I awoke sharply, hyperventilating. It seemed like the dream would never stop haunting me. No, it seemed like she would never stop. I picked at my finger again, ripping my skin apart again absentmindedly as I tried to think of anything but her. Anything but her and dad and the woman who replaced our mother. Anything but my first love.

A hand came out of nowhere, grabbing my hands gently but firmly. I looked up to finally observe my surroundings. Ben was driving us to somewhere, one hand on my hands that were ripping each other apart.

"What's got you going insane?" he inquired teasingly, a hand on the wheel. He seemed to be following a bunch of cars, all of them going in one straight line.

"Nothing," I snapped.

"Mm," he looked at me skeptically. "No teasing comeback?"

I sat there quietly before looking out the window. "Where's Ren?"

"Rennie is with Carl," Ben glanced at me before letting go of the previous topic. "I think the kid has a best friend now."

"Cool," I murmured, observing the ruckus outside blending in with the trees. I wasn't hurt at all by Ren's choice to hang out with a boy his age. If I was him, I'd do the same.

"So, uh, what do you think about Glenn?"

I swallowed my surprise thickly, concealing it. "He's smart, nice, but way too caring and vulnerable. It's not safe to be so emotional."

"So you're worried about his safety," Ben gripped the wheel tighter for some reason. Maybe he saw something on the road?

"Yeah. He's saved my life multiple times," I shrugged. "I still have another debt to him."

"He's just someone you owe?"

"Yeah," I shrugged, yawning. I smacked my lips once, stopping as a strange thought crossed my mind. I turned to face Ben completely, staring at him. He glanced at me while driving, licking his lips quickly in a nervous habit he had.

"What?" he finally broke, staring at me too.

"Why the sudden interest?" I narrowed my eyes at him, quirking a brow.

"God, you look like Rennie when you do that." Ben tried to change the subject unsuccessfully.

"Gee, I wonder who his sister is," I quipped. "Don't try to change the subject. You've been acting strange with Glenn."

"You're the strangest person on Earth, Arlynn. I highly doubt-"

"Car," I interrupted him, never once looking away from the guy driving.

"What?" he stared blankly at me, blinking dumbly.

"Car!" I shouted again, pointing towards the street. He finally looked in front of him and stepped on the brakes right before the car hit the RV in front of us.

"Gee, thanks for telling me sooner," Ben snapped, thoroughly peeved at the near car accident.

"Y'welc," I shrugged before propping my feet up on the dashboard and leaning the seat back. "Shouldn't you go check?"

"Shouldn't you go check?" Ben mimicked me in a falsely high pitched voice, angrily undoing his seat belt and getting out of the car.

"I don't talk like that!" I hollered after him right before he slammed the door shut. I closed my eyes, letting sleep lull me again.

"Wake up," Ben shook me awake a while after.

"Five more minutes," I swatted at his hand, digging deeper into the seat of the car.

"Arlynn!"

Something in his voice made me wide awake, snapping my eyes open. I automatically unsheathed my dagger I strapped to the side of my thigh, holding it up in front of me. Trees and dead bodies and flies surrounded the area.

"We're here," Ben announced solemnly as I laid my eyes on the strange shuttered building. The compound was large, with windows reaching almost everywhere. The gray slabs of stonelike building material surrounded the windows, one end higher than the other.

Bodies and tanks and other objects and dead items were strewn all about. In front of us, I saw Glenn exiting the vehicle with Dale and Jacqui. There was someone missing.

"Where's Jim?" I asked, exchanging a look with Ben.

"Shane and Rick left him at a tree on the way here," Ben shrugged quietly. "He was getting worse and that was his last wish."

Silence came over the two of us before I broke it, opening the door just in time to see everyone else gathering around the RV. Ren stuck to Rick and Lori, his young boyish manners coming back up. I had to remind myself that he was simply a young kid.

"Glad to see you've finally graced us with your presence," T-dog joked.

"Lynnie!" Ren cheered, running over to squeeze my hand. I grinned back at him in response to his playful smirk.

"All right, everybody. Keep moving. Go on. Stay quiet. Let's go. Okay, keep moving. Stay together," Shane urged us, reminding us of our task. I grabbed my younger brother's hand, silently urging him to stay in front of us. We weaved our way through the dead bodies, silently gagging at the sight and smell.

"Not really a gr-"

"Shh," Lori interrupted Ben, shooting him a look.

"Oh, God," Glenn silently swore in front of Ren. A corpse moved a bit from next to Ren and he gasped.

Five things happened at once. The group froze, Ben sought to shield us with his arm, Glenn grabbed Ren's other hand and tugged him a bit more behind him, and Daryl's arrow buried itself into the skull with a dull thunk.

"Shh," someone urged from the back.

"Keep going," Rick urged us and the group started moving again towards the CDC building.

"We're almost there, baby," Lori kept muttering, grinding on my nerves.

"Nothing?" Shane pounded on the door.

"There's nobody here," T-dog groaned, panic and devastation lacing his voice.

"Then why are these shutters down?" Rick reasoned, holding onto hope.

Sudden snarling comes over and I shoved Rennie behind me, toward the door of the empty building. My adrenaline pumped back in, as I popped out a ring dagger from my belt, twirling it once.

"Baby, come on," Lori shepherded Carl like a mother hen.

Daryl shot the walker in the head, fuming. "You led us into a graveyard!"

Shane stood up for Rick. "He made a call."

"It was the wrong damn call!"

"Just shut up. You hear? Shut up. Shut up! Rick, this is a dead end."

"Where are we gonna go?" Jacqui half-sobbed, hopeless.

"Do you hear me? No blame," Shane threw his hands up, growling. "Fort Benning, Rick… Still an option."

"On what? No food, no fuel. That's 100 miles," Andrea argued back.

"125," Glenn and I chorused in unison. We glanced at each other as everyone looked between the two of us.

"I checked the map," Glenn shrugged at the looks he was getting before glancing at me.

"Forget Fort Benning," I responded to the stares. "We need answers tonight, now."

"We'll think of something." Rick finally spoke, eyes filled with desperation.

"Come on, let's go. Let's get out of here. Let's go. Please," Shane ushered us back towards our cars. "All right, everybody back to the cars. Let's go. Move."

At the last word, he pushed me towards the cars, toppling me over. I stumbled over a dead man's arm, finding my balance at the last minute. I glared at the man, finally having had enough.

"You-"

"The camera… it moved," Rick suddenly interrupted, staring at the object.

"You imagined it." Shane snapped back, intent on getting us out of here.

"It moved. It moved," Rick repeated himself, getting more excited.

"Rick, it is dead, man. It's an automated device. It's gears, okay? They're just winding down. Now come on," Shane left Rick for a second before looking back at the stubborn cop. "Man, just listen to me. Look around this place. It's dead, okay? It's dead. You need to let it go, Rick."

"Rick, there's nobody here!" Lori shouted, taking Shane's side of the argument.

"I know you're in there. I know you can hear me," Rick shouted, slamming the shutters. Ben tugged my hand, trying to take me back to our car. I shook him off, standing next to Rick who glanced at me in gratitude.

Shane tried to drag him away, with the help of Lori.

"Everybody get back to the cars now!" He snapped, frantically trying to pull his best friend back.

"Please, we're desperate. Please help us. We have women, children, no food, hardly any gas left," Rick begged this time.

"Rick. There's nobody here," Lori huffed.

"Arlynn," Ben called out. "C'mon!"

I believed Rick. I should be more than capable of knowing if someone is lying to me, given my history, and I knew this man standing desperately was not lying. I grabbed Ren, letting him step in front of me this time. I stared at the camera with the most desperate expression I could muster.

"See this boy? He's my baby brother. My older brother might be dead out there because of me. I can't lose him too," I pleaded too, letting the stoic playfulness come down. I showed him the real me, the real desperate and broken part, the raw emotion swimming in my eyes. "I promised him, you know? I swore I'd protect Rennie. Do you want to stay there, watching, knowing that the last conversation I had with him will now be all lies because of you?"

Rennie looked up at me, a tear that got free from my eyes falling onto his cheek as surprise and understanding with guilt flashed in his eyes. He turned around, facing me instead of the camera, and clung to me tightly. I wrapped my arms around the young kid, trying to reel everything back in.

"We have nowhere else to go," Rick pounded on the door. "Keep your eyes open. If you don't let us in, you're killing us! Please!"

"Come on, buddy, let's go. Let's go," Shane urged Rick, this time grabbing my bicep too.

"Please help us. You're killing us! You're killing us!" He screamed, sorrow and despair shredding his throat. "You're killing us!"

Rennie buried his face deeper into my shirt like how I'd done to Kayden when he was with us. I buried my face into his poofy hair in response, breathing in the unique scent that came with Rennie. A light shone through my eyelids suddenly as I heard rattling noises. I looked up to see that the shutter had opened.

We were safe. My promise was kept.