The next day, Carl and I go on a run with Rick and Michonnie. We pass a man on the streets, wearing a bright orange backpack. He begins to yell, but we soon pass him.

We drive off the road to go around some broken down cars, and the car wheels get stuck in mud.

Suddenly, walkers crowd the car, clawing and biting for us. I cringe into Carl for a brief second. "Cover your ears," Rick says. He rolls down his window a tiny bit, puts out his gun, and fires.

After a minute, all the walkers are dead. Carl and Rick go to work on getting the Carl free, while Michonnie and I sit in the car.

The man comes running up the road, screaming again. Rick slaps the car, and Michonnie cranks it.

We stop next to a building that says King County Medical Office, hopping out. We walk, noticing an arrow spray-painted green onto the wall.

We enter the old police building. Trash and spent gun shells litter the floor. Rick kicks a shelf in frustration.

"You guarded the police stations in town?" Michonnie asks.

"I was police here," Rick corrects. "Me and a few other guys. Ain't a big town. There's other places to check, they may not have as many guns as there were in here, but..."

"We need as many guns as were in here." Michonnie cuts in. "Ammo, too."

"Yeah. We do. But right now, I only got a line on a couple." Rick states. "There's a few places out on Main Street, bars, liquor stores. Owners had a gun, too, behind the counter that people don't know about. I did, I signed a permit. They might still be there. Do you have a problem with that approach?" He asks Michonnie.

"No, Rick, I don't have a problem." She says softly, handing him a bullet.

A sign on a broken brick building says, "Away With You" in red paint. Inside the building is a pile of charred black bodies. I can only hope that they're walkers.

Arrows pointing up the sidewalk puzzle me. What's this about?

We round the corner and draw our guns. "What is it?" Michonnie whispers. "I don't know," Rick replies.

"Turn Around And Live" is written on the road beyond that, are wooden stakes tied to tables. A cage with pigeons sits in the middle of one table.

"It looks like someone has already made this theirs," Michonnie comments. "Doesn't mean that found what we're looking for. Couple of other places are just up ahead. Let's get in, and get the hell outta here." Rick mumbles.

We duck up under a rope, examining the place. Rick points his gun. "There. Terrell's. Shotgun and two hand guns."

We glance back. A walker is following us. Michonnie goes to kill it, but Rick says, "Wait. She'll get caught."

Sure enough, she gets caught by the rope. She falls to the ground, a shot echoing through the air.

A man in the rooftop points a gun at us. "Hands!" A loudspeaker shouts. "Now you drop what you've got, and you go! The three guns, and that sword! All of it! Ten seconds!"

The man begins counting, and Rick whispers, "Run to the car, now." "We need that rifle. I think I can get up there." Michonnie whispers.

"Carl, Isabelle, go." Rick says as he fires. We run behind a car, ducking down. The man begins firing.

Carl pulls me behind a doorway. Rick ducks behind tiny metal cans as the man advances, now on the ground, getting closer to Rick. "I'm gonna shoot him once he gets close enough." Carl whispers. I stare at him. "Are you crazy? You might get shot!" I whisper-yell. "I'm doing it." He whispers back.

Sure enough, once Rick pops up and the man stops, Carl shoots. The man drops down on his back. Michonnie comes out, her sword raised.

"You ok?" Rick asks. "Yeah." Carl replies, staring at the man. "I told you to run for the car. I didn't want you to have to do that." Rick adds. "I had to!" Carl snaps. Michonnie grins.

Rick reaches down and pounds the mans' chest. "He's wearing body armor." He says, ripping open his shirt.

Rick unstraps the black vest, tugging it off and pulling up the white muscle shirt. The wound is an ugly green-red. It'll be a nasty bruise. "He's alive." Rick comments, pulling off the mans' helmet. "Do we care?" Michonnie asks.

Rick stares at the mans face for a minute. "Yeah." He says quietly.

Michonnie and Rick haul the man inside and up the stairs. "Watch the wire!" Rick calls down. A sheet reads "Not Shitting You" hangs in two strips. On the other side, an axe with blood on the bland hangs. On the handle is written "Told You".

Inside, the mans' room is filled, and I mean filled, with guns. "I showed him that weapons locker last year," Rick comments. "It had all this in it?" Michonnie asks. "No. Not even half. He's been busy." Rick replies.

They lay him on a cot, tying his hands together. Things are written on the wall in chalk.

We start filling our bags up with gunna and ammo. We add some food, too. I notice bright red words. It reads, "Duane Turned".

I wonder who "Duane" was. Oh well. Don't matter now.

"No." Rick says. "We're gonna wait for him to wake up. Make sure he's ok." He adds.

"He tried to kill us." Michonnie protests. "He told us to go, he didn't know who we were." Rick fires back. "He tried to kill us, and we didn't leave him for the walkers. He's had a good day. He doesn't need half of these guns. We do." Michonnie snaps. "We're waiting for him to wake up, that's it." Rick states.

"Have you taken a look around this place? The axe, the spikes, the walls?" Michonnie asks. "You think he's crazy?" Rick snaps. "No. I think he's dangerous." Michonnie corrects. "I know him." Rick snaps. "He wasn't like this then." Michonnie points out. "We're gonna wait for him to wake up," Rick snaps, turning away.

Carl walks over to a wall with a map. I follow him. "It's a map of the neighborhood." He murmurs to me. A house has "Rick's House" written on it. Over it, "Taken" is written, crossed out, and "Burnt Out" is written below it.

"What do you see?" Rick asks. "It's a map of the neighborhood." Carl replies. "It's gone. The house." He adds.

"I'm sorry," I murmur, laying my head on his shoulder. He takes my hand, intwining our fingers. "Don't be," he whispers back.

"Is that why you wanted to come? To see the house?" Rick asks.

"I just wanted to come." Carl says.

A crunching sounds makes Rick turn. He says something to Michonnie.

"What about your house?" Carl asks me. "Do you think it's gone?"

I shrug. "I don't know," I say. But my finger say otherwise. The hand that isn't holding Carl's hand rises to my throat, where a chain with a gold locket and a silver key lay together.

"Is that your house key?" Carl asks, raising the hand that isn't holding mine to my throat. I nod.

"What's in the locket?" He asks. I pull my hand out of his, and open it.

Inside are two tiny pictures. One of my parents, and one of me and Sage.
Carl examines it, and then closes it. "And where...." He begins, and trails off.

"I had to put my parents down. Sage gave his life for me when we were in Atlanta. I put him down, too." I say, looking, down, my eyes filling with tears as I remember.

Carl lifts my chin up, drawing me closer. He kisses my forehead, and then my mouth. "I'm sorry," he murmurs. I give a half hearted attempt at a smile.

Carl turns back to the map. "I'm going on a run," he says, facing his dad. "Where?" Rick asks. "I thought, maybe the one thing people didn't loot was cribs. There's that baby place that Moms' friend Sarah ran. It's just around the corner." Carl replies.

"Carl-" Rick begins. "Dad, it's just around the corner. And there's all those walker traps." Carl protests.

"You're gonna need help, carrying the box." Michonnie says. "What?" Carl asks. "You're gonna get a crib, you have to get the box. It's big. And heavy. Your gonna need help carrying the box. You are getting a crib, right?" She asks. "That's what I said." Carl nods. "Then I'll go with him." Michonnie says to Rick.

"Right there. That's the deal. You get into trouble, you holler, ok? I'll hear it from here. Isa-"

"She's coming with us," Carl interrupts, pulling me close to his side. "Ok," Rick chuckles. He and Michonnie exchange glances.

Two walkers are skewered on the stakes when we come out. We head down the sidewalk. "You don't have to come with me. I can handle it." Carl calls to Michonnie. "Told your dad I'd help you." She replies. "Yeah, ok."

A walker that clearly died of starvation since all of its ribs are showing staggers toward us. "Guess you should take care of that." Carl calls out. Michonnie grunts, going over to it.

Carl pulls me quickly down the sidewalk, around the corner. Michonnie catches up to us, grasping Carl's shoulder. "The hell was that?" She asks. "I want to do this on my own," Carl snaps. "And Isabelle?" Michonnie asks. "She's coming." Carl says.

We begin to walk off. "You just passed the baby place," she calls out. He stops and turns. "I'm getting Judith something else, first." He says.

We walk up to King County Cafe. Ark peers in. The place is filled with walkers, but they aren't moving. Carl twists the doorknob, but Michonnie pulls him away. Angry, he begins stalking up the road.

"You think that I was gonna let you go in there?" She calls out. He stops. "I think it's none of your business. You don't know me, you don't know my dad or any-" "I came out here to help." She says softly.

"You came out here for common interests! We have the same enemy, the same problem, that's why you're here, that's it! This is important. I'm going to do this. And I know how I can. You can't stop me." He snaps, turning away.

"Psst. I can't stop you. But you can't stop me from helping you." Michonnie says.

We open the door, holding the bell we roll in the rats in cages ton skateboards, closing the door. The walkers come to life, clawing at them. We creep in, slipping around.

Carl climbs up on the counter, grasping the photo. A walker grasps him, and I stab it. The walkers look up, and go back to clawing at the rats. We slip back, but a rat comes around the corner. Followed by the walkers.

We run for the kitchen, shooting the others. Carl knocks over a table, and we slide out. He drops the picture, screaming, "No!"

Michonnie slams the door. "I've gotta go back in!" He cries. "Where is it?" She asks. "We have to go back, we have to, I have to! It's the only one left!" He screams.

"I don't know you. I get that. But can you do something for me? Wait here." She asks. "I can help!" He protests. "No! And no more bullshit. You wait here. That's how we get it done."

We lean against the door as she walks off. She comes back a few moments later, holding it. Carl takes it.

"I just thought that Judith should know what her mom looked like." Carl says. We begin to walk off. "I was gonna go back in their anyway. I just couldn't leave this behind." Michonnie says, pulling out a multi-colored fake cat. "It's too damn gorgeous."

We go back after we get the cradle. "Just about to look for you." Rick calls. We head to the car. "He's ok." Michonnie says. "No. He's not." Rick says.

"Hey. Morgan." Carl calls out.

Morgan stands up. "I had to shoot you. You know I had to, right?" Carl asks. Morgan nods. "I'm sorry." Carl adds. Morgan walks over to him. Hey, son. Don't ever be sorry." Morgan says.

We keep walking, finally getting to the car. We begin loading up. I side into my seat, leading against the window.

It's been a long day. I told Carl a little about my past. It's hard, talking about the "before" days. We miss them so much. But now, we have each other. I have Carl, and I love him.