October 23rd, 2010

A car alarm could be heard in the distance. Winter had stood on her two feet as she looked around. The others had noticed it as well. Everyone turned to Dale who was the lookout

"Talk to me, Dale!" Shane said

"I can't tell yet" Dale said. The alarm was getting louder

"Is it them? Are they back?" Amy asked. Winter wondered the same

"I'll be damned" Dale said as he looked through the binoculars

"What is it?" Amy asked

"A stolen car is my guess" Dale said before the car approached our camp. The alarm was really loud. Whoever was driving it stopped the car. Glenn got out and Winter felt relieved. Glenn had the biggest smile on his face

"Holy crap. Turn that damn thing off!" Dale said

"I don't know how!" Glenn said. Shane approached the car

"Pop the hood, please. Pop the damn hood, please" Shane said. That's when Winter realized it was only Glenn. She wondered where the others were

"My sister Andrea-" Amy was cut off

"Pop the damn hood!" Shane said

"What? Okay, okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!" Glenn yelled as he got back in the car

"Is she okay? Is she all right?" Amy asked as Glenn popped the hood

"Yeah! Yeah! She's okay! She's okay!" Glenn yelled

"Is she coming back?" Amy asked as Shane turned the alarm off

"Yes!" Glenn said

"Why isn't she with you? Where is she? She's okay?" Amy asked

"Yes! Yeah, fine. Everybody is" Glenn said. Winter felt all the worry fade away from that statement. Everyone was okay, and that was all she needed

"Well, Merle not so much" Glenn said

"Are you crazy, driving this wailing bastard up here? Are you trying to draw every walker for miles?" Shane asked

"I think we're okay" Dale said

"You call being stupid okay?" Shane asked

"Well, the alarm was echoing all over these hills. Hard to pinpoint the source. I'm not arguing. I'm just saying. It wouldn't hurt you to think things through a little more carefully next time, would it?" Dale asked Glenn

"Sorry. Got a cool car" Glenn said. Then the sound of another car approaching could be heard. Everyone saw it arrive. It was a giant truck. The engine stopped. And they heard the back door open. Andrea ran out with a smile on her face

"Amy" Andrea said. Amy began crying

"Andrea!" Amy cried as she ran to her older sister. The two hugged

"You scared the shit out of me" Amy said. Winter watched as Jacqui got out of the back of the truck. She was waiting for two heads to peek out. Then Morales' children could be heard calling their Dad. T-Dog walked out. Then, she saw them. A smile appeared on her face. She ran over with her arms out. Michael was ready for his hug, but Winter wasn't aiming for him. Winter made it to Sam, and she wrapped her arms around him. Sam was taken off guard, but hugged her back nervously

"I.. uh- are you okay?" He asked as they broke apart

"You guys were gone so long.. I don't know.. I just got really worried" She said which made Sam look away embarrassed

"Do I not exist?" Michael asked. Winter turned and looked at him before giving him a hug. He hugged her back

"That's what I'm talking about" Michael said with a grin. Winter removed herself from him and looked over at Morales who was hugging Dale

"I thought we had lost you folks for sure" Dale said

"How'd y'all get out of there anyway?" Shane asked

"New guy- he got us out" Glenn said

"New guy?" Shane asked. Winter wondered who this new guy was

"Yeah, crazy vato just got into town. Hey, helicopter boy! Come say hello" Morales said. The man got out of the vehicle. He was wearing a police uniform

"The guy's a cop like you" Morales told Shane. Shane's eyes widened as he saw the man. Then all of a sudden, the new guy began to cry

"Oh my God" Rick said

"Dad! Dad!" Carl yelled out before he hugged the man. He was sobbing as he held his son

"Carl" The man said. He then looked at Lori who was shocked to see him. She then hugged him. Then she looked at Shane, with a look of betrayal in her eyes. Eventually night had fallen. Everyone was around the campfire and Rick, the new guy, was explaining what he had went through. He was holding Carl. Winter was sitting beside Sam. No space between them as they listened

"Disoriented. I guess that comes closest. Disoriented. Fear, confusion- all those things but.. disoriented comes closest" Rick said

"Words can be meager things. Sometimes they fall short" Dale said

"I felt like I'd been ripped out of my life and put somewhere else. For a while I thought I was trapped in some coma dream, something I might not wake up from ever" Rick said

"Mom said you died" Carl said as he looked up at his father. Rick looked down at his son before looking at Lori

"She had every reason to believe that. Don't you ever doubt it" Rick said

"When things started to get really bad, they told me at the hospital that they were gonna medevac you and the other patients to Atlanta, and it never happened" Lori said

"Well, I'm not surprised after Atlanta fell" Rick said

"Yeah" Lori said

"And from the look of that hospital, it got overrun" Rick said

"Yeah, looks don't decieve. I barely got them out, you know?" Shane asked

"I can't tell you how grateful I am to you, Shane" Rick said. Sam went to drink a bit of his water

"But he's banging your wife" Michael said causing Sam to spit out his water. It went silent as the mood was now tense and awkward. Shane, Lori and Rick were all just looking at eachother

"Why was Shane banging Mom?" Carl asked confused. Winter's eyes went wide as did everyone else's

"I- uh.." Shane began

"You know, that really isn't something you say around children" Andrea said

"Sorry, it just happened" Michael said with a smile. Rick got up

"I need to.. um.. give me a minute.." Rick said as he walked off

"Michael, I oughta fucking kill you" Shane said. Lori stood up

"Carl, let's go to the tent and get ready for bed" Lori told her son

"But I don't wan-" He was cut off

"No buts, let's go" Lori said before she left with Carl. Carol just covered Sophia's ears

"Listen, I ain't no snitch.. but you did that man so dirty, and you fucking know it. Don't hide behind some 'oh I saved your wife' type of bullshit. You took advantage of Lori's vulnerability and that's foul. You should be begging that man for forgiveness" Michael said. Shane stood up with an angry look

"You better shut the fuck up before I make you" Shane said. Michael scoffed

"Are you mad that I'm right? Are you mad that everyone now knows you're a piece of shit? It's all on you, man" Michael said

"I did not take advantage of her! I thought he was dead! She wasn't the only one who lost someone!" Shane yelled

"Pause, let me get this straight. So, you believe Rick is dead, and because you are so grief-stricken by his death, you decide to fuck his wife?" Michael asked. Shane went to throw a punch at Michael

"You son of-" Shane was cut off as Michael dodged and slammed his fist into Shane's face. Shane fell onto the ground

"Listen, I know you think you're the alpha dog around here, but you aren't" Michael said before he walked off angrily. There was just silence

"I think I'm gonna head off to bed" Winter said wanting to leave as soon as possible. She went to her tent and sat on her sleeping bag. Shortly after there was a figure standing outside her tent

"Can I come in?" Sam asked

"Yeah, sure" Winter said. Sam entered the tent and sat down

"Your brother is something else" Winter said. Sam pinched the bridge of his nose

"I just- I can't believe he did that.. I mean, he was right, but that definitely wasn't the time or place. God, poor Rick" Sam said

"Atleast he won't accidentally find out later" Winter said. Sam's eyes widened as he went to pull something out of his pocket. Winter looked at him curiously

"I, uh.. I got you something" He said as he pulled out a necklace with a star pendant. Winter smiled as she stared at it

"I really like it. You got that for me?" She asked as she looked him in the eyes. His cheeks were starting to turn pink

"I- uh.. saw it.. and I thought you would like it.." Sam said as he looked away. He bit his lip nervously. Winter took the necklace and put it on

"How does it look?" She asked him. He looked at her with a smile

"It looks great" He said. She put her hand on the star pendant and held it

"Thank you, Sam" Winter said with a smile. The two stared at each other. They had gotten lost in each other's eyes. Then suddenly, Winter moved closer to Sam. He was starting to get really nervous. Winter believed that she would always stay just friends with Sam out of fear of rejection. However, that didn't seem to appear in her mind at that moment

"Sam.." Winter said as her face got really close to his. Sam was losing his shit internally. He had quite literally stopped functioning

"I.. uh.." Sam began

"Hey, Winter, have you seen Sam? I can't find my kn- Oh. Oh.. well I found Sam" The two heard Michael say as he was staring at them from outside the tent. Winter's eyes went wide as she quickly backed away. She felt her face burning with embarrassment. Sam was just stuck there

"Sam, where's my knife? Sam? Hello? Are you there buddy?" Michael asked as he snapped his fingers in front of Sam's face. Sam suddenly looked at Michael

"I- I don't know where your knife is" Sam said still freaking out

"Well, come help me find it" Michael said before he dragged Sam out

October 24th, 2010

Morning had arrived and Winter sat up. She then exited her tent

"Oh, you're awake, Winter. Hurry over, the food is still warm" Amy said. Winter walked over and grabbed a plate of beans. There was nothing like canned beans for breakfast. Winter looked over to see that Shane and Michael were having a glaring contest. Then she turned to see that Rick and Lori were interacting normally. I mean, Winter couldn't fault Lori. She truly believed her husband was dead, and was probably desperate to feel something. Winter then turned to see Sam approaching her. She smiled at him, pretending like their awkward encounter did not happen last night

"Hey, Sam" She said

"Um, hey Winter" He said as he stood beside her. His hands were in his pocket. Winter stared at him confused

"Do you need something?" Winter asked

"I actually wanted to.. you know what, never mind. Forget about it. I was about to say something really stupid" Sam said

"No, no.. you can tell me" Winter said. Sam started to get really nervous again. Honestly Winter found it really cure

"I.. uh wanted to say-" Sam was cut off by kids yelling

"Mom!" Carl yelled

"Carl?" Lori asked. It had gotten everyone's attention. They all ran into the woods

"Dad!" Carl yelled

"Baby!" Lori yelled

"Mama! Mommy!" Sophia yelled. Winter was one of those running into the forest. Michael and Sam weren't that far behind her

"Rick!" Glenn yelled before tossing a weapon towards Rick. Rick caught it and kept running

"Carl! Carl! Baby!" Lori yelled. They arrived to see Jacqui with the kids. They both rushed to their parents. Rick, Winter, and the Murray Brothers went ahead along with some others. They stopped when they saw a walker eating a deer. Shane had his gun aimed at the walker. Daryl's arrows were on that deer. Everyone just crowded around the walker until it finally noticed them. The walker stood up and went to attack Rick. He used his weapon and smacked the walker with it but it didn't kill it. Shane then hit the walkers with his gun. Then, all of the guys with the exception of Sam began beating the walker. They were hitting everywhere except for the head

"Um, you guys know you have to hit the head to kill a walker, right?" Sam asked

"I forgot" Michael yelled before he slammed his foot down onto the walker's skull. It cracked, and the walker went still

"It's the first one we've had up here. They never come this far up the mountain" Dale said

"Well, they're running out of food in the city, that's what" Jim said. Then they all heard a branch snap. Everyone was on guard and went to check it out but it ended up being just Daryl Dixon. He saw the deer

"Son of a bitch. That's my deer! Look at it. All gnawed on by this.. filthy, disease-bearing, motherless poxy bastard!" Daryl yelled as he kicked the dead walker

"Calm down, son. That's not helping" Dale said. Daryl approached him

"What do you know about it, old man? Why don't you take that stupid hat and go back to 'On Golden Pond'? I've been tracking this deer for miles. Gonna drag it back to camp, cook us up some venison" Daryl said

"The walker contaminated that thing" Winter said

"We could cut around it" Daryl said

"I would not risk that" Shane said

"That's a damn Shane. I got some squirrel- about a dozen or so. That'll have to do" Daryl said before he walked back to camp. The others followed

"Merle! Merle! Get your ugly ass out here! I got us some squirrel! Let's stew 'em up" Daryl said. Winter wondered who would break the news to the Dixon

"Daryl, just slow up a bit. I need to talk to you" Shane said. Daryl stopped and looked over at Shane, who was currently approaching him

"About what?" Daryl asked

"About Merle. There was a- there was a problem in Atlanta" Shane said. Everyone was watching the conversation

"He dead?" Daryl asked

"We're not sure" Shane said

"He either is or he ain't!" Daryl said

"No easy way to say this, so I'll just say it" Rick said as he approached Daryl

"Who are you?" Daryl asked

"Rick Grimes" He said

"Rick Grimes, you got something you want to tell me?" Rick asked

"Your brother was a danger to us all, so I handcuffed him on a roof, hooked him to a piece of metal. He's still there" Rick said

"Hold on. Let me process this. You're saying you handcuffed my brother to a roof and you left him there?!" Daryl yelled as his eyes got watery

"Yeah" Rick said. Daryl threw his squirrels at Rick but Rick dodged. Shane then tackled Daryl. Shane got off Daryl, and Daryl pulled out a knife. Winter backed up as Daryl began to swing it around. Then, Shane got his arm around Daryl's neck as Rick took his knife

"You'd best let me go!" Daryl yelled

"Nah, I think it's better if I don't" Shane said as he was choke holding Daryl

"Choke hold's illegal" Daryl said

"You can file a complaint. Come on, man. We'll keep this up all day" Shane said

"I'd like to have a calm discussion on this topic. Do you think we can manage that? Do you think we can manage that?" Rick asked Daryl. Shane let Daryl go and he fell to the ground. Rick and Shane then made awkward eye contact

"What I did was not on a whim. Your brother does not work and play well with others" Rick said

"It's not Rick's fault. I had the key. I dropped it" T-Dog said

'"You couldn't pick it up?" Daryl asked

"Well, I dropped it in a drain" T-Dog said. Daryl took a moment before standing up. He had some dirt in his hand

"If it's supposed to make me feel better, it don't" Daryl said as he threw the dirt back to the ground

"Well, maybe this will. Look, I chained the door to the roof- so the geeks couldn't get at him- with a padlock" T-Dog said

"It's gotta count for something" Rick said. Daryl wiped his tears

"Hell with all y'all! Just tell me where he is so's I can go get him" Daryl said

"He'll show you. Isn't that right?" Lori asked

"I'm going back" Rick said as Daryl walked off. Rick then walked off. Winter sat down as Carl ran up to her. He had some weeds in his hands

"Um, I picked these flowers for you" Carl said with a smile. Winter felt her heart melt at the yellow dandelions. Sure they weren't flowers, but she understood what he meant

"Aw, that's so sweet, Carl. Thank you" Winter said. Carl turned to Sam with a smug grin on his face. Sam just stared shock. He was getting outdone by a 12 year-old. Then, Carl noticed the necklace Winter had been wearing

"Where'd you get that?" Carl asked. Winter smiled

"Sam gave it to me" Winter said. Carl and Sam made eye contact once again, except Sam was the one with the smug smile. Carl's face turned into one of anger

"I won't let you win!" Carl yelled before he ran off. Winter held her dandelions. Rick and Shane had come back and they were currently arguing

"Well, I- I don't, okay, Rick? So could you just- could you throw me a bone here, man? Could you just tell me why? Why would you risk your life for a douche bag like Merle Dixon?" Shane asked

"Hey, choose your words more carefully" Daryl said

"No, I did. Douche bag's what I meant. Merle Dixon- the guy wouldn't give you a glass of water if you were dying of thirst" Shane said

"What he would or wouldn't do doesn't interest me. I can't let a man die of thirst- me. Thirst and exposure. We left him like an animal caught in a trap. That's no way for anything to die, let alone a human being" Rick said. Winter believed he should just rot up there

"So you and Daryl, that's your big plan?" Lori asked Rick. Rick turned to Glenn

"Oh, come on" Glenn said

"You know the way. You've been there before- in and out, no problem. You said so yourself. It's not fair of me to ask- I know that- but I'd feel a lot better with you along. I know she would too" Rick said

"That's just great. Now you're gonna risk three men, huh?" Shane asked

"Four" T-Dog said. Daryl scoffed

"My day just gets better and better, don't it?" Daryl asked

"You see anybody else here stepping up to save your brother's cracker ass?" T-Dog asked

"Why you?" Daryl asked

"You wouldn't even begin to understand. You don't speak my language" T-Dog said

"That's four" Dale said

"It's not just four. You're putting every single one of us at risk. Just know that, Rick. Come on, you saw that walker. It was here. It was in camp. They're moving out of the cities. They come back, we need every able body we've got. We need 'em here. We need 'em to protect camp" Shane said

"It seems to me what you really need most here are more guns" Rick said. Winter assumed they were keeping this thing behind closed doors but you could see the hurt and betrayal in Rick's eyes

"Right, the guns" Glenn said

"Wait. What guns?" Shane asked

"Six shotguns, two high-powered rifles, over a dozen handguns. I cleaned out the cage back at the station before I left. I dropped the bag in Atlanta when I got swarmed. It's just sitting there on the street, waiting to be picked up" Rick said

"Ammo?" Shane asked

"700 rounds, assorted" Rick said

"That's a lot of fucking rounds" Michael said

"You went through hell to find us. You just got here and you're gonna turn around and leave?" Lori asked

"Dad, I don't want you to go" Carl said

"To hell with the guns. Shane is right. Merle Dixon? He's not worth one of your lives, even with guns thrown in. Tell me. Make me understand" Lori said as Rick approached her

"I owe a debt to a man I met and his little boy. Lori, if they hadn't taken me in, I'd have died. It's because of them that I made it back to you at all. They said they'd follow me to Atlanta. They'll walk into the same trap I did if I don't warn him" Rick said

"What's stopping you?" Lori asked

"The walkie-talkie, the one in the bag I dropped. He's got the other one. Our plan was to connect when they got closer" Rick said

"These are our walkies?" Shane asked

"Yeah" Rick said

"So use the C.B.. what's wrong with that?" Andrea asked

"Aren't they from a small county? Their walkies can probably only hear certain bandwidths" Sam said

"He's right. They don't even hear the scanners in our cars" Shane said

"I need that bag" Rick said before he went to Carl. Soon after, the four left. Time passed and Winter was helping Andrea, Amy, Jacqui and Carol with washing the clothes. Shane was teaching Carl how to catch frogs. Sam was with Lori, who was picking up sticks, and Michael was talking it up with Dale. Shane began splashing the water

"They're coming, little man! Get 'em! Get that net in there and get 'em!" Shane yelled as Carl tried to catch frogs

"I'm beginning to question the division of labor here" Jacqui said

"You're telling me" Winter said

"Can someone explain to me how the women would up doing all the Hattie McDaniel work?" Jacqui asked

"The world ended. Didn't you get the memo?" Amy asked

"It's just the way it is" Carol said. They girls were scrubbing the clothes as they did their best to wash them

"I do miss my maytag" Carol said

"I miss my Benz, my sat nav" Andrea said

"I miss my coffeemaker with that dual-drip filter and built-in grinder, honey" Jacqui said

"I miss my DS" Winter said

"Is that one of those new systems? Sophia kept asking for one" Carol said

"Yeah, it's a handheld" Winter responded

"My computer.. and texting" Amy said

"I miss my vibrator" Andrea said which caught everyone off guard. Jacqui gave her a smug look

"Oh!" Jacqui said as they all began to laugh

"Oh my God!" Amy said. Carol looked at her husband Ed before looking back at the others

"Me too" Carol said. Winter covered her mouth as she busted out laughing. The others were doing the same

"What's so funny?" Ed asked as he smoked a cigarette. He was approaching the group of girls

"Just swapping war stories, Ed" Andrea said. He walked right behind Carol. Winter felt her adrenaline start pumping. She didn't like Ed and she didn't want to be around him. He made her fight or flight instincts kick in

"Problem, Ed?" Andrea asked

"Nothin' that concerns you. And you ought to focus on your own work. This ain't no comedy club" Ed said. Andrea stood up

"Ed, tell you what- you don't like how your laundry is done, you are welcome to pitch in and do it yourself. Here" Andrea said as she tossed a wet shirt at Ed. Ed tossed it back with force which hit Andrea in the face. Winter stood up

"Oh!" Andrea said

"Ain't my job, missy" Ed said. Amy got up and put her hand on Andrea's shoulder

"Andrea, don't" Amy said but Andrea didn't listen

"What is your job, Ed? Sitting on your ass smoking cigarettes?" Andrea asked

"Well, it sure as hell ain't listening to some uppity smart-mouthed bitch. Tell you what- come on. Let's go" Ed told Carol. She immediately got up. Winter grabbed Carol's arm

"I don't think she needs to go anywhere with you, Ed" Andrea said

"And I say it's none of your business. Come on now. You heard me" Ed said. Carol went to go but Winter pulled her back

"You don't have to go if you don't want to" Winter told her

"Winter, please. It doesn't matter" Carol said. Ed looked at Winter

"Hey, don't think I won't knock you on your ass just 'cause you're some college girl, all right? Now you come on now or you gonna regret it later" Ed said

"So she can show up with fresh bruises later, Ed? Yeah, we've seen them" Jacqui spoke up

"Stay out of this. Now come on!" Ed said

"She's not going with you" Winter said

"You know what? This ain't none of y'all's business. You don't want to keep prodding the bull here, okay? Now I am done talking. Come on" Ed said as he grabbed Carol's arm

"No, no. Carol, you don't have-" Andrea said. Carol muttered something and it set Ed off

"You dont tell me what! I tell you what!" Ed said before he slapped Carol across the face. Winter's eyes went wide as Andrea caught Carol. Winter began pushing him back as everyone was screaming

"Get your hands off of me, you bitch!" Ed yelled before he slapped Winter. Winter looked at him in shock before she slapped him right back

"You fucking bitch, you're gonna regret that!" Ed yelled before Shane came over and dragged Ed off. Shane threw him to the ground. Winter put her hand up to her stinging face. Shane then got on one knee and started beating the shit out of Ed. Winter wasn't going to do anything about it. Ed's face was all bloody. Carol was sobbing

"Shane, stop! Just stop!" Amy yelled

"Stop it! Stop!" Carol cried

"You put your hands on your wife, your little girl or anybody else in this camp one more time, I will not stop next time. Do you hear me? Do you hear me?" Shane asked as he got up in Ed's face

"Yes" Ed slurred

"I'll beat you to death, Ed" Shane said

"Ed!" Carol cried as Shane punched Ed once more. Shane then stood up and kicked him. Carol ran to Ed

"Ed, I'm sorry" Carol cried. The other girls stared at Shane like he had just done the worst thing possible which she didn't understand. Shane walked off. Winter felt a liquid on her thumb. She pulled her hand away from her face as saw blood. Ed had busted her lip

(4518 words)
11/24/22