A/N: Sequel to Subjective Reality. Spitfire47

Disclaimer: I don't own The Walking Dead or any of it's characters.

Mak detested waiting. He didn't like it as a child and he certainly didn't like it as a twenty-five year old. He leaned up against a turned over truck as four people gathered around the old RV fussing around with the radiator. How many people does it take to fix a fucked up vehicle? He thought playfully to himself. He chuckled to himself at the answer. He looked to see Crystal and a man from the other group named Rick going over maps that Crystal had in the semi. Hope was teaching both Sophia and Carl, children from the other group how to start and stop the dirt bike as well as fix minor damages and fill up the tank. Mak eyed his own dirt bike to see that it was still in fine condition. Daryl, Anthony and T-dog were all just standing around waiting to be told what to do like children. From what Mak learned about the new people from previous small pit stops was that they had all come from around Atlanta and had traveled to the CDC to help a friend who died on the way there. In the end the CDC was decontaminated, in other words blown to smithereens along with anything and anyone too slow or too stupid to hang around it. Rick was obviously the leader of the group and he seemed proud to wear his officer's uniform in a world where the law didn't mean a damn thing. His wife Lori hung back with another mother named Carol and both spoke quietly to each other about whatever. Andrea could be seen watching from inside the RV and she had a depressed expression on her face, from what Mak managed to learn about her is that her sister was killed by a Walker when their former camp was ambushed during the night. He remembered nights when he stayed up completely paranoid that even at the slightest sound he would fire and waste a shell or an arrow to the darkness.

"I told you," the old man said, "we needed the hose from the pill box."

Everyone gathered around and Rick tried to get everyone under control.

"Let's gather as much supplies as possible," the former officer suggested, "then we'll come back."

"Perhaps you guys can search for a hose that would fit this RV," the old man Dale added. Rick nodded and started to separate people into searching for specific items. Crystal, Anthony, Hope and Mak moved off into their own small group and hung around the semi.

"So," Crystal said motioning to the other group, "what do you think?"

"I like them," Hope said.

"You like everything," Mak reminded rolling his eyes.

Hope punched him in the shoulder.

"Enough," Crystal demanded, "Anthony, what do you think?"

"Surprised that they survived this far," Anthony explained and a deep expression grew on his face as if he were analyzing each member individually. "Most of them I can suspect would have made it this far either on survival skills or luck, possibly even both. However the others I know survived only by hanging around the more dominant ones such as Rick, Daryl and possibly the Asian guy."

"Glenn?" Mak asked in surprise. He looked at the boy and let out a sound of disproval.

"He is quick on his feet and seems to know a lot," Anthony defended.

"Where are they going?" Hope asked Crystal.

"Fort Benning."

Mak blinked in surprise. "That's farther than we were going."

"I know."

"Should we go with them?"

Crystal took in a breath unsure of how to answer. She did like Rick as a person however he lacked true leadership possibly because he had his family around him as well as his best friend. He's blind, Crystal thought bitterly to himself. If they picked him as leader because of his uniform then the whole gang was nothing but idiots, however some of them were amazing fighters as she witnessed them take down Walkers in past stops.

"We'll go part way, maybe even the whole way," Crystal suggested. "Just to see what this Fort looks like and if it is safe, if it is then I say we stay if not then we leave."

"You actually trust them?" Anthony asked.

"I didn't say that, I only said we'd wait it out and see."

There was a small pop and all four turned their heads to see that Rick had found a truck filled with water, the pop was a lid being pulled off and water gushed out all at once bathing him in lukewarm water.

"I'm calling that luck," Anthony concluded.

Crystal couldn't help but chuckle and turned then grew serious.

"Down!" she demanded in a whisper. The three turned and shock was written on their faces a herd of Walkers advanced slowly towards them. Anthony threw a stone at Rick then pointed to the horror that was marching their way and Rick motioned his group to go under the vehicles. Crystal and Mak rolled underneath the semi while Hope ducked under a half burnt Chevy and Anthony took a truck. Everyone in both groups were in complete awe as to the numbers of Walkers as they passed, Mak had two arrows, one in each hand if any Walker were too get too close for comfort. Hope took out a single knife and Anthony took out his bowie knife. Anthony looked back to see some people doubling up or going solo underneath the vehicles. He was surprised that the Walkers didn't smell them but for the first time he didn't think about it, he called it luck.

Hope held the knife tightly in her hand, her heart raced as Walkers continued to shuffle past her at their normal slow walking speed. Behind her on her left a few cars back was Sophia who clutched her doll for comfort. She tried to find a clearing where she could hurry towards the frightened girl but saw nothing, there were just too many of them.

Daryl and Carl both held in their breath as the Walkers passed them. The hunter had his knife out in case any Walkers smelled them but they didn't, they just marched on by. Then Daryl heard something and he was nervous that it would attract attention and he turned quickly to see that it was T-dog out in the open clutching his arm. Something trickled through his fingers and formed semi-perfect puddles on the ground. Blood.

"Wait here," Daryl whispered in Carl's ear.

The boy was frightened that Daryl was leaving but remained and stayed still. Daryl quickly and quietly walked over towards T-dog.

Shane was hiding underneath the jeep that he was forced to sit in. His arm throbbed underneath the poorly dressed wound and he was frightened that the cut would start bleeding attracting unwanted guests. He held his arm tight against his chest and controlled his breathing. He wondered why Rick wanted him to stay with the group, why he didn't just let him die in the building. A single answer came into his head; friendship. Shane chuckled silently to himself, Rick was still as dull as ever and that would prove useful to Shane, very much so.

As the last of the Walker herd passed by everyone started to breath normally, Crystal and Mak cautiously came out from their hiding places and watched as the Walkers continued forward not looking back. Whatever was attracting them like that, they sure were determined, Mak thought. He was ready to head over to Anthony when a shriek came out of nowhere. Every nerve in his body stood at attention and Mak looked at the arrows in his hand, if the danger was close by it would take too long to drop the arrows and go for his gun.

"There," Crystal said taking out her gun.

There were only two Walkers who were the slowest of them all. However they were seemed to be the only ones attracted to a member of the groups - Sophia. The little girl came rushing out of her hiding place, jumped the barrier and ran into the forest.

"Now!" Anthony shouted.

Mak threw one of the arrows and a Walker but it impaled into its shoulder instead of its head and it didn't seem to have any effect. Mak cursed loudly. Hope rushed off after the Walkers and Sophia with Rick behind her. Anthony wanted to go too but Crystal stopped him.

"Too many people wondering out there," Crystal reminded him, "it's not logical."

Anthony swallowed and nodded in defeat realizing that Crystal was right. Sophia's mother, Carol started to become hysterical and others had to restrain her from rushing off into the forest after her daughter. Anthony walked over and whispered something to her. Crystal watched with interest, she knew that Anthony had soft spots however she knew this one was going to be different.

XXXXXX

Branches raked at her face however that didn't deter her from her goal. She ducked under a large fallen tree trunk then leaped over another. She could hear the former officer and leader of the other group close behind. Hope came to an abrupt stop and listened. The moans were hardly audible but they came from her left and she ran in that very direction. She came to another stop when the whole area went eerily quiet. Rick finally caught up to her.

"I can head straight on, see if you can circle around and catch her over by the stream," Hope pointed off into the distance to the right. "One of them has an arrow in its shoulder and the other should be close by."

Rick nodded and Hope handed him one of her hunting knives. The girl bolted off again heading straight in the direction they went.

Rick followed the girl's orders and ran through the bushes occasionally stopping to see if he can hear anything. At one stop he heard a pitched scream and he knew that was Sophia's. He followed the noise and then found the stream that Hope was talking about and ran along it jumping over mud piles and leaping over gnarled tree branches. He saw a light blue shirt sticking out in the environment like a firefly in the night. He raced over to Sophia and quickly pushed her into a small hiding underneath a fallen tree's roots.

"Stay here," he said, "I'll lead them away then you run back to the highway."

Sophia nodded understanding and watched as Rick started splashing at the Walkers. He saw that one of them had an arrow in its shoulder and he splashed it directly in the face. They became easily annoyed and started to stumble after the man, once the Walkers were out of view, Sophia scrambled out of the hiding place she ran in the other direction. Now which direction did I come from?

Hope continued straight hoping to at least catch sight of the girl or the Walkers. Her heart pounded heavily against her ribcage but she refused to give up. With her knife in hand she took out a stray Walker before continuing. She passed through a thick part of the forest and then heard a low thud. The noise caught her attention immediately and she slowed right down to a walk. She crept towards a small clearing and saw Rick take down a Walker with her knife. The second one was right in front of her and she rammed her knife into the back of its head. Tendrils of blood squirted from the entry point as the Walker collapsed finally dead.

"Where is she?" Hope demanded.

"Come on." Rick ran in the direction he came and Hope followed.

XXXXXX

"Will she be okay?"

Crystal looked up from the ground and saw Lori standing in front of her.

"Yeah," Crystal nodded reassuringly.

There was a small moment of silence between the two when a sharp cry went into the air.

"Hold still," Anthony said calmly.

Carl winced as the former dentist finished up dressing the wound with gauze and tape he had found in a medi-pack.

"So…," Lori said in a worried tone. "A dentist?"

"He's done this before," Crystal defended.

"But…wouldn't it be more in people's mouths?"

Mak stepped forward before Crystal had the chance to say anything. "When they found me I had a splinter the size of Anthony's bowie knife in my leg from an accident I had. I managed to take most of it out but it was getting infected quickly. Anthony took out the remains of the wood and stitched me up to perfection. With a bottle of anti-inflammatories I was walking normal within a week and a half."

Lori took in a deep breath as she relayed the story Mak just told her in her head. She wanted to believe that Anthony knew what he was doing and it looked like he did.

"He was close to a doctorate," Mak added but there was a hint of sadness in his voice. "And that would have been a full year before the world went to shit."

"What happened?" Lori asked.

Mak looked at Crystal as if worried that the answer would send Lori into hysteria but Crystal nodded.

"He's colour blind."