The next couple months or so went by slowly. They'd wandered from camp to camp, not staying in one place more than a few days. They'd went back to the underground cabin to find quite a few walkers lingering still. They'd gotten their supplies quickly and headed out. Upon returning to their makeshift campsite, they'd discovered mice had chewed hole in some of the food and in most of their tents. One of the tents was completely unusable. Carol sighed to find it was her tent. Rick, Lori and Carl had the largest tent. Beth and Hershel had the first and Glenn and Maggie had the second of the average size tents. That left two smaller ones to T-Dog, Carol and Daryl.
"Why is it always us?" T-Dog groaned, looking at the two tents. Carol and Daryl exchanged looks, knowing they were thinking the exact same thing.
"Well I ain't squeezing into one of them things with you, T." Carol said, giving him a sympathetic look. She then grabbed her backpack and went into one of the tents. T-Dog sighed and looked at Daryl.
"Oh, hell no." Daryl said, grabbing his stuff and following Carol.
"Fine! More room for me!" T-Dog shouted after them. They laughed at him and settled into their tent.
That night they sat around the fire eating some fish that Daryl and Carl had caught. Lori, who had grown quite an impressive baby belly, ate some left over canned food. Meat still made her vomit. T-Dog was on watch and Rick was on edge. If he wasn't watching he didn't feel safe. Glenn and Maggie had grown remarkably close. They were nearly inseparable until Glenn had to go on a hunt or Maggie had to cook. More or less, they'd all separated their daily chores evenly. Daryl was in charge of hunting and fishing. Rick and T-Dog were on walker watch. Lori took on the duty of washing up clothes, since food made her sick. Glenn and Maggie kept track of supplies, running to nearby towns when they ran low. Beth and Hershel took care of the group medically. Not that everyday they needed a life saving procedure, but when they were needed they were ready. Carol was in charge of cooking a cleaning whenever she could. And Carl just helped out wherever possible. Mostly, he was learning from Daryl. All was going well, until one snowy night.
"Who the hell are they?" Daryl asked angrily. He, Carol and Carl had went hunting. Carol usually didn't go, but since there wasn't much to do, she tagged along. When they returned they were surprised to see some new comers to their group. There was an older man, two younger men, a younger woman, and a teenage girl.
"We found them in the woods." Rick said quietly. "They're lost."
"Ain't my damn problem." Daryl said harshly. Carol looked from Rick to Daryl nervously.
"We need to help these people."
"We don't know them!" Daryl said, getting closer to Rick. "We can't trust them!" Rick didn't back down.
"Hershel gave us a chance. Saved our lives." Rick said calmly. "It's time we return the favor. They're staying." With that, Daryl cursed loudly and stormed off to the tent. Carol followed him.
"Daryl-"
"I ain't gonna protect them." He said. She didn't say anything. He was sitting, wiping the dirt off his crossbow. "If it comes down to it, they ain't my problem." They left the conversation at that and carried on with their lives.
They'd all taken to the newcomers quickly. Even Daryl relaxed a bit. The older man's name was Lloyd. He was a retired farmer when the outbreak occurred. The two girls, and the youngest of the men were his children. The oldest daughter, Malory, was married to the other man, Austin. Brent was the younger boy, and he'd taken quite a liking to Beth. He was great with Carl though, kind of like a brother connection. Beth however became instant friends with Sharona, the youngest girl. The whole family had been staying on Lloyd's farm when the outbreak happened. Austin and Malory's 5 year old son, Sam, was turned into a walker at that farm. It was then that they decided to leave. Carol immediately sympathized with Malory. She was cautious around Austin, however. Part of him made her nervous.
"Daryl?" Carol asked. They were laying in their tent, long after anyone else had gone off to bed. They were huddled together, her head resting on his arm, his body pressed against her back with his other arm around her waist. They swore up and down that it was only to keep warm, but they both knew better. She longed for the closeness and he longed to protect her.
"What?" He asked, his voice tired.
"Do you trust them?" There was a pause.
"Some." He replied. "The old guy keeps watchin me like I'm crazy. Not sure how I feel about Brent lookin at Beth. And Malory's husband sets me off."
"Austin has a strange way about him." She agreed.
"Just keep away from him." Daryl said. She nodded and snuggled into him further, feeling far more safe with him there.
A/N: Hey guys! Sorry this chapter didn't have a whole lot to it. Just wanted a little intro to the new group. Any thoughts? Another chapter to come soon. Remember to review! Love. ~Helen