My eyes fluttered open to see the bright noon sun pouring through the sheer white curtains. They fluttered carelessly in the summer breeze that came in through the open window. I let out a small sigh as I adjusted myself in the bed.Wait... bed? And then reality dawned on me. Where the fuck am I?

Sitting up suddenly, I immediately yelped in pain. Falling back down onto the bed, I clutched my side and let out a groan. The sharp stinging pain making my eyes water.

I heard the bedroom door creak open but couldn't force myself to open my eyes for the intense pain. I could only pray they were friendly.

"Better take it easy, Holden." A familiar voice said. "You always were accident prone."

My eyes flew open to see the Korean boy standing there, smiling, with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Glenn Rhee?" I whispered in disbelief. A genuine smile crept across my face for the first time in a long time.

"I thought I'd never see you again." He said.

I nodded. "That's the understatement of the year."

He walked over to the bed and sat down next to me, leaning over and hugging me tightly, careful to miss my injured side. As we sat simply embracing each other, the door creaked open again. I looked up to see numerous men file in.

A white haired man made his way to the other side of the bed. Grabbing an old rocking chair and pulling it up beside me, he took a seat.I smiled to myself; he reminded me of my late grandfather.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Like I was shot." I joked. "Where is my brother?"

"He's lying down in one of the extra rooms. He had to give blood since you'd lost so much. My name is Herschel Greene and this is my farm. Rick, Carl and Daryl over here are the ones who were in the woods and brought you back. And I see you already know Glenn here." He nodded to the boy sitting next to me and smiled. "The bullet missed anything vital. Just barely though. Any further over and it would have hit your liver. But as I said, you've lost a lot of blood. I've given you antibiotics and pain medication, which I suggest you keep taking for the next few days as you rest. The stitches will come out in a few days as well."

"Thank you. I said with a sigh of relief.

"I'm Rick Grimes." The man in the sheriff's uniform said. I vaguely remembered his face before I had blacked out. "This is my son, Carl. And this here is Daryl Dixon." He nodded to the man beside him. "I'm very sorry for what happened. Y'all are very silent hunters. We had no idea you were out there."

"It's okay. No apologies needed, things happen." I said to the man. "Thank you for bringing me back and patching me up. Not many people would do that anymore."

"It's the least we could do. Glenn here says you went to school together in Atlanta." Rick continued.

"Yeah, we went to school together from elementary all the way through high school. He was my junior prom date as well." I explained.

The man with the crossbow -Daryl- laughed lightly.

"What?" Glenn asked, turning around to look at the man curiously.

"Nuthin' China Man." He replied.

"Everyone was too scared to ask River to the dance because they were all afraid of her older brothers. Particularly Taylor. He's very protective of his sister. "So, she asked me to go with her. We were good friends and neighbors since we were young."

I smiled brightly at the memories his face brought back to me. Memories of a world long gone.

"My daughter, Maggie, will bring you some lunch. I'm going to go check on your brother." Herschel said, patting my hand before he stood. "You take it easy. I'll send your medicine with her as well."

"Would it be okay if I took my lunch outside?" I asked hopefully.

"I don't see why not. But take it slow. Don't want you pullin' any stitches." Herschel replied before walking out of the room.

"Daryl will go get your bag. We'll let you get a shower and change." Rick explained.

"A shower?!" I practically shouted, my eyes widening in shock.

"Yes." He laughed. "A real shower."

With that, the two men and the little boy took their leave. Glenn smiled as he watched them leave before turning back to me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "They're good people. I'm sure you and Taylor will find your place in our group. I'd love it if you'd stay. I'll wait for you on the porch."

I nodded in reply as he stood up from the bed and left the room. Just a moment later, the door opened once again. This time a young girl I guessed to be about my age, with short brown hair and a smile that could light up a room, entered.

"Hi there. How ya feelin'?" She asked with a smile. Her southern accent was thick as syrup.

"Alright for someone who got shot." I replied. "You must be Maggie."

"That's me. And you're Glenn's old classmate, River." She chuckled. "I already met your brother. He's a charmer. I brought you some clothes, U had to throw away the ones you arrived in and I wasn't sure if you had anymore or not. They had to cut them off you and they were soaked in blood. We looked to be about the same size, minus the height, so I brought some of mine in case you could use them."

She laid the clothes down on the bedside table as once again, the door opened. Daryl walked over and plopped my backpack down at the foot of the bed.

"'Ere ya go. You'll get'cher weapons back when we decide yer notta threat." He explained before turning and leaving without another word.

"A real social butterfly, huh?" I said, looking at the door he;d just closed behind him.

"You ain't lyin'." She chuckled. "Do you need help outta bed?"

"No. But thank you." I said as I shoved the covers off of me.

"I'll have your lunch ready and waiting for you." She said before taking her leave as well.

I took a moment to process everything that had just happened and looked around the room. It was small and what you would imagine a typical farm house spare bedroom to look like. The walls were white and the four poster bed sat in the middle of the room. A set of white cotton sheets and a patchwork quilt made up the bed. Directly across from the foot of the bed was a small fire place. It looked to be non-functioning. At least for a very long time. It was quaint and cozy. I slipped off the bed onto the cool hardwood floors as I thought of how truly lucky I was. Had one thing gone awry, I could be dead. But yet here I was, safe and sound, my brother was alive and well, and I'd found a good friend I had never thought I'd see again.

I cast my eyes down to the floor with a small smile. It was then that I realized I was only in a large white T-shirt that hung down to just above my knees.

To the right was a small door that lead into the bathroom. It was small and had a stand up shower only in it.

I closed the door behind me and sat my backpack on the back of the toilet. Turning the faucet , I found myself smiling as I let the water flow over my hand. Giddy with the idea of a real shower, I stripped down as quickly as possible and jumped in. I let out a groan as I leaned back into the warm running water. It felt as though the steam and water was washing all my troubles away. I poured some shampoo in my hand and began washing my hair, feeling like a new person as I did. I quickly scrubbed the dirt and blood off my body and face before I just took a moment to just stand in the cascade of warmth, soaking up the feeling since I was unsure when I'd ever get another.

With a heavy heart, I turned off the faucet and stepped out. I grabbed the towel that sat on the sink and dried off. When I wiped the mist off the mirror, I almost gasped.

I hadn't seen myself void of dirt, grime and blood in so long it almost took my breath away to see my face without it. I ran my fingers gently over my cheeks as I examined myself, remembering when I would meticulously care for my skin and take time daily to put on makeup. It seemed like a lifetime ago. My bright green eyes scanned over every feature, as if I had to remind myself of what I had once looked like. My eyes, though bright, held a almost permanent sleepy state to them. I guess that's what months of sleeping with one eye open will do to a person. My long deep red hair faded into a blonde on the tips and fell well past my shoulder in loose, full curls. My skin was tanned due to constantly being out in the sun. I trailed a finger over the freckles that lightly spotted my nose and cheeks just below my eyes; they always stood out more when I would go out in the sun, mainly in the summer. I watched as my lips involuntarily curled up into a small smile.

Rummaging through my backpack, I found a pair of cut off blue jean shorts, a slightly large white T-shirt that hung off one shoulder and a fresh pair of underwear and socks.

When I was dressed, I found my hairbrush and toothbrush and brushed my hair and teeth. I found my brown boots sitting next to the door. After lacing them up, I took one last look at myself in the large mirror that hung over the fire place. Deciding I wanted my hair up, I braided it to one side and headed outside.

I found Glenn in one of the old rocking chairs on the right side of the porch when I walked out in the blistering Georgian heat. He held an acoustic guitar and was staring absentmindedly out into the yard. As I scanned the area, I was shocked to see quite a few people. I hadn't seen this many people since all this started. Well, people that were alive, at least.

"When did you pick up the guitar?" I asked, taking a seat in the empty rocking chair next to him.

"I haven't." He laughed, patting the guitar. "Dale found it on the highway and gave it to me. Wanna play?"

"Nah, I won't make anyone's ears bleed today." I said with a wave.

Hearing the screen door creak, I turned to see Taylor emerging fromt he old farm house. Without a word, I shot up quickly and wrapped my arms around him.

"Oh my God, I thought I lost you." He sighed into my hair. "Don't you ever scare me like that."

I hugged him tight, unsure of what to say. I could feel the sting of tears threatening to escape. I knew if I spoke now, they'd come flooding out. I had always been close to my brother, he was my twin for goodness sake, but since the outbreak, we had become each other's rock. The reason the other kept the will to survive. We had many close calls over the last few months, but this took the lead.

He pulled away and looked down at me. We had the same bright green eyes and deep red hair; his was shaggy and unruly and came down tot he nape of his neck.

He smiled and cupped my face in his hands, rubbing his thumbs over my cheeks. "Don't you dare get shot again."

I laughed and nodded. "I don't plan on it."

The door creaked again as Maggie came out onto the porch, plate in hand.

"You look like you feel a lot better." She smiled. "Here's your sandwich."

"Thanks." I smiled.

"Yeah, thanks Maggie." Glenn said suddenly, his voice slightly shaky.

I glanced over at him and narrowed my eyes.

"Well, no wonder the redneck wanted to save you." A man said.

I turned my attention to see the dark haired man propped up against the railing by the stairs, eyeing me up and down, with a stupid grin on his face. Taylor let out a heavy sigh and stepped forward in front of me. I stood up and quickly moved in front of him, placing my hand on his chest. I eyed him letting him know to let it go. We were guests here... Taylor beating up one of their own would no go over well. And I knew Taylor's temper rivaled my own.

"Who is this? Your bodyguard?" He chuckled.

"I believe "the redneck's" name is Daryl. And you are?" I siad with as much disgust as I could muster in my voice.

"Yeah, Daryl." He laughed. "I'm Shane. I was on the force with Rick... I was the deputy." The smug smile crept across his face.

"Deputy Dumbo, got it." i nodded as Glenn stifled a laugh. "I'm River, this is my brother, Taylor."

He nodded. "I'll be seeing you around."

I watched in disgust as he sauntered off, clearly impressed with himself.

"What a tool." I sighed.

"You ain't lyin'." Glenn said in agreement.

"I'm gonna end up killing him." Taylor grumbled.

I chuckled and returned to my seat beside Glenn and picked up my sandwich.

"And you..." I said before taking a bite.

"Me what?" Glenn said hastily, placing his guitar down beside him.

"I saw the way you were looking at her... making sure you got a word in too." I said with a wiggle of my eyebrows.

"Who?" Taylor asked.

"Maggie" I said at the exact same time Glenn shouted "No one!"

"No, no guys." Glenn protested. "She's Herschel's daughter..."

"So?" Taylor said, propping up against the railing and crossing his arms.

"So..." Glenn trailed off.

"Exactly." I laughed.

After a little while of catching up and finishing my lunch, Maggie came out of the house again.

"Would you like to meet everyone?" She asked. "We won't walk far so you don't over do it with your injury."

"We'd love that." I smiled. "Glenn, you wanna come along with us?"

Glenn shot me a look that could've killed before he spoke. "No, I should go help Dale witht he caravan."

"Suit yourself." I shrugged and winked at him as I stood up.

"Lead the way, dear." Taylor said to Maggie.

We followed her down the stairs and across the yard. The farm was huge. The lush fields seemed to stretch on forever, only ending by the lining of thick woods. The whole place felt like home. I envied these people for finding such a haven in a cruel unforgiving world.

As we approached a group of people, I felt my nerves begin to peak. I wasn't much of a people person. I could fake niceties and such, but not without the desire to run away as fast as I could, as soon as I could. Taylor seemed to sense my tension and placed a hand on my back.

"Guys, this is River and her brother, Taylor. This is Lori, Rick's wife, you met their son, Carl. That's T-Dog and that's Carol." Maggie said, pointing to each person as she introduced them.

"Very nice to meet you all." I said with a small smile.

Taylor nodded but didn't speak.

"I'm glad to see you're doing better." The gray haired woman, Carol, said. Her smile reminded me of my mother's when I was young. At least what I could remember of it. But just like my own mother, I could see the sadness and pain she was trying so desperately to hide behind it.

"Thank you, me too." I replied.

"How are you feeling?" Lori asked, looking up from the shirt she was patching up.

"Sore, but I'll live." I shrugged.

"Is Rick letting y'all stay with us?" T-Dog questioned.

"I'm not sure. We haven't really talked about it." I told him in all honesty.

I hadn't gave our stay much thought until then. Glenn had mentioned us staying but I had assumed once I had healed, we'd be on our way. Back to what we knew as life now.

"Well, we hope so." Carol said with a smile.

I nodded and returned the smile as Maggie spoke. "I'll be back in a while with some more clothes, I'm gonna introduce them to the rest of the group."

We said our goodbye's and nice to meet you's and followed the brown haired girl across the way towards the caravan that was parked between the trees, looking out over the large field.

Glenn stood beside a gray haired man, hunched over the open hood. He looked up and smiled, nudging the man beside him.

The man smiled, wiping the grease off his hands with a dirty rag, and walked over to meet us; Glenn close behind.

He stuck out his hand for me to take. "I'm Dale."

"River." I said and shook his hand with another forced smile.

"Taylor." My brother said as he offered the man his own hand.

"I hear you two went to school with Glenn." He said.

"Yes, we were neighbors as well." I told him.

"That's Andrea up there." Maggie said as she pointed to the blonde woman sitting on a lawn chair on top of the caravan, rifle in hand.

"Hello." Andrea called with a small wave.

"How are you feeling?" Dale asked, nodding towards my side.

"Pretty good for someone who got shot." I said.

"Well, take it easy. Glad to see you up and about." He said with a smile. He turned and made his way back to his spot under the hood.

"Like everyone so far?" Glenn asked, shifting nervously from foot to foot.

"Yeah, champ." I smiled, trying not to laugh at him.

Glenn had always been a quiet guy in school. Though he ran with me and Taylor, two well known troublemakers and nicknamed "the mouths of the south" by our fifth grade teacher, he was the voice of reason a lot of times for us. He saved us from so many months of groundings by talking us out of silly pranks. How we were such good friends baffled me sometimes.

"Good, good." He stuffed his hand in his pockets and looked around. "Guess I better get back..."

"Yeah, you need to finally figure out how to do more than Google how to change a tire." I laughed.

He narrowed his eyes at me and shook his head before making his way back over to Dale.

"Only people left are my family." Maggie said. "C'mon, they're in the house. I'm sure you need to rest and I'll get ya a glass of peach tea."

"That sounds great." I said. "My side is screamin' at me."

As we made our way intot he house, Maggie gestured towards the couch. "Have a seat. I'll get your drinks."

"Thanks." Taylor muttered.

I slipped down onto the ancient couch and clutched my side. All the walking had probably been a mistake but I wasn't about to be stuck in a bed with people catering to me like a child.

"Hurtin'?" Taylor asked, leaning forward to look at me better. He always knew when I was lying somehow by my facial expressions.

"Yeah. Over did it a bit, I think." I said through gritted teeth.

Maggie reentered from he kitchen followed by a blonde girl and an older lady.

I watched as I saw Taylor's demeanor changed. I knew that look in his eyes. He thought the blonde was hot. I inwardly rolled my eyes. My brother was well known as a ladies man and apparently event he end of the world wasn't going to change that.

Maggie sat down the glasses in front of us on the old coffee table and took a seat next to me. She held out her hand. "Here's some more antibiotics and pain medicine. Daddy said it's time for you to take them and he wants yout o rest the remainder of the day. This is my sister, Beth, and this is Patricia." She then looked over to the two women. "This is River and Taylor. Patricia helped my Daddy patch you up."

"Thank you. It's very nice to meet you both." I told them with a nod.

Taylor was on his feet before I could ven realize what he was doing. I shook my head as he leaned over the coffee table and took Beth's hand. "It's nice to meet you." He said before turning to offer his hand to Patricia. "Thank you for helping take care of my sister."

I glanced over at Maggie who had the same confused look as her sister.

I lightly cleared my throat as Taylor sat back down. I leaned forward carefully to get my glass of tea and whispered 'Smooth move, Romeo.'

I popped the medicine in my mouth and swallowed them.

"Wow, this peach tea is amazing! Who made it?" I said before taking another sip.

"I did." Beth said with a smile.

"You'll have to show me how you make yours. Mine never turned out this good Not that I'd be able to make it whenever I wanted but it'd be nice to know." I complimented.

"I'd love to." She replied in a cheerful tone.

Just then Rick came into the house. He nodded as a hello to everyone before he spoke.

"Taylor, can I borrow you for a bit? We could use your help." He asked.

"Yeah, man. Of course." He said as he stood up. "I'll be back sis. Make sure she takes it easy."

Maggie nodded. "We'll take good care of her."

I watched as Taylor followed Rick outside. I immediately felt uncomfortable without him beside me.

"So, tell me River. What was Glenn like in school?" Maggie said as soon as the door shut behind the two men.

"You so have a crush!" Beth exclaimed.

"Oh, hush!" It's just a little girl talk." She smiled, her cheeks flushing profusely and telling a completely different story.

Now, I'm not one for girl talk. I had friends that were girls but we weren't the type of girls to indulge in gossip. If that made sense. Even if I did mainly hang out with guys and didn't divulge in gossip with what girlfriends I did have, didn't mean I didn't long for a night of wine, painting toenails and gossip. So I decided to humor the brown haired girl.

"Glenn was very quiet. A good guy, always had good grades. Not much of a ladies man though." I confessed with a chuckle. :One time he wanted to ask one of my girlfriends out. I talked him up to her and took me ages to convince him that she thought he was cute. Well, he decided to go get her some flowers. It never dawned on me that he might do such a thing. So, naturally it didn't occur to me to mention she was highly allergic to roses. Well, you can imagine how that went down."

"Oh, bless his heart." Patricia said as she covered her mouth to stifle a laugh.

"I pictured him as a nerd." Beth said.

"Yeah, he kinda was. But I was too. I was the odd combination of nerd and party girl." I explained. "We use to have Star Wars movie marathon sleep overs."

"Wow." Maggie laughed.

"Yeah, we went as Han Solo and Leia for Halloween one year too." I said with a laugh. "You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd think he might have a crush as well."

Maggie's eyes widened as Beth let out a low whistle and a 'I knew it!'

"But I dunno... I might have to investigate." I winked.

"Oh, no! You do that and I'll have to tell Daryl how you were watching him leave the room after he brought you your bag!" Maggie shot back.

"Was no such thing!" I said defensively. "But he does have some sexy arm muscles, doesn't he?" I wiggled my eyebrows at them and they all laughed.

"Well, I'll leave you girls to it. I better get some supper going." Patricia said as she stood up.

"Oh, please tell me you have something I can do." I pleaded. "I feel so useless."

"You need to rest..." Maggie began as she placed a hand on top of mine.

"Oh, I know. But I could do something! Peel potatoes, cut cucumbers, something simple like that..." I said, trying to persuade them.

"We've got some potatoes you can peel." Beth offered.

"Thank you!" I said as I slowly stood up, placing a hand on my side as the pain become more prominent with my movement. I couldn't wait for that pain medicine to take effect.

I followed the women into the kitchen. Its appliances looked to be from the 1970's and the outdated yellow floral wallpaper only seemed to validate my assumption. But it felt cozy and welcoming.

I sat down at the wooden table as Maggie fetched the potatoes and a bowl and sat them down in front of me. Beth walked over and handed me a kitchen knife and smiled.

For the next hour or so, we sat in the kitchen and talked. I learnt that Maggie and Beth were only half sisters and the group hadn't been on the farm for long at all. A man, Patricia's husband, Otis, had went into the woods one day to hunt and upon shooting a deer, the bullet completely went through it and struck Carl. He hadn't seen the young boy standing there. He had rushed back to the farm, Rick, Shane and the boy in tow, to seek Herschel's help. He'd made a run to town with Shane to collect more medical supplies needed to save Carl's life but hadn't returned, Shane stating he'd made the ultimate sacrifice. I found this quite odd, but said nothing. I also found out some of the gossip of the group. The who's sleeping with who, if you will. Which basically consisted of Lori and Shane. According to Maggie, she had thought Rick had died from what Shane had told her. This only mounted my trepidation of Shane. I was, however, relieved that Daryl wasn't brought up during this particular subject... and why, I had no idea.

Just as supper was about ready, the front door creaked, announcing the presence of someone entering. A moment later, Rick, Taylor, and Daryl entered the kitchen.

"Hey sis." Taylor greeted me, walking over and planting a kiss on top of my head. "How ya feeling?"

"I'm so sick of that-" I stopped mid sentence and let out a cough. "Goodness, you smell to high heaven!"

"I smell of manly-ness." He laughed as he walked over to the sink. "Guess I need a shower, huh?"

"Uh, yeah you do!" I replied with a snort.

"I'll go wash up before we eat. Tomorrow I'm gonna take Rick and Daryl here to our car and get our supplies." he said.

"Awesome. There's a good amount of food in there." I agreed with a nod.

"That's what your brother told us." Rick said, leaning against the door frame. "Said y'all had some more weapons as well."

"Yeah. We were pretty well stocked." I said, looking at the man.

"We'll head out at first light." He said with a nod towards Taylor.

"I glanced over and caught Daryl staring at me. I quickly returned my eyes to my task in front of me. Feeling the heat rise in my cheeks and hoping he hadn't seen me.

After Beth told the men to let everyone know supper would be ready soon, Taylor excused himself to go take a shower. I watched as Beth's eyes followed him out. I glanced over at Maggie who wore a smug smile, obviously noticing what I had as well.

"So, you use to be a sheriff. Huh?" I said to Rick as he sat down across from me. I noticed Daryl out of the corner of my eye; he stood propped against the door frame where Rick had been, arms crossed.

"Yes." He answered with a smile. "What did you and your brother do before all this?"

"I was a nurse at Grady Memorial and owned a photography business on the side. Taylor was an engineer." I explained.

Rick nodded, seemingly impressed. "We could definitely use your skills in this group. Have you thought about what you'd do once your healed?"

"I assumed we'd be on our way." I said.

"Are you heading somewhere?" He asked curiously.

"Nowhere in particular," I said.

"Okay." He nodded and looked down at the table for a moment before looking me in the eyes once more. "I'd like it if you'd consider staying with us."

"Really?" I said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, really." He confirmed. "Daryl and I have already talked about it. But with both of your skills, you'd be excellent assets to this group. What do ya say?"

"I'd have to talk to Taylor... but I think it'd be a great idea." I said with a smile.

"Taylor said the exact same thing." He revealed.

"Oh, he did?" I said, surprised. "Well, I guess that basically answers that, aye?"

With a nod, he stood. "Take it easy. I'll see you at supper."

He walked out of the room as Daryl picked up his crossbow, pausing for a moment to nod to me as well, before following him out.

Maggie quickly took the seat Rick had just vacated and grabbed my hands from across the table. "I'm glad you're staying!" She beamed at me.

"Me too." I said in return and smiled. I genuinely already felt close to the girl sitting across from me.

At supper that evening, I sat in a lawn chair around the fire outside with the group. Maggie sat to my right, having decided to join me instead of dining with her family tonight. Beth sat on the other side of her, having opted to do the same. Taylor sat on my right, scarfing down his food with gusto.

"This is very good, Maggie." He said between bites. "I must say, I miss River's cooking."

"I miss pizza." T-Dog stated with a sad sigh.

"I miss ice cream!" I exclaimed.

The evening passed with ease and light conversation. Everyone in the group seemed nice and easy going. And also very eager for us to spill some childhood dirt about Glenn.

"He wore glasses for reading in elementary school." Taylor said with a laugh. "And he was obsessed with Karate Kid for the longest time."

"A little Ralph Macchio wanna be." I chuckled.

Glenn sighed and put his head in his hands.

"Oh, Rhee! You've got dirt on us too. Dish it out, sugar!" I laughed.

"Okay. River's mom convinced her that her toy stove worked. Every time she'd make spaghetti, she'd put half cooked noodles in the toy pot in place of the uncooked one's when Riv wasn't looking and River would try eating them.""

"Awww." Carol said before laughing.

"I'd eat about half of it and then tell her that hers was better and dump it out. Went on for about a year until she finally broke down and told me because I wanted to try out the stove to make cupcakes for my classmates." I said as I shook my head. "We convinced Taylor if he put on his Batman cape he could fly. Next thing we knew he was on the roof. Jumped off and broke his arm. We were grounded for ages!" Glenn and I both laughed.

"So embarrassing." Taylor shook his head. "On that note, I'm going to bed."

"I'm right behind you." I said with a yawn. "Thank you guys. For everything, really."

"No problem, sweetie." Carol said with a smile.

"I'll walk with ya." Maggie said.

As I stood, I caught a glance of Daryl directly across from me. He wore a small grin but it disappeared as soon as he saw me look at him. For some reason, I felt discouraged by this.

Shaking it off, I headed towards the house with Maggie and Taylor.

As we we entered, the house was illuminated with oil lanterns. Herschel sat in the living room upon the ancient couch with a bible in hand. He looked up when he heard us enter.

"Hello there." He said, his warm welcoming smiled stretching across his face. "Let me fetch your medicine, Miss Holden."

"No, you stay put, Daddy. I'll get it." Maggie said with a wave of her hand.

Herschel said his thanks to his daughter before gesturing to the seats across from him. As we took our seats, he closed the book in his hands.

"Do you believe?" He asked, his eyes glancing down at the bible.

I shook my head. "No, I'm sorry, I don't." I said. "Even more now."

"I'm Buddhist. Well, I was Buddhist. I don't know what I'd call myself now. Alive is all I know, really." Taylor said.

"Don't apologize. Everyone believe what they do for a reason." He said. "I find comfort in the word. Lately, I must admit, I've had a lot to mull over. The Lord promised the dead would rise... I thought he had something a little different in mind."

I nodded and shifted nervously. Talk of religion had always made me uneasy.

"Our mother was Catholic, our father was Agnostic." Taylor told the man. "We were raised in a Catholic church. But we all had very different views of religion. Our older brothers practiced Hare Krishna, our sister was pagan."

"You had more siblings?" Herschel said with a slight hint of surprise in his tone.

"Yes." I said, happy that the topic was being changed. "We had two older brothers, they were twins like us, Greyson and Julian. We had an older sister as well, Cora."

"Did they not..." he started.

"Cora didn't." Taylor said, shaking his head. "We couldn't find Greyson and Julian."

"I'm very sorry for your loss." He told us grimly. "I lost my wife and step son, Shawn."

"I'm sorry." I said. "It's very hard."

"It is." He agreed.

Maggie reemerged into the living room and made her way over to me. She handed me the medicine and a glass of water.

"I changed your sheets." She said as she took the glass of water from me once I was done.

"You're too sweet." I said with a smile. "Thank you for your hospitality, Mr. Greene."

"Please, call me Herschel." He said as he stood.

"Well, I guess we're off to bed then." Taylor said.

We said our goodnight's and made our way upstairs. Pausing before I walked into the room I had woken up in, I turned to Taylor who was about to walk into his room across the hall since we didn't have our tents with us.

"Tay?" I said.

"Yeah, Riv?" He said as he turned around to look at me.

"Rick talked to me earlier about staying with the group. What do you think?" I asked. Even though Rick had said Taylor's response was similar to my own, I knew we had to discuss it together.

"I think it would be smart." He said.

"I think it would be too." I agreed.

"That settles that then." He nodded. "We stay."

"We stay." I repeated. "Just make sure your not staying just to stare at Beth..."

Taylor rolled his eyes. "Goodnight, sis."

"Goodnight, Tay. Love you."

"Love you too." He said before closing the door behind him.

I sighed as I entered my room and shut the door. I pulled off my boots and sat them beside the door before I headed into the small bathroom. I found a pair of sweat pants and a T-shirt in my backpack and carefully changed. After I was dressed in my night clothes, I grabbed the bandages and disinfectant Maggie had left on the sink for me and changed my bandages on my wound. I stared at the stitched up spot on my body and once again reminded myself just how lucky I was. I dug around in my bag once more and finally found my hair brush and toothbrush.

After I brushed my teeth, I undid my braid and let my curls loose. Brushing through them, I smiled to myself in the mirror. It almost felt foreign being able to actually get ready for bed instead of just climbing into a sleeping bag with the dirt and grime of the day still on you. Or only having a cold, quick river bath. And that was if you were lucky.

After I got ready, I climbed into the bed and snuggled down, enjoying the softness of a real bed and soft sheets. I turned off the oil lantern beside the bed and closed my eyes.

For the first time since the dead had risen, I fell asleep feeling safe, content, and most of all, hopeful.