I was awake quite early the next morning, and the only way I really knew for sure was when T-Dog joined the group to eat, and when he saw me, his jaw went slack. He rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times.

"Ace!" He exclaimed. "Nice to see you awake in the morning."

"Says you," I looked down at my wrist as if I had a watch on and raised an eyebrow before turning my head back to T-Dog. "And what time do you call this, Theodore?"

"Yeah, yeah," he scoffed, rolling his eyes as he walked to the RV to get some food. Some of the others chuckled at the back and forth before returning to the previous conversations.

Glenn sat down in the chair next to me, digging straight into his breakfast. It was some kind of meat that Hershel had given us and some eggs. It was definitely a nice change from the random tinned food we had normally been eating lately.

He grabbed his bottle from the ground next to me, taking a sip of his water. When he finished, he glanced over and held the bottle out to me, "Want some?"

"I'm good, thanks."

Glenn didn't seem as happy as I expected him to be after what happened last night, though. Especially not when supposedly last night he was with Maggie in the barn. Again . . . gross. But he actually seemed rather uneasy and nervous. I didn't understand it. He kept glancing at the barn of the house, crossing eyes with Maggie, who was sitting on the porch railing that morning.

Maggie looked just as uneasy as Glenn from what I could see. I decided it would be best not to think about what could have gone wrong for them the night before and distracted myself by continuing to eat my food. This was not any of my business, and my best bet was to keep my nose out.

He had been head over heels for Maggie since we joined the farm, so I didn't understand what was causing all the tension between them. Then again, the more I thought about it, the more I realised that I didn't really want to know what was causing the tension. Maybe something past PG that I didn't really want to think about.

When I was finished, I took it over to the caravan and cleaned my plate and cutlery in the sink before leaving it on the side to dry. I didn't want to add any extra work for anyone, so I decided that I would do any of my own chores myself. I left the RV and walked back out to take my seat next to Glenn again.

Everyone spoke amongst themselves for a while, but I just sat there quietly. We had gun training again today, and I wondered if I even wanted to go or not. Rick taught me to shoot the day before, but as you saw, I was not the best shot.

Having the practice would ensure that I was getting better, but also, I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of everyone. Trying to shoot in front of Rick was bad enough.

Then again, there was no guarantee as to whether we would even have any more training after today, and if I never got the chance to practise again, then it could be a life-or-death scenario when I actually had to shoot some walkers.

I don't know, I had to try and decide between my humility and logic.

Tough one.

Lori's voice came from behind us, dragging me out of my thoughts. "Hey everyone, look who it is."

We all looked over at the same time, and everyone there cheered in amazement to see Carl standing at her side. I couldn't have been happier to see him up and walking around, made obvious by the smile that would not leave my face. His just being here made this one of the best days of my life.

Just Sophia now.

His hand was pressed into his own rib, presumably to stop some of the pain that his wound still caused. Rick was right behind him, a huge grin on his face as he placed his hand on Carl's head, who was now wearing Rick's brown sheriff hat.

"Hey, buddy!" T-Dog stood up. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm good," Carl shrugged.

"We've just been feeding the chicks, haven't we?"

I could not stop smiling. Last I saw Carl, he was lying in his bed, almost lifeless, barely able to keep his eyes open, and yet he was asking about Sophia. He was brave, braver than I would ever be if I ever got shot.

"Take a seat," Lori pulled up another camping chair next to me. "I'll get you something to eat."

Rick knelt at Carl's side, his hand resting on his shoulder. He talked with some of the rest of the group for a few minutes, all people asking Carl how he was feeling.

After a while, Carl turned to look at his dad. "Are you looking for Sophia today?"

"Yeah," Rick nodded. "After gun training."

His next question was immediate. "Can I help look?"

"You should probably rest up, little man," Shane said. "We got it; you don't gotta worry."

"She's my friend," Carl complained.

At this point, Lori had returned with Carl's plate of food and placed it down in his lap. She kissed his cheek under the hat and tried to reassure him. "We know, hun."

"Can I come to gun training?"

"No," Lori shook her head immediately. "Just eat up, okay?"

Carl huffed, shovelling the fork into his mouth.

When everyone had finished breakfast, they all went to go and either prepare for shooting or do some chores. For a short time, I did my own laundry, leaving my stuff to hang on the ropes of my tent. I wasn't able to get a lot of the dirt patches out from most of my shirts, especially the white one I had on when I was with Sophia in the pond. The back of that shirt and shorts were almost dyed brown.

I had to wear the crocheted shirt Lori gave me back in Atlanta, so I wore some short dungarees over the top to protect the front of the shirt. I didn't know if I was going out to look for Sophia today, but this shirt was actually really nice, and I didn't want to ruin it.

When I was finished with my chores, I joined T-Dog and Dale back at the RV and sat down in one of the camping chairs. T-Dog had finished eating and had finished washing his plate when he came back out.

I smiled when I saw Carl walk over, and he smiled back as he walked past, but he ignored T-Dog and me. "Can I get a walkie from the RV?"

Dale absently nodded. "Yeah, go ahead."

"Thanks," Carl ran past him and into the RV.

Dale turned to T-Dog. "Theodore, help me with the awning, would you?"

T-Dog nodded and stood up to help Dale pull the awning out from where it was tucked away in the motor home. They pulled out the metal poles that held it up, and Dale spun some lever that did . . . something.

After a few minutes, I saw Glenn walking over, holding a basket of what looked to be peaches. I felt a frown work its way into my face, more confused than anything. Where did he get peaches? Did Maggie give them to him? Bit of a strange present to give someone who was sleeping with you the night before, but whatever.

Glenn held the basket out to me, "Here, some peaches for you."

I shook my head, "I'm good."

He seemed really off like he was worried. I didn't know what he had to be worried about unless he found out that Hershel wanted us to leave the farm. Maybe Maggie told him so that he wouldn't get too comfortable.

Last time I saw him like this was back in Atlanta camp when he saw that I fixed Merle's bike. He said that he hated keeping secrets and lying, so maybe he thought that us leaving the farm was some kind of secret.

Glenn nodded and walked over to the others. "Dale, here's some peaches for you."

"Mm, thank you," Dale said as he grabbed some.

As Glenn moved past the RV, Andrea stepped outside, "Morning."

Glenn nodded but almost hesitantly, "Morning."

Glenn held the basked out to T-Dog, who nodded to him, "Sup?"

"Nothing," Glenn shook his head frantically, "nothing's up. Why?"

He was definitely acting weird because as he left, both T-Dog and Dale shared a strange look. Glenn ignored the both of them and walked away towards the house. I decided to ignore the behaviour for now because there was really nothing I could do for him without knowing what the problem was.

I saw Rick standing in front of one of the trucks, near the tree outside the house. He was supposed to be talking with Shane about the plans for finding Sophia, but I didn't see Shane with him. Maybe they had already spoken.

Rick was supposed to have marked where Daryl found the doll on the map, too and using that in relation to the cabin we found may have given them a better understanding of where Sophia could be hiding.

I was definitely curious about finding all of that out, and maybe now I had the gun training, too, then they would let me join them on this run. It depended on where they thought she was and how dangerous it seemed to be.

Looking through the woods was fine because the trees seemed to separate them, and walkers were normally alone, but towns and highways seemed to be flooded. I'm sure that the forests would become swarmed eventually; when the walkers run out of food, they may follow animals into the wooded areas instead.

Walking over, I decided to ask Rick about the plan for today. He was leaning on the car when I arrived; he looked more present than in the last few days, probably from the joy of Carl walking around for the first time.

Rick glanced over when he heard me. "Hey."

"Hi," I smiled. "I just wanted to know the plan with Sophia?"

"Shane's getting the map; we have a theory about the doll, where it came from."

"And he's okay now?" I questioned. "Shane?"

"He seems to be," Rick had a smile on his face, which fell when I asked, and part of me wondered if I had been crossing the line on their friendship.

Obviously, it was none of my business, but my main concern was Rick because he'd been through a lot in the past few days. He feels guilty about Sophia (even though it was my fault), and Carl was shot.

Shane had been through a lot too, but Rick wasn't acting like an asshole after everything. Shane had always seemed more outspoken than Rick, though, so I wanted to make sure that Rick managed to get his points across.

Rick stood up, not leaning on the car anymore. "You don't have to keep getting involved with this either. You've more than made up for anything you think you did. You can take a break."

"I'll take a break when we find her."

Shane walked over to the car, the rolled-up map in one hand. Jimmy was at his side, which surprised me. After Hershel dragged him away yesterday, I assumed he was done helping us.

"Here," Shane looked at me but paid no attention, instead unrolling the map across the bonnet of the car. "Got it."

Jimmy gave me a smile but then leaned on the car, his head laying in his hand as he looked at the map.

Rick nodded, "Okay, let's take a look."

He stared down at the map for a few seconds, which had a few pen marks over it, which were probably some of the landmarks Daryl found over the past few days.

"The creek flows south, past that farmhouse Daryl found," Rick pointed at what I assumed to be the creek on the map. "Maybe Sophia dropped the doll there; the current brought it downstream."

Shane rested both his hands on the bonnet. "So what, you think she took this road here and then she went north?"

"Yeah," Rick nodded. "What's up that way?

Jimmy raised his head a little. "A housing development. It went in maybe 10 years ago."

"Take a run up there after gun practice," Rick said, turning to look at Shane. "I'll hold down the fort here but take backup; I don't want anyone going out alone. We stay in pairs."

"I'll take suggestions on a partner."

"Andrea's been a big help, with all the watch and everything; she's probably getting better with a gun," Rick told him. "She'd probably be up for it."

Shane nodded. "I'll ask."

There was a sound behind them, and I saw Beth and Patricia waiting to talk to Rick. He turned around to face them, his hands coming to sit on the top of his belt.

"We'd like to join you for gun training today," Beth said.

"Hershel's been very clear," Rick held up his hand to dismiss the idea. "I can't involve any of you in what we do without his okay."

One of the spirals from Jimmy lying. I knew that Hershel would probably speak to Rick about it, but I don't know how harsh Hershel was. Maybe Hershel wanted us gone now more than ever, but it wasn't my area to make guesses.

"He doesn't like it, but he consented," Beth tried again.

Patricia took a step forward. "Otis was the only one who knew guns. Now that he's gone, we gotta learn to protect ourselves. Her father saw the sense in that."

"No offence, but I'll ask Hershel myself," Rick shook his head. Maybe Hershel was angry with him, I knew they talked the day before, but I didn't know what happened.

Beth and Patricia seemed to accept the answer, but they didn't look happy about his decision. They gave a nod and walked away back in the direction of the house without a final word.

Rick rightly had some mistrust after what Jimmy had done, so I understood that he would want to clarify anything Hershel's family told him. It was the safer option as well, and maybe it would get Hershel to trust Rick a little more to consider keeping us around.

"Rick!"

Shane was storming over to us, making me realise that I didn't even see him leave. He was holding some kind of revolver in his hands, and Carl was walking at his side, almost pleading something that I couldn't really hear. His words were all jumbled and messed at as he cried at Shane for him not to tell.

"We got a problem."

Apparently, Carl had taken a gun from the caravan and was hiding it under his shirt. It must have happened when he asked to go into the RV to get a walkie, but I remember that no one thought anything of it. Dale just let him into the motorhome without a second thought, and no one really questioned him when he came out without a walkie.

Rick, Shane and Lori spent a while arguing about what Carl did and whether to punish him. I don't know what they would do, maybe ground him, but he was just back on his feet. Anything seemed unfair, remembering that he was just shot.

When the arguments had finished, Carl sat next to me on one of the logs. He seemed happy, so maybe Lori agreed to let him join the gun training. Still, the idea was out there. I didn't understand what made him decide to do that because the guns were normally counted when they were used for searches. Whatever his plan was, was also very dangerous.

I glanced over. "You shouldn't have done that."

"They're letting me come shooting now," Carl said, his tone completely nonchalant.

It worried me; that kind of behaviour could mean that he could put himself in danger.

"If you told me you wanted to go so bad, I would have pleaded your case."

"No one ever listens to you."

Now that was true, but I wondered what examples he even had to prove that point. Maybe he saw me breaking the window on the highway or when I gave them an idea of how the walkers turned back in the nursing home.

I was surprised he even noticed those things happening, but apparently, it was true when they said that kids saw more than adults; either that or they just perceive things differently. To the adults, I was just a stereotypical stupid teenage girl, but that wasn't true. Maybe Carl actually believed in some of the things I said.

"Maybe not, but both Shane and your dad wanted you to learn, didn't they?"

Carl shrugged, "I guess."

"So you didn't have to take the gun," I stated. "It's dangerous."

Carl again just pursed his lips and shrugged, like he didn't care. I suppose being shot may have removed any fear he had of guns, if he had any, to begin with. Kids were not just small adults, they had different fears from experiences, and all of Carl's fear just left. That's what scared me; people needed fear.

I continued thinking about the gun and his plan. In my mind, it seemed like he had no plan, so I had to ask, "What would you have done with the gun?"

"I don't know," Carl shrugged. "Maybe just gone and practised by myself. I wouldn't have shot at walkers or anything, just some trees, maybe."

My eyebrows knitted together. "Do you know how to use one?"

Carl shook his head.

That is what concerned me. He was willing to go into the woods by himself and practice shooting. As few walkers as there could be in the forests, it wasn't always guaranteed safety. If he couldn't get the gun working in time, he never would have never defended himself. He couldn't have.

"Next time, just talk to me."

Carl nodded. "Okay."

"Carl!" Lori called him from across the camp. "Come on; it's time to go."

"Okay, mom!"

I walked back over to the rest of the group with him, where they were getting the cars ready to leave for shooting practice. People were packing away bags and guns, all getting in their own cars.

Lori was waiting by her car, and when Carl was in her reach, she placed the hand on the back of her neck, "Now, if you're gonna do this, you listen to Shane."

"Okay," Carl nodded.

They walked over to the Cherokee, where Carol and Rick were already talking with each other.

"Ace! Come on!" I looked over to the Hyundai that Shane fixed on the motorway. Shane put his shotgun in the boot and then turned to Glenn, who was just watching as they got the cars ready. "You coming?"

Glenn shook his head. "I gotta help Dale clean the spark plugs on the RV. He said he's gonna teach me mechanics. I should probably go look for him."

Mechanics? If Glenn wanted to learn about mechanics, then he could have just asked me. He knew that, and I definitely knew more about mechanics than Dale, so I didn't understand why he would ask him before me. And why would he start with cleaning spark plugs? In the bigger scope of things, cleaning spark plugs was one of the more pointless fixes that needed to be done anymore.

Glenn had been learning some mechanics with Dale on the highway, but something was fishy here. With how nervous he was, and the feeble attempt to skip out on shooting practice, I thought that Glenn was lying, but I had no idea why.

I frowned and stepped out from behind the car, staring at Glenn. He seemed to get more nervous when he saw me.

"You found me," Dale called out from behind him. Glenn jumped and spun around to look at Dale, but Dale just smiled at Shane. "He's a good learner."

But . . . what? Dale was actually saying that he was teaching Glenn mechanics, so either Glenn was telling the truth, or they were both lying about something.

Shane tapped my arm, bringing me back. "C'mon, get in the car.

I nodded, climbing into the back seat.

Rick walked around with the sheriff's duffle bag, handing out some handguns for people to practice on as we lined up by the fence. There weren't enough for everyone, so I think a few offered to share, like T-Dog and Jimmy or Patricia and Beth. I didn't know if Lori was practising or was just here to support Carl, but if she needed a gun, she'd probably use his.

Rick then walked over to me with the same gun he gave me yesterday. "Ace, you can take the Beretta again. You did good yesterday, alright?"

That was blatantly untrue, but in all fairness, I had no other examples of how quickly people were able to pick up shooting. I suppose the target being unmoving glass bottles or random road direction signs would be easier than a walker whose moves were always unpredictable. At least I was getting some practice.

On the hood of the car where Rick was pulling out the guns, I noticed one that I hadn't seen before. Maybe it was because I had never really paid attention to the weapons we had, but I have never seen this one before we came on the farm. The only person who seemed to know how to shoot a gun and lived on the farm was Otis, but if he died protecting Shane, then there was no way his gun could be here.

I wanted to ask about it, but it seemed like there was really only one answer unless I missed the gun all this time in the bag around Atlanta or on the road, which was possible, but unlikely.

I don't know.

It seemed weird. Did Shane have a chance to grab the gun? There's no way he would have had the time. I glanced back at him over my shoulder as he started digging through a bag. He said Otis was covering for him, he said that at the funeral. So how was his gun here? Was he covering Shane using the rifle? I don't think Otis's rifle came back from the school either.

While Rick was handing out the guns, I saw Shane walking along and placing some empty cans and bottles on the fence further away. They were actually a little closer than the signpost Rick made me shoot at the day before, which gave me a little confidence that I wouldn't completely fail at shooting in front of everyone. Part of me knew that I would still fail, but I wanted to hide it as soon as possible.

Shane returned back behind the firing line just as Rick had finished giving the guns out. Rick had given everyone a small demonstration on how their individual gun worked like he had done for me yesterday, so when everyone was ready, they just started shooting.

I was worried about the walkers hearing, but I hoped that Rick would keep his promise from the day before that if any walkers came, then we would leave. With everyone shooting at the same time, it was loud. Rick had a shotgun in his hands, which meant that if walkers were to come, he would be ready to deal with them. That filled me with a little more confidence with the level of noise we were currently shooting at.

I hadn't shot yet, glancing over at Carl, who was taking his first few shots with Lori and Rick at his side. Carl had the biggest smile when he finally made a shot into one of the furthest cans on the fence, far off to the left side. He smiled, looking behind him at Lori, who was less apprehensive about letting him shoot now that he was enjoying himself.

Even Carl was a better shot than me.

And the embarrassment bulldozed in, knowing that Carl was able to hit his first target far quicker than I was the day before, and I hadn't even tried yet. Today could be much worse than yesterday, and I would be shown up by Carl.

Smashes and clangs of bullets hitting the targets surrounded me, which was even more off-putting than I had expected. At least the day before, it was just me shooting, so I knew when the shots were going to happen. Now it was random, and there could be a bang going off right next to me, which always made me jump.

I didn't shoot yet, not until I realised that Shane was standing at my side. "You gonna show me what you learnt yesterday?"

I cringed, not even looking at him. He would immediately see the dismay on my face, and knowing Shane, he would probably wait here and make me shoot over and over again until I was doing it right the whole time.

"Do I have to?"

"C'mon," he gestured his head towards the fence.

Pursing my lips, I raised the beretta and aimed it at some of the bottles. I was going to miss a few before hitting one; I just knew it, especially with Shane standing right at my side. I was still mad at him for what he said about Sophia the day before, so his presence wasn't really helping.

As I expected, I missed the first few shots and immediately stopped. I lost count of how many bullets I actually wasted trying to hit a target, but I knew it was too many. Not again! Not here in front of everyone! Immediately I was frustrated, and I just wanted to go back to the camp instead. I'm glad that Rick showed me how to do this yesterday, but apparently, none of it struck.

"You're waiting for the—"

"—kickback, I know," I muttered.

It was unfortunate that I was having the same trouble as the day before because I couldn't really remember what I did to stop waiting and just let it happen. Once I got over the anxiety of pulling the trigger yesterday, I was able to hit the target over and over.

Shane chuckled, now that I had just revealed my previous mistakes, "Just focus and relax, try again."

I raised the gun again, taking some more time before I tried shooting. I wanted to make sure that the aim was actually lined up with the bottle and that the gun was definitely pointed at my target. Me trying to get the aim perfectly aligned really relaxed me to forget that the kickback was happening.

I sucked in a breath as my finger slammed back against the trigger, and the bullet fired again, only this time, it was followed by the distinct sound of glass smashing. I lowered the gun to take a look, and the green bottle I had been using as a target was not there anymore. Relieved, I finally released the breath I had been holding in.

Shane clapped his hand down on my shoulder. "Good job, kid."

I didn't say anything, but I was glad that I actually managed to hit the target. Part of me was worried that I would be here all night again, which didn't happen the day before, but the fear was still the same.

"Keep going," Shane said, and he walked away to check how everyone else was going with the shooting.

I did as he said and continued to practise shooting on my other targets. The sooner I managed to hit all the targets, the sooner I was able to stop. At least until they planted more bottles up there to shoot if they were going back to that. I hated having to practise new things in front of random people.

It took a little while, but I was able to hit my three other targets before everyone else was finished. If I didn't bring any attention to myself, then no one would offer to replace the targets, and I would just be able to stand here and do nothing. I really wasn't good at shooting, and the practice really helped yesterday. I would have to ask Rick.

I jumped when I realised that Beth was standing next to me. She didn't have a gun in her hands, which meant that Patricia was practising her shooting now, and Beth just had to stand around.

"You're done?" Beth asked with a smile. "You picked it up really quick."

"Rick taught me to shoot yesterday," I explained. "It's really hard."

"Yeah."

"Why didn't Maggie or Hershel come?"

"Maggie already knows how to shoot," Beth told me. "Dad taught her when she was little."

I frowned. "Not you?"

It didn't seem like Hershel would have treated his daughters much differently from one another, but there were six years between them. Maybe his philosophies changed over time, and he wanted to do different things with each girl. Beth seemed more girlie than Maggie also, and maybe she just didn't want to learn about guns.

"My mom didn't like it," Beth said.

Again I was confused. "But she let Maggie?"

"Me and Maggie have a different mom."

"I'm sorry," I probably should have guessed that they had a different mother. Beth was almost six years younger than Maggie, and while she called her mother 'mom', I heard Maggie referring to her as Anette. She had also told me about her mother and stepmother two days ago when she gave me the pads, but for some reason, I assumed that Beth had the same mother as Maggie. Guess not. "I didn't know."

"It's fine."

I wish circumstances were better where I was able to get to know Beth and Maggie a little more, but right now, with us taking up their land, it was really awkward. They were both really nice to talk to, and I never felt uncomfortable around either of them, but we couldn't really be too sharing, not when Hershel was going to make our group leave once we found Sophia.

Well, maybe.

Rick said that he was going to try and sort it out, and I believed him. I could see that he wanted to stay here as much as everyone else who had settled in more, and he was trying to do as much for Hershel as he could.

I did wonder what Hershel said to Rick when he found out that he let Jimmy join us on the run yesterday. Hershel obviously didn't give Jimmy permission, so I wondered whether he would be lenient on Rick because there was no way he could have known. He was obviously upset with Jimmy yesterday when he called him away. Hershel was probably just worried about Jimmy's safety because he was basically his responsibility now.

Really I was glad that I asked if Daryl could borrow a horse because if he had taken a horse without asking, then who knows how Hershel would have reacted. Daryl may be unaware of the situation, and he didn't have the best people skills, so I wondered whether he knew that just taking a horse may have cost us our place in the farm.

Beth was called away when Patricia hit her few targets, and Beth was able to practise. I didn't want to distract her while she was taking her turn, so I just stood around and waited for everything to be over.

Rick had now joined Shane, walking down the line with Shane as they helped everyone else. When I looked back over to Carl, he was standing behind Lori as she took her turn to shoot some of the targets.

Outside the church, when we were looking for Sophia, Rick offered to give his gun to Lori for her to use, but instead, she got a spare one from Daryl. Lori knew how to shoot; that was clear to me. Rick wouldn't have offered up his gun if she didn't know how, but maybe she hadn't shot in a while and just needed some practice.

When most of the targets had been shot, the ground went quieter, and I suddenly remembered that noise was a danger. I had been so focused on trying to shoot better that I had completely forgotten that we had to keep an eye out for walkers. No one else seemed very concerned.

We had scoured the woods from the farm to here, so any thread of walkers would come from in front of us, but that didn't make it any less scary. Even though I could shoot now, I wasn't sure how many of the walkers were going to be roleplaying as a glass bottle while I gunned it down.

Shane was helping Andrea now, who had hit one or two of her targets and was now struggling with aiming her gun. As the gun was her own, I realised that she didn't have to share it with anyone, but she was struggling almost as much as I had been doing all day.

She hit her target, which drew my attention to another shot that happened on my left. Rick was standing with Carl again, helping him shoot his gun. His arms swung back with the kickback, and Carl hit the bottle again.

"I did it," he smiled at Rick.

"That was a good shot," Rick agreed with a smile.

Carl was still wearing Rick's sheriff hat, which was way too big for him. If it were any bigger, it would have comedically fallen down in front of his eyes. Something was different about the hat anymore.

The badge wasn't on it, the golden badge Rick always had while he was wearing the hat. There were two holes with a golden colour reinforcer in each one, which was supposed to hold the pin, but the badge was definitely gone. Rick had probably taken it back before he gave Carl the hat, so the badge didn't get lost.

"Shane, we got any more targets?" Rick asked.

"On it!"

Oh good, more chances to embarrass myself.

Shane grabbed a plastic bag and walked out to the fence we had been shooting at, placing more cans and bottles on the fence for everyone to use. Again we waited for him to come back before we started shooting, so we didn't accidentally shoot the sheriff . . .

I'm too funny.

I wanted to hit my targets before either Rick or Shane came over to help, so when it was safe to continue practising, I just shot down the new targets that had been left out. I had four to myself and managed to get them all down in seven shots.

It wasn't too bad, but I knew with more practice, I would be able to do better. It's not that I was enjoying shooting any better, but if I was going to continue helping the group with searching or runs, then I would need to know how to shoot. It's one of the reasons I asked Daryl to teach me to kill walkers, but if he wasn't going to help me, then shooting would be the next best thing.

We all practised for a little while longer before Rick stopped handing out bullets when people had finished shooting their targets. When the final targets were shot down, we all stood around and waited for further direction.

"Alright, good job, everyone!" Rick congratulated.

I waited to hand my gun back in. I glanced over when I felt a presence at the time and saw Jimmy standing next to me, also waiting patiently.

I smiled and turned to him. "How'd you find it?"

"It was okay," he shrugged. "Better once T-Dog helped me."

"That's good."

I'm glad I wasn't the only one that struggled with shooting. I'm also glad that I was able to get some practice in beforehand with Rick the day before so no one could see how miserably I failed.

Now seeing Jimmy reminded me of the day before, and I wanted to ask about it. "Was Hershel okay yesterday?"

Jimmy nodded. "Yeah, it was fine. Just gave me a lecture on how I should go to him for permission before asking Rick. But I deserved it. I mean, I did lie."

"You just wanted to help."

"He knows," I assumed Jimmy was talking about Hershel. "He's just wary around new people. Especially now. You should have seen it when Beth invited me around to meet her family. I came 'round every day and started helping out on the farm so he could get to know me before asking her out."

I smiled, "That's really sweet; I'm glad you two are okay."

"Yeah, we're fine," Jimmy said, and we both took a step forward as people moved away from the car. "I spoke to Rick this morning, too and explained why I did it. I wanted to make sure that Hershel hadn't blamed him for what I did."

I nodded. "I'm sure it was okay."

Jimmy stopped looking at me; his eyes fixated forward. "I hope so."

Rick had finished with Andrea and T-Dog, so Jimmy and I took another step toward him. As T-Dog and Andrea left, I was going to place the gun down on the bonnet of the car when Shane stopped me.

"Ace, hold up a second," he called me back as Jimmy walked ahead to the table.

Everyone was walking away towards their own cars while Rick packed away Jimmy's gun in front of us. Shane joined me, and I turned to look at him, crossing my arms over one another, "Yeah?"

"Got some more training," he offered. "Moving targets, if you're interested."

I frowned, "Why?"

"Well, a walker ain't gonna hold still for you, is it?" Shane nudged my shoulder.

"I haven't taken the time to ask."

Shane seemed to ignore my remark, "Just some more practice is all."

Really I meant to ask 'why me?' because I was sure that I had made it very obvious that I wanted nothing to do with all the shooting. Sure, Rick taught me the day before, but I only accepted because I have to. Now that I can shoot, I really didn't want to participate anymore.

Before I could deny the idea, Rick spoke from behind us. "You staying out?"

"Yeah, should be," Shane answered, which caused me to send a glare his way. I clearly hadn't given my answer, but I guess now I had to. Fucker. "I talked to Andrea; she's joining me on the run later. I just think Ace could use some more practice, maybe on some moving targets."

Rick turned to me. "Only if you want to?"

I shrugged. "I guess."

Rick nodded, an unsure look settled on his face. "Just stay safe; head back if you see any walkers. I'll see you both back at camp."

I watched with my arms crossed as the cars started up and drove away, leaving me and Shane standing at the temporary shooting range they created. I didn't look over at him, knowing that he already had the smug look on his face.

"You're a dick, you know?"

"I acknowledge that," Shane said. "Guess we better get started then, yeah?"

Shane had this new range all prepared before we even got there; a big log from a dead tree hanging in the middle of a clearing by some old, frayed rope. Every so often, he would push the log, making me shoot at it while it swung back and forth, which wasn't very easy.

Even though the log was about a hundred times bigger than a bottle or a can, the moving made everything I just spent two days learning useless. I lost track of how long I had been trying, as I continued to miss every single shot.

I knew it would be almost forever before I was able to actually hit a target first go, and it would get better with practice, but at this point, I was just wasting ammo that the group would almost definitely need in the future. But Shane was persistent with the idea of teaching me to shoot, and I was fed up arguing with him, so I just stood there wasting ammo by the clip.

After a while, Shane's teaching method changed. Instead of being supportive and saying things like it's okay or try again, he started pestering me, which really wasn't helping with my frustration behind the whole scenario.

He held the log in his hands, inspecting the bark. "Still a virgin."

I glared over at him. "If you think acting like this will make me shoot better, then you're completely wrong."

"I'm just trying to get you rattled," he explained, without any apology. "Show you what it's like when shit starts to hit the fan."

Shane was an instructor before the apocalypse, and I understood that he taught many different adolescents to shoot; and some of them may have benefited from a harsher approach, but I would not be one of those people. Normally, if I were practising a skill, I would be alone and doing it over and over again until I got it. I worked better without the harsh stare of reality standing behind me.

Back in the garage, when my dad was teaching me new things, it was always calm. If I messed up, he would stop me and tell me a step-by-step walkthrough on how to do it correctly and what could happen if I missed the mistake I had made. Then he would leave me to try again on my own and let me work through the process in my head. I felt a lot less stupid that way.

Shooting was obviously different because my mistake was the aim, and the consequences of missing a shot with a walker would be my own death. That was all very clear to me, but Shane couldn't walk me through where I was messing up if the problem was my own aim, so it seemed pointless to have him there just bothering me.

"If I can't shoot when I'm calm, what would make you think I can shoot rattled?"

"You're thinking too much," he said.

I don't think you're thinking enough, I thought. He probably had a point that I was thinking about this too much, but his sudden U-turn in methods was probably the worst of my problems. I had never worked under a lot of pressure before, only really when revising for exams, but that was a completely different scenario to learning a new skill.

I understood that killing a walker would be a high-stress, high-pressure scenario, but I wanted to get the basics of shooting down before adding that extra weight onto my shoulders. In other words, I needed to hit a target that wouldn't kill me before shooting at one that can.

Shane went on. "You have to take your guilt, your fear, you're being pissed off and shut it down. Stop thinking about it."

Because that's easy.

"I didn't even want to learn how to shoot," I reminded him, my tone harsh. "I get that this may be some kind of teaching method that worked with other kids or whatever, but I can guarantee that it will not work with me. If you keep acting like a—a knobhead, then I'm leaving."

Shane seemed amused at my insult for a second, but the serious look returned to his face as he asked, "You think it's gonna be some walk in the park when you've actually gotta shoot at an aggressor?"

Aggressor?

I squinted at him. "What the hell do you think I'm going to be shooting at?"

Shane exhaled deeply, his expression seemingly softening. "You gotta know, paper targets is one thing. Easy to hit what ain't moving. But taking down an assailant, one that's trying to kill you, it's different."

"You mean walkers, right?"

Again, he avoided my biggest concern. "The world changed, kid. While I'm here, I can protect you, but I'm not always going to be around. You're a smart girl, determined, but you're naive."

Okay, that was hurtful.

I didn't understand what this had to do with me killing a walker; being naive meant nothing because I knew how unforgiving it could be to get bitten by a walker. But I'm not sure it was about walkers anymore. Shane was teaching me to defend myself, but from what?

People?

I don't know.

"You keep thinking like it was before, but it ain't the same. It's nostalgia. It's like a drug, keeps you from seeing things the way they are. That's a danger," Shane told me. "It's impossible to tell who's good anymore."

"That's not true."

"You sure?" Shane's head tilted to the side. "If you're pointing a gun at someone and you decide not to shoot, you better be damn sure they're a good person. Because if not, somebody is going to die, and you'd better hope that you're the one who's making that decision."

"I don't want to kill people."

"No one wants to," Shane said. "But you always gotta be prepared to pull the trigger. It's a split-second decision, but the right choice is the one that keeps you alive, no matter what."

Part of me still had no idea what he was getting at, and the other did. Since the nursing home, it became clear that not everyone was good anymore, how they slaughtered the elderly and nurses just to take some supplies, but as a group, we had been careful to avoid those kinds of people. I wondered when Shane had the time to make the kind of decisions he kept talking about.

"Have you killed anyone?"

I assumed that he had killed people before, seeing as he was a cop. He talked about some of the things he had to do as a cop in Kings County: homicides, shootouts, theft, whatever. The way he was talking about it really made it seem like he had to.

Shane pursed his lips, and his gaze moved to the side. "They say in that kind of situation, things slow down. That's crap. They speed up. Adrenalin, ha. It'll cripple you if you let it. You need to use your instinct; you gotta rule it out."

I didn't miss how he'd completely avoided answering my question but held no qualms about it. As much as I wanted to know, it wasn't my business. Something like that, making the decision he was talking about, was no easy feat. It was rude of me to ask.

"Rule out the adrenalin? Isn't that a part of instinct?"

He shook his head, "It's a distraction. You go by adrenalin, the feeling it gives you; it takes you over. All reason out the window."

"So, how do you just rule it out?"

Shane's eyes met mine for a long moment; his gaze looked far away, empty and lost. I waited patiently for his answer, nervous energy gnawing at my gut. I could feel what he was telling me, at least what it meant to him. What he was saying was important, the key to life or death; whether or not I agreed or understood didn't matter.

"Turn off a switch. The switch," Shane looked away from me so I couldn't read his expression. "The one that makes you scared or angry, sympathetic, whatever. You don't think, you just . . . you act."

I felt my gaze move to the floor because it didn't settle right with me. I couldn't just put aside thoughts very easily; things just ate away in my mind until I could come to a solution. If I were to just act instead of thinking, then I would regret not looking for a better way to solve the problem.

"I can see you're finding that hard, and it'll come."

I shook my head, slight panic filling my chest as he talked about deciding whether or not someone lives or dies. "I don't want it to come; I don't want to kill people! I don't want to make those decisions!"

"You tell me this. You gotta walker after you; you're just going to stand there and let it kill you?"

I shook my head.

"God forbid something like this happens, but now what if you're attacked by a person? Someone dangerous, unforgiving. Are you just going to stand there and let them kill you?"

I couldn't answer because, in all honesty, I probably would. No matter what I imagined a situation to be, I would freeze up. The adrenaline would cripple me as he said. I couldn't even imagine pulling a gun on another human, let alone deciding whether or not they died.

Shane saw my hesitancy. "The right choice is the one that keeps you alive," he repeated. "'cause odds are somebody else is counting on you. That's your partner, that's your friend. There ain't nothing easy about taking a man's life, no matter how little value it may have. But when you get it done, you have to forget it."

And that would be the hardest part for me. Forgetting. Because it linked back to my inability to lay anything to rest in my mind, my inability to just act without thinking about the damage or consequences.

"I guess I haven't quite got that part down."

I looked down, knowing his statement confirmed my earlier question of whether he had killed before. I still regret asking him, knowing that if it were me, I would never want to be reminded of what I did, but now I was just dragging up his own memories.

The matte gun shone in my hands, reminding me that I had not been shooting the entire time we were talking, and Shane had not asked me to either.

"I'm guessing you didn't drag me out here to shoot at a log, did you?"

Shane looked over to the log and shrugged. "It was part of the plan."

"The plan to do what?"

Shane stayed quiet for a moment before saying, "C'mon, we'll pick this up tomorrow. Gotta go to that estate and look for Sophia; Andrea will be waiting."

Here's another upload so quick because maybe this will keep me on track when writing the others. I did get a little stuck when starting the winter, but it's on the move now, so I wanted to give you another chapter because it had been so long for me to upload these last two.

Let me know what you thought, I love getting comments and reviews, and I hope you enjoyed :)