Although she was shocked, Parker still knew how to shoot a gun. Shane tossed her one of the spare shotguns and Parker raised it to eye level and cocked it before shooting a walker in the face. The blood splattered and the walker fell, but more kept coming. During the panic, Morales and his family slipped away, leaving Parker and Shane to protect Lori, Carl, Carol, and Sophia. They made little progress towards the RV, heads turning in all directions to try and spot the walkers before they caught up with them. Parker had her gun in her hands, firing shots and hitting the target with every pull of the trigger. 

"Come on!" Shane yelled, "To the RV!" Parker saw the walkers approaching, holding her weapon up once again. She killed three without stopping, but more kept coming. It never seemed to end. Morales and his family were fighting to reach them, and Morales used a baseball bat to keep the walkers away. They reached the RV and stood in the doorway, their backs against the side of the vehicle to eliminate the possibility of an assault from behind, and Parker could feel Carl clutching her shirt as he also clung to his mother, sobbing. 

More gunshots joined those from Shane and Parker, and when she looked for the source, she saw Rick, T-Dog, Glenn, and Daryl emerge from the trees, all equipped with firearms. They began shooting at the walkers, distracting them enough for Shane and Parker to finish off the few that got too close to their group. It was chaotic. It was dark and Parker could barely see five feet in front of her, but she could see the shadows of the walkers approaching them from all directions, and she could hear everyone's terrified screams. 

She had no idea who was alive and who was dead. All she knew was that Carl and Lori were safe by her side. She could hear Rick screaming for them shouting their names as the group took down the last of the walkers. Carl screamed for his father and ran towards him, crashing into his arms as he cried into his father's shoulder. Parker took a step forward, but she didn't see the last walker come out from behind the RV. It was right behind her when she heard the gunshot and felt something fall to the ground behind her. She turned to see the dead walker at her feet and Daryl heading towards her, shotgun in hand. His hand caught her arm and he looked at her briefly, searching for visible wounds on her arms and legs, and when he found none, he relaxed just a little. 

Parker, on the other hand, was frantic. She was struggling to catch her breath and the dizziness had returned, this time accompanied by a bout of nausea. The fish she'd had for dinner threatened to make an appearance, and she passed Daryl and ran towards the back of the RV, she braced herself against the wall with one hand as she emptied her stomach onto the ground. She fell to her knees and felt miserable, feeling a presence behind her. Paranoia took over her and she turned around with a gun in her hand and discovered that she was pointing it at Daryl.

"Jesus," Parker gasped, lowering the gun. "Sorry."

"You alright?" Daryl asked. Parker nodded, wiping her mouth.

"I'm fine."

"You don't look good," Daryl responded.

"I wonder why," Parker said, standing shakily. In the dark, Daryl hadn't been able to see her face as he checked for injuries, but up close he was aware of Parker's features, and all he could see was the bruise around her eye.

"What the hell happened to you?"

"Ed hit me," Parker answered, turning her head away. "Shane and Lori think I have a concussion and, honestly, I think they're right."

"I'll kill that son of a bitch." Daryl growled. He wasn't sure why the anger had flared up inside him at the thought of someone hurting Parker, but seeing the look in her eyes, desperately trying to look like what had happened hadn't affected her as much as it did, made him realize. He realized that maybe she was right when she told him that he needed someone to watch his back.

"I'm fine," Parker said, sounding unconvinced herself. "Shane got him pretty good."

"They didn't bite you?" Daryl asked, looking at her once more. Parker shook her head.

"No, what about you?"

"No."

"Good," Parker said quietly, and the way she looked at him, as if he were actually a good person, made a small smile appear on Daryl's face.

"Parker!" Rick shouted from somewhere in the camp. "Parker?" Parker looked at Daryl, offering him an apologetic smile before stepping out from behind the RV and seeing Rick a few feet away from her. She stumbled toward him, crashing into his arms as he wrapped his arms around her tightly. He held her against him for a moment, relieved that she was still alive, before pulling away. "Are you okay?" Rick asked her. 

"Yeah, I'm okay." Parker nodded.

"What happened?" Rick asked, his thumb brushing Parker's cheek. "Who did that?"

"Ed," Parker answered, tired of answering the same question for the hundredth time. "But it's okay. I'm fine, Rick." Behind her, she heard Andrea suddenly start crying for her sister, and when Parker turned and saw Andrea shaking Amy's lifeless body, she tripped over Rick and let out a silent sob. Around them, bodies lay motionless, and as Parker looked at the destruction, she knew there was no way they were going to stay in this camp any longer than necessary. 

No one slept that night, too terrified of what might come crawling out of the forest to even consider closing their eyes. Parker sat with Glenn, across from Lori, Rick, and Carl, the rest of the group gathered around them. They lost people. Amy and Ed were among them, and although Parker felt sorry for Carol and Sophia when they found out that Ed was dead, she didn't feel sorry for Ed himself. He was one of the worst people Parker had ever had the misfortune of knowing, and when Daryl found out he was dead, he wasn't sorry to see him go either. 

Seeing the bruise on Parker's face had activated something inside Daryl. It reminded him of the times Merle got beat up by his father when he got angry. He remembered how he himself suffered at the hands of his father, and as he watched from afar as Parker rested her head on Glenn's shoulder, he made a promise to himself that no man would lay a hand on that girl while he was around. 

He wanted to be the one to kill Ed, raising the pickaxe ready to strike a blow, but Carol stopped him, taking the weapon before putting her husband to rest forever. Daryl wasn't going to lie and say he was sad to see him go, because that bastard had hurt too many people, Carol, Sophia, and now Parker? Daryl was glad he was gone. That night was one of many horrors, but that was just the beginning.

Andrea never left Amy's side. Lori tried to console her and get her to allow them to take Amy's body for the burial, but Andrea stayed still as if she hadn't heard Lori. Parker stayed back with Shane. Lori and Carol were watching over Andrea while Daryl, T-Dog, and Glenn began clearing out the walkers and burning the bodies in a big bonfire. Rick appeared from wherever he had gone off to and walked over to them.

"She still hasn't moved?"

"She won't even talk to us," Lori replied. "She's been there all night. What do we do?"

"Can't just leave Amy like that," Shane said. "We need to deal with it, same as the others."

"I'll tell her how it is," Rick told them. They watched him approach Andrea, crouching low. He should have made his presence known, but from where she was, Parker couldn't hear him. However, she saw Andrea point her gun at Rick, and worry coursed through her as Rick slowly backed away and Andrea lowered the gun. When Daryl approached and was told Andrea wouldn't move, he instantly became critical. 

"You can't be serious. Let that girl hamstring us? The dead girl is a time bomb."

"What do you suggest?" Rick asked

"Take the shot." Daryl made it seem like it was the obvious choice, but at the same time, it was still Andrea's sister. Dead or not. "Clean in the brain, from here. Hell, I can hit a turkey between the eyes from this distance."

"No." Lori cut him off. "For god sake, let her be." When Daryl dropped the body he was moving with Morales, he shouted at all of them. 

"You reap what you sow. Y'all left my brother for dead! You had this coming!" Parker caught Rick's attention, seeing the dirty look he had been giving Daryl. 

"I'll talk to him."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Rick disagreed.

"No, she can do it," Lori reassured him. Parker didn't wait to be told 'no' again and headed to where Daryl had his pickaxe on his shoulder and was pacing back and forth.

"Hey!"

"Go away."

"No, I'm good. You're acting like a little kid. We all lost people today, Daryl. I'm sorry about your brother."

"No, you ain't." Daryl stopped pacing, glaring at her. "You didn't know him."

"I know you cared about him. And I'm sorry. No one deserves to lose the people they love. Especially not now." She wanted to help him but she knew he'd always find some negative comment to say.

"Yeah, well, that's life," Daryl muttered, stabbing the pickaxe into the ground.

"I'm sorry," Parker repeated. "And if you ever want to talk to someone, you can talk to me."

"I don't need no psychiatrist," Daryl responded with a scoff.

"That's not what I'm saying, I'm just saying that if you need a friend, I'm here."

"Nah, I'm good. Thanks." Daryl said, walking away, taking the pickaxe with him.

"Men." She rolled her eyes, letting out another sigh after hearing Jacqui scream loudly.

"A walker got him! A walker bit Jim!" The group surrounded Jim, who looked like a cornered animal. Panic flashed on his face.

"I'm okay."

"Show it to us. Show it to us." Daryl ordered, standing next to Parker. "Do it!" Jim grabbed a shovel and held it, protecting himself from anyone who tried to get close to him. When people started screaming, T-Dog grabbed Jim from behind and Daryl dropped his pickaxe, ran towards Jim, and lifted his shirt. Just below Jim's ribs was a bite mark.

"I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay." He continued to repeat. They sat Jim in the back of the RV while the group gathered to discuss what to do with him. Daryl, as always, advocated putting Jim out of his misery immediately. 

"I say we put a pickaxe in his head, and the dead girl's head and be done with it."

"Is that what you'd want if it were you?" Shane asked.

"Yeah, and I would thank you while you did it," Daryl said right back.

"I hate to say it," Dale said. "I never thought I would, but maybe Daryl is right."

"Jim is not a monster, Dale, or some rabid dog." Rick cut him off, eyes trained on the ground.

"I'm not suggesting-" He tried again

"He's sick." Rick talked over him. "A sick man. If we start down that road, where do we draw the line?"

"The line is pretty clear," Daryl replied. "Zero tolerance for walkers, or them to be."

"What if we can get him help?" Rick asked. "I heard the CDC was working on a cure."

"I heard that too," Shane spoke up. "I heard a lot of things before the world went to hell."

"What if the CDC's still up and running?" Rick questioned, not backing down.

"Now that is a stretch right there." Shane shook his head an amused smirk on his face.

"Why?" Rick asked. "If there's any government left, any structure at all, they'd protect the CDC at all costs, wouldn't they? I think it's our best shot. Shelter, protection-"

"Okay, Rick, you want those things, alright?" Shane was losing this argument already. It was very clear that people liked the idea of the CDC more than staying here. "I do too, okay? Now, if they exist, they're at the military base. Fort Benning."

"That's one hundred miles in the opposite direction," Lori said.

"That is right," Shane confirmed. "But it's away from the hot zone. Now listen to me. If that place is operational, it'll be heavily armed. We'd be safe there."

"The military were on the front lines of this thing," Rick explained to him. Shane knew that though. Everyone but Rick was awake to witness everything happen. "They got overrun. We've all seen that! The CDC is our best choice and Jim's only chance."

"You go looking for aspirin," Daryl said, starting to walk away from the group. "Do what you need to do. Someone needs to have some balls to take care of this damn problem!" Daryl ran at Jim, his pickaxe raised above his head ready to attack. Rick reacted instantly, and the click of his gun made Daryl stop because although he couldn't see him, he could feel Rick's presence behind him, pointing the gun at his head.

"Hey, hey! We don't kill the living." Rick ground out.

"That's funny coming from a man who just put a gun to my head," Daryl responded.

"We may disagree on some things." Shane blocked Daryl from getting to Jim. "But not on this. You put it down"

"Put it down," Parker demanded, stepping between Rick and Daryl. "Both of you, for god's sake." Daryl hit the ground with his pickaxe as Rick lowered the gun, and that was it for now. There'd be more fits to come.