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CHAPTER ONE




It's well after sundown when the truck stops outside of a few businesses in the small Georgian town. The group quickly exits the vehicle, and Andie looks around for anywhere that might be a good place for her to hole up for the night.

"Dave? Tony?" The man who was driving the truck quietly calls out; Andie didn't bother to learn very many names.

"They said over here?"

"Yeah."

"I'm telling you, man, I heard shots."

"I saw roamers two streets over. There might be more around here."

"It's hot. We gotta get outta here."

They keep calling out, and another man tells them to shut up. Andie's ignoring the men for the most part, not caring where Dave and Tony are. She may be scanning the area, but it's not for the same reason as the rest of the group.

They walk past a bar, moving through the middle of the street, and Andie hangs back at the end of the group. While the men aren't paying any attention to her, she slips into a smaller building called Steve's Pharmacy. It's dark inside and there isn't much light coming in through the windows. She's got her gun in one hand as her other prepares for the possibility that she may need to pull out her hatchet.

She's careful as she makes her way through the pharmacy, keeping her eyes peeled for anyone or anything that shouldn't be there. The brunette finds a shelf that has a few snack items left on it and she grabs the last small, blue bag of Doritos before stuffing them into the bag that's slung over her shoulder.

After a couple minutes, Andie hears what sounds like the group talking to someone else. They're speaking louder, likely calling through a closed door or window. She assumes they're still trying to get Dave and Tony's attention, so she doesn't pay them any mind.

The teenager's about to tear open the wrapper on a KitKat bar when she hears shuffling behind her. She quickly drops the candy into her bag before pulling the hatchet from her hip, and she turns to look for the source of the noise. It's an incredibly unnerving feeling — not knowing if it's an animal or one of the dead.

She's walking backward as she looks around, then she hears the moans behind her. The brunette whirls around, swinging her hatchet, and the blade embeds itself in the side of the corpse's head. It drops to the ground as she pulls her weapon back, and now she's even more on guard than she was before. The time for looking for snacks is definitely over.

There's gunfire outside and then she hears someone groaning in pain. Her eyebrows furrow as she looks toward the door, it seems like the gunshot is the cause of his pain...but why would their group shoot one of their own people?

"Let's get out of here!" A male voice shouts as wheels screech to a halt. "Roamers are all over the place! Hurry up! We gotta get out of here!"

"What about Sean?!"

"They shot him! We gotta go! Roamers are everywhere!"

"What?" Andie mutters as she tries to puzzle together what's going on outside.

Before she can give too much thought to the possibility of another group being in the area, two more corpses round the corner and start moving toward her. They must've been in the back of the pharmacy and are being drawn to the front as the shouting outside continues.

There's screaming outside, and then the car squeals as their people leave Andie and the boy screaming in the alley beside the pharmacy. She runs out, trying to get away from the advancing corpses, only firing off one shot before the door shuts behind her.

"Help!" He's pleading, and Andie runs over to see what's going on.

Her dark eyes widen when she sees the top of the gate sticking up through his leg as he lays on his back on a dumpster. "Oh, God." She mutters, covering her mouth as she looks away from the gory scene. 

The other corpse from the pharmacy is now making its way toward them, and she raises her gun and fires a single shot to put it down. She turns and places her hand on the side of the building as she tries not to think about what she just saw.

"Are you alright?" A man asks as he runs across the street and looks at the brunette.

"I'm gonna hurl." She mumbles, and he then turns his attention to the screaming boy after deciding that she doesn't pose an immediate threat.

"We have to go now." An older man says as he rushes over to them.

"No!" The boy cries.

"I'm sorry, son, we have to go."

"Are you sick?" Another man asks, this one's closer to Andie's age, but still a little older.

"To my stomach." She exhales deeply before walking a few steps away and raising her gun again to put down more of the corpses. She needs to get her mind off of the boy from her group.

The men are arguing over whether or not to leave the members of the other group as Andie continues popping off rounds. The youngest of the newcomers' group thinks they should leave because the boy was just shooting at them, but the first one who crossed the street is arguing that he's only a kid.

"Hey." The teenage girl rushes back over, her gun aimed at the ground. "Are you familiar with the area? Is there a safe spot where I can hole up and wait this out?" She asks.

"On your own?" The Asian boy asks, and she glances at him before returning her attention to the never-ending stream of the dead.

"Well, I can't exactly take him with me." She says as the older men discuss what the best course of action is. "Not that I want to." She mutters before firing off another shot.

"I-I don't know." He shakes his head. "I've never seen this many here at once."

"Just my luck."

The boy starts screaming even louder than before, and they both turn to see that one of the men from the Asian boy's group lifted his leg off of the spike. Andie presses the back of her arm to her mouth as she turns back around, unable to look at the gaping wound through his lower leg.

"Glenn, let's go!" The younger of the other two yells. "Get the girl and get over here!"

"Come on." He reaches out toward her, and Andie moves away. "Look... Your options are pretty limited right now. We can help each other survive the night." Glenn reasons, and after a moment of hesitation she nods.



The red car comes to a stop, and Andie hears one of the doors. There's a small boy's voice, more doors opening and closing, then a female voice greeting someone.

The brunette grinds her teeth, irritated that she can't see anything.

"Patricia, prepare the shed for surgery." Hershel says, his voice growing more distant.

The leader of the group starts talking to a woman, and then a male voice asks, "Who the hell are they?"

"Someone who's incredibly angry and about ready to kick Rick's ass!" Andie shouts before reaching up to pull the paper bag from her head.

"That's Randell, and, uh... Actually she refuses to tell us her name." Glenn tells his group as she brushes her dark hair from her face; her hands are bound, so it's not a very graceful task.

"Get him off me." She shoves on Randell, who's passed out as he leans toward her.

"Daryl, keep an eye on her for me." Rick says as he looks at one of his men.

"I don't need a babysitter."

"I say otherwise."

"And heaven forbid anyone disagree with the all-knowing Ranger Rick." She grumbles as Glenn helps her out of the car.

"I'm a cop."

"And I don't give a f—" She clears her throat when she sees the boy who doesn't look any older than twelve. "Flapjack."

"What exactly am I supposed to do with her?" One of the men asks; Andie assumes he's Daryl.

"Oh, that's easy. Help her kidnapper keep her captive." The brunette says sarcastically as she looks at him.

"Leaving you out there by yourself like that would've been a death sentence." Glenn says, and she turns her head to look at him.

"I'd rather be dead than anyone's prisoner."

"Is the barn cleared out?" Rick asks, and Daryl nods as he looks from the girl to his leader. "Take her there for now, keep her cuffed."

Daryl then walks with the younger girl to the barn while the others go inside to talk. He leaves her not long after, telling her to sit tight while he goes to see what's going on. She takes a deep breath and leans her head back against the wall that she's sitting against.

When he gets back, the teenager's in the same spot with her head back, her eyes closed, and her fingers laced together in her lap. She doesn't move even as he takes a few steps toward her.

"I was half expecting you to have tried to escape while I was gone." He tells her.

"Considered it, seemed like a good way to get shot in the back."

"You think so little of our group?"

"Of the group whose leader brought me here against my will?" She opens her eyes and looks up at him. "What would give you that impression?"

"Your people were shooting at ours." Daryl says, holding a glass of water out toward her, and she shakes her head.

"I am not responsible for the actions of someone else." The brunette argues. "And I never shot at your friends. The only things I was shooting at were the corpses."

"How are we supposed to know if you're telling the truth or not?"

She scoffs as she shuts her eyes again. "Does the truth really even matter anymore? The only thing that matters in this world is what people choose to tell themselves. You'll all justify this in your heads one way or another."

"Ain't you thirsty?" Daryl asks, but she still doesn't take the water from his hand. "Why don't you give me something to go on? Give me something to tell my group to make them feel better." He says, leaning down to set the glass beside her in the dirt.

"They know what they saw of me out there. Nothing I tell you is gonna make them behave any different."

"And what did they see of you?"

"Go ask your friends. I think I'm overdue for a siesta."

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