Carol

Seating at the largest table in the dining room, Carol found herself watching Georgie almost as much as she watched Sophie. The clothes she had found for herself from somewhere hung off her, and she looked scarily frail. But then, she supposed that most of them did. They had been struggling even before the snow, and although everyone who could hunt had done their best, the food had been scarce. Even now, Adele was eating slowly, as if she couldn't believe that the supplies would last.

"This is a great place you've found." Rick broke the silence, glancing from T-Dog to Daryl. "Carol said there are enough cans of food to keep us going til the snow melts at least. And when it does, I think we should head further South. Somewhere where the cold won't kill off us."

"I disagree." Andrea spoke across from Rick. "We all saw that walker. Whilst it's cold and snowing, they're frozen. We don't have to worry about them sneaking up on us. When the snow melts, we can get rid of them with ease. We have food here and it wouldn't be as hard as the complex to defend. I think we should stay here until spring." A few other members of the group nodded and seemed to agree. Rick took another mouthful of soup.

"Why don't we spend a few days here, see how we feel about the area. Then, we can take a vote on it. How does that sound." General noises of agreement arose from the table. "Well if we're all agreed, I suggest we start looking at rooms." He wrapped his arm around Carl and hugged him tight. "You excited? A real bed. Not like at the complex. A REAL bed." Carol took a deep breath and decided to share an idea she had been sitting on since Daryl had turned on the gas cooker.

"And hot baths." A few heads turned to her. "The water works, but I don't think the hot water does. But the gas cookers in the kitchen do. We could take turns boiling pots of water and emptying them into the bath. That's if we can't get the hot taps to work."

"Great idea." Maggie spoke almost immediately. "Shotgun first bath."

"Hey!" Katie's voice rang out in protest. Everyone laughed. Carol noticed Katie's arm wrapped around Daryl's which was making it hard for the man to eat his soup. She occasionally said something to him, which he either ignored or gave a short grunt in response to. She frowned. Katie was beginning to look desperate and clingy, and although she didn't condone Daryl's actions, she wondered when Katie was going to cut her losses and have some self respect. She shook her head. Who was she to talk about self respect, the woman who had let her husband beat her for their entire marriage? She looked away from the couple and tuned back into the conversation around the table. Most people seemed to have decided on their roommates and she was surprised to see that most people had somewhere along the line turned into part of a couple. Andrea and Dale she wasn't surprised about: most people had figured their low key relationship out by now. The same with Adele and Ben, although they were somewhat less low key. But Maggie and Glenn? Now there was a surprise. She turned to Georgie, who was leaned back in her seat, grinning at Sophie and patting her stomach.

"Would you like to room up with us Georgie?" Georgie turned from Sophie to Carol. "I'd feel a lot better if you were bunking with us."

"Course I would." There wasn't a hint of hesitation in her voice. "It'll be nice to share with you guys. Like a family vibe."

Later that night, Carol and Georgie were curled up on the sofa chatting in low voices. Sophie was in the other room, tucked up in bed. The two crossbows, Georgie's and Sophie's were high on a shelf in the living room, away from Sophie. As well as the crossbow, a range of vicious looking knives were hidden away in drawers. Carol felt both safer for having them and Georgie there, but couldn't help worrying about Sophie wanting to practise with knives as well as the bow and arrow. As well as these items, both the women's clothes had been brought up, and with the use of the hot water from the kitchen, Carol had had a go at cleaning them properly. Currently, both women were dressed in clothes salvaged from the wardrobe. Carol couldn't believe how nice it felt to be in clean clothes, sat on a sofa, having a gossip with a friend. It felt so, normal.

Both the women were starting to wind down, ready to turn into bed themselves, when a creaking from upstairs made them both start.

"What was that?" Carol's heart began to race furiously, and she instinctively looked towards the bedroom.

"I don't know." Georgie sat upright on the sofa, a look of concentration on her face. "Everyone's on this floor. No-one's up there." The pair of them sat still as rocks, waiting. Another creak came, again from almost directly above them. Georgie got off the couch, and retrieved her bow. Carol paused for a moment, and then opened a drawer, pulling out a large knife, with a viciously serrated blade.

"Put it back Carol." Georgie spoke without looking up. "You stay here with Sophie."

"I can back you up." Carol was surprised at how calm her voice sounded, but inside she was shaking with fear. She knew she wouldn't be as helpful as someone like Adele or T-Dog, but she had been trained in fighting at the complex, and she knew, or thought she knew, that she could cover Georgie's back. Ignoring Georgie's protests, she moved to the door. Georgie sighed, and opened it, revealing a dark, thankfully empty corridor. Carols eyes adjusted to the gloom quickly as they moved out, Georgie in front, Carol behind. Carol glanced back to the room and felt a lurch of guilt. She couldn't leave Sophie alone in there, it wasn't fair on her. She bit her lip: not wanting to go back and look like she was too scared to go with Georgie, but wanting to help.

Before she could make a decision; Georgie's hand shot out, motioning her to be silent and still. Carol felt the taste of bile in the back of her throat, and swallowed. Something was coming down the stairs, slowly and deliberately. She tightened her grip, trying to ignore the fact that she was dizzy, her heart was racing and she wanted to be sick. Georgie raised her bow and took careful aim. Now a shadow was visible on the wall. She opened her mouth to ask Georgie what the plan was, but no sound came out. She could only watch as whatever it was descended the stairs and came into view.