I was looking at the tracks on the ground while Finn was holding the horse steady. "They went East from here." I told him.

"How do you know to do that?" He questioned. 

Once I stood up and turned to him, he was holding out a water for me. "Thanks." I smiled. "I learnt from my dad. He's an amazing hunter and tracker. He'd find them faster than me, but unfortunately you're suck with me."

"I like being stuck with you. Not that I'm stuck with you! I chose you. I mean- I didn't choose you because you're your own person and are in charge of your own decisions. You're incredible. I mean..." He let out a breath. "I mean, that I'm a happy to be here with you. I wish the circumstances were better, but I hope you know what I mean because I need to stop rambling."

I laughed. "Thanks? I think?"

He shrugged his shoulders, with a bit of defeat. "I wish I knew."

I grinned. "Well, come on. We'll have to go on foot if I'm gonna follow the trail efficiently. That horse is too damn big."

He laughed, gently grabbing the leather around the horse's mouth and beginning to lead it. We walked through the forest. "So, you got any hobbies?"

"Throwing eggs at this one guy I know." I responded. "You heard of Negan?"

"I've heard the stories." Finn agreed. "Sounds like he deserves some eggs thrown at him."

I nodded. "Oh, he definitely does... You got any... Hobbies?" It felt strange to ask about someone's hobbies and then a second later throw my boomerang at a walker I saw coming our way.

"That was awesome." Finn laughed. I blushed at the compliment but since he was behind me, he couldn't see that. "I'm really into science actually. Anatomy mostly. I wanna figure out how this whole dead walking thing started."

"I actually like to call them the walking dead." I smiled.

I could hear Finn's smile as he talked. "Where did you come up with that?"

"Not sure, but it's a great name. Anyways, this anatomy thing. Tell me more." I encouraged. I wasn't that interested. Science bores me. But, he has a nice voice and sounded happy while speaking.

"Well, the whole body interests me. How different pressures can pull different reactions from people. How there are some pressures that everyone react too, but some are unique to each individual. Recently, I've been looking more into the female anatomy. Did you know how amazing your body is?" Finn asked. "Oh my god that sounded so creepy. I'm sorry." I heard him stop walking so I turned to face him. "I did not mean for that to come out so creepy. If you want me to leave-"

"Dude, it's fine." I interrupted with a laugh.

"I was talking anatomically, not that you don't have an amazing body- but I haven't been staring. Just from what I noticed, and felt while we were riding- that sounded worse! Oh god, I need to shut up." Finn whacked his hand to his forehead and turned his gaze to the ground. "I'm sorry."

"Finn, you're alright. I got what you meant." I smiled, walking up to him and pulling his hand away from his face.

His eyes went straight to mine. "I was trying to say how it's amazing that women can create human life in their own bodies. That if it wasn't for women, there would be no world. How you can all act pretty much completley normal even on menstruation considering period cramps can be as painful as heart attacks... I didn't mean to sound like a pervert." He let out a defeated laugh.

"It's alright. You're kinda cute when your flustered." I let out before I even realised what I was saying. He smiled and a blush creeped up his neck and onto his cheeks very quickly. I turned around and kept walking to hide my smile.

I was crouching on the ground. I'd been looking between two separate directions for a few minutes. "Am I being a pain if I ask what we're doing?"

"They split up here. Two groups. One is heading to Hilltop... The other... I'm not sure." I admitted.

"Do you know which way my brother went?" Finn asked.

"If there was danger that our people had to look into? Would your brother volunteer to go?" I questioned.

"Without a doubt." Finn nodded.

"Then he went right." I responded, starting to walk in that direction.

We were walking for a couple minutes when I saw two walkers. Without thinking, I threw my boomerang. It killed one of them, but the other dodged my weapon. It raised a knife and threw it at me. I caught the knife by the handle, when it was less than an inch from my face. I turned the knife around in my hand and threw it through the air. The Whisperer that threw it tried to run. The knife got to it first.

"Is there anything you can't do?" Finn asked.

I laughed. "Many things. I pretty much dropped outta school at nine."

Finn chuckled. "Yea, me too."

I smiled. "Guess we got that in common then."

We'd been walking for about twenty minutes. It night, but wasn't really dark. The moon and stars were lighting up the night. We had passed up a spot where they had clearly been tied up, but then their tracks kept moving, so we kept moving. "Thanks for doing this, by the way." Finn broke the silence.

I shrugged. "It's my job, I guess."

Finn hummed. "So... You think I'm cute?"

My lips parted as I tried to form a response. "I mean- uh, well- it depends on the definition I suppose."

He chuckled. "You know that I only ramble when I'm nervous?"

"You've been rambling a lot. I make you nervous?" I questioned.

"Can you blame me? You're a very beautifu-" I cut him off when I saw people up ahead.

"Dad!" I yelled when I recognised my father in the light. I pretty much ran away from Finn to go towards my dad, Sophia, mama, mum and who I hoped was Charlie.

"Ellie, what are you doing out here?" Dad asked.

"Finn!" The boy I didn't recognise yelled.

----------

Charlie

----------

"You forgot your asthma pump." Finn ran up to him and handed it to his brother.

"That's why." I answered.

"It's dangerous, you know that. It was stupid to come out here just the two of you." Mama scolded.

"It's my fault, ma'am. I was worried about my brother. I needed help." Finn stated, still holding onto the horse's reigns.

"Who's this kid?" Dad asked, a certain distaste in his voice.

"Finn's a good boy. I know him well." Mum spoke up.

"Doesn't mean the two of them should be running around alone together. No, I don't like it." Dad shook his head.

"Well, it's a bit late." I pointed out.

"You must be Daryl. It's good to meet you, sir." Finn held out his hand for my father to shake. Dad just stared Finn down, which made the boy physically nervous.

"Dad, don't be rude." Sophia tried.

"I ain't being rude." Dad shrugged, putting his right arm around my shoulders tightly. Finn awkwardly lowered his hand.

"We need to leave. They said they marked the North Boarder. I wanna know how." Mum pointed out. 

"Boarder? The hell?" I questioned.

"I'll explain on the way." Sophia sighed.

So, apparently we now had boarders we had to stick too which was bullshit. To avoid death, we needed to stay off "their land". By death, I mean the fact that the Whisperers were controlling a herd which included tens of thousands of walkers.

"Siddiq!" I suddenly heard mama yell from the front. She was walking at the front with Charlie and Finn. Mum and dad were in the middle, me and Sophia were at the back. She was leading the horse. We all sped up and saw our doctor friend gagged and bound to a tree. He had a pretty serious head wound as well. Blood ran down his face.

"What happened?" Sophia asked.

He simply pointed up towards a banking. Mum had untied him, so mama helped him up and let him lean on her while we began to walk to where Siddiq had pointed. Me and Sophia exchanged glances before we got further up the grassy hill. I could see the silhouettes of spikes with something round on the top of each one. A few of them had what looked like long hair flowing... But, surely it wasn't hair?

As we got closer, Sophia released the horse's reigns and sped up a little. I kept up with her pace but I couldn't help but stop in my tracks when I realised what it was. It was our people. More specifically, their heads. On sticks. I knew them all apart from three men on the right end.

"No." Sophia shook her head. "No! God, no!" She yelled loudly, her body shaking, she fell to her knees. I went to my knees with her, and I pulled her into me. I hugged her tightly as her body violently shook as grief took over her being.

"No! Don't look! No!" I heard my dad's voice yell as I saw him turn my mother away from the sight.

Frankie. Her three year old son was a friend of RJ's.
Hannah. Tammy Rose's sister.
Addy. A sixteen year old girl.
Rodney. A sixteen year old boy.
Enid. The reason Sophia sobbed in my arms.
Tara. The leader of Hilltop.
Jessie. My mother's son.

Blood covered the spikes that each head was placed on top of. I looked over to my mother who was sobbing in my father's arms. Tears were in my eyes and rapidly falling down my face. I lost friends... But, Sophia lost the love of her life. Mum lost her son. Addy and Rodney's parents lost children. Tammy Rose lost a sister. Hilltop lost a leader. Frankie's son lost his mother.

Their heads had turned to walkers. No brain damage. They bit at us. Snarled too. Our family and friends. Their bodies being degraded in such a way made me sick. These were people. They were mothers, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, friends, neighbours... They were good people. Each and every one of them. 

It was in that moment that I decided Whisperers were not to be considered as human. Much like the Saviours before they surrendered in what I thought would be our final battle. No way a human, someone with any form of morality, dignity, humanity could do this to another human being. I've killed. I've murdered in self defence and during war. But that? That was a whole new level of psychotic.

What the Whisperers did to our communities that day, was nothing less than evil.