I'm kind of new at this so don't be haters. A friend of mine who writes for this site told me I should read her stuff and I got so into it that I decided to write a story of my own.

I swear I'm not a freak but I had a weird idea about a post apocalyptic matriarchal group and what would happen if our survivors came across their path. Come on, if there can be cannibals who kill people over a trough then this is a possibility.

I do not own TWD or any of its characters. And I will not be making any money from this work of fiction and hold no claim to anything about it at all. Blah blah blah, disclaim, disclaim and all that shit.

"What the hell are we about to walk into?" Sasha asked nervously as she eyed the sign on the fence.

WARNING: RESTRICTED AREA

PROPERTY OF THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE

USE OF DEADLY FORCE IS AUTHORIZED

"It's a missile silo," Daryl stated calmly, eyeing the fence instead of the sign. Razor wire stretched over the top of the high metal barrier and he heard the tell tale buzz of electricity running through it. "Fence is still on, don't touch it."

"How is the fence still on?" Glenn asked, looking around nervously.

"Generators," Rick said simply, "Military probably had enough generators in there to last years...and food and water too."

Everyone stared through the fence with longing at the huge metal circle on the ground that was the entrance into the underground fortress.

"Maybe there's still military personnel in there," Carol said hopefully.

"How do we get in?" Sasha asked.

The group walked along the fence, hoping for a weak spot or a broken section but it was solid. Suddenly, Abraham stopped short and stared at the fence.

"Listen," he snapped, "The fence...it isn't on anymore."

Sure enough, the buzzing had ceased. Everyone crowded up to it and listened. A loud metal clang caused them all to jump back and watch in awe as the hatch of the entrance door swung open. Every weapon went up as a woman peered out of the doorway, eyeing them thoughtfully. Finally, she motioned to someone inside and another woman appeared at her side, they seemed to be having a discussion.

"Hello!" Rick shouted across the distance, "We just want to talk with you!"

The women waited a moment longer before they began to walk towards the fence where the group stood.

"Where do you all come from?" the first woman asked when she was close enough to address them in a normal voice. She was short and a bit on the heavy side, her reddish brown hair pulled back in a frizzled pony tail, her eyes were green and full of doubt.

"Georgia," Rick replied, "We've been surviving on the road and when we saw this place...well it seems like a very safe setup you have."

Rick turned and motioned towards the rest of the group.

"We've been on the run a long time, and we have women and children with us."

The other woman, a tall, well built blonde, came to stand next to her friend.

"And so what?" she asked gruffly, crossing her arms across her chest in defiance, "Are you saying they're too weak to be on the road?"

"No, of course not," Rick assured her, "But we're all tired of running...we wondered if you might have room for us here?"

The two women exchanged a glance and the shorter one began to counted them out loud.

"Fourteen," she told the tall blonde, "We only got two today."

The blonde nodded and seemed to consider them for a long time, her eyes going up and down the row as she took in each one of them.

"They all look strong," she stated softly, "You all look able to take pretty good care of yourselves. You won't be burdens?"

"We can pull our own weight," Rick assured her.

The blonde nodded to the shorter woman.

"Alright, let's take them to meet Carson," she said, taking out a huge ring of keys from her jacket, "The gate is this way, follow me."

...

The group found themselves walking down a very long hallway, solid white and concrete. The tall blonde, who had told them her name was Joan, told them this was taking them underground towards the actual missile silo.

"Is Carson your leader?" Carl asked Joan as they walked.

"Yes," Joan replied with a massive smile, "You'll see very soon how we live here. If you want to stay, you need to be able to adapt to our rules, of course."

Carol walked slowly behind the rest of the group, her arms wrapped protectively around herself.

"Are you ok, dear?" the shorter woman, Hillary, asked gently. She had fallen back with Carol on the walk from the gate.

"I'm a bit claustrophobic," Carol replied. To be honest, however, she was nervous about the whole situation. Something about these two women just seemed...off. Why hadn't they questioned them further? Why had they not consulted their leader? Why did their smiles seem so...forced?

"I was too when we first came here," Hillary said, sounding friendly enough, "It takes some getting used to, but the silo rooms are larger and not so underground feeling."

Hillary's tone was friendly enough and she seemed sincere. Carol began to think maybe she was being silly for doubting these women.

Finally, the procession came to the end of the long hallway and Joan turned them into another hallway to the right that went on a ways until it came to a door. Joan halted them and pressed her finger to an intercom button beside the door.

"This is Joan of Arc," she said into the speaker, "Bringing in a new lot for Carson to inspect. Thirteen possible threats."

Everyone exchanged glances and Carol felt her skin prickle.

The door buzzed and Joan opened it, motioning for the group to enter. The room beyond the door was large and open, a massive and ornate wooden desk stood near the back of the room and sitting at it was another woman, one either side of her stood several more women who were heavily armed and aiming towards the door as the group came through.

The woman at the desk stood. She was tall, very tall, and dressed in a perfectly pressed dark blue pinstripe skirt and jacket, her light brunette hair was pulled into a tight bun at the back of her head, her lips were fire engine red and her solid black heels clicked on the concrete floor as she came around the desk.

"Welcome, new friends," the woman's voice was strong, yet Carol heard a genuine warmth in it as she spread her arms in greeting, "I am Carson and I am so very pleased to see more possible additions to our family here. You all look as if you've been through a very tough time out there on those deadly streets."

Carol realized this woman had met her eyes so she nodded but remained silent.

"Well, we are offering you a place of refuge but even if you refuse that we will certainly be giving you a hot shower and some food."

"We understand that to stay we need to abide by your rules," Rick stated, repeating Joan's comment earlier.

"This is true," Carson smiled brightly, "But our rules are very simple and are designed only to keep our family together and strong. Joan and Hillary will share these rules with you in the Welcome Hall."

"Yes, Mistress," Hillary stated with a tone of excitement in her voice.

Carol swore she saw something like anger flash in Carson's amber eyes but it went so quickly she wondered if it had actually been there at all, Carson was smiling gently again.

"Well let's not keep them waiting," she said cheerfully, "Let's show them what we have going on here and get them all settled in if they choose to stay, but I assure you all this place is safe, secure and we have generators that will last for years to come."

Joan and Hillary nodded to their leader and the women with the guns all relaxed and lowered their weapons, offering friendly smiles as the group turned to leave for the Welcome Hall...but Carol still felt that something was hidden behind those smiles.

There's the start, the reveal is coming in the next chapter but I wanted to see what people thought of this before I continued.

Please tell me if I should continue or not and your thoughts on my work so far. I will respond to anyone with questions!