Reviews:

BabySlothXYaoi- Yes, Rhys can be a tad dramatic at times! I really had forgotten how much of an asshole everyone at Alexandria was when they arrived! I always get the impression that Carol is a really good listener... but also doesn't care about most of what people say, which is interesting to work with... it's like she always has her own idea's of how things are, but she'll listen to the wrong stuff too? Idk. Babies really are only cute in fiction. Don't worry! I'm back on top of my writing game now! Just hit a snag for a little bit there! Thank you!

wonderbitch26- Thank you so much! This group is my favourite too, I also hated when everything got a little too sad... but I hope you do stick around for it, I'm planning on doing a few things differently, but I won't say too much!... only that I'm so excited to get to it! Thank you again, your support and review are very much appreciated! Hmm, I guess we'll have to wait and find out very soon what Carl is hiding!


I wake up to a shiver, a chill running through my whole body as I lie on the living room rug beneath a comfortable pile of blankets. I study a family picture hanging on the wall above me, amber brilliance from the early morning sun scattering onto four people stuffed into the front of a car, smiling with every tooth they have behind the framed glass window. The man driving is reaching for the camera as a woman, who looks to be his younger sister, takes an unflattering selfie of the four.

I hear someone getting up behind me, the rustling sound of a sleeping bag being pushed aside as the lark rises to their feet. I keep listening as they slip into their boots, creeping towards me, clearly trying not to wake anyone.

The sunrise gives the culprit up, the side of Sasha's face glowing as she steps into view. She takes the picture I was looking at down from the wall, leaving a pale frame-shaped spot in its place. She steps from my sight, and I hear her grab a few more pictures. The custard door gently opens and closes.

I think about letting her go. Then I realise how that'll only lead to her not telling me where she's been.

I get up carefully, quietly equipping my socks and shoes, cursing when I realise my jacket is still missing. I consider the bloody poncho, still stuffed away at the bottom of my bag, but I opt for stealing Carl's flannel from beside him, pulling it on over my t-shirt to shield my numb arms. I grab Ty's hammer and my folding knife before getting up and leaving the house, following Sasha down the sleeping streets.

She comes to a stop outside the armoury and heads inside. I disappear behind a tree while she goes in, waiting until she reappears minutes later with her rifle.

Knowing I won't get a gun if I ask, I continue following Sasha all the way to the camp's gate, ducking behind chest-high walls and uninhabited porches whenever she glances over her shoulder. I can tell something's wrong with her since she's not someone you can easily sneak up on.

I watch as a woman wearing a rainbow-striped jumper and lengthy brown hair lets Sasha out the front gate, Sasha scarcely thanking her as the woman shuts it behind.

I wait a few seconds before I jog towards the gate, waving at the lady on guard.

"Good morning," Rainbow smiles at me, a pump-action shotgun sitting comfortably on her back. "You're part of the new group, right?"

"Yeah, Rhys," I smile back, trying not to look past her.

"I'm Minnie," she chirps at me.

I gesture to the gate behind her. "Hey Minnie, do you mind getting the gate for me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Just going out for a bit."

Minnie's smile gets a little wider but feels patronising now. "Kids have to stay inside the walls, I'm afraid."

I'm stunned into silence for a moment, feeling incredibly insulted, despite knowing she's not trying to offend me.

"Oh no, it's fine," I match her wide smile, "I know how to handle myself."

"I'm sure you do, honey, but I can't let you just wander off by yourself."

"What's going on?" The familiar southern voice comes from behind me. I don't need to turn around to know it's Daryl.

Shit. Busted.

Minnie gives Daryl a cute wave, making me wonder how the hell this is the person we have keeping everything out there from getting in here.

"Rhys here was thinking about sneaking out," Minnie tells Daryl as he reaches us, crossbow hanging over his washed-out wings.

"I wasn't sneaking," I grumble at the nark.

"Nah," Daryl grunts, "It's fine. He's with me."

Minnie and I both look at Daryl, stunned.

"Oh," Minnie exclaims, "are you sure? He said-"

"Open the damn gate," Daryl interrupts her. Minnie nods, staying quiet as she lets us out. I thank her as the rusty gate grinds shut behind us.

"I'm with you, am I?" I ask Daryl as we wander down the road outside Alexandria's gate. The ground far less clean out here.

"No. Go do whatever you're doing," Daryl heads to disappear into the woods.

"Wait," I stop him, "Why are you out here?"

Daryl shrugs like he has no idea. "Rick's taken Carol out 'shooting,' wants me to go meet 'em." It's weird to see Daryl do something so domestic as air quotes, but he does them anyway.

I nod, looking around for the reason I'm out here.

"What're you doing?" Daryl doesn't seem interested.

"Following Sasha, but I don't know where she went."

Daryl takes a minute to examine the floor, nothing standing out to me. Twigs and leaves, doing their usual job of dusting the roadside forest floor.

"She went that way," he points in the opposite direction to where he's going. "She's not moving very fast. Should be able to catch her."

"How do you know that?" I ask, bemused.

"See where the dirt's been kicked up?"

"Yeah?"

Daryl points, "Means she's draggin' her feet... moving slow. That grass there's been trampled."

"You're good at this."

"You pick it up," Daryl nods before disappearing to his 'lesson'.

I wave goodbye, then disappear myself. Looking around for whatever Daryl had picked up on.


There are very few walkers between the trees, something I find strange. One that spots me has a strange-looking 'W' carved into its rotting forehead, even more strange. I decide to used my knife rather than Ty's hammer to bring it down, replacing the odd letter with a gaping wound.

Just when I think I've lost Sasha's trail, I hear the sound of glass shattering from a small clearing ahead. Making my way towards it proves fruitful, Sasha sitting against a tall tree stump, broken photo frames all around her.

"Come and get me," she whispers to herself.

She hasn't seen me yet, so I cough. She spins around in an instant, her rifle raised.

"Shit, Rhys," Sasha gasps down the scope.

"What?"

She lets the gun fall to her side, "Nothing."

I kick the picture frame I woke up to out of the way as I approach her, a bullet hole now through the driver's head. I sit on a rock near her stump, low enough that I have to look up at her.

"Why are you out here?" she asks.

"Following you," I answer.

"Why?"

"Why are you out here?"

"I- I don't..." She trails off.

"Sasha?"

"I'm so stupid..." she whispers to herself. "I let it all spiral... now they're gone."

"Sasha..."

She sounds frantic when she speaks to me, her words and thoughts muddled as they fly through the small clearing, disappearing into the weaving trees. "Bob, I mean, he died telling me that there would be some good to come out of it all, and I think a part of me believed him, y'know? Now my brother's in the ground with him... I don't know where I fit anymore."

Seeing her so lost makes me stutter. She was so sure when I met her... so found. "You fit with us," I tell her, my voice mouse-like.

But she's shaking her head. "Back at the prison, I had my place. On the road, I knew who I was... Shit, Bob wanted to get married, which seems so ridiculous now."

"It's not-"

"It is, and with Tyreese gone... where does it leave me? I don't have a place anymore. You have your job. You have everyone back there. You have what you need."

"I need you too..."

"No," Sasha wipes tears from her eyes. I can see how much she loathes them. "No, no one needs me. Everyone else has their place."

"Come back with me," I try.

"No, I can be out here... it's real out here. You can be too. You're good at it."

"Yeah, that's why I shouldn't be out here. That's why you shouldn't be."

"Back there, they just want me to sit around. I can't do that."

"Then don't sit around," I get up, physicalising my point. "Volunteer to be a lookout in that tower by the wall, or anything, you need to find something. That's what I did."

"I can't."

"You can," I insist, "please, you're my family. If you won't do it for yourself, do it for me... please?" I feel selfish when I say it, but I've nothing else to try.

Sasha smirks weakly, a couple of walkers appearing at the same time. Two silent pops from her rifle, and they slump to the ground. "You want me to try and be normal?"

"Pretend," I correct her.


Sasha promises to go back to Alexandria soon, needing time to herself, so I leave and head back. After getting turned around several times, I realise I'm lost. I look at the floor for my own tracks, finding broken twigs and stepped over leaves. I follow them through the trees for several minutes until I see an old wooden hut and hear familiar voices.

"So, what do you think?" Rick.

"We can go in when it's empty. There's just a latch on the window. I can leave it open." Carol.

"What if one of those pricks shuts it." Daryl.

I realise this must be the 'shooting lesson' Daryl told me about between his funny air quotes. I stay concealed behind a tree as I listen to their conversation.

"We wait a couple of days and leave it open again," Carol answers Daryl.

What are they talking about?

"One of them's out there," Daryl tells the others.

I hold my breath, hoping I haven't been found. Not sure why I'm frightened.

"We need to do it sooner than later," Rick tells the two in a hushed voice. "Right now, they're not watching us, not worrying about meetings like this. We may need the guns. We may not."

The armoury. They're talking about the armoury.

"We will, whatever way it goes," Carol tells Rick.

I keep listening, thinking about whether they're right. Maybe we do need the guns.

"Rhys..."

I'm startled from my thoughts when I hear Carol say my name. I cling to the tree tighter, hoping to melt into it to avoid explaining myself.

"Rhys?" Rick sounds just as surprised as I feel.

"He told me they've got a couple of footlockers," Carol goes on, "full of nine-millimetre autos, Rugers, Kel-Tecs. Just tossed in there. Rhys said it doesn't look like they use them. They'll never know they're gone."

I let out a sigh of relief when my cover hasn't been blown. The relief is soon replaced with rage, as I realise Carol used me again.

"Listen," Rick exhales heavily. "The others, we want them to try. So we keep it quiet, just us."

I can see a walker stumbling towards the sound of the conversation, realising this is what Daryl was talking about, and knowing that they will handle it, I slip away, leaving the rest of the conversation for the trees to hear alone.


The lady on the gate asks me where Daryl is when I find my way back. I give her my widest pretend smile and tell her that he's staying out a while longer. Truth being, I don't even remember her name.

Carl is sitting on the porch railing of 99, reading a book that I can't see the cover of until I get closer. When I do, I realise that it's War and Peace.

"You're reading war and peace?" I ask, smirking at the puzzled look he's giving the pages.

"Trying," Carl answers, shutting it when I jump up to sit beside him, leaning against the porch's support. "You seem to like it..."

"I've barely been able to start it with everything going on."

Carl plays with my shoelace when I bring my feet between us, untying them before retying them into a double knot. He doesn't ask where I've been, so I don't tell him.

"Is that my shirt?" Carl asks.

I shrug, taking off the flannel and handing it to him. "It was cold this morning."

"Dad says we're spreading out into both houses now."

"Who's going where?" I pull my foot away when Carl struggles to undo his knot.

"This house," Carl pats the porch of 99, the house we've barely set foot in, "it's gonna be Maggie and Glenn in the master bedroom, the one with that really fancy ensuite. Then Eugene has the room at the end of the landing, the one with the view over the wall. Sasha's next to him. Tara is in the first room at the top of the stairs... it's the only other one with an ensuite, so she called dibs. You're in the room next to hers. And Gabriel is in the downstairs guestroom."

I double-take at him since he said mine so quickly. "We're not in the same house?"

Carl shakes his head, taking out his knife and stabbing it into the wood between us. "I'm in that room," he tells me, pointing up to the only room with windows over the porch roof of 101. He takes the knife out from the railing before stabbing it back in, almost catching the same spot. "Rosita and Abraham are taking the master in our house since they're the only couple. Carol is in the room next to mine, then Dad's room is next to hers. Michonne's taking the one across the hall from me, and Daryl's taking the attic room. Judith's staying in the same place."

I see from the scowl on his face that Carl is pissed off.

"It's not too bad," I try. "We're still going to see each other the rest of the time, and you can stay over, or I'll stay over."

Carl shakes his head, "I'm sharing a room with Noah."

"Oh..."

"It's fine," Carl elaborates, un-creasing his forehead as to not look as if he hates the thought of it. "Just sucks that I'm the only one that has to share."

"Well... Noah does too."

Carl doesn't seem to find that funny.

I'm thinking about telling him what I heard in the woods. How three of our people plan on stealing guns. How his Dad is going to steal guns. I realise as I look at Carl that this would upset him, so I keep quiet.

"School starts in an hour," Carl tells me, looking hopeful.

"I- I can't."

"Okay, I get it," Carl nods, consideration in his voice. It only makes me feel more guilty.

"I'm sorry..."

"Don't be sorry," Carl taps my knee with two fingers. "You're trying. That's what matters."

"Want to grab lunch before you go?"

Carl nods, hopping down from our seat on the porch.


Full of peanut butter sandwiches, I walk Carl to Dani's garage, the school of Alexandria. Alexandria's teacher, Dani, gives me a strange look when I don't go in with Carl, raising her eyebrow expectingly. I Hug him goodbye and whispering good luck.

"Ron invited us round after school," Carl tells me before pulling away. "You'll come to that, right?"

I nod, untucking his flannel where it looks awkward and disappearing down the street before Dani tries to speak with me.

Carol mentioned yesterday that she won't need my help cooking today, so I'm stumped when it comes to what I should do. I don't really have a reason not to go to school, only that something deep inside of me says no. The idea of going feels like a step back.

"Why aren't you at school?" the voice of a child makes me jump.

I look to my right as I stop my wander down the road, a small boy with dirty blonde hair staring up at me from his seat on the curb.

"Why aren't you at school?" I parrot him, not meaning to sound so patronising.

"I went this morning... big kids go in the afternoon," he shrugs. He didn't seem to find it patronising.

"Right."

I notice he's sitting outside Ron's house, piecing together this must be his little brother.

"I'm Rhys..." I tell him.

"Sam. Why aren't you at school?"

I look around, hoping the answer might fly at me from across the lake. "Because I don't want to be."

Sam grins, which takes me off guard. "Awesome, wish I could do that."

"Yeah?"

He thinks about it, then shakes his head. "I like school."

"You like school?" I raise an eyebrow, once again, taken aback. "Why's that?"

The kid shrugs, "It's better than being home."

"Why?"

He suddenly gets up, a look on his face like he's said too much. "Bye, Rhys!" he shouts, disappearing into his home.

Before I get a chance to think about any of what just happened, a familiar voice comes from behind me.

"It's a two for three on the blinkies and linkies... which should leave us with enough power to gut the grid over the next week."

Recognising his particular way of talking anywhere, I turn around to see Eugene approaching from across the street. He hasn't seen me yet, his eyes looking down at a clipboard as he talks to himself.

"Eugene..." I greet him, making him stop and slowly look up over his board with a confused squint.

"Rhys..." he says slowly. Then he looks to his right. "Have you seen Tobin?"

"Who?"

"Tobin," Eugene repeats. "I was giving him the rundown on the horsepower situation... but he appears to have disappeared..."

"Seems it," I nod, obtaining that he didn't realise he was talking to himself.

"Are you not keeping your classes with Carl?" Eugene asks.

"Oh, no... giving it a miss today."

Eugene nods, lowering the clipboard to his side and continuing to walk, so I walk with him, not entirely sure why.

"What were you talking about before? Blinkies and... something..."

"Linkies," Eugene says like it's obvious. "Alexandria has an impressive array of sweet solars, but they are running poor on the output. Prototypes. I need to attain answers as to why the pannels are keeping their hay with their wire, so I can fix the proto's pronto."

"So the solar panels are acting up?" I ask as we reach Alexandria's field of solar panels.

Eugene nods, "That is what I just said, correct."

I watch amused as Eugene works on an electric box.

Tucked away behind a panel, I see Sasha talking to Deanna, Rick, and Michonne. Maggie's standing beside them all looking strangely stern.

"Tonight, I'm hosting a welcome for all of you at my home," Deanna tells them. "I want you to be there," she nods to Sasha, who looks stunned.

"Why?" Sasha asks her dubiously, stuttering across the three letters.

"Come tonight. Then we'll talk about it," Deanna gives one of her wise seeming smirks.

I've been standing a few feet away listening. Sasha approaches me, leaving the others to talk about lookout posts, Rick sounding angry that they don't already have some.

"What was that about?" I ask Sasha.

She looks lost for a second before giving me a half-smile. "I did what you said. Volunteered to be a lookout."

"Did you get the job?"

"Deanna says there's a party tonight... wants me to come and talk about it there."

"A party?"