Me, Sophia and Jacob were helping Carol fold laundry before we heard the loud sound of an engine and the security alarm going off. I ran over and saw a red car driving over to us. Dale pulled me back just to make sure that I wasn't run over by the thing, but I wanted to see if it was Uncle Merle. "Holy crap, turn that damn thing off!" Dale yelled at a smiling Glenn.

"I don't know how!" Glenn called over the noise.

Glenn went to turn off the engine as Jim and Shane looked under the hood to try and get the noise to stop. Amy started questioning Glenn about her sister Andrea who had gone with the group into the city. "Why isn't she with you? Where is she?" I heard Amy ask when the noise stopped. "She's okay?"

"Yea, yes, she's fine. Everybody is." Glenn told us. "Well, Merle not so much."

"Merle? What happened to Uncle Merle?" I asked, walking forwards.

"Uh... It's probably best we tell your dad first, and then he can tell you." Glenn said.

"Is he alive?" I questioned.

Glenn hesitated. "Probably?"

"Are you crazy driving this wailing bastard up here? Are you trying to draw every walker for miles?" Shane's voice was slightly raised.

"I think we're okay." Dale pointed out.

"You call being stupid, okay?" Shane raised his eyebrows.

"Well, the alarm was echoing all over these hills. It's hard to pinpoint the source." Dale said, Shane looked annoyed. "I'm not arguing, I'm just saying." Before Dale turned to Glenn. "It wouldn't help you to think things through a little more carefully next time, would it?"

"Sorry." Glenn apologised. "Got a cool car though." He indicated to the red sports car.

That's when the truck the others in yesterday drove into view. It parked behind the car and people came out, but no Uncle Merle. I watched as Amy hugged Andrea, as Eliza and Louis ran over to their father. I walked over to Sophia, and she hugged me. I missed my father, and I wondered where Uncle Merle was.

"Hey, Helicopter Boy!" I heard Eliza and Louis' father yell. I turned around to see who they were talking about. A man in a sheriff's outfit walked out of the truck. His hands on his hips and he didn't look so happy, considering he had found a camp. "The guy's a cop, like you." He said to Shane.

A few seconds past where familiar glances were shared between new guy and Shane. New guy then looked over to Carl and Lori with a shocked but overjoyed expression. "Dad! Dad!" Carl screamed, running towards his father. The cop wrapped Carl up in a hug before he hugged Lori as well as Carl. Over the new guy's shoulder, Lori shared a strange glance with Shane.

Turns out the new guy was called Rick, Lori and Carl thought he was dead, as did Shane who was Rick's best friend. Rick was describing what it was like for him when he first woke up, but I didn't want to listen. I wanted to pretend everything was normal. Ed had made Sophia, Carol and Jacob sit in a different area, about ten feet away, with a different fire. I was sitting between my mum and Glenn.

I looked over when Ed threw another log onto his fire. "Hey, Ed, you wanna rethink that log?" Shane called over.

"It's cold, man." Ed responded.

"The cold don't change the rules, does it?" Shane replied. I looked to Sophia who had her head bowed, she was clearly embarrassed about her father's actions. Carol also couldn't meet the eyes of anyone, nobody blamed anyone apart from Ed though. "Keep our fires low, just embers so we can't be seen from a distance, right?"

"I said it's cold." Ed replied. "You should mind your own business for once."

Shane got up and walked over so the family of four, but I couldn't hear what they were saying.

"The walkers are smart enough to follow the smoke?" I questioned.

My mum slapped the back of my head. "Don't ask stupid questions."

"Sorry, mama." I muttered, pulling the blanket around me more.

"I'm cold." She said, taking the blanket off of me and wrapping it around herself.

"Here, Ellie. You can share with me." Glenn smiled, opening up his blanket. I smiled and moved closer, so he hugged me with the blanket to keep me warm.

Shane came back over and sat down. "Have you given any thought to Daryl Dixon?" Dale asked. "He won't be happy to hear his brother was left behind."

I'd overheard Glenn telling Dale. Apparently, Merle was acting out of order, so Rick handcuffed him to a roof and left him there when things got heated.

"I'll tell him. I dropped the key, it's on me." T-dog spoke up.

"I cuffed him. That makes it mine." Rick shook his head.

"Guys, it's not a competition. I don't mean to bring race into this, but it might sound better coming from a white guy." Glenn informed us.

"I did what I did. Hell, if I'm gonna hide from him." T-dog stood his ground.

"Daddy won't like that you left Merle behind, but he's not a bad man. He'll understand." I insisted.

"Don't be so naive, Ellie. Your father is an ignorant, drunk. He'll get mad, you watch. Then you'll understand why the court made you stay with me." My mum told me.

"He's a good person." I said.

"I was scared, and I ran." T-dog said.

"We were all scared, we all ran. What's your point?" Andrea asked.

"I stopped long enough to chain the door. Staircase is narrow. Maybe half a dozen geeks can squeeze against it. It's not enough to break through that- not that chain, not that padlock. My point-"

"Uncle Merle's still alive." I realised.

"And he's still up there, handcuffed on that roof. That's on us." T-dog said before getting up and walking away. Glenn tightened his grip on me in a comforting way.

The next day, me, Jacob, Sophia and Carl were taking a walk. We were supposed to be under the tree that we always were, but Jacob dared us to go further into the woods. We walked just a little before we found a mini clearing. That's when we saw it. One of the dead ones huddled in front of a deer, eating its guts. Sophia screamed while she, Jacob and Carl started running away, but I was frozen in fear.

"Mommy! Mommy!" Sophia screamed.

"Mom! Help!" Jacob yelled

"Mom! Dad!" Carl cried out.

I couldn't move, that's when it turned around. It was like it smiled when it saw me but really its mouth was just full of deer guts. It tried to run at me. I screamed, loudly. I was suddenly pulled back by Rick. Shane hit it over the head with a lead pipe, then Dale, then Glenn, then Eliza and Louis' dad. I cried as I watched this thing being beaten all over its body. Rick turned me around and picked me up, my arms wrapped around his shoulder and my legs around his waist. It had come so close to me, I looked into its eyes, as he looked at me like I was food. I should've run with the others, but I had been so scared.

I heard the constant sound of whacking, so I covered my ears to try and escape it. When the noise stopped, I turned around, I saw that the thing had been beheaded. Rick turned my head back around so I couldn't look at the body. I rested my head on his shoulder, to not look at it. "It's the first one we've had up here. They never come this far up the mountain." I heard Dale say.

"Well, they're running out of food in the city that's what." Jim said.

We heard the sound of crunching leaves coming out of the forest, I tightened my grip on Rick as he prepared his lead pipe. "Oh, Jesus." I heard Shane say in disgust.

"Son of a bitch." My dad's voice said. I turned around and smiled when I saw him. "That's my deer." Then he looked up and saw Rick and me. "Who's holding my kid?"

I jumped down from Rick, went around the body and over to my dad. "Hey, baby." He patted the back of my head as I hugged him.

"I missed you." I told him.

"Yea, look you go up with the others, okay?" He said dismissively. 

"But-"

"Go, you shouldn't be down here." He pointed up towards the main camp.

I turned away from him and ran up to go and find Sophia. When I saw her, I hugged her instantly, so she hugged me back. "I thought you were right behind me. Why didn't you run?" She asked.

"I don't know. I was scared." I said.

"What's wrong, honey?" Carol asked, noticing the tears in my eyes.

"My dad's back, but he didn't care that I was seeing him again. I said I missed him, and he just told me to go away." I said, trying not to cry.

"I tried to warn you." My mum's voice came from behind me. "He doesn't care about you. He saw you twice a year, so he treated you like a princess, right? Now he's gotta see you all the time. He doesn't want to be around you anymore."

"I'm sure that's not true." Carol stepped in. "All of the alpha males are down there. He's just trying to make himself look tough in front of his friends."

"Hey, she's my kid." My mum argued.

"Then maybe you should start treating her like such." Carol replied.

"Please, the way your husband treats you? And your kids? You're one to talk." My mum said harshly.

"That's not nice, mum." I said.

She slapped my cheek. "Do not think you have any right to tell me how to act." Then she looked to Carol. "Either of you." With that she walked away.

"Are you all right, darling?" Carol asked as soon as my mum was out of ear shot. I nodded.

"Merle!" My dad's voice called. I noticed him and the other men coming out of the clearing. "Merle! Get your ugly ass out here! I got us some squirrel. Let's stew em up."

"Daryl, just slow up a bit. I need to talk to you." Shane said.

I walked over there, standing in front of the RV, my dad was about seven feet in front of me. I wanted to be there for him for when he was upset. "About what?" Dad asked, glancing at me, then at Shane.

"About Merle." Shane replied, walking past him before turning back to face my dad. "There was a... There was a problem in Atlanta."

"He dead?" Dad asked.

"We're not sure." Shane replied.

"He either is or he ain't!" Dad yelled.

"No easy way to say this so I'll just say it." Rick stepped in, walking over to my dad.

"Ah, the man who was holding my kid. Who are you?" Daryl asked.

"Rick Grimes." 

"Rick Grimes, you got something you want to tell me?" Dad raised his eyebrows.

"Your brother was a danger to us all... So, I handcuffed him on a roof, hooked him to a piece of metal. He's still there." Rick informed my father. 

"Hold on." Dad took a few steps back. "Let me process this. You're saying you handcuffed my brother to a roof! And you left him there!" I flinched at the sound of my father's yelling, but for once it wasn't in a heated argument between my mum and him.

"Yea." Rick nodded.

My dad threw his string of squirrels at Rick, so Shane used his body to knock him onto the floor. "Dad!" I screamed. Dad pulled out a knife as he stood up. He lunged it at Rick who pulled back before Rick and Shane worked together to get my dad onto the floor. "Stop it!" I yelled.

Shane got my father in a chokehold and got him onto the floor again. "You best let me go!" Dad shouted, trying to get free.

"Nah, I think it's better if I don't." Shane disagreed.

"Chokehold's illegal." Dad commented.

"Yea, you can file a complaint." Shane said, sarcastically. "Come on, man. We can keep this up all day." 

"Now, I'd like to have a calm discussion on this topic. You think we can manage that?" Rick asked, my dad didn't respond. "Don't make us keep you like this in front of your daughter."

Dad looked over to me, I had tears in my eyes and my lips were parted in shock. "Fine, fine." Dad agreed.

Shane let go of my dad, so Shane and Rick took a couple steps back. "What I did was not on a whim." Rick started. "Your brother does not work and play well with others."

"It's not Rick's fault. I had the key." T-dog admitted. "I dropped it."

"You couldn't pick it up?" My dad asked, while he was still sitting on the floor.

"Well, I dropped it in a drain." T-dog confessed. My dad scoffed and grunted before slowly standing up.

"If it's supposed to make me feel better I don't." Dad said.

"Well, maybe this will. Look, I chained the door to the roof so the geeks couldn't get at him. With a padlock." T-dog told him.

"That's gotta count for something." Rick tried.

Dad scrunched his eyes together and wiped them with the back of his hand. "Hell with all y'all!" Dad yelled.

"Stop being so dramatic, Dixon. He got himself stuck like that." My mum stepped in. My dad glared at her but didn't say anything.

"Just tell me where he is, so I can go get him." Dad ordered.

"Daddy, you can't!" I raised my voice in a panic and walked over to him.

"I got too. I can't just leave him there." Dad responded. "Where is he?"

"He'll show you." Lori stepped in. "Isn't that right."

I grabbed at my father's shirt, so he picked me up, I wrapped my legs around him and pushed my face into his neck. He wrapped his left arm around my back while he left his right arm hanging down. "I'm going back." Rick confirmed.

Dad didn't say anything as he walked off with me. We went to the tent me, and my mum were staying in. He put me down on the ground and squatted in front of me. "You can't go back."

"Would you want me to go back if it was your mama who was trapped?"

"No." I shook my head. "I don't want you to go again."

"I have too, baby. He's my brother."

"You have to come back. You can't leave me with her anymore. Please." I cried.

"Why not? Your mum loves you." Dad insisted, putting his hands on my forearms.

"You're not with her all the time. You don't know how she really is. Please, don't go." I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. He wrapped his arms around my back to hug me as well. "Please." I whispered.