Chapter two: Not So Happy Campers

April 2nd,

Shane has called Lori and told her about Rick being shot and was in hospital. He told her he'd meet her at the school this afternoon and take her up to see him. Shane arrives at the school and approaches a worried Lori. "Hey…" Shane sighs.

"How is he?" Lori asks.

"He's in a coma…but there's a good chance he will pull through but only time will tell. I'm sorry…" Shane explains as Lori tears up.

The school bell rings and Lori worries on how she should tell Carl. "I don't know how to tell Carl…" Lori gasps.

"You don't have to tell him alone…" Shane sighs. Lori flashes him a quick smile in thankfulness.

Carl then walks out of the school and Lori spots him. Lori approaches him as Shane crouches preparing to hug Carl or comfort him once Lori told him. Shane watches in the distance as Lori has crouched in front of Carl and tells him about his father. He sees Carl crying, this results in Shane tearing up. Lori hugs Carl and walks him over to Shane. "Hey there, buddy…" Shane smiles.

"Is it true about my dad?" Carl cries.

"Yeah…but don't worry, he is going to be okay…" Shane explains.

"We don't know that!" Carl snaps.

"Carl! This isn't Shane's fault." Lori says. Carl puts his head down and sobs some more.

Lori and Shane exchanged a sad unsure look. "Hey Carl, would you like me to take you and your mom to see him?" Shane asks. Carl nods. Shane drives them to the hospital to see Rick.

At the hospital, they surround Rick as they watch him sleep. "Dad…can you hear me?" Carl sobs.

"Honey…" Lori mutters. Shane puts his hand on Lori's shoulder to comfort her as she cries at the sight of her husband in this state.

"Dad, please wake up! Please…" Carl cries.

"Carl…" Lori sighs. Carl begins crying more and hugs Shane and so does Lori.

"Hey…guys, it's gonna be okay…I'm sorry…I wish I could have done more to save him…" Shane mutters. Shane then crouches down to Carl and says "Your dad is a fighter, he will pull through…I promise…"

Carl stops crying and nods.

"Thank you for being here for me, for us…" Lori mutters, clearing her throat.

"Of course…anything you need, I'm here…" Shane nods. Lori smiles. "In fact, I'll probably come up a bit later and bring him some flowers…" Shane laughs. Shane then soon takes them home.

Once Lori and Carl are home, Lori starts preparing dinner and has a glass of wine. She puts on the radio as she starts chopping and dicing some vegetables. The music is interrupted by a message –

"We interrupt this broadcast for an important headline. We warn all residents in Atlanta and surrounding areas to evacuate. What started as a sickness is now..." Lori changes to a different station and listens to music, ignoring the important warning.

Carl then walks into the kitchen. "Mom…" he mutters.

"What?" Lori asks.

"Will dad really be okay?" Carl asks.

"I honestly do not know…maybe not…" Lori sighs.

"But Shane promised!" Carl replies.

"You're right…yes, Shane did promise. Then yes, your dad will be fine!" Lori smiles with denial, she believes her husband won't make it.

A few hours later, Carl is asleep and Lori sits alone drinking wine at the table, staring at a picture of Rick.

Meanwhile, Shane has gone up to the hospital to visit Rick again and bring him some flowers. He stands beside the bed, staring at Rick. "I brought you some flowers man…come on man, please wake up if you can hear me…we need you here, your wife needs you, Carl needs you, I need you man!" Shane mutters placing the flowers beside Rick's bedside. Shane sits silently beside the bed watching Rick sleep. Shane eventually drifts off into a sleep.

Shortly after, Shane is awakened by the sound of smashing and yelling. He looks in the hall and sees the army squad shooting people in the head. Shane is scared and confused. He hides over the side of Rick's bed as the men look into Rick's room checking for any living people, then they leave. Shane tries to lift Rick so he can carry him out and save him but he needs the IV life support drip. Shane grunts with frustration and worry he doesn't wanna leave Rick here to die. Shane sneaks into the hall, luckily he is safe and the army men are gone. But suddenly down the other end of the hall behind him he sees a group of staggering walkers heading toward him. He quickly gets a spare patients bed and sits it in front of Rick's room so none of them can get in. Shane rushes to the exit and as he turns back he sees the walkers surround the bed protecting Rick's door. "No!" Shane shouts but rushes outside to his car.

Shane rushes to Lori's house. The loud rapid knocking on the door startles Lori. She opens it. "Shane, what is it? What's wrong?" Lori asks.

"We need to leave town now!" Shane demands.

"Why? What's going on?" Lori asks.

"I was visiting Rick and then army men were shooting innocent people and there were like…" Shane begins but stops with confusion.

"What?" Lori asks.

"Like…zombies…dead people…I know it sounds crazy but then on my way over here I heard it on the radio, a disease and bites by these zombies and we need to get to the city and they have rescue teams there." Shane explains.

"Zombies?" Lori laughs sarcastically.

"Lori I'm not fucking jokin!" Shane shouts.

"Wait…I think I heard something about it on the radio earlier but I…changed it…" Lori mutters with realisation.

"Come on! Get ya things we need to go! I'm gonna run to my place and pack and I'll be back in ten minutes!" Shane insists. Lori is shocked. "Wait…I want to see him once more…" Lori sighs.

"Lori, we can't! There's people getting shot everywhere up there!" Shane assures her.

"Shane! I NEED to! There's gotta be some staff left, I just want to know what's gonna happen to him…" Lori cries.

"It looks bad. I think he's dead…" Shane sighs.

Lori's eyes fill with pain. She begins to sob. "I...I…need to see him, Shane…" she sobs.

"Alright. We'll make a quick stop, but we don't have much time. Now hurry get ready! I'll be back soon!" Shane demands.

Lori rushes upstairs and packs. Clothes, photos, some food and water. She also packs Carls suitcase. Lori then wakes Carl up. "Carl…Carl wake up!" Lori mutters.

"What is it? Is it dad?" Carl asks with worry.

"No honey, we need to leave…" Lori says.

"Why?" Carl asks with confusion.

"No don't worry I'll tell you later, come on we need to go!" Lori demands.

Later, after seeing Rick one last time they begin to leave town.

On the highway, Shane, Lori and Carl are in Shane's car caught in a traffic jam. "Come on!" Shane shouts.

"What are we gonna do? We are never gonna get out of here at this rate…" Lori sighs.

Traffic then starts moving again but Shane's car breaks down. "Shit! Are you fuckin kidding me?" Shane shouts with anger. Shane gets out and moves to the front of the car where he kicks it and loses his temper.

Suddenly an RV pulls in beside them. A man gets out and approaches them. "You okay sir?" the man asks.

"No, I'm not fuckin okay, we need to leave but my car just stopped working…" Shane grunts.

"Well I'd be happy to give you and your wife a ride. Oh and your son too of course…" the man offers.

Shane laughs. "They're not mine…it's my best friend's wife and son, he's…dead…" Shane explains.

"Oh my, I'm sorry…I'm Dale and you are?" The man sighs.

"I'm Shane, this is Lori and Carl." Shane explains as Lori and Carl exit the car and join him.

"Hi what's goin on?" Lori asks.

"This is Dale, Dale this is Lori…" Shane says.

"I was just offering to give you folks a ride, I picked up two other girls earlier, and I've got room for more…" Dale explains.

"Thank you, so much!" Lori smiles.

"It's a pleasure, now come on in. Get your stuff…" Dale smiles back.

Shane, Lori and Carl get their bags and join Dale in his RV where they meet two more girls, Amy and Andrea.

"Hi…" Lori says.

"Howdy…" Shane adds.

"Hi, I'm Andrea and this is my sister Amy…" the eldest girl, Andrea explains.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Lori, this is Shane and my son, Carl…" Lori replies.

"Hi." Amy smiles.

Meanwhile on a motorcycle, two redneck brothers, Merle and Daryl, wait impatiently for the traffic to clear. "Come on, little brother just go around them!" Merle insists.

"I can't break the road rules…" Daryl mutters.

"Oh, since when do you care bout them rules? Come on little brother, don't be a pussy! Go around them!" Merle shouts.

"Shut it Merle! This is my bike and I ain't gonna let you or anyone else boss me around!" Daryl shouts back.

"Oh really? Well you let mom boss you around! You're her little angel!" Merle teases.

"Fuck you!" Daryl snaps.

Merle chuckles. "I'm just sayin boy, it seems like you ain't got no balls at all!" Merle laughs.

"I'm just scared!" Daryl admits.

"Scared!" Merle laughs, mocking him. Daryl grunts. "Come on little brother be a man for once in your life and let's go off road and head down that track to the right! Come on, let's go! Come on! Come on!" Merle shouts. Daryl rolls his eyes and rides around the traffic and turns off to a dirt road.

"Where are they going?" Dale asks noticing the motorcycle going off the highway.

"Who cares, let's follow them, we need to get out of here and get somewhere private and safe!" Shane insists.

Dale then drives around the traffic to the dirt road too, followed by a van, a sports car, a pickup truck and a couple more cars.

Eventually the motorcycle stops up in the hills by an old quarry. Daryl and Merle then notice the following cars. "What the fuck do we have here?" Merle grunts.

"They must've followed us!" Daryl mutters and aims his crossbow at the cars.

"That's right little brother fight with a weapon, not with your hands like a real man!" Merle mocks him.

The RV stops and Dale and Shane get out and approach the rednecks. "Hi, we're sorry we followed you…we don't want any trouble…" Dale mutters.

"What do you want?" Merle grunts.

"We thought you'd lead us somewhere safe!" Shane replies.

"Really? Well this is our camp, we found it first!" Merle shouts.

"Come on, we can help you! We can make this place secure! From those…things!" Shane begs.

Lori and the others exit the RV and approach the group.

"Please…we won't be a problem or get in the way." Dale begs.

"This ain't gonna happen!" Merle grunts.

"Alright, you can stay and help us build a safe and secure camp…any trouble and you're gone." Daryl interrupts.

"Thank you!" Dale smiles.

"What the hell is wrong with you boy? We can't let them stay with us!" Merle shouts.

"Just give them a chance…" Daryl sighs.

"Alright you ball-less pussy!" Merle laughs.

"It's just a few people…" Daryl explains.

"Oh yeah, what about them!" Merle mutters and points to the following vehicles as they stop beside the RV. A woman with short hair, a little girl and a tall man exit the van.

"Who are ya'll?" Merle shouts. "I'm Ed, this is ma wife, Carol and our daughter Sophia…we saw ya'll go off road, thought you guys had a cabin or somewhere safe…" the man says.

"We are making a camp…" Shane mutters.

"A safe one, ya'll wanna stay, you all gotta pitch in and help secure the area and make it safe!" Daryl explains as more people exit the vehicles.

From the sports car exits a young Korean guy and an Asian man and woman.

From the pickup truck exits a big black dude, a black woman and another mysterious black woman.

From the next car, exits a skinny man with a beard and a woman in a red dress.

Finally from another car that also followed, exits a Spanish couple and their two children.

"Daryl! We can't keep all these people here!" Merle shouts.

"Don't worry bro, I got it under control!" Daryl says and raises his crossbow again. Merle smiles.

"Wait!" Merle stops Daryl from shooting anyone.

"I don't want you to kill em, but I don't think it will be easy getting rid of them so fine, they can stay…but you let them know we are in charge here. You the boss, little brother!" Merle mutters.

Daryl nods. "Come on now ya'll, set up ya tents and what not, then I wanna make a fire and get to know all ya'll names!" Daryl explains.

"I'll make the fire…" Shane offers.

"Why? You don't think me or my little brother can handle it?" Merle grunts.

"I was just offering…" Shane replies.

"Merle!" Daryl grunts.

Merle laughs then notices the big black man staring at him. "Well, lookie what we have here…what the hell you staring at nigga?" Merle grunts.

"Hey! That's enough!" Shane says and punches Merle.

"Is that your best shot?" Merle asks. As their fistfight continues Daryl tries to break it up.

"Stop! Merle take a walk!" Daryl demands.

Later that night, once all the tents are set, they sit around the fire. "I'm Daryl, ya'll gonna have to excuse my brother's behaviour…we aren't really used to people…" Daryl explains.

"We can see that!" the black guy grunts.

"Fuck you! You chocolate fucker!" Merle shouts.

"Merle!" Daryl shouts.

"What's your name anyway?" Merle asks the black guy.

"The name is Theodore but most people just call me T-Dog…" The black guy responds.

"T-Dog! Well what kinda tough guy name is that! Is it cause you a dog?" Merle laughs.

T-Dog clenches his fists but the black woman stops him. "I happen to like the name T-Dog, it's very cool…it's a better name than Merle…" the black woman says.

"Oh okay, this kitty has claws! What's your name little lady?" Merle mutters.

"Jaquita…but most people call me Jaqui." the black woman responds.

"Alright, what about the rest of ya'll names?" Merle asks.

"I'm Carlos and this is my wife Maria and our children Havier and Helena." The Spanish man says.

"Uh, hi…I'm Glenn…" the young Korean man says.

"Oh well howdy Glenn, you want some rice with that?" Merle laughs.

"I'm not Asian, I'm Korean!" Glenn corrects him.

"Same thing! Tomato-Tomatoe!" Merle laughs. "So these your parents?" Merle asks pointing to the Asian couple.

"No, I found them on the side of the road, they needed help…they lost their daughter…" Glenn explains.

"Oh so all you Asians stick together huh?" Merle mutters.

"I Leo and this my wife, Ling…" The Asian man stutters.

"I should have guessed!" Merle laughs.

"I'm Jim and this is my sister, Sally…" the bearded man says.

"Hi…" Sally, the woman in the red dress says.

"Well Sally…you lookin fine!" Merle smiles.

"Hey, that's ma sister you talkin to!" Jim grunts.

"Jim, its okay…" Sally mutters.

"No, it's not!" Jim replies. Merle laughs.

"Well I'm Shane, this is Lori and Carl…" Shane explains.

"I'm Dale…" Dale adds.

"And what's your name pretty lady? And yours blondie?" Merle asks, referring to Andrea and Amy.

"I'm Amy and this is my big sister Andrea…" Amy mutters politely.

"Oh sisters huh? Well, you're both very pretty!" Merle laughs.

"What about you, what's your name?" Daryl asks pointing to the mysterious, quiet black woman. The woman just stares into the fire not saying a word.

"Her name is Michonne…" Jaquita reveals.

"What? Doesn't she talk or something?" Merle laughs.

"She's been quiet ever since we picked her up…found her on the side of the road. All she said was thank you and hasn't said a word since." T-Dog explains.

"Well that's a little rude ain't it? Can't even socialize with the people who saved your negress ass!" Merle says.

"I don't think it matters, let's discuss something else. Like, the fact the world is being taken over by those things!" Shane replies.

"Yeah well we are here now and that's all that matters…" Dale adds.

"Tomorrow we should come up with a roster, certain people take shifts doing certain tasks…like a system." Andrea suggests.

"It would be more organised that way, not a bad idea at all…" Carol agrees with a smile but then is given a mean look from her husband. "Sorry…" Carol whispers.

"Shane, what about the city? Atlanta, shouldn't we still be heading there for the evacuations and the CDC control and safety. If we stay here in the middle of nowhere we have targets on our backs…" Lori mutters with worry.

"Nah, the city has already lost power. It's been almost over run by those walking dead things" Jaqui says.

"How do you know?" Shane asks.

"We've been there." She replies.

"Ya know it's only a matter of time before those monsters find us…" Merle says.

"We need to somehow make a barrier, a wall around the camp to keep us safe…" T-Dog suggests.

"Nah, we're surrounded by plenty of trees up here, I think we should be okay…" Daryl replies.

"I still think building a little protection wouldn't hurt…" Shane says.

"Fine, then I guess you won't mind being in charge of that then…" Daryl replies.

"I'll help ya." T-Dog says.

"Right then, I say the old guy, and the two Asian men collect fire wood. Then the Asian woman, the quiet shy girl and Jaquita can help set up the camp a little better same with the lady with short hair and the hot one…" Merle explains – referring to Carol and Lori.

"I'd rather you call me by my name, thank you!" Lori replies.

"Ooh sorry, Lori and…" Merle begins pointing to Carol.

"Uh, Carol…" Carol says.

"Right, Lori and Carol…" Merle mutters.

"I'll help with the wall too…" Carlos replies.

"I can look after the children…" Sally suggests.

"It's true, she is a teacher." Jim adds.

"And what do you two plan to do?" Dale asks referring to Merle and Daryl.

"Me and my little brother here will hunt for food!" Merle explains.

"Jim, why don't you be on watch and make sure we don't get company." Daryl suggests. Jim nods.

That night, the campers went to bed cautious of these new strangers. Would they eventually call them their friends and would they settle in and get along? As they each lay in their bed thinking about how awful the day has been. They send their prayers and wishes to their friends and loved ones out there hoping for the best.

The following morning, the campers are woken up at dawn by Merle, who uses a large boulder as his pedestal and he shouts "Rise and shine, campers!" The tired campers slowly awaken and wonder what's going on. "That's it. Come on wake up!" Merle continues.

"Hey yo! What the hell you doin? Waking us at this early in the morning!" T-Dog grunts.

"Seriously, the sun is only just risin…" Lori mutters.

"What's the deal?" Ed asks with anger. The campers bicker.

"Perhaps you didn't all hear me last night!" Merle shouts and rolls his eyes, shutting the campers up. "Now, let me make it perfectly clear. Listen and listen good cause I ain't gonna repeat myself!" Merle grunts. Daryl rolls his eyes wondering what his brother is gonna do next. "Alrighty then, now, I am in charge around here! My little brother and me! You will wake when we tell you to wake. You will do what you are told to do! It's that simple! If you talk back or cause any problems for my brother and I here, well…you'd best be on your way if that's the intention! Ya got that?" Merle shouts with a grin.

"Man, this is bullshit!" T-Dog shouts.

"It doesn't seem fair!" Dale adds.

"We need more rest for energy!" Jaquita also adds. Merle rolls his eyes.

"Do something, please." Lori whispers to Shane.

"Hey man! Look we have women and children here. I think you need a reality check and need to be more considerate. It's not very fair on all of us here." Shane explains.

"Well clearly none of ya'll have experience on the farm then. You will wake up at dawn and will not sleep or eat until your duties are done!" Merle grunts.

"Well clearly you haven't got much experience off the farm. Things are different here and now. So this all needs to stop! We agreed to our duties and doing our part but this isn't fair!" Shane mutters.

"Fair? Well let me tell you somethin else that's not fair. Neither is a black fella's asshole! So suck it up princess!" Merle replies with a chuckle.

"Merle, come on. We're done here!" Daryl interrupts.

"Alright, off ya'll go…" Merle smiles. The campers then make their way to have breakfast and do their duties.

"Mommy, I'm tired!" Sophia cries.

"I know sweetie I know." Carol whispers as she hugs her daughter.

"That ain't my problem little girl." Merle says. Sophia tears up and nods.

After breakfast the campers gather and discuss their jobs. "Alright then listen up." Daryl begins. "Carol, Lori, Maria, Amy and Ling, you ladies are in charge of laundry, cleaning and organizing the camp." Daryl explains as the girls nod. "T-Dog, Shane, Ed and Carlos, you guys are in charge of building our camp barrier or wall or whatever you wanna call it. Glenn, Jim, you two are in charge of being on the lookout for today." Daryl explains.

"And Sally, you can watch the little ones." Merle adds with a grin, raising his eyebrows at her. Sally smiles and nods.

"Leo, Michonne and uh, Jaquita, you work on building us a shelter." Daryl says.

"What about me?" Andrea asks.

"And me?" Dale adds.

"Well blondie, why don't you just sit around and look pretty!" Merle chuckles.

"I wanna help!" Andrea replies.

"Fine, you can go gather some firewood!" Merle grins. Andrea rolls her eyes.

"Don't you worry old man, I got a job for you too. You are gonna rest up on the top of your RV there and make sure you see everyone in sight and make sure they are doing their jobs. Don't worry we got binoculars, a newspaper and a radio so you don't get bored up there." Merle laughs.

"That's it?" Dale asks.

"Well yeah, we wouldn't want ya breaking ya hip on us now, would we?" Merle laughs again.

"Alright, my brother and I are heading out! If I see anyone slacking off when we get back…well, you'd best be saying your prayers." Daryl mutters and grabs his crossbow as he and Merle head into the woods. Then the campers split up and do their duties.

That night, thanks to Merle's new curfew rule, most of the campers were asleep. Lori, Shane and Carl were still awake sneaking some more food, as they are very hungry.

"Psst!" Carol whispers and signals Lori to come over. "Everything okay?" she asks Lori.

"Yeah, we were just trying to find some food. My son, he's starving, we both are." Lori sighs.

"Oh well, we have a few boxes of snacks in the van. I'd be happy to give you guys a box." Carol smiles politely.

"Could you? Oh that would be so wonderful, thank you. That's awfully kind." Lori says thankfully. Carol smiles and nods and heads to the back of the van to retrieve a box of snack bars but is stopped by Ed.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ed grunts.

"Their boy is hungry. Imagine if that was Sophia…" Carol tries to explain.

"I don't care! We don't know these people! We don't give away any of our stuff!" Ed warns her.

"Ed, it's just a box!" Carol begs.

"Carol, don't you make me beat on you!" Ed threatens. Carol tears up.

"I'm sorry…" she sighs silently to Lori.

"Get in the tent! Go on now…" Ed grunts. Carol nods. Lori looks worried and concerned about that situation.

"What you looking at lady?" Ed grunts.

"Nothing…I'm sorry." Lori mutters and returns to Carl and Shane.

Lori is hesitant whether or not to say anything about what she overheard and saw. "You alright?" Shane asks.

"Uh, yeah…" Lori sniffles.

"Carl, would you give your mother and me a minute…" Shane smiles. Carl nods and begins to head to his tent.

"I'll be there in a minute." Lori smiles.

"What's wrong?" Shane insists.

"Uh…Carol, I think I just witnessed her husband threatening her…" Lori whispers.

"What do you mean?" Shane asks.

"Shane, I think she's in an abusive relationship. She was just trying to be nice and he threatened her and yelled at her. Shane, he said to not make him beat her…" Lori gasps.

"Shit! That son of a bitch! But, there's nothing we can do now." Shane replies.

"But Shane! You used to be a cop, can't you do something?" Lori begs with concern.

"Lori, look I know that guy's an asshole. I can't do anything until I see it and I swear if he ever hits her in front of me, I'll kill him myself! No one should ever hit a lady." Shane mutters.

"I know, I just feel so bad for her. I mean it's awful no one should go through that Shane." Lori sighs.

"I know, hey, I know. It's okay…the best thing you can do is be there for her, be her friend, get to open up to you. The woman shouldn't have to go through it alone." Shane says.

"Yeah, you're right. Gosh, I just hope he doesn't beat that little girl. I know it's none of our business…but I couldn't live with myself if I just say by letting it happen." Lori continues.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay. Alright, Sophia has Carl and Carol has you. We're gonna help them. God, I just knew that guy was a problem." Shane mutters.

"Thank you. Shane, for everything you've done for us. For Carl and me. We wouldn't have had anyone else…we'd probably be dead if it wasn't for you." Lori smiles with a tear and hugs Shane.

"I'd never let that happen Lori, never." Shane says caressing her hair whilst hugging her warmly.

Roughly two weeks later, the camp is looking well and organized and the campers are slowly becoming more civil towards one another. On a nice sunny morning, the campers are all gathered around the fire. Suddenly they are startled by the sound of fast approaching engine noise. Shane and the men get their weapons ready but they cannot stop what is about to come crashing into their campground. It's a bus, a bus at full speed crashes into a tree just near their camp. "I'll go check it out." Shane insists.

"I'll come with." Glenn adds.

They approach the bus and are about to smash the door open but are startled when it opens to reveal an exhausted teenage boy. "Whoa, sorry dudes, first time driving a bus!" the teenager says.

"What the hell are you doin?" Shane asks, pointing his gun at the teen.

"Uh, well I saw the dirt road and saw smoke and thought there was a camp here and – whoa, looks like I was right." The teen says.

"You could have killed us, and yourself." Glenn replies.

"What's your name?" Shane asks.

"Oh sorry. Uh, I'm Landon." The teen smiles and holds out his hand to shake. Merle then walks over.

"Who the hell, shakes hands these days?" Merle laughs.

"Uh, real men do sir…" Landon mutters.

"Don't, you mouth off to me boy! I will cut you up!" Merle threatens.

"Whoa, it's cool I'm sorry." Landon gasps putting his hands up.

"Have you been bitten?" Shane asks.

"No…" Landon shakes his head.

"Step out here." Merle says. Landon isn't sure. "Come on! I ain't gonna bite ya!" Merle laughs. Landon steps out of the bus slowly.

"Anyone else in there?" Shane asks.

"Uh yeah, I picked up a few survivors around town. I also have some friends at the high school, they said they are gonna call me over the radio if they need my backup!" Landon explains.

"Come on out of there." Merle demands.

One by one at least a dozen more survivors exit the bus. Women, children, men and elders. "Wow, you saved all these people?" Glenn asks.

"Uh, yeah. I sure did." Landon smiles.

"Good man." Shane nods.

"Come on now everybody, it's all safe here. Make your way over to the fire and we will get to know each other and explain how things work around here." Merle directs as the people then make their way to the other campers.

"So uh, what was your name?" Landon asks.

"Shane…" Shane mutters and shakes Landon's hand.

"Hi, I'm Glenn!" Glenn smiles.

"I'm Merle, this here is my brother Daryl." Merle adds. They then join the group and make them feel welcome.

As more and more weeks pass and these weeks turn into a month, the group is more settled and used to the idea of their new way of living. Lori and Carol were doing laundry when approached by Shane. "Hey Lori, ya mind if I take Carl down to the waterhole and catch some frogs? Maybe splash around a bit?" Shane asks.

"Sure." Lori smiles. Shane winks at her.

"Mommy, can I go too?" Sophia asks. Carol looks over at Ed who is grumpy as usual staring at his girls whilst having a cigarette.

"Of course." Carol smiles bravely. Lori is surprised by Carol's bravery. Shane takes Sophia and Carl to the waterhole. Ed shakes his head at Carol with disgust and walks away.

"I'm so proud of you." Lori smiles.

"For what?" Carol asks.

"Not letting him effect your decisions." Lori mutters.

"Oh, well he'll get used to the idea. If not, I'll pay for it later…" Carol sighs.

"Carol don't talk like that." Lori says.

"I'm sorry. He just scares me sometimes ya know? I mean, I love him and he is my husband but…" Carol begins.

"But what?" Lori asks.

"Oh never mind." Carol smiles with denial.

"It sure is great, finally starting to settle down. Merle not so strict anymore…it's good. I could get use to this." Lori smiles.

"Well it's not an ideal lifestyle but I could get used to it too. I'm glad things are getting better and I think we all have Shane to thank for that. I think Merle should just hand over the throne already." Carol laughs. Lori pauses with a thought. "And it is just so great that our kids are getting along so well!" Carol smiles.

Lori snaps out of it. "Yeah, it's great." Lori smiles.

Meanwhile Dale is sitting on the roof of his RV listening to what's left of the broadcast system. "We are warning all survivors in the Atlanta area to make their way to the city, regular city checks will take place every few hours and the CDC is working and researching on finding a cure..." the radio says.

"This is just so sad, Dale, change the station please." Amy says. Dale then changes the station to the only station playing music. Sad music. Christian music.

"This is all we get…" Dale sighs with irritation. Amy shrugs.

"Turn that hella no good, churchy music off. My ears are gonna bleed!" Merle grunts.

"You know, maybe we could head to the city. It isn't a bad idea, we get there and wait for one of these city checks. They find us and we will be safe at last. I know I said it was bad. But if they are still broadcasting, we might have a chance." Jaquita says.

"Yeah it could work!" T-Dog adds.

"Absolutely not!" Merle grunts.

"Why not? We aren't the only ones! I mean we are gonna eventually run out of food and maybe even water here eventually." Amy says.

"That's not gonna be a problem little lady, not with my brother and uncle Merle around! We are not gonna stop hunting! It's summer time which means…" Merle begins. The campers looks at each other with confusion. "It's huntin season!" Merle grins.

"Hey Glenn, wanna do some fishin?" Landon asks.

"Uh, yeah sure." Glenn smiles and they head down to the waterhole.

Meanwhile Carlos and Maria have become good friends with Ling and Leo and they are sitting by the view talking. "So do you two have any children?" Carlos asks.

"Oh, no. Not anymore." Leo shakes his head with sadness.

"What happened?" Maria asks.

"Demi, our daughter Demi, she killed by those things." Ling cries.

"Yes and she was a singer, a good singer." Leo adds.

"The voice of an angel!" Ling smiles.

"I'm very sorry to hear that's she's gone…" Maria sighs.

"Si, I'm sure she was a lovely young lady." Carlos adds.

That afternoon, Lori insisted she would help Shane go pick mushrooms so he could show her which ones were good and which ones were poison. "So how do you tell?" Lori asks.

"Well, it's not hard but ya just gotta make sure you examine them and know what to look for…" Shane mutters.

"And what do you look for?" Lori asks.

"I'll show you what I mean when we find some." Shane smiles. Lori smiles back. "So how you holding up?" Shane asks.

"Yeah, good. I think Carl is adjusting nicely to the situation and I think this camp could be something. Both Carl and I could get used to, like a fresh start." Lori sighs.

"Good, I'm just glad you two are doing well. And yeah, starting fresh could be a good thing." Shane smiles.

"Shane, I think you should talk to Merle about becoming the leader of this group. I'm not the only person who agrees, even Carol said you should be our leader." Lori mutters. Shane laughs.

"You really think I could handle it?" Shane asks.

"Of course." Lori smiles.

"Alright, well we will see what happens." Shane smiles. Lori and Shane lock eye contact. Shane smiles. Lori bites her lip with temptation then she kisses him tenderly. Shane pulls away. Lori adjusts herself.

"What just happened? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" Lori sighs with worry.

"Lori…" Shane mutters.

"No Shane, I shouldn't have done it. I'm sorry." Lori sighs and begins walking away.

"No. Come on, Lori wait!" Shane shouts but Lori is gone. Shane stands alone feeling stupid. "Dammit!" He grunts to himself.

As Lori walks back into the camp sniffling, trying to stop the crying, Dale has noticed this. "Lori, is everything alright?" Dale asks.

"Yeah Dale, where's Carl?" Lori asks.

"Are you sure? You don't look okay." Dale mutters.

"Dale, where is my son?" Lori asks avoiding his question. Dale looks at her with worry and disappointment.

"He's playing with Sophia, over by the big oak tree." Dale mutters. Lori nods and begins to head to Carl.

Carl and Sophia are chasing each other around the tree, laughing, like kids do. Sophia trips over. "Ow!" She grunts.

"Are you okay?" Carl asks with worry.

"Yeah…" Sophia mutters.

"Here, give me your hand." Carl says helping Sophia up. Sophia stands and dusts herself off.

"Thanks." She smiles.

"No problem." Carl smiles.

"This is such a beautiful tree." Sophia says.

"Yeah but it's missing something…" Carl replies.

"What?" Sophia asks.

"You'll see…" Carl says as he grabs a pointing stick and starts carving into the tree.

"What are you doing?" Sophia asks. Carl ignores her as he insists.

Moments later, "Okay, take a look." Carl smiles revealing his and Sophia's name carved into the tree.

"CARL AND SOPHIA FRIENDS FOREVER!" it reads.

"Aw wow! That's so cool! And so sweet!" Sophia giggles.

"I'm glad you like it." Carl smiles.

Suddenly they hear Lori calling in the distance. "Carl. Carl, come here sweetie." Lori calls.

"I better go see what she wants." Carl sighs.

"Okay." Sophia smiles then kisses his cheek. Carl blushes and smiles then heads to his mother.

Meanwhile, Shane has just made his way back to camp and Dale notices Shane's upsetting look. "Hey Dale! Dale!" Shane grunts.

"What?" Dale asks.

"Where's Lori?" Shane wonders.

"I don't know…" Dale lies wondering what happened between the two of them.

"Thanks…" Shane says sarcastically then walks away.

That night, after dinner, Shane followed Lori to her tent. "Can I speak to you?" he asks. Lori turns to him. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pulled away…" he begins.

"No. I'm stupid. I'm sorry; I shouldn't have tried to…" she replies.

"No. I wanted you too. I'm stupid for pulling away. But I'm glad you kissed me." Shane reveals. Lori is silent, still feeling confused and ashamed. "Anyway, I'll let you get some sleep. But if there is anything, I mean anything, you need, let me know…" Shane sighs and goes to walk away but Lori grabs his arm and turns him back toward her. She looks into his eyes for a brief moment before kissing him. They kiss and she pulls him into her tent. She takes off his shirt and he kisses her neck and removes her tank top and they continue to kiss before having passionate sex for the first time.