LoriAnn

She was walking down a long dark tunnel. The walls curved around her in a circle. On the ground, there was a trail of smelly water with bits of walker gunk floating in it. She had to step over a severed hand that looked so old it was almost mummified. There was a strange echoing chant coming from somewhere deep inside. She didn't want to follow the sound, but it was like her body was moving towards the noise of its own volition, carrying her mind along for the ride. The smell of death was all around her, and it was getting stronger the further she walked.

There was a dim light at the end of the tunnel, and it was getting brighter. Then suddenly, she was on the floor in a dimly lit room. There were walkers chained to the walls around her. Naked women walkers that she had the sick feeling had been live people when they were brought down here. She felt sick when she saw the walkers were all her friends and family. Judith, Maria, her mother, Sarah, Dixie and so many others. And the floor was not solid, but moving beneath her. She turned to try and push herself up into a standing position and saw that the floor was covered in a carpet of snakes. Then she was screaming and she felt someone grabbing her.

"Its a dream, its just a dream, wake up," Greg took hold of the girl, shaking her gently. She was really screaming and he didn't want anyone to hear the noise and think he was hurting her. Lori's eyes flew open and she was disoriented for a moment. She didn't remember where she was. There was a loud knock on the door and the man in bed beside her jumped up and answered it.

"What the hell is going on in here," Michonne demanded of the man. She had heard a girl screaming so loud it had woken her up from a dead sleep. She didn't know how the men from Seaside did things, but around here, forcing yourself on a woman was not acceptable.

"Nothing," the man insisted, "she was just having a nightmare." Michonne pushed past him into the room and he jumped back when he saw the large tiger in the hall behind her.

"You alright?," Michonne asked Lori, taking her hand and smoothing her hair down out of her face.

"I think so," Lori told her, "I was having a bad nightmare. Like he said." Her voice was shaky. But Michonne understood about nightmares. She still had them about her son, all these years later.

"That man didn't hurt you?," Michonne asked her, pointing to the man that was now standing in the corner of the room, trying to stay as far away from Shiva as he could. Lori shook her head. She wasn't sure how she ended up in bed with the man, but he had not been hurting her. And she still had her pants on, so she guessed he hadn't done anything else to her either. Michonne turned to the man.

"Sorry for barging in here like that," she said. He nodded.

"It's okay," he said, "could you please get that big cat out of here now?" Michonne laughed soflty and headed back to her room, signaling for the tiger to come with her. She wondered if the man had any idea who's daughter he had in his bed. She figured he would find out eventually. Greg shut the door behind her and got Lori some water from on top of the dresser.

"I can get you some cold water from the bar if you need me to," he offered, handing her the water. She sipped it slowly.

"No, I'm okay," she said, "but thank you." Lori looked around the room. She guessed she must be in one of the boarding house rooms. Her pants and bra were still on, but the shirt she was wearing was not hers. She remembered the man, his name was Greg and he was friends with the man Jenny was seeing from Seaside. He was naked from the waist up, but he also had his pants on.

"Did we... uh," she started, "did anything happen between us?" Greg smiled.

"No," he told her. Having sex with passed out drunk young girls wasn't really his thing. Then he smiled. "Well, we kissed," he admitted, "and you spilled whiskey all over your shirt so I put mine on you and washed yours out. I also took your knives off and put them on the dresser." Then he pointed to her shirt, which was hanging on a hanger off one of the knobs on the dresser. "I promise I didn't look when your shirt was off." Lori smiled back at him. "Well, I might have taken a peek," he said. He held his fingers up to show a tiny space between the thumb and pointer finger. "Just a small one." She laughed.

Some of the night was coming back to her now, in little peices. Jenny and her walking back here with the guys. Sitting by the fire and listening to someone play guitar and sing. Drinking more whiskey. And cider. She remembered kissing this man, and him carrying her down a hallway and tucking her into bed. It really was kind of sweet that he had washed her shirt out for her. He walked over and moved the curtains to take a peek outside.

"Do you mind if I come back to bed with you?," he asked, "Its not even light out yet." Lori smiled again. He was even asking her if it was alright before he got back into his own bed.

"Of course its alright," she said, "Its your bed." She moved over a little to make room for him. "Thank you for washing my shirt," she told him. She felt a little blush rise up into her cheeks, making them feel hot. He got back into bed and pulled lay down with his head resting on his elbow, staring over at her with the corners of his lips turned up. Greg had been pretty drunk the night before, and he was glad he had not woken up in bed next to some kind of troll. This girl had a bit of a tomboy vibe, but he didn't mind that. She was strong looking, with brown eyes and wavy hair that was rumpled up around her head. She was tall, and he guessed from the way she was blushing that she might be younger than she looked. And maybe a virgin. Lori set her water glass down on the little table next to the bed and then looked around, feeling awkward and unsure of what to do next.

"Here," Greg told her, patting the bed next to him. Then he pulled her close so she could rest her head on his chest. "That alright for you?," he asked her. She nodded. He stroked her hair and then moved his hand down and started rubbbing her back.

"So what do you do around here?," he asked her.

"I just got done training for a year in Hilltop," she said, "I am going to be Alexandria's new blacksmith." He smiled. That explained why her arms were bigger than his. It also blew any hopes he had of bringing her back to Seaside with him. They didn't exactly have blacksmith facilities out on their sailboats.

"That's solid," he told her. He had heard things about the women from this town, but he had to say that they had exceeded all of his expectations. They were strong and brave and hard-working. And most of the ones he had seen were attractive. There were a lot of them too. Before they got here, he had guessed that had been an exaggeration. There were not many women left anywhere. This was the only place he had visited since the outbreak where the women outnumbered the men.

He felt Lori relax against him, and she snuggled in, looking for a more comfortable spot. Greg kept rubbing her back in small circles, moving his hand down to reach up under the shirt she had on and rub the soft skin on the side of her hip and her lower back. He would have liked to try and fool around with her a little, now that she wasn't plastered. But after a few minutes of rubbing her back, Greg felt her breathing go slow and even. He leaned in to kiss her forehead and then he held her close, letting himself enjoy her feminine scent and the smell of her hair. Soon he was sleeping right along with her, dreaming of the pretty girlfriend he had all those years ago in high school. Only this time he didn't lose her in the outbreak. She made it to Seaside with him instead, and he could see her there on the boat, the salty air whipping her hair around as she yanked a fish up out of the water. When she turned to smile at him, she had Lori's face.