Present Day

RickyJo braced against the body of the deer with her boot, yanking her arrow back out in one quick hard pull. She wiped it off with a grin, happy that the arrowhead pulled back out of the animal still attached to her arrow and saved her from having to go digging through the animal's carcass looking for it. She wasn't the only one who was eager for Carl's son Shane to return from his apprenticeship at Hilltop. Once Alexandria had their own blacksmith, it would save them from having to travel and trade every time they needed their weapons repaired.

After shoving her arrow back into her quiver, RickyJo knelt down to hold the body of the deer still so Daryl would have an easier time field dressing it. He smiled at her, his eyes flicking upwards to make sure MJ and Dixie were keeping watch and not horsing around with each other. He was relieved to see that at least his daughter had her bow in hand, her blue eyes carefully scanning the area. MJ was already halfway up the nearest tree, branches cracking under the weight of his muscular body.

"Told 'im to stand there and keep watch," Daryl grumbled, trying not to laugh at the boy's antics. It didn't help that RickyJo was laughing so hard she was having a hard time holding the body of the deer still.

"He can see more if he's up in a tree," she offered. Another loud crack of a branch broke the silence of the early morning air. RickyJo cringed and shook her head at the boy. Dixie backed up, making sure she was standing far enough away that whatever large tree branches she could hear breaking and snapping under her brother's weight wouldn't land on her head.

Daryl cut into the deer's belly with the sharpened edge of his knife, mindful not to slice in too deep. He was sliding the knife upwards towards the chest when he heard the scream. All of them froze in place, listening to see where the noise had come from. There was a second scream, followed by the sound of someone calling for help.

"People!," MJ hollered from his high vantage point, "There's a small herd after 'em and it looks like one of 'em is hurt!"

The entire tree shook with the young man's hurried movements. Leaves and small branches rained down, followed by MJ's lanky body as he leaped the last few feet to the ground, landing on his feet with a soft thud. He grabbed for his gun, swinging it up into his hands and running full speed in the direction the screams had come from. His sister tore ass after him, an arrow already notched in her bow and her pigtail braids flying out behind her.

"MJ! DIXIE! WAIT!," RickyJo hollered. Daryl jumped up from the deer, cursing under his breath. It was bad enough when MJ took off on some new deadly adventure. But now his sister was involved. And Dixie was usually better about following the rules. Especially the one about never leaving each other's line of sight.

"The fuckin' deer," Daryl cursed. If they left it, the biters would be on it by the time they got back. That would ruin the meat. And it was a good size doe too. The kids' safety was most important but he would hate to lose the meat. RickyJo must have had a similar thought because she already had a rope out, throwing it over a sturdy tree branch. Daryl wrapped the other end tightly around the deer's feet. Grabbing the loose end of the rope, they pulled together until the deer was up high enough to keep it safe from the dead. Daryl tied the rope around the closest tree, a steady stream of profanity flowing from his lips.

With the deer secure, RickyJo and Daryl rushed deeper into the woods. Running in the direction the kids went. Unlike MJ, they hadn't seen which direction the people were coming from, so they weren't sure which way to go. RickyJo kept slightly behind Daryl, letting him take the lead. But MJ left a fairly well trampled trail in his wake that even she might have been able to follow.

Daryl paused and whistled their family hunting signal. One long whistle followed by two short ones. RickyJo let out a sigh of relief when she heard the answer call. One short whistle and two long ones. Daryl and RickyJo hurried in the direction of the answer call. But they didn't have to go far. MJ was moving as quickly as he could in their direction, not able to move as fast as he usually did because there was a woman in his arms. She had long black hair that was smashed against her forehead by a hastily wrapped bandage.

"She's not bit is she?," RickyJo asked. MJ shook his head. Four more strangers shuffled in behind him. One man and three women, though the tallest of the girls had a more androgynus look to her. Dixie had her arm around a woman with a wild tangle of curly brown hair and a large tattoo on her chest. RickyJo repeated her question, directing it towards the woman with the curly hair.

"Your friends not bit is she?," she asked, stepping forward and placing her wrist against the forehead of the woman in her son's arms. The woman felt warm. But that was expected after running for her life through the woods. The other woman shook her head.

"No. She's not bit, she fell and hit her head," the tattooed woman explained. RickyJo nodded. She lifted her bow, taking aim at a walker that was staggering in behind the small group of people. Daryl's bow twanged next, taking out a second. They both pulled their knives and quickly dispatched the rest of the small herd that had already been thinned by Dixie and MJ when they rushed in to help these people.

RickyJo swung her pack down off her back, pulling her water canteen and handing it to the only man in the group. He nodded his thanks, quickly tipping the canteen back and slacking his thirst. RickyJo watched the man, happy when she saw he was careful not to drink too much, so that there would be enough for the rest of his group to have a sip. She was relieved that the woman her son was carrying still seemed conscious enough to take a drink when her friend stepped forward and handed her the canteen.

"We don't have a doctor," RickyJo explained, "...but we have field medics that could take a look at her if you want to come back to town with us."

Several of the people nodded gratefully. A shorter black woman stepped forward and gestured to RickyJo with her hands. She held her hand flat against her chin, extending it forward. The tomboy looking black woman translated for her. But it wasn't necessary. The gesture was a fairly simple one. A sign she taught the kids when they were little along with the signs for 'more' and 'please'. RickyJo repeated the gesture back to the woman, which she hoped meant some approximation of 'you're welcome'. Just in case she spoke the words aloud as well. The woman smiled at her.

They made good time on the way back to town, stopping only to grab the deer and kill the few walkers that had gathered under it, attracted by the smell of fresh blood. Daryl wrapped his arm around the woman Dixie was helping, leaving her free to help her mother carry the deer between them on a long pole. The two women were close to the same height, making it easier for them to swing the heavy deer between them without putting too much stress on their backs.

When they got close enough to be in range, RickyJo pulled a small walkie off her belt and spoke into it, hoping that someone was up in the radio booth despite the early morning hour.

"Come in belltower, This is RickyJo, "Come in belltower. Over."

She was relieved when another voice cracked back over the radio, answering her.

"This is Hershel. I mean this is belltower. Over."

"Hey Hershel. We have 5 unknowns incoming. One of them needs a medic. Over."

"I got it. Over and out."

RickyJo flipped the radio back off. A moment later she heard the sirens. Then two blasts of the horn. The sirens only meant danger if they stayed on. They were mostly used just to get everyone's attention so everyone knew something or someone was coming. One blast of the horn after the siren meant family was returning. Two meant visitors. Three meant hostiles approaching. They didn't get to three very often. Anyone in the area that was looking for trouble had learned long ago to avoid Alexandria.

"Is it always like this?," Kelly asked. She was impressed with the tall metal walls around the community. But what she saw inside gave her pause. There were people lined up on either side of the road with guns in their hands. There was no way in except to pass through the tall gate and walk directly between the rows of people. If the people in this town were looking to intimidate their visitors, then they were successful. Kelly noticed that most of their expressions didn't look as scary as the guns in their hands and on their backs. Two small boys were clinging to a pretty blonde woman with a sizable pregnant stomach. One of them waved at Kelly, a big smile on his face. The other yanked free from his mother's grasp and rushed forward to run around under the deer carcass. A man with cowboy boots on was quick to snatch the little rascal up, returning him to his mother before he and a slightly older looking black man shouldered in under the deer and took the weight off the two women that carried it into town.

"There's more people awake than usual," Dixie explained, her voice full of excitement, "It's sort of a celebration day today. We just had our first election yesterday." Kelly nodded, looking around in awe now that she was over her fear of being shot dead the moment she stepped foot inside the gates. The place was impressive. Just the sheer amount of people was enough to make her stare with her mouth open. There were more people here, together in one place, than Kelly had seen since the beginning of the turn.

"Who won the election?," she asked.

The girl with the long blonde pigtails smiled at her. But it was the man with the crossbow that helped Magna into town who spoke up to answer her question.

"Don't worry," he assured her, "Yer about to find out."