NOTE: Trigger warning (Depictions of graphic violence and sexual assault/rape. The typical Walking Dead content.)

GARETH (Location: Terminus / Time: Flashback, around the time Rick's group first found the prison, night)

Gareth's vision kept wavering. He felt like he was floating. He was moving but he wasn't walking. As his vision came back, he saw that he was being dragged by two people, a black woman holding him on his right and a bald, Latino man on his left. His left eye was still bleeding from the punch that had knocked him clean out while his ribs ached from the vicious kicking he had received from the guards who were dragging him.

As he was being dragged, from the corner of his eye, he saw his brother Alex and his mother Mary being dragged into the boxcars. Those damn boxcars, Gareth thought. They contained the group's food and other essential supplies. But these bastards had cleaned them out when they arrived. Now they were being stored to house people. He could hear the screaming, even when the doors were closed. It sickened him.

It was a mistake, Gareth kept telling himself. They were letting people in without properly screening them. The danger of letting dangerous people in was always a concern but his mother always reassured him that nothing would go wrong. That since they were doing the right thing by saving people, they wouldn't be punished for it. Now, he was being dragged to god only knows where for trying to be a Good Samaritan.

When his vision fully returned, he saw that he had been dragged to the group's main warehouse. It was their base of operations, where they sent out the radio message to anyone who could hear it. The doors opened and the two marauders dragged Gareth inside.

Right there, he saw an awful sight. Three of the marauders stood in the middle of the room, among them being the man who crushed his eye. Gareth recognized him as the man who wanted to speak for his group. Owen was his name. His face was covered in tattoos and he had a sickening smile. The kind of smile only monsters and murderers had. The doors closed behind Gareth as the two henchmen dragged him to Owen.

The two tossed Gareth to the ground and held him up. This was complete humiliation for him, to be down on his knees at the man's mercy. Owen smiled again as he knelt down to be at eye level with Gareth.

OWEN: Well, well, well...if it isn't our generous host. I gotta say, you're our biggest haul so far. We've got food to last for months thanks to y'all.

GARETH: What do you want? We didn't do anything to you and your people-

Owen, with his backhand, slapped Gareth right on his left cheek. It stung immensely, almost knocking him back out.

OWEN: Why is it that people always assume I want something? Here, answer this. You know, your group isn't the first time we've done this. I reckon this is the...sixth group of idiots that we sacked. And you know why we do it?

GARETH: For...their supplies? Your group is always on the move so you need supplies.

OWEN: (laughs) If we wanted supplies, we'd scavenge, not waste our goddamn fucking time attacking people that can possibly fight back. It's too much of a risk. No, we do this because...well, it's fun. Do you find this fun, Gareth?

Gareth shook his head.

OWEN: Of course you don't, you being the victim here. But I look at you and even if the tables were flipped, you wouldn't enjoy it. You're the kind of man who saves people. You're the kind of person who'd find this barbaric. Well, if you spent any time outside your walls, and I bet you have, you'd realize that the apocalypse is a little...boring. Sure, you kill a bunch of geeks here and there but the geeks stop being fun to kill once you've gotten the hang of it. People on the other hand….they always present a challenge. Whether it's people behind walls, people traveling in a group, or just people doing fuck knows what, they always do something different. Some people negotiate, some people fight, and some people just collapse because they're too damn weak to negotiate or fight. You...you're a negotiator, not a fighter. You tried just now.

GARETH: What choice do I have here? So if I can't negotiate my way out of this, why don't you just kill me now?

OWEN: Oh, we will. Don't be so impatient to meet the reaper. I want to enjoy my time with you and everyone else in...Terminus? Is that what you call this place? That's a cute name. Not as good as "Nirvana", that was the name a group in Alabama called the shopping mall they were hiding in, but definitely better than "Beakman's Fortress". Some nut in South Carolina called his farm that. I ripped his fucking stomach open for coming up with such an ugly name. Anyways, where was I? Oh yeah, you're gonna hate your final days Gareth. You're gonna wish you were dead and when you start begging for me to shove my 9mm down your throat, I'm just gonna keep on torturing you until you're the last one left. Then who knows...maybe I'll let you live just to fuck with you. But until then...let the torture begin.

At that, Owen snapped his fingers. The two guards who were standing with Owen left and headed to the backroom. They came back, dragging a young, blonde woman to the room. Blue eyes, soft features, the kind of woman who'd fit the farmer's daughter stereotype. Gareth's mouth dropped when he saw her, as well as all his calmness. Owen almost laughed at Gareth's newfound anger

GARETH: Abigail...let her fucking go!

Anyone but her. Alex and Mary were always there in the back of his head but seeing Abigail, his wife, threw him off. Owen noticed that and smiled.

OWEN: Abigail? That's a lovely name. She says she's your wife. Married before the apocalypse started. She weaved a little tale about you and her that actually made my daughter Mia cry. You guys want to hear it?

The soldiers cooed him on, as if it were a joke to them all.

OWEN: According to Abigail, you had just graduated from law school and she was working as the secretary for some start-up when you proposed to her. You were planning on moving to California because you had gotten a job offer by Morrison & Foerster. And the only reason you accepted the offer was because she had said yes to your proposal. It was actually adorable the way she described it. Wine, candles, and you dined at the restaurant you had your first date in. You must really love this woman.

GARETH: I'll rip your fucking throat out, you hear me! If you even think about touching her-

OWEN: No you won't. You're a negotiator, remember? You don't fight. If you did fight, you wouldn't have even let me and my people inside your camp! Now...I'm going to break you. And this is how I do it. And fellas, I want him to watch this.

The two guards next to Gareth grabbed his head, making sure he didn't look away. Owen, without hesitation, began ripping off Abigail's clothes. The guards laughed as Gareth screamed for Abigail. When she tried to run away, Owen grabbed her by the ankles and broke them, stomping on both of them with his boots.

The rage only grew and grew. All Gareth could think of was killing Owen again and again, even as the man proceeded to rape his wife in front of him. He dug his nails so deep into his palm that he felt the blood come out and he thought of doing the same but to Owen's face.

(Time: Flashforward. The next morning after Carol and Abraham's trio found Gareth)

Gareth woke up to the sound of birds tweeting. Bad dream, he thought. The others he was with were still sleeping. The fat one, Eugene, was curled up in a ball while the warrior queen Carol had fallen asleep with her rifle still at hand. She must've fallen asleep while guarding. Abraham and Rosita were sleeping next to each other. Just seeing the two of them made him yearn to see Abigail again. Terminus was still a few miles away but they weren't too far now. As long as the herds stayed away, it would take a day and a half to reach the place.

He stood up and stretched. His leg still hurt from getting caught in the bear trap but fortunately for him, he still had function. Well, at least that's some kind of good news, Gareth thought. He looked at his palm. He could still see the marks where he dug his fingernails into. That night, that awful night. And he would forever have these scars to remind him of it.

When he turned his hand around, there were different marks. Different scar marks. These marks he had gotten after he pummeled Mia's face into the ground, caving her skull in. Different scars, but the story felt the same. Gareth could still remember how it went down. His people held Owen down as he pummeled the man's daughter. She had done nothing wrong and was even against attacking Terminus. Still, Owen had assaulted his wife. At the time, Gareth just wanted to be even, even if it meant attacking an innocent person.

It was wrong but it felt so right. At that, Gareth smiled. Owen was a bastard and he remained a bastard, even after Gareth killed him. But he was right about one thing; making people suffer was indeed fun.

BETH 2 (the next morning)

Rick was still asleep in the break room, still recovering from the beating he had gotten from the Governor. His face was swollen and his breathing had become labored but for now, he was fine. Beth was worried at first that Rick had died but Bob reassured her that he was recuperating.

With Rick out, Bob and Beth began looking through the coffee shop to see what they could find. Miraculously, they found a working coffee machine and they had tons of coffee beans to select from. For this morning, Beth decided on a bag of "Hawaii Roasters". They had no sugar and cream but it would do.

As the coffee brewed, Bob laid down on a couch, still tired from yesterday. He massaged the shoulder that was hit during the fall of the prison. Beth had helped him with the bandages and judging from the wound, she had nothing to worry about. Still, she felt compelled to ask about his injuries.

BETH: How's your shoulder?

BOB: It's fine. I just need some time to heal. Well, both me and Rick. So we'll stay here until both of us are at 100%. No point in trying to find the others if we can barely fight. Besides, I'm pretty sure everyone's fine.

BETH: You seem awfully cheery for someone who just lost his home.

BOB: Wasn't there long enough to get attached. And this isn't the first time this happened to me.

BETH: This has happened to you before?

BOB: Twice. The first time, it was an internal problem. We fell apart because we killed each other. The second time, we all walked into a trap. We were told it was a rescue station. We didn't know someone else had taken it. Both times, I was the only guy who made it out. So for the third time this happened to me, I'm just happy I'm not alone.

BETH: Me too.

BOB: Are you really okay? I mean...Hershel. I don't want to bring this up but I gotta know. Are you really okay Beth?

Beth took a sip of her coffee. Of course she wasn't okay but like her dad used to say, we all got jobs to do. As the only person in the group who wasn't injured, now wasn't a time to doubt.

BETH: I'm okay. I mean, it happened and Maggie's gone but...I'm here, you're here, and Rick's here. I have to remain strong for the three of us.

BOB: Well said.

BETH: Okay...I guess that means I'll be doing the supply runs.

BOB: What do you mean? I can still move around, I'll go with you.

BETH: But your shoulder. Bob, no offense, but I'm not sure you'll be any help outside.

BOB: If Rick can take down a walker in his state, then I can help you gather supplies. Besides, I'm stronger than you. Do you really expect to be gathering the supplies for three people on your own?

Beth smiled at Bob's insistence.

BETH: Okay, you can come with...but not until Rick wakes up. I don't want to leave him unguarded, what if a walker comes in and finds him? If you're so insistent on helping me, then watch Rick.

BOB: (sighs) Alright girl, that's fair. Just be safe while you're out there. Watch out for walkers and people, especially people.

BETH: Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. If something happens...actually I take that back. Hollering will probably just get me killed.

BOB: If something happens, you run your ass back to us. You drop whatever it was that you were carrying and you run. Your life's not worth anything you find.

Beth nodded at that. Bob then handed her a pistol, a few extra magazines, and Rick's machete in case she ran out of ammo. She then headed out and walked towards the one place she knew would have food; the local supermarket. It was probably looted but she had to give it a try.

As she approached the supermarket, she began noticing strange things on the road. Lying on the floor was a dead body whose head was cut off completely. What was strange was that it was wearing some kind of white robe, like a monk. At first, Beth ignored it but that was when she encountered more headless bodies with white robes. It was one thing to find one person in white robes but finding several, it raised questions.

Further down the street, she saw a torso. Its limbs had been cut off and spread around it, which led to Beth thinking that some kind of ritual had happened here.

Her suspicions seemed to have been confirmed when she came across the parking lot of the supermarket. On the ground, the words "THEY ARE COMING" were written in chalk and covered nearly the entire lot. Beth was stunned by it.

BETH: What the hell is going on here?

Beth ran inside the supermarket, quickly grabbing a shopping cart and began throwing in any item she thought would be useful. She just wanted to get in and out as soon as possible. For some reason, this area was creeping her out more so than the walkers. Of course, the store was looted but much to her surprise, there were still several canned goods and other supplies lying around.

As the cart filled up, Beth turned the corner and almost let out a scream from what she saw. A walker was hanging from the ceiling, its neck still caught in the noose. A stool was beneath its feet, painting an eerie image of what had happened. Just as Beth walked over to cut the walker down, a man carrying a bucket stepped into the aisle from the other side. He held his hand up, warning her not to approach the walker.

MAN: Don't! Dorothy was just startled by you, she didn't mean any harm!

Beth stepped back as the man took the stool and used it to climb up to greet the zombie. He reached into his bucket and pulled what appeared to be a piece of meat and fed it to the zombie. The zombie ate it vigorously, ripping away at the piece of flesh. Immediately, Beth aimed her pistol at the man. Something was clearly wrong with him.

MAN: You can put that away, little girl. This is deer, I killed it an hour ago.

BETH: I don't care what that is, why are you feeding her!?

MAN: I said...drop it.

The man dropped his bucket to the ground and stepped down from the stool. He slowly approached Beth, his hands raised up to avoid suspicion. Beth kept her gun levelled.

MAN: Okay, let's start over. My name is Hal. This is our sister, Dorothy. I feed her from time to time because she gets hungry.

BETH: "Our" sister?

HAL: We're all brothers and sisters here, blonde girl. Even at death, no one can destroy our bonds.

BETH: Alright...I'm gonna ask you this again. Why are you feeding her!? She's dead, she doesn't need to eat.

HAL: That's not very nice, little one. It's not nice to say people are dead when they're just sick.

That sounded just like dad, Beth thought. Was my dad really like this? Part of Beth began to fear that if Rick's group hadn't shown up when they did, her dad might've become a lunatic like Hal.

HAL: Dorothy will get better. That's what Kaiden says as well. They are coming and they will save us from this world!

BETH: Who's "they"? Start giving me some answers!

HAL: Come with me, I'll show you. (extends hand to Beth)

It was tempting but definitely not enough to risk her life for. She shook her head.

BETH: Sorry, I'm not that interested.

At that, Beth holstered her gun and immediately ran off with her cart. As she fled, another person tackled her cart from her left. Beth didn't see the woman coming. The woman shoved the cart away and tried to strangle Beth. The woman's grip was cold and strong. Beth could feel her lungs beginning to close and the woman's grip only grew tighter the more she struggled.

Much to Beth's surprise, Hal rushed in and stopped the woman from strangling Beth by grabbing her arms. Beth took a deep breath back in to regain all the lost air.

HAL: Angela, don't! I was going to take her back to Kaiden!

ANGELA: I was standing here the whole time, she already refused your offer. Hal, she has to die-

In an act of desperation, Beth grabbed the machete from her belt and slammed it into Angela's neck. Angela yelled but there was nothing she could do about it. She quickly bled out as the blood hit Beth right in the face.

Shocked by the sight, Hal immediately took off, trying to get away from Beth. Without even thinking about it, Beth grabbed her gun and fired two shots at Hal, intent on just stopping him. Although she aimed for the man's feet, the bullets instead hit him right on the back. The man gasped and then collapsed on the ground, killed on accident.

Two people, Beth thought. She hadn't kill anyone before but in just a few seconds, she had killed two people. Part of her didn't feel that bad about it. Most of what she was feeling was more of a surprise that she killed people.

A couple of walkers nearby heard the shots. They entered the supermarket and began approaching the lifeless bodies of Angela and Hal. Still shellshocked, Beth took off, back to the coffee shop where Bob and Rick were. She had no idea what just happened but deep down, she knew this wasn't the end of it.

DARYL 2 (the morning after Tara was shot by Jose)

It was a tough, quiet night but despite the initial danger, Tara was declared to be okay for now by the Mexican family's medic, Galen. There had been a brief stand-off right after Tara was shot. Galen, who was sleeping upstairs, ran down as quickly as he could and nearly shot Daryl if it hadn't been for Jose telling him not to. Galen was a short, pudgy man in his 50s. Daryl didn't want to say it out loud but the man reminded him a lot of Dale. It hurt to be reminded.

The words still haunted him. "I'm sorry, brother", almost echoing how he felt when he had to put Merle down. Daryl put those thoughts away as he dug into the huevos rancheros prepared by Marian, Jose's wife. He ate next to Lilly, Jose, and the man's son, Diego. Judith was placed in a playpen with Jose and Marian's daughter, Marisol. The two babies seemed to be getting along with each other.

After Daryl finished his meal, he turned to Jose. He needed to know about what had happened since leaving the farm.

DARYL: So, I didn't get a chance to say this but...thanks. I mean, you're the one who got her in that situation but thanks for letting us stay and patching her up.

JOSE: You should thank Galen. The man has done wonders for us since we found him. You're right, I'm the one who shot her. But you have to understand, I thought you were them.

DARYL: I get it...of course I get it.

Jose nodded and pushed a can of beer to Daryl. He took it as Jose took his.

DARYL: How'd you find this place?

JOSE: Well, after the incident on the bridge, me and my wife went into the countryside. We figured that the dead were mainly in the cities so there shouldn't be as many out in the rural areas. We found this farm and we've been here ever since. It's quiet out here. The only person we've come across before your group was Galen.

DARYL: I see.

JOSE: Look, I never did thank you-

DARYL: Don't even start.

JOSE: Sorry, didn't mean to offend you. But I must insist, if it hadn't been for you, that man on the bridge would have robbed us completely.

DARYL: That "man" on the bridge was my brother. And he's dead now.

JOSE: I get that. I won't speak ill of the dead but I just want to let you know, you're welcome to stay with us for what you did.

Another group? Daryl snorted at the suggestion. He took the can of beer and walked away, not even bothering to thank Jose. Jose, slightly offended by Daryl's indifference, simply took a sip from his can. Lilly, noticing the hostility, then sat a little closer to Jose to explain what had happened to him.

Daryl overheard it all. Lilly went over what happened at the prison, with the Governor, and with Hershel. It was a lot for Jose to take in but he nodded, understanding the situation. Daryl couldn't bare to hear it all again. The prison was now just a memory but that didn't mean it still didn't sting. He needed to get his mind off of it all.

He walked over to Tara, who was being watched over by a sleeping Galen. Tara smiled weakly at Daryl, trying her best not to move due to the gunshot.

DARYL: How you holding up?

TARA: Well, Galen says the bullet went straight through, meaning I don't have any bullet shards to deal with. It still hurts like a motherfucker but hey, what can you do?

DARYL: Did Jose already approach you?

TARA: He did. He told me why he did it, I forgave him for it. Hell, I'm just glad he's not that good of a shot. I mean, they only go down with a shot to the head but he hits me in the chest, I'd laugh if it didn't hurt.

DARYL: You need me to get you anything?

TARA: Well...a can of beer would be nice. Got anymore?

Feeling sorry for her, Daryl placed his can next to Tara. She smiled at that. It was still too soon to smile back but Daryl acknowledged her with a nod. She lifted her right hand, hoping for a fist bump.

TARA: Come on, D-Man, don't leave me hanging.

DARYL: You gotta be kidding me.

Why not, Daryl thought. She was an annoying pain but she was harmless. Daryl fist bumped her and walked away, which in turn made her smile.

Daryl exited to the front porch. The dead were still scattered about but not enough to be a threat. He took in a deep breath, just to take it all in. The sun was still rising and the air was crisp. Maybe things will get better, he began thinking. He didn't really believe it but compared to what happened at the prison, things have to start getting better. They just had to.

As he stood there, he saw a strange figure in the distance. At first, Daryl thought he was just imagining it but as it grew nearer, it became more clear what it was. It was a car, a police car to be exact. Daryl recognized the logo of the car immediately.

Atlanta Police Department.

Recognizing a threat, Daryl went inside and grabbed his crossbow. He whistled, signalling to the group that someone was coming. Tara grabbed her pistol but Lilly urged her to remain where she was. Lilly and Jose joined Daryl, armed and ready to fire at these newcomers.

The police car stopped in front of the house. Two officers stepped out, one a bald Latino man and the other a white woman with black hair in a bun. The officers had pistols but they didn't draw them. The Latino officer walked up to the front porch but wisely enough, he didn't step up to greet Daryl.

MAN: Hello folks. I know, this is pretty suspicious. Two cops just show up at your front porch, even if the apocalypse didn't happen, this would still be suspicious. Since we're the intruders here, we'll introduce ourselves first. I'm Officer Bob Lamson, this is my partner Vivian Shepherd. We're here because we're looking for a member of our group.

Daryl eyed the man carefully. There was something off about the way he was presenting himself. The man fake coughed, probably trying to get Daryl to introduce himself and the rest of the group.

DARYL: You actually Atlanta PD or you just found those uniforms?

BOB: Not sure why that matters but yes, we were Atlanta PD.

DARYL: It does matter...prick. You might've-

BOB: Picked up the uniforms from people we killed, yeah I get it. Look, let's not bullshit ourselves here. You don't trust me and I sure as hell don't trust you. But I'm trying to be nice so you, in turn, can trust us. Here, I'll even say this. I don't think you're bad people. Just from where I'm standing, I can see a playpen with I think two babies in them. You people take care of babies, I doubt you're bad. Me and Shepherd, we're hold up in one of the city's hospitals, Grady Memorial. If you'd like, you can come back with us. Get the care your babies need that you can't get out here.

At that, Shepherd walked up to Bob and began whispering in his ear. Obviously, she disapproved of the plan.

Before Daryl had a chance to think about it, he heard the backdoor open and the sounds of someone running. Daryl looked back and saw that Galen had took off, with a backpack filled with the group's ammunition and guns. Immediately, Lamson and Shepherd jumped back into their car and took off after Galen.

Galen didn't make it far. Before he even reached the forest, he tired out and quickly gave himself up. Bob jumped out and aimed his pistol right at Galen's head.

GALEN: Fuck you Bob! Why did you fucking follow me!? Why couldn't you, Dawn, and the rest? of those assholes leave me alone!?

SHEPHERD: Holy shit, we actually found him.

BOB: (to Shepherd) It's not as if this son of a bitch went far in the first place. (to Galen) On the ground, Galen! On the-

GALEN: Please, don't fucking take me back there! They'll kill me-

BOB: On the ground, Galen! On the ground or I'll drop you!

Daryl, Lilly, and Jose ran over to the scene. Daryl had his crossbow up, aimed right at Bob's face. Shepherd jumped out and aimed her pistol at Daryl and in turn, Lilly aimed her gun at Shepherd. Jose aimed his revolver at Bob.

DARYL: What the hell is going on here!?

BOB: It's none of your concern-

JOSE: You point guns at people in our group and you say it's none of our concern? You might want to rethink your words.

BOB: We're taking Galen back to where he belongs. He ran from us-

DARYL: Thought you said you lost him. Looks to me he didn't want to be found.

BOB: It doesn't matter what you fucking think, you white trash piece of shit! Now we can either do this the easy way where you let us take him or you can do it the hard way! What's it gonna be, you fucking assholes.

LILLY: Guys, let's calm down! Look, Officer Lamson, I don't want to have to do this but you can't just take the man. Like we said, he's part of our group. He saved my sister's life last night. Doesn't that-

BOB: Yeah, he saved your sister's life with the stuff he stole from us. Now, you either let us take him or someone dies!

SHEPHERD: You best listen to the man! You don't want to protect a piece of shit like Galen.

At that, Daryl turned to Jose and Lilly, who both turned to Daryl. Shepherd did raise a point. None of them really knew anything about Galen, even Jose. But it would be cruel to just condemn a man to an unknown fate for just not knowing anything about him. It was a tough call for all three of them. Just to be sure as to who they were condemning, Daryl stepped up and began questioning Bob.

DARYL: What did he do?

BOB: He ran off from our camp. He took several of our supplies, medicine that we were in short supply with, and he killed an officer on his way out.

SHEPHERD: Ian Wong was a good man. He was new to the force but a good man nonetheless. And you know what Galen did? He sliced his throat just for asking him where he was going! He didn't deserve to be killed by this bastard!

GALEN: They're lying to you! I never even met the guy! These people, they killed their own guy to set me up. That's who these people are, they're liars and killers!

SHEPHERD: Shut the fuck up Galen! Next word that comes out of your mouth, you die!

JOSE: Hey, you shoot him, you die next!

The arguing began to sound like radio chatter to Daryl. There were so many people yelling and screaming around him that he was not sure where the argument was going. Just then, the argument got cut off by the sound of a gunshot. Daryl turned around. It had come from the house. He saw Tara Chambler standing by the backdoor, a smoking gun in her hand and the body of a dead Atlanta police officer next to her.

DARYL: Holy shit...how many of you are out here!?

TARA: This bastard tried to kidnap Judith! I shot him before he could. I didn't want to but he gave me no choice!

BOB: No...Jeffries. You fucking bitch!

DARYL: Bob, don't!

LILLY: Tara, get down-

Lilly was cut off by the sound of gunshots from both sides. Daryl dropped to the ground as the gunfire raged, alerting a large herd of walkers back to the farm. He wasn't sure who was hit but at the moment, all he cared about was figuring out who got shot.

AARON (Location: Richmond / Time: The same morning in the previous two chapters)

Recruiting people for Alexandria was always busy work but in the past few days, the amount of people Aaron's group had come across was down to zero. It was worrying that they hadn't come across any new survivors, especially considering that finding people was their job. Against his own instincts, Aaron decided to expand the search into Richmond. A little further out than what they were used to but it was worth a shot.

Due to the greater distance, Eric had brought along two newcomers, Daisy and DeAngelo. Daisy was a Chinese woman in her mid-twenties and DeAngelo was a black man in his forties. They were Eric's friends and after being saved by him on several past treks, Aaron had grown to trust Eric's instincts. Even then, Aaron was a little worried about adding people into the group.

Then again, he was worried he made the wrong call in expanding the recruitment missions into Richmond.

Aaron stood watch outside the quartet's RV, trying his luck with the audio-catching device. He wanted to see if he could catch anyone having a conversation around their area. But so far, he had caught nothing. As he was doing this, Eric and Daisy were checking houses while DeAngelo waited inside the RV, in case they needed to drive away in a hurry. After hours of waiting, he had grown bored and joined Aaron.

DEANGELO: What's the verdict?

AARON: Caught nothing yet but I'm hopeful.

DEANGELO: Fair enough, Aaron. But just letting you know, if you haven't caught anything...maybe it's because-

AARON: No, don't even think that. Don't ever suggest that. There's still people out there. You just gotta have faith.

DEANGELO: Why should I?

AARON: Because you just should.

Aaron didn't have a clear answer. He was starting to lose faith as well but he knew, as their leader, that he couldn't afford to lose it. There had to be people out here. At this point, he didn't care if they were dangerous or not, he just wanted to know that there were still survivors.

Eric and Daisy came back. Eric was pushing a shopping cart filled with supplies looted from the houses. They began loading them in the RV but one of the boxes, he showed to Aaron.

ERIC: Snagged this from one of the more expensive-looking houses. Six bottles of Dominican Oaks Cabernet Napa, all from California. Surprised that no one took these. Oh well, it's ours now. We could open one up once we get back to Alexandria, what do you say?

Eric smiled at Aaron. Aaron weakly smiled back.

ERIC: What's wrong? You still worried we won't find anyone out here?

AARON: Sometimes, I wonder if you can read my mind.

ERIC: It's not like you're a complicated person. I figured you out even before we started dating.

Aaron laughed at that as Eric playfully patted Aaron on the back. Just then, the device Aaron was tinkering with began to go off. Aaron immediately tried tuning it to see if he could pinpoint where the audio was coming from.

As he did, a gunshot rang out, hitting the device. Aaron dropped it as several gunmen emerged from behind the houses, firing at the group.

Eric ran to the SUV they had also come with to grab his rifle. A window on the SUV was shot out by the sniper, almost hitting Eric. Just the sight of Eric in danger threw Aaron into a state of panic.

AARON: Eric, don't move! I'm coming for you!

ERIC: No, you're going to get yourself shot!

Aaron ran after Eric. As he did, another gunshot rang out, hitting Aaron on his left ankle. He screamed as he landed head first into the trunk of a derelict car. He was knocked out on impact.

(Moments after being knocked out)

Aaron's vision slowly returned to him as he came to his senses. He looked at his foot and much to his surprise, someone had made him a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. It still hurt but he was glad that he wouldn't bleed out on the ground.

Aaron shifted to see what was happening. As more of the mysterious hunters surrounded them, he saw a hooded woman blindfold and gag Eric and toss him into the back of a military truck. They did the same to Daisy and DeAngelo before one of the hunters came to him. Weakly, Aaron faced his captor.

AARON: Why...why...why didn't you just kill us?

HUNTER 1: We need you for...reasons. There's a group of people in northern Georgia that we trade with. We meet in a pit stop a few miles from here every time we make a trade. That's where we're headed. We give them people for whatever reason they want and they supply us with weapons and ammunition.

AARON: Who are these people?

HUNTER 1: Don't know and quite frankly, I don't want to find out. They're always asking for people and the fact that they need to keep asking for more scares me. But since you're so eager to know, they live in a place called Terminus. You'll be seeing it soon enough.

AARON: Why are you telling me this?

HUNTER 1 (laughs): Because it's not like you'll squeal to anyone. Besides...if what I hear about Terminus is true, you might not even be here for much longer.

At that, the hunter blindfolded and gagged Aaron and shoved him into the truck. Aaron could hear the engine of the truck turn on and just like that, they were on their way to Georgia. Hundreds of miles away from Alexandria. From home.

Author's note: First up, sorry for the extremely late update. I was dealing with a lot of school stuff, internships, club stuff, etc. Basically, I've been busy since the first chapter. But I'm back, for now. Hopefully I can release content more consistently.

So yeah, character development for Gareth. There'll probably be more flashbacks for Gareth and the other characters, just letting you all know in advance. While the show did reveal part of Gareth's backstory, I do want to go into why his people became cannibals, which is what I'm trying to do with the flashbacks. Anyways, onto Daryl.

Since Daryl does not have the warm, loving Beth to bring him back from the darkness and the fact he has to deal with the Governor's former allies / new people, as you can see, Daryl will be taking a turn for the worse as the story goes on. Will he come back from the brink? Unfortunately, no promises on that. Besides, writing "Dark Daryl" is pretty fun and it is something I intend on exploring fully. That is, if he survives the shootout with Bob and Shepherd.

As for Rick, Beth, and Bob, the stalkers are a major factor in their storyline. Are they Terminus? Maybe, maybe not. Also, what are "they"? Time will tell. But I do have a lot in mind for this unlikely trio.

Last but not least, surprise, Aaron! I do read the comics so I was planning on introducing Aaron early. This is not because the show did it.

Anyways, onto the next chapter (once I complete it)!

Characters of focus in the next chapter: Tara, Sasha 2, Carl 2, and Glenn 2