~Glenn~

Criminals?! Before I could get the words out to ask her what she meant, a twig snapped. We both went into survival mode. Our backs pressed against each other, we listened and watched. Leaves crunched to the north of camp. Whatever it was, it was coming from the deep woods, which usually meant walkers. My heart sped up with the anticipation. Alex rotated us so that she was facing the sounds. I reached for my machete, but it wasn't there. I was unarmed. Great.

I turned so that I was next to Alex. Her eyes were searching the woods. More shuffling but nothing was visible. It just made me more nervous. A light groan was heard as a human form moved out from behind a tree. My breath caught in my throat. Shit. A walker. I reached for Alex's hand. She gave it a light squeeze then released it. She moved away from me silently.

I watched anxiously as she crept up on it. Once Alex was twenty feet, she aimed and wound up to throw. The walker looked at her and moaned. She snapped her arm forward in a blur. The knife went through it's head and stuck to the tree behind it. The walker fell to the ground with a light thud. Alex retrieved her knife and wiped it off with a handkerchief in her pocket. She walked up to me.

"I'm going to teach you how to throw knives." She walked towards camp.

"What?" I asked, surprised.

"You need some kind of skill. Might as well be in something I can teach you."

"Why do you have to teach me?"

"Because no one else in your group cares enough to teach you anything."

"Why do you care about me? I thought you weren't touchy feely. Aren't you supposed to be a hardened criminal?" I threw the last part out as a tease.

"No one should be as helpless as you."

"I'm not helpless!" I protested.

"Yes, you are." She laughed. "Don't worry. You won't be for long." I sighed and gave up. She was a mystery, but that was part of the fun.

~Alex~

I shook my head at Glenn's horrible attempt at throwing a knife. He held it with his entire hand and didn't test the balance. He couldn't spin it properly to save his life, but he had the arm strength and the determination to learn. I held back laughter as he missed a target ten feet away. His shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Okay. I take back what I said." He turned to me. "It's a lot harder than it looks."

"Mhm." I nodded. "How will you ever learn? Maybe if there was someone who knew how and was willing to teach you."

"Alex," He stared at me with pleading eyes. "Will you please teach me how to throw knives properly?" I smiled.

"Of course." I stepped over to where he was standing. "Now, the first rule is to know your knife." I pulled out my oldest knife and handed it to him. "Feel how it's weighted. Toss it a few times to get a feel for how it flies. Find it's center of balance."

After he played around with it a few times, I spoke up again. "Okay. Holding the knife. You only want to use a few fingers. Use too many and you're crowding it. It will ruin your aim and spin. Plus, it's just easier to let go of it when you have less fingers holding it." I showed him the proper form of holding the knife for a basic over the shoulder throw.

"Next, you have to keep it straight and let it spin as you release it. You have to do it fast and strong." I demonstrated, hitting the tree dead on. Bark broke off around where the knife hit.

"Now, you try." He held the knife up, adjusted, and threw. It bounced off the tree. He hung his head. "You didn't throw hard enough."

"Okay. I'll try again." He retrieved the knife and set up again.

Several hours later, I put a hand on his shoulder. Sweat had plastered his hair to his face and was staining his shirt. He was out of breath and shaking. The knife dropped to the ground.

"I can do it." He turned to look at me. I smiled and nodded.

"But not in one day." I picked up the knife and wiped off the dirt. I pulled out my old leather holder. I slipped it inside then grabbed Glenn's belt. I pulled him closer and snapped the holder onto his belt. I looked up at his brown eyes twinkle in excitement. "It's yours."

"Wow. Thank you."