"Can someone explain to me how the women wound up doing all the Hattie McDaniel work?" Jacqui questioned.

To keep her mind off the run group going to Atlanta, Ace decided to help the women when they went to wash the clothes. She wasn't able to do many chores around camp because when she offered, she was always told that they didn't need her help.

Some noises across the quarry caught her attention, and she knew immediately what Jacqui was talking about. Shane stood up to his knees in the water, with Carl sitting on the bank with a net. They were shouting and laughing, and Ace couldn't help but grin when Shane fell forward into the water. It was nice that they were having fun because Ace knew that it didn't happen very often.

"The world ended," Amy reminded her. "Didn't you get the memo?"

Ace felt her face fall into a frown; she had never thought of it as the world ending. Shane was so adamant that the military would come and save them and fix what had happened that she just believed him. She still believed him. She couldn't bring herself to admit that the world had ended because it couldn't. Not in her mind. It couldn't just suddenly end.

In all honesty, she didn't have a clue what was going on outside of the camp, and part of her wanted to keep it that way. Then what Shane had said crossed her mind. 'We've been cut off from the outside world, and the wait kills me.' Then she realised that the wait was also tearing her apart—the wait for the military and the wait for her dad.

"It's just the way it is," Carol said quietly.

The way she glanced back at Ed did not escape Ace's attention. He just stared at them from the car he used to bring the laundry down to the quarry. Ace walked. She didn't feel comfortable being around Ed, knowing the kind of things he was doing to his family. She felt sick to her stomach knowing that he was around, and she wished that he would leave.

Ace also felt like she couldn't say anything; it wasn't her place. Shane had made it clear to her that they couldn't do anything because Ed would just leave the group, and Carol and Sophia would be out there and alone. She forced herself to look back at the washing because Ed staring at them from afar made her uneasy. She also didn't want to get him angry by looking. All she could do was try and get her job done faster, so she could leave.

"I do miss my Maytag," Carol said as she scrubbed a shirt into the board.

Ace's eyes narrowed, and she glanced at Carol. What's a Maytag?

"I miss my Benz," Andrea listed, "my sat-nav."

Jacqui kneeled, squeezing water from the shirt. "I miss my coffeemaker with that dual-drip filter and built-in grinder, honey."

There was a pause before Andrea stopped what she was doing and said. "I miss my vibrator."

When the women started laughing, Ace glanced up, clearly missing the joke. She had been so focused on finishing her work that she stopped listening and didn't hear what Andrea had said.

"Oh my God!" Amy exclaimed, keeling over in laughter.

There was a quiet moment as the women calmed down before Carol spoke up quietly. "Me too."

They all started wailing and hollering again, their laughter louder than how Shane and Carl were over at the other end of the lake.

Ace was still looking at them with confusion. "What are we laughing at?"

Jacqui only looked at Ace and laughed louder, and she frowned, still not knowing what was so hilarious to them. Amy glanced over and chuckled, but Ace just gave her the same confused look.

"What's so funny?" Ed yelled, which silenced the women.

"Just swapping war stories, Ed," Andrea smirked, looking at her sister.

"Yeah," Amy agreed.

After a few minutes of working, Ace glanced back over my shoulder, hearing footsteps nearing them. Ed kept walking behind them, back and forth, before looking at what they were doing.

"Problem, Ed?" Andrea questioned.

"Nothin' that concerns you. And you ought to focus on your work. This ain't no comedy club."

Ed hanging around over their shoulders really made Ace uncomfortable, and she struggled to keep her eyes on the washing in front of her. She looked over at Andrea, who was also annoyed at the situation. Andrea only smiled at Ace, taking away the metal bin as Ace finished her set of clothes.

Ace bit the inside of her cheek to avoid thinking about Ed. She looked back over at the quarry where she had initially seen Carl and Shane playing, but now Carl was nowhere to be seen, and Lori was speaking to Shane. Ace could see that Lori wasn't happy, but she couldn't make out what they were saying.

Ed continued to walk around, which was annoying Andrea. Ace could tell by the way she kept looking over her shoulders at him, the glare evident in her eyes. Eventually, Andrea stood up and turned around to look at him.

"Ed, tell you what . . . you don't like how your laundry is done, you are welcome to pitch in and do it yourself. Here," she chucked a shirt at him on her final word.

Ed caught the shirt and threw it right back at her, the material slamming against her skin. "Ain't my job, missy."

"Andrea," Carol whispered, "don't."

Andrea ignored her and took a step forward. "What is your job, Ed? Sitting on your ass smoking cigarettes?"

"Well, it sure as hell ain't listening to some uppity smart-mouthed bitch. Tell you what . . ." Ed was starting to get annoyed. Ace could see his eyes narrowing and his nostrils flaring. He turned to look at Carol, which made Ace stand up. "Come on. Let's go."

"I don't think she needs to go anywhere with you, Ed," Andrea said.

"And I say it's none of your business," Ed said and once again turned back to Carol to order her around. "Come on now. You heard me."

"Carol," the women all begged, but Carol was already taking steps forward. Andrea stepped in her way to stop her, whispering that she didn't have to go if she didn't want to

"Andrea, please," Carol whispered in a pleading tone. "It doesn't matter."

Ed didn't like that Andrea had decided to step in because he directed his threats back to her. "Hey, don't think I won't knock you on your ass just 'cause you're some college-educated cooze, all right?" Andrea scoffed, and Ed turned to Carol and held his hand out. "Now you come on now or you gonna regret it later. "

Jacqui scoffed. "So she can show up with fresh bruises later, Ed? Yeah, we've seen them."

Ace was almost angry. Did everyone know? Why had no one done anything? Said anything? She kept trying to think about what Shane had told her, about Carol having to agree for the group to do anything about Ed, and she made herself be angry at him instead.

Ed laughed a little. "Stay out of this. Now come on!"

When Carol didn't move, he squared up a little. Ace took a small step back, trying to get away, but the back of her shoe sunk into the mud under the water.

"You know what? This ain't none of y'all's business," Ed said angrily. "You don't want to keep prodding the bull here, okay? Now I am done talking," Ed turned to look at Carol again. "Come on."

Andrea shook her head. "No, no."

Amy grabbed her arm. "Carol, you don't . . ."

"You don't have to . . ." Andrea finished.

"You don't tell me what?!" Ed snapped. "I tell you what!"

There was a sharp sound where Ed had slapped Carol across the face. He tried grabbing her and pulling her away from the women, but they tried stepping in the way and stopping him. Ed still tried grabbing Carol and pulling her away as he started yelling.

"Come here! Come here!"

"Get off of her!" The women yelled as they tried defending her.

Ace jumped in, ignoring the thoughts that told her she would be no help, but she couldn't stop herself from trying. She grabbed Carol by the arm and tried pulling her away, but Ed slammed a hand into the middle of her chest and pushed her over. Ace fell backwards, landing on the pebbles in the quarry.

She wanted to help, but there was nothing I could do against Ed. At that point, she noticed Shane coming up behind Ed, grabbing him from the group and dragging him across the ground. He threw him to the floor and knelt over him, much to Ed's protests.

Shane grabbed Ed's shirt and started punching him over and over again in the face. At first, Ace was relieved that he'd actually done something about Ed, but Shane was still punching him, over and over. She frowned, pushing herself to her feet. Ed was barely moving anymore, and he was coughing up a little blood.

Uh . . . I think he's had enough.

"Shane, stop!" Andrea yelled. "Just stop."

Eventually, Shane stopped and leaned down further to threaten Ed. Ace could just about hear what he was saying over the women next to her.

"You put your hands on your wife, your little girl or anybody else in this camp one more time, I will not stop next time. Do you hear me? Do you hear me?!" Ed managed to splutter out a yes before Shane continued. "I'll beat you to death, Ed. I'll beat you to death."

Shane stood up and kicked him in the side before stepping away from Ed and glancing at the people around. He looked down at his bloody knuckles before leaving the quarry.

"Oh, God! No. God!" Carol ran to Ed, kneeling over Ed and crying while she checked if he was okay. "Ed, I'm sorry. Oh my God. Ed, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

It made Ace angry that she was apologising to Ed. Shane may have crossed the line with one too many punches, but Ed had gotten what he deserved. People shouldn't hurt their family, Ace was adamant on that. Carol had nothing to be sorry for.

Andrea looked over her shoulder at Ace. "Head on back up to camp."

Ace nodded and started following Shane up the road and back to the camp. She kept thinking about what Shane had said about Ed leaving. Ace didn't know whether Ed would leave after that and make his family go with him. Once he had recovered, he wouldn't be happy in the camp knowing that Shane had beaten him.

Back at camp, Shane went straight to the middle of camp, grabbing a first aid kid from a box in the back of a truck. Everyone looked at Shane with confusion, but nobody tried talking to him. The car came up shortly after, and Ace saw Andrea driving the car with Ed and the laundry inside.

Sophia stepped out of the caravan, and Ace knew that she would want to know why her mother was crying. She walked over to Sophia and stood in her way at the caravan door, her hands on either frame to stop Sophia from coming down the stairs.

"What's going on?" Sophia asked.

"Uh, I'm not sure," Ace lied. "Let's just let the grown ups deal with it."

She looked skeptical for a second, but eventually nodded. Sophia turned and entered the motorhome again, and Ace followed her inside. Carl, Louis, and Eliza were sitting at the table playing a card game.

"What's happening?" Carl asked.

All Ace could do was shrug her shoulders, telling them she didn't know. As much as she hated Ed, she couldn't stand there and tell a group of children that Shane just beat the crap out of him in the quarry. It didn't matter how much he deserved it.

Ace glanced back out of the motorhome window, watching the women try to comfort Carol. She moved Sophia so she was sitting down at the table and sat down next to her.

Ace knew she had to keep their attention inside of the RV, so she asked them about their game. "What are we playing?"

"Go fish," Louis nodded.

"Oh cool," Ace smiled. "Who's winning?"

"I am!" Eliza beamed.

"Whoa!" She exclaimed, holding her hand out for Eliza to give her a high five. That's awesome."

The kids kept playing their game for a few minutes until Eliza won. Out of the open door, Ace noticed Jim up the hill near camp. She wasn't sure how long he'd been there. His head dipped below and above the line of the hill, where sometimes Ace could see him and sometimes she couldn't. She couldn't see what he was doing up there, but she knew it was weird.

When the group had taken Ed back to his tent and bandaged Shane's hands, Ace left the children to their game. Sophia eventually left and tried to see her dad, but Carol had to keep her away from the tent for as long as she could until she finally worked up the courage to explain what had happened.

Ace joined Dale on top of the caravan. He was keeping an eye out for the group who went to look for Merle and the guns Rick was talking about. She occupied her own time by reading the book Glenn found for her, switching between that and looking for the group with Dale.

As another distraction, she found herself looking back up the hill where she had seen Jim before, and he was still there. She could see now that he was digging, and she guessed that was what he was doing when she saw him the first time.

Ace looked over at Dale. "Jim's been digging a while."

Dale glanced at her, and she pointed over to where Jim was a few seconds before. Dale pulled out his binoculars, and looked up the hill. "How long has he been there?"

"An hour, maybe?" Ace questioned herself, but then frowned at her potential misinformation. "It could be more, I only saw him an hour ago. I'm not really sure."

She had spent a little time considering whether someone had told Jim to dig, but the group had no reason for it. And no one had gone to check on him either. She wasn't even sure that anyone even knew he was up there until she told Dale.

"I'll go and see what's going on," Dale told her, climbing down the ladder at the back of the motorhome. She watched him start to walk up the path to where Jim was digging, and continued staring at them as Dale disappeared behind some bushes.

It was a few minutes before something else had caught her attention. Amy and Andrea come back to the camp with tons of fish hanging from a string. Ace watched as the rest of the group gathered around them, each of them smiling happily at the amount of fish they were able to catch in the quarry.

Ace swung her feet over the side of the caravan and jumped down the ladder to join them. She couldn't help the smile on her face, and didn't try hiding it as she joined the rest of the group.

"Oh, baby. Will you look at that? Hey, check it out," Morales pointed at the rope of fish. There had to be a dozen or so. "Ladies, because of you my children will eat tonight. Thank you."

"Thank Dale," Andrea said. "It's his canoe and gear."

Carl smiled, turning around to look at Lori. "Mom, look! Look at all the fish!

"Yeah, whoa. Where did you two learn to do that?" Lori asked, looking over at Andrea and Amy.

Amy smiled. "Our dad."

"Can you teach me how to do that?" Carl asked.

"Sure. I'll teach you all about nail knots and stuff," Amy looked at Lori. "If that's okay."

Lori shrugged her shoulders, her hands on her hips. "You won't catch me arguing."

Dale joined the group, glancing at the fish that Amy was now holding. Andrea turned around when she noticed him. "Hey, Dale. When's the last time you oiled those line reels? They are a disgrace!"

Dale didn't seem as happy as he usually was. Ace remembered that he went to talk to Jim before he left. He looked between everyone in the group, before turning to Shane who was sitting a little away from the group. "I-uh . . . I don't want to alarm anyone, but we may have a bit of a problem."

"What is it?" Morales asked.

"Jim has been up there," he pointed up to the hill where Ace saw Jim before, "for hours. I think he's been digging since morning."

"Why is he digging?" Andrea asked, her face contorting in confusion as she took a sip from her bottle of water.

"He won't say."

"It's like a hundred degrees today," Shane stood up. "He shouldn't be out in this heat, especially not . . . digging."

Everyone was confused by the action, confused enough that Ace could tell for sure that no one had sent him up there in the first place.

"That's the problem," Dale said, "I tried getting him to stop, or . . . or drink some water, but he just keeps digging."

Shane ran his hands over his head. "I'll go see if I can get him to stop."

Ace saw the looks Andrea and Amy gave each other as he said that. They were probably thinking that he'd blow up again like he did earlier, but Ace highly doubted it. Jim wasn't hurting anyone, and he was just keeping to himself. But it might be dangerous to him if they left him up there. If anyone knew about the dangers of heatstroke, it was her.

Shane started walking off to where Jim was. Most of the people followed him. Ace wasn't really sure why they were so interested, but she also followed, walking next to Lori. Ace saw Jim across the field, shovel in his hands as he moved some dirt to the side. She could see that his face was red, as red as she imagined that her own was after being in the sun all day.

"Hey, Jim," Shane called out as he reached the top of the hill. Jim didn't listen to him, so he continued to walk closer to him. "Jim, why don't you hold up, all right? Just give me a second here, please."

Jim begrudgingly stabbed his shovel into the ground, to look at Shane for a second. "What do you want?"

Shane was not taken back by his tone, like Ace was. "We're all just a little concerned, that's all."

Morales nodded. "Dale says you've been out here for hours."

"So?" Jim squinted, tilting his head to the side.

Shane stepped forwards, standing closer to him. "So why are you digging? Are you heading to China, Jim?"

"What does it matter?" Jim snapped. "I'm not hurting anyone."

"Yeah, except maybe yourself," Shane sounded genuinely concerned. "It's a hundred degrees today. You can't keep this up."

Jim scoffed. "Sure I can. Watch me."

Ace pressed her lips into a thin as she watched him. Shane was just trying to help, and he kept talking back and shutting his attempts down. It made her realise just how much patience Shane had when it came to helping the group. She knew neither of them hadn't spoken too much since he brought her to the camp, and Ace didn't see much of his interactions with the group.

Lori stepped forwards, leaving Carl standing at my side. Ace didn't even realise he was there until he leaned against her, his side pressed against her own. "Jim, they're not gonna say it so I will," Lori started, getting his attention. "You're scaring people. You're scaring my son and Carol's daughter."

"They got nothing to be scared of," Jim waved his hand at him dismissively. "I mean, what the hell, people? I'm out here by myself. Why don't you all just go and leave me the hell alone?"

Shane took another step forward, his voice never wavering. "We think that you need to take a break, okay? Why don't you go and get yourself in the shade? Some food maybe."

Jim didn't answer.

"I'll tell you what . . ." Shane continued. "Maybe in a little bit I'll come out here and help you myself. Jim, just tell me what it's about. Why don't you just go ahead and give me that shovel?"

"Or what?" Jim snapped.

Shane planted his hands on his belt, his head tilting to the side. "There is no or what. I'm asking you. I'm coming to you and I'm asking you, please. I don't want to have to take it from you."

"And if I don't, then what?" Jim asked, turning to look at Shane. His back straightened, standing taller as he confronted Shane. "Then you're gonna beat my face in like Ed Peletier, aren't you? Y'all seen his face, huh? What's left of it. See, now that's what happens when someone crosses you."

"That was different, Jim."

Ace agreed with Shane completely, which didn't happen often. Finally, he had done something about Ed that needed to be done.

Amy spoke up next. "You weren't there. Ed was out of control. He was hurting his wife."

"That is their marriage!" Jim yelled, pointing towards Carol. "That is not his. He is not judge and jury. Who voted you king boss, huh?"

Shane stepped forwards. "Jim, I'm not here to argue with you, all right? Just give me the shovel, okay?"

Shane reached for the shovel, but Jim stepped back. "No, no, no."

"Just give me the . . . Jim!" Shane stepped forwards again. Jim shoved Shane away and threatened to hit him with the shovel.

Shane leaped forward, tackling Jim to the ground.

"Okay," he hushed him, but Jim's protests continued.

"You got no right! You got no right!"

"Jim, just stop it. Hey, hey. Jim," Shane continued holding him in place. "Nobody's gonna hurt you. You hear me? Jim, nobody is gonna hurt you, okay?"

"That's a lie," Jim cried. "That's the biggest lie there is. I told that to my wife and my two boys. I said it 100 times. It didn't matter."

Ace felt her chest twinge, because part of her knew it was true. Nobody really knew what happened to one another before they came to the group, and Ace knew that she certainly didn't. It was all so strange. Ace couldn't really ask, because she knew that if anyone had tried asking her those things, she probably wouldn't have been able to give a straight answer.

"They came out of nowhere. There were dozens of 'em. Just pulled 'em right out of my hands. You know, the only reason I got away was 'cause the dead were too busy eating my family."

That night, the group were cooking the fish that Shane and the kids had prepared. Ace was sitting on the ground besides Carl, with Lori in the chair behind them. Ace leaned back against the log, watching Morales mess with the fire in front of them.

"I built up the rocks all around," he pointed down at the stone structure. "See? So the flames can be a little higher, and have 'em be hidden."

"That was a great idea," Dale complimented.

Ace looked over when she saw Shane coming to join the group for the cookout. Jim was behind him, taking a seat in one of the camping chairs. When Shane had finally gotten Jim to calm down, he took him down to a tree and cuffed him. Ace found it strange that he decided to do that to Jim, when he said it wasn't an option for Ed.

Shane sat down at the opposite end of the fire. That's strange, Ace thought. She glanced back at Lori, who paid Shane no mind as she leaned back in her seat. Ace knew that Shane and Lori were in a relationship before Rick came back, and she knew that must have been awkward for them. It didn't even cross her mind when Rick first joined the group.

When they were ready, Amy and Andrea brought over the fish they caught and prepped, ready to be cooked over the fire. As they cooked the food, they handed out the fish in the little metal camping dishes. Carl passed one to Ace, before taking his own dish from Lori.

"I've got to ask you, man," Morales said, staring at Dake. "It's been driving me crazy."

"What?"

Morales pointed at him. "That watch."

"What's wrong with my watch?" Dale asked.

Morales sat forwards in his chair, still smiling. "I see you every day, at the same time, winding that thing like a village priest saying mass."

Jacqui nodded along. "I've wondered this myself."

"I'm missing the point," Dale chuckled.

"Unless I've misread the signs, the world seems to have come to an end," Jacqui said. "At least hit a speed bump for a good long while."

Again, thinking about the world ending ruined Ace's mood. If that were the case, she would never be able to see her family back in Britain, and it was a low chance that she would ever see her friends again. And her dad . . . Ace would never see him again, and she would be stuck with a group of people that she would never really know.

Morales continued, a smile on his face. "But there's you every day winding that stupid watch."

"Time," Dale said, glancing around the group. "It's important to keep track, isn't it? The days at least. Don't you think? Andrea? Back me up here."

He looked over at her, but all she could do was give him a strange look as she shook her head. Everyone watched them expectantly, chuckling when Andrea was unable to come to his rescue.

Dale continued. "I like what, um, a father said to son when he gave him a watch that had been handed down through generations. He said, 'I give you the mausoleum of all hope and desire, which will fit your individual needs no better than it did mine or my father's before me; I give it to you not that you may remember time, but that you may forget it for a moment now and then and not send all of your breath trying to conquer it'."

After a pause, Amy was the one to speak up. "You are so weird."

Everyone laughed.

"It's not me!" Dale exclaimed, a smile on his face. "It's Faulkner. William Faulkner. Maybe my bad paraphrasing."

Amy stood up shortly after.

"Where are you going?" Andrea asked, immediately.

"I have to pee!" Amy exclaimed quietly. "Jeez, you try to be discreet around here."

Carl laughed, which made Ace smile a little.

She looked down to eat her fish, placing the fish on the ground next to her when she was finished. When Carl had also finished eating, Ace grabbed his bowl and walked them over to the plastic tub by the caravan to be washed.

Ace glanced around when she thought she heard some steps, but she couldn't see anything in her immediate vicinity. She assumed that it was just Amy walking around inside the motorhome, and began walking back to the group to sit down.

Ace had barely gotten half way when she heard Amy speaking. "We're out of toilet paper?" She heard the screaming next. Her head snapped back to look at the motorhome, where she could see one of the dead things biting down on Amy's arm that was placed on the door of the motorhome.

The following scream rocketed out of Ace.

There was more yelling behind her, and she tore her eyes away from Amy to look at the camp. More dead things weaved between the tents, nearing the RV where they all were. Everyone scrambled around her to grab some weapons, but Ace was frozen in place.

"ACE!" Shane ran over to her, grabbing her wrist and pulling her behind him.

She hadn't even realised that he had a shotgun until he raised it towards the dead things. Shane backed them up a little, creating more space between them and the sick. Ace flinched when he finally took the shot, her eyes squeezing closed at the unexpected sound.

"Ace, get back up to the Winnebago!" She could barely hear what he was saying over the pounding in her ears. He clapped his hand down on my shoulders, shaking me. "Come on, kid. Go back to the RV with Lori! Now!"

Another hand grabbed her upper arm, and Ace flinched. Her head snapped back to see Lori, who pulled her back towards the RV. Ace heard Carl crying beside her, and he grabbed Ace's hand, who looked down at him on the verge of tears.

Ace could hear other people's screaming around them, loud and frantic. Many were cries of pain or despair, indicating that many more people were dying to the sudden threat of dead people in their camp. Her eyes squeezed shut again, the tears beginning to roll down her cheeks.

"Carol!" Lori called, and Ace realised that Carol and Sophia were standing with them. "Stay with me!"

"Morales!" Shane yelled as he backed up, so he was closer to the group. "Come on! Up to the RV!"

Morales was also yelling something, and Ace noticed his wife running up towards them, holding the hands of her two children. She got behind Lori, keeping an eye over her shoulder for any more of those things. Shane was standing just in front of Ace, shooting any walkers that came too close.

There were more gunshots from the road into camp, where some of the dead things came from. Ace saw Rick first, followed by Glenn and Daryl. Each of them had a gun raised as they ran into camp. T-Dog was last. It looked like he had some kind of shotgun, but she could never tell the difference.

When most of the dead things were killed, Ace heard Rick yelling over the cries of the other people. "Lori!" Rick ran over to our group in front of the motorhome. "Carl!"

They both hugged him, crying. Ace could only stand there, wiping away the tears that had escaped from my eyes.

"Amy! Amy!"

Ace looked back to the caravan, and she saw Amy lying on the ground, lifeless. She was dead. Andrea was leaning over her, her shoulders bouncing as she sobbed, continuously calling out her sister's name.

Ace's hands balled, holding her sleeves in her fists. The tears poured from her eyes as she watched them, unable to contain the sobbing that finally escaped her. Her heart was pounding, and all she could do was stand there and cry as Andrea mourned her dead sister.

"Amy!"

I changed this chapter to 3rd person because I know in the future I may have to use 3rd person again and I didn't want to wait too late before using it. I hope you enjoyed either way, and you all got a break from being inside Ace's head.

Let me know what you think :)