Sweat dripped down my face and back as I ran through the woods - jumping over rocks and roots and pushing away low-hanging branches. My footsteps didn't falter until the sun started rising, making the darkened sky a few shades lighter. My foot got caught by some tree branches that littered the forest floor, causing me to fall forward and land heavily on the ground. The smoke from the barn permeated the cool air, causing my throat to burn with each breath I took. Was it so bad to want to stay laying on the ground until I wither away?

"Now, what good will come from a snake cooking in the sun other than a good meal?"

I lifted my head from the ground to look around for whoever spoke. The voice sounded somewhat familiar, but I attributed it to yesterday's events. Everything from Shane and Randall to being chased off the farm would definitely take its toll.

"Trust me, Striker, you're not going crazy. Not yet, anyway. You have taken one too many hits to that rock-hard head that sits upon your shoulders for you to be going crazy now."

I jumped to my feet when I heard the voice again. "Who are you?" My voice was loud and raspy when I called out.

"Is that a way to treat an old friend?"

"Show yourself!" I pulled my gun from my waistband and held it in front of me as I spun around to look for who was taunting me. From the corner of my eye, I saw somebody standing just a few feet away, but when I turned to look, nobody was there.

"You know who I am." A laugh echoed around me. "Now, do us both a little favor and slither your ass to that damn highway."

When I spun around again, I saw exactly who it was, and I knew, at that moment, I was truly losing it. "Jax?"

His smile sent a shiver down my spine. There was no way he could be here in the middle of ass-fuck-nowhere. He wasn't even in Georgia when all this went down! "Get going before the big bad wolf has to chase you down."

I took a step towards him, but the sounds of leaves rustling and moans stopped me in my tracks. When about a dozen walkers emerged from the thick trees, I knew it was time to go. I looked back at Jax, only to find that he was gone. Placing the gun back into my waistband, I readjusted the bag on my back and started to run again. Apparently, it was a bad thing to lay on the ground to wither away

"Motherfucker!" Another branch snagged my hair; this time, I couldn't just yank my head away to be free. "Stupid fucking hair... Stupid fucking tree!"

I bent the branch in half in hopes of breaking it, but instead of snapping, it bent like fucking rubber. The knot got worse the more I messed with it. Getting extremely frustrated with the damn things, I pulled my head away as far as I could and hacked off the branch that took me hostage with my machete.

I placed the blade back into its holder and walked the rest of the way to the highway while trying to de-twig my hair. As the trees thinned out, the knot got even worse. I was so busy cussing out everything I could that I didn't even notice the crossbow pointing at me until I felt something whizz by my ear.

"God motherfuckin' damnit!" I glanced at the bolt before yanking it out of the tree it landed in and waved it around. All my anger and frustration started to pour out of me immediately. "First it was Shane, then the horde, the fucking tree, and now it's this! If you're gonna try to kill me, at least let me have a damn drink and fuckin' smoke!"

"Thought you were a walker, lookin like that." Daryl chastised as he walked up to me. I climbed over the railing with his help and handed him his bolt.

"Good to see you too, Mr. Crossbow."

He and I walked over to the group - what was left of it. Maggie, Beth, and Uncle Hershel hugged me, nit-picking at me about leaving them yet again. Carl was next to hug me once I was able to move away from my family. Rick nodded in appreciation, saying he was glad I was still alive. Carol, like Lori, kept her distance from me. I patted Glenn on his shoulder as I gave thanks to him for keeping Maggie safe and did the same thing with T-Dog for keeping Beth safe.

While we talked about where to go now that the farm was overrun, Beth kindly worked at the stick in my hair until it was finally out. Thankfully, I had a brush in my bag, but for now, I smoothed it out with my hands and placed it into a half-assed bun.

Once we decided to go east, I watched as Daryl got onto his motorcycle with Carol behind him. Maggie nudged me with her arm, giving me a knowing look and smile. Even after all the hell we went through, she somehow managed to find a way to poke fun. I climbed into the car with my cousins and uncle after he gave me the what-for about my stitches. Needless to say, I won't be doing much other than sitting and walking until I'm fully healed.

I tried to keep my eyes open while we drove, but the warmth from sitting between my cousins and the somewhat gentle motion of the car lulled me into a much-needed deep sleep.

I stared at my reflection in the cheap floor-length mirror that I got a year ago. My favorite black bra hugged my chest, and a pair of loose-fitting gray shorts hung from my hips. My curly hair was still damp from the shower and was dripping water down my back and shoulders. The long, jagged scar that was still healing ran from the middle of my breasts down to my right hip was an ugly shade of red.

The longer I stared at myself, the angrier I got. I was angry because I was the prey and got attacked. I was angry because I was stupid enough to go to that fight. I was angry at the world. I was angry at the ass-fucks that did this to me. I was angry at Jax for talking me into doing this fight and even angrier at myself for caving in.

I closed my eyes to shield myself from the pain, but the feeling of hands on my arms and stomach made me open them. The eyes of the men who assaulted me locked onto mine. I opened my mouth to scream, but nothing came out. They had the same exact predatory smiles on their faces as they stared at my fear-stricken face. I wanted to run away from them, but I was stuck in place.

The air around me got colder, and blood started pouring from my scar. My hands immediately pressed against it to stop the bleeding. When I looked down at my stomach, my hands looked decayed, and my blood looked black. The world around me started to shake. Even though a metallic taste filled my mouth, a scream finally escaped my lips.