Daryl and I crouched down in the weeds, our focus on a yellow house on the other side of the field that separated us from it. The door opened, a woman stepping out onto the porch to talk to the small group of people who stood in the yard. My hand flew back and grabbed Daryl's leg. I began to smile, shooting up with excitement.

"What're you doin'," he snapped, tugging on my pant leg in hopes to pull me back down.

"C'mon," I almost shouted, quickly peering back at the house. The group had abandoned her yard and she retreated back inside. "We gotta go," I told him before taking off across the field as fast as I could, almost tripping over my own feet a couple of times. I stumbled up the porch and knocked on the door as Daryl and I caught our breath. The door creaked open, her eyes flickering back and forth between the both of us. Her lip quivered as she hurried forward, throwing her arms around me. I held Carol close, taking another moment to breathe while tears wet my eyes. I sniffled once she pulled away to hug Daryl.

"Why'd you go," he asked, hurt in his voice. I heard her sigh.

"I had to." Carol's voice wavered with sadness. She pulled away from him. "I'm sorry. Just, come in. We shouldn't be standing out here for long." She ushered us into the house, closing the door behind her. "Sit down, please, I'll cook you something." She knelt down in front of the fireplace and ignited the logs inside. Daryl sat down at the table while I sat down on the couch, feeling safer than I have in a long while; I was with the two most important people that I trusted with my whole life. Carol sighed again, leaning back on her heels. "I-I couldn't lose anyone, any of them. I couldn't lose you guys." She paused briefly. "I couldn't kill them but if they hurt any more of our people, I would and there wouldn't be anything left of me after that." Carol stared at the ground as her whole demeanor suddenly shifted from calm to worried. "The Saviors... did they come?"

"Yeah," I was quick to whisper.

"Did anyone get hurt," she asked frantically. "Is everybody okay? Did the Saviors..." Her hand quickly flew over her mouth to stifle a sob. "Is everybody back home okay?" I didn't dare say a word. I stared into the bright flames of the fire, listening to the crackles that filled the lengthy silence.

"They came," Daryl spoke up, his voice rough. "We got 'em all, made a deal with the rest of 'em like Ezekiel. Everyone's alright." He nodded. "Everyone's alright." Carol let out a sigh of relief and pawed away her tears. I took in a deep breath in an attempt to keep my tears from escaping my eyes. "We gonna eat or what? Do I gotta be a king or somethin' to get food 'round here," he joked to lighten the mood. I let out a small laugh, tucking my hair behind my ear.

"Shut up," Carol smirked, rising from her position and bringing over the food she made for us. I happily took a bite first thing.

"Ezekiel," I began, my mouth full of food. "Is he okay? Is he good," I wondered.

"Yeah," she smiled. "I think he is." I smiled back in relief, looking down at my food and nodding. I continued to eat as Carol and Daryl bantered back and forth for a while, him deciding we should head out not too long after we finished up.

We stood out on the front porch, Daryl and I making our way down the stairs. I suddenly stopped and turned around, running right back into her arms. I didn't wanna leave her behind again. I wanted to stay with her forever; she was like my mother. I cherished her warm embrace for the time being, Daryl soon following my lead.

"You watch out for yourself, alright," he said, lightly patting her on the back. Carol nodded, another tear tumbling down her cheek. Daryl turned around and grabbed my hand, holding it tightly in his as we stepped out into the field, leaving Carol behind.

△

The next morning, Daryl and I had traveled to Hilltop. Everything was going normally until the deep roar of car engines grew louder and louder from outside the gate. Panicked looks painted everyone's faces, including mine. I knew exactly who it was. Daryl grabbed my arm, yanking me off the table I sat on and running with me over to Maggie and Enid. The gates opened, trucks flooding Hilltop just as the four of us made it out of view. Enid opened a cellar door.

"Stay down there," she ordered, pushing us inside. "I'll keep them away." Enid slammed it shut, Maggie then grabbing my hand and lightly pulling me back to stand behind her in a protective manor. Daryl held a knife in a defensive stance, peeking through the crack that light spilled through. He quickly turned around and began hurrying deeper into the cellar. He ushered us behind another protective layer before hiding himself and pulling it closed.

The cellar doors flew open moments later. I jumped at the noise. More light poured into the storage, illuminating all the different jars on the surrounding shelves. A Savior slowly entered, making sure to take his time with looking around at everything. All I could hear was my heart pounding against my chest. He took a basket he looked pleased with and set it aside. He glanced over in our direction. My eyes widened in terror. The floorboards creaked with every agonizingly slow step he took towards us. I held my breath, not daring to even breathe it was so quiet. His eyes flickered to a basket above us. He grabbed it and turned around. Daryl began to lunge forward in attack, his knife glinting once it hit the light, but Maggie quickly restrained him. The Savior left with his baskets, slamming the doors behind him. Daryl burst out of our hiding place, sprinting over to the doors. Maggie and I followed him, ready to restrain him again.

"I knew you were gonna try and kill that guy," I said, my voice timid. My body shook from the hard rush of adrenaline.

"He was gonna find us," Daryl growled.

"He wasn't," Maggie stated. "And he didn't."

"He deserved to die," he hissed, his chest heaving up and down with anger. She sighed.

"Ever since you got here, you haven't said a single word to me," Maggie whispered, a bitter yet somber tone in her voice. "Would you please look at me?" I heard Daryl sniffle, the furious heaving of his chest turning into a weak shaking. He turned around to look at her.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, tears staining his cheeks. "I'm sorry."

"It wasn't your fault," Maggie reassured him.

"It was," Daryl insisted.

"No, it wasn't. You're one of the good things in this world; that's what Glenn thought and he would know 'cause he was one of the good things too," she said. "I wanted to kill that guy too. I wanted to string all of them up and watch them die, but we have to win," Maggie said before embracing Daryl. "Help me win," she whispered. She pulled away and turned to me. She sadly smiled, wiping away my stray tear I didn't know was there. "Help me win," she repeated, her hands resting on my shoulders.

△

I stood out in the woods with a rifle in my hands, trying my best to do my job: keep watch for people and biters while Daryl and Jesus set up traps. I had extreme trouble concentrating; a little girl in a pink dress dancing along the edge of the woods distracted me. Once I squinted to focus better, she had turned my way and was waving at me. I closed my eyes, opening them back up in disbelief. I looked back out there, but she had gone. It must've been my lack of sleep causing this, right? A sudden explosion shot me out of my delusion. People screamed in fear behind us, another explosion rocking the trees. Two escapees darted out into our path. Michonne shot in front of them, stopping them cold in their tracks.

"On the ground, now," Daryl hollered at them. I pointed my gun in their direction, ready to shoot if one tried to run. "Put your hands on your head." They immediately obeyed us, sinking to their knees. "Keep a lookout, alright," Daryl whispered to me before hurrying over to them. I nodded reluctantly. I stayed put in my spot, gazing back out to where I saw the girl. There she sat, playing with horse figurines. Everything about her seemed familiar, like I was experiencing déjà-vu at the scene. I zoned in on her, blocking out everything else around me. Why was she out here? It's too dangerous for a girl her age to be out here with no one to protect her. She began to shriek with laughter as she pretended one of the horses could fly. Once she noticed I was staring, she stared back and held the other horse out to me as if she wanted me to come play with her.

"Aften," Eric shouted at me. I looked at him with wide, frightened eyes. He was startled by my sudden movement. "You alright?"

"Yeah," I muttered. "I'm fine."

"You sure? You look a little pale," he said, observing me. I turned my attention back to the edge of the woods.

"I'm sure." My heart dropped at what I saw. "Fuck." A herd was coming straight towards us. Eric and I began to fire out into the herd, preventing them from coming any closer. I kept missing, my hands shaking from the thought of the little girl lingering in the trees. A biter crept up behind me, its nails grazing my arm. I whipped around, hitting it with the butt of my gun. I stomped on its head once it fell, blood and brains squirting in various directions. I heard Eric's gun click.

"Shit," he cursed. "Hand me your gun." I tossed it to him and pulled out my sword, slicing off any biters' heads that approached me. I could see one barreling towards me out of the corner of my eye, but it was too late; it knocked me to the ground. I struggled to keep it away from me, its teeth gnashing at me furiously. I broke out into a cold sweat as it lowered itself closer and closer towards my neck. A sudden rapid fire of gunshots sounded from behind me. The biter above me dropped. I quickly pushed it off and stood up.

"You okay," Daryl asked, rushing to my side. I nodded. "You don't look too good."

"I'm fine," I mumbled, my body beginning to shake. I closed my eyes as the world around me became blurry. "I-I just need to sit down," I admitted. Daryl helped me back to the RV, holding me up as I walked. Once I sat down, I held my head in my hands as my cold sweat continued. I kept quiet the whole ride back to Alexandria, Daryl once again assisting me when we arrived back. Rosita opened the gate for us and led us down into the basement. Everyone halted in front of a cell. I peered inside over Daryl's shoulder. My stomach churned and I grabbed onto Daryl to hold me up. He abandoned my side, lunging forward and growling as he tried to swing at Dwight. Tara caught me before I almost collapsed. She held onto me with a tight grip as Rick and Michonne held Daryl back.

"He wants to help us," Rosita stated amongst all the noise.

"That true," Rick questioned him suspiciously. "You wanna help?"

"I do," Dwight nodded. Silence filled the basement while anger flooded everyone's minds.

"Okay," Rick said smugly, pulling out his gun and pointing it at him. "Get on your knees."