I guess that wasn't what the men expected to hear.

"What do you mean you're looking for your brothers?" Burly guy asked.

I rolled my eyes. Really, there aren't too many definitions for that.

"Um, I guess it means I'm looking for my brothers…" I said slowly.

As I talked, the second guy lowered his gun, and motioned for his partner to do the same.

"Shane, I think she's fine." He said as he kept his eyes trained on my half raised weapon.

Burly guy, Shane apparently, did so grudgingly.

"I'm Rick Grimes, and this is Shane Walsh. I apologize if the children caused you any inconvenience." Rick said in a very sincere way.

During the confrontation, the kids had moved away from me towards their group, and Riddick had moved closer to me. I deemed it safe and clicked the safety on my gun and stuck in the waistband of my pants.

"Not much, in fact, it was probably a good thing they ran into me. Would've been Walker food if they hadn't." I explained, relaxing my stance.

I noticed Shane eyeing the fish blood by the bank of the river. He pointed at it.

"What's that from?" he questioned.

"Ah, the kids were hungry, so I decided they could do with a decent meal. Riddick is great at fishing." I said. I decided to brag a bit since Riddick couldn't do it himself.

Shane nodded, and so did Rick.

"That was kind of you." Rick said, inclining his head towards me. He and Shane shared a look.

"You know, the kids mentioned something about you guys having a group nearby." I queried.

Shane and Rick glanced at each other uncertainly, and I let out a small laugh.

"Come on, guys. I'm one person. Well, there's Riddick, but I don't think that we'd be a threat to a group as big as you guys. Plus, I think you owe me one for saving you kids." I reasoned, knowing that they'd have to take that into consideration.

They both turned so that I wouldn't see their faces, and I waited patiently, Riddick pranced about by my feet. Finally, they turned back to me and gave me a slow nod. I grinned, and I let out an audible sigh of relief.

"Thanks, guys. I don't think that I could've been out here another night, especially after all the screaming that those two did." I said appreciatively.

….

I thought that they would put up more of a fight about me bringing a dog back to their camp, but they didn't. As I followed them through the dense Georgian woods, Carl and Sophia walked beside me, and they tried to fill me in on everything and everyone back at their hideaway.

"And there is Amy and Andrea. They're sisters." Sophia added. "Amy usually watches me when my parents are busy."

"Dale owns the big RV. Jim used to be a mechanic, and he usually fixes it whenever it breaks." Carl said.

"Uh-huh." I said absently as I tripped over a dead branch. I caught myself before I hit the ground, but my face flushed in embarrassment. Riddick pressed against my legs, and I had to push him away before I tripped again.

Rick glanced back at me.

"You all right?" he asked, the corners of his mouth lifting up slightly.

I grinned at him, "Peachy." I said sarcastically.

"It's just up ahead. We set up camp at a small quarry." Shane said without looking back.

"Is there no walkers up there?" I asked in disbelief. Sure we had traveled quite a distance from where I had taken down the walkers chasing Carl and Sophia, but it seemed like a stretch to assume that none had made its way up here.

"We get one or two strays wander their way into the area, but they don't make it pass our set perimeter." Shane assured.

Suddenly, we broke out of the woods and stepped onto a dirt trail, and as I followed the path with my eyes, I spotted the top of a RV poking above the hill. I pointed to it.

"Is that it?" I asked uncertainly. It didn't look too big to me. Not big enough to hold all the people that the kids had listed off to me.

"Yep." Rick said, walking. I stood there a second before I hurried after them. Riddick had his nose in the air and was sniffing loudly. I kept my eye on him, and when he didn't bristle or snarl, I laid my hand on his head.

"I think we found ourselves some hope." I smiled at him, and in turn he leaned against me leg. This time I didn't push him away.

...

When I walked into camp, I expected surprise. What I didn't expect was two anxious mothers hurling themselves at my group. I winced as Carl and Sophia retold their story, exaggerating a bit.

"…and then Alice and Riddick jumped in and saved us!" Carl finished.

"Who's Alice and Riddick?" One of the women, gray short hair, asked.

I had been hiding, shielding myself behind Shane's big figure, nibbling on my thumb nail, but he just had to move out of the way. I froze, stunned, before I gave the women an anxious and uncertain smile.

"That would be me." I said, sending a minute glare towards Shane who just smirked.

The other woman had long brown hair, and she stepped towards me, pulling me into a hug. I was uncomfortable with the close contact, and Riddick stiffened at my side. Hesitantly bringing one hand around to pat her back, I let out a nervous laugh.

"Thank you." She said quietly. Letting go of me (thankfully) and stepping back.

"My name's Lori." She said, wrapping her arm around Carl. "I'm Carl's mother."

"And I'm Carol." The gray haired lady said, her arm slung similarly around Sophia's shoulder, "I'm Sophia's mother."

I was tempted to go off on a tangent about how I had found their children running around the woods, but I didn't want to press my luck. After a series of introductions and being dragged around camp and the grand tour, I finally was able to slump against the RV and close my eyes.

The sun was setting, and it cast a brilliant red across the sky. Riddick was standing next to me, and his ears kept swiveling. Neither of us had been around this many people in a long time, and the noise was starting to give me a headache.

"Well, Riddick. I hope you're hungry." I said as Carol began passing around plates with beans and a strange meat on it. When I received mine, Carol was about to hand me a second.

"Whoa, what's that one for?" I asked, putting my hand out to stop it. She looked at me in confusion.

"What do you mean?" she asked, "It's for Riddick."

I shook my head, and I smiled at her, "Its fine, he can share with me." I paused. "Why don't you give it to Sophia." I suggested.

Carol looked at me warmly, and I was briefly reminded of my mother before I pushed the memory brutally to the back of my mind. As she walked away, I called her name.

"Carol!" she turned to look at me and I pointed towards the plate. "What kinda meat is this?"

She was about to respond when a voice interrupted her.

"It's squirrel. Ya don't have a problem with that, do ya girly?" the voice drawled. I turned to the person, and I racked my brain for a name.

"No problem, Daryl. I haven't had squirrel in years." I said cheekily. As expected, he looked at me in surprise, but I had redirected my attention back to my plate.

I ate all the beans, and set the meat on the ground for Riddick to eat. He did so hungrily, and I had to yank the plate away from him before he started to gnaw. I yawned and glanced up at the night sky just as Shane walked by with a tent under his arm.

"If you want a tent…" he started but I cut him off quietly.

"I won't need that." I assured. "I spent too many nights in the open now to feel comfortable in a tent."

Shane nodded and walked back in the direction he came from as I lowered myself to a laying position on the ground. The air had turned chilly, and I sighed when Riddick laid his top half on my chest.

"Good boy." I whispered, and he laid his head down next to mine.

...

I slept longer than I thought I would, but I still woke up with the sky dark. Riddick stirred when I tried to scoot out from under him, and he let out a tired sigh. I pushed him back down when he went to stand up, and I put my finger to my lips. He closed his eyes and was asleep in moments.

Standing up, I stretched lazily and rubbed my eyes tiredly. I walked back far enough so that I could see the top of the RV, and the old man sitting in the lawn chair on top. I think his name was Dale. I whistled lightly, and he turned his head to look at me. I motioned to the top of the RV and he nodded his head.

I climbed the ladder, and when I reached him I sat in the empty lawn chair next to him.

"Hi." I greeted. "Dale, right?"

He nodded and smiled at me. "The one and only."

We sat there for a minute, and finally he broke the silence.

"So, Carl was telling me how you were looking for your brothers?" Dale ventured.

I groaned. "I should have known better than to tell a 12 year old my life story." I said sarcastically.

Dale laughed, and I smiled slightly. "Yeah. I have five of them. All older than me." I said, my voice sounding slightly nostalgic.

Dale made a tsking noise. "That must have been fun."

"Oh yeah. Every day I was either being thrown in the pig trough or pelted with horse poop." I explained, chuckling at the memories.

"Sounds rough." Dale commented. I nodded.

"You have no idea how many bruises I would get from them alone. But they always had my back." I said, my eyelids suddenly getting heavy. "I love them."

I paused a moment. "They were stationed down here at Fort Benning. I'm originally from Alabama."

"Your brothers are in the military?" Dale asked.

"All of them are. They tried to get me to join to. To get away from my stepdad…" I trailed off when I realized where my rambling had led me.

Dale saw my tired expression, and he looked sympathetic. "You should probably get some sleep. You can stay up here if you want."

I was about to object, but I felt too tired to move. I managed to nod my thanks, and I closed my eyes.

I have written about three chapters ahead now, and I'm trying not to deal them out all at once. Before anyone asks, because in future chapters you will notice it more, yes I absolutely HATE Lori Grimes. She never watches her kid and she is, technically, the reason Shane dies. She should have just left him alone, and he wouldn't have gone all crazy! And no, Alice will NOT hook up with anyone in Rick's group. I have a character for her in the future.