When I opened my eyes at dawn, I expected to see Dale, not some Asian kid. He must have seen me startle, because he muttered a quick apology.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I'm Glenn. Lori introduced us yesterday." He supplied.

I nodded and stretched out my hand between the two chairs for him to shake.

"I'm Alice, as you know. Sorry, I wasn't expecting to see you up here." I apologized myself.

"No problem. We take shifts for watch." Glenn explained, shifting the rifle in his hands awkwardly.

"You're not a gun person are you?" I asked, pulling my Glock out and checking to make sure the safety was on before I handed it to him.

He took it from me gingerly, and he examined it.

"No, I'm not, but I do know the different kinds. This one looks like it's used in law enforcement. It looks like Shane's. He was a cop before all of this happened." Glenn said, turning it over in his hands.

I nodded. "That would be correct. When I was in Atlanta, I came across a Walker. I guess he used to be a cop."

Glenn's eyes widened. "But I thought they found you in the woods." He questioned.

"Yeah, but I held out in Atlanta for a few weeks before I ran to the woods." I explained, taking back my gun and setting it down on my leg.

"Daryl will probably want to talk to you if you've been in Atlanta. He lost his brother the other day there, and he's pretty pissed." Glenn reasoned as he stood up.

I stood up as well, and looked across the clearing. It looked bigger during the day.

"Speak of the devil," Glenn said, and I followed his gaze.

Daryl was picking his way towards the RV, and me and Glenn started to head for the ladder.

"He had next shift." Glenn said as he began to climb down. I followed after him, and Daryl glared at me.

"'Bout time ya got yer ass down here. That dog hasn't left the RV, and I don't want any dog shit lying around camp." He snapped.

I swallowed my retort and smiled sweetly at him.

"Of course you don't Daryl." I walked passed him. "Asshole." I said, covering it with a cough. I could feel his glare burrowing into my back, and I smirked as headed towards Riddick. Kneeling down beside him, I scratched at his ear.

"And here I thought Georgia boys were supposed to be gentlemen." I said sarcastically. Riddick stared at me.

"And I thought Alabama girls were supposed to like squirrel."

I frowned as I remembered my bluff from last night.

"Smart ass." I muttered, standing up and whistling at him. "Kommen, Riddick." He stood and walked after me.

"Alice!" a voice called from behind me. I turned and wasn't surprised to see Rick jogging up to me. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"Well, apparently Daryl doesn't appreciate the smell of dog crap, so I thought it might be best to let Riddick have a potty break." I said.

Rick smiled, but it was gone quickly. "We have a situation. One of our group members, Sarah, went out early this morning, and she isn't back. Could you…" Rick said, all business until I interrupted him.

"I'll keep an eye out for her." I promised. Riddick pranced by my side, obviously ready to go.

"You armed?" he asked.

I showed him the gun in my hand and the knife in its sheath. "And I always have my secret weapon." I said, jerking my head towards Riddick.

"Okay then, good luck." Rick said as he turned back to the camp. I stopped him.

"What does she look like?" I hollered.

"Brown hair, short, kinda on the heavy side." Rick said over his shoulder.

"Let's go." I said to my dog as I continued down the dirt road.

When we reached the woods, I let Riddick do his business.

Keeping good to my word, I spent a half hour looking for this Sarah girl. After all that time I found her, or rather what was left of her.

Me and Riddick had almost walked right on top of the feeding Walker, and I gagged at the smell. In fact, the Walker looked almost completely human, if it had not been neck deep in the stomach of a dead human.

It was so intent on its current meal, I was able to sink my knife into it head, no problem. With the threat taken care of, I turned my attention back to the half eaten body.

"What do I do with her?" I asked Riddick, my arm covering my nose. I didn't want to be insensitive, but I really hadn't known her, so I couldn't feel remorse beside the fact that another human had fallen prey to the mindless freaks.

I squatted beside the girl and spotted a necklace on her neck. I snatched it off, and quickly backed away from the body, feeling last night's dinner rise in my throat. I stuffed the necklace in the pocket of my shorts.

I was about to walk away when I heard a shifting noise. Glancing back down at the body, I saw it move.

"Fuck my life." I groaned, tightening my grip on the knife. I stepped forward, and the body jerked towards me, driven purely on the smell of my being.

It didn't get on its feet, but it began dragging itself towards me. Riddick growled a warning low in his throat, and I took another step forward. Readying my knife, I looked down at it in pity.

"I'm sorry…Sarah."

….

I was walking back into camp with blood on me. That never brings out a good response, even in a non-apocalyptic world.

"Oh my God, Alice?" a voice asked. Riddick was still walking beside me with his weight was pressed against me, and I used it like an anchor to my sanity.

Rick was the first person I saw. Then Shane, Glenn, Daryl, Carol, Lori.

"I need to take a bath." I muttered. Rick grabbed my shoulder as I tried to walk passed them all and Daryl blocked my path.

"What happened, Alice?" Shane asked.

I looked up at him, my eyes ablaze.

"That Sarah girl was being eaten when I found her. Took care of the Walker, and I was about to leave, but I forgot to put the girl down. She turned, and she came after me."

I heard Lori gasp, and I clenched my hand in Riddick's fur.

"Then this idiot," I snarled as I remembered my fear, "leapt in front of her. She came this close to taking a chunk out of him." I held my fingers apart to show them the distance. "I managed to put her down."

I glared at the people around me. "Can I go clean up now?" I asked. Rick nodded and Daryl moved out of my way. Before I left, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the necklace. I threw it at Rick before I continued on my way.

"Her body is about a half mile from here, northwest." I mumbled.

I hardly thought as I grabbed my pack, and I almost walked right into a tree if a hand hadn't grabbed my shoulder.

I spun around and was confronted by two blonde haired girls, Amy and Andrea.

"We'd like to go get cleaned up too, if you wouldn't mind us coming?" the oldest, Andrea, asked.

I shrugged and waited as they grabbed their change of clothes. Riddick was still sulking beside me, and I knew he could feel my anger. When the sisters were ready, I let them lead the way down to the water, and I almost didn't notice Andrea walking beside me until she spoke.

"It was a close call, wasn't it?" she asked sympathetically.

"Not for me." I said quietly. "Riddick just always has to be the hero. It's going to get him killed one of these days."

Andrea shook her head. "You're his everything. I'm sure he is just as worried about you as you are about him. I mean, look at him!" she exclaimed.

Riddick had his tail between his legs and his ears were laid against his head as he cautiously looked up at me. I felt bad, but every time I thought about what had almost happened, my blood turned to ice in my veins.

I nodded in acknowledgment, and I slowly laid my hand on his head as we walked. When Andrea went to catch up with Amy, I bent over so that I could walk and talk to him.

"I'm sorry Riddick." I murmured to him, and he whined low in his throat before licking my hand. I guess it was his version of an apology.

Once we arrived at the water's edge, I undressed quickly down to my undergarments and made quick work of washing myself. Unlike Amy and Andrea who took their sweet time, I didn't like the exposed feeling that came with being half naked.

So, I took the time to wash my dirty shirt and shorts, and changed into the skinny jeans and black sweatshirt I had on a few days ago. The nights were getting cooler, and I was grateful for the warmth that my clothes would bring tonight.

Riddick had rolled around in the sand by the water's edge until the grime on the top layer of his coat was gone, but that just didn't cut it for me.

"Andrea, can I borrow some shampoo?" I called to her, and I caught the bottle she threw my way. Now came the hard part.

Riddick hated baths. He could roll around in the water all day long, but the minute I bring out soap, he freaks out. I had some help from Amy and Andrea, and eventually I managed to scrub the rest of the mud, blood, and other matter from him.

By the time we were ready to head back to camp, I was in a much better mood, to the point where I was even laughing at a joke that Amy had made.

Riddick sulked beside me, and his black fur had a glossy sheen to it. I knew it would be a matter of time before it was dirty again, and so it didn't surprise me when we reached camp and he immediately flopped in the dirt, rolling back and forth.

"What's he doing?" Carl asked as he walked up to us. Tying my black hair back into a ponytail, I answered him.

"Riddick isn't a fan of bath's," I explained, then made a show of plugging my nose, "And I can tell you aren't either." I teased.

"Hey!" he complained, but the smile on his face contradicted his words. I heard my name being called, and I looked at him apologetically.

"Sorry, duty calls." I said. He nodded and I turned to leave when his shout stopped me.

"Alice!" he began. "I heard that Sarah almost ate Riddick this morning. Is he okay?" he asked.

I froze, and I managed an easy smile. "Of course. It'll take more than one close call to keep me and Riddick down, won't it buddy?" I said, turning my smiling on Riddick.

He looked up at me impassively.

"Liar."

"Okay then! Bye Carl!" I said, pulling Riddick with me away from the prying boy.

"Now you're contradicting me?" I muttered to him. He ignored me and settled down by our resting space by the RV.

I turned around in a complete circle before I spotted the direction my name had come from. Shane was standing impatiently by Rick, Glenn, a guy whose name I think is T-Dog and Daryl, and I spotted Lori sulking into the RV.

"What crawled up her ass?" I muttered as I made my way towards them. Stopping a few feet away from Daryl and Rick, I turned to Shane. "Yes?"