So I'm pretty sure this is my longest chapter yet, so get comfortable and get a snack! Thank you to everyone who has supported me from the start and to all of you who've come around recent and those who are yet to come. I've really enjoyed writing this story! I've yet to finish part three but when I do or get close to finishing, I'll post it too! So look out for The Art of Deception!

Abby gawked as she rode behind Daryl into the pit, in front of her thousands of walkers wandered aimlessly, prevented from going any where beyond the dirt walls of the pit by to big semis parked in a v at both entrances. Daryl parked his motorcycle at the bottom of the pit as did Abraham and Sasha with the car they'd be using to guide the herd. Today was supposed to be the dry run, a practice so that everyone knew their jobs. Abby's job was simple; on top of the wall they'd built, they had made a tall tower that was high enough to see over the tree line so Abby could use her high-powered scope and watch the progress of the herd as it was led through the roadway.

Rick climbed on top the top of the truck bed and started going over everyone's assignments, while Abby surveyed the group watching their terrified faces as they listened to him. Abby looked up at Daryl and cocked an eyebrow he looked down at her and just shook his head, he didn't understand by they were so afraid either, the danger to them was minimal. For Daryl and for Glenn and his group, the danger was greatest but for them, they'd be watching the progress from a far.

Rick was just halfway through his instructions when the sound of rocks falling and metal twisting, drew everyone's attention to the other side of the pit. They all watched as more rock crumbled, then watched as the semi's weight from its trailer finally pulled it over the side into the pit, opening up the other entrance.

"It's open!" Rick exclaimed urgently. "We got to do this now! We're doing this now!"

Everybody scrambled to get into position while Rick shouted out orders. Beth, Glenn and Heath all went off to deal with the tractor store as Sasha and Abraham peeled off to wait for Daryl in the red zone while Abby, Daryl and Michonne stood ready for the walkers to surge forth, giving the others a chance to get away before they too would retreat.

Michonne left when the vast majority of the people had gone, leaving Rick, Abby, Daryl and Tobin. Rick signalled and Tobin along with several other people at the top of the hill sent up flares to attract the herd back their way, then after they had their attention, Tobin put the semi in gear as they back up and pulled it forward enough so the walkers to exit freely but not so much that they surged forward uncontrollably.

Abby backed up slowly to the exit, carefully popping off walkers as Daryl trotted off to his motorcycle and climbed on before firing it up. Once Daryl was on his bike and Tobin managed to clear out to join his group, Abby, Morgan and Rick joined Michonne where she was waiting for them at the top of the hill and took off to their next position as Daryl slowly moved forward, reeving his engine, attracting the walker's attention.

They ran hard down the road, between the cars they had used to line the road in attempts to funnel the walkers in the right direction. Abby had to slow her pace as she started to pull a head, then ducked into the bush so the could walk around to the back side of their wall. After Rick had radioed their position and confirmed Glenn's, Rick looked over at Abby and cocked an eyebrow as she reached for the lowest wrung of her tower.

"I thought you said couldn't run as far no more?" He said

Abby smirked. "That is me outta shape but I started runnin' again, helps me clear my head."

Rick was far from being winded yet, but he certainly still didn't have the same speed or endurance she had. Abby climbed to the top of her tower, good thing she wasn't afraid of heights. It was just a three by six platform on top of four supports with a rail on one side. The rail wasn't meant for support either, more for the two pieces of fabric that draped from it so that the odd chance that a walker looked up, they wouldn't see her or the glare off her rifle.

Abby took up her position and made herself as comfortably as she could on the platform, turned on her radio then peered down the scope. Abby listened to the chatter on the radio as Rick asked for an update from Glenn, he had just arrived at the tractor store. As Abby peered down her scope, she could see the herd in the distance but even with her scope, they were merely a blob. She carefully surveyed the forest, looking for any signs of trouble but as far as she could tell, there was none.

Finally, Daryl came into view enough that Abby could actually make him out, as Sasha and Abraham pulled their car out in front of him then onto the other side of him. They inched along slowly until, finally they made it to the turn. Rick, Michonne and Morgan sent the flares up, trying to get the herd to change direction to go around the corner as Daryl once again started reeving his engine as he rounded the corner.

Abby looked down as the walkers started thump into the wall, some hitting it hard enough to bash in their own brain while others bounced off and followed the wall then followed after the herd that still followed Daryl and the car. As they disappeared into the distance, Abby finally got up and climbed down to the ground where Rick waited for her at the foot of the tower.

"Get back to Alexandria, we have enough people here. You can let everyone know how things are going so far, I'll send Morgan back once we reach yellow zone." Rick ordered her.

Abby gave him a bit of an unhappy look but turned and obediently trotted off into the woods, towards Alexandria. The run back was uneventful but Abby also found it liberating in a way, besides running from walkers, she hadn't run for pleasure for a long time. She'd started doing laps around Alexandria over the last week but it was both boring and lacked any challenge. Running through the woods was an actual challenge, with the constant change in terrain and infinitely more scenic. She felt a pang of disappointment when the walls appeared, even a bit of claustrophobic but it was safe and that was all mattered.

Abby stopped in front of the gate and banged on it as she tried to slow her breathing. The inner gate opened to reveal Spencer standing behind it. Spencer smiled and pulled the gate further, then unlocked the exterior gate and let her in.

"How's it going so far?" He asked as she walked in.

Abby wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Good, we're actually moving the walkers today."

Spencer frowned. "I thought we were doing that tomorrow?"

Abby sighed. "We weren't given the choice; the semi finally fell off the cliff. Where's your mother?"

"She went out with Maggie, talking something about expansion. We put up a platform over there this morning, it'd be quicker if you just went there then going back outside and running around." Spencer said as he locked the gate.

Abby put her hand on his. "Go up in that tower, I'll send someone to man the gate. I need eyes up there if there's trouble."

"Trouble? What kind of trouble?" Spencer asked suddenly concerned.

"I don't know, maybe the herd gets out of hand and some of our people have to run? I can't see the future." Abby said as she pulled the lock open again.

"Right." Spencer said as she opened the gate and walked outside.

Abby closed the gate then started towards the far wall, where Spencer said that Maggie and Deanna were. Abby was halfway there when a nearby scream drew Abby's attention. Abby looked in the direction, only to see a woman get a machete in the face. Abby immediately pulled her pistol and shot the man in the head. Just as she shot him, another scream came from the other side of the road as another intruder appeared.

As Abby looked around her, intruders were appearing everywhere, crawling over top of the wall and running for the nearest building. From what she saw, not one was carrying a firearm which gave Abby hope that this was something they could manage, even with the majority of their fighters otherwise occupied. Abby ran straight for home, shooting intruders as she went. When she reached the door, she found it locked. Abby took a deep breath as she dug in her pocket and pulled out her keys, when she finally opened the door, Carl appeared in front of her with an assault rifle, Sophia standing behind the island with a pistol held aloft and Enid right behind Carl with a knife.

Abby sighed in relief as she shut the door. "How you doin', kiddo?"

"I'm fine, Auntie. Judith is upstairs, sleeping with Jack guarding her and Carol went out to help. You should go to, we'll be fine." Carl said firmly.

"I know, but I had to check on you to be sure." Abby said as she hugged him.

"Is dad and others back too?" Carl asked, looking confused.

"No, we had to execute that plan sooner than we'd planned. They were half done when I got here, should be here in the next hour or so." Abby said as she stepped towards the door. "I'm gonna find some higher ground, raise a little hell."

Carl smirked slightly. "They'll regret climbing over our walls."

Abby returned the smirk. "Damn straight."

Abby turned and left, trotting straight for the townhouse, the highest point in town and also where the armoury was. Abby had just left the front porch when a horn suddenly started blaring from the front gate, Abby stopped and considered changing direction but she had to hope that Spencer or Rosita or Holly would be able to manage it. So, she continued running for the townhouses and arrived to find a man and a woman breaking into the upper level.

Abby raised her gun and managed to shoot the man before the other one ducked inside. Abby raced up the front steps but stopped as she reached the threshold and slowly inched in. Abby managed to step back in time to avoid getting her head smashed by a bat, pulling her knife out as she stepped forward and thrust it into the side of the woman's skull. Abby turned quickly to the door as she heard gun shots not far away. When Abby stepped back outside, she saw a hooded figure disappear into the armoury two doors down, followed by another person, so Abby threw herself over the rail and ran after them.

Abby stepped inside just in time to see the hooded figure point an assault rifle as the other person tried to grab it from the hooded figure but only ended up getting a bullet in the gut as a second man rushed in, only to turn tail when the hooded figure turned it towards him. Abby raised her gun to pop the man in the head and was just about to pop the second figure when a familiar voice called. "Wait!"

Carol's face suddenly appeared as she pulled the fabric covering her face, back and pushed back the hood slightly. Abby sighed. "Nice disguise."

Carol flashed her a brief smile then turned and knelt down beside a second person Abby hadn't even seen enter the building and shove her knife into the woman's skull. They both looked up when the sound of a gasp came from the closet followed by the sound of something falling. Carol looked back at Abby, asking the silent question then when Abby nodded, she slowly got up as Abby pointed her gun at the door then Carol quickly opened it, stepping out of the way. Both Carol and Abby sighed in relief when the found Olivia cowering inside.

"It's okay." Carol said as she stepped towards her. "Is there anybody else here?" Olivia just stared at her in terror. "Olivia!?" Carol growled harshly.

Olivia flinched then focused on Carol. "No. No, I'm the only one."

Abby watched as Carol stepped out momentarily then came back into the room. "I'm going to the roof, you got this?" Abby asked her.

Carol nodded when she looked at her briefly, then went to the hand guns and started shoving them in the bag she'd taken from the hall. Abby turned to leave the armoury then went into the townhouse that she'd first gone into and lopped up the steps to the balcony. She burst onto the balcony, pulled the rifle off her back and aimed it at a group of enemies that had Morgan surrounded. As Abby looked down her scope, she saw Morgan knocking his attackers down one by one but each time he had an opening to land a killing blow, he pulled back. Morgan said something to the one man still standing as his friends slowly got to their feet, then they all turned and ran off as Morgan just stood there.

Irritated, Abby popped off the man as he bent down to pick up a weapon, then each of the remaining four as they ran for the gate. Abby killed three more men but by then, things had started to quiet down; no more gunshots, no more screams. Abby carefully surveyed the surroundings, making sure she hadn't missed anybody, then slung her rifle over her shoulder and carefully made her way back downstairs. The building was a three-level building, so instead of heading straight down the steps, she carefully cleared each floor before finally leaving the building.

Abby stopped on the steps and frowned, Aaron sat at the bottom of the steps flipping through photos. When Abby knelt down beside him, Aaron flinched then looked at her morosely.

"This is my fault." Aaron said as he held up a bag.

"When Daryl and I were out looking for recruits, we got trapped in this car when we were trying to scavenge a warehouse. That's how we ran into Morgan, he saved us." Aaron sighed as he looked at the photos again. "This is my fault."

Abby looked at him surprised. "I'm not following. What does one have to do with the others?"

"Daryl didn't tell you?" Aaron asked, then finally looked up. "We set off a booby trap that let loose dozens of walkers. I dropped by bag as we ran for our lives, it had these photos. They found this place because I dropped my damn bag!"

Abby patted his shoulder. "You don't know that, they might've found this place with or without those photos. In my experience, sometimes shit happens whether or not you do somethin' 'bout it. Now stop moppin' and get on yer feet, we need to make sure we don't have walkers wandering 'round here making things worse."

Aaron chuckled as he stood up. "Yes, ma'am."

Abby patted him on the shoulder again, told him to make sure everyone who was dead, stayed dead. Over the next hour, Abby helped organize the finding, moving and burning of bodies. Initially, the other residents protested but they had too many bodies and not enough space for a proper cemetery. Reg went about assessing the integrity of the church tower that leaned dangerous towards the wall. He wanted it down, but they had bigger fish to fry. Less than an hour after the attack, Michonne, Beth and only two of the other Alexandrians arrived back at the gate, bringing with them grim news.

Not only had half of the herd broken off in the direction of Alexandria, they'd lost almost everyone who'd gone out. When Michonne told her what'd Glenn tried to do, she just about started getting choked up, he was a friend she'd had for a long time and she was very fond of him; like a little brother to her. Hopefully he was okay, if he wasn't, she'd was concerned with how that'd affect Maggie.

She was also considerably concerned that both her husband and her brother, who were still out there. Michonne assured her that Daryl would still be leading what remained of the herd, away from Alexandria with Sasha and Abraham. As for her brother, Michonne couldn't be sure but she told Abby that if anybody could survive out there with herd of walkers that size, it'd be Rick.

Abby climbed to the highest point, and kept her scope trained on the direction the herd would be coming from. From what Michonne guessed, the walkers should only be about twenty minutes behind her, hopefully Rick would make before that. In the meantime, Abby had the residents continuing cleaning up the bodies in the streets and bringing them outside the wall now so as not to attract the walkers more than necessary.

Abby suddenly squinted as the herd of walkers came into view but it wasn't the walkers that caught her attention but the peculiar motion just ahead of the herd. Abby zoomed in then gasped as she saw her brother running for his life, towards the gate.

"He's coming!" Abby shouted at the top of her lungs. "Rick's coming! Somebody prepare to open the gate!"

Abby quickly refocused back on her sights, then pulled the trigger as a walker tried to grab Rick as he ran. Her gun boomed loudly as she shot, shot after shot, trying her best to clear a path for Rick as he continued to run towards the gate. She could hear him shouting as he got sight of the gate and when they did, they gave Abby a clearer shot as Rick's steps were becoming slower and his legs were starting to buckle from the exertion. Abby nearly had a panic attack when he reached the gate and nearly got bit by walker she hadn't seen because it had been right up against the wall but Michonne pulled him inside the safety of the walls and then helped Maggie shut the gate behind him.

The second that gate was shut, Abby was on her feet running down the steps, out of the building she'd made her lookout and made a straight line to where Rick lay on the ground trying to catch his breath. He had just sat up as Abby collapsed on the ground beside him and wrapped her arms around him, just barely choking the sob that wanted to break out. Abby didn't care that he was covered in blood and sweat as she buried her face into his neck and then rested her head against his.

"Easy baby girl, I'm okay." He said breathlessly as he rubbed her arm. "I'm okay." He repeated, then gently pushed her back and painfully got to his feet. Michonne stepped forward then and hugged him, followed by Maggie both relieved to see him. Rick looked at Michonne. "How many made it back?"

Michonne didn't turn away but Abby could see the pain in her eyes. "Just me, Beth and two others. Glenn and Tyrese…they had this plan…I don't know what happened to them."

Rick face became very grim as he looked at his blood covered hand then back up at his sister then Deanna. "I'm gonna clean off but I'm gonna talk to our people, let them know what's going on."

"That would be appreciated." Deanna said. "I'll get everyone to gather."

As Deanna walked off, Rick smirked at his sister slightly. "Nice shootin', sis, as always." Then looked at Michonne. "Tell me the details as we walk." Then turned and walked towards the house.

111

An hour later, Rick made one of his typical inspirational speeches, the reason why he was generally at the helm instead of her, she tended to insult people or hurt people into listening to her. Some seemed to listen but it became clear that not all were being convinced and some even subtly blaming Rick for the deaths of those who'd help him with his plan to move the walkers. It was then that Aaron stepped forward and shifted the blame from Rick to himself, telling them about losing his pack and how he'd figured their attackers had followed him and Daryl back.

Deanna seemed to have finally reached the max of what she'd could handle for that day and just turned and walked off, followed worriedly by Reg as Tobin called after her. They split up then, Rick tasking a couple of people to help him clean up the remaining bodies, reinforcing the damaged panel and start repairing the things they could.

Abby was walking past the pantry when she saw a couple of dissidents giving Olivia a hard time, complaining about starving. One man, Abby had yet to learn the name of, stepped past Olivia but was then violently pulled back by Abby.

"Hey, shit for brain's! What do you think yer doin'?" Abby growled, oozing as much menace as she could, which was considerable as all five people stepped back.

"If I'm going to die, I rather my family and I have full bellies." The man said apprehensively.

"Well its assholes like you who'll get your family and the rest of our people killed!" Abby growled. "As soon as we descend into anarchy and survival of the fittest, we start dyin'! And newsflash, you'll probably be one of the first to go since you don't know the first thing 'bout survivin'! You wanna to die? Then why don't you throw yerself over the wall and let the rest of us continue fightin' back the grim reaper."

"I don't want to die but things are going that way, I just want my family to eat." He said morosely.

"If want them to eat fer more than a day, then you'll listen to Olivia." Abby said, trying to not sound like such a prick.

"I just don't see the point." Another man said, sounding childish.

Abby laughed. "Be happy you don't gotta tank blowin' the shit outta yer home because that's what happened to us. We had walls, we had safety but then somebody decided they wanted to have what we had! We even offered to try an' lived with them! Our community was bigger than yours and all that survived was the people you saw walkin' through that gate. Where there's a will there's a way, sound familiar? You have solid metal walls, we just had chain link. You have a huge ass herd with no mind, we had a small force with a tank and firearms, we had no warning you had a week and lastly, we have someone on the outside, someone who can save us! Show some faith. Now go home before I shoot each of you in the leg."

Slowly the group moved off, hopefully to make themselves useful. Olivia let out a sigh when they disappeared.

"Thank you. You're brutal but effective." Olivia said.

"I save the honeyed words for my brother to use." Abby said smirking. "Probably should set a guard for tonight."

"That'd probably be wise." Deanna said from the side.

"You should have tried to inspire them, not intimidate them." Spencer said from the other side of the garage door.

Abby shrugged. "More used to dealin' with manly men who need their balls busted than girly men who need pamperin' and hands held. They' don't want me on their ass' they'll behave." Abby looked at Olivia. "You should be okay fer now, I'll get someone trustworthy to watch the pantry for you."

111

Abby walked into the med clinic and looked at Denise a little guiltily. "Hey." Abby said as she walked over to where Denise attended to Scott.

Denise looked up and smiled tightly. "I know you missed your second appointment but I'm not sure I have time right now."

Abby winced. "Sorry, got a little caught up in things. I'm not here to talk, just wanted to make sure you were doin' okay."

Denise wiped a tear that appeared in the corner of her eye. "Not really." She said followed by a sniffle. "I don't know what to do." She said indicating the unconscious Scott. "His wound is infected and he won't wake up."

Abby looked over at Scott. "Could it be sepsis?"

Denise shook her head. "I don't think so, that was the first thing I thought about."

Abby opened her mouth to say more but Tara walked in at that moment. "Oh, hey. Can I talk with Denise for a moment?"

Abby nodded. "Sure, I have things that need doin' anyways."

Abby turned to walk by Tara but she stopped Abby by putting her hand on Abby's shoulder. "I'm sure Daryl will make it back, nobody is a better survivor than him."

"Thanks." Abby said patting Tara's hand, then left the building.

111

Abby sat on the porch as the sun began set, staring worriedly towards the gate as she fiddled absently with her wedding band, wondering what had happened to her man. Abby heard footsteps approaching and quickly turned her head away as she wiped away a tear that had been making its way down her cheek.

"It's okay, it's just me." Maggie said as she sat down beside Abby. "I know yer both a bad ass and softie all rolled up in one."

Abby chuckled as she looked over at her. "How are you doing? I'm not the only one who's missing a husband."

"Probably the same as you, worried…scared." Maggie said as she looked at her wedding ring. "Especially since…" Maggie faded off and looked away.

Abby frowned as she watched the younger woman. "Especially since, what?"

"I-I'm pregnant…" Maggie looked over at her worriedly.

Abby smiled at her gently as she reached over and touched her hand. "I am so happy for you! Don't be worried 'bout me, okay? I'm doin' a lot better now, even been thinkin' 'bout trying again. Maybe your baby will have a playmate not too much younger!"

Maggie smiled, clearly relieved with her reaction. "That'd be wonderful!"

"If Daryl had it his way, we'd have tried as soon as I'd healed." Abby said as she turned her head back towards the gate to stare at it morosely. "Once the idea got into his head, he hasn't been able to think 'bout anything else."

Maggie covered Abby's hand which was still on her hand, with her other hand. "Daryl will come back, so will Glenn. They just can't get home because of those walkers and once they've led them off, they'll come home."

Abby looked back again, forcing a smile onto her face. "I know, it's just hard to not worry 'bout them."

Maggie sighed. "I know."

"Does Glenn know? About the baby?" Abby finally asked.

"Yeah, he does as does Beth. That's why I wasn't apart of helping move that herd." Maggie said sighing tiredly. They didn't say anything for a long time, watching the sunset until finally Maggie looked over at Abby again. "I heard there was some trouble at the pantry."

Abby sighed. "Yeah. I stepped in and stopped them but decided we should post a guard. Beth is guarding it currently but Tara is supposed to relieve her at midnight."

Maggie rubbed her head, obviously stressed. "They get a little trouble and they're ready to turn into anarchist's."

Abby grunted. "Yeah, gave them somethin' to think about."

"Let me guess, you threatened to kill them?" Maggie asked smirking.

"No!" Abby exclaimed feigning insult. "I just threatened to shoot them! Not kill them!"

Maggie chuckled as she finally got her feet. "Of course, how could I think you'd threaten to kill them? Anyways, I better go check on Deanna, make sure she's doing okay."

111

The following morning, Abby spent most of her morning patrolling the community, making sure no one was up to mischief. Rick told her about an attacker that had gone missing who had attacked Deanna in the night but apparently the older woman had handled it on her own but had been shaken up by her experience. Also during the night, Beth had caught Spencer raiding the pantry and had even continued when Beth told him to stop. Abby was very proud of her when she saw Spencer with a black eye and split lip with nary a scratch on herself. Beth was becoming almost better than her older sister and yet maintained that sweet doey eyed exterior, Abby couldn't explain it. Beth was still a sweet heart and yet she killed walkers like a bad ass but that'd be to her advantage, she'd forever be underestimated.

Abby walked down the street and had to smile, people were slowly starting to get over their initial shock and starting to work together to start on a plan, to start protecting their town. Abby felt a little better as she watched, people were starting to step it up. A loud groaning sound, that was not a walker, caused Abby to stop and frown. After a brief moment of silence there was a loud crash and a billow of smoke spewed up into the sky. Abby ran around the corner, then slid to a stop and stared in shock at the scene before her.

The tower that had once been on top of the old church, now lay in pieces on the ground as well as a portion of the wall. On the ground lay Tobin as herd of walkers filtered through the hole in the wall, into the community, heading straight for him but Rosita and Tara immediately ran forward and helped him to his feet. Abby pulled her gun from its holster and laid down cover fire for them as they retreated, helping them go without being assailed by the dead. Closer to the wall, the loud boom of Rick's colt drew her attention, as walkers slowly started to close in on him. Abby turned her attention to the walkers around him, it was too late for her to run over to him but she still could lay down some cover fire momentarily. Unfortunately, Rick did not immediately retreat, probably trying to buy time for the residents.

"Rick! Go!" Abby shouted.

Rick looked at her momentarily then continued firing at the walkers. Deanna eventually came over to him and started shouting at him but he only retreated when he finally fired his last bullet. Rick disappeared from Abby's view just as someone tugged on her arm, Abby reefed her arm out of their grasp and brought her gun up but didn't pull the trigger when she saw Sophia staring up at her, frightened.

"C'mon!" Abby said as walkers started surrounding them.

She then noticed Tara and Rosita grabbing Eugene by the arms and pulling him towards the garage that they used as a classroom. Abby decided it was their best bet then grabbed Sophia's freehand, the other occupied with a pistol, and dragged her quickly towards the classroom; their nearest safe haven. The three turned to close the door but then caught glimpse of Abby and Sophia making a mad dash for them, so they waited for them. Abby fired round after carefully placed round to clear a path for them as Tara and Rosita cleared the ones immediately in front of them. Carol must have taught her daughter to shoot, because as they ran, Sophia took out her fair share of walkers, making things easier for them. As soon as they crossed the threshold, the door slammed shut behind them, followed by the sound of walkers beating on the door.

"Thanks for waiting." Abby said breathless.

"Of course." Tara said looking at her confused.

Abby really didn't know the three of them too well, so she wasn't sure how inclined they were to go out of the way to help people. Abby frowned and looked over at Sophia.

"I appreciate you tryin' to help me honey, but I'd rather you look after yer self." Abby said. "I'd hate to see somethin' bad happen to you."

"We take care of family." She said raising her chin.

Abby smiled as she laughed and wrapped her arms around the girl, giving her a tight hug. "You've come a long way, kiddo."

Sophia returned the hug placing her head on her shoulder. "I've have had a good role model. And you've saved me so many times, I need to start returning the favor."

Abby finally stepped back and looked around the room as Eugene walked over to the bookcase and Rosita sat down with her head in her hands.

"At least some people got into their houses." Tara said, trying to sound optimistic as she stared at the hands clawing at the garage windows. "There's that."

"You think this is it?" Rosita asked looking morosely at the wall.

"What?" Tara asked.

"Do you think this place is over?" Rosita asked, clarifying her question.

"No." Tara answered as she walked over to Rosita. "I think we just have to earn it."

"I agree." Abby put in. "Or at least the first part anyways, we've done plenty to earn this place."

Abby sat down beside Rosita and rubbed the other woman's arm. After a moment of silence, she looked over at Abby sadly.

"I feel as if Abraham is dead." Rosita said sadly. "It feels like he's dead."

"He's not." Tara said from behind her.

"I agree. In all likelihood, if Abraham was dead then Daryl would be dead too and I think he's still a live…I have too." Abby looked away as the pain of even considering him gone hit her. "I can't."

"He's not…Daryl anyways." Eugene said, making everyone in the room turn to him. "I heard him…on the radio, before I was whisked to safety."

Abby sighed. "See. Help is on the way, we just gotta hold out or better yet, thin the numbers out as best we can."

"Like I said, this place isn't over." Tara said as she turned a chair backwards and sat down. "So, what now you gorgeous ladies?"

Rosita looked at Abby then to Tara. "We're gonna get into there, see what's going on, on the other side." Rosita said pointing to a door leading into the townhouse the garage was attached to, while getting to her feet and pulling out her gun. "We can shoot the lock."

Tara followed after her. "I don't think we can waste the bullet."

Abby was about to volunteer her services but Eugene beat her to the punch. "We don't have to." He said as he pulled out a paper clip from the textbook he was reading and held it up. "Lockpicking is within my skillset."

Eugene knelt down before the door and inserted the paperclip he'd unfolded and started rooting around the inside of the lock. It took him about five minutes but eventually both locks clicked open. Abby went through first, through one doorway than another, only to stop as a man she'd never seen before, put a knife to Denise's throat and used her as a human shield. Tara stepped up beside her, both of them with their guns raised as Rosita held her knife out, ready to attack.

"Put them down or she dies." The man said, obviously one of their living attackers with the W carved onto his forehead.

Abby turned her head slightly while keeping her eye on him. "Dead or injured?" Abby asked.

The two women looked at her alarm but Sophia looked around her and said, "injured." Firmly.

It was as good of an answer as any, so Abby fired, putting a bullet into his shoulder, right near the socket, making the arm drop instantly as his body spun around. Tara instantly stepped forward and pulled Denise behind them as Abby kicked the knife a way, then placed her knee against his neck as he started recollecting himself and pulled his good arm behind him.

"Momma!" Sofia suddenly cried, rushing passed Abby into another room.

Rosita walked up beside Abby and handed her a cord. "That was insanely dangerous." Rosita said unhappily.

"Yeah, no kidding!" Tara agreed. "If you'd missed, he'd have slit Denise's throat! Or worse, you could've hit her with your bullet!"

Abby rolled her eyes as she tied up their prisoner. "I don't miss, especially not at that range, she wasn't in any danger."

"She wasn't." Carol groaned as she walked painfully into the room. "I've seen Abby shoot, and she'd never put someone else's life in danger."

Abby finally straightened up and looked over at Carol. Sophia helped support her mother as Carol favored her one leg and held her hand to the bump she had on her head. On the ground, Morgan lay splayed out on his stomach, obviously having been attacked by their prisoner.

"What's this bastard even doing here?" Abby asked unhappily as she glared down at the prisoner.

"Morgan captured him." Carol said in irritation. "He was trying to get him to change his ways, trying to save him."

"Does Rick know? Or Deanna?" Abby asked.

Carol shook her head. "Nobody does."

Abby turned to look at Denise. "What're you doin' here?"

"Morgan asked for my help this morning, he didn't really tell me what he needed but I came anyways. When I came here, I didn't really want to help him but Morgan begged me and I'm supposed to be a doctor, it's my job to help people." Denise answered staring at the man bleeding out beside Abby.

Morgan suddenly groaned as he rolled over then lurched to sit up as he looked around, alarmed, then sighed when he saw his prisoner on the ground. "Thank…" Morgan started then frowned as he saw the blood pooling underneath him.

"He ain't dead, but he'll get there if he don't answer my questions." Abby said, as she looked down at the man once more.

"You haven't asked me any questions yet." The man said weakly from the floor.

Abby knelt down beside him. "Because I ain't asked them yet." Abby looked over at Sophia. "Sophia, honey, why don't you go into the other room?"

"I have an idea what you're gonna do, you don't need to hide it from me. You wouldn't send Carl out of the room, would you?" Sophia asked.

"Actually, I would. Yer both kids and I'd like to keep it that way for as long as possible, but its up to yer momma." Abby said, then looked up at Carol.

Carol pressed her lips together in a line as she looked down at her daughter, then sighed as she rubbed her head. "She needs to know what people are really like."

Abby sighed as she looked back at the man. "Yer gonna tell me 'bout yer people. How many of them were there? Where you'd go when you retreated? Any other useful information?"

The man smiled at her. "And let me guess, you're gonna let me bleed to death if I don't answer them."

"To start." Abby answered mildly.

The man bent forward slightly, still smiling. "I don't believe you. He won't let you." He said indicating Morgan with his head.

"Morgan is no longer in charge of you, I am. Your fate is in my hands, and trust me, I'm a woman of my word." Abby said returning the smile.

His smile wavered slightly, then widen. "No, you won't hurt me."

Abby jammed her finger into the bullet hole causing him to scream in agony. Morgan stepped forward, stick in hand. "That's enough!" Morgan hissed.

Abby held out her gun in his general direction. "Another step and you lose yer knee cap."

Morgan made a shuffling step and Abby turned her head slowly towards him to glare at him as she pressed her finger harder on the trigger. "You don't wanna do that. You think can handle me in hand to hand with yer little toothpick but you can't. Trust me, you and your cheese maker are amateurs."

Morgan looked at her unhappily but stopped moving. Abby looked back at the man and slowly relieved the pressure as she put her pistol away, doing up the button on her holster so neither Morgan or the man could get it from her, then pulled out her knife and held it in front of the mans face.

"Ready to talk yet?" She asked smiling. She knew she must look a little psycho at the moment, her eyes probably bright and deadly.

The man panted as he nodded his head. "There was twenty of us. We call ourselves the Wolves." He started. "We-we don't have a place, we live out in the woods."

Abby made the sound of a buzzer. "Wrong." Then plunged the blade into the man's thigh.

"Please stop." Denise pleaded.

"We will, soon." Abby said studying the man. "If he doesn't, he's walker bait."

"You're going to kill me no matter what, so why should I answer your questions?" He asked between gasps.

Abby's smile widened to Cheshire grin. "You don't know how I am, what I am, do you?" Abby pulled out her dog tags and dangled them in front of him. "I'm going to tell you a little secret, even my big brother doesn't know. I was quintessentially a spy before I retired. Snuck behind enemy lines, collected intel. Usually that required me using a listening device or smuggling out traitors who wanted to switch sides. Sometimes, I needed to be a little more…persuasive. Normally Lewy, my second in command, dealt with that sort of thing. He was a forensic profiler, he was really good at getting into people's head, taught me a few things too. Sometimes, though, we didn't have the time for the psychological way of doin' things." Abby pulled her blade out of the man's thigh as she got up and started wandering around. "The boys like to take turns, so it wasn't always me but after four years together, you get a lot of experience. Now in my experience, little boys like you don't have the nads to stand up to true torture, even men raised as child soldiers have broken under my delicate touch. So, to answer your question, you're right, you may well die but you have a chance to live if you talk. If you don't, I'll make your death long and painful."

"You're crazy." Morgan mumbled.

Abby smiled at him. "No, you were crazy. Crazy people aren't rational. I'm psychotic, psychotic people are very capable of making rational decisions and some, like me, can turn it off." Abby turned back to the man on the floor. "So where are you hiding out?"

"Warehouse." The man panted. "We have it boobie-trapped so no one can get in side but that's where we hang our hats. That's were your people left their bag."

"Is there anything good there? Food? Obviously, you don't have guns but maybe machete's?" Abby asked as she crouched down in front of him once more.

"Nothing substantial, that's why we came here, we were running low on supplies. We should have waited." The man answered looking at her fearfully.

Abby studied his face for a moment as she wiped the blood off of her knife onto his jeans. "Okay. I believe you but we'll probably go look anyways. So, tell me how to get past the boobie-traps."

The sun had started to set when Abby was finally done interrogating the man. When Denise was done looking him over, she walked up to where Abby and Carol stood starring out of the window.

"We need to get him to the clinic. I don't have what I need, he's going die if we don't get there." Denise told them.

Abby sighed. "Fine. Carol, you don't need to be putting your little girl in danger. You stay here. I'll take Denise, our wolf friend, Morgan and whoever else is willing to go and make a go for the clinic."

Abby walked away and went upstairs to talk to the other women. Abby was surprised that despite her frightening display, both woman seemed willing to help her and were overall still okay with her. As she figured, Eugene opted to stay back to 'protect' Carol and Sophia. The six of them went to the garage door opened it a couple inches so they could watch the herd of walkers slowly staggering through the street. Thankfully, the ones who'd been banging on the door had wandered off.

As they watched, a woman's horrified screams broke over the chorus of moans, followed shortly by a single gun shot. They all glanced at each other, everyone concerned with who had let out the scream. The walker herd slowly started off in the direction of the scream, so Abby nodded to Rosita and Tara, who nodded in return. Abby pulled out the knife from her boot and held it towards Denise.

"Just in case." She said quietly.

Denise didn't look too certain but she took the knife from Abby. Abby then took out her own knife out, then Tara and Rosita opened the door slowly, trying to not attract the attention of the walkers. They walked in a loose spear head formation with Denise in the middle with Tara and Rosita on the sides with Morgan and wolf man pulling up the rear and Abby in front, keeping to the wall as they rushed towards the clinic.

A gasp then a grunt of effort drew Abby to a stop, just before they were about to cross the street, she turned and Tara fending off a walker in the same moment that the wolf man tried to make a break for it. Tara was closer so Abby turned back to help Tara as Morgan pursued the wolf man as he hobbled off. Rosita grabbed Denise's arm and made a mad dash for the clinic, shoved her inside as Abby and Tara continued to fend off walkers. There was a brief lull in the attack, so Abby pulled out her pistol aimed at the still retreating wolf and shot him in the other shoulder. He screamed in pain and pitched forward, instantly swarmed by walkers as Morgan paused to look back at her then ran back to the building they had just come from.

Abby whirled around as a growl came up behind her but it was not of walker but of a dog, she turned to see Jack tackled a walker who was about to take a chomp from her, to the ground. Abby stomped on the walker's skull as hard as she could, quickly scooped up Jack, throwing him over her shoulder so she could still fire her pistol, then ran for the clinic where Rosita and Tara waited for her as well as Beth.

When Abby finally made it to the door, the four of them rushed inside together. Abby put Jack down then looked at her pistol as she slumped against the door, it was now empty. Aaron and Heath looked out the window beside her as she finally straightened up as she finally settled herself down, only to have her breathing elevated again as she caught sight of what they were looking at.

"It's the kid." Heath was saying.

"Is he bit?" Aaron asked.

Denise came to look out the window as Abby's world went silent around. Before she realized it, Abby was rushing for the door and started beating the crap out of walkers as she saw Rick running for her. As he ran passed her into the house, Michonne tugged on her belt as Abby continued to hack at walkers with her knife. The last couple of feet, Michonne shoved her hard into the clinic, took out one more walker before stepping in herself.

Rick watched in anguish as Denise went too work, and just seeing his face broke her heart but seeing what was left of Carl's eye, nearly made her passed out. Not from the gore but from the shear fear of losing him. Abby turned to Rick so she wouldn't faint and lifted the poncho he'd made, layered in walker innards, over his head before wrapping her arms around him. Rick wrapped one arm around her waist as he rubbed his face.

"My boy." He said so softly then even with her ear to his chest, she barely heard him.

Rick finally moved away from her, looking lost as he looked around him. Abby watched him carefully as he walked over to the window and looked passed the blinds at the walkers. He slowly reached for his belt and pulled his axe from it.

"Rick." Abby said softly.

Rick looked over at her as he reached for the door knob. "You coming?"

Abby pulled her knife from her belt and nodded. Rick opened the door and walked out followed immediately by Abby, Michonne called after them but her calls were cut off as she shut the door. They immediately made for the nearest walker as it staggered towards them, brought down immediately by Rick's axe. Abby took the next nearest walker, and they quickly became twin harbingers of death, working together to destroy any walking dead that dared to get within arms reach of them.

Suddenly Michonne was at Abby's other elbow as they continued to hack away at the walkers. Abby glanced around them briefly and saw Rosita, Tara, Beth, Heath, Aaron and Spencer had all joined her in hacking away at the masses. Together they moved as a tight knit circle, no one stepping more then a foot away from the group. As they went, their group slowly started to grow as other members of their community joined in their attempt to eradicate the walkers.

To Abby's dismay, Gabriel and Olivia had joined in the slaughter as did Eugene, Carol and Sophia. They were plugging along when a sound that Abby's trained ears identified as an RPG screamed briefly through the air followed by an explosion of fire that soon spread over the whole lake. Everyone paused to look at the growing flames, as did the walkers, who then seemed to forget their presence and lumber off towards the flames. The pause was only brief though, as walkers nearest them refocused on them and attacked once more.

Abby wasn't sure how long they worked but slowly they began to get breathing room. Daryl suddenly appeared in front of her, pulling her in a tight hug as walkers had all but been stopped. Abby suddenly started to sob, it was very inconvenient timing. There was just something about Daryl wrapping his arm around her that unhinged her. Daryl's body was still tense but he stroked her hair, then finally pulled her head from his neck.

"What's wrong?" He asked. Abby never cried without reason and never spontaneously in face of danger, so he knew something was up.

"Carl…" Was all she could croak out. Abby suddenly stepped back and looked around her, Rick was no where's in sight. "Rick?" Abby suddenly called, panicked by his sudden disappearance.

Beth suddenly grabbed her arm and looked at her sympathetically. "I saw him go back to the clinic. Go, be with Carl and Rick, we can handle the rest of the walkers."

Abby looked back at Daryl who waited patiently but had a look of concern. Abby couldn't find her voice, so she grabbed his hand and pulled him to the clinic. When they walked in, Abby was momentarily panicked when she didn't see Carl lying where she'd last seen him but Denise had come out in that moment and saw her face.

"He's alive." She said quickly then walked over to Abby and rubbed her arms. "I moved him to somewhere he could have more privacy, some peace. Rick's in there with him now, he looks like he could use his little sister right now."

Abby nodded, then moved off in the direction Denise indicated, leaving Daryl behind. She heard him ask Denise a question but it was quiet and she was too focus on the foot of the bed that appeared, to hear what he asked her. Abby paused and looked at Carl in horror as he lay deathly still on the bed, his skin as pale as a ghost and a bandage over his right eye. Rick sat in a chair holding his sons hand, staring at him, tears in his eyes looking like he had back at the farm but this time he was alone. Abby grabbed a chair and pulled it up beside him and placed a hand on his arm. Rick put his free hand on her hand as he momentarily looked down.

"Shane was right." He said when he looked over at her. "I couldn't protect Lori and I can't protect Carl. Twice now he's…" Rick suddenly choked back his emotions.

Abby scooted closer to Rick and wrapped her arm around his shoulder, placing her head on his shoulder. "No. Shane had no idea what he was talking 'bout! Yer a good father, Rick! You do protect him! This is just a tough and harsh world now, we can hardly protect ourselves, to add a child to the mix… well most people would be dead along with their children. Shane couldn't do any better."

"He probably could." Rick said bitterly.

Abby lifted her head and grabbed his face, looking at him firmly. "No, he couldn't! Not only have you managed to keep a half-grown child alive, but you've kept a baby who can't even walk, alive! Shane couldn't keep a goldfish alive! And remember, Shane was right beside you when Carl got shot."

"I haven't been able to protect you…" Rick started but Abby clamped her hand over his mouth.

"Don't even go there, big brother. I'm a grown woman who is incredibly capable of protecting myself. Seriously, between you and Daryl…" Abby sighed and looked at him sadly. "I'm sorry he got hurt but he's just like his daddy, tough and impossible to get rid of."

Rick briefly let go of Carl's hand and turned to kiss her on the forehead. "I'm so glad yer here. Daryl's here, right? Go see yer husband, I'm sure he's worried." Abby sighed as he looked towards the door then back to Rick. "Go, sis, I'll call you if anything changes."

Abby finally nodded as she got her feet. "Okay, I'll just be in the next room."

Rick nodded and watched as she walked away. When Abby came into the main area, Daryl half sat on the edge of a bed as Denise sewed the back of his shoulder. When he saw her walking briskly towards him, he held out his hand to stop her.

"It's just a flesh wound, nothin' to worry 'bout." Daryl said as she ignored him and inspected the wound Denise was working on.

"I'd hardly call it a flesh wound, it's deep but he'll be fine." Denise said as she snipped the last thread on the last stitch.

Abby looked at the wound now that Denise's hands weren't blocking the view and frowned. "Is that a stab wound?" Abby asked as Michonne came over with Judith in her arms, her voice an octave higher than she'd intended.

Daryl stood up and pulled his vest on to cover the wound. "Don't worry 'bout it." Daryl grumbled. "How's Carl? And Rick?" Daryl asked to change the subject.

Abby crossed her arms, not done with him but allowed him to change the subject for now. "Carl's hangin' in there. He…he looks worse than he did at the farm." Abby took a deep breath as Daryl put a hand on her shoulder but removed it when he realized that his comforting her might make come unhinged once more, something she'd be angry about later. "As for Rick, he's freaked out, feelin' like a failure, a terrible father."

Michonne shook her head vehemently. "It's my fault. We were making a break for it with Jessie and her kids, we'd sent Reg, Gabriel and Judith somewhere safer, then the youngest started freaking out and the walkers attacked him, then Jessie freaked out and got eaten…then Ron…he raised his gun and pointed it at Rick." Michonne closed her eyes and shook her head before kissing Judith on the head. "I ran the kid threw as he pulled the trigger…and…and…"

Abby put a hand on Michonne's shoulder. "You couldn't have known that Carl would've gotten hit, you were just protectin' Rick."

The door opened and in stepped, Reg, red-eyed and bloody with tear streaks down his face. "How's the young man doing?" Reg asked, managing to sound normal.

Abby sighed as she looked back towards the doorway. "He's still alive and he's fightin'."

"Abigail!" Rick's voice came suddenly.

Abby took off running and slid to a stop when she made it to the room. Daryl bumped into her as she stared in disbelief as she stared at the scene in front of her. Rick now sat on the edge of Carl's bed, Carl's hand in his as he stared down at his son, tears obviously in his eyes. What shocked Abby was Carl's one good eye staring back at his father and his mouth working on forming words that were so quiet that Abby couldn't hear them.

"Carl?" Abby squeaked.

Carl turned his head slightly so he could look at her, then smiled. Abby walked numbly to his side, took his hand and broke down crying in relief.

Phew you made it! So I hope you enjoyed it! Until I get part 3 out, I'll be releasing A Better Life...probably tomorrow. It's basically a what if story, if there had been no walkers and the world had remained the same when Abby and Daryl met. It's much shorter and a lot happier. I'll see you folks around!

-Shockra