Authors Note: I still don't own anything from the Walking Dead, this story is only my creative twist on that wonderful tale the brilliant creators of the show and comic books came up with. I do, however, own my two characters, so Swiper no swiping. (I have a little sister who used to LOVE Dora the explorer:D)

Also, thank you to everyone who has followed and favorited my story, it means a lot to know you're enjoying it!

Special shout out to Anon for being the first review! Here's the next chapter, hope you like it.

P.S. I know this chapter is a bit short, but a had to cut this and the other one in half or it would have been a super looooonnng chapter. I'm not sure if everyone likes them longer or shorter so I try to keep around the middle at around 4k words, but let me know what you like and I'll adjust it if need be. HAPPY HOLIDAYS to everyone!

-DragonLady

Updated 4-23-2017

"The uninformed must improve their deficit, or die."

- Cheshire Cat

Chapter 4 - Ignorance is Bliss

I walk silently through the forest, carefully maneuvering around dry leaves and twigs. I have my bow held against my side, ready but not in the way. Right now, my main focus is staying quiet so as not to spook the dwindling wildlife. I see a flash of white out of the corner of my left eye and turn my head to look, surprised to find a white rabbit hopping across the forest floor, it's been a couple days since I last saw one. I follow as silently as possible, feeling oddly like Alice running after the rabbit in a waistcoat. The rabbit stops suddenly, pricking its ears up and looking around for the source of some unknown noise. I pull my bow up, notching and drawing an arrow before taking aim. Before I am able to release the arrow, I'm startled by a thunking noise. The rabbit runs off and I look towards the source of the noise, my eyes falling on a squirrel hanging from a tree, a bolt sticking out of its head, holding it in place.

I lower my bow to a relaxed position as I watch Daryl walking out of the tree-line and over to the aforementioned tree. I keep quiet, hoping to avoid any sort of confrontation. The last couple weeks I've been able to basically avoid him, save for a hasty visit from him the morning after the Ed incident in which he threw something at me saying 'ya forgot somethin' and quickly walking away, when I looked at the object I saw it was the book Dale had given me. Needless to say I wanted to avoid anymore awkward meetings between us and in between runs with Glenn and helping out Lexi and Carol around camp, it's been pretty easy to keep my distance from anyone unsavory. Not that I think Daryl is a bad guy or anything, he just has terrible timing and manages to be around every time I don't want him to be.

My silent hope of invisibility is crushed when he looks right at me, an annoyed expression covering his features as he nonchalantly addresses me, "What'cha doin' out here?"

I don't move from where I'm standing, and neither does he, the squirrel still in his hand, "Same as you, only I was chasing a rabbit." Does that sound as crazy as I think it does?

"Hmph, I ain't seen no rabbit 'round here." He gives me an accusatory glance before walking off, back to where he came from.

"I'm not crazy." I say this more to myself, as he's already too far to hear me.

I kick at a small pile of leaves in front of me, frustration forming in the pit of my stomach. Why do I always get so awkward around him? My desire to be in the woods diminishes quickly so I make my way back towards camp, knowing I have to leave soon anyways. I walk swiftly through the forest, thinking about the last couple weeks.

Glenn and I have gotten closer, going on runs nearly every day means we spend most of our time together than apart. We talked about our life before, he was a pizza delivery guy and I told him how I was a bartender three nights a week and a student the rest, in between practicing for archery competitions. The only topic we never brought up was family, which is fine by me. He was highly interested in my skills with my bow, asking me all about it. When did I start? How many times have I won a competition?..etc. He even watched me practicing the morning after he came to camp and admitted he would feel better knowing I was on the runs backing him up. Due to that, he took charge of running in and out of buildings with supplies while I'm there to take care of any Geeks that get too curious. Not to toot my own horn, but I've become a near pro at moving targets, which is why I was trying my luck again at hunting this morning. I thought it would be an easy transition, but boy was I wrong.

Shane has eased up on his demanding attitude a bit, just not with me. I suspect it's due to his tryst with Lori; I only know because I was walking through the forest, trying to find edible mushrooms or berries, when I hear moaning. Thinking it was a Geek, I remained quiet and when I got closer, my bow ready to fire, I saw them together. I snuck away after that, not wanting them to see me spying on them. It's not really my business, but she did only lose her husband a couple weeks ago. I'm not judging though…a lot.

Lexi has been watching Carl basically every day, while his mom is off doing, well Shane. The times I've talked to him, I can tell he misses his dad. Luckily, he doesn't know what's going on between his mom and Shane or I'm sure he would be even more upset.

Most of the women, including Lexi, generally do all the chores around camp like cleaning, cooking, and laundry. I'll help on days when I'm not on a run, but Ed has been lingering more and more when we do laundry which makes me want to severely hurt him. I think about what he tried to do to me and can only imagine how he treats his own family. Poor Carol and Sophia. That's probably the only reason I stomach sticking around to do laundry, to make sure he doesn't try anything with anyone else.

The Dixon's, well they're the same. Merle makes a lewd or racist comments daily, propositions me for sex every time he sees me, and acts like we would all be dead without him. Only, Daryl is the one who actually hunts. I rarely see Daryl around camp while his brother is always seen. Merle mostly just cleans and skins whatever Daryl brings back, but they both do that. Merle just likes to think he's indispensable, but I know it's Daryl who holds real value in this group. Not like he would ever believe that himself.

Most of the other people I've met here treat this as an ordinary camping trip, with a bunch of strangers, they do their tasks and mingle with the other survivors completely unaware or unwilling to know how bad it is outside the quarry. Sometimes I find them all infuriating in their ignorance, but then I realize that's their way of dealing with this situation. Eventually, however, they need to tough it up if they want to survive. I have this thought most often when I find myself talking to Dale, Amy, and Andrea. Dale is the kindest person in this camp, but he also knows how to use that rifle he's always carrying. He stays on the top of his RV to keep watch because he knows there is a possibility this place isn't as safe as everyone wants it to be. Amy and Andrea, however, strike me as clueless. That's not to say that I don't like them, sure Andrea seems bitchy at time, but I'm like that at times too. As people, they're very nice, but as long term survivors I'm just unsure about them. Is that bad to say?

I'm snapped out of my thoughts as I hear raised voices in the distance. I quicken my pace to see what's going on, my heart pounding with the possibilities. Why would people be arguing? Did something happen, did Geeks make it up here finally? As I come through the clearing, ready to go all Scarface, when I see Glenn and Shane as the source of the arguing, I relax slightly, carefully walking over to figure out what's going on.

"…something bad happens, I'll be responsible!" Glenn looks frustrated and stressed.

"They volunteered, they know the risks." Shane is calm, the opposite of Glenn. His tone upsets me, even though I'm not entirely sure what he's talking about.

I find myself unable to just observe, "The risks of what?" I place my bow over my shoulder, the string across my chest. After the first run, when I questioned his leadership, Shane has always looked at me like I'm the plague.

He looks at me, hand on his hip and shotgun slug over his shoulder, "The risks of going in the city." I just stare at him, at first not realizing what he's saying. Why would anyone else be going into the city? Oh god, he doesn't want us to take more people, does he? That does explain what Glenn was saying, though, but that seems reckless. We get plenty of stuff with just us two, why send more people now?

"He wants us to take a group into the city." Glenn gives me a look, one that says 'tell him how stupid that is.'

"Why? We bring back enough with just us two." I know, however, that there's no way I'm changing Shane's mind on this. It's either his way, or get the hell out, especially with me.

"We need a good stockpile of food, something that will last us if something happened to either of you." He looks directly at me as he says this. Well thanks for that confidence boost.

Not waning to cause any bigger of a scene, I acquiesce, "Fine, who's going." I shoot a glance over to Glenn, willing him to see that we didn't have much of a choice in the first place.

Shane gives me a smirk, one I want to slap off his face, "Andrea, Morales, Jacqui, T-Dog, and Merle. They're all ready and waiting, whenever you're ready to go."

Great, Merle is going, this'll be fun. "Come on Glenn, let's go." I grab his arm, dragging him away from Shane. I can tell he's still frustrated, "He wasn't going to budge on this one." I shake my head at Shane's arrogance, "Let's just go and get this day over with, what's the worst that can happen?"

He gapes at me, "Why would you say that? You just jinxed us for sure, dumbass." I push him lightly, mirroring his smile.

We get to the RV, meeting the group of people who we'll be taking on the run. After figuring out what kind of skills everyone has, none have much skill with guns, but Andrea pulls out a S&W 3913 Ladysmith saying it's hers. So she has a gun, but can't use it, that'll really help.

I look at Andrea, a serious note in my voice, "Don't use it unless you have to." And by that I mean, not at all. If you don't know how to use a gun then you shouldn't own one in the first place.

Merle comes over at the last minute with a Winchester 30-06 in his hands, a shit eating grin on his face as he looks between Andrea and me. "Up for a three-way? Long as that don' make ya jealous Red."

I refrain from making a retort, however, am unable to hide the look of pure disgust as we load up the van and pile in; T-Dog drives with Morales in the front seat, Andrea, Jacqui, and Merle in the middle, while Glenn and I are in the back.

We try to talk strategy, whispering so no one hears us. Glenn begins, "We'll go to the department store, the one we get clothes from and let everyone stay there. We'll have that as home base while I'm off searching any building we haven't cleaned out yet."

"By yourself? What, exactly, am I supposed to do, babysit?" I've always admired Glenn's ability to strategize. He always makes sure we have a plan and a backup every run we would go on, just in case something went wrong, though it never did. I look ahead of us to make sure no one is listening to us, and luckily, Merle seems too busy harassing Andrea for either of them to notice and Jacqui is talking to Morales and T-Dog, so they are preoccupied as well.

"Actually, yes, basically." He raises his hands slightly in a non-threatening manner when he notices the deep scowl on my face as I turn my head to face him, "Just keep them busy at the store, we both know they could get hurt or get us hurt. If I just go in and out then I'll figure out where it's worth actually taking them with us."

I continue to glare at him, but realize he has a point, "Fine, but I don't like this. If you get hurt, then I'll kill you!" He nods his head knowingly, a ghost of a smile tugging on his lips.

Glenn gives T-Dog the directions as we get closer to the department store, we park a ways off behind some other building to go on foot after that. Glenn has on his green backpack and I have a small duffle. We all remain quiet until we get inside the department store. Merle walks off to the stairs, claiming he'll keep watch while Glenn and I check our walkies. We found them on one of our runs and have had them to keep in contact with each other in case we ever got separated on a run. After that Glenn tells everyone he'll go ahead and see if there is anything worth taking in other buildings. No one protests, so he gives me a nod before ducking out the door leading to an alleyway.

"Ok, just go around and pack anything we could use. Also stay away from the front, that way the Geeks won't spot you walking by. If you need help, just holler and someone will come help you." They all nod at me before walking off, looking in various areas of the store for anything we can use. I start to do the same, packing a few clothes that would fit Lexi and I into my duffle. I notice Morales and T-Dog putting on protective gear while I make my way to the back of the store. I rummage through the boxes in the back, stuff they hadn't unloaded yet, and manage to find a few things to pack away as well.

I stop when I hear gun shots, panic rising in my stomach when I realize Glenn should have made contact by now. Why isn't he back yet? He hasn't even said anything over the walkie. My mind starts racing, thinking of what might have happened to him. What if he got bit, or fell and needs help? I try to think of some places he might have gone, trying to work out a plan to save him.

I don't know how long I'm like that, but I soon notice everyone is making their way to me. Andrea is the closest to me, "How long are we supposed to wait? Those things are banging against the door."

I stop moving and put my hands on my hips, "Until he comes back."

"And if he doesn't?" She crosses her arms over her chest.

I glare at her, but am unable to respond as the walkie goes off, Glenn's voice coming over the speaker in a rushed tone, "I'm back, got a guest, plus four Geeks in the alley."

My eyes go wide and I point to T-Dog and Morales who are carrying baseball bats and are pretty much fully covered in the protective gear, "Come with me, stay close and aim for the head."

I open the door to the alley, the one Glenn originally went thorough and see two geeks straight ahead, motioning for T-Dog and Morales to take care of them while I fire at the two just to my left. I quickly run to retrieve my arrows and start back just as Glenn and, a sheriff?, enter the building. Morales and T-Dog are still beating the heads of the Geeks until I call them over, "Let's go!"

After the door is closed I see Andrea push the new guy against the boxes I was going through, gun aimed at his face, "Son of a bitch, I 'aught to kill you." I make my way over to Glenn, hugging him now that I know he's safe. He tells me he saved this guy from a tank, promising he'll tell me about it later before focusing on the scene unfolding before us.

T-Dog and Morales start taking their gear off, starting with the helmets. Morales looks right at Andrea, "Just chill out Andrea, back off."

When Andrea makes no move, Jacqui pipes up next, "Come on, ease up."

"Ease up, you're kidding me, right? We're dead because of this stupid asshole." And what gives you the right to decide who lives and dies?

Morales comes up behind Andrea, "Andrea, I said back the hell off." Not able to just sit by idly, I move so I'm directly on her left side. I figure if things escalate any more, I can just tackle her to prevent her from killing whoever this guy is. Once I have a view of her gun, however, I relax because I can see she has the safety on. That's why you should know how to use a gun before carrying it around. Morales continues once I've stopped, "Or pull the trigger."

Finally, she puts the gun down, "We're dead, all of us." Her face becomes sad, almost like she's about to cry, as she looks at the new guy, "Because of you."

I finally take a look at the new guy, he's in a sheriff's uniform and has curly brown hair and blue eyes. He looks bewildered, "I don't understand."

Morales grabs him by the arm and begins leading him toward the hallway that take you to the store, "Look, we came to the city to scavenge supplies. You know what the key to scavenging is, surviving." We make it to the store in a group, coming up to the front doors, "You know what the key to surviving is? Sneaking in and out, tiptoeing, not shooting up the streets like it's the O.K. Corral."

Not having noticed how many were at the doors, my breath hitches as I see every space against the glass filled by a Geek, pushing against each other to try to get inside.

T-Dog continues the lecture to the new guy, "Every Geek for miles around heard you popping off rounds."

"You just rang the dinner bell." Andrea adds bitterly.

"Got the picture now?" Morales finishes.

I watch as one of the Geeks, a rock in its hand, starts banging against the glass, breaking slightly in the process. "Look, there's nothing we can do about it now except figure a way out before they break those doors down." I look around at everyone, trying to get my point across. Everyone backs away in fear as the rock continues to hit against the glass.

"The hell were you doing out there anyway?" Andrea seems to have calmed down, finally.

"Trying to flag the helicopter." The new guy responds. Is he serious or just high?

"Helicopter?" T-Dog sarcastically replies, "Man, that's crap, man, there ain't no damn helicopter." I roll my eyes at the many grammatical errors in that one sentence. Does no one pay attention in Elementary english?

"You were chasing a hallucination. Imagining things, it happens." Jacqui talks to him like a psychologist would a patient.

The new guy looks seriously at us all, "I saw it."

Morales, who was looking at the front, now turns to me for a moment, "Hey, Eve. Try that CV, can you contact the others?" I start fiddling with the controls, trying to get in contact with our camp. Not like it'll do any good, Shane wouldn't send anyone to help.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see the officer perk up at the mention of others, "Others? The refugee center?" I almost laugh, but remain quiet. Not getting anything on the radio I pass the thing to T-Dog, asking him to give it a try.

Jacqui laughs dryly, "Yeah the refugee center, they got biscuits waiting in the oven for us."

T-Dog, who was messing with the radio, get the same result as I was, "Got no signal. Maybe the roof?"

Suddenly, we hear another shot ring out and the first thought I have is of Merle. That complete idiot! He's only making it worse! "Goddamnit Merle!" I curse, just as Andrea finishes, "Oh no, is that Dixon?"

I hear the muttered reply of 'get to the roof', looking over at Glenn as he ushers the officer and me, "Come on, let's go." We are start running up the stairs, and I'm thankful for the cardio I've been doing during the runs as we climb to the roof, intermittent shots ringing as we make out assent. He better be actually hitting them if he's going to be this idiotic about it!

Morales is the first to make it to the roof, bursting out the door yelling at Merle, "Hey Dixon, are you crazy?!"

Merle laughs sadistically, continuing to shoot as everyone piles out go the stairwell, Glenn and the officer exiting right after me. He turns around, the gun still in his hand, "Huh, hey, you 'aught to be more polite to a man with a gun." He grunts slightly as he jumps off the ledge, "Only common sense." He continues, ejecting the empty shell in the chamber before loading another round.

T-Dog, foolishly, jumps off the walkway and makes his way towards Merle, "Man, you wastin' bullets we ain't even got, man. And you bring them all down here on our ass, man. Just chill." T-Dog is in way over his head, going up against Merle is going to end badly. Does no one but me realize that? Not only does he have way too much anger, but the pills and whatever else I see him popping make him more likely to snap at any moment.

As I watch Merle's face, I know something's about to go down. Knowing him, he won't take this much crap from both Morales and T-Dog. As the three of them continue talking, I try to make my way behind him, thinking of the same tactic I was planning on doing with Andrea. If anything goes south, I might be able to distract him long enough. Besides, he wouldn't hurt a girl, would he?

"Hey, bad enough I got this taco vender on my ass all day, now Im'a take orders from you? I don't think so bro." I watch as Merle gets closer to T-Dog, the grip on his gun tightening, "That'll be the day." At that I realize Merle is baiting him, wanting to start a fight. That's when I notice that everyone has gathered around the scene, probably wondering the same thing I am; who's going to kick whom's ass?

T-Dog takes the bait, "That'll be the day. You got somethin' you want to tell me."

Trying to defuse the situation, Morales steps up, "Hey T-Dog, man, just leave it."

T-Dog holds his hand out to Morales, "No." He looks back to Merle. Don't be stupid, just drop it! Someone like him will never change. I think, for a moment, about his brother and wonder if he's like this as well. How similar are the two Dixon's? I hope Daryl is nothing like this.

Morales keeps trying as I stop directly behind Merle and put my bow and quiver on the ground, not wanting anything to happen to them, "Alright, it ain't worth it. Now, Merle, just relax." I can't see Merle's face, but with his arms tensing as he grips his gun, I can tell he's definitely not relaxing. "Ok? We got enough trouble." There is an endless supply of trouble, especially in times such as these.

I take a quick glance at Glenn as he motions with his hands for me to chill, before doing the same to the officer. That sure as heck isn't going to stop me. I've met people like him before, once they start it's hard for them to stop. I just want to make sure no one gets badly hurt in the process.

Merle doesn't back down, "You wanna know the day?"

I silently beg T-Dog to just walk away. Unfortunately, he doesn't, "Ya."

"I'll tell you the day, Mr. Yo," he makes the stereotypical hand gesture, "Is the day I take orders from a nigger." I find myself getting angry at his words, such hate and ignorance should no longer be an issue. There's only so many people left in this world and we all need to stick together.

T-Dog gets a wild look on his face, "Motherfucker!" He tries to punch Merle, but Merle blocks and uppercuts him with the butt of his rifle.

After that, everyone starts screaming for him to stop. The officer even tries to help, but Merle sends him flying with a punch before he can even do anything. There's more screaming as Merle continues to beat up T-Dog. Luckily, no one else is stupid enough to jump in, meaning no one else is getting hurt.

I think for a second about whether or not I should jump in, but quickly shake it off and start running straight at Merle's back. I jump on him and attempt to chokehold him into passing out. I didn't know if I would actually be able to do it, but I definitely wasn't expecting him to reach his arm out to the side, punch my right side, and throw me against a huge pipe. My right side once again takes the impact while my head hits the top of the pipe and I feel the air escape my lungs while I start seeing black spots cloud my vision. I can tell there's someone talking, but it's too muffled for me to make out what's being said. I try to stay alert, but find myself slipping in and out of consciousness. I let the darkness consume me for a few moments, my head pounding something awful and my side burning.

Fun Fact: Robert Kirkman made a conscious decision to avoid the word 'zombie' as he wanted to portray a world where zombie movies didn't exist so that his characters had no concept of what they were facing.