Contagion Chapter Twenty-Four
Taylor heaved a sigh as he sat in the almost too quite car. Maggie had been driving ever since they had left the farm and it was now daybreak. Turning to look in the backseat he smiled seeing Jessica and Glenn asleep. At least he could say he knew the safety and well being of one of his family members. It was the others he didn't know anything about and as he looked at Maggie he could tell she too was thinking about the others, hell she didn't have any of her family at all with her.
Maggie could feel Taylor's eyes on her and as she drove she took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself though she couldn't it was becoming hard, "Oh my god. Oh my god," she muttered to herself almost like a mantra.
"All right," Taylor spoke calmly as he listened to Maggie talking to herself. "Let's just circle back to the highway," he spoke knowing the highway might be their best bet. It was the place they had left stuff for Sophia and maybe it was the place where the others would be at too, just in case.
"Did you see my dad?" Maggie asked ignoring Taylor's words. "Did..did he make it?" she asked only getting silence from Taylor. "Did you see?"
Taylor shook his head, "I couldn't see anything," he admitted knowing there had been too many walkers for him to see who all had truly made it off the farm.
"And Beth..I lost Beth," Maggie muttered as her little sister came to mind. "We've gotta go back there," she told Taylor her voice as serious as she felt. They had to go back. She had to get Beth and her father if he hadn't made it off.
"We can't go back, okay?" Taylor told her as he frowned knowing she was reminding him of how he had been after the Quarry had been overrun and he had lost Ezra. "There's nothing to go back to."
"But Beth..." Maggie argued knowing her sister needed her.
Taylor thought for a few seconds before speaking again, "I..I think she was with Lori," he told her feeling like maybe Beth had been with her.
"Did they make it?" Maggie asked though it came out more like her pleading.
"I don't know," Taylor answered not sure if they had.
"Patricia? Jimmy?: Maggie questioned continuing to let her thoughts out. "What if they didn't make it? What if nobody made it?"
Taylor closed his eyes at Maggie's words not even wanting to consider the last option, "They made it, okay? They had to," he nodded. "All right, let's just circle around to the highway where we left supplies for Sophia."
"No," Maggie stated feeling tears going down her cheek. "The herd came from that direction."
"Just stop. Stop the car," Taylor said as he ran a hand through his hair. When the car stopped he started to open his door, "Let me drive," he stated before getting out and quickly switching spots with Maggie. Once he was in the driver's seat he turned to look at Maggie who had now just broken down crying. "Hey, hey, hey," he said as he reached over and grabbed both of Maggie's cheeks. "Hey, Maggie, look at me, look at me," he told her making sure she was looking at him before he continued. "Hey, we're alive. We made it. Okay? I'm sure they are, too," he reassured her. "Right?" he asked when Maggie started to nod her head though it was apparent she was still wanting to cry.
"I love you," he finally spoke up telling her words he should have said days ago. "Maggie, I love you. I should've said it a long time ago and it's been true for a long time," Taylor smiled knowing he had loved her probably from the first moment he had saw her on the horse. "We're gonna be all right, okay? We'll be all right."
"Yeah," Maggie whispered as she nodded and looked ahead, trying to get herself to believe his words.
After hopefully having calmed Maggie down, Taylor started the car and drove off, heading towards the highway.
As Taylor drove, Jessica opened her eyes, "It's about time you told her how you felt," she muttered through a yawn, seeing Taylor lift one hand from the steering wheel and flipping her off which only made her chuckle softly so she didn't wake Glenn up.
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Coming to rest against a tree Lucy bent down to catch her breath, her eyes though keeping Sutton and Alice in her sights, "Do you think Viv will really find a car?" she asked not sure if the woman would be able to find a car.
"Of course she will," Alice nodded as she came to rest beside Lucy. "It's Viv we're talking about. When has she let us down before?" she asked trying not to hide her worry over something happening to Viv when she was out by herself.
"All I know is if she doesn't find a car I am gonna die of exhaustion," Sutton muttered as she shook her head. "We've been running since last night and it's now morning."
Lucy just sighed before standing up straight again, "Well you are going to have to get ready to run again," she said as she tried to give Sutton a tiny smile though she probably failed. "If we stand around all day we're going to become food and anyway Viv told us to meet her on that one road off the highway," she muttered before she started running again.
"I just don't see why we can't meet her on the highway itself," Sutton mused as she started moving again, trying to keep up with Lucy.
"Because the highway could be overrun with the walkers," Alice said as she ran at the same pace as Sutton. "I wish both of you would stop questioning Viv's decisions. She's gotten us this far."
Rolling her eyes Lucy ignored Alice's words though she wished Alice would stop defending Viv even if Alice was dating her.
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Getting out of the car when Rick parked it on the highway, Zac almost felt his heart sink when he found that no one else in their group was here and he shook his head, walking over to the car that now held the faded message they had wrote to Sophia on it. A message that the little girl had never gotten to see.
"W..where's mom?" Carl asked as he looked up at Rick. "You said she'd be here. W..we gotta go back for her."
"Carl.." Rick started only to get interrupted by his son.
"No," Carl argued. "Why are we running? What are you doing? It's...It is mom. We need to get her and not be safe a mile away," he said his voice rising as he spoke.
Bending down to Carl's level Rick shushed him, "You need to be quiet, all right? Please," he said not wanting to draw attention or walkers to them.
"It's mom.." Carl pleaded still not understanding why they couldn't go after her.
Zac just frowned as he stood silently by. He could half see where the boy was coming from.
"Look Carl, listen.." Rick began only for Carl to turn his back and walk away, heading back towards the car they had exited.
"Rick," Hershel began as he watched Rick start after Carl but stop when he said his name. "You've got to get your boy to safety. I'll wait here for my girls and the others. I know a few places. We'll meet up at one of them later."
Rick listened to Hershel then looked he turned to look between Zac and Hershel, "Where? Where is safe?" he asked not sure where a safe place was. "We're not splitting up."
"Please, keep your boy safe," Hershel stated thinking of Carl's safety. "I'll hide in one of the cars. If a walker gets me, so be it," he said somberly as he shook his head. "I've lost my farm, I've lost my wife and maybe my daughters."
"You don't know that," Zac chimed in not wanting to picture Beth dead.
"They'll be here," Rick added as he looked at Hershel.
"And neither of you know that for sure," Hershel sighed knowing neither Zac or Rick knew one hundred percent if anyone would come here.
Rick shook his head, "You're a man of God, have some faith."
"I can't profess to understand God's plan, but Christ promised the resurrection of the dead. I just though he had something a little different in mind," Hershel said as he looked down knowing this wasn't how he had expected that verse to turn out.
"We stick together," Rick said still standing by his choice that he wasn't leaving Hershel behind.
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Sitting in the truck silently, Avery turned her head as she heard Beth begin to speak. It was the first words anyone had spoken since they had left the farm last night.
"You let her go," Beth spoke harshly as she looked up at Lori.
Lori looked at Beth, taken aback by her words, "She was bit."
"You threw her to them to save yourself," Beth responded as she locked eyes with Lori.
"You can't possibly believe that," Lori said as she shook her head.
"I was holding on to her," Beth countered still not breaking eye contact with Lori.
Lori sighed, "And she would have dragged you down," she said knowing if she hadn't saved Beth, Beth could have died with Patricia.
Beth shook her head feeling tears well up into her eyes, "You let her go."
Avery frowned as she pulled Beth to her, her heart going out to the blonde who had just lost a woman she had probably known since she was a baby. "You'll be okay," she whispered as she did her best to comfort Beth.
"We gotta turn around," Lori spoke as she looked at T-Dog who was driving.
"Straight back to that herd?" T-Dog asked feeling like Lori had lost her damn mind. "Umm, no."
"The highway's back there," Lori told him. "That's where they'll be. Rick will go back to where we first broke down and maybe Glenn too," she stated knowing the two of them would go somewhere they all knew and remembered.
T-Dog shook his head, "We're headed east, get to the coast. We should've done that from the jump," he said as he looked at all three of the women in the truck with him. "Look, we've got a shot to get out of here in one piece."
"I gotta find Carl," Lori argued as she thought of her son. "He may have escaped with somebody."
"I hate to say it but they're on their own," T-Dog stated. "There's no way to even begin to start looking."
"You're wrong," Lori muttered as she laughed bitterly.
"Look, we can't go back," T-Dog said as he shrugged his shoulders. "I'm sorry. It's suicide."
Getting fed up with T-Dog, Lori put her hand on the door handle and started to open it, "All right, then let me out."
"Hey! Whoa!" T-Dog muttered as he pulled the truck to a stop.
"You turn around, or you let us out right now," Lori said sternly as she eyed T-Dog knowing she had every intention of taking Beth and Avery out of this truck and walking to the highway with them.
"I should do it, you know," T-Dog stated watching as Lori started to get out of the car. "Okay?" he said as she turned to face him and he leaned his head against the glass window.
Looking back at T-Dog, Lori frowned, "T-Dog," she pleaded hoping he'd change his mind.
"You're out of your damn minds," T-Dog muttered as he started the truck back up. Hearing Lori shut the door he turned the truck around and headed back towards the highway.
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Zac chewed his lip and held onto his gun tightly as he hid behind the jeep with the other men as a walker passed their way. It was only after the walker had went down the opposite side that Rick motioned for them to leave their hiding space and they all moved to the back of the jeep where they watched the walker still roam aimlessly down the highway.
"I don't know how much longer we can stay here," Hershel whispered as he looked at Rick.
"I...I'm not leaving without mom," Carl spoke knowing he didn't want to go anywhere until he had his mom with him.
Rick moved closer to Hershel, "So we're just gonna walk away? Not knowing if mine or Zac's wife or your girls are still out there?" he asked as he looked at the older man. "How do we live with that?"
Hershel sighed, "You've only got one concern now," he said as he looked down at Carl. "Just one. Keeping him alive. Nature may be throwing us a curve ball, but that law is still true."
It was after Hershel spoke that Zac watched as Rick wavered and bent down, starting to tell Carl that they had to leave but before he could even finish his words Zac heard the distant roar of a motorcycle and then three familiar vehicles came into sight and he couldn't help the smile on his face as he watched them drive down the other side of the highway before coming to a stop.
Walking down to where the vehicles parked Zac watched as everyone piled out, Avery running to Daryl who he was surprised to see envelope her into a hug. Glenn and Jessica both getting out of the car that Taylor and Maggie were in and as they all walked to where he was his eyes darted around for Kate but he could feel his smile fading as he didn't see her among anyone else, nor did he see Mac either.
"Where'd you find everyone?" Rick asked as he turned to look at Daryl who was standing in front of a car with his arm around Avery's shoulders.
"Well, those guys' tail lights zigzagging all over the road," Daryl answered as he turned to look at Taylor. "Figured he had to be a Hanson, driving like that," he teased.
Taylor made a face but shook his head, "Good one."
"Where's the rest of us?" Daryl asked knowing they were missing some of their people.
Rick sighed, "We're the only ones who made it so far."
"Shane?" Lori asked as she stood up from where she had been bending down to hug Carl. When Rick shook his head no she knew then that he was dead.
"Andrea? Kate?" Taylor asked knowing that Andrea as well as his sister-in-law Kate were both missing.
Carol looked down at the mention of both women, "Kate was with me but then walkers at the farm cornered us both. She ran off into another direction. Andrea..she saved me, then I lost her."
"We saw her go down," T-Dog added in referring to Andrea.
"Patricia?" Hershel asked as he held Beth to him.
Beth shook her head as she looked up at her daddy, "They got her too. Took her right in front of me. I was..I was holding onto her, daddy. She just..." she muttered not even able to finish her words. "What about Jimmy? Did you see Jimmy?"
"He was in the RV as was Mac. It got overrun," Rick answered as he looked towards Beth and then the remainder of the Hanson's.
"You definitely saw Andrea?" Carol asked as she turned to look at T-Dog.
"There were walkers everywhere," Lori said as she looked at Carol.
"Did you see her?" Carol asked again wondering if there could be hope she was alive.
Pulling away from Avery, Daryl reached for his crossbow, "I'm gonna go back."
"Me too," Zac nodded as he shook his head. "My..my wife could be there."
"No," Rick stated as he looked between Daryl and Zac.
Zac glared slightly as he looked at Rick, "We can't just leave them."
"We don't even know they are there," Lori said as she turned to look at Zac.
Rick shook his head, "They aren't there. They aren't. They are somewhere or they are dead. There's no way to find them," he said knowing they didn't have the time and they could risk themselves as well.
"So we're not even gonna look for them?" Glenn asked as he raised an eyebrow.
"We gotta keep moving. There have been walkers crawling all over here," Rick said knowing that before they had shown up there had been a few walkers coming in.
"I say head east," T-Dog added in feeling like they might be safer if they headed east.
"Stay off the main roads. The bigger the road, the more walkers, more asshole like this one," Daryl muttered as he finally picked up his crossbow. "I got him," he said as he aimed the crossbow, soon putting an arrow in the walker's head.
After Daryl had killed the walker, Zac begrudgingly let Taylor walk him over to the car that he had saw Taylor get out of. Getting inside he slid all the way over, watching as Jessica and Glenn filed in as well, before Carol got in the back hatch. From where he sat silently he could see Avery getting on the back of Daryl's bike and then Rick, Lori, Hershel, Beth, Carl, and T-Dog all got into the jeep.
They had again reduced their vehicles and started off, leaving the highway behind and Zac also felt like they had left a piece of him behind by not going back for Kate. She was pregnant with his child. She couldn't fend for herself. She'd die, the baby would die.
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Running through the woods, Kate breathed hard as she stumbled over a branch, a scream escaping her. She had been running from a walker and now her fall had made it easier for the walker to get at her and the moment it leaned down over her to take a bite out of her neck, Kate closed her eyes waiting for that moment of first contact to come but it didn't.
Instead what came was the sound of a gun and Kate opened her eyes seeing the walker fall to the ground beside her. Sitting up she made a face as she brushed leaves out of her hair.
"Are you okay?" Lucy asked as she bent down beside the woman she had just saved. "You didn't get bit?"
"I'm fine," Kate nodded as she gave the woman a tiny smile. "I..I just..I lost my group..I..my husband," she spoke her words incoherent. "I need to find my husband."
"I don't think that's gonna happen," Lucy told her as she heard footsteps behind her and she turned to see Sutton and Alice catching up. "I..I have a group," she told the brunette as she stood up and held her hand out, feeling the woman take it and she helped her up. "You can stay with us if you want but I don't think finding your husband is gonna be a good idea," she said knowing at this rate the woman was probably too far away from him.
Kate shook her head, "But I'm pregnant," she stated knowing she couldn't do this whole pregnancy thing without Zac.
"Lucy has a point," Viv stated as she walked up onto the group having heard most of Lucy's conversation with the woman. "You won't find your husband."
Looking down Kate felt a lump form in her throat but she didn't fight anymore, instead she just nodded feeling defeated, "O..okay," she spoke agreeing to join them.
After the woman spoke Sutton looked at Viv, "I thought you wanted us to meet you off the highway?"
"I did," Viv replied sarcastically. "But you guys are slow," she teased as she turned her back and headed to where she had parked the car she had found.
Watching the women start to walk off after the blonde woman, Kate just stood there.
"Come on," Lucy spoke turning her head to look back at the brunette. "We don't bite."
"That I know of," Kate responded as she locked eyes with the redhead. "You're strangers to me," she added in walking to where the redhead was.
"And you're a stranger to us but we still took you in," Lucy smiled. "We'll take care of you..and your baby," she said as she looked down at the woman's stomach hoping that they actually would be able too.
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"Damn," Rick growled as he hit the steering wheel hard.
Lori turned to look at her husband, "What's wrong?" she asked at his outburst.
"We've been riding red for the past hour," Rick informed her as he sighed.
"Better make sure we don't get forgot," T-Dog spoke before Rick honked the horn to alert the two vehicles in front of them which came to a stop.
Daryl who was sitting on his bike watched as Rick walked up to him, "You out?" he asked curiously.
"Running on fumes," Rick told him as he came to a stop.
Maggie just made a face, "We can't stay here," she said knowing they were out in the open.
"We can't all fit in one car," Taylor countered as he looked at her.
"We'll have to make a run for some gas in the morning," Rick said as he looked back at the rest of his group.
Carol crossed her arms, "Spend the night here?" she asked before hearing Carl say he was freezing which wasn't a surprise as it had to be close to late fall or early winter.
"We'll build a fire, yeah," Lori nodded as she looked at her husband.
"You go out looking for firewood," Daryl said as he looked towards Lori. "Only got so many arrows. How you doing on ammo?" he asked looking at Rick.
Shaking her head Maggie sighed, "We can't just sit here with our asses hanging out."
"Watch your mouth," Hershel scolded as he looked at his daughter. "Everyone stop panicking and listen to Rick.."
"All right, we'll set up a perimeter. In the morning, we'll find gas and some supplies," Rick said as he tried thinking of a plan. "We'll keep pushing on."
"Taylor and I can go make a run now, try and scrounge up some gas," Maggie suggested seeing Taylor glaring at her before she turned to face Rick.
Rick shook his head, "No, we stay together," he said vetoing that idea. "God forbid something happens and people get stranded without a car."
"Rick, we're stranded now," Glenn spoke knowing they were pretty much stranded at this point.
"I know it looks bad, we've all been through hell and worse, but at least we found each other," Rick said as he looked at his group. "I wasn't sure... I really wasn't... but we did. We're together. We keep it that way. We'll find shelter somewhere. There's gotta be a place."
Zac swallowed hard as he shook his head, "Rick, look around. Okay? There's walkers everywhere. They're migrating or something," he explained knowing that where they were at wasn't safe right now. They were sitting ducks in the water.
"There's gotta be a place not just where we hole up, but that we fortify, hunker down, pull ourselves together, build a life for each other," Rick explained trying to get the group to see his way of thinking. "I know it's out there. We just have to find it."
"Even if we do find a place and we think it's safe, we can never be sure," Jessica added in as she shook her head. "For how long? Look what happened with the farm. We fooled ourselves into thinking that was safe."
"We won't make that mistake again," Hershel said as he gave Jessica a smile.
"We'll make camp tonight over there," Rick said pointing to a place not to far off in the distance. "Get on the road at the break of day."
Avery walked to Daryl and crossed her arms, "Does this feel right to you?"
"What if walkers come through," Beth said as she walked towards Rick. "Or another group like Randall's?"
At the mention of Randall, Daryl looked at Rick, "You know I found Randall, right? He had turned, but he wasn't bit."
"How's that possible?" Avery asked not understanding how Randall could have turned without being bit.
Lori looked at her husband skeptically, "Rick, what the hell happened?"
"Shane killed Randall," Daryl deduced knowing he had came to that conclusion while still on the farm. "Just like he always wanted to."
"And then the herd got him?" Lori questioned wondering if that was what had happened.
Rick stood there in silence for a bit before speaking, "We're all infected," he blurted out.
"What?" Daryl asked trying to make sense of Rick's words.
"At the CDC, Jenner told me. Whatever it is, we all carry it," Rick explained to the group letting them in on a secret he had been keeping for awhile now.
"And you never said anything?" Carol asked harshly.
Rick ran a hand through his hair before speaking again, "Would it have made a difference?"
"You knew this whole time?" Taylor asked his voice coming out shaky.
"How could I have known for sure?" Rick asked as he looked at Taylor. "You saw how crazy that mo...." he started but got interrupted.
"That is not your call," Taylor argued back. "Okay, when I found out about the walkers in the barn, I told, for the good of everyone."
Rick continued to look at Taylor, "Well, I thought it best that people didn't know."
It was at those words that Taylor looked down as Rick went silent before walking away.
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Zac sighed as he leaned against the car once Rick had walked away, Lori going after her husband. It just felt like all the hits kept on coming today. Kate being gone, now finding out they were all infected. How could things get better for him right now?
"I'm sorry about your wife," Beth spoke as she came to a stop beside Zac who didn't look up at her. "I..I didn't love Jimmy but I cared for him so I know your pain."
Nodding his head, Zac didn't even look up at Beth because looking at her would make him feel guilty. He had wasted time he could have spent with his wife being confused on how he felt towards her, hell he was still confused on how he felt towards her. "My wife isn't dead," he said finally looking at her.
"No but she's gone," Beth clarified as she rested her hand on his shoulder. "So is your baby and I'm sorry," she apologized feeling awful for him. "Y..you helped me and now I just want to help you."
"I never helped you," Zac stated as he locked eyes with her.
Beth nodded her head, "The day I cut my wrist, it wasn't just Kate's words. I thought of you. You helped me bring me back from that edge and now I want to keep you from going over that edge."
Zac shook his head, "I'm not close to any edge."
"Yes, you are," Beth told him as she squeezed his arm before moving away. "It's written all in your eyes."
Staying silent Zac watched Beth walk away, hating that she could read him so well.
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"We're not safe with him.." Avery stated as she turned to look at Daryl as they both sat around the campfire that night. "Keeping something like that from us."
Carol who had been listening to Avery turned to face Daryl as well, "Why do you need him? He's just gonna pull you down."
Daryl shook his head his, "Nah, Rick's done all right by me," he told her.
"You're his henchman and I'm a burden," Carol stated ignoring the look Avery was giving her as she continued on speaking. "You deserve better."
"What do you want?" Daryl asked harshly not understanding what Carol wanted.
"A man of honor," Carol answered honestly.
Daryl rolled his eyes, his voice coming out gruffer than usual, "Rick has honor."
"I think we should take our chances," Jessica said as she looked at Glenn who was sitting beside her.
Hershel shook his head hearing the girl, "Don't be foolish. There's no food, no fuel, no ammo."
Hearing something off in the distance Beth turned to look towards where the noise sounded, "What was that?"
"Could be anything," Daryl answered as he stood up. "Could be a raccoon, could be a possum."
"A walker," Zac added in rather gloomy.
Carol stood up and looked around, "We need to leave. I mean what are we waiting for?"
"Which way?" Taylor asked wondering where the sound had came from.
"It came from over there," Maggie said looking in the direction they had been in earlier.
"Back from where we came," Beth stated as she moved closer to Zac, feeling a bit scared but maybe he could keep her safe.
Maggie nodded her head and turned to look at her sister who had moved closer to Zac which she found a bit odd but she remained silent on that.
"The last thing we need is for everyone to be running off in the dark," Rick stated harshly as he turned to face his group. "We don't have the vehicles. No one's traveling on foot."
"Don't panic," Zac muttered to Beth when the sound they had heard earlier echoed off again.
Carol just shook her head, "I'm not... I'm not sitting here, waiting for another herd to blow through. We need to move, now."
"No one is going anywhere," Rick told her his voice firm.
"Do something," Jessica pleaded as she looked at Rick."
"I am doing something! I'm keeping this group together, alive. I've been doing that all along, no matter what," Rick spoke his voice getting even more firmer as he did so. "I didn't ask for this. I killed my best friend for you people, for Christ's sake!" he revealed seeing a bunch of stunned faces and hearing his son break down. "You saw what he was like, how he pushed me, how he compromised us, how he threatened us. He staged the whole Randall thing, led me out to put a bullet in my back. He gave me no choice. He was my friend, but he came after me. My hands are clean. Maybe you people are better off without me. Go ahead. I say there's a place for us, but maybe... maybe it's just another pipe dream. Maybe... maybe I'm fooling myself again. Why don't you... Why don't you go and find out yourself?" he said nodding towards his group as he looked at each and every one of them. "Send me a postcard. Go on, there's the door. You can do better? Let's see how far you get," he muttered not seeing anyone leaving. Everyone just stayed glued to where they were. "No takers? Fine. But get one thing straight... you're staying. This isn't a democracy anymore."
After Rick's speech Avery just looked down at the ground not really being used to this Rick. His whole speech had taken her by surprise and she had almost found it dictatorish in a way.
Taylor heaved a sigh as he sat in the almost too quite car. Maggie had been driving ever since they had left the farm and it was now daybreak. Turning to look in the backseat he smiled seeing Jessica and Glenn asleep. At least he could say he knew the safety and well being of one of his family members. It was the others he didn't know anything about and as he looked at Maggie he could tell she too was thinking about the others, hell she didn't have any of her family at all with her.
Maggie could feel Taylor's eyes on her and as she drove she took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself though she couldn't it was becoming hard, "Oh my god. Oh my god," she muttered to herself almost like a mantra.
"All right," Taylor spoke calmly as he listened to Maggie talking to herself. "Let's just circle back to the highway," he spoke knowing the highway might be their best bet. It was the place they had left stuff for Sophia and maybe it was the place where the others would be at too, just in case.
"Did you see my dad?" Maggie asked ignoring Taylor's words. "Did..did he make it?" she asked only getting silence from Taylor. "Did you see?"
Taylor shook his head, "I couldn't see anything," he admitted knowing there had been too many walkers for him to see who all had truly made it off the farm.
"And Beth..I lost Beth," Maggie muttered as her little sister came to mind. "We've gotta go back there," she told Taylor her voice as serious as she felt. They had to go back. She had to get Beth and her father if he hadn't made it off.
"We can't go back, okay?" Taylor told her as he frowned knowing she was reminding him of how he had been after the Quarry had been overrun and he had lost Ezra. "There's nothing to go back to."
"But Beth..." Maggie argued knowing her sister needed her.
Taylor thought for a few seconds before speaking again, "I..I think she was with Lori," he told her feeling like maybe Beth had been with her.
"Did they make it?" Maggie asked though it came out more like her pleading.
"I don't know," Taylor answered not sure if they had.
"Patricia? Jimmy?: Maggie questioned continuing to let her thoughts out. "What if they didn't make it? What if nobody made it?"
Taylor closed his eyes at Maggie's words not even wanting to consider the last option, "They made it, okay? They had to," he nodded. "All right, let's just circle around to the highway where we left supplies for Sophia."
"No," Maggie stated feeling tears going down her cheek. "The herd came from that direction."
"Just stop. Stop the car," Taylor said as he ran a hand through his hair. When the car stopped he started to open his door, "Let me drive," he stated before getting out and quickly switching spots with Maggie. Once he was in the driver's seat he turned to look at Maggie who had now just broken down crying. "Hey, hey, hey," he said as he reached over and grabbed both of Maggie's cheeks. "Hey, Maggie, look at me, look at me," he told her making sure she was looking at him before he continued. "Hey, we're alive. We made it. Okay? I'm sure they are, too," he reassured her. "Right?" he asked when Maggie started to nod her head though it was apparent she was still wanting to cry.
"I love you," he finally spoke up telling her words he should have said days ago. "Maggie, I love you. I should've said it a long time ago and it's been true for a long time," Taylor smiled knowing he had loved her probably from the first moment he had saw her on the horse. "We're gonna be all right, okay? We'll be all right."
"Yeah," Maggie whispered as she nodded and looked ahead, trying to get herself to believe his words.
After hopefully having calmed Maggie down, Taylor started the car and drove off, heading towards the highway.
As Taylor drove, Jessica opened her eyes, "It's about time you told her how you felt," she muttered through a yawn, seeing Taylor lift one hand from the steering wheel and flipping her off which only made her chuckle softly so she didn't wake Glenn up.
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Coming to rest against a tree Lucy bent down to catch her breath, her eyes though keeping Sutton and Alice in her sights, "Do you think Viv will really find a car?" she asked not sure if the woman would be able to find a car.
"Of course she will," Alice nodded as she came to rest beside Lucy. "It's Viv we're talking about. When has she let us down before?" she asked trying not to hide her worry over something happening to Viv when she was out by herself.
"All I know is if she doesn't find a car I am gonna die of exhaustion," Sutton muttered as she shook her head. "We've been running since last night and it's now morning."
Lucy just sighed before standing up straight again, "Well you are going to have to get ready to run again," she said as she tried to give Sutton a tiny smile though she probably failed. "If we stand around all day we're going to become food and anyway Viv told us to meet her on that one road off the highway," she muttered before she started running again.
"I just don't see why we can't meet her on the highway itself," Sutton mused as she started moving again, trying to keep up with Lucy.
"Because the highway could be overrun with the walkers," Alice said as she ran at the same pace as Sutton. "I wish both of you would stop questioning Viv's decisions. She's gotten us this far."
Rolling her eyes Lucy ignored Alice's words though she wished Alice would stop defending Viv even if Alice was dating her.
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Getting out of the car when Rick parked it on the highway, Zac almost felt his heart sink when he found that no one else in their group was here and he shook his head, walking over to the car that now held the faded message they had wrote to Sophia on it. A message that the little girl had never gotten to see.
"W..where's mom?" Carl asked as he looked up at Rick. "You said she'd be here. W..we gotta go back for her."
"Carl.." Rick started only to get interrupted by his son.
"No," Carl argued. "Why are we running? What are you doing? It's...It is mom. We need to get her and not be safe a mile away," he said his voice rising as he spoke.
Bending down to Carl's level Rick shushed him, "You need to be quiet, all right? Please," he said not wanting to draw attention or walkers to them.
"It's mom.." Carl pleaded still not understanding why they couldn't go after her.
Zac just frowned as he stood silently by. He could half see where the boy was coming from.
"Look Carl, listen.." Rick began only for Carl to turn his back and walk away, heading back towards the car they had exited.
"Rick," Hershel began as he watched Rick start after Carl but stop when he said his name. "You've got to get your boy to safety. I'll wait here for my girls and the others. I know a few places. We'll meet up at one of them later."
Rick listened to Hershel then looked he turned to look between Zac and Hershel, "Where? Where is safe?" he asked not sure where a safe place was. "We're not splitting up."
"Please, keep your boy safe," Hershel stated thinking of Carl's safety. "I'll hide in one of the cars. If a walker gets me, so be it," he said somberly as he shook his head. "I've lost my farm, I've lost my wife and maybe my daughters."
"You don't know that," Zac chimed in not wanting to picture Beth dead.
"They'll be here," Rick added as he looked at Hershel.
"And neither of you know that for sure," Hershel sighed knowing neither Zac or Rick knew one hundred percent if anyone would come here.
Rick shook his head, "You're a man of God, have some faith."
"I can't profess to understand God's plan, but Christ promised the resurrection of the dead. I just though he had something a little different in mind," Hershel said as he looked down knowing this wasn't how he had expected that verse to turn out.
"We stick together," Rick said still standing by his choice that he wasn't leaving Hershel behind.
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Sitting in the truck silently, Avery turned her head as she heard Beth begin to speak. It was the first words anyone had spoken since they had left the farm last night.
"You let her go," Beth spoke harshly as she looked up at Lori.
Lori looked at Beth, taken aback by her words, "She was bit."
"You threw her to them to save yourself," Beth responded as she locked eyes with Lori.
"You can't possibly believe that," Lori said as she shook her head.
"I was holding on to her," Beth countered still not breaking eye contact with Lori.
Lori sighed, "And she would have dragged you down," she said knowing if she hadn't saved Beth, Beth could have died with Patricia.
Beth shook her head feeling tears well up into her eyes, "You let her go."
Avery frowned as she pulled Beth to her, her heart going out to the blonde who had just lost a woman she had probably known since she was a baby. "You'll be okay," she whispered as she did her best to comfort Beth.
"We gotta turn around," Lori spoke as she looked at T-Dog who was driving.
"Straight back to that herd?" T-Dog asked feeling like Lori had lost her damn mind. "Umm, no."
"The highway's back there," Lori told him. "That's where they'll be. Rick will go back to where we first broke down and maybe Glenn too," she stated knowing the two of them would go somewhere they all knew and remembered.
T-Dog shook his head, "We're headed east, get to the coast. We should've done that from the jump," he said as he looked at all three of the women in the truck with him. "Look, we've got a shot to get out of here in one piece."
"I gotta find Carl," Lori argued as she thought of her son. "He may have escaped with somebody."
"I hate to say it but they're on their own," T-Dog stated. "There's no way to even begin to start looking."
"You're wrong," Lori muttered as she laughed bitterly.
"Look, we can't go back," T-Dog said as he shrugged his shoulders. "I'm sorry. It's suicide."
Getting fed up with T-Dog, Lori put her hand on the door handle and started to open it, "All right, then let me out."
"Hey! Whoa!" T-Dog muttered as he pulled the truck to a stop.
"You turn around, or you let us out right now," Lori said sternly as she eyed T-Dog knowing she had every intention of taking Beth and Avery out of this truck and walking to the highway with them.
"I should do it, you know," T-Dog stated watching as Lori started to get out of the car. "Okay?" he said as she turned to face him and he leaned his head against the glass window.
Looking back at T-Dog, Lori frowned, "T-Dog," she pleaded hoping he'd change his mind.
"You're out of your damn minds," T-Dog muttered as he started the truck back up. Hearing Lori shut the door he turned the truck around and headed back towards the highway.
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Zac chewed his lip and held onto his gun tightly as he hid behind the jeep with the other men as a walker passed their way. It was only after the walker had went down the opposite side that Rick motioned for them to leave their hiding space and they all moved to the back of the jeep where they watched the walker still roam aimlessly down the highway.
"I don't know how much longer we can stay here," Hershel whispered as he looked at Rick.
"I...I'm not leaving without mom," Carl spoke knowing he didn't want to go anywhere until he had his mom with him.
Rick moved closer to Hershel, "So we're just gonna walk away? Not knowing if mine or Zac's wife or your girls are still out there?" he asked as he looked at the older man. "How do we live with that?"
Hershel sighed, "You've only got one concern now," he said as he looked down at Carl. "Just one. Keeping him alive. Nature may be throwing us a curve ball, but that law is still true."
It was after Hershel spoke that Zac watched as Rick wavered and bent down, starting to tell Carl that they had to leave but before he could even finish his words Zac heard the distant roar of a motorcycle and then three familiar vehicles came into sight and he couldn't help the smile on his face as he watched them drive down the other side of the highway before coming to a stop.
Walking down to where the vehicles parked Zac watched as everyone piled out, Avery running to Daryl who he was surprised to see envelope her into a hug. Glenn and Jessica both getting out of the car that Taylor and Maggie were in and as they all walked to where he was his eyes darted around for Kate but he could feel his smile fading as he didn't see her among anyone else, nor did he see Mac either.
"Where'd you find everyone?" Rick asked as he turned to look at Daryl who was standing in front of a car with his arm around Avery's shoulders.
"Well, those guys' tail lights zigzagging all over the road," Daryl answered as he turned to look at Taylor. "Figured he had to be a Hanson, driving like that," he teased.
Taylor made a face but shook his head, "Good one."
"Where's the rest of us?" Daryl asked knowing they were missing some of their people.
Rick sighed, "We're the only ones who made it so far."
"Shane?" Lori asked as she stood up from where she had been bending down to hug Carl. When Rick shook his head no she knew then that he was dead.
"Andrea? Kate?" Taylor asked knowing that Andrea as well as his sister-in-law Kate were both missing.
Carol looked down at the mention of both women, "Kate was with me but then walkers at the farm cornered us both. She ran off into another direction. Andrea..she saved me, then I lost her."
"We saw her go down," T-Dog added in referring to Andrea.
"Patricia?" Hershel asked as he held Beth to him.
Beth shook her head as she looked up at her daddy, "They got her too. Took her right in front of me. I was..I was holding onto her, daddy. She just..." she muttered not even able to finish her words. "What about Jimmy? Did you see Jimmy?"
"He was in the RV as was Mac. It got overrun," Rick answered as he looked towards Beth and then the remainder of the Hanson's.
"You definitely saw Andrea?" Carol asked as she turned to look at T-Dog.
"There were walkers everywhere," Lori said as she looked at Carol.
"Did you see her?" Carol asked again wondering if there could be hope she was alive.
Pulling away from Avery, Daryl reached for his crossbow, "I'm gonna go back."
"Me too," Zac nodded as he shook his head. "My..my wife could be there."
"No," Rick stated as he looked between Daryl and Zac.
Zac glared slightly as he looked at Rick, "We can't just leave them."
"We don't even know they are there," Lori said as she turned to look at Zac.
Rick shook his head, "They aren't there. They aren't. They are somewhere or they are dead. There's no way to find them," he said knowing they didn't have the time and they could risk themselves as well.
"So we're not even gonna look for them?" Glenn asked as he raised an eyebrow.
"We gotta keep moving. There have been walkers crawling all over here," Rick said knowing that before they had shown up there had been a few walkers coming in.
"I say head east," T-Dog added in feeling like they might be safer if they headed east.
"Stay off the main roads. The bigger the road, the more walkers, more asshole like this one," Daryl muttered as he finally picked up his crossbow. "I got him," he said as he aimed the crossbow, soon putting an arrow in the walker's head.
After Daryl had killed the walker, Zac begrudgingly let Taylor walk him over to the car that he had saw Taylor get out of. Getting inside he slid all the way over, watching as Jessica and Glenn filed in as well, before Carol got in the back hatch. From where he sat silently he could see Avery getting on the back of Daryl's bike and then Rick, Lori, Hershel, Beth, Carl, and T-Dog all got into the jeep.
They had again reduced their vehicles and started off, leaving the highway behind and Zac also felt like they had left a piece of him behind by not going back for Kate. She was pregnant with his child. She couldn't fend for herself. She'd die, the baby would die.
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Running through the woods, Kate breathed hard as she stumbled over a branch, a scream escaping her. She had been running from a walker and now her fall had made it easier for the walker to get at her and the moment it leaned down over her to take a bite out of her neck, Kate closed her eyes waiting for that moment of first contact to come but it didn't.
Instead what came was the sound of a gun and Kate opened her eyes seeing the walker fall to the ground beside her. Sitting up she made a face as she brushed leaves out of her hair.
"Are you okay?" Lucy asked as she bent down beside the woman she had just saved. "You didn't get bit?"
"I'm fine," Kate nodded as she gave the woman a tiny smile. "I..I just..I lost my group..I..my husband," she spoke her words incoherent. "I need to find my husband."
"I don't think that's gonna happen," Lucy told her as she heard footsteps behind her and she turned to see Sutton and Alice catching up. "I..I have a group," she told the brunette as she stood up and held her hand out, feeling the woman take it and she helped her up. "You can stay with us if you want but I don't think finding your husband is gonna be a good idea," she said knowing at this rate the woman was probably too far away from him.
Kate shook her head, "But I'm pregnant," she stated knowing she couldn't do this whole pregnancy thing without Zac.
"Lucy has a point," Viv stated as she walked up onto the group having heard most of Lucy's conversation with the woman. "You won't find your husband."
Looking down Kate felt a lump form in her throat but she didn't fight anymore, instead she just nodded feeling defeated, "O..okay," she spoke agreeing to join them.
After the woman spoke Sutton looked at Viv, "I thought you wanted us to meet you off the highway?"
"I did," Viv replied sarcastically. "But you guys are slow," she teased as she turned her back and headed to where she had parked the car she had found.
Watching the women start to walk off after the blonde woman, Kate just stood there.
"Come on," Lucy spoke turning her head to look back at the brunette. "We don't bite."
"That I know of," Kate responded as she locked eyes with the redhead. "You're strangers to me," she added in walking to where the redhead was.
"And you're a stranger to us but we still took you in," Lucy smiled. "We'll take care of you..and your baby," she said as she looked down at the woman's stomach hoping that they actually would be able too.
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"Damn," Rick growled as he hit the steering wheel hard.
Lori turned to look at her husband, "What's wrong?" she asked at his outburst.
"We've been riding red for the past hour," Rick informed her as he sighed.
"Better make sure we don't get forgot," T-Dog spoke before Rick honked the horn to alert the two vehicles in front of them which came to a stop.
Daryl who was sitting on his bike watched as Rick walked up to him, "You out?" he asked curiously.
"Running on fumes," Rick told him as he came to a stop.
Maggie just made a face, "We can't stay here," she said knowing they were out in the open.
"We can't all fit in one car," Taylor countered as he looked at her.
"We'll have to make a run for some gas in the morning," Rick said as he looked back at the rest of his group.
Carol crossed her arms, "Spend the night here?" she asked before hearing Carl say he was freezing which wasn't a surprise as it had to be close to late fall or early winter.
"We'll build a fire, yeah," Lori nodded as she looked at her husband.
"You go out looking for firewood," Daryl said as he looked towards Lori. "Only got so many arrows. How you doing on ammo?" he asked looking at Rick.
Shaking her head Maggie sighed, "We can't just sit here with our asses hanging out."
"Watch your mouth," Hershel scolded as he looked at his daughter. "Everyone stop panicking and listen to Rick.."
"All right, we'll set up a perimeter. In the morning, we'll find gas and some supplies," Rick said as he tried thinking of a plan. "We'll keep pushing on."
"Taylor and I can go make a run now, try and scrounge up some gas," Maggie suggested seeing Taylor glaring at her before she turned to face Rick.
Rick shook his head, "No, we stay together," he said vetoing that idea. "God forbid something happens and people get stranded without a car."
"Rick, we're stranded now," Glenn spoke knowing they were pretty much stranded at this point.
"I know it looks bad, we've all been through hell and worse, but at least we found each other," Rick said as he looked at his group. "I wasn't sure... I really wasn't... but we did. We're together. We keep it that way. We'll find shelter somewhere. There's gotta be a place."
Zac swallowed hard as he shook his head, "Rick, look around. Okay? There's walkers everywhere. They're migrating or something," he explained knowing that where they were at wasn't safe right now. They were sitting ducks in the water.
"There's gotta be a place not just where we hole up, but that we fortify, hunker down, pull ourselves together, build a life for each other," Rick explained trying to get the group to see his way of thinking. "I know it's out there. We just have to find it."
"Even if we do find a place and we think it's safe, we can never be sure," Jessica added in as she shook her head. "For how long? Look what happened with the farm. We fooled ourselves into thinking that was safe."
"We won't make that mistake again," Hershel said as he gave Jessica a smile.
"We'll make camp tonight over there," Rick said pointing to a place not to far off in the distance. "Get on the road at the break of day."
Avery walked to Daryl and crossed her arms, "Does this feel right to you?"
"What if walkers come through," Beth said as she walked towards Rick. "Or another group like Randall's?"
At the mention of Randall, Daryl looked at Rick, "You know I found Randall, right? He had turned, but he wasn't bit."
"How's that possible?" Avery asked not understanding how Randall could have turned without being bit.
Lori looked at her husband skeptically, "Rick, what the hell happened?"
"Shane killed Randall," Daryl deduced knowing he had came to that conclusion while still on the farm. "Just like he always wanted to."
"And then the herd got him?" Lori questioned wondering if that was what had happened.
Rick stood there in silence for a bit before speaking, "We're all infected," he blurted out.
"What?" Daryl asked trying to make sense of Rick's words.
"At the CDC, Jenner told me. Whatever it is, we all carry it," Rick explained to the group letting them in on a secret he had been keeping for awhile now.
"And you never said anything?" Carol asked harshly.
Rick ran a hand through his hair before speaking again, "Would it have made a difference?"
"You knew this whole time?" Taylor asked his voice coming out shaky.
"How could I have known for sure?" Rick asked as he looked at Taylor. "You saw how crazy that mo...." he started but got interrupted.
"That is not your call," Taylor argued back. "Okay, when I found out about the walkers in the barn, I told, for the good of everyone."
Rick continued to look at Taylor, "Well, I thought it best that people didn't know."
It was at those words that Taylor looked down as Rick went silent before walking away.
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Zac sighed as he leaned against the car once Rick had walked away, Lori going after her husband. It just felt like all the hits kept on coming today. Kate being gone, now finding out they were all infected. How could things get better for him right now?
"I'm sorry about your wife," Beth spoke as she came to a stop beside Zac who didn't look up at her. "I..I didn't love Jimmy but I cared for him so I know your pain."
Nodding his head, Zac didn't even look up at Beth because looking at her would make him feel guilty. He had wasted time he could have spent with his wife being confused on how he felt towards her, hell he was still confused on how he felt towards her. "My wife isn't dead," he said finally looking at her.
"No but she's gone," Beth clarified as she rested her hand on his shoulder. "So is your baby and I'm sorry," she apologized feeling awful for him. "Y..you helped me and now I just want to help you."
"I never helped you," Zac stated as he locked eyes with her.
Beth nodded her head, "The day I cut my wrist, it wasn't just Kate's words. I thought of you. You helped me bring me back from that edge and now I want to keep you from going over that edge."
Zac shook his head, "I'm not close to any edge."
"Yes, you are," Beth told him as she squeezed his arm before moving away. "It's written all in your eyes."
Staying silent Zac watched Beth walk away, hating that she could read him so well.
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"We're not safe with him.." Avery stated as she turned to look at Daryl as they both sat around the campfire that night. "Keeping something like that from us."
Carol who had been listening to Avery turned to face Daryl as well, "Why do you need him? He's just gonna pull you down."
Daryl shook his head his, "Nah, Rick's done all right by me," he told her.
"You're his henchman and I'm a burden," Carol stated ignoring the look Avery was giving her as she continued on speaking. "You deserve better."
"What do you want?" Daryl asked harshly not understanding what Carol wanted.
"A man of honor," Carol answered honestly.
Daryl rolled his eyes, his voice coming out gruffer than usual, "Rick has honor."
"I think we should take our chances," Jessica said as she looked at Glenn who was sitting beside her.
Hershel shook his head hearing the girl, "Don't be foolish. There's no food, no fuel, no ammo."
Hearing something off in the distance Beth turned to look towards where the noise sounded, "What was that?"
"Could be anything," Daryl answered as he stood up. "Could be a raccoon, could be a possum."
"A walker," Zac added in rather gloomy.
Carol stood up and looked around, "We need to leave. I mean what are we waiting for?"
"Which way?" Taylor asked wondering where the sound had came from.
"It came from over there," Maggie said looking in the direction they had been in earlier.
"Back from where we came," Beth stated as she moved closer to Zac, feeling a bit scared but maybe he could keep her safe.
Maggie nodded her head and turned to look at her sister who had moved closer to Zac which she found a bit odd but she remained silent on that.
"The last thing we need is for everyone to be running off in the dark," Rick stated harshly as he turned to face his group. "We don't have the vehicles. No one's traveling on foot."
"Don't panic," Zac muttered to Beth when the sound they had heard earlier echoed off again.
Carol just shook her head, "I'm not... I'm not sitting here, waiting for another herd to blow through. We need to move, now."
"No one is going anywhere," Rick told her his voice firm.
"Do something," Jessica pleaded as she looked at Rick."
"I am doing something! I'm keeping this group together, alive. I've been doing that all along, no matter what," Rick spoke his voice getting even more firmer as he did so. "I didn't ask for this. I killed my best friend for you people, for Christ's sake!" he revealed seeing a bunch of stunned faces and hearing his son break down. "You saw what he was like, how he pushed me, how he compromised us, how he threatened us. He staged the whole Randall thing, led me out to put a bullet in my back. He gave me no choice. He was my friend, but he came after me. My hands are clean. Maybe you people are better off without me. Go ahead. I say there's a place for us, but maybe... maybe it's just another pipe dream. Maybe... maybe I'm fooling myself again. Why don't you... Why don't you go and find out yourself?" he said nodding towards his group as he looked at each and every one of them. "Send me a postcard. Go on, there's the door. You can do better? Let's see how far you get," he muttered not seeing anyone leaving. Everyone just stayed glued to where they were. "No takers? Fine. But get one thing straight... you're staying. This isn't a democracy anymore."
After Rick's speech Avery just looked down at the ground not really being used to this Rick. His whole speech had taken her by surprise and she had almost found it dictatorish in a way.