HUNGER was the only thing Nellie could feel at the moment, gnawing away at her intestines and driving her close to pure madness. She began to feel paranoid that her stomach would begin to eat itself.

She was only twenty years old and the world was already ending. Nellie had fully expected it too but she thought she would at least get to drink the oncoming apocalypse away once she turned twenty one.

Sure she could technically still drink but it felt weird to do so since she wasn't twenty one yet.

Nellie begrudgingly headed out of the bedroom. Her brown hair was all frizzy thanks to the humidity.

She hears Morgan talking downstairs and she heads down to see whom he was talking too.

"Morgan?" She called out quietly.

"We got a visitor Nellie, no need to panic," He replied softly yet his voice was tinted with its usual sternness.

Nellie furrowed her eyebrows together at that but she headed down the rest of the steps and spotted the pale man, short facial hair covering his face.

"They get more active after night sometimes," Morgan told the mystery man.

Nellie headed over to Duane's side, sitting beside the younger boy. Patting his back gently in greeting.

Nellie had been with the two since the beginning of the apocalypse.

"Eat," Morgan reprimands the girl. Looking at her pointedly while simultaneously pointing a finger at the girl.

She rolls her eyes but does as she's told. Beginning to softly eat the canned remains.

Morgan had taken care of her ever since the beginning of it all, which she could not begin to repay.

Her eyes fluttered, showing the stranger and the rest of the tables occupants just how tired she still was.

"I'll take the night shift tonight," Morgan said while eyeing her sleepy look.

Nellie nodded at his words. "Thank you," she softly uttered.

Morgan simply nodded and turned his attention back to their new resident.

"We take turns takin' the night shift, make sure none of em' can get the drop on us." Morgan informed the bandaged man.

"Maybe it's the cool air that makes em' more active at night or— hell maybe it was just me firing that gun today," Morgan sighed out.

Duane was vaguely paying attention but he kept nudging the twenty year old beside him, to keep her from falling asleep and face planting into her food.

"—But we'll be fine, as long as we stay quiet." Morgan stresses, giving Nellie a pointed look. She raised her hands in mock surrender. At the beginning of all the craziness Nellie had, had the hardest time out of all of them, keeping quiet.

"They'll probably wander off by morning," Morgan finished saying.

"But listen, one thing I do know," Morgan began, pausing dramatically before speaking again. "Don't you get bit. I saw your bandage and that's what we were afraid of earlier, bites kill you. The fever burns you out but then after while... You come back," Morgan said.

"Seen it happen," Duane spoke up sullenly. Looking down at his plate sadly.

Nellie placed a hand on his shoulder and rubbed it, in a form of comfort.

Nellie gazed up curiously at the new man but made no move to speak to him.

They all began to eat. A while later she layed comfortably, draped across the bed with Duane on her other side.

Morgan was sat on the couch beside Rick, carefully examining the two. As if he was afraid something would jump out and bite them.

He finally tore his gaze away from the two sleeping figures and looked at Rick.

"Carl— He your son?" He inquired. His eyes flitting from Ricks face to the two lying on the mattress.

Rick turned to him as Morgan continued, making sure to keep his voice down in case any walkers might overhear.

"You said his name today," Morgan informed him, carefully gauging Rick's reaction.

"He's umm, a little younger than your boy," Rick told him gently with soft nods to himself. Almost like the nods were some kind of a comfort.

"And he's with his mother?" Morgan asked, titling his head in curiosity.

"I hope so." Is all Rick replied with. Not allowing himself to think of the potential alternative.

"Nellie?" Duane whispered and she peeled her tired eyes open as the two other men turned their gazes to them.

"Mhm?" She hummed, acknowledging the boy.

"Did my dad ask him yet?" He asked quietly, but then again the kid was an atrocious whisperer.

Nellie let out a soft chuckle, as did Morgan at the innocent question.

"Your gunshot wound, We've got a bet going— my boy says you're a bank robber," He asked.

"I think you got mugged," Nellie excitedly interjected.

Rick let out a breathy laugh. Thinking she was way too excited with the prospect of him getting mugged. Sitting up slightly to readjust his position before answering their questions.

"Yeah, that's me. The deadliest dilanger at the pow..." He chuckled.

"But umm, nah. I'm the sheriffs deputy." Rick countered his own statement after the joke with the truth.

"Uh- huh," Morgan replied with a small nod.

A car alarm suddenly sounded, startling the younger boy completely out of his sleepy haze.

Duane practically jumped out of his skin and Nellie was quick to try and comfort him. Wrapping her arms around him. "Hey, it's nothing. Relax," She softly whispered.

He looked at her with pure fear in his eyes which saddened her greatly.

He's a kid, he should give her that look over the monsters in his closet or under his bed. Not the ones standing right outside.

Rick sat up straight, confused as to what was happening. While Morgan made his way over to his son to take over the role of comforting the boy.

Nellie shifts uncomfortably at the sounds that resonated from the walkers outside.

She places a hand on her belt, which had a slim hammer hooked onto it. She has been using the hammer to fight the walkers, relentlessly bashing their heads in. Nellie had thought for roughly three days before naming it skull cracker.

Nellie got up while Morgan took her spot. She trailed after Rick, who was heading to the covered windows.

She watched tentatively as he peeled one of the sheets back slightly to get a glimpse outside.

After all she didn't know if he was truly trustworthy yet. He may not have been bitten but that didn't mean he wasn't a little bitch.

"Nellie," Morgan whispered and she nodded heading over to make sure Rick didn't draw attention to them.

They glanced out the window as Walkers stumbled about. She pulled Rick back gently by his shoulder when she saw the walkers getting too close for comfort.

Rick glanced at her and she gave him a short lived attempt at a smile.

Rick gives a strained one back and she whispered "Don't bother, it's fine." Trying to let him know it was alright if he wasn't in the mood to smile.

He gives a grateful nod before turning back to peak through more carefully.

Duane begins to cry thinking of his mother who had turned not too long ago.

Morgan is quick to give him a pillow to cry into and try to coax him to relax with soft nothings.

Rick moves to the door and stares through the peep hole.

Nellie shifts anxiously from one foot to the other.

Rick notices the soft movement behind him and takes a step back so she'll feel more comfortable.

She smiles, Nellie liked smiling even if there wasn't much reason to anymore.

Nellie walks away to go upstairs and make sure none of the walkers got to close to the house by peeking through the window.

After a while she comes down and Morgan takes her spot for watch.

She carefully descends the creaking wooden steps.

She sits with Rick. "So you woke up today?" She softly inquired.

He looks at her before nodding slowly.

"Must've been scary," she stated, rubbing her cold hands together.

He chuckles as he thought about what he had gone through so far that day. "Yeah..."

"Morgan says you woke up in a hospital?" She asked him.

Rock nods. "I've been in a coma these last few months thanks to that bullet wound I got on duty," he grumbled slightly.

There was a pause.

"Is it wrong to say that I kinda wish you got mugged?" She asked after a moment.

Rick let out a breathy laugh. "Why's that?"

"Seems to make more interesting conversation," She shrugged in reply.

"Plus it seems more normal than anything does nowadays," Nellie tells Rick on the more depressing side of things. Rick nods along as she spoke.

"Yeah it's a little boring... borderline dull," Rick agreed.

"I'm not so sure... I could've sworn I saw a walker with a shirt on that said 'bite me' the other day," She said pretending to have to recall it deep from in her memories.

Rick chuckled. "Ironic huh," He mumbled.

"Yeah. My old English teacher would've loved to make us write an essay on it," Nellie told him.

Rick cracked a slight smile but it was still weak like earlier.

"So uh... is Morgan your dad or uncle?" Rick asked curious as to how they knew one another.

"Oh No, no. We're not related," She denies gently, making some hand gestures. Rick noticed she made those often.

"So why are you here then? Did they hit you over the head with a shovel too?" Rick joked lightly.

"Actually no they didn't," Nellie told him.

Rick gave her a slightly surprised look. "Well dang. I sure am jealous of your greeting compared to mine," he offered. She laughed quietly.

"I was uhh... I was babysitting Duane when this all started. Morgan had just gotten back with Jenny." Nellie said.

"I remember opening the front door for them and then out of nowhere the first walker we'd ever encountered came and took a bite out of Jenny's arm— Jenny was Morgan's wife," She informed Rick slowly, as if needing to process it as she spoke aloud to him, her background.

"She got infected and eventually got sick..." Nellie trailed off slightly as she remembered how they had to let her go. Rick nodded as she trailed off, noticing how this was hard for her.

He presumed anyone he would be meeting post apocalypse would remember where they had been when it all began, they'd probably be sad over the memory as well. Longing for a the simplicity of the time before, he knew he did.

"You already know my story," Rick gently reminded as he didn't know what else to say, he wasn't great at comfort.

"Mhm. So I'll uh... I'll show you to your room for tonight. Come on," Nellie said standing.

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