Katie lay on the bottom bunk that night, staring up and letting her mind wander. She sighed, trying to worm a little of the stress out of her body by stretching. Someone giggled in the corner.

Trouble sleeping, Katie?

Katie sat up with such force that her neck cracked as her head hit the top mattress. She backed away from the voice, but the giggling grew louder. It was getting closer, until a dark figure sat itself on the end of the bed.

"Go away." Katie hissed at it, heart pounding. It laughed again, cruel and unforgiving.

Not going to deny my existence this time?

"Just go away. Go away." Katie said, her voice cracking. Just one full night of sleep, that's all she asked. Just one day without this thing in her mind laughing at her.

But I'm not in your mind, Katie. And I'm not going anywhere.

"What do you want?" she asked, desperate for an end to this entity. The shadowy girl flipped a pigtail over her shoulder, crossing her legs on the bed Indian style. Like it was a sleepover, like she was about to reveal the juiciest middle school gossip.

I want you to remember, Katie. Just to remember. Every day. Every night.

It laughed again, louder this time. Katie's eyes darted towards the cell door for a second only; surely that should've woken somebody up. She silently pleaded for someone to come in, chasing away this fearsome spirit.

I'm afraid your little redneck boyfriend can't save you from me, Katie. Or anything for that matter. You're going to die, Katie. All of you. Torn to shreds by monsters.

Katie's breathing was shallow, and her heart only seemed to pump faster each time it spoke. Her body felt frozen in place, she was so close to it, she could almost make out its face. The figure smiled, tilting its head.

But you could stop that from happening, Katie. You could end it all, tonight. End you suffering. End you pain. Don't you want that? An end to all this pain? You can, just do it. There's so many ways. But the easiest is sitting right there in your backpack.

Katie's eyes flickered to her backpack, laying against the wall opposite the bunk. Her fingers twitched, and she squeezed her eyes shut. Images, horrific images, flashed like a movie reel in her mind. Red blood, splintering bone, gnashing teeth of Walkers, once ordinary people. Katie had to choke bad the contents of her stomach. She got up from the bed with a lurch of speed. The shadow girl snickered condescendingly.

You're so worthless, look at you. Can't even handle a little gore. How have you made it this far? You definitely won't last at this rate. Pathetic.

Her hateful words rang in her ears, and this time Katie did retch. She moved away from it, sinking to the floor next to her pack. Katie tried to catch her breath, looking at the figure still sitting on her bed.

"Why do you look like Zoey?" she asked weakly. The figure laughed.

You already know why, Katie.

It got up from the bed, crouching in front of her and smiling. Katie shut her eyes to avoid its stare, but found more terror waiting for her. Memories of when the outbreak started, the first Walker she had to kill….David. His name was David. And Jake, her sweet and loyal pet. All the desperate phone calls to Merissa. All the people she had cared about in the world, gone. Just like that. What's the point of this? What real reason do I have to go on? They're going to get me sooner or later. The prison is full of them still.

These thoughts continued to swirl in her mind, and without realizing it, Katie had pulled out the Colt. The figure was still before her, crouching and smiling with Zoey's smile. She hadn't seen nor heard from her mother or sister since the divorce when she was twelve. Her own mother had abandoned her, left her to live with an abusive drunk of a father. Left her to wither away and become just another sad story. Another lonely girl.

She retched again, the figure vanishing as Daryl came through the cell door. He looked at the vomit on the floor, and looked at Katie with the gun in her hand, and swore. Ripping the gun away from her, Daryl took her by the arm and pulled her from the cell. Katie half-walked, half-drug herself from the tiny room, into the moonlit cellblock. Daryl looked at her, sitting miserably on the floor, and swore again. He sat against the railing, pulling her into his arms. They stayed like that, neither of them wanting to acknowledge what had almost just happened.

"Heard ya talkin' to someone in there." he finally muttered after a few minutes of silence. "Was it the girl again?"

Katie's throat burned; all she could do was nod against his shoulder. Daryl picked up the Colt and shook it a little.

"I'm keepin' this now." he said, and she did not argue. She was willing to do anything to stop that horrible figure from winning. Daryl sighed, and they sat in silence once more. Katie couldn't bring herself to speak, even if she could, she didn't know what she could say. Zoey was getting stronger, she couldn't think her away anymore.