaac freak out. "I'm going to bring you, okay?" Glenn said. "We can grab whatever you need, sanitizer, water to wash up, gloves, masks if you need them. You can have your cell, your own space. But we have to go. More people will get sick, and it will probably only be for a day or two. Daryl and Ace are going with a group to get medicine."

"You can take your drawing book," I hoped it would help, but Isaac's eyes widened.

"No, no I can't touch it. Not my book, not my gloves." His gloves. His book. He didn't want to touch his things out of fear that he'd infect them, and he still wanted them. He couldn't get his things dirty. "I don't want to get it . . . no."

"Okay, okay," I nodded. "I get it. I'm sorry."

"We're going to make it through this," Glenn said. "But you have to come with me. When we're gone they'll disinfect in here, change everyone's sheets, everything. So when you come back it will be the cleanest thing you've ever seen, okay?"

Isaac was quiet for a moment, considering. I knew Glenn had gotten his attention by saying that they would clean in here, which he knew they couldn't do if he stayed here. That was making this easier for him to agree to leave because now I could see in his eyes this place was starting to appear messy to him.

"Okay," he finally nodded.

"I'll have someone bring whatever you need," Glenn promised.

He reached a hand to Isaac to help, but Isaac just stared at him. Glenn got the hint and pulled his hand back, pushing himself to his feet.

"I'll walk the two of you over," I said.

Everyone moved as I walked Isaac and Glenn to A block. We made it outside, where I could see Isaac slowing his pace, changing his mind the closer we got. He was still muttering things to himself, things I couldn't hear or make out. Glenn and I just slowed and made sure he walked the whole way there.

"Find Sasha, she'll help you find a cell," Glenn said when Isaac paused outside of A block door. He could see inside through the glass, which I was sure was not helping him. "I'll take the one next to you and check in on you soon, bring you the things you need."

Isaac was quiet, thinking. Then he nodded and cringed as he entered Cellblock A. He glanced back to see if Glenn was following and gave a look of disdain when he saw that Glenn was hanging back for a second. But eventually, he went into A to find Sasha.

"I'll take care of him," Glenn told me, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I assumed that Maggie had told Glenn about my crush on Isaac, and that's why he agreed to watch out for him. They had never really spoken, never been close as far as I was aware. I appreciated it, instead of him going stereotypical protective brother, because now it was my turn to protect them.

"It's not just him I'm worried about."

"I'm going to be okay," he promised. "You'll be back with the meds today."

I felt my nose sting, and tears welled in my eyes as all the worst possible scenarios crossed my mind. What if we didn't get back in time? What if he didn't make it that long? What if he died before we got back?

I couldn't go through any of this without Glenn.

"Hey," he said, and I clenched my teeth together. "It's going to be okay."

"You can't promise that," I said.

"I can because I'm going to make it. I'll make sure I do. And Isaac. None of us are going to die, okay?"

A breath caught in my throat, but I nodded. "Okay."

They were going to make it.

They had to.

When I got my things ready for the run, I headed outside to meet Daryl. He pulled a car around and had the bonnet open so he could check if the car needed topping up on anything before we left. He checked the fuel first and saw that it was quite low.

I just sat back against the wall and waited, happy that Daryl said he would take over the car fixes so I could take a break.

"You okay?" I shook my head in reply, so Daryl asked. "What's wrong?"

"I'm worried about Glenn," I said quietly, and then added, "and Isaac."

"They're tough sons-of-bitches," Daryl said. "They're gonna be just fine. When we get back with these meds, we'll help 'em. Help everyone."

I nodded but sighed.

This was going to be a long trip because I knew that I would spend it panicking about what was happening with Glenn and Isaac, and their conditions. And then my mind wandered to the others, Sasha, Dr. S, everyone else who was sick. I hoped no one had died that I didn't know about. We'd lost so many people in the past few days.

I heard steps and came around the car to see Michonne walking over to us.

"Son-of-a-bicth is about a quarter low," Daryl told her.

"You still keep it in the bottom of tower three?" She asked.

"Yeah."

"I'll go get one," she said and turned around.

"Hey!" Daryl called after her. "I'm glad you're here."

"Where else would I be?" Michonne asked.

Daryl glanced down and wiped off the dipstick, he was quiet for a moment but turned his eyes to meet hers. "Running off."

Michonne seemed offended, and I glanced away. "You know I'm not running off."

She took a few steps back towards us, and Daryl gave a nod as a way of making her drop the subject. He took a rag to the engine again, and Michonne pressed her lips together and nodded, before letting out a sigh.

"So it's just gonna be us three like in the old days?" She asked, and sent a smile my way, leaning against the car.

Daryl looked up with a nod. "Yeah, and Bob. Still, feels like we could use more people."

"Who else isn't sick?" Michonne asked.

"We don't ask Rick," Daryl said. "He wants to stay here with Carl and Little Ass-Kicker. Keep them safe. Plus there's plenty of stuff he could do here."

"So who else we got?"

"Tyreese?"

"Tyreese?" I questioned, unsure.

"We don't have anyone else, he's good people."

"But he's angry," I said. "I know he doesn't mean it, but he's mad. And I don't know if you'll be able to get him to leave Sasha."

"Well, unless you got 'nother option?" Daryl asked, and I reluctantly shook my head. "Then I'll ask him."

Daryl left, leaving me and Michonne by the car. Michonne also said something about getting the petrol from tower three, and I was left alone.

I moved to sit against the wall while we waited, really having nothing to do while we waited for Bob and Daryl if he could convince Tyreese to come with us. With Sasha sick now, I doubted that he would come because he wouldn't want anyone to kill her, whoever did that.

Who could've done that?

I raked my mind for someone who could have or even would have, killed Karen and David. The last time anyone in my close group was killed was when we were fighting Woodbury. I doubted it was any of them because I didn't want it to be any of them. We couldn't count most of us anyway because we were stopping the fences from coming down.

It certainly wasn't Isaac. Even with proper protection, he didn't want Glenn to touch him, and they were both sick. As much as he hated the knowledge of sick people being around, I highly doubted that he would put himself in the way of germs just to kill them.

Honestly, it didn't even make sense that they were killed, and there was no way I could work out who did it, as much as I wanted to help Tyreese.

"How are you holding up?" Michonne asked.

I shook my head. "I'm trying hard not to have a panic attack."

Again, being asked about it, I was on the verge of tears. But I didn't let myself cry, I couldn't. There was too much we had to do for me to have a meltdown. I bit my tongue and breathed out, leaning my head back against the wall.

"I'm sorry," she gave a weak smile. "Can I do anything?"

"Just . . . don't die today," I asked.

"I'll try my best."

Michonne was quiet for a moment, and I could tell that she was thinking about something for a little while. I just leaned my head back against the wall and stared out at the field. I breathed a shaky sigh out of my nose and waited for her to finish whatever she was thinking about.

"You don't think I'm running off, do you?" She asked finally.

I was quiet for a moment, thinking. At first, I did, but I also wanted to be able to go with her, so it wasn't the same thing. The Governor was still out there, and I wanted him dead.

I also understood why the others thought that because it had been so long since we got a trail for the Governor. We searched around a few times after taking in the Woodbury people, but once found the town burnt to the ground a few days later, any trace we had of him was long dead.

"I think you were doing what you could to get over it," I answered. "I wanted to do the same. But after a while, he was gone."

"And you were needed here," she said.

"I missed you," I said. "I wanted you here."

"I know," she said. After a sigh, Michonne stood up. "I'm gonna get my things."

Daryl returned a little while later with Bob. There was no Tyreese, which meant that my concerns were true and he did not want to leave his guard from the people in the sick ward. I understood, still completely appalled that someone in the group killed two of our own. If anyone else was sick yesterday, they could have died too.

"Everything look alright?" Bob asked.

"Yeah," Daryl walked around to the driver's seat and leaned in through the front window to put his things inside. "Zach kept this thing running pretty good."

"This is Zach's car?"

"Yeah, fastest one we got," Daryl said.

Part of me didn't realise it was Zach's car until someone brought it up, and I felt sad and anxious all over again. I let out a sigh as my chest hurt and leaned back against the car, crossing my arms as I waited for us to leave.

"Ya alright?" Daryl turned to Bob.

"You really want me coming along?" Bob asked.

Daryl was silent as he pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, standing next to Bob he held the paper up for him to see. "What's that word?"

"Zanamivir."

"Yup, we need you," Daryl said, walking away but still frowning at the list.

As he walked around to stand next to me, I heard more footsteps and hoped that Michonne was back from getting her things, but it was Tyreese. He gave me one glance before turning to Daryl as he joined us.

"What's up?" Daryl turned to him.

"Still got room for one more?" Tyreese questioned.

"Hell, yeah."

"Good," Tyreese gave a nod. "Just got to get my gear."

When he turned back into the prison, Daryl gave a nod. "All right."

Ta Da (as Ace would say).

Got some chapters I actually like coming up soon if I can remember them correctly. A little stuck on some chapters between the war and Terminus so I need some time to wrap my head around those along with the shit coursework I need. Really I can't remember if I've posted an authors note in a while so I just wanted to make my voice heard.

Anyway, hope you all enjoyed and let me know what you think :)