Heterochromia Iridum

Knocked this one out relatively quickly. Shorter because I decided to split it up into two parts. It would have been unbearably long if I hadn't. Hopefully will finish the next part pretty quick as well. Wish me luck!

Thanks to LeAnn388, Lilsuccubus, addicted2memories, lilhobbit, sillygabby, Steph, scythe195, Bactrian Camel, JenTen, and everyone that added this story to their favourites or alert list!

Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead or any of the characters associated with the franchise. I own the plot to this story and any original characters you may see, like Katty or Calum.

Chapter 12: Beginning

"How is she this morning?"

Rick shoved his hands in his pockets as he and Deanna took a short walk around the perimeter of Alexandria. The group would start to pack up the van soon, and a decision would have to be made if Katty would join them.

"I talked to her," he stated confidently, making sure to meet Deanna's calculating gaze before continuing. "She was upset last night; said a lot of things she didn't mean. She's past it now."

"I'm not sure about that," Deanna countered, sounding thoughtful. "I think that it's taking her a long time to adjust – " she paused to scan Rick's face. He wondered what expression had shone through, because Deanna changed her tune. "It's not a bad thing, Rick, I'm just trying to think of what's best for the rest of the group."

He furrowed his brows at her briefly before he worked to wipe the annoyed look off his face. It wouldn't due any good to look biased. "So am I and so is Katty," Rick explained. "She's a valuable asset to the group, she works well with most of them, and she wants to help."

"Most of them is what I'm concerned about," Deanna ran a hand over her forehead and hair as she glanced towards the converging group standing by the large, tan van. "It doesn't take much for someone to get hurt or not return, and they all need to rely on each other. Including Aiden and Katty."

Rick resisted rolling his eyes. It was laughable to think that Glenn, Tara or Noah trusted Aiden and Nicholas, or vice versa. Adding Katty wouldn't change that.

"Like I said, I talked to her," he parroted back to Deanna, who raised her eyebrows.

"She's willing to forgive and move past what happened?" she questioned, and Rick could hear her dubious tone.

He nodded solidly, maintaining eye contact. "Ask her yourself," Rick suggested with a shrug, jerking his head towards where Katty was talking and laughing with Tara and Noah. He had told her to hover until she was needed, and was thankful that the girl could follow instructions.

They had a long conversation early in the morning, and Rick had given her specific directions to ensure that she would be cleared to go. Katty was grumpy and somewhat hungover, but Rick hadn't been sympathetic. She sat at the kitchen table with steel cut oats and watched him bleakly as Rick spoke.

He trusted the Alexandria people less than ever now, though the thread had already been stretched thin before. Rick needed as many people of his there as possible, and though Katty had been somewhat unstable and emotional last night, he trusted that she wanted to keep their own safe above anything.

She had groaned when he explained that if Aiden interacted with her or attempted to apologize, she would have to be civilized. "If he says anything, make sure Deanna sees you acceptin' it," Rick had told her sternly. "Come out smiling, calm, anything to make her think you're over it."

He resisted reaming her out about last night. Deanna could have kicked Katty out over what happened and how Katty spoke last night. A few points during the confrontation last night, Rick had tried to calm her down, warn her off escalating and saying what she had. Telling Deanna that she almost killed Aiden, Rick knew that the evening was only going to get worse from there.

She had somewhat redeemed herself, though, and in an unlikely way. It was easy to read her emotions and almost her thoughts, written as plain as scripture on her face. When she spoke it was genuine, and not as heartless as Rick knew she wanted to come across. Katty didn't want to get hurt, and didn't want to hurt other people, for the most part. She attempted to deflect the conversation into anger and tried to distract Deanna with the same, but it didn't work. Deanna could plainly see that Katty wasn't as uncaring as she claimed to be, and had called her out on it. The former politician empathized with Katty, almost had a soft spot for her, and Rick was curious why. Ultimately, it didn't matter, as long as it ended in their favour.

Rick steered Deanna towards the group of runners by the large, ugly vehicle. He noticed Aiden fiddled with his hands nervously as he approached Katty, and Rick sent her a look that he hoped she saw. Katty snuck a quick glance at himself and Deanna before she turned her attention to Aiden, and whatever he was currently stumbling out at her.

Rick cast a sidelong glance at Deanna, noticing that her own was locked on the aforementioned two.

"I encouraged him to make it right," Deanna commented as they walked towards Reg, standing off to the side. Rick wondered how much the older man knew. "I'm glad he decided to try."

They both watched as Katty nodded slowly at whatever Aiden had said, before she hesitated briefly and tapped his arm in an attempt at a comforting gesture. Rick let out a small breath that he didn't realize he had been holding. At least she could follow directions.

He could see Deanna nodding slightly beside him, and inwardly chuckled. As long as Deanna believed it.

Glenn made his way over to the three of them, nodding at Deanna and Reg in a greeting.

"Almost ready to head out?" Reg asked conversationally.

"Almost," Glenn nodded. "Just waiting for Eugene and then we're going to hand out the weapons," he explained.

"How do you feel about the group dynamic, Glenn?" Deanna asked, and Rick wanted to roll his eyes again at the woman. It was obvious what she was really asking.

Glenn glanced over his shoulder briefly towards Katty. She was still standing near Aiden and having what appeared to be a polite, if not short, conversation. Tara had handed Katty a bag of something, and Katty had an interested look on her face as she shuffled through it.

"We need her, Deanna. It'll go a lot smoother with Katty there," Glenn stated immediately and without hesitation. He also apparently had known what Deanna had really been asking, and decided to cut straight to the point.

Her eyebrows raised at the younger man. "Why do you feel you need her?"

Glenn looked thoughtful for a minute, before a whoop interrupted him.

"Me and Tara strung up a target for you, Katty. Bet you can't hit it," Noah taunted, and Rick watched Katty smile at the joking tone. Tara tied off a section of rope around a tree, and Rick raised his eyebrows in amusement. A chunk of wood was tied and swinging like a pendulum off of a branch.

"I bet doing laundry that you'd stick it, Katty, so you better get it," Tara called out as she walked back towards them. "Not in the mood to handle Noah's tighty whiteys."

Katty laughed again before pulled a number of knives out of the bag that Tara had given her. She was a good distance away from the swinging target, but she was almost lackadaisical as she chucked the blade towards the tied off branch. She didn't wait to see if the knife had landed, Katty quickly fired off four more knives in the same direction, all of them resulting in a satisfying thunk as they lodged in the wood, close together.

She brought out one more and took a few seconds to aim this one, before letting it sail out of her hand. Rick's eyes widened slightly as the knife easily sliced through the vertical section of rope holding the wood in place, and it dropped to the ground.

Rick hadn't seen Katty throw knives before. He had heard Noah telling the group that Katty had 'nailed a Walker from 20 feet' when they had gone out previously. Rick had assumed that Noah was talking about her shooting, and didn't find it that impressive. Watching her now, he understood why the younger man had been enthralled.

"Dibs on staying with her."

Eugene's deep, almost monotonous voice sounded behind them, and Glenn rolled his eyes and directed him towards where Tara was. He was holding some black box with an antenna in his hands, and Rick didn't even spare the time to wonder what it was. That wasn't his forte.

Glenn turned back to Deanna, who's eyebrows were still raised, now in surprise. "That's why we need her. It's better to have a team with varied skills. Katty's fast, quiet, and has been through it. It's what we need," he explained simply and calmly, and Deanna nodded slightly.

Rick ground his teeth thoughtfully. A part of him felt uneasy as he watched Katty. The dissonance between the vulnerable and angry girl that had shown up last night and Katty in front of him now unsettled Rick. He found it hard to trust people, that was obvious, and there was a gut reaction of suspicion towards Katty still. There were still questions about her, ones that he knew weren't his business to ask her. What had been her purpose at Woodbury? She had left long before the Governor came after them at the prison, so he wasn't worried about Katty being involved in the attacks. But it had been bad enough that Merle helped her escape, someone who didn't care about anyone other than himself and Daryl. Something was off about Katty. Rick just wasn't sure it was worth an interrogation yet.

Last night, he couldn't help the instinct to hug her and tell her it was going to be alright. Her crying and asking him 'why' had gotten to him, pulled at his heartstrings. Crying women always had, even before the apocalypse. Everyone was so numb lately, it had been odd to see someone actually break down.

It barely registered as she walked up to them with a hopeful smile. Rick blinked quickly before looking at Deanna.

"You still feel like you'd be an asset to the team?" Deanna asked her immediately, forgoing pleasantries.

Katty nodded quickly and reached a hand to scratch behind her neck as she looked over at Aiden. He was loading the van. "Yeah. We talked, actually, and he apologized. It's fine."

Looking at her, Rick knew it was anything but fine. She wasn't terribly swollen, but a large, fist sized bruise ran down her face and covered her eye. She had a bandage on the cut on her neck, which Katty explained last night had been more to keep it clean while they were out than to keep it from bleeding. Her blood clotted quickly, apparently. Aiden wasn't much better, he also had a bruise on his face, and was more swollen and uncomfortable looking than Katty.

Deanna looked at her for a few tense seconds, before she smiled, and it looked almost forced. "I don't have a problem with you going, then. As long as you feel up to it," Katty immediately nodded in agreement.

Rick quickly reached a hand to squeeze Katty's shoulder encouragingly. She didn't flinch away, he noted. "Good luck," Rick muttered at her before he nodded at the group and walked away to continue his day. He was confident that he would hear about the events when they got back that same day.

Rick walked, and tried to shake the feeling that not everything would go as planned.

Daryl moved lightly through the tall grass, his eyes flickering between around him and the area around his feet. After giving Katty shit about the rattle snake, he'd be damned if he ended up stepping on one and coming back with a bite. Aaron moved quietly beside him a few feet away, and Daryl was thankful that he knew how to be mostly silent.

"Wanna stop to –" Daryl interrupted Aaron by raising a hand. Aaron immediately grew quiet, and Daryl turned towards to quiet growling noise that had registered in his mind a moment ago. A female Walker in blue scrubs appeared at the treeline a distance away, and Daryl waited for it to get closer before he sent a bolt into it's head.

"Nice catch," Aaron complimented, and Daryl grunted in response as he bent down to retrieve the bolt from the side of its head. He wiped it on a rag in his pants pocket before putting it away.

"Wanna stop to eat?" he asked again, and Daryl shrugged.

"Sure, if ya want."

Aaron pulled his backpack off his shoulders and grabbed a couple bottles of water and protein bars. Daryl declined the bar as he had a couple in his pockets, but grabbed the water with a grunted, "thanks".

Daryl reached both hand into the pockets of his vest, unsure which one held the food he had. His left hand clasped a power bar just as his right felt something much different. Daryl fiddled with it briefly as his mind figured out immediately what it was. The photo of Katty he had taken some days ago.

He felt like a fuckin' girl, carrying the thing around. Daryl didn't dare take it out of his pocket, in fear that Aaron would see and he wouldn't hear the end of it.

He had fiddled with it before, too, he remembered dully. When he was saying his lame form of goodbye to Katty. He had wanted to say something better. Wanted to tell her he had skinned all the meat they had gotten that day and he had definitely planned on manning the fuck up and saying that when he got back, he wanted to have dinner with her again.

But nope. Instead he had gotten tongue tied like some fuckin' virgin and told her to "stay outta trouble".

"Ya know the old sayin', baby brother," he could hear Merle's declaration in his mind. "Gotta grab the bitch by the twat and show 'er who's boss,". Daryl chewed the inside of his cheek, wishing he had just said something. Sure as fuck not anything that Merle would have said, but something.

His hand left the photo and he grabbed the power bar out, unwrapping it quickly to eat. Daryl could feel Aaron watching him, but his mind was elsewhere. How had the party gone? Even if he had stayed, there was no way he would have gone to it, but it was grating, not knowing how the evening ended.

"I'm sure it went fine," Aaron reassured him, and Daryl refused to look at him. The man could basically read his thoughts whenever it came to Katty, and it irritated him.

"What?" he grouched, feigning ignorance.

He could see Aaron biting back a smile before he responded. Aaron chewed thoughtfully for a minute. "You have that look you get when you're worried about her."

"'M not worried about Katty," Daryl denied immediately, shaking his head quickly.

Aaron didn't bother to conceal the smile this time. "Who said I was talking about Katty?"

Daryl scowled at him, but even he knew it lacked any bite. He was just annoyed that Aaron had practically tricked him without trying. He had walked right into that.

"Just have a bad feelin' is all," he muttered, deciding not to be a complete asshole and give Aaron something.

"We're not goin' all the way there to end up bringin' home the wrong shit," Aiden explained patiently to Eugene, who was evidently trying to get out of the warehouse run.

Eugene shook the black object in his hand at Aiden. "There's dozens of these, all consistent in appearance. The shit will be right," he quickly countered, vehement that they didn't need him.

He looked at Noah again, since Aiden walked away. "I will install said shit, and the grid will be fully operational," he continued, obviously hoping that his words would sway the decision.

Katty bit back a smile at his tone. She hadn't spoken much to Eugene, but the monotonous drawl always made a bubble of laughter want to appear.

"Eugene, it'll be dark. We need you there to confirm it," Katty added as she loaded the medical kit into the back of the van. Noah thrust the gun with an attached silencer at Eugene again, who took it with a less than happy face.

"Heard you talkin' to Holly last night," Tara asked Noah with a mischievous look. "What's her story?"

Noah smiled to himself and then looked at Tara pointedly. "Why d'ya ask?"

Tara rolled her eyes at Katty and then clapped her hands on Noah's shoulders as he turned away. "It was an innocent question, don't make me hurt you," she chided jokingly.

Maggie bid Glenn goodbye without saying the exact phrase; just simple looks and simple words. She caught Katty's hand quickly afterwards and squeezed it briefly, sending her an assuring look. "Come by after, we'll have another long talk and cry on each other again," she said with a smile.

Katty laughed shortly, thinking that she had done enough crying last night to last her a long time.

She agreed anyways, and then hopped in the back of the truck. Glenn plopped next to her, and Tara turned her taunts to Noah once more.

"Seriously, what's her story?" she asked. Noah grinned briefly before loud, base driven music filled their ears. Katty scoffed, recognizing the song immediately. It was by Knife Party. The kind of song that Katty would have danced to in a shitty downtown Hollywood club, but secretly hated.

Noah rolled his eyes and Glenn exchanged a bewildered look with Katty.

"Great, another mix," Noah muttered to them, and Katty let out a laugh.

'Now you're going to die,' the woman's voice recited in the song.

"Super encouraging," Katty drawled sarcastically.

They sat in silence for a while until the song changed, and though it was still obnoxiously loud, they could talk over it. Katty had been watching Noah fiddle with a dark, bound book in his hands and gestured towards it.

"What's that?"

Noah threw a wide smile at Katty, his eyes dancing as he flipped through the blank pages of the book in front of him.

"I asked Reg to teach me to build things," He explained, and Katty's eyebrows shot up. "He gave me this, just to write everything down in."

"I didn't know you were interested in architecture," Katty commented, wondering where the sudden interest sparked from. Noah was relatively young, though, he could have been dreaming of architecture before the world ended, she supposed.

"Not really," Noah admitted, "But I'm interested in keeping this place safe. Keeping the walls solid, keeping the houses up," he listed briefly, shutting the dark book and hanging the clip of the pen off the front cover of it. Katty briefly saw a few words scrawled on the first page, but they were gone before she could make them out.

"This is the beginning of everything," he continued without prompting from her, seemingly eager to discuss his plans. "I want to continue Reg's work and be able to pass it on to the next people here."

Her throat felt dry, and Katty could only nod quickly at Noah, mustering up a small smile to show him. It made her feel childish, to have someone younger than her have a tenfold more hope and drive to keep the community safe than she did. She wished she saw it as he did; a new beginning.

This morning, she had felt divided. Embarrassed, but also relieved that she had gotten almost everything off of her chest to Deanna. She had been surprised that Deanna hadn't kicked her out, even more surprised when she allowed her to go on the run. Granted, she probably would have either followed them or stowed away if Deanna had said no, but whatever Rick had said had obviously made a difference to the woman.

Katty had tried, with every fibre of her being, to be genial and happy this morning. She had remembered Rick's words about if Aiden apologized, and had glanced to make sure Deanna was watching before she took Aiden up on his offer. He hadn't said much to her, just stuttered out an awkward apology that ended with her skin crawling from the uncomfortable air. Katty had wanted to say something nasty and vulgar to him in response, but refrained herself and nodded. The extra mile had been taken, and she had lightly clapped him on the shoulder, telling him that she would "cover his arse". Katty wasn't sure if that was true, but Aiden smiled at her weakly all the same. He did look guilty and apologetic; she just wasn't sure she cared.

She still wanted out, still wanted to leave. Katty didn't want to make any rash decisions or leave the group high and dry, but she convinced herself that she should start looking for Calum again, possibly make her way up to Washington like they originally planned. It wouldn't technically be running away if she had a purpose, right?

They were quiet for the majority of the ride, and Aiden turned the music off when they got closer to their destination. The van slid to a halt and both Aiden and Nicholas were the first to hop out of the van. Tara and Katty exchanged matching serious looks before the back doors swung open and light flooded the back. The five of them climbed out the back and started divvying out the weapons.

Eugene stood of to the side, looking dejected and like he really didn't want to be there. Which he probably didn't. Katty just hoped that he wouldn't be a liability.

Glenn passed Katty another handgun with a makeshift silencer attached to it, and she took it, hoping she wouldn't have to use it. Granted, she did feel better about handling guns since Daryl had gone out with her that day, but they hadn't attempted to hit any moving targets. She hoped her throwing knives and her machete would be enough. Katty secured a second pouch of knives on her belt loops at her side, opposite the machete.

"Looks like that door is the fastest way in and out," Aiden said, nodding towards the door behind them and up a few stairs.

Glenn shook his head. "We should know all the exits first. So that there's a plan if things go south," he said firmly, and Katty made sure to step so that she was at Glenn's side. She wanted it to be obvious that she was in agreement with Glenn, but refrained from vocalizing so. Rick had reminded her earlier to keep a clear head and follow what Glenn said.

Nicholas scoffed and shot Glenn an arrogant look. "I already got one, it's called the front door."

Glenn didn't say anything right away, just fixed Nicholas with an unamused look. Nicholas looked toward Aiden with the same amused, cocky look, which Aiden didn't return. He merely glanced at Nicholas briefly before turning and grabbing a shotgun from the back of the van.

A quiet shuffling sounded behind them, and Katty was the first one to notice it. She fiddled with the strap on the pouch at her side as she glanced over. One Biter, slow, pretty far away. No need to panic.

"Noah," she called shortly, inclining her head towards it.

"Got it," he replied, and raised his loaded gun at the Biter before pulling the trigger. It was surprising how much their makeshift silencers actually worked, and Katty didn't flinch at the noise. Maybe this would be easier for her to use, she mused.

"Nice shot," Aiden complimented, handing the shotgun in his hands to the other man. He then looked at Nicholas again before turning to Glenn. "Glenn's right, we should do a perimeter check. Just in case," he said. Katty raised her eyebrows, pleasantly surprised.

Maybe he felt guilty for what happened last night, maybe he was getting used to the idea of outsiders in Alexandria. Whatever it was, she appreciated that Aiden had pointedly used the words 'Glenn's right,' to agree with him.

Glenn just nodded at him, and they easily broke off into groups to scout the area. Nicholas and Aiden went together, Tara and Eugene checked around the large semi trucks, and Katty felt somewhat like a tag along, beside Glenn and Noah. Unconsciously, she made a promise to herself that she would do everything she could to bring these people home.

"Good aim back there," Glenn commented quietly to Noah as they walked around the side.

Noah shrugged. "Target practice helps," he said easily. He glanced at Katty and then grinned. "Actually, last week I was thinkin' of practicin' on Aiden."

The three of them laughed lightly. Glenn whistled shortly and pointed to the side swiftly, towards a Biter ambling towards them. Katty pulled a heavy knife from her wrap around her leg and jerked her hand towards it, letting the weapon fly. It hit bullseye, imbedding itself into the Biter's eye socket and it fell to the ground.

"Where'd you learn that?" Glenn asked when she jogged back after retrieving it.

"Merle," she said simply, assuming that Glenn knew who Daryl's brother was. "I had a knack for it. Not as good with guns, I'm afraid," she admitted. Noah gave her a reassuring smile.

"You'll get it eventually. If I can, you sure as hell can."

Katty smiled back. Noah really was an uplifting figure, and she appreciated that. Especially today.

A chain link fence came into view, and they picked up their pace, knowing that the front door would be on the other side. A noise similar to a grating humming greeted them, and the sight of a crowd of Biters, milling about the front entrance accompanied it. There were a lot. Too many to clear, Katty knew.

"Well," Glenn started blandly. "Now we know we aren't going out the front."

Katty nodded bleakly in agreement, and they turned around the report back to the others, hoping that there were a few more exits for them, clear from Biters.

When they returned, the four other people were already there, waiting.

"Anything?" Aiden asked.

Glenn shook his head, "Found the front entrance. It's swarmed."

"There weren't any useable entrances along our side, either," Tara added. "Looks like it's just this one." She gestured to the original one that they had parked in front of.

"Let's go," Nicholas commanded them, already making his way towards the door.

He stopped short of opening it, and waited for Glenn and Aiden. Katty rolled her eyes. Of course. Glenn walked forward and swung the door open, the creaking of a long unused door greeted them. Aiden drew his firearm and pointed it into the darkness as Glenn smacked three times on the metal frame. They waited for a minute, and heard nothing.

Aiden went to take a step into the building, and Glenn held up a nonthreatening hand to make him pause. "Give it a second," he said lowly. "It's a big place, could be some inside."

Aiden muttered something back in agreement, and Katty again felt surprised. If only he had been this Aiden from the beginning, she thought. She could have standed being civil with him.

Glenn moved forward and the rest of them followed, holding their flashlights up. Katty mimicked Glenn's pose, holding her handgun with one hand and crossing the hand that held her flashlight under the other, for adding support when firing.

It was dark and dank and everything was coated in a layer of dust. Katty was thankful that she didn't have allergies, but still felt the urge to cough as their footsteps kicked up irritants. She branched off with Eugene and Tara, the former of which looked particularly nervous.

They moved quickly down the aisles, sending the beams of light towards the different boxes.

"What'll the box say?" Katty asked quietly.

She had hoped that the box would have been more clearly laid out for them, but scanning the copious amounts of shelves, she doubted that was the case. The boxes were huge and spanned shelves many feet off the ground, most which would be difficult to reach. Lots were unlabelled, which didn't help.

"Different things. Could say Enphase Energy, Micro-Inverter, Solar Panel Micro-Inverter, Power Optimizer," Eugene rattled off easily.

Katty and Tara shared a look. She wondered how likely it would have been for them to find what they needed without Eugene. Probably not very high.

Glenn called out to then shortly and quietly to check where they were, and Tara replied back.

"We got this aisle."

The other four men moved away and down an opposing aisle. Growling and snapping followed shortly after, which made the three of them exchange glances before hurrying in the direction that they had gone. Aiden and Glenn were standing in front of what looked like a metal, chain link wall, acting as a cage. Noah and Nicholas were situated behind them, looking over their shoulders. The Biters were contained, but were excited and reaching through the spaces towards the fresh bodies.

A couple of them were wearing worker's uniforms, and Katty frowned. Sometimes, aspects of Biters jumped out at her and reminded her that the were once human and very much alive. It was sad, staring at the rasping, hungry face of the long dead person now, with skin sagging off the jaw.

Katty didn't listen to the short conversation that Aiden and Glenn shared, too caught up in her thoughts of how short and sad life was now.

"You're up," Tara said sternly to Eugene, and the three of them went back and separated from the other young men, walking back down the aisle.

Tara and Eugen took either side, and Katty slowly walked behind them, checking the higher shelves on either side. Tara wasn't comfortable with Katty trailing behind, but she made sure the other two were never that far in front of her. She wasn't too concerned with Biters, after all.

Eugene stopped. "This one. Here," he said, sounding relieved. Tara quickly sawed through the box and grabbed the first thing she could find out of it. The side of the box had a white label that bore the words 'MICRO-INVERTER' in large black letters.

He quickly nodded when she shone her flashlight more on the thing she had pulled out. "That's it," Eugene confirmed, and Katty thought she had never seen anything more beautiful than that hunk of metal and plastic.

"We found 'em," Katty said lowly, and a flashlight from the next aisle over appeared quickly.

"Way to go, Eugene," Glenn congratulated. Eugene just looked eager to get the fuck out of there, which Katty could relate to. A silenced gun going off made them pause their celebrations, and Katty squinted through the darkness, trying to see what was going on. Glenn had turned away from her as well, and was peering through the other side of the shelves.

"It's got armor, let it come closer," Glenn instructed to who Katty could now make out as Aiden. A Biter wearing army fatigues slowly made its way towards Aiden, every inch of it covered. It was even wearing a helmet; one which Aiden's shots didn't go through.

Aiden aimed downwards and shot again. Katty assumed that he hit its kneecap, for its legs gave out and it hit the ground. He kept trying to shoot and hit under the helmet, and Katty saw Glenn crouch to get a better look. A feeling of dread washed over her, she had a feeling what was going to happen, even before Glenn yelled.

"Aiden, stop!" Glenn sounded frantic and panicked.

Katty didn't have much time to react or take cover, before the innocent sound of a pin bouncing off the ground hit her eardrums like a hurricane. It was shortly followed by the loudest noise and force she had ever encountered and it knocked Katty off of her feet and into the metal shelf behind her. She felt her head bounce off of the edge and a sharp pain erupted behind her eyes, encompassing her entire head. The dark room went even darker, and she lost consciousness.

A/N: I know it was short again, but at least we saw a bit of Daryl and found out what he was fiddling with in his pockets before. Some questions are brought up and expanded on next chapter, I can't wait to write it. I legit feel like this is where the ball starts rollin' for me.

Thanks for reading and lemme know if you enjoyed it!

-Submechanophobia

Next Time: She felt like her heart was about to explode in her chest as she ran for someone else's life – "Glenn, move your fuckin' arse!"