The next morning Claire woke me up explaining she wanted to train again. I wasn't going to object to her motivation, I only wished she would have let us sleep for another hour — it was hardly six o'clock. I got up groggily, pulling the tee shirt I'd gone to bed in over my head. I searched for another sports bra through my bag, thinking I'd need to wash clothes soon. The clothes I'd worn yesterday had been drenched in my sweat and smelled foul.

Claire was already dressed and ready to go, her knife holstered to her thigh. It took me a while to pull on some shorts, slip the holster up my leg, and get my sneakers on. I was so tired my craving for coffee never felt so high. I was going through the worst type of withdrawal. I threw a sweater jacket over my sports bra, and then grabbed my toothbrush from my bag, getting Claire's out, as well as toothpaste, before ushering her towards the door.

Once we were both cleaned up, we headed downstairs quietly as not to wake anyone else up in the house. We were up before any of Rick's group, and made it into the woods without being stopped. Claire started ahead of me, breaking off into a jog.

Instead of sticking to a path, however, she led the way through the trees, jumping over different obstacles in her path. She glanced at me beside her before picking up her pace. When we came to a clearing, Claire stopped catching her breath. I did too, though I wasn't as winded as she was. Surprising me, she started doing jumping jacks quiet in her determination.

I followed her, counting out thirty jumping jacks when she dropped to the ground to do push ups. I smirked, joining her on the ground. She was far more invested today in the workout plan. Maybe yesterday's event had sparked something in her, I didn't know. But, either way, Claire was very firm in her decision to get active. After doing a number of push-ups, she crouched back to do some sit-ups.

I couldn't help but chuckle as I watched her struggle to sit up. Working out under the hot sun resembled an intense session of hot yoga to me, but I was otherwise, pretty much unaffected by our routine. I'd been consistently going to the gym before everything happened.

A few hours later we were practically crawling back to Hershel's farm and were greeted by Dale again as we walked up. "Long morning?" he asked with a small chuckle.

"You have no idea," I responded trying to remain steady on my feet. Working out this much without proper sustenance wasn't actually very smart and I figured I needed to rectify it, starting with a breakfast. We nodded at Dale before continuing towards my pickup truck. I unlocked the trunk and popped it open before hopping up onto the bed.

"I'm starving," Claire chimed.

"Yeah, me too," I responded as I took the top off of one of the bins and removed a tin can of scrambled eggs and bacon. It was one of those freezer-dried food kits, and apparently all you had to do was add water. After retrieving two bowls and spoons from another supply bin, I hopped down and found a spot on the grass to eat with Claire.

The mornings on Hershel's farm were always nice; you could kind of pretend everything was normal, because it sure looked that way. With his farm animals and the lack of animated dead people, it was like some warped vacation. With a bunch of strangers. We were sitting in the grass for a while; long enough for Rick's group to be up and making plans to go somewhere.

Rick was talking to Lori and Carl a few feet away. Once he finished that conversation he started to walk away but then stopped turning to face us. We'd finished eating and were just sitting on the ground enjoying the cool breeze that catered to us every once in a while. "Was gon' take our group and do some shooting practice. Any interest?" he asked.

I turned my head thoughtfully. We'd done a bit of shooting practice in our travels, and could handle the firearms pretty well, but I didn't mind training some more. I glanced at Claire. "Sure."

About an hour later, we rolled up to an abandoned area to practice our shooting. It was a pretty large group of us, but Claire and I had our own handguns and ammo. Shane aligned different sized bottles and cans on a fence and everyone lined up a length away from it. Claire and I were at the end of the group, since we weren't really apart of the group to begin with.

"Ten bucks I hit them all," Claire declared with a silly grin on her face.

I laughed as I adjusted my stance. "What is ten dollars going to do for you?"

"Barter system," Claire responded like it was the most obvious thing.

"Money is obsolete. So I don't think you'd get anything in a barter, kid."

She shrugged. "Fine." She was silent then, looking at the cans with a thoughtful expression. She looked back at me, her expression very serious. "I hit all the cans and we join Rick's group."

I cocked an eyebrow at her, surprised by her request and, also, not surprised, too. I was surprised she thought I would leave a decision like that up to her shooting skills. If we were going to stay with Rick's group it was going to be because I felt it was the right move. Same went for it we didn't stay with them.

But I didn't want to tell her this and upset her, because she'd make a scene in front of these people and that would be embarrassing. "Alright," I responded with a nod. "But if you miss one than you're washing all the laundry."

She gaped at me her eyes lit with surprise. "Deal!" She hastily turned back to the cans and planted her feet in the ground, squaring her shoulders before she lifted and aligned her handgun.

"Now, remember what I told you. Newton's third law—."

She cut me off. "I know, I know. There'll be a kickback. I got it." I made a face but decided to be quiet and let her do her thing.

Rick's group was getting pointers from Shane, who I'd learned was an officer before this, on how to shoot accurately and efficiently. He hadn't come over to Claire or I, which I was thankful for because he didn't particularly give off the best vibes and I preferred to have nothing to do with him.

I was jolted out of my thoughts when Claire fired the gun, hitting one of the cans dead center. I knew my expression was one of shock as she shifted her hips and took aim at the next target. Her gun fired a second round, landing on the bottle and shattering it into pieces. I noticed that everyone was staring at us both and felt some smug satisfaction.

On the last bottle, she hesitated. I knew what she was thinking. This shot could make or break our decision to stay with Rick's group. I didn't want to tell her that I'd already decided. She needed to be able to deliver in stressful situations, when the stakes were high.

"Don't think about it," I told her calmly. "Just do."

She nodded, and took the shot. The glass exploded in the air. To the left of us, I heard Carol mutter, "Well, I'll be damned."

Claire was grinning as she lowered her gun, but it wasn't the kind of gloating that went with hitting every target. "So we're staying then?" she asked, looking up at me with her eyebrows raised.

I nodded. "A bet's a bet."

Shane sauntered over to us, kind of smugly, and said, "Well, look at that. You've got yourself a pretty good shot. Why don't the two of ya' come work on something a little more difficult then?"

I decided in that moment, I really did not like Shane. Not with his smug, gloating personality. And his cold tone. But I also wasn't one to back down from a challenge.

Carol and Andrea stared as we walked past, following Shane over to another section where a tire was swinging.

"Hitting a standing target is great, if all walkers just stood there. But they don't. So let's see how you fare with somethin' movin'. Go head." He pushed the tire, so it started swinging. "Hit this."

Claire's face was determined, as she pulled her shoulders back and lined up her gun. Her first shot sent the bullet straight through the center of the tire. The next few rounds did the same. As she reloaded her gun, I said, "Take your time and watch how it moves. Don't shoot where it is, but where's it going."

"Miss Clarke, ya' could take a shot, too," Shane said giving me a face that was one part challenge and all parts mocking.

I said to Claire, "Go head. Try again."

Her next shot clipped the side of the tire.

The morning went on with Claire practicing on the tire. Shane walked away to check in on the rest of his group. Towards the end, he made another round our way as the rest of the group gathered their things to leave. "You're doing great, Claire," he said giving her this smile I'd seen him use with Lori and Carl. I didn't like it one bit. Then he looked over at me. "I didn't see you take a shot."

I pursed my lips, holding back an eye roll. I nodded my head slowly at him. "That's right, you didn't," I said sickly sweet as I lifted my gun and took a shot. I'd been aiming for the top of the tire. It seemed like a logical place to shoot since it would be the head of the walker. The tire was swinging fast, and then it wasn't swinging at all. Now, it just sat on the ground.

I'd shot right through the rope holding it.

T-Dog had been passing and clapped me on the back with a whistle. "Nice job."

Shane squinted at me, rubbing his nose as he started to turn his back. "Yeah, nice job, alright."

Claire was the only one displaying her awe. "Holy crap," she said glancing between the tire and me. "You've been holding out on me. Since when can you shoot like that?" I'd been holding out on myself, honestly. I hadn't shot with an aim like that since I was a teenager hunting with my father. I didn't think I still had it in me.

After gun practice, we returned back to the farm. I took Claire's gun to put it away in the truck. Rick joined me on the walk to the car, while Claire talked in a hushed voice to Carl. "You both were good out there," Rick said with a smile, tipping his head some. "Even had Shane impressed, which is something."

"No offense, but I don't really care what Shane thinks of me," I told him honestly as I unlocked the door, and placed the guns into the console.

Rick laughed. "None taken. I know you and Shane didn't exactly hit it off when you first met. He's – everything's changed him, hardened him, but he's a good guy."

I almost questioned Rick on that. Was Shane a good guy? I didn't think so. But I knew he was part of Rick's group, and I wasn't going to start anything.

"I've known him a long time," Rick continued to explain. "Before everything happened, Shane and I were on the force together. I got shot and he took care of Lori, Carl, got them to safety after everything went down. I know he's rough, and I don't make any excuses for some of things he does, says, but I know he's a good man. I hope you'll see that, too."

Yeah, doubtful.

I nodded my head.

"Anyhow. I'll leave you to it. I'm glad you and Claire joined us out there today."

Claire went off to play with Carl, and Lori was watching them, so I decided to join Carol, who was doing laundry. Carol didn't seem to mind the company, so I grabbed Claire's and my things and met her at the back of house where there were some basins set up with water and soap.

For a bit, Carol and I were quiet as we worked. Then Carol said, "You and Claire are good with guns."

I nodded. "We've been practicing."

"The way you took down that tire. That was very precise aim," Carol continued.

I shrugged modestly. "I was aiming for the top of the tire."

"Still." Carol pushed some shirts under the water, soaping them up. She was frowning at her hands. "I wish that I had – that we'd been preparing ourselves since the beginning."

I frowned, too. I almost told Carol I was sorry, sorry about her daughter. But I decided, maybe that wasn't something she wanted to talk about or have people say anymore. Surely she got enough of it from everyone else. Instead, I asked, "How long have you been with Rick and everyone?"

Carol glanced at me. "Actually, Shane was in charge in the beginning. We'd been heading into Atlanta but the city was horrible. The dead were everywhere. We made a camp outside the city. Andrea was in the city doing a run for supplies when she found Rick, or he found her. Glenn, actually, saved his life." Carol laughed.

"So Lori and Carl had been with Shane? And Rick just happened to find Andrea, who led him back to them? That's some luck."

"He had been in the hospital in a coma when everything happened. Shane was looking after Lori and Carl. It's a miracle Rick found his way back to them. We had a larger group back then. We've lost a lot of people." Carol's words got softer at the end there, like she was reliving the loss.

"So you guys were camping outside Atlanta. How'd you get over here?"

"We believed the CDC was our safest bet, so we went there. But that was," Carol paused, "it was a lost cause. So we kept moving, and we got stuck on this highway nearby with all these cars on it."

"Oh, yeah, I know it, we came up to it and decided to turn around, take a back road."

"Yes, well, while we were on it moving cars and finding supplies a herd of walkers came through. That's when my, that's when Sophia got chased into the woods by one of them and," Carol paused again, taking a breath, "and then Carl got shot, and we ended up here." Carol laughed, a sound that was anything but happy. "That's the abbreviated version, anyway."

I nodded.

Carol looked at me. "What about you? What's your story?" I hesitated, not too keen on delving into my own stories. Carol laughed like she could tell. "Don't worry," she said. "You can give me the abbreviated version."

"Right, the abbreviated version." I laughed nervously.

"I know you're both from Baltimore. Rick said you were visiting your dad's place. You lost him?"

I cleared my throat. "I did, yes. Before though, when I was a lot younger."

Carol laughed loudly. "No offense Clarke, but you don't look all that old!"

I grinned. "I feel old these days. But yeah, so I guess it was supposed to be a short vacation at my dad's place. And then everything happened. Claire and I stayed where we were as long as we could. Resources dwindled, so we started driving, and that's what we were doing till we got here."

"You didn't run into other groups?" she asked as she wrung out her clothes and moved them to the rinsing basin.

"No, surprisingly. Maggie was the first person we met. Have you met other groups? You met the people a the CDC, right?"

"We have met some other people. Some nice, some not so much. There was only one scientist left at the CDC. He chose…his own way out of this."

I raised both my eyebrows, surprised. "That's kind of disheartening. If the CDC can't beat this, who can?"

"Right," Carol agreed. "I try not to think about it, but some days this feels like the never ending fight."

"I guess it kind of is." We got quiet again, but not a comfortable silence. It felt too heavy. "So tell me about everyone in the group."

And Carol did. She told me all about Rick and Shane, how they worked together before everything happened, how after everything happened Shane and Lori took to each other. The way she described Shane, she seemed to be more scared of him than anything. Shane evoked fear and anger to lead while Rick was kinder and, thereby, softer. The two often butt heads.

Glenn was a pillar of their group. Selfless and fearless, was how she described him. If you ever needed something, Glenn would find a way to get it for you. He was also who the group always sent to do 'runs', what they referred to when they went out searching for supplies. Carol also explained their coined term 'walkers'. I told her Claire and I referred to them as infecteds, but walkers did have a ring to it.

She talked about Andrea, who I wasn't very fond of. She told me that Andrea had recently lost her sister, whom she'd been most devoted to. Andrea was hard edges, but soft on the inside. A good person, Carol had said. She didn't have much to say about Dale. She just said honest, and honestly good. She said T-Dog was strong and loyal, someone you could always rely on to have your back.

Carol seemed to have an opinion on everyone in the group. She was quiet, so I trusted what she had to say. It told me that she paid attention; she noticed things.

And then there was Daryl. She said, "With Daryl," she sighed shaking her head momentarily, "he really is a redneck."

Her bluntness took me by surprise, and I laughed.

"But he's also a genuine and caring man," she said definitively. "He was, he's been so intent on finding Sophia. He hasn't given up on her, and everyone else has." I went to object but Carol hushed me. "No, I know, I know that everyone thinks she's gone. But Daryl, he's a good man. Truly. I just don't think he knows how good he is. Or maybe he does know it, and he just doesn't like it about himself."

"He can be very stubborn," I said.

"Yes," she laughed, "he can be. He's been through a lot. Before everything and after. His brother, Merle…Merle wasn't the greatest role model, but they were brothers. And Merle got to actin' out and he got left behind by Rick and the others while they were out on a run. When they went back for him, he wasn't there. We don't know what happened to him, and I know Daryl took that hard."

I was surprised to hear all of this about Daryl. I was a pretty good judge of character, actually making accurate snap judgments of people was one of my strong suits and I didn't get any of that from Daryl.

Beth walked out of the back door then, holding a bag of clothespins. "Are ya'll done washing? The clothesline is on the side of the house."

"Yes, yes," Carol said surprised, looking to me. I nodded my head to let her know I, too, was done washing. I picked up all the wet clothes in my arms, and followed Beth to the side of the house. She stayed around to help us pin the clothes. Afterwards, I went off to grab Claire so we could have dinner.

"What're we having?" Claire asked as I rummaged through our bins for a meal. We didn't really have a variety of options, but we did have a lot of food to choose from. We were in abundance of rice and canned vegetables, and lots of packaged meals, which I was saving, if and when we'd be on the road again.

"I'm thinking rice and beans," I told her as I pulled a box of yellow rice from the bin.

"We should make dinner for everyone," Claire declared.

"That's a lot of food, a lot of our supplies to be using," I answered.

"But it's not just our supplies anymore, it's our supplies." I looked at her with an expression that said 'what's the difference?'. "As in everyone's? Because we're joining them? We are still joining them, right? You meant what you said?"

"Yes, Claire, I meant what I said. But I haven't told Rick that, so can we just, can we relax?"

"I am relaxed," Claire exclaimed, sounding anything but.

"Fine, you know what, you want to cook everyone dinner, then you go and ask Maggie if we can use the kitchen and you go ahead and tell everyone that we're cooking."

Claire was more than happy to do both tasks. I stayed behind picking out three boxes of rice, and four cans of beans, thinking that would be more than enough for everyone. When I walked into the house, Maggie was in the living room with Claire.

She turned and grinned at me. I hadn't seen her most of the afternoon; she'd apparently gone out on a run with Glenn. Carol was right; Glenn was their go-to guy.

"Heard you're sticking 'round," she said.

"That's the plan," I responded uneasily, thinking, for now.

"Well, you're welcome to the kitchen. Here, I'm happy to help ya'." She led the way into the kitchen. Claire was practically jumping up and down with excitement.

"Okay, I'm gonna' tell her everyone we're making dinner!" Claire took off.

"I don't wanna' gloat, or anythin'," Maggie said as she took out a couple of pots. "But I knew you'd come round to it."

I rolled my eyes. "But you're not gloating."

"Not a lick," she said with a laugh. Something about her, reminded me of Claire. The way she grew on you, I think. Not that Maggie, nor Claire for that matter, had grown on me.

Claire was quick to bring everyone inside once dinner was made. There wasn't enough room in the dining room, so mostly everyone took their plates to the living room, sitting on the couches and floor to eat.

Maggie and I were the last to get our plates, having dished everything out to everyone else. I lingered in the doorway to the living room with my plate, feeling uneasy about the fullness of the space. Even Daryl had come downstairs for dinner; though he lingered by the stairs like he was one step away, quite literally, from going back up to the bedroom.

Dinner was quiet at first, until T-Dog made a joke about the beans and the lack of ventilation in his tent. Glenn responded that he'd be sleeping outside the tent tonight. Everyone laughed. It turned out it wasn't so bad having people around after all.