After the man had left, the girl had leapt back up to her perch on the beam. Leaning against the wall, she twirled the chicken bone around in her hands. He had said something after asking her if she was dangerous. Something that made her stomach churn. Not with fear, but with uncertainty.

His words still circled her mind: "Ima gonna get you outta here."

She didn't know why they had bothered her so much, but she just didn't get why anyone should care about her. Especially these people that she had just met. She scowled. They should not care about her. It just wasn't logical in this world. The moment you start allowing complete strangers into your group is the minute you're not gonna survive.

But the thing that really bothered her was the fact that that man seemed to really care about her wellbeing. No one had cared about her like that since Atlanta...

The girl sat straight up on the beam, legs dangling over the sides, fingering clawing into it for support. The memories washed back over her like a tsunami. She felt the fear. She felt the horror. Her back stiffened with the sudden rush of emotion, and her eyes stung with unshed tears. Her breathing became rushed and ragged. She clamped her eyes shut, trying to ward off the images. No. No! I won't think of them! Not now! She opened her eyes a bit, tears running down her face. Not here. I need to be strong now. There will be a time for mourning, but that's not now.

The girl dug her fingernails into the wood. She forced herself to breath normal, but the tears kept flowing.

She bent forward and put her forehead down on the beam. She bit back a sob.

But I miss them so much...

Hershel sat in the dining room finally eating lunch and reading a book. He had been too busy running around with those people, trying to keep some sort of order on his farm. He wasn't exactly happy with how comfortable these people were getting on his farm. He needed to protect his family, and these people were so careless and haphazard. And as far as he was concerned, murders too. But that was another battle for another day. Hershel did not want to see that innocent little boy die because of Otis's mistake, may God bless his soul. He had checked out Carl this morning, and decided that he could start moving around a little more. However, he knew that that boy's mother wouldn't let him lift a finger if she had a say in it.

He smiled to himself and glanced over to the refrigerator. His wife's picture was hanging there. She was smiling. Hershel wished that these people would leave so he could get back to curing his family. He missed Annette.

Hershel was broken out of his thoughts when he heard the front door open and saw Rick walk in.

"Hello Rick. What's on your mind?" he greeted warmly.

Rick stopped across the table from Hershel, picking his words carefully. "I'm sorry that we have that girl in your shed," he began than shook his head. He tried again, "Her wrists are all cut up. Would you mind taking a look at her tomorrow morning?"

Hershel restrained himself from sighing. "Sure. I'm assuming that you would like me to wait for you and Daryl to be there before I start, correct?"

Rick nodded, solemn as a statue.

Hershel nodded, and stared at him, silently willing for Rick to leave so that he could finish his lunch in peace.

Rick got the message, nodded again, and slowly wandered his way out.

Maggie walked in, staring after Rick. She sat down opposite Hershel.

"Yes?"

Maggie looked at him, her green eyes staring at his blue. "Admit it, you kinda like having them here."

Hershel leaned forward, eyes burning. "I won't admit anything. I have to keep you girls safe, and these people are risky."

They both smirked. Maggie stared out the window, watching the visitors set up their camp. "I'm going to need to run to town soon."

"Wait a couple more days, we can last. I don't want you running around with these people mullin' around." She looked at him. "That's an order miss."

Maggie rolled her eyes at him. "Well, sir," she said sarcastically, "I'm going to go catch some chickens with Beth, if that's alright with you."

He smiled. "Don't forget a couple extra for mom and Shawn."

She smiled back and went out the front door.

Hershel sighed. He really didn't like all these people on his farm. But it was always nice to meet new people. Shaking his head, Hershel resumed reading The Red Badge of Courage and eating his salad.

The girl had grown tired of practicing her routines on the beam. Cartwheels and backflips and somersaults and such can only entertain oneself for so long. She hung upside down and sighed. What to do... What to do...

"CARL!"

The girl sat up, interest piqued.

"CAARRLL!"

She stood up on the beam and walked over to the wall that the scream was coming from and peeked out from between the cracks. There was a gaunt woman literally spinning around camp looking worried. Her hair was stringy brown and she walked with an air of superiority. The girl smirked. What a bitch. She shifted her view, balancing on her toes as she shuffled around one of the horizontal planks that held the siding on. If she leaned slightly backwards, the girl would drop thirty feet and land on her back. A young boy came into view, with two other girls in tow, one blonde the other brunette. The stringy woman ran over to the boy, presumably Carl, and started scolding him and then the two other women behind him. Both had wire baskets full of hay in their hands. Eggs maybe? The stringy woman pulled the protesting boy back to the house as the leader suddenly walked up behind the family. The girl guessed that that was his family. The three disappeared into the house, eventually followed by the other two.

While she was busy spying on the group, counting how many different people she saw, the girl didn't hear the door open.

Daryl walked into the shed when something caught his eye. There was that girl. Thirty feet in the air. Balancing on her toes. On a half inch piece of wood. His mouth fell open. There was no humanely way that anyone could possibly accomplish that.

The girl felt like something was watching her, so she turned her head to look around, still balancing on the edge. She noticed Daryl. She turned white. She hadn't intended to let any of the people know her special set of skills. The ones that had let her survive for so long in this hellish world.

Daryl overcame his bewilderment, and awkwardly looked down to the bedding that he was holding. The girl still stared at him, absolutely terrified.

"I, uh, figured that, uh, you might need something more, um, comfortable to sleep on, ya know, instead of the straw in the, um, corner, yeah." Daryl held out the pillow and comforter that he grabbed from Hershel's house. He didn't know why he did it, but the way the girl had acted before had just stuck him as intriguing. He still didn't know what was up with her, she was still a mystery, and most of the camp was afraid of her due to Shane's lies. And as per Rick's orders, they needed to give the girl someone to trust if she was to be of any use to them, and somehow Daryl had gotten stuck with the responsibility. He didn't even fucking think of brining her a pillow! That was Carol's idea. He still needed to find Sophia, and maybe, just maybe, this girl might be of some use to him. If she can survive on her own out there, she must be a good hunter. The group definitely needed another one, Daryl couldn't catch all of the food by himself. He was just one guy.

The girl finally snapped out her fright, taking a breath and step backwards off of the narrow ledge. She landed on her right foot and nimbly turned to face the kind man. Her face was contorted with confusion. Why the hell should he care about her, she hadn't told him anything, hadn't given him anything, any reason to help her.

She cautiously took the two items from him, tucking each under her arm, still eying the man suspiciously. He shifted under her hazel eyes' piercing gaze, one of the few traits of her past life that had carried over. She leaned to the right slightly, eying the door behind him. Soooo... When can I...

Daryl noticed her gaze, and remembered his cool exterior. "Oh." He paused. "Rick said he's gonna talk to the rest of the group before..." he trailed off, her gaze back on him, still perplexed, but more trusting.

She nodded, now away from the man, biting her lip. I understand.

She suddenly looked back up at Daryl, furrowing her eyebrows and pursing her lips, as if she was trying to remember something. She raised the arm holding the pillow slightly, pointed at Daryl. And you're...

Somehow, Daryl got her meaning, finishing her sentence with his name.

She grinned. Happy to have a friend.

Daryl's lopsided smile made a brief appearance before disappearing again. He gestured up to her perch. "So how did you..." He was really curious about how the hell that bitch got up there.

She bit her lip and glanced to the side, hugging her arms to herself best she could. She looked back at him, worried. Daryl nodded. He think he got it now. The girl was mute. She couldn't talk, even if she wanted to. He had heard of these people, never thought he would meet one. He nodded again, turning to leave.

"Well, night," he said over his shoulder.

She waved, beaming again. Night, Daryl.

The door closed, and she was alone again. She looked around again, the room suddenly feeling quite small. Laying the blanket down on the ground, she placed the pillow in the middle and fashioned a makeshift sack out of it. She slipped her small, muscular frame through the opening, and nimbly leapt from small ledge to small ledge, gripping notches in the boards to help her ascension. She moved like a cat, easily getting herself back up to her beam. She straddled the beam, and began to make her bed. She shook her head. She wanted to talk, but she couldn't. She wouldn't. Not after what happened in Atlanta. Another tear slipped down her cheek. She blinked it away.

This was her family now, and she had to accept that.

AHH! Another mysterious chapter about "the girl"... So glad that this got out so quickly. :P They're getting easier and easier to write.

For those two people who wrote me reviews, I LOVE YOU BOTH. You have NO idea how happy you made me when I read them.

Anyways, Favorite/Follow/Review/etc/etc/etc. Keep reading! There's A LOT more good stuff to come!

Love you all!

~Toni