Chapter 1 - Greetings

Carol was working with Olivia in the pantry when she heard the call come in over the radio. Aaron and Eric were bringing in survivors. Not just one or two like usual. A large group. She left her duties and race walked over to the street just inside the entry gates. Deanna liked residents to be seen by newcomers as soon as possible, to help put them at ease and to show them they are a functioning community with a life that resembled what life had been prior to the turn.

The gates were ready to be opened. Carol had to wonder what the new comers could be thinking. With them being on the other side of the gate, they could not see anything. Nearby Sam and Sophia were playing tag, and were laughing. She hoped that the newcomers could hear that joyful laughter. She hoped that it would put them at ease.

The group started walking inside. Right away she saw a boy about Sophia's age, a baby, a woman with a sword, and lots of other people. She caught site of a biker type man with a crossbow carrying a dead opossum by the tail. She guessed he was the group's hunter. Just then a tiny black woman turned around. She had a sniper rifle with a silencer up to her eye in a flash and shot at a walker quite a ways away from the gate. There was no commentary about this. It seemed a natural occurrence to them.

As the people entered, she made it a point to smile at them. There was the big red haired guy and his girlfriend. The Asian guy and his girlfriend, The chubby guy with a mullet, Two black women were the ones with the sword and the rifle. One black teenage boy who was limping was walking with a girl with short dark hair. A teenage girl who carried the baby. A priest. The hunter and then the man who exuded importance. She assumed he must be their leader. The boy must be his son. Lots of people. Right away she knew that she would have to request that another run be done. With fifteen more mouths to feed, they would need it.

Everybody at Alexandria did their best to make a difference in their community of survivors. Carol helped in the pantry and did a lot of cooking for when they had group meals. Ed was assigned to the crew outside of the walls to gather steel from the shopping mall construction. The steel was used to build out the walls that protected them all. Even her Sophia. She was 13 now. She helped out with all the kids in the community. Either babysitting or just keeping them all together and playing nicely.

She wondered what Deanna would have in store for these people. She wondered how they would fit in.

Carol walked over to the group of people. The guy with the beard stepped towards her. She smiled and introduced herself.

"I am so happy to see so many new faces! My name is Carol. I will help you out with some food and provisions once you have all met with Deanna. In the meantime, I would be happy to take your baby and have her play in the sandbox with the other little kids. I doubt Deanna will have to interview her."

Carol was laughing softly, not wanting to come on too strong to strangers who most certainly must be wary of new people.

"I'm Rick" said the leader. "This is Judith. She has never had other little kids to play with. I am not sure how she would do. Maybe I will just keep her here with us for now, but I do thank you for your kind offer."

He smiled at her, and Carol could tell that behind all of his tension, he was most likely a kind man.

"This here is the rest of our group. We consider ourselves family, and I hope that is respected around here."

Carol said simply "Most people here are families that were together prior to the turn. However, as we have brought in new people, the definition of family has certainly changed. You should have no problems Rick. Welcome to Alexandria. I will catch up with all of you later."

Aaron and Eric led the group down the street to Deanna's home. While outside they reluctantly allowed their guns to be taken. One by one they were interviewed by Deanna and her video camera. One by one they had to relive what they had done to survive. One by one they all feared that with everything they had done that they may not be allowed into this gated haven. But, they were honest. Rick insisted upon their absolute honesty to avoid anything unexpected coming up later that would put them in a poor light.

When they were all finished, they gathered on Deanna's large wrap-around porch. She came out and faced them as a group.

"Well, you have all had some interesting and harrowing experiences. I am honestly troubled by things you have had to go through – but do not in any way fault you for them. I want to make that clear. You are all welcome here as long as those experiences do not manifest themselves into actions that would put this community at risk. So, officially now – Welcome to Alexandria. You are home."

"You will be given two homes in which your group will reside. How you divide yourselves is up to you. All homes are furnished, decorated, and will be stocked with food from our commissary. Carol will assist you with that in a bit. For right now, there are towels and toiletries as well as clean clothes that should fit laid out in the house on the left for all of you. Why don't you all shower and change, and brush teeth and we will meet you back here in two hours. At that time Carol will take you 'shopping'."

They didn't divide up. They all made do with the house on the left for now. They wanted to remain together. They took showers and cleaned up – seeing their skin un-mottled by dirt, blood and walker brains for the first time in ages. It took some prodding, but they even got Daryl to clean up despite his reservations of the place. He wouldn't put on clean clothes though. His winged vest and grimy jeans were good enough until he decided what was going to happen. He didn't want to get comfortable if this place ended up being like Woodbury or Terminus.

While the others finished getting ready, Daryl stood outside on the porch. Deanna had allowed him to keep his crossbow, and now he stood guard to his group; his family inside. He watched the people milling around in the streets. He was disgusted at the fact that they were just carrying on as if life was just like it was prior to the turn. With that kind of nonchalance, he knew his type of skills would be put into use sooner or later. That was certain.