· · ─────── ·✞· ─────── · ·

Naya gasped awake at a sound, she sat up and listened cautiously, her heart was pounding her chest as she awaited anything to make a sound. "You sure that you saw her come in here?" A male's voice whispers with uncertainty. "Yeah, man. Pretty little thang in a blue beanie," Another male whispers back with a teasing tone that made Naya feel incredibly uneasy. "If you say so, man," The first male replied before the patio outside creaked alerting Naya of where they were. She quickly got her things together, pulling her backpack onto her shoulders and creeping over to the secondary exit away from the two men. She may have been only ─ almost ─ twelve years old but she knew exactly what that man wanted with her; past memories of Danny.

Carefully and cautiously, Naya unblocked the door and let it fall open allowing small space for her to escape. She stopped for a moment and noticed an empty can, she picked it up and tossed it towards the kitchen across the small building. "Told you!" One of the man exclaimed before kicking in the main door, he and his masked companion rush in just as Naya takes off into the woods. She tried her best to steady her breathing so her lungs wouldn't burn her out, she stumbled as shouts echoed through the woods behind her. "Should've set the place on fire," Naya whispered to herself, she didn't talk much due to be alone but sometimes she had to in order keep her voice box working.

"I see you, poppet!" The second bandit called out as he spotted her, he and his friend chuckled before moving to corner her like she was a baby deer. "C'mon Poppet, we'll make a very agreeable wife out of ya!" The first bandit called out making Naya fight back tears, she'd rather be chewed apart by Walkers than face the two bandits and their monstrous intentions. It wasn't long until Naya reached a clearing, she looked around the woods with no clue where to go or what to do. "Come here, Poppet!" The second bandit cooed tauntingly as they continued their pursuit after her. Naya pulled her gun free as the two men stopped opposite her in the clearing, both had rifles and ski masks hiding their identity; the true mark of a Bandit in this new world.

"Hello there, poppet," The first one spoke before looking to his friend, "Ain't she a beaut, Farris?" Naya glared as Farris chuckled and replied, "Oh definitely, Johnny. She's gorgeous." Naya aimed her gun at them, she knew she stood no chance but she wouldn't let them have her. "Piss off!" Naya's voice cracked due to the sudden shout, she had been so used to silence and whispering to herself. "Oh, so scary," Farris mocked before laughing. "Got me shaking in my boots," Johnny added with a short chuckle, he moved to step forward but Naya shot the ground in front of him. "Stay back!" Naya warned as her gunshot echoed through the woods alerting the nearby dead towards them. "Now easy, Poppet. You'll bring the dead to us!" Johnny snapped at her.

Naya took a breath before turning and shooting Johnny in the head, she quickly swivelled on her feet as Farris turned in shock to his friends body hitting the ground. Naya didn't hesitate to escape, she wasn't going to stick around as proven when Farris began the chase firing off shots that barely missed the eleven year old. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT BITCH!" Farris growled out as groaning and growls came towards them followed by the dead. Naya saw one coming her way and she was quick to dodge it, however due to this, a bullet grazed her arm causing a shock of pain to burn through resulting in her losing her gun; her name had been carved into the side of it.

"YOU'LL BE SCREAMING SOON!!" Farris shouted angrily, Naya didn't bother to go back for her gun; no matter how stupid that decision would be. Farris managed to catch up to her, he grabbed her backpack and flung her to the ground before turning towards her. She quickly kicked his shin with her steel cap boots causing him to double over in pain, she raised her foot into his stomach harshly before grabbing a rock and hitting the man across the face. She didn't think her actions through, she was just following her instincts as they fought to keep her alive. With the man in pain and unfocused, Naya pushed up off of the ground and booked it in a different direction hoping to circle back for her gun.

As Naya managed to dodge around another Walker, she failed to see the Walker laying on the ground; amputated from the waist down. It reached out and snatched her ankle causing her to hit the leafy dirt, she turned over in time to push the Walker up and away from her face, crying out at the pain in her arm. "Get. Off. Me!" Naya screamed out as she tried to reach for the nearby rock however, her arm was growing weak against the starving Walker until someone pulled the Walker from her and fired a single arrow into its head. Naya gasped before remembering the Farris man had a rifle not a bow or crossbow; she turned her head to see an older man with a scruffy beard and long hair beside her.

"Ye al'ight?" He asked in a Southern Georgian accent, his brow raised awaiting a reply. "I think so," Naya replied before pushing to stand up, hissing in pain due to her arm. "POPPET!" Farris shouted from a distance making Naya tense up, the Southern stranger stood protectively in front of her noticing the fear in her face at the voice. As Farris stepped around a large boulder revealing himself, he had a massive bite in his shoulder and a crazed look in his eyes that fell seeing the stranger standing there with his crossbow pointed directly at him. "Listen man, that girl is mine," Farris told the stranger but he didn't listen, he simply readjusted his crossbow and fired off a single bolt into Farris' head.

The stranger turned to Naya who had been breathing heavily, she was trying to calm herself down. "You bitten?" The stranger asked noticing her left arm covered in blood, he raised a brow at her. "Bullet graze... no bite," Naya replied through unsteady breaths, "Thank you... for saving me." The stranger grunted in response to the girl before noticing the way her skin had paled along with the sweat across her forehead, she was clearly in a lot more pain than she was letting on. "I'll be on my way now," Naya told him however, before the stranger could respond, her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed to the ground. The last thing on her mind was a simple question; where are you Clem?

· · ─────── ·✞· ─────── · ·

"She was all alone?" A woman's voice echoed through Naya's head as she slowly regained consciousness, her eyes were too heavy to open so she didn't bother. "Being chased by some bandit... he was bitten so I dealt with it," The stranger's familiar voice followed. "I've stitched up her arm, it was a bullet graze. She lost a bit of blood and she was clearly dehydrated. She should be fine," An older woman spoke with certainty. "Then why hasn't she woken up yet?" A younger male voice asked with worry in his tone. "I know this girl, she's tougher than she looks," A distant yet familiar voice told the others, a sense of joy in his tone. "How do you know her?" The first woman's voice asked. "When I was in the Macon group. She and her dad were there," He answered her.

A flash of memories blurred through Naya's mind as she focused on the voice and their comment causing a single face to bounce through her head. "G-Glenn...?" Naya whimpered as she pushed her eyes to open, she coughed slightly before turning her head to see the very man himself; though he no longer looked like a younger man but a matured man who had seen too much. "Hey Moo," Glenn replied with a soft smile on his face, "Man am I glad to see you alive." Naya smiled softly at his words, "The same to you, Glenn." He helped her sit up, Naya looked around at the group that surrounded her in the home they were in. "How are you feeling?" A woman with a Southern twang asked softly as Glenn looked at her with love.

"Sore, tired... a little thirsty. But relieved to be safe," Naya answered her making them laugh or smile. "Well, I'm Maggie," The woman with the Southern twang introduced herself as Glenn wrapped an arm around her waist. "She's my girl," Glenn added making Naya smile, she was glad that Glenn had someone. "And this is Carol, she stitched you up," Glenn pointed to the older woman who had short grey hair standing next to the familiar stranger, "And next to her is Daryl, he was the one who bought you back." Naya smiled softly at Daryl, "Thank you... again." Daryl nodded his head with his arms crossed staying by Carol's side. "And over here is Rick Grimes and his son Carl. Rick is the reason I'm alive honestly," Glenn added as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Really glad to know you're okay," Rick told Naya while Carl looked at her with a soft smile and faint pink cheeks. "Where are we?" Naya asked them. "It's a small farmhouse. We've been here for a while," Glenn answered before sighing, "You can rest up for the night and then I'll help you get back to the others and your dad." He turned to walk away but Rick stopped him and motioned to Naya who was looking down with a frown on her face. "What?... What is it?" Glenn asked as he turned and walked back to Naya, "They're okay, right? Everyone made it out with Lee, Kenny and Hayden working together, right?" Naya sniffled and shook her head before looking up at him.

"After you, uh, left the motel... we were doing okay, you know?... even had a new guy, Mark show up with lot's of food but within three months, everything went bad again," Naya explained with a deep frown, "Then we met the St. Johns... cannibals..." Glenn and the others gasped at that, Rick shaking his head. "Larry died on the farm... he, Lilly, Lee, Kenny, Clem and my dad were locked in the meat locker when Larry had a heart attack... Kenny and my dad dropped a Salt Lick on his head in front of Lilly," Naya told them, Glenn looked down with wide eyes while the others tried not to envision the image. "We, uh, all got out thanks to Lee... the St. John's died to Walkers and we left," Naya closed her eyes and sighed.

"We had bought in a teenager, Ben... He, uh, made a deal with local bandits that were being paid off by the St. Johns, so without them, the bandits targeted us. And Ben, he betrayed us... Lilly had lost herself after her dad's death and she was constantly fighting with dad and Kenny while Lee did his best to keep the peace," Naya looked up at Glenn with tears in her eyes, a sight that broke Glenn and Maggie's hearts. "Bandits attacked but Kenny got the RV going... unfortunately, Duck got bit during the fall and he... he..." Naya tried to fight back the sob, "I lost my best friend... he was like my brother..." Glenn wrapped his arms around Naya, rubbing her back.

"Katjaa couldn't live without her son, she shot herself in the head and then Lee... he shot Duck so Kenny didn't have to kill his own son," Naya managed after calming down enough to talk, Glenn sat next to her and rubbed her back for comfort. "We were on the road when Lilly shot Carley, accusing her of dealing with the bandits... we left Lilly behind..." Naya went on to tell the group about the train while meeting Omid and Christa. "Lee got bit..." Naya looked up at Glenn who closed his eyes in distraught, "Clem was taken and... Lee got bitten... I think he saved Clem, I'm sure he did... but I was taken by Vernon and dad came after me... we were alone then, just us and Molly."

Naya took a deep steadying breath before wiping the tears away, she wouldn't cry about it forever. "Tough kid, huh?" Daryl questioned though the look in his eyes showed how impressed he was that she had survived through so much. "What... about your dad?" Glenn asked with a frown, "I mean... he was a soldier, kind of expected him to still be by your side." Naya frowned and shook her head, "The same thing that happens to everyone else." They were all silent at her hopeless tone. Naya shook her head before looking up at the group, "Anyway... should I stay or should I go?" Rick reached over and ruffled her hair, "You're welcome to stay with us, kiddo."

════ ★: *.☪ .* :☆ ════

════ ★: *.☪ .* :☆ ════

Rosemary Speaks. . .

Okay... I mashed the two Walking Dead worlds together... due to Hershel and Shawn being existent in both, I kept Maggie and will connect her to them in this book however, Naya wasn't present for that stuff and Maggie wasn't a physical character but a mention so yeah... Hershel is dead in this and its not his farm they're on.

Because I'm mashing them together, I'm gonna say this is prison era in their character arcs so Rick is a little... jumpy and such unless with a goal in mind. No Lori, no Shane or the others; only Daryl, Carol, Rick, Carl, Michonne, Maggie and Glenn. The others will either be backstories or future characters.

I figured putting Clem and Naya on two separate paths to grow on their own would strengthen them more. Plus, it makes reuniting them so much more meaningful.

Any questions or feedback?

See you in the next chapter!

P.S: wrote this while at work, oops