Atlanta

"Disoriented. I guess that comes close. "

We were all gathered around the campfire once more, everyone this time. We had soup and crackers and cheese to keep our stomachs full while those that were gone filled everyone in. Those that were reuinted clung to each other, and fearing the feeling myself, I had reacted the same way with Danielle next to me. Rick went first, explaining what it was like for him waking up in the hospital. He had explained that when he was shot, he did go into a coma, but he didn't die. He awoke months later, in the middle of it all. He awoke to devastation, emptiness, the dead everywhere. I didn't even want to imagine how that would have felt, so I spent most of the time clinging onto Danielle. She was like my Lori, my Carl - my Andrea. He finished it by thanking Shane, though he admitted he couldn't thank him enough. I seemed to be the only one to notice the glances between him and Lori, and the suspicion in my veins only grew. This was definitely what Lori was keeping from me.

A crackling behind us drew attention to the fire behind us, which was now bigger, and producing much more heat. Like I wasn't already hot enough.

"Hey Ed?" Shane called out, and I realised the big guy lounging selfishly was Ed, Carol's husband. Shane asked him to lower the flames, but he merely responded with "It's cold." I didn't know who this guy was, but there was something about him that made me unsure. Why was he so willing to endanger the rest of the group, his family, just for selfish reasons? Why did he talk back to Shane like that unecessarily? Maybe the guy was just a dick. "Cold don't change the rules, Ed."

"Why don't you keep your nose out of our business for once?" I saw Carol and Sophia shift uncomfortably in their seats, probably wishing that they weren't where they were at that moment. I heard Shane stand up and move towards them, but I wasn't in the mood for more depression. I was too exhausted, instead, I just stared at the ground, wondering what the next few weeks would bring.

"So who are these two then?" I looked up, knowing Rick was referring to Dani and I. "And where did all this food come from?" Andrea, T-Dog, Jacqui, Morales and Glenn had their eyes on me, maybe they hadn't noticed me before, or maybe they were suspicious.

"We could kill two birds with one stone with that one for ya." Dale spoke up, flashing a warm smile towards us. I began to take a liking to Dale - he acted like the father of the group, and as much as that probably annoyed most people, it made me feel even more comfortable here.

"They're Michelle and Danielle, they're from Scotland." Shane explained, and they looked at us both, puzzled and with furrowed eyebrows. "They brought this food."

"All of this?" T-Dog asked exasperatedly, gesturing toward the food supplies next to Dale's RV. "How in the hell?" I smiled weakly.

"Long story short. We ransacked a warehouse, stole a plane and flew over here. Well, we were headed for Alaska, but the plane ran out of fuel, and we didn't really have much choice." They each gave me reassuring smiles, but Rick's was one of sympathy.

"I'm sorry I have to tell you this, but there's absoloutely no chance of you getting to Alaska at this rate." As much as I knew it was true, I couldn't admit it, but now that Rick had just clarified it, it made it even more real. I gripped Dani's hand tighter, hearing her silent sobs and feeling her shaky breaths.

"So what happened with Merle?" Those that were on the run (as Amy had called it) shied back in not only fear, but shame. T-Dog and Rick's heads sank.

"You given any thought to Daryl Dixon? He won't be too happy to hear that his brother was left behind," Dale mentioned, and there was a harsh silence.

"I'll tell him. I dropped the key. It's on me," T-Dog admitted, Rick shook his head.

"I cuffed him. That makes him mine."

"Guys, guys, it's not a competition. I don't wanna seem racist, but...it might sound better coming from a white guy." Glenn glanced between them, and T-Dog kept the same solemn expression.

"I did what I did. Hell if i'm gonna hide from it."

"We could always lie," Amy suggested, but the guys were having none of it. Andrea put her opinion forward.

"We tell them the truth. Merle was out of control - something had to be done about him or he would've gotten us killed." She looked over to Rick. "What you did was necessary, and if Merle got left behind it was nobody's fault."

"And that's what we tell Daryl?" Dale asked exasperatedly. That was a fair point. Try explaining to a guy that everyone hates your brother, and left him in a deserted city handcuffed to a roof. "I don't see a rational discussion from that, do you?"

"He's got a fair point." I said suddenly. Part of me wished I hadn't interjected - this wasn't my group. I had only arrived the day before, and we barely knew each other. However, I decided that if I was going to be here for a while, I should start taking part in things. "Andrea, imagine that happened to Amy." Andrea took a deep breath and held her little sister tightly to her. "But Andrea's right too. I've heard plenty about Merle since I came here, and i'm not one to judge, but I don't like the sound of this guy. I'd rather not be around him." Everyone was quiet for a minute, considering my point.

"You're right Michelle. But word to the wise: we're gonna have our hands full when Daryl gets back." There was more silence, until T-Dog confessed again.

"I was scared. I ran."

"We were all scared, we all ran." Andrea pointed out. "What's your point?"

"I stopped long enough to chain the door, and lock the padlock. Maybe 10 or 12 geeks could fit in that staircase, push against it, but they won't get through. My point, Dixon's alive. And he's still up there, handcuffed on that roof." I exhaled slowly, suddenly feeling sick at the thought at what could have happened if T-Dog hadn't chained the door. The group remained in silence, before T-Dog got to his feet and left for his tent. Everyone else began to leave one at a time, and eventually Dani and I stood up.

"Goodnight." Everyone nodded in reply, and retired.

*~*

"Is it bad that i'm quite glad that Merle never made it back to camp?" Dani confessed as she folded her clothes into piles. I sat in the corner of the tent, fiddling with the necklace that my dad gave me. Usually I didn't pay much attention to it; after my dad died, I tried to distance myself from the memory of either of my parents, and prove to myself that I could live without them. But now that I was in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by strangers, knowing that I could die at any minute - I treasured it.

"I'm the same. I just wish it wasn't such a cruel punishment." I flicked the crotchet pendant and looked up at her. She finished her last pile, and was now organising her toiletries next to her clothes. "Didn't you do all that yesterday?" She glanced up at me and chuckled lightly.

"Just fixing it." I nodded - she was so predictable.

"I tried to do it yesterday, but I just suck at organising things." She just laughed and shook her head, probably thinking the same that I had. We both knew each other too well everything was predictable.

"I'm nervous to see how his brother will react." I nodded solemnly and sighed.

"I can only imagine how he'd feel," I breathed, not really wanted to think about it. We went quiet for a while, doing our own things, before a thought hit me. "I wonder what Daryl's like. Do you think he'll be like his brother?" Dani shrugged, but didn't look up.

"Maybe a little, from how everyone else is talking aboot him. But I don't know, I doubt it." I considered this, and decided that it was enough to go on. I smiled in thanks to Dani and put my hand on her shoulder as I left her tent.

"See you in the morning."

"Night Elle."