Z

I watched from the passenger seat as everyone started to meet up on the highway were Rose and I first found Sophia’s sign. I could feel my stomach dropping as I waited for Daryl’s motorcycle with Rose clutching on the back of him. After half an hour had passed, everyone was getting out of their cars and hugging, Rose and Daryl were still missing.

I was nervously biting my nails as I searched the edge of the woods, waiting for Rose to walk out of it.

"Did anyone see Rose leave?" I asked, panicking. "We have to go back, we gotta find Rose!"

"You can't just go running back there," Lori says, an arm around Carl, "We're missing Andrea, Carol and Daryl too, if we can't go back for them we can't go back for Rose."

I snap my head in her direction, stepping forward, "Who said we can't go back for all of them?" I furrowed my eyebrows in anger. "Rose is all I have left and I'm not going to leave her behind because of your selfish ass."

Lori clenches her jaw, pushing Carl behind her and stepping forward a bit, "Beth, you're just upset, we all are. We need to collect ourselves before we go running out there searching for people who...may not be there."

"She's alive!" I bawled my fists up at my sides, trying to keep a level head. "Maybe if you would have made sure we had everyone before you left, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"It was not my job to babysit everyone! I have a son to worry about!" Lori too balls her fists, standing straighter, "She had an opportunity to leave."

"Let me ask you something, Lori," I stepped a little closer, I could feel the group's eyes on us, but I didn't care. "Did you ever go back for Rick when the infection broke out?”

"What happened between me and my husband is no business of yours, you weren’t there, you weren't in my shoes when this all broke out. I don't owe you a Goddamn explanation for anything!" She steps forward, just inches away from me now, Carl forgotten behind her as her anger blooms, "You're not any better than I am, Beth. I look out for my family first."

“You have a nerve," I laugh humorlessly. "When the infection broke out, my son was a walker by the time I got home from work. You should be thanking me for saving Carl when he ran out into the woods so recklessly like that."

Before I could block her, I felt her hand contact my cheek, sending my head lashing to the side. I brought my hand to hold my stinging face as I looked at her, a fire burning through my veins as my adrenaline kicked in. I reared back and punched her with all my might. I’d wanted to do that since I met her. I watched in satisfactory as she fell to the ground and before I could pounce, Rick stepped in front of me and pushed me backwards.

“You don’t fuckin’ touch her,” I heard from behind me before Shane started to hit Rick. I watched in awe how Shane could fight his friend so easily. The onlookers beside us watched on, not bothering to break it up until they noticed some straggling walkers coming towards us.

I pulled on Shane’s arm, he didn’t want to give up the fight, but he knew he had to. Glenn and T-Dog easily took the few walkers, and I looked at Rick and Lori with a glare.

“I’m going back for her,” I walked over to Shane’s car and pulled out a survival bag and to get my weapons. I turned around to look at the group that brought me in with no questions, disappointingly.

“I’ll come with you,” Shane muttered, grabbing his gun and knife and tucking them both in his pants before he lead me into the woods.



We’ve been searching the woods for hours, killing walkers that crossed our path. I still had Daryl’s gun, it was digging into my side as a reminder of what happened the night before. We made it back to the farm house, and watched the walkers roam around from the trees. I couldn’t see any sign of Rose or Daryl, so I knew she was alive somewhere and that made me feel a little bit better. I could see the sun starting to set in the distance, and even though it wasn’t the best time, I talked Shane into going a little farther.

We had gotten out of the range where the walkers were from the barn and I could breathe a little easier. Conversation was nonexistent between us, but I didn’t mind much. We didn’t want to attract any attention to us, and I think Shane was still upset about what had happened earlier. I was too focused on trying to find Rose that I didn’t really want to talk to him about it either.

“Do you see that?” He whispered, stopping me in my tracks. I looked around in circles at my surrounds, but couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

“See what?”

“Just up there,” He pointed into the distance, and I followed behind him as he began to walk in the direction he was pointing in.

A clearing in the woods gave me view of a guarded gate, where men were standing on top of it with guns. A feeling was bubbling in my gut, but I couldn’t tell if it was a good or bad one.

“Come on,” Shane grabbed my hand and pulled me in the direction we just came from, and I could tell he was taking me back to the highway. I glimpsed behind me a last time, wondering if we should have asked to stay.



I was tired and sore by the time we got back to the car, everyone had left us behind, but I wasn’t surprised. Shane unlocked the door to let us in the car and we sat in silence for a couple of moments to process what had happened.

I couldn’t help but start crying as I thought I would never see Rose again.

“Shh, shh,” Shane tried to soothe me as he leaned over and ran hand through my hair. “Don’t cry baby,”

“What if we don’t find her, Shane?” I turned and leaned across the console to hide my face in his neck. It was starting to happen all over again. “I can’t lose her, not after everything that’s happened already.”

“We’ll find her,” He promised, rubbing my back. “Don’t worry because we’ll find her and then we’ll find a new place to stay.”

“She might be heading South,” I mumbled, realizing that she might be heading towards Pensacola like we’ve planned.

“Then we’ll head South,”

I pulled away from Shane to kiss the corner of his mouth. He smiled down at me before kissing my forehead and pulled away to start the car. I couldn’t read how he was feeling about everyone leaving us behind, but I figured that when he wanted to talk about it, he would.

He turned the car around and I saw the road sign and sighed. Decatur 100 miles