The Ones Who Live - A Walking Dead Fanfiction

by Devlin2020

After a catastrophic plague threatened all of humanity, very few were lucky to survive it. Now they must band together to navigate the new world and all of its hidden dangers, without falling prey to an almost certain death.

King County Sheriff's Deputy Rick Grimes, was traveling down the deserted highway, enroute to Atlanta where an alleged safe zone was located. The deputy traversed the road cautiously, expecting the unexpected, as a multi-vehicle incident was several yards ahead of him.

He slowed the police cruiser to a stop, got out and opened the trunk. His vehicle, worn and afflicted by lazy maintenance, was the only thing that allowed him to continue on these roads. However, he needed fuel, and he needed it as soon as possible.

With the fuel canister in his hand, Rick advanced through the burned out vehicles on the road; vehicles that, due to the impact, must have started some conflagration. He soon found there wasn't much to salvage among the bent metal and broken glass.

So the Sheriff set off up the hill, to a small gas station. He quickly noticed how quiet it was, not even the birds chirped; everything seemed dead. The gas station at some point, was a small camp with tents, abandoned vehicles, clothes, food cans, and toys, but now it was a wasteland.

As he approached one of the vehicles, the distinct buzzing of flies made him peer inside, only to jump back. Inside was the body of someone long dead and decomposed. Rick grimaced at the stench and continued his journey to the pumps, only to be met with a bitter response - NO GAS.

Rick let out a heavy sigh, already feeling defeated before he even really began. So he continued to search among the wrecked vehicles for any that were in good condition, and maybe, by some miracle, still had gas. It was within his every intention to preserve the optimism of this situation, no matter how nasty it got.

A big part of him hoped to find more than fuel. He wanted to find what he was looking for. A sudden rustling noise off to the side caught his attention and he immediately froze. He dropped to the ground beside a car and looked underneath for the source; tiny feet encased in white bunny slippers were on the other side.

Rick jumped to his feet and rounded the car to greet the girl. With her back turned, she was like any other. She wore a dirty robe and her almost platinum blonde hair was messy and unwashed. Which would likely be a common ground everyone would share these days.

"Little girl–" Rick called out.

The little girl stopped.

"Little girl," He called again. "Please don't be afraid, I'm a Police Officer."

The girl slowly turned, and horror flashed across Rick's face - she was nothing like what he thought she would be. Her lost eyes fixated on him with utter dismay. She was covered in blood, and her face bore wounds and rotting sores from which her teeth could be seen protruding from her jaw.

She began to growl as she shuffled toward Rick; slow at first, then faster and faster. Rick backed away, hoping to put some distance between him and this monster. It was unreal. But despite being in danger, he hesitated a moment, contemplating his options, until she was close - too close for comfort.

He finally gained enough courage to draw his revolver, and the explosion of the bullet echoed throughout the dead camp and in his ears. The walker who tried to devour him, the little girl that once was, now lay dead with a hole in her head.

This was what the world had become.

…

Two months prior, Rick and his partner and best friend, Shane Walsh are eating hamburgers and fries inside their police cruiser. They joke about the differences between men and women. When the conversation turns to Rick's wife, Lori, he turns somber. He says that they've been fighting lately, and says that Lori accused him that morning of not caring about his family in front of their sons, Carl and Nathan. Suddenly, the cruiser's radio cracks to life reporting a high-speed pursuit in progress involving two armed suspects. Rick and Shane dump their food and rush to the scene. When they arrive, they lay down a spike strip and meet up with their co-workers, Lambert Kendal and Leon Basset. As they all wait for the car, Leon muses about their chances of getting on a police chase reality show.

Rick tells him to focus, and worry about having a round in his gun chamber and the safety off. At that moment, the car approaches, pursued by two more cruisers containing the Linden County Sheriff's Department officers. The car, with the suspects inside, speeds over the spike strip, shredding the tires. The driver loses control of the wheel and the vehicle flips off the road, rolling several times before coming to a rough stop upside down in a field.

Rick carefully approaches the overturned car. A man emerges from the vehicle and immediately starts shooting at the officers. Rick yells at him to drop his pistol, but the man shoots directly at Rick and hits him in the chest. Shane shoots the gunman, killing him as Rick falls to the ground.

A second man emerges from the vehicle brandishing a shotgun, but is also shot to death. Rick is revealed to be okay and injured having been wearing a bulletproof vest. He tells Shane to not tell Lori about what happened. Meanwhile, a third gunman unnoticed by everyone crawls out of the car and through the grass.

The man fires his gun and hits Rick in the side, where his vest does not protect him. He falls to the ground bleeding as Shane shoots and kills the third man before rushing to Rick's aid. He begs for Rick to stay with him, screaming at Leon to call an ambulance, but Rick remains motionless.

A while later, Shane delivers flowers to Rick in the hospital, but Rick isn't fully conscious while Shane starts talking to him. At an unknown time later, Rick awakens and responds to Shane's presence. He discovers that Shane is no longer there. The flowers have wilted and died, the beeping of the machines have stopped as has the clock; the room is empty. Weak, dehydrated and alone, Rick pulls himself out of bed, and falls onto the floor.

He calls out for a nurse to help him, but no one comes. Rick is able to get himself up, and he stumbles into the bathroom, drinking water directly from the tap, before he heads for the door. He opens the door and notices a gurney is blocking the entrance to his room. He pushes it aside and continues walking in the dark and disheveled hallway. The hallway's lights flicker and wires hang from the ceiling. He goes to the nurse's station and tries the phone, but it's dead.

He finds a set of matches while also looking for anything else worth taking from behind the desk. Suddenly, a flickering light draws his attention, and through a doorway, Rick sees the ravaged body of a nurse missing most of her skin. A horrified Rick backs away from this.

Continuing further down the hallway, he sees that the walls are covered in blood with numerous bullet holes. A double door leading into the cafeteria has been chained shut, a message scrawled across in black paint: "DON'T OPEN/DEAD INSIDE." A pair of gray disheveled hands reach through the cracks and fiddle with the padlock and chains, moaning and groaning as more fingers start to reach through the cracks growling. Terrified, Rick stumbles backwards.

He tries the elevator but it's dead, so he exits through a heavy door into a dark stairwell that reeks of rotting flesh. He chokes on the smell as he lumbers down the stairs, lighting matches until he finds the exit. A door opens to the back of the hospital into the loading bay. When Rick's eyes adjust to the bright sunlight, he sees hundreds of decayed, fly-covered bodies wrapped in sheets and arranged in rows and piles. He leaves the hospital and stumbles up a hill.

There's a military helicopter, sandbags and other signs of a military cordon, but everything has been abandoned. He wanders down the road in his hospital gown, spotting an overturned bicycle in a park. As he reaches for it, the badly decayed body of a mutilated woman, her legs and lips missing, turns and reaches for him, pathetically moaning and growling. Startled, Rick falls off the bicycle but regains himself a moment later, mounts the bike, and hastily rides away.

Rick bikes over to his home to find the front door open and the house deserted. Sobbing on the floor, he calls out for his family, questioning if any of this is real or if he's dreaming. He heads back outside the house and sits on the steps. He spots a man stumbling down the road and waves his hand to try and get his attention.

As he is doing this, a young boy creeps up from behind and hits him with a shovel. The boy's father, Morgan Jones, approaches the stumbling man Rick was waving to and shoots him in the head. He then proceeds to walk towards Rick and points a revolver in his face, demanding to know why his side is bandaged, but Rick passes out before he can answer. Later that night, Rick wakes up with his arms and legs tied to a bed. The young boy, Duane, stands guard with a baseball bat.

Morgan arrives and asks if he has been bit. Rick informs him that he has been shot and that is why he is bandaged. Morgan releases him from his bonds, but warns him he will kill him if he tries anything. Rick recognizes the home that they are in as his neighbors'. Rick then accuses Morgan of murder for shooting the man that Rick was waving to. But, Morgan implores that the man was a walker. He expresses dismay over firing that gun, as it draws more of them out.

He warns Rick not to open the covers he placed on the window, as the walkers outside will see the light and be drawn to the house. While they eat dinner, Morgan realizes Rick is unaware as to what has happened, so he informs him as to what happened. During Rick's time in a coma, the recently deceased suddenly began reanimating, and proceeded to devour innocent people, while turning others into walkers like them through bites.

Eventually this resulted in a worldwide societal collapse. Morgan tells Rick about what happens if a walker bites you, stating that the resulting fever will burn you out, before you then die and reanimate as a walker. Morgan states he saw it happen, but refuses to answer who he saw it happen to.

A car alarm suddenly goes off, and Duane turns off the lights in the house, as Rick and Morgan peer out to the street through heavy covered windows and boarded up doors. The street is filled with walkers, drawn by the noise of the alarm. When a woman wearing a nightgown appears and walks up to the front door of the house, Duane runs away crying. Morgan comforts his son while Rick stares at the woman through the peephole at the front door.

Morgan remorsefully tells Rick that the walker was his wife and when she died, he couldn't bring himself to kill her and so released her to allow her to roam the streets. The next morning, Rick walks outside in a face shield, carrying a baseball bat. Upon finding a nearby walker, Morgan tells Rick the only way to permanently kill one is to destroy its brain. Rick approaches the walker and swings the bat repeatedly at its head until it dies.

He quickly becomes fatigued, most likely from his still-healing gunshot wound. Back at Rick's house, he tells Morgan he thinks his wife and sons are still alive. He explains he found empty drawers in the bedrooms and the family pictures and photo albums were gone. Morgan laughs at this, mentioning that his wife was doing the same thing when they evacuated. Duane suggests to Rick that they could be in Atlanta. Morgan explains that the government was telling people to head to a refugee center there with military protection and food, before the broadcasts stopped. He also explains that the CDC is rumored to be working on a cure.

Rick, Morgan and Duane head to the King County Sheriff's Department, where they luxuriate in hot showers thanks to a separate propane heating system. As they dress, Morgan tells Rick that his family were headed to Atlanta but he and Duane never made it because they got "stuck" after his wife got bit, and after she died they just stayed hunkered down at the Drake's home. Afterward, Rick packs a duffel bag with guns and changes into his sheriff's uniform and hat.

He hands Morgan a rifle and some ammunition. They head outside and start loading the weapons into the trunk of his cruiser. Rick prepares to set off for Atlanta, while Morgan says he'll follow in a few days, once Duane has learned to shoot. Rick hands Morgan a walkie-talkie and he tells him to turn it on every day at dawn to make contact. Before leaving, Morgan gives Rick a warning that sometimes the walkers can amass into a herd, which can prove dangerous if encountered unprepared. Rick then spots a reanimated Leon who claws at the chain link fence separating them.

Rick admits he didn't think much of the young officer, but he won't leave him like this. He shoots the reanimated Leon in the forehead with his revolver, putting him down. Then, he and Morgan drive away from the sheriff's department in opposite directions. Rick returns to the park where he found the legless walker. He follows a blood trail for quite a distance to find her again, crawling helplessly. She reaches for him futilely. Rick apologizes to the walker for what has happened to her, and then remorsefully puts her down with a shot to the head. Later, en route to Atlanta on Highway 85, Rick sends out a broadcast on his cruiser's CB radio.

…

The sound of the CB receiving a transmission alerted everyone in camp. In the center of the site, on some logs, the old broadcast began with a constant message from a person unknown.

"Broadcasting on all emergency channels. Will be approaching Atlanta on Highway 85. If anybody reads, please respond. Hello. Hello. Can anybody hear my voice? Anybody out there? If anybody hears me, please respond. Hello, can you hear my voice?"

Amy quickly dropped what she was doing and ran to the radio.

"Hey? Hello?"

The whole camp stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to the radio.

"Can you hear my voice?"

The radio had a lot of interference, but Amy managed to understand.

"Yes, I can hear you, you're coming through. Over."

The person's message repeated again.

"Anybody who reads, please respond. Broadcasting on all emergency channels. Will be approaching Atlanta on Highway 85. Anybody reads, please respond."

"We're just outside the city–"

The radio went dead.

"Damnit. Hello? Hello? He couldn't hear me. I couldn't warn him." Amy panicked.

From the roof of his RV, Dale turned toward the camp and its survivors.

"Try again," Dale suggested. "You know best how to work this thing."

Shane wiped the sweat from his face and walked to the log where the radio was stationed.

"Is the person still on the air?" He asked, grabbing the radio. "This is Officer Shane Walsh, broadcasting to person unknown. Please respond."

There was nothing but static. Shane heaved a frustrated sigh and slammed the radio down.

"See? There are others," Lori said, glancing over her shoulder. "It's not just us."

"Yeah, we knew there would be," Shane reminded. "That's why we left the CB on."

"I've been saying it for a week–" She put her hands on her hips. "We should put signs up on 85 to warn people away from the city."

"Why don't we do that then?" Nathan suggested.

Lori sighed. "Honey, please–"

"What? We can do it."

"No."

"Shane taught me how to drive, we could–"

"I said no, and that's the end of it!" She scolded.

"Oh, come on!" Nathan begged. "Are we really going to sit here and let more people die when we have the power to change that?"

"I'm not putting anymore of my family in danger and that's all I'm going to say on the matter."

"Hey–" Shane interjected. "Listen to your mother."

Nathan watched Shane with fury in his eyes. The former police officer and friend of his father, was giving Nathan a look that he wanted to counter, but found it difficult. He was still a child and there wasn't much he could do to an adult.

"If you even try to set foot outside this camp–"

"I won't." Nathan swore.

The situation had overwhelmed Lori enough that she stopped what she was doing, and walked back to her tent, where she tried to calm the rage within her. But Shane entered in the tent just behind her, before she had the chance.

"Hey."

"I should go before he tries to do something stupid, I should–"

"What? No! Forget it," Shane ordered. "No one is leaving here. Not you, not Nathan, not anyone. Okay? I'm not putting any of you in danger, got it?

Lori heaved a sigh.

"Listen, you cannot walk off like that, all half-cocked and ready to fight the world. If you don't wanna do it for my sake or for your sake, that's fine. But you do it for them - those boys have been through too much."

Lori held back a flood of tears she didn't know she had left; giving her sons another piece of bad news was not a good idea right now.

"Okay, I'll stay"

"Man, who would've thought that I tamed you?" Shane smirked.

Lori returned the gesture; a small smirk replaced her frown. Shane leaned in and gently pressed his lips to hers, his hands reaching out and gripping her hips. However, the moment was short lived, as Carl called out.

"Mom?"

Shane and Lori parted as Carl entered the tent, like two kids caught by their parents.

"Hey, what's up buddy?" Shane ruffled the boy's hair.

"Is Nathan's leaving?" Carl worried.

"No," Lori insisted, hugging her youngest. "Not at all, okay? I don't want you to worry. Your brother isn't going anywhere."

Carl nodded and hugged his mother's side. Nathan, for his part, was trying to do the same. The teenage boy was sitting in his favorite spot in the camp, right under a large tree overlooking the quarry. From there, he could observe everyone and still have a view of the city. He could think and meditate on all that ailed him.

To tell the truth, for his age, too many things were troubling him. He kept his head busy at all times to avoid remembering. If it hadn't been for Shane, they would be dead. Still, Nathan was wary of the man, even if he felt guilty about it at times, the truth was that he couldn't help it.

"Hey Nathan." Amy waved.

"Hey."

"How are you feeling?"

He huffed. "My mom won't let me do anything, and to add to that, Shane is always taking her side."

"Well, it is dangerous out there."

"Then there's Shane–"

She nudged him. "He's protected us this far…he's not so bad."

Nathan frowned.

"Without Shane we wouldn't be alive right now. And as for your mom, she's just worried about you."

"I know," He said solemnly. "I just feel useless."

"You're not useless." Amy insisted.

"Yeah well, since I've been here I haven't been allowed to do anything."

"We're still adjusting–"

"I feel like I could do more."

Amy smiled and nudged him again. "If the others in camp had your attitude, I don't think there would be any more work to do."

Nathan smiled at Amy, a fellow survivor with whom he'd developed a close friendship with over the course of a few weeks.

"Heh, thanks."

"You're welcome," Amy said, standing. "I have to go pick some berries - you wanna join me? Maybe clear your head a bit."

"Yeah sure."

Amy reached out and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"It'll be okay. Promise."

He heaved a heavy sigh. "Thanks. I hope."

"Stay strong, Nate. We can handle this."

After leaving Amy, he returned to camp, where he noted that everything was seemingly back to normal. His mother was hanging laundry again, the children were doing their daily chores, and the others were doing what everyone else was trying to do.

Survive.

…

When Rick arrives in Atlanta, he discovers that there is no safe zone like Morgan and Duane described. The entire city is laid abandoned with the streets littered with dead bodies and abandoned military vehicles. Several walkers take notice of Rick and proceed to follow him.

Suddenly, Rick catches the reflection of a helicopter passing by through a skyscraper. He speeds up the horse to try and follow it but ends up running into a large herd of walkers. He fails to escape and topples off to the floor as the walkers start to devour the horse alive. While the walkers are distracted, he manages to scramble underneath an abandoned tank. Several walkers notice him and begin to reach out at him from underneath the tank. Rick shoots several of them, but is quickly outnumbered by the walkers. With no other option, Rick almost shoots himself in the head, but stops when he notices an open hatch underneath the tank.

He quickly climbs into it to escape the walkers. As he rests inside the tank, Rick takes the gun from an apparent dead soldier inside the tank, but the soldier suddenly wakes up; he is a walker. Rick quickly shoots the soldier in the head, but is then disoriented by the loud gunshot reverberating inside the tank.

As he recollects himself, he notices his bag of guns on the street. He opens a hatch on the top of the tank, but is quickly noticed by several walkers, who begin climbing on top attempting to get inside. He shuts the hatch, as walkers begin swarming the outside of the tank. Completely surrounded by walkers; Rick, unsure of what to do next, decides to attempt suicide again by placing his gun to his forehead, but before he can do it, he is interrupted by a voice that breaks over the CB radio in the tank. "Hey. Hey you, dumbass. You in the tank. Cozy in there?" the voice says. Rick looks up and slowly lowers the gun from his forehead in relief.

—

"You need to set the temperature first." Jim instructed.

"It looks hot." Nathan observed, squinting.

A burst of steam shot out, causing both men to rear back. Jim chuckled to himself, as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Heh yeah, but don't worry it's normal. Isn't it Dale?"

Jim and Nathan looked up just as Dale looked down.

"And it's going to stay that way until we find a new radiator hose."

"The highway would be a good starting point if we were to look."

"It'd be tough to travel–" Dale admitted. "Maybe when the others get back, we can organize something."

"We could go ourselves?" Nathan hinted.

"Nate–" Dale shook his head.

"Yeah, I know."

Jim snapped his fingers. "Come on kid."

It was true - the situation was difficult for everyone, especially the children; Nathan, Carl, Sophia, they were all just starting to find their footing in the old world, before being thrust into a dangerous new world. It became a priority for everyone in camp to keep the kids busy, so they wouldn't be reminded of their fate.

Lori stood beside Amy and Jacqui, as they waited for the voice to appear on the CB again. It seemed highly unlikely, but they still had hope.

"Dale, I'm heading out," She turned to her youngest son and knelt before him. "I want you and Nathan to stay where Dale can see you, okay?"

"Okay mom." Carl smiled.

While Jim explained the parts of an engine, Nathan, with his tools in hand, had his eyes on his mother as she entered the treeline. He found it odd since she didn't like to go anywhere alone, but when he saw Shane excuse himself from the RV, he knew why she wanted to pick berries.

With each step she took, the woods suddenly came alive; rustling leaves, squawking birds overhead, the snapping of twigs. She felt as if a million eyes were upon her and her skin began to crawl. She spun around, her heart threatening to leap from her chest. It couldn't be the dead, they made noise, but maybe it was a quiet one? Suddenly, a hand came from behind and covered her mouth, stifling a scream. Shane pressed his body against hers and moved close to her ear.

She relaxed some in his arms, but he could still feel her trembling.

"Shhh."

She ripped herself from his grip and shoved him.

"You scared the hell out of me!"

Shane smirked. "That's what you get for keeping me waiting."

The tense moment dissipated as Lori explained her reason for taking so long. She really didn't have to explain, but she wanted to. She didn't want him to think she wasn't interested.

"How much time do we have?"

"Enough."

And just like that, they were tearing each other's clothes off and falling to the ground. Their lips found one another in a passionate tango, as they finally let go of a week's worth of tension. Lori stopped abruptly and looked down at the locket that was wrapped around her neck - Shane frowned as he hovered above her. Rick meant a lot to them both and he was going to stop, but Lori lifted the necklace and placed it on top of her shirt. It was a green light for Shane, who was hungry.

He flipped Lori over, face down in the leaves. Nathan was damned with curiosity, always has been, but he quickly discovered something he shouldn't have seen. He was utterly mortified and he felt betrayed. His father wasn't even cold yet, and his mother was off sleeping with his best friend.

He suspected something was going on for weeks now, but didn't want to believe it.

…

In Atlanta, Rick tells the young man over the radio what he should do. The young man informs him that he is surrounded by walkers and advises him to make a run for it while they're distracted and busy eating his horse. Rick asks if the man on the other end can see his bag of guns, but is told that it's not an option. Rick collects a grenade from the dead soldier and a shovel from the floor of the tank. He pops through the top hatch and dispatches a walker with his shovel, jumps off of the tank, and runs down a nearby sidewalk toward an alleyway, shooting walkers along the way. He turns around a corner and is surprised by a young man, who reveals himself to be the one talking to him earlier over the tank radio. They race up a ladder to the roof, stopping to catch their breath on a platform halfway up.

Glenn introduces himself and Rick thanks him for saving his life. Upon walking across the roof, Rick thanks Glenn for saving him, and they walk down a staircase into an alley which is occupied by two walkers. Glenn radios his group, prompting two people wearing riot gear and brandishing baseball bats to emerge from the building and beat down the walkers. Rick and Glenn rush into the building, followed by the people in riot gear.

Inside the store, Andrea points a gun in Rick's face, furious at his recklessness. Morales informs Rick that his gunshots have attracted the horde of walkers to the doors of the store. A huge horde of walkers are gathered at the doors and windows of the store, furiously pounding at the glass in an attempt to gain entry.

The group questions Rick about what he was doing roaming around the streets of Atlanta aimlessly. He tries to explain he was trying to flag down a helicopter. The group say they didn't hear a helicopter, Jacqui suggests that it was just a hallucination. T-Dog tries to make radio contact with another unknown group, but fails to get a signal. Suddenly, they hear gunshots from the roof, and they rush to the roof to investigate.

On the rooftop, the group finds Merle firing at walkers in the street with a scoped rifle. Morales and T-Dog chastise Merle for wasting bullets and attracting more walkers. Merle scoffs at them and proceeds to racially insult Morales and T-Dog, before punching T-Dog to the floor. Merle then declares himself the new leader of the group and states if there are any objections in a mocking manner. Rick then suddenly hits Merle in the face with the butt of his rifle and then handcuffs him to a pipe on the roof. He searches Merle for weapons, but instead finds a bag of drugs, which he tosses over the side of the roof much to Merle's anger.

Morales informs Rick that there is no safe zone in Atlanta, but they are part of a larger group taking shelter on the outskirts of the city. With the streets unsafe to pass due to the walkers, Jacqui suggests they travel underground to escape, as the building will have access to the sewers. As the group travels downstairs, T-Dog stays behind to keep watch on Merle. In the basement, Glenn, Rick, Andrea, Morales, and Jacqui stand at the top of a ladder that leads into the sewer.

Rick and Andrea volunteer to stay in the store while Morales, Glenn and Jacqui go into the sewer to find a possible exit. On the roof, T-Dog unsuccessfully tries to radio to the group without success. Merle mocks his attempts, and tries to persuade him to release him from his handcuffs, but T-Dog refuses to. Glenn and Morales travel through the sewer until they reach a grated barrier. They discuss a plan to cut through the grate, until they find a walker devouring a rat on the other side.

As the walker attempts to reach them through the grate, they abandon the idea. In the store, Andrea spots a mermaid necklace and says her sister will love it as it is her birthday soon. Rick encourages her to take it, stating that shoplifting rules no longer apply in this world. Glenn, Morales and Jacqui return and state the sewers are unsafe to travel through. They venture back up to the roof. Rick spots a cube van at a nearby construction site a few blocks away. When discussing plans to bypass the walkers on the streets, Andrea states that the walkers smell dead while they don't, giving Rick an idea. He takes one of the bodies of the walkers Morales and T-Dog dispatched earlier in the alley. They acknowledge the walker's lost humanity. After the group shares a solemn moment of reflection, Rick begins hacking the dead body to pieces with the axe. Rick and Glenn then smear guts on themselves, disgusting everyone. Before leaving, Rick tosses T-Dog the key to Merle's handcuffs. Outside, Rick and Glenn crawl under the bus blocking the alley. They start to shuffle into the streets, mixing into the crowd of walkers unnoticed. Back in the store, T-Dog, Morales, Andrea, and Jacqui race to the roof to follow Rick and Glenn with a pair of binoculars, and T-Dog tries again to radio the others.

…

Back at camp, time felt as if it was standing still. While everyone was busying themselves with chores, Amy turned to the road, hoping to see the small group that had gone to Atlanta. She was anxious as she waited for her sister's return - hopefully safe and sound.

" It's late," Amy said, stating the obvious. "They should be back by now."

"Worrying like that won't solve anything, I'll tell you that much." Dale expressed, adjusting his hat.

"Got it?" Jim asked.

Just as Nathan nodded, the hose shot some steam. Jim jumped back and shook out his hand.

"I knew it, the Goddamn hose is shit!"

"And that means?"

"Either we find a new one, or the RV stays here."

Dale shook his head. "No, that's out of the question."

Amy took a step closer to Nathan and the RV; she could tell how distracted he was.

"Hey…you okay?"

"Huh?" He squinted. "Yeah–"

Nathan glanced over his shoulder, then stood up. Amy looked worried all day, but more so now as day turned into night.

"Don't worry, she's coming back…they all are."

She swallowed thickly. "I know."

He didn't want his issues to be known, especially now…it was more precarious than being too young to do anything. Nathan turned from the others and walked in the opposite direction, needing a moment to himself - which was rarely granted these days.

"And three, two, one...pull–"

Carl tried his best, but the knot simply unraveled between his small fingers. He and Shane shared a laugh, rather than bask in defeat.

"Start over–" Shane guided him. "That's right. Remember, around your finger."

Lori continued the laundry that she neglected earlier, as she watched Shane and Carl. She was glad that Carl had Shane and that he was somewhat oblivious to the newfound horrors. She only wished she could provide that for Nathan.

She looked up just in time to see him walking across camp and he looked upset.

"You wanna help me, sweetie?" She called out.

He looked back, then away, not in the mood to deal with her or anyone right now. And as he walked by Shane and Carl, he sneered. He didn't understand why his little brother looked up to him - he was a creep in every way possible.

Lori followed her older son's piercing gaze; it wasn't a friendly or playful look - something was wrong and she was going to follow after him, when suddenly, a voice on the CB broke through, startling her and everyone else in the vicinity.

"Hello, base camp! Can anybody out there hear me?"

Nathan hurried over. "Hello? The reception's bad, please repeat!"

"Is it them?" Lori asked.

Nathan glanced over his shoulder, CB mic in hand.

"We're in some deep shit here–" T-Dog shouted. "We're trapped in the department store!"

Everyone waited with baited breath, as horror crossed Amy's face.

"He said the department store." Lori said, stating the obvious.

"I heard that too." Dale confirmed.

"We should go to Atlanta!" Amy all but shouted.

"No way," Shane said firmly. "We do not go after them, and we do not risk the rest of the group. Y'all know that."

Nathan wanted to argue that logic, but Amy beat him to it.

"So we're just gonna leave her there?"

Shane heaved a sigh. "Look, Amy, I know that this isn't easy–"

"She volunteered to go to help!" She spat.

"And she knew the risks," Shane replied. "If she's trapped, she's gone. There's nothing we can do."

Amy's blue eyes blurred with tears. "She's my sister, you son of a bitch!"

She hurried away from the rest of the camp, off into the woods.

"Amy!" Nathan called out.

The boy turned and glared at Shane. The look was enough to confuse Shane - he'd been nothing but good to Lori and her boys. He saved them.

"Nate-"

He didn't let him finish, he took off in the woods in search of Amy. She was pacing back and forth, tears streaming down her face.

"Amy."

When she saw him, she rushed over and hugged him. Nathan welcomed her with open arms, understanding her all too well. When he lost his dad, he was despondent for a while, then angry. His thoughts were as loud as the thunder above them, and his mind filled with more questions than he had answers.

One thing was for certain though, their friendship and this hug, was more or less something they both needed.

…

Back in Atlanta, Rick and Glenn keep making their way through the crowd of walkers. Suddenly, rain begins to fall rather heavily, beginning to wash the guts' smell off of them. A nearby walker detects them as humans, and growls at Rick, who in turn, dispatches it with his axe. All the walkers nearby start to come after them. Rick and Glenn fight the walkers while continuing to run to the construction site where the cube van is as the group on the rooftop watches.

They are able to make it over the fence uninjured. Rick shoots at walkers while Glenn locates the keys. The crowd of walkers knocks down the fence and charges at them, but they speed away in the van just in time. On the roof, the group worries that they're being left behind. Rick orders Glenn to radio the group to get ready for pick-up, and mentions that they will need a way to lure the walkers away from the department store, eyeing a red Dodge Challenger sports car.

Rick smashes the driver's side window to gain entry, causing the car's alarm to blare loudly. The group grabs their bags and rushes from the rooftop toward the loading dock, with no concern for unlocking Merle's handcuffs. T-Dog reluctantly turns back as Merle begs and runs with the key in hand to set him free, however he slips and drops the key down a drain by accident. As Merle angrily curses at T-Dog, he abandons him on the roof, but not before chaining the door so walkers do not find him. Outside the loading bay at the back entrance of the store, with the walkers lured away by Glenn's car alarm, Rick pulls the van up and the group piles in, catching their breath as they drive away from the city. They look around at one another and a guilt-ridden T-Dog admits to the others he dropped the key, leaving Merle trapped on the roof. Andrea asks where Glenn is. On the road, Glenn drives the Dodge Challenger and speeds out of Atlanta while screaming in celebration.

—

"Baby the more you fidget, the longer it takes," Lori informed with a smile. "So don't, okay?"

"I'm trying–" Carl whined.

"Try harder."

Shane snickered. "If you think this is bad, wait until you start shaving; that stings. When that day comes, you'll be wishing for one of your mama's haircuts."

"I'll believe that when I see it."

"I'll tell you what," Shane said, settling into his seat. "You just get through this with some manly dignity, and tomorrow I'll teach you something special. I'll teach you to catch frogs."

"I've caught a frog before."

"I said frogs - plural," Shane replied. "And it is an art, my friend. It is not to be taken lightly. There are certain ways and means and I'm willing to share my secrets."

"Uhhh–" Carl looked to his mom.

"Oh, I'm a girl. You talk to him." Lori glanced over her shoulder, eyes zeroing in on her eldest.

He looked crestfallen, yet serious, as he did his chores, like he was avoiding them and maybe he was; he'd been through too much in just a short amount of time, and she would totally understand if he wanted to be by himself for a while.

"Don't worry about him. He'll be fine."

"You think?" Lori asked.

"He's a teenager–"

Suddenly, a car alarm sounded off through the mountain, drawing everyone to the RV. Through his binoculars, Dale could see a red sports car barreling up the winding path.

"I'll be damned!" Dale exclaimed.

"What's going on?" Nathan asked, looking up.

"What is it?" Amy asked. "Is it them?"

"A stolen car is my guess."

The car finally crested the hill and came to an abrupt halt in front of the RV, a cloud of dust and gravel to follow.

"Turn that damn thing off!" Dale shouted.

"I don't know how!" Glenn panicked.

Everyone began to panic, as the noise ripped through their peaceful, yet slightly unconventional, abode. They knew it would only attract trouble.

"Glenn, my sister Andrea–"

"Pop the damn hood!" Shane demanded.

Glenn, confused, heeded Shane's request as Amy followed him like a lost puppy.

"Is she okay? Is she all right?"

"The damn hood!" Shane yelled.

Jim ran over, as Shane lifted the hood. He reached inside and was finally able to disconnect the horn, putting an end to the infernal noise.

"She's okay!" Glenn replied to Amy.

"Is she coming back?" Amy asked.

"Yes!"

"Why isn't she with you? Where is she? Is she okay?"

Glenn was dazed with the sound of the alarm still ringing in his ears, but was able to answer all of her incessant questions.

"Yes, she's fine! Everybody is...well, Merle, not so much."

"Are you crazy, driving this wailing bastard up here?" Shane snapped. "Are you trying to draw every Walker for miles?"

"I think we're okay." Dale announced.

"You call being stupid okay?" Shane retorted.

"It was echoing all over the woods, kinda hard to pinpoint the source," He shrugged. "But…it wouldn't hurt you to think things through a little more carefully next time, would it?

Glenn ducked his head, blushing. "Sorry…got a cool car though."

When the situation returned to normal, the group watched as a box truck pulled up behind Glenn's stolen….or borrowed, car. And as soon as the truck stopped, Andrea stepped out of the back.

"Amy!"

"Andrea!"

Both sisters ran to each other, a crying mess, and embraced.

"Oh my god! You scared the shit out of me!" Amy cried.

As Morales stepped out of the van and was greeted by his wife and children, Nathan walked over to Carl. The sight of the children hugging their father, relieved and happy, must've been hard on the younger boy. It was hard for Nathan too, but it was easier for him to hide his emotions.

Lori came up behind her boys and put a gentle hand on each of their shoulders. Nathan eyed her out of the corner of his eye, wanting to shake her hand off, but ultimately deciding against it.

"I thought we had lost you folks for sure." Dale said, side hugging T-Dog.

"How'd y'all get out of there anyway?"

"New guy got us out."

"New guy?" Shane asked.

"Hey, helicopter boy! Come say hello!" Morales called out. "He's a cop just like you."

Rick had plenty of time to mull over everything that happened and it was already taking its toll. The cries of joy and relief were something he could hear and feel clearly; it conveyed a particular anguish inside of him.

After looking in the rearview mirror, and noticing how haggard he looked at the ripe age of 32, Rick proceeded to exit the truck. Far be it from him to expect such a pleasant surprise. Shane was the first to see him; Carl, Nathan, and Lori slowly turned their heads, seeing something that should've been impossible.

"Oh…Oh my god." Rick whispered.

"Dad! Dad!" Carl shouted.

Carl was the first to jump into his father's arms, who had fallen to his knees. Behind him followed Lori, who, shocked to see her husband alive, threw herself into his arms. Nathan took a long time to process the moment; it seemed idyllic, like a scene from a movie or tv show. Rick searched for Nathan as Lori and Carl hugged his side - he urgently waved him over, wanting to feel his son again. It felt like it'd been ages since he last hugged him or saw his face.

Nathan took several cautious steps forward, and when the overwhelming feeling of shock and confusion dissipated, he quite literally jumped on his father.

"Dad!"

"My boys, oh my boys, thank you God, thank you!" Rick cried.

The Grimes family was reunited again, to the joy of several, and to the bitterness of one.

…

Rick's arrival brought the camp some relief and a sense of hope. For them, Shane was the de-facto leader, but now they could have two. Glenn, Andrea, and the others saw Rick as another line of defense and they could use it. In the silence of the night and in front of a roaring campfire, Rick held his wife and sons close as the questions continued. He didn't mind it though, because it meant he was alive.

"Disoriented…I guess that comes closest. Disoriented. Fear, confusion, all those things, but...disoriented. I felt like I'd been ripped out of my life and put somewhere else. For a while, I thought I was trapped in some dream...something I might not ever wake up from."

"I knew you were alive," Nathan said. "I always had a feeling you were out there somewhere."

Rick smiled and squeezed Nathan's shoulder.

Carl hesitated, as he hugged his father's leg.

"Shane said you died..."

Shane stared at Carl through the dancing flames, then Nathan - who looked away when they locked eyes.

"He had every reason to believe that." Rick confirmed.

"When things started to get really bad, they told me at the hospital that they were going to medevac you and the other patients to Atlanta. It never happened."

"I'm not surprised after Atlanta fell."

"And from the look of the hospital, it got overrun." Lori added.

"Yeah, looks don't deceive," Shane exclaimed. "I barely got them out, you know?"

"I can't tell you how grateful I am to you, Shane. I can't even begin to express it."

Nathan looked between his father, Shane and his mom. They looked uncomfortable, but no one else saw it; at least, no one else wanted to show that they knew. Although if they saw what he saw the other day, they might see the tension.

Behind them, Ed put another log on his fire - his family mere outcasts from the rest of the group.

"Hey Ed, you wanna rethink that log?" Shane asked.

"It's cold." Ed replied.

"The cold doesn't change the rules, does it? We keep our fires low, just embers, so we can't be seen from a distance."

The temperamental man pursed his lips and glared at Shane.

"I said it's cold. You should mind your own damn business for once."

They all watched as Shane, also known for his temper, got up and walked over to Ed.

"Are you sure you want to have this conversation, man?" He questioned, leering over the man in question.

Ed seemed to falter, after realizing he was now outnumbered; the new guy provided a buffer they all needed.

"Go on, put the damn thing out." Ed ordered Carol.

Carol pulled the log out of the fire, then doused it with some water; her young daughter, Sophia, clinging to her side.

Nathan watched in silence, as he sometimes did. It was his way of observing any kind of hidden dangers. He frowned, watching Shane stomp on the dying embers of Ed's fire. The older man just refused to listen to reason, even after his lesson from earlier in the day.

"Hey Carol, Sophia, how are y'all this evening?" Shane asked.

"Fine," Carol said with a simulated, uncomfortable smile. "We're just fine."

"Okay, good."

"I'm sorry about the fire." She apologized.

"No apology is needed. Y'all have a good night, okay?"

"Thank you."

"I appreciate the cooperation." Shane said.

Once back in front of the fire alongside the others, Dale brought a fundamental question to light….so to speak.

"Have you given any thought to Daryl Dixon? He won't be happy to hear his brother was left behind."

"I'll tell him," T-Dog said, guilt crossing his features. "I dropped the key. It's on me."

"I cuffed him," Rick reminded. "That makes it mine."

"Guys, it's not a competition," Glenn intervened. "I don't mean to bring race into this, but it might sound better coming from a white guy."

Glenn's cold, rational words did not resonate well with T-Dog.

"I did what I did," T-Dog replied. "Hell if I'm gonna hide from him."

"We could always lie." Amy suggested.

"Or tell the truth," Replied her older sister, Andrea. "Merle was out of control. Something had to be done, or he would have gotten us all killed. Rick did what was necessary. And if Merle got left behind, it is nobody's fault but Merle's.

"And that's what we tell Daryl?" Dale questioned. "I don't see a rational discussion to be had from that, do you? Word to the wise, we're going to have our hands full when he gets back from his hunt."

"I was scared and I ran," T-Dog waved his hand. "I'm not ashamed of it."

"We were all scared. We all ran. What's your point?" Andrea asked.

"I stopped long enough to chain the door," T-Dog explained. "The staircase is narrow. Maybe half a dozen geeks can squeeze against it at any one time. It's not enough to break through that...not that chain, not that padlock. My point; Dixon's alive and still up there, handcuffed on that roof. That's on us."

Lori sent her children to the tent they shared, once the conversation took a more serious turn. There were still a few things she'd like to preserve in their lives and their innocence was one of those things. Rick did his part by escorting them both to the tent; all three protected by the Colt Python strapped to his hip.

"I found you, didn't I?"

Nathan and Carl both smiled.

"I love you, Dad."

"I love you," Rick kissed Carl on the forehead then his eldest. "And I love you, Nathan."

"I love you."

Nathan watched his father leave their tent, where his mother awaited him on the outside. His moment of happiness quickly turned sour, as he listened to his mom and dad. He knew a few things that might ruin their marriage, but for the time being he would just have to keep quiet. Rick laid down on the makeshift bed beside Lori, wrapping his arms around her and sliding her closer. Just the other day he was hugging a pillow that he imagined was her, and now here she was.

Sometimes he felt like he was dreaming.

"I found you." Rick whispered.

"Yeah."

"I knew I would." He said, nuzzling closer.

"You're getting cocky now." She breathed.

"No, I just knew," Rick assured. "Walking into our home, finding an empty house, all of you gone–"

"I'm so sorry–"

"I knew you were alive."

"How?"

Rick smiled. "The photos were gone, all our family albums."

Lori chuckled as she reached for a picture she cherished more than anything; one of the last holidays they all shared together as a family.

"I told you so."

"Now you're getting cocky," Lori snickered. "Like a lot."

Rick chuckled as they both reminisced about Carl's last Birthday, Nathan's last Birthday, their many family vacations - all full of joy. Then Rick handed her the photo from his squad car, one that he cherished more than anything and was all he had just a few days ago.

"It belongs here." Rick said.

"I really thought I'd never see you again," Lori whispered. "I'm so sorry...for everything. I feel like–"

At that moment, words were too difficult for Lori and tears flooded her vision.

"When you were in the hospital, I just...I wanted to take it all back...the anger and all the bad times. But the mistakes–"

Rick kissed her.

"We get a second chance, and not many people get that."

She nodded, sniffling. "Yeah we do."

In the next tent, Carl stared up at the half open flap. He couldn't sleep tonight, he had way too much on his mind.

"Are you awake?" Carl whispered.

"Mhm."

"How did you know Dad was still alive?"

Nathan opened his eyes and looked across the tent.

"Hope was all I had," He replied. "We're all alive because we've held onto some sort of hope."

"I don't get it."

Nathan snickered.

"Look at it like this…we wanted Dad to be alive so badly that it came true."

"Do you think we'll be okay now?" Carl asked.

"If you hold onto hope, even in the darkest moments, even when everything seems lost, you'll be unstoppable. If we have hope - we'll all be okay."

Shane sat atop the RV, his rifle laying across his legs. He couldn't help but angle his chair towards Lori and Rick's tent, watching and listening. He knew what they were doing, he wasn't stupid. He just had a little bit of hope that she would be his and they would all be a family….silly him.

As a thunderstorm raged overhead, Shane raged from within. A part of him was glad that Rick was alive, but another part was resentful. He knew it was wrong to feel this way, he just didn't give a damn.

…

The next morning, Rick woke from a deep sleep, finally refreshed. He reached over and saw that Lori was gone, in fact, her side of their makeshift bed was completely cold. After dressing, he stepped out of the tent and realized it was late, later than he anticipated.

"Morning. They're still a little damp," Carol greeted, referring to his uniform. "The sun will have them dry in no time."

"You washed my clothes?"

"The best I could," She smiled. "Scrubbing on a washboard isn't half as good as my old Maytag back home."

"That's very kind of you. Thank you."

Rick moved through the camp until he saw Dale, Jim, and Nathan scrapping the fancy muscle car, as Glenn hovered close by, a permanent scowl on his face.

"Look at 'em," Glenn scoffed. "Vultures. Yeah go on, strip it clean."

"That's what we're doing." Nathan joked.

"Funny."

"Generators need every drop of fuel they can get," Dale reminded. "No power without it. Sorry, Glenn."

"Thought I'd get to drive it at least a few more times."

"Maybe we'll get to steal another one someday." Rick tried, patting his shoulder. When Glenn didn't respond to his optimistic outlook, he walked over to Nathan, figuring he'd have better luck with him; he was always more optimistic than Lori was.

"Didn't think I'd ever see you getting into mechanics."

"Dale and Jim have been teaching me."

"Nothing like having a good assistant," Jim teased, easing back under the hood. "Here, help me with this one–"

"Glad to see you doing this and not playing those video games."

"It's therapeutic in a way, you know?"

"Well keep it up," Rick assured. "You're doing good."

Nathan finally felt acknowledged and by a person he truly respected and honored. He could feel his confidence soaring just a little higher. Rick began scanning the camp looking for Lori, and when he found her hanging clothes on the line, he snuck over and wrapped his arms around her.

"Morning officer." She teased.

"Morning–" He kissed the side of her face.

"You sleep okay?"

"Better than I have in a long time."

"I didn't want to wake you up. I figured you could use the sleep."

Lori turned, a wet shirt in her hands. She searched Rick's face and soon found the answer; he was very easy to read.

"What?"

"I've been thinking about the man we left behind."

She scoffed. "You're not serious–"

As Shane returned to camp with some water, he heard the heated conversation between Rick and Lori. He couldn't deny the excitement he felt, but as leader he had to think rationally; any louder and he'd have to say something to de-escalate.

"Are you asking me or telling me?"

"Asking."

"Well I think it's crazy," Lori huffed. "And I think it's stupid to go back out there after the hell you went through to find us–"

Suddenly, a pair of screams broke through the tension that blanketed the camp. Everyone knew the screams were not normal, especially when everyone knew not to make noise. It meant one thing and one thing only…danger.

As Lori and Rick left their tent, they saw Nathan running in the direction of the screams. Of course he would, he was the son of a cop!

"Nathan!" Lori screamed.

"Nathan, wait!" Rick shouted.

"Carl!" Nathan shouted as the boy ran into his arms.

"Oh God!" Lori exclaimed.

A walker was hunched over a dead deer, devouring its insides. It was unaware of their presence, even the mumbled gasps and declarations didn't grab its attention. They figured it was the perfect opportunity. So without a word, the men of the camp fell upon the walker with a variety of weapons.

The creature roared and snarled viscerally, until Dale appeared, and with one swing of his ax, he severed the creature's head. Ending the non-existent life of an undead creature. Lori wrapped her arms around both Nathan and Carl; one on each side, much like when they were little.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Lori questioned.

"I'm okay." Carl replied, voice a little shaky.

"That's the first one we've had up here," Dale said. "They've never come this far up the mountain."

"How did it get here?" Nathan asked.

"Maybe they're running out of food in the city–"

From the woods, the group heard branches and twigs snapping like someone was fast approaching them. Shane cocked his gun, and everyone braced for more walkers. But it was only Daryl Dixon and thankfully so.

"Jesus–" Dale breathed.

"Son of a bitch, that's my deer!" Daryl yelled. "Look at it. All gnawed on by this…filthy, disease-bearing, motherless poxy bastard!"

Daryl kicked the corpse repeatedly, letting off some much needed steam.

"Calm down, son, that's not helping." Dale assured.

"What do you know, old man?" Daryl snapped. "Why don't you take that stupid hat and go back to 'On Golden Pond'? I've been tracking this deer for miles. Was going to drag it back to camp and cook us up some venison. What do you think? Can we cut around this chewed-up part right here?"

"I wouldn't risk that." Shane admitted.

"That's a shame. Well, I got some squirrels…about a dozen or so. That'll have to do."

Daryl strolled back toward camp with the group in tow, ready for the drama that would ensue.

"Merle! Get your ugly ass out here! I got us some squirrels! Let's stew 'em up."

"Daryl….just slow up a bit," Shane warned. "I need to talk to you–"

"About what?" Daryl demanded.

"About Merle," Shane said, hand on hip. "There was…a problem in Atlanta."

There was a moment of silence, before he replied. "He dead?"

"We're not sure."

"He either is or he ain't!" Daryl snapped.

"No easy way to say this, so I'll just say it." Rick stepped up.

"Who're you?"

"Rick Grimes."

"Rick Grimes, got something you want to tell me?"

Rick considered his words for a moment, before speaking. It was clear that Daryl was a loose cannon just like his brother, Merle.

"Your brother was a danger to us all, so I handcuffed him on a roof….on a piece of metal. He's still there."

"Hold on - let me process this. You're saying you handcuffed my brother to a Goddamn roof, and you left him there?!"

"Yeah." Rick nodded.

Daryl tossed the bundle of squirrels and lunged for Rick, but Shane intervened, shoving Daryl to the ground. Daryl reached for his knife, only to fail miserably as Shane wrapped an arm around his neck.

"Stop!" Shane ordered.

"You'd best let me go!" Daryl yelled.

"Nah, I think it's better if I don't."

"Chokeholds' illegal!"

"You can file a complaint. We can keep this up all day."

Rick knelt down in front of Daryl. "Listen, I'd like to have a calm discussion on this topic. Do you think we can manage that?"

Daryl, not given much of a choice, nodded. And when he calmed down, Shane released him from the so-called chokehold.

"What I did was not on a whim," Rick exclaimed. "Your brother….he does not work and play well with others."

"It's not Rick's fault," T-Dog said. "I had the key. I dropped it."

"You couldn't pick it up?"

"It went down a drain." T-Dog replied, embarrassed.

"If that's supposed to make me feel better, it doesn't."

"Well maybe this will," T-Dog offered "I chained the door to the roof…so the geeks couldn't get at him. It's gotta count for something.

"Hell with all y'all! Just tell me where he is so I can go get him."

"He'll show you," Lori said, looking at Rick. "Isn't that right?"

"I'm going back."

Lori walked away from the others to the RV. The atmosphere was unpleasant and she couldn't stand it anymore - something had to give.

"So that's it, huh?" Shane exclaimed. "You're just gonna walk off? Just to hell with everybody else?"

"I'm not saying to hell with anybody, not you, Shane."

"Lori, least of all. Tell her that."

"She knows."

"Look, I don't know about this–" Shane admitted. "So could you just…could you throw me a bone here, man? Could you just tell me why? Why would you risk your life for a douchebag like Merle Dixon?"

"Hey, choose your words more carefully." Daryl warned.

"No, I did. Douchebag's what I meant," Shane replied. "Merle Dixon, the guy wouldn't give you a glass of water if you were dying of thirst."

"What he would or wouldn't do doesn't interest me. I can't let a man die of thirst. We left him like an animal caught in a trap. That's no way for anything to die, let alone a human being."

"So you and Daryl, that's your big plan?" Shane asked.

Rick looked over at Glenn.

"Oh, come on!" Glenn exclaimed.

"You know the way. You've been there before–"

"That's just great," Shane smacked his leg. "Now you're going to risk three men, huh?"

"Four," T-Dog announced, walking to the truck. "I'm partially to blame - it wouldn't feel right if I didn't go."

Daryl huffed. "Well this just keeps getting better and better."

"It's not just four," Shane explained. "You're putting every single one of us at risk - just know that, Rick. Come on, you saw that walker. It was here. It was in camp. They're moving out of the cities. They come back, we need every able body we've got. We need 'em here. We need 'em to protect the camp."

"It seems to me what you really need most here are more guns." Rick observed.

"Right, the guns." Glenn said with a nod.

"What guns?" Shane asked incredulously.

"Six shotguns, two high-powered rifles, over a dozen handguns. I cleaned out the cage back at the station before I left. I dropped the bag in Atlanta when I got swarmed. It's just sitting there on the street, waiting to be picked up."

"Ammo?"

"700 rounds; assorted."

"You went through hell to find us," Lori reminded, rejoining the conversation. "You just got here, and you're gonna turn around and leave again?"

"I don't want you to go." Carl said.

"To hell with the guns. Shane is right. Merle Dixon? He's not worth one of your lives, even with guns thrown in. Tell me. Make me understand."

"I owe a debt to a man I met and his little boy," Rick explained solemnly. "If they hadn't taken me in, I would've died. It's because of them that I made it back to you at all. They said they'd follow me to Atlanta - they'll walk into the same trap I did if I don't warn him."

"So what's stopping you?"

"The walkie-talkie, the one in the bag I dropped," Rick explained. "He's got the other one. Our plan was to connect when they got closer."

"These our walkies?" Shane asked.

"Yeah."

"So use the CB. What's wrong with that?" Andrea asked.

"The CB's fine," Shane explained. "It's the walkies that suck. Date back to the '70s; don't match any other bandwidth. Not even the scanners in our cars."

"I need that bag, okay?" Rick said to his wife.

"All right," Lori finally conceded. "All right, go."

Rick knelt down in front of Carl.

"Okay?"

Carl nodded, lower lip quivering. Rick stood and looked around for Nathan, only to realize he wasn't in camp. He left the others in search of his eldest, then found him sitting in his usual spot, overlooking the quarry, lost in thought.

"Hey." Rick called out.

Nathan watched him in silence, before turning back to the quarry.

"Are you planning to go back to the city?"

"I have to," Rick explained carefully. "There's a lot of guns and ammo in that bag, and then there's also the matter of Merle–"

"The guns I can understand, but Merle Dixon - of all people?"

"I know it's not easy, and maybe he wouldn't do the same for me–"

"But you're not him." Nathan reminded.

Rick nodded, dropping his head.

"Can I go?"

"Nate–"

"I want to help you."

"Look, I don't plan on putting you or anyone else in danger, okay?"

Nathan frowned.

"I understand that you want to help, and I appreciate the offer, but out there….is complete chaos–"

Rick knew it would be difficult to convince Nathan, he was too much like him when he was that age; stubborn, curious and wanting to change the world. He reached behind him and pulled a handgun from the waistband of his jeans.

"Here…you remember how to use it?" Rick asked.

"I…think so," Nathan said cautiously. "But…what would mom say?"

"Let me deal with your mother," Rick replied. "I trust your judgment. But it's only to be used in an absolute emergency…understood?"

Nathan nodded, squeezing his hand around the butt of the pistol.

"I'll see you later," Rick said, patting Nathan's shoulder. "Look after your mom and your brother while I'm gone."

"I will."

After hugging his father goodbye, Nathan made his way back to camp and to the tent that he and Carl shared. He stuffed the gun under his pillow, feeling a sense of pride; his father was putting his mother and brother's lives in his hands - it was a big job and not just for anyone.

…

In Atlanta, the group parks beside a railroad line. Daryl threatens T-Dog if Merle's not okay, but T-Dog insists that the undead can't get through the chains on the door. As they travel on foot below a highway overpass, Glenn decides the group should go for Merle first, because going for the guns would mean doubling back.

…

Despite the minor hiccup, camp returned back to normal again, or about as normal as they could get these days.

"Hey Dale, have you seen Nathan and Carl?" Lori asked.

Dale nodded, shielding his eyes from the sun. "Shane took Carl down to the quarry - there was some mighty bold talk about catching frogs. And as for Nathan, Amy asked him to help her with laundry."

The annoyance on her face at the mere mention of Shane, had Dale raising an eyebrow. She thanked the older man and walked to the edge that overlooked the quarry. And there down below, the women and Nathan did the laundry, while Shane and Carl tried catching some frogs.

"Hey Nate, you helping us today?" Andrea questioned.

"Yes…well I was sorta enlisted to help." He teased.

"You help out your momma a lot?" Jacqui asked.

"I used to."

Amy smiled at Nathan as she scrubbed a shirt. Yes he was helping, but he had an ulterior motive to keep an eye on Shane. He didn't think he would do anything to Carl - no, he was great with him. He just wanted to make sure he didn't go off looking for another meeting with his mom.

"I'm not getting anything," Carl whined.

Shane was wading waist deep in the water right in front of him, hoping to scare up some frogs.

"Little suckers, they know something's up," Shane chuckled. "That's what's going on. We're just going to have to do this the old-fashioned way."

Shane moved a little closer to Carl.

"You are the key to all this. Now all I'm gonna do is go after one of them and scare the rest of them off. They're all gonna scatter, but I'm gonna drive 'em your way."

"All right."

"What you need to do is you need to round up every bad boy you see, all right? Are you with me?"

Carl smiled. "Yeah!"

"Hell yeah. Give me your mean face!" Shane growled, gritting his teeth.

Carl laughed and gritted his teeth.

"Are you ready? Here we go!"

Carl laughed as Shane splashed the water around.

"I'm beginning to question the division of labor here." Jacqui said.

Andrea nodded.

"Can someone explain to me how the women ended up doing all the Hattie McDaniel work?" Jacqui asked.

"The world ended. Didn't you get the memo?" Amy teased, her eyes wandering to Nathan. "Hey…you okay?"

"Yeah just...daydreaming." Nathan snickered.

"It's just the way it is, Jacqui." Carol spoke, albeit, quietly.

The women all felt Carol's anxiety, as her husband Ed, watched them from afar.

"I miss my Maytag."

Andrea sighed. "I miss my Benz, my sat nav."

"I miss my coffeemaker with that dual-drip filter and built-in grinder, honey." Jacqui remembered.

"My computer, texting."

"I miss a room of my own." Nathan said out loud and to no one in particular.

"Yes I agree."

"Me too." Amy chirped.

"I guess the RV is fine until you remember what it was like to have your own bed." Andrea stated.

"I miss my vibrator." Carol said.

Everyone paused what they were doing, staring at Carol for what felt like minutes, when it was only seconds. They all burst into healthy laughter, as Nathan shrunk away; blushing profusely. They were not expecting her to say that, least of all, Nathan. He felt that this conversation was no longer for his ears anymore.

"What's so funny?" Ed demanded.

They all fell silent, as Ed stalked over.

"Just swapping war stories, Ed." Andrea mocked

Nathan watched as Ed took another few menacing steps towards them.

"Problem, Ed?" Andrea asked.

"Nothing that concerns you," He replied. "You ought to focus on your work. This ain't no comedy club."

While Ed stood over the women, Nathan saw his mother coming down the dusty quarry road.

"Hey Carl, what did I tell you about not leaving Dale's sight!" Lori called.

"But...Shane said we could catch frogs, remember?"

"It doesn't matter what Shane says," Lori replied imperiously. "It matters what I say. Go on back to camp. I'll be right behind you."

Carl looked to Shane, who only gave Carl a sympathetic look. He slowly climbed out of the water and started back to camp. Nathan lowered his head, listening to his mother and Shane's conversation. He could barely understand what they were saying, especially with Amy trying to talk to him.

"I don't think you should be taking this out on him." Shane said.

"You don't tell me what to do," Lori reminded. "You lost that privilege."

"Lori, could you hold on a second?" Shane pleaded, approaching. "I think we should talk. We haven't had a chance–"

"No. That's over, too. You can tell that to the frogs."

"Damn it, Lori. Look, I don't know how it looks to you or what you think–"

"How does it look to me? Excuse me. Is there a gray area here? Let me spell it out for you; stay away from me. Stay away from my son. Don't look at him. Don't talk to him. From now on, my family is off-limits to you."

"I don't think that's fair–"

"Shane, shut up. Don't."

"I don't think–"

"My husband is back. He's alive."

"He's my best friend. You think I'm not happy about that?"

Lori squared her shoulders.

"How dare you? Why would you be?" She asked with great indignation. "You're the one who told me he was dead. You son of a bitch."

She saw that Nathan was with Amy and debated whether to take him back too, but she decided against it. He was much older than Carl and had a decent head on his shoulders; he could decide for himself most of the time. Nathan watched as Shane sat down on some rocks, wounded from the conversation. He didn't feel bad for him, because Shane took advantage of his mom when she was weak and vulnerable. He didn't view him as a hero like Carl did.

"Ed, I'll tell you what," Andrea stood. "If you don't like the way the laundry is done, you're welcome to pitch in and do it yourself. Here."

Andrea tossed a shirt that belonged to him. Nathan turned when he heard the wet smackback.

"Hey!" Andrea shouted.

"Ain't my job, missy." Ed said as he lit another cigarette.

"Andrea, don't–" Carol pleaded.

"What is your job, Ed?" Andrea snapped. "Sitting on your ass smoking cigarettes?"

"Well, it sure ain't listening to a haughty, know-it-all bitch," Ed sneered. "Tell you what, come on. Let's go".

Ed ordered Carol to stand with the wag of his fingers; she obeyed like the victim she was.

"I don't think she needs to go anywhere with you, Ed!" Andrea placed herself between Ed and Carol.

"And I said it's none of your business," Ed retorted. He turned to Carol. "Come on now. You heard me."

"Andrea, please," Carol murmured.

"Hey, don't think I'm not gonna to kick your ass just because you're a dumb college girl, okay?" Ed sneered. "Come now, or you'll regret it later."

"So she can show up with fresh bruises later?" Jacqui snapped. "Yeah, we've seen them."

Ed laughed. "You know what? This is none of your business either."

Ed grabbed Carol's arm, but Andrea and Jacqui yanked her away.

"You better get the hell out of here!" Nathan threatened.

And with a certain fury in his eyes as he shoved Ed - even though the man was almost twice his size, the boy had passion and remarkable integrity, just like his father.

Ed chuckled and leaned in. "You think just because daddy came back from the dead once, he'll do it again?"

Nathan threw a wet shirt in Ed's face, then threw a punch, connecting with his jaw. Nathan took advantage of the burly man's weakness, and jumped him, wrapping an arm around his neck, until the man collapsed.

"Stop Nathan!" Andrea shouted.

"Please stop!" Carol pleaded.

Shane came back to his senses when he heard the women screaming, and it was then that he saw Ed and Nathan struggling on the ground. He may have been angry at Lori, but that had nothing to do with Nathan. He jumped up and stomped over.

Ed managed to break free from Nathan's grip, but before the fight could escalate any further, Shane walked up and grabbed Ed by the collar.

"Get off me!" Ed panted.

Nathan was blinded with rage and lunged at Ed again, when Amy grabbed his arm, yanking him back to the present.

"Hey…hey, Nate…it's okay…shhh–" Amy comforted.

Nathan watched as Shane threw Ed to the ground and, in a fit of rage, pummeled his face to a bloody pulp. He'd never seen him so angry before.

"Shane, stop it! Just stop it!" Andrea pleaded.

Shane grabbed Ed by his bloody shirt and got within an inch of his face. "You put your hands on your wife, your little girl, or anybody else in this camp one more time; I will not stop next time," Shane seethed. "Do you hear me? DO YOU HEAR ME?"

"Y-Yes…" Ed struggled.

"I'll beat you to death, Ed." Shane growled, giving one last blow to his face.

"Oh God! No, God!" Carol cried, kneeling over her battered husband.

No one there knew how to act afterwards, least of all Nathan. He hadn't meant to start anything, but he didn't appreciate the way Ed was treating his wife, nor the way he was speaking to everyone. Shane looked him in the eyes, his own wild and untamed. He threw his arm towards camp.

"Go!" Shane ordered. "Now!"

Nathan didn't take orders kindly, much less from Shane. However, after watching Ed nearly get beaten to death, he wouldn't tempt fate. Nathan began walking up the quarry road back to camp, trembling from head to toe, and not from the fight, but from seeing Shane snap.

It was a feeling he couldn't explain and a feeling he didn't want to understand.

…

In Atlanta, Rick, Daryl, Glenn, and T-Dog return to the department store. They cut through the chain on the stairwell with the bolt-cutters and emerge onto the roof. On the ground, the hacksaw sits beside a severed hand with bloodied handcuffs hanging from the pipe above. Daryl screams as the others look on helplessly.

Daryl angrily points his crossbow at T-Dog, who doesn't show any fear. Daryl eventually relents when Rick pulls his revolver out and aims it at him, telling him that he doesn't care if every walker in the city hears him shoot it. Daryl puts his crossbow down and asks T-Dog for a do-rag in which he proceeds to fold up Merle's hand and place it in Glenn's backpack. While T-Dog is grabbing the tools from Dale's toolkit on the rooftop, Daryl follows the trail of Merle's blood along the rooftop.

…

Sometime after everything settled down, Nathan took refuge where he'd spent most of his time; under the big tree overlooking the quarry. He watched the women as they continued with the wash. Nathan had a lot on his mind, all in different directions. It started out with his father, who had gone back to Atlanta to save Merle Dixon, the camp jackass. He was a bad man on a good day, but on a bad day, completely insufferable.

What happened with Ed and Shane also crossed his mind; he acted first, then thought about his actions later. And he was embarrassed, but he thought he did the right thing. It was something his father would've done anyway. The more he thought about it, however, the more he felt bad. He remembered how Shane put a serious beating on the other man, simply because he was ready to fight a kid. He hated to think what would've happened had Shane not been there to save him.

Nathan wasn't ready to come back to reality just yet, until he felt a smack on the back of his head. He jumped and spun around, coming face to face with his mom.

"Ouch! What was–"

"You shut up and listen to me," Lori snapped. "Shane told me what happened at the quarry - what the hell were you thinking? You could've gotten hurt!"

"Carol needed help, she–"

"I'm not interested in Carol, Andrea, or anyone else," Lori replied. "I'm only interested in you and Carl."

Nathan was silent.

Lori pointed over her shoulder, "Now get back to camp and don't go off without my permission or a chaperone - you clearly can't handle it. Do I make myself clear?"

Nathan wasn't happy but obliged. He was in no position to argue with her, nor did he want to; he couldn't afford another hit to the head. As he made his way back to camp, Dale looked on, pretending not to notice anything peculiar. He was the camp's busybody, always in everyone's business; knowingly and unknowingly. Aside from being pulled into unnecessary drama, everything looked fine; no walkers, no strangers, no stray animals…until he noticed something amiss.

Jim.

Jim was working, but not on any of the cars like before. The man seemed to be working on an unusual project; digging holes. Dale watched a focused man digging holes through his binoculars, as if his life depended on it. It wasn't normal, then again….nothing these days were normal.

Dale climbed down from the RV, deciding it was best to ask what was going on; the last thing they needed was Jim going on some kind of rampage.

"Jim - You okay?" Dale asked.

The man was silent as he continued with the task.

"You keep this up, you're gonna keel over out here," Dale expressed his concern. "Drink some water, at least."

Jim continued to dig the hole, not acknowledging anything that was being said to him. It didn't take a genius to figure out what he was doing, Dale just hoped he was wrong. Morales watched with a grin, as Andrea and Amy came back with a bundle of fish; the girls finally took advantage of the Quarry and some alone time.

"Will you look at that?" Morales expressed. "Hey, check it out - because of you, my children will eat tonight."

"Thank Dale," Andrea said. "It's his canoe and gear."

"Mom, look at all the fish!" Carl exclaimed.

Lori and Carl approached the girls, as Nathan kept his distance.

"Whoa!"

"Yeah, whoa–" Lori said, examining the bundle. "Where did you two learn to do that?"

"Our dad!" Amy boasted.

"Can you teach me how to do that?" Carl asked.

"Sure! I'll teach you all about nail knots and stuff. If that's okay?" Amy asked.

Lori held up her hands. "You won't catch me arguing."

"Hey Dale!" Andrea called. "When's the last time you oiled those line reels? They're a disgrace."

Dale turned at the sound of his name, but he wasn't at all enthused.

"I don't want to alarm anyone, but we may have a bit of a problem."

The camp moved up to the top of the hill to better see what was happening. Shane approached them from behind, watching Jim work relentlessly toward something they all were unaware of.

"Hey Jim," Shane greeted cautiously. "Uh Jim, why don't you hold up, all right?"

"What do you want?" Jim spat.

"We're all just a little concerned, that's all."

"Dale says you've been out here for hours." Morales stated.

"So?"

"So why are you digging?" Shane breathed a laugh. "Are you heading to China, Jim?"

"What does it matter? I'm not hurting anyone."

"Except maybe yourself," Shane assured. "It's a hundred degrees today. You can't keep this up."

"Sure I can - watch me." Jim sassed, driving the shovel into the dirt.

"Jim they're not gonna say it, so I will–" Lori countered. "You're scaring people and you're scaring the kids."

Carl looked up at Nathan, who was staring at Jim.

"They got nothing to be scared of," Jim said, pausing momentarily. "I mean, I'm out here by myself, minding my own, why don't you all just go and leave me alone?"

"We think that you need to take a break, okay?" Shane placed a hand on his shoulder. "Why don't you go and get yourself in the shade? Some food–"

Jim shrugged off Shane's hand and continued digging.

"I'll tell you what, maybe in a little bit I'll come out here and help you myself," Shane offered, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Just….tell me what this is all about? Or better yet, why don't you just hand me the shovel."

"Or what?"

"There is no or what. I'm asking you. I'm coming to you, and I'm asking you, please. I don't want to have to take it from you."

"And if I don't, then what? You gonna beat my face in like Ed Peletier? Like you and that boy did?" Jim screamed. "You all saw his face…what's left of it. Seems That's what happens when someone crosses you. And you Lori, why don't you control your child?"

Shane shook his head. "That was...different Jim."

"You weren't there," Amy defended. "Ed was out of control. He was hurting his wife, and Nathan tried to stop him."

"That's their marriage," Jim pointed at Shane. "Not his - he is NOT a judge and jury. Who voted you King boss, huh?"

"Jim, I'm not here to argue with you," Shane assured. "Just give me the shovel, okay?"

Shane reached for the shovel, but Jim snatched it back.

"Goddammit–" Shane stepped forward and restrained Jim the way he was taught on the force. "Calm down, Jim!"

"You got no right!" Jim shouted.

"Nobody's gonna hurt you."

"That's a lie! That's the biggest lie there is. I told that to my wife and my two boys; I said it a hundred times, but it didn't matter. There were dozens of 'em and they just pulled 'em right out of my hands," He cried against the grass. "You know, the only reason I got away was 'cause the dead were too busy eating my family."

That painful confession brought Jim back from the brink of insanity, but left him tired and weak. Shane helped him to his feet, then with the help of Morales, they led him to a tree with a lot of shade. While Lori and Carol helped the kids with school work, Nathan kept his eyes on Jim. He paid attention because Jim was not in his right mind and someone had to keep an eye out, as everyone else was busy with chores.

"Will ya take some water?" Shane asked.

"Yes."

"Here you go bud." Shane said, extending a water bottle to his mouth.

"Pour some on my head."

"Cooling you down, huh?"

"Yeah. How long you gonna keep me like this?" Jim asked, water dripping down his head.

"When I don't think you're a danger to yourself or others."

"Sorry if I scared your boys and your little girl."

"Sunstroke–" Lori stated. "Nobody's blaming you."

"You're not scared now, are you?" Jim asked the children.

"No sir." Sophia replied a bit bashfully.

"Your mama's right," Jim said. "Sun just cooked my head is all."

"Do you know why you were digging?" Dale asked.

Jim heaved a sigh. "I had a reason. Don't remember much now; something I dreamt last night."

Jim turned to Carl and Nathan, who never stopped looking at him. They both stood near their mother; one clinging to her side, while the other stood off in the back.

"Your dad was in it," Jim admitted. "You were too - you were worried about him. Can't remember the rest."

"They're not back yet." Carl said ruefully.

"We don't need to talk about that." Lori said, placing a hand on his head.

"And you?" Jim asked Nathan.

The teen was silent.

"Your dad's a cop," Jim said, stating the obvious. "He helps people; probably just came across some folks needing help, that's all. That man is tough as nails. I don't know him well, but I could see it in him. Am I right?"

"Oh yeah, absolutely." Shane breathed.

Nathan looked over at Shane, shocked he had anything nice to say at all about his father.

"Nothing's gonna stop him from getting back here to you and your mom, I promise you that."

Shane stood up. "All right…who wants to help me clean some fish, huh?"

Carl and Sophia quickly got up and ran after Carol and Shane. They were way too excited, but it was a good learning experience for them. Nathan turned back to Jim and watched his mother squat down in front of him, both speaking words he couldn't hear, but it looked intense. He pushed off the tree and walked over.

"Hey kid, I'm sorry for what I said," Jim frowned. "You need to stay close to your family, you hear me? Do it or they're going to end up dead too."

Nathan was silent as he listened to the man's warning, already knowing that what he said was true.

"You coming?" Lori called.

"Yeah ma!" He turned to Jim, giving him a nod of understanding.

He turned and walked away, off to find out whatever his mom wanted him to do. He was sure it was just something to distract him from Jim's antics. He knew her.

…

Daryl shoots another walker with his crossbow and notes that his brother managed to kill two walkers in the room one-handed. The trail of blood leads Daryl, Rick, Glenn, and T-Dog to a kitchen, where a blowtorch is burning next to an iron steak weight crusted with skin — the result, they speculate, of Merle cauterizing his stump. They believe Merle has left the building. Rick agrees to help Daryl search the streets for his brother.

In an abandoned office above the department store, Glenn outlines a plan to retrieve Rick's bag of guns on an old whiteboard. Daryl will watch his back from the store's alley, while Rick and T-Dog cover a second alley that is two blocks away. Rick and T-Dog, hearing Miguel's screams, head for the alley.

Daryl is jumped by two men, Jorge and Felipe, who have also come for the guns — with which Glenn has just arrived in the alley. He turns to run the other way but the men grab him and start beating him. They take the bag of guns. Daryl fires an arrow into Felipe's hindquarters, causing him to drop the bag while yelling in pain.

Felipe and Jorge instead grab Glenn, throw him in a getaway car while fighting off walkers and drive off, leaving Miguel and the guns behind. Daryl shuts the gate in the alley to keep out the walkers before turning on the teenager. Rick and T-Dog arrive just in time to pull Daryl off Miguel as Daryl explains that his friends took Glenn. Taking Miguel with them, Rick grabs the bag of guns, and his hat, and they head back up the ladder to the roof.

Back inside the abandoned office building, Rick's looking for answers while a confused T-Dog wonders what they've gotten themselves into. Daryl's still seething over Glenn's kidnapping and getting jumped by Miguel's men. Daryl threatens Miguel by throwing Merle's severed hand in his lap, telling him that's what happened to the last guy who crossed him. Miguel cowers and Rick throws Daryl off him. He just wants to know where to find Glenn, and he manages to convince Miguel to take them to him. Miguel leads Rick, Daryl and T-Dog to an abandoned factory, where the leader of the group, Guillermo, emerges. Rick proposes trading Miguel for Glenn, but has no interest in giving up his bag of guns. With T-Dog aiming a scoped rifle at his head from a nearby rooftop, Guillermo demands the bag of guns, threatening to kill Glenn if they don't hand it over. They shove Glenn on the edge of a rooftop, his mouth covered with tape and his hands tied behind his back.

Rick and the group retreat to a nearby foreman's office, where Daryl argues that the guns are more valuable than Glenn, but Rick insists he owes more than that to him. Rick knows how dangerous the mission could be, that he might get killed when he goes back to the factory, and tells Daryl and T-Dog to head back to the campsite. They refuse to let him go alone and also take note that they wouldn't know what to tell his family, so they too load their guns and grab Miguel.

Rick escorts him into the warehouse carrying the guns on his back. Rick cuts Miguel loose and demands Guillermo hand over Glenn. Guillermo tells Rick that he's going to chop up Glenn and feed him to his three vicious man-eating dogs. Before the situation can escalate further, an old woman wearing a nightgown, Abuela, shuffles into the middle of the standoff, asking Felipe for help with "Mr. Gilbert". She notices Rick's uniform and begs him not to take Felipe away, saying he's turned his life around and they need him here. Rick tells the old woman that Felipe is helping him find a missing person. Abuela assumes he's referring to Glenn, and takes him by the hand. Abuela leads Rick into a nursing home auditorium, where several elderly people are grouped around an asthmatic man.

Glenn is trying to console the man. Felipe helps the man with an inhaler. Guillermo's "three vicious dogs" are teacup-sized chihuahuas, and they yap at the group as the survivors realize what's really going on. Rick pulls Guillermo aside and confronts Guillermo, stating he was ready to kill everyone in the building for the guns.

Guillermo explains he was only trying to protect the food and medicine for the residents, as the staff abandoned the patients, leaving Guillermo and Felipe, the only staff members behind. People trickled in to check on their grandparents, and suddenly he's the leader of a group of young men, women, and the elderly. The group agrees to leave some of the guns to Guillermo so he can defend the nursing home. They then leave the nursing home and head back to camp.

…

After the sun went down and the lightning bugs came out, the atmosphere had dramatically changed, almost as if everyone forgot what happened earlier. Jim was released from the tree, after Shane deemed him not a threat anymore. They all gathered around the campfire, all except for Jim, who retreated to his tent.

For as long as they've known him, he was always a bit of a hermit, but tonight he was a recluse. Nathan sat with his mom and brother, eating and quietly observing camp. He looked toward the Petelier tent, watching as Carol and Sophia stepped out, likely escaping a bitter Ed, humiliated and in pain after his beat down.

"I've got to ask you, man," Morales began. "It's been driving me crazy."

"What?" Dale asked.

"The watch."

"What's wrong with my watch?"

"I see you every day, at the same time, winding that thing like a village priest saying mass."

"I've wondered this myself." Jacqui piped up.

Dale chuckled. "I think I'm missing the point."

"Unless I've misread the signs, the world seems to have come to an end. At least hit a speed bump for a good long while."

Morales nodded. "But there's you every day winding that stupid watch."

Dale settled back in his seat, glancing down at his watch with a smile.

"Time...it's important to keep track, isn't it?" Dale explained. "The days, at least. Don't you think, Andrea? Back me up here."

Andrea breathed a laugh, as she reached for her bottle of beer.

"I like what a father said to his son when he gave him a watch - it'd been handed down through generations. He said, 'I give you the mausoleum of all hope and desire, which will fit your individual needs no better than it did mine or my father's before me; I give it to you not that you may remember time, but that you may forget it for a moment now and then and not spend all of your breath trying to conquer it.'"

Amy rolled her eyes. "You are so weird."

Amy was the unsuspecting type and proved thus with her comment. Everyone found the urge to laugh, which eased the tension that had been there prior.

"It's not me! It's Faulkner; William Faulkner. Maybe my bad paraphrasing."

"Who's Faulkner?" Nathan asked.

"Where are you going?" Andrea asked Amy.

"I have to pee. Jeez…try to be discreet around here."

As everyone enjoyed each other's company, Ed stayed in his tent; the bitter and battered man was trying to ignore the pain in his face and the happy sounds coming from camp - both annoyed him.

"Thought I told y'all to leave me the hell alone, didn't I?" Ed snapped, raging like a man possessed. "Hey! What'd I say?"

When Ed unzipped the tent, a small horde of walkers stumbled inside. Ed backed away, eyes wide - fear coursing through his veins. A walker tore into his stomach and then his face. Amidst a particular moment of laughter, Nathan heard something off in the distance.

The young man with sharp senses thought he heard a cry for help. It could very well be his imagination, but it sounded too real to be in his head.

"What's going on?" Carl whispered.

Amy stepped out of the RV, a complaint on the tip of her tongue. "Hey, we're out of toilet paper!"

Suddenly, a walker appeared from the darkness, grabbed ahold of Amy's arm and bit down. Amy fought with the walker, as a guttural scream tore through her middle. Everyone turned at the sound of Amy screaming and then it was slow motion.

"Mom!" Carl screamed.

"Get them to the RV!" Shane shouted, grabbing his shotgun.

Using a gun had its consequences, but there were too many of them for a silent option.

Lori grabbed Carl's arm. "Let's go, move!"

Another walker approached Amy from behind and bit into her neck, causing her to scream out in unbridled pain. Andrea cried out as she went for her sister, while Jim and Morales swung the closest things at their disposal. In all the noise and chaos, Nathan managed to sneak back into his tent to grab the gun his father had given him before he left. His hands were trembling, but he managed to check the chamber and flip the safety off.

He stepped out of the tent and rushed toward the center of destruction. The walkers were coming from all over; Amy was losing a lot of blood now as she lay helplessly in her sister's arms. Shane was doing his best to keep the walkers at a safe distance; unloading round after round.

As Lori looked desperately for her son among the many walkers, both dead and alive, she didn't hear the walker coming up behind her. She turned and let out a bloodcurdling scream. Shane was too slow and he knew that he wasn't going to make it.

Just then, a stray bullet went clean through its neck, and the once would-be man stumbled back. It was enough of a lag for Shane to blow its head off, ending its miserable existence. Both Shane and Lori looked in the direction of the bullet's origin point and saw Nathan, gun raised, eyes wide.

"Nathan!" Lori cried out to her son.

Carl wasted no time in running to his brothers open arms. Gunshots rang out through the night, breaking the silence they craved and irked their already fried nerves. It was the rest of the group coming back from their suicide mission into the city, and thankfully so, because they were severely outnumbered.

"Boys!" Lori cried out. "Come on!"

Before long, the gunshots died down and the walkers were nothing but a pile of stench, peppered all around camp. Rick tossed down the bag of guns he spoke of and dropped to his knees.

"Baby, kids!" Rick shouted, arms open for his family.

The camp fell silent, all except for Andrea's cries of agony, as she slowly lost her sister. As the Grimes family held each other close, Nathan's eyes fell upon Amy, laying in a pool of her own blood, her skin a ghostly white. The young man was too shocked to speak, a million thoughts crossing his mind in an instance.

The one thing he did know - was that he just lost his friend.

"Amy, I don't know what to do! Oh god I don't know what to do!" Andrea cried.

Amy, unable to speak, reached up to caress her face.

"Amy! Amy!"

Jim turned to Andrea and Amy, running a hand over his face in a poor attempt to wipe away the image before him.

"I remember my dream now," He announced. "Why I dug the holes..."

—

The following day in the overhang of the sun, the utter carnage was now visible to the once naked eye; the bodies of friends, family and that of walkers lay scattered all around camp. The tension, coupled with the humidity, was so thick someone could cut it with a knife. So much had happened in such a short amount of time, that no one knew how to cope, least of all, Andrea. She kept vigil by her little sister's body until she took her last breath, but even then, she couldn't stop holding her and apologizing for failing to protect her. And even though it wasn't her fault, no one would ever be able to convince her that it wasn't.

The remaining survivors went about their tasks, while keeping a mindful watch over her. No one wanted to disturb her, but everyone knew that it was dangerous to be in such close proximity to a dead person; eventually she would turn and Andrea would either be bitten or have to end her life….again.

It was best to rip the bandaid off sooner rather than later. Lori decided since no one else was going to tell her, that it was up to her. So she approached the grief stricken woman and crouched down a healthy distance behind her.

"Andrea, I'm so sorry - she's gone," Lori stated plainly, even if it seemed harsh. "Please, you've got to let us take her. We all cared about Amy, and I promise we'll be as gentle as we can–"

Lori watched as Andrea ignored her and her plea, until she finally cast her eyes on her children; Nathan had been silent all morning, Carl too. She knew for certain they barely slept at all - constantly jumping at every little noise, or plagued by bad dreams. Amy had been close to Nate, she was one of the few people he could genuinely open up to. He trusted her and she looked at him like a little brother. It was a relief when they hung out, because it meant they were being teenagers.

Lori wanted to get close to him, but it wasn't easy. Their personalities were so different that she didn't know how to help him. She, unfortunately, felt like an outsider looking in. She glanced toward the treeline and locked eyes with Rick, who instantly knew what she was saying without her actually saying it. He gave a nod and walked over to Nate, who sat with his back against a tree. He crouched down beside him, not saying a word until his son was ready to speak.

"I...used your gun–" His voice shook. "I...used it, and I–"

"It's okay," Rick placed a hand on his back. "Your mom told me all about it and you had every right to use it. You did the right thing and I'm proud of you–"

He nodded and found safety within his father's warm embrace; it reminded him of simpler times, when a hug was all he needed to make things better.

"I love you." Rick whispered.

"I love you too–" Nathan replied, lifting his head. "What's gonna happen now?"

"That remains to be seen, but we'll be fine. That I know for sure." Rick assured.

The survivors were trying to resolve this as quickly as possible, but morale was very low. After Daryl took care of the walkers with his pickaxe, Glenn and T-Dog took it upon themselves to throw them into the bonfire. It was better to burn them then bury them, at least disease wouldn't seep into the fertile ground.

"She still won't move?" Rick asked.

"She won't even talk to us," Lori worried. "She's been there all night. What do we do?"

"Can't just leave Amy like that," Shane stated as a matter of fact. "We need to deal with it the same as the others."

Rick heaved a heavy sigh. "I'll tell her how it is."

The situation escalated very quickly; as soon as Rick approached Andrea, she pulled her gun on him. He raised his hands.

"Andrea–"

"I know how the safety works." Andrea seethed.

"All right, okay–" Rick eased his hands down, as he took a step back. "I'm sorry–"

"Y'all can't be serious–" Daryl snarled, delivering a piercing blow to a dead body. "The dead girl's a time bomb."

"What do you suggest?" Rick asked, defeated.

"Take the shot," Daryl offered. "Clean, in the brain from here. Hell, I can hit a turkey between the eyes from this distance."

"No. For God's sake, let her be." Lori interjected.

While everyone discussed Andrea's situation, a more troubling one occurred. As Jacqui and Jim had been left to pile up the dead bodies, Jim grew more and more sluggish that it enquired some curious minds.

"Hey are you bleeding?" Jacqui asked.

"Must be blood from a biter." He said, his tone unsettling.

"That blood is fresh!" Jacqui pointed out. "Were you bit?"

"No, I got scratched during the attack–"

"You got bit!"

"I'm fine. I swear it–" Jim assured, even though he looked as if he didn't believe his own words.

"Then show me." Jacqui insisted.

"Don't say anything, please–"

"A walker got him!" Jacqui screamed. "A walker bit Jim!"

Everyone heard Jacqui's scream and rushed to her aid, hoping it wasn't a walker. And when they arrived, Jacqui was a healthy distance away from Jim, pointing at his bleeding side.

"I'm okay!" Jim tried.

"Show it to us!" Daryl demanded.

Shane cautiously approached the man. "Easy, Jim. We don't wanna hurt you."

Jim snatched the shovel off the ground and swung it, giving them a fair warning to stay away.

"Put the shovel down, Jim!" Shane ordered. "Just put it down–"

T-Dog appeared behind Jim and lunged, wrapping his arms around his neck, effectively knocking the shovel out of his hands.

"I'm okay! I'm okay!" Jim shouted.

Daryl hurried over and lifted Jim's bloodied shirt, revealing a rather large bite on his side.

"I'm okay, I'm okay."

The situation was growing worse with no end in sight, the group gathered near the fire pit to discuss their options.

"I say we put a pickaxe in his head and the dead girl's and be done with it." Daryl suggested.

"Is that what you'd want if it were you?" Shane questioned.

"Yeah, and I'd thank you while you did it." Daryl spat.

"I hate to say it," Dale heaved a sigh. "And I never thought I would...but maybe Daryl's right?"

"Jim's not a monster, or some rabid dog." Rick insisted.

"I'm not suggesting–"

"He's sick," Rick said. "A sick man, and if we start down that road, where do we draw the line?"

"The line's pretty clear–" Daryl reminded. "Zero tolerance for walkers or the sick."

"What if we can get him help?" Rick wondered aloud. "I heard the CDC was working on a cure."

"Yeah, I heard that too," Shane said with a nod. "Heard a lot of things before the world went to hell–"

"What if it's still up and running?"

"Man, that's a stretch–"

"Why? If there's any Government left, any structure at all, they'd protect the CDC at all costs. I think it's our best shot. Shelter, protection–"

Shane held up his hand. "Okay, all right, you want those things. I do too and if they exist, it's at Fort Benning."

"That's a hundred miles in the opposite direction–" Lori reminded.

"That's right," Shane confirmed. "But it's nowhere near the city. If that place is even operational, it'll be heavily armed. We'd be safer there."

"The military was on the front lines," Rick remembered. "They got overrun - we've all seen that. The CDC is our best choice and Jim's only chance."

Daryl took a step back. "You go looking for aspirin; do what you need to do. Someone needs to have some balls to take care of this damn problem!"

Daryl rushed towards Jim with his pickaxe in hand. Without hesitating, Rick hurried after him and just as he raised the ominous looking weapon, he pressed the barrel of his gun in the back of Daryl's head.

"We don't kill the living!" Rick warned.

He snorted. "That's real funny coming from a man who's pointing a gun at my head!"

"We may disagree on some things, but not on this. You put it down." Shane ordered.

Daryl tossed pickaxe to the ground and stormed off in the opposite direction. Rick grabbed Jim's arm, who could barely walk at this point, and helped him into the RV, where he could try to relax and so they could regroup. Nathan cautiously approached Andrea, and she saw him coming, but otherwise ignored him.

He hadn't been close to Amy's body until now; the sheer terror of seeing his friend like that kept him away.

"Hey," Nathan greeted bashfully. "I uh, I came to...say goodbye to Amy."

Andrea nodded, silent tears still streaming down her face. Nathan looked over Amy's corpse, bloodied and pale, but at the very least, had a peaceful expression on her face. He tried remaining calm, despite the ache in his heart. "She was always there for me...I felt like she was my sister too–"

Andrea offered a smile, her eyes brimmed red and swollen. She reached into her shirt pocket and pulled out a small white package - inside was a mermaid necklace.

"Today is Amy's birthday," She rasped. "Her birthday was always a week-long affair, but I somehow always missed it. I was away at college or too busy for kid's parties. She'd call all excited and I'd always said that I'd make it home, and I really always meant to, but I never made it past a phone call."

Nathan looked at the necklace. "I'm sure she forgave you."

Andrea smiled. "Thank you."

Daryl saw the exchange out of the corner of his eye, as he smashed another head in. He couldn't care less…it wasn't his job to care. He just wanted to survive and the moment Merle came back, they were leaving.

"I'll do it–" Carol interrupted. "He's my husband."

He looked down and saw the corpse of her husband, Ed. The mean prick that left her and her daughter with bruises. He wordlessly passed the pickaxe and stood back, gnawing the calluses on his thumb. It must've been so freeing for her, he thought - just the idea of driving something sharp in his old man's head, was enough to cure his anger. But it still wouldn't take away the pain and scars he endured.

"Amy!" Andrea cried. "Amy, I'm sorry–"

Amy groaned as she reached for Andrea.

"I'm sorry for never being there. I always thought there'd be more time. I'm here now, Amy. I'm here. I love you."

Amy had finally turned, after dying sometime during the night. Andrea suffered twice; seeing her sister take her last breath, and now seeing her reanimated.

A shot suddenly rang out, blanketing the camp in silence; the only noise that was heard was a frantic flock of birds overhead. They all knew what happened and as terrible as it was, it was a relief to all. The only other person to worry about was Jim. The makeshift funeral held for Amy, felt more like a heavy obligation to preserve the old world, than a moment to say goodbye. And it would've been a beautiful moment, if not for Daryl's incessant complaining.

"I still think it's a mistake not to burn the bodies–" He griped. "It's what we said we'd do, right? Burn 'em all, wasn't that the idea?"

Shane nodded. "At first, yes."

"These people need to know who the hell's in charge here, what the rules are."

"There are no rules." Rick reminded.

Things seemed to be getting worse rather than better; Jim was advancing a lot quicker than most, more than Amy did. His fever was rising and he was beginning to hallucinate now, scaring Carol and Jacqui.

"His fever is getting worse," Carol explained. "He's starting to hallucinate too."

"Do you need anything?" Lori asked.

"Water. Could use more water." He whispered.

"I'll get you some….uh, Carol, can you help me?

Carol and Lori left the RV, leaving Rick and Jim alone.

"You save a grave for me?"

Rick frowned. "Now nobody wants that–"

"It's not about what you want," Jim reminded. "That sound you hear, that's God laughing while you make plans."

"What I want, if God allows, is to get you some help."

"Watch the mangroves," Jim said, slipping deeper into his delusions. "Their roots will gouge the boat. You know that, right? Amy is there swimming. You'll watch the boat, right? You said you would."

"I'll watch the boat. Don't worry."

Outside the RV, Shane stood under the awning, trying to convince Lori to change Rick's mind. He was a stubborn man and even after facing an almost certain death, he was still as stubborn as he used to be.

"I need you to talk some sense into Rick–" Shane huffed, licking his lips. "Look, this CDC thing, Lori, it's a mistake. You can't possibly think it's a good idea, right?"

"What else can I do? He's my husband."

"Look, it may be time for you to play the dutiful wife, but you can't tell me that fixing your marriage is worth putting people's lives at risk."

"I think folks around here can make up their minds without bringing my marriage into it. It's a habit you need to break!" She spat.

"I guess I'll just add it to the list of habits that I'm breaking whether I like it or not."

Rick emerged from the RV and replaced his hat on his head. "What habits?"

"Just talking about my need for a plan, man–" Shane lied. "So what is it? Are we leaving or not? Maybe y'all just want to stay here. We could hang some more tin cans."

"We can't just stay here, and we both know that."

"I was just telling Shane I think we should trust your judgment."

Rick nodded and walked off in the opposite direction, leaving Lori outside of the RV. Shane nonchalantly went after Rick hoping they could chat a little on his plan. It wasn't that he was wrong, he just wasn't thinking clearly.

As they entered the woods, prepared to clear any stragglers, Shane turned to Rick who walked a few paces behind him.

"These people, man, they're not convinced, you know?" Shane shrugged. "You head to the CDC, you might be on your own. You gotta really consider whether you want to put Lori and Carl through that."

"I have to do what's best for my family." Rick stated firmly.

"Best for your family? What's that; exposing them to all kinds of risks?"

"As opposed to what?" Rick paused. "Crossing a hundred miles of hostile territory? If we're looking for a lifeline, I say swim to the closest ship, not further out to sea. Why can't you back me up?"

"I want to, I just don't see it."

"If it was your family, you'd feel differently."

Shane froze, Rick's cold words cutting him like a thousand knives.

"What did you say to me?" He demanded. "I kept 'em safe, man, I looked after them like they were my own. That's what I did!"

"I didn't mean it that way–"

"Well, how'd you mean it? Go on, how'd you mean it?"

"You're misinterpreting me." Rick warned.

"All right."

"You're just hearing it wrong."

"Yeah?" Shane turned, avoiding his gaze. "Well, Nate's been acting weird with me lately. I mean, I want to take care of him too, but he's making it hard for me–"

"Nate is just trying to manage, okay? Give him time, please. I know how to handle him, don't worry–"

Shane clicked his tongue, continuing to look elsewhere.

"Look, you know I can never repay that debt; you kept my family safe when they were at their most vulnerable-"

Suddenly off in the distance, a few branches broke and birds flocked overhead. The former officers looked at one another, now silent.

Rick slowly advanced towards the noise while Shane had his back. As he stepped further into the woods, Shane lagged behind a little and raised his gun. He resented the fact that he survived, that he came back and was suddenly the camp hero, when he wasn't there for anything. Shane was the one who protected the camp, Lori and the boys. It was Shane who took action when they bombed Atlanta - hell, it was Shane who protected Rick while in a coma!

With a heavy sigh, he lowered his gun, not ready to take that step just yet; he couldn't lose his best friend twice. He turned and froze, not expecting to see the old man standing there. His heart was in his throat now.

"Jesus." Dale muttered.

Shane breathed a laugh. "Gonna have to start wearing reflective vests out here. So uh, c'mon man, let's go–"

When they arrived back at camp, everyone was silent as they prepared for the dangerous journey ahead. Not everything could go with them, so they were cherry picking a majority of the supplies. At dusk, everyone gathered to hear Shane's elaborate plan. And just as he began to give directions on radio usage, Morales stepped up; his small family right behind him.

"We're not going."

"We have family in Birmingham," His wife, Miranda said. "We want to be with our people."

"You go on your own, you won't have anyone to watch your back." Shane warned.

"We'll take that chance," Morales looked down at his daughter. "Right now, I have to do what's best for my family."

"You sure?" Rick questioned.

"We talked about it. We're sure."

Rick understood his reasons, because he was in the same boat; risking everything to do what's right for his family.

As Morales and his family packed their vehicle, Rick and Shane made sure to give them any extra guns and ammo they could spare. Lori and Carol made sure to give them a generous amount of food; mainly non-perishables, because anything Daryl hunted would likely spoil.

"I hope we meet again." Morales wished, shaking Nathan's hand.

"Good luck," Nate replied. "Please take care of yourselves."

Rick nodded, as he placed a comforting hand on Nathan's shoulder. "If things don't go as planned in Birmingham, you know where we'll be."

After saying their goodbyes, they parted ways with Morales and his family, heading in the opposite direction. A slew of horns were heard going down the road, probably attracting any leftover walkers, but it wasn't a concern to them anymore.

The band of survivors made sure to leave notes for anyone unlucky enough to end up there. One thing was for certain, the road would not be easy, but as long as they had each other, they could manage. As Dale manned the RV and Glenn the map, Jim was growing worse. And there wasn't much else anyone of them could do.

It wasn't as if he could pop some aspirin and make his fever go away; the wound was far too deep and the infection was already in his bloodstream. It was only a matter of time now. After a few hours of traveling, the radiator burst again; the same part that had been causing them so much trouble. They stopped off on the side of the road, next to a woodline. It acted as a buffer, though it didn't provide much comfort.

"I told you we'd never get far on that hose," Dale insisted. "I said I needed the one from the cube van."

"Can you jury-rig it?" Rick asked.

"That's all it's been so far. It's more duct tape than hose. And I'm out of duct tape–"

As everyone huddled around the front of the RV, Jacquai rushed out and everyone stopped talking, now focusing their attention on the panicked woman.

"Jim...It's bad. I don't think he can take it anymore."

As the newly appointed leader, Rick took it upon himself to see Jim. And as he stepped into the RV, he could feel the tension at least three feet thick. It must've been death just waiting to snatch Jim the moment he took his last breath.

"We'll be back on the road soon." Rick assured.

"Oh no," Jim shook his head. "My bones are like glass, every little bump...God, this ride is killing me. Leave me here. I'm done. Just leave me. I want to be with my family now."

"I don't think you know what you're asking?" He frowned. "Must be the fever. You've been delirious more often than not."

"I know. Don't you think I know?" Jim hissed in pain. "I'm clear now. In five minutes, I may not be. Rick, I know what I'm asking. I want this. Leave me here. Now, that's on me. Okay? My decision. Not your failure."

Rick stepped out of the RV to a waiting crowd of family and friends. They were all concerned for Jim and curious as to what they planned to do with him.

"Back in the camp, when I said Daryl might be right and you shut me down?" Dale remembered aloud. "You all misunderstood me. I would never go along with callously killing a man. I was just gonna suggest that we ask Jim what he wants. And I think we have an answer."

"We just leave him here? We take off?" Shane asked. "Man, I'm not sure I could live with that."

"It's not your call, either one of you." Lori reminded.

The decision had been made by Jim himself, and they weren't about to deny him this. Rick and Shane carefully carried him to a nearby tree, and sat him against the trunk, a blanket over his lap.

"Hey, another damn tree." Jim joked.

"Hey, Jim–" Shane crouched down. "You know it doesn't need to be this, right?"

"No. It's good. The breeze feels nice."

"Just close your eyes sweetie," Jacqui pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Don't fight it."

Rick tried to offer Jim a gun, but he denied the offer, figuring they would need it more than a dead man. So they all said their goodbyes, despite not really knowing the man all that well. They drove away a few moments later, leaving him there with his fate in his own hands; a peaceful fate.

After a long while on the road, the caravan arrived at the CDC. And the sight was, as many feared, bleak. Hundreds of dead bodies lay strewn about in puddles of dried blood, flies and maggots. And the smell was God awful! The group cautiously approached the entrance of the CDC, where there were sandbags stacked like a wall and some barbed wire. It looked like a poor attempt to keep the outside from getting in.

"All right everybody, stay quiet." Shane ordered.

"Keep moving. Come on–" Rick whispered.

Glenn covered his mouth. "Oh God."

Nathan looked at the death that surrounded them, and felt like he could hurl. Up until now, everyone sheltered him from this, and it was with good reason they did. As they reached the front entrance, they noticed the doors were secured with heavy metal shutters.

"Nothing?" Shane asked.

"There's nobody here–" T-Dog replied, looking in the thick windows.

"Then why are the shutters down?" Rick wondered aloud.

The problem was no longer if anyone was inside the CDC, but the walkers that were alerted to their presence.

"Walkers!" Daryl shouted.

The walkers came from every which way, and a few even stood from the ground. Daryl took out a few that were closest, but left the rest, as it would be a suicide mission.

"Boys, come on!" Lori panicked, grabbing both by the arm.

"You led us right to a graveyard!" Daryl shouted.

"He made a call!" Shane defended. "No one else had any ideas!"

"Well it was the wrong damn call!"

"Shut up!" Shane spat, then turned to the former Sheriff. "Rick, this is a dead end."

Rick was overwhelmed and he could feel himself beginning to shut down from the inside out.

"Where are we gonna go?" Jacqui panicked.

"Do you hear me? No blame." Shane assured.

"She's right–" Lori said. "We can't be this close to the city after dark."

"Fort Benning, Rick, it's still an option."

"On what? No food, no fuel. That's a hundred miles–"

"Forget Fort Benning. We need answers tonight, now!"

Rick shook his head, pulling himself together. "We'll think of something."

"Let's get out of here, man! Let's go!"

For whatever reason, Rick looked up at the security camera above the door and saw it move.

"The camera. It moved!"

"You imagined it," Shane said. "Alright! Back to the cars!"

"No, it moved. It moved!"

"Rick, it's dead, man. It's an automated device. It's gears, okay? They're just winding down. Now c'mon man, just listen to me!"

Rick repeatedly slammed his fists against the shutters.

"Rick, there's nobody here!" Lori pleaded.

"I know you're in there; I know you can hear me!" Rick shouted, looking directly into the camera. "I know you can see us!"

Shane and Lori shared a mutual look of panic, as they both tried to reason with Rick. He was a stubborn man as is, but now he was just impossible. First it was only a few walkers, then a dozen, then two. And before long, the bodies they passed only a few moments ago, were shuffling towards their next meal.

"Everybody get back to the cars now!" Shane shouted.

"Please, we're desperate!" Rick pleaded. "Please help us! We have women, children, no food, hardly any gas left."

"Dad! We have to go now!" Nathan yelled.

"We have nowhere else to go!" Rick pounded on the door. "You're killing us! Please!"

In a desperate attempt, Shane grabbed hold of Rick and forcefully pulled him back.

"Please help us! You're killing us! You're killing us!"

As the walkers began to surround them and the building, a thunderous sound of growls and gnashing jaws, something miraculous happened:

The doors opened.

—

Like an idyllic miracle, the large metal doors opened before them. And without hesitating, everyone ran inside and tossed all of their belongings to the ground, just as the doors closed shut again. They could hear the thumping and groaning of the walkers, still on the hunt for their next meal.

"Everyone okay?" Shane asked.

"I think so." Lori responded, reaching for Carl.

He hugged her side, gripping for dear life, as they stood in the lobby of the CDC.

"Is it empty?" Nathan asked.

Rick shrugged and looked around, wondering the same thing; it did look empty, but it was something that just wasn't true….and he knew this for a fact.

"Hello?" He called out.

Heavy footfall made everyone freeze, looking all around for the danger to come. Across the lobby near the entrance of a corridor, a man wearing a lab coat stood pointing a rifle at them.

"Anyone infected?"

Rick stepped forward, hands in the air. "A man in our group was, but he didn't make it."

The scientist was suspicious, as he looked over everyone.

"Why are you here? What do you want?"

"A chance–" Rick said.

"That's asking an awful lot these days."

"I know."

He lowered the rifle. "You all agree to a blood test. That's the price of admission."

"We can do that." Rick said, looking at his fellow survivors.

"If you have any stuff to bring in. You do it now," The man instructed. "Once those doors close, they stay closed."

Everyone grabbed what few belongings they had left, and followed the scientist down the hallway to an elevator. No one spoke to each other, they just stood there silently counting their blessings. When the elevator stopped, it opened into a large room. The scientist began to speak to no one in particular.

"VI, seal the main entrance. Start the power up here." A heartbeat was heard as they descended down another long hallway, toward a second elevator.

In regards to his immense gratitude, Rick held out his hand as a thank you.

"Rick Grimes–" The former officer introduced himself.

The man looked away. "Dr. Edwin Jenner."

"Doctors always go around packing heat like that?" Daryl asked.

"There were plenty left lying around," Jenner explained. "I familiarized myself. But you look harmless enough–" Jenner looked at Carl with a smile. "Except you, I'll have to keep my eye on you."

Carl grinned as he hugged Lori's arm.

"Are we underground?" Carol worried aloud.

"Are you claustrophobic?" He asked.

"A little."

"Try not to think about it." He suggested.

Carol touched her chest, just above the collar of her shirt.

"VI, bring up the lights," Jenner ordered, turning to his guests. "Welcome to Zone 5."

"Where is everybody?" Rick questioned, looking around the room. "The other doctors, the staff?"

"I'm it," Jenner replied solemnly. "It's just me here."

"What about the person you were speaking with?" Lori asked.

Jenner smiled. "Oh that's VI - say hello to our guests. Tell them...Welcome."

A computerized voice of a woman came over the loudspeakers. "Hello, guests. Welcome."

"I'm all that's left. I'm sorry."

Everyone was ushered into an adjoining conference room that looked like a research facility, and there among the machines, sat blood samples from each survivor.

"What's the point?" Nathan asked, holding out his arm. "If we were infected, we'd all be running a fever."

"Well," Jenner breathed. "I've already broken every rule letting you in here. Let me just at least be thorough."

Once all the samples were taken, the survivors were ushered to a cafeteria to satisfy their hunger. Many of them looked worse than the dead, and many, like Andrea, were sick from malnutrition. No one could believe it - a cafeteria wholly full of food and ready to feed hundreds, more than they had at the Quarry. It was unbelievable. As everyone enjoyed a pot of spaghetti and several bottles of wine, they told stories and reminisced, when suddenly, Carl asked to try some wine.

"You know in Italy, children have a little bit of wine with their dinner," Dale chuckled. "And in France–"

"Well, when Carl is in Italy or France, he can have some."

"What's it gonna hurt?" Rick smirked. "Come on–"

Lori huffed and finally gave in, although she was not entirely thrilled about the endeavor. Carl took one sip from Lori's glass and grimaced; his face contorting as if he ate an all too sour candy.

"Eww!" Carl exclaimed.

"That's my boy," Lori said, slinging an arm around his shoulders. "Good boy."

"That is nasty!"

"Just stick to soda pop there, bud." Shane teased.

"Can I have some?" Nathan asked.

"Oh sure!" Dale exclaimed, extending his glass.

The boy took a sip of the wine, then looked up, only to see everyone staring at him.

"Well?" Rick asked.

"It's…strong." Nathan observed.

"Don't get used to it." Lori warned.

"That's my boy–" Rick teased, mimicking Lori.

Amidst the good time and laughter, some truths needed to be answered, and Shane was the first to ask Jenner, who'd been somewhat on the sidelines of the party.

"So when are you gonna tell us what the hell happened here, Doc?"

Everyone quieted and turned to Shane.

"We're celebrating, Shane," Rick whispered. "We don't need to do this now."

"Whoa, wait a second," Shane replied. "This is why we're here, right? This was your move, and we were supposed to find all the answers. Instead, we found him. Found one man, why?"

"Well….when things got bad, people just left," Jenner explained. "They went off to be with their families. And when things got worse, when the military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted."

"Every last one?" Shane asked.

"No, many couldn't face walking out the door," Jenner heaved a heavy sigh. "They...opted out instead; a rash of suicides. It was a bad time."

"You didn't leave," Andrea observed. "Why?"

"I just kept working, hoping to do some good."

Glenn groaned. "Dude, you are such a buzzkill–"

After an unusually tense moment, Jenner decided it was time to take them to the rest areas. Everyone was shocked that there was a living area, but most importantly, thankful.

"Most of the facility, including housing, is powered down, so you'll have to make do here," Jenner explained. "The couches are comfortable, but there are cots in storage if you'd like. There's a rec room down the hall that your kids might enjoy. Just don't plug in the video games, okay? Or anything that draws power. The same applies if you shower; go easy on the hot water."

"Hot water?" Glenn sputtered.

"That's what the man said!" T-Dog exclaimed.

While everyone celebrated having a hot shower and a safe place to lay their heads, Shane did not. The former Deputy drowned his sorrows in a bottle of whiskey, as he sat under the steady stream of water, trying to forget what he almost had. Andrea was another person, who, in solitude, cried inconsolably so that her tears would be washed away by the water. Nathan was one of the many who missed the water, and he showered until he felt like a human being again.

And once he felt he was clean, he went to the recreation room down the hall; another past time he missed. Upon entering the room, he noticed Carl and Sophia on the couch, reading a few comics. The arcade games were off, just as Jenner said they would be, and that's how they'd stay.

"Find anything good?"

"I think so," Carl looked up. "There's some of those comics you like–"

"Oh nice!"

He hurried over and began rummaging through the box, where he found an issue of Invincible - he didn't have that one! It was exciting to recapture something from his past, even as short a time as it was.

"Kids…time for bed," Carol announced. "Nathan, I'm not your mom, but it takes a village. So you go to bed soon too."

He smirked. "Okay. Night."

After bidding his little brother and Sophia a goodnight, he plopped down on the sofa and began thumbing through the comic.

Andrea came into the room and stopped just inside the doorway.

"Hey kiddo."

He looked up from the box. "Oh hey…how you holding up?"

She forced a smile. "Never better."

She sat down across from him on another sofa, and crossed her legs like a pretzel.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, of course."

He put down the comic and turned his full attention to Andrea, and that's when he realized she was worse off than she let on.

"You're an incredibly mature boy for your age, you know that?"

"I guess–" He breathed.

"So…I need your opinion on this–"

"Sure, what?"

"Well, this….all of it; coming here, Fort Benning, trying to survive this mess and for what?" Andrea waved her hand. "Do you think any of it makes sense?"

Nathan dropped his gaze to the ground. It was a hard question to answer, but a question he could answer, because he was feeling the same way.

"Well, none of this has been easy," Nathan replied solemnly. "It's hard right now and it might get harder as time goes on, but I think as long as we have people we care about, it'll be worth it no matter what happens–"

Andrea nodded, heaving a heavy sigh. "What're you reading?"

"Just looking at some comics….these books look good though, so I might give it a shot," He looked up. "You wanna read something?"

"Sure," She sat down beside him. "Amy and I used to read a lot together…"

Nathan remained quiet, still a little sore from losing his friend. He couldn't imagine what Andrea felt and was feeling, and he didn't want to ever know the feeling of losing a sibling or parent. In another room, Rick and Lori lay on their borrowed bed, the two finally able to rest comfortably for the night. But there was still a lot on Lori's mind and heart and now that she was given a second chance, she felt it was only right to voice her concerns, instead of shutting Rick out.

"I need to talk to you." She whispered, rolling to face him.

"I think I know–"

"What were you thinking, giving our son a gun?" She accused.

"I was thinking that he could use it in an emergency to protect himself, you and Carl…and he did." Rick defended.

"Have you lost your mind?" Lori breathed. "Do you really think giving him a gun right now is a good idea? You think that would have ever been a good choice?"

"Can we talk calmly–"

"He could have gotten hurt, Rick!" Lori yelled. "He could have killed someone by mistake!"

"He saved your life!" Rick retorted, voice raised. "He saved you and Carl!"

"My children shouldn't be around guns, it's crazy!"

"Lori, this isn't the same world we left behind…we won't always be there to protect them," Rick explained with a sigh. "They need to know how to defend themselves–"

"Are you going to give Carl a gun too?"

He closed his eyes and bowed his head. "Lori, please–"

"I don't want him to use a gun–"

"Sooner or later, he'll have to!"

The argument could be heard from down the hall, but everyone more or less ignored it, figuring it wasn't their place to interfere. And that night, after their many heated words, they both left the room for a different place, only to return later in silence. The next morning however, everyone woke up refreshed and as good as they once were. The feeling of claustrophobia was quickly replaced into one of protection, and they cherished every moment.

"Hello." Rick greeted, stepping into the cafeteria.

"Morning." Dale greeted.

"Are you hung over?" Carl asked. "Mom said you'd be."

"Mom is right–" Rick breathed.

"Mom has that annoying habit," Lori said.

"Eggs?" T-Dog asked as he served the plates. "Powdered, but I do 'em good."

Glenn groaned and rested his head on the table, too hungover to even feel hungry.

T-Dog laughed. "I bet you can't even tell."

Dale laughed, the atmosphere finally feeling light and fun. He wasn't sure how long it'd last, but he was willing to bet as long as they were allowed to stay.

Jacqui leaned over and patted Glenn's shoulder.

"Protein helps a hangover." T-Dog announced.

Rick reached for the bottle of aspirin, but wasn't able to get his thumbs to work, so he enlisted Lori's help.

"He thought we could use it," Lori announced, eyeing Rick and then Glenn. "Well, some of us, at least–"

"Don't ever let me drink again." Glenn groaned.

"Hey." Shane greeted.

"Do you feel as bad as I do?" Rick questioned.

Shane walked over to the counter and reached for the coffee pot. "Worse."

Jenner appeared in the doorway, greeted everyone, then walked over to the coffee pot.

"Hey Doc," Dale greeted. "I don't mean to pepper you with questions–"

Jenner smirked. "But you will anyway."

"We didn't come here for the eggs." Andrea replied.

He knew he had to give these people the answers they came for, but it was hard to tell them the truth - it was hard to hear the truth himself. He led the group of survivors back downstairs to the computer room, where a large monitor hung from the ceiling.

"VI, give me a playback of TS-19."

"Playback of TS-19."

"Very few people had a chance to see this." Jenner explained.

The monitor displayed different 3D views of a human skull.

"Is that a brain?" Carl asked.

"An extraordinary one," Jenner said. "Not that it matters in the end. Take us to E.I.V."

"Enhanced internal view."

The screen tilted horizontally and increased the magnification, making the image appear lifelike. It appeared to be illuminated with bright blue threads of energy; some areas were denser with light than others, but threads lit up all over the skull.

"What are those lights?" Shane asked.

"It's a person's life, experiences, memories - everything," Jenner explained solemnly. "Somewhere in all that organic wiring, all those waves of light, is what makes you unique and human.

"Does it ever make sense?" Dale asked.

"Those are synapses," Jenner explained. "They are electrical impulses in the brain that carry messages. They determine everything a person says, does, or thinks, from the moment of birth to the moment of death."

"Death?" Rick asked. "Is that what this is, a vigil?"

"Yes," Jenner confirmed. "Or rather the reproduction of the vigil."

"Did this person die?" Andrea asked. "Who were they?"

"Test subject 19; someone who was bitten and infected. The subject volunteered to help us record the process. VI, Scan forward to the first event."

"Scanning to the first event."

The screen displayed the message scanning forward. The brain still had flickering lights in the outer areas, but the center had darkened, as if black roots were growing inside it.

"What is that?" Glenn asked.

"It invades the brain like meningitis," Jenner said. "The adrenal glands hemorrhage, the brain goes into shutdown, then the major organs…then death. Everything you ever were or ever will disappear."

"Is that what happened to Jim?" Sophia asked her mother.

Carol nodded, as she placed a protective arm around her. "Yes."

Andrea was trying to hold back her tears, but it was hard when all she could think about was Amy.

"She lost someone not long ago," Lori explained. "Her sister."

Jenner nodded and looked at Andrea. "I lost someone too. I know how devastating it is."

He turned and gave VI another order.

"Scanning to the second event." She repeated.

"Resurrection times can vary," He glanced over his shoulder. "We've had reports of it happening in six hours and others in eight, though it usually stays within that range. In this patient's case, it was six hours, one minute, and seven seconds."

A red glow flickered at the base of the brain, while the rest remained dark - random sparks shot out into the larger area, but no further lights grew.

"It restarts the brain?" Lori wondered aloud.

"No, just the brain stem. Basically, it gets them up and moving."

"But they're not alive, right?" Rick asked.

Jenner pointed to the screen. "You tell me."

Rick shook his head. "Most of that brain is dark."

"Dark, lifeless and very dead," Jenner said as a matter of fact. "The frontal lobe, the neocortex, the human part-that doesn't come back; the you part. Just a shell driven by mindless instinct–"

The subject reanimated, its mouth opening and closing. The head moved from side to side, and then the arms. The barrel of a gun appeared against the forehead, and a bullet tore through the brain, ending the life of the subject.

"What was that?" Carol asked.

"He shot his patient in the head," Andrea said as a matter of fact. "Didn't you?"

"VI, Power down the main screen."

"You have no idea what it is, do you?" Andrea asked.

"It could be microbial, viral, parasitic, fungal–"

"Or the wrath of God?" Jacqui asked.

"There's that too." He agreed, though a bit indifferent on the subject.

"Somebody must know something!" Andrea exclaimed. "Somebody, somewhere-"

"There are others, right? Other facilities?"

Jenner shrugged. "There may be some people like me. In places like France or elsewhere."

"But you don't know? How can you not know?"

"Everything went down," Jenner said. "Communications, directives; all of it. I've been in the dark for almost a month."

"So it's not just here, there's nothing left anywhere? Nothing?" Andrea asked. "That's what you're really saying, right?"

"Jesus–" Jacqui mumbled and lowered her head.

"I'm gonna get shitfaced drunk again–" Daryl grumbled.

"Dr. Jenner, I know this has been taxing for you and I hate to ask one more question, that clock it's counting down–" Dale pointed. "What happens when it gets to zero?"

"The basement generators," He paused, then continued. "They run on fuel."

"And then?" Rick urged

Jenner ignored his question, got up and walked away.

Rick turned to the computer. "VI, what happens when the power runs out?"

"When the power runs out, facility-wide decontamination will occur."

"Decontamination," Glenn repeated. "What does that mean?"

"I don't like the way he clammed up," Shane replied. "The way he just wandered off like that."

Persistent confusion set in, which drove the survivors to panic. And in the midst of their panic, they managed to find a map that would help them access the generator room. And when the men found the fuel pumps, all were completely empty except for one; there was thirty minutes of fuel left, the exact amount of time on the clock. When the lights began to fade, and the air turned off, everyone left their rooms in search of an explanation from Dr. Jenner.

Jenner sat silently mourning the picture of a beautiful woman, as he drank himself into oblivion. It was a nasty habit that he'd once kicked, but seeing as they were about to die, it didn't matter much anymore.

"What's going on? Why is everything turned off?" Daryl demanded.

The forlorn scientist looked over the half wall. "Energy use is being prioritized."

"And air isn't a priority?" Dale worried. "And the lights?"

Jenner snatched the bottle of whiskey from Daryl and took a long swig. "It's not up to me, Zone 5 is shutting itself down."

"What the hell does that mean?" Daryl snapped. "Hey! Don't walk away from me!"

Everyone followed after the scientist, Daryl too, who was especially upset.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" Daryl yelled. "What do you mean it's shutting itself down? How can a building do that?"

Jenner stared at him like he could see right through him. And maybe he could, science was advancing everyday.

"You'd be surprised–" He said.

"Rick?" Lori yelled across the room.

"What's happening?" Rick asked, hurrying into the room.

"The system is leaving all nonessential uses of power," The scientist explained once more. "It's designed to keep the computers running until the last possible second. That started as we approached the half-hour mark….so we're right on schedule."

Jenner took another long swig of the devil's juice, then paused at the top of the stairs. Everyone followed him like a lost puppy, spitting out questions left and right; Daryl hurried up to him and snatched the bottle back.

"It was the French," Jenner said. "They were the last ones to hold out, as far as I know. While our people were bolting out the doors and committing suicide in the hallways, they stayed in the labs until the very end. They thought they were close to a solution."

Rick turned to Lori. "Go grab our things. Everybody, get your stuff. We're getting out of here now!"

An alarm suddenly began to sound, and the noise was quite deafening.

"Doc, what's going on?" Daryl demanded.

Jenner scanned the badge on his lab coat and entered a code into the keypad.

"Y'all heard Rick!" Shane announced. "Go now! Go!"

While everyone ran for the door, it slammed shut, effectively holding them hostage.

"He just locked us in!" Glenn yelled.

Everyone ran back to Jenner, as he recorded the events.

"We've hit the ten minute window."

"You son of a bitch!" Daryl shouted, lunging for the doctor. "You locked us in here!"

T-Dog and Shane grabbed Daryl, as Rick blocked him. Jenner was the only person who knew the code to open the doors, he was their only shot at survival now.

"Open that door now!" Rick ordered.

"There's no point," The scientist said, defeated. "Everything topside is locked down. The emergency exits are sealed."

"Open the damn door!" Daryl yelled.

"That's not something I control!" Jenner admitted. "The computers do. I told you that once the front door is closed, it won't open again. You heard me say that."

"What happens in eight minutes?" Rick asked, pointing to the screen.

Jenner wasn't paying attention to Rick and was focusing on his computer instead.

"What happens in eight minutes?!" The former Sheriff demanded.

"You know what this place is?! We protect the public from very nasty stuff; smallpox, ebola strains that could wipe out half the country! Stuff you don't want to get out! Ever! In the event of a catastrophic power failure, like in a terrorist attack, for example, H.I.T.s are deployed to prevent any organisms from getting out."

"H.I.T.s?" Rick asked.

"VI, define."

"H.I.T.s—high-impulse thermo baric fuel-air explosives consist of a two-stage aerosol ignition that produces a blast wave of significantly greater power and duration than any other known explosive except nuclear. The vacuum-pressure effect ignites the oxygen at between 5,000 degrees and 6,000 degrees and is useful when the greatest loss of life and damage to structures is desired."

"It sets the air on fire. No pain. An end to sorrow, grief. Regret. Everything."

"Open the damn door!"

Shane took an axe and began beating against the door, Daryl joined in with another axe he'd found. And as they pounded away at the metal door, hoping that by some miracle, it would give way, the children began to cry. Carl ran to Lori and clung to her side. Sophia buried her head in her mother's sweater, clinging to both her and her doll. Nathan ran a hand over his head, his heart racing, his head swimming, hands clammy.

"You should've left well enough alone. It would have been so much easier." Jenner tried.

"Easier for who?" Lori snapped. "How is that easy for any of us?"

"You know what's out there; a short, brutal life and an agonizing death," He turned to Andrea. "Your sister, what was her name?"

"Amy."

"You know what this does, you've seen it. Is that what you really want for your wife and son?"

"I DON'T WANT THIS!" Rick screamed.

"Those doors are designed to withstand a rocket launcher." Jenner explained nonchalantly.

"Yeah well your head ain't!" Daryl charged him, axe raised.

Shane and T-Dog quickly restrained him.

"Just back up! Back up!"

"You do want this," Jenner responded. "Last night, you said you knew it was just a matter of time before everyone you loved was dead."

After his argument with Lori, he wandered the halls, aimlessly drinking and thinking. He'd run into Jenner, who was also drinking, and they talked. He spoke of his innermost fears and worries and thought they were safe with him.

"You really said that?" Shane questioned. "After all your big talk?"

"I had to keep hope alive, didn't I?"

"There is no hope; there never was." Jenner said.

"There's always hope!" Rick insisted. "Maybe it won't be you, maybe not here, but someone somewhere–"

"What part of everything is gone do you not understand?" Andrea questioned.

"Listen to your friend, she gets it–" Jenner urged. "This is what takes us down. This is our extinction event."

"This isn't right!" Carol exclaimed in between sobs. "You can't just keep us here."

"One tiny moment. No pain."

"My daughter doesn't deserve to die like this!"

Jenner squatted down in front of Carol. "Wouldn't it be kinder, more compassionate just to hold your loved ones and wait for the clock to run down?"

Shane had had enough of him and his condescending bullshit. He grabbed his shotgun and charged Dr. Jenner.

"Shane, no!" Rick shouted.

He shoved the barrel in the back of Jenner's head. "Open that door, or I'm gonna blow your head off! Do you hear me?"

"Brother, brother, this is not the way we do this!" Rick insisted. "If you kill him, we will never get out of here!"

"Please listen to him!" Lori begged.

"It's too late."

"He dies, we all–"

Shane erupted in screams and violence; instead of listening to his friends or shooting Jenner like he'd promised, he began shooting the computers.

"Shane!"

Rick and Shane fell into a struggle; both battling for dominance over the situation. Somehow, by the grace of God, Rick was able to knock the gun out of his hand. He clocked him in his jaw, sending the former Deputy to the ground.

"Are you done now?" Rick asked, shaking out his hand.

"Yeah, I guess we all are–" Shane panted.

Rick tossed the gun and T-Dog caught it with ease. He looked at Lori's long face, Carl's tears, Nathan's pained face, then turned to Jenner.

"I think you're lying." He said as a matter of fact.

"What?"

"You're lying about there being no hope," Rick squatted down in front of him. "If that were true, you'd have bolted with the rest or taken the easy way out. You didn't. You chose the hard way. Why?"

"It doesn't matter."

"It matters! It always matters. You stayed when others ran. Why?"

"Not because I wanted to," He pointed to the monitor. "I made a promise to her. My wife."

"Test subject 19 was your wife?" Lori asked.

"She begged me to keep going as long as I could," He paused, lowering his head. "How could I say no?"

Amid the silence, some like Daryl, continued in a vain attempt to get out.

"She was dying," Jenner said. "It should've been me on that table, I wouldn't have mattered to anybody. Hell, she ran this place, I didn't. I just worked here. In our field, she was Einstein. Me? I'm just…Edwin Jenner. She could've done something about this, but not me."

"Your wife didn't have a choice, but you do," Rick said. "That's all we want, a choice; a chance.

"Let us keep trying as long as we can." Lori pleaded.

Jenner heaved a heavy sigh, stood and walked to the security pad. He typed in a quick code and suddenly, the doors began to open.

Daryl backed away and turned to the others. "Come on!"

"Let's go!" Glenn yelled.

Everyone took off running, not taking even just one second for granted.

"There's your chance, take it." Jenner said, tone full of spite.

Rick nodded. "I'm grateful."

"The day will come when you won't be."

As everyone left the room, Jenner shook Rick's hand, then pulled him closer. He whispered something in his ear that only he could hear.

Lori began tugging on his shirt, pleading for him to leave.

"Let's go, please!" T-Dog pleaded.

Jacqui shook her head, tears in her eyes. "I'm staying, sweetie."

"That's insane!"

"No! I'm not ending up like Jim and Amy. There's no time to argue, and no point, not if you want to get out. Just get out!"

Jacqui pushed T-Dog away, and as he cried for his older sister, Glenn and Dale pulled him away.

And after giving Jacqui one last hug, he turned and found Andrea standing still.

"Andrea?"

There was a moment where she doubted what was even best for her; a quick and painless death, instead of suffering from everything out there - that was an easy answer, at least, but she never took the easy way out, not ever! So why would she start now?

"Andrea?" Dale tried again.

She finally snapped out of her trance, eyes full of tears. "I'm sorry."

Jacqui and Dr. Jenner understood; Jacqui nodded and they shared a quick hug. They left the facility in a hurry and caught up to the others, who were still stuck in the lobby. Daryl was hacking away at the bulletproof windows, Shane on the door, hoping that something would give way, but all attempts were null and void.

"Come on!" Glenn shouted between blows. "It doesn't work!"

As the boys went back to exhausting themselves, Carol remembered something she picked up from the Quarry and reached into her purse.

"I have something that might help."

"Carol, I don't think a nail file's gonna do it." Shane replied.

"Your first morning at camp, when I washed your uniform, I found this in your pocket." She explained, passing the grenade.

Rick took it, knowing it was the only solution to this very sticky situation.

"Everyone look out!" T-Dog shouted.

Everyone took cover as Rick removed the pin and tossed the grenade near the door. He screamed a slew of curses, as he ran for cover. And no sooner did he jump behind a pile of sandbags, did the grenade detonate. The impact from the explosion shattered the windows, giving the survivors a clear escape.

"Go! Go! Go!" Shane yelled.

The explosion attracted all the walkers nearby, something that was welcomed at this point. Bullets began to fly as they ran back to the vehicles, their time running out. And just as the survivors took cover near the vehicles, the building exploded into a blazing inferno.

It only took seconds, but everything was gone; a pile of ash and rubble, when just last night, it saved their life. Now there was truly no hope.

Nathan watched from the window as the caravan drove away from the carnage. It was hard to put into words, but he almost didn't make it. And not that the world outside was much kinder, it was having a choice on whether he wanted to live or die.

Carl took his hand, which took him by surprise. He turned to his younger brother, who didn't look so young anymore. His mother and father sat quietly in the front seat, his father holding his head, trembling slightly, and his mother trying to process all that happened.

Nathan managed to calm himself down, but now all he could think about was his fate; will he live to tell another day, or be just a faded memory?