She'd only been with the group a few weeks but in that time she felt like they'd warmed to her as much as anyone could in their situation.
After running for what felt like ages and hiding in random buildings when it got too dark for her to go any further, she had felt like all was hopeless before she'd stumbled across them on the highway.
Lauren knew how to handle herself for the most part. Raised in the south, Alabama to be precise, it was the norm for a woman to be a little kickass. Though she could handle herself, it didn't mean she didn't tire or get scared, and as a 22 year old all by herself, she was proud to say she had kept her cool for so long.
She had pushed hard, and she had fought even harder, but she was exhausted and didn't think she could go any further.
That's when she stumbled across the car.
Lauren ran to the vehicle and jumped into the passenger seat, just sitting there, trying to catch her breath. She knew it wouldn't be long until the walker caught up to her, she just hoped that should the need arise, she'd be able to hot wire the car.
She closed her eyes, leaning back against the head rest when suddenly she was jerked out of the seat by her arm and thrown to the ground with a gun shoved in her face. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the pain to come. When she heard the gun shot she never expected to be able to open her eyes, but when she did she noticed the man that had thrown her out of the car was shooting the walker that had stumbled out of the woods behind her.
"Shane, throw her in the back seat, we have to get going!" the man on the opposite side of the car shouted. Throwing open the driver side door, the man climbed inside. Lauren was yanked up roughly by her arm and shoved into the backseat, the other man jumping in beside her, the gun still pointed at her head.
"Where did you come from?" he barked. In her mind Lauren pictured a wolf with its hackles raised. She tried to collect her thoughts, but having a gun shoved in her face wasn't making it easy.
"My name is Lauren Waite, and I'm from Montgomery. Was in Riverdale when this whole thing started and I've been travelling by myself since then." Lauren felt her throat clench, she thought of the reasons why she had been in Riverdale in the first place, and her eyes well up. She clenched her eyes tight and took deep breaths.
Pull yourself together girl. You told yourself you wouldn't cry.
Releasing her breath, she opened her eyes and regarded the gunman seriously. "I appreciate this." She bowed her head and looked at her knees letting out a breath and starting to relax.
She was startled when the driver suddenly spoke.
"My name's Rick Grimes. I'm sorry to hear about your troubles." The man, Rick, glanced at her briefly in the rear-view mirror.
"I'm Shane Walsh." the man beside her spoke up, making her jump.
Lauren gave a small grin to both men. "It's a pleasure to meet you both, Mr. Walsh, Mr. Grimes." She relaxed back into her seat, letting her eyes fall closed and letting herself lean back on the seat. Her calf muscles were burning and she could feel the muscles twitching in exhaustion..
Shane gave Rick a look through the seats and Rick just nodded. "I know Shane, I know." Shane just gave a short nod and looked back out the window. Her fate would be discussed in full when they got back to the farm.
The car flew down the dirt road, kicking up a storm of dust behind it, the farm house in sight. Rick tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, anxious to get back to the farm. He glanced back at the girl worriedly. She seemed so young and she was so thin. At least if she couldn't stay permanently, he would make sure she got back to a decent weight and full strength.
He pulled up next to the other vehicles and turned off the car. He looked back at Shane to see him already out of the vehicle and walking away. With a sigh Rick climbed out and softly shut his door, making sure not to wake the girl who had nodded off sometime during the drive back. He grabbed the door handle and pulled open her door, reaching in and carefully lifting her out, carrying her like he used to carry Carl when he would fall asleep in the car. He quietly kicked the car door shut before walking towards the house. Climbing the porch steps, he tapped the door with his boot. Maggie opened it, and Rick tilted his head.
"Want to gather everyone in the living room while I go lay her in Hershel's room?" he asked as he walked up the stairs. He lay the girl down in Hershel's room, covering her with a sheet. He touched her forehead lightly, and then went back downstairs.
"Rick! What's this I hear about you bringing a girl here?" Lori snapped, jumping to her feet the moment Rick walked into the parlor.
"Lori, if you'll calm down I'll explain," Rick said, sitting down on the chair and looking around. "Where's Daryl?"
"He's on his way," Shane said as he walked through the door.
The room got silent, but everyone's minds were buzzing. Who was this mysterious girl that Shane and Rick picked up, and where did she come from? Everyone's heads snapped towards the door as Daryl walked in and took his spot leaning against the wall.
"Now I know everyone's wondering who the girl is that Shane and I brought back. Her name is Lauren Waite and she's from Alabama."
A collective gasp went around the room.
"She said she was in Riverdale when everything started, said she had been on her own since the beginning."
"But, Alabama Rick, that's like 300 miles!" Carol remarked, and Rick nodded to her.
"So what are we going to do with her?" Dale asked, a frown on his face.
"She's at least staying for a few days, give Hershel a chance to check her over and help get her back up to strength. After that is up for debate." Rick shot a look at Hershel who gave a nod.
"Why don't we wait until she's feeling up to par, and then we'll talk about her fate here?" Dale suggested standing up. "That way we can get to know her a little to see if she'll fit in."
Lauren opened her eyes, groaning softly.
As her sight finally registered she spotted the white walls and the dark wooden dresser. She slowly sat up and the sheet pooled around her waist.
Where am I? she thought slowly getting out of the warm bed she was in. She walked toward the door apprehensively, reaching out and pulling the door open softly. She yelped as the door swung open. A woman stood in the doorway, a tray of food in her hands.
"Oh, you're awake! I'm Andrea." The woman smiled, lowering her fist. "Would you like to come downstairs and eat with the rest of us or would you be more comfortable eating in here?" Andrea asked, shifting the tray to the other hand.
As shocked as Lauren was, she nodded her head slowly and croaked out her answer. "With y'all, if that's no trouble." She coughed at the end, her throat dry and scratchy from not drinking anything in the last few hours.
Andrea nodded. "Alright, come with me, and we'll get you a drink while we're at it." She slowly led Lauren down the stairs into the dining room.
"Look everyone, our mysterious sleeping beauty is awake. Lori, would you fetch her a glass of water?" she asked as she laid down the tray of food on the table. "Go ahead, sit. No one is going to hurt you here."
Lauren slowly pulled out the chair and sat down, relaxing into the plush dining chair and waiting patiently for everyone to be seated with their food. Once everyone was seated and started eating, she dug right in.
"So Lauren, how long have you been out on your own?" Carol asked timidly, glancing up at Lauren briefly.
Taking a drink from her water, Lauren looked up. "Well I'm not too sure. My family was in Riverdale on May 23rd and the attacks started a few days later, the 28th maybe. I've been going ever since."Lauren bowed her head and dove back into her meal. She hadn't had good food like this in what felt like forever. She looked up as Carol gasped.
"The 28th?" She exclaimed. "Why that's almost two whole months! You must have been so scared for a girl your age." a look of sympathy crossed her face.
"It hasn't been that bad. I've been left home many a 'times, sometimes for weeks on end, as a teenager, so I'm used to fending for myself I guess," she said with a shrug.
"So Lauren, how old are you exactly?" Lori said with a snooty smile. She didn't like this new girl, and she wasn't trying very hard to hide it either.
"I'll be twenty-three come my next birthday,." Lauren said looking up at Lori, before averting her eyes when she caught the glare Lori sent her way.
"You can't be! You look so young!" Exclaimed Glenn, just as shocked as everyone. The girl looked to be about 17.
Lauren chuckled, "Yeah, I used to get that all the time. I used to get carded a lot when I went places." She said with a shrug. "This is delicious, by the way." She said indicating towards the food.
"Thank you." Maggie said with a smile, "I'm glad you like it."
The chatter around the dining room ended and they continued to eat in silence. Lauren slowed down, eating her food at a more languid pace to savor each and every bite.
She didn't know when the opportunity for a meal might come up again.
Later that evening some of the survivors showed Lauren around camp, where certain tasks were preformed, who stayed where, the general run down of things. Just as they were about to go back inside Lauren spotted a tent in the distance.
"Who stays over there?" she asked, pointing in the direction of the tree tent.
"Oh, that's Daryl Dixon's camp. He doesn't interact much with the group since Sophia died," Maggie said with a sad smile on her face. "We all think he feels bad, 'cause he tried so hard to find her." She paused, giving a moment of thought. "Anyways, if you want to walk around, feel free. Just try not to stray too far, wouldn't want anything to happen." Maggie turned towards the house and walked back inside.
Lauren looked towards the house before peering at the camp site in the distance. She was intrigued by the illusive Mr. Dixon, and she was about to pay him a visit. Trudging along, she noticed how far out his campsite actually was from the others, and should anything happen it would take the others a long time to reach him. She approached the tent carefully and apprehensively, nervous of how the man would act to her being in his camp.
"Hello? Daryl?" she called out softly, worry starting to set in when there was no answer. She cried out as a hand grabbed her shoulder and when she spun around she was met with the irritated face of a man she hadn't met yet.
"What d'you want?" his voice was gruff, and Lauren backed up a pace as he dropped several dead squirrels on the ground that he had been holding.
Panting slightly, Lauren spoke cautiously. "I hadn't seen you at dinner and wanted to introduce myself. I'm Lauren." She held out her hand for a few awkward moments waiting for Daryl to reciprocate the action. When he didn't she slowly lowered her hand back down to her side.
"You should head back to the house," he muttered as he turned away from her, throwing another small log onto his fire before sitting down to clean his squirrels.
"And why is that?" she asked with a huff. Not even three minutes into meeting the man and he was already underestimating her.
"Cause the last thing we need is another useless person around here," Daryl grumbled. Proceeding to cut up the bits of squirrel, he then tossed them into some water to boil.
"Excuse me? I can handle myself pretty damn well thank you very much!" she snapped, her southern drawl coming out thick.
"You seem pretty useless to me." Daryl gave the pot a quick stir.
"But you don't even know me, so you can't decide that for yourself just yet!" she hissed."No shit I don't know ya. No one does. And t'be honest, I'm not sure I wanna know ya!" Daryl bit out with a snarl.
"Who the hell do you think you are? I've done nothing but been civil to you and you treat me like I'm one of those brain dead walkers. I'll have you know I am far from useless!" Lauren huffed, turning on her heel and storming back towards the house.
When she came into the house she gave to door a push, slamming it shut and letting out a gruff yell. Glenn, Maggie and Beth came running around the corner, their faces alarmed.
"Lauren what's wrong?" Glenn asked moving to stand in front of her.
"What a bastard! Who does he think he is? Thinking he's so much better than me. I'll show him. I am FAR from useless and I'll prove it!" she finished with a huff. Her breathing was labored and rough and her nails were biting in the palms of her hands leaving small red half-moons, her fists were clenched so tight.
"Lauren, who are you talking about?" Maggie questioned, worry etched onto her face.
"That stupid Daryl. I went to introduce myself and he treated me no better then he would a damned dog." she bounced. "I'll show him useless," she growled, walking into the kitchen to grab a drink of water.
When she was done she walked back into the parlor and sat down on one of the plush chairs, letting herself calm down for the night. In the morning she'd show him why she made it this far on her own. If he thought he'd get to play hero for her, he was sorely mistaken. Lauren Waite was no damsel in distress.