You did your best trying not to fidget while you sat between Simon and, who you learned was, Dwight in one of the trucks. Dwight was driving while Simon messed around with some of the cds in the glove compartment, before settling on one, some country tune you didn't recognise. Even though you kept your gaze straight ahead, you could feel Simon shamelessly staring at you, whilst Dwight was being more subtle through his glances from the corner of his eye every now and again. It wasn't long before the questions began.

"So what's an english bird like you doing so far away from her nest? Were you here on vacation or something?" Simon inquired, watching you carefully.

"Uh, yeah. Came during the summer with a friend and the virus became a problem halfway through our holiday. We, uhm, tried getting an early flight back but the airports were one of the first things to be put on lockdown." You didn't like thinking back to the beginning, having to relive the panic of those first few weeks, losing your only friend so soon into the end of civilisation and remembering just how truly alone and lost you had felt.

Simon tapped you on the knee with his own when he noticed the slightly sombre look on your face as a result of his question, and instead started asking your age, or at least your best estimation of your age, what you did before the apocalypse, what weapons your good with and just general questions about yourself. You answered him honestly, because, really, what's the point in lying? You told him you'd never fired a gun, which shouldn't have been as surprising as he made it look, even Dwight raised his eyebrows at this revelation, considering the fact that guns weren't legal in the UK, and so you mainly stuck to knives, machetes, things that were simple enough to master.

The conversation tapered off eventually, along with the adrenaline, as you all rode in silence, aside from the low music softly playing and the occasional static from a walkie talkie. The soft sounds coupled with the cool breeze and the simple fact that you hadn't truly slept properly for the past 2 years from the fear of a rogue dead bastard getting through whatever protection you'd use to defend yourself, had caused you to lightly doze off. When you next blearily open your eyes, it is to the sights and sounds of a fully functioning community. You were completely awestruck.

"Welcome to the Sanctuary, your new home sleepy head!" Simon grinned at you and proceeded to hop out of the truck as soon as it was parked, gesturing for you to follow after him. Your wide eyes took in everything they could, committing the scene to memory. You were stood in front of a looming concrete building, metal stairways and catwalks snaking all around it. Armed guards were dotted all around, along the rooftops, entrances, watchtowers; no one was getting in or out of this place without someone taking notice. From where you were positioned, you could see what looked like a flourishing garden around the side of the main building, with women and men tending to the crops. Simon was being truthful when he said they had all sorts of people here, and your anxiety lessened significantly when you witnessed a group of women laughing and talking amongst themselves while doing laundry out in the open.

Expecting you to follow, Simon lead they way inside the building, but didn't get far as he stopped to speak to a fairly short, curly haired woman. She eyed you as they spoke in hushed tones, and you kept your distance as they didn't seem like they'd appreciate an eavesdropper much. After a few more words were exchanged, with the occasional glance thrown your way, they both walked towards you. The woman left through the entrance you had just walked through while Simon

stopped in front of you.

"The boss man hasn't gotten back yet so you're gonna have to wait to meet him. In the meantime I'm gonna get you started. One thing you're gonna wanna remember here is that the rules keep us alive. Without the rules, there is no civilisation." You didn't completely agree with that but listened on as he lead you through numerous hallways. "You do as you're told and follow the rules? Well, you're gonna have the best time you could hope for here. You break a rule? You'll get punished. In most cases severely so. You do not want to be on the other end of one of those, trust me."

Storing that ominous little warning away, you walked through a set of double doors into what was basically an indoor market. The large room was packed with stalls, all manned by a variety of characters. You both weaved through the different stalls, taking note of all that there is on offer, from freshly baked bread and other foods, to knick knacks and clothes and a whole bunch of other items. You were so engrossed in watching the sheer number of people here and all the supplies this place held in just this one room that you didn't notice that Simon had stopped and ended up, embarrassingly, walking into his back. You straightened up and mumbled a quick apology as he turned to you with a proud smile.

"Impressive right? It wasn't easy getting to this point, where we can live a relatively normal life, but we're slowly but surely getting this world right again. And now, you'll be a part of it too!" He turned his attention back to, who you've now noticed, and older african-american woman stood behind a table with women's pants and jeans piled on top.

"Rose! I need a women's welcome pack, she's a little on the small side so do what you can with that. Oh, and no shoes necessary." he observes, glancing down at your worn but still in good condition boots.

"Well hello there," she greets you warmly and you shyly smile back. She makes light conversation with Simon as she rifles through a few boxes stacked behind her before settling on one and handing it over to you. "Might be a little big, but it'll have to do until you've earned enough to buy better fitting clothes." Through the open top, you see the box filled with basic toiletries, a bottle of water, a couple of protein bars, a pair of jeans and a striped t-shirt. You graciously thank her, which she waves off, and then follow Simon as he leads you through the hallways yet again.

"What did she mean by earning enough? Do you use money here?" you had to ask, because you couldn't even imagine going back to using cash, figuring that would have become worthless once the world went to shit.

"Almost. We use a points system. Everyone has a job to do here, you work hard and earn points. With the exception of a few, but I'll let Negan explain that one. You can use your points to buy whatever extras you want; extra food, extra clothes, luxury items, whatever. You got enough points, you can buy whatever you want. This way, everyone does their share of the work." You can understand that, it's a way to make sure that everyone does something to contribute around here, no matter how small.

You assumed Negan was the leader here, and you were pretty glad you hadn't met him yet. Truth be told, you were nervous of meeting the guy. The longer you were here, the more you'd come to wanting to stay. Yes, you were still a nervous wreck but, from what you'd seen so far, you wouldn't be entirely opposed to staying. This Negan dude could throw you out with no warning if he wishes, where you'd be back to constantly being on high alert for hidden and visible dangers and wondering when you'd get your next bite to eat or sip of water. Away from the safety of these walls. Yeah, you really didn't want to go back to that.

Simon lead you into a sterile room, whose only occupant was a greying man in a lab coat. The makeshift infirmary was quite large, with locked cabinets and shelves on all the walls, as well as 4 gurneys, 2 on each wall opposite each other, and smelled strongly of bleach.

"New?" he simply asked Simon, to which he nodded, as he looked over your grime covered self. You felt like you were polluting the spotless room from your mere presence alone, and would have shuffled your feet self consciously if you didn't think you'd track dirt everywhere.

"Carson here is our resident doctor. Needs to make sure you're not bringing in anything that'll make yourself or anyone else here sick and take your medical history. He'll also tend to any injuries you've got. You're in safe hands. Go on doc." And with that, Simon took a seat on one of the beds.

Before starting the examination, Carson leads you through a door to the side of the room that turned out to be a small bathroom, complete with a little shower stall. He handed you a large grey towel and asked you to wash up, as it would help him take better stock of any wounds or injuries you may have.

As soon as he left and closed the door behind himself you turned towards the the shower. No way did they have have a functioning water system here. As you slowly turned on the shower, well, you could have cried right then and there as a jet of warm water came pouring out. You wasted no time in stripping down, grabbing your toiletries from the box, and relishing in the feeling of water running over your head. You didn't want to overstep your boundaries, so you washed as quickly as you could, scrubbing your hair clean and then conditioning and finger combing it until it was free of all knots and smoother than it has ever been these past few years. You rubbed your body red getting rid of all the dirt and grime you'd once been convinced was just a second skin and was now swirling down the drain. You didn't even care that you were irritating some of the cuts and grazes you'd acquired while surviving outside, you were just overjoyed at the feeling of being clean.

Once you'd managed to drag yourself out of the stall, you dried yourself off and picked out the shirt and jeans from the box. Underneath them both, you now notice, is a bra, a pack of plain underwear and a couple pairs of socks. Not wasting anymore time, you get dressed and exit the bathroom with your boots in one hand and the box in the other. Simon pulls the curtain closed around the bed he's still sat on to give you some privacy as the doctor begins his examination.

Carson begins by telling you to remove your clothes, and you do so hesitantly, keeping you bra and underwear on. This is a nightmare. You've always had self-esteem issues and the apocalypse has done nothing to change that. You know logically that he's a doctor and that that's what they do, but that doesn't stop you from wanting to self-consciously wrap your arms around yourself. Carson, noticing the insecurity from a mile away, tells you what he'll be doing before he does it, so you at least know what to expect. He also asks you all about your medical history as he pokes you and takes all sorts of readings and whatever else. This makes the whole thing go by much faster and before you know it, he gives you the okay to get dressed again. He didn't have to do much, nothing was broken or too badly bruised, but he did put some ointment on a few cuts on your arms and legs to aid in the healing.

Once you were dressed and Simon was in front of you again, Carson reported that you were fine apart from being dehydrated and pretty severely malnourished. He suggested small meals a few times a day to build your strength back up and then you were on your way out in the maze of corridors once again.

"You clean up well." You blushed as Simon smiled at you, watching you trying in vain to keep up with the giant's long strides, actively avoiding eye contact.

He leads you through another set of double doors into a cafeteria, much like what you'd find in schools, with tables and benches littered all around and with the serving area towards the back which hid the kitchen behind it that you could see through the windowless hole in the wall the kitchen staff were using to pass through pots and trays of food to the servers.

It must have been dinner time because the room was packed with people, many already seated and tucking into their meals while a few stragglers were queuing for theirs. You could feel more and more eyes on you the further you walked in, causing you to shuffle behind Simon slightly in a futile attempt to hide yourself behind his stature. Simon dropped you off on the end of a mostly full table as he went ahead and jumped the queue to grab 2 bowls of food. You kept your head down, feeling eyes burn into you from all sides and only looked up once Simon set down a bowl of stew in front of you and took his seat opposite you.

As Carson suggested, it was a significantly smaller portion than everyone else's, but you didn't care as your stomach roared at the heavenly smell coming off of it. Gratefully, you looked up at Simon and thanked him with a small smile before digging in.

"No thanks necessary," he smiled back, taking a bite of his own food before continuing. "You get 3 free hot meals when you first arrive here, and by then you'll make enough points to pay your way for hot meals, or stick to whatever cold foods are available, usually from a can, free of charge. Told you, we look after our own here." He beams at you before you both go back to finishing off your food.

When Dwight enters the dining area and spots the both of you, immediately heading your way, you feel a little uneasy because of the brief look he sends your way. You don't know why but it almost seems as if he pities you, and as he whispers something to Simon you try not to appear too obvious in your eavesdropping in order to discover the reason for the tension that surrounds Dwight. It's pointless, of course, as you can't hear a thing in the loud environment of the cafeteria, and you curiously watch as Simon excuses himself, saying he'll be right back and they both leave you there on your own.

As soon as they have both stepped out, you try to keep your breathing even as the stares which had subsided once Simon sat with you have now restarted, along with hushed conversation. It feels like Simon has been gone for so long that you're not even sure if he's coming back, and you panic slightly as you spot a greasy looking man who had been blatantly leering at you stand from his table and slowly maneuver his way around the tables, heading straight for you.

You're saved, however, from having to make polite conversation with someone so unsavory looking as the strangest of things happens.

With loud steps and that haunting two-tone whistle, in walks an impressively tall and well built fella with an even more impressive choice of weapon; a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire, simple yet deadly. Clad in leather, his eyes take in the room. That wasn't the strange part. No. the strange part is that, apart from the staff handling food, every single person in the room has dropped to their knee and lowered their head for this one man. You gawk at the scene before you, wondering what the actual fuck is going on, and should you also kneel? Simon, conveniently, managed to leave that part out of the whole introduction to the place.

Your wide-eyed stare eventually returns to the man with the power to make a room full of people leave their food just to kneel for him, and you jump slightly as you see his eyes already on you. You abruptly close your mouth so you don't seem like even more of an idiot, and watch as a slow smile forms on his clean-shaven face, revealing deep dimples as it turns into a fully fledged grin. He maintains eye contact with you for a few more seconds, grin still in place, before turning and walking out of the cafeteria.

And just like that, life comes back to the people around you as they all stand and resume what they were doing, as if nothing out of the norm had just occurred.

What the fuck just happened?!