Y'all, I did it! It only took about forever...Anyway! Welcome to the official Walking Dead fanfiction! I'm so excited to finally work on this! I will go ahead and say that these characters, my OCs have quite a bit of a story and it's one I made a "prequel" to, but I tried my best in this prologue and will continue to do so in the rest of the story to give as much detail and clear up as much confusion as possible because, if you're like me, you'd rather just get into the meat of it and would rather skip over the unnecessary details.

So, that being said, the prequel explaining the OCs stories and backgrounds is on my profile and is titled, "Shattered," for those that do want to read and if you don't, that's okay with me. You are not hurting my feelings a bit! I completely understand. I will do my best to explain it in the main story so everyone's caught up.

Also, I think this is the longest prologue I have ever written because of the fact I was throwing in the necessary information from the prequel's into it, so forgive me! I can't promise I won't be so wordy ever again, but I'll try!

Anyway, I think that's all I have to say...Oh, wait, no, one more thing! Just to clear it up and not leave anyone guessing, this prologue starts in between the end of Season 2 and the beginning of Season 3! So, in the next chapter -the first official chapter- it will begin exactly where Season 3 begins!

Okay, now I'm done. Enjoy and, please, feel free to review! Shameless begging, I know! :P

It had been months since they found any tangible proof of Emaley's existence. They thrived off of what nature and picked over houses provided them and, needless to say, Kelly was over it. She only kept her complaints to a minimum because she knew how important it was to the Stewart brothers to find their Emaley and little sister.

Walking alongside Matt, Kelly looked up at Chase who marched along at a steady pace. If their search had any benefits at all, it had definitely improved Chase's overall strength and his stamina. His desperation to find his only child drove him and pushed him farther that neither she nor Matt ever expected out of him. He was resilient and refused to give up until they found her. Dead or alive, he had to know.

Kelly admired Chase for his big heart and determination. He had no reason to save her from her sadistic co-worker that tied her to his bed, but he did it anyway. Even when he was hell-bent on returning to his daughter and siblings, he still chose to risk his escape by saving her. It was a debt she would owe to him for the rest of her life. Because of it, she knew she couldn't stop the search until Chase did. She owed him that, at least.

Matt reached over and took her hand in his, weaving his fingers through hers. She tore her eyes away from Chase and looked up at the oldest Stewart sibling. He had changed so much from the volatile man he used to be and she was lucky that she knew him after the end of the world otherwise, she probably would have never fallen for him.

Matt ducked his head and gave her a kiss on her chapped lips. The constant grime and Georgia sun wasn't kind to her. It wasn't kind to any of them, really.

"What was that for?" Kelly asked, biting the edge of her bottom lip and looked at him with flirty eyes.

"For being the sexiest woman of the entire apocalypse." Matt winked and gave her a wry smile.

Kelly just laughed and cocked an eyebrow. "Matt, I'm literally the only woman you've seen since the world ended."

He just shrugged. "Even better, you're the last woman alive and I get you all to myself," Matt added another wink and Kelly gave him a playful shrug.

Kelly looked up at Chase from the corner of her eye and noticed he had picked up some distance from them now. What trail he thought he was on, she had no idea. "We should probably keep it down...He's so...I don't even know how to describe it…" Kelly let her words trail off with a sigh.

"He's a man full of guilt, Kel. It was his weekend with Emaley, she was under his protection and he lost her before we even left the house. He hasn't seen her since he picked her up after school that Friday. He ran off hoping to find Jenni, his ex, but in the midst of that, he lost his only kid.." Matt explained under his breath, desperately hoping Chase didn't catch a word he was saying.

Kelly furrowed her brows. "If Jenni was his ex, why did he want to find her so bad? Why not immediately go get your kid?"

Matt ducked his head again and licked his lips. "Don't breathe a word because Chase will actually kill me...but, he never got over Jenni. Even after a decade apart, he's never been able to accept that things were really over. So, when he heard that the dead were coming to life to eat the living, he ran straight to Jenni."

Kelly nodded as she absorbed the information. "That's honestly kinda sweet, but tragic. Like Romeo and Juliet or something."

Matt cocked his head and raised his brows.

"What?" She pressed when she noticed his reaction.

Matt scoffed and looked back at her. "Well, Jenni's married...Or, you know, was...If they're even alive still."

"She's alive, Matt. They both are...I know my girls…" Chase interrupted their hushed conversation without turning around or breaking his concentration on his trail.

Kelly blushed at their obvious mistake, but Matt shrugged it off. "We don't know that, Chase. We could be chasing a ghost for all we know."

At that, Chase stopped but didn't turn around. His shoulders tensed and he balled his fists, but he let out a deep breath and relaxed them. "She's out here. I know my kid. She's a survivor just like her mother...Too damn stubborn to quit…" Chase huffed a laugh as a million memories flooded through his mind.

"Well, we'll never know if we don't look, right? And we won't stop looking until we know. Right, Matt?" Kelly raised her voice and gave a pointed look at Matt.

Seeing the look in her eyes and knowing his little brother's fragile state of mind, he decided to let it go and nodded. "Yeah, I hope I'm pleasantly surprised."

Kelly shook her head but didn't push it. "Chase, I think we should stop for the night. I mean, it'll be dark soon and we won't be any good stumbling around. You need a good night's rest."

Chase finally turned around and Matt and Kelly could see the dark bags under his sunken, deep gray eyes. His hands shook and Kelly sighed. He hadn't eaten in days nor had he slept. He always refused to take a break and kept watch while she and Matt slept.

"I'll take watch tonight...We should probably scout around, see what we can find." Chase reluctantly agreed and shrugged his backpack off his shoulders. He already knew what was in it. A quarter package of crackers that he would insist on Matt and Kelly eating and a little bit of water in his canteen that he refused to touch unless he was desperate for a drink.

"Chase, you've taken watch three nights in a row now. Matt and I can do it. Or we can even take shifts if that sounds better to you." Kelly took a step towards him and nearly pleaded with a soft look in her eyes.

"We could do that, brother. You need to sleep...You'll be chasing your own shadow if you ain't careful," Matt chimed in and placed his hands on his hips.

Chase looked back and forth between the two of them. He could feel the exhaustion eating away at him, but he couldn't stop. What if Emaley was just ahead or stumbled upon their camp in the night? He couldn't afford to miss any opportunity.

"Nah...I'll stay here in and set up camp. Split up and look around?" Chase made his way towards Kelly who held their gear in her pack.

Kelly sighed defeatedly and shrugged the pack off her shoulder and handed it to him. "Fine. I'll go up near the road. Maybe find a barn or shed or something. Look for some downed branches by the road for a fire, too."

Chase just nodded and immediately turned to start setting up camp. Matt looked over at Kelly and held out his gun to her. "Take this with you?"

Kelly looked down at it and grinned. "And what? Ring the dinner bell on our asses? No, thanks. I got my trusty sidekick here with me," Kelly looked down and patted the knife at her hip and smiled.

Matt scoffed but returned his gun back to his holster. "Whatever you say, love. Just be careful. Holler if you need help, we'll come running."

Kelly winked at him. "Always."

"You know, I would love to keep that handful of berries we found the other day in my system...so the sooner you two leave the better my chances of not puking are." Chase looked between the two of them and interrupted their exchange with his sarcastic comment.

"Shut up, man! We were having a moment." Matt furrowed his brows and snapped his head towards his brother.

Kelly laughed at the smug, knowing look on Chase's face. It was rare to see him show anything other than stoic.

"I know, dude. That's what I'm afraid of. Y'all have way too many moments... " Chase arched a brow, silently dropping hints that he hoped his brother would easily pick up.

Matt furrowed his brows in confusion this time, then realization flashed across his features and he took a step toward him. "Did you...hear…?"

Chase dipped his head forward and raised his brows.

"You mean, you weren't asleep the other night?" Matt pressed, feeling a little more humiliated with every question.

"For the first time since this happened, I wish I was…" Chase had a horrified look in his face as he dug a hole into the ground for the fire they would build.

"On that note…" Kelly interrupted as she took in a loud, audible deep breath and took the bag Chase had previously been carrying, "I'm outta here. I'll be in hollering distance."

Kelly left the brothers behind and she started her trek into the woods. At first, when they first started their desperate search for Emaley, she was terrified at the thought of being by herself in all of this. Now, almost half a year into the end of the world, she felt more confident. Matt helped her every step of the way, showed her and Chase how to properly shoot a gun, and taught her quite a thing or two about survival.

He had apparently been an "off-the-grid-survivor-fanatic" type before all of this and used his previously useless skill to his benefit. He had taught Emaley, his niece, the same thing, too. If she got the same lessons Kelly did, Kelly believed that she really stood a chance in all this. She wasn't so sure if Emaley was alive or not, and if she was still worth saving if she was alive, but she kept hope alive for Chase and even the cynical Matt.

She knew, deep down, Matt wanted to believe she was alive. He wanted to believe that, in some random chance of fate, they would cross her path and she'd just be waiting to run into their arms. Their family would be complete and they'd live the rest of their days fighting for each other. He was just scared to hope for the fear of being wrong.

As much as Matt insisted Chase was guilty, she knew Matt bore a lot of the same burden. Emaley and their little sister, Elizabeth, were in Matt's protection in the group they took shelter with. He left them there with the others and went in search of Chase. When Matt found Chase and Kelly back at Jenni's empty house, they came back to the camp to find it pillaged and empty. No Emaley. No Elizabeth, except for the note she left telling Chase she and Emaley were alive. Chase still carried that note with him and read it every night like a bedtime story.

She knew a little about Matt and Chase's family history and the little she knew was enough to understand why it was even more important for them to find the girls. A deadbeat father that abandoned them, a strict, judgmental mother, and Emaley was their miracle child. Their rainbow baby after miscarrying the first. She was praised and spoiled in the Stewart family. Elizabeth was the baby of the family and just a few years older than Emaley. Matt and Chase fought like hell to keep them protected from their family's self-destruction and they were rewarded for it.

She may not have been able to relate, but she understood Chase's desire to see his daughter and little sister alive again. Kelly, though, feared what would welcome them if they found them. Two young girls, practically children, alone in a world so cruel and selfish? She remembered her co-worker, B.J., and how it took absolutely no time for him to completely lose his mind and his humanity. What about a child? They didn't stand a chance.

Faintly, Kelly could hear the sound of Chase tying up the string of metal cans and broken sheets of metal around the trees that they used as their security system at night. Chase had the revelation in the middle of the night weeks back and they awoke to their makeshift fence around their campsite.

She watched the ground around her for any wood that looked good enough to burn, but found nothing but a bunch of little sticks. Hardly big enough to dig something out from under her nails. She didn't bother with them. Surely, there was something better near the road. Leftovers from sawn down tree branches that broke during storms and cluttered the road. That was where she had last time, at least.

As she walked and saw the road coming into view, she saw what appeared to be a little bait shop just off the road. It might have been a stretch, but it didn't hurt to check. Unsheathing her knife, she held it to her chest and picked up her pace into a steady jog. She hadn't seen any dead around in a while, but it also didn't hurt to be cautious.

Looking over her shoulder, she came to the door of the little shop and looked around. It didn't appear like anyone had been around in a while. The windows were lined with dust and grime and the paint on the sign had long faded. There was no telling how long this place had been abandoned, even before the world turned. Hopefully, a few squatters had left some surprises for her.

Tossing her long hair behind her shoulder, Kelly leaned against the old door and listened to it whine at her weight. Besides the creak of her steps, she didn't hear anything inside. Slowly wrapping her hand around the knob, she jiggled it and found it was unlocked.

Still no noise inside. Carefully, she turned the knob and yanked it open, knife at the ready. Leaning up against the doorframe, she surveyed the area and saw it was empty. The shelves were almost completely barren and it didn't look very promising, but she knew most things worth finding were hidden now.

Cringing at the creaks, she took a step inside and began to look through the shelves. They were covered in dust and it looked like it had been years since anything was displayed upon them. She hopped up to try and view the very top shelves but didn't find anything worth the trouble.

Two barrels were to her right. She pushed one and discovered it was too easy. It must've been empty. She almost pushed it back when she saw a small tin hiding in the crack in between the two barrels. She bent over and picked it up, dusting the dust off the label.

Sardines. Kelly wrinkled her nose at it but figured if she was hungry enough, it'd do just fine. Shrugging to herself, she reached back and tucked it into one of the opened pockets in her backpack and started to investigate the counter when she heard a thud from the little supply closet in the corner.

Kelly rolled her eyes. Of course, it waited to make its presence known until she was inside. Huffing a breath, Kelly made her way over to the closet and held her knife at the ready and her other hand grabbed the doorknob.

In one, quick swoop, Kelly yanked the door back and the dead tumbled towards her. She jumped back as it desperately gnashed its teeth at her and grabbed it by the neck with her available hand. These things used to terrify her, but she learned that she was a lot smarter than them. Once the fear subsided, killing them became a natural instinct; muscle memory.

Kelly stabbed it in the head as she steadied herself and yanked it back out before it crumbled to the ground with her knife. She didn't bother to study it as she saw a shelf on the inside lined with canned goods.

"Oh, hell yeah, bait shop!" Kelly smiled and stepped over the undead corpse and snatched the bag off her back.

She didn't even look at the label that displayed its contents. All she cared about was the fact that it was food and still preserved, unopened. They could make this last for quite a while with the way they rationed.

Once she had completely emptied the shelf into her bag, she zipped it up and slung it back onto her shoulders. To say she didn't feel completely confident in herself would be a lie. She almost wanted to turn back and rub it in the boys' faces now, but they still would need a fire after she was done gloating and Matt never looked hard enough for good firewood.

Kelly stepped back out of the closet and took a step towards the door when the sound of a car door closing froze her in place. They hadn't seen other people since they ran into that crazy group during the beginning. She had never encountered people without Matt by her side.

She gulped down her fear and took a shuddering breath. She could do this, she could do this...Forcing her legs to obey her, she hunched over and slowly made her way over to the window. Her breath caught in her throat at what she saw and she wondered if Matt and Chase had heard the door closing as well and were already on their way.

A small caravan of two vehicles and a motorcycle were parked at the edge of the road and a few men crawled out to survey the area. The man on the motorcycle flung his crossbow around his shoulder and held it at the ready.

The crossbowman looked over at what Kelly assumed was their leader who screamed cowboy to her. They were uniformed, had a specific system planned out. She knew there must've been more of them to require two vehicles, but they hadn't stepped out yet. Maybe these two men were checking to make sure the coast was clear. If so, maybe they weren't so bad?

Kelly didn't plan to find out, though. She ducked down underneath the window when she saw the cowboy's head turn towards the bait shop. She couldn't make a noise. They couldn't know she was here. Maybe if she could make her way back to the closet…

She prayed the men hadn't already started their rounds as she slowly hobbled back over to the closet. If she was just quiet enough, maybe they wouldn't even think to check it. Unless they were just as desperate for supplies as she was...She couldn't think about that. She just had to hide first, then she could worry about the other stuff.

Kelly grabbed the door as she crawled through the threshold and closed it behind her. Darkness encompassed her as she heard something creak near the front door. She cursed inwardly when she remembered that she had shut the door completely behind her. Maybe they would see how abandoned it was and wouldn't think much about it?

She took a few deep breaths as the men knocked on the side of the door a few times before entering when they got no response. Attracting noise to see if there was anything to attract, that was kind of smart. Now, she just had to be smarter and not attract any noise.

She held her breath as she heard their heavy steps across the old floor. She heard the barrel drag across the ground as they had the same idea. Kelly almost felt bad for taking the nasty can of sardines, but she figured, if roles were reversed, they probably wouldn't have left it, either. It was every man for himself out here.

They searched high and low for a few minutes and she heard a few aggravated groans as they came up empty-handed. Just when she thought they might be giving up, she heard a pair of feet shuffle in front of the door and stop. Kelly's heart raced as she remembered the dead one she had killed just moments ago.

Another pair of feet came towards the door and Kelly figured they must've exchanged something as she heard them shuffle closer in front of the door. That was the moment she knew that she was done for and closed her eyes shut, holding up her knife in front of her.

The door was thrown open and both men aimed their weapons at the ready. It was quite for a second as Kelly let out the breath she was holding and panted where she sat. The two men exchanged a look and looked down at her.

"Drop it."

Kelly wasn't sure which one spoke, but she obeyed them. She was outnumbered, what else was she to do?

"Now...open your eyes."

Kelly gulped and complied. When she opened her eyes, she saw the crosshairs of both the crossbow and the Colt Python aimed down at her. She immediately threw her hands up in surrender and tucked her knees closer to her chest.

"The knife was all I had...Please, don't kill me."

The man with the Python narrowed his eyes at her and tightened his grip on the gun. "Don't give me a reason to, then."

Kelly felt her heart race again and nodded her understanding. "Look, it's just me out here. I haven't found anything for weeks and stumbled upon this shop...I ain't looking for any trouble."

"You take out the dead one?" The man with the crossbow spoke up this time with his intense eyes as he stared down at her through the crosshair.

"Yeah, it was just the one. Holed up in this closet and then you showed up. I was scared and hid in the closet."

The men shared a look and the man with the Python nodded and the other lowered his crossbow slightly. "You sure you're alone?"

Kelly furrowed her brows and scoffed. "Uh, yeah, I'm pretty sure. It's just been me and the dead since the beginning."

The man with the Python stepped back and the other followed his move. "C'mon, step out so we can talk."

Kelly hesitated and bit down on her lip.

"C'mon, lady...the man said move, now move!" The man with the crossbow growled and aimed back at her.

Kelly threw her hands up again. "Okay, okay…" She kept her hands up at her sides as she slowly lifted herself off the ground and gradually stepped outside and leaned up against the wall.

The man with the Python holstered his weapon and placed one hand on top of the gun and the other at his hip. "So, did you find anything in here?"

Kelly felt the fear return and she imagined all the things they would do if they knew what she found in the closet. People nowadays would do some pretty shady stuff for a can of cream corn. Instead, she grinned faintly and shrugged half-heartedly.

"I found a can of sardines."

The man with the Python chewed on the inside of his lip as he thought over her answer. "Are you sure that's all?" He turned back and looked at the dead on the floor and looked back at her.

She gulped again. "I heard the dead one in the closet and he's all I found. When I heard you guys, I hid in the closet. I swear."

The man with the Python gave the one with the crossbow a look and he nodded, lowering his crossbow to his side. "What's your name?"

Kelly furrowed her brows at her question but answered him anyway. "Kelly...why?"

The man opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the sound of multiple pairs of feet running outside and panicked voices.

The two men shared a look and bolted out the door, leaving Kelly behind. If she had been alone, she would've waited until they were good and distracted and a beeline for the woods when their backs were turned. But she wasn't really alone and she knew Matt was hotheaded enough to start a war with these new survivors.

Kelly ran outside behind them as two other men ran from the road as Chase and Matt skidded to a halt outside the front door.

"Wait! Don't hurt them!" She cried and grabbed the man with the Python's arm.

The man with the crossbow yanked her away. "Step back!"

Kelly looked up at the man with the Python, ready to plead her case, but she was thrown off by the look on his face. He stood there, his gun down at his side, with a look of pure shock and recognition across his features.

She looked back at Chase and Matt and saw the same look on their faces.

"R...Rick?" Chase finally broke the tension as he questioned in complete disbelief.

Rick? Chase knew him?

"Chase...Matt...I thought you were both dead…" Rick answered a little breathlessly and holstered his weapon.

"What the hell's going on here, man!" One of the men -a stocky built man carrying a crowbar- exclaimed at the utter confusion shared amongst everyone but this Rick, Chase, and Matt.

Rick took a step forward and lifted a hand toward Chase. Chase smiled, the first time in weeks, and grabbed his hand as Rick pulled him in for a hug and clapped him on the back.

Their moment was interrupted by the sound of another car door opening and smaller, faster feet making a beeline for the rest of the group.

Kelly looked up and saw a tall, lanky woman with long brown hair chase after a boy, no older than 13, in a wide-brimmed sheriff's hat down the ditch and towards Rick and company.

"Carl! Carl, wait for me, baby!"

The boy ignored who Kelly assumed was his mother and watched as she came to an astonishing stop as she saw who Rick and the others had run into.

"Chase? Oh my God, you're alive!" The woman cupped her mouth with her hand and made a steadier walk towards Chase, wrapping her arms around him in a friendly hug.

"Lori, it's good to see you," Chase greeted with a smile and a look of bittersweet pain crossed over his features.

Kelly took the time to notice that the woman appeared pregnant. She wasn't sure how long because her bump appeared to just start protruding, but it was obvious enough to make a difference.

The little boy came up to Chase and looked up at him from under his hat. "Where's Emaley? Do you have her? Do you know where she is?" He immediately interrogated, the hope painfully obvious in his voice.

The pieces started to fall together as she watched the exchange. Carl...She had heard that name before. In Matt and Chase's stories, Carl was Emaley's best friend since 2nd grade. The same boy Emaley had a secret crush on since 3rd grade. Rick and Lori, they must've been his parents. Then that meant that Lori was Jenni's, Chase's ex's, best friend.

Chase looked down at Carl and tried his best to give him an apologetic smile while also hiding his obvious hurt and tugged at his hat. "No...I don't know where she is. We...I lost her…" Chase paused as he looked up at Rick and Lori to further explain his story. "We were with a group, but I took off trying to find Jenni and I lost her. The last thing I have of her is a note from Elizabeth after their camp was raided saying that she and Emaley were still alive, they just escaped. I've been looking for her ever since."

Lori's hand went to her heart as she took in the news, reaching out and pulling Carl closer to her as he dipped in his head. The look of hope was absolutely shattered, but the feeling was mutual amongst the group of friends.

Rick nodded his understanding and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry," he paused and looked back at his group, coming back to the present, "this is Daryl," he introduced pointing towards the man with the crossbow.

"Glenn, T-Dog," he listed off the two men that had come down to help when they saw Matt and Chase approach.

He nodded in the direction of the cars and continued, "the others are up there."

"Others? There's more of you?" Kelly asked in disbelief. It felt so strange to think that a group of their size could still be alive and keep their humanity.

Rick looked back at Kelly with a smirk. "You said you were alone?"

Kelly chuckled and nodded. "In my defense, I was outnumbered and I didn't know you were a blast from the past."

Rick grinned. "You were looking out for yourself, just like we were. No qualms here."

"Are you guys going to stay with us now? We have cars…" Carl suggested, looking up at his father pleadingly.

Rick looked down at Carl and trailed back to Chase. "It's up to you, man. Our man, Daryl, is a tracker. He could help you look. We've been looking for someplace safe and there's enough room to squeeze the three of you in somewhere."

Kelly smiled at the offer. People? Better yet, people that weren't clinically insane? She was sold. And Daryl could help Chase look for Emaley. Surely that had to bring some hope even to Matt.

She looked over at him and beamed. He didn't look so sold, but she didn't care. If Chase agreed, he was outnumbered. She was sure his uncertainty had to do a lot with the man he was before, but now was the time to change that. To show everyone he was different. Hell, everyone was different now. Nobody could change anybody by who they used to be anymore.

Chase found her eye and she tried to resist nodding maniacally. This could be a new start for them. If nothing else, they at least didn't have to walk all the time anymore. Chase sighed, glanced back in the direction of their camp, and looked back at Rick.

"Maybe for a while...until we can come up with a better search plan…" Chase agreed and Kelly bit down on her lip to keep from squealing.

"We just, uh, need to gather our things. We had a camp out there when we heard the doors." Matt spoke up, not meeting Rick's eyes, and looked over at Chase.

Rick noticed Matt's unease and matched it. He just nodded and looked over at Chase. "We'll give you some time to get prepared. Gives me time to talk to my people. We don't usually take a chance with new people, but your family...my family, Jenni or no Jenni."

Chase nodded his appreciation and waved Matt with him to go back to the camp. At that, Rick and Daryl turned around and looked back at her.

"Got any other tricks up your sleeve we should know about?" Daryl questioned with a smirk, slinging his crossbow onto his back.

"Well…" Kelly dragged out the word with a look and shimmied out of her backpack, zipping it open, and showing off the cans of food she found.

Rick just chuckled under his breath and Daryl blew air through his lips. "Yer just full of surprises, ain't ya?" Daryl said sarcastically in a thick, Southern drawl.

Kelly waggled her eyebrows and put her hands on her hips. "What can I say, I'm full of it."

Rick rolled his eyes and waved her towards him as the rest of the group headed back towards the car, their conversations hushed.

Kelly followed a step behind Rick and Daryl and, as she took a look over her shoulder back towards Matt and Chase, she smiled.

For the first time since Chase found her in that storage unit at the beginning, she felt hope.

Jamie led her small group, gun at the ready in her capable hands, as they marched through the woods. It had been weeks since they found anywhere safe. They were holed up in an old hunting cabin for almost a month, but it wasn't long before they were overrun by the dead.

Caleb was a step behind her and he kept a hand on the knife at his hip, just like his mother taught him. He rarely had the chance to use it, but after their camp fell apart, Jenni made sure both of the kids knew how to take care of themselves at any time. Luckily, they hadn't had much chance to test their skills and Jenni was grateful for it.

Jenni trailed along at the caboose and carried the only bag they had left. There wasn't much in it and what was left, she rationed out to the kids in small amounts. Jamie typically protested at every meal until Jenni at least took two bites. It always managed to make her laugh at their switched roles. Back when things were normal, she had to come up with a convincing story or just straight-up threaten Caleb to take a bite. Now, Jamie doted on the pregnant lady and force-fed her at every meal.

Caleb looked back at his mother and wiped the sweat from his brow. "Mama, are we gonna find somewhere safe soon? I'm so tired…"

Jenni sped up to meet Caleb's small strides and took his little hand in hers. "I hope so, baby. I sure hope so."

Caleb looked like he wanted to ask more, but decided not to and just tightened his grip on his mother's hand instead.

Jenni wanted to tell him that everything would be fine. That they would find somewhere safe -maybe even people- and everything was going to be okay again, but she couldn't. She couldn't build that hope up again just to watch it crushed before his very eyes.

She thought back to the days before they found the group that took them in, back at the very beginning. She had saved Jamie and her little brother Billy from a herd of the dead and it was just her, Jamie, Billy, and Caleb. Caleb had asked about his father every night before bed and Jenni told him every night that he was alive. That he was just waiting somewhere and they'd all be reunited again. They'd be a family again because Jason, her husband, promised to never leave them.

She realized soon after that it was cruel to make promises in this world...She felt the pain trying to resurface and she shoved it back in its place. She couldn't afford to feel that right now. She had to find somewhere safe for the night. It would be getting dark soon and they had been wandering aimlessly since dawn.

Jenni reached up and played with the rings hanging from her neck. Daniel -her friend from the camp they lost- found her husband's wedding band and returned it to her when he came back from the run that killed her husband and the rest of their armed men. After the first month of wandering through the woods, Jenni had taken her wedding set off her finger and looped it around the chain she had found in one of the safe places they found.

She had no idea where her daughter was. Daniel had promised to start looking for her before those men they met on the road attacked them, then went back and destroyed their home. Before they killed Billy and left him to turn...Jenni blinked the tears away and shoved that memory away, too.

It was getting harder to remember anything without it being painful. She worried about her kids' memory banks. If it was progressively worsening for her, what chance did they have? What chance did her baby have?

As if on cue, Jenni groaned as she felt the little life begin to toss and turn and start to kick its little feet. She pressed her hand onto her swollen belly and took a deep breath as it settled.

"What's wrong? Are you okay, Mama? Is the baby coming?" He panicked, tugging on his mother's hand as she waited out the movement. Jamie stopped as well and spun on her heel. She tried to hide the panicked look on her face, but Jenni saw right through it.

Jenni pulled her hand from Caleb's and waved their panic away. "Yeah, yeah, I'm okay. The baby's just kicking is all."

Caleb's eyes practically sparkled and he excitedly threw his hands on his mother's round belly. "Can I feel it? Can I feel it?"

Jenni grinned and ran her fingers through his shaggy blonde curls. "Probably not for a few more weeks, baby. It's not quite big enough for you to feel, yet."

"Aww...I wanted to feel. I wish he'd hurry up and get big!" Caleb whined and wormed his hand back into Jenni's.

Jenni looked up at Jamie and they all three took off in another march. "You sound pretty confident it's a boy, Caleb."

"Well, duh. You and Chase had Emaley and she's a girl. You and Daddy had me and I'm a boy. So, you and Daddy are gonna have another boy, too!" Caleb rolled his eyes, clearly not understanding why his mother didn't find it so obvious as he did.

Jenni felt like someone punched her in the gut at the mention of Emaley and her husband, but she pushed through it. Luckily, Caleb didn't let her think of something as he continued on to his next thought.

"When he's born, can we name him Kyle?"

At that, Jamie looked back and arched a brow. "Isn't your last name Kyle?"

Caleb raised his brows at Jamie's obvious ignorance. "Uh, yeah. That's why I wanna name him Kyle! He can be named after me!"

"But wouldn't his last name be Kyle, too? Like your daddy's? Why would you want to name him Kyle Kyle?"

Caleb shook his head. "No, my last name is Kyle. His will be Caleb! Kyle Duane Caleb! I think it's perfect."

Jamie opened her mouth to argue again, but Jenni stopped her before she could say a word. "We'll see about Kyle, okay? It may come out a girl, you know."

"That'd be really lame…" Caleb muttered under his breath and kicked a rock in his way.

Jenni laughed and looked up at Jamie. "What about you, Jamie? If it's a girl, what would you want to name it?"

Jamie was quiet for a second as she stepped over a pile of leaves and kicked sticks out of her way. "I honestly don't care what its name is. I just wanna be somewhere when it's born…" Jamie let her words trail as she thought about the gravity of the possibility of being stuck in the woods when Jenni went into labor.

Caleb, on the other hand, as always, had plenty of thoughts on the matter. "What about Emaley? After Sissy! That's nice, right, Mama?"

Jenni felt her stomach do a flip at the mention of her eldest child. "But that's Sissy's name...It'd be kinda confusing whenever we find her, wouldn't it?"

Caleb was quiet as he thought about his mother's answer. He looked up at her with his big, blue, puppy-dog eyes. "But, Sissy's gone, Mama. I haven't seen her since she went to school. It's been forever since we saw her...What if a monster got her? Or those bad people that killed Danny? He was our friend…"

Jenni felt her heart shatter and she stopped and turned towards Caleb. Struggling to squat down, she looked Caleb in the eye and pushed the long curls out of his eye. "Oh, baby, I…"

She stopped when she heard a stick break in the background behind them. Jamie came over to Jenni's side to protect her, gun held high and ready to take down any Corpse that came out from behind a tree.

When she heard leaves rustle, she snatched the gun out of Jamie's hand, ignoring her protests, as a man revealed himself with hands raised high.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on, lady!" The man warned with a jovial, smug look on his face, his words laced with a deep, Southern drawl.

Jenni stood up slowly, struggling not to appear weak in front of this stranger, and aimed the gun at his head. "What do you want?"

The man smiled a wide, shit-eating grin as he looked down at her expanding torso. "Holy shit! Would you look at that! You got a cozy little honey, darlin'? Because, unfortunately, I don't think I've known ya long enough to worry about it bein' mine…" He chuckled at his own joke and Jenni rolled her eyes at his crude remark.

"It's my husband's, he's dead, now what do you want before I decide to blow your head off right now," Jenni warned, looking down at the sight.

The man just crept nearer. As he approached, Jenni noticed he had some kind of...prosthetic or apparatus where his right hand should have been. It wasn't something designed for comfort, neither. It was designed for combat with a knife protruding from the end.

"Cool…" Caleb breathed out in awe as he saw the man's blade and Jenni shot a look at him.

The man grinned and looked down at the little boy at her hip. "Like it, cowboy? Pretty damn sweet, right?"

"Don't talk to him, you talk to me!" Jenni took a step towards him and Jamie grabbed Caleb and pulled them both behind her.

The man licked his top lip in she assumed was supposed to be seductively, but she wanted to vomit watching him. "It's okay, darlin', I like 'em with a little fight in 'em."

Jenni's breathing sped up and she reached up and held her gun with two hands to steady her aim. "This is your last chance and you better give me a good reason to not blow your head clean off your shoulders."

The man took another step closer and stopped, lowering his arms down by an inch. "I'm your knight in shinin' armor, babydoll. All y'all!"

"What are you talking about? We're doin' just fine on our own…"

The man looked back down at her belly and smirked. "What I'm talking about, sugar tits, it's a safe place for your baby...For all your kids…" he paused as he watched the kids exchange a look, "It's what you wanted right, little missy?"

"And why would we trust you? Some redneck asshole with a Messiah complex?"

The man laughed and clapped at her answer. "Oh, I'm gonna like you, darlin'. You'll fit right in…"

"Merle! Where the hell are you?" Another voice rang out, hollering for the man Jenni now knew to be Merle.

"Why should you trust me? Well, I don't know, but that's up to you. The Governor, on the other hand, he's real friendly and is better at these 'recruits' than I am. Real convincing, calm your pretty little head."

Jenni arched a brow. "The Governor? Seriously?" She smirked and lowered her gun so she could look over at him.

"So, whaddya say, sweet cheeks? Mosey on over here all close-like with your new friend Merle or keep on keepin' on with the twigs and berries?" Merle closed the distance between them as he approached, offering his good hand to her.

Caleb practically vibrated behind her as he tugged and yanked at his mother's shirt. "Mama! Please? I don't wanna live in the woods anymore…"

Jenni turned over to Jamie and arched a brow. "What about you?"

Jamie glanced over at Merle who did his best attempt at a friendly smile without looking like he was suggesting something else and looked up at Jenni. "I mean, if he's got a safe place for the baby, we should look into it. You're getting huge, Jenni, and I have no idea what I'm doing... "

Jenni grinned at her answer, but still sighed as she turned to Merle and felt sick to her stomach. "Show me this Governor and I'll consider your offer. My kids want to see."

Merle smiled that same shit-eating grin and waved his arm, gesturing behind him. "My pleasure, darlin'."

Jenni pulled the kids out in front of her and let them walk ahead of her as she made their way over to Merle. Caleb gave him a secretive thumbs up as he passed and Jamie pushed him ahead of her.

Merle's eyes never left Jenni's as she strode past him and she found those steel-blue eyes. "Just so you know, you lay a hand on me or call me sugar tits again, I'll castrate you with my bare hands, Merle." Jenni threatened, glancing down at what she knew was his favorite member.

Merle just burst into a deep, hearty laugh and walked alongside her, his long legs overtaking her strides. "Kinky, I like that…"

Jenni rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to puke again. She didn't know what lay ahead of her and what exactly this Governor had to offer her, but if it was a room far away from Merle, she'd take it in a heartbeat right about now."