The camp had been on the move for around a week, trying to put as much distance between themselves and the herd of walkers that had infiltrated the complex. They had travelled mostly by day, stopping around an hour before the sun set, to hunt and set up camp. As they had travelled, the group had kept an eye out for any houses or small towns that they could possibly raid for supplies, but they had had little luck. They had managed to secure some blankets and warmer clothes, for the colder weather, but they were still low on fire arms, medical supplies and most importantly food.
On the sixth day, the group had come across a path leading off the main road, into the wooded area on the side. On closer inspection, Dale had concluded that it looked like an old hunting track. So, T-Dog had taken Daryl and Adele to explore the area. Their luck had been in.
It hadn't just been a hunting track, it had been part of a hunting holiday complex. They had found an open space, sheltered by trees to park up the RV, bikes and bus. It offered some protection from the elements, and was close to a lake that was connected to a running river, keeping the water fresh, rather than stagnant. Even better than that, they had discovered a cabin close by that was supplied with plenty of hunting equipment-bullets and guns, arrows and cross bows and even a few sturdy tents. This discovery, coupled with the absence of any walkers in the area had made the majority of the group feel much safer.
The group had quickly set up camp, arranging themselves into groups and pitching tents close to the centre of the area, similar to how they had arranged themselves in Atlanta. Andrea and Dale had remained living in the RV, and Rick and Carl had taken up residence in the bus. The rest of the group had grouped themselves up into the tents-Adele and Georgie had immediately taken a tent for themselves; as had Miao and Maggie, leaving Katie to share with Carol and Sophie. Glenn had very quickly asked to team up with T-Dog, leaving an understandably nervous Ben to share with Daryl. Ben was convinced that Daryl had still not forgiven him for pointing the finger at him over the shooting of Ryan, to protect Adele. T-Dog, on the other hand, knew that the impressive black eye Ben was currently sporting was enough to get Daryl over the incident.
It wasn't just Georgie that T-Dog had been worried about. Since the death of Lori, Rick had been withdrawn and quiet. T-Dog had raised the issue with Dale, who had advised him to give Rick time-although he wasn't communicating with the rest of the group, he seemed to be dealing with the grieving process well. Andrea and Carol had been taking turns looking after Carl, making sure he wasn't neglected too much and generally looking out for him. Carl seemed to understand what had happened to his mother, and although he understandably was devastated, the incident seemed to have made him more determined to grow up and be 'useful'. He, along with Sophie, had pestered Adele and Georgie in turn to continue to teach them to shoot with firearms and a bow as soon as they had found out that there were weapons available. Both girls had refused unless Carol and Rick had given it the ok, which T-Dog thought was unusually responsible of the pair-usually, they jumped at the opportunity to do any sort of training with anyone.
As he entered the camp site, he saw Dale sat on top of his RV, shotgun in hand. Grinning, T-Dog gave him a wave, and walked over the RV. He hauled himself up onto the roof and sat crossed legged next to the old man.
"What's hangin Dale?" Dale turned and gave him a smile.
"Nothing. That's the beauty of it. There's been no sign of walkers, we have water and weapons, and I'm sure Daryl and Georgie will find us some food soon. You found us a really good place here T-Dog." T-Dog felt a flush of pride, at the old man's words, but remained modest.
"We've only been here one night. Let's see how it pans out before we get too excited. I mean, it's coming up to winter, so..." Dale waved his words away impatiently.
"I know, I know, but look at the campers." He pointed to Maggie and Glenn, who were laughing at some private joke, and Andrea and Carol, who were smiling and talking as they tended the fire. "I haven't seen so much hope since we got to the complex. He turned to T-Dog. "You've given us hope T-Dog." He leant forward and lowered his voice confidentially. "Some of us have been talking. Ricks been a good leader, he's led us right from the start, but...he's not in a good place right now. It's kind of obvious to us all that you're a leader too. We were thinking that maybe you two could create a coalition or a committee, when he, you know, recovers. Maybe get some other people on it. Share the responsibility."
T-Dog looked at Dale with interest. He could hear the logic of Dale's idea, he had found being responsible for the lives of the whole camp more stressful than anything he had ever done before. He nodded his head slowly. "Who else were you thinking of?"
"Well..."Dale paused. "We were thinking maybe Glenn, Adele and Georgie. Keep it equal-I don't think Andrea would be too happy if there weren't some woman on the committee-even though she doesn't want to be on it herself." T-Dog nodded. Although he wasn't sure that Glenn would want to be in charge of any decisions that would affect the fate of the camp, he thought Adele would be a good choice. As for Georgie, he reasoned that being on a committee could be a gentle hint for her to share responsibility and perhaps open up. He looked at Dale.
"We'll open it up for discussion tonight." A movement at the foot of the RV made him start. As he looked down, he saw Rick standing there, looking up at the two men. He was pale, with dark circles around his red rimmed eyes. His hair was a mess, and his clothes were particularly crumpled. But the stoop had gone from his shoulders, and there was something of the old easy calm back in his manner. T-Dog felt a jolt of relief-it looked like Rick was back in business. He moved to the ladder at the side of the RV and started to climb down it. Before his head disappeared, he spoke to Dale.
"I'll ask Rick what he thinks of the idea now."