"Do you understand me?" Lori said in a firm voice, her arms crossed.

I looked up at her, thinking hard about what she'd been telling me, "No, ma'am."

She puffed out a frustrated breath, "you could get hurt, do you know how high that is?! You can't just jump right off-"

"-Lori," Dale called down from the roof of the RV, "if I may . . ."

"No, Dale. With all due respect, you need to back off right now."

The way she dismissed Dale angered me, though I wasn't entirely sure why. Maybe it was because whatever she was trying to tell me was pointless. I couldn't remember how many times I had jumped off the top of the RV, had she just never noticed, or was she just not around? The first time Dale scolded me too, but very lightly.

It was starting to become obvious to me how awkward they found it to scold me and tell me what to do. It explained why I was never given any chores, and why they never really forced me away from Merle, who no one was comfortable around.

Besides me.

They couldn't really take charge of me, even though they were the adults and I was the kid, I wasn't theirs. We were still waiting for my Daddy to show up, it wasn't their place to tell me what to do or what not to do. But that didn't mean they wouldn't try, and it didn't mean I shouldn't listen to them.

Again, I was still the kid. I understood that much.

But this I don't understand.

Because I did something that could potentially hurt me, and had done it countless times without getting hurt I was in trouble?

I wish Daddy would hurry up, these people don't make sense.

Lori was still talking, but I wasn't listening, this was the second time she was explaining it to me. I didn't get it the first time so why would I get it the second when she's using the same exact words?

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Carl. He was sitting alone about ten feet away watching me and Lori. Seeing him alone gave me an idea.

I glanced up at Lori, keeping my face blank to hide my frustration and confusion, "can I go play with Carl?"

She stopped mid sentence, her mouth open as she widened her eyes. She closed her mouth and glanced at Carl, then back to me.

It was too easy to say she was surprised, maybe astonished was the right word. She didn't seem to even know how to respond. I had always dismissed her and Shane's persuasions to talk and play with Carl and the other kids. I could probably count the words I spoke to him since we met on one hand.

"Uh . . . y-yeah," she stammered, "go ahead."

It worked, "bye." I said, walking toward Carl.

Carl watched as I came over to him, his confusion was obvious. I knew he hadn't heard me and Lori talk, we were too far away, but he could tell we were talking about him because we had both looked at him.

"Hey," he said as I approached him.

I gave a nod then looked down at my feet, "Can . . . Can I sit with you?"

"Sure."

I glanced at him again to see him smiling slightly. I stepped closer then sat beside him.

I watched him as he held a small stick, trailing the end of it into the dirt.

"What're you doin'?" I asked, confused.

"Drawing the camp. See, that's the river," he pointed to a couple squiggly lines. "That's the RV, that's Sophia's and her parents tent, that's my tent, yours and Shane's. I'm not done yet though."

"Why don'cha jus' use paper an' a pen?"

"If I ask, mom's just going to give me homework." He rolled his eyes.

Why would anyone do homework when they're camping?

I glanced over at Lori to find her talking to Shane, they were both looking at me and Carl. Shane had a wide grin on his face, and he waved.

Maybe this worked a little too well . . . I hope they don't start expecting this.

I internally groaned and looked toward the Dixon camp. It was weird knowing that neither of them were there. Of course, even though I had spent the majority of my time with Merle and his brother, there were a lot of times I wasn't around either of them, when they were sleeping or out in the woods. Or sometimes when Merle just told me to beat it.

But knowing that neither of them were there, or even in the area, was weird. It made me a bit uncomfortable, and for some reason, I kept having this urge to look over and see if they were there. As if they would suddenly return. Each time I gave into that urge, I felt more and more disappointed.

While looking at the brothers camp, I realized something. When I stood up, Carl looked up at me, confused.

"W-wait, where are you going?"

I hesitated, but looked away, "bye."

I could feel him watching me but I pretended I didn't notice as I walked away, toward the Dixon camp. When I got there, I unzipped the flap of the tent and crawled in, peering around. My eyes stopped at the image of my silver knife on the floor of the tent. I reached forward and grabbed the knife, wondering how I could've forgotten it after waking up in his tent the night before.

I crawled out of the tent and closed it.

When I was standing up straight, I lifted the front of my shirt a little and tucked the handle of my knife into my waistband. As I was about to lower my shirt, the knife slipped through the waistband and down my pant leg, landing at my feet.

Huh?

I picked up the knife and tried again. But I got the same result. Weird, why didn't it fit anymore? I fiddled with my waistband a bit, also realizing it wasn't as tight as it used to be. I had these pants a long time, and after so long, the waistband had gotten really tight, it was uncomfortable at times but I ignored it. Had it stretched out?

I mentally shrugged and hid my knife with my hand the best I could, then went to where me and Shane's tent was. I went to the hiding place I kept me and Daddy's things and returned the knife to its slot. After burying the stuff again, I went inside the tent and grabbed Merle's jacket from my cot.

It wasn't exactly cold out, but it wasn't warm either. The way the clouds were rolling in, it was easy to tell it may rain. Unless the clouds decided to pass us and rain in Atlanta.

I glanced up at the sky, the clouds were a light grey colour and moving pretty fast, toward the directing on Atlanta.

The jacket was heavy, and the sleeves went past my hands so much, it was almost impossible to roll the sleeves, and keep them rolled.

I'm allowed in his tent, I thought, later on I could just leave it in there.

I did like having the jacket, it comforted me in a way I didn't fully understand. Part of me liked when he told me to fuck off every time I tried giving it back. It felt kind of weird having it though, it didn't fit and probably never would. In length,it went down a little past my knees, and I had given up trying to roll the sleeves. I couldn't even reach down far enough to zip the jacket.

Walking back, I saw that Carl wasn't in the same place, I looked around, also seeing just about everyone was close to the firepit. Carl is standing a little bit away from them all.

As I walked toward him, I see Shane bent over, fiddling with the radio as everyone else watched. I raised my eyebrows at Carl in confusion.

"They heard someone on the radio." Carl explained.

"Our group?" I asked, a little worried. It had been a couple hours since Merle left with the others on the run into Atlanta, but they were already gone longer than Glenn was last time he went.

"No, some guy going into Atlanta."

"Oh."

We watched as Shane and Lori exchanged a few words, which resulted in Lori getting angry. The last few days she seemed to get angry pretty easily, I was only just realizing it then. Lori turned away from Shane and began walking toward the tent. Carl ran forward following his mom, but as he passed Shane, Shane stopped him.

I watched as Shane said something to Carl in a hushed, calm voice. Shane pointed at me and Carl looked over.

Why are they talking about me?

Carl nodded at Shane, then Shane turned away to follow Lori. Carl walked toward me, his expression unsure.

"So . . . uh . . . . Sophia said she isn't feeling well . . . I have some trucks, do you wanna see?"

I squinted my eyes at him, "Trucks?"

He smiled, "Yeah, come on."

"This is a bulldozer. It picks up the dirt like this and moves it somewhere else." Carl explained excitedly, pushing the small yellow toy truck around. Then he gestured to a fire truck, which was smaller than the bulldozer "I got a fire truck, and this is a mustang, they're really cool. When I can drive I'm going to get my own."

I stared at the toy car, it was a bright blue colour with two white stripes down the middle.

We were sitting in the dirt again, but this time with Carl's toys. I knew what a bulldozer was, but he seemed really excited as he explained each of the toy vehicles. So I just kept my mouth shut.

I stared at his hands, watching as he pushed the bulldozer around, using the plow to carve dirt from the ground.

Carl glanced at me, his smile disappearing for a split second "do you want the fire truck?"

I didn't answer, instead I just eyed him.

He let go of the bulldozer and pushed the fire truck until it was in front of me, "here, you can use it."

I glanced down at the fire truck, then back up at him. He wore a small smile, but it was obvious how awkward he felt.

I pressed my lips together, I didn't want to talk, but I knew he wanted me to, ". . . can I have the car?"

"Oh, yeah." His smile grew wide, showing his teeth as he took the fire truck back and grabbed the tiny blue Mustang, "You like cars? Sophia doesn't, she'll sit with me but she gets bored. Louis will sometimes play with me, but he stays with his mom and dad a lot."

Louis . . . I didn't recognise the name, but it was my guess he was one of Morales' kids.

"Him and his sister are with their mom. They don't really want to play either, I think they're worried about their dad, he went into Atlanta today." Carl explained

I nodded, reaching for the blue Mustang, but as I did, Merle's sleeve fell over my hand. I pushed it back and proceeded to push the toy back and forth in the dirt, making a trail of tire tracks.

I could feel Carl's eyes on me as he continued, "My mom talks about you a lot, Shane too."

My body tensed and I stopped what I was doing, but I didn't look at him. "They do?"

"Yeah, she said she's worried. If you like the car you can play with it whenever you want, I know you don't really like to talk, but you can just sit with me if you want, we don't have to talk. I like this way better then playing Tag. We aren't allowed to play hide and seek anymore, Louis went too far in the woods last time."

"Oh . . ." I said, looking up, "uh, thanks."

We stared at each other for a few minutes, neither of us saying anything. Carl's smile is a lot smaller, but it's there. I wanted to look away because the awkwardness in the air began to build, but I had a feeling if I did, he would still stare. I refused to be the first one to look away.

Frustration seemed to build in me when he didn't look away, "What?"

"I don't think we ever talked this long. You're not sad anymore?"

I squinted my eyes in confusion, slightly glaring, "Sad?"

"Mom said you're sad, that's why you're shy. Because you miss your dad. It's okay, I miss mine too."

That was when I gave in and looked away, guilt washing over me. His daddy's dead. For the first time, I found myself wanting to say more to him, but the subject was now on his dead father. What was I supposed to say? Was I supposed to talk about my dad?

"You don't like me very much do you?"

I looked back at Carl, his smile was gone but he wasn't frowning either. The look on his face was one of genuine curiosity. I didn't like hanging out with the kids, or any kids. Sure I was a kid too but I never knew what to say. No one really seemed to like me anyway, so what was the point? A few moments ago, before Carl brought up his dad, I didn't mind his company. But now the awkwardness was eating me away, making me feel like I had to say something, when I didn't know what to say, and I didn't even think I wanted to say something.

"I don't know you." I finally said after a while.

"Is that why you don't talk a lot?"

I shrugged, "don' got much ta say."

"Dale, I'm heading out." We heard Lori call out a few feet away, she turned to me and Carl, "I want you both to stay where Dale can see you, okay?"

"Yes, mom."

"Yes, ma'am." I answered.

She smiled and nodded, about to turn away.

"You too," Dale called down to her, binoculars in hand, "Don't wander too far, stay within shouting distance. And if you see anything, holler, I'll come running."

"Yes, mom." Lori replied sarcastically as she walked away.

I watched Dale as he continued to pace on the roof of the RV. He always got a bit unsettled whenever Glenn left for a run, it was obvious he was worried. Everyone always was, going into Atlanta was dangerous. But the tension in his face is much more noticeable than before. We never had this many people go out before, it was always just Glenn.

"Do you wanna see my comic books?" Carl asked.

I shrugged and he smiled again. He got up and ran toward the tents, I sat and waited.

A while later I'm sitting in the same spot with Carl, a small pile of comic books between us. He said I could look at them, and for a few minutes, I did. But Dale's pacing began to distract me. As he walked back and forth, he was turning more frequently, each walk shorter than the last. He looked through his binoculars toward the road.

His agitation was really getting to me. The last time Glenn went out, he had, in Merle's words, pussied out after seeing more of those things then usual. If it had been a normal run, Glenn would've been back by now. So was it okay for them to be taking so long?

"Hey, Jim!" Dale called out, "come over here, why don't we get to work on that hose?"

"You okay?" Carl asked me, looking up from his comic book.

"Jus' thinkin'." I looked up at the sky, the clouds seemed much darker than they were a few hours ago.

Me and Carl glanced up at the sky as we heard the rumble of thunder.

"Do you think it'll rain for a long time? I hate being stuck in the tent." He said, looking at me over his comic book.

I shook my head, "looks like i's passin' us. S'prised it ain't rainin' at all."

"So it'll miss us? The storm, I mean."

"Maybe. I don' see any light'nen, not yet anyway. Don' look too bad. Even if it doesn' i's just rain."

He nodded and continued reading. But again, our attention was drawn to another noise. We glanced at the RV. Dale and Jim were looking under the hood of the RV, something about fixing the radiator hose.

The two men looked up top the RV, hearing the same static, buzzing sound we did.

Dale rushed to the ladder, climbing up as the sound got louder and we could hear a voice mumbling through the radio.

After hearing someone on the radio earlier, they decided to put it on the roof under Dale's umbrella, hoping to get another, or just better connection.

Me and Carl stood up, rushing toward the RV as others in the camp did the same.

"Hello . . . hello, base camp? Anybody hear me? Base camp . . . T-dog, can . . . hear me?"

After hearing T-dog, I recognised his voice. I never talked to the man personally, but I heard him talk to others and he sometimes said hi to me if we passed each other.

Dale reached for the radio and put it to his mouth, "Hello? Hello? Receptions bad on this end. Repeat, repeat."

Lori walked up to the RV, her arms crossed "is that them?"

"Said T-dog," I mumbled.

"We're . . . some deep . . . We're trapped . . . department."

"He say they're trapped?" Shane asked appearing on my left. Carl stood beside me on my right, his mom beside him. I strained my ears, just as everyone else did, trying to make out what T-dog was saying while the radio cut in and out.

"Geeks all over . . . Hundreds of 'em . . . surrounded."

"T-dog, repeat that last, repeat." As Dale fiddles with the radio, the static turns to this high pitched whine, only getting worse as he turned the dials.

"He said the department store." Lori said, her hand on Carl's head.

"I heard it too," Dale confirmed.

Lori stepped in front of me and Carl, "Shane-"

"-No way," he shook his head, "we do not go after them, we do not risk the rest of the group, ya'll know that."

I crossed my arms over my stomach, trying to relieve the fear churning inside. Merle. Did this mean they weren't coming back? I felt really bad, they couldn't not come back. How many had gone?

I look at my hand and count on my fingers, Glenn, Merle, Andrea . . . Morales . . . T-dog. Who else? I knew there was another, the black woman that helps with laundry. What was her name?

Sure there were risks going into Atlanta, but could they really all die out there?

Amy, Andrea's sister looked at Shane incredulously, "so we're just going to leave her there?"

Shane looked down, fiddling with his hat in his hand. He took a quick glance at me that no would have noticed if they weren't watching him as I was. He looked at Amy, stepping forward.

"Look, Amy, I know that this is not easy-"

"-she volunteered to go, to help the rest of us."

"I know. And she knew the risks, right? See, if she's trapped, she's gone. We just have to deal with that." He said, his voice cracking, "there's nothing we can do."

Amy stared at him, her wide blue eyes watering, "she's my sister, you son of a bitch." She said angrily before running off.

Shane turned to Lori, wiping his nose. Lori's eyes are wide her expression showing regret, "did you have to-"

"-yes." He said firmly, without hesitation, "I had to be straight up. I know I was harsh . . . I couldn't tell her otherwise unless we knew for sure, I don't want to give her, or anyone else here, false hope. Look at the mess I already made doing that."

Shane looked down at me and Lori did the same. Feeling the weight of their intense gazes, I turned away, wondering what he meant and why they were looking at me. She pressed her lips together and nodded, "I'll go talk to her."

Lori turned away and began calling for Amy. Shane came forward and ruffled Carl's hair, then placed his hand on my shoulder. I cringed under his touch, my body still not used to being so intimately handled.

"It's all right." He said, and walked passed us.

"Baby, the more you fidget, the longer it takes."

"How come she doesn't have to cut her hair?" Carl whined, glancing at me.

"Cause she ain't my mama." I answered.

Lori glanced at me as she continued cutting Carl's hair with a small pair of scissors, looking surprised. I wasn't sure if her surprise was because of my answer, or that I had answered at all.

Carl is sitting on the ground in front of her while she sits in a chair. I'm on the ground also, across from Carl, beside Shane. Shane sat in his chair, cleaning his gun I believed to be a rifle.

Lori turned her attention back to Carl's hair, "just stop fidgeting, okay?"

"I'm trying." He whined again

"Well, try harder."

Shane chuckled, "If you think this is bad, wait till you start shaving. That stings. That day comes, you'll be wishing for one of your mama's haircuts."

Carl rolled his eyes, "I'll believe that when I see it."

I glanced up at Shane, "when do we gotta start shavin'?"

Lori stopped again and looked at me along with Shane, "you don't have to worry about that, hun."

"It's only us men who have to worry about sprouting hairs like big-foot." Shane said with a smile.

Carl laughed and I held back a smile.

"I'll tell you what, you just get through this with some manly dignity and tomorrow I'll teach you something special." He said, smirking as he wiped down his gun, "I'll teach you to catch frogs."

"I've caught a frog before."

"I said frogs, plural."

"What's plural?" I asked.

"Yeah," Carl said, "why do we need frogs plural?"

"You ever eat frog legs?"

"Ew!" Carl exclaimed.

"No, yum!"

Lori shook her head, laughing, "No, he's right, ew."

"When you get down to that last can of beans, You're gonna be loving those frog legs, lady. I can see it now 'Shane, do you think I could have a second helping, please? Please? Just one?'" He mimicked Lori with a big grin.

"Yeah, I doubt that."

I let a smile break out, but looked away. Then glanced at Carl, "They ain't that bad, kinda slimy though."

"You ate frog legs?" Carl asked.

I shrugged looking away from him.

"See?" Shane asked, "she knows what I'm talking about. It is an art, my friend. It is not to be taken lightly. There are ways and means. Few people know about it. I'm willing to share my secrets. You and me, we'll be heroes. We'll feed these folks Cajun-style Kermit legs."

"I would rather eat miss piggy." Lori laughed, "Yes, that came out wrong."

"Heroes, son, spoken of in song and legend. You and me, Shane and Carl."

Carl smiled widely, obviously a little excited by Shane's speech. Carl glanced at me, his smile softened, "can she come too?"

Shane looked shocked for a second, but broke out into his grin once again. Looking down at me, "of course she can, if she's up for it. Whad'ya say, girl? You up for some frog catching?"

I hesitated, surprised. I glanced back and forth between all three of them. I didn't like the looks of expectation I was getting. Lori nodded at me.

"You'll come too, right?" Carl asked, "it'll be fun."

As I considered my retreat, Carl's smile seemed to weaken my resolve, "uh . . . okay."

Before he gets the time to get excited about my answer, we all tense up, straining our ears when we heard a strange sound in the distance. It was difficult to describe, some kind of whaling, but as it got louder it sounded like a siren.

We all got up quickly, hurrying toward the RV.

"Talk to me, Dale!" Shane called out.

Dale was standing, looking toward the road with his binoculars, "I can't tell yet."

"Is it them? Are they back?" I heard Amy ask in a loud voice.

What the hell did they come back in, a fire truck? Won't that attract those things? I shook my head to myself, not convinced it was the group.

"I'll be damned." I heard Dale mutter.

"What is it?"

"A stolen car is my guess."

I felt my body tense up, adrenalin filling me. I ran to the ladder, and climbed it as fast as I could. Almost stumbling when I reached the top to get to Dale.

"Lem'me see!" I exclaimed reaching for the binoculars. Dale handed them to me without looking my way.

I looked through the binoculars searching for the source of the siren. My eyes stopped at something red, realizing Dale was right about the car. But why drive a car that would be so loud? If we could hear it from here, how loud was it inside of the car?

Excitement and relief filled me as one thought consumed my mind.

Daddy

I watched through the binoculars until the car pulled in, I was trying to see through the windshield, but the window was tinted. When the car I handed the binoculars back to Dale and sat at the edge of the RV, my legs dangling. I jumped down, bending my knees as my feet hit the ground.

Rushing over to where everyone was crowded around the car, my excitement turned to fear. "Turn that damn thing off!" I heard Dale yell.

I started thinking about what it really meant that Daddy was here. I thought back on all my time here, thinking about the things I had done wrong, about how I left the car when I wasn't supposed to. I tried shrugging it off, deciding to be prepared would be best instead of being scared, not that I was convinced it would help. So again, I continued to think about my time here, the things I had done.

I told a cop to fuck off that's one thing that happened

Regardless of my thoughts and fear I kept going, but I did slow down a bit. I could hear the group yelling over the sound of the car alarm.

Shane turned his head, spotting me, then turned the rest of the way around and began stalking toward me as I ran toward him and the car. As I was about to pass him he grabbed hold of my arm stopping me. I looked up at him in confusion as I tried to shrug him off, but he didn't let go. Instead, he lowered himself to my height.

He bit his lip, and I could read something sad in his eyes, "Stop."

"Huh?" I let out, trying to get to the car,

"It's not him."

Me and Shane both looked toward the car when the siren stopped. Jim was leaning over the car, under the hood. Looking over all of them, I make out the figure of Glenn in his baseball cap.

"Oh . . ." I felt incredibly stupid, still confused about why he would take that car, and where everyone else was.

"I'm sorry." Shane said, not looking at me.

I just shrugged, trying to hide my disappointment.

"Listen . . . me and you gotta have a talk, alright? First, I have to go figure out what's going on. Then we have to talk." He said, as if trying to convince himself.

I gave a nod and he returned it. He gave my shoulder a quick pat and stood up, turning away to stomp toward the group.

I followed behind him as he began shouting at Glenn,"you crazy driving this wailing bastard up here?! Are you trying to draw every walker for miles?"

"I think we're okay," Dale said. I hadn't even noticed he was there until he spoke.

Shane glared at him, and Dale raised his hands in surrender, "I'm not arguing, I'm just saying, the alarm was echoing all over these hills, hard to pinpoint the source. Wouldn't hurt you to think things through a little more carefully would it?"

"Sorry," Glenn said, "got a cool car."

I examined the car, stepping closer to look past Jim under the hood. My attention was drawn away when I heard another car. I looked up, seeing a white cube van pulling in. I smiled slightly.

When the car stops, Andrea jumps out from behind, running toward her sister. Both of them yelled each others names in excitement and hugged each other.

Behind her is the black woman, seeing her face, her name came to my mind. Jaqui.

Then T-dog and Morales come next. Morales' kids run up to him, shouting in excitement, his wife followed suit. Something tugged at my chest, but I ignored it,

I turn away from the van to Carl and Lori. Lori is crouched in front of him, then I noticed he was crying.

"How'd ya'll get out of there anyway?" Shane asked, holding his shotgun over his shoulder.

"New guy, he got us out." Glenn answered.

I shifted my position, watching the truck, waiting for Merle.

"New guy?"

"Yeah," Morales said, holding his wife and kids, "Crazy vato just got into town. Hey, helicopter boy! Come say hello!"

I watched as an unfamiliar man showed himself, his hands on his hips.

"The guy's a cop like you."

Looking at the man, I can see his uniform, slightly unbuttoned revealing a white t-shirt. He had a badge on the left of his chest. The man seemed paralyzed after looking us over, his eyes wide.

He walked forward, fast, almost breaking into a run, I could hear Carl yelling as he ran toward the man.

"Dad! Dad!"

Carl leapt into the man's arms, the man picked him up, almost crying as he reached Lori. There a look of shock and confusion in Lori's face as she returned the hug. I glanced up at Shane, pure astonishment in his features.

I watched Lori, Carl and his dad fall to the ground, hugging and crying. I felt confused, sad, and for some reason, angry. My eyes and nose burned, I felt like I was going to cry.

I turned away in frustration, walking toward the cube van in search for Merle.

Stop caring, stop caring, stop fucking caring. He ain't your daddy, I told myself, why does it matter?

I rubbed my temples as a headache started, he ain't Daddy, Daddy ain't here. Why isn't he here? Why is Carl's dead Dad here and mine isn't?

I hurried over to the cube van, looking in the window of the front seat, when I didn't see Merle, I went around the back. The back was open, and in it, no one. I peered into it, only seeing a couple bags. One bag caught my attention, a rifle leaning against it.

I squinted my eyes, leaning into the back of the van for a closer look.

Merle's gun.

I glanced around, confused. Then looked back to the group, wondering if I might've missed him. I scanned each body gathered around Carl and his parents. Then I glanced toward the Dixon camp.

No Merle.

For a moment I'm left confused, but seeing the separate car Glenn drove in with, my confusion and worry left me, I wasn't sure why they all came in different cars, but I didn't really think about it too much.

One last time, I glanced back at the group, confused about Carl's dad and what was going on. But every time I thought about it, it caused a sick feeling in my stomach.

I'd just wait for Merle to get back in his car. So I went by the road, and waited.

I waited for a short while, the sun was setting. I could hear the group talking, but I was too far to hear the words. I was sitting on the ground, hugging my knees to my chest.

"Hey,"

I turned my head, looking up, seeing Dale.

"What're you doing out here?" He asked, looking around, as if searching for the answer.

"Waitin' for Merle." I answered.

He squinted his eyes, switching his gaze from the road to the group, "he the only one that isn't back?"

I nodded. "Ya know why they all took different cars?" I asked.

He hesitated then shook his head, "that doesn't seem to be the story everyone is focused on."

"Carl's dad?" I asked.

He nodded.

"I thought Carl's dad was dead . . ."

"Seems they thought so too." He said, "why don't you come see everyone? I'm sure Carl would like to introduce you to his father. He's got quite a story to tell."

I admit that I was curious, but I shook my head, "I'm jus' gonna wait."

Dale looked around again, as if looking for something. It seemed to be some kind of habit, "I'll come see you in a bit, alright? Bring you something to eat . . ." He trailed off as he turned away, and walked toward the camp.

I watched him go, there was something in his expression that bothered me. I shrugged it off and laid my forehead on my knees.

Third POV

Dale approached the group of people standing by his RV slowly, a feeling of uncertainty and guilt building inside him.

He watched the group as they chattered, all surrounded around the Grimes family, drilling the new arrival with questions. He was holding his son on his hip, who seemed to ignore all the people around them, focusing on holding his father tight. The boy had questions, just like everyone else, but he didn't care for the answers, not at that moment. That moment was spent focusing on holding his father, as if letting go would result in his disappearance.

Dale waited a bit longer, not wanting to interrupt but he felt he had to. No one had asked what exactly had happened in Atlanta, well, they had, but only relating to the new arrival.

Dale let the thought cross his mind that only him and the little girl had given any thought to Merle Dixon. This made him feel guilty, he came to the conclusion that if it wasn't for that girl, Merle would never even have entered his thoughts.

Of course, he didn't really care for the older Dixon brother, no one did, it was hard to form a decent thought of either of them. It was because of how they acted, their mysterious background, and having the little girl trailing them didn't seem to put anyone at ease. It only raised more questions and concerns about the Dixon's. They didn't seem to enjoy anyone's company, they hadn't really acted very decent toward anyone in the group, the younger one, Daryl, didn't seem bad, more quiet. So why let a little girl bother them?

"Excuse me," Dale spoke when he got the courage, everyone turned to him, "I hate to interrupt, we all have a lot of questions, and you seem more than willing to answer. I myself am curious about the story. But . . ."

"What is it, Dale?" Shane asked.

The new arrival stepped forward, gently pushing past people. He stopped in front of the older man, offering a hand, the other holding his son close, "Rick Grimes."

Dale smiled and shook Rick's hand, "Dale Horvath. Again, I apologize, I hate to ruin this. We should all have a cookout tonight, celebrate."

"I'd like that. What's on your mind?"

" . . . What happened with Merle Dixon?"

Shane ran a hand through his hair, "can't this wait?".

"I don't think so," Dale frowned, "She's waiting for Merle. She thinks he's coming in another car."

For a slight moment, Shane looked confused. But as he came to the realisation of who the older man was talking about. He hung his head low, rubbing his eyes.

Rick looked between his best friend and Dale, "I'm sorry, who?"

"Where?" Shane asked in frustration.

Dale nodded in the direction where the little girl sat.

"Alright, break it up, folks. Give the man some breathing room, huh?" Shane called out.

The rest of the group, excluding the ones who were in Atlanta, along with Shane, Dale, and Lori went off. Lori approached her son and husband, "sweetheart, we need to talk with your father for a few minutes, alright?"

"But-"

"-no buts, just five minutes alright? He's not going anywhere, I promise."

Carl hesitated, but nodded. Rick slowly set the boy down, giving him one final hug and kiss on his forehead.

"Love you, dad."

"I love you too, I'll be right over here, okay?"

The boy nodded, walking away, but not without glancing at his father several times.

"What happened with Dixon?" Shane asked as Rick hugged his wife close.

"He went crazy, attacked T-dog," Glenn answered.

"He was hostile," Rick continued, "he was a danger to the group. I handcuffed him to a pipe to restrain him."

Lori looked up at her husband, "you did what?"

"Merle was out of control. Your husband did what was necessary," Andrea explained.

"Then what? Did you uncuff him? Is he dead?" Shane pressed for answers.

"I had the key," T-dog said, "I dropped it down a drain pipe. I got scared, and then I ran."

"We were all scared, we all ran." Andrea defended.

"But I stopped long enough to chain that door. The staircase is narrow, maybe half a dozen geeks can squeeze against it at one time. It's not enough to break through that, not that chain, not that padlock. Dixon's alive and he's still up there."

Dale shook his head, "we can't tell her that."

"If Merle got left behind, it is nobody's fault but Merle's." Andrea said.

"Have you given any thought to Daryl Dixon?" Dale asked, "telling the girl is one thing but Daryl . . . I don't see a rational discussion to be had from that, do you? Word to the wise, we are going to have our hands full when he gets back from his hunt."

"We already have our hands full, what am I supposed to tell her? Am I supposed to lie, say that he's dead?" Shane asked.

"You can't tell her he got handcuffed and left behind." Morales said, "she wouldn't get it."

T-dog sighed, placing his hands on his knees, "damn, I hadn't even thought about her."

"I'm sorry, who are we talking about?" Rick asked.

Shane clasped his hand on his best friend's shoulder, leading him into view of a small figure sitting by the road. "See her?" Shane pointed, "that's Dixon's shadow."

Rick looked from his friend to the little girl, "I'm sorry?"

"Girl follows him around," Morales explained, "almost everyday, like clockwork. You see Merle, you see her."

"Shit, I just left the only man that kid likes on a damn roof."

Shane turned to T-dog angrily, "what're you going on about? She likes me just fine."

T-dog chuckled, "you're kidding right? How many words did that kid actually speak until she started hanging around Dixon?"

"Are they family?" Rick asked.

Shane shook his head, "as far as we know, no. When we were told to evacuate to Atlanta, there was a traffic jam on the highway, they weren't letting anyone in. She was alone, we looked for her dad for a while but . . . things were happening, it was dangerous. We had to go and I couldn't leave her."

"You don't know what happened?"

"She told me they were waiting, same as everyone else. Then he just got up and left, took whatever they had with him . . ." Shane trailed off, biting his lip.

"Speak your mind," Rick pressed.

"Son of a bitch left her, plain and simple."

Rick hesitated, "mother?"

Lori answered, "no."

"That's not the worst of it," Andrea spoke, anger in her voice.

"Andrea, please." Dale pleaded.

Rick glanced at Shane, who still wouldn't meet anyone's eyes.

"Shane left a note behind for her father," Lori answered Rick's questioning eyes. "It wasn't right to leave her alone or take her when he could've come back at any time. It's been weeks, no one's come."

"Poor girl's still waiting for her father," Andrea said quietly.

Rick turned to Shane, "you haven't told her?"

Shane finally met Rick's eyes, guilt and frustration reflecting in him. "I couldn't, man, how do you tell a kid that? Hell, I don't even know if the bastard even planned on coming back."

Rick nodded. He remembered a few years back him and Shane had lost colleague, it was some stupid accident. Their superior had asked them both to accompany him to give his respects to the wife and daughter while he broke the news. Shane and Rick had gone with him, fortunately for them, the daughter wasn't home from school yet. They broke the news to the wife, and he remembered her reaction, it seemed as though everything in that woman's world had broke.

After a while of comforting the wife and giving their respects, their superior offered for them to stay and help break the news to the daughter. The wife had refused. The three officers left, just as the teenage girl returned home from school. They both remembered the confused look on her face upon seeing the three men.

"It was hard enough telling Lori when I thought . . . the look on Carl's face."

Tears escaped Lori's eyes and she buried her head in Rick's shoulder.

"I'm right here," Rick assured, kissing the top of her head, "I'm not going anywhere."

"Should we tell her he's dead? Merle, I mean." Andrea questioned.

"But he's not," T-dog stated, "he's handcuffed to a roof, alive. That's on us."

"Maybe we should wait for Daryl," Glenn intervened, "she likes him right? Maybe it would be better if . . . he were around? We could even tell him first and . . ."

Andrea crossed her arms, "And what about her father?"

"It's been a long time." Lori said, raising her head, "I'm sure, by now, it's crossed her mind that-"

"-I don't think it has," Dale interrupted, "even if it has, it hasn't settled in. I see her from that roof everyday, or even when she's sitting with me, watching that road. She believes he's coming back because we haven't given any reason to doubt it."

"Fuck . . . I'll do it, I'll tell her right now." Shane said.

"Not now. No matter how we feel about Merle, for whatever reason that girl respects him, him and his brother." Dale said.

Andrea looked back at where the girl was sitting, "We go and tell her that neither Merle or her father is coming back, that would be awful. You can't throw both of that onto a child."

Lori turned to Shane, tension in her eyes and voice, "You waited too long."

Shane glared, "I didn't see you stepping up to tell her yourself, or any of you."

"Calm down, this is no one's fault." Rick said, "Glenn might have a point about waiting for Merle's brother, we can't tell her he's gone if he decides to go back for him. If she's as close to them as you say, waiting for Daryl would be our best option. No matter what happened on that roof, we cannot lie, and we cannot say we are going to sit here while he is still there. Leaving him there isn't right, we'll figure out what to do when his brother comes back."

The group was silent, some nodding in agreement.

"I'll go talk to her," Rick said, "what's her name?"

Shane shrugged, "she hasn't said. We don't even know how old she is."

"She's pretty quiet for the most part." Dale said, "she's been a lot more open since she started following Merle around, she talks now."

Lori sighed, "she seems a bit defensive when we try to get a name out of her. Best not to bring it up."

Rick nodded, and began to walk forward. Shane, Lori, and Dale followed. The rest of the group joined the others at camp, they were curious as to what the cop was going to say, but none of them were too keen on seeing the little girl's face when he said it.

Rick approached the little girl from behind, "hello."

The girl turned her head and looked up, obvious confusion showing in her features. Her grey eyes scanned the new arrival, but then her expression turned hard, blank. Examining the girl's face, Rick guessed she couldn't have been much younger than his boy. At that moment, he fully understood how hard of a time Shane was having. The appearance of the girl, her round baby face seemed fragile, as if the slightest touch would shatter it.

Rick crouched down to her level, "I'm Rick Grimes," he introduced as he held a hand out.

She switched her gaze from the Rick's hand to his face, but made no sign to take it.

After a moment of silence, she spoke "you a cop, mister?"

"Sheriff's Deputy."

At the sound of her voice, Rick was pushed to believe she was older then she appeared, maybe not by much.

"It's alright," Shane assured, "he's a friend."

The girl just stared at Rick, not making any sign to have even heard Shane, "do I call ya sheriff?"

Rick smiled, dropping his hand, "Rick is fine. I was told that you know Merle Dixon."

Recognition and confusion reflected in the girl's eyes, then she shrugged.

"In Atlanta, you group and I had a situation involving your . . . your friend. It isn't something any of us feel comfortable discussing until we have a chance to speak to his brother, Daryl. Do you know when he might get back?"

She hesitated, "Merle said 'e might come back t'day if 'e gets lucky. Maybe t'morrow. Is Merle dead?"

"He's still in Atlanta," Rick answered, "and he may be there for a while, he won't be coming back tonight."

"Ya don' know when 'e'll be back?"

Rick shook his head, "it's something that should be discussed with his brother first."

The girl's eyebrows furrowed, it was easy to tell she was confused. Rick didn't want to say anything more and prayed he didn't have to. After a moment of thinking it over, the girl nodded, but still looked very confused.

Shane stepped forward offering her a hand, "come on, girl. We're all gonna sit by the fire, you can sit with me or Dale, alright?"

The girl took his hand, but released it as soon as she was standing. She walked back with them to the camp.

Toby's POV

Carl's dad, Rick, had just finished telling the story of how he came to Atlanta. He had woken up from some coma. I didn't really know what a coma was, I think it just means that you sleep for a long time.

He told us how a man named Morgan and his son Duane helped him understand what happened while he was in the coma.

It must've been scary,. We had slowly eased into this, hearing about the virus and attacks day after day, each day worse than the last. But to just wake up at the end of it all, with so many dead, so many turned into those things, walkers, or geeks was what the group called them, must've been awful. I can't imagine just having to wake up to something like this.

Carl was lying against his dad, Lori leaning against him as well. I was looking at the ground, I didn't like seeing Carl with his dad for some reason. It made me feel sad.

When it was Shane's turn to tell him how he got Carl and Lori out of their town, Rick listened quietly, stroking Carl's head.

"They stopped the broadcast on the radio, no warnings nothing. Helicopter came from nowhere. They napalmed the city, left and right . . ." Shane's voice was cracking, "Everyone was terrified. All day that broadcast went on, telling us to evacuate to Atlanta . . . then for that to happen."

I looked up at Shane, who was sitting next to me. He returned my gaze and gave me a small smile, but I knew it was fake, "then I ran into this little one, right here." He nudged me, "and we decided to make camp here, close to the city. Easy enough spot to find in case they start cleaning things up soon. We have the C.B. but, well, you know how well that works. We've been waiting but . . . nothing yet."

Rick nodded and everyone fell silent. After a few moments of no one saying anything, I stood up.

"Hey, where you goin'?" Shane asked.

"Bed," I answered in a tired voice.

Shane started to get up, "here, I'll take you."

I bit my lip and shook my head, "I'm sleepin' in Merle's tent. He said I could." I said, my confidence wavering.

Before I could change my mind, I started walking away.

"Uh, do we stop her?" I heard Glenn ask.

Fortunately none of them did.

Walking toward the Dixon camp, I wondered for the hundredth time why he wasn't back yet. I didn't fully understand what Carl's dad was telling me, but knew he wasn't going to tell me anything until Daryl got here. I was scared to think that he died, but if he did, why not just say so?

My emotions and thoughts were battling each other, giving me a headache.

I really hope I can sleep.

The helicopters came back to haunt me that night.

First they came to camp, dropping the bombs, but instead of hearing the camps' screams, I heard the people from that night on the highway. I could hear the distant booming sounds of the bombs, even though they were exploding just a few feet away from where I stood.

Then they went to the highway, and for whatever reason, Merle was there, paying no attention as they dropped bomb after bomb.

I kept waking up in a cold sweat and falling asleep, not being able to sleep but not being able to stay awake. I felt trapped, as if I was being chained down.

The last time I opened my eyes, I could see the daylight shining through the tent, I forced whatever strength I had to crawl out of the tent and keep awake.

I walked around camp, and sat down for a while. Mostly just waiting. When Jim and Dale got up, they began to take parts from the car Glenn brought back from Atlanta, Morales helped too.

I sat near the car and watched as they tore apart the vehicle, Glenn stood beside me, obviously saddened by it.

"Couldn't have even waited until I woke up?" Glenn mumbled to himself. I felt kind of bad, he seemed to really like the car. I wondered if I should've said something when they first started, I wondered if it would've mattered.

A short while later Rick stood with us, he smiled down at me, "morning."

I didn't say anything, instead I just looked back at the car.

"Look at them, vultures." I heard Glenn say, "Yeah, go on. Strip it clean."

"Generators need every drop of fuel they can get, got no power without it. Sorry, Glenn." Dale said as he passed Glenn, patting his shoulder, carrying a red gas container.

"Thought I'd get to drive it at least a few more days," Glenn told Rick in a hushed voice.

"Maybe we'll get to steal another one someday," Rick patted Glenn's back, and walked off.

A few minutes later, Shane drove in on a vehicle I think was a jeep. When the car stopped, he opened the door and got it, "waters here ya'll. Just a reminder to boil before use."

That was followed by screaming.

I heard Carl screaming for his dad, Sophia screaming for her mother.

I stood up, following the others as they ran into the woods. Before I could get very far, Shane grabbed my shoulder, "You stay right here."

A little scared, I complied as he followed the others. The screaming stopped shortly after, and then silence. I stayed in place, waiting.

I hear footsteps and watched as Daryl came into view. Relief washed over me and I smiled slightly.

As Daryl walked on to camp, he noticed me and stopped in front of me, "didn't get your deer, one a those dead fucks got it 'fore I did."

"Oh." I let out, disappointed.

He pulled a string of squirrels off his shoulder, "Got 'bout dozen squirrel, that'll 'ave to do. 'ere, make yourself useful, got our work cut out for us." He handed me the string of squirrels and I took it, "we'll skin 'em then stew 'em."

The weight surprised me and pulled me down, but I lifted it and hauled it over my shoulder as he walked by me.

"Merle! Merle! Git your ugly ass out here! Got us some squirrel, le's stew 'em up!"

Daryl stalked toward the firepit in the middle of camp, he crouched down, placing his crossbow on the ground. He glanced at me, "where's Merle at?"

"Merle ain't here," I said, adjusting the heavy squirrels on my shoulder.

Daryl glanced from me to where the cars were, "What're you talkin' about?"

"He ain't back yet," I told him.

"Why the hell ain't 'e back?"

I shrugged a shoulder, "I dunno, ask the sheriff. I'm a kid, no one tells me shit."

"Sheriff?" Daryl looked.

"Daryl?" I heard Shane call from behind me, "slow up a bit, I need to talk to you."

"'Bout what?" Daryl said, standing up.

"About Merle," Shane said, standing a few feet away from Daryl and I. "There was a . . . a problem in Atlanta."

Daryl looked around, noticing how the rest of the group was gathering, watching and waiting for his reaction. I looked around too, not liking the looks he was getting, I was getting a few of them myself. It popped in my head that I shouldn't have dismissed why Merle wasn't back so fast. I should've pushed, questioned more.

The way everyone was staring, the unanswered questions hanging in the air. I wanted to hide.

"He dead?" Daryl asked.

"We're not sure."

"He either is or he ain't!"

Shane was looking at me, thinking hard, after a moment Rick began to walk forward on the other side of Daryl, "No easy way to say this so I'll just say it."

"Who are you?" Daryl glanced at me, his frustration building up, "who the hells 'e?"

"Tha's the sheriff tha' won' tell me shit." I said.

"Rick Grimes." He introduced himself.

"Rick Grimes," Daryl mocked, "you got somethin' ya wanna tell me?"

"Your brother was a danger to us all."

I looked at Rick, scrunching my eyebrows together in shock and confusion. Not at all expecting what he was telling us.

"So I handcuffed him on a roof, hooked him to a piece of metal. He's still there."

"You cuffed 'im?" I asked not sure how to react.

"Hold on, lem'me process this," Daryl said, pointing to his head, "You're saying you handcuffed my brother to a roof? And you left him there?!"

The anger in Daryl's voice made me step away, I had a feeling of what was coming. I wasn't scared, maybe I should have been, but I was angry too, angry and as always, confused.

Daryl charged forward, knocking Rick to the ground. Shane did the same to Daryl, and I dropped the squirrels, adrenalin pumping through me. I stepped forward and back countless times, not sure where to go or what to do. A million thoughts raced through my brain, I felt like I needed to do something, but I didn't know what.

Daryl was on the ground, he took a knife from his belt and got up.

"Watch the knife!" Someone yelled.

Daryl got up, swinging at Rick. Rick backed away and dodged each of Daryl's swings. Shane came up from behind wrapping an arm around Daryl's neck. At that point, my pulse was loud in my ears, I felt really hot and awake. As if I could run for miles without stopping. Standing in one place wasn't working, but I wasn't sure what to do.

I'd seen Daddy get into fights before, something I remembered him telling me was that you had to find their blind spot, something they were too stupid to see.

Rick disarmed Daryl, and Daryl struggled against Shane, Rick stayed out of the way. With one hand on Daryl's head, and the other around his neck, Shane forced Daryl to the ground, crouching.

That's when my eyes caught sight of Shane's gun holster, dangling from his him. The clip around the gun was undone so it was easy to grab and pull out if he needed it.

That's it.

I lunged forward, running to them, and then I ripped the pistol from Shane's holster. Gripping it tight I took several steps back, wrapping both hands around the handle and pointed it at them

All three men froze, shocked and a bit fearful.

Oh, shit, what're you doing, Toby?

"Chokeholds illegal, cops can't do tha'." I said, taking deep breaths.

"What the hell put that down!" Someone shouted.

I shifted my position, making sure no one was behind me and if someone tried to get behind, I'd see them out of the corner of my eye.

Daryl started struggling against Shane again, and Shane gave me a firm stare, "girl, put that down right now, this isn't a game."

"Let 'im go," I said angrily.

"Stop and-"

He's not taking it seriously. As soon as that thought crossed my mind, I turned the gun over and flipped the safety off with my thumb.

That's when Shane started to look more fearful than angry.

Rick started to come forward, low to the ground, closer to my height. Both his hands were raised, eyes wide, "hey, it's okay. I understand you're a bit scared, a bit confused. We're just going to talk."

"Let. Him. Go." I said slowly.

"We are just trying to calm him down, he's a bit emotional-"

"-'as e'ery right ta be. Ya left his brother behind, he ain't got no one else."

"Listen, just put the gun down,"

The anger erupted in me, a growling sound escaped my throat. I reached up with one thumb pulled the hammer down on the gun, the gun clicked, placing a bullet into the chamber.

Rick's eyes widened and I clenched my teeth, "my hands might be small but I can reach the trigger just fine."

Rick hesitated, but looked me in the eyes, "What I did was not on a whim, Merle does not work and play well with others."

"Of course not, it's Merle." I looked back at Shane, "your own fault for lettin' 'im go. I ain't stupid, Merle don' like you, you don' like 'im let alone trust 'im. Hear ya people say all the time, Merle's an asshole, bad news, bad influence, whatever. So, why in hell did ya let 'im go?"

Silence.

Glenn stepped forward, a few feet behind Rick, "I'm not just saying this because I don't want to get shot, but why did Merle come?"

"Maybe we should've thought that through a little more," Morales said.

"Merle volunteered." Andrea said in an accusing tone, "Who were we to tell him no? Face it, no one wanted to see his reaction to that."

"I saw 'is gun in the truck." I said, glaring hard at Rick and the people behind him, "couldn't get Merle but ya got 'is gun?"

Daryl began struggling again, obviously angered when he heard this, "ya best let me go!"

Shane was panting, all his energy going into restraining Daryl, "Merle's gun wasn't cuffed to a roof."

I turned my glare to Shane, everything in me seemed to snap, "fuck off, I wasn't even talkin' to you." I stepped forward, the gun inches away from Shane, "Ya best let 'im go."

"Girl, we can keep this up all day."

My lip curled upwards, showing my teeth, "can we? How many bullets does this hold? Five, six? My aim might be shit but do you really think I can miss this shot?!"

"Yo, everyone just chill! This is what got Merle cuffed in the first place." T-dog said.

"Let's just have a calm, rational discussion about this, huh?" Rick said, "do you think we can manage that? Do you think we can manage that?!"

I didn't answer, I was so angry all I could do was try not to pull the trigger.

Daryl grumbled something I didn't catch, and I noticed Rick nodding in the corner of my eye.

"Shane, let him go."

Shane hesitated, looking from me to Rick. Then he let Daryl go and backed away, "now put it down."

Daryl got up, first he shot a glare at Shane then looked at me. He reached a hand out. I stared back as he nodded, I didn't know what the nod really meant.

"Give it," he said softly.

I hesitated, then turned the gun over to flip the safety back on. I shifted my hold on the weapon, holding it by the barrel, giving it to Daryl.

Daryl held the gun at his side, not aiming it at anyone but looking ready to, "Hell with all y'all! Jus' tell me where he so I can go an' get 'im!"

"I'll show you," T-dog said, "I'll go back to Atlanta. I had the key, I dropped it, it's on me."

"Ya couldn't pick it up?!"

". . . I dropped it down a drain."

Ain't that convenient?

"Look," T-dog continued, "I chained the door to the roof so the geeks couldn't get at him, with a padlock."

"It's gotta count for something." Rick said, "I'm going too."

Daryl shook his head, wiping his eye with his wrist. He walked up behind me and slung the squirrels over his shoulder, then grabbed his crossbow from where he put it down, still holding Shane's gun in his other hand. When he began walking away, I followed.

"Hey," Shane called, "that's my gun."

Daryl scoffed, not looking back, "watcha gonna do? Report me?"

I followed close behind Daryl, no one else bothered to shout for him. When we got close to the Dixon camp, Daryl looked down at me, "what the hell did ya do that for?"

I looked down at my feet, embarrassed and scared. I didn't say anything, hoping the question was rhetorical.

"Ya gonna answer or what?"

I bit my lip, still refusing to look at him, "was thinkin' 'bout what Merle woulda done."

He scoffed again, "Tha's what ya think he woulda done?"

I shook my head, "Merle woulda shot 'im."

At the two brothers' camp, Daryl tossed the string of squirrels to the ground then tucked Shane's pistol in his belt. He turned away again, walking toward the cars.

A sound escaped Daryl's throat, almost sounding like a laugh, "ya looked like a fuckin' animal. Even Merle woulda been shittin' 'is pants."

I looked up at him as we stopped at the cube van, "m'I in trouble?"

He shook his head, "nah, Merle woulda loved tha'."

I looked behind me, seeing Rick coming forward, he was wearing his uniform again. T-dog was behind him, then Shane, then Glenn.

"Can I come?" I asked Daryl.

"Hell no, ya kidding? Don' got time ta be babysittin' your ass."

"Do I have to?" I heard Glenn whine to Rick, "I mean, haven't I almost died enough?"

You know the way. You've been there before in and out, no problem, you said so yourself. It's not fair of me to ask I know that, but I'd feel a lot better with you along."

"Can't believe you're doing this," Shane said, "Merle Dixon, the guy wouldn't give you a glass of water if you were dying of thirst."

"What he would or wouldn't do doesn't interest me. I can't let a man die of thirst, me. Thirst and exposure. That's no way for anything to die, let alone a human being."

I looked back at Daryl, eyes wide, "is Merle gonna die there?"

Daryl rolled his eyes and huffed, "Holy shit, will ya pricks shut your mouths? He ain't dyin'."

Daryl roughly grabbed me by the arm, pulling me away a couple steps from the other men.

"He ain't dyin', we're gonna go an' I'm gonna come back with Merle, ya hear me? Stop lookin' at me like that, goddamn. Hey! Come on, let's go!" He shouted to the group.

Daryl turned to get into the van but looked back at me again, "Jus' . . . jus' stay put a'right? Stay in camp."

I watched as Daryl, Rick, Glenn, and T-dog piled into the cube van.

Hey readers! So, you were supposed to get this saturday, but saturday morning I woke up really ill. As the days passed I just seemed to get worse, so monday I saw a doctor. I have some sort of bronchial infection. The antibiotics don't have a great effect, loss of appetite, after taste, vomiting.

Luckily, saturday I was close to the end, I've been trying really hard the last couple days to get this to you.

But it's been a real struggle to even sit up.

This chapter hasn't been edited so sorry for errors. Toby kind of snapped in this chapter lol.

So because of me being sick, I've been staying home from school so im going to be behind on homework.

Sadly, I'm not even going to start writing the next chapter until I get better. And when I get better I want to get ahead on my homework.

I'm not sure how long the next chapter is going to take, sorry.

So leave reviews, tell me what you think.

Reviews = good feelings = the possible cure to my plague! lol . . . just kidding