"Hey! Hey you!"

I'm tempted to tell the voice to be quiet. This is the first real nap I've had in a long time.

"Crap. Can you hear me?"

A branch snaps to my left and my eyes fly open, it's dark. Turning my head even slightly causes the world to start spinning again. Despite that I sit up and use my hands to steady myself. When the spinning slows I see the figure of someone standing a few feet away. At the sight of him I scramble backwards into a tree and wince when my back hits it harsher than I meant it too. My foot twinges with pain at the movement, I can't believe it finally gave out after all this. Shane would be so upset right now if he knew I twisted it because I ran into a tree branch.

The figure moves a few steps closer, the moonlight illuminating his features. He seems to notice my fear and gives me a shaky smile. He's wearing a striped shirt under a jean jacket, and a trucker cap over dark brown hair. He's young, early twenties I'd guess.

I eye the rifle slung over his shoulder.

With a few tentative steps forward he crouches down. "Don't worry, this old thing ain't meant for you. Was out hunting, saw you laying in the leaves." He looks over his shoulder then back at me. "You good? You ain't one of those sick ones are you?"

Sick ones? Is he talking about walkers?

He cautiously approaches my side and bends down. From here I can see a small knife attatched to his belt. When he reaches out I flinch back causing another jolt of pain in my back.

"I ain't here to hurt you. My pop's got a farm near here. It's safe." After seeing my apprehension he adds, "You got a mighty big gash on your head. He's a doctor, he can help you."

Working up the courage I suck in a breath and say, "N-no, my group-"

His eyes widen and he starts laughing.

Great he's crazy. Just what I needed to deal with.

"You must be Sophia! Or is it Charlotte?"

Now it's my turn to widen my eyes.

"It's Charlotte." I tilt my head slightly. "H-how do you know that?"

Pushing off the ground he stands up and adjusts his cap. "You're group…ran into ours yesterday. One of 'em got hurt and pops is helping out. Told me to be on the lookout for two little girls while out huntin'." He wipes his brow with the back of his hand, leaving a smudge of dirt across it. "Completely forgot until I ran into you, I get pretty focused when trackin' something big."

There's still a chance he could be lying, but I can't stay out here alone any longer. I'm barely surviving as it is. I should probably ask for his name but it seems too insignificant a question.

"You're out hunting? At night?" I question.

"Odd, I know. But my buddy Otis didn't get a single thing while out hunting." He pauses. "Well he got something, nothing we could eat though." The boy starts looking around. "There's supposed to be two of you, ain't there?"

I take in a long breath and hold it, keeping my eyes wide. I've had enough of crying these past few days. Releasing the breath slowly I explain, "She was with me, but we got separated. I..I don't know where she is."

He hums in response. "Well, I better get you back to our house. Looks like you could use a bath and a homecooked meal."

The thought of a homecooked meal puts a smile on my face. My mom would cook every single dinner, no matter how busy she was. She told us that it just didn't feel right not to cook when we have every ability to do so.

On shaky legs I go to stand, but pain shoots up my right foot. Upon noticing my struggle the boy offers a hand. Gratefully I take it and stand up.

He starts walking and I follow behind. "My house ain't too far from here. Hour walk tops." He glances back at me, I'm already twenty paces behind him, limping along slowly. "Maybe hour and a half."

We walk in silence for a bit, me always a few paces behind him and him constantly slowing so I can catch back up.

"You thirsty?" He holds out a water bottle to me. "What am I saying, of couse you are. It's been two days of you alone out here."

Gratefully, I take the water and start drinking. As soon as it hits my tongue I can feel myself cooling off. A few more sips and the pain in my head starts to dull. I start tipping the bottle all the way back but Shawn stops me.

"Woah, woah." He takes the water bottle. "If you drink too much too fast you'll just toss it all up."

Reluctantly, I nod in agreement.

Our walk is mostly silent and the few times it's interrupted is because of the one-sided conversations my companion has with himself.

We're barely halfway back to his house and I already know all about his childhood pet, Petunia. A bunny that met an unfortunate end with a wild coyote. Which lead into how he learned to shoot and how for a while he was a rotten shot. Even broke his Dad's car window.

He just went on and on with different stories. I found that I didn't mind them, they kept me distracted. I wasn't thinking about the pain in my back when I was so focused on finding out how he kept two frogs in his bedroom without his parents finding out.

So on we walked, and on he talked. To no one's surprise the comfortable walk was ruined with a reminder that we aren't in the same world little Petunia knew.

Dragging footsteps sound to our right and at once the boy pulls me behind him.

"Stay right there," He whispers.

He steps toward the noise, pulling a long knife from the sheath at his side. Approaching the bush, he steadies himself. With his knife in hand he lets out a low whistle.

A walker rushes out toward him but he's ready for it. With a quick stab to the head it falls over, twice dead.

Shaking the blood off his knife, he puts it back in it's sheath.

"When we get to my house, don't tell my Dad I did that." He lets out a nervous laugh. "He thinks they're sick, that they can be cured. Of course they are sick, but not the kind you can recover from."

To say I was a little shocked by that would be an understatement. Of course, in the beginning, I knew people might think that the infected could be cured and return to their normal selves, but now? After months of this, are people still holding on to that hope? It would be nice to think that way, but after seeing so many walkers with missing limbs and gaping holes, I know they're gone for good.

"I won't say anything."

"Thanks, kid."

Only a few minutes later we arrive at the edge of a big clearing, there's a small grassy hill in front of us that blocks what I assume would be the view of a rather large field. The boy, who despite hearing all his stories has still forgotten to give me his name, inches out of the woods and into the field. He's tense, keeping his footsteps light and his back lowered. He holds up a hand, indicating for me to stay as he heads up the hill. Upon reaching the top he straightens and I can see him relax. Turning back to me, he waves me forward. When I reach the top, I gasp at the view.

It's dark but I can make out the green fields that go on for a while and a beautiful white house in the center. Candles light up the inside, giving the house a glowing presence. It's adorned with a wraparound porch and cute matching white shutters. A large oak tree sits in its front yard giving shade to the inhabitants. To the side stands a large red barn. Its wood splintering slightly but it stands strong. I notice a few other buildings toward the far sides of the field. A shed sits in the corner near the barn while what I assume is a stable sits behind the house a ways back.

I take a step forward and my bad ankle gives out. My traveling companion catches my shoulder and steadies me.

My vision blurs for a second but I shake away the dark spots. "What's your name?" I ask abruptly.

He looks at me confused before the realization that he never gave me his name dawns on him. Sticking one hand out he introduces himself. "Shawn Greene. Son of one Hershel Greene."

Being polite, I shake his hand and say, "Pleased to meet you." After releasing his hand, I turn, and we make our way across the field.

It's still the dead of night, owls are hooting and the summer heat has made way for the cooler temperature of the dark.

We near the porch and I pause in worry. Shawn stops too. None of my group's cars are parked out front, and it would be weird for all of them to have walked here.

"What's wrong?" Shawn asks.

"Where's the cars? And the RV?"

Shawn answers, "The sheriff and his friend didn't drive here. They came running in from the treeline after the accident. He informed me and my family that the rest of your group was on the highway. They're planning on staying another night there. They were hoping that you and…. what was her name? Sophia! That you and Sophia would find your way back."
"So, who is here?"

Shawn taps his leg absentmindedly while thinking. "Well, we got the Sheriff, his wife, and kid, and there was another guy, pretty sure he's a cop too."

Shane.

I couldn't wait to see him and tell him all about how I survived. His constant advice drilling actually worked.

I go to climb the steps but struggle so Shawn helps me up and opens the front door. "Pa!" He shouts into the entryway. "Found one of 'em lost girls!"

After no reply, he directs me to the living room and has me sit on the couch. "He's probably out back but uh….Rich and his wife should be in the other room. I'll go check on 'em." He starts to leave.

I've learned that Shawn is very bad at names. "Rick?"

He stops. "Rick, yeah." Then he walks down the hallway and out of sight.

I lean back against the couch, enjoying the fluffy pillows and the comfort they bring. As I wait I take to looking around the living room, a piano made of dark oak wood sits in the corner, music books scattered around its top. There's a big white fireplace with candles lit along its mantle. The wood in its hearth has turned dark with heat. My eyes trail along the walls, examining each of the photos. Some are old, completely in black and white while others can't be more than a year old.

My mind is taken off the pictures by the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. A girl with short dark brown hair stops on the last step when she spots me.

"Hello there. Didn't expect anyone to be in here." She comes into the living room, standing just next to the piano. "My name's Maggie. What's yours?" She smiles at me, it's the most genuine smile I've seen in a while.

"Charlotte," I state matter of factly. Despite knowing her name I don't actually know who she is. She must know Shawn if she's in his house, and she seems friendly. By no means do I trust her but I don't have any reason to be afraid of her. Yet.

"Well, Charlotte, did Shawn bring you here? I heard they were looking for two little girls. Are you one of them?"

I nod.

"I'm glad to hear you've been found. Some of your friends should be making their way here soon. I'll be out on the porch if you need anything." With that, she gives me another warm smile and exits out the front door.

Once she's gone, I relax again. Normally, I would look around the room, opening cupboards and such, but it's not polite. Besides, even if I wanted to, I'd rather not move my ankle any more than I already have.

So I decide to shut my eyes and cozy myself in the pillows, carefully keeping myself at the edge of sleep. I refuse to sleep until I see at least one person I recognize.

The hum of a car's engine causes me to open my eyes. It gets closer before shutting off, followed by the sounds of two car doors closing.

The porch steps creak and Maggie starts talking.

Curious, I sit up straight and strain my ears to hear what's being said. I'm only able to decipher something about closing a gate. Probably the entrance gate of the farm.

Eventually the door opens and Maggie steps inside, followed by two familiar faces.

"Charlie!" Glenn rushes toward me, picking me up and hugging me before I can even react.

I don't care that this hug is a little too tight for my back. All I care about is that I'm finally safe again. I lean my head against Glenn's shoulder. "I twisted my ankle. You were right."

"I don't care about that, I'm just glad you're alive."

Lifting my head I give Glenn the short version of what happened, "I tried to get back to the highway but we got lost. Then Sophia got separated from me and I didn't know what to do. I was so hungry and thirsty and so so tired. I kept getting hurt and then Shawn found me and said some of you guys were at his house." I ramble on but keep my tears at bay. "It was scary. I'll never leave your guys side again." I lay my head back down on his shoulder and close my eyes, letting myself fully relax after the last few days.

"Oh, Charlie." He sighs in relief. "There's a doctor here right? Has he taken a look at you?"

I shake my buried head. "I only got here a few minutes ago."

"Hey." Glenn lightly shakes my shoulder. "You can't go to sleep yet. Not until we make sure you're okay."

With a huff I agree, I'm most definitely starving and I probably should get looked over by a doctor. I've probably got a hundred cuts and bruises. Glenn puts me down but I stay close to his side.

"How did you guys find this place?" I ask him.

"Yesterday we were all out looking for you and Sophia. Rick, Shane, and Carl split off from the rest of the group while we headed back to the highway. Apparently, there was some deer..." Glenn trails off, his eyes focusing on a random photo on the wall. "Carl was shot. I don't know the whole story."

The blood drains from my face. Carl couldn't have been shot. Not while looking for me and Sophia. If we hadn't run off blindly into the woods he wouldn't be hurt.

It's my fault he's hurt.

Glenn, sensing my worry, bends down in front of me. "Charlie, I'm sure he's gonna be okay. Carl will be back to normal in no time."

I don't quite believe him but I nod anyway.

T-dog comes over to stand next to us. He's pale and looks two seconds away from falling over. For a moment I'm worried he's bit and I'll have to lose another friend, but he assures me it's just a nasty cut.

"We were all worried about you, kid. Glad to see you back in one piece." He gives me a smile, its laced with worry but I can tell it's heartfelt.

Maggie beckons us to the hallway. Glenn picks me up and follows her as she leads us to one of the doorways. Glenn, still holding me tightly, walks inside, followed by T-dog.

I lift my head and gasp at the sight of Carl on a bed. He's pale as a ghost and his skin is sticky with sweat. If it wasn't for the slow rise and fall of his chest I would've thought he was dead.

Right next to his bed sits Rick and Lori, seated on it is an older man. I'm assuming this is Shawn's dad, Hershel. Another woman sits in the corner, blonde hair pulled into a bun and arms resting on her knees.

Rick glances up, eyes widening when he sees me in Glenn's arms. All he manages is a weak, "Hey."

"Hey," Glenn replies. "We're…we're here, okay?"

"Thank you," Lori says. She gives me a ghost of a smile before looking back down at Carl.

"Whatever you need," T-dog adds.

After that we all exit the room. It feels lighter out here than it did in there, like I can take a full breath again.

"Now let's get you checked over." Glenn leads me into the kitchen and sets me down on a stool at the center table. Maggie, following us, grabs a cup from one of the cabinets and pours me some water, setting it down in front of me. Glenn sits at the opposite end of the table, T-dog next to him.

"Shawn'll get Hershel after he's done checking on Carl," Maggie informs us three. "For now I'll ask Patricia to check on you guys." With that she wanders off down the hall.

On the stool, I gently swing my legs back and forth. The cool air from swinging them feels good on my ankle. I look around the kitchen, it's nothing to gawk at but it's far larger than my kitchen at home. Their fridge is littered with family photos and I can't help but study the smiling faces. I see photos of Shawn and a slightly younger Hershel. There's a photo of Maggie and Shawn together. The two of them are sitting by a campfire. Shawn's roasting something over the flames while the girl is stoking the fire with a stick.

The woman I saw sitting next Carl's bed walks into the kitchen and introduces herself as Patricia. She seems stressed out, the hair in her bun is frazzled and sticking up at odd angles. She keeps wringing her hands and avoids eye contact but manages to give me a smile anyways. She goes to check on me first but I shake my head and manage a quiet, "He's hurt worse." As I nod toward T-dog.

Patricia nods and changes course to him. She gently holds up his arm, removing the poorly wrapped bandages. She takes a sharp inhale at the sight of the deep wound. It runs the length of his inner arm and is slowly oozing blood

My own eyes go wide and I quickly look away, I feel nauseous just looking at it. But curiosity wins over nausea so I keep watching.

Patricia stands and pulls a box out from under the sink. She opens it up, pulling out string and a needle, along with a plastic bottle filled with a clear looking liquid.

"You're gonna need stitches. Quite a few of them." Her voice is steady, no room for arguing.

"Sounds good to me," T-dog responds weakly. I doubt he'd disagree to it with the pain he's in.

"Maybe we shouldn't do this right here?" Glenn interjects.

All of us look at him, varying levels of confusion crossing our faces.

Glenn nods his head in my direction. Patricia and T-dog gain a look of understanding.

I pout. "I'm not a baby, Glenn."

"Nope, just a kid."

We get into a mini staring contest as Patricia gathers her stuff and moves to a different room, T-dog trailing behind her.

I blink first. It wasn't a fair contest though. I'm tired after wandering through the woods alone.

As we wait Glenn starts up a conversation.

"You said Shawn found you, right? Who's he?" Glenn asks as he pulls his chair closer to mine.

"He's Maggie's brother." I answer. "I woke up in the woods to him shouting at me. Said he was told that two girls were lost in the woods."

Glenn folds hs arms. "So you followed a stranger?"

I scrunch my nose. "Of course not, I'm not that stupid. He knew my name, and Sophia's. I figured if he knew that much then he really did run into you guys."

"I know you aren't stupid, but sometimes your brain goes on vacation."

"My brain does not go on vacation. It's too smart to do that."

Glenn pats my head. "Yeah okay."

By the end of our conversation my mind has grown foggy with exhaustion. Did I even get sleep the last few days? Does passing out for hours count as sleep? What even is sleep anyways? Like why do humans randomly feel the need to turn off? So weird.

An eternity later, Shawn enters the room followed by the same older man I'd seen by Carl's side. I lightly shake my head and perk up.

"Charlotte, this is my Pa, Hershel." He turns toward Glenn. "And you must be Glee, pleasure." He sticks out his hand.

I actually laugh at that one.

Glenn is less amused but takes his hand anyways, giving it a firm shake. "Glenn, and you must be Shawn."

After the introductions, Hershel steps forward toward me. "Nice to meet you, young lady. Though I do wish it were under better circumstances."

I nod. Is there ever a good circumstance to meet a doctor?

"Now, Shawn here tells me you got yourself in a bad situation. Lost in the woods for a couple days." He pulls up a chair in front of me and sits down. "Care if I check you over? Fix up those cuts." His eyes narrow at the cut on my head. "Looks like you might need a couple of stitches."

The idea of stitches makes me nervous. I've never had to get any but my Dad did once. He was fixing some old paneling on the side of our house when he cut his hand. He ended up needing five stitches. Mom and I went with him to the hospital and I had to look away when the Doctor inserted the needle. But at least my Dad had tons of medicine to dull the pain.

There's no way I could handle stitches without any numbing.

Hershel decided it was best to leave the stitches for last. There were a lot of minor cuts on my arms and legs that only needed bandaids or small wrappings so he did that first.

My back was worse, Herschel had to disinfect it, -which burned a lot- and then he bandaged most of it. All the bandages made me feel like I had a towel wrapped around my back.

Good news was my ankle is in a better condition than I thought. He put a wrap around it and told me to walk lightly on that foot. Ice would've made the swelling go down but without electricity, it was impossible to get some unless I travlled to Antartica.

The cut above my eyebrow was the biggest issue. Blood wasn't oozing from the wound anymore but it was deep and at risk of getting infected. Two stitches, that's what Hershel told me, two stitches and I'll be back to normal in no time.

Except the moment he brought out the needle I'd freaked. Which is why I'm currently clinging to Glenn's leg and begging him to tell the crazy old man that I'll heal on my own.

"C'mon Charlie. It's for your own good." Glenn pats my back, trying to use his most convincing tone. "The pain will only last a few minutes."

"No," my voice is muffled by Glenn's leg.

I hear him sigh and then feel him bend down and pull me away from his leg. "At least let him disinfect it."

I know disinfecting it will hurt but it won't be as bad as stitches so I nod. "He has to promise that he won't stab me with the needle."

"He'll promise."

Hershel and Shawn had started talking by the kitchen window when I had my little freakout but upon noticing that I had calmed down they had drawn close again.

"Charlotte, I promise that I won't force you to do the stitches. Just know that without them there is an extremely high risk that it will get worse," Hershel gently explains.

I just nod again. If I keep it clean and disinfected then there's no way it will get worse.

Sitting back on my stool I wait as Hershel grabs his bottle of disinfectant and sits in front of me again. He grabs a q-tip and starts gently dabbing the wound causing me to grit my teeth in pain. After thoroughly cleaning the area he carefully places a bandage on top.

Now that it's over I sigh in relief and turn back to Glenn, completely ignoring Hershel's presence.

"When are the others getting here?" I spin around to Shawn. "And when is Shane coming back?"

Glenn answers first, "Everyone back at the highway agreed to meet here in the morning. So they'll be a couple of hours. After a good night's sleep you'll get to see everyone."

Shawn quickly adds, "Shane and Otis left a few hours ago, the school they went to for supplies isn't too far, if everything goes well they'll get back before the rest of your group."

I nod, excited to finally see everyone before remembering why we're at this farm in the first place. "Carl is going to be okay, right?"Spinning around again, I look right into Glenn's eyes.

"I-," He looks around, unsure of what to say. "I'm sure he'll be fine. Carl's strong."

Again, I nod. Carl's strong, but I'm not sure if it's in the fighting for his life kinda way. It's probably more of a stare-your-mom-down-until-she-relents kind of way.

Shawn walks up to my side now. "Why don't we get you somewhere more comfortable? I'll get you something to eat and you can sleep." I wave goodnight to Glenn and follow Shawn as he leads me back to the living room couch. I'm all too happy to sit back down and rest my eyes.

"I'll get you a sandwich." Shawn's footsteps fade back into the kitchen.

It couldn't have been more than 30 seconds before someone gently taps my shoulder.

"Charlie?"

I crack my eyes open expecting to see Shawn with a plate of food but instead I'm met with a tired looking sheriff's deputy.

He see's that I'm awake and holds his arms out. "C'mere." I glady accept the hug, it's not nearly as tight as Glenn's was. "I'm glad you're safe. Shane'll be glad too, when he gets back."

He releases me from the hug and stands back. He looks worn out, shadows gather under his eyes. His usual cop uniform's been replaced with a beige t-shirt and jeans. I spot a few drops of dried blood around the neck of his shirt. The sight causes me to inhale sharply knowing just who's blood it is.

Shawn re-enters the room carrying a plate in one hand and a glass in the other. On the plate appears to be a peanut butter sandwich while the glass is full of water. "Here ya go." He sets it all down on the coffee table in front of me.

I give Shawn a sideways glance and he nods toward the food so I happily pick up the sandwich and take a bite. It tastes perfect, like a sunny summer's day. After a few bites I look back to Rick, he's leaning against the wall, watching me.

"How's Carl?" I almost regret asking the question when Rick takes a deep breath in.

"He's…he's not doing the best." Rick's voice shakes when he speaks. "He's lost a lot of blood, Hershel's given him some of mine."

What the heck. How on Earth did he do that? I didn't know you could swap blood.

Rick continues, "Hershel needs to take out some-," He takes another deep breath. "Fragments of the bullet. It's too risky without a respirator. Which is why Shane went out to get one."

My heart feels like it was crushed by a hundred tons of weight. I can't imagine what it would feel like if your son had been shot and you could do nothing but sit and wait.

"I'm sorry."

Rick gives me a puzzled look. "It isn't your fault, Charlie."

I shake my head and look down. "It is." I sniffle but don't cry, I promised myself no more crying. "If I hadn't got lost in the woods he wouldn't have been shot."

He steps toward me and bends down. "No, no Charlie. You and Sophia were scared, you didn't mean to get lost."

I grip the couch cushions. "You said left shoulder. I knew you said left shoulder but I let Sophia lead the way and keep it on her right. Now she's still missing and Carl's shot and my head hurts and you're sad."

Rick pulls me into another hug. "It isn't your fault, you're just a kid and it is not your fault." He holds me for another second and then lets go.

"Rick." Hershel steps into the room.

He moves away from me and stands up.

"Shane's back," Hershel says.

Rick, Shawn, and Hershel all make their way to the front porch. I quickly get off the couch and follow after them. It's more like limping after them actually, but I'm careful on my bandaged foot.

By the time I hobble my way outside everyone else is already there. T-dog stays on the porch, so do I.

"Say nothing to Patricia until after," Hershel states. He's holding what I assume to be the respirator as he rushes past me. "I need her."

Shawn is holding onto Maggie. She's got tears falling down her face and is gently sobbing. I don't know why until I hear Shane mutter something about Otis watching his back. There's no one else out here that I don't recognise, he must've not made it back. I feel bad for Maggie, they were probably good friends.

I stay behind T-dog and lean against the house. All I want to do is run down the porch and greet Shane. I missed him a lot. But I don't want to interrupt the conversation he and Rick are having, it looks emotional. So instead I wait my turn.

Shawn and Maggie go back inside, the former gives me a brief smile. I return it with a sympathetic one.

I move to the porch steps after T-dog heads inside, one of the pillars holding up the roof casts me in shadows, I lean my head against it and watch Rick and Shane talk, but I'm not really listening. Shane hasn't looked this way once. He looks pretty distracted, he's not really focusing his attention on any one thing, not even Rick.

Rick glances my way first, he seems to remember that I was missing for a couple of days and Shane has no idea that I'm back. I decide to tune in to their conversation now.

"Shane."

Shane just keeps rambling on about Otis's death, stumbling over words and interjecting with a word or two about Carl.

"Shane!"

He snaps his mouth shut and looks right at Rick, silent.

"Charlie, she-"

"Man, don't, just…don't." His voice sounds so defeated, almost broken.

Rick places a hand on his shoulder. "Shawn found her. She's right there!" He points at me and I sheepishly wave to Shane from my shadowed seat.

His eyes widen and for a second he completely freezes. Rubbing a hand over his eyes he begins walking toward me.

"Girl, don't be hiding in the shadows." He only gives me a brief hug. Shorter than both Glenn's and Rick's, I don't mind though.

"I did what you said. I kept quiet and wasn't stupid. I even found an empty house that had food!" I stumble over my words, excited to share the tale of my survival.

Rick walks up next to Shane. "I'm gonna check on Carl." He walks into the house.

"Good job kid." He pats my head and follows after Rick.

I stay seated, watching as he disappears through the doorway. Blinking a few times I turn back around, I guess it makes sense he's more worried about Carl. He did just risk his life to save his, and the man he went with actually did lose his.

Despite knowing all that I can't help but feel a little upset. I thought Shane would be at least a little more worried about me than that. Plus, I didn't even get to tell him I got away from a walker all on my own.

I shake my head, clearing it of my selfish thoughts. Carl's lying on a bed dying and I'm sad about something stupid like this.

Enjoying the gentle breeze and the comfortable silence I decide to sit out here for a while. Carefully standing up I move to one of the rocking chairs on the porch. My foot's also aching and I dont want to move it even more. I find peace looking over the Greene Family Farm illuminated by the starry night sky. It's beautiful here, I wish we could stay here forever.

The cut on my forehead itches and I gently rub at the bandage covering it.

Without even realizing it I drift off to sleep. The hours pass like minutes and soon it's morning. Sunlight tickles my nose and I open my eyes. A blanket is draped over me. Glenn and Maggie are sitting in two chairs on the other side of the porch. The two of them are smiling and chatting away.

Across the field I see a motorcycle driving up, followed by a car, then behind it an RV.

Our group is almost whole again.

Sophia's the only one missing.

There's a couple things I wanna say, firstly thank you all for the support you've given and the love you have for this story. It means a whole lot everytime one of you follows or comments, so thank you.

Second I want you all to know I did not mean for this chapter to take so long. I had twenty different ideas on how this part of the story should go. I ended up completely rewriting this chapter at least four times and then editing the fifth version an insane amount. So apologies for any continuity errors. But hey it's over 6000 words so yay!

3. I do want everyone to know that even though my updates are extremely sporadic I have no plans to discontinue this story. Even if it takes me a decade to finish it. I will finish it.

Lastly, I want to wish you all an early happy Halloween. Here's to the next chapter coming out before Thanksgiving!