BANG BANG BANG BANG!

Max bolted up at the noise and quickly looked around as she grabbed her gun.

"Max, get up!", Lee called from outside. "You wanna eat?"

Sighing in relief, she put the gun away before she wrapped her hair up and tied her bandana back on. She opened the door and stepped outside, finding the group sitting in a circle outside. Carley looked over her shoulder and smiled. "Hey sleepy head," she greeted.

"Morning," Max said with a yawn. "Man, I haven't slept on anything soft like that in ages!", she said as she plopped down into a lawn chair. Mark held a pack of crackers out to her. "You want some?", he asked.

The disguised girl blinked. "Um... yeah, sure," she said as she took the pack and opened it.

"So where you from, kid?", Larry asked eying her suspiciously.

"First of all, my name's not 'Kid', it's Max, and second, I'm from Orchard Hill," Max said.

"Orchard Hill? That's pretty far," said Katjaa.

"Ah, not really. When the dead started showing up, I managed to hitch a ride with a friend and got at least twenty miles away until we crashed into a walker. My friend was unconscious and I tried to wake him up, but it was no use. I then ran into the forest and was stuck hiding and sleeping in trees for the next five weeks. I go to Macon to find me some supplies, and during one of my runs through town, I found these guys surrounded by walkers," she said jabbing her thumb towards Lee and Carley.

"That was pretty brave of you," said Carley. "How old are you, anyway?"

"14," Max answered.

"Cool!", Duck exclaimed. "I'm 10!"

"8," Clementine said meekly. "You wanna see some pictures we drew?"

"Uh... sure," Max said as she got up and Duck grabbed her hand as he and Clementine lead her over to a colorful chalk drawing on the ground. "Whaddya think? We drew this all by ourselves!", Duck exclaimed.

Max smiled. "That's cool."

Clementine held out a piece of chalk. "Do you wanna draw?", she asked.

The teen couldn't help but smile at the younger girl. "Alright," she said as she took the piece of chalk and sat down with them.

Lee smiled as he, Kenny, and Carley watched the scene. "Well, it seems like Max is getting along with the kids just fine," he remarked.

"I don't trust him," Larry said as he stepped next to them. Kenny glared at him. "You don't trust anybody, Larry!", he shot back.

"He could be a threat to us!", said Larry.

"He saved us. He seems trustworthy enough," said Carley.

"Fine, but I'm keeping my eye on him," Larry said with a sneer before he walked away. Lee and Carley both sighed in annoyance.

Nearby, Max had drawn a farm with Clementine and Duck. She was currently drawing a fence, which looked pretty good.

"Whatcha working on there?", Lee asked as he walked up to them.

"We're drawing a farm! Duck's drawing the buildings, I'm drawing the animals, and Max is drawing the fence and grass! He's really good at it!", Clementine said. Max smiled and scratched the back of his head. "Ah, stop, you're embarrassing me," she said. "Max!", Lilly called from her spot on top of the RV. The disguised girl looked up and asked, "What?"

"Would you like a turn keeping watch?"

Max got up and walked up to the vehicle. "Depends. What am I supposed to do?"

"You keep a lookout for any walkers or anyone suspicious and warn us," Lilly explained. "Sounds simple enough," Max said as she climbed up the ladder on the RV. "Trust me, it's not as easy as it looks," Lilly stated. Max shrugged and sat on the lawn chair and placed the rifle in her lap.

Later...

An hour had passed since Max had took Lilly's post. Lilly looked up and smirked when she saw Max staring at everyone with a bored expression.

"How you doing up there, kid?", she asked. "I'm bored out of my mind," Max said. "Can I come down now?!"

"Yeah, you can," Lilly said. She got a response of 'Finally!', as the teen climbed down the ladder and trudged over to a laundry chair. The girl sighed as she leaned her head back and closed her eyes.

A moment later, a soccer ball rolled over to her feet. She opened her eyes, leaned down, and picked it up. "Hey!", Duck cried. Max looked up to see Clementine and Duck standing several feet away from them. "Pass it over here!", Duck yelled. Smiling, she tossed the ball over to him and watched as the two kids kicked the ball back and forth.

After a while, Clementine, noticed her staring at them and asked, "Do you want to play with us?"

Max nodded with a smile. "Sure, why not? You want me to be the goalie?", she asked. Duck eagerly nodded. The girl got up and stood in front of two barrels which would be the goal. She grinned at the two kids in front of her. "Alright, let's see if you can get the ball past me," she said. As soon as those words left her mouth, the younger kids ran forwards and started kicking the ball. Max got ready to intercept and grinned as Duck kicked the ball past her and into the homemade goal.

After several minutes of playing, the result was that the kids managed to win. "Alright guys, I think that's enough," the teenage girl said. The two younger children groaned. "I might play with you guys later, alright?", she said before walking away.

"Seems that the kids have taken a liking to you."

Max tilted her head and saw Carley walking up to her. "Oh. Hi Carley."

"So what do you think of the motor inn?", asked the former reporter.

The younger girl in disguise shrugged. "It's alright. So are the people here," she said before glancing at Larry with a frown. "That guy's a total pain in the a**, though."

"Everyone thinks that too. Just try not to get in fights with him, OK?", Carley asked. Max sighed. "Alright, as long as he doesn't tick me off."

Carley smiled and patted her head. "That's good. See you," she said as she walked away. Max smiled and gazed up at the sky.

"You know... I think it's gonna be OK..."