Chapter Four

The car ride was quiet, it made me rather uneasy. Shane kept trying to make small talk but I'd simply shaken it off for the most part. We had gotten to my old camp; it looked so desolate, so abandoned, like the rest of the world. The vehicle came to a stop and Shane turned off the engine, "be quick about this sweetheart, the sooner we get out of here, the better."

His tone was belittling, and I hated it. "Yeah, yeah," my reply was snippy but I didn't give a damn. I hopped out of the car, the gravel crunching beneath my cowboy boots. I made my way to the tents, taking caution to any signs of walkers. In my tent I gathered what supplied I needed; clothes, a locket that belonged to my mother, my daddy's flask & the spare jug of 100 proof moonshine (it's a blessing in a world gone to hell,) and a few other things. I grabbed my straw cowboy hat and stepped out of the tent, putting it on my head.

"Now that's real cute, you really are a hick like your cousin, huh?" Shane gave a snide smirk. I rolled my eyes and pushed past him, snobbishly flipping my hair to the side. I felt the need to show a little attitude, maybe even prove that I wasn't s push over; but I tried to keep my calm regardless.

"I'm going to grab some of Kael's things, while we're here," I said with my back turned. I could hear Shane sigh in frustration.

"You just want to waste daylight don't ya," he spoke in a teasing tone. I ignored him and went into Kaeleb's tent grabbing a couple things I knew he'd like to have. I then heard the door to the canvas tent shift. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Shane peek in.

I looked over, "can I help you with something, or…?"

"Let's get going already."

After grabbing the last couple of things I walked over to Anton's tent- I had quite the arsenal to be honest; and now that he wouldn't be using it… Well, why let it go to waste. "Shane, make yourself useful and help me load these," I said walking over to the storage box Anton used for weapons. It was mostly blades, a pair of Desert Eagle .45's, a couple rifles, and my personal favorite; a vintage Colt .45 six-shooter. I tucked it safely away in the back of my jeans.

"Well, I guess, picking up you strays wasn't a complete waste…Now was it," Shane scoffed as he loaded the weapons into the back of the truck with me. I gritted my teeth, making a sour smile as I slammed the gate of the truck closed.

"Excuse me?" I spat, "Maybe ya don't realize it but we're PEOPLE too. Not dogs. Hell, one of YOUR people is actually my cousin. So like it or not, that makes me one of your people too now."

"That's where you're wrong, sweetheart," Shane's eyes narrowed as he walked closer to me, I stood my ground, "you're trouble. I can already see that, but I also know a bitch when I see one. 'Specially when there's a dirty little pup following her around."

That was when I lost it, "screw you," I muttered as I slapped him with full force. At the time I knew it probably wasn't the best reaction but I was never one to sit around and accept insults. That wasn't how I was raised.

Shane smirked and raised an eyebrow, "now, I was taught never to hit a woman… But for you I'd make an exception."

After a while we finished up packing what we had to grab, nothing was said for a long time. Not until we were back in the truck at least. Shane would say something offensive and I'd make some snide remark. I had a feeling this would become an all too common pattern. What really irked me was the fact that Daryl had told me to stay away from this guy and now I was stuck with him… Trouble? Yeah, I didn't have to be told twice about this guy. I started to think back to how Daryl and I had been reunited, as cheesy as it may sound. I couldn't even determine the odds of it happening; let alone Merle being, supposedly, dead. Even if the world was goin' to hell, maybe I could live with it after all.

Suddenly, I felt the truck coming to a stop. I shot Shane a curious look, "uh, what's the hold up?"

"We're going to have a little talk little lady," he said as he turned off the ignition and locked the doors.

"Real cute, but ya do know I can just unlock the door right?"

He gave me an annoyed stare, "you're gonna stop your mouthing off to me, first of all."

I took this moment to interrupt him as I unlocked and opened the door, "oh, I am, am I?"

That of course didn't go over well with him as he abruptly grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me closer. He reached over me and closed the door, "you sure are a little spit fire aren't ya?" This obviously made me uneasy, I'd been in similar situations in my years and I knew I could take care of myself. Despite this, the situation was unnerving.

"Let go of me," I warned with gritted teeth.

"Oh shut up, and listen… Yeah, I don't like you and you don't like me, but I think we can work out a mutual agreement," his voice was filled with a tone of mischief. What was he up to? "If you stay out of my way and keep your pretty little head out of my business, I'll leave you and your pretty boy Irishman alone… Hell, I'll even stay away from Daryl, not that I don't already."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"My business is none of yours… But if you get in my way, you'd best watch your back," he sneered.

"Uh, look, you're not making any sense to me," I whispered, I knew that there was something going on with this guy, but I didn't know what.

He continued to stare at me, leaning in close, "let's keep it that way, sweetheart."

Author Note:
Sorry this chapter is a little shorter than the others… I'm way behind schedule on my updates to say the least. It always happens. Either way, I hope you likes this chapter… I'm probably going to shift the story line to fit the new season of the show. If I do that, I will definitely make a chapter explaining the events between the jump. Thank you for your patience!