Vibrant dual colored eyes, one blue and one green, flicked towards the sky. The clouds over head were filled with rain, looking ready to burst as a young woman in a gray long sleeved shirt and black pants slipped into an empty gun shop. The brunette was a good friend of the previous owner of the shop and knew where he hid his secret stash. She was the only one who knew besides him of course. A shiny silver key appeared in her gloved hand after a quick swipe in her pocket and she removed a false panel from the wall at the very back of the shop. The large steel door stood menacingly as she quietly opened the lock and swung the door open. Varying assortments of guns and ammo lined the whole room. Knives and machetes were on a table in the center of the room. Giving silent thanks to the sweet old man that had been a family friend for years, the brunette gathered up every single weapon. Nothing was left behind. Especially in the world that has been forced upon her and many others. As the bags began filling up her car, the young woman noticed a growing horde of the things that changed the world in front of a department store. Zombies didn't seem to be the right thing to call them. Walkers, that they were being the living dead and all, seemed to be the appropriate term for them. Glancing towards the department store, the woman was amused at the sight of two men in trench coats cover in Walker blood and parts walking through the swarm. The two were heading to a truck on the other side of the fence. Wolves in sheep's clothing? Now that was smart. A sudden drop of something wet broke the brunette out of her amusement, her head jerking to look up at the sky. The rain would reveal their true scents if they didn't make it in time. Quickly snagged the air horn she had hidden away in her glove box and the axe that sat in the passenger seat, she pressed the button as she set her axe on her shoulder. The blaring sound filled the air as the horde started towards her. The two men looked at her in shock and surprise. Giving them a playful wink, the brunette turned and rounded a corner with the Walkers in tow. She ducked and dodged as she ran, excitement running through her veins as she hacked and slashed the Walkers in her way. As dangerous as it was, it gave her a thrill. Rounding the last corner, the woman came back to the street she was on. More and more Walkers fell as she passed them. A delivery truck was pulling away from the department store with the back still open. A blonde woman, in her early thirties, was yelling for her to hurry. Another burst of adrenaline pulsed through her veins as she sprinted full speed towards the gaping opening of the truck and dived into it, landing on her stomach as the door closed. A laugh bubbled out of her mouth as the brunette sat up, sweat dripped from her dirty skin.

"You know, that was smart. What you two did." she said as the driver and the Asian man gave her a smile.

"You are crazy." the blonde said as she stared at the brunette, her eyes particularly keep coming back to the large swell of the younger woman's breasts. Another laugh left the young woman.

"I may be crazy and the world may have gone to shit but that's not going to stop me from helping people." The driver's smile widened.

"I can agree with that." he said as he threw a quick glance over his shoulder.

"What's your name?" the Asian man asked.

"Amethyst Willows at your service." a giggle left her lips, bringing smiles to everyone's faces as they continued down the road. Introductions were well underway.

As we headed further down the road, I noticed the uncomfortable silence. T-Dog, who was sitting across from me, broke the silence.

"I dropped the key." Confusion blossomed in my mind. Key? What key?

"Best not to dwell on it. Merle got left behind. Nobody's gonna be sad he didn't come back...Except maybe Daryl." Morales said from his seat beside Rick.

"Daryl?" Rick questioned, throwing Morales a glance.

"His brother." My brows furrowed. This could turn very ugly. The truck slowly comes to a stop as we reach their camp. Everyone besides Morales, Rick and myself, got out of the truck.

"Come meet everybody." He gets out too. Rick and I look at each other for a moment before we do the same.

"You are a welcome sight." An old man says as he hugs Morales, both of them laughing.

"I thought we had lost you folks for sure." The old man says.

"How'd y'all get out of there anyway?" Another man asked, he's closer to the same age as Rick.

"New guy and girl... they got us out." Glenn answered.

"New guy and girl?"

"Yeah, crazy vatos just got into town. Hey, helicopter boy! Crazy girl! Come say hello." Morales said, waving us over.

"The guy's a cop like you." We walk out into the open. Rick looks at the other man. They seemed surprised to see each other and give each other a welcoming nod. He looks over at a tall woman and a young boy.

"Oh my god." The woman and boy run to Rick as he does the same.

"Dad! Dad!" The boy shouted before being swept up into Rick's arms.

"Carl. Oh!" Rick kisses the boy, Carl, on the head as the woman moves closer. He hugs both of them. A smile makes its way to my face at the heartwarming scene. My eyes drift back to the man. He's still in shock and he doesn't seem as happy as he makes out to be. He put on a fake smile when Rick smiled at him. That man gives me a bad feeling. A really bad one.

The night came quickly and everyone gathered around their fires to keep warm. I sat with Rick, Glenn, T-Dog, and some others. Rick spoke first.

"Disoriented. I guess that comes closest. Disoriented. Fear, confusion... all those things but... Disoriented comes closest."

"Words can be meager things. Sometimes that fall short." Dale interjected with a knowing looking. I know that feeling very well.

"I felt like I'd been ripped out of my life and put somewhere else. For a while I thought I was trapped in some coma dream, something I might not wake up from ever." Rick added. I knew that feeling well too. All too well. Carl spoke up.

"Mom said you died." Rick gave his son a knowing look.

"She had every reason to believe that. Don't you ever doubt it."

"When things started to get really bad, they told me at the hospital that they were gonna medevac you and the other patients to Atlanta, and it never happened." Lori said as she leaned into her husbands embrace.

"Well, I'm not surprised after Atlanta fell."

"Yeah."

"And from the look of that hospital, it got overrun."

"Yeah, looks don't deceive. I barely got them out, you know?" Shane said as he looked at Rick and Lori. His eyes held almost perfectly hidden contempt.

"I can't tell you how grateful I am to you, Shane. I can't begin to express it." From the look it Rick's eyes, he doesn't see it. I'll leave it be for now.

"There go those words falling short again. Paltry things." Dale says as Glenn nods to me.

"What brought you to Atlanta Amethyst?" Eyes shifted to me as soon as the question left his mouth. A solemn sigh left my lips.

"I was on a plane from New Zealand to Seattle to visit my sister and her family on the day the Walkers started roaming. I was supposed to be staying with them for a week before heading to Germany for a family reunion. The rest of my siblings and family members would meet us there. But that never happened. My family is scatter across the entire globe." Carl got an excited gleam in his eye.

"How many siblings do you have?" his excitement made a giggle rise to my lips.

"I have thirteen siblings, seven brothers and five sisters." Expressions of shock exploded on everyone's faces. Before anyone could try to deny my words, I fished out some family pictures and passed them around.

"I never made it to Seattle obviously. A few people were infected and died midway through the flight. My plane crashed on the other side of Atlanta. There were three others beside myself but two died from their injuries and the other got bitten. He shot himself as soon as the sickness hit." Sad nods of understanding came from a few. Shane glanced around at the other groups as his eyes on a nearby fire. Ed, a big brooding man, tosses another log on the fire. Shane's face immediately sets in a frown.

"Hey, Ed, you want to rethink that log?" Ed doesn't flinch as his head rests against the back of his chair.

"It's cold, man."

"The cold don't change the rules, does it? Keep our fires low, just embers so we can't be seem from a distance, right?" Ed doesn't show any care for what Shane said.

"I said it's cold. You should mind your own business for once." This makes Shane get up and walk over to where the Peletier family is sitting around their fire.

"Hey, Ed... Are you sure you want to have this conversation, man?" Ed's face flashes with anger.

"Go on. Pull the damn thing out. Go on?" Ed ordered as his wife, Carol, reached into the fire to pull out the log. Their daughter Sophia watches quietly from her seat. As soon as the log hit the ground, Shane stomped out the flames. When the flames died away, he crouches in front of the two Peletier women.

"Hey Carol, Sophia, how are y'all this evening?" Carol gives him a strained smile as Sophia gives him nervous glances.

"Fine. We're just fine."

"Okay."

"I'm sorry about the fire." Shane shakes his head a couple times.

"No no no. No apology needed. Y'all have a good night, okay?" Carol says thank you as Shane walks away, her eyes trained on her husband who was staring back.

"I appreciate the cooperation." Shane said as he rejoined our group. Dale began speaking as Shane made himself comfortable again.

"Have you given any thought to Daryl Dixon? He won't be happy to hear his brother got left behind."

"I'll tell him. I dropped the key. It's on me." T-Dog had a look of guilt. From what I heard of Merle, he doesn't seem like a pleasant person, but he didn't deserve to be left behind. No matter how ornery he may be. Rick spoke up.

"I cuffed him. That makes it mine." Glenn jumped in.

"Guys, it's not a competition. I don't mean to bring race into this, but it might sound better coming from a white guy."

"I did what I did. Hell if I'm gonna hide from him." T-Dog said, firm certainty in his voice.

"We could lie." Amy's suggestion wasn't a bad idea but in this situation it wouldn't be the best idea.

"Or tell the truth. Merle was out of control. Something had to be done or he'd have gotten us killed. Your husband did what was necessary. And if Merle got left behind, it is nobody's fault but Merle's." Andrea said as she looked around the group.

"And that's what we tell Daryl? I don't see a rational discussion to be had from that, do you? Word to the wise… We're gonna have our hands full when he gets back from his hunt." Dale added. The Dixon's sure sound like they have fiery tempers.

"I was scared and I ran. I'm not ashamed of it." T-Dog said with conviction.

"We were all scared. We all ran. What's your point?" Andrea looked at him in wonder.

"I stopped long enough to chain that door. Staircase is narrow. Maybe half a dozen geeks can squeeze against it at any one time. It's not enough to break through that… Not that chain, not that padlock. My point… Dixon's alive and he's still up there, handcuffed on that roof. That's on us."

A heavy sigh left my lips as I settled down for the night. Sleep was far out of my reach, as it had been for many years. I have a good feeling with this group, besides Shane. There's something off with him. Peeking through the mesh window, I watch as he perches himself on top of the RV. Staring directly at the Grimes' tent with a sour look on his face. He has something against Rick.

Morning came around slowly. I laid in my warm nest and waited for everyone to wake up for the day ahead of them. Hearing the dull splashing of water and Shane's voice calling out 'Water's here y'all'. A groan left my lips as I sat up, stretching out the knots and kinks. As I pull on clean clothes, sudden screaming has me bolting from my tent with a machete in hand as I followed behind a sprinting Rick. Children pasted us as they ran to their mothers, Carl and Sophia included. Coming to a small open clearing, we see the cause of the distress. A Walker was gnawing on the carcass of a deer, too busy filling its belly to pay any attention to us. Andrea and Amy stand at the edge of the clearing and make disgusted noises before walking away. Rick, Shane, Glenn, Jim, and Morales start beating the Walker when it turned its attention to us. Dale, when he had the chance, chopped its head off with the axe he was carrying. I finish it by delivering the final blow. A simple downward stab with my machete.

"It's the first one we've had up here. They never come this far up the mountain." Dale said in shock. Jim shakes his head.

"Well, they're running out of food in the city, that's what." The sound of a branch snapping makes me tense and get ready for another Walker to appear. But a short haired man, in a sleeveless light brown shirt and jeans, did instead. And damn was he handsome, despite being covering in dirt and sweat. A chain of squirrels was hanging from one shoulder as a crossbow rested on the other. It'd be safe to assume that this was the Daryl Dixon. He's one hell of a man. His eyes met mine for a second before they trailed over my body and switched to the chewed-on carcass of the deer.

"Son of a bitch. That's my deer! Look at it. All gnawed on by this... filthy, disease-bearing, motherless proxy bastard!" Each insult was enunciated with a kick to the Walkers headless body.

"Calm down, son. That's not helping." Dale said in attempt to calm the Dixon down. It had no effect whatsoever.

"What do you know about it, old man? Why don't you take that stupid hat and go back to "on golden pond"? I've been tracking this deer for miles. Gonna drag it back to camp, cook us up some venison. What do you think? Do you think we can cut around this chewed up part right here?" He asked as he pointed to the torn-up throat of the deer. Shane shook his.

"I would not risk that." Daryl sighs, walking back to camp with us following him. His ass is the spitting image of perfection. Plump and firm, I really wanna touch but I hold myself back.

The second we reach the camp grounds, Daryl starts calling for his brother.

"Merle! Merle! Get your ugly ass out here! I got us some squirrel! Let's stem 'em up." Shane walked behind Daryl.

"Daryl, just slow up a bit. I need to talk to you." Daryl turned to look at him.

"About what?"

"About Merle. There was a... There was a problem in Atlanta."

"Is he dead?" Shane shook his head.

"We're not sure." That statement made Daryl's anger spark.

"Either he is or he ain't!" Rick decided now was the best time to add in his piece.

"No easy way no say this, so I'll say it." Daryl rounds on him.

"Who are you?"

"Rick Grimes."

"Rick Grimes, you got something to tell me?" Rick took in a deep breath.

"Your brother was a danger to us all, so I handcuffed him on a roof, hooked him to a piece of metal. He's still there." Daryl's face slipped into shocked anger.

"Hold on. Let me process this. You're saying you handcuffed my brother to a roof and you left him there?!" Rick nodded.

"Yeah." Daryl lunges at Rick but gets shoved away. Daryl lunges again, knife in hand this time. Shane managed to get behind the Dixon and place him in a choke hold.

"Okay. Okay." Daryl struggled as hard as he could in the position he was in.

"You'd best let me go!"

"Nah, I think it's better that I don't." Daryl continues to struggle in Shane's grasp.

"Choke hold's illegal." Shane chuckled.

"You can file a complaint. Come on, man. We'll keep this up all today." Daryl was seated on the ground when his struggling lessened.

"I'd like to have a calm discussion on this topic. Do you think we can manage that? Do you think we can manage that?" Daryl nodded.

"Mmm. Yeah." Shane let him go and backed away from him.

"What I did was not on a whim. Your brother does not work and play well with others." Rick said as he crouched in front of him.

"It's not Rick's fault. I had the key. I dropped it." T-Dog said from his spot by the RV.

"You couldn't pick it up?" Daryl asked as he turn to T-Dog.

"Well, I dropped it in a drain."

"If it's supposed to make me feel better, it don't." Daryl looked beside himself. Of course he is. He doesn't know if his brother is alive or dead. I'd feel the same.

"Well, maybe this will. Look, I chained the door to the roof... So the geeks couldn't get at him... With a padlock. It's gotta count for something." Daryl, still angry, glared at everyone.

"Hell with all y'all! Just tell me where he is so that I can go get him." Lori was staring right at Rick, her eyes burning holds in him.

"He'll show you. Isn't that right?" Rick nodded.

"I'm going back." Lori looked furious but said nothing as she got into the RV.

"I'm going too." Rick gave me a nod as he walked back to his tent. He came back a few seconds later, dressed in his police officer uniform. He started walking towards me but Shane stopped him along the way. Shane seemed angry while Rick was talking freely and seemed to be reassuring him. Daryl walked pasted them and seemingly got offended by sounding Shane said. Glenn groans about something but agrees and T-Dog adds something which sets Shane off. Walking towards the small group, I can feel the heat in his words.

"It's not just five. You're putting every single one of us at risk. Just know that, Rick. Come on, you saw that Walker. It was here. It was in camp. They're moving out of the cities. They come back, we need every able body we've got. We need 'em here. We need 'em to protect camp."

"It seem to me what you really need most here are more guns." Rick said. Glenn's eyes widened in realization.

"Right, the guns."

"There's also my guns." I added. Shane's eyes flickered between the three of us, his eyes glancing down at my chest every so often.

"Wait. Guns?"

"Six shotguns, two high-powered rifles, over a dozen handguns. I cleaned out the cage back at the station before I left. I dropped the bag in Atlanta when I got swarmed. It's just sitting there on the street, waiting to be picked up." Rick said.

"Ammo?" Rick nodded.

"700 rounds, assorted." Shane nodded and looked at me, though his eyes drifted lower.

"20 long distance rifle, 10 sawed off shotguns, dozens upon dozens of pistols, several melee weapons, and several 100 thousand rounds. All in my car. Its sitting near the department store they were trapped in." I said as Lori glared and turned to Rick.

"You went through hell to find us. You just got here and you're gonna turn around and leave?"

"Dad, I don't want you to go." Carl said as he looked at his father pleadingly.

"To hell with the guns. Shane is right. Merle Dixon? He's not worth one of your lives, even with guns thrown in. Tell me. Make me understand." Lori said as she stood in front of Rick, giving him a pleading look as well.

"I owe a debt to a man I met and his little boy. Lori, if they hadn't taken me in, I'd have died. It's because of them that I made it back to you at all. They said they'd follow me to Atlanta. They'll walk into the same trap I did if I don't warn him." Lori gave him a look of disbelief. She finally realized she wasn't going to win.

"What's stopping you?" she asked, biting at her bottom lip.

"The walkie-talkie, the one in the bag I dropped. He's got the other one. Our plan was to connect when they got closer." Shane raised an eyebrow.

"These are our walkies?" Rick gave him a simple nod.

"Yeah." Andrea gave both man a perplexed look.

"So use the CB. What's wrong with that?" Shane shook his head.

"The CB's fine. It's the walkies that suck to crap… Date back to the '70s, don't match any other bandwidth… Not even the scanners in our cars." Rick turned to his wife and grabbed her hand.

"I need that bag. Okay?" Lori stared at him for a moment, contemplating her choices, before letting out a sigh. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

"All right." Rick nods, letting go of her hand and approaches Carl.

"Okay?" Carl nods yes as his mother comes up behind him, her hands squeezing his shoulders reassuringly. Giving both his son and wife a kiss, Rick and T-Dog walk over to where Dale and Jim were. Approaching the truck, I see Glenn is already in the driver's seat while Daryl was pacing around in the bed. As I climbed into the back with him, he honks the horn with his foot before coming to the opening of the truck.

"Come on, let's go!" he shouted. He was getting frustrated with the wait. T-Dog, with bolt cutters in hand, climbs into the bed with us as Shane stops Rick for a moment. He gives him a hand full of bullets as words are passed between them. Rick then gives him a grateful nod as he walks towards the truck. Shane shot a hateful glare at the back of his head as he got further away and climbed into the passenger seat. Shane was about to look away but noticed I was staring at him. His face changed from hateful to perverted within a second. His eyes were filled with lust as he licked his lips, giving me a wink. Giving him a disgusted look, I closed the bed without a second thought.