I really liked how this chapter turned out ! Hope the readers agree ! Enjoy ! (Thanks for the reviews ! I greatly appreciate them !)

~Kaila G


Raina sat around with the group in the small hotel's lobby that night. She was kind of surprised that Daryl had joined in, sitting near Rick and Andrea. Raina noticed how Rick would reach over every few minutes and squeeze Andrea's hand. She would smile and look at him with nothing but adoration. Raina smiled at the sight.

"So what's y'alls story?" Raina asked. Rick looked up and smiled.

"Well, it's a long one." Rick stated honestly.

"Hey, I got time." Raina shrugged with a slight grin.

"I suppose you do. Well, I woke up in a hospital. I found my family after a long journey. We all had a camp, but it was attacked, so we moved on. Went to the CDC, where we met Dr. Jenner. Told us that... Well I'll get to that later. Anyway, the CDC is gone now. We found a farm that belonged to Hershel." Rick nodded at the older man Raina had met earlier, before continuing. "The farm was over run by walkers, then there was a prison we found. That didn't work out. So then we found this place and just called it home."

"Wow, y'all been through it, huh?" Raina murmured.

"Yea, boy have we." Glenn spoke up. Raina smiled at him and Maggie. She liked them, they were more her age.

"What about you, Raina?" Carl's voice piped into the conversation. Raina smiled at Rick's boy. He was adorable.

"Well... I was visitin' home for the summer from college. My parents are divorced, but when the news broadcasts started, we all met up at my father's house." Daryl noticed how she said father instead of dad... Hm. Her voice broke his thoughts. "My father made my older sister, my mom, and me take as many guns as we could possibly carry. So I jus' put the guns he gave me in my bag. I tried calling my friends, but only a few answered, talking about going to the CDC. Then the towers went out. Walkers started comin' round the house, and my father died, so we took off. My mama was killed and I got seperated from my older sister... I was jus' roamin' the woods, tryin' to find somewhere safe. And he found me." She looked at Daryl who smirked, causing the group to laugh lightly.

"Y'all shoulda seener!" Daryl teased. "All clompin' round through those woods with that damn crossbow." Daryl still doubted her skills with the crossbow, much less a gun.

"Oh, ha ha." Raina sneered playfully. "I'm glad he found me though. I was ready to jus' give up."

"Can't do that, girl." Michonne spoke up. "No giving up. Not in this world."

"She's right, Raina. You're a part of this group now." Rick said, friendly tone coming through. He looked at Daryl. "Alright, Daryl. Since you're on watch tonight, how about Raina go up with you, and you show her what it's all about."

"Wonderful." Daryl said with sarcasm. Raina opened her mouth to defend herself but Rick shot her a look. She just looked at Daryl. His eyes stared her down, so cold, and bitter that she finally looked down. There was an awkward silence before Andrea spoke up.

"Okay, well, Raina, Daryl will show you to your room once you guy's watch shift is up. Have a good night's sleep. You look like you need it." Andrea smiled. Raina returned the smile, thankful for Andrea.

Once they said their goodnights, Raina followed Daryl down the hotel hallway until they reached a stairwell. He opened the door, holding it open for her. Raina mumbled a surprised "thank you", before darting in. They walked up a few flights of stairs, before going through another door, which led to the roof.

Raina walked out onto the roof, and was amazed by the view. She didn't like heights, but the stars, the stars were beautiful. There was only one small outside light on, so the stars were bright and twinkling in the sky. Raina wished she could wake up at home, in her bed, from a terrible nightmare.

"So what's ya real story?" Daryl asked, plopping down in a chair. Raina whipped her head toward him.

"What?" She asked, sitting in the chair beside him. He shifted uncomfortably.

"How'd ya really wind up in those woods?" He asked, not looking at her face. Raina didn't want to relive the experience, but for some strange reason she couldn't understand, everything started to pour out.

"My father beat the shit outta my mama all mine and Melissia's life. My sister is two years older than me. We were both in college, home for summer break. Both of us stayin' with our mama, of course 'cause we couldn't stand our father." Raina started.

"He ever beat ya?" Daryl asked quietly.

"All the time, 'til one day I pulled a gun on him. I was twelve, and that was the day my mama divorced him." Raina looked at Daryl. When he stared back, she looked down and continued. "Anyway, we went to my father's house and stocked up on guns. I tried callin' all of my friends, but only a few answered. The same thing was happenin' where they were. They told me to go to the CDC, that's where they were headed. Said it was safe... My father said no way, he wasn't leavin' his house or his bottle of Jack. He was a drunk back when Melissia and I were born. 'Til the day I pulled that gun, he was a drunk. He sobered up, and I don't know how many weeks, or even months we were stuck in that house, but the day that the walkers first started appearin' in herds near the house, he opened a bottle of Jack, and drank all day. Then that night, he went upstairs, and we heard a gunshot... and..." Raina stopped for a second to think straight. "He shot himself. Walkers heard the shot, and started toward the house. My mama, my sister, and myself, we ran to my car. We got outta there fast. We couldn't stay there..." She trailed off.

"Ya had to." Daryl said, looking out at the woods.

"Yea... We came to a road block. We got outta the car, there were people standin' round tryin' to figure out what to do next. Then a herd attacked. It was complete chaos, total madness. My mama got bitten and we tried to save her, but we couldn't... Then there were all these people runnin', and I grabbed my back pack and crossbow... when I turned around... Melissia was screamin' for me, but I couldn't reach her.. The crowd was too big for her to fight... All I could do was scream at her to keep ... runnin', jus' run... " Raina was crying. Daryl didn't know what to do, or say, so he just touched her hand. She jumped at his touch, but didn't jerk away. Neither of them said anything for a while.

"I tried to get to her," Raina continued, "but the walkers cut me off. There was so much confusion and panic, people bein' torn apart right in front of me. I had to run. Into the woods. I got lost and had to keep goin'. I don't even know how many days I was wanderin' through those woods... Then you." Daryl's face softened, but only for a moment, before he pulled his hand away.

"That sure ain't the story ya told back at the lobby." Daryl smirked. Raina smirked back.

"And I'm sure Rick's story was rated G as well." She said, raising an eyebrow.

"Ya wanna hear what really happened?" Daryl asked quietly.

"Only if you feel like tellin'." Raina replied.

"Well, my brother an' I met up with these people an' we all made camp. Went into the city every now'n then for supplies. One day, they come back from town with Rick, but my brother's gone. Shane, was Rick's best friend, and Lori was Rick's wife. Them two were goin' at it like rabbits, sneakin' off any chance they got. Then Rick comes back, and Lori cuts Shane off and goes to her husband. They tell me that my brother, Merle, acted crazy so they chained him to the roof." Daryl looked angry. Raina listened with wide eyes, but she also kept her eyes on the woods, as Daryl did. "So some of us, me, Rick, T-Dog, and Glenn, went lookin' for him. He was gone... Cut his own hand off. We couldn't find him, so we had another thing to get. But we got ambushed by mexicans, who kidnapped Glenn, but we had one of theirs. So we offered a trade, they wanted Rick's bag of guns they seen in the street. Eventually we got back in there and one of the damn mexicans grandma comes out rambling and leads us right to Glenn. Things ended on a good note there."

"That's crazy." Raina said, glancing at him.

"We had to walk back to camp, the van we was drivin' was gone. Once we got close, heard gunshots and screamin'. We ran like hell, when we reached the camp, walkers were everywhere. Andrea's younger sister, Amy, was bitten. Andrea had to shoot her the next mornin'. After that night, we moved on. We got to the CDC, and Jenner, the crazy doctor, locked us in there. The place was gonna blow, and finally, he let us go. Andrea nearly stayed behind but Dale stopped her." Raina wondered who Dale was. She listened as daryl went on.

"The CDC blew up, and we left. Then we were on a empty road, gatherin' supplies. A herd came through, and two stragglers chased Sophia, Carol's little girl, into the woods. We spent alotta time lookin' for her. Then a hunter accidentally shot Carl, and we all made our way to the farm where Carl, Rick, and Shane were. I kept lookin' for Sophia. I fell off a small rock incline, and a arrow went through my side. I finally made my way back to the farm and Andrea shoots me in the head. Luckily, jus' a graze. Damn woman." He chuckled.

"I can't believe Andrea shot you." Raina smiled.

"Thought I was a walker. Hell, I prolly looked like one... Anyway, Carl got better, Shane got crazier. One day we all found out that Hershel had walkers in the barn. Shane went on a rampage and let 'em all outta the barn. Forcing us to shoot 'em. Then out walks little Sophia... A walker... Rick shot her. Shane couldn't do it." His voice had been almost tender when talking about Sophia. It went back to bitter when Shane was mentioned. He continued. "Carol had nobody. Her abusive husband died when Amy did, and then Sophia... Time went on. Supposedly, Shane killed Otis, the guy who accidentally shot Carl. When Carl was shot, Shane and Otis had went to town for supplies and Shane came back without Otis... Carl was better before the walkers in the barn mess happened. After that, Shane kept goin' downhill. Then we find out that Lori is pregnant. The baby might be Shane's. Needless to say, it was a mess. Then Dale was attacked by a walker and I had to shoot him, 'cause he was in pain, and dying. Long story short, there was a kid, possibly dangerous, Shane staged the kid's escape, but Glenn and me found the kid a walker in the woods. No bites, jus' a broke neck. Shane tried to kill Rick, but Rick killed him. Shane came back as a walker, Carl put him down. Then the barn was attacked and we all split up, but met up back at the road where Sophia first went missin'."

"That's... insane. But wait... how did Shane and the kid come back if they weren't bitten?" Raina asked wearily.

"We're all infected. Rick told us after we reunited and got back on track. Jenner told him." Daryl explained. Raina was silent. Daryl continued. "Andrea was missin'. T-Dog said he saw her go down. We wound up meetin' back up with her, though. Before we did, Lori died and lost the baby. Rick and Lori were basically done, 'cause she was pissed at him for killin' Shane... Rick was only staying with her for the baby. Then Andrea came back, and they got together. The prison was jus a flop so we found this place." Daryl finished.

"That's... a lot to go through." Raina mumbled. "And we're all... infected?" Her voice was tiny.

"Yea... We are... Well, this watch shift is jus what it is. Watchin'. Makin' sure no walkers come around." Daryl said, changing the subject. Before Raina could respond, Glenn and Maggie walked through the stairwell entrance door.

"How did your first shift go?" Glenn asked.

"Good. No walkers." Raina offered forcing a grin.

"Well, we got it from here.." Glenn hinted for Daryl to take her to her room. Daryl grunted, stood up, and slapped Glenn on the back, before going to the stairwell. Raina followed him. There were only three floors, and when they got to the second floor, they walked quietly down the hallway, until they reached a room.

"Here ya are." He said quietly.

"Thank you, Daryl... For the talk." Raina said, opeing her door and stepping inside. Without a word, he walked across the hall, and went inside his own room. Raina thought how interesting it was, that he was only across the hall... She shut her door.