Vi is an interesting kid. He's barely out of high school and already so capable of surviving by himself. When I saw those dark-tinted eyes look my way, I felt intimidated. Feeling as if I was being scanned from top to bottom.

The mask, with its obvious blood stains, made me more on guard even though the boy didn't point any weapons at us. Something about those eyes looked familiar. It unnerved me at first, but after hearing the boy's age and him being more than willing to answer our questions, I let my guard down.

I didn't want to let the kid go on by himself, to who knows where, but it's not my place to stop him. If he wants to go, he can go. He's practically an adult by the law, no matter how I see the boy much younger than I am.

Fast forward to when I'm flat-out drunk and spilling my fears to Genner, I then realize why his eyes were so familiar to me.

It reminded me of the kinds of eyes you'd find in victims of abuse. Throughout my years as a cop, I've witnessed many messed-up things. Abuse victims are more common than people may think because the abuse is usually covered up by adults. Either adults of high standing or adults that act normal around others but behind closed doors are a whole different person.

I remember seeing a child shivering in the corner of a basement that me and my team had to break into after the neighbors of the house started hearing suspicious screams over the past few weeks. When entering the home, the supposedly "only person" in the house is a man in his forties, saying that he's the only one home and that his kid is staying over at his mother's place for the week. We would have brought it if we didn't hear something close to a cry from below.

This led to us forcefully making our way down the hidden basement the man tried to lie about having, greeting us with a sight of a child. A child who had a long heap of tangled dark hair, clothes tattered and worn, and limbs unhealthily thin. The puzzle started solving itself, and while the others went to handcuff the man, I went over to comfort the child and bring them out of the cold dark underground room.

But then the child looked up at my approach and I froze in horror. Although their cheeks were sunken, lips dry, eyes rimmed red, and eyebags that could rival overworked office workers, it's their eyes that spook me. It was unnerving, to say the least. But most of all, sad.

What makes it really damn sad though, is the fact that the neighbors have been hearing screams over the past few weeks and didn't bother to tell anyone after the first seven days. The kid was on the brink of death and if kept alone and ignored, would have died of starvation.

To think, that a parent would do this to their child. As a parent myself, I was disgusted and angry. I could never imagine doing the same to Carl, or to any child at that. Those eyes were so empty and cold. It sent a chill down my spine the more I stared into those dark orbs. Looking back on it, how could I have forgotten it?

Vi and that child are the same. Maybe this encouraged me to reach for the boy's help more, before figuring out I would have been more careful, but then I remember those eyes.

I knew then that I would be seeing Vi more often than not. And that he may just be the hope our group needs to survive this apocalypse.

I hid behind a thick tree as I watched a group of people surrounding a few cars stop at the edge of the town I was planning on ransacking until noon. There were men with guns taking orders from one of them who I believe is the leader. He's some white man that honestly doesn't look like much, reminds me of those annoying politicians that I saw every now and then before zombies came and shit on life.

They call him the "Governor" which is obviously not his actual name. Compared to the group I took in, they were everything I feared running into. I didn't even have to observe them for an hour to know that I ain't helping them for shit.

Laughing, one of the of men uses his bat to swing at one of the zombies walking toward him in the head, gruesomely he continues to it the already dead corpse more, making its face a bloody mush. I cringed at the mess, and the unnerving smile the man wore.

"Ha, take that you skank, prolly would've looked okay if it weren't for the blood over her body" he laughed while shoving at one of his buddies "Ya think we can find any hot women traveling 'round these parts? Need me something to please me with only you stinkin' men 'round me" the other man agrees and they laugh while attacking more zombies headed their way. They make sure to play with the creatures, taking their time while fighting them.

I scrunched up my face in disgust. People like that are common where I grew up, which only makes it worse for us women who now live in a world where there aren't laws to keep them in line.

'Yeah, I'm definitely glad that people mistake me for a boy.' I frown to myself as I think over what I should do to them. I could leave them but it could cause problems for me in the future. I never really thought about what I'd do if people like that runs into my home and tried to take over. I'll have to start adding more security around my base. Maybe dogs aren't such a bad idea, because although they're loud, they have a great sense of smell and are known to have a sense of danger. If possible, I could try and see if I can tame a couple to follow my commands.

But back to the problem at hand, which is these filthy men I really don't want to deal with, I could always kill them. But they haven't done anything to me so far, and if I do kill them without being provoked, what does that make me? Am I any better than they are?... Yes, definitely yes, but I still shouldn't kill them. I shouldn't make it a habit to kill people as if it doesn't mean anything, because although they're all scumbags, they're also human.

I'll just scare'em a little. Just a little.

"Where's that music coming from? OH fuckfuckfuckfuck- SOMEBODY TURN IT OFF, IT'LL ATTRACT MORE- SHIT"

"WHAT THE FUCk- PETE, WAIT UP"

"SH- SHIT, WHERE DID THESE FUCKERS COME FROM!? WHY ARE THERE SO MANY?"

"AH, FUCK, GUYS HELP ME UP OVER HERE-" "OH FUCK OFF" "GUYS-"

"EVERYBODY, GET BACK INTO YOUR VEHICLES, WE'LL HAVE TO- SHIT- WE'LL HAVE TO HEAD BACK TO HQ"

I smile to myself as I watch all the men start piling back into their cars.

I didn't really do much, I just rolled a couple of small speakers near where their cars are parked, and let the music play. Turning it up to full volume, I sat back the whole entire time and enjoyed the show. It was honestly quite funny watching them run and trip over themselves. Some of them were confident in themselves, using their guns to shoot off some of the zombies in front, but then more started appearing and they got overwhelmed.

I knew that zombies from the city will be moving onward sooner than later since live food there have pretty much run out. This means that herds of zombies will be traveling around, just walking wherever they hear the noise. It just so happens that I knew that they'll be passing over the town next to this one.

Most would think that if I knew that, why did I still come here? Well, they're only attracted to loud noise and the smell of a bunch of humans together. I just so happen to be very quiet on my feet, and just a single person. So I knew I was safe. Plus I was confident in my abilities to outrun them.

I sigh to myself. Once I'm confident that all the cars are at a far distance, I make my way to finishing what I was planning to do before. Although there are much more zombies than before, a large portion of them are still walking toward where the group drove towards. I'll be able to get a good portion of looting done with no trouble if I'm careful enough.

I arrive back home around 6 pm. I got distracted and stayed looting for way longer than I thought I'd be out, it's already getting pretty dark.

I notice more zombies against the walls that separate them from my HQ and frown. 'I guess it makes sense with the number of people staying over, they must be attracted to the smell of humans'.

In my head, I make a note to figure out how to lessen the number of zombies that approach my area.

While trying to make my way through the gate, I effortlessly stab any zombies coming near me, hurrying my pace as I see others walking nearer. Once I make it in, I sigh in relief, but then cock my head a bit once I notice the stares of some of my guests.

'They must have heard the noise outside, and went to investigate' I make my way to them, suddenly feeling nervous with all the dirt and blood stained on my clothes and mask. I believe I look pretty cool, but with the amount of attention on me, I can't help the way I want to start fidgeting with my gloves.

"You're back! I'm glad you returned in one piece" Rick says after exiting house 2, with a kind grin on his face. I stop in front of him and nod.

"It was getting kind of dark, thought you might not return for a minute there" he continued to say, chuckling awkwardly to himself. I hummed, just wanting to shower and change. This reminds me to go check out the pipes to see if I can make the water working a more permanent thing. With this many people here, I don't think it'll last very long.

"Actually, can we have a talk? Me, you, and maybe a few others" I quick a brow at that, but nod nonetheless.

"Right after I get myself cleaned up"

"Right, of course" he makes way for me and continues my course to the porch, passing by Carl who stares at me curiously. There's also Carol and Sophia, on the couch on the porch who greet me with meek smiles. They seem to be unnerved by me. Understandable.

When I enter the house, I take off my shoes, and then make my way up the stairs, noticing Shane, Andrea, and Amy in the living room. Shane looks at me with narrowed eyes while the other two immediately make sure to welcome me back with wide smiles, Amy shyer than her older sister.

I nod back at them and then continue onwards.

Once I come back downstairs, I slow my pace once I notice a few people sitting in the living room. Rick, Shane, Lori, Glenn, , Andrea, and Dale.

"Ah, you're back! Great, so about that talking that I mentioned... maybe just take a seat"

I do as he says wordlessly. He shares a glance with Shane, then looks toward his wife. I wait patiently as he starts to gather his words.

"Okay... look, we appreciate everything you've done for us, our time here is probably one of the best times we've had in a while. And I know you barely know us, but- see, we just... we'd be so thankful if you'd maybe..." he runs his hands through his hair "-consider letting us stay." he finally says. I hum, and Glenn quickly goes to talk as well.

"I- I can go on runs with you, or alone, whatever works best. I've always been really got at getting in and out so if you need something then I'm your man"

Rick nods along "Right, and we others can do any heavy lifting, chores, or just whatever needs to be done around here." He looks at me with desperation and hope in his eyes. I think about it for a few seconds, which leaves everyone in the room tense.

I didn't expect them to ask so soon, if anything, I was hoping they'd wait a few more days at the least. Although I've grown fond of them during the time that I'd stalk- observe them, I've been getting an off feeling about Shane. Usually, with the way he stares at Lori or Rick. Something about him has changed.

"One week" I finally decide.

"One week?" T. Dog repeats in confusion, wondering what everyone else is wondering.

"I'll observe you all for one week and decide then if I'm okay with you all staying" this seems to satisfy Rick along with the others, except of course Shane. He looks me in the eyes.

"Why do you even need to think about your answer? We have children that we need to take care of in our group, how could you think of letting us- them, go back out there?" Rick and Lori go to silence the man, panic overtaking their faces along with a few others.

I simply look at the man in confusion "You do hear what you're saying right?" this simply confuses the man, and the other just watches, eyes darting from me to Shane.

"Although you all seem fine right now, the fact still stands that I hardly know any of you. I'm one person, meanwhile, you all have the upper hand on me with both number and power. The fact that I showed you where I live, and the fact that this place is filled with food and much more, means that you guys could simply kill me and rob me blind. Or maybe even just take over the place" realization seems to dawn on his and on the other's faces.

I'm actually pretty confident in being able to take them all on, I have the gun power and skills although they don't know about the guns. Plus it would be easier to just use one of their people as a hostage, although I doubt I'd ever kill any of the kids, they don't know that so that would give them quite a fright. I could win with the way their teamwork seems like shit, but I would probably make it out with wounds that would put me on bed rest for weeks.

"Sure, you all have kids. But that doesn't change just how much danger I'm in compared to you all. How do I know you aren't using the kids to let my guard down? How do I know that you aren't using one of the kids to get close to me so that they can kill me while I'm relaxed and none the wiser? The point is, that I don't know you. I don't know any of you. I don't care about what age you are, or how kind you are right now, people can act and people can lie." I look Shane dead in the eye, as he can only purse his lips, now realizing what he said was a mistake.

"The thing is, I don't trust you. Any of you. So I'll give you guys a week, a week where I'll observe you guys and see if I can maybe risk letting you all stay in my home, the place where I sleep unguarded, permanently." I let the silence drag, and once I was sure nobody else had anything to say, I made a move to stand up. Before I could get very far, on my way to the kitchen, Daryl speaks up.

"So when we gon' have our lessons huh?" I pause and think to myself.

"Hmm, you can choos'em, after all, you are my teacher from now on" He seems to think over it and then nods.

"Fine, 9 in the morning sounds good to you?" I nod and then make my way to the kitchen to prepare dinner for tonight. Lori notices and makes her way toward me.

"I can make dinner! You already made us food yesterday and this morning so please-" I interrupt her "No no, it's fine. Although if you really want to help, maybe go and cut up some of the chicken meat" I smile beneath my mask.

She sighs but nods with a soft smile.

The rest of the night goes smoothly.

While in bed, I start thinking about what I should do to test them, and make sure I can trust them. So far, I'm confident that I'd be okay with Carl, Lori, Amy, Sophia, Carol, Glenn, and Dale staying. Everybody else I'm still not sure. Rick seems kind but that's also a problem. He's too trusting and forgiving, and that'll cause issues. Has this motto to not kill the living, which probably stems from his whole cop persona. And I have a gut feeling that he's caught on to the thing between his wife and best friend, but for some reason continues to act like nothing is wrong. His types can become dangerous. The kind ones are always the scariest once they break.

Shane is pretty obvious, although I feel like his little outburst was because he was in a bad mood. He's been in a bad mood ever since Rick showed up, so that needs to be fixed otherwise his temper will get him killed. I feel like he's not a bad guy in general, but has been real unstable lately. It's obvious that it's connected to the grimes family as well.

T. Dog seems fine, he's nice I guess, but I don't really know him as much as the others. He's just there, and although I know he ain't bad, I'll have to observe him for a bit longer till I decide.

And finally Andrea. Something about her is off, she reminds me of Shane a bit, although much kinder. The way she follows after him sometimes and seems to look at him with admiration, probably shows that she's easy to manipulate. She seems like the type to have good intentions but goes about it the wrong way. That's what makes her a problem because those types can be just as easy to cause trouble as people who do it on purpose.

After thinking about it for a while, I decided that maybe I should take them along with Glenn and Daryl on a trip further out. I've been meaning to go on a road-trip kind of thing for a while now. With more people, it would be better. I just wanted to scan the layout in other areas, see what's going on, and if other groups like the one I ran into earlier today have bases there. I'll make sure to hand everybody staying guns and give them a walkie-talkie to tell us if anything goes wrong here.

Maybe it's a bad idea to take pretty much all the manpower since the only woman who knows or is willing to learn how to shoot right now is Andrea. Everybody else is clueless as to how to defend themselves. I'll have to give them a crash course over weapons and guns tomorrow after my lessons with Daryl.

After thinking so much, I end up not sleeping. It's already past midnight and I still have so much energy coursing through my veins. I decide to just fuck it, and get out of bed.

I make my way downstairs, after putting on my mask that I lay on my desk of course, and walk towards the porch outside to get some fresh air. I pause once I spot a figure already standing on the porch, leaning on the wall while staring into nothing.

Shane looks at me, and with a grim face, turns back to looking at nothing.

I don't really mind the company, and sit on one of the chairs, ignoring the awkward atmosphere between us.

"I'm sorry" he finally says, although not looking in my direction.

"It's fine" I reply, not bothering to look at his expression as well.

A pause and then "Everything's just been real shitty, and it's been getting to me is all" I suppress the urge to say 'Oh really'. I instead hum, letting him know that I'm listening.

He sighs "You know, don't you?"

"What?" I ask blandly, starting to close my eyes and just breathe in the fresh air.

"About me... and Lori" I open my eyes for a split second, and then close them again. "Yeah"

"It's- It's messed up I know, and if I could go back in time and change what I feel now then I would... I just- I didn't know" 'He sounds frustrated' I think to myself, eyes still closed.

"Know what?"

"That he was alive- Rick I mean"

"Ah, he was in a coma right?"

"Yes!" He breathes in, trying to calm himself. Then continues to quieten his tone "they were shooting everyone, and his heartbeat stopped, I couldn't hear it... I swear I couldn't"

"Really?"

"Really! I didn't want to leave him, but I had to, and I regreted it right after... but then Lori and Carl- they just... after everything, they made me feel better about myself with how they relied on me..."

It's silent for a while.

"He's my best friend. I've known him for as long as I can remember. I've saved his life and he's saved mine several times." he takes a breath "I care about him- I do... he's like my brother."

It's quiet from then on out. Nobody talks, and I think that's what comforts him. He probably just wanted to get it out of his chest without any interruptions. I simply breathe in the cold air, now comfortable with the other man's presence.

'He needs some serious help, and from what I've heard from his lil' rant, he genuinely cares about Rick. He may have a temper and is pretty loud, but he's honestly not that bad'

We stay in each other's company for another hour, spent in silence.