I spent the night in and out of sleep on the Greene's sofa. Every time someone walked through or spoke, I woke up, and the light smashed into my face like a hammer, causing my head to ache. I didn't get too much sleep, but it was enough to help me get through the day.

The others in the room didn't notice because T-Dog was also asleep, clutching his arm to his chest, and Glenn was in his own world.

It was quiet in the morning. Hershel said we needed a funeral for Otis, so some of us helped gather rocks that would be piled up for the ceremony, leaving some kind of marker for him without the ability to bury his body.

I still couldn't shake the guilt. Sophia was still missing, and I had never met Otis, but he died trying to help Carl. If I hadn't lost Sophia, then Carl never would have been shot. Otis would still be alive. From what I could tell, he meant a lot to the Greene family, and I hadn't seen Patricia that day, but I knew she would be in the house, grieving. I had to help with the ceremony. At the time, it seemed like carrying rocks was something that would be very difficult for me to mess up.

Shane came out shortly after to help us. He was still limping on his ankle, which I think was sprained. He was wearing clothes that were way too big, and now his head was shaved. I assumed it was because some of his hair was missing, but part of me was worried that it was because I kept asking about what happened. I didn't want to push, so I continued grabbing rocks and left him alone.

T-Dog leaned down near me, trying to use both hands to grab a rock, but he grunted and straightened up. Instead, I kneeled down, picking the large stone up myself.

"How is your arm?" I knew it was most likely painful, and I'm not sure that he took any pills that morning.

"Hurts like a . . ." He stopped, glancing at me out the side of his eyes.

I almost laughed because he didn't know if he could swear around me or not. I decided to ease his worries, finishing off the sentence myself. "A bitch?"

"Yeah," he chuckled. "Hurts like a bitch."

The bike was the first thing I heard, causing me to spin around, still holding the rock in my hands. I watched as the top of the caravan peaked over the line of fences. The sounds of the engines grew louder, and the vehicles came barrelling down the roads towards the farm.

"It's them," I stated.

There was no response for a second as we all stood there. All the vehicles pulled up to the house, stopping on the road just outside. I made myself keep my hopes low, knowing that there was a very small chance that Sophia found herself back on the highway. I pursed my lips, keeping my eyes on the vehicles.

"I'll go tell Lori and Rick," T-Dog told me, tapping the back of my shoulder as he walked past.

Dropping the rock in the wheelbarrow, I walked with Glenn and Shane as we went to join our group. Nobody moved very far away from the cars. They were unsure of what to do with the new land and whether the owner would be okay with it. I understood what it felt like; last night was completely awkward for me.

The door opened, and Rick came outside, followed by Lori, Hershel and T-Dog. Hershel just looked at them all for a second, glancing around at each person.

Dale walked forward, stopping at the bottom of the steps. "How is he?"

"He'll pull through," Lori nodded, sounding like she was barely able to speak without crying. "Thanks to Hershel and his people."

"And Shane," Rick added quickly. "We'd have lost Carl if not for him."

Dale took a step forward and hugged Rick, and Carol did the same for Lori.

"Thank God," Carol whispered. "We were so worried."

"How'd it happen?" Dale asked.

"Hunting accident," Rick told them, "that's all. Just a stupid accident."

The group awkwardly introduced themselves to the people on the farm, thanking them for all the help they had been so far. Hershel said that we could set up our tents and things outside the house while we stayed here. Rick offered that we could move somewhere a little further away to give the farm its privacy, but Hershel insisted that we stayed closer to the house.

It was a while before the funeral was held. Everyone who stayed on the highway was filled in about what happened the night before. A while was also spent piling up a load of stones before the funeral also. Hershel said that he wanted to get the ceremony done before we were moved in our things.

The group built up most of the rock pile, and once it was basically done, everyone gathered around for the funeral. We all gathered around it in a circle. While Hershel was reading a verse out loud, we all stood there silently. Everyone stepped forward, one by one, to add another stone to the pile.

"Blessed be God," Hershel read out, "father of our lord Jesus Christ. Praise be to him for the gift of our brother Otis, for his span of years, for his abundance of character."

Hershel barely paused between sentences, but he read everything in such a calm manner that it was hard to tell if he was even grieving. He and Otis must have been good friends, and if Hershel was upset, he was very good at hiding it.

"Otis, who gave his life to save a child's, now more than ever, our most precious asset," Hershel continued. "We thank you, God, for the peace he enjoys in your embrace. He died as he lived, in Grace."

Everyone was silent, and they waited for Hershel to finish. I glanced up and around and over at Hershel. I was unsure if that was the end or not, but I made myself keep my mouth shut until I was sure it was over.

Hershel looked over at Shane. "Shane, will you speak for Otis?"

"I'm not good at it," Shane shook his head before whispering, "I'm sorry."

"You were the last one with him," Patricia was on the verge of sobbing, her voice stuttered and broken as she spoke to Shane. My eyes trailed to the floor, and I tried to bury my guilt. "You shared his final moments. Please. I need to hear. I need to know his death had meaning."

Shane nodded after a moment of thought.

"We were about done," he started. "Almost out of ammo. We were down to pistols by then. I was limping. It was bad. Ankle all swollen up."

Again, everyone stayed silent as Shane spoke. This wasn't the first I heard of this story, but it was just as frightening. If I had been there, I . . . I don't really know what I would have done.

"'We've got to save the boy,' see, that's what he said," Shane explained. "He gave me his backpack, shoved me ahead. 'Run,' he said—he said, 'I'll take the rear. I'll cover you.' And when I looked back . . ."

I had to stop myself from moving as I listened to the story, afraid that I might react to the story. They both went through so much that night I couldn't even begin to imagine it.

"If not for Otis, I'd have never made it out alive," Shane walked forward, leaning over to grab a rock from the wheelbarrow. "And that goes for Carl too. It was Otis. He saved us both. If any death ever had meaning, it was his."

With that, Shane planted his rock on top of the pile and walked back, so he was standing in line with the rest of us.

After the funeral, Rick wanted to talk about the search for Sophia. I joined him, knowing that looking for Sophia was the very least I could do for Carol. I needed to get involved in the search. I needed to help find her. I was already so guilty as it was that I couldn't just sit back and do nothing.

Shane, Daryl and Andrea gathered around a car with him as Rick explained the situation to Hershel. He asked Maggie to fetch a map for them to see the area where Sophia could potentially be lost in.

"How long has this girl been lost?" Hershel asked.

"This'll be day three," Rick told him.

Maggie walked up to the car we were standing around and laid a map flat across the bonnet of the car. "County survey map. Shows terrain and elevations."

"This is perfect," Rick said. "We can finally get this thing organised. We'll grid the whole area, start searching in teams."

Hershel shook his head, "Not you, not today. You gave three units of blood. You wouldn't be hiking five minutes in this heat before passing out," he then turned to look at Shane. "And your ankle, push it now; you'll be laid up a month, no good to anybody."

"Guess it's just me," Daryl leaned forward and pointed at the map. "I'm gonna head back to the creek, work my way from there."

I looked down and followed his finger on the map with my eyes, and it was at that moment I realised that I had no idea what the map was telling me. With the shapes and colours, I could make out which areas were elevated or not, but I knew nothing about this area because I knew next to nothing about American geography. I could barely navigate my home town outside of the path from my house to the school to the garage, and I had lived there basically all my life.

Shane pursed his lips into a thin line before looking back up at Rick. "I can still be useful. I'll drive up to the interstate and see if Sophia wandered back.

Rick nodded his head once, his arms resting on his belt, "All right, tomorrow then," he said. "We'll start doing this right."

"That means we can't have our people out there with just knives. They need the gun training we've been promising them," Shane said.

I didn't know how they were planning on doing gun training. Bullets and ammo seemed like something they didn't want to waste, but teaching people to shoot could be a huge waste. It will be for me, at least. I suppose that if everyone knew how to shoot, it would be safer for them and the group, and eventually, it wouldn't be as big of a problem.

"I'd prefer you not carrying guns on my property," Hershel told them. "We've managed so far without turning this into an armed camp."

"All due respect, you get a crowd of those things wandering in here . . ." Shane trailed off, tilted his head to the side and let out a low whistle.

"Look, we're guests here," Rick said before his eyes landed on Shane. "This is your property, and we will respect that."

Rick pulled his gun from his holster, placing it down on top of the map. He stared at Shane, who sighed audibly and pulled his gun from his holster and copied Rick's action by placing it down on the bonnet.

Rick turned to the rest of the group, "First things first: Set camp, find Sophia."

"I hate to be the one to ask, but somebody's got to," Shane said. "What happens if we find her and she's bit? I think we should all be clear on how we handle that."

Rick's eyes fell down to the map, "You do what has to be done."

I hated it, but I knew he was right. I just didn't want to think about the possibility of Sophia being bitten or even being a walker. She had to be okay. I needed her to be okay for the sake of everything.

"And her mother? What do you tell her?" Maggie asked.

"The truth," Andrea answered.

I couldn't miss the look that Hershel and Maggie had exchanged across the car. They didn't say anything to each other, but neither liked the answer that Andrea gave. It was almost like they had another idea for what to do with Sophia, but they weren't saying it.

Shane didn't seem to notice and continued speaking about his plans for that day, "I'll gather and secure all the weapons. Make sure no one's carrying till we're at a practice range off-site," Shane turned to Hershel. "I do request one rifleman on lookout. Dale's got experience."

Hershel didn't look convinced, and he looked over to Rick.

Rick ran his hand over his face. "Our people would feel safer, less inclined to carry a gun."

Again, Hershel didn't seem too impressed. I couldn't stop myself from wondering how they had lasted here without any guns, but really it was the same as if I had stayed in the house. I wouldn't have had any weapons, and I seemed to get by walkers just fine. Mt town was quiet, though, nothing like Atlanta or the motorway.

Hershel's lips pressed into a thin line, but eventually, he nodded in agreement.

"Thank you," Rick said.

Maggie turned to Rick. "That stuff you brought, got more antibiotics, bandages, anything like that?"

"Just what you've seen," Andrea answered, shaking her head.

"We're running short already," Maggie said, looking at Hershel. "I should make a run into town."

"Not the place Shane went?" Rick asked hurriedly.

"No, there's a pharmacy just a mile down the road," Maggie explained. "I've done it before."

Rick was quiet for a moment, his hand running across his chin. He glanced around at the group before turning to speak to Maggie.

"See our man there in the baseball cap?" He pointed at Glenn, who, at that moment, looked like he was struggling to set up his tent. "That's Glenn, our go-to-town expert. I'd ask him along just to be cautious."

She nodded. "Okay."

Maggie then left, following the directions to Glenn. Hershel also left the group, but I didn't really know what he was doing after. Andrea turned and walked back in the direction of the RV, leaving the small group standing around the car.

I knew that I had to ask to go while Rick was still here. He seemed like the least likely person to argue with me about wanting to help look for Sophia. This was basically my one chance before Daryl, the only person going out that day, would be gone.

As Rick reached out to roll up the map, I quickly asked: "Can I help?"

Shane shook his head almost automatically, without a second thought, speaking before Rick could even open his mouth. "Someone is already lost; we don't need to risk another."

"It's my fault she's alone," I argued. "I should be going out there to find her."

"Don't blame yourself," Rick shook his head. "We did what we could."

"And I can do more if you let me help," I told him.

I tried making it as clear as possible that I was going on this run, even though my real obstacle was Daryl or whether he would even let me tag along. I had to prove that I was not taking no for an answer.

Shane turned to Rick. "I don't think it's a good idea."

My arms crossed around my body, and I couldn't help that my nostrils flared. I don't know why Shane was arguing, maybe because he cared, or he thought I wasn't capable, or whether he thought that I'd get lost too. Either way, it was pissing me off.

What surprised me was when Daryl spoke up. "Look, s'not like she's lettin' up. She can come with me."

I glanced at Daryl, part of me wondering whether it was a joke. There was no way Daryl wanted me to join him, and he would probably be happier going off by himself. From the tone in his voice, I could tell that he wasn't taking any bullshit from Shane. Except, he sounded far more convincing than I did when I had been arguing with him seconds earlier.

Shane opened his mouth to protest but was cut off by Rick. "Only if you're sure."

"It's fine," Daryl said. "I'm not the one that lost a kid."

Rick was taken back by the sentence but regained his composure almost instantly.

I, however, was less than happy with what Daryl had said. No, I lost the kid, I thought. I knew he was just trying to make a point to Rick that I would be okay with him, but it still gave me this horrible tightening in my chest.

"Okay," Rick nodded.

Daryl started walking away from the car, but I stood there for a moment, wondering if I should follow him. I glanced at Rick and Shane before running after him.

"Grab whatever you wanna take," Daryl told me. "Water, knife. Need some time to get my shit together."

I paused as I thought about what I could take. "When do you want to leave?"

"Thirty minutes."

"Okay," I smiled.

Daryl didn't return my smile and just walked off to his bike.

I walked to where the tents were being built and grabbed my bag from the ground. Instead of following him, I then entered the RV. Dale was cleaning some of the guns away into the duffle bag. Shane had obviously told him that Hershel didn't want anyone carrying. He stopped when he saw me, straightening his back.

"Can I leave my things here?" I asked. "I'm going to look for Sophia with Daryl."

"Daryl?" Dale obviously focused on the one part of my sentence that was no help to me.

I had forgotten that even though I had spent the smallest amount of time talking to Daryl, none of the group really ever saw that and always seemed confused when it came back to the light. I didn't get it either, but Daryl was never mean to me and actually spoke about things I care about, like cars.

Dale nodded when he was done being confused and said, "I'm sure I have an empty drawer you can leave your things in for now."

"Thank you."

He led me through into the bedroom of the caravan, opening the bottom drawer in the bedside cabinet. There were a few books in there, but he pulled them out to empty the drawer for me.

"Here," he said. "You can leave your tent on the bed."

"Thanks again, Dale."

He left me to put my things in the drawer, so I sat on the bed and began emptying my bag. I started pulling the clothes from my bag and folding them neater so they would fit in the drawer. I put the book in there next before opening the small pocket at the front and pulling out my iPod. I didn't want to accidentally break it when we were out, so I hid it between my clothes in the drawer.

When I was done, I made my way to the house. I put my knife in my bag, holding it there to take out when I was off the farm. I knew that Hershel didn't want to see any guns, but I'm not sure how he would feel about me carrying a knife around his house.

I glanced around when I entered the kitchen. I only needed to fill my bottle, but I wanted to make sure it was okay before I did anything. When I didn't see anyone, I dropped my bag on the table, pulling my bottle from the big pocket.

"Hey."

I jumped when Maggie walked in.

"Sorry, I was just going to fill my bottle because . . . Is that okay? I know I should have asked, but I didn't see anyone when I got here, so I just thought—" I had to stop myself from rambling, taking a deep breath as I tried to compose myself.

Maggie just stood there, her smile growing as I spoke. "Ace, you can fill your bottle. It's okay; you don't have to ask. It's just water."

Just water. I wish I could have believed that, and maybe the water wasn't a problem for them, but for us, it was. I heard that they had wells around the farm, but it really wasn't a problem.

"Thank you," I moved to the sink, turning on the tap to fill my bottle. "It's just, on the road, we had a problem with how little water there was, so I just needed to ask."

Maggie didn't say anything. The bottle filled with water quickly, so I twisted the lid into place and dropped the bottle in my bag.

"Are you going to look for that little girl?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"You must really care about her," Maggie gave a pitiful smile.

I was quiet for a moment. "I lost her."

Maggie opened her mouth, but it looked like her voice caught in her throat. Her eyes widened as she continued to open and close her mouth, thinking of something to say.

I immediately felt bad for bringing up that I lost Sophia because I did really care about her. Then I felt so selfish because the first reason that came to mind when I thought of looking for Sophia was that I lost her. It's my fault she was even out there right now, and I wanted to look for her to ease my mind that she was okay. Maggie must have thought I was awful.

"I do care!" I corrected myself quickly upon seeing her expression. "I do care! I just feel awful that she's out there right now. I had to lure a walker away from her, so it's my fault she's alone right now, so I have to keep looking for her."

"I understand," Maggie gave me a soft smile. "It doesn't sound like you did anything, though."

"Can I use the bathroom?" I just wanted to get away from the conversation. Also, I didn't want to end up going in the woods.

Maggie nodded. "Yeah, of course. It's upstairs."

I grabbed my bag and walked quickly upstairs. I really did want to go, so I didn't have to in the woods. Dropping my bag next to the door, I walked over to the toilet. I glanced around the room. When I was done, I reached for the toilet paper, my eyes widening when I saw the familiar red colour.

"No, no, no . . ."

My eyes widened as I looked around. The last time I had my period, it was back at the house with dad. The house had some pads in the bathroom cupboard, but I forgot to grab any when I left.

I leaned forward, stretching out for my bag from the ground. Inside, hidden right at the bottom of the bag, was one pad. The only one that I kept in there in case I had gotten my period at school or work. The problem was, there was only one. That was all I needed before everything happened because there was always more back at the house. Which meant I needed more for later.

Which meant . . . I had to ask Glenn.

I didn't want to ask Lori or Carol; I didn't want to bother them. I felt too awkward to ask Maggie or Beth. Later Glenn would be going on a supply run to the pharmacy, which meant he would be able to pick some up for me. All I had to do was ask . . .

After cleaning up and hiding the wrapper for the pad in my bag, I left the house to look for Glenn. He was outside, helping T-Dog and Dale put up another tent.

"Hey," Glenn smiled. "You okay?"

I didn't answer his question. T-Dog and Dale had glanced over to see who he was looking at. I bit my lip and grabbed his wrist, and dragged him away from the others. If any of them heard, I'd probably just die.

When I was sure that the others wouldn't listen, I asked. "You're going on a run with Maggie, right?"

"Yeah," he said. "Why?"

"I need you to get me something," I said, trying my best to avoid eye contact. I immediately regretted asking Glenn, but I didn't know what else to do. Lori was with Carl, and I didn't want to bother Carol. Glenn was my only option, but I didn't want him to know about this.

"Sure," Glenn said with a smile, "what do you need?"

I internally groaned, glancing at the field to my side. Why can't you just know? I grabbed the hem of my shirt and pulled it down a little, trying to think of a way to ask him. "I just need stuff."

He frowned, obviously not getting the hint. "Stuff?"

"You know," I replied sheepishly, "stuff. . ."

Glenn paused for a moment, looking at me with a confused expression. He blushed a little before asking, "Do you mean girl stuff? Like pads and tampons? That stuff?"

My eyes widened, and I glanced up at him, "Oh, uh-yeah?"

"You know I had sisters, right?" He asked, and his face fell a little. "Well, I guess you didn't know that . . . but I did."

I immediately hated myself. I had never asked Glenn about his family, "Sorry."

"No, it's okay," he shook his head. "I'll get you some stuff."

"Thank you," I smiled.

He gave a nod.

"Glenn, can you not tell anyone?" I questioned. "I kinda don't want anyone to know."

"I won't, I promise," he placed a hand on my shoulder, giving it a squeeze as he went back to help T-Dog and Dale.

I turned, deciding it was probably getting close to thirty minutes and that I should probably go and find Daryl. He was leaning against a tree, waiting for me. He held his crossbow in his arms, scraping his foot in the dirt around him. He didn't have a bag or anything, just his weapons, which made me wonder why he made me get my bag and water before joining him. I ignored the confusion and walked over.

He straightened up when he saw me and took a few steps forward. "Ready?"

I nodded, following him towards the gate.

This one has barely been edited, so forgive me. Just wanted to get it out so I could move on a little quicker.

Hope you enjoyed.