Part 2 - Disunity

11 - Ghost in the Woods


"Blessed be God, father of our lord Jesus Christ." Hershel stood before the rock memorial at one end of the semicircle the standing group made, "Praise be to him for the gift of our brother Otis, for his span of years, for his abundance of character; Otis, who gave his life to save a child's, now more than ever, our most precious asset."

There was a small pause, in which Alice cast her eyes up at Shane's subtly shaking head and his wide eyes. He stood to her right, still in Otis' oversized clothes, and she tried to ignore that part as she wrapped a hand around his forearm to let him know she was there for him.

"We thank you, God, for the peace he enjoys in your embrace. He died as he lived, in Grace." Hershel finished, and turned towards them, "Shane, will you speak for Otis?"

"Not good at it," Shane muttered. He looked away, at the fields behind them, and Alice squeezed her grip around his arm. To stand before a man's loved ones and lie was to destroy some moral part of you that should never have to come under fire. Under any other circumstance, Alice might call Shane a monster. Under that other circumstance, she might give into the part of her mind that cried for the possibility of Otis not having to die. Problem was, it was done now, and there was no other circumstance. This was it. Otis was dead and Shane had to live with it. They all did.

"You were the last one with him. You shared his final moments," Patricia's eyes were wet, one hand clutched near her face like she had nowhere to put it now that Otis wasn't there to hold, "Please. I need to know his death had meaning."

Alice swallowed and stared at the ground. Otis hadn't died a hero, or a martyr, or even by his own choice, but he had died for a good thing; a child's life. Alice wrapped the idea of him dying for a good reason around her screaming conscience in the hopes that she could smother it.

"Okay…" Shane croaked, "We were about done, almost out of ammo; we were down to pistols by then. I was limping, ankle all swollen up."

Alice felt an almost imperceptible jerk in his shoulders and knew he was thinking about what really happened.

"'We've got to save the boy.' See, thats what he said. He gave me his backpack, shoved me ahead." Patricia was staring at Shane, entranced, "'Run' Otis said, 'I'll take the rear. I'll cover you.' That's what he said.'" Shane's head jerked down, like he was shaking something out of his mind, "And when I looked back - he - he…"

A silence settled over the group. To Alice's left, Dale's eyes were darting about in confusion. To her right, Shane was staring at Patricia with a slack jaw and tormented eyes. How did you confront the widow of the man you murdered? Alice didn't know, and hoped she'd never have to know.

How could anyone ever live with what Shane had to do?

"If not for Otis," Shane lurched forward, limping towards the memorial, "I'd have never made it out alive. And that goes for Carl, too. It was Otis; he saved us both. If any death ever had meaning, it was his."

He took a stone from the wheelbarrow, placing it atop the pile. Alice gave him the ghost of a smile as he limped back, Patricia stepping forward to speak about her own husband. As Patricia began talking, the journalist didn't miss the way Dale sent glances in Shane's direction.

"Otis and I been married thirty years this July," Patricia cried, "I thought I might lose him to cancer, 'cause of all that chewin' tobacco, or maybe to a heart attack, when we were good an' ready. But my Otis was always too good, and I knew he'd be helpin' that boy the moment we knew he needed surgery. How good he was, that's one a' the reasons I fell in love with that man."

Alice swallowed, and looked back at the ground. She'd spoken maybe thirty words with Otis, but she couldn't shake her thoughts. She wondered what he'd felt, in the moment Shane shot him, and in the moments after. Had the walkers ripped out something vital first, or had he been eaten alive? A shiver ran down her spine.


There was a small lake at the edge of the farm's property, tucked against the woods. It had an old worn dock leading into it, and that is where Alice found herself after the funeral. She'd been denied the right to search for Sophia because of the blood she'd given, so instead she wandered the property line until she found this.

The birds chirped a morning song, and the smell of damp mud permeated the air. Her lower legs hung off the edge of the dock, her boots just inches above the water, and she slowly swung them as the heat warmed her skin.

"What happened to Otis is a tragedy," Dale mused, having slowly crossed the field to reach her. She'd been waiting on him ever since she'd started hearing his thudding footsteps, "I can't even begin to understand what Shane must be feeling right now, knowing it could have been him in Otis' place."

"This world… the things that happen in it…" the survivor bit her lip, "I don't know who I need to be, or if I even want to be that person."

"We can't let this world bring us down with it." Dale said.

Alice pulled the small silver race car from her pocket, twisting the monopoly piece between her fingers. Atlanta felt like so long ago. Recklessly wanting to risk her life for the group, for Merle Dixon, felt like a lifetime ago. She'd buried something of herself after the CDC and she didn't know what but she felt different. Colder.

"Then you die, Dale. I'd do anything to keep myself and the people I care about alive." Her voice quivered.

"Being a good person? You can't let this world take that from you."

Alice held the monopoly piece out to him, "You can't play a game without the right pieces."

"What happened to liking the speed and the change?" Dale asked, lowering himself to sit beside her, "I'm worried that your… relationship, with Shane, is changing you."

"This world is changing me. Not Shane. He's just right about how we have to change." Alice almost spat, " My relationship? I am not and will not be bouncing on his dick, do you understand? What, a woman gets close to a man and you think they're fucking? I thought you were better than that."

Dale's eyes were widened, his eyebrows raised higher than Alice thought possible, and he was leaning away from her.

"Sorry," she muttered. Alice knew why she'd gotten mad; she didn't want Dale poking around in his business, and she didn't want to hear some morally righteous bullshit right then, "I - I'm terrified, and if I was looking Death in the face, so close that I could see the whites of his eyes? I think I'd do bloody anything to save myself, to save you, or Shane, or Daryl or Carl or- or anyone in our group."

"I suppose that the problem is really only if you do the kind of horrible things you don't have to do to survive." Alice was silent for a long time, staring at the subtle waves a fish in the pond was making and Dale stood, announcing, "It's about time that I go and fetch some water from one of Hershel's wells."

"I'm staying here for awhile," she said, and as Dale walked away she pulled a cig from her pack and lit it, taking a pull before using her free hand to rub her face. It was easy to justify good decisions in front of people who agreed but if they could go back to the old world, Alice wasn't sure she could stand there and admit lying about the death of a good man. It was easier to stomach what they might have to do if you assumed civilisation would never be restored, but the apocalypse was easier to deal with if you figured someday it would be. Alice didn't know what to tell herself.

Good; that word came up a lot. Alice knew that somewhere in the group, and inside of herself, there was a line between good and bad. She didn't know where that line fell, but she couldn't help but feel like she was toeing it.


Alice stood before where Shane sat sprawled in one of the camping chairs, hands on her hips, "You were trained to fight, like as a cop?"

"We learned some stuff - but the rest I learned from experience," he smirked, "Ain't so rare for a big brother or boyfriend you didn't know about, to get real mad 'bout just a lil' flirtin',"

"Teach me how to like- how to defend myself."

"You serious?" he tilted his head, eyebrows creased, "Ain't easy, bein' in a brawl."

"I know. Please, teach me."

Shane was quiet for a moment before nodding. Alice didn't miss the looks that Lori and Carol were giving them. Lori especially was sending daggers her way, and Alice almost snorted. If she felt like her territory was being breached on, Alice had a lot to say to that. Carol, at least, just looked curious.

"I'd reckon this'll come in handy, should there ever be any unfavourable men about," Shane stood, "C'mon then."

She followed him out past the farmhouse, where there was more room. From out here, they were visible only from the back windows of the large white house. Alice knew she wasn't really supposed to be doing this, what with the blood she'd given, but she figured it couldn't hurt that much this close to the house.

"First thing you gotta know," Shane began, "is that when it's self defence, you ain't fightin' to win. I'mma teach you defensive stuff, and that's all about survival. You ain't gonna win the fight, you just gotta get a way out of there, you hear me?"

He started pointing to parts of his body, "Crotch is a real big one when you're fightin' a man. Hurts like a sonofabitch. Eyes and nose - they're vulnerable too. Let me tell you somethin', if its you an' one guy, you do not hesitate to ram your fingers in his eyes if you get that chance. Wasn't so ethical or somethin' before, but no one can arrest you now."

Alice smiled, nodded, and hoped to some sort of higher power that the information would sink in.


After what had to be days, Alice had come to the conclusion that she wasn't ever going to beat Shane. In reality, they'd been training for no more than two hours.

"Shit," she breathed, lay on her back in the grass. Her heart was pounding in her chest. Shane was on top of her, hands planted on the ground on either side of her, "I can't even make you blink."

"You're still tryna follow some sorta pattern." Shane rolled off of her, sitting up to look down at Alice, "You gotta move with the situation."

Shane had beaten her over and over and over again. After showing her some basic movements, they'd practiced and she'd lost, and then he'd shown her some more complex shit she couldn't get her head around and she'd lost again.

Shane grabbed the gun they'd weaselled out of Dale. They'd managed to get it off of the old man after repeatedly showing him it was unloaded and that they had no ammo.

"That was the first time you got the gun off of me without gettin' shot, though. You're a natural but you gotta stop acting like you can control the whole situation; you can't. You gotta be ready for anythin'."

Alice smiled with pride at that, finally pulling herself into a sitting position. Her heart was going du-dum in her chest as she tried to get her breath back. The noise of her heart murmured in her ears too, a comforting rhythm that reminded her that she was alive. Not that she ever forgot, but sometimes it wasn't something she really kept in mind.

"You wanna try again?" he asked, and Alice shook her head. She could see the sun on it's way down the sky and she felt sort of sick. The backs of her legs hurt from the amount of times Shane had kicked her calfs to knock her down and her muscles ached.

"I ain't opposed to stoppin'. My balls need a damn break," he scowled, and Alice grimaced, remembering the two times she'd accidentally kicked him harder than she meant, causing him to reel back, yelling. She supposed in a way that counted as getting him down, but she'd stopped fighting to make sure he was alright.

"What happened to balls of steel?" she grinned, "Thought you were better'n that."

He shook his head, a smile stretched across his face, "Girl, you don't mess with a man's balls unless he deserves it."

"Sorry," she said, "We better get back before we miss food."

He nodded, pushing himself up to his feet before offering her his hand. She took it, using her legs to proper herself upwards as he lifted her upper body.

"You seriously wanna keep trainin' like this?" he asked, a smile on his face as they ambled back to camp, "The other women in camp - 'cept maybe Andrea - seem pretty intent on bein' housewives."

"Don't you act like they weren't basically relegated those duties back at Atlanta," Alice shook her head, "Not everyone wants to be a fighter, but I think that this world - I'll need it someday. Against walkers or people."

"Smart," Shane mused, "What do you think about gun training? I wanna get this whole group out some way from the farm, get them trained and proficient with a weapon as much as we can. Ain't no use havin' people runnin' around with weapons they know nothin' about. Point and shoot's easy, but carin' for a weapon is a whole other thing."

"I just wanna warn you that my aim is pretty awful," Alice said, "You're right though. People need to know how to shoot to survive - even if it should be a last resort."

"Your hand-eye coordination ain't so bad," Shane said, "What makes you think your aim is so bad?"

"Trust me, P.E. Classes - er, gym - were always hell. I just can't seem to figure out the logistics of like, throwing things. Air dynamics and shit like that."

"Shootin' ain't like throwing'."

"Just trust me, I know I'm going to suck." Alice said. They were approaching the small campsite now, and Alice couldn't help but compare it to Atlanta. The quarry camp had been so much bigger, more lively, with faces she didn't know and never would. This camp was tiny in comparison, a testament to everyone they'd lost.

"You been teaching Alice how to fight?" a voice called, and Alice turned to see Rick walking towards them from the farmhouse. There was a smirk on his face, "Lori told me you'd gone off together."

"He still thinks there's something up with us," Alice whispered. Shane grinned at her as they came close to Rick, and Alice paused at the feeling of his hand on her shoulder. She shook her head. Shane was fucking with Rick, or maybe just trying to cover up his affair with Rick's wife in front of the man.

"He's a good teacher." Alice said, stepping away from Shane's hold. It wasn't that she didn't want Shane to touch her but she just wasn't sure how she felt about falsely making the whole group think they were together; she'd seen the looks Lori had sent her earlier and she didn't want a fight with their leader's wife.

"I'll bet," Rick smirked, "We're eating in a bit, you guys ready?"

"Yeah man, we're good," Shane began, "Let me suggest somethin' here man - We gotta get these people trained up. What do you think about some gun training?"

"We ain't got much ammo, Shane, but I don't see why we can't do a bit. How about you and Alice have a look for some good areas?" Rick suggested.

Alice shook her head, "Count me out. I wanna get some well needed rest, thank you very much. Why don't you take Andrea?" she met Shane's eyes as she said the name, and saw the the small smile growing in them. He knew she'd remembered what he said the night before.

"I'll go see if she's up for it, then," Shane said, turning and heading towards the camp.

"How's Shane holding up?" Rick asked, "Last night - he looked real shaken when he came back, and at the funeral this morning. That look in his eyes, I've only ever seen him look even a little like that once before. He turned up to a scene on his own once, while I was outta town, and so I hear there was a real bad accident. This guy's pregnant wife, she's long dead, and the guy was just doin' CPR over and over to her torn up body like he might save her."

"He seemed okay today - but that's Shane, right?" Alice fiddled with the strap of her vest, "Just pushing it down and acting like he's fine."

"I feel like you know him better'n I do recently," Rick stopped walking, leaning in to meet her eyes, "That's my brother, and I have no idea what's going on in his head. I should just get over it; we've been friends since we were just kids, after all, but I just-"

He trailed off, looking away, but Alice was worried, "Get over what, Rick?"

"Nothing, I was just lost in my thoughts,"

"Rick,"

"I need to go and check on Lori," Rick said, walking away before she could say more. Alice pinched the bridge of her nose. It sounded like maybe, just maybe, Rick had an idea about Shane and Lori. What else would he have to get over, exactly?

Alice took a deep breath, and made her way over for something to eat. She was starving.


The night had been terrifying ever since the dead came back to life. Alice couldn't recall a night she hadn't been even a little scared, yet, something about the farm relaxed her. Besides the walker in the well, they hadn't seen a walker anywhere near the property, and the firelight that the group huddled around was comforting. Alice wasn't scared right then.

Despite the camaraderie around the fire, Alice didn't sit with them. The smoker sat at the edge of the small village of tents with crossed legs and a cigarette in hand. It was only the appearance of Daryl, a look on his face that Alice knew too well, that drew her from her thoughts.

"You got an extra smoke?"

Alice nodded, holding her own between her lips as she slipped another out of the pack and held it towards him. He took it, and Alice avoided his eyes as he nodded in thanks.

"No luck with Sophia, then." She stated.

"Nah, but we're gonna find that little girl." Daryl dropped to a sitting position, fishing in his pockets for his lighter, "'s only the woods of Georgia."

She smiled, "You have a lot of hope, considering everything."

"Ain't no reason not to," Daryl took a long pull from his cigarette, "You feelin' like Andrea?"

"I don't want to die." Alice furrowed her brows, "But I don't know if I want to live as some sort of monster. I'm not sure if I can."

"What's it with you people and all this good or bad bullshit?" Daryl shook his head, "Ain't so hard to do the right thing,"

Alice pursed her lips, "And if a time comes when it's not clear?"

Daryl let out a small huff, "You people an' yer damn right or wrong shit."

"I'm serious," Alice chewed her thumb as she watched the way he lounged, only his stiff posture betraying the couldn't-care-less way he lounged. She appreciated the way his arm muscles flexed as he lifted his hand to smoke.

"We jus' gotta focus on our own survival," Daryl looked away, "These people left my brother fer dead- for their own lives. I had ta get on board with it."

"Merle's out there, somewhere." Alice's gut writhed. Merle had more than likely died alone, scared and abandoned, from his wound or walkers. Corpse far from his brother, waiting for the person who would never come to discover it. Daryl believed in Merle's life though, and Alice put enough stock in his hope to dissuade the thoughts, "Isn't it weird, who ended up being in this group?"

"Whadd'ya mean?"

"If we're going off the surface, I mean - A redneck, a reporter, a civil right's attorney, a housewife, two cops and their lover, a kid, an old man, a farm full of churchgoers," Alice counted on her fingers, going through the group, "None of it matters now. We're just people. The living."

"An' what, you make a habit of judgin' people like that?" Daryl was scowling, like he was wounded. Alice was almost tired of him finding every excuse to take offence, yet some part of her wanted to grab him and tell him that the world wasn't against him like he thought.

"No," she took a drag of her cigarette, smoke blowing out of her lungs in a harsh stream a moment later, "I loved to write about people. About how much more they were than the basics of their label or their story. About the broken people that we forgot about."

"You know anythin' about bein' - broken?" Daryl shook his head, "People jus' get on with it. Knew a guy once, a good friend 'a Merle. His old woman went crazy, drowned their baby girl in the tub," the hunter's gaze hardened, "Guy never was the same after that. Spent more time high than he did sober."

"I'm sorry," Alice breathed. She'd been hearing a lot of bad stories about Before today, and it made her wonder if you could just keep on going after that stuff. But - what if you couldn't come back from experiencing those things? What if you just lost a part of yourself so big that you broke?

"The hell you sorry for? You didn' know 'im."

"No, but I'm sorry that he had to feel that pain," Alice stubbed out the remains of her burnt out smoke, lighting another, "A lot of people must be hurting in this world. I'm just sorry that there's nothing anyone can do,"

She cast her eyes past the tents to where Shane sat beside Rick around the fire. To Andrea beside Dale. Then to the house, where somewhere inside a widow was weeping for her dead husband.

"Ya do what you can ta help 'em," Daryl met her eyes, and she saw the genuine concern for the group that lay in his, "Food, shelter - hope, ya get 'em what they need."

"You're proper smart, you know. Don't sell yourself short."

"You sayin' I ain't suppose ta be?"

"You act like everything I say is an insult," Alice rolled her eyes, climbing to her feet, "It's not. I have a lot of respect for you, actually."

Daryl was quiet, before dismissing what she'd said completely, "You goin' somewhere?"

"To sleep. It's going to take me awhile so I might as well get a head start." She smiled, and quietly said, "Goodnight, Daryl."

There was a pause, and heat crawled up Alice's spine. Embarrassed, she turned and made to move away. It was only when she'd taken her first few steps that she heard the quiet mutter behind her. The grin stretched across her face as she repeated the words in her head, "Night, Alice".


Alice awoke slowly, eyes squinting open. She was foggish, somewhat overwhelmed by the light glowing through the tent's fabric. Her hand reached out, touching the interior of the tent, and Alice grimaced as she felt the moisture of condensation. The sound of fabric shifting filled the tent as she rolled, turning to see Shane taking up the middle of the tent yet again. He had a habit of doing that, and Alice didn't know what compelled him to find the most space to take up in his sleep but it had stopped being funny and started getting on her nerves; she couldn't get up without stumbling over him.

She sat up, grabbing new clothes from her bag, before slinking back into her sleeping bag and attempting the gymnastic process of changing inside of it. Times like this, Alice sort of wished she had the tent to her self.

Her hair brushed against the side of the tent, and she let out a small groan as she reached up and felt where the condensation had dampened it. The movement of Shane's eyes behind his eyelids gave her pause, and Alice started noticing that his right hand was twitching in his sleep, too. A dream, or a nightmare.

'I shot him in the leg' Alice recalled his words, and leaned over him to gently put her hands on his shoulders, shaking him. He didn't stir, instead letting out a mumble as his left arm flipped over his face, and Alice gently pushed him again.

"Shane, I don't know what you're dreaming about but... Just wake up, come on. Shane, Shane, get up you twat."

She smiled triumphantly when his eyes fluttered open, though it didn't last long. His eyes were wet, and Alice suddenly felt obnoxious leaning over him. She shifted back, shuffling out of her sleeping bag now that she was dressed. Alice was quiet as she pulled her boots on and began lacing them.

"You know I was havin' a nightmare?" he asked, his voice low.

"I had an idea," Alice mumbled, quickly tying a bow in her lace, "You okay?"

"I'll be fine," Shane yawned, sitting up and rubbing his hands over his face, "You up for more training today?"

"What about the search?" she asked, keeping her eyes firmly on Shane's face. His sleeping bag had pooled around his waist when he'd sat up, and while Alice wasn't really attracted to Shane, there was no denying that the man was in shape. She didn't want to be caught up eyeing up his bare chest.

"Do a lil' trainin' now, before we head out. My leg still ain't great so chances are I'm jus' drivin' around again," Shane ran a hand over his 22 necklace, "Andrea said she's on watch today, so she won't be helpin' me."

"I suppose that's your invite?" Alice stood, grabbing the tent zip, "I'm going to go and find Dale and his sun cream before I fry some more. And yeah, I'll tag along with you."

She crawled out of the tent, a small wash bag in one hand, and observed the camp. It was actually earlier than she'd expected, and the camp was fairly quiet still. That spurred her to be quiet as she headed towards the containers of water near the burned out firepit, intending to brush herself. She could see a map with scribbles all over it abandoned on a chair and knew this was going to be a long day.


Alice slammed the car door behind her. The volume of the noise made her flinch, but Alice merely shrugged it off and kept walking. Their patrol of the highway had brought nothing, and her suggestion to check out nearby areas had been slammed down by Shane. Not only had he completely destroyed her in training, but he'd rebutted her every suggestion, and Alice just wasn't feeling too generous with her patience today.

"You gotta calm down, Alice," Shane called.

"Do you even wanna find this little girl?" she hissed, "We could have driven a little further, looked a little harder, but no - we have to get back to the ground, so says King Shane. Can you just fuck off right now?"

"'Course I do, but it seems to me I'm the only one who wants to face the reality that maybe she just isn't gonna be found," Shane rubbed his head, "We cannot just risk our lives over a ghost in the woods."

"Have a little hope, Shane," Alice rolled her eyes, despite how much she sort of thought they wouldn't find Sophia alive either, "I'm going out again."

"With who?"

"I don't know," Alice scowled, "Why don't you come with me?"

"You wanna go searchin' for ghosts in the woods?" Shane's eyes darkened, "You and I both know that it's been too long. That little girl is long gone. Critical period, first forty-eight hours, that is over."

"Do you ever have just a little hope?" Alice glanced around, saw Rick on the porch of the farmhouse watching them. She lowered her voice, "We at least need to find Carol some closure. Come looking with me."

He leaned back, one hand rubbing the back of his neck, "Fine. But you gotta understand somethin' - I am all about hope. But this world? We don't get any free passes. We gotta fight for survival."

"I know-" A shout interrupted her, sounding again.

"Walker!" Andrea cried from her position atop the RV. Alice began running towards her at the same time that Shane did, and behind them Rick sprinted from the porch.

"Don't shoot," Rick was yelling, "Don't shoot."

Shane and Rick headed out past Alice to join T-Dog running into the field, and Alice hung back. As she rounded the RV and saw the figure out in the fields, visibly dirty and bloodied even from here, she heard the shot. It echoed across the fields.

The figure fell, and Alice spun to yell up at Andrea, "You stupid cunt, you could have just drawn every walker for miles down on this farm!"

"Oh my god," Andrea choked, and Alice looked back out after the men to see that they were supporting the body, running back with it. T-Dog had a crossbow in his hand.

"Tell me you didn't just shoot Daryl Dixon," Alice called, and was met with Andrea shaking.

"I did, oh my god. I thought he was a walker." Andrea said.

"Bollocks," Alice took of running towards the house, yelling, "Hershel! Daryl's been shot!"

Maggie was on the porch, and she took off inside as Alice leaped up the steps. She slammed the screen door open, causing it to bounce off the house and slam behind her. Hershel and Maggie were stood at the table.

"Daryl. He was shot." Alice panted. Hershel nodded, hastily walking towards the cabinet where they kept the medical supplies.

"Where was he shot?"

"I don't know. Andrea thought he was a walker." Hershel's face soured, but Alice thought it was from the fact they'd shot their own.

Shane and Rick burst through the door carrying Daryl, and Alice felt the fear that had been covered by adrenaline spike when she saw the wound on his head. Blood was trickling down his forehead.

"He's breathing," Shane said at the sight of Alice's face. Her eyes were wide, her mouth dropped open.

"Put him in there," Hershel ordered, gesturing to a door down the hall from where they'd had Carl, "Maggie, get Patricia. I need you two to put him down and then stay out of our way. We're gonna need room."

Alice sat down at the kitchen table, palming her eyes. Daryl had been shot in the head. If he died-

Alice forced that thought down. Daryl was fine. No one kills Merle but Merle- Daryl was just as tough as his brother. He'd be ok.

She just had to wait and see.


A/N : In hindsight, the older chapters of this are a complete MESS. I know I was excited to upload things but seriously - ouch. I've been working on editing those, so this chapter is a lot shorter and took a lot longer for that reason.

Dale's a little suspicious, Rick's a little suspicious, everyone's a little suspicious. Do you think Dale will catch Shane out in his lie, or not? I love Shane's storyline in the show no matter how much it destroys my heart (he's just so emotionally complex and on the second watch, isn't so bad) but I don't intend to stick to it like a script.

How does everyone feel about Alice's relationships with the members of the group? Is she choosing bad company?

I hope you enjoyed! If you think it deserves it, please follow/favourite/review. If you didn't enjoy, let me know why! 3 thanks for reading!

P.s. I'm drunk right now and think publishing this chapter is a great idea. I'll hope my lack of editing works wonders ooops.