A/N: Yup, we're finally merging into the second season. I'm hoping I'm keeping these characters, well, in character. It can sometimes be a bit difficult in keeping up with how each character acts.

ALSO! PLEASE READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTES AT THE END OF THIS CHAPTER AS THEY ARE IMPORTANT!

Milker: Doesn't every situation spiral into hell fast in The Walking Dead?

Chapter Genre: Friendship, Angst

Chapter Rating: T

Rating Content: Brief Language

The sun was slowly rising over the horizon, casting small rays of light between branches and bushes. Marianne was still feeling exhausted, having to rest against a tree every so often.

Luke was quick to notice her ailment. "Hey, are you alright?"

She nodded and smiled. "Aye, just a wee bit sick, is all. Been runnin' a fever."

"Carlos, here, is a doctor." He explained. "He can look you over, if you want."

And risk him knowing about the bite? She couldn't risk something like that. So, she shook her head. "Nae, Ahm okay. If it were something serious, Ah'd know it by now."

That had been not even an hour ago. Now, she was starting to feel weak. It wasn't just from the fever, it was from the lack of food as well. She needed to get something in her system before she ended up collapsing and giving everyone else here a reason to believe she could be bitten. It wasn't too far from the truth, but they didn't seem like the type of people to believe that someone could survive a bite.

Marianne's stomach suddenly growled and she quickly held a hand over it, thinking it would somehow control the grumbling. Normally, she wouldn't mind being a bit hungry, but with all of her systems going into overdrive to fight off the sickness, her hunger was becoming more and more apparent by the minute.

The older woman in the group, Jessica, (who turned out to be Nick's mother) suddenly broke the silence. "Why don't you ladies tell us a bit about yourselves? I doubt that you two have been on your own since this all started."

Carley shook her head. "No, we were both part of a bigger group, but we came into it differently. I was a reporter, before this whole thing started. My group and I got holed up in a drug store in Macon."

"Georgia?" Nick asked.

"Yeah. Anyways, after the drug store got overrun by Walkers, we moved down to a Motel. After a few months, that's when Maria showed up."

Luke suddenly became very interested. "I actually recognize the jacket; Stone Mountain. You in a high school?"

Marianne nodded. "Aye, Ah was in the band. We were oan our way tae the playoffs before this all started. Two o' my friends and our teacher got separated, and tha's when we met up with some of Carley's group."

She was keeping out details for a reason; they didn't need to know about the bear trap. That was a bit much and they would want more on the story.

"So, you're just a kid, then?" Pete joked.

She pointed a finger at the older man. "Oy, Ah umnae a wean; Ah should be nineteen about now!"

Jessica couldn't help but smile at the young girl. "So, the rest of your group; what happened to them?"

"We left." Carley quickly answered. "There was some falling out after she got bit. She left because she didn't want to be a detriment, and I followed her."

Marianne suddenly tripped and the rest of the group stopped dead in their tracks, looking at her almost with horror. Carley, who realized her mistake, covered her mouth. Marianne smacked her arm.

"And you said you have a fever?" Luke suddenly started pacing. "Fuck, man..."

Marianne backed up. "Ah was bitten almost over four days ago, Ah have no' turned! This isnae the first time Ah've been bitten, either!"

Nick was visibly agitated, his finger hovering dangerously close to the trigger of his rifle. "Prove it; where are the bites?"

She quickly handed her back pack to Carley and unzipped her jacket, showing her left forearm. "This Ah got just two or three months before meeting Carley's group!" She showed the bite mark on her right shoulder, which was bloodied and covered in scabs. "This Ah got four days ago!"

Carlos gestured to her ear. "And that is...?"

Marianne absent-mindedly rubbed at the scarred bullet wound. "Ah got shot."

"And just when were you planning on telling us about these bites?" Pete asked. "We're strangers to you, but I think you should know that even strangers deserve to know when someone is bitten."

"This reason exactly!" She snapped, her voice cracking at the end of her sentence. "People panic at the sight o' a bite mark, and people never believe tha' ye cannae turn from a bite. Ah dinnae want tae be shot!"

Carlos suddenly approached her and Carley took a defensive stance, her hand resting on the hilt of her gun. "Let me take a look."

"Careful, man." Luke warned him.

Marianne sighed and showed the man her shoulder, wincing as he applied some pressure to it. "How many days ago did you say you got bitten?"

"Three or four."

"And how long have you had the fever?"

"Two days." She replied.

He suddenly tilted her head up into the light, carefully looking into each of them. "Are you coughing up any blood?"

She shook her head and blinked. "Nae."

He then checked the scar on her forearm and briefly compared it to the bite on her shoulder. "Have you been reluctant to eat anything?"

"Ah cannae eat much, now. But, Ah want tae eat, if tha's what ye mean."

"Hm..." Carlos stepped back and carefully assessed Marianne, considering all of his options. She had been sick for longer than what the turning process takes and she showed all the normal signs of a regular fever. The bite mark looked somewhat fresh, but then again, she could have just disturbed the scabs when taking off the jacket. There was no discoloration in her eyes; no milky whites or cloudy greys. And, if she was being honest about not coughing up blood, there was no real symptoms of her turning. "It's a Lurker bite..." He informed the group.

Luke, who was still pacing with his hands behind his head, huffed heavily. "Fuck, man, what do we do?"

"We do nothing." Carlos replied. "If she was going to turn, it would have happened days ago."

"So, she's alright?"

"She's fine. For now."

"So that's it?" Nick asked, almost incredulous. "She's bitten, Carlos!"

Pete gave him a light smack on his arm. "Look, son, Carlos is the doctor here. Not you."

Marianne, tired with being treated like a liability, crossed her arms and sneered at them. "Ye know, we could have shot ye. Or we could have made ye leave. But it was trust tha' kept us from turning ye away. Now, in return, Ahm hoping ye can trust us in return."

Pete crossed his arms and shrugged. "You're already fine in my books. You're honest, which isn't too common."

Jessica nodded. "I agree. You're a kind young girl, the same goes for your friend. And, judging from your other group, you always think about others first before yourself."

Luke stopped pacing and faced Carlos, who set himself back beside his daughter. "Are you certain about the bite?"

"Not completely, but my observation still stands."

Luke looked back to Marianne, who gave him a defiant glare. It was almost as if she was daring him to say no. He was about to, but even if he did, he was still being ruled out by majority. He decided to give her and her friend a chance. "Alright, then. Sure. Yeah, I'm fine with that."

Carley and Marianne looked to Nick, who still looked extremely defensive about the whole situation. Jessica placed a hand on his shoulder, a reassuring gesture, and Nick sighed as his grip relaxed on the gun. "Fine."

Marianne wrapped her jacket around her waist and huffed. "Just keep tha' rifle pointed elsewhere, please. Ah dinnae want another bullet wound."

With the current situation finally taken care of, the group began to move forward once more, although they seemed to keep more of a distance between themselves and Marianne. She hated being treated like she was a disease, but it was understandable. She wasn't about to blame them for wanting to stay safe.

/ / /

2 Days Later...

They all sat around the campfire, once again trying to keep themselves as warm as possible. The evenings were incredibly cold, even for being further up north, and they needed to stay as warm as possible.

Marianne was sitting against a rock, her back pack placed beside her. She was humming a small tune to herself, trying to fill in the void of silence that surrounded them. The fever was long gone and the worst thing she was feeling was pain in her right arm. Other than that, she was feeling better than what she had been.

The group had managed to find an abandoned town on their way and, after a thorough search, the had found a little bit of food that lasted them for about a day. Just having food in her system made her feel much better. Only a little bit, though.

Luke, who was sitting beside her, cleared his throat. "So, Anne, you said you were in a band?"

"Aye."

"Well, what did you do? Percussion, trombone?"

Marianne shrugged and looked at him. "Well, Ah actually played the violin, mainly. But Ah also played the flute. My pa' tried tae teach me the guitar, once."

"Can you sing?"

Her brows furrowed. "Why do ye ask, lad?"

He shifted in his spot. "Well, I just heard ya hummin' a tune, there. I thought you could sing."

Marianne raised an eyebrow at him and a small smile formed at the corner of her lips. "Aye, Ah can sing. Ah still got a wee bit o' an accent when Ah do, though. Throws some people off."

Luke hesitated slightly. "Do you think you could sing something?"

She laughed, then, shaking her head. "Och, singing is one thing, lad, but singing by myself is another."

"Well, then let Luke sing with you." Pete chuckled. "He asked, so he may as well sing with you."

Luke's head snapped to the older man and his eyes widened. "I sure as hell can't sing!"

"Tha's whit they all say, Lucas."

"Is it even a good idea to be singing out here?" Nick asked. "Lurkers are attracted to sound."

"We're out in the open, son." Pete stated. "If Lurkers come by, we'll see them before they get the jump on us."

Once they had gotten out of the town, they had walked through the woods for a few more miles before being introduced to a wide-open country side by the road. They saw almost no Chompers in sight and they thought it would be a good idea to take a break before moving on the next day. The moon was a full one and, added with the light of the fire, they could see fairly far away if they tried.

"I like campfire songs!" Sarah, Carlos' daughter, said. A smile could be seen on her face and Marianne smiled in return. "Well, if it's a song ye want, it's a song ye'll get. Now, a good campfire needs a good campfire song. And the best ones are often Country."

Jessica pointed to Luke. "He loves those ones."

"Yeah, but I don't sing 'em."

Marianne leaned back against the rock and shrugged. "Alright. No song, no singing."

Luke sighed and rolled his eyes. "Alright, just let me think..." He said. He tapped his fingers against his knee in a pensive manner, his eyes staring into the light of the fire. The tapping of his fingers soon slowed to a steady beat and the expression on his face looked more relaxed. "Yeah, it's been a bumpy road... Roller coasters, high and low..."

Marianne's eyes lit up at the sound of the lyrics. She remembered loving that song to absolute bits when she was younger; it had been one of her favourites! She immediately joined in. "Fill the tank and drive the car, pedal fast, pedal hard. You won't have to go that far!"

"You want to give up, cuz it's dark..."

"We're really no' tha' far apart..."

Both of their voices raised together in the chorus, her Scottish brogue and his light Southerner drawl blending in almost perfectly. "So let your heart, sweet heart, be your compass when you're lost and you should follow it wherever it may go!"

Carley recognized the song as well, having listened to it multiple times when she and her partner were driving to some big event. She started to clap along to the beat, a small smile on her face. Jessica and Pete joined in as well, giving the two singers a louder beat to follow.

"When it's all said and done, you can walk instead of run. Cuz no matter what, you'll never be alone; never be alone!"

As they continued to sing, Marianne almost seemed to completely forget where they were, what was truly going on around them. Things felt normal, for a change. No rushing for shelter, no struggle to find food, no worry about being eaten alive. For the first time in a while, she felt happy, she felt content. She had heard a couple of the others joining in the singing, but they were quiet, almost as if they were worried that if they sang too loud they would be disturbing she and Luke.

As the end of the final chorus came around, Carley gestured for them to stop clapping and singing along. The group fell silent, then, allowing for Luke and Marianne to finish.

"When it's all said and done, ye can walk instead o' run..."

Both of their voices joined together for the final line. "Cuz no matter what, you'll never be alone..."

Sarah clapped and giggled. "That was great!"

"What're you talking about with your accent, Mary?" Pete asked. "I could hear it, but it sounded just fine!"

Marianne rubbed the back of her neck. "Well, Ah guess it depends oan the song."

"Well, I thought you did just fine." Luke complimented her.

"Thank ye. And ye were alright." She joked.

Luke was about to reciprocate but his eyes caught sight of something coming down the road. "Uh, guys? Is that a car?"

Pete stood up and looked down the road at the approaching light. "There's nothing to worry about. I doubt they'll see us."

As the vehicle got closer and closer to them, it started to slow down, red lights shining behind it. Marianne grabbed her crossbow and quickly loaded it. "Ye were saying, Peter?"

Carley, Carlos and Nick all got their guns loaded and ready. It could have been just one person in that vehicle, but there was no telling if they could be dangerous or not. "Fingers off the triggers." Pete reminded them.

The vehicle stopped and parked on the side of the road. One person could be seen opening the door. One person. But they still didn't know if they had a gun.

"I'm friendly, no need to shoot!" He called out.

Marianne rolled her eyes. That's what they all say, she thought.

"How many of you are there?" Pete asked.

As the man came into light, his features became more and more apparent. He was a somewhat older man, Marianne guessed he was in his mid thirties, if not his late thirties. He had short, dark brown hair and thick stubble along his jawline and upper lip. He wore a brown coat with a fur-lined hood and a pair of dark jeans. "Just me. The name's William Carver." He informed them. As he spoke, he had a deep, scratchy voice that kind of reminded Marianne of her school principal; big and scary.

"Is there something you want?" Pete asked.

"I've just been trying to start up a community further north. I was just headed back there, actually." He explained. "I've been moving through different areas to see if other survivors would care to join, but I haven't been having much luck."

Everyone looked at each other, shocked and surprised. "Is this community of yours safe?" Luke inquired.

He made a gesture with his hand. "More or less. We've been working on a better defense system, however. We have food, water, shelter, and we're just starting up a greenhouse to get some fresh fruits and vegetables growing."

The more she heard, the more it sounded almost too good to be true. This made Marianne almost suspicious of the man.

"Have you been through Savannah area?" Carley asked, a spark of hope in her eyes.

William thought for a moment. "No, we haven't. But there are a couple of people that said they came from there."

Marianne and Carley exchanged a look. That meant that Lee and Clementine could be there!

"Is there enough room for all of us to fit?" Carley asked.

"My truck is big enough, but some of you will have to sit in the back."

Pete considered William's offer for a brief moment. "Just give us a minute." He turned to face the group. "Well, what do the rest of you think?"

"We need food." Carlos stated. "And medicine."

Nick, of course, was very speculative. "It almost sounds a little too good."

"Nick, how much longer do you think we can go on for?" Luke hissed at him.

Jessica shook her head. "Just how many members are there? Is there even enough food to support everyone?"

"Let's put it to a vote." Pete suggested. "You can choose to stay, even if more people choose to go, but I really don't want to see us get separated."

When they all nodded, he cleared his throat. "All those in favour?"

Pete, Luke, Carlos, Sarah, Marianne and Carley all raised their hands.

"And those opposed?"

Just Nick and Jessica raised their hands, but Jessica then quickly put it back down. "Actually, I switch my vote."

"Are you serious, mom?!"

"Think about it, Nick; it's much safer there than walking around aimlessly out here!" She tried to reason with her son. "If everyone else is going to go, then we should too."

Nick hesitated. He didn't want to leave his mom or his uncle, but he still didn't fully trust the stranger. However, if what the stranger was talking about was true, then he just missed out the possibility of safety and food. He sighed with defeat. "Alright."

Pete nodded and turned back to William, who had been waiting patiently for them to finish talking things over. "Alright, we'll all come with you."

Willam smiled and nodded. "Alright, then. Just pile into the truck, and we'll be on our way."

Carlos, Sarah, Pete and Jessica piled into the cab of the truck while Carley, Marianne, Nick and Luke all jumped into the back. Marianne wasn't a fan of being outside of a moving vehicle, but with next to no drivers on the road, she felt at least a little bit better about it.

"Everyone in?" Carver asked them.

She patted the side of the truck. "Aye, we're good!"

The vehicle turned sharply back onto the road and took off, making Marianne crash into the side of the cargo bed. She groaned loudly and sunk down. "My ribs..."

"Hang on." Luke told her with a cheeky smile.

She grinned sarcastically. "Aye, thank ye fer tha'."

/ / /

She felt someone shaking her shoulder and she curled into a tight ball, turning onto her side. "Go 'wey..." She muttered.

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty!" William shouted.

Marianne, startled, swung her arm out and slammed her fist into the side of the cargo bed, making her groan in pain. "Bloody eejit..." She grumbled.

"You're not one for early mornings, are you?"

She groaned and sat up. "Nae."

As Marianne got her gear ready, she saw that the sun was only just beginning to rise up in the horizon. It was most likely somewhere around six or seven o'clock. Everyone else was also already out of the truck. Swinging her back pack over her shoulder, she jumped out from the cargo bed and landed on the ground with a groan. "Where are we?" She asked.

"Tennessee. This here is where the community is being set up."

She looked to where William was pointing and she winced. "Howe's Hardware?"

He placed his hands on his hips. "I know, it doesn't look like much right now but with a little bit of time, I think it'll be one of the safest places you could be."

It was a load of crap, she thought. The fortifications were alright for a starting community; a barred fence around the outdoor section of the store was covered in thick plywood and half of the top was covered with barbed wire. The place they were walking to was most likely the warehouse section of the store, as there were garage doors that were most likely meant for transport trucks. The outside didn't look like much, but she was going to wait to judge until she saw the inside.

William knocked on one of the doors and it rolled open to reveal two people, both with guns. "Tavia, Troy." He greeted them. "We've got some new members to our community."

The two strangers nodded their greeting to the group. Tavia was also an older woman, most likely in her late twenties. She had dark skin and darker, curly hair which was tied back with some sort of bandanna. She wore a green vest with a pale red shirt underneath and a dark pair of jeans. The man, Troy, looked almost lanky but terrifying. The way his eyes were, for whatever reason they just put Marianne off. He had short, greasy-looking brown hair and was wearing a camouflage jacket with light blue jeans. A small shiver ran down her spine. She really didn't like him.

William hopped up onto the platform and gestured for them to follow. "Up you come."

Marianne, who was only just a bit taller than the platform, jumped up and heaved upward with her arms, groaning loudly as the edge ground into her pelvis. She forgot how weak she could be when she was tired... She swung her leg over and rolled the rest of the way up. "Ye need stairs or something..." She muttered. Before she could be offered a hand, she picked herself up and dusted herself off, looking around the warehouse.

It was definitely spacious, and it seemed to serve as the storage area for the food and supplies. Holy Hannah, was there ever a lot of them! Loads of jugs of water, sacks of rice and beans, cans of vegetables and loads of boxes of non-perishable items. There were even personal hygiene products!

Her eyes fell onto two people, one a man, the other a woman, who were approaching them. She noticed the rings on their fingers. 'Married...'

No signs of either Lee or Clementine.

"Alvin, Rebecca, these are some new members we just recently received." William informed the couple. "I'm certain you all can introduce yourselves. I'm not certain I got your names, either."

As the group introduced themselves, Marianne looked around the warehouse a bit more. There was a door that was covered with heavy sheet metal. She didn't know what it was for, but it was most likely something that William didn't want anyone else getting into. There was another warehouse area that had a lot of crates and boxes, most likely items that were meant to restock the store before the whole outbreak happened. There was also a ladder leading up to the roof of the building.

Just needed a bit of extra work, she thought.

Someone suddenly tapped her shoulder and she turned around to see everyone looking at her expectantly. She shook her head, snapping back into reality. "Right; Ahm Marianne. But only my maw can call me tha', so call me Maria or Mary."

"Good; now that we have introductions out of the way, there's just one small rule we have here." William stated. "All weapons are to be handed over so they can be stored for safe keeping."

Marianne removed her back pack. "Ah dinnae mind ye taking the crossbow."

Troy took her back pack and removed the crossbow, arrows and hatchet and then threw the bag back at her. She was barely able to catch it and she glared daggers at the man.

The rest of the group surrendered their weapons (although some more hesitantly than others). Carley almost didn't surrender hers, but one look from Marianne, and she placed the gun in Tavia's hand.

"With that all over," William walked forward into the room with the crates. "We were just beginning to make breakfast. I'm sure you guys are starving."

Everyone's faces lit up at the hopes of finally being able to eat a decent meal. "We don't have a decent table, so just set yourself on one of the crates and you should be fine."

Marianne set herself on one of the furthest crates, wanting to put some distance between she and the others. She needed room to think. As Luke made her way towards her, however, all those thoughts of even thinking about things were thrown out the window in an instant.

He placed himself beside her, shuffling almost awkwardly. "You use a crossbow?"

He was trying to make small talk, she knew. She had had multiple boys flirt with her back in high school, so she knew when someone was crushing on her. Still, she didn't mind the conversation. "Aye. Ahm no' entirely comfortable with using a gun. Too loud, and messy. Ah prefer something a wee bit quieter."

"I never really learned how to shoot a gun or rifle, myself." He told her. "I'm better with my machete, anyways."

Marianne clicked the heels of her shoes together and Luke cleared his throat. She was never good with small talk. Most of the time, when guys tried to make small talk with her, she would put them off. All they would really be looking for is sex, anyhow, and she wasn't about that sort of thing. At all. But this man? He was trying to be friendly. He wasn't flirting, but she could tell he had some sort of crush on her.

"So, you and Carley." She raised an eyebrow at him and he cleared his throat again. "Are you two, you know..." Luke crossed his fingers.

Her eyes widened as her lips pursed and her head tilted to the side, looking as if she was ready to hit him. He retracted his fingers and rested his hands on his lap. Without looking away, she pulled her silver cross necklace out from under her jacket. "Nae."

He swallowed. "Uh, sorry. I didn't know."

Placing the cross back under her jacket, Marianne sighed. "Nae, it's fine, Lukas. Ah guess Ahm just no' used tae people thinking tha' about me. Back in high school, Ah was pretty well known fer my religion and my temper. So, nobody really assumed Ah was homosexual. Yer fine." But Holy Hannah, she thought, if that wasn't 'availability checking', then she didn't know what was!

"You know, though, I think it's great. The religion thing. I guess it's something that gives you a bit of hope."

She nodded and smiled. "Aye; it's what's kept me going fer so long. Reminds me tha' Ahm never truly alone."

William made his way into the room with a cart full of steaming plates of food. Marianne's mouth immediately began to water. Rice and beans, probably one of the more better mixes of food she could think of. Almost reminded her of her mother's cooking.

"Alright, food is ready." He said as he handed out the food. "Not really breakfast food, but it's something. After you're done, there's some work that could be done."

Once Marianne received her food, she held the silver pendant in her hands and whispered a quick prayer. "Lord, Ah thank ye tha' we were able tae find such good people. Thank ye fer blessing us with this meal..."

Luke ate at his own food, but he listened in to her small prayer. She really was serious about her faith, he thought. At first he just thought it was just something that she started following once the outbreak started, but it sounded like she was more than just a 'mild believer'. It was somewhat refreshing, if he could be honest.

Her prayer finished, she released the cross and scooped a spoonful of the rice. The instant the food hit her tongue, she was hit with a mix of flavours. She had been so used to eating the cold stuff, and the bland stuff, that she almost had forgotten what a home-cooked meal was like. She swallowed and licked at her lips. "Oh, heavens, tha's good!"

As she continued to eat her meal, her previous suspicions were soon thrown out of the window. Things could be better here, she thought. This community, they had a system. And if they kept growing, there could be a larger community. It could almost be a safe haven, a beacon of hope for others. As long as they kept the food and water supplies up, things could be simply perfect.

Little did she know of the hell-storm that was soon to come.

Note: This is the end of this story! However, the next story will be released very soon! The story will be called; "The Walking Dead: Losing Faith". I know this is one of my shortest stories, novel-length wise, but trust me, Season 2 won't be this short. Anyways, thanks so much for all of your amazing support; it truly meant a lot to me. Anyways, I hope y'all enjoyed this story!