The sensation of falling caused Daryl to violently jolt awake. It took him several seconds to take notice of his surroundings. He was still sitting on the floor of the church slumped against the wooden pew. The room was lit with several candles throughout. He knew he hadn't been out long because people were still divided into groups carrying on quite conversations. Some still eating from the "feast" of the evening.

Daryl put his head back with a sigh, wanting to continue his slumber. He jerked back up almost immediately upon realizing something was wrong. It took him only a second more to realize what it was. Sitting where Carol had been was a lone empty plate and no sign of the woman.

He quickly jumped to his feet almost shouting "Where's Carol?"

The room went silent all heads turning toward him. Michonne was the one to speak "I saw her go out the door a bit ago." she said casually. "I assumed she was going to use the bathroom."

Daryl moved quickly to the spot Carol had been sitting and looked for her pack. His stomach got tight with dread when he couldn't find it. Without saying another word he started out the door. He raced through the woods without his usual grace. He broke out of the trees right where the "emergency" car was supposed to be. The car was gone.

He braced his hands on his knees and took several deep breaths to control his frustration. He was startled when Rick asked "What's going on, Daryl?" from right beside him.

"She's gone." Daryl answered quietly.

"What do you mean?" Rick asked looking around with a confused expression.

Daryl sighed deeply "Me and Carol found a car with a charger. She said that we should leave it here in case things went south at the church. I knew she wasn't herself. She seemed so cut off from everyone. I was keeping an eye on her but I fell asleep." Daryl was on the verge of tears, picking up a rock and throwing it as hard as he could into the woods in his frustration.

"Maybe she will come back." Rick said trying to be optimistic.

"No." Tyreese said from behind them. "She wasn't planning on staying. She was just making sure that Judith and I made it to Terminus and then she was going to leave."

Daryl stood looking at Tyreese for several uncomfortable minutes before asking "Are you going to tell us what happened out there?" Daryl knew that Carol wasn't the only one changed. Tyreese was a broken man and nobody knew why.

Tyreese's only response was to shake his head an turn back toward the church.

"I don't know what to do." Daryl whispered totally lost.

"We just have to keep doing what we're doing. Maybe she'll realize the mistake she is making and will come back to us." Rick said as they started the journey back through the woods to the church.

Daryl nodded his head in agreement, but deep down he knew she wouldn't be back.

Carol knew even as she was starting the car that she was most likely making a huge mistake, but she never hesitated. Without even glancing in the rear view mirror she drove away from her family.

She didn't have the will to stay and watch them die, especially when there was no way to stop it. She was so full of pain, she didn't think it would ever stop hurting.

She drove for hours not even paying attention to the signs telling her where she was going. She just drove until eventually the car just stopped. Of course the car had to stop in the middle of nowhere, she wasn't really surprised.

She grabbed her pack out of the car, contemplating the rifle before deciding to take it. Then she simply started walking. She followed the road for several miles before turning and heading into the woods.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Two Weeks Later

The church had been a good place for the group to rest and regroup a little. Abraham, Rosita and Eugene decided to continue on their journey while the others decided to stay. Only a few days after the others left the remaining members of Terminus had attacked the church. It was a quick and bloody battle with no loss of life for the church group.

Rick had wanted to leave after the first week, but Daryl had been reluctant. He kept saying that he wanted the group to be able to rest more. Rick was sure Daryl didn't want to leave in case Carol returned. Rick knew that Daryl had gone hunting for Carol under the guise of hunting for supplies. While he had indeed found supplies, he never saw any sign of Carol or the car.

Rick hurt for his friend but they needed to be on the road. They desperately needed a more permanent home.

When the group were all sitting in the church eating that night he decided it was time to bring up leaving again. He looked over to see Daryl brooding over his beans.

"Daryl can you please join us over here." Rick put some authority in his voice, knowing Daryl was more likely to listen. Rick watched Daryl gave the biggest sigh of his life and then move to his feet. He slowly moved over to stand against the wall behind Maggie and Glenn who sat on the floor with Sasha and Bob. Tyreece was sitting on a bench to their left with Judith on a pile of blankets beside him and Michonne sitting on her other side. Carl and Gabriel sat on either side of Rick who was standing at the head of the group. Tara had been standing, but decided to sit beside Glenn when it looked like an important conversation.

Rick stood silently looking at his family. They had all been through so much. He wanted nothing more than to find them a safe permanent place. Even more so now he had Judith back.

"We need to move out of here and quick." he finally spoke. "I would like to have something more permanent before the cold gets here."

"I'm staying with my church." Gabriel spoke, looking wearily at the others.

Rick had expected that response from him. "We will set you up as best we can before we leave, but you are more than welcome to come with us."

Gabriel gave a small nod.

"Where are we going to go?" Glenn asked.

Before Rick could give an answer Daryl spoke up "Maybe we should try going into the mountains." he paused looking at the group to judge what they were thinking. Everyone seemed to be interested. He continued. "It would be harder to do runs, but it's not exactly easy now. It's harder on the walkers to move around on hills and stuff."

Tyreese was the first to break the silence. "I think it's not a bad idea. If we could find some place on a hill and put spikes up, it would make it harder for the bastards to climb."

Rick thought for a minute. "I don't have any problem with that idea. Does anyone else?"

Everyone shook their head in the negative.

"OK so we will take the rest of the day today and tomorrow to plan and to pack and to get Gabriel as settled as we can. Then we will hit a couple of towns around here and gather all the supplies we can, then head up the mountain."

Everyone agreed and went back to their business. Rick saw Daryl moving to the door, when he stepped out, Rick followed.

He found him sitting on the steps outside the church. "This is a good idea." Rick said sitting beside him.

Daryl just shrugged.

Rick sighed "I know you miss her. We all do, but she left us. She's obviously not coming back. You have to keep going. That's what she would want."

After a moment of silence Daryl replied "I know. It's time to move on. I just feel like I'm giving up on her."

Rick stood giving Daryl's shoulder a squeeze as he moved toward the door. "I know what you mean."

The next several weeks were filled with non-stop moving. They hit as many towns as they could, stocking up on supplies. They found three vehicles and stuffed them as full as they could while still being able to fit themselves. They had a large Chevy truck and two Jeep Cherokees. They had gotten lucky and found a stash of several gas cans full of gas and a hidden hatch under some stairs in an old house full of food goods. If they were careful they had enough food to last for several weeks, before they had to start getting nervous.

Finally a month after leaving the church they hit the pay dirt in the form of a large compound on the top of a mountain. It had a large two story central building made of stone and wood with two smaller one story building flanking either side, both made of stone. There was also three small aluminum sheds on the property.

There was a wooden wall about seven foot high on three sides. It looked to be more for decoration and privacy instead of protection, but with a little re-enforcement it could be a strong barrier against walkers. On the fourth side toward the road there looked to be the beginnings of a stone wall. Two sides of the property had nearly shear drops on the other side of the wall. The other two side were large hills. The hills were covered with high weeds and grass which would make it hard for walkers or people to climb. The road into the property was dirt and starting to be taken over by grass which would work in their favor.

There was only about 15 walkers stumbling around the outside, but they all turned in their direction immediately. They were taken care of quickly.

The sky was starting to darken so they chose one of the smaller buildings to camp in for the night. They cleared out the 5 walkers quickly and went about blocking all the entrances with whatever was available.

The next day they finished clearing out the other buildings with very little incident. They found a large kitchen area with a walk in pantry filled with canned and boxed goods. There was a freezer full of rotted meat. After a spirited game of Rock-Paper-Scissors Tara and Carl ended up in charge of freezer clean up. Neither of them being afraid to voice their displeasure.

In a small room on the bottom floor of the largest building they found a medical office with some meds and first aid supplies. In the small aluminum sheds they found a variety of garden tools. The majority were turned into much needed weapons.

When it was time to choose rooms they all decided to stay in the largest building. Sasha and Bob had a room together as did Glenn and Maggie. While the others had their own private rooms, with Judith with Rick.

They had been temporarily keeping the exposed side of the wall blocked with the Jeeps. They were eventually able to find enough random materials to make a crude wall with a gate large enough to drive through. They reinforced the other three sides as well making a nice protective barrier from walkers and humans alike. They put spikes up the hills, as well as along the outside of the walls.

They finished with a few weeks to spare before the cold weather moved in.

Six months after Carol left

Carol jerked awake to complete darkness. She actually blinked several times to make sure she had her eyes open. She was laying on her back and when her eyes adjusted for a minute she could see the outline of the room. It was a tiny room and smelled of dirt, urine and excrement. It was only when she tried to move her hand to her nose she realized she was shackled. She tried moving both arms and legs realizing all were shackled. She pulled as hard as could at them knowing it was useless.

When she tried to move her mouth to yell she felt the gag. Trying hard not to panic she went completely limp and took several deep breaths relaxing and listening.

When she was completely quite she could just make out the jangle of another pair of shackles. She moved her head trying to see in the darkness. She couldn't.

As she concentrated on trying to see beside her, the room was suddenly illuminated with a dull glow. She could just make out the figure beside her. It was another woman, she was covered in a thick layer of dirt and what was probably blood. Her eyes were huge and the blue was made brighter by the darkness of the filth on her face. She was breathing quickly and deeply. She shifted her eyes up as a trap door was opened above them.

Temporarily blinded by the harsh light Carol didn't notice the figure coming down the ladder. When she was able to see again she could see it was a man with a little brown haired girl, who was just as dirty as the woman beside her. He pushed the little girl into the corner and turned his eyes to Carol.

He smiled at her with crooked browning teeth. "Well, what do we have here?" he asked moving toward her. He stood over her, staring, moving his eyes up and down her body.

When he met her eyes she met his stare unflinchingly. He moved to straddle her on his knees. He put his hands on her breast and squeezed as hard as he could. Her cheek twitched, but she gave him no reaction, just staring at him pointedly.

He lost his smile a little then tilting his head and regarding her. She saw his right side tensing for a slap and braced herself as much as she could, turning her head with the blow. She winced slightly but didn't make a sound. He reared back and slapped her harder this time. He got the same reaction, even though she was in a considerable amount of pain. She refused to show any kind of weakness to a man again. She had fought too hard to become the woman she was now. She wouldn't go back.

After another brief staring contest he pulled something off his hip. He held up the knife for her to see. He pressed it against her cheek hard enough to break the skin. He dragged it down her cheek an inch. Again no reaction.

"You think I believe you ain't scared of me?" he snarled his smile gone completely now. He grabbed the sides of her shirt and ripped it violently. Her body jerked from the rough movement, but she retained her silence.

He was about the cut her tank when a voice from above called out. The man above her jumped up quickly and backed away from her.

A large man peeked his head down into the open door. When he saw the other man he came down quickly. "Charles you know daddy don't like you messin' with his pets. You was just supposed to bring the little un' down here and come eat. Am I going to have to tell daddy you need another whoopin'?"

Charles looked like a scolded child as he shook his head and said "Nuh uh." He moved dejectedly to the ladder with a glare in Carol's direction.

After Charles left the larger man gave Carol a dismissive glance before leaving without a word. The man shut the door and Carol could hear a shuffling sound from at her feet and saw the little girl moving toward the other woman's side.

"Mama?" she whispered. The woman was only able to mumble a slight sound around the gag in her mouth. The girl seemed relieved to hear it though. Carol looked again at the chained woman. Carol could just make out scaring along the right side of the woman's face beneath the filth. It looked like cuts, there was several of them. Carol assumed the blood on her face was from fresh ones that she couldn't see. She knew she had a matching one on her own cheek.

The woman met Carol's eyes now, no longer looking panicked now that her baby was back. She gave a slight nod in Carol's direction that Carol returned right as the room was thrown back into darkness as the light upstairs was turned off.

After a few quite minutes in the dark the little girl was shuffling and then settling again. She started to hum then. Carol couldn't place the song but it was sweet sounding. She was lost in the beautiful song when she felt a tiny freezing hand take hold of her own and hold it gently. She finally let the tears slide down her aching face.