I do not own TWD or it's characters.

Her heart did a slow somersault before going back to its normal rhythm. She looked around, but didn't see anyone. The bootprints were headed north, so she decided to cut west. It would take her longer, but it would get her away from these men. Uncle Daryl's note had been urgent and he made sure the men weren't alerted to her presence, even if he was. That meant they were bad men, just like her gut had told her. Swallowing hard, she stood up, changing her direction west. She was now hiking towards the setting sun. Right before the sun could dip below the horizon, she found a small puddle and reapplied her mud. Couldn't be too careful now. She hiked until darkness settled down upon the forest. Swiftly climbing a tree, she set up camp and slept. Every noise throughout the night woke her. Her body was on edge, nerves barely below the surface. Three run in's with these men in as many days was scary and didn't seem coincidental. Something felt off.

Giving up at sleep, she packed up camp and headed out. Still apprehensive about the men, she decided to continue heading west until she stopped for lunch. Then, she resumed her slow pace north, constantly searching for signs of other people. She was about to stop for the day when she heard a twig snap. She stopped. Slowly, she turned to look behind her and noticed movement quite a distance away. Surreptitiously, she made her way to a large, overgrown brush. Making sure to leave no tracks that could be followed. Slowly, she removed her backpack and slide it into the bush, covering it as best she could before scrunching up beside it. The men were close enough for her to hear their murmured conversation.

"Well?" a deep gruff voice intoned.

"I'm lookin'," she heard he uncle's voice bark back. She could barely see their legs standing in a circle where she first stopped. Uncle Daryl was on his knees. She knew he could tell where the tracks went. She was good, but he taught her. She'd never been able to successfully hide from him.

"Well?" the gruff man grumbled again. She could see her uncle give the man a dirty look.

"Girl musta started covering her tracks cuz they end here." He stood up and started looking at the bushes around them. They were tracking her! That explained why uncle Daryl was with them. He must be slowing them down, leading them astray. She knew he could find her right now if he wanted, but he deliberately started headed away from her.

"There's some broken branches up here," he called behind him. She watch as his hands snapped a few twigs in passing. Her blood thundered in her ears, waiting for them to leave.

"Git back here Daryl," the gruff man yelled. Daryl stopped and came back. "Its getting' dark. Let's make camp here." Daryl shrugged nonchalantly, finding a small clearing for their tents as far from her position as possible. He tossed his bag onto the ground, muttering "whatever" under his breath as he set up his tent. They started a small fire, joking around with each other over dinner. She took this opportunity to observe them carefully. Last time, she'd been up a tree in a noisy hammock. This time, she was ground level. Trees obscured her view, but after hours of watching, she determined that there were 10 men in the group, including her uncle. Also, it seemed the gruff man who kept calling orders out was the leader. His name was Gary.

The men laid down for the night soon after the fire was put out. Moving slowly, Judith eased herself down so she could sleep a few hours before the men woke back up. When she awoke, Uncle Daryl was crouched down near her, playing with the dirt. Tentatively, he glanced over his shoulders to make sure no one else had woke up.

"You gotta git outta here, Jude," he whispered, barely audible even to her. She nodded once, knowing he saw. "I'm gonna lead them south, but I ain't the only tracker they got. When we leave, haul ass outta here."

"What about you?" she whispered as softly as she could.

"When I'm sure you made it, I'll make my escape. Was looking for you when they stumbled upon me. Get to Hilltop." He stood up, glancing around for game trails.

"Daryl! What you doin'?" Gary yelled at him.

"Was gonna see about catching us some breakfast. But you done scared all the game away," he yelled back, slinging his crossbow down in disgust.

"We got enough for now. You don't need to go off till tonight. Got it?"

"Whatever." Daryl leaned his crossbow against a tree and started taking down his tent. She waited nervously as the men ate and packed up. Thankfully, they were in more of a hurry this morning and were headed south an hour later. She waited until she could no longer hear their footfalls before slowing removing herself from the brush. Stretching out the kinks, she ate a quick breakfast before shrugging her backpack on. Being more careful to not leave a trail, she took off at a much faster pace, heading northeast.

She made good time, but ran out of food two days later. She'd have to hunt dinner if she didn't make it to Hilltop by then. She had stopped by a creek for lunch, cleaning her hands to eat. Now that she was finished, she scooped up the muck from the bottom, reapplying the mud to her body and hair. Finished, she shouldered her backpack and hurried off. Just as she was about to stop and hunt for the night, she saw a fence. Picking up her pace, she walked the perimeter of the fence until she came to an entrance. There was a guard watching the door. Recognizing Hilltop from her previous visits, she exited the forests coverage and approached the guard. Raising his gun at her, she halted.

"Far enough. Who are you?" Judith stared at him for a moment before she realized she needed to answer him. Clearing her throat, she tried to find her voice.

"Judith. Judith Grimes. From Providence," she croaked out. Her voice was hoarse from disuse. The gun quickly dropped.

"Shit, sorry Judith! Didn't recognize you with all the dirt. Get in here." As she strode closer, she vaguely remembered meeting the guard on one of her visits, but couldn't recall his name. Slipping through the gate, she muttered a thanks under her breath. She heard him on his radio inform her aunt she was here. Unsure what to do now, she stood in the entrance, observing the town. Weary and hungry, it seemed ages before she heard her aunt's southern drawl.

"Oh, thank God Judith! We were worried sick about you!" Aunt Maggie rushed up to her, pulling her into a hard hug. "What took you so long to get here?"

"Mom told me she'd find me. I waited for her." Aunt Maggie's face fell, slightly.

"No matter. You're here now."

"Carl make it?" She could tell by her crestfallen face that her mom hadn't made it here. She was hoping Carl had.

"He did. Come on, I'll take you to get cleaned up. Then we can go see him." Grabbing her hand, she walked her through the streets until they came to her familiar residence. Leaving her bag and boots outside, she went in and cleaned up. It felt good to have the mud off her body and out of her hair. Aunt Maggie had some clothing for her to change into, as well as a new pair of boots. The jeans were a little long, obviously being her own. Aunt Maggie was a tall woman. She, however, was not. Rolling the jeans up, she slipped the boots on and stepped outside. Carl was on the porch chatting with Aunt Maggie when Judith came out.

"Carl," she breathed, rushing to him for a hug. She felt him wince slightly upon contact, and pulled back a little so as not to hurt him. Tears filled her eyes as she pulled back. "I was afraid you hadn't made it." Holding up the stub of his right arm, he laughed sadly.

"Almost didn't."

"Shit, what happened?" Carl frowned down at me.

"First, watch your mouth. Second, I got bit. Mom cut it off, and Sandy wrapped it and got me out of there." Sandy was Carl's wife. His face fell slightly. "Lost track of mom after that. She cleared the way for me and Sandy."

"Who else made it?" she asked after a moment. She didn't need to clarify she meant from their family. He knew.

"I saw Carol bit. Daryl was with her and they were surrounded. Lost track of him, but Carol," he paused, swallowing the tears gathered in his throat. "She definitely didn't make it. One bit her neck."

I allowed the tears to fall, letting my exhaustion hit me. "Daryl made it. The last week, a group of men have been tracking me. He's with them. He's been leading them in the wrong direction as much as possible so they wouldn't catch up. He said he'd ditch them and come here once he was sure I was safe."

"How many men?" Aunt Maggie asked.

"About 10, including Daryl. No threat to this community here." Aunt Maggie nodded, pulling Judith close to her to a hug.

"Coulda been a big threat to you, though," Carl whispered, seriously.

"I know. They weren't very good trackers, though. I stood within 25 feet of them of 4 separate occasions without them even noticing I was there." A grin of pride spread over Carl's face.

"That's my girl!" She could see Sandy walking towards them with Dylan, Aunt Maggie and Uncle Glens little boy. He was 8, born during the turn like her. Glancing over at her aunt, she noticed her rubbing a hand along her belly.

"Something you wanna tell me?" she whispered, leaning close so no one would over hear. Aunt Maggie dropped her hand and glanced at Judith.

"Later," she whispered back. Judith smiled. Carl turned back to her, after greeting his wife.

"About 30 people in all from home made it here. The rest either died, turned, or decided not to come here."

"Sasha?" Carl shook his head. "Eugene?"

"Yeah, he made it. Said Sasha sacrificed herself for him." She nodded, understanding. Eugene was brilliant and all of their current advancement came from his mind. He was far too valuable to lose.

"How about Rosita?"

"She helped Sasha. No one saw her die or bit, but she hasn't been back."

"How's Eugene taking that?"

"Pretty rough." Carl looked down at his toes. "We got room at our place for ya."

"Your place?" she questioned, arching a brow.

"Been 6 months, kid. Yeah, our place." Punching him in the shoulder, she gingerly grabbed her bag, careful not to dirty her clean clothes.

"By Aunt Maggie. Thanks for the clothes." Giving her aunt a hug and kiss, she ruffled Dylan's hair before following her brother and his wife down the road. Thankfully, their home was close to her aunts, and Judith was able to collapse on her new bed. She fell asleep immediately.