Autumn had brought with it, not only the cold, but an ominous feeling about the supplies that the Alexandria Safe Zone had as winter drew closer. It wasn't like a mass panic about supplies had arisen, instead it was a tiny reminder that sat in the back of each and everyone's mind; we must ration our supplies. Sure, they now had a strong alliance with the Hilltop. And yes, they could still go on supplies runs to see what they could gather, but when it all boiled down everybody knew that there was no such thing as infinite resources. Their crops would not grow well over winter, hell some wouldn't grow at all. People would need energy to complete a successful supply run, and on rations it was made all the more difficult.

It was this thought that was playing on Izzy Jones' mind as she walked down the road. She had just finished her shift on lookout at the gate and was headed home. The clouds overhead had settled in the early hours of the morning, making it a gloomy and bitter day. She was sure that rain would dampen the day ever more, but not one drop had fallen so far. Her house would be cold when she arrived, but it was a small price to pay considering three months ago she had no house at all.

Three months ago her luck had changed. By chance she had emerged from the edge of the woods to see a sprawling mass of wall ahead of her. Both terrified and fascinated she had approached, only to be met with aimed guns and wary voices. She had immediately made a choice; go along with what they wanted, even if it killed her. She'd been through her fair share of rough times and was at the point of exhaustion. She was ready to give up, and if that meant the end of her journey then so be it. So, when a gruff looking man and a tall, slender woman had emerged from the gate of the towering wall and demanded her bag she had gone right ahead and thrown it to them; a bag that contained only a thin blanket, half a bottle of water and a muesli bar three months past expiry. After a pat down, and some deliberation, she was given a choice; take up the offer of these strangers to stay with them; work and in turn have shelter, food and safety. Or, leave and never come back, with a high chance of them killing her then and there anyway. Needless to say she took up the offer to stay, and now she was glad she had.

Some days she still couldn't believe her luck, and how just one single event could so dramatically change her way of thinking, and her whole life. She had gone from depressed and ready to end it all, to becoming a strong and defiant person willing to fight for everything she, and everyone else, had. She also couldn't believe that she had run into someone she had known from when she was a child through to her late teenage years. It had been a long twelve years since they had last met, but she had come face to face with a man who had seen her through some very dark times. But it was a mixed bag of emotions; happiness, shock, anger, sadness, curiosity. So many things had happened since their last encounter that she wasn't sure if either of them could believe they were the same people. Deep down they probably were the same people, but so much had changed that it didn't really matter.

Footsteps came at her from behind at a fast pace and made Izzy turn around. Running made her nervous; it either meant that she too should be running or someone was coming to give her bad news. As Daryl slowed and stopped before her she felt her heart begin to race; what could be going wrong? She'd had such a good run of luck that she wasn't sure she'd handle bad news very well, even though she knew that it was an inevitable occurrence that would happen more than once, it was the zombie apocalypse after all.

"What are you doin' for dinner?" he asked, his voice breaking her nervous silence.

"Umm..." slightly surprised that it was not bad news Izzy was lost for words for a minute. "Nothing,"

"Carol's having Rick, Michonne and the kids over, there's room for one more, Carol wanted to know if you'd come?" Daryl said. Izzy smiled, it was a welcome offer. Having spent the better part of her three months in Alexandria living on her own she was ready to sit down to dinner with more than just herself.

"Sounds great, what time?" Izzy asked.

"Seven," Daryl answered.

"See you then," Izzy flashed a wide smile before turning away.

After a long hiatus from writing I have my mojo back. Please let me know what you think. x