_____

Rick had become almost completely reclusive in the days since Lori was lost, and Carl and Peyton hadn't been in much better shape. Carl had become distant, almost cold at times, while Peyton had been kept up night after night by the haunting memory that had turned into a nightmare. All she could hear were the screams, all she could see was the blood covering Maggie's hands.

Levi sat down in the small, uncomfortable chair across from his sister's bunk.

Peyton and Carl were sitting across from one another, not making eye contact or looking at each other, but seemingly content with each other's company.

"You gotta eat."

They looked at the older boy, and then at each other.

"Look, I wasn't there, I get that. And I can see this is hard as hell but it's never gonna get any better if you don't take care of yourselves. We lost Lori and a lot of people, and we might be losing Rick, we can't lose you guys too."

His voice echoed in the girl's head as she stared at the bowls in his hands. She took them and handed one to Carl. Levi was right, they both knew it and it was no good fighting him. They wouldn't win. If you can't beat them, join them.

Sarah had tried first, but her attempts had crashed and burned. Casey and Jackson tried next, but also subsequently failed. Nate had tried, but he knew they weren't going to listen to him. Levi knew his sister would always do it for him.

__

"Everybody okay?"

Everyone turned at the sound of his voice. Rick Grimes, who had still yet to hold his baby girl, was standing in the block's entrance.

Peyton looked at him sadly, "Are you?"

It was the first she'd spoken to Rick since they told him.

"I just came to check on Carl."

Carl sighed, but said nothing to his father. He only stared at the hat in front of him on the table.

Rick didn't even stay five minutes before disappearing back into the shadows to continue grieving.

__

Peyton, much to the dismay of Carl, was out on a run with Glenn and Maggie. Archer had gone too, not wanting her to be by herself and third wheel with Glenn and Maggie. She needed a friend, her best friend.

He had hardly spoken to her, which she seemed to have wanted. He understood, he wasn't there. He had no clue what she was going through, but as she was coming back to them, he stepped up to remind her that her best friend was there. Just like he always had been.

As much as she hated to leave Carl, she was beginning to feel trapped inside those walls. She had to get out, even if only for a little while. Being stuck, being confined made her restless, she couldn't just sit aorund in those cells all day like everyone else could.

She glanced back at Glenn and Maggie, who had gone into the building they'd stopped at, then back ahead of her. She knew that wandering off probably wasn't the best idea, but didn't care, nor could she help herself. Sitting idle wasn't a skill that she possessed.

Leaves crunched under her boots as she got closer to the woods. She stopped when a slight movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. She shrugged it off, deciding that it was only an animal. Archer stood next to her, both of them quiet and content with each other's presence. Archer didn't talk a whole lot, He preferred to keep quiet. But he would talk to Peyton and Riley and the others, and he wanted to talk to Carl but he wasn't sure Carl liked him as much as he liked their other friends.

She turned her attention back to the woods in front of her, forgetting about whatever it was that had moved, and continued moving towards the trees, which seemed to be calling her name, inviting her into their open arms.

A soft sigh of bliss escaped her rosy lips as she closed her eyes. She felt good for the first time in days. She wished she could hold on to that feeling forever.

Archer watched her, his focus on her entirely. She looked like a child of mother nature herself.

They both turned at the sound of a struggle, and they saw a man attacking Glenn and Maggie. He had a knife for a hand and Peyton knew that face and voice all too well. She turned to Archer and slammed her body into his and knocked him to the ground.

"Stay down. We can't take him." she whispered.

"Is that who I think it is?" Archer asked, eyes wide and he moved to where his body was guarding hers instead of the other way around.

"Yes."

"And he was lookin' for you sweetheart," another voice said from behind them. This man they did not recognize, but when they turned around they realized there were two men, one just had not spoken.

__

They kept quiet as the men drove, careful not to make a sound. Glenn and Maggie did the same, all four just hoping it would buy them some time to formulate a plan to get the hell out.

The bag over the face was itchy, but did its job. She couldn't see anything.

When the vehicle finally stopped, she was yanked out by a hand all too familiar.

She realized wherever they had been taken, it had to have been close by. She couldn't recall seeing any signs of other groups, let alone people evil enough to commit the act of kidnapping—but she had been wrong about the world before. And maybe she had been wrong again. Maybe there wasn't as much good left as Carl and Sophia and Riley thought, maybe everything was as fucked as Peyton and Archer had always thought it was.

She tried not to show any signs of pain or discomfort as her small body was forced to the floor. The concrete was as cold as the sack around her he'd was uncomfortable.

What she hadn't wanted to see when the sack was finally pulled away from her face made her skin crawl with a thousand fire ants.

"You owe me your life, kid."

_____

dt; sluttyyyypascal -heartofgxld MayGarner