[IC] Not Even Death Can Save Us Now

[Heaven]

Rick stood up and scouted around, but he looked over to Blake who took out three walkers easily. Staring at her with interest, he straightened, holding the dagger by his side as she made her way over to him. "You really know how to handle yourself, don't you?" He asked. He heard a groaning behind him and quickly turned in time to drive a dagger through the skull of the dead woman. She had on a nurses uniform, her hair what once looked to be a lively red color, she appeared to once be attractive. Sighing he pushed the body back before repeating the same process Blake did, cleaning the blade of his dagger on the grass.

"Come on, let's get back to the front. Everything else seems clear around here." He said, motioning for Blake to follow him. "So tell me about your life before all of this happened." Rick said as he sat down, his blue eyes moving over to Blake. He knew she may not have wanted to talk about it, but they really needed to get to know each other if they would be staying, but he also knew it'd take time for her to open, and he could live with that, only momentarily.

- - -

"You mean.. when he cut off his hand in the city?" She asked, wanting to make sure she had it all right. "Was?" Bailey asked. Was she turned or died some way? He seemed pained talking about the woman named Carol. Was she someone he was interested in? "Were you close with her? What happened?" Bailey asked before realizing she was probably asking too many questions. "Sorry.. I'm a curious person, forgive me." She said, offering him an apologetic smile as she leaned against the wall. "I tend to ask way to many questions without meaning to." She said. It was more of a nervous habit then anything really.

"He seems like he would be a good guy.." Bailey said with a soft sigh as she laid down when he told her to get some rest, she bit her lip and nodded as she closed her eyes. "Good night, Daryl." She said to him in a soft voice. It was easier to go to sleep then she thought and soon enough she had fallen asleep, her breathing turned shallow and peaceful, pieces of her dark hair covering her face.

[SirensCall]

Blake looked to Rick as they finished up their rounds and sat back at the front. Then he asked her a question no one had asked her since everything happened. It caught her off guard, but she chuckled. "Before it all? I was a girl always in trouble. I went to seven different boarding schools, I was arrested four times, all for 'aggravated assault,' however the charges were dropped because it was self defense."

She paused and thought some more. "I went to school, studying psychology, but I was taking a semester off to spend with my best friend before he deployed to Afghanistan." She felt herself move to hold the dog tags on her neck. "I was trying to get my life back together, I had been running with the wrong people, and he got me out. I owed him a lot." She said. "What about you? From how you carry yourself I would imagine you were involved in law enforcement."

--

Daryl wasn't ready to talk about Carol yet, and was glad when he could hear Bailey sleeping. Carol had gotten under his skin, found her way into his heart, but they lost her at the prison. She killed herself after saying goodbye, having been bitten when they lost Laurie and T-Dog.

He soon closed his own eyes and fell asleep.

[Heaven]

Rick listened to her as she spoke. He watched her hand clutch at the dog tags she wore around her neck. "He must have been someone special and close to you. I'm sorry to hear that." He said, his voice soft and sincere. "Did he.. come back?" He asked. He didn't want to elaborate or bring up bad feeling for her, but he was curious and usually it got him into trouble. "We'll just talk about it later, time to switch and get us some rest. Big day tomorrow, We're low on food and need to make a supply run." Rick said, getting up as he motioned for Blake to follow him.

After one quick sweep of the perimeter, he went inside and Maggie and Glenn woke up for last watch, having been rested up and ready to go. Finding him a spot close to Carl, he looked over at his son and sighed softly when she asked him what he had done before the epidemic. "You're right, I was a cop." He said. "Back in Georgia, I enjoyed it, though I could tell it was tearing my family apart my wife, Laurie, she.. well, she was going to leave me from it, then this happened. I was in the hospital, coma, so when I came to this is what I woke to.. but that's a story for another time." He said, thinking of the pained memories. "Right now you need to rest, and so do I." He said, his voice stern and demanding as he lay next to his son, waiting for sleep to take him over.

[I'll bring Bailey back in next post]

[SirensCall]

Blake wasn't at all surprised when he told her he had been in law enforcement, but it wasn't until after that she felt more at ease. When they went their seperate ways and to sleep. She found a place to rest near her sister, and she laid back and looked up at the ceiling.

She could still remember his face. The light leaving his eyes. She remembered it all. Zeke had been with her and Bailey a while longer than Craig. She just... she couldn't bring herself to fully deal with the fact he was gone. She had cried for hours, not moving from his body until he turned. It was how she figured out the virus was transmitted in other ways aside from bites and scratches.

She finally sat up and moved over to Bailey, kissing her forehead before she sat near a window, looking out. She always had trouble sleeping, and often times didn't for days. And most of it was because Zeke found his way into her mind more times than she cared to admit.

[I will bring in Daryl next post.]

[SirensCall]

Blake wasn't at all surprised when he told her he had been in law enforcement, but it wasn't until after that she felt more at ease. When they went their seperate ways and to sleep. She found a place to rest near her sister, and she laid back and looked up at the ceiling.

She could still remember his face. The light leaving his eyes. She remembered it all. Zeke had been with her and Bailey a while longer than Craig. She just... she couldn't bring herself to fully deal with the fact he was gone. She had cried for hours, not moving from his body until he turned. It was how she figured out the virus was transmitted in other ways aside from bites and scratches.

She finally sat up and moved over to Bailey, kissing her forehead before she sat near a window, looking out. She always had trouble sleeping, and often times didn't for days. And most of it was because Zeke found his way into her mind more times than she cared to admit.

[I will bring in Daryl next post.]

[Heaven]

The following morning, Rick was up before most of the others in the group. He made his way outside to make sure everything was still okay, it seemed to be and he went back inside, looking towards the two sisters who had joined the group just yesterday evening. "Dad." He turned to the whisper of his son, Carl, who was motioning for him to come outside so they could talk. "Everything alright?" Rick asked, placing a hand on Carl's shoulder. "Yeah, I just wanted to talk about.. them." He said, meaning the sisters. "What about?" Rick asked, looking around to make sure they were still in the clear. "Do you really think it's a good idea to be taking in more people? After the prison and with supplies running low?" Carl asked his father.

Rick gave him a stern look. "We need all the people we can get since the prison, Carl." He said, removing his hand from the boy's shoulder. "I just do-" Rick stopped him as groaning came from their left. Bringing out his gun, Rick aimed it to the sound, Carl following suite. It started with one walker stumbling out, then came another, Rick watched in horror as more came. He ran back inside the cabin to get everyone up and out as Carl started shooting, Maggie and Glenn helping him out. "We need to go!" He yelled to Daryl.

Bailey stirred in her sleep, but when she heard Rick's voice she shot straight up. "What's going on?" She asked sleepily and she saw the panic in Rick's face, which alarmed her. Getting up, she looked outside and noticed the growing horde heading towards the cabin. "Shit." She said, grabbing her stuff and her photograph.

[SirensCall]

Blake hadn't realized she had fallen asleep, but she got up quickly, pulling her bag over her shoulder and heading out, pulling a few throwing knives from her bag out, and she threw one and hit a walker between the eyes just as it got close to Carl. She had an idea, but it was sketchy. The horde wasn't as large as normal ones, and the ones that were dead had numbers down.

She threw her other knives, killing the walkers they hit and she pulled out her gun, checking her ammo before shooting a few more, and she stood by Carl. "I know it's not my place, but you should go help your dad with the others. I got it from here." She said to him, and she holstered her gun and pulled out her knife, killing the closer ones.

--

Daryl's body reacted when Rick seemed panicked, and he made his way outside, making them a path to go through while a few others held off the main horde. It had been a while since they had seen a sizable number of the walkers, but he knew it was bound to happen.

"This way!" Daryl beckoned to the others, seeing Herschel, Beth, and soon Carl backed off from the main horde and headed their way. Then Maggie began backing off, still shooting as she did, as Glenn did. Rick would be coming soon, but Blake was still taking care of the horde.

"Come on!" Daryl shouted.

"Go on! I'll catch up." She said, backing up and giving herself some breathing room as she took out her gun again and reloaded.

Daryl groaned and took point on the group he was leading out, knowing Rick wouldn't be far behind. He saw Bailey too, and motioned for her to come up front by him. Because he wasn't going to go back.

--

Blake could see a break in the horde. About six more before she could see others, and after shetook care of them, she gathered her knives and threw them in her bag before she saw more coming. The others were ahead of her as far as she knew. At least she wwasn't the only one shooting that time, but as the others came, she led them into the house they had been in and locked them inside before running to catch the others. She saw Rick was relatively further back though, and she sighed.

"Bought us some time." She said, looking back. "Not sure how much, but enough. I have seen a horde thay size bring down a house."

[Heaven]

Rick had ran out of the house with the others, Daryl was leading them away which was good he continued shooting, but tried to use his knife as much as possible just to conserve ammo. "Carl, go with the others." He said to his son. "I'm not leaving you, Dad!" He said. "I'll be behind, just go." He said and hesitantly, the young boy lowered his weapon and chased after the group heading away from the house. He slowly backed into the direction, continuing to shoot and stab all the walkers he could. He finally turned and ran to where the woods parted, where the others went into, when Blake joined him.

"Good." Rick said, grunting. "We need to catch back up with the group, I'm not sure which way they went, I lost them trying to hold some of the walkers off." He said to her, placing his gun in its holster, but still holding onto his knife. "Come on, let's go." He said, looking back once more at the house they had been at for the past couple days. "Where did they even come from? Everything seemed alright during the night..." He said, talking more to himself then Blake.

- - -

Everything after she woke up happened so fast. Bailey grabbed her gun and knife and her bag and ran outside, fighting off a couple walkers as she followed the rest to safety, following Daryl's lead. Once they were far enough, the group stopped to take a quick breather, but for Bailey she began to panic. "Where's Blake?" She asked, looking around. No one seemed to know and she looked back at Daryl, grabbing her gun and heading back to the direction of the house. She wasn't going to leave her sister behind, she couldn't lose her, not now.

"I'm going to find her." She said back to him. "You're going on a suicide mission." Maggie said, trying to stop her from going. "I'm going to find my sister!" She said, jerking her arm out of Maggie's grasp as she continued walking.

[SirensCall]

Blake looked to Rick and sighed when they were in the clear. She nodded to him as they headed through the trees and she moved, looking for a traik as Rick spoke. She didn't bother to answer, but she knew that it had come from a main road. It was where most of them came from.

"We can't be too far behind them. I think I found their trail." She said, pointing to some shoes prints in the mud. "The deadies shuffle, these are living." She said. "Before you ask, I used to go hunting with my dad."

She kept her knife out, just in case.

--

Daryl looked to Bailey as they headed out. Rick had stopped about ten minutes ago, and they wete moving rather quick. Daryl marked a tree, occasionally, so that Rick and Blake could find their way. Then Bailey noticed Blake's absence.

Daryl grabbed hold of her arm and gave a stern look. "She stayed behind to buy us time. From what you said and what I have seen. She will be alright. Probably met up with Rick and are heading our way now." He said. "There is no point in going back."

He sighed and Carl looked just as displeased. "How about we stop for a minute, catch our breath and then move on." Maggie suggested. Daryl sighed.

"Fine. Just for a minute though." He said.

[Heaven]

Rick nodded. "Another tracker, Daryl's the same way, I'm not gonna lie, it's helped us out a lot him knowing how to do that." He said to her, shaking his head. "They shouldn't be that far, we'll need to be getting back soon, regroup and find somewhere to stay for tonight and move on." He said. He wasn't sure where exactly they'd be moving onto, but anywhere safe. Rick knelt to the ground and examined the footprints, noticing one smaller then the rest. That had to have been Carl's. "Yeah, it's them." He said, standing up and following the footprints, keeping his eyes and ears open for anything they might be around them.

As luck would turn out, they found the rest of the group. The group looked towards them, relieved to see they both were still alive and well. "Blake." Bailey said, glad her sister turned up before she was about to do something drastic. She walked right up to her sister and wrapped her arms around her neck, just happy she was alright and wasn't hurt. Bailey felt like crying from the pain she was feeling of even thinking anything happened to Blake, but she managed to choke back the sobs.

[SirensCall]

Blake felt arms around her and she hugged her sister back. She knew it was hard for Bailey to be away from her, but Blake had also made a promise to herself long ago that she would protect her sister no matter the personal cost. "I'm not going anywhere that quick." She whispered before placing a kiss to her sister's forehead and they let out.

Daryl was glad to see they turned up, and now there was a solid place for them he was sure. Blake had just thrown herself to the wolves so they could get out quickly, and Bailey had earned Herschel's respect. He could tell from the way he smiling, and how he had reacted to Bailey not wanting to leave people behind. She had strong morals, and Blake had other strength and both were necessary.

Daryl looked to the group. "We need to move out, find somewhere to rest before it gets too dark." He reminded them and the group nodded and began on their way.

Now Blake stayed at the back of the group, her eyes watching carefully. She felt as if she had been this way before, but wasn't sure why.

[Heaven]

Bailey felt a huge weight being lifted off her shoulders at Blake's words and the simple kiss she placed on her forehead. She nodded as she pulled back, wiping a few tears away with the back of her hand as she looked over at Daryl when he suggested they move on, which was a good idea. It was midday, and they really should be looking for somewhere to camp out for the night, somewhere safe and free of walkers. Squeezing Blake's hand, she gave her one last look before walking up to where Daryl was leading, walking beside him as everyone stayed behind, walking at their own pace, but still keeping an eye out.

"I.. I'm sorry about earlier, Daryl. I know it was stupid going back there.. but she's my sister and she's all I've got left in this cruel world, I can't lose her." Bailey said, she glanced over at him. "You should know how that is, not wanting to lose your only family living. You lost your brother." She said to him before staring back straight ahead.

- - -

Rick watched the two girls exchange a brief hug and few words before he glanced over at Daryl, giving him an approving nod. They had earned their place now. Blake was willing to risk her life for the group, which meant she was strong and loyal. Bailey wasn't going to leave another behind, in some situations that could arise to be a problem, but for the most part it meant she was loyal and would make a good friend or just good company. He figured out Bailey's weakness, but Blake was hard to read. He stood just a small distance away from her, observing her. She was very difficult to read, and the fact she hadn't opened up didn't do much for the situation either.

Sighing, he moved closer to her, keeping an eye out around them. "That was a very brave, but very stupid thing you did back there." He said, but his tone was light and filled with admiration.

[SirensCall]

Blake was glad to see her sister fall into the group, it was comforting to her, especially since she had just risked it all for them. It could have gone south, but it didn't, and that was all the affirmation that she needed. Rick stick around her and spoke and she shrugged. "Bravery and stupidity are often entwined." She said, "Besides, it turned out okay, and that's all that matters."

With a sigh, her hand went to the dog tags on her neck. "I can't say that they've always gone that way. I remember how we found out the infection didn't just spread through dead to living contact... how it's in us all. Zeke... he." She began, but she trailed off.

"My best friend, Zeke, he was a great man. Someone had tried to set walkers on our little group early on, and when he chased after him, he got shot. I found him there, dying, and I held him... and when he was gone I didn't know what to do. Bailey let me be, and after an hour or so he turned. I drove a knife through his skull..." she trailed off again, and she looked away. "Anyway, off my own point. Fact of the matter is, I used to think that bravery was stupid, but when you find the right things to protect... sometimes the stupidity is necessary."

She grew quiet then, her mind wandering off a bit.

--

Daryl was glad that they were moving again. At this rate, they would find something and be alright for the night. Then Bailey joined him, and he looked qt her. "I get that, but you also have to consider how they'll feel too." He countered. He wasn't meaning it as argumentative, just as a point. He had been thinking entirely different since the shit hit the fan, especially after Merle...

He shook his head, obviously visibly shaking the thought from his mind before he apotted orange tags on a couple trees. "Hey, be on the look out. We may find a cabin, this was once hunting territory." He informed,.looking about a bit. He would pick up the conversation again soon, but for now they needed to find shelter

[Heaven]

Rick nodded. "It did, and I appreciate what you did for the group. We all stick together and we're like one big family, we have to be these days." Rick said looking out at the rest of the group in front of them. They had lost a lot of their own, including children, spouses, siblings, and the list could go on and on. He glanced over in cue to see her grip at the dog tags around her neck once again and he found himself wondering for the hundreth time what that was about, he knew it was in relation to her close friend Zeke, remembering her telling him he was in the military, but she still hadn't really opened up about it much; and just like she read his mind, she continued on to tell him, something which he was surprised about.

He could heard the sadness in her voice as she spoke. "I'm sorry, Blake..." He said to her, "We all know what it's like to lose someone you love or was close to. Everyone here has had their own share in grief and loss." Rick said to her. When Daryl informed them that there might be a cabin around close by, he started to scan the area. Daryl was very useful in the group, having been a tracker before all this happened, it really came in handy.

- - -

"Whose they?" She asked with a curious raise of her brows. She didn't really know anyone in the group, and the only person she had spoken to and actually got to know a little bit about was Daryl himself. Why should any of them care for the well being of a complete stranger? Maybe it was just the type of people they were. She watched as he examined some orange tags on different trees and concluded from that there was a cabin nearby. How did he know that for sure? Sighing, she figured the conversation wouldn't go anywhere anytime soon, so she began scanning the area for a cabin, wondering if he was right or not.

After a couple more minutes passed, Bailey smiled, seeing a dark brown house up in the distance, maybe a mile or two from where they were now. "I found one." She said, bringing their attention to the cabin in the near distance.

[Heaven]

Rick nodded. "It did, and I appreciate what you did for the group. We all stick together and we're like one big family, we have to be these days." Rick said looking out at the rest of the group in front of them. They had lost a lot of their own, including children, spouses, siblings, and the list could go on and on. He glanced over in cue to see her grip at the dog tags around her neck once again and he found himself wondering for the hundreth time what that was about, he knew it was in relation to her close friend Zeke, remembering her telling him he was in the military, but she still hadn't really opened up about it much; and just like she read his mind, she continued on to tell him, something which he was surprised about.

He could heard the sadness in her voice as she spoke. "I'm sorry, Blake..." He said to her, "We all know what it's like to lose someone you love or was close to. Everyone here has had their own share in grief and loss." Rick said to her. When Daryl informed them that there might be a cabin around close by, he started to scan the area. Daryl was very useful in the group, having been a tracker before all this happened, it really came in handy.

- - -

"Whose they?" She asked with a curious raise of her brows. She didn't really know anyone in the group, and the only person she had spoken to and actually got to know a little bit about was Daryl himself. Why should any of them care for the well being of a complete stranger? Maybe it was just the type of people they were. She watched as he examined some orange tags on different trees and concluded from that there was a cabin nearby. How did he know that for sure? Sighing, she figured the conversation wouldn't go anywhere anytime soon, so she began scanning the area for a cabin, wondering if he was right or not.

After a couple more minutes passed, Bailey smiled, seeing a dark brown house up in the distance, maybe a mile or two from where they were now. "I found one." She said, bringing their attention to the cabin in the near distance.

[SirensCall]

Blake observed the area for a while after Daryl made the call to them to look for a cabin. Something felt wrong about this place. Too... untouched. It made her wonder why, especially when everywhere else seemed ran through. Then Bailey saw the cabin.

Blake felt herself stop next to her sister and she dug into her bag and pulled out a small pair of binoculars. If she didn't have a scope, she wanted to be able to see ahead. And the sight was unsettling. It wasn't touched either, but Blake knew that it would be short lived. She also knew that looks were deceiving.

She thought a moment before handing her binoculars to Daryl who then passed them to Rick.

"It looks clear." Daryl observed.

"I don't trust it." Blake said, taking back her binoculars and tucking them away.

Daryl gave her a look before he saw her clutch her knife. He had to agree it was almost too good to be true. "We should get a little closer and then send a couple forward to scout it out." Daryl suggested looking to Rick. "Sound good?" He asked before he brought his crossbow out and began leading the way.

Daryl couldn't recall the last time he saw something so untouched, especially since everything turned to hell in the end. Their first campsite, the farm house, and even the prison. He knew that this wouldn't be a forever thing, but even if they were there a few days, they would be alright. As long as they could get supplies.

[Heaven]

Rick looked up ahead at the bare cabin Bailey pointed out. It seemed almost.. eerie, which these days wasn't a nice noun to describe buildings or places in general. He glanced over at Blake as she took out some binoculars and examined the area a bit more closely. Rick thought for a moment when Daryl suggested he go ahead and look around. He was always a little hesitant before putting the group in harms way, but he slowly nodded. Daryl was strong and could handle himself. "I'll go with you. Everyone else, stay behind us." Rick said as he walked beside Daryl, bringing his gun out and aiming in forward, ready to shoot at whatever may charge at them.

He stepped out into the clearing. So far everything seemed clear. He inched close to the small cabin, keeping a check on everything. "This almost looks.. cared for. Like someone is or was staying here." Rick said as he stood in front of the door. He instructed Daryl to stand beside the door while Rick kicked it open, keeping the gun aimed forward. There was one walker inside, half it's body missing. It growled and slowly crawled across the floor to Rick. He took out his knife and jabbed it through the skull of the walker, listening to the contact with skull. The walker stopped moving. Glancing around, everything else seemed empty and safe, so Rick looked back towards Daryl and nodded. "Looks clear." He said.

Bailey stayed by Blake's side as the two men went to scout the area. The rest of the group was in their own little world as they waited for the men to return. "What do you think of them?" She asked her sister in a soft whisper, resting her head on Blake's arm.

[Heaven]

Rick looked up ahead at the bare cabin Bailey pointed out. It seemed almost.. eerie, which these days wasn't a nice noun to describe buildings or places in general. He glanced over at Blake as she took out some binoculars and examined the area a bit more closely. Rick thought for a moment when Daryl suggested he go ahead and look around. He was always a little hesitant before putting the group in harms way, but he slowly nodded. Daryl was strong and could handle himself. "I'll go with you. Everyone else, stay behind us." Rick said as he walked beside Daryl, bringing his gun out and aiming in forward, ready to shoot at whatever may charge at them.

He stepped out into the clearing. So far everything seemed clear. He inched close to the small cabin, keeping a check on everything. "This almost looks.. cared for. Like someone is or was staying here." Rick said as he stood in front of the door. He instructed Daryl to stand beside the door while Rick kicked it open, keeping the gun aimed forward. There was one walker inside, half it's body missing. It growled and slowly crawled across the floor to Rick. He took out his knife and jabbed it through the skull of the walker, listening to the contact with skull. The walker stopped moving. Glancing around, everything else seemed empty and safe, so Rick looked back towards Daryl and nodded. "Looks clear." He said.

Bailey stayed by Blake's side as the two men went to scout the area. The rest of the group was in their own little world as they waited for the men to return. "What do you think of them?" She asked her sister in a soft whisper, resting her head on Blake's arm.

[Heaven]

Bailey bit her lip at her sisters words. "I think we're safe with them, Blake." She said, chewing on the skin of her pink lip. "They took us in when they didn't have to.." She said softly. They was kind to them, but then again people had changed over the year the outbreak had been going on. Or has it been over a year now? Sighing, she brought her head back up and looked at Blake. "I think I can trust them, and maybe you're right on the cabin, but there is only one way to find out, right?" She asked with a small shrug of her shoulders. The two men came walking back to them, there was uncertainty on both their faces. "Everything looks okay, we just had one run in with a walker missing half its body. It looks like someone just recently been here, or is maybe living here so we need to keep our guard up. Maggie and Glenn, you two can take first watch and we'll switch it up in a few hours. For now lets go get some rest. In the morning, we'll hunt for food." Rick said, directing everyone to head up to the cabin. He lagged behind to talk to Blake. "Everything alright? You seem like something is bothering you." He asked, keeping an eye on everyone in front of them. Bailey caught up with Daryl, grinning at him. "Do you hunt? My daddy loved to hunt, he'd always take us hunting with him, and if I do say so myself I'm pretty good." She boasted cheerfully, crossing her arms across her chest.