Shadows began to cast over the camp as the sun rose; the air began to warm up and became thick with humidity. Megan swiped her hand against her forehead to rid the sweat that had started to drip from her scalp, causing her hair to stick to her face. She became increasingly frustrated with the Georgia heat and had nowhere to escape. She prayed for cool air and ice-cold water with little effect. The few seconds of breeze were not enough.

Megan stared into the distance, praying that she would wake up from her nightmare; the sound of feet shuffling across the gravel broke her from her thoughts, and Megan looked up to see Lori approaching her.

"How are you feeling?" Lori asked Megan for the third time that morning. She stood with one hand on her hip, with a look of concern on her face.

Megan sighed heavily, brushing her light brown hair out of her eyes. "I'm fine, Lori, but please stop asking," she sighed, exasperated. She knew her sister-in-law only asked out of concern, but there was something about being asked repeatedly if she was okay that made her feel everything but okay.

"I'm sorry, I'm just worried; pregnancy was hard enough before this happened, and now you've barely got enough food to keep you going, little water and no medical care-"

"Don't you think I know that?" Megan snapped, a touch harsher than she had intended, as she stood up from her seat. A few other campsite occupants had turned their heads at the raised voices. "Do you think I want this? I am tired, hot, thirsty and starving, and you're not helping. Reminding me of all the things we no longer have doesn't help. I'm mourning the death of my husband, the potential death of my brother and carrying a baby, please," she sighed heavily, "please, don't ask me if I'm okay or how I'm feeling. Please," she pleaded.

Lori recoiled slightly, and her hand dropped from her hip. Her stance changed from confident to withdrawn, and she put her hands together and picked at her fingernails. "I know, I'm sorry. That was inconsiderate."

A few feet away, Merle Dixon spoke up, a wide grin stretching across his ageing face, "my, my, she's a feisty one," he chuckled, throwing the end of his cigarette into the fire.

A chorus of shut up, Merle, rang around the camp in chastising tones.

Megan remained unfazed by Merles' remarks and had mostly forgotten the brief interaction with Lori. She was preoccupied with steadying her breathing and fanning herself with her hand in an attempt to cool down.

"Why don't you go and sit in the RV? It's a bit cooler in there," Dale called down from the top of the RV where he had watched the scene unfold.

Megan nodded slowly, "thanks, Dale," she called back before heading towards the RV. The door was already open, and she stepped inside with ease. It wasn't much cooler inside, but the difference was still noticeable.

Andrea approached Lori, who stood by the fire, wondering how to support her sister-in-law without unintentionally causing more harm than good.

"Hey," Andrea said, placing her hand on Lori's shoulder, "wasn't the best way to word it," she said with raised eyebrows. "This isn't how any of us are meant to live. No one wants reminders of what life should be like."

"I know," Lori sighed, "I just don't know what to do. I know Rick would have wanted us to stick together. We used to be so close, but since we got here, since Matthew - I don't know. She's changed."

"We've all changed, even if it's just a little. We have all changed within the last few weeks."

The sound of Andrea's voice faded out as Lori sat down by the fire. She was at a loss but reminded herself to be careful with what she said.

She looked briefly over at Shane leaning against a tree, his eyes fixated on the RV. She wondered what he was thinking.

__________

Megan felt somewhat better when she woke up the next morning and slightly calmer than the day before. She had barely spoken to anyone the rest of the day, but she knew a group from the camp was going on a supply run to the city. She wanted to see them off and wish them luck; after all, no one could be sure If they would return.

Megan stood by and watched them pack to leave. She had offered to help, but Glenn insisted the empty duffel bags they were stuffing into the boot of the small van were too heavy for her. She probably would have gotten annoyed if anyone else had said the same, but Glenn was overall an incredibly kind and caring person and impossible to get mad at.

She wondered if they would've allowed her to go if she hadn't been pregnant. She wished she could help around the camp more, but everyone was reluctant to allow her to help with anything other than washing clothes or cooking.

Megan waved goodbye to the group until they drove out of sight, silently praying for their safe return. Once they had vanished out of view, she made her way to the laundry baskets full of dirty clothes. She was insisting to herself that she needed to make herself useful and not think about the fact that her new friends may not return. As she picked up the basket, she heard a voice behind her. It was deep but quiet. "I'm heading out; try and catch something."

She turned around, balancing the laundry basket on her hip and met eyes with Daryl Dixon.

He was the younger of the Dixon brothers, noticeably so, with bright blue eyes and light brown hair. He squinted slightly under the sun before looking away to avoid her gaze, "I'll let the others know; be careful out there," she replied.

He said no more and began to walk away; she watched him briefly before continuing with the task at hand. She wondered how two brothers could be so different. Daryl was quiet, and under the hard shell, he appeared to be caring and understanding. His brother, however, was quite the opposite. Loud, rude and obnoxious, a racist and a pervert.

When the group did their first supply run and found more tents for the rest of the group, he helped her put up her tent; she had seen it as a nice gesture until Daryl pulled her aside and warned her of his true intentions.

After the tent was built, Megan thanked him cautiously, remembering his brother's words and low and behold, the older Dixon began with his remarks, claiming it was his tent too, and she needed to share. Most of the camp had settled down already for the night, and no one could come to her defence. Thankfully, Daryl was still around and warned his brother away, and after half an hour of shushed arguments, Merle gave in, calling her a tease and a whore. She had silently thanked Daryl with a smile, but she didn't sleep a wink that night.

Megan's thoughts had subconsciously drifted to the quarry's water edge without her realising she had made the entire journey. Carol, Sophia and Carl stood with their jeans rolled up to their knees, splashing in the water.

She watched with a soft smile as she began to scrub the clothes clean. The ache in her arms went unrecognised as she soaked in the scene. She watched as the two young children splashed and giggled. It was also the happiest she had seen Carol since they had become a group.

Megan's mind began to wander. Her heart began to ache as she wondered how long the happiness on those children's faces would last. How long until the geeks came in floods and destroyed their camp and killed her friends? She knew they couldn't hide at the quarry forever. They all knew deep down, but as of yet, no attempts had been made to even think about anywhere safer.

'Was there a cure for this virus?'

It was always a question that ran through her mind ever since the first news report aired. She had watched from day one, the first cases being across Europe. The president stopped all flights as soon as the first video surfaced of a French man devouring human flesh in the middle of Paris. It was terrifying, and for some unknown reason, she still believed she'd be safe from it, that was until she saw it with her own eyes.

She looked down at her stomach; she was starting to show if she flattened her shirt against herself. She couldn't be sure how far gone she was because she could never attend her appointment. All non-emergency appointments were cancelled or rearranged. She had never seen her baby on an ultrasound and had no idea how it was developing, which worried her most of all.

She squeezed her eyes shut in a failed attempt to rid the thoughts from her mind and continue washing the clothes.

__________

The day passed slowly, more so after hearing back from the group who headed to the city that they had encountered some trouble. The entire group was on edge, waiting to hear something from them.

"Auntie Meg?" A young voice called, "do you know where mum is? I can't find her anywhere, and I want to pick some berries and help and stuff," he said enthusiastically.

Megan smiled proudly at her nephew, "I haven't, Carl. I'll look. Did you check your tent?"

Carl pulled a face that wordlessly told Megan that he hadn't looked as hard as he made it seem. "I'll go check," Megan chuckled.

She approached Lori's tent, which she shared with Carl and spotted the brunette immediately. She was talking to Shane, a soft look across her face as Shane reached up to touch her cheek. Megan stood in disbelief as she watched her brother's best friend kiss her brother's wife.

She was boiling with anger and was prepared to confront the pair when she was startled by the blaring sound of a car alarm.

Her heart skipped a beat in fear, and she momentarily forgot what had happened seconds before as her concern grew for the camp, knowing that sound attracted the dead.

She ran towards the main camp, Shane and Lori close by and tugged Carl close as they looked down the hill in fear and curiosity.

"What can you see?" Shane shouted up to Dale, who was on top of the RV, looking through binoculars to find out where the noise was coming from.

He held the binoculars to his eyes, following the dirt track down the quarry to find the source of the screeching, "nothing yet," he called back.

"That noise is going to bring the geeks up here!" Lori shouted worriedly, voicing the same concerns as the group gathered to oversee their surroundings. The sound was getting closer, and so was the sound of an engine, and soon a red car came into view.

Dale spoke up, "my guess, a stolen car," he announced, shaking his head in disbelief and annoyance, bringing the binoculars away from his eyes as the car approached.

The car skidded to a halt in front of the RV, and Glenn jumped out with a massive grin on his face until Shane scolded him, "Turn that damn thing off!" He shouted over the noise.

"I don't know how," Glenn replied, but no one could hear him. A truck began to pull up behind the car as Shane started to pull and tug at wires around the engine until the noise stopped.

"You could've attracted every geek for miles," Shane snapped in annoyance.

Glenn shifted nervously, "I got a cool car."

He could no longer be heard over the barrage of questions being thrown at him by Amy and other group members, longing to know how the trip went and if everyone survived.

"We got a new guy with us; he helped us get out of there," Glenn said plainly, nodding towards the truck, ignoring everyone's questions.

Andrea, Jaqui and T-Dog appeared together, followed by Moreles. Merle, unfortunately, was nowhere to be seen. Everyone began to greet those who had arrived safely, with only very few noticing the absence of the older Dixon.

Megan greeted Andrea with a hug while Amy was still clung to Andrea's side, "Come back unharmed, I see; I'm glad," she confessed.

"I did. The same can't be said about Merle," Andrea replied, "you won't believe what happened. I thought we wouldn't make it back."

"What do you mean?" Megan asked curiously, attempting to guide her friend to sit down.

Before Andrea could reply or sit down, they heard Carl shout out, "Dad!"

Megan's head spun, and she questioned her hearing until her eyes landed on someone she was losing hope of ever seeing again.

Carl jumped into the man's arms and cradled him into a loving and much-needed hug. Lori soon joined, wrapping her arms around her husband's neck.

Megan busted into uncontrollable tears as she made her way toward her big brother. He was dressed in his police uniform, looking unbelievably silly, she thought.

"Meg," he called, somehow smiling through his tears as he briefly let go of Carl and Lori to pull her into a hug.

"I knew it; I knew you weren't dead," she cried as she hugged him as tightly as she could.

"I'm not dead, I'm here, and I'm alive, and I'm not going anywhere," he promised, holding her tight. He pulled away slightly to look at her properly. He wiped the tears from her face as she started to calm down, and he began to look around the camp. "Where's Matt?" He asked, his eyes flickering between the many people gathered to watch the emotional reunion.

Megan's sobs couldn't be contained, "he's gone, Rick."

Rick held her tighter and pulled his son back into his embrace. It was a bittersweet moment; he had found his family, but it hurt to know he would never see his brother-in-law again.

Megan didn't want to let go of her brother. She was petrified of him disappearing before her very eyes as the images of the day she lost Matthew began to haunt her.

__________

When the seriousness of the virus became impossible to ignore, Matthew and Megan began to come up with a plan on how to get as far away from it as possible.

Lori had called just a few hours earlier, telling them to pack up and meet them at her house and as a final resort, they did, and together, they all set off on the road.

Shane claimed he had heard of places that were so-called safe zones, and with no other ideas, they followed his lead. However, the roads were blocked by people desperately trying to leave towns, the city, and even the state. The sounds of car horns and people shouting and screaming echoed for miles.

They were stuck on the highway surrounded by petrified families with nowhere to go.

Megan, Matthew, Lori and Shane got out of their cars, trying to decide what to do as Carl sat huddled under a blanket in fear in the backseat of Shane's car. The four adults huddled together, praying for a miracle as they looked over a map.

"The city can't be safe. There are more people there, more chances of bumping into those...Things," Matthew said, shivering at the thought of a dead person wandering around trying to eat people.

"I agree. We need to get somewhere they can't, maybe somewhere high or-"

Shane was cut off by, "oh god," a man cried

On the other side of the road, a man was screaming as a woman bit into his neck. Her clothes were dishevelled and covered in fresh blood. Her entire face was buried into the man's neck before she pulled back, strings of flesh coming away as she chewed away effortlessly.

"Let's get out of here," Shane ordered, trying to divert everyone's attention away from the scene as a group of men began to hit and wack the dead woman with baseball bats, tree branches and poles in an attempt to kill her. She just growled and diverted her attention from the dying man she had just bit.

They turned away only briefly to look back at the map. No one saw the geek creeping up behind them, no one listened to Carl shouting at them from inside the car, or the gasps and shouts from the people around them, no one noticed Matthew turning around and coming face to face with the geek, it was only when it bit into his chest, and he screamed that they realised.

A gunshot rang out before they could react. The geek dropped to the floor.

Megan was instantly by Matthew's side, holding him tight as he slowly slipped away; her right hand was pressed against his chest, and she could feel the blood pooling under her fingertips and his heartbeat slowing to a stop.

She barely heard the sounds of people around her. She felt hands under her arms, trying to pull her away from Matthew's limp body.

Eventually, she was pulled away, watching as her husband, the man she loved, was left behind. She was helped into the back of a light blue, beaten-up truck as she screamed and cried; the only other sound she could hear was Shane shouting, saying something about following - quarry - safe.

Matthew had gone; he was dead. It was the only thing she could think about.

"But what about him?" She asked through the sobs as the truck's engine began to rumble.

"Nothing we can do, I'm sorry," the voice was soft, gruff and almost a whisper. She later learned the man who had pulled her away from her dead husband's body had been Daryl.

She wanted to stay with Matthew, she wanted to bury him, she wanted to grieve, but she couldn't. As they began to drive away, her eyes were fixated on his body, and with a glance to the left, she saw more and more of the dead appear.

__________

The first, very long days after arriving at the quarry were a blur. A mixture of faces and words. She remembered sitting on the bed of Daryl's truck, a few blurred memories of him cleaning her hands of her husband's blood.

She could briefly remember the nights she had fallen asleep in Daryl's truck and her nightmares waking her up to find Daryl patrolling the truck she slept in. She felt safer when she knew he was right outside. The images of the dead coming to devour her husband began to fade but would never disappear completely.

At the time, they didn't know that if you got bitten, you would turn into a geek. It was something they still weren't a hundred percent sure of, but almost everyone assumed that's how it worked.

However, now it was one of Megan's biggest worries that someday she could come face to face with her dead husband's walking corpse.

__________

I'm slightly less embarrassed by this rewrite.

I will add, please be patient with this chapter. This rewrite was started two years ago, so it's a slightly different read to what upcoming chapters may be.

Please feel free to let me know what you think. Honest opinions are welcome here, provided you'll give me a shoulder to cry on when your criticism hurts my feelings.