-Riley-

I felt disheartened as Carl released this former father's diary, a forgotten tale of yet another traumatic failed attempt in a struggle for survival. No parent should be forced to bury their children, let alone watch them get torn apart before their eyes - this man's suicide was certainly justified. 

I had picked up his dust-coated rifle, and I generally welcomed the fresh air after the stench of the shack.

It took me a second to notice that Carl had frozen at the doorway, and another second to identify the thin, yet unpredictably deadly metal blade that was raised precariously against the vulnerable flesh or his neck. 

"Drop the weapon, or I'll kill you," I instructed in an attempt at a calm, controlled voice, raising the newly-acquired hunting rifle. I couldn't see the attacker, but it was easy to estimate his or her position and the bullet would easy punch through the flimsy wood of the shack.

I don't even know if this thing works - it's been left here unpolished and uncleaned for God knows how long...

A long moment of silence followed, my heart thumping rapidly in my chest as I placed a trembling finger on the slightly rusted trigger. Then, much to my relief, Carl visibly relaxed as whoever was stood outside the shack holstered their blade.

"You won't need to do that," a familiar voice responded, and Carl stood out of the way to reveal his apparent attacker.

Carol Peletier!

Upon this discovery, I instantly released my grip on the rifle, allowing it to freely drop to the floor. It was a frightening thought to think that I had, once again, almost killed a friend in a misguided attempt to protect Carl.

Unlike Michonne, Carol had not been quite so aggressive when "throwing me out into the wild" was concerned. In fact, were it not for her, I sincerely doubted that I would have left that ill-fated lodge alive three months ago.

I would be in her debt until I managed to save her life, and in spite of my generally good intentions, I seemed to end up taking lives rather than saving them...

"Carol," I greeted her with a nervous smile, my voice trembling as I reunited with perhaps the only member of my former group that could possibly forgive me.

"Sorry, about the, uh... The threat..." I stammered meekly, anxiously and reluctantly awaiting her response. Carl smirked slightly at my response, which would have usually irritated me were it not for the sheer beauty of seeing him smile for the first time in three months.

Carol nodded slightly, clearly not sharing Carl's humor, but if she did share Michonne's continuous hatred toward me, she was certainly hiding it well.

"We don't have time for reunions," she said firmly, which in spite of the fact she was not showing any emotion toward me, was probably the most positive response I had gained in a reunion so far. 

"Michonne's been taken," Carol confirmed grimly, "I stayed back at the house to watch over Judith, but the other guards told me she'd been taken somewhere - not this camp, but a different one. I've got her sword with me... it's pretty heavy, but I'm getting the hang of it."

At least the Saviors weren't able to take over Alexandria... Not yet at least.

"Where's Judith now?" Carl inquired, naturally concerned for his infant sister's safety.

"She's fine," Carol reassured the young Grimes, "Douglas' wife offered to look after her while I was gone; said she wanted to do something to take her mind off what happened earlier."

Carl grimaced in recollection of the hostage situation that occurred inside the group's walls - if I'd had any indication that Negan was preparing an assault on the Alexandria safe zone I would have killed him when I had the chance. I was worried that Carl's memory of the attack would provoke anger toward me once again, but fortunately the situation did not escalate this time.

"Negan told me that he'd negotiated a deal with another camp far away; the Kingdom."

Carol spent a moment in thought, and her eyes lit up as she recognised the name and hopefully the location of this other settlement.

"Yeah, I think I've heard of it... Yes, we've talked about it before, back at Alexandria!" she recalled triumphantly, before speaking in a more hushed tone as she devised some form of plan.

"Have you seen those Saviors' jeeps driving round?" Carol asked hopefully, glancing around briefly to double-check that our immediate surroundings were free of any potential danger.

We both nodded in response, and I explained, "they're looking for us - for the some reason they want us back real bad."

"If we get one of them, we'll be able to make it to the Kingdom a lot quicker, and we'll probably be able to get there unnoticed," she explained, before adding ominously, "Michonne may not have a lot of time left."

Her plan was a reasonable one, save for one questionable idea - a concern of which I quickly raised.

"How the hell are we gonna get one of these vehicles?"

There was no answer.

Suddenly, we heard a growl in the distance, and our eyes instinctively snapped in the direction of the threat, the three of us drawing our weapons simultaneously.

The walker that approached us was once a very young girl, and I considered killing her - or rather it - to be a mercy killing. 

Nobody deserved to die in this way, let alone someone so young.

She wore a glistening necklace, personalized with her name on it, which had survived the last four years somehow intact. What caught my eye, however, was the name on the necklace.

The letters read 'Sarah.'

---

In case you can't remember who Sarah is, read the end of the last chapter.

Also, Carol's back! Whoo!