Hey guys! So, I am so happy that we have made it this far into the story! I love the way the story has gone and cannot wait for all of you to see what's coming up! I would like to give a big thank you to all of you who have read and supported this story! I feel so honored that you have chosen to support my work like this for this long.

I would like to give a shout-out to IdShipIt007 and Lord Revan Reborn for showing this story as much love as you have. There is no way to thank you enough for what your support has meant to me. You two have followed and kept up with this story since the day it was first published and I thank you for sticking with it. I hope you continue to enjoy it.

If we could get this story up to 8 or 10 reviews, that would be absolutely amazing! I hope we can get there or higher with the release of this chapter!

With that, let's get onto the story!

Maggie POV

We hung back from the rest the group, trying to keep our distance and slide by. No need to start anything, if we're just gonna leave eventually. We followed them and when nightfall came they ended up making a small camp in an abandoned garage of some sort. I went to lay down inside a red car, but one of the others in the group ran over and slightly pushed me out of the way.

"Claimed" he said before throwing his stuff in the car.

"What? No. This is my spot. I got here first" I tell him, only to receive a laugh in return.

"You ain't claimed it so it ain't yours" he replies getting in my face.

I go to say something else, but Glenn pulls me back quickly. He spins me around and pulls me into him, wrapping his arms around me to keep me secure. He keeps me there until he knows I've calmed down, knowing that I'll throw down with that douche. I pull away and look towards Daryl who just shakes his head to say no.

"I know that you feel wronged" he whispers to me, "but it's their way. We need to play this their way, just until we have a chance to leave. Okay? You just gotta keep it in for a bit longer."

"How do you know that this is their way Daryl? How can you be so calm about this?" I ask him.

"I grew up with people like this. Being assholes like this is the way they were before the world ended and that won't change any time soon. Just trust me about that."

Glenn and I both nod, trying to keep our heads about this. We find a small part at the back of the garage that's not yet taken. I meet the eyes of the last one of Joe's men to get a spot and we both bolt for it. Whoever doesn't get it has to sleep outside, so I jump over everything until I land there.

"Claimed" I tell him just as he gets there.

"No way." he says, "Men get first claim little lady and I'm the only man in this spot, so it's mine"

I see Joe lift his head to watch what's happening, but I don't care. "This is my spot. I already claimed it. So, why don't you go make yourself comfortable outside, where you belong?"

He starts to argue, but Joe cuts him off. "She claimed it before you, so it's her spot. You might want to make yourself comfortable outside before the walkers show up".

"I can't sleep outside. The only place are the trees and you can't sleep on a tree branch, you'll fall off" this guy whines, making Joe and the others rise from their spots.

"Now that's sad" I say, grabbing their attention, "my fourteen year old friend survived out there on her own for five years. She slept in trees and hunted her own food, survived night after night out there and she didn't complain once. Are you really saying that you can't do something a little girl can do?"

His face goes white as a ghost and then goes red, angry at the challenge that has been presented to him. He looks quite thoughtful for a moment and then shoves me aside, throwing his stuff on our spot. That apparently crossed a line as Joe whistled and his other men grabbed this one. They dragged him outside and Joe nodded his apology to me before taking the guy's stuff with him.

"Maggie" Glenn whispers as he and Daryl turn to me. "How did you know all of that about Chloe?"

"I guessed." I reply, "I mean, after everything we've learned about her it can only mean that she was out there on her own for some time. The amount of time she was on her own and how she survived – even her age – was all made up."

"Mags, we don't know these people" Glenn whispers in a panicked voice, "If we get caught in a lie, they'll most likely kill us."

"Look" I say, grabbing their attention again quietly, "These guys are similar to Chloe. They aren't as strong or smart or cunning as her, but they are able to be manipulated like she is. Don't you remember how when we brought her on our run to the store, I told her that we just wanted her to go with us? I manipulated her into going. We all know that Glenn and I wanted to keep an eye on her, while also getting her out of the prison. So, we could see what she was capable of. She was very easily manipulated. This guy got angry when he lost that spot and I saw that similarity, so used it to my advantage. They're like Chloe, just not as ... unpredictable."

They look at each other for a moment before a gleam gets into Glenn's eyes. He's realized what I'm talking about and that I'm right. Daryl gets that look a few minutes later, but then the guys come back in. We quickly clear our faces and look for the man who was harassing us for this spot, but he doesn't come back in.

"Um, Joe?" I ask, making him turn towards me. "Where is the man who was bugging us?"

"He decided to man up and stay out there like he should've in the beginning. He figured that if your little friend could do it then it would be no problem for him."

We all settle down for the night, Daryl chuckling a little. "That guy thinks he can play Chloe's game. Oh how sad it'll be when he loses"

We settle in for the night, time passing by as slowly as possible. There's nothing to really look at around us as everyone's sleeping. So I start thinking about the rest of our group, where they are and how they are – what they must be doing right now. No one looked too badly off last I saw them: Chloe was worst. She had a little bit of a limp after she took the fall from the tower. Although, whoever's with her is safe. Whoever's with Rick and with Michonne should all be safe. I just hope that the rest of them can hold on until we can meet up again. With that all of my mind, I start to remember the farm and how good life was at the time. I fall asleep remembering the old days.

I wake up to the sun barely risen, me being one of the only ones awake. I can hear a fire crackling and when I look, I only see Joe there. No sign of any of his people – so they're either still sleeping or they're out hunting. Standing up slowly, so as not to wake Daryl and Glenn, I carefully make my way over to Joe. As I got closer, I made sure my footsteps were loud enough for him to hear, not wanting to startle him or anything. I take a seat across from him and take in the warmth from the fire.

"Tell me more about her" he says randomly.

"I'm sorry?" I ask, still a little sleepy.

"You're friend. The one who survived on her own all those years. Tell me about her."

"What do you want to know exactly?" I ask to clarify.

"Just her in general. Who she is and how she is – how she handled life in your group after being alone for so long."

I smile. "She was the strongest and smartest one in our group. She used her experience from being out there to help us when we needed it. She was braver than us at times, but she wasn't open with us for a while. She struggled to let us in – we trusted her before she trusted us – because of her past, but she did. She was an honest person, the only way she really knew how to be. There were times that being in a group became too much for her and she had to leave for a while, to remember who she was. And we granted her that time because she promised to return. She did.
None of us know how she saw us; as allies, friends or enemies. She could be long gone by now and refusing to try and find or help us because of something from her past. I don't know. I do know that out of everyone in the group, she is the only one that I can guarantee will make it through this world."

"Why do you talk about her in the past? Did she die?"

"No. Our group got separated after an attack and we haven't found any of them since. I talk about her in the past because that is how I remember her. Maybe she did die at this point or maybe she's slaughtered a quarter of the walkers on the planet by now. She's talented and someone people should fear, but they never do. They always underestimate her – we did for a time too – however, they learn quite quickly."

I can feel people sit down beside me and see Glenn and Daryl out of my peripheral vision. Joe looks up at me and I meet his gaze, "You talk about her like you care about her – as if you look up to her in a way. But also as if you pity her. Do you three really care about her that much?"

Daryl answers for us, "Yeah, we do. I thought my brother and I had it hard growing up, but meeting her and hearing her story told me that I was wrong. She's taken so much pain, sorrow, hurt and anger and made herself a better person from it. She has taught us so much in the short amount of time that we've known her that it's hard not to look up to her".

"Glenn" Joe says, meeting my husband's gaze, "Why do you not speak about her? Do you not care about her as such?"

"You've got it wrong" Glenn says, "I have cared about her longer than any of us. She saved one of my friends' lives the day she came to us. She had no reason to do it, could have just walked on by and let him die, but she helped. She saved his ass, hell she saved all of our asses more times than I can count. I grew to care for her from that day and it has grown every day since. She is the strongest of our group yet we all see it as our job to protect her. We're family."

Joe nods at our answers before getting up and leaving us, nodding to us as he departs. We all look at each other one more time before getting up and grabbing our things. We follow the rest out of the warehouse, stepping over something bleeding that's hidden underneath a sheet. Daryl bends down and slightly lifts it so we can see what it is.

The man who harassed us. They killed him.

Letting the sheet go, we fell in formation behind the group. We stayed together and slowly fell back further and further until we were sure that they couldn't hear us. These people seemed more dangerous than we thought they were.

"I don't like that he was asking so many questions about Chloe. We answer their questions, but keep everything vague. No naming her or anything that they can use to point her out. I'm not giving them anything they can use against my daughter." Daryl said.

"Didn't we give him something earlier though? I mean, we told him a lot of stuff about her and Maggie even gave them her age" Glenn said.

"They didn't get a description or anything that they could use to identify her. We don't even know how old she is, I think that's one of the lies Maggie threw out there in order to get past their questions." Daryl responded, looking towards Maggie as she nodded to assure them that it was part of the lie. He then proceeded to pull ahead of us.

At least I was right about one thing.

They're just like Chloe.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! If you did then please leave a review and let me know what you thought of it. I love to read your reviews and respond to them, they honestly make my day.

Tell me: What is your guys' favorite color?

I will tell you that if Chloe were to have one, it would be Navy Blue. While black might be thought as her favorite, it reminds her of bad times in her life, while other colors are too light and remind her of the life she could've had. Navy Blue is dark enough to give her comfort, but light enough to get her out of the dark.

I will see you in the next chapter!