Chapter 1

-It's not what it looks like-

She'd been following the group for a few days from the shadows of the brush. Generally she just watched, sometimes she could catch snippets of conversation. It was rare to find a large group, and it usually meant trouble. A similar sized group had given them a lot of trouble in the early days. It had spooked them, badly. However they needed numbers. Every living person was another pair of hands to help keep them fed and safe. If they were going to survive, they needed to grow. That meant finding new people.

The right people.

So out she went. Searching. Watching.

It was early fall and winter was coming. Although the leaves were tumbling off their branches there was still enough cover for her. Her brown riding boots, rust colored breeches and Maroon coat blended her into the forest easily enough. It was essential that she remain hidden. You never knew who you were going to come across.

A year ago she'd stumbled upon two men and a young girl. She stayed in the shadows and watched them, although it pained her greatly to just watch. She tried not to think about it.

Carefully, she peered through her binoculars at the group in the clearing. She had determined that the tall, lanky one was their leader. The teenage boy seemed to be his kid. The little girl was probably his too.

Seeing a child so young was a surprise. She must have been born after the world fell apart. Having her with them made the group appealing. They'd have a vested interest in having a safe place to stay. Groups with children tended to be more stable.

It also meant they had more to lose.

They could get desperate real fast.

One man and woman seemed to be a couple, often touching, hugging and kissing. There were a few other women in the group. She studied them carefully and found no signs of bruising. The entire group seemed friendly enough to each other. That didn't mean that they would extend the same courtesy to an outsider.

She took the binoculars down and knitted her eyebrows. Crossbow was still missing. She worried about him the most. Crossbow stood apart from the group, like an unwilling participant.

He had headed off opposite her direction after the group stopped to make camp for the evening. He'd been gone too long. He always came back with some kind of game for the evening meal. Today he was taking too long.

"Stand up real slow." A menacing voice came behind her. Her stomach sank.

She let the binoculars fall around her neck and did as she was told, putting her hands out to the sides where he could see them. A hand snaked out to pull the knife out of her belt loop. "Got anything else? Don't lie."

"No" Of course she was going to lie. She wasn't telling him about the scout knife in her boot. It was small, he probably wouldn't notice it.

"You alone?"

She thought about that one before answering. She couldn't see any advantage in lying. "Yes" she said simply and glanced back over her shoulder.

Goddamnit, she thought recognizing Crossbow.

"Now walk, and don' try nothin'."

"Yessir" She snarked, earning her a jab in the back.

She made sure not to walk too quietly, dragging her feet a bit and stepping on any branches she could without being too obvious. If she could draw a walker their way, she might be able to make a dash for it. They were still far enough from the others that she would only have to worry about Crossbow.

Where's a walker when you need one. If she zigzagged through the woods, she might evade an arrow.

Alas, no walkers today. They were damn uncooperative.

He noisy tromping did draw the attention of the group. They stood up, weapons pointed at her.

Crossbow spoke first "Found our tail."

An unceremonious kick in the backside sent her sprawling to down on all fours. A knee was quickly pressed into her back, shoving her down onto her stomach and knocking the wind out of her. Efficient hands grabbed her wrists, tying them behind her back. She felt other hands pat her down, searching her pockets. She shut her eyes, not wanting to think about what else the hands might do.

A tug from inside her boot told her they'd found the scout knife too.

Strong arms yanked her onto her knees. "Are you alone?" The leader asked her with a stern but calm voice.

"Yes." She raised her eyes to look at him. She had a feeling he'd know if she were lying.

"How long have you been following us?" He asked.

She bit her lip, unsure of what to say. She looked down, trying to evade the question.

"Don't lie."

"When did you realize you were being followed?" She was curious. She wanted to know how they'd made her. If she lived through this, she'd learn from her mistakes.

"Two days ago, at the bend in the river."

"Did I leave tracks? I was careful…" She wondered out loud.

"We caught a glimpse of the sun off your binoculars in the morning."

Crossbow was still behind her. "Saw 'em at Sunset too."

That made sense. The bend in the river had made it hard for her to get a good line of sight on them. She had to climb a tree. "Two days before that, at the bus."

She was pleased at the look of surprise on his face. "The bus?"

Nodding, she remembered catching sight of them at broken down bus at the side of the road. They'd made camp there, sleeping inside the bus. She spotted them as they were packing up.

"Why were you following us?"

She bit her lip again. They seemed like a good bet, she had intended to bring them in but… Crossbow… She couldn't be sure. Not yet. "I like to watch." It was a stupid thing to say. It slipped out before she realized it.

The leader frowned. He looked over her shoulder at Crossbow. "Tie her to a tree for now. We'll camp here tonight." He looked back at her. "I don't get the feeling that you're lying to me. Now so long as you keep bein' truthful, you've got nothing to fear from us. If that changes, if you become a threat to us…we will do what is necessary. Do you understand me, Ms…?"

She didn't take the bait. She just nodded.

He sighed. "Daryl, Tyreese – tie her tight."

}.{

At dusk, it became quite clear that she was going to spend the night tied to that tree. The two men had sat her down at the base of a tree. While Daryl pointing his weapon at her, Tyreese pulled her arms back to encircle the tree and tied them together. It was an awkward angle and her arms were starting to ache.

Once she was secured, they left her alone at the edge of the clearing. She didn't like sitting with her back to woods. She felt exposed and helpless.

It sucked.

They made a fire and cooked something. She wasn't sure what it was, but her stomach told her it didn't care. She never risked a fire when she was out on her own. Her stomach growled reminding her she hadn't eaten after her hurried breakfast at dawn. She doubted they'd offer her something to eat. It didn't seem that they had much to spare.

The group spoke in hushed tones close to the fire. She closed her eyes and strained her ears, trying to catch snippets of the conversation.

"Not much in her pack…" The leader's name was Rick "…can't be far…"

"…was fresh! How.." Margie maybe? She wasn't sure of the brunette's name. They'd gone through her pack. They'd have her map now. They wouldn't tell them the location of her people, but the traps were marked. She wasn't sure what they'd make of those.

"…no fuckin' way.." Daryl swore a lot.

"…leave her.." Tyreese sounded nice and reasonable. "..kill.." It was a shame she didn't like the words she was hearing.

".. co-operative so far…" Rick again.

The wind turned, carrying the voices away. She shifted uncomfortably, testing the bonds again. Daryl's head snapped up from the rest of the group. He looked her straight in the eye, daring her to try something.

She stuck her tongue out at him. It was childish, but there wasn't much else she could do. Daryl scowled. She broke eye contact first, looking down at her boots.

The wind was picking up and it was cold. Her leather riding boots weren't warm, the cold from the ground seeped up through her breeches. Despite her leather gloves, her hands were starting to get numb. There was simply no way to get comfortable with her arms tied behind her at such an awkward angle. It was going to be a miserable night.

Motion near the campfire made her look up. The group seemed to have made a decision, a few people were looking at her, someone pulled out a tarp and started stringing it up. It looked like they were setting up for the night. The leader and Daryl headed in her direction.

Rick crouched down in front of her so they were eye to eye. "I'm going to ask you again. Why were you following us?"

"I told you already."

He sighed and looked away, shaking his head. "Don't suppose you'll tell me your name?"

"Archer." She gave her last name. "They call me Archer."

"Who's They?"

Shit. She said more than she'd meant to. Archer must have been more tired than she thought. She shook her head, refusing to answer.

He drew a weary hand over his face. "Look. I've got people to take care of. I don't like being stalked like someone's prey."

"You're not prey. I wasn't hunting you."

Rick leveled his gaze at her. "Then why were you following us?" His calm voice had a hard edge to it. "You don't just follow people for four days 'cause you 'like to watch.'"

She winced when he repeated her earlier statement back to him. "It's not what it looks like." Archer closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the tree. She was cold, and tired.

"Enlighten me. Why were following us."

She didn't answer. She wasn't ready. It wasn't safe yet.

"Fine, have it your way Ms. Archer." Rick stood up. "We'll continue this conversation in the morning."

He called her Ms. Archer. Damn. He sounds like a cop. "I don't suppose you'd consider tying me up someplace else? Someplace less exposed?"

He shook his head. "Daryl will keep watch on you. You don't need to worry."

"Joy." She muttered as she watched Crossbow settle in beside her.