—  THE WHOLE GROUP HAD BEEN IN straight panic mode, since the five boys had rushed off to find Randall and keep them all safe. They didn't know what they should do, so the lot of them locked themselves up in the farm house, waiting for one of the five men to return with hopefully, good news that Randall had been put down. Zoe kept ahold of Carl ever since they had arrived back at the house, there was no way she was going to let him out of his sight, not while her mom was concentrating on the others. She wasn't going to risk it. But, with how sneaky the small boy was, one sound of a gunshot in the distance, and Carl was gone, causing Zoe to panic more than she ever had before. "Son of a.." Zoe trailed off, looking in every single room upstairs to see if she could find him, but when he wasn't anywhere to be found, she knew that he had snuck off.. "For God's sake, Carl." She muttered.

Zoe didn't want to face Lori's wrath, in fact, it's the last thing she wanted.. So there was only one option, and that was to go out and get him. There was no doubt that he had run off to try and find their dad and Shane, so she didn't exactly have much choice in the matter than to go after him. If she could get him and drag him back home before their mom finds out, then it would be successful for Zoe. It wasn't hard to sneak out of the house without anyone seeing her, in fact, it had been too easy, with everyone preoccupied with worrying about Randall and the boys, Zoe had managed to sneak out within seconds.
She knew that her mom was going to be pissed if she found out that not only one, but two of her kids had snuck off, so she was just hoping she could get back before she even noticed, or anyone else, for that matter. Zoe had forgotten her walking stick, in the moment only caring about looking for her brother, and she instantly regretted it the moment she set food outside of the farmhouse, feeling her ankle working up again.. But, in no time, she saw a little outline with the sheriffs hat on, with a tall man besides him, a few minutes from the house in the field, and she sighed in relief when she realised it was her brother and dad.

"Thank god." She sighed, finally making herself known to her family members, while Carl's eyes widened, Rick looked shocked that his daughter had managed to get all of the way out of here with her ankle. "You're lucky I don't murder you for sneaking off." She snapped at Carl, seeing his guilty face, before looking up at her dad, "I was meant to be watching out for him, he snuck off behind my back." She said.

"You should have stayed back at the house." Rick told her, not liking that she had come out here with her ankle how it is now.

Zoe scoffed, "What? And face mom's wrath at loosing Carl? No thanks." She told him.

"Shane's dead." Carl spoke up after his sister and dad finished talking, causing Zoe's eyes to widen at the news. She looked towards her dad for an answer, only to see him nod sadly in confirmation, but what Zoe could see that Carl couldn't, was guilt.

"H-How?" Zoe stuttered, as they all stopped in their tracks, "Were you attacked? What happened?" She asked. She couldn't believe that her uncle was dead, that was the last thing that she expected to find out tonight - yet again, another person lost. She just couldn't wrap her head around it.

"Yeah, I heard a gun shot, but I didn't see any walkers nearby." Carl agreed, looking up to his dad for an answer.

Rick sighed, and looked down at the floor, noticing that he had to tell his kids what really happened, he couldn't keep it from them, not ever, he didn't want to be the kind of father that lied to his kids.. Only, when he was about to talk, he heard something come from behind them, something bad. Zoe furrowed her brows at the noise, turning her head around to see what the commotion was, when she saw walkers - lots of them. "Oh my god." She whispered, just as Rick saw what she was looking at..

"Go, go, go, go, go." He told his two kids, taking hold of Carl in one hand, and helping Zoe run with the other, noticing that she didn't have the stick to help her walk. It was the worst timing to have a busted ankle, and she was sure going to pray the price of it. It was incredibly painful to run with her ankle being in this much pain, but she had to push it aside, the only thought running through her mind being to survive, and keep Carl safe. So, with that thought in mind, she pushed through.

When the three Grimes' realised that they had to go around the farm to get to the house, they knew that they were screwed. "We can't go in there, we'll get surrounded!" Zoe whispered to her dad, after realising that he wanted to get to the barn. She didn't think she had been this terrified in all of her life - the only thought running through her mind was if her mom and Nate were okay.. That was all that mattered to her at this moment, that, and making sure her dad and Carl were, too.

"Do you trust me?" Her dad asked, gripping her shoulders to make him face her. When she stuttered on her words, he repeated what he said, and eventually, Zoe nodded at his question. "Good, now, let's go to the barn, I won't let anything happen to you or Carl, you gotta trust me on that." He said, as she sighed, but nodded again none the less, and took her dads hand, allowing him to drag her and Carl to the barn, killing a few walkers on the way, before shutting the door, trapping them in..

"Okay, what's the plan?" Zoe breathed out, completely worn out from the amount of running she had done. Rick looked around at their surroundings, as did his daughter, as they both tried to figure out a way to get out of here.

"We need a distraction to get the walkers away from the house." Rick spoke, trailing off as he looked around, before he spotted a can of gas.. "Okay, here." He mumbled, grabbing the can and emptying it's components around the farm, Zoe quickly catching onto what he was doing and what his idea was, moving aside with Carl so he could do his thing. "Up there, hurry." He then instructed his kids, pointing towards the ladder to the upper floor.

Zoe grabbed Carl and ushered him towards the ladder, about to climb up herself, when her dad stopped her to hand her the lighter to light the fire. "What about you?" She asked, taking ahold of his arm, not wanting him to put himself in danger..

"I'll follow you in a second." He told her, watching as she went in straight panic mode, "Hey, hey, hey, look at me." Rick said, placing a hand on his daughters shoulder. "You and Carl can do this. Zoe, I love you." He said, making sure to get a good look at his only daughters face in case he didn't make it.

Zoe smiled slightly, "I love you too, dad." She said. With Rick giving her a quick kiss on her forehead, he rushed off to the doors, making sure that his kids were up the ladder and to safety before he opened them up - and when he did open them, the walkers came piling in, causing Carl to cling onto his sisters side in fear. When Rick gave the signal for Zoe to drop the lighter, as he climbed up the ladder, she nodded, doing exactly what he told her, dropping the flame to the floor, lighting up the small horde of walkers below, burning them all.

Backing up, Zoe watched as they all burnt below her, as Rick came rushing up.. Now thinking on what the hell to do. They were screwed..

——

Nate rushed back to the farmhouse with Daryl and Glenn in tow, after finding Randall, as a walker, with no bite marks and a broken neck, indicating that Shane must have had something to do with it due to the fact that they found his steps overlapping Randall's. Nate always knew there was something wrong about him, and he was right. He was just glad that now his brother could see it, and even Glenn.. It didn't take them long to get back to the house, hoping that Rick would already be there so they could deal with Shane, but when they did finally arrive, the two of them were nowhere in sight. "Rick 'n Shane ain't back?" Nate asked, walking in with his brother and Glenn close behind him.

"No." Lori said, and with hearing her voice, Nate was quickly reminded of the girl he loved, so in a split second, he began scanning the room for her, only to find that she wasn't here. Lori saw this, and nodded towards him, knowing who he was looking for, "She's upstairs with Carl." She informed the Dixon boy, who nodded gratefully at her for informing him.

"We heard a shot." Daryl said to the group.

"Maybe they found Randall." Lori suggested.

Daryl was quick to shake his head as Nate rushed off upstairs to get Zoe and make sure she was okay, "We found him, he's a walker." Daryl informed them all, watching as his brother rushed up the stairs to find Zoe. He was glad that his brother had managed to find someone he cared for.. It was more than what he could say about himself.

"Did you find the walker that bit him?" Hershel asked.

"No, the weird thing is, he wasn't bit." Glenn spoke up, as Nate finally made it to the top of the stairs. He was quick to check the main bedroom, thinking that it would be where they were sat, but when he entered, the only thing he could spot was Zoe's walking stick leaning against the wall, causing him to furrow his brows in confusion. Why would she go anywhere without it when she could barely walk?

"Zoe?" He called out, trying to see where she and Carl had gotten to, but when he didn't hear an answer from them, he was quick to check the other bedrooms, just as Lori came up the stairs to announce that there was a horde coming for the farm and they had to leave. The second he saw her, he shook his head, "They're not here, are you sure they said they're waiting here?" He asked the woman, who began searching the rooms in panic.

"I told them to stay here." She panicked, wondering where they could have gotten to, "Why would they leave? Do you think they left?" She asked quickly.

"I don't know." Nate answered, truthfully not knowing where they could have gone - he knew for a fact that Zoe would leave and put Carl in danger like that. "They wouldn't just leave." He said, running his hand down his face in stress. When Lori gave him a pleading look, silently asking him if he would go out there, he instantly nodded without a second thought, if Zoe was in danger, he was going to find her, "I'll go look for them." He said.

Lori let out a breath of relief at the boys words, knowing that she had been right about him since the beginning, and that he was the best choice for her daughter. "Thankyou." She whispered as he rushed off downstairs to heat up again and go out there, only, when he did begin to leave, Daryl pulled him back..

"We need to draw the walkers away from the house." He told his brother, pushing a shotgun into his hands.

Nate shook his head, "I gotta find Zoe." He told Daryl.

Daryl sighed, "Look, the barn's on fire, she probably went to find her dad with the kid and most likely found him." He told Nate, one-hundred percent believing the words himself. But, when Nate didn't make any movement, he had to speak again, "We'll look for her and draw the walkers off at the same time." He suggested, causing Nate to eventually nod, "Come on."

Rushing out of the house, Nate followed his brother to his bike, climbing onto the back of it and loading the shot gun, ready to fire into these sons of bitches, when they looked over to see that the barn was on fire. "You think that's them?" Nate shouted over the sound of the motorbike and the shots of the guns around them. Glenn and Maggie had gotten into one car to begin shooting them down, while Jimmy got in the RV, which was headed towards the barn, which was currently burning down.

"Has to be." Daryl answered, looking at the building with a longing look - it wouldn't surprise him that Rick would risk his life to keep the horde away from the main house, but sadly, Daryl didn't think it was going to work. "We're gonna get overrun." He eventually spoke, after killing a few walkers by shooting them, whilst Nate did the same with his shotgun. "There's no saving the farm now." He said.

"I'm not leaving without her." Nate told his brother sternly, trying to get a good look at the barn to see if he could see Zoe, while shooting walkers off of him and Daryl in the process.

Daryl sighed, "I had a feeling you were gonna say that." He told his brother, tucking his gun back into his holster and setting off once again, hoping to do a loop around of the farm and look out for Rick and Zoe.. It was at this point, did Daryl realise he didn't exactly want the girl to die - he had almost grown to like her. That, and he would never hear the end of it from his brother. So, with that in mind, they both set off with a mission.

——

Zoe really thought that she would be stuck on top of the farm with her dad and brother, until Jimmy had rolled up with the RV, in order to help them out. The only problem was, Zoe didn't know if she would be able to jump down onto the roof, not with her ankle; climbing up the ladder in the barn had been a task itself.. "Dad, I don't know if I can make that." She told him truthfully, looking down at the small drop between the second floor of the barn and the roof of the RV, "Not with my ankle." She said.

Rick was quick to shake his head at his daughter, getting Carl down before looking up at her, "I'll catch you, come on." He encouraged, watching as she watched him in panic. When she stuttered upon her words, he began to panic at the amount of time she was taking, "Zo, you gotta jump now before the barn comes down. I won't let you fall, I promise, come on." He encouraged even more.

Zoe sucked in a breath, before eventually dropping down onto the roof of the RV, her father using all of his strength to catch her so she wouldn't hurt her ankle even more. She grunted in pain slightly as her bad foot hit the floor, but pushed it aside, knowing that they had to get down. Tears were streaming down her face at the amount of smoke around them and the amount of pain that her ankle was in, before she limped over to the ladder, letting her brother go first, before she slowly edged around the side and attempted to go down on one foot. With the tonnes of walkers besides her, trying to grab her.. Knowing that she didn't have enough time and had to get down to her brother and father, she made a stupid decision, and that was to jump down the remainder of steps, her knees buckling as she hit the ground in pain

"Shit, shit, shit." She grunted, using her dad's arm to lift herself up. The second that the three began to rush off once again, Zoe nearly fell to the floor, and without Rick holding her up, she would have collapsed in pain. "Dad, I can't." She cried, hating that she was so vulnerable, and that she was putting the two of them in danger by being unable to run.

Rick didn't know what else he could do, so he thought quickly, bending down in front of Zoe and ushering her to climb onto his back, which she did within seconds. When she was secure on his back, making sure that she was holding onto him tight, he set off with Carl in front of them, running away from the herd that had overtaken the farm, hoping to go behind the house and meet with the others. Adrenaline kicked in for the man to keep his two children safe, and he sprinted through the woods with Zoe on his back and Carl in front of him, running for their lives. It wasn't until they found Hershel shooting the walkers to try and keep them off of his property, did they sigh in relief that they managed to find someone.. Rick set Zoe down by the car, before he rushed over to the old man who still didn't want to move a muscle, not wanting to leave his farm.

When her dad and Hershel came back over to the car, Zoe looked at Hershel with a panicked look, "Nate?" She asked, having been wondering what happened to him since they set the barn on fire - she knew that her mom would have stuck with the others, but knowing Nate, he would have gone off looking for her..

"With Daryl." Hershel rushed out, remembering how Nate and Daryl had rushed off on their bike, before he opened the door for her and helped her in, shutting the door behind her. As she sat in the back of the car with her brother lying on her lap, the only thought that ran through her mind, was if that her mom and Nate were okay.. She never got to say she loved him back.

It didn't take long for Zoe, Carl, Hershel and Rick to get back to the highway in which they first found when they left their camp near Atlanta - they knew that the first place the group would go, was here. The waiting game had been the most hardest thing that Zoe had ever have to do, not knowing that her mom and Nate were safe, along with the others from their group. It was killing her. The fact that Hershel probably thought that they were all dead, wasn't bringing the girl any hope - if the man of god had no hope for the others, why should she? Although, she felt like she knew Nate, and she knew that he would fight through the farm with everything he had.. Her mom, she wouldn't let anything happen to herself if it meant leaning her kids without a mother.

They had been waiting for a while, with Carl and Zoe refusing to leave the highway, wanting to wait for their mom and Nate, when Rick sighed, before he crouched down in front of his two kids, "Kids, it's not safe here." He told them, knowing that they had to leave to stay safe. Zoe shook her head at him, not wanting to leave, not without her mom or Nate, "I'm sorry." He said, as a tear slid down her face. "We'll.." He began to say, only for a noice in the distance to interrupt him.

Zoe recognised that noise, turning around instantly, seeing Daryl, Nate and Carol all squished onto one motorbike, and she couldn't help but sob at the sight, knowing that Nate would make it. She knew that he would be okay. As soon as all of the other cars began driving towards them, filled with their group members, she couldn't keep the tears back, before she shot off towards Nate, him being the first to climb off of the bike, ignoring the incredible pain that scorched in her ankle, before launching herself into his arms, nearly knocking him to the ground in the process.

Nate grabbed onto Zoe with dear life after a few seconds of shock, having thought that he would never see her again. He was taking in that she was safe, and that she was here. "I love you." Zoe sobbed, her head buried in his chest, "I love you so so much. I'm sorry I didn't say it back." She said. Nate couldn't keep the smile off of his face as he gripped onto Zoe, practically lifting her off of the ground, happy that she had said it back. After spending the night looking for her, Carl and Rick, he really thought she may not have made it, but seeing her in the flesh had been the best thing he had ever felt in his whole life. In the background, everyone else was reuniting, before Zoe pulled Nate back to give him a deep kiss, showing him just how much she missed him, pulling back to get a good look at his face.

"Zo!" She heard her mom shout, and when Zoe turned around, she cried out in relief at the sight of her mom.

"Mom!" Zoe cried, as Nate let her go to see her, greeting everyone else in the group while the girl reunited with her mother.

They just hoped it couldn't get any worse than this..