Four more days, that's how long my 'safe haven' was supposed to hold out for. Four more days of ccarefree and relatively safe living, bountiful food, and for the most part, silence. My wooden barrier I had nailed onto my door was supposed to last, but it, much like my food supply, was quickly diminishing. One thing that I had a plethora of was bullets, the only thing that could keep me safe from the danger that resided outside my door.

I heard a pounding outside and my eyes quickly darted to the door. The cheap wood was breaking apart from the constant banging coming from the other side. It wasn't going to hold out for much longer. As I heard more of the sickening moaning coming from outside, I decided to take action. Running to my room I grabbed a backpack and started filling it with necessary survival supplies. Canned foods, first aid kit, and of course, my gun and spare ammo.

There was another crash at the door, and the sound of was getting worse. The horrid sound was as if they were gasping for breath, but snarling at the same time. It came out as a menacing cry that struck fear in one's soul and each person knew brought death in its wake.

My heartbeat quickened as I saw they had broken through my barricade, and were infesting my sanctuary. I frantically looked around the room, hearing their cries become louder and louder, searching for an exit. I caught sight of a window to the left of my intruders. Knowing it was the only somewhat plausible way out, pulled out my pistol.

"God, if you get me through this…." I murmured to myself, a pitiful excuse for a prayer, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

I made my way forward, closer to the death cries of the horde in front of me. There were at least two that would need to be eliminated before I could reach my exit. I aimed my gun and quickly shot at the first one's head with a decent amount of precision. It hit right above the left eye, but was close enough to cause the skull to be demolished.

After shooting two more of them, I finally reached my exit, and quickly opened it. Luckily the window led to the escape ladder of my building complex and I practically jumped out and closed the window behind me, hearing their cries and smashing one's fingers as it tried to come after me.

"Damn." I said, as I looked at the mass that had gathered in my living room. Knowing that the gunshot would have caused more to come to my spot, I decided to move quickly. You see Walkers are attracted to sound. Anything causes them to follow, car alarms, gun shots, and even the screams of the survivors. After trying to move down the loud fire escape steps quickly but quietly, I made my way to the edge of the ally and carefully glanced around the corner to see what I had in store.

I soon found that this was a mistake for there were about 20 walkers roaming around aimlessly, blank expressions covering their repulsively rotten faces, their only objective to consume the living's flesh. They looked like an idiot trying to understand the intellectual banter of a genius. Most of their body parts remained intact; however some had the most gruesome faces. A few of them had bodies that were eaten away before they turned, so they were a walking mass of half-eaten epithelium.

As I looked at the mass of Walkers blocking my way, I could feel my breakfast threatening to make another appearance. What was I going to do? My only hope was to make a mad dash for it. The only way I could make it, was if I started sprinting now, before they got any closer.

I took off in the next second, and when I heard the desolate cry of a Walker, my adrenaline kicked in. I glanced behind me; they were a decent ways off. Not wanting to take any chances I kept pushing myself at that harsh pace.

My lips started to form something that would vaguely resemble a smile, as nowadays smiling was a very uncommon thing for most. But it soon diminished into a thin line as I looked ahead of me. More Walkers were coming, probably to investigate the loud gunshot I had previously fired. Starting to panic, I ran into a side street without thinking.

I sprinted down the backstreet and took a left which left me at a dead end. My heart sunk, the shrieking cries getting louder by the second. I did a quick look around my room, hoping no praying for an escape. Glancing upward I yelled, "You know, it'd be nice for…something!"

The demons were getting closer and I could almost feel their hot breath upon my face, their arms out grabbing, trying to get a hold of me. The one in front was, or used to be, a man, half of his mouth was eaten away, and his flesh was decaying in several places. I could smell their pungent and vile stench. I moved as far back as I could, my back against the wall, waiting for my demise.

Right when I thought it all inevitable, a car zoomed by and stopped at the mouth of the alley, it's sirens blaring. This momentarily distracted the zombies, and attracted them toward the source. Several stayed behind as the car zoomed off, but this was not a problem, for I was trained in close combat. In an attempt to gain some sort of advantage, I quickly pulled out my short sword. As I pulled it out, the sun glimmered along the blade as if blessing it.

The first one was at a quicker walk than the rest, but it was no match for my ancient marvel. I effortlessly beheaded the beast. I attacked with a harsh brutality and had no room for mistakes. I had killed three and was on my last one when the car appeared again, however this time, without the sirens. I quickly beheaded the Walker, and made my way cautiously towards the vehicle.

I knew that in situations like these, some survivors can get rather intense, so I knew to choose my words carefully.

"Get in the car!" I voice cried out, it was definitely masculine and had a southern accent to it. I jogged to the car, scared about more walkers coming, and hopped in the backseat, where I was accompanied by four other men, including the driver who had called out to me.

"Have you been scratched?" Another country man asked me, as he practically spit in my face. When I was too shocked to respond, he aimed his crossbow at my head. "Have ya?"

I shook my head wordlessly; eying his short brown hair, goatee, and scowl with disdain.

"Bitten? Any contact?" He asked just as violently.

"No." I said confidently. "No contact whatsoever."

Just as he was about to ask me another question and aim his crossbow even closer to my face, the man who was driving placed a hand on his arm and said, "That's enough Daryl. You're gonna scare the poor girl."

I looked in the mirror and saw the driver. He had short brown hair that, unlike the man named Daryl, was tamed in an almost wavy like manner. His eyes were a light brown, and showed many emotions. By the way he shushed Daryl I believed that he must have been the leader of this band of misfits.

"What's your name?" He asked his country accent quite prominent as well.

Taking my gaze away from his and directing it outside, I replied, "Sabrina."

A young looking Asian man started talking this time, but in a much cheerier manner. "Hi I'm Glenn." He held his hand for a shake, and then pointed to the large burly man sitting next to him and said, "That there's T-Dog."

"Hey." T-Dog murmured uninterested, as he watched the scenic land fly by, one desolate and abandoned house after another.

Glenn continued his introduction and said, "Yeah well, Daryl's the one that pointed his crossbow at your face. And Rick's driving."

Rick tipped his hat at me and said, "Pleasure."

I gave a half-heated smile and broke the uncomfortable silence with, "Uhm thanks…for back there."

Rick flashed me his white teeth. "Don't worry about it. Just glad we could help someone." He fixed his eyes back on the road, his lips forming a straight line, his mind mulling over something quite perplexing as you could practically see his brain working, like a machine set on high its wheels rolling at a harsh speed.

T-Dog sat in the passenger seat, his eyes glued to the window, not quite focusing on the outside world. His chest was moving in a panting motion, quickly rising and falling, his face locked in a scowl. I turned to look at Glenn, he gave me a big goofy grin that seemed to reflect his personality. He had short black hair covered by a large baseball cap. Completely opposite to him was Daryl, a straight up country boy with slightly longer hair and a gritty expression.

We drove in silence for several minutes, and then we started pulling up a large hill, and eventually to a small camp. There was a large RV and several tents adorning the camp, with a forest as a scenic backdrop. As we pulled up, two blondes came out of the RV and a woman with long brown hair and a young boy stood up to look at who was coming, the woman placing a protective hand on the boy who I assumed to be her son.

The first to get out were T-Dog, Daryl, and Glenn, leaving Rick and I in the car for a few brief moments. I reluctantly looked out towards the wary people, each with curious yet accusing gaze in my direction. Noticing my reluctance, Rick tried to comfort me, "Don't worry, we don't bite." He joked, opening the door to get out of the car.

I followed suit, and was the object of everyone's glances. "Uhm. Hey." I said.

Glenn, being the cheerful Asian man he was, turned out to be quite the host. "Well guys, this is Sabrina! We found her in the city." He turned to me, "Sabrina this is Amy and Andrea, their sisters." Two blonde girls nodded at me, one with a slight scowl the other with a smile.

"Carol, her husband Ed, and her daughter Sophia." A woman who had very short hair, shaved in fact, was being watched protectively by a chubby man with an angry scowl on his face. The little girl, who was in between her mother's arms, looked up at me with terrified eyes.

He then pointed to a family that looked relatively Hispanic, a mother, daughter, son, and husband. "And these are Miranda, Louis, Morales, and Eliza.

"And over here is Jim. Then over by Rick are his wife Lori and his son Carl." He pointed to the woman who was protectively holding her son before. "And that's pretty much everyone."

People muttered their welcomes and then solemnly went back to their tents or whatever busy work they were doing before we arrived. "Ah who is this?" an elderly man came out of the RV and asked, with a nice expression on his face.

I smiled in return, "Hi I'm Sabrina, nice to meet you."

"I'm Dale, resident old man. It's a pleasure." He said shaking my hand with a firm grip.

I softly laughed at his words. "So what do you guys do here?" I questioned.

"Survive." Was his response, "It's all we can do. But we make by with what we have. Daryl hunts, the lake down there is our water supply, and we have shifts to keep watch. It's a decent system."

"Does everyone sleep in those tents?" I asked, pointing to the tents that were located dangerously close to the ominous forest.

He shook his head, "Not everyone, but most of them. Andrea, Amy, and I are the only ones who utilize it."

"That's a shame, wouldn't it be much more safe for everyone to sleep in there?"

He contemplated this for a second and then responded, "Well not necessarily, if a whole bunch of walkers come, than they can tip this thing over. Or worse, we could walk right outside to a whole horde."

I shuttered at his words, picturing a scenario like that. "But at least you can drive away. In those tents, you can only sit there."

"Smart girl." He said with a kind smile.

"So Sabrina, like what you see?" He said with a smile, gesturing to the camp.

"China, give it up. You ain't gunna get in her pants." A new came came up. He was tall with short black hair and a thin lining of stubble along his chin. He had on a black t-shirt, that was somewhat fitted and showed off his nicely sculpted muscles. He smiled at me, "I'm Shane."

I smiled back and replied, "Sabrina."

Glenn pouted like a puppy that was just scolded by its master and mumbled, "And you think you will…."

I laughed at his words, and Shane just waved him off. "So where'd you come from?" He questioned.

"I was in Atlanta, and thankfully Rick saved me." I said as I slightly shuttered as I realized what could have happened had they not saved me. It was almost as if Shane rolled his eyes at my mention of Rick, there was obviously some tension.

"Oh saved by the great hero?" He said giving a slight push to Rick who chose that moment to walk up. Rick just smiled and shook his head.

"So Sabrina, about your sleeping arrangements…" Rick said, trailing off as if he was unsure of something. "Well there really isn't that much room in the RV for you and most of the tents are full…except the one with Glenn and Shane…"

I looked at the two men who I'd be sharing a tent with, the two of them contrasting in many different ways. Shane was a mysterious and very confident being, whereas Glenn was a more shy and goody kind of man. I looked back at Rick and his unsure smile. He had changed and was now wearing a plain white T-shirt with a pair of old blue jeans. His hair was still in its almost tousled waves, untouched.

I smiled at Rick and said, "Yeah that's great thanks."

He smiled back at me and said, "No problem." Our eyes met and neither of us looked away for a moment. Hazel orbs met grayish ones, almost in a trace, as if neither could break apart. I looked away when Lori arrived, feeling guilty for some peculiar reason.

She had a stern, protective look on her face as she walked up, scrutinizing me with her eyes. Her long brown hair passing her shoulders in an almost perfect manner. I found it odd that she would have such kept hair during times like these. It hardly seemed fit. She gave me a sort of menacing look, and then proceeded to kiss her husband passionately.

"Are you two ready to eat?" She asked, then replacing her once stern glare with an almost kind, motherly one.

I nodded vigorously and they both laughed. "Good then, Dale's cooked up somethin' special." We proceeded to the camp fire where several aromas attacked our noses, most of them pleasant. I could smell roasted venison alongside some sort of vegetable that had turned a dark color in the pan. Carl came over and pulled his mother and father to a corner where he handed them each a plate. I smiled at the little boy when he looked at me, innocence gleaming in his eyes.

Dale walked up to me and handed me a plate, "Here, s'not much, but it's somethin'."

I thanked him and sat down on a log by myself, observing the survivors. Most of them sectioned off into families, or makeshift ones. Lori, Carl, and Rick were sitting in one corner, giggling about something that Carl said. Morales and his wife were making their two kids eat. Amy and Andrea were listening to some story Dale was telling them. Daryl and Glenn were arguing about something, using exaggerated hand motions and their faces getting red. Sophia and her mother were eating quietly while Ed glared at everyone, including his wife.

I dug into my own food, happy to have a decent meal for once. While I was lost in my thoughts, a man came and sat beside me, quietly consuming his dinner. I noticed as he glanced around the fire, furtively keeping his eye on one person in particular. "Does Rick know?" I asked.

Shane looked at me and replied, "What are you talkin about?"

I gave him a skeptical look, "Don't play me. You know very well what I'm talkin' about." I scolded.

"Nothing happened." He said, "Nothing. Not that it's any of your business." He said, starting to get on the defensive.

"Come on, it's obvious!" I chided, keeping my voice low so no one could hear. I saw his muscles in his neck tense for a moment and when he turned to me, I flinched, bracing myself for what was coming.

He seemed to notice my flinch and visibly softened up. "It don't matter."

I took this as a sign to shut up and turned back to my food, pushing it around the plate a couple times before actually taking a bite. I heard him sigh and look at me. When I didn't look up, he kept on looking at me, watching me eat. I looked around the campsite and noticed Rick was looking at me. He smiled when I met his gaze and I gave a half smile back.

"Want to go for a walk before it gets too dark?" Shane asked me.

"Sure." I replied cheerily, wanting to get a little relaxing time in. He took my plate and helped me up. He seemed pretty kind, for the most part. He grabbed a gun and I made sure mine was still in its holster and we started on our walk down the hill.

"So what's up with those shoes?" He asked me, laughing as he saw my shoes once again.

I laughed as well as I looked at the sight of my beat up tennis shoes. I had taken duct tape to the soles because they were falling apart. I used soccer sweet spots to make sure my laces stayed tied in the event of a chase, and I had sewn a couple of patches of fabric onto the shoe.

"Well." I started and he laughed. "That duct tape was put there because the soles were falling apart! I swear I was called Ghetto for a week!"

He laughed and smiled, "Okay, well what about those patches? What in the world are those for?"

"My toes were getting cold." I said seriously.

He laughed rather boisterously at this one, shaking his head at me. "Oh lord. And what is that bizarre band around your laces?"

"Oh those are called sweet spots! Their used on soccer cleats to make sure your shoes stay tied, and they help with your touch and your shot. And I put them on there just in case I get chased by Walkers, don't want my shoes gettin' untied."

"Genius." He said somewhat surprised.

We had walked to the edge of some cliff, and below us was a large lake. The moonlight was reflecting off it in an almost peaceful manner. There was a brief breeze that blew some leaves off the tree. In all the madness I'd forgotten about the seasons. This meant it was going to get colder soon, something that I loved. I closed my eyes in a second of relaxation, happy that I was able to have fun with someone for a few seconds.

I looked at Shane, but before I could speak we heard a scream coming from the direction of the camp. "Shit." He said as we bolted in the direction of the campsite.

We arrived in less than two minutes, somewhat out of breath and shocked at the site before us. Walkers were infesting the campsite, moaning and reaching out for the person nearest to their reach. Shane quickly shot several in the head, finally killing them.

I swiftly removed my gun from its holster, and aimed at several Walkers with a deadly accuracy. We moved closer to the camp, and I shot another Walker, one of the more grotesque looking ones, right between the eyes, or what was left of them. I proceeded forward and called out, "Everyone! Get in the RV!"

With tears in their eyes, the mothers went in first. I had everyone's back and was shooting at several walkers that were coming closer. After a few moments, pretty much everyone was in the RV with the exception of Rick, Shane, Daryl and me. Daryl was utilizing his crossbow with a remarkable efficiency. We were fighting off a mini horde, an almost endless supply of Walkers. We unconsciously split up to fight more ourselves. I moved toward the left and fought off at least 7 walkers, until my small pistol ran out of bullets. Cursing, I searched myself for more ammo.

My back pockets? No, shit is it getting closer? I looked up the walker was indeed making its way closer. I searched my pockets, and my sweater for the smallest bit of ammo. The walker was two arms length away. I said a silent prayer. One and a half. Brace yourself. One. The sound of a gunshot ringed.

I looked behind me, to the source of the sound. I saw Rick standing there, his gun still aimed at the direction the walker was. Sweat was slowly making its way down his forehead.

"Thanks." I muttered softly.

He let out a huge sigh of relief, "No problem."

Shane walked up to us, assessing the situation with his eyes. "I think that's the last of 'em."

Daryl walked up to the one that came close to me and kicked it, "Piece of shit."

"Help!" I heard someone call out and we all rushed over to the side of the RV. Andrea was sitting over her sister, tears streaming down both their faces. "Well don't just stand there! Help me!" She screamed at us.

I looked at the men, their faces grim and unsure. Since no one else made a move to assist her, I proceeded to. I looked at the young girl on the ground. She was visibly sweating and breathing heavily. Two wounds are visible on the young girl, one on her neck with blood pouring out, a second on her arm, revealing her flesh.

Sucking in air I looked at Andrea, "I…I'm sorry, there's nothing we can do." I said sympathetically. I gestured toward Daryl to come forward with his silent crossbow. He sauntered up and aimed it at Amy reluctantly.

"No! Stop!" Amy said standing up quickly and placing herself in what would have been Daryl's line of fire. She dropped her head, "I'll do it."

We all looked at her, but decided to give her some space so we moved towards the center of the campsite. Rick spoke up first. "How many others?"

We saw Sofia and Carol water eyed but not crying. Carol spoke up, "Ed's over there." She pointed over in the direction of her tent. All of us went over to his body, a half eaten lump of flesh.

"Don't worry ma'am, well take care of 'em for you." Rick said, looking around for a weapon. He spotted a pickaxe and went over to grab it. However before he could make sure Ed stayed dead, Carol surprisingly spoke up.

"No, I can do it." She reached for the pickaxe and Rick unenthusiastically handed it to her. She took it and went over to her husband's body. A brief look of anger flared in her eyes right before she hit him, but it was soon covered up by a look of mixed sadness and vengeance. She hit him brutally several times and then she broke down in tears.

The men quickly took the pickaxe away from her so I brought her back to the campfire and set her down on a log. She was a little shaky, but not that bad. "He hit me you know." She spoke her voice hoarse at first but then she cleared her throat. "He hit me, and this is what he gets."

We sat in a solemn silence for a moment and then I spoke up, "Someone once told me that payback really is a bitch."

She choked on a laugh, a few lone tears streaming down her face. "We're all goin' to die aren't we? We're all goin' to die and there ain't a damn thing we can do about it." She finished and got up and took her daughter into the RV.

I sat there for a little while, pondering everything that had happened today. I felt an odd need to help these people, though there wasn't much I could do myself. Today I had met a group of people who were strong enough to survive, a group of people dedicated to keeping some sort of humanity somewhat prominent. I tried thinking of where we could go, what we could do, surprising myself at the fact that I felt so strongly towards these people. While glancing around the campfire at dinner I noticed something, even though they are complete opposites, even though their different people from different places, and though they had their separate spots around the fire, they all were willing to jump up and protect one another.