You sigh and lick your lips. Your tongue running over the holes in your lips from your stitches. You part out mouth slightly before clearing your throat. You could feel the cuts on the sides of your lips stretch and tear a slight bit. You looked at your lap and fidgeted with your shirt before beginning your story.

You could remember when you arrived at your first group. You mouth was in one piece, and you could still talk. It was a place called Woodbury, and the man running there called himself the governor. He was warm and friendly to you, and often invited you to come and drink with him. You were underage, but the world was ending, so that did not matter. You would drink and laugh with him. At least until one day, he started to talk about his family, how his wife was dead, however he had a "beautiful daughter" that he wanted you to meet. You wanted to meet his little girl and become friends with her, however when he led you to a closet like door and opened it to show you the girl with a chain around her neck and bag over her head, you stepped back into him. "Don't worry, she is very friendly, but she has a rebellious attitude." He pulled the bag off of her head to show that she was one of the dead. You grabbed his shoulder. "Phillip, she is dead." This made him mad. He swung around and hit you hard. "No, don't talk like that in front of her." He goes over to comfort her. You scoot back to escape. Once you successfully escape, you run back to the room that he gave you.

You did not hear from him for a few days, until one day he shows up on your doorstep drunk. "That bitch… She killed her… My precious little girl." He came in and wrapped you in a hug. "You know, I think of you like my daughter. Come, I want to show you something." You were reluctant to go with him, but his strong grip on you dragged you with him. Once in his room, he sat you down in a chair. He played with your hair, his fingers twisting it. "Penny…" He stood up and sauntered over to a nightstand where he pulled out a comb and ties. "Come here Penny." You wanted to protest that is was not your name, however slowly got up and walked to him, you did not want him to become violent. He sat you down in front of him and began to brush and braid your hair. He was gentle and calm about it. A man comes into the room and disturbs him. "The town is gathered for a fight to the death sir, just like you asked." You felt the Governor nod and follow after the man. At the door, he pauses and motions you to follow him before taking your hand.

It was a few weeks before the big fight. The governor cuddled and coddled you, making sure you had everything you could ever want. When the time came to fight with another group, the Governor wanted you there with him, he thought he could protect you. He did not believe that anyone other than him could watch over you. He had you sit in the tank while he did his dirty work. When shots were fired and the town was in a rampage, you silently escaped into the woods towards an unknown future.