By the time that the sun had set, Sophia's feet ached, but she didn't dare comment on it. Instead, she and Ren allowed themselves to be pulled along by Bella.

"We'll camp here." It was a clearing, pretty big, big enough that if a zombie broke through the tree line, they would have enough time to notice. Sophia was about to question what it was they were doing exactly when Ren moved to climb a large tree. He moved with practiced ease, up and up, never even stopping to doubt which branch to grab, when he suddenly pushed a few hidden bags out of the tree.

"Here you go Bella." The young boy chirped happily, before jumping down.

"Show Sophia how to start a fire, and boil the water we got. I'm going to set up noise alerts." The teenager wandered away from the two kids after grabbing a plastic bag that rattled with every moment.

"Here, we'll start over here. Have you ever built a fire?" Sophia shook her head no, she never had a chance to learn before her father died, and since then, the group had been moving constantly. "How old are you? I know Bella always said that you shouldn't ask girls how old they are, but I really want to know. Oh, by the way, I'm eleven, and Bella's eighteen." He grinned manically as he blabbered on, he was setting up some logs that had already been gathered. "See, then you put them together like this, but you have to leave a space open on the bottom."

"I'm ten." Sophia was glad to take the orders from Ren, she wanted to busy herself with something, anything. Ren grin grew even bigger, and he shifted to grab a metal pot, maybe three feet across before pouring a canteen that had hung around his neck into the pot. "So, is Bella your sister?" Ren smiled proudly, before nodding happily.

"She's really smart and stuff. And brave. We're going up north, cause she thinks that in the winter the walkers are gonna be really slow, and even dumber. So, that's where we're going. Wanna come with us?" Ren seemed like a good kid, nicer than all the boys that she had met in school, besides, Bella seemed really cool.

"If you'll let me." The black haired kid nodded excitedly, while picking up another stick. "Really? You're okay with that?"

"Come along with us, we could use another person to help." Bella came out of the woods as she spoke, startling both kids. She grinned at the younger kids before showing off a plastic dish of berries. "Found them off that way, they're a type of blueberries. They're okay to eat." She sat down beside the younger children, smiling as she did so and offered the berries up.

"So, Sophia, have you ever stuck blueberries up your nose?"

- - SRB - -

The next morning, Sophia awoke before Bella did. They each took turns on watch, which was a new idea to Sophia. Before, with Shane and her mother's group, she had always just cuddled with her mom through the night. But now? She had volunteered to take the first watch, and woke Bella when she felt like she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer.

Ren yawned, and waved, but despite his tiredness, he was still chipper. He had grass blades in his fingers, weaving them together in a braid-like fashion.

"So, have you ever fired a gun? Bella won't let me near her pistol, says that I could easily hurt myself." Speaking quieter than usual, Sophia could bet he really didn't want Bella to hear his questions.

"But, shouldn't you be able to have a weapon?" If it was just the two of them, why would Bella let her brother alone without a way to arm himself. He began to dig around in his pockets, before going up with a pronged metal stick, that had rubber between the sticks. "I'm getting pretty handy with this thing."

"A slingshot?" Sophia could recognize an item that was popular in a lot of old TV shows, but was it actually a good weapon in the zombie apocalypse?

"Hey, don't be doubtful. It's actually pretty amazing." He picked up something that sat beside him, before pulling the rubber back. "Watch that flower." There, about thirty feet away, a yellow flower was blooming. With a zip of the air, the flower was hit, dislodging it from the ground.

"Nice shot." She mumbled, now beginning to realize that she didn't even have a slingshot, she had nothing to arm herself with. Swallowing back her doubt, she turned to the canteen and picked the water up.

"Well, have you ever shot a gun?" Cool water rushed down her throat, quenching the thirst that had risen long before the sun did. Careful to only drink her share, she met the curious eyes of her friend.

"I promised you that you would never have to use a gun, and that promise is going to extend to you. Guns are an awful invention, they are an ugly piece of the world. Now, don't ask our newest friend if she had to dirty her hands, we'll find Sophia her own weapon." Bella sat up, giving her brother a hardened glare. "Let's keep moving."

- - SRB- -

The three ventured in the complete opposite direction of a larger group, by accident of course. They figured this was the best course of action, one that could save them, because after all, it seemed that zombies had been congregating in that direction, and Bella couldn't stand to put her newest charge in that kind of danger. One other thing she couldn't stand? Leaving her brother anywhere close to where their mother's last stand had been, this was the best place, anywhere but back.