A/N: Thank you so much to my regular reviewers Lady Wesker and VampWolf92, I appreciate all your support and encouragement. Also a huge shout out to my bro and beta Calcifer179, his stuff is amazing if you want to check it out :)
I loved writing this chapter because I got to introduce my favourite character! So excited to keep going with this story. I'm also writing another TWD fanfic called 'Ain't No Rest For The Wicked'. It's very different to this one, but a lot of fun.
Anyway; so I LOVE seeing new followers, favourites and reviews, please let me know if you're enjoying the story, Lily etc and your thoughts on everything are always welcome xo
Disclaimer: I don't own 'The Walking Dead' or any of it's characters

10.

I don't know where we would have been if Milton hadn't opened his doors to us. Martinez, whose first name I'd found out was Caesar, wasn't coping well at first, which given the circumstances was understandable. He had shut himself up in a room that our host had offered to him and hadn't left it except to use the bathroom, only Philip was able to convince him that he needed to eat.
Penny and I had spent our days reading and enjoying the comforts that a house had to offer after weeks on the road camping in tents. Milton was very gracious and welcoming; it seemed he had been on his own since the very start of the outbreak. Philip and John, however, left the house almost every day, scouting further and further each time, in search of food and a larger, safer place to establish ourselves. A few times they returned with a survivor that had been found, usually someone holed up in a building somewhere, scared and alone. Within a week there were two more permanent members of our group, a man named Shumpert, which I frequently mispronounced, and a young girl called Haley. She was a strange addition to our group, my age almost exactly, but already hardened by this new world. I overheard her confessing to Philip that she had been forced to kill her brother and father when they had turned and the lethal looking bow that she carried had been her late parent's. I avoided her after that, not sure how to act around someone so different from myself. Shumpert was also an archer and John made the point that silent weapons would come in handy in terms of taking down lone Biters and hunting, the idea of eating anything caught in such a fashion was completely unappealing and I stuck to crackers and tins of sardines that we had previously hoarded.

Milton's house had been fortified more since our arrival, the windows boarded up and Philip had ensured that there was a guard on the front and back door at all times. Penny and I were the only ones not enlisted for this position as within a few days of depression Martinez had decided that he needed to keep himself busy and so regularly volunteered his services. He was currently guarding the back entrance, his baseball bat hanging by his side as he stood with his back against the wall, never taking his brown eyes off the door in front of him.
I ventured down the hall towards him, becoming very aware that I had barely spoken a word to the man in days;
"Everything clear?"
He looked at me curiously for a moment, and peered out through the small pane of glass situated at the top of the door, although I had seen him glancing through it not a minute ago,
"Yeah we're all good. They should be getting back soon." They was Shumpert and Philip, who had left on another scavenging hunt earlier that morning, armed with the hunter's bow, and Philip's pistol and tomahawk. I knew that they would be safe, but every day someone left I couldn't help but worry. It felt like we had lost far too many people already.
"That little girl okay?" Caesar started, rubbing his short hair, "…Penny yeah?"
"Um yeah…yeah she is just having a sleep. She doesn't like to be awake when her dad isn't here, think she stresses too much."
"You don't seem so relaxed yourself," he observed, watching me closely as I chewed the side of my lip.
"Not really…I don't like it that they have to leave. I know we need a better base, but it is no…scary out there."
Martinez nodded, his wide mouth tightening in a grimace. I tentatively placed a hand on his large shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze and he smiled thinly at me, laying his own hand over the top of mine.
"They're back," a loud voice interrupted and I looked up to seeing John standing at the end of the hall, a pained looking expression contorting his features at the sight of Martinez and myself standing in such close proximity to one another. I noticed the jealousy that lingered on his face and moved a fraction closer to the man I was comforting, unable to resist throwing a challenging glance toward John, whose frown deepened.
"Great!" I smiled sweetly, gripping Caesar's shoulder more tightly before pulling away and stalking up the corridor and past John, whose eyes never left me. I turned back to the Latino man, who still stood awkwardly in the doorway, his eyes darting between John and I as if trying to figure things out for himself.
I walked around the staircase that lay in the centre of the house, passing the kitchen on my left and headed to the front door, hearing John's footsteps on the hardwood floors as he followed me closely. Once we were out of sight of Martinez, who wouldn't leave his post until he had the okay from Philip, the red haired man gripped my upper arm, pulling me into the study that sat to the left of the hallway,
"We need to talk," he hissed through gritted teeth, his firm grasp on my body not wavering as he leered over me.
"There is nothing to talk about! You need to stop looking at me in the way you do, it's not okay. It makes me feel very…uncomfortable." It wasn't quite what I had planned on saying, but the strength of my tone surprised me and I attempted to wrench my arm free, wincing as his fingers tightened their grip. A small cough made both of us jump and Milton rose from his armchair, one finger placed between the pages of the book he had obviously just been reading. Neither of us had noticed him when we had first entered the study and now John sprang away from me, flashing the smaller man a glare that was weighted with an unspoken threat. I heard voices coming from outside the front door as John opened it and made a hasty exit, but couldn't move myself just yet and stood waiting for my racing heart to slow.
"Are you…are you okay?" Milton asked, his eyes widening, slightly enlarged behind the lenses of his glasses.
I rubbed my arm where John had grabbed me, feeling the skin already becoming tender with what I could only assume would soon be bruised flesh and breathed a gasp,
"I'm fine. Thank you…He has been a bit…touchy lately," I murmured, referring not to my aggressor's mood, but his recent contact with me. Milton seemed to grasp the meaning of my words and offered me a small, comforting smile,
"I'll keep an eye on him." I found his words almost laughable, the man looked almost as defenceless as I did, but I smiled in return. The sound of the front door being hurriedly pulled open interrupted our exchange, John rushing through it first, carrying a few bags of supplies. He was quickly followed by Shumpert and Philip, who were manoeuvring what looked like a body between them with some difficulty. Our leader met my shocked gaze with a strained grin as he groaned under the weight of the person I could now see was a male. The managed to drag him to the kitchen and lift him onto the table, Milton and I dogging their steps and berating them with questions, namely; "Who is that?"
Penny lighted down the stairs, eager to greet her father and she paused upon viewing the gathering in the kitchen.
"What's going on daddy?" She questioned, running to Philip and half hiding behind him.
"Is he…is he bitten?" Our host stammered, looking the man over with fear evident in his eyes.
"Not that we can see," Shumpert muttered, tossing his bow onto the bench and rifling through one of the bags John had dumped on the kitchen floor.
"Everything okay?" Martinez called from down the hall, his voice alerting Haley who was now descending the staircase, her eyebrow raised in curiousity.
Philip gave his daughter a warm hug, before kneeling in front of her so that they were positioned face to face,
"Sweetheart I want you to go back upstairs, Lily will go with you. We need to make sure this man is safe okay?" Penny and I both nodded in understanding, but I faulted as I went to move toward her and saw the man lying unconscious on the table top from all angles. He was large, not overweight, but thickly built, coils of muscle etching their way across his upper body. His clothes were covered in a mixture of dust and drying blood and his face and head were covered in dirt and blisters, most likely from the sunburn that seemed to redden all of his visible skin.
But it was when my eyes drifted down his torso and arms that I gasped;
"Oh my God, what happened to his hand?!"

Penny sat on the makeshift bed we had set up, pulling a small thread that dangled from one of the blankets. We heard a steady hum of activity coming from downstairs since we had left the kitchen, and the occasional raised voice that's words weren't discernible.
"Do you think everything is okay?" She raised her pretty face to meet me and her forehead creased in worry. I thought for a moment about how unfair all of this was, a child should never have to go through this, seeing things that weren't even appropriate for adult eyes.
"I hope so, your dad will figure it out."
"Daddy is so brave," she smiled.
"He certainly is," I nodded curtly, throwing an arm over her shoulders and hugging her. The bedroom door opened slowly and Martinez stepped in. I took in the fresh blood stains on his clothes and blanched, not really wanting to enquire as to how they had appeared on him.
"It's alright for you to come down now," he said, raising a hand to Penny as she stood up, "Not you honey. I'm going to stay up here with you for a while. Your dad mentioned you have some toys with you, can I see them?"
I grinned at the thought of him playing with dolls with the little girl who was excitedly searching through her bag, but found myself tearing up at the memory of his own children lying bloody on the forest floor. I pressed the backs of my hands to my eyes, turning away from the odd couple behind me as I did so.
"They're in the lounge room," Caesar muttered, speaking directly to me and I took his hint and left the room, before walking carefully down the stairs. Haley was standing guard at the front door and barely acknowledged my presence which I was somewhat thankful for, our few conversations had been stilted and uncomfortable. I headed down the hallway, glancing into every room in my search for Philip, curious as to where the wounded stranger would now be. Milton's house was surprisingly large despite having only housed one individual before our group's arrival; he had explained that it was inherited from his parents, who had passed many years ago. John bumped into me, almost literally, and the tall man's stance was a little stooped in what I assumed was exhaustion as he loomed in the corridor before me. I stepped around him agilely before he had time to react, avoiding his gaze and continued forward, arriving at the door to the lounge that was half closed.
It made a soft groaning noise as I opened it all the way and stepped into the darkened room, noticing Philip sitting on a chair, his arms folded across his chest before I saw the figure that was lying on the couch.
"Well hey there little miss! Ain't you just the prettiest thing I've ever seen?" His voice had a deep, Southern drawl and couldn't help but note the odd sentence structure that spoke volumes about this man's character and upbringing. I'd never been one to judge someone by their background and limited experience with rednecks, but there was something in his tone that made me take a step closer to Philip who had risen from his chair.
"Lily this is Merle," he said, placing a hand on the middle of my back and gesturing to the man on the coach, who flashed a grin at me as I cautiously said "Hello."
His arm, or more specifically, his stump where his arm ended at his wrist, was now tightly bandaged and he held it against his chest supportively. The image of the torn flesh and open wound that lay underneath the gauze made me shiver involuntarily and Merle must have noticed because his grin widened and he lifted what remained of his limb, giving it a little shake in my direction.
"What's the matter, sweetheart?" He chuckled, looking remarkably well for a person who had obviously been through something horrible, "Don't like what ya see? I promise ya, the rest of me is in perfect working order." He winked and laughed loudly, before nestling himself back on the couch cushions and looked my body up and down.
"Merle…" Philip warned, "If you're going to be staying with us you need to be nice to Lily. As far as you're concerned she is my daughter okay?" Philip's warning surprised me, but I was relieved when the redneck nodded.
"I've just been informed by our new friend here that there is another group out there, they may be dangerous to us," Philip moved his hand from my back to my shoulder, "From now on I want you and Penny to stay very close okay? Always with me or one of the other men, now more than ever we need to find somewhere safe to set ourselves up. This group forced Merle to cut off his own hand, we can't underestimate them."
Merle nodded again;
"Bastard cop left me chained to the roof. Don't even know if my own brother came back to look for me…" his voice trailed off and I heard a touch of resentment and what sounded like hurt in his words.
"Of course, you know I'm not about to go wandering off," I reassured Philip, ignoring the newcomer's statement purely because I had no words to describe how much the thought of humans capable of such cruelty scared me, "I promise."