VIVIAN BEGAN TO GROW NERVOUS AS THE DAYS PASSED.

It was the end of summer, and the temperature began to cool. They didn't have the clothing to keep the children warm. They had to rely on body heat and fires at night.

Now that there were the same amount of adults as children, they could have fires, and be able to take watch shifts.

It also gave Vivian a sense of security. It wasn't just her and Tyreese fighting to keep four children alive. Keeping them safe, finding them food, keeping them hydrated.

But providing them with shelter was the hardest part. There was nothing but woods around them, or small building filled with wild animals or mildew. Not a place they want to sleep in.

"You smell that?" Carol asked as they walked along the tracks, the girls in front of them keeping Liam between each other, holding his hand,

Marcie was ahead of them, carrying the diaper bag in one hand and a knife in the other. She was eager to get to Terminus, to find their people.

Vivian didn't blame her.

"Yeah." Tyreese responded, adjusting Judith in his arms, "There's a fire somewhere."

She took a deep breath through her nose, inhaling the scent of smoke. Back in Chicago, before the outbreak, the smell would mean a bonfire somewhere. Her neighbourhood was known for their block parties, setting old cars on fire and drinking alcohol around it out of red solo cups.

The memory made her miss her siblings even more.

She wondered if they made it out, if they were alive.

"Must be a big one. It isn't anywhere around here." Carol commented,

Marcie paused and glanced over to her right, there was a small clearing next to the tracks, free from any foliage, "We should stop here." She looked back at the others, "We need to look for water."

"I can do it." Tyreese offered as the rest of them caught up to her,

She shook her head, "Nah, I can do it. Rest your arm." She motioned to his bandaged arm that he injured back at the prison, "Carol and I can look while you guys rest."

"We should spread out, widen the search area. Mika can help me." Carol suggested, giving Marcie a look and the brunette woman nodded,

Once the kids were settled, Marcie set off by herself to search for water while Carol and Mika went in the opposite direction.

Vivian didn't want Marcie going off alone, but she insisted she would be fine, that she wouldn't go too far.

And she didn't. Marcie wandered, not finding any signs of a water source. The ground was dry, devoid of any life. Dried up leaves littered the dirt, camouflaging any evidence of animals that may have passed by.

Marcie huffed and turned around to head back to the group. Daryl would've been better at this. He would've been able to find water, to hunt animals.

They were struggling to survive out here. They needed to get to Terminus.

They needed to find their people.

Vivian sat on the tracks, watching as Liam played with a stick in the grass in front of her. Lizzie was sat on a log a few feet away, while Tyreese was leaning against a tree with Judith in his lap.

They were too tired to do anything but just sit there in silence.

She spotted movement out of the corner of her eye and turned her head to see a lone walker approaching them. It was a ways away, and Vivian wasn't too concerned. Vivian slipped her knife out of its' sheath and waited for it to get closer.

No point in wasting energy for one walker.

Once it got closer and the others noticed, Vivian stood and ushered Liam over to Tyreese, "Stay here."

The walker reached for her before its' leg got caught in the track and it collapsed. Vivian approached it, raising her knife,

"Vivian!" 

Lizzie stood and rushed towards her,  "Sometimes we have to kill them. I know that. But sometimes we don't."

The woman lowered her knife and turned to stare at the child. At those words, all Vivian could think about is the walker back at the farm, the one Carl didn't kill. He could've, but didn't, and it led to Dale's death.

If she didn't kill this walker, it could come back to bite them in the ass.

"Lizzie! Tyreese! Vivian!" They all turned to see Mika crashing through the trees, a large smile on her face,

Carol was right behind her and Marcie happened to step onto the tracks at the same time, "What's going on?"

"We found a place!"

Everyone gathered their things and followed Carol and Mika through the woods. Vivian stayed back, and once Lizzie was out of sight, she stabbed the walker in the head. She pulled her blade out and wiped the dark blood on the walker's shirt before following the others.

They reached a large clearing, and Vivian could see a small cottage behind some fences. She felt something under her boot and she glanced down to see some pecans littering the grass,

"What are these?" Mika asked,

"Pecans." Carol answered,

The young girl paused to pick a bunch up and stuffed them into her pocket, "Oh, I love pecans."

"You know, maybe we could catch our breath here for a while." Carol commented, glancing back at them before opening the barbed wire fence,

"We're still going to Terminus, right?" Lizzie questioned,

"We'll just stay a day or two." The oldest woman answered, letting the others in, "There's a well full of water. Fences. They're not big, but they're something." She glanced over at Marcie, "And we saw deer. They eat pecans. We should be able to kill one to eat."

"We can eat these, too, right?" Mika asked,

"You can eat your fill and then some." Tyreese smiled down at her,

Lizzie turned, her eyes went upwards towards the sky, "Look." They followed her gaze to see a large plume of smoke drifting in the sky,

It was a big fire, bigger than Vivian thought it was.

"Bet that's what we were smelling." Carol stated, "Looks far enough away."

"I wonder how it started." Mika hummed,

"Maybe lightning. Maybe a campfire." Tyreese suggested before changing the subject, "I can patch that fence."

The group began walking towards the cottage once more, "It's probably where the deer are coming from. We should leave it. Just play it really safe in here." Carol stated, 

Vivian came to a pause outside the second set of fencing, which was wooden and tall. While the prison was nice, she didn't have to worry about letting Liam roam the yard, this place was a real home.

With bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room for them to lounge in. A yard with a garden and pecans.

In the back of her mind, she considered ditching Terminus and staying here. This would be a better life for Liam.

Tyreese and Carol walked around the house and up to the front door while the other two women stayed with the children. Tyreese knocked and they all listened for any noise to tell them there was a rotter in there,

But there was nothing,

"If there's one in there, it's not moving much." Carol commented, "Let's just stay close, go slow room to room." She turned back to the others, "Girls, you sit tight. You don't come in until we come out no matter what you hear." She told Mika and Lizzie,

"Okay." Mika mumbled,

The two wandered into the home and Marcie adjusted Judith on her hip, glancing around the property to see if any walkers were coming their way.

But it was silent. Peaceful, almost.

"They're gonna be okay." Mika whispered to her sister,

"It's not that." Vivian glanced over at Lizzie, who was staring at something in the yard not far away. She followed her gaze to see a few graves.

One wasn't very big. But they were all marked with a cross. But one of the crosses had a pair of small pink shoes attached to it,

"Is it that there because there was a baby?" Mika asked,

"No." Lizzie answered, "They're gonna find one in there and they're going-"

"Stop it. They aren't people." Mika snapped at her older sister and got the attention of both women, 

"But you're wrong. All of you." Lizzie stated, glancing at all of them,

"They aren't people, Lizzie. They're just dead." Mika frowned,

The door on the porch opened and a walker stumbled out. Lizzie fell out of her chair, sitting on the ground as the walker crawled towards her. Judith began to cry and Vivian was quick to set Liam down next to Marcie before reaching for her knife.

But Mika was quicker. She had already began shooting at the walker, missing the first few times. Lizzie screamed at her sister to stop, but Mika had fired the last shot into the walker's brain.

Carol went over to make sure Lizzie was okay while Vivian went to Mika, lowering the girl's gun, "Good job, Mika." Vivian smiled at her, "You did it. You saved us."

Tyreese grabbed Liam and they headed towards the front porch, with Marcie following, trying to calm Judith down,

The older woman stared down at Lizzie, "Why are you upset, Lizzie? Were you scared?"

The girl sniffled and shook her head, "No."

"Then why are you crying?" Carol questioned,

"I don't want to say." Lizzie whimpered before walking over to a chair in the garden, sitting in it and staring over at the graves,

Mika walked over to her sister while Vivian gave Carol a confused look. She never understood Lizzie. Mika was able to grasp the concept, that the walkers were bad, that they would kill you without hesitation, but Lizzie didn't get it. She could kill people, no problem, but rotters? She would just freeze.

"Lizzie." Mika placed a hand on her older sister's shoulder, "I'm sorry I yelled at you. Just look at the flowers like you're supposed to." They both turned to the vibrant flowers in front of them, "Count one, two, three. Come on, let's count together. Look at the pink ones over there. You see?One, two, three."

While the two girls were counting, Vivian moved up the porch to grab Liam, "Let's go look around."