Michonne stood still as the dirty looking white man pointed a gun at her, Rand and Tsula. "Well, well, well, what do we have here? Two women and a little girl. Are you by yourselves?"

They didn't answer but she noticed Rand moved so the hallway to the back was blocked. The man moved the gun in her direction. "Stay where you are. I asked you a question. Are you by yourselves?"

"Yes," Rand whispered.

"Jack," the man yelled. "Jack."

Jack, when he walked in the door, looked just as dirty and raggedy as the man who yelled his name. He was dragging two skinny, dirty, raggedy white women behind him, hands tied in front of them and dog collars around their necks with leashes attached. "What the hell, Brad. Don't yell. The biters can hear, ya asshole."

Brad motioned with his gun at them. "They're by themselves."

Jack shook his head. "More women means more supplies. Just pick two, we'll get rid a these ones. They lookin' worse for wear."

"We take the little girl we can use her to haul our supplies. She don't look like she eats a lot," Brad pointed out.

Jack looked Tsula over. "Alright." He pulled out a gun and shot the two women in the head. Tsula froze. "You," he gestured to her. "Come over here. Now," he yelled when she wouldn't move. Tsula looked at Rand.

"She yours?"

"Yes," Rand whispered again.

"You tell her to come on over here or we kill her."

"Go on," Rand motioned with her hand.

"You," Brad pointed his gun at Rand. "You come with her."

Rand moved by Michonne and took Tsula's hand. "Alright. You learn fast," Brad grinned. "Hold out your hands." Rand did and Jack tied her hands in front of her. When he tried to put the dog collar on her she stomped on his foot then kneed him in the nuts. Brad brought his gun up and tried to shoot her. Tsula ran.

Rand took Jack and used him as a shield. After the first shot she pushed him into Brad, picked up the leash and tried to move behind him. Michonne stabbed Jack with her katana. When she looked up she saw Rand had the leash wrapped around Brad's neck and was pulling it tight. Brad dropped his gun and was trying to get the leash off of his neck but Rand pulled it tighter. Gurgling sounds were coming from Brad's mouth. Michonne watched as Rand strangled the man to death. He weakly slapped at the air behind him. When he stopped moving Rand pulled him out of the shop by the leash. "I have a knife. Can you cut this?" she held out her hands.

Michonne cut the ropes and moved back. She pulled her gun, took off her shirt, wadded it up, put it on his forehead, pressed the gun into it and shot him, the sound muffled.

"Fucker."

"Here," Seth took his shirt off and passed it to her.

"Thanks. Tsula?" she asked as she put it on.

"Waya has her."

Rand dropped her head and let out a deep sigh. "Shit. We should go."

Waya held onto a crying Tsula as Michonne drove them back to the castle. The store was almost done, so Rand, Daryl, Seth and Adrian stayed to finish it up. He appreciated Michonne's silence on the way back. He wasn't mad at Rand. He knew the dangers of this world now. The little girl had seen death. She'd been frozen when the dead had overrun their house and she'd seen her mother, his sister, bitten.

She'd never seen anyone killed by a gun. He kissed her head and ran his hand down her hair. This life. He knew she'd never be okay. His time as a law enforcement officer taught him that. She wouldn't be doing any more trips town after this. He wouldn't even have to say anything to Rand. He was sure the woman had already made the decision.

Daryl was uncomfortable with Rand sitting on his lap near the door of the truck. After they'd cleared out the hardware store they'd gone in search of some diesel for it. The truck fit three, not very well, and the back was full so Rand had to sit on someone's lap. She chose his.

He didn't see what all happened. He did see Rand take off her shirt, put it on some guy's head and shoot him. It had been decided Michonne would take Waya and Tsula back to the castle while they finished the store.

She leaned back against him and watched out the window. The cab was quiet on the drive back. When they reached the overpass Seth reversed the truck so the back faced the fences. Rand was out and unloading before he could say anythin'. It took them, including Michonne, the rest of daylight moving everything from the truck to the bailey.

"Alright, we'll get this shit situated tomorrow. The department store the day after. So on and so on. We should be able to go back to your base in a week." Rand sighed. "I need to take a shower then I'll start dinner."

"I'll make dinner," Seth volunteered.

"Thanks," Rand nodded her head and walked toward the keep.

"You can cook?" Adrian raised his eyebrows.

"Rice. Spaghetti. Is that alright with you, Daryl?"

The man looked up from what they'd taken from the hardware store. "Don't matter. Takin' a shower." He followed behind Rand. "Need some a them clothes," he yelled over his shoulder.

"A force," Adrian decided.

"Yep. She's a force," Seth agreed. "Go," he pointed to the keep. "Get Daryl some clothes."

Daryl took a plate of spaghetti to Waya's room. He knocked as quiet as he could. He stepped back when the man opened the door. "Here," he practically shoved the plate at him. "Didn't know if Tsula wanted some."

"Thank you. She's sleeping." Waya took the plate and closed the door quietly.

Michonne found Rand in the solar reading a book on growing wheat. She poured a glass of wine and sat down. She shook her head. She was sitting in a castle, drinking wine.

"Are you okay?" Rand asked her, not looking up from her book.

"Fine."

Rand nodded once and continued reading.

"Are you?"

"Yes."

They sat like that until Michonne finished her drink and went to bed.

Michonne wasn't surprised the next morning when she got up and saw the four of them practicing with the swords until they started sorting the hardware store. Tsula was up and was encouraged to help carry things to the maintenance shed. She didn't say anything to anyone and no one said anything to her. Waya kept a close eye on her. She didn't wander far from him and she did sit with them while they had lunch. He made her peanut butter crackers and she ate them all. When she sat down for dinner someone had put a box of crayons from the apothecary next to her plate.

"There's been a slight change in plans. I'm leaving for a few days. Michonne, Daryl, Seth and Adrian, can you please clean out the department store? Take everything you think we'll need. Clothes, what food is left, towels, sheets, shoes, etc. Michonne knows."

Daryl looked up from his bowl of oatmeal. "Where you goin'?"

"To find their camp."

"You think there's more of them?" Waya asked.

"Yes, I do."

"We should go. Adrian and I. We have experience with that type of terrain," Seth volunteered.

"So do I. We need you two here now. Waya's staying with Tsula. We can afford to lose one person now, not two," Rand pointed out. "After the department store do the businesses then the houses. Sheets, clothes, any food, you get the idea."

"You comin' back?" Daryl narrowed his eyes at her.

"I refuse to be beaten by some banjo playing motherfuckers. I'll go to town with you, unlock the store." Rand looked at him. "I'll be back, Daryl. If I don't? Well, you're the lieutenant to Michonne's general."

He frowned at her.

Michonne sat back in her chair. Rand had just delivered the line of succession. She looked at the other men sitting at the table eating and no one said anything. They'd follow her and Daryl. The woman better come back.

Rand cornered her in her room before they were getting ready to leave. "I'm coming back. Take it all. From the department store."

"All of it?"

"All of it, including things we don't need right now. The jewelry, make up, hair shit, take it all. Not from the homes. Take sheets, towels, clothes, food, guns and crap from the homes. When you search the homes look everywhere. Under beds, in the toilet tanks, in the tampon boxes. Ask Waya how to do a search. He was a cop. He'll know."

"Okay."

Rand gave her a little smile. "You'll be fine. I know you don't need reassuring, but indulge me."

"We'll see you in a week."

After Rand opened the store she left. Michonne decided they'd clean it out by aisles. She and Daryl took the first aisle, Seth and Adrian the aisle over. Half way through the truck was filled up. Daryl took off to find another truck with Seth while she and Adrian continued to pack the store. They came back with a box truck and an SUV. It was getting dark out so they ended up staying the night. The next morning her little convoy made its way back to the castle. Adrian backed the truck and they started unloading.

Tsula was waiting for them when they walked in the bailey. She looked them over, nodded and started pointing. Michonne did smile a little.

Adrian heaved another box in an empty building Michonne had designated as storage. Nothing from the store was going in the apothecary. He was breathing heavily. He'd been an SAS officer. Moving cleaning supplies and clothes shouldn't be this difficult, he muttered to himself. Even on base he'd tried to keep in shape. Running the perimeter and using the weight room.

He heard Daryl grunt as he put his box down. "Think it's the last one." He stood up wiped his face with his sleeve. "Tired. Hungry."

"Is it your turn to cook?" Adrian asked evilly.

Daryl glared at him. "No. It's yours," he shot back before leaving.

Adrian laughed as he walked away. He and Daryl didn't talk a lot. Not that Daryl talked a lot with anyone outside of Michonne and Waya, but he liked the man. He'd been impressed with Daryl since the day they first met. He was good with the crossbow. And a knife.

As he sat down to the soup he'd made for dinner he looked at his new…group. After Rand had decided who would run the castle if she didn't come back he thought of trying to gently nudge Michonne aside. One look from Waya had stopped him. The man was perceptive. Adrian supposed being a cop gave him some experience in how to read people. He'd been on the fence if Seth would step up, so he'd pushed those thoughts aside. Rand ran the castle for a reason. Putting Michonne and Daryl in charge, if she didn't come back, had more than they were here first reasoning.

They'd been out here. They'd obviously been through a lot, he could tell. They had more experience out here. Or maybe it didn't. Rand was obviously the more experienced, life wise, than Michonne or Daryl, but because they'd gotten inside the castle first, she was willing to follow them.

Waya gave Daryl another dish he'd washed for the man to dry. "I'm going hunting tomorrow. I've been inside the walls for too long."

Daryl grunted. "Tsula be alright if you go?"

"I thought I'd ask Michonne to watch over her."

"Go with ya."

Waya nodded. He hadn't been inside the walls for too long. He and Tsula had spent months inside the department store. He needed to let out some of his anger. A dangerous thing to have now. Anger. It made you stupid and stupid got you killed. He needed to calm the fuck down. Tracking animals, quiet, the sounds of nature would help calm him down. If they found something to eat? All the better.

He went to the building where the department store merchandise had been stored and looked through the boxes. The store had had a small sporting goods section. He found an old fashioned bow halfway through. More digging turned up some arrows and he took them all. He stopped off at Michonne's room, made his request, she agreed and he went to their room.

Tsula didn't want him to go, but he assured her he'd be back. Like Rand, he wasn't going to be beaten by some banjo playing motherfuckers.

Seth finally tracked down Michonne. He grimaced as he looked around the bailey. They'd finished the businesses and the homes and they had shit everywhere. Michonne and Tsula were marking the boxes and stacking them in some sort of order. She'd asked him to check out the overpass and he was giving her his report.

He shook his head. He thought Adrian might try and muscle his way into running the castle. He'd seen Waya look at him and he'd backed down. Rand; the woman was a force. He didn't want to run this place. He'd led people before, his squad, and he'd liked doing it. This? Fucked up beyond belief. He didn't think he could run a bunch of civilians. Soldiers? When they signed up for the Beret's they knew they might not come back from a mission. Civilians? No. No one signed up for this shit. Eat or be eaten.

Hell, even some of the hardened soldiers from base had lost their shit during this. Running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Civilians damn sure did the same. He'd kept his. He and Adrian. It's why they were now in a castle; living, eating real food, taking showers and stealing everything not nailed down.

She stopped what she was doing when he finally reached her. "The overpass. It's not very long. It stretches from one side of the tree line to the other side. It needs some work. Brick work."

She nodded. "Do we have what we need?"

"Maybe from the hardware store. I don't know. I've never laid a brick in my life."

"Thanks, Seth."

He frowned as he looked at all the boxes. "We have a lot of shit."

Michonne sighed. "We do. We'll probably never have to do another run for…years. Except for your base."

Seth raised his eyebrows. "I think that was the idea."

She sat down on one of the boxes. "It was." She paused. "Why didn't you back Adrian?"

He didn't pretend to not know what she was talking about. Another perceptive individual. Rand might not have been wrong when she designated Michonne as the leader.

"Rand put you in charge for a reason. And not solely because you and Daryl were here first. It seems she was right. So," he shrugged. "You and Daryl run this place until she comes back. Or doesn't."

"Thank you."

"You need help?"

Tsula sat next to Michonne on the box. "Well, Tsula, can we use the stinky boy's help?"

Tsula giggled. "Auh."

"Alright. Let's put him to work."

Rand looked at the man walking with her and the boy on the donkey. She'd been gone for two plus weeks and was fucking tired. She looked down at her arm and saw it was bleeding again. Fuckers. Banjo playing motherfuckers.

"We meet with the committee?" the man asked again.

"Auh."

"If we're not allowed to stay?"

"We'll give you some provisions and find a house for you close to us."

"Are they mean?" the boy asked.

"They're mean to dicks."

"Like the men?" the boy whispered.

"Like the men."

It had taken her four days to find the camp and she'd watched it for another two. There had been six men. They'd stolen a lot. They also had the man, the boy, a woman and two teenage girls. She wasn't under any illusions they hadn't been raped. They were skinny, dirty and their clothes were filthy. Shit, they weren't really wearing clothes. Bras and underwear.

She took great satisfaction killing one of them as he was about to rape the woman. The woman had stared wide eyed at her as the man fell on her. She put her hand on the woman's mouth and motioned her to stay where she was. The dicks only had two for watch and she'd killed them. She killed the other two in their tents. The last dick had caught her as she came out of one. He shot at her, hitting her in the arm, before she launched herself at him and beat him in the head. Then she'd pulled her sword and cut it off.

The shot got the attention of some walkers. She gathered all of the people and put them in one tent as she stood watch. The next morning she let them out and started going through the camp. She almost shouted in joy when she found four donkeys tethered to trees, not far from camp misery. Lila, the woman, had explained they'd raided their camp and killed everyone.

Rand had offered to take them back to check and Lila started crying. It took them another three days to get there. She was pleasantly surprised to see four other women and two young girls trying to rebuild. It brought a smile to her face when they pointed guns at her. Raising her hands she let Lila and the two girls run over. Rand unloaded what supplies the dicks had, but kept one of the donkeys and some of the food and gear. They'd been allowed to stay the night and Lila had wrapped her wound. Diana, the leader, explained the men wouldn't be allowed to stay. Rand thanked her and they left.

The man, she didn't ask for his name, told her the same thing. The women weren't far from the man's cabin and they'd traveled two days north. When they did reach it, everyone was dead. She didn't like having to depend on people she didn't know, but the man had been grateful she'd released them. After making sure he did know how to kill walkers they'd taken turns doing watch.

Now, here she was, the proud owner of one donkey, some camping gear and two people. She was tired, hungry, bleeding and wanted to sleep for days. She was going to sleep for days. She almost cried when she saw the fences surrounding the moat.

"It's a castle?" the man gasped.

"Auh. It's a castle."

"What do we do?" the boy asked her in a scared voice.

She walked the donkey to the fence and tied it up. The man got the boy off the donkey while she sat down and leaned against a tree.

"We wait here. If no one sees us in a little while, I'll get inside," she sighed as she closed her eyes. "Wake me if it starts to get dark and we're still here," she directed.

Daryl knelt down and looked at Rand. She was bleeding from her arm. She looked like she was dead. "Rand," he raised his voice.

She opened her eyes. "Sorry it took me so long."

He rolled his. "Looked like you was dead. Was gonna put ya down."

She grimaced as she tried to move before she flopped back against the tree. "Not yet. Soon."

He held out his hand. She grabbed onto it and stood up. Not steady. "See ya brought people back. Committee?"

She let out a tired laugh. "You and Michonne are the interviewing committee. Everything alright?"

"Yeah. They wouldn't leave," he jerked his thumb at the white man and boy, standing next to a donkey. "Had Tsula watchin' for ya."

"Thanks. I need a shower. And food."

"Need to get that arm looked at," he pointed out as they walked across the drawbridge, the two people in tow.

"Gunshot. More than a flesh wound."

"Find 'em?"

"Can you sew?" she questioned. "Donkey."

"Waya, can you get the donkey?" Daryl asked him as they walked inside.