Chapter 2:
They cautiously made their way from the road to the woods. The smell of roasting meat and smoke filled the air. Aiden was leading the way, and everyone else followed. They heard voices, arguments. Tracey and Rosie were getting even more worried every time they heard a shout or loud voice.
When they got to the camp, they peered from the bushes and saw all of the people. The Others had a big campfire, and they were definitely not as cautious about this as they should have been. We all watched while they cooked. The bushes were pricking us and scratching us. We were thinking of leaving, until a voice yelled from behind us.
"Look here, Adam!' a man behind us yelled. Tracey gripped the gun in her hand, and stared at the man. He was in his late twenties, he had a Puerto Rican accent, and a mustache. Aiden and Liam got in front of the rest of them. "We're not here to fight." Aiden said. "We don't have anyone looking out for us, and we saw your campsite, so...we thought you could help us." Liam said.
The man thought about it for a moment. "A couple of teens like you would probably make the adults a little less tense, especially for the little lady." he smiled at Vera. "I'm not little! Aiden, I want to go now. These people are weird!" Vera complained. Tracey and Rosie rolled their eyes, sometimes Vera was a handful.
"Vera, we can't stay by ourselves. Tracey had to get us out of that attack. We can't just rely on her when the guys can't handle it. We need supplies, and adults are good. They can protect us from the Sick." Aiden reasoned. Vera stuck out her lip and considered the options. "Fine." she muttered.
"Fantastic!" the man smiled. We were led into the less prickly entrance of the camp. "Yeah, sorry about the bushes, those things protect us from the Bitten." the man apologized. "That's what you call those things?" Rosie guessed. "Yeah, your Sick is our Bitten" the man explained,"By the way, my name is Juan Pablo."
Vera chuckled at the name. Aiden shushed her harshly, and she glared back, but didn't respond. "J.P! Where have you been?" one woman asked, and ran to hug him. "My wife, Felicia." Juan said. "Oh, children! We haven't seen any since the attack." Felicia smiled and looked at all of them. She looked at Tracey, and they smiled at each other. "Well, I guess you should meet the others." Juan decided.
"There is only four others: Adam, Lucia, Walter, and Trevor." Juan pointed them all out to us. The Others gathered around us and smiled. None of them had kids or had seen one since this whole thing started. "So, I guess it's our turn." Jax thought, this was the first thing he had said since we left the van.
"I am Aiden, this is my sister Vera. That's Liam and his sister Rosie, and those two are Jax and Tracey." Aiden introduced us all. Rosie and Tracey waved when their name was called. "Well, you all must be hungry. Let's eat." Juan smiled. Walter was going to say something, but Adam looked at him.
We had venison, caught by Trevor, which was delicious. They hadn't had much meat since the beginning of it all. None of them talked, just ate enough, and thanked them all. "Where will we sleep for the night?" Rosie asked Liam quietly. He shrugged.
Tracey was once again zoned out, but she was observing the Others. Adam had brown hair and streaks of color. He was the most talkative, but he seemed to be the more leadery type of person in the group. Lucia was Adam's girlfriend. She also had streaks of color. She seemed more quiet, but almost equally loud when in a one-on-one conversation.
Trevor was like a hillbilly, only cleaner, if that was possible. He had a bow 'n arrow, and the curliest beard ever to be seen in Georgia. Walter was like the creepy neighbor from inside the suspected haunted house. He was pale and looked like Barrymore from Hound of the Baskervilles. Felicia was very sweet, and did most of the talking. She was a very muscular woman, and also could read palms. Juan Pablo was the nicest of them all. He was like a golden boy, or a model neighbor. He was like a fireman, doing small yet heroic deeds. There was something else. Something none of them wanted to tell us, but maybe we could find out tomorrow.
Jax snapped Tracey from her thoughts. "So, do you like it here?" he asked. "Well, we do need adults, so this is the best option. Aiden is right, if we want to survive, we need more protection. They froze out there, we can't let that happen again." Tracey said. "I know we need them, but do we like them?" Jax asked again. Tracey thought for a moment. She understood what Jax was asking, but she didn't know the answer.
"I don't know. We've only just met them. We can't be too quick to judge out loud." Tracey answered. Jax sat next to her and sighed. "You always know what to say, don't you?" he smiled. She smiled back, and looked into the fire. Aiden announced something while she zoned out, and she shook her head.
"I'm sorry, can you repeat that?" Tracey blushed, embarrassed she missed it. "We're going to bring the van here, there is a makeshift road here. We'll sleep in it, and decide what to do in the morning." Aiden repeated, slightly frustrated. Tracey decided to apologize to him when she got the chance.
"Okay, so I'm going to go with Tracey to get the van. You guys stay here with them, we'll be back in 20 minutes." Aiden promised. Tracey saw her chance, and when they were a good 100 feet out, she told him. "Hey, Aiden. I'm sorry for zoning out back there. It's something that just happens, and I didn't know what was going on." she apologized.
"Well, just be more aware that when I make an announcement, you either listen or ask someone else. You just embarrassed yourself back there, and I repeated it to save you." Aiden said harshly. Tracey was a little surprised by the tone of his voice. "You sure you're okay?" she asked him. "Yes, I am perfectly fine! Just stop worrying about me." Aiden snapped.
Tracey kept quiet after that. We found the truck, and rode on in silence. Before we got out of the van, Aiden asked her to stay. "Tracey, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped." he said. "Don't worry about it." Tracey brushed it off easily. She could easily forgive, but it was harder to forget.
They all fell asleep in the tent and van. Yang kept guard for an hour, then settled down to sleep. Rosie was still awake, thinking. She was probably over thinking the people, but something about them bothered her and Tracey.
The next morning, they were all put to work. "Tracey, I see you like bows. How about I give you a few pointers?" Trevor offered. "That would be great." she agreed, happy to practice. She hadn't used it in a few weeks, so she was a little rusty. "Aiden and Liam, you guys can have a target practice, with guns. A little birdie told me someone froze yesterday while facing some Bitten." Adam smiled.
"Rosie and Vera, you guys can come practice some better melee weapons. We have baseball bats and machetes, but nothing your brothers wouldn't want you to have." Juan Pablo reminded them. "And Jax can come with me to go fishing." said Walter.
"Before we go, Rosie and Tracey had a question for Lucia." Jax smiled at them. "I knew it, we shouldn't have told him." Rosie said, throwing her hands up. "Yes?" Lucia smiled. "Well, we were thinking...could you put some color in our hair?" Tracey asked.
"Of course, but tonight. The supplies are under some stuff, so we can get it later." Lucia agreed. "Perfect." Rosie smiled, and left with Adam. They all went to their separate teachers, and learned better skills.
Tracey learned how to control the bow more comfortably, and reload faster. She easily learned how to track and hunt more efficiently. Aiden and Liam learned how to handle the guns better, and weren't going to freeze up again.
Rosie and Vera picked out better close range weapons than the ones we had before. Rosie and Jax got an axe; Vera and Tracey, a machete; Aiden and Liam got a tomahawk. Jax was becoming a better fisherman.
Rosie and Tracey went to Lucia. "Okay, so what do you want?" Lucia wondered. "Well, I want purple streaks, dark purple." Tracey decided. "I want the blue tips." Rosie smiled. "Fantastic." Lucia clapped her hands. An hour later, they had different hair.
Jax smiled when he saw them. They looked the same, and the color choices were good. "Rosie?!" Liam yelled from across the camp. "What? I got my tips dyed." Rosie looked at her hair. "You got you hair changed?! Why didn't you tell me?!" he yelled. "Wow. Ummm, I'm gonna go leave you two, and go find..." Tracey backed off, and Jax followed her.
"Why are you being so overprotective? I love you, and I know this thing is scary, but I can take care of myself." Rosie argued. "I know, I know... It's just that, when I froze, I couldn't protect you. And I freaked." Liam buried his face in his hands. "Hey, no one expected any of us to be able to kill anything." Rosie comforted her brother.
Jax and Tracey watched them. "Oh, okay. They aren't mad, just scared. Good. Nothing bad." Tracey breathed a sigh of relief. "Yeah. One thing we don't need is fighting between siblings." Jax agreed. Walter teared his way out of his tent. "Okay, children. Up front, stand to attention." he ordered. Tracey knew what that meant, they were in trouble. Tracey stood up straight in front of him, and stared him in the eye.
Jax, Rosie, Aiden, and Liam all stood like she did. Vera slouched a slight bit, and paid the penalty. "Vera, stand up straight." Walter barked. She stood up straight, but glared at him. He passed it off. "Okay, as leader of this group, it has come to my attention that my people has given you weapons. I know during this difficult time you need them, but so do we. So, tomorrow, you will start pulling your weight. It's every man for themselves. Only exception, families. So, everyone gets their own food, they get their own things, and if they are sick they need to get medicine themselves." Walter yelled.
Jax and Tracey looked at each other. "You are all dismissed." Walter said, and left. Tracey stared after him. "What was that? Okay, we're going to leave." Aiden growled. "We can't leave. This is our best chance of surviving." Rosie argued. "Well then, you can stay here. The rest of us are leaving." he announced. Liam stood by Rosie, then Jax, then Tracey. "Sorry, Aiden, but Rosie's right. We can't leave. Maybe if they do something terrible, but we need adults." Liam said.
Aiden stormed off. Tracey looked after him, and looked back at Rosie. "Go try to calm him down." Rosie read her mind. Tracey ran after him. "Hey." she greeted. He said nothing. "Well, it's going to get better. The adults are here, we don't have to fight as much, and we could practice with people who know what they're doing." Tracey explained. "No it won't. These people are corrupted. No one can see that. I know we can't be too quick to judge out loud, but Tracey, be honest. Do you trust these people?" he asked. "No. We haven't been here long, but it's hard to gain trust." she reminded him.
They were walking far from camp. Tracey heard growls. She drew her machete, and Aiden held a stick. "You left your tomahawk?" Tracey noticed. "Well, I didn't think we'd go this far." Aiden made up an excuse. The growls were definitely of the Sick. They got closer to it, and they saw something that shocked them. A gigantic airport filled with the Sick. They ran back.
Aiden and Tracey were out of breath. The group wasn't really worried. Two weeks passed. There were several fights, and Aiden always ran to the airport. Tracey always ran to calm him down. That's what the others thought, really they were just talking.
Everyone's skills improved greatly, and they all got better at guns. Tracey was a hunter and bowman. Jax was an excellent fisher. Vera knew the edible plants. Aiden and Liam could also hunt. Rosie was the medic; very, very reluctantly.
Everyone was sitting around the campfire, eyeing Juan Pablo and Walter. They had had several heated battles the last few weeks. No one was ever 'safe' from them. They brought in everyone. Most of them were about the teens. Walter was the first to make the move. Instead of arguing, he grabbed a gun. "J.P, I think I saw a deer. Would you come with me?" he asked. Walter grabbed a gun, and followed him.
They all waited in silence, and then they heard the gunshot. Walter came back, with no Juan or deer. "Walter? Where is J.P?" Felicia asked. Walter raised the gun, and shot her in the leg. She cried out, and Trevor tackled him. Adam guarded us. Walter's gun was raised toward them. "Leave, now!" Adam yelled, and they ran to the van.
The tent was packed in the van with our weapons and stuff, so they didn't need to pack. They drove for awhile, still shaken by the fact the one who helped them was dead. Jax broke the silence.
"Maybe next time, we send only two of us to see if the group is fit for us." was all he said. The next few miles lead us to a river separating two sides. "Can we stop for camp soon? I know it must be hard to keep your focus on the road, or someone can switch." Tracey said.
Aiden pulled over. "Okay, keep watch. Liam, you first, then Tracey, me, and Rosie." he announced tiredly. They all fell asleep, and by morning, everyone was 'okay'. They all travelled in the van, straight ahead, not knowing where they would go.
It was awhile before anyone said anything. "So, how about we say something." Jax thought aloud. "Yeah." Liam smiled,"How is everyone doing?"
"Well, let's see...a guy was just murdered. The weather is crap as always, and we have no clue where to go from here." Vera snapped. Aiden stopped the car.
"Tracey, you get up front. Vera, get back there." Aiden said. Vera looked hurt, but gladly stayed in the back with Yang. Tracey went to the front.
"Okay, we are going to the country. Not many of the Sick would be there, so we could basically go untouched." Aiden announced. They all had their faith restored in their leader.
It was two hours of awkward silence until we found a back road. "I think the highway is going to be jammed, so let's take the back road." Rosie pointed out. Aiden listened
to her warning, and went to the back road. "Okay, so what are we looking for?" Liam asked. "Well, lots of space, barn, big enough farmhouse, and maybe horses." Aiden smiled.
They looked for awhile and found the perfect spot. "Well, two horses, tons of cows, and chickens, gigantic space, barn, and farmhouse." Aiden checked off his mental list. They got out and brought out the weapons. "Clear out the farmhouse first, then the barn." Liam decided.
The farmhouse had a hazel outside, and a light orange on the inside. All the furniture was covered in blankets. "I don't think anyone lives here at the moment." Rosie observed. "No, but rather be safe than sorry." Tracey chuckled.
The house was clear, and the barn was too. "I think that this is going to be our haven." Jax smiled. They all agreed, and got to work with the beds.
"Okay, so there are four beds. And not all of us can share, so one has to bunk three, and the other one. Why? Because the awkward guy and girl situation." Aiden announced. Rosie and Tracey shared one room; Jax, Aiden, and Liam another; and Vera by herself, but in the smallest room.
"Hey, Aiden? Can I go get some hunting in? We need food, but the cows are too big." Tracey asked. "Of course, but take Yang." he suggested. Tracey and Yang went out into the forest with a bow and hunting bag. She caught a few birds and a couple squirrels. Then, she headed to the creek, until she saw some people. An old man was leading a Sick one by a collar and bringing him someplace. Tracey followed him.
He was with others, and she saw a massive group of them with one kid. Tracey saw an opportunity to greet them, but decided against it. She ran back, excited and worried about what the news would mean for the teens.
"Guys, I saw another group. They were bigger than the other one, but they did have women and children. They could be better than the Others." Tracey said quickly and then waited for a response. No one understood her, except for Rosie. "So, Aiden, what should we do?" Rosie asked him.
"About... Sorry, but I didn't understand your rapid English." he apologized. Tracey repeated it slower, and they all understood. "I think Jax's idea is brilliant for this. Tracey and Jax will go spy, and tell us in a week." Aiden said. She spent the night at the house, devising a plan on how to play it off as innocent kids.
"Okay, the plan will be that I go first, we could be separated. Then you'll come in two or three days, and we can be reunited." Tracey suggested. "Wow, that was very well improvised." Jax laughed. "Yang will come with Jax, but we can hold our own here. Come back alive." Aiden told me.
Tracey smiled, maybe they were becoming good friends. She left with a bow, and ran into an accident. A man, one who seemed crazy was nearby. He attacked her, and left Tracey with a bleeding arm and burned hand. "Ouch." she complained, and made her way to the farm house.
She rehearsed the plan in her head, but it was hard to concentrate. She walked to the edge of the forest, and collapsed.
Tracey woke up in a bed, and freaked. She jumped out and looked around. No one was watching her, they were probably outside deciding her fate. She cautiously opened the door and peered out. They were out on the porch, and she knew that someone would come for her eventually. What she didn't notice was the door on the other side. A man, a redneck, smiled from the other side of the room. She had no idea he was there.
"Hey, you may want to look around the room before you decide to leave this one." the man laughed. Tracey turned around, frightened. "Don't worry, I'm not bad. I'm Daryl." he introduced himself. "I'm Tracey." she said. "Well, Tracey, how did you get those injuries?" Daryl asked. "Accidents, burned my hand on a supposedly unused pan, and I fell onto a sharp rock." she lied.
"Okay. Well, tell me about how you survived." he asked. "Umm, I had a group, and we all got separated. I went hunting with a friend and then I got lost. Then I fell, and found my way here." Tracey remembered the back up story.
Daryl sat back in a chair, and smiled. "Well, you aren't going back to your group anytime soon. You arm is worse than you think, but maybe you heal faster than others." he remarked. "Who are the others, out there?" Tracey wondered. "Oh, the leader, doctor, right hand man, then the others." Daryl answered vaguely.
"What are you?" she asked out of curiosity. "I am the hunter and tracker. By the looks of things, so are you." he smiled. Tracey relaxed a little. Daryl seemed nice and maybe vouched for the underdogs, and that's what she needed. The door opened behind her. "Oh, she's awake. Faster than I had anticipated." the old man from the creek commented,"My name's Hershel, the doctor."
"I'm Tracey." she said. "Well, Tracey, you gave us quite a scare. Daryl had to convince us that you weren't a Walker. I take it you are quite a skilled tracker and hunter." Hershel said. Tracey sat back on the bed, and answered some medical questions, then the leader asked me some different ones.
"Tracey, I'm Rick. Well, I have a few other questions for you. Did you have a group?" he asked. "Yes, but we were separated." Tracey answered. "Is there any place that we could find them?" he wondered. "Not that I can think of. Maybe a farmhouse, but they could have left." she replied. "How many groups have you been in?" he asked. "Two." Tracey answered truthfully.
"And how many people have you killed?" he asked finally. "None." she replied.
Rick went back to talk with Hershel, and Daryl went along with them. "One of the women will bring you something to eat." he said before he left. Tracey waited for awhile, and began zoning out again. Someone entered the room with food. "Hello, I'm Lori, Rick's wife. Here's something for you to eat." she said, and left. Tracey ate the sandwich given to her and waited.
Daryl came back in after I finished the sandwich. "Would you like to go outside?" he asked. "Sure." Tracey agreed and followed him out. The Others were doing different things. Some were talking, others cooking, and one was on the top of an RV looking around.
"So, this is the girl." one man smiled at me. He was older, and had a fishing hat on. "I'm Dale." he introduced himself and took out his hand. "Nice to meet you, my name's Tracey." she shook his hand. "Now, there's a decent soul in the horrid times." he joked. Tracey smiled. So many people, Tracey thought, maybe this could be a little overwhelming.
Everyone was curious now, and that sort of became overwhelming. She met everyone. There was Carl, Carol, Glenn, Maggie, Patricia, Beth, T-Dog, Andrea, and Shane. That was a crowd to get used to, Tracey thought.
That day, she did a few chores, but nothing too strenuous. Her arm was stitched, and anything could reopen it. Daryl kept a close eye on her, and so did Rick. Shane and Andrea was suspecting of her. Carol didn't pay too much attention to her, because she was still grieving the death of her daughter.
Everyone else kept the way they were. Tracey thought about the group, and what was going on there. Jax was coming in a few days with Yang. Then, they could tell Rick, but something was wrong. Could they trust a liar?
Dale called Tracey up to the RV. "So, how do you like it so far?" he asked. "It's a very close group. You guys are so nice. Thanks for taking me in." Tracey smiled. "Well, some folks don't want your stay to be permanent." Dale told her. "Really? I did just get here." Tracey chuckled. "You see, Carol just lost her daughter, and some folks see it as a sign that maybe she could try again." Dale thought.
Tracey looked at Carol. She was sad, but didn't show it as much. Daryl was looking around. "What will happen to me?" Tracey wondered out loud. "By the looks of things, you would stay." Dale said. Tracey thought about things. The teens could stay, but it would mean regaining trust, and that would be harder now that it had been broken.
"Tracey, did you tell Rick the truth?" Dale asked. Tracey looked up at him, and nodded, lying yet again. "Okay, it's just that some teens lie to protect others, which to me, seems like you." he commented.
Hershel went onto the porch, looking for Daryl, Rick, Shane, and Tracey. Tracey came down from the RV and looked back at Dale, then followed the others. She was nervous, they could find out about her at any moment. "Well, for starters, I just wanted to see how Tracey was handling the crowd." Hershel smiled. She smiled back, more nervous or shy.
Daryl was smiling at Tracey. Shane didn't even glance at her. Rick was just focused on talking to Hershel. "If it's about the barn, I am sorry." Rick apologized. "No, but I wanted to talk about a different matter, there was a man spotted in the woods. He could be part of your group." Hershel said to Tracey. "Could be." she thought, but then quickly remembered the crazy guy,"Or that crazy man that terrorized our group."
Rick noted that, and continued with the conversation. "So, what else needs to be addressed?" he asked. "Well, a few things. One, Tracey. Is she staying or not?" Daryl asked. "Depends on what the rest of us think. But, I admit we need more hunters." Rick answered. "Yeah, adults. I'm sorry, but I don't trust the kid." Shane admitted, and realized Tracey was there.
She was a little offended, but tried not to let it show. "I...I" Shane stuttered, and left. Tracey sighed, and looked at the others. "Second, animals. I know you may not think we need any dogs, but hunting and finding can be very useful." Hershel commented. "So, we need a dog?" Daryl guessed. "We can find some." Rick shrugged.
Yang would be here in a few days, and then we could hunt, Tracey thought.
Hershel left to tend to a family matter, and they were left alone. Andrea was outside, and from the moment she saw me, she made a face. "Rick, may I speak with you?" she asked. "Of course." Rick replied, and they went away.
Now it was just Daryl and Tracey. "So... You do know that most of them don't trust you, right?" Daryl wondered. "Yeah, Dale told me." Tracey sighed. "Well, just to let you know that not all of us are that way; Dale, Rick, and I trust you." Daryl said. "Really?" she smiled.
"You're different from the others. We respect you for that, and your bow is quite impressive." he laughed. She laughed, and remembered the first time she used it. "What's going on with everyone else?" Tracey asked. "Shane and Andrea don't like you, at all. Everyone else is just recovering from yesterday." Daryl sighed.
Night fell, and Tracey wondered about where to sleep. She walked around, and waited for someone to tell her something. Everyone was now asleep, and Tracey was still outside. She finally worked up the courage to climb to the top of the RV and slept there.
The next morning, she woke up early, and looked around from the top. The fields were filled with cows, there was a barn, and a forest surrounded them. "Good morning." Rick greeted from the bottom of the RV. Tracey climbed the ladder back down. "Good morning." she said.
"Well, there isn't much to do here, you can cut vegetables, or tend to the horses, but otherwise...nothing much." Rick informed her. "That's all I think Hershel would let me do." Tracey thought. Rick agreed.
He went to the farmhouse to talk with Hershel, but he was nowhere to be found. The girl named Beth was in shock. "Well, things really hit the fan when the girl came here." Shane said to Rick,"Why don't we just let her heal and then send her on her way, she has a group. Just let her go."
Rick looked at him. "Shane, this is a little girl. We are not doing that a second time." he said, and walked away. This happened within earshot of Tracey, and she heard every word. "Don't worry about them." Daryl said from behind her,"Shane feels threatened by anything."
Tracey smiled, at least someone was there on her side. They walked to the stables and talked. "So, you left your dad?" Daryl wondered. "Yeah, I left with my friends, but we didn't go back for him or the other adults." Tracey answered,"We thought they would be in Atlanta, but..."
Tracey comforted the horses. Daryl was cleaning them. "So, your last group, what were they like?" he asked. "We were different. Small group, mostly kids. We have a dog. I mostly tried to keep the peace, but there were several arguments. Not too much happened with us. Barely any walkers." Tracey remembered her friends and missed them.
"Do you really think they left you?" Daryl wondered. "No, not really, but then again I don't know what's happening." Tracey admitted.
Rick came to the stables. "Daryl, Glenn and I are leaving. We're going to the bar and try to find Hershel. Take care of everyone, Shane is still here, so you two are in charge." he told him,"Tracey, you can just ask for something to do."
Rick left quickly with Glenn. There was a bark heard in the forest. "A dog?" Carl guessed, and everyone looked to the forest. A boy walked to them, with a dog. Lori went to him, and brought him back to the camp. They talked for awhile.
When Daryl and Tracey walked back to camp, he saw her. "Oh my lord." Tracey gasped. Jax saw her and ran his head through his hair, and ran to her. They hugged, and everyone was happy for the two. "Good acting." Jax whispered. "You too." Tracey smiled.
Daryl was curious about them. He looked at them and wondered about something. Jax had news about the others, they were doing fine, and that they had been able to grab tons of supplies. Tracey was just happy that they were okay.
It was a few hours before Lori began to get worried. "I have to go after them." she said. "They'll be fine." Andrea reassured her. She didn't listen, and left when no one was looking.
Rick, Glenn, and Hershel came back, but Lori was still out there. Shane didn't know Lori was gone. He blamed Tracey and Jax. "You distracted us from knowing!" he yelled. "Hey, back off, they're just kids." Daryl said to him.
"No, you stay out of this. Ever since Tracey got here, things have gone haywire." Shane said. "Like what?" Tracey asked boldly. "One, Hershel disappearing. Two, Beth fainting. Three, Carol's punishment." Shane listed.
"What does Carol have to do with me?" Tracey asked.
"Carol's daughter dies then you waltz in, and remind her of her daughter!" Shane yelled. Tracey was shocked and hurt, and thought about it. Daryl and Shane were arguing, but Tracey didn't hear it. She drowned out all the noise, and walked away. No one followed he from awhile.
Se sat down on a log and thought. Jax sat next to her quietly. "Tracey, are these people good?" he asked. "Yes." she told him. "Then, we'll stay." he smiled, and they both went back to camp.
Shane had a cut on his cheek, presumably from Daryl, who was now checking up on Tracey. No one saw him as a fatherly type, but he was protective. That night, Lori, Rick, Glenn, and Hershel came back. Hershel helped Beth, and removed Tracey's stitches.
"You recovered quickly. You can go hunting again, but nothing too strenuous." Hershel reminded her. Tracey was excited, hunting was one thing she wanted to do all the time. Daryl moved away from the group. He was fed up with everyone but Tracey.
Tracey was yet again wondering where to sleep. Jax was invited to sleep in a tent with Shane, and he agreed. Yang was with Tracey, happy to be alive.
Tracey looked around, and didn't want to go on top of the RV due to Yang's connection with her. "Aw, Yang. Where to go." she laughed to herself. Eventually, Maggie came outside.
"You can sleep in the house, and the dog too." Maggie offered. Tracey followed her inside, and when they got to the room, Yang and Tracey fell asleep. She thought about everything, and how to tell everyone about the rest of them.
The next morning, Tracey went to Daryl with her bow. "Do you want to go hunting?" she asked. Daryl smiled, and got his crossbow. They went into the forest with Yang, and hunted for all of the people. At the end of it, they counted their kills.
"One pheasant, two rabbits, three squirrels, and one woodchuck." Tracey smiled. "Three rabbits, and two squirrels." Daryl laughed. "I win." she said proudly. "Fine, but next time, leave the dog. Then we'll see who wins then." Daryl bet. "Yeah." she agreed.
When they got to the camp, everyone was in an uproar. Two sides. Kill the kid, or not to. This lasted for awhile. Two nights later, they had a debate. Tracey was on top of the RV, looking around. A cow collapsed, and she went to tell them, but they were too preoccupied to listen.
When the debate was over, Dale went to the RV and saw what Tracey saw. He went to go investigate, but didn't tell anyone. Tracey told Daryl what she saw. "Well, when I was on the RV, a cow just collapsed. I didn't see why, but maybe if it was a walker, then..." Tracey trailed off, and Daryl ran to the fields a little to late. Everyone was ran there when they heard the screams.
There was a half eaten cow, and a walker...tearing into Dale. Daryl shot the walker, and then looked at Dale. Dale was suffering, and Rick held up the gun, but couldn't do it. Daryl took the gun in his hands, and looked to the side. "Sorry, brother." he said, and shot him.
They returned in silence with Dale. Andrea was crying, and so was Lori. Daryl, Shane, Glenn, and Rick had expected Tracey to be crying, but she stayed strong. The next morning, they had a funeral. Tracey had been crying that night before she slept, but no one noticed.
The funeral was short, and then Shane stationed someone by the kid they got the night Hershel disappeared. "You guys aren't going to kill him, are you?" Tracey asked. "We have to. His group is vile. We don't want that to happen to us." Rick answered. "But won't killing him just anger them more if they find us?" she wondered. Rick thought about it.
Shane on the other hand just grew more and more annoyed by Tracey. "C'mon, Stone Heart, not everything has to be logical." he said. "Sorry, what did you call me?" she asked. "Stone Heart," Shane repeated,"You didn't even show any emotion when Dale died."
"I'm not that kind of person." Tracey shrugged, and went over to Jax, who Shane had actually taken a liking to. "So, what should we do?" he asked. "I don't know. One by one?" Tracey guessed. "Yeah, we'll get the word across somehow." Jax agreed. "Or...tell them and pick them up." Tracey thought.
"Too risky." Jax said.
A few days later, they decided on what to do. It began in the morning, the kid was going to be killed. Daryl, Shane, and Rick were going to do it. "Jax, if they kill him, we're leaving." Tracey decided with a heavy heart. Jax and Tracey grabbed their stuff, but decided to do one last thing. Tracey wrote a note for the entire group:
Dear Group,
We've grown to like you all, but we had to leave. We didn't want you to kill the guy, and it brought back memories we tried so hard to keep away. I lied. I did have a group, one full of teens. I'm sorry, but if you knew what happened to us, you would probably understand. Inside are some individual notes addresses to certain people.
Sincerely, Tracey
Dear Daryl,
Thanks for helping me and trusting me. If we meet again, and you are still mad, I understand. You were kind to me when not so many people were, and I tip my hat hat to you. I'll remember you, and once again, sorry I lied to you.
Sincerely, Tracey
Dear Hershel,
Thanks for healing me, I know when I first came here I was more trouble than help.
Sincerely, Tracey
Dear Rick,
Thanks for trusting me. Become a great leader, and treat that kid well, he has potential to become a great shooter.
Sincerely, Tracey
Tracey and Jax left that morning unnoticed, and they were sad, especially Tracey. They made their way back to the house and was greeted by hugs. They left the next morning, walkers were moving closer to them. Aiden was getting more moody and cold than when Tracey had left.
Tracey told them all about the group and why they left. Rosie was sympathetic for Tracey when she heard about Dale and that she left Daryl.
They were driving to Aiden's uncle, Joshua, in Savannah. He owned a boat, and there was an island big enough to live in nearby.
It took awhile, but finally, they arrived there. Aiden's uncle was nice. He started up the boat while the teens grabbed some more supplies. "Okay, boat is ready, and we are off." Joshua announced, and then there was growling.
A group of the Sick, or walkers, stumbled onto the dock. "Kids!" Joshua yelled.
Tracey and Jax were the first ones on the boat. The rest came only a couple minutes behind them. Joshua ran out to untie the boat, and the second the rope landed in the water, he ran for the boat. He was grabbed mid jump by one of the Sick. Aiden sailed the boat, and Tracey shielded Vera from the attack. And for once, Vera didn't resist.
Once on the island, which we called Jackson Island in honor of Tom Sawyer, we set up our tent. No one was extremely frazzled by Joshua's death. Aiden was even worse than when Tracey and Jax came back. He was getting into more fights with Rosie and Jax. Tracey went to talk to him after every single one, but it wasn't worth it anymore. He started yelling at her too. Aiden regretted seeing the look on her face, and knew he had betrayed her.
She didn't chase after him at all when he fought, and he missed it.
One day, there was an extremely heated argument. Rosie was accusing Aiden of being bossier than usual and not being the way he used to. It ended when Aiden shoved Rosie, and he stormed off onto the boat. "Liam! Time to go one run." he called. Liam saw Rosie on the ground and looked at Aiden. He knew what happened.
When they were halfway between the island and the mainland, he confronted Aiden. "Hey, did you push my sister?" he asked. "Yeah, so? She was getting on my nerves." Aiden answered without looking at him. They got the supplies, and headed back. "Why?" Liam asked finally. "I told you." Aiden said. "No, why are you being like this?! Was it because Tracey left? Was it because you wanted to be the one who ran off with her? Because you have a crush on her?! And why do you pick on my sister? She's so sweet and innocent, you're the reason why we had to do so many bad decisions!" he asked, and regretted it. " I am not." Aiden said, and pushed him. "I'm sorry, man. That was the anger talking. But I seriously want to know, why are you being like this?" Liam asked.
Aiden had enough of Liam, and pushed him. Liam slipped on the ground, and hit his head. He was thrown into the water, unconscious, and he drowned.