Happy Halloween everyone! Thank you so much to everyone who favorite/follow/review chapter one! I really appreciate reading reviews and knowing people like my story enough to add to their favorites or follow it. Anyway, here is chapter two and I hope you all enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead.

Diary of the Dead Days

Part 1: Atlanta

Chapter Two
Breakdown

The fire was lowly lit, only embers allowed to burn so the flames couldn't be seen from a distance. The night air wasn't too chilly but the fire was barely able to keep me warm. I always hated the cold, but I was glad to have Rose in my arms and Ripley wrapped around my feet along with my little sister's pink, flowered blanket covering us. We already had dinner, it was some canned beans cooked over the fire, but my stomach still felt empty. However, I didn't dare to ask for more as I knew it was important to ration our supplies. Mostly everyone was swapping stories to one another but soon enough, the attention focused on me.

"So, Lily, what brings you to around this area." Shane asked and everyone's eyes looked in my direction. Well, I wasn't cold anymore as I started to feel everyone's burning stares, but before I could speak, Rose spoke for me.

"We are looking for a rescue center. Our parents had to go to another one just for adults." Rose grinned, wriggling around in my arms as she explained. She always liked talking just like my mom, I ended up with my dad's silence. By the look on Shane's face, I could tell that he wasn't sure what she was talking about. I tried to convey my feelings to him with pleading look saying to go along with it. He glanced at me and instantly knew he shouldn't press the subject and just reassure the young girl.

"Well, I'm sure they made it just fine." Shane smiled back, nodding in agreement, "There's no rescue center around here, but you guys are safe with us."

His words didn't sound reassuring to me, but it seemed to comfort Rose as she mumbled to herself and snuggled closer to me. It killed me. Every second I thought of how I was lying to Rose and how my parents were no longer living, it just killed me. I gnawed on my bottom lip in an attempt to not cry, my heart feeling heavy.

"Where did you guys use to live?" Amy spoke up, her head still resting on her elder sister's shoulder as they both shared a blanket like Rose and me.

"Um, we lived on a farm a long ways from town. So when the walker attacks started occurring, we didn't really run into many of them." I kept my focus on Amy, trying to ignore the rest of everyone's listening ears so I didn't feel as nervous, "But they were starting to move in, that's why we headed out."

The attention on me started to pull away as others began to talk about where they use to live and share a few memories, some detailed and some vague. Not everyone surrounded the main campfire, others like the redneck brothers and another small family had their own fire and didn't interact with anyone else. I didn't fancy Merle at all. During the rest of the day, he kept fiddling with his knife and every time our eyes met, he would point the knife towards Ripley. Ripley did not growl at the man, but I could tell that he didn't like the way Merle looked at him either.

As the later it got, more survivor's retired to their tents. Since most of us could no longer keep track of the hours that passed by, many just went to sleep when they felt tired. I hadn't packed a tent, the thought didn't even cross my mind when I was gathering supplies. The only tent I remembered us ever having was Rose's princess tent and it was too small, even for Rose now. An older man with a white beard and a fishing hat offered for Rose and me to sleep in the RV but I felt more comfortable sleeping in our van. I didn't tell him that directly but made an excuse about not wanting to lug our sleeping bags around and thanked him anyway.

I slept more soundly than I did in weeks, gladly knowing that we were surrounded by other survivors, and I didn't feel like I had to sleep with one eye open. Ripley seemed more alert than usual, probably spooked by that Merle guy, but I let him stand watch for us. Rose curled up in the now free backseat since we joined supplies with the rest of the camp and all our other personal belongings were able to fit in the trunk. I slept in the driver's seat with a fleece blanket and a pillow under my neck.

I ended up sleeping in, Rose even awoke before I did, which was rare. I was in a mild panic when I couldn't find her but she was already making friends with the other kids. She was constantly showing off her dog and now she dragged out her coloring book and crayons. I shook my head and smiled at her, her boasting attitude usually drove other kids away, but Carl and Sophia didn't seem to mind.

I felt kind of out of place, everyone was doing their own thing and was helping the camp in some way. I was just standing there, looking like an idiot beside my van. I immediately scanned the area for Amy or Andrea, dubbing them as my semi-friends. They probably didn't consider me as much but I was lonely, knowing that Rose already belonged to a group while I was the odd one out. When I couldn't find them, I looked to Ripley. He was obediently by Rose's side but his gaze rested on Carol, who was watching over the kids. Concern was present in his dark, brown eyes. It was starting to make me worried but I tried to shake it off.

I really didn't want to do laundry, and Rose and I didn't really have much clothes to wash since the other women did them for us yesterday. I knew I should have returned the favor and help them, but I was itching to do something I hadn't been able to do since this whole thing started. I popped open the hatch of my van, rummaging through my belongings. I had given the guns and the ammo to Shane since I had no idea how to use them. They were impressed by my artillery, but I explained it all belonged to my father's gun collection. However, I didn't lend them my bow or any of the close range weapons I had.

Like the guns, I had no idea how to use a bow properly. But it was a present from my mother a few years back. She desperately wanted to teach me archery, but I stubbornly refused. My mother was amazing as she was the captain of the archery team when she was in high school. I couldn't remember exactly why I didn't want to learn, but now I regretted it. Using a gun to kill the walkers was a death sentence, the loud noises would draw more near. A bow seemed more like a favorable weapon choice. Though, I only had five arrows.

I whistled for Ripley to come, his head jerked instantly, and he raced after me, excited. Rose was too busy coloring to even notice him leave. I drew something before I left the campsite, a horridly drawn walker head on the blank piece of paper. Tacking it on a tree with one of my arrows, it became my target. The location was just a little ways from camp behind were I parked my van, but there was enough distance so no one would see me. I stood a few yards away, spending a couple of minutes trying to figure out how to even handle the bow correctly. Once I got use to it, I aimed for the drawing and pulled back the string. Pulling the string was much harder than I expected, I had to strain to even get it fully back and once it was like that, my arm started shaking. I tried lining up the picture, aiming at its forehead. Then I released the arrow.

I had no idea where it went, but it surely didn't hit the tree. In fact, it was nowhere near the tree. I let out a frustrated sigh and aimed again and missed again. I used the rest of my arrows and never was able to hit the tree. This was a lot harder than I expected.

"Ripley, go fetch." I ordered, and the German Shepard jumped up from laying down beside me and darted into the woods. One by one, he brought back my arrows, "Okay, let's try this again."

Every shot had missed the tree, and Ripley went to fetch once more. I should have taken lessons from my mother, but it was too late for that. Too late for anything. Ripley returned with the arrows as tears started to flow from my eyes. It was pissing me off that I sucked at this, but it also made me hurt that I realized once again that both my mother and father were dead. It was too late to ever do anything with them. My dad wanted to teach me how to shoot and ride horses and my mom was thrilled to give me archery and cooking lessons. They always wanted to teach me those things, but I had been a stubborn, recluse teenager who spent all day in her room reading and surfing the internet. Always thinking that quality time with my parents was overrated. I wanted to give up, but I attempted one more shot, only to fail.

"Damn girl, you suck." A voice taunted me from out of nowhere. I jerked, wiping my tears furiously with the sleeves of my jacket. Looking over, I saw it was Merle's brother, Daryl. He didn't look at me, thankfully, and just walked towards the tree, "Suck at shootin' and drawin'."

I didn't know how long he had been watching me, but he had been quiet enough to slip under Ripley's radar. I noticed that in his hand was a crossbow which made me feel more embarrassed.

"You know, you're 'bout dumb shootin' at a tree." He commented, his back turned, "If you actually did hit the target, the arrow would be stuck."

His words didn't hurt me, I wasn't even really listening to him mocking me, but I was already feeling immensely depressed thinking about my parents. I hadn't had time to properly mourn for them nor had time to just cry, cry about everything. It would've been embarrassing to just start bawling in front of this guy, and I should have held it in, but I couldn't. I dropped to the ground and cried.

I think I freaked him out, but he didn't leave or say anything. It made it even worse because I had a bad habit of crying and complaining at the same time. Spilling out my emotions as I furiously sobbed.

"I do suck. My mom was perfect, but I didn't want to learn." I sobbed, my forehead on the ground as I cried in the dirt, "And my dad. I miss them so much. I've been lying to Rose … she thinks they're safe but they're really dead. They killed themselves. I should have just went with them, things would have been simpler. But no, no I had to be strong for Rose and let her continue living in this shitty world."

After about a minute or two of silent crying and a few more words, I was done and felt like a total idiot. If this guy was as much of a freak as his brother, he'd probably go on and tell my sister and probably the entire camp everything I said. My face was red and my jacket felt no longer necessary, the humidity and the heat of embarrassment was making me sweat. I looked up, and he was still there.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Words began to fumbled out of my mouth as I stood up and covered my face with my hands, "Please don't tell Rose anything. Not yet."

"Whatever." He muttered, glancing down at the ground but then looking back at me, "You better get back to camp, I heard them girls bitchin' about how you ain't helping with the clothes."

He turned to leave but I heard myself call after him, feeling even more like an idiot. He stopped and looked back at me, his dark gaze showing no signs of interest, "Can you teach me how to shoot a bow?"

He chuckled to himself and I was sure he would flat-out say no, but he stopped to think for a minute, "Well, it'd be better to have one less dumbass who don't know how to shoot 'round here. Whatever, I'll teach you then. Meet me here at dawn and don't be late."

With that, he left. I looked at Ripley, my arrow still in his mouth and a certain, curious gaze in his eyes.

"Shut up." I scolded, grabbing my arrow and heading back.

I jumped in where I could, standing next to Lori and helping her hang the clothes to dry. I could sense some resentment towards me for skipping out on laundry duty on my first day. She didn't say anything to me, but I could tell by her stiff movements that she was angry with me.

"I'm sorry." I spoke, "I just needed some time alone, it's been hard, and I hadn't had time to let it out."

"It's fine." Lori responded and her coldness melted away slowly, "Carl really likes Rose, its good to for them to have more kids to play with."

"Yeah, I was glad Rose could actually get along with others." I grinned, sneaking a glance at the children. They were with Carol and Amy still, and switched from coloring to studying. Rose didn't seem too pleased but accepted it none the less.

"And don't listen to Merle," Lori mentioned, "I don't care how low food is, I ain't eating no dog."

I smiled but didn't trust her words too much. My stomach was constantly growling but I haven't been faced with real starvation yet. I wouldn't eat Ripley, but I wasn't so sure about these people. And I still wouldn't trust that man alone with my dog. I was still nervous about these supposed lessons I asked for but learning how to shoot was necessary. However, I wasn't looking forward to learn from Daryl, but he looked like the only person in camp who knew how to use a bow.

After Lori and I hung the rest of the clothes out to dry, she told me I could have a break and spend time with Rose. My little sister was glad to see me and started to explain what they were studying. I graduated high school just about three years ago but I didn't attend college yet, I ended up taking a break instead of moving forward like most kids in my grade did. I wasn't even sure what I was going for but none of that matters anymore. Part of me was actually glad I didn't leave my family behind, especially when this crisis hit.

Carol, the other woman who helped watch the kids along with Amy, was very kind and I felt at ease with her like I did with most of the women in camp. Though I could sense the eyes of Carol's husband from far away. His name was Ed, I believe, and his gaze wasn't a friendly one. I think I was starting to understand Ripley's sudden urge to protect her as it was clear where Carol's bruises came from, but Ed appeared so menacing that there was no chance I'd ever be able stand up to him. Ripley could, but I was pretty sure if he put his fangs on anybody, the rest of the camp would want him gone.

"Hey, Lily." Amy's voice dragged me out of my thoughts, I blinked and smiled at her to show I was listening, "I have some chap-stick if you want some, you're lips look a little dry."

"Um, yeah, sure." I answered, nodding. I forgot all about my lips, they probably looked horrifying because of the way I've been chewing on them recently. But the pain of my teeth tearing into the soft flesh of my lips and the inside of my mouth stopped my sorrows from spilling out and kept me from constantly crying all day. I was beginning to feel pathetic.

I followed Amy, suddenly happy at the thought of being closer to her. She was always attached to her sister, acting like she wasn't interested in making other friends. Though it seemed that she was at least concerned about me, enough to give me something for my lips. She went to her and her sister's tent, crawling inside and rummaging through a bag. I waited patiently but felt someone staring at me. I glanced back and saw Merle in the distance, holding his knife and his gaze set on me. This camp would be paradise if Merle Dixon weren't here, and I didn't understand how the others tolerated him. I looked around, wishing Ripley was beside me.

"Here you go." Amy said as she crawled back out with a small tube in her hand. She noticed my gaze was fixated on something else and followed my eyes, "Don't pay attention to him, he's like that with everyone, or at least the girls that is. But don't ever find yourself alone with either of them."

I nodded, slowly tearing my gaze away from the man. I was starting to think it wasn't just my dog that he was after ...

End of chapter two! Thanks for readings and please leave a review telling me what you think~