"That car was headed downtown." Daryl spoke the next morning as Austin popped his back and jaw. "I say we get up in one of the tall ones, get ourselves a fire, see what we see."

"Cities definitely got a shit ton of walkers." Austin yawned, his voice was scratchy.

"We can stay close to the buildings and keep quiet, but sooner or later, we're gonna be drawing em." Carol agreed with him as Austin pulled his backpack up on his right shoulder.

"We'll make it quick." he confirmed, mainly for himself as they left the building as quick as they came. He forgot how much he missed the city. He'd come for robotics competitions, school shopping with his mom. It was nice, but the walkers were distracting any good memories from flowing.

"We can definitely get up there. There's a bridge." Daryl spoke as he looked around one of the corners.

"Here." Austin dropped his bag and pulled out a notebook, passing it his way. "Got a light?"

"Yeah." Daryl lit the paper on fire, tossing it far from them to distract the walkers. Running forward, they only ran into one walker that Daryl shot in the head. Austin pulled the door open, holding it open for Daryl and Carol to run through. Heading for the hallway, they paused.

"Man." Austin exhaled as he looked at the multiple walkers in sleeping bags. "Bad way to die."

They nodded to each other, killing the walkers with either an arrow or knife to the head. They stopped at the large tint before them, walker hands pushing against either side. Daryl huffed. "Some days I don't know what the hell to think."

"You gotta learn to not think sometimes." Austin pointed out, throwing him one of his arrows as they made it past the walker infected tint.

Carol pulled a door open, bounded with chains as they had to crawl through. Austin sucked in, making it through as Daryl passed his cross bow. "Good thing we skipped breakfast."

"Morning skinny." Austin hummed, handing him his bow back. Walking into the last room on the right, they were welcomed with an office. It was peaceful, clean, the type you'd go to for an appointment that you had to pay out of pocket.

"Is it weird to say I miss going to the doctor?" Austin asked the pair, his hand came up to push his bandana up, even though it didn't need to be. He thought about his mom, his hand slayed on his head for a second. "My mom use to take me all the time because I had the worst acne ever. She use to think it was cancer."

"That's a deep dig." Daryl hummed.

"Got me in good with a dermatologist though." he gave a faint smile, removing his hand from the desk. The lump was back in his throat, the same one that appeared when he'd so much as think about Lori for too long. "She was good like that."

Carol looked out the window at the terrible state of the city. "How did we get here?"

"Mm-mm." Daryl shrugged. "We just did."

"Yeah, not all of us." Austin mumbled, thankful neither lingered on what he said.

"You still haven't asked me what happened." Carol adjusted her gun as she looked to Daryl. "After I met up with Tyreese, the girls."

"Yeah, I know what happened." he pulled his cross bow off his left shoulder. "They ain't here."

"It's worse then that." Carol admitted.

Daryl looked her way. "The reason I said we get to start over is because we gotta. The way it was..."

"I love you guys." Austin admitted, Carol wnd Daryl turned back with the same odd look.

"What did you just say, boy?" Daryl gapped at him.

"I said I love you." he repeated, exhaling. "Havent told anyone I loved them since my mom died. Think I should start doing it again. You two for starters."

"You don't love us." Daryl said in return.

"Yes, I do." Austin argued with a look of disbelief. "I really do."

"I love you too." Carol gave him a hum, rubbing the back of his head. "Don't make it a habit."

"I won't." Austin promised, they looked over as Daryl lunged for the window. "Do you see her?"

"Not her." he waved them over. "Hand me that rifle."

Carol did so, Austin pushed the window open for him. He peered through the gun, lowering it. "Right there. "

Carol took it. "An ambulance."

"Ambulance?" Austin took the gun, looking to the car that was half way off the road. "Just sittin there."

"Definitely one of em." Carol pointed out.

"It's definitely some kind of lead." Daryl nodded his head.

"We should scope it, right? See if there anything inside that leads us back." Austin nodded his head, hoping at least one of them would agree so it would be two against one.

"We should fill up first." Carol pointed out as she went back for her bag. She tossed Austin a canteen as he filled it up at the water fountain. They saw Daryl gapping at the painting on the wall. "What?"

"I bet this cost some rich prick a lot of money." he nodded to the wall. "Looks like a dog sat in paint, wiped its ass all over the place."

Austin gave a snort. "One eyed dog?"

"One eyes dog." he confirmed with a faint, single laugh. "Wonder where that damn thing went."

"I kinda like it." Carol stared at the painting.

Daryl laughed. "Stop."

"I'm serious." she argued. "You don't know me."

"I know you like your cardigans." Austin exhaled as he leaned on the wall. "And you do the wrap thing with it."

"The what?" Carol gave an odd look as Austin mimicked the way she wrapped her cardigan around herself. "Are you making fun of me?"

"No, I know it." he gave a laugh. "Especially the green one. That one's my favorite."

"You are such a girl." Daryl mocked as they went back for the door. Carol went through first, pushing her rifle through before crawling. Austin was to go next.

"Austin, don't." Carol warned as a boy cocked his gun.

"Get your hands up, all three of you." he warned. Austin and Daryl walked through, the Grimes boy rose his empty hands while Daryl stopped at his side. "Lay does your crossbow."

"You got some sack on you." Daryl huffed.

"Look, nobody has to get hurt. I just need weapons, that's it." he tried to reason. "So, please, lay down your crossbow."

Daryl did so as the boy kept his gun at them. "Back up."

He inched forward, grasping it quickly. "Sorry about this. You look tough. You'll be all right."

He cut a line down one of the tints, freeing the walker inside as Austin and Daryl yanked their knives from their waist bands. They took turns killing a few, Carol shooting the final one before the trio ran after the boy that had ran off with Daryl's weapon. They hit the door, only for it to be locked.

They had to go the longer way, headed into the parking garage as Carol put her gun away. "Two bullets. We're in the middle of a city. He was stealing our weapons. Did you think I was gonna kill him?"

Daryl looked back to her as Carol was quick to defend herself. "I was aiming for his leg. Could that have killed him? Maybe, I don't know."

"Well, if we see him again, go for the leg." Austin exhaled as he struggled to keep up with Daryl's fast pace.

"He's a damn kid." Daryl waved them both off.

"Who would have shot us if we didn't give away our weapons." Austin rolled his eyes. "Looked my age. And you've nearly killed me on multiple occasions"

"That's different. You annoy the shit out of me." Daryl argued.

"Without weapons we could die." Carol spoke up as Daryl picked the lock. "Beth could die."

"She ain't gonna die." Austin shook his head.

"We'll find more weapons." Daryl agreed, pushing against the door.

"I don't want you to die. Or Austin." Carol spoke honestly. "I don't want Beth to die. I don't want anybody at the church to die, but I can't stand around and watch it happen either. I can't. That's why I left. I just had to be somewhere else."

"Well, you aren't somewhere else, you're right here." Daryl snapped at her as he let the lock picking go for a moment. "Tryin."

"You're not who you were and neither and I." Carol pointed out. "Neither is Austin, non of us are. I don't know if I believe in God anymore or heaven, but if i'm going to hell, i'm making damn sure i'm holding it off as long as I can."

•

kylie speaks

i hate how close we are.