"I just don't think this is a good idea."

"We can't just leave her, Shane. That's not humane; it's not who we are."

"No, I know, but we don't know anything about her."

"Rick would have..."

Mia McKay faintly remembered voices speaking as she awoke alone inside what seemed to be a tent. It was silent now, but the voices seemed to have been active when she was asleep. She remembered being in motion; in a vehicle. At this point she didn't know if she really heard them or if she was dreaming. What she knew now was certain: she was in an unfamiliar place and had nowhere to hide. She immediately began to panic, looking around frantically as the sweat that had accumulated in her sleep glistened off her skin. Instinctively, she grabbed for her knife only to find that it wasn't there. She felt vulberable, defenseless, confused. Her instincts were never physical confrontation, but aside from the knife providing a defense against abominations or whoever else, it also served as a safety blanket. Something given to her by her sister. A last physical memory.

As far as she could tell, nothing had harmed her. She gave herself a quick once over and aside from being filthy, sticky with sweat, and in dire need of a shower, she was okay. She glanced around the tent once more. It reminded her of nights her sister, Vera, used to bring her outside in the backyard. Sometimes the fighting between her parents got so bad that Vera planned spontaneous "camping" trips. "C'mon, Mia," she would say, "Let's go tell stories in the back. I set the tent up for us." Thinking about her sister hurt in every way possible, so she stopped. She needed her knife back. Without her knife Vera's death seemed all too real for her; as if her sister stopped protecting her, as if she was alone.

Hearing no sound but the cicadas outside, Mia slowly unzipped an opening big enough to peek through in the tent. She saw nothing, only trees and stars, the humble glow of embers out of the corner of her eye. If she had been kidnapped, she would have been bound, she thought, so she mustered up every ounce of bravery she could and emerged slowly from the tent.

"Well, well."

A familiar masculine voice overtook the soft chime of the cicadas and Mia whipped around, eyes wide. Shane. That was his name. The dark haired man rose from the fold out chair he was sitting in, setting aside the shotgun that had just been laying in his lap. The expression on his face was a mixture of concern and pleasant surprise. Mia was unsure of herself, of what to do, where to go. She hadn't trusted many men in her lifetime, her father made sure of that, and even though the man standing in front of her seemed like he didn't want to hurt her, she was still wary. Still cautious.

"Why don't you sit? Here, take this." He took a water bottle out of a backpack near a tent next to the one she had just been occupying. Mia was silent, but did as he said and took what he gave her. She hadn't realized how thirsty she had been, but it made sense. It was Georgia after all, in the middle of the summer, and she had been asleep for...

"How long was I asleep?" She asked the question softly after she had almost guzzled down the water bottle.

"Asleep? Girl, you were knocked out." He sat on a nearby log and laughed at his own comment. She couldn't tell if it was the glow of the embers or if it was because she had actually gotten some rest, but Mia noticed more detail about his face. His nose seemed to be broken, probably multiple times, and his face was dirty. He looked up at her and she instantly remembered his eyes. Round and a deep, dark brown, nothing like her brown eyes. His eyes were different. She could only imagine what she looked like at this point. She rubbed at her face in a feeble attempt to look presentable before he began to speak again.

"You've been out all day. We found you at a gas station, you don' remember? You fainted, I guess, and just stayed asleep. We were worried about you but you showed some sign of life in between there so I guess you were just exhausted." He got up from his log, over to the backpack again, and took out something. We? He said "we" and she instantly remembered he wasn't alone. He had a woman with him. Lauren? Lily? And a boy. She couldn't remember his name either, and she felt bad. These people had obviously done right by her, as much as she felt like she couldn't trust anyone. Shane came back with a can of beans and some beef jerky. "You should eat somethin'." He handed her the jerky and beans, cuisine she figured she'd have to get used to in the sudden end-of-the-entire-world-as-she-knew-it scenario they were placed in.

"Thank you." She ate the food she was given quickly, every so often looking up to see what Shane was doing. It was a habit at this point, always trying to be aware of who was around her. Always on the defense. There was no need to be though, not now. She saw that. As she ate her meager post apocalyptic meal, Shane didn't stare, he didn't make a move. All he did was look at the dull burning of the embers as he poked them with a stick absentmindedly. Once she finished her food, she broke the silence by speaking again.

"Your wife, she's here? In the other tent?" It was a sorry excuse for an ice breaker, but it's not like she knew much about him anyway. What else was she supposed to say? Shane's gaze shifted from the orange glow to her face. "Oh, Lori? No, I mean, yeah. She's with Carl in that tent." He held up his left hand. "Not married, though. Just... close friends, I guess." Mia's face flushed red with embarassment. She instantly felt rude for assuming something, but Shane didn't seem to be offended. In fact, he just seemed to be preoccupied. As if he was miles away in his head, somewhere else. Somewhere that wasn't riddled with the abominations, somewhere safer. Hidden. Shane seemed to finally bring himself back to the small clearing they were occupying. "Mia, right? You alone I'm guessing? I'm hoping anyway, cause if not we just separated you from whoever you were with." A soft smile, almost apologetic took over his face.

"Yeah, yes." Solemnly, she looked down at her boots. They were ragged, had some wear and tear to them, but still sturdy. Vera had an extra pair and knew Mia would need them. Vera. Her throat began to close a little at the thought of her sister, her mother. The thought that she was alone. She didn't notice the silent tears that began to fall, but Shane did. He took a rag from his pocket and crouhed in front of her, dabbing at her tear stained cheeks. "We talked about it, okay? Me and Lori? We don't know you from a hole in the wall, but if you want to stay, you can. We're goin' to Atlanta, first thing. They say there's a refugee camp there. You don' have to stay with us, that's up to you, but..." He handed her the rag he was holding so that she could use it as she needed to. He searched her face, making sure they made eye contact, something she was never in a million years comfortable with doing. She listened to what he said, could tell the weight of his words. Their eyes met briefly, Mia breaking the contact first, but just long enough to know he was serious.

"Now, I-I know you don't know me either, but I'm a police officer. I mean, I was. So I won't hurt you. Lori is just hellbent on makin' sure you're okay. She doesn't feel right leaving you, it doesn't sit right with her. My main objective here is keepin' her and Carl safe, that's all I want, but she doesn't want to leave you behind." He sat back down on his log, probably not wanting to make her uncomfortable with their proximity. She appreciated that. Human contact was not exactly comforting to her and she didn't even know this person. The more he spoke, however, the safer she felt with him. She wasn't ready to jump up and give him a hug, let him know her entire life story, ride off into the sunset with him, but she felt a kind of faint trust. As if he meant what he said, a sense of honesty.

Mia thought about his proposition, weighing the options. She needed people, she knew that. She wasn't tough like her sister, she hid. Hiding will only keep her alive for so long. This could be the best thing for her, but she was suspicious. He barely knew her, why was he offering to save her life? To let her into his... well apparently they weren't his family, but she could sense the strong desire to keep them safe. "Well, what do you think on that? Do you want me to stay?" She looked up at him quickly enough to catch his eye again and his face turned serious. "Like I said, I don't know you from a hole in the wall and my main objective is to keep them safe. But I also said I was a police officer, and I still want to help people. The way I see it, I could always use another set of eyes to keep watch." Mia realized it was kind of a yes-but-no answer, but it was good enough for her. She took note of how they both were dealing with their own trust issues. They were strangers, they didn't know each other. She had nothing to lose, but it seemed as though he was living for something. He had much more reservations than she did, even taking into consideration her desire to just keep on living.

Finally she spoke again, this time looking him straight in the eye without looking away. "Okay," she said, "Okay, I'll stay."