A/N: I can't believe it took me exactly a year to get this chapter out! That means today marks 2 years since I started "Pay to Live, Free to Die'! I feel horrible making you guys wait so long for this chapter! A lot has happened in my private life this year and this story was the last thing on my mind. My friend got married and I was one of the bridesmaids, I got a second job, and my cat of 21 1/2 years passed away in October. Also, shortly after posting the last chapter, my laptop had to be retired and I still haven't gotten a new one. I've been using the family computer since I retired my laptop, but i'm currently looking for a new laptop so i'll be able to write much more in the future! Enjoy and please leave a review this time!

Disclaimer: I do not own "The Walking Dead" or any of its characters. "The Walking Dead" belongs to Robert Kirkman and AMC. I only own Sarah.

~TWD~

All Daryl and Sarah could do is stare at what is left of Merle. The bloody handcuffs, the bloody saw, the bloodstained concrete, and last but not least, Merle's hand, also covered in blood. It proves too much for Daryl as he points his crossbow in T-Dog's direction, the last man that to see Merle alive. Rick points his Python at Daryl's head while T-Dog just stands there, not bothering to defend himself.

"I won't hesitate. I don't care if every walker in the city hears it." Rick warns Daryl.

"Stop it, both of you! This is not the time or place for this!" Sarah yells, not wanting anymore bloodshed.

Daryl, still emotional over the group's recent discovery, lowers his crossbow and Sarah breathes of sigh of relief.

"Ya got a do-rag or somethin'?" Daryl asks T-Dog.

"What are you going to do?" Sarah looks over at Daryl as T-Dog pulls out a blue handkerchief and hands it over.

Daryl didn't answer her, instead he walks over to Merle's hand and lays out the blue piece of fabric.

"I guess the saw blade was too dull for the handcuffs. Ain't that a bitch?" Daryl picks Merle's hand by the fingers and Sarah has to look away before she gets the urge to puke.

Daryl lays the detached limb on the handkerchief and wraps the cloth around it. He proceeds to stuff Merle's hand in Glenn's backpack, the Asian clearly wanting to puke himself.

"He must have used a tourniquet, maybe his belt. Be much more blood if he didn't." Daryl follows the trail of blood Merle left behind.

"Do you think he's alive though?" Sarah asks the hunter. Merle must be in a lot of pain and losing blood didn't help his situation.

"Only one way to find out." Daryl waves her over.

Everyone else besides T-Dog follow after the two as Daryl puts his tracking skills to good use. T-Dog quietly gathers Dale's tools he left behind the last time he was here.

The trail of blood leads to another door on the roof, left wide open by Merle which leads to some stairs.

"Merle? Ya in here?" Daryl calls down the stairs but receives no answer.

When they get down the stairs, they find a walker with her jaw missing. Daryl makes quick work of her, firing a bolt into the deceased woman's head. They go to the end of the hall, finding two motionless walkers with blood pooling around their heads.

"Had enough in him to take out these two sumbitches one handed." Daryl looks down at Merle's handiwork.

"Damn, Merle." Sarah is impressed. She notices a bloody wrench on the floor next to one of the bodies which she assumes was Merle's weapon of choice at the time before he left it behind for whatever reason.

"Toughest asshole I ever met, my brother. Feed him a hammer, he'd crap out nails." Daryl says as he loads his crossbow.

"Any man can pass out from blood loss, no matter how tough he is." Rick keeps his Python raised, just in case a walker is nearby.

"You may be right, but Merle is stubborn." Sarah says, but even stubbornness has its limits.

They all continue to follow the light trail of blood left by Merle to another room.

"Merle!" Daryl calls out hoping to find his brother at the end of the blood trail.

"We're not alone here. Remember?" Rick says, worried that Daryl will attract walkers if they're not quiet.

"Screw that. He could be bleedin' out. Ya said so yerself." Daryl replies.

The trail of blood ends at a gas lit stove with bits of blood on it. They find what's left of Merle's belt along with a slab of iron with some sort of burned substance on it. Rick takes notice and picks up the object.

"What's that burnt stuff?" Glenn asks, looking at the iron.

"Skin. He cauterized the stump." Rick answers.

Glenn looks disturbed at what Merle had to do in order to stop the bleeding.

"Told ya he was tough. Nobody can kill Merle, but Merle."

"I believe you after what i've seen so far." Sarah agrees with the hunter.

"Don't take that on faith. He's lost a lot of blood." Rick says.

"Yeah? Didn't stop him from bustin' out of this death trap." Daryl walks over to a broken window.

"He left the building? Why the hell would he do that?" Glenn asks in disbelief.

"Why wouldn't he? He's out there alone as far as he knows, doin' what he's got to do. Survivin'."

"You call that surviving? Just wandering out there in the streets, maybe passing out? What are his odds out there?" T-Dog asks.

"No worse than being handcuffed and left to rot by you sorry pricks, besides Sarah that is. Ya couldn't kill him. Ain't so worried about some dumb dead bastard." Daryl gets close to Rick's face, hoping to intimidate him.

"What about 1000 dead dumb dead bastards? Different story?" Rick is used to men like Daryl so he's not intimidated by him one bit.

"I'm with T-Dog and Rick on this one. Leaving the safety of the building in his condition is an even bigger death trap." Sarah didn't understand why Merle left, but maybe the pain and blood loss messed with his decision making.

"Why don't ya take a tally? Do what ya want. I'm gonna go get him. C'mon, Sarah." Daryl starts to take off, but Rick stops him.

"Daryl, wait." Rick puts his hand on Daryl's chest and pushes him back to stop him from going further.

"Get yer hands off me! Ya can't stop me!"

"I don't blame you. He's family, I get that. I went through hell to find mine. I know exactly on how you feel. He can't get far with that injury. We could help you check a few blocks around but only if we keep a level head."

"I could do that." Daryl gives in.

"Sounds like a plan to me. Hopefully Merle got himself to a safe place where the walkers won't find him."

"Only if we get those guns first. I'm not strolling the streets of Atlanta with just my good intentions, okay?" While T-Dog did want to find Merle to rid him of his guilt, he would feel better in the city if they have more guns.

"Merle could be anywhere, but those guns are just sitting there and we need them." Glenn agrees.

"I ain't leavin' my brother behind."

"That's not what they're saying, Daryl. I want to find Merle too, but it wouldn't hurt to have some extra firepower." Better for those guns to be in their hands than someone else's.

"Surely you can see reason in that?" Rick looks at Daryl.

"Where are these guns?" Daryl sighs, having no choice but to give in.

"I left them by the tank out on the street." Rick says.

"We need to come up with a plan." T-Dog says.

"Well, does anyone have an idea on how to get those guns without being surrounded by walkers?" Sarah asks.

"I think I have one, but it's a little risky." Glenn speaks up as he goes around the room gathering various objects.

"What are you doing?" Sarah asks her Asian friend as he lays the objects on the ground.

"Showing you my plan." Glenn answers.

"With erasers?" T-Dog asks, confused.

"I don't have a map on me, so i'm making one."

"Oh, now I get it." Sarah says, understanding what Glenn is doing.

"You mentioned that this plan of yours is risky?" Rick asks the Asian.

"Only for me." Glenn replies as he grabs a black marker and draws a map on the floor.

"Why just you?"

"Just let me finish and then i'll explain." Glenn finishes up with the map and places the various objects he found on certain points on the map.

Sarah sits on the office desk next to Daryl as Glenn explains his plan. Once Glenn finishes explaining how to get the guns, it's clear that not everyone is okay with Glenn's plan.

"You're not doing this alone." Rick says after hearing Glenn's idea.

"Even I think it's a bad idea and I don't even like ya much."

"Guys, let Glenn talk." Sarah nods to Glenn.

"It's a good plan, okay, if you just hear me out. If we go out there in a group, we're slow, drawing attention. If i'm alone, I can move fast." His speed is the reason why he's the camp's supply runner.

"He's right, Glenn is pretty fast. If he wasn't, we would have never gotten out of the city that time I came here with him."

"Look. That's the tank, five blocks from where we are now. That's the bag of guns." Glenn places a black paperclip on the map and a crumpled up yellow post-it next to it.

"Here's the alley I dragged you into when we first met. That's where Daryl, Sarah, and I will go." Glenn points to another part of the map, making eye contact with Rick.

"Why me?" Daryl speaks up.

"Your crossbow is quieter than his gun and Sarah is good with a knife. While Daryl and Sarah waits here in the alley, I run up the street, grab the bag."

"You got us elsewhere?" Rick wonders what his part in Glenn's plan is.

"You and T-Dog, right. You'll be in this alley here." Glenn places an eraser on the hand drawn map.

"Two blocks away? Why?" Rick asks.

"I may not be able to come back the same way. Walkers might cut me off. If that happens, I won't go back to Daryl and Sarah. I'll go forward instead, all the way around to that alley where you guys are. Whichever direction I go, I got you in places to cover me. Afterwards, we'll all meet back here."

"Hey, kid, what'd ya do before all this?" Daryl asks, impressed with Glenn's tactic skills.

"Delivered pizzas. Why?"

Rick has this look on his face that clearly states that what Glenn reveals about himself makes sense on why he's good with street routes.

"Well, I think Glenn's plan is sound, unless anyone has a better idea?" Sarah's all up for Glenn's plan, despite the risks.

"It's risky, are you sure you want to do this, Glenn?" Rick still has his doubts.

"Would you rather have Sarah do it?" Glenn took notice of Sarah's speed the last time she was in Atlanta with him and it is on par with him.

"Hell no, ain't right." Sarah isn't responsible for those guns.

"I wouldn't feel right letting a woman do it." T-Dog agrees with Daryl.

"Then i'm your only choice."

"Hey, don't I get a say in this you sexist bastards?" Just because she's a woman, didn't mean she can't do the job.

"Ya ain't doin' it, woman."

"Alright, let's do this." T-Dog says, eager to get his hands on those guns.

~TWD~

After Rick and T-Dog leave to go to their destination, Glenn, Daryl, and Sarah proceed to go to theirs. The trio climb down the ladder leading to the alley when Glenn first met Rick. They stand behind a full dumpster, checking if the coast is clear.

"Ya got some balls for a Chinaman." Daryl says as he loads his crossbow.

"I'm Korean."

"Whatever." Daryl says, making Sarah giggle.

"Glenn prepares himself for a moment before dashing out into the street, leaving Daryl and Sarah behind.

"You think Glenn will be okay?" Sarah asks after watching Glenn leave.

"Ya were on a run with him, what do ya think?"

'Yeah, he'll be okay."

"After we get the guns, we'll look for Merle." He'll look for Merle by himself if he has too, but he's sure Sarah will join him on his mission.

"I'm worried about Merle, being out there severely injured." The faster they get the guns, the faster they can find Merle and get him treated for his injuries.

"My brother ain't the smartest, but he's tough."

"Yeah, if he was smart, he would have stayed in the building where it was safe."

"Quiet, ya hear that?" Daryl covers her mouth with his hand, listening to something that caught his ears.

Footsteps approach from behind and Sarah's heart beats faster and faster, fearing it is a walker. But when Sarah listens for a moment, she takes note that the footsteps behind her sound precise and controlled, unlike a walker that practically drags its feet. Daryl steps out from their hiding spot and points his crossbow at the intruder.

"Whoa, don't shoot me! What do you want?" Sarah hears a young man's voice cry out.

Sarah steps out from behind the dumpster to see who it is. The intruder is a young man, maybe around eighteen years old.

"I'm lookin' for my brother. He's hurt real bad. Ya seen him?"

"Ayudame!" The young man cries out in what sound like Spanish.

"Shut up! Yer gonna bring the geeks down on us. Answer me."

"We're not going to hurt you. Please answer him." Sarah begs, hoping this person might have seen Merle.

"Answer us." Daryl demands.

"Ayudame! Ayudame! Ayudame!" The young man repeats in his native tongue, refusing to answer them.

Daryl has clearly had enough of the man's cries and hits him with his crossbow, knocking him to the ground.

"Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up." Daryl muffles the young man's cries, not wanting to draw any walkers nearby.

"Please quiet down, you'll attract the dead with all that yelling." Sarah says, looking around for any sign of walkers.

Sarah hears footsteps and looks to see two men rushing over from the direction Daryl's captive came from. One of these men holds a baseball bat.

"Daryl!" But Sarah's warning comes too late when one of the men kicks Daryl away from the young man cowering in fear.

The two gang up on Daryl, kicking and hitting him repeatedly as Sarah begs for them to stop. Glenn arrives with the bag of guns and what looks like to be a sheriff's hat unharmed from his run on the street. The man wearing a blue bandanna on his head takes notice of Glenn and alerts his friend.

"That's it. That's the bag, vato. Take it!" The man says, looking at the bag that Glenn is holding.

"Glenn, run!" Sarah didn't want to see him hurt as well.

The two rush over to Glenn before he can make a clean getaway and knock him over the head, but despite being hurt, Glenn refuses to let go of the bag. Daryl uses this moment of opportunity to fire a bolt into the bald man's ass and the man screams in pain. Sarah takes advantage of Daryl's distraction and tires to tackle the bandanna man away from Glenn. She is unsuccessful as the man shows her no mercy and shoves her against the wall with such force that she hits her head hard. The back of her head hurts and she is dizzy from the impact. With Glenn's last line of defense out of the way, the man grabs Glenn.

"Get off me! Get off me!" Glenn struggles to get free.

An old silver car pulls up by the gate, most likely more friends of the two men that attacked them.

"Daryl! Daryl! Daryl!" Glenn cries out as the men stuff him into the car and drive off, leaving Daryl to fend off the walkers that are near.

Sarah is too dizzy to help Daryl as he runs over to the gate.

"Come back here, ya sumbitches!" Daryl pulls the gate back to keep the walkers out.

As soon as the gate is securely in place, he goes after the young man that the others left behind. While Daryl makes a grab for him, Rick and T-Dog rush to the scene.

"Whoa whoa whoa. Stop it." Rick stops Daryl from kicking the man's ass, but Daryl is having none of it.

"I'm gonna kick yer nuts up in yer throat!" Daryl yells while Rick holds him back.

"Let me go." The man says.

"Chill out." T-Dog holds the man against the wall so he can't escape.

"They took Glenn. That little bastard and his little bastard homie friends. I'm gonna stomp yer ass!" All Daryl wants to do is beat the shit out of their captive., but there are other things to worry about.

"Guys! Guys! We're cut off!" T-Dog didn't want to stay any longer with so many walkers against the fence.

"Get to the lab. Go." Rick orders T-Dog whole the former police officer gathers the guns Glenn left behind.

"Come on. Damn, let's go." Daryl says.

Sarah tries to get up, but is still a little woozy from her head injury. Daryl takes notice and rushes to her aid.

"C'mon, we gotta go." Daryl helps her up and follows after Rick.

~TWD~

It didn't take long for everyone to get back to where they made their plan earlier, only without Glenn. Sarah sits on one of the desks, holding the back of her head.

"That was stupid, that prick coulda bashed yer head in with that bat of his." Daryl's glad the man didn't use his bat on her. The man had a mean swing and Daryl can feel it where he was hit.

"I wasn't thinking at the time, I just wanted to help Glenn."

"Ya still dizzy?"

"I'll be okay, but what are we going to do now? We got the guns, but we lost Glenn in the process." Sarah can only hope that Glenn is okay.

"We're gonna get him back." Rick declares.

"How?"

"Ya wanna use the kid?" Daryl figures out Rick's plan pretty quick.

"He's the only one that can lead us to Glenn." Rick confirms.

"I think T-Dog will want to be relieved of his babysitting duties, so let's talk to the guy and find Glenn." Sarah suggests, eager to find her Asian companion as soon as possible.

~TWD~

The prisoner is not happy being tied up in a chair, but the group didn't want to risk him running away.

"Sorry about all this, but we need to ask you some questions." Sarah thinks that having a woman talk to him will put him at ease.

"Those men you were with, we need to know where they went." Rick states, but the the man refuses to give away such sensitive information.

"I ain't telling you nothing."

"Please, we just want our friend back." But her plea fall on deaf ears.

"Jesus man. What the hell happened back there?" T-Dog can't believe how wrong things went earlier. Everything was going according to plan and one panicked loud mouthed young man that refused to shut up when being confronted ruined everything.

"I told ya, this little turd and his douche bag friends came out of nowhere and jumped us." Daryl glares at the young man.

"You're the one that jumped me, puto, screaming about trying to find his brother like it's my damn fault."

"Guys, can we talk about this later? We have bigger things to worry about." Who knows what they're doing to Glenn right now? Sarah can only hope that he's unharmed and not dead.

"They took Glenn. Could have taken Merle too." Daryl gets back on the subject.

"Merle? What kind of hick name is that? I wouldn't name my dog Merle."

Daryl tries to give the restrained man a harsh kick, but Rick holds him back.

"Damn it, Daryl. Back off."

"Kicking him won't solve anything." Sarah grabs his arm in case he tries again.

Daryl gets an idea and goes over to Glenn's backpack, digging through its contents to find what he's looking for. When he pulls out a familiar object wrapped in a blue handkerchief, Sarah tries not to gag.

"Wanna see what happened to the last guy that pissed me off? " Daryl unwraps the handkerchief, revealing Merle's dismembered hand and slaps it down on the young man's lap. The terrified man screams and desperately tries to get away from it, but to no avail with him being tried to the chair. Daryl grabs him and gives him a threatening look.

"Start with the feet this time."

"Daryl, that's gross." Sarah decides to play along, understanding that Daryl is only trying to scare the man into revealing his group's location.

Rick pulls Daryl away from the man again, wanting to talk to him next.

"The men you were with took our friend. All we want is to talk to them, see if we can work something out."

The man seems to understand that there's no way out of his situation, so he reluctantly agrees to take the remaining four members to his group's hideout.

~TWD~

The unnamed man leads them to two closed large wooden doors. For a hideout, it seems unguarded. In fact, the place looks abandoned and run down.

"You sure you're up for this?" Rick asks T-Dog.

"Yeah."

"Okay."

"One wrong move, ya get an arrow in the ass. Just so ya know." Daryl threatens their prisoner.

"G's gonna take that arrow out of my ass and shove it up yours. Just so you know."

Sarah can't help but laugh at the man's comeback which earns a glare from Daryl.

"G?" Rick asks, confused.

"Guillermo. He's the man here." The prisoner clears up the confusion.

"In other words, we have to speak to Guillermo in order to get Glenn back." Sarah sums up.

"Okay then. Let's go see Guillermo." Rick cocks his shotgun, ready for action.

Daryl pushes the young man in front of him as Rick takes the lead. Sarah keeps close to Daryl, looking around for any sign of danger. They climb through a broken window into an open area that looks abandoned. Daryl lets the man climb through the broken window first so he can keep an eye on him. Rick lets the prisoner pass, but makes sure he didn't take the chance to run off. The cautiously approach the pair of double wooden doors, weapons ready if anything goes wrong. Sarah hears the door unlock and creaks open to reveal the man in charge walking out with no sign of fear for his visitors.

"You okay, little man?" The presumed leader asks the hostage.

"They're gonna cut off my feet, carnal."

"Cops do that?" The leader takes notices of Rick's uniform.

"Not him. This redneck puto here. He cut off some dude's hand, man. He showed it to me."

Sarah wants to correct him and reveal that it's actually Merle's hand. But the way he describes Daryl's scare tactic is quite entertaining, so she stays quiet.

"Shut up." Daryl says.

"Daryl, not now." Sarah warns the hunter.

"Hey, that's the vato right there. He shot me in the ass with an arrow. What's up, homes, huh?" The bald man that attacked them in the alleyway points his gun at Daryl, angry about his injury caused by the hunter.

"Chill, eae, chill. Chill. This true? He wants Miguelito's feet? That's pretty sick, man." Guillermo pushes the gun down away from Daryl.

Sarah can't contain her laughter as soon as the man that Daryl shot limps out holding his asscheek.

"Sarah." Rick warns.

"Sorry." Sarah contains herself as best she can.

"We were hoping for a calm discussion." Rick directs at Guillermo.

"That hillbilly jumps Felipe's little cousin, beats on him, threatens to cut off his feet. Felipe gets an arrow in the ass and you want a calm discussion? You fascinate me." While the man makes a good point, Sarah wants to also point out that Daryl did not jump the man called Miguel until after Glenn was taken, but stays silent on the issue.

"Heat of the moment. Mistakes were made on both sides." Rick admits.

"Who's that dude to you anyway? You don't look related." Guillermo looks over at Daryl.

"He's one of our group, more or less. I'm sure you have a few like him." Rick hopes Daryl didn't take offense to his comment.

"You got my brother in there?" Daryl asks, itching to find Merle.

"Yes, please? We've been looking for him." Sarah stands closer to Daryl.

"Sorry, we're fresh out of white boys. But I got Asian. You interested?"

"I have one of yours, you have one of mine. Sounds like an even trade." Rick reasons with Guillermo.

"Your man for ours." Sarah says, wanting to get Glenn back.

"Don't sound even to me." Guillermo says, wanting more than just the hostage.

"G. Come on, man." Miguel starts to whimper, realizing he might not get out of his hostage situation after all.

"My people got attacked. Where's the compensation for their pain and suffering? More to the point, where's my bag of guns?"

"Guns?" Rick pretends to be dumbfounded.

"The bag Miguel saw in the street. The bag Felipe and Jorge were going back to get. That bag of guns."

"You're mistaken." Rick says.

"I don't think so." As far as Guillermo is concerned, the guns belong to his group.

"About it being yours. It's my bag of guns." Rick is telling the truth about the guns, but doubts Guillermo will believe him.

"The bag was in the street. Anybody could come around and say it was theirs. I'm supposed to take your word? What's to stop me from unloading on you right here and now and take what's mine?" Guillermo says, making a point.

"You could do that. Or not." Rick says, looking up to his left to reveal T-Dog on the rooftop with a rifle aiming straight at Guillermo.

"Oye." Guillermo hollers.

Three figures appear from the top of the main roof with one of the figures wearing a bag over his head. The man on the left pulls of the bag to reveal Glenn, who looks a little scared, but otherwise unharmed.

"I see two options. You come back with Miguel and my bag of guns, everybody walks. Or you can come back locked and loaded, we'll see which side spills more blood." Guillermo gives his terms and slowly goes back into the building and shuts the doors.

~TWD~

In a nearby building after their talk with Guillermo, Rick goes through his bag of guns while the group discusses their options.

"Them guns are worth more than gold. Gold won't protect yer family or put food on the table Ya willin' to give that up for that kid?" Daryl asks.

"If I knew we'd get Glenn back, I might agree. But you think that vato across the way the is just gonna hand him over?"T-Dog says.

"You calling G a liar?" Miguel says earning a glare from Daryl.

"Are ya a part of this? Ya want to hold onto yer teeth?" Daryl slaps Miguel's head with his hand.

"Daryl, leave him alone." Sarah says, thinking that Miguel had suffered enough abuse from Daryl.

"Question is, do you trust that man's word?" T-Dog asks, looking at Rick.

"No, question is are ya willin' to bet on it? Could be more than them guns. Could be yer life. Glenn worth that to ya?" Daryl has his own reasons for not wanting to risk his life, but he knows Sarah is going to do whatever it takes to get Glenn back and Merle would be pissed if something happened to her on his watch.

"What life I have I owe to him. I was nobody to Glenn, just some idiot stuck in a tank. He could have walked away, but he didn't. Neither will I." Rick says.

"In other words, Glenn is worth it. Glenn would do the same for any of us if we were in trouble. We have to same him." Sarah stands by Rick's decision to save to Asian that had not just saved Rick's life, but hers as well.

"So yer gonna hand the guns over?" Daryl asks.

"I didn't say that. There's nothing keeping you three here. You should get out, head back to camp."

"And tell your family what?" T-Dog rubs the back of his head.

Silence fills the room as no one knows how to answer that. All Sarah knows is that Lori would not approve leaving Rick in Atlanta alone against a gang of men that could shoot him dead and take the guns.

"I'm not leaving Glenn behind so i'm going with you no matter how you feel about it." Sarah didn't have any intention of leaving Glenn to an uncertain fate. Rick isn't the only one that owes Glenn.

Rick stares at Daryl for his answer and the hunter silently responds by grabbing one of the guns off the desk. T-Dog follows suit and Rick gives him a gun.

"Come on, this is nuts. Just do like G says." Miguel is desperate to be free of these people and be with his own.

"I don't like this anymore than you do. We need these guns, but Glenn is important to us too. We tried reasoning with Guillermo, but he only cares about the guns."

"No use talkin' to a brat like him. Here, take this." Daryl gives her a handgun.

"Thanks." The gun fits perfectly into her hand. Sarah only hopes that she won't have to use it on the living.

~TWD~

The group heads back to the meeting spot; Miguel taking the lead with the barrel of Daryl's gun digging into his back. The door opens, revealing Guillermo's men and Daryl pushes Miguel inside before following him. Guillermo approaches the group, looking a little concerned.

"I see my guns, but they're not all in the bag." Guillermo eyes the bag.

"That's because they're not yours. I thought I mentioned that." Rick looks Guillermo square in the eye.

"Let's just shoot those fools right now, ese. All right? Unload on their asses, ese." One of Guillermo's men say.

"I don't think you fully appreciate the gravity of the situation." Guillermo says.

"No, i'm pretty clear." Rick cuts the rope that bound Miguel's hands together and pushes him toward Guillermo.

"You have your man. I want mine." Rick demands.

"I'm gonna chop up your boy. I'm gonna feed him to my dogs. They're the nastiest man-eating bitches you ever saw. I picked them up from Satan at a yard sale. I told you how it has to be. Are you woefully deaf?" Guillermo almost sounds desperate, feeling cornered by Rick despite having the upper hand.

"No, by hearing's fine. You said come locked and loaded. Okay then, we're here." Everyone points their guns at each other.

"Stay behind me." Daryl whispers to Sarah.

"Okay." Sarah tightens her grip on the gun in her hand. Sarah feels outnumbered, being the only woman in the room.

The tension is interrupted by the sound of an old woman's voice.

"Felipe! Felipe!" The female voice cries out in alarm.

An old woman with grey hair wearing a nightgown steps out of the crowd of men. Sarah can't help but feel relief that she's not the only woman here. But that leave one question. What is she doing here?

"Abuela, go back with the others, now." Felipe refuses to lower his gun.

"Get that old lady out of the line of fire!" Daryl shouts.

"Wait, Daryl. Let's see what happens." Sarah says.

"Abuela, listen to your m'hijo, okay? This is not the place for you right now." Guillermo turns his face away from Rick's barrel of the shotgun to speak to the old woman.

"Mr. Gilbert is having trouble breathing. He needs his asthma stuff. Carlito didn't find it. He needs his medicine." The elderly woman pleads.

"Daryl, I think there's more to these people than a bunch of thugs." Sarah whispers in Daryl's ear so not to draw attention.

"Felipe, go take care of it, okay. And take your grandmother with you." Guillermo orders.

Felipe speaks in his native tongue to his grandmother, but she focuses her attention on Rick and not her grandson.

"Who are these men and woman? Don't take him." The grandmother approaches Rick.

"Ma'am?" Rick is confused.

"Felipe is a good boy. He have his trouble but he pull himself together. We need him here." The grandmother pleads.

It becomes clear to Sarah that the old woman thinks Rick is here to take away her grandson. It's possible she's not aware of what is going on outside these walls.

"Ma'am, i'm not here to arrest your grandson." Rick assures the elderly woman.

"Then what do you want him for?" The woman's face shows relief that he grandson isn't in trouble with the law.

"He's... helping us find a missing person. Fella named Glenn." Rick says calmly to her.

"The Asian boy? He's with Mr. Gilbert. Come. Come, i'll show you. He needs his medicine." The grandmother leads Rick away from the crowd of men.

"Let 'em pass." Guillermo sighs, looking defeated if not tired.

"I like this lady." Sarah says.

"C'mon, let's go." Daryl keeps Sarah close as they make their way past the group of armed men.

The woman leads Rick by the hand to another building. The group enters a clean building filled with the elderly and other folks.

"Abuela, por favor. Take me to him." Felipe says, letting his grandmother lead him away from the visitors.

"What is this place?" Sarah asks no one in particular.

They walk into what looks like a cafeteria, occupied with some more elderly people. A group of them and an unharmed Glenn surround someone sitting in a wheelchair.

"All right. All right. Nice and easy. Just breathe. Just let it out. Just breathe." Felipe gives what appears to be Mr. Gilbert his inhaler.

"What the hell is this?" Rick asks Glenn, confused on what he's witnessing.

"An asthma attack. Couldn't get his breath all of the sudden."

"I'm glad you're okay, Glenn. We were worried about you." Sarah walks over and wraps her arms around him in a friendly hug, happy he is alright.

"I thought you were being eaten by dogs, man." T-Dog looks over at Glenn.

When Glenn turns around and looks down at three little chihuahuas sitting in a dog bed, Sarah bursts out laughing.

"Most evil nasty man-eating bitches indeed." Sarah laughs.

"Could I have a word with you?" Rick directs his question at Guillermo.

Guillermo says nothing, but walks away and allows Rick to follow. Sarah eavesdrops on their conversation and T-Dog follows suit.

"You're the dumbest son of a bitch I ever met. We walked in there ready to kill every last one of you." Rick says.

"Well, i'm glad it didn't go down that way." It's clear that Guillermo is relieved that no one got hurt.

"If it had, that blood would be on my hands."

"Mine too. We'd have fought back. Wouldn't be the first time we've had to. Protect the food, the medicine, what's left of it. These people, the old ones, the stuff just took off, just left 'em here to die."

Their hostility now makes sense to Sarah. Even though Rick was being reasonable at the beginning, Guillermo couldn't take the chance and end up deceived. Not when so many people that can't even defend themeselves is at stake.

"Rick looks around to take on the information he just got from Guillermo.

"Me and Felipe were the only ones that stayed."

"What are you, doctors?" Rick asks.

"Felipe is a nurse, a special care provider. Me, i'm the custodian." Guillermo confesses.

Sarah decides no to eavesdrop on the two anymore and focuses on Glenn.

"So, the whole hostage thing was an act?"

"Yeah, they just wanted to protect their people. I tried telling them that we're good people, but they were desperate for the guns." Glenn didn't like tricking his comrades, but he didn't have much of a choice.

"Makes sense, seeing that they have so many people to protect and probably not enough guns to do so."

Rick silently signals the group to follow and Guillermo to another room to discuss things more privately.

"What about the rest of your crew?" Rick asks, referring to everyone else besides Guillermo and Felipe.

"The vatos trickle in, to check on their parents, their grandparents. They see how things are and most decide to stay. It's a good thing too. We need the muscle. The people we've encountered since things fell apart, the worst kind, plunderers, the kind that take by force."

"That's not who we are."

"How was I to know? My people got attacked and you show up with Miguel hostage, appearences." Guillermo says.

Sarah wanted to correct him by saying his people attacked first and left Miguel behind, but decides to keep her mouth shut on the matter.

"Guess the world changed."

"No. It's the same as it ever was. The weak get taken. So we do what we can here. The vatos work on those cars, talk about getting the old people out of the city. But most can't even get to the bathroom by themselves, so that's just a dream. Still, it keeps the crew busy, and that's worth something. So we barred all the windows, welded all the doors shit except for one entrance. The vatos, they go out, scavenge what they can to keep us going. We watch the perimeter night and day and we wait. The people here, they all look up to me now. I don't even know why."

"Because they can." Rick can see why the people see Guillermo as a leader. He care about the people more than he cares about himself. Rick silently hands over his shotgun to Guillermo and proceeds to dig through the gun bag. One by one, he takes out some guns and give him to the man that could have killed him and his comrades, but didn't.

~TWD~

The group leaves the nursing home, eager to head back to camp despite their reason for coming to the city ending in failure.

"Admit it, you only came back to Atlanta for the hat." Glenn is in good spirits, feeling glad that he was rescued and that he's going back to the safety of the camp.

"Don't tell anybody." Rick says.

"You've given away half our guns and ammo."

"Not nearly half."

"For what? Bunch of old farts who are gonna die off momentarily anyhow? Seriously, how long ya think they got?"

"How long to any of us?"

"Let it go, Daryl. It's for a good cause. Rick did the right thing."

The group slows to a stop when they realize that the mode of transportation seems to have gone missing.

"Oh my god." Glenn at the empty space in disbelief.

"Where the hell's our van?" Daryl asks angerily.

"We left it right here. Who would take it?"

Daryl looks over at Sarah, having the same thought on who could have taken the van.

"Merle." Rick says, voicing their thoughts.

"He's gonna be takin' some vengeance back to camp." Daryl is sure of it.

"What do we do now?"

"We walk." Rick replies.

"If we walk, we won't reach camp until nightfall and who knows what damage Merle will cause in that time period." Not that Merle can do much damage in is condition.

"I agree with ya, but it's too risky to go looking for a car and a car can't fit all of us anyway."

"Well then, let's start walking."

~TWD~

The group leaves the confines of the city, but have a long way to go before they reach their destination.

"I've had enough of city life." Sarah sighs.

"You and me both." T-Dog agrees.

"I never got the chance to thank you guys for coming after me." Glenn will always be grateful to them for it.

"You would have done the same for us." Sarah says.

"You saved me when I was stuck in that tank even when you could've looked the other way." Now that Rick has saved Glenn, they're even.

"Well, I wouldn't be able to sleep if I didn't. The guilt would have eaten me alive." T-Dog feels guilty enough about Merle, no need to add to it.

"That's karma at work. You saved Rick and he saved you." Sarah says.

"Yeah. Thanks guys."

"Ya think Merle is at camp right now?" Daryl asks.

"If he is, i'm not worried for the others."

"Why?"

"He cut off is hand, Daryl. The pain, blood loss, and dehydration will make him easier to deal with." At least, Sarah hopes so.

"She's right, Daryl. Your brother will be too weak to cause any harm." If Merle does act up, Rick knows Shane will be there to restrain him.

"If he didn't crash the van first." T-Dog mentions.

"And if Shane doesn't shoot him." Sarah hopes Shane won't kill Merle.

"That asshole better not shoot my brother or he'll be wishin' he was dead."

"Shane won't shoot an injured man." Rick has known the man for a long time and knows he won't do such a thing.

"He will if the group is in danger." Glenn says.

"Then we better hurry." T-Dog walks a little faster.

"Yeah, or i'll kill Shane." Something Daryl won't mind doing.

"No one is killing anybody." Sarah sighs.

"Let's just get back to camp before it gets dark." Rick is eager to see his wife and son again.

"I don't think that's possible, Rick. We got a long way to go on foot and it will mostly be dark by then."

"Shoulda taken the car keys instead of leaving them on the ignition." T-Dog says.

"Yeah, why didn't you take the keys with you, Glenn?" Sarah didn't even realize that Glenn left the keys behind. If she had noticed, she would have taken them.

"I didn't think we'd be gone that long. How was I supposed to know that Merle would chop his hand off and steal the van?"

"Gotta admit, I didn't see it comin'. Gonna beat his face in when we get back." Of course, he's sure Merle had no idea it was theirs. But Daryl still feels the urge to punch the injured man.

"After we patch him up, right?"

"Well, no shit."

"You can punch him, but let me slap him first." Sarah wouldn't be having sore feet if Merle had just laid off the drugs or stayed on the roof and waited for help. He deserves a slap at least.

"If he doesn't hit you first." T-Dog says.

"The hell, man. Merle don't beat women."

"That's a relief 'cause he throws some mean punches." T-Dog rubs his cheek.

"He does stupid shit when he's high." Daryl admits, having been in T-Dog's position many times in the past.

"I'm surprised he didn't knock any of my teeth out with the way he was punching me. Hell, he shoulda broken my nose at least. Glad he didn't."

"I'm getting rid of his stash when we get back." His drug habit put people in danger and Sarah isn't having it anymore.

"Merle will kill you if you try." But Daryl has to agree with Sarah, enough is enough.

"Are you going to let him?" Sarah already knows the answer, but asks anyway.

"No."

"Good. I was being too nice when I let him keep them. He can't be trusted on runs anymore until he sobers up." Sarah doubt he'll be allowed to join on supply runs after the stunts he pulled.

"Good luck with that." Merle can get pretty mean when his drugs are taken from him.

"Daryl, he could get someone killed next time." If Merle's habits get someone killed next time, he'll be kicked out of the group or worse.

"Ya think I don't know that?"

"Enough you two, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Rick says.

"I just hope he's okay, despite everything." Despite his flaws, Sarah still cares for Merle.

"Like I said before, Merle's tough."

"He's not superman, he can bleed." Sarah sighs.

"Didn't he stop the bleeding though?" Glenn asks.

"Yeah, used his belt so he wouldn't bleed out." Daryl remembers the remains of Merle's belt near the stove.

"Then he burned the stump." Rick can't imagine how painful that must've been.

"Your brother's got balls, i'll give you that." T-Dog is impressed.

"But he isn't smart."

"Whatcha say, woman?" Daryl glares at her.

"I mean, he got high while in a city full of walkers. It wasn't a smart thing to do." Sarah is not afraid pf Daryl. She knows he won't hurt her.

"Kinda makes sense that he was high." Glenn recalls Merle's behavior when on the supply run.

"Whatcha mean?"

"Well, he was firing his rifle down at the walkers from the roof. There was no point in doing that since we were safe in the building." Glenn says.

"What Glenn is saying is, that if he was in his right mind, he would have saved his ammo instead of firing down on them and attracting more."

"He did somethin' like that before." Daryl calms down, knowing Sarah is right.

"Really?" Glenn is interested.

"Yeah, when I first reunited with him after shit hit the fan." Both stories have some similarities. Daryl's incident with Merle was also on the roof of a building and guns were involved.

"Are you talking about the police station?" Sarah recalls.

"He was so out of it, he fired his gun on me thinkin' I was a cop before I could even open the door." Daryl is glad he got out of the way of the door since the bullets ripped right through it just as he was about to open it.

"You would think he would have learned his lesson the first time."

"He ain't at his best when he's on drugs."

"Yeah." Today's incident is a testament to that.

"The drugs in his system probably dulled his pain when he sawed off his hand." Rick says.

"We'll have our hands full dealin' with him." Then again, that's always the case when it comes to Merle.

"I'll do what I can to help, even though i'm angry with him." Sarah wants Merle to make a full recovery, but she also wants him to take some responsibility for his actions.

"Ya ain't the only one."

"It's my fault things turned out this way." Rick says.

"Your cops instincts kicked in, old habits die hard." Sarah can't blame Rick. Merle needed to learn his lesson. The only problem is, that lesson came at a price in the form of Merle's hand.

"I don't give a rat's ass about habits, my brother lost his hand." That's all Daryl cares about. He only cut Rick some slack because the man wanted to make up for what he did.

"At least we got more firepower now." T-Dog says.

"And we're all alive." Glenn adds.

"That's gotta count for something."

"You know Rick, you just joined the group and I don't know much about you. Since we have a ways to go, why don't you tell us a bit about yourself?" Sarah says, waning to pass the time.

"Well, you know that Lori and Carl are the only family I have left. Shane and I went to high school together and joined the police force, we ended up being partners." Rick smiles at the memories of his early years with Shane.

"So, he's like family to you in a sense." Sarah know Shane thinks of him like family.

"Practically my brother." Rick confirms.

"How about you, Glenn?" Sarah wants to know more about him.

"I'm originally from Michigan and came here for college."

"You mentioned earlier that you delivered pizza?" Sarah remembers Glenn mentioning it earlier.

"Had to pay for those student loans somehow, not that it matters now." The one thing Glenn doesn't miss is the student loans. They would have taken years to pay off had he completed college.

"Man, pizza sound good right about now." T-Dog misses eating pizza on football Sunday.

"With sausage and pepperoni." Sarah says.

"You gotta have mushrooms too." T-Dog adds, earning a grossed out look from Sarah.

"Ew, that's gross."

"You don't like mushrooms?"

"No." Sarah shakes her head.

"So you won't eat anything that has mushrooms?" T-Dog asks.

"Pretty much."

"What about pineapple on pizza?" Glenn pitches in.

"That doesn't sound so bad." Sarah would prefer eating pineapple on a salad than on pizza though.

"We had pineapple and ham on our pizzas. It was a popular item." Glenn says.

"Why are we talkin' about pizza?"

"Because Glenn used to deliver pizza and it sounds good." Sarah replies.

"I could go for a cheeseburger with fries." Rick can't help but add his two cents in.

"I used to eat my fries with honey." Sarah says.

"Honey?" T-Dog raises an eyebrow.

"Yeah, but I grew out of that little habit."

"That doesn't sound like a bad combination." Glenn wouldn't mind giving it a try.

"I used to think it was fries and honey until I found out it was actually fries and ketchup." Sarah blushes in embarrassment.

"How did you make that assumption that fries with honey was normal?" Curiosity gets the best of Rick.

"I was a kid."

"Gotta try that sometime." T-Dog makes a mental note to try it if he ever gets the chance.

"You know, this is nice." Sarah says with a peaceful expression.

"What are ya talkin' about, woman?"

"Talking about casual things for a change. It gets tiring talking about survival stuff you know?" For a moment, it's like the world they knew never ended when they talk like this.

"It is a nice change of pace." Glenn agrees.

"Best not to get too relaxed right now. We still have a way to go." Rick looks ahead of him.

"Trust me Rick, i'm far from relaxed." Her sore feet like to remind her every time she takes a step.

"But what you say is true. Talking casually about normal things is nice." T-Dog says, walking beside Glenn.

"Ain't nothin' normal no more."

"Which is why we need to cherish these conversations." Because like Daryl says, nothing will ever be normal again and over time the way things used to be will be talked about less and less.

"Yer gonna cherish a conversation about food?"

"One day, some of us won't be around anymore. I want to cherish my time with everyone with the time we have left. Every conversation is special, even if it is about simple pleasures such as food."

"We've been safe at camp for so long that we forget that the next moment could be our last." Glenn says.

"And we"re not safe at camp anymore after that walker showed up this morning." T-Dog reminds everyone.

"I forgot about that We should move camp to a safer location, but I doubt Shane would agree." Sarah knows how stubborn Shane is.

"Why?"

"Just from my earlier interactions with him. Lori wanted to put up warning signs so people would steer clear of Atlanta, but Shane would not allow it." Sarah can't understand why Shane wouldn't allow signs to be put up. She can understand that he didn't want Lori to do it, but why not let someone else handle it? It made no sense.

"When did this happen?" Glenn can't remember such a conversation taking place.

"You were in Atlanta at the time." Sarah says.

"Oh, that makes sense."

"I don't think that's a bad idea, but I wouldn't want Lori to do it." Rick didn't want his wife in danger.

"He wouldn't let anyone do it." Sarah says.

"I'll talk to Shane about it when we get back." Rick thinks it's a good idea. More lives can be saved that way.

"If you both decide that warning people is a good idea, i'll help out." Sarah didn't want anymore people to get killed in the city. It would be best to let them know that it isn't safe.

"I'd appreciate it."

"No point in warnin' folks."

"Why not, Daryl?" Sarah thinks it's a good idea.

"Anyone with a brain would know to stay clear of the cities." A city is a place that was full of people so it would only make sense for it to be full of walkers now.

"That's true." But Sarah still wants to leave some warning signs around just in case.

"So don't bother."

"I met a father and son that said they were going to Atlanta. I need to warn them at least." Rick worries for the duo that helped him understand the new changes in the world.

"Same guy you mentioned back at camp?" Sarah asks.

"The very same."

"Why not just contact him through that radio in your gun bag?" Sarah reminds him.

"Thank you for reminding me. I forgot I had it." Rick was more focused on the guns at the time so the radio never crossed his mind.

"Hey guys, can we take a break? We're far enough away from the city." Glenn asks, needing to catch his breath.

"Yeah."

"Man, all we've been doing is run around." T-Dog sits down on the hard ground to rest his feet.

"I can't wait to lay down. My feet are bothering me." Sarah says, sitting next to T-Dog.

"I'm hungry." Glenn never the chance to eat breakfast this morning and after seeing all those elderly people having trouble surviving he didn't want to ask for their rations.

"I put some protein bars in your backpack when you weren't looking." Sarah says.

Glenn takes off his backpack and proceeds to dig through it. Sure enough, two protein bars sat at the bottom of the bag.

"Only two?" Glenn would think Sarah would have secretly packed one bar for each of the group members.

"You know how Shane is." Sarah shrugs.

"How Shane is?" Rick questions.

"He likes to keep tabs on supplies."

"So, you didn't want to upset him by taking too much?" Glenn sums up.

"Yeah."

"We'll be back by nightfall. There'll be plenty of food to chow down on then." T-Dog can't wait to get some food in his stomach. All this running has worked up his appetite.

"If there's any leftovers." Glenn hopes the group at camp will save them some.

"Which there won't." Daryl says.

"Maybe i'll save these protein bars for later. I don't want you to get in trouble for taking these without Shane knowing." Glenn stuffs the protein bars back into his backpack for safekeeping.

"Suit yourself, Glenn. I don't mind taking the blame."

"Well, I care."

"Should we keep moving?" Sarah gets up from her spot.

"Yeah, Merle is probably causing a shitstorm right about now." Daryl is eager to get back to camp to see his older brother.

"Speaking of Merle. do we have the necessary medical supplies to treat Merle's injury?" Sarah didn't know how they are doing on medical supplies back at camp.

"I don't know, Sarah. I'm sure I grabbed a few medical items on my last few trips to Atlanta." Glenn walks beside Sarah at a steady pace.

"Good, we're going to need them." Sarah is relieved that Merle will have everything he needs to make a recovery.

"Let's haul ass, people!" Daryl jogs ahead of the group.

"Someone's eager." T-Dog sighs, taking his time to save his energy.

"I don't blame him. I would be doing the same thing if I was in his shoes." Sarah watches Daryl jog further away from the group while everyone else walks a little ways behind him.

"You got family?" T-Dog asks.

"Siblings? I have three older brothers." Sarah smiles at the memory of them.

"I'm an only child." T-Dog informs her.

"I can't imagine being an only child. Wasn't it lonely?" Sarah can't imagine what her life would be like without her brothers.

"At times I wished I had siblings, but being an only child means you get all the attention." T-Dog made friends easily, so he wasn't that lonely.

"I got a lot of attention, being the only girl."

"Bet that made your brothers jealous."

"I don't think so, Rob might've been jealous sometimes." Rob never had her back when she needed it. Her other two brothers however always came to her defense.

"Rob?" T-Dog assumes Rob is one of her brothers.

"He's the third born." Sarah answers.

"Oh."

"He picked on me the most. Never really thought why until now." Sarah shrugs.

"I bet you miss the rest of your family." T-Dog misses his family too.

"Don't we all?"

"You think you'll ever see them again?"

"I hope so." Sarah never had the chance to get in contact with her family when things got bad so she didn't know what happened to them.

"I hope we all get that chance. Hell, Rick found his family so you should be able to find them too." T-Dog cheers her up.

"That would be nice."

"Can't ya guys pick up the pace?" Daryl asks annoyingly.

"Daryl, not all of us have stamina like you do. We'll get there, it's only a matter of when." Sarah catches up with him with some effort.

"I wanna get there sooner rather than later."

"I know you're worried about Merle, so am I. Merle will be too tired from blood loss and pain to do much at camp." She hopes he's resting right now and not causing trouble.

"That gives Shane an advantage." And advantage Daryl didn't want him to have.

"I won't let him get away with it if he does hurt Merle."

"Neither will I." Rick doubts Shane will do anything harmful though.

"I'm still mad at him for putting you in that choke-hold." There were other ways Shane could have restrained him. Something tells her that Shane probably enjoyed choking Daryl.

"You are?" Daryl actually forgot all about it, but now that he remembers, it just makes him dislike Shane more.

"Yes, it didn't matter if you were out of control." Then again, Daryl did have his knife out so maybe it was for the best after all.

"That prick could care less about my brother."

"You had every right to be upset. You just found out that your only brother was trapped in a city full of walkers. If I was in your position, I would have been upset too." Sarah would have handled it better than Daryl did though.

"Well, i'm sure the prick has his hands full right now."

"Funny, he said the same thing about you." To be fair, Dale said the same thing too but Sarah keeps this to herself.

"Of course he did." Daryl scoffs.

"Yep, said you would be a handful when you found out about Merle. Guess he was right." It took two former police officers to restrain him and one had to use illegal tactics to do it.

"The only reason that asshole even allowed us to stay at the Quarry is because we both know how to hunt." No one else knew how so it is up to the Dixon brothers to bring them fresh meat.

"He said Merle doesn't contribute to the camp." Sarah confesses.

"That's bullshit, he hunts with me." Merle is just as good of a hunter as Daryl is.

"That's what I told Shane."

"And what did he say?"

"He said that you were enough." The more people that hunt, the more meat is Sarah's opinion.

"Never heard that asshole say a single thank you for my kills." Next time Daryl hunts, he'll make sure Shane won't get a scrap of meat until he thanks him for it.

"I do."

"Yer the only one that does." She is the first person at camp to ever do so.

"Because i'm grateful for it." Having fresh meat is way better than eating beans from a can.

"Shame about that deer though." T-Dog was craving some venison himself.

"You mean the one from this morning?" Rick asks.

"Yeah, dumb dead fucker got to it first." Daryl can't believe that he spent all those hours of hunting for nothing.

"There's always next time." Sarah hopes there's a next time for venison.

"Yeah, next time."

"With Merle out of commission, it's up to you to get some venison."

"You really are cravin' the stuff huh?" To be honest, Daryl is too.

"You have no idea, mouth is watering just thinking about it. All we've been eating is beans, peaches, fish, and squirrel. I'm ready for a menu change."

"I'll see what I can do." Daryl chuckles.

"Please do." Sarah says.

"I doubt i'll be goin' on a hunt anytime soon. So, it'll be a while."

"Yeah, got to take care of Merle first." Sarah could always take care of Merle while Daryl hunts though.

"Doubt we'll be stayin' at the Quarry too."

"Why?"

"Ya saw what happened this morning. Walker stumbled too close to camp. Where there's one, there's more of them bastards." Lucky for them, it was the only one that got close so far.

"Did you run into any on your hunt?" Sarah never asked since there wasn't time to with Merle missing.

"No, last time I saw walkers was when I met ya and that was far from camp." The only reason those walkers were there was because of Sarah so they don't count.

"You would think camping in the Quarry would keep us safe."

"Ain't gonna last forever, Sarah. It's about time we find a new location."

"Yeah, you're right. But where would we go?" Sarah has no clue where they will go next because she's not familiar with the area.

"Whatever Shane wants, I suppose. Me and Merle will just go elsewhere." As long as there's some woods nearby, he didn't care where they go.

Sarah tries to hide the hurt she is feeling when Daryl did not include her. She likes the group for the most part, but she likes the Dixon brothers more.

"Ya wanna go with us?" Daryl won't mind if Sarah joins them. He's sure Merle would be happy about it too.

"Really?" Sarah perks up.

"We ain't gonna leave ya behind unless ya wanna stay with the others." Daryl won't admit it, but he would miss her presence if she decided to stay with the campers.

"No, i'll go with you two." Sarah says without hesitation.

"Merle will be glad to hear it." Daryl too is secretly glad with her answer.

"I think we should stay with the group though." Sarah says.

"Why?"

"More people means more protection, right?" More guns, more medical supplies, and more food are also good things to have.

"Ya think me an' Merle can't protect ya?"

"I didn't say that." Sarah is thinking about Merle's condition more than herself.

"Then what do ya mean?" Daryl decides to let her explain before letting his temper get the best of him.

"Just safety in numbers and all that. Of course, it does have its faults." Sarah admits.

"Whatcha mean?" Daryl listens to what she has to say.

"It only takes one person to screw up and get someone killed. Then there's splitting rations; who's going to need food the most when we're low on it. Regardless of those faults, Merle will be in no condition to travel until he gets his strength back so we need the group."

"Ya make a few good points. Guess we'll talk to Merle about it later." They could leave the group at any time so there's really no rush.

"Yes, all three of us need to decide together."

"We'll wait for Merle to get better first." Daryl decides.

"Agreed."

"You guys aren't really planning on leaving, are you?" Glenn asks, overhearing the whole conversation.

""Think Merle would want to stay after what happened?" Daryl will have to convince Merle otherwise though for the time being.

"What about you, Sarah?"

"Wherever the Dixons go, I go." As long as the Dixons allow it, she'll stay by their side.

"I hope you guys stay." Glenn likes Sarah, so he hopes she sticks around.

"I like most of the people at camp, but Merle's feelings are important to me." If Merle truly feels that staying is not an option, Sarah will leave with them.

"Yeah, I know. We should have handled Merle differently." Everything happened so fast that Glenn didn't know what to do.

"He was high. I don't think there was another method to calm him down." Rick had no choice but to handcuff him.

"Don't mean leavin' him behind was right."

"I told you, I dropped the key down a drain." T-Dog speaks up.

"Ya could've used those tools on the handcuffs."

"Daryl has a point." Too bad the only thing Merle could grab was the saw.

"It was nothing but chaos. I didn't even think about using the tools to get him out of there." If only T-Dog spared the time to help Merle instead of running away. T-Dog will regret his decision for the rest of his life.

"Well, you made up for it by chaining up the door." Sarah knows it will take a while for Daryl to forgive T-Dog.

"Don't change nothin', he lost his hand because of ya."

"How was I supposed to know that your dumbass brother would cut off his hand?" No one expected that outcome.

"Both of you, knock it off. What's done is done." Sarah slows down to a walk.

"She's right, you two. We couldn't predict what Merle did. None of us could." Rick slows down next to Sarah.

"Let's just focus on getting back to camp." T-Dog is desperate for some food and sleep.

"Easy for you to say." Glenn can't jog anymore.

"I know, it's easier said than done." Sarah looks ahead to see how much further they need to go.

"Ain't yer fault, it's Merle's."

"Well, next time let's make sure no one can steal our vehicles in the future." Sarah gives Glenn a side glance, hoping he gets her silent message.

"Won't argue with that. I'm sure i'm gonna lose a few pounds with all this running around." T-Dog pants.

"Yeah, I would rather be in shape and able to escape from a bunch of walkers than have a vehicle that could break down on me at the worst possible moment."

"You bring up a good point. My car ran out of gas on my way to Atlanta." Rick says, remembering the gas station he went to had no gas. He was forced to abandon his police car in search for another mode of transportation.

"That explains the horse." Glenn says, remembering the first time he spotted Rick.

"Horse?"

"I stopped by a farmhouse hoping to find a workable vehicle or gas. The residents took the easy way out and left their horse fenced up. Their truck didn't work, so the horse was my only option." Rick explains.

"Jesus." Sarah thinks about to farmers that took their lives.

"What happened to the horse?" Sarah already knows she's not going to like the answer.

"Walkers."

"Oh my god. That's horrible." Sarah gasps.

"It is, but that horse distracted the walkers long enough to allow Rick to hide in that tank." Glenn says.

"You mean the tank where the guns were?" Sarah asks, remembering Glenn mentioning a tank before.

"Yeah, there was tank right next to where I fell off the horse. If it wasn't there, I would be dead right now."

"Out of all things, a tank." Sarah shakes her head in disbelief.

"Oh, it gets better." Glenn looks over at Rick.

"What else?" Sarah wants to know more of Rick's first adventure in Atlanta.

"This guy figured out how to blend in with the walkers." Glenn pats Rick on the shoulder.

"You're joking right? This I need to hear." Sarah eagerly listens to their tale.

"We covered ourselves in walker guts. We weren't even sure it would work, but it did." It was a huge risk, but because they took a chance, they all survived.

"It was gross." T-Dog says, glad he wasn't the one covered in walker guts.

"You weren't the one covered in the stuff." Glenn pouts.

"That's disgusting, but also very clever. Good idea, Rick." Sarah

"Thank you. I'm just glad it worked."

"But it doesn't work if it's raining out." T-Dog remembers watching from the rooftop when Rick and Glenn ran away from the surrounding walkers after a short rainfall washed the blood off them.

"And it smells awful."

"Regardless, it's a clever survival tactic that i'm sure will come in handy from time to time." Sarah hopes she'll never have to try it out, but when push comes to shove or so they say.

"I ain't coverin' myself in that shit."

"Even if it could save your life?" Sarah questions the hunter.

"If I had to." Daryl admits.

"Hey, I don't relish the idea either. But if it saves my life, I will do it."

"It's better than being dead." T-Dog would rather be covered in guts than a walking corpse.

"And becoming a walker." Glenn adds.

"Well, no shit."

"Have you guys ever thought about how all of this started?" Sarah asks.

"The walkers?" Glenn looks over at her.

"Yeah, something has to be causing this."

"I've thought about it. It's hard to come up with a logical explanation that makes them move even though they're dead." There's just no way a person can move after death, yet it happens now.

"You're right, something like this has never happened before." T-Dog agrees.

"Well, a meteor brought an end to the dinosaurs. Maybe this is the extinction of humanity?" Sarah didn't like thinking of it that way, but it is possible.

"I don't even what to think of it that way." Glenn looks a little distrubed by the idea.

"Well, we have an advantage that the dinosaurs didn't have." Sarah says, cheering Glenn up.

"What?"

"We're smart and resourceful. We can fight back and defy our fate."

"I couldn't have said it better myself." Rick praises the brunette.

"Fate has nothin' to do with survival."

"You don't believe in fate?" Sarah believes it was fate that she met Daryl and Merle. It was fate that she met the whole group and that she no longer has to be alone anymore.

"No, I don't. If fate exists, it hasn't been kind to me." Daryl says.

"Well, I believe in fate. Because of fate, I met everyone here."

"Finding you in that tree was just pure luck." It was also funny to see her all in a panic in that tree.

"It was fate." Sarah refuses to back down.

"Luck." Daryl glares at her.

"So you believe in luck, but not fate?" Sarah questions.

"Shut up."

"Oh, you're so cute. You don't want to admit that i'm right." Sarah teases the hunter.

"I said shut up."

"I'm kinda with Sarah on the subject of fate." Glenn agrees with the young woman.

"It's not just fate I believe in." Sarah declares.

"What else?"

"I also believe in karma."

"Now, Karma is somethin' I can work with." Daryl can agree with that at least.

"I have a feeling there's going to be a lot of bad karma floating around." People's true nature is emerging now that the law is dead.

"With the way the world is, I agree with you. People are going to get greedy, but we're not like that." Sarah refuses to become a person that only takes and never gives back.

"Are you refering to the nursing home?" Rick asks.

"You earned some good karma."

"If that karma helps my family, I can accept that."

"It will, Rick, it will." Sarah knows it will.

"Karma ain't gonna make up for the guns we lost." Daryl is still sore about the guns.

"Don't worry, we can always find more." This is america after all. A country of gun lovers.

"We wouldn't have to look for more if we kept all the guns." Daryl argues.

"Daryl, what Rick did was for a good cause. I have no problem with what Rick did." She is glad that Rick is good man with a good heart. No wonder he's a cop.

"They're just a bunch of old people that can't even take a piss without help."

"Daryl!"

"I ain't gonna sugarcoat it. Ya know they won't make it." He will bet his life on it.

"That's not the point." Sarah wants Daryl to understand.

"Then what is?"

"Just because they're old, doesn't mean they won't make it. By giving them those guns, we're giving them a chance to try to survive."

"Everyone deserves a chance. They could have killed me, but didn't." Glenn pitches in.

"Because we had the guns and you were their bargaining chip." T-Dog reminds him.

"They could have killed you guys the moment you brought the guns." Glenn argues.

"You're right, they could've." T-Dog admits defeat.

"It can't be easy, taking care of all those people."

"Worst is that they can't leave." T-Dog feels sorry for the one that can leave, but don't have the heart to do it.

"Yeah, unless they had a bus to move them all."

"Glenn, maybe on your next supply trip to Atlanta, you could check on them?" Sarah thinks that maybe they can form some kind of friendship and help each other out from time to time.

"Since we gave them some guns and proved to not be a threat, they'll be more inviting. Yeah, I can check on them." Glenn dreads going back after his ordeal, but he is the fastest runner and is good at finding supplies. He'll just have to suck it up when it's time to go back.

"It'd be a waste of time."

"Daryl, we're not arguing about this anymore." Sarah didn't want to argue about it anymore.

"Suit yerself, but don't come cryin' to me when ya find 'em all dead."

"I won't." Sarah promises.

"Fine."

"Anyway, it looks like it's gonna take us a while to get back even if we did try to jog the rest of the way." Rick knows that no amount of jogging or even running will get them to camp before it's dark.

"Yeah, it'll be dark by the time we get back to camp." As long as they all get back in one piece, T-Dog didn't care.

"We should keep an eye out for any walkers. We don't want to be taken by surprise." Sarah looks around and sees not one walker nearby.

"Like at the convenience store?" Glenn reminds her of her ordeal during her first trip to Atlanta.

"Did you have to remind me? That was too close for comfort. I thought I was a goner."

"I thought you were bit for a second when I found that walker on top of you." Glenn is glad that wasn't the case.

"It was on top of ya?" The thought of Sarah being in that position frightens him. He remembers overhearing the radio conversation when Glenn mentioned she was attacked. Merle demanded to know if she was bit, which surprised Daryl a little. It occurred to him at that time that Merle was showing a fondness for someone who is not of their blood. It's a rare occurrence.

"Yeah, that knife you gave me saved my life." Sarah touches the hilt of the blade hanging on the side of her hip.

"All ya had was yer gun. Not the best weapon of choice in the city."

"You got that right."

"It's too bad we didn't take the time to look around more. We could have brought back some useful stuff." Glenn says, since their supply trip was cut short last time.

"Ain't the guns enough?" Daryl scoffs.

"You really need to tone down that attitude of yours." Sarah knows Daryl is eager to get back to camp, but his attitude is starting to annoy her.

"And ya need to stop being so optimistic." How a woman can be so optimistic and naive is beyond him.

"I rather be optimistic than hopelessly miserable." Sarah argues.

"I think we're all feeling miserable today." T-Dog pants, trying to match everyone's pace.

"Yeah, we didn't have the easiest day." Rick sighs.

"You're telling me. I didn't expect to be kidnapped and brought to a nursing home when I woke up this morning." Glenn hopes he never has to experience being kidnapped again.

"Despite our hardships, at least we completed half our mission today without losing anybody." Sarah pipes up.

"Ain't gonna argue with that."

"All I wanna do is get back and sleep. All this running around has me tired out." T-Dog says.

"I know how you feel, T-Dog." Sarah too is looking forward to a good night's sleep.

"This heat ain't helpin'." Daryl stops to catch his breath and wipes some sweat from his brow.

"Yeah, it's hot today."

"If we keep taking breaks, it will be nightfall by the time we get back."

"I'm sure Lori and Carl are worried about you, Rick." She would be too if she was in Lori's position.

"Yeah, i'm sure they are."

"I hope Lori doesn't give you hell for being gone too long."

"I'll be fine. I can't blame her for worrying. We weren't supposed to be gone all day." If it weren't for the many detours, they would have been home a while ago.

"Yeah, but i'm sure once you explain to her what happened, she'll understand. What about Shane though? He gave Rick grief just for wanting to save Merle." Sarah really didn't want to deal with Shane when they get back.

"Shane will be happy we got the guns. That should satisfy him enough." Rick says, since that was the only reason Shane was okay with him leaving in the end.

"You know him better than any of us, Rick." Sarah will let Rick handle Shane, because all she wants is to get some sleep.

"We just need to return safely first."Rick says.

"We will, we survived the city, We'll have no problem surviving the road back to camp." There's not one walker in sight and Sarah is happy about it.

"You're right."

"Do you think Merle made it back okay?" Sarah looks at Daryl.

"My brother is tough, he made it." Daryl's more worried about the shape he's in.

"But, what if he didn't?" T-Dog made a good point about Merle crashing the van, but so far they haven't seen the van so he most likely made it back. There's a chance in his state of mind that he took a wrong turn though. Sarah decides to keep this to herself until they get back and see who is right.

"He'll be there."

"Do you think it's even wise for Merle to be there? He's the reason we went to Atlanta in the first place and not many people were happy about it." That's only because no one likes Merle. Merle showing up without the group is bound to cause some trouble for him.

"Sarah's got a point. Shane, Lori, and even Dale gave us grief for leaving." Glenn didn't want to go back neither, but he didn't want Rick to get lost in the city.

"I hope they don't treat him too harshly. That's the last thing he's going to need after such a traumatic event."

"Traumatic event?" Daryl looks at her confused.

"Cutting off his hand, duh." Sarah states the obvious.

"I told ya that Merle is tough."

"Any man would be traumatized after cutting off their hand." Even a man like Merle.

"Yeah, it's not like he can get a new hand." T-Dog states.

"My thoughts exactly, T-Dog."

"Will he be alright without his hand?" Glenn asks.

"I'm guessing he's right-handed?" Sarah looks over to Daryl.

"Ain't most people?"

"Yes, most people are." Sarah has never met anyone left-handed so it must be rare.

"But with Merle's right hand gone, that's going to be a problem." Merle will have to learn how to fire a gun using his left hand now.

"He'll have to learn how to be left-handed."

"My brother's gonna have to learn." He's sure Merle will be fine since he's a stubborn bastard.

"With practice, he'll be able to fire a gun with no trouble."

"It will take time, but he'll learn."

"He ain't gonna be jerkin' off for a while." Daryl says, earning him a look of disgust from Sarah.

"Daryl!" Sarah could do without that knowledge.

"What? It's true." Daryl shrugs.

"I did not need to hear that."

"I don't think any of us needed to know that." T-Dog sighs.

"I thought it was funny." Daryl found Sarah's expression amusing.

"Only Merle would find that comment funny. Too bad he's the victim in this case."

"Imagine if he lost both his hands. That would be a nightmare." T-Dog would hate it if it happened to him.

"I would never head the end of his complaints." Daryl would have to take care of him all the time if that happened.

"He would complain to you about that?" Sarah asks.

"Merle can make an argument out of anythin', even the stupidest things."

"Come to think of it, he does do that sometimes." Sarah chuckles.

"Then ya know what I have to deal with all the time."

"Least you have your brother." Sarah wishes she had hers.

"For now until he does something stupid again." After today, Daryl doubts Merle will be doing anything stupid anytime soon.

"That's not what she means." Glenn picked up on Sarah's mood.

"What?"

"She's saying that you have your brother while she doesn't have hers." Glenn explains.

"Shit." Daryl wasn't thinking when he said it.

"Glenn, it's okay." She wasn't that upset, she just wishes Daryl didn't take his brother for granted.

"No, it's not. A lot of us don't even know what happened to our families." Glenn wonders what happened to his often.

"You're really lucky to have your brother, no all of us are that fortunate. Well, Rick has his family so he got lucky." T-Dog glances at Rick.

"Guys, that's enough."

"I didn't mean to upset you, Sarah." Glenn apologizes.

"It's alright, Glenn."

"You must really miss your brothers, huh?" T-Dog feels sorry for her.

"I do." Sarah confirms.

"What about your parents?"

"I miss them too, of course." Sarah hopes that they're alive and with her brothers.

"I miss my ma too." T-Dog wonders if she's alive.

"I miss my dad's hunting stories." Sarah smiles, remembering.

"My ma's cooking." T-Dog misses his mother's cooking.

"Yeah, nothing can beat a mother's home cooking."

"What your favorite dish?" T-Dog asks.

"My mom makes a mean apple pie."

"Mmm, apple pie." Glenn closes his eyes, imagining having a bite of apple pie.

"I love her tater tot hot-dish too. She learned how to make from a friend who used to live in Minnesota." Sarah recalls her mother telling her that hot-dish is popular up north.

"My ma makes the best spaghetti. She always makes extra meatballs for me because I love them so much." T-Dog remembers coming home from football practice and there would be a big plate of spaghetti waiting for him on the dining table.

"How about you, Rick?" Sarah looks over at the police officer.

"My mom made grilled cheese with ham."

"That's a classic." Sarah laughs.

"Mom would make it for lunch on the weekends."

"Daryl, got any favorite dishes that your mom makes?" Daryl has never mentioned his mother before and Sarah is curious.

"It ain't yer business." Daryl growls.

"Sorry I asked. Just thought you would like to join in the conversation." Sarah shrugs.

"Why are we even talkin' about this bullshit?" Daryl is annoyed with all this pointless chatter.

"Excuse me? Did you seriously call talking about our mothers bullshit?"

"That's low, even for you, Daryl." Glenn shakes his head.

"All I want to do is get back to my brother."

"We will, just having casual conversation on our way there."

"Ya want casual conversation? I'll give ya some casual conversation. How do ya think people are reactin' right now seein' Merle without a hand?"

"I'm sure they're shocked right now. It's not something you see everyday." Sarah's not looking forward to the sight neither.

"If Merle need anything. I'll do my best to provide. It's my fault after all." Rick says.

"Doubt Merle would take ya up on that offer. The only thing he'll want ya to provide is yer death." Daryl scoffs.

"I will not tolerate that, Daryl." Sarah happens to like Rick, even if he is the man that handcuffed Merle to the roof.

"Merle know ya won't."

"Like my feelings matter." Sarah can think of plenty of times where Merle disregarded her feelings.

"Believe it or not, he cares about what ya think."

"Really?" Sarah looks over at him with surprise.

"Ya got his respect and Merle doesn't give respect to just anyone." Daryl would have to agree with Merle. Sarah has earned their respect.

"I'm honored that he thinks highly of me."

"He ain't the only one that feels that way." Daryl hints.

"Do you respect me too, Daryl?"

"Maybe." Daryl shrugs.

"You're such a jerk." Sarah laughs, knowing Daryl won't give a straight answer.

"That ain't nice." Daryl finds himself enjoying his playful argument with Sarah.

"It isn't nice that you maybe respect me."

"Fine, I respect ya then."

"Really?" Sarah knows Daryl is just messing with her, but she didn't mind it.

"Will you two stop flirting? It's weird." T-Dog watches the two playfully argue with each other.

"I ain't flirtin' with her dumbass." Daryl says, looking uncomfortable.

"Yeah, I wouldn't call it flirting." Sarah would call it teasing.

"It very subtle flirting then." T-Dog corrects himself.

"I ain't flirtin'" Daryl glares at T-Dog.

"Knock it off, T-Dog. You're just going to piss Daryl off." Sarah didn't want to deal with a pissed off Daryl right now.

"Fine, i'll keep my opinions to myself." T-Dog sighs.

"That would be wise."

"The sky is getting dark, we're almost at the Quarry." Sarah looks up at the darkening sky.

"We better pick up the pace." Rick jogs a bit faster.

"Now yer speakin' my language."

~TWD~

The rest of the walk back is a quiet one with each member of the group focusing the last of their remaining energy jogging to their destination.

"I hope they left us some leftovers because i'm hungry."

"I doubt it."

"Hey, do you hear that?" Sarah stops jogging to focus her ears on the sound.

Everyone else stops to listen and hear screams and gunshots coming from the direction of the camp.

"Guys, I think we have a problem." Sarah says.

"No shit, Sherlock!" Daryl sprints towards the camp with the others in tow.

~TWD~

When they arrive, it's pure chaos. Walkers have taken over the camp, taking town any unfortunate victim that happens to be within their reach.

"Oh my god." Rick says in horror.

"Go! Go!" T-Dog cries out.

"Where did they all come from?" Sarah asks, looking at the horrid sight before her.

"Sarah! Stop gawkin' and start shootin'!" Daryl yells as he takes down a nearby walker with his shotgun.

"Right!" Sarah snaps out of it and guns down a walker that was heading towards the RV where everyone is taking refuge by.

The remaining campers have taken up arms while the women and children get to safety by the RV. They take the walkers down one by one like clockwork.

"Baby! Carl!" Rick cries out, worried for his family.

"Dad!" Carl runs over to his father.

"Carl!" Rick holds his son close crying while everyone else is on high alert.

Sarah looks around for any more signs of walkers, but find none. Her relief is short lived however when she looks toward the RV and sees Amy's dying body on the ground with her sobbing sister hovering over her.

"Shh shh shh. Oh Amy. I don't know what to do, Amy." Andrea sobs.

Amy weakly reaches up and brushes her bloody finger against Andrea's cheek/ With that gesture, she takes her final breath, closes her eyes one last time, and departs from this world to the next.

"Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Amy. Oh no no. Amy! Amy! Amy!" Andrea wails and shakes Amy's lifeless body, but gets no response.

"Oh my god, Amy." Sarah covers her mouth to hold back her sobs.

"I remember my dream now, why I dug the holes." Jim says.

Shane looks over at the many bodies of what was once a lively bunch of campers as Andrea continues to sob over the sudden death of her little sister.

~TWD~

A/N: I plan to get chapter 11 out sometime in the summer! Isn't that exciting? I'm thinking i'll have season 1 done by chapter 13 or 14 and then on to season 2! In honor of Carl, here's a fun fact about our favorite one-eyed shooter! Don't forget to leave a review, thanks!

Fun Facts Time (Carl): Fact#1: Carl's name originates from 'Charles' which is derived from German meaning 'man'. It is also derived from the common Germanic element which means 'army' or 'warrior'. This could be a reference to Carl growing up as an adult from an early age and becoming a survivor.