Apparently the small group currently residing on the rooftop with Rick, Johnathan and I have a camp as it turns out. T-dog was currently the C.B. Trying to contact the others. But the signal was weak, so it was taking longer than we all anticipated.

The guy known as Morales called out to T. "How's that signal?"

T scoffed. "Like Dixon's brain - weak."

"Keep trying."

"Name calling and insulting will only fan the flames, guys." I informed the small group perched on the roof. I swatted Merle's hand when he flipped T the bird."

Andrea scoffed. "Why bother? There's not a damn thing the camp can do."

"She's right. We're on our own. It's up to us to find a way out."

Merle opened his mouth to say something, but I interrupted. "There's always a way out. You just have to find it."

Everyone looked at me.

"What do you suppose we do?" Jacqui asked me while I got to my feet.

"I will show you. Come with me."

I bolted for the door and ran down the stairs down into the department store — ignoring the horde of walkers still working to break through the glass, and dashed to the door Rick, Johnathan and I had followed Glenn, Morales and T-dog through. I pushed open the door and grabbing two of the lifeless walkers by their torn garments, I pulled them back inside and closed the door.

What I had in mind was a disgusting plan. My eyes met Johnathan's and we gave one another a knowing smile. Back in Israel, there was a point when Johnathan and I got cut off from my father and the other soldiers. There were so many walkers between them and us. Johnathan and I had spotted dead walkers lying on the ground close by. So Johanathan and I grabbed two of the walkers and after dragging them into a shadowy alcove.

We were about to repeat the same process here. I grabbed trench coats and rubber gloves and passed them out. Now Johnathan, Glenn, Rick and I were dressed like four mad scientists. The only thing missing was the walker guts. Walkers couldn't smell their own because of being dead, but the living have a distinct smell. And the plan Rick and Glenn were about to join Johnathan and I on consisted of dressing ourselves in walker guts — maybe even some intestines and body parts just to give a little flare to keep our scent masked by the ever-curious, ever-wandering dead currently trying to break into the department store while their friends wandered the streets of Atlanta.

Rick grabbed an axe to help chop the two walkers laid before us so the four of us could begin rubbing their guts on ourselves. Before he began chopping, however, he grabbed one of the walkers wallets and began reading his name from the wallet currently held in his hand. "Wayne Dunlap. Georgia license. Born in 1979." Glenn took the license from him. "He had 28 in his pocket when he died….and a picture of a pretty girl." Rick flipped the picture over. "With love, from Rachel. he used to be like us. Worrying about bills or the rent or the Super Bowl. If I ever find my family I'm going to tell them about Wayne." Rick closed Wayne's wallet.

"If I ever find my Eema and Daryl. I'm going to tell them about Wayne, too." I shared a knowing smile with Rick and Johnathan while my best friend put a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"Your Eema?" Glenn asked.

"Her mother," Johnathan clarified. "Aria left her mother behind when she left the states with her Abba to join the war over in Israel. Then about a month ago, the dead began walking and we have been living a huge nightmare ever since then. We escaped from our homeland, but only by the skin of our teeth, so to speak. Besides me and her father, the only two other people who have kept Aria going was the thoughts of her Eema and Daryl."

"What happened to your father?" Glenn asked.

I gave Johnathan a nod. "We were surrounded by the dead in all corners in the City of David. There was no way out. Whatever living Israelites still drew breath, we got them down into Hezekaih's tunnel while her father and the other soldiers kept the walkers at bay. But the strength of the walkers grew stronger as more and more advanced towards us. Aria's father knew his death was near. So he spent the last of his time he had telling his daughter how much he loved her and her mother — his wife, as well as telling her to tell Daryl that when the time comes, he has his approval to permanently be with his daughter. Then he told me to look after her. I pulled Aria away from her father as the walkers advanced even more due to the other soldiers unable to hold them back any longer. The last thing Aria saw was her father's face before being completely hidden from view.

"We ran through the parking lot of the airport. Whatever remaining military were keeping the walkers at bay managed to make a way for us while Aria and I dropped walkers between us and the airport. The planes were all but dismantled so we boarded a chopper and I flew us back to the states."

I looked over and saw Andrea and Jacqui both with a hand covering their mouths. Morales and Glenn had their heads bowed. Rick shared a knowing look with me.

Rick gently took me by the hand and I smiled. "Let's get this show on the road."

After he stood up and put the mask over his again, Rick picked up the axe and began chopping off Wayne's limbs after swinging the axe into his stomach. The putrid smell didn't faze Johnathan and I, but Glenn and everyone else shrank back from Wayne and the other walker I had grabbed. Glenn's face turned pale when Morales continued chopping while the rest of us bent over Wayne's body, and dug out handfuls of guts and blood. Johnathan and I didn't grimace while we wiped our hands down our body, the chunks of flesh sticking to our coats.

Glenn's face paled even more while he was finished with being smothered in guts and blood. But what did it in was when part of the intestines were draped around his shoulders. He bent over and hurled. "How can you two not be bothered by all of the guts and blood —not too mention the mortifying stench?" Glenn's question was directed at Johnathan and I.

"That's a story for another time." I informed the kid, "I don't want to make you throw up even worse."

"I appreciate that." Glenn groaned.

"Just think about puppies and kittens." T-dog mumbled. But that only made things worse. Glenn's brain must have pictured dead puppies and kittens, because he hurled up even more.

"That is just evenly. What is wrong with you?" Andrea shook her head at T-dog.

"Next time, let Merle beat his ass." Jacqui said to me. I couldn't help but laugh. Merle had spotted T-dog behind me when I burst through the door leading to the roof. The only reason neither men started beating one another, was because I had taken the liberty to kick Merle's sorry hide for bringing the walkers down on us.

"I just might."

"Thanks, Aria." T-dog playfully snapped at me.

"Don't mention it." I smiled.

"Do we smell like them?" Rick asked.

Everyone nodded. "Oh, yeah." They chorused in unison. Andrea gave Glenn her gun, Rick gave some orders, chopped Wayne some more to get more guts and then Rick, Glenn, Johnathan and I were on our way. We were completely covered when we left. I led them down the alley while we walked like walkers, our weapons at our sides. The four of us were mostly ignored other than a walker sniffing at us here and another there.

Ahead of us was a bus. "Slow and steady," I whispered as we neared the long banana vehicle. "Slow and steady." I whispered again as we lowered ourselves to the ground, moving slowly so the walkers around us wouldn't notice. Overhead, I heard rumbling, and not far off, I spotted a black cloud. "Slow and steady." I whispered once more as we walked for what felt like hours after after crawling our from underneath the bus. Apparently Glenn was filled with enthusiasm. "It's going to work. I can't believe it."

Rick shushed Glenn. "Don't draw attention." He said between his teeth. Out the corner of my eye, I saw a female walker pass and go in between Rick and Glenn. Glenn's zombie growl impression when she eyed him. And he sighed in relief when she continued walking. But whatever inner joy the four of us felt was instantly gone when I felt a raindrop hit my nose. Apparently the others did too. I could feel their inner joy seep out from within their bodies when another raindrop fell, Then another and another. And soon, a light drizzle crashed down against the street around us. I didn't need to look down to know pieces of guts and flesh began falling off our coats. My ears caught the low vibrations of walkers growling from noticing.

Calculating the distance between us and the objectives I had in mind, there was no way the four of us were going to make it unless we made a mad sprint for it. "Aria, the smell is washing off."

"No, it's not." Rick said. But I begged to differ when a walker close to Rick stared at him as it passed, sniffing the air. "Well, maybe."

Make a choice!

"Run!" I yelled just as a walker roared from behind the four of us. Rick brought the axe down on its head.

We sprinted, pushing past walkers in front of us. Johnathan and I drew our swords and began dropping them to clear a path. "Rick!" I called. The cop whirled around to face me. "You and Glenn make for the van. Johnathan and I will slow down the horde."

Rick and Glenn took off in a mad sprint down the street for the van while Johnathan and I drew the hordes attention to ourselves to keep them from following after them. The walkers roared while Johnathan and I dropped the advancing biters! I kicked out their knees for good measure, using them as a stumbling block to slow the hordes ascension and to help keep mine and Johnathan's stamina from decreasing while we dropped the walkers that avoided falling on the ground. Hoping to give Glenn and Rick enough time to get the van and get to the loading dock.

My ears caught the sound of metal fence hitting the ground and the sound of the van approaching a growing tired Johnathan and I. But we stood fast in our defensive stance. If we made a mad dash for the van now, the steady flow of peace and vigilance would explode into a huge uproar of a fiery inferno, and Johnathan and I would receive the brunt of it. Soon the van was in front of us with its back end facing us after Rick used the vehicle to block the walkers long enough for us to dive into the back. Rick backed away from the walkers and turned down another road after Johnathan and I discarded the nasty lab coats.

"On to the next phase." I informed my cohorts.

"Next phase?" Glenn all but shrieked with anxiety. "We barely survived the first phase."

"This part will be a bit more easier."

When Glenn didn't say anything, I said, "Glenn, you need to draw them away. The roll-up windows at the front of the store — that area? — that's what I need cleared. Radio your friends, tell them to get down there and be ready. Johnathan, you go with Glenn, the more noise the better."

"I'm sorry, but I missed the part where you tell me how you want the walkers drawn away." Glenn said shakily.

"Noise."

Up ahead, I pointed to a parking lot then too a beautiful cherry red mustang sitting abandoned. "There."

I got out of the van with Glenn and Johnathan and smashed the window and the alarm started blaring. I unlocked the door and started it with a flathead. Glenn and Johnathan got in quickly. Johnathan leaned out the window and began shouting while he and Glenn drove down the street.

Rick and I drove back to the store in the truck, spotting Glenn and Johnathan drawing the walkers in their direction when they stopped in the street after backing up to wait for the walkers to get close enough before moving the car. When the biters were close enough, Glenn moved the car a little bit more, slowly drawing them away from the store. When he was sure the hordes attention was on him and Johnathan, Glenn slammed on the gas, expertly spinning the car around and began driving again.

Rick backed up to the loading docks and everyone else dove in head first. T-dog slammed the door shut and we sped down the road, Glenn and Johnathan full speed ahead. Over the walkie T-dog had, I heard Glenn's voice cut through. "You are one crazy woman, Aria, you know that?"

I burst out laughing and the others joined in. I hollered into the walkie T held. "I ought to be, my friend. Crazy kept Johnathan and I alive back home." But something was off.

I whipped around to find one of the members missing, a guilty look on T-dogs face. "Where's Merle?"

All heads turned to T. "T?" I asked. "What happened?"

"I dropped the damn key down the roof drain."

My face paled! I thought of the walkers. "The walkers, T. Will they….?"

"No." He shook his head. "I chained the door shut so none of them won't be able to get through the door." he sighed. "I can't believe I dropped the damn key."

"One problem at a time, T." I reached back and placed a comforting hand on the man's arm while his wife soothingly rubbed his other arm. "One problem at a time."

"It's not that, Aria. Merle's brother? Daryl? He is going to be mad when he finds out about his brother."

"I will talk to Daryl about it — explain the whole situation. The only other person Daryl listened to other than my Eema and Abba, was me."

T shot me a doubtful look. The tone in his voice matched the look on his face. "And if he doesn't?"

I gave T's arm a firm, comforting squeeze. "He will, T. I promise you he will. He and I have some catching up to do, anyways. So I will be the one to talk to him."

The van's atmosphere filled with some relief, but there was still tension in the vehicle.