I'm with You

A month had passed and I was still with the group. I slowly began gaining each of their trust once again. I would never fully trust them, but I was alright with that. I've became less bitchy to them and actually began joining their conversations. The only person in the group I haven't talked to was Daryl. I was quite amazed at how he hasn't bothered me.

We were still always on the move. Once we thought we had a safe place to stay, walkers would show up and run us out. So far we have stayed in three houses, an empty post office, a hotel, and of course the side of the road which is where we were once again.

I was feeling much better. Most of my bruises have faded and I was healing faster since I didn't do much. My ankle was still swollen and would ache, but I had painkillers thanks to Maggie and Glenn. I never did have Hershel check me out to see if I was seriously injured, but it didn't matter. If I was, I was sure that I would know it.

I pulled my dark blue blanket around me tighter as the cool, late November air hit my skin. I still needed a jacket, which was why I was going on a run today with Maggie, Glenn, Rick, T-Dog, and Daryl. Rick was hesitant at first when I said I was going, but he agreed knowing that it was my choice.

"Everyone ready?" Rick asked as he got in the driver's seat of the car. T-Dog was in the passenger seat while Maggie, Glenn and I sat in the back. Daryl was taking his motorcycle. We all either said yes or nodded our heads.

The plan for today was to get anything we needed, especially if it kept us warmer. The small fire and blankets only did so much and winter was right around the corner. I was the only one who didn't have a jacket or long sleeves, so I was always colder than the rest. They asked if I wanted a jacket, but I always said no.

We went to a small shopping center that was only ten minutes from our campsite. The others had checked it out yesterday when checking out the small town and getting some food. Rick split us up into two groups; Maggie, Glenn, and I were one group while T-Dog, Daryl, and Rick were the other. Our group was going towards the clothing sections to see what we could find. The other group would be getting groceries and anything else they could find.

Maggie and I were in the women's clothing while Glenn searched through the men's. What clothing that was left was all summer clothes. None of it was even in my size. We went over to the boy's section to try and find Carl anything he might wear. We had no luck there either.

"Find anything?" Maggie asked Glenn as we walked up to him.

"Just a pair of jeans." He held up the jeans to show us.

"Too bad I ain't a baby. There is plenty of that shit." I mumbled, quite disappointed in our findings.

We headed through different isles trying to find anything useful. This store was almost empty besides having huge items that we could never use. Most of it was electronics, which was amazing since nobody thought to take any of it when everything began to happen. Most stores I had been in had no electronics left in the entire store.

After finding only a box of matches, we went back to the front to meet Rick and his group. They had the same luck that we did in finding anything useful. They at least had some food. We got back in the car before heading back to camp.

"We need somewhere to stay that's inside." Hershel spoke as we all sat around the campfire that night.

"It's getting fucking cold." I mumbled as I pulled the second blanket I had on around me tighter.

"We'll go look for somewhere tomorrow." Rick announced. I knew that he worried about Lori, Carl, and everyone else being out in the cold. It was just a matter of time before someone got sick.

Everyone began going to sleep, so I fixed my third blanket that was on the dirt covered ground near the fire. I then laid down on my pillow and pulled my blankets over me even more. I was the only one that had a blanket to lay on to keep me from the cold ground. I was also the only one with a pillow.

We have all been sleeping by the campfire for the past few days. The cars were parked around us so that they blocked most of the cool wind. It kept us a bit warmer, but not as well as being inside somewhere would.

Looking through the fire I saw Lori and Carl laying down on the other side. Maggie and Glenn were to the right of me while Hershel, Carol, and Beth were to my left. T-Dog, Daryl, and Rick were on watch. I don't think the three of them have slept in two days, but I didn't exactly want to volunteer or say anything about it.

I closed my eyes and listened to the cackling of the fire. There wasn't any other noises except for the sounds of footsteps every once in a while from one of the guys on watch. It still bothered me some by how silent it could be. I was slowly getting use to it though. At least the silence made it easier to sleep.

Morning came and I was ready to go. Today had to be the day we found somewhere safe to stay for at least a month. I don't know what I would do if it began to snow. I guess I would most likely freeze to death.

"What's the plan?" I asked Rick as we walked towards the cars.

"Drive until we find somewhere safe." Rick told me.

"That's the plan?" I frowned. He asked if I had any better ideas. "What about the town we were in yesterday? Any houses, hotels, schools, jails, banks, apartments, anywhere that would be safe?" He began explaining that most had walkers around and it didn't seem the safest. I let out a sigh knowing that we would be driving for awhile.