Hector Morales

Hector ran.

They sent another woman to him, pretty and young but obviously there with a purpose. There was absolutely no reason why she would be wearing a dress during the apocalypse. Jennifer had all the subtlety of a brick with her questions about his family and group. It became even more obvious when she slipped and he learned that she knew spanish. He had been allowed to walk for short periods of time before he was hustled back to his tent by Bob, the friendly Doctor.

From what he had seen, there were maybe thirty people and all of them were living out of tents. They had been chased out of the apartment complex when someone set a fire. Hector was not privy to all the details but he had heard enough to know that it had not been the best set up even before they had run. Someone they had kicked out had come back to set the fire in hopes they could either kill them or steal from them. He just wanted to get back to the farm and after nearly a week, he finally got the chance.

Hector did not bring Max, had not stopped to look for the dog in his haste to get away. The group didn't even have enough vehicles for everyone and they were pressing hard for his people's location. He couldn't risk it. Eventually, he stumbled upon a neighborhood and rushed forward, his exhaustion fleeting. There was a moment of panic when he heard shouting but he quickly ducked down under the bed.

"That was lame, Chuck!" A child's voice cried out in laughter, a vaguely familiar laugh joined in, luckily they were moving away from the house he was hiding in.

"Keep you…" He could no longer hear but at the sound of car doors slamming, he let out a sigh of relief.

Hector waited for what felt like hours after the sound of the engine drifted away. It bothered him that the children's laughter sounded familiar but still, he didn't show himself. He had one objective, to get back to his family. What if it were one of his children's friends from school? For a moment he worried that it was Carl's laughter but the voice had not been Billy or his son. There was no way Amy found more children in only a week.

It took him two days to get to the farm, his heart beating out his chest at the obvious devastation. There were a few walkers trapped by the fences but were otherwise abandoned. The barn was nothing but charcoal, even the supports had fallen. Driving around the farm house, he felt his heart fall into his stomach, there were no signs anyone from the group even came back to the farm after that night. It wasn't until he saw the pile of soggy thin sheets that he felt a smidge of hope.

Hector wasn't the only one who had been lost at the farm.

Merle and Andrea were missing, at least when they made the sign. He had never driven as recklessly as when he made his way to Mitch's. The group had to have moved on but it was the quickest way to find out if his family had made it off the farm safe. The gates were closed but there was no lock securing the chain. The front of the house looked like there had been some kind of meeting, seats made of plywood and tires littered the yard.

Papi,

We miss you! Tia Amy said that you would find this and would love to hear from us! It was so scary when we found out you couldn't meet us on the road but Jamie and Daisy told us how you saved them. You were really brave and I hope you find us soon! Mami is sad and Tia Amy says that she's tired from all the excitement, whatever that means. I think it's 'cause she misses you so much! Louis has been quiet too, he won't even talk to Billy. I know he misses you alot, just like me!

Come home soon, Papi!

X Liza and Loui

He could tell his daughter spent a lot of time on the rambling letter she had left for him, he was sure it was Amy cleaning up the names. Hector collapsed on his knees, unable to tear his eyes away from the paper in his hands. He wasn't sure how long he stayed on his knees but they were stiff when he slowly stood. Three letters and maps were laying innocently on the table, he assumed his was H. There was a map and a letter from Amy but none for his wife. Did Miranda think he died? His poor amado but she was a strong woman. She would hold out until he could catch up to them. There were no instructions on the map but he knew where to go, for the most part.

Tory,

It's official. I will never call you anything else, even in casual conversation with complete strangers. The only way to change my mind would be to tell me in person how much you hate it.

I know you'll find this letter, I just worry about what shape you'll be in when you read it. Mira and the kids are whole and healthy, just missing you terribly. Thank you for what you did, J and D would not have made it without you. Don't worry, the girls made it sound super heroic and didn't mention you swearing at all. We all miss you and can't wait to see you. We'll be leaving signs along the way. Don't worry too much, just focus on getting home. You know your wife is saving all her words for when you meet us in person.

Safe travels my friend.

Mira and the kids will be safe.

-A

Hector had left at first light the next morning, tearing the Brown's house apart in a fit of paranoia that his family had left something else for him. He hoped and prayed that there was something tangible of his wife and children he could keep with him, even if only a picture. Billy had gone through an ungodly amount of film since they had picked up all those polaroids. Surely, the boy had forgotten something. All he found was a child's sock and a torn sleeping bag, he was sure it was Emma's but that did not stop the tears.

He had changed routes three times because of traffic jams. It had driven him back towards Atlanta, much to his frustration. Hector swore when he had finally gotten past the city only from smoke to billow from the hood of the car he had stolen. If only Jim was there, he knew nothing about cars. However, he did raise the hood and stare at the engine morosely for almost fifteen minutes. Desperately, he hoped that the problem would jump out at him. He had only been walking for an hour when he noticed a police car coming towards him. Desperation was the only excuse he had for running towards it in hope of help.

Hector woke once more in an unfamiliar place. For a moment, he thought that maybe it had been a terrible dream. He was in a hospital room, a heart monitor going off in his ear with increasing urgency. It was the small things that made him realize something was very wrong. He stumbled to the window, an awe inspiring and devastating view of the ruined city of Atlanta greeted him. His stomach twisted in realization, followed by the throbbing pain in his side. Before he could do more than glance at the cast on his arm, a police officer stepped into his room.

"Welcome to Grady Memorial Hospital." The woman who was watching him with eerie focus, spoke with a monotone that made his skin crawl. "You're lucky our patrol found you so far outside the city. My fellow officers said you were minutes away from being corpse food. I'm Officer Dawn Lerner and we're happy to have you here."

They were so close, Amy could practically taste it in the air. It only took another week on the road but finally they were in the desolate county with a higher population of cows than people. The group was tired, dirty, and just sick of being stuck inside of their vehicles but an anticipation filled them when Daryl called out that they were coming up on the peanut farm. It was the last scheduled stop, when Hector made the route. They thought they might be on the road days but with such a large convoy everything was slower.

"We've got company."

Of course, being less than twenty miles away from the school they had placed so many hopes into, they had to run into a problem. Why wouldn't travel in the apocalypse be easy, right? There was a group of people rushing headlong towards them. Five adults were leading the charge with three teenage boys behind them. The convoy rolled to a stop and Amy rushed towards the front where Daryl and Merle were already out with more people coming to back them up. Jim and George were climbing up the med bus to get a better view while Marcus and Michonne scoped out the trees.

Amy was not prepared for the survivors they found.

"Back up!" Merle was the first to be approached, which was a mistake on the man's part since he got a rifle pointed in his face.

They looked like they had been walking for days, two of the women were even barefoot. If they wore the stilettos like the other women wore, she didn't blame them. The man was dressed as a janitor while the women all wore very expensive business casual attire. Even the three teenage boys were dressed like they were about to go to church in their dingy black slacks and oxford shirts.

"Please!" A woman cried out hysterically, hiding behind the weedy man. "We don't have any weapons! Please, you have to help us!"

"Do you have any food?" Another blonde woman in a pencil skirt clung to the duo anxiously. "We haven't eaten in a day!"

"How about one of you being elected to speak." Amy stepped forward with Daryl at her back. People were already moving behind her, all of them watching the newcomers suspiciously.

"I'm Brian." The lone man squared his shoulders, glancing around at the group in fear. "Please, we've got kids and we need help."

"Well, if you want we have a mechanic who can look at your vehicle and I suppose we could offer up a little food since you have kids." Amy nodded, her hands resting on her hips. However, the little group was not relieved, just more terrified.

"No, we need to go!" The blonde woman shouted in panic, causing Amy to take a step back with her hand on her holster. "They're going to catch up!"

"Is someone chasing you?"

"It's those things." Brian put a shaky hand up to the women crowding behind him. "We had a bus with most of our staff and students but…it flipped and those things were just…eating them."

"How many?" Daryl asked, his bow raised and pointed down the long road for any signs of danger. The road was long and not a car in sight, how far had they traveled on foot?

"There must have been at least five!" A short brunette burst into tears, hugging a pump woman close.

"Five walkers?" Amy looked back at Daryl with a raised brow in confusion.

"Those corpses?" Brain nodded in fear.

"And the bus, how many were on it?"

"Sixty three students and fifteen of the faculty." The chubby woman piped up, pushing up her glasses anxiously.

"Where ya'll comin' from?" Daryl asked, looking them over before scanning the three scrawny teenage boys critically. They all hung back, looking ready to piss themselves.

"Nemours Academy." Brian said shakily when he noticed the hunter's bow. He took a step back, taking in the people milling around and got more nervous with his eyes firmly planted on Amy's gun.

"Shit." Amy sighed, feeling her stomach drop at the name of the school they had been planning on settling. Well, there were other places but she was sick of driving. How the hell did they do it for eight months? "What happened? Wait, when did the bus flip?"

"It was right outside of town." Brian finally lifted his eyes to hers. "It was just one, the old postman then…the noise must have attracted them because before we knew it we were swarmed."

"Swarmed." Daryl snorted, sending Amy a look that clearly showed his opinion on the new people.

"Alright, looks like we're doing an early lunch!" Amy raised her voice so that the patrol and watch could hear her. "Let's get to the farm we have marked down where Brian and his friends can tell us what happened at the school."

"You have food?" The blonde woman asked hopefully.

"Yes, we'll feed you today and you tell us more about the school." Amy said slowly, feeling agitation set in that they wouldn't be settled soon. "Daisy and Beth, get the kids into the other vehicles. Let's get you guys frisked, I'm not taking any chances. John and Bella, you take the charter, keep an eye on these guys."

She sent a team to sweep the farm and B & B. There was also a large processing plant set up beyond the empty fields. The old farm house had been completely refurbished in the last few years and was fitted with a peanut museum and gift shop. It was far enough away from the road that they could temporarily move some people inside but not settle in. There were no defenses other than pretty wrought iron fencing that a person could walk through.

Amy blinked at the chaos that was Brian and his group, she didn't care what they did beyond telling her why her Plan A was out and keeping the volume down. The four women and Brian tried to calm the excited teenagers, however the boys seemed to have grown bold once they weren't shot. She wasn't sure what they did at the school but they must not have actually interacted with them often. Amy could do nothing but watch with Michonne as teenage boys laughed at their minders like it was some game.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Amy demanded when a boy no older than fourteen was trying to open the door to the humvee. The look he gave her set her teeth on edge, she would not have a little boy looking at her like that.

"Looking for somewhere private for us." He might have been smooth if his voice didn't crack .

"Cool." She nodded sarcastically and pulled her pistol from the holster on her thigh, making him back pedal so fast, he fell on his ass. Michonne dragged him up by his collared shirt, giving him a glare so fierce he almost pissed himself.

"Move." Her best friend snarled, frog marching him back to the charter bus where his little friends were behaving like jackasses.

"Sit!" Amy snapped out, her voice cutting through all the horseplay around and the pleading the adults were doing.

The students turned to laugh until they caught sight of Amy and Michonne with Daryl just a few feet behind them with his crossbow. If they looked further towards the convoy they would see many armed men and women watching with stony expressions. They were given water and crackers, so why were they getting so excited? Honestly, Amy was half tempted to leave them to their own devices and begin moving to their next destination. It was a scheduled stop and it wasn't even lunch time yet, so she figured she could hear their story first.

"Really." The chubby brunette with glass raised her hands shakily. "That's no way to speak to children, we -"

"You too. Sit." Amy barked, calmly keeping her gun by her side. "Everyone but Brian, he's the one talking for you. You keep the volume down unless you want me to send Merle. Man wrestled a grizzly bear naked because he thought it was challenging his authority, you feel me? Simmons, Chang keep an eye on the troublemakers, will ya?"

The guards walked over with their fatigues and M4's with serious expressions, looking down their noses at the noisy kids. "Ma'am."

There were frantic nods as they all backed up against the bus and sat down with their heads between their knees. What a bunch of pansies. Glancing behind her she saw Merle sending lewd smiles to the terrified women. Her eyes swept past the group once more before nodding at Brian to follow them.

"You know he never…" Daryl smirked when he stepped up beside her, glaring pointedly at Brian to keep his distance.

"Daryl, I'm sorry but you have a scary redneck brother named Merle." Amy grinned sheepishly when he just stared uncomprehendingly. "C'mon if I'm going to threaten a bunch of marshmallows, of course I'm going to send in Merle. It's just like those old campfire stories."

"Merle and his brother Berle." Michonne nodded with a wicked smile, making Daryl stop in his tracks to stare at them in shock.

"How'd you know 'bout Berle?"

"Get the fuck out." Amy gaped, searching Daryl's face for any sign of the joke but he was absolutely serious. "It's just…you know Merle and Berle. I didn't know you had another brother."

"Nah, cousin." Daryl snorted at the blonde's stricken expression, catching onto her worry that she thought she brought up a dead sibling. "Born two days after Merle."

"You have children, too." Brian whispered when they got into the protected center of the convoy where people were milling around.

The teenagers and the Rhodes had all the children, even Sofia, on a blanket while Beth sang. She really was a sweet girl with a beautiful voice, all the kids agreed. It didn't last, Braden saw her and clumsily climbed to his feet. He used Jamie for support as he took a single step, freezing Amy for just a moment. She didn't understand until that moment just how important that step was.

"Oh, my sweet boy." Amy whispered, closing the distance by sliding on her knees with her arms outstretched for him. Braden laughed, still wobbly when he took his first unassisted step, then another and another until he fell face first into her waiting arms. "Oh my smart little boy, look at you."

"Lookit you, lil man." Daryl stood above them with his lip ticked up on the side while he pet Braden's curls. "Gonna be huntin' in no time."

Lily and Ren wandered closer, speaking in that demonic toddler language that went right over the blonde's head. Michonne said she just wasn't listening but Amy knew when someone was speaking in tongue, thank you very much. So, she just smiled and nodded while the girls babbled together enthusiastically. Braden laid his head on her shoulder, glaring at the girls with an adorable little scowl.

"No! My Ma!" Braden whimpered, clutching her shirt in his wet little hands.

"Alright my sweet boy." Amy sighed standing up with some assistance from Daryl. "You kids be good, you understand? I don't want to hear you've forgotten your manners."

"Can I come with you?" Billy asked, making his eyes extra big.

"Not this time, Bubs." Amy ruffled his hair fondly. "You stay with your sisters, okay?"

"Yes, mom."

"I had no idea…" Brian was looking at her like a very complex abstract painting that was described in emotions. "We've been behind the walls and it's just so hard."

"Can tell ya aint been starvin'" Daryl grumbled, not taking his eyes off Braden with a soft expression. Amy shared a grin with him, her heart warming in that moment.

"No, the school was well stocked for our first semester." Brian nodded, still keeping his distance as they made their way towards the food truck. The weedy man kept glancing at the group of children with a bewildered expression. "We also have the greenhouses and the fallout shelter, so food was never the issue."

"Then why did you all leave?" Amy looked confused as he met the stammering man's gaze evenly. "And without provisions?"

"We were forced to leave." He paused when Sam came rushing towards them with an eager smile.

"Is this it, boss?" Sam asked in excitement, ignoring the scowling Daryl to tickle Braden brazenly. "I knew you could get us here. I can't wait until we get set up in our own space! Andrea was talking about the faculty housing and the dorm buildings! And so much space-"

"Calm down, Sam." Amy chuckled, leaning back into Daryl. It became obvious after they joined that Sam was enthusiastic about talking to anyone, social butterfly he was. "Meet Brian, he came from the school and was telling us about what happened. So, we'll have a meeting after lunch."

"Oh no!" Sam looked heart broken at the idea of the school not working out but it passed quickly, a bright smile stretching across his face. "Well, we do have back ups and who knows maybe you'll think of something. Lunch should be ready in another twenty but we could probably get the kids' plates out of the way now."

"Thanks Sam." Amy nodded gratefully, rubbing Braden's back. "That would be great."

"Whatcha mean you was forced out?" Daryl asked when Sam ducked back into the food truck on a mission.

"Well, you have to understand." Brian said a little nervously, even though the weather was cool the man was sweating under their focused stares. "Nemours is one of the top boarding schools in the world and we have a very strict policy when dealing with our more..affluent students."

"What's that have to do with being forced out?" Amy turned to the man quizzically. "You treat the rich kids differently?"

"I'm just the head custodian, ma'am."

"Okay, so you obviously have a much clearer idea of what goes on in the school than most teachers." Amy waved him off a little impatiently. "No one notices the janitor."

"Custodian." Brian quickly corrected her before cringing at the look on Michonne and Daryl's faces. "It's just…well, we have a lot of scholarship students to…balance out our legacy students."

"That's not really explaining anything, Brian." Michonne rolled her eyes, everyone knew money got people extra privilege in the old world.

"Well, it was a couple of seniors. They got their hands on the gun and told us to leave."

"A couple of kids…told you to leave?" Amy's eyes widened in surprise. "How many?"

"Six boys and two girls killed the headmaster and took over the school." Brian started to cry earnestly, not noticing the incredulous looks on the trio's faces.

"So, eight students forced the rest of the school out onto a bus…with one gun…" Amy asked slowly, trying to understand how that was possible.

"You don't understand. The leader was Matteo Rossi." The custodian cringed at the student's name dramatically. As if the teenager was a real life boogeyman for him. "Almost all of the rich families sent planes and helicopters for their children, most of the students left were on scholarships and the remaining staff. The school was practically empty once the security team left for Atlanta with students and faculty. We had no choice but to leave when a Rossi was telling us to."

"And why did this Rossi tell you you had to leave?" Michonne couldn't help but share a loaded glance with the blonde beside her. "Especially when you had the numbers?"

"We have a strict policy in place. Legacy's words are law."