Starting Over...

"A little tighter."

I squinted into the bright summer sun and looked up at Glenn, who had just called down to me. He was propped up against the fence on a tall ladder, dangerously close to the barbed wire.

I was standing on the ground below him, tightening a thick bungee cord around a rusted part of the metal links. They looked worn and brittle, like they'd snap under anymore pressure.

"How's that?" I asked Glenn as I held the bungee cord in place.

I waited for his approval before I latched the cord. Glenn shook the fence and listened for any rattling. The cord held strong and the fence barely budged, so Glenn gave me a thumbs up.

I quickly latched the bungee cord together before I lost my grip on it, then lowered my hands and backed away. As Glenn climbed down from the ladder, I nodded at our team work.

"Seems pretty solid." I observed.

"Yup, I think that should hold." Glenn agreed while wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Nice job."

He grinned his adorable little grin and held up his hand, and I slapped it in a high five.

"You two finished?" Rick's voice hollered out suddenly from across the lot, where he was working on a few bullet-proof areas with T-Dog, Danny, Zach and Daryl. Glenn and I turned in his direction.

"All patched up!" Glenn called out as he cupped his left hand around his mouth.

"Alright," Rick replied, "Then the hard part's done. Come on inside, I got somethin' to tell everyone."

I looked at Glenn quizically, and he just shrugged. He was as clueless as I was. So, I followed him across the lot and through the cafeteria door.

Everyone was already seated at the tables, except for Rick, who was standing at the front of the group, waiting patiently. Glenn and I sat at a table to his right, joining Maggie and Hershel. They, along with all the others, looked just as confused as I felt.

"What's goin' on, Rick?" Daryl asked.

"Nothing serious," Rick assured the group, "I just have a little announcement."

The room was quiet for a moment, we all simply waited for him to go on. He strolled over to a big steel door on the righthand wall.

"I was going to wait until tomorrow night to do this," Rick began as he fiddled with his keys, "But I think two days is long enough."

I watched as Rick unlocked the steel door and pulled it open, then ducked inside for a second. My stomach fluttered when he came back out holding the make-shift sack Daryl had made that held all our weapons, as well as Michonne's sheathed sword.

Rick tossed the sword to Michonne, who caught it gracefully.

"We've gotten some good information, and lots of help reinforcing this prison. The six of you have proved to me that you want to be part of our group... So its done. Welcome aboard."

Rick set the sack of weapons on the ground, and then motioned for Tina, Zach, Danny, Jessie and I to come claim them.

It felt like we were contestants on The Price is Right, and Bob Barker had just told us to come on dooooown!

We rushed up from our seats and gathered around Rick as he used his razor sharp hunting knife to cut the weapons free.

The sight of our guns, knives and ammo was like a treasure chest full of gold and jewels. Rick stepped back and Zach took his place, sorting through the weapons and passing them out to each of us.

First, he handed Tina her two daggers, her small pistol and her shotgun.

Then Jessie received her metal baseball bat, along with her 9 mm revolver.

Danny didn't wait for Zach and simply reached into the pile, snatching up his machete and his automatic machine gun.

Finally, my brother handed me my sheathed army knife, my two pistols, and my AK-47. I could feel my smile glowing as I hoisted the AK over my shoulder, fastened the pistols to my hips and strapped the knife to my thigh over my jeans.

I had felt so naked and unprotected without all my weapons. Now that I had them back, I felt like myself again.

As I passed my smile around to my group, I could tell they felt just the same as I did. Rick welcomed us while patting our shoulders and shaking our hands, which started a series of hugs between us.

When I released Tina from my embrace and turned to Danny, his tight embrace lingered around my shoulders. I wiggled a bit, but still he didn't loosen his arms.

I managed to wedge my palms between us and pushed myself away lightly. I glared up at the blonde man, as if to ask him what-the-hell?

I whirled away from Danny in a slight huff, and caught Daryl's eyes from across the room. They were stone cold and aimed at Danny in a glare. When he saw I had noticed him, though, his eyes seemed to soften just a little bit, and he looked away.

I made a puzzled face, wondering what that was about... Then, Maggie stepped in front of me with a huge grin on her face.

"I'm glad to have a few more girls around here!" She yipped excitedly while pulling me into a hug, along with Jessie, who had been standing just a few inches behind me and to my left.

When Maggie moved on to give Tina a hug, Carl rushed up to my side. His eyes were sparkling and his freckled cheeks were rosy with joy.

"Kayla, I showed my dad the locket." He informed me over the dull chatter of everyone in the cafeteria.

"Oh, yea?" I said with a smile.

Carl nodded and gave me a hug around my waist. By now the gash had almost completely healed under the bandages. Another day or so, and I wouldn't need them anymore.

"I think he needed to see it." Carl went on as he let go and looked back up at me, "It made him think... I'm pretty sure he's gonna be back to his old self again."

I reached out and squeezed Carl's shoulder. I didn't need to say anything, because as I looked over my shoulder I found myself met with Rick's gaze.

It was soft and accepting, and he smiled as he nodded at me.

I smiled back as Carl rushed off to join his dad, tackling him in a hug.

It amazed me how only a few days ago, we were all strangers, weary of the dangers the others held. But now, it felt as if we were a long, lost family, finally stitching the broken pieces back together.

xxxxxx

-A Few Days Later-

xxxxxx

Judith's cries gently woke me from my light sleep, and as my eyes cracked open I peered around the new cell I shared with Jessie.

It was just like all the others, small with a set of bunkbeds and not much else, but that was just fine for us.

I slowly sat up in my sleeping bag on the bottom bunk, careful not to disturb my best friend, who was still asleep on the top one. A few strands of her curly blonde hair flowed over the edge of the bed, and I avoided them as I stood up to stretch.

Each of our bags were slumped in the corner behind the beds. As I dropped to my knees in front of my own, I noticed Jessie's bag was unzipped. Her inhaler was laying at the very top, and I could see a red '5' on the dial. She had just a few puffs left in that inhaler, and then one more in a box underneath it.

My heart sank as I remembered my promise to her, that I would never let her run out of air... And I was going to keep that promise. I had to figure out a way to get Jessie a few more inhalers...

For now, I just focused on getting ready for the day. I ran my brush through my long hair, and changed out of my dark skinny jeans and white tank top, replacing them with my ratty looking pair of jean shorts and baggy gray t-shirt that had been found on a supply run the day before, amoung a few other articles of clothing. It read: "GCHS SHARKS" on the front in big teal block letters above an appropriate picture of a shark.

I pulled a pair of black thigh high socks up onto my legs, then slipped into a pair of old, black Chuck Taylor high tops that were just my size. Both were also in the haul of clothes from the supply run, and I had been quick to snatch them up.

I strapped all my weapons in place as quietly as possible, keeping an eye on Jessie the entire time. She was a heavy sleeper, so she never budged. I made sure I had my cigarettes and a lighter, then exited the cell.

We were on the second level, which over looked the first. Danny and Zach also shared a cell on our level, which was directly across the way, near the opposite stairwell. We liked to jokingly refer to them as "The Men's Wing" and "The Ladies Wing". It sounded classy.

As I descended the lefthand stairwell which was nearest our cell, I took a headcount of who was up and about.

I saw T-Dog first, laying on the floor doing crunches. He shifted from crunches to push ups, flashing me a nod before he began.

I waved. "Morning."

Next I saw Maggie, Carol, and Beth sitting at one of the tables. They were giggling and chatting over Judith, who giggled and cooed right back at them. She was an adorable little girl, and she was getting so big.

When Maggie's eye caught mine, she waved me over. I smiled and obliged.

"Mornin', Kayla." She greeted me, "How do you like having your own cell now?"

"Good morning, ladies." I said sweetly as I passed my eyes over each of the three. Maggie and Beth smiled warmly, but there was something about Carol's tight lipped grin that seemed... forced. "Well, it's a lot better not having to share a space with two grown men anymore."

The girls giggled. Again, it seemed like Carol was just trying to fake her way through it.

"I'll bet, I can't imagine sharin' one of these cells with a guy." Beth said with a scrunched up nose.

"I can..." Carol muttered as she fiddled with a ruffle on Judith's adorable little dress.

Beth, Maggie and I glanced over her way, but chose to ignore her comment. Instead, Maggie chose to turn the conversation in another direction.

"How's that cut on your stomach?" She asked as her peridot green eyes dropped to the hem of my t-shirt. "Did my daddy fix ya?"

I nodded and lifted the shirt just above my belly button, revealing a fresh, thin scar about four inches long.

"Yup." I said as I dropped my shirt back down, "It's pretty much healed over."

"See? Told ya he can fix anything." Maggie said to me with a cheeky smile.

I giggled and excused myself from the otherwise empty cafeteria, and headed out the door for my morning smoke. Once I walked out the door and onto the cement lot, I saw Rick, Glenn and Zach huddled by the gate. They chattered back and forth, seeming like they were planning something out.

Ever since Rick had decided we had all passed his test of trust a few days ago, he seemed to include Zach in most of his plans. He acknowledged and valued the fact that he had led our group of five since the beginning of this mess, and it made me grin because I knew how hard my brother tried for us all.

"Mornin', boys!" I called out to them as I pulled one of my Marlboro Reds from the pack and stuck it between my lips. They each turned and waved, then continued on with their conversation.

I made my way to the right, heading for the firescape I had become very familiar with. I looked down at the end of my cigarette as I walked, flicking the lighter with one hand and shielding the flame from the wind with the other.

"Hey, kid." A voice called out to me from my left, catching me off guard.

I turned and saw Daryl leaning on his elbows, looking into the engine of the old truck. Grease covered his clothes,arms, and face, smudged on his cheeks and forehead. "Gimme one'a those."

I raised my eyebrow at his demand and placed my free hand on my hip. I took a drag off my cigarette and let the smoke snake from my lips.

"Hey, grease monkey." I copped back at him, "Say please and I'll think about it."

Daryl gave me a look, and I just laughed and rolled my eyes before strolling over and holding the pack out to him. " Relax, it was a joke. Like I really expected you to say please."

We had been doing this for a day or two now, sharing the occassional cigarette in the prison lot. It was nice to have someone else to smoke with, even if it happened to be Daryl.

He ignored my comment and snatched a cigarette out of my pack, then motioned for my lighter.

"And stop calling me 'kid'!" I added in as I tossed him the lighter and pointed my finger at him, "I'm not a kid."

Daryl lit his smoke and glanced at me with raised eyebrows before grabbing ahold of a grungy wrench.

"I'm thirty-eight years old," The gruff redneck pointed out in a grunt as he started to tweak something in the engine, "An' yer twenty three... That's fifteen years' difference."

I leaned up against the side of the truck and took puffs off my cigarette, watching as Daryl's bobbed between his lips while he spoke.

"So?" I provoked while casually tapping ash onto the cement.

"So," Daryl turned to look at me and paused to take a drag of nicotine, "I was already drivin' this truck down to the corner store, behind my daddy's back, to buy baseball cards fer a nickle by the time you came along. Yer a kid, to me."

Daryl flashed me a cocky smirk, and I was thankful for the heat of the sun disguising my blushing cheeks.

That had been happening lately, when I'd catch a glimpse of his lean, toned stomach as he lifted the hood of his truck, or rare occassions like these when I'd see that smirk.

I had to constantly shake those feelings, though. This was Daryl we were talking about; the cocky, egotistical redneck who had hunted me down at bow-point just barely a week earlier. I couldn't have a crush on him.

Plus, that was so childish. A crush? That was something that was a part of the old world, not this one. I knew I couldn't control my instincts of human nature, but I could stiffle them.

There was already enough stress in my life, the last thing I needed to add to it was guy drama.

Finally, I rolled my eyes.

"Yea, yea, whatever." I scoffed, then grinned at Daryl, "I'm younger, so that only means I'm faster and stronger than you, anyways."

This caused him to full on chuckle, puffing out smoke with each breath. "Funny."

I tossed the butt of my cigarette down on the ground and stubbed it out just as Rick called over to Daryl. It caught me off guard, I had forgotten all about the little pow wow he had going on with Zach and Glenn.

"Hey, Dixon!" Rick's voice echoed across the lot, and Daryl stopped what he was doing to look at him.

Dixon...? That must have been his last name. Daryl Dixon...

"We're headin' to town again." Rick continued to holler out, "We forgot a couple things yesterday. C'mon."

Daryl grumbled something to himself before flicking the filter of his cigarette away from him. It skipped on the pavement as he wiped his hands on an already filthy rag hanging off his belt loop.

I followed behind the redneck, chattering to him as we walked.

"I'm coming with you." I insisted to him, and he just gave me a quick side glance.

"That ain't up to me." Daryl replied as we reached Zach, Glenn and Rick. "Talk to yer kin."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Danny heading over from the cafeteria, machete in hand. If he got to go, then I sure as hell would, too.

"Zach, I need to go with you." I changed gears to my brother, remembering our hand shake.

He promised... But as his hazel eyes searched my heterochromial ones, I could tell that promise was wavering in his mind.

"Why?" Zach asked me, "We just need a few things. We'll be back just after dark."

"Jessie needs inhalers." I said as a gust of wind whipped through the lot, tossing my hair around.

"I can get them." Zach countered as Glenn pulled the Hyundai up to us, and the guys began loading it up for the trip.

I followed Zach to the spot near the other vehicles, where seven cannisters of gasoline were lined against the wall of the cafeteria. He picked up one in each hand, and I kept talking.

"You never remember the right kind!" I pointed out as I put my hands on my hips. "I bet you can't even tell me the name of it right now."

Zach shot me an aggravated look as he loaded the gasoline into the SUV. "Yes I can, Kayla. She's only been your best friend for 18 years of my lifetime, I'm pretty sure I can remember the name of her damn inhaler."

I raised my thin eyebrows at my older brother and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Tell me, then." I said, staring at him expectantly.

"Mirisom B. With the green cap." Zach replied matter-of-factly, but I instantly shook my head.

"Mirisom D, with the red cap." I corrected him sharply.

Zach glanced at Rick, Daryl, and Glenn, who were staring at us as we bickered.

"Alright, alright." He said defensively, "I got it now."

"Uh-uh," I shook my head, "I don't trust your shitty memory."

Zach began to protest, but Rick cut him off.

"It's only a short trip," He started to say, "And Glenn's staying here with Maggie, so we got an extra seat. Town's usually vacant, anyway."

I grinned at Rick as a sort of thank you for taking my side. He smiled and nodded back at me as Zach thought for a moment. Finally, he let out a reluctant sigh of defeat.

"Okay, you get your way. You can come." He caved, "But you better be careful."

"Psh." I scoffed at my brother before climbing into the backseat. "I'm a badass, I don't need to be careful."

Rick laughed outloud from the driver's seat as he turned the key and ignited the Hyundai's engine. "If only we all had your outlook on life, Kayla."

xxxxxx

It had been so long since I'd seen the world outside the woods and the prison... At least it felt like it.

We had been driving along a worn path in the grass for about an hour now, having made it out of the woods a few miles back. The guys chattered quietly, but I wasn't paying any attention to what they were saying... I was lost staring out the window, watching the world zip by.

The sky was blue and filled with billowy white clouds. The sun was bright, shining down on the lush green grass. Every now and then I'd spot a walker or two mixed in with the serene vegetation, and by now they were just part of the scenery.

Suddenly, the vehicle came to a stop. I leaned into Zach, who was seated in the middle after losing a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors. Out the front windshield there was a highway clogged with abandoned cars as far as the eye could see.

Just a week or so before, I'd seen that very same highway, but from a distance. Tina and I had spied it through the trees while we were all finding our way through the woods. I had wanted to scour the cars, but of course Zach had thought it was too dangerous...

But now, as Rick shut off the Tuscon's engine and popped the driver's side door open, I had a feeling I was going to get a chance to scour.

"We've gotta continue on foot from here." Rick informed us before stepping out of the vehicle.

Daryl did the same from the passenger side, and Zach, Danny and I crawled out from the backseat.

"This way." Daryl grunted and led us to the right while Rick locked the Tuscon.

We stepped up onto the road, and I shielded my eyes from the bright sun as I peered down the long river of broken down, abandoned heaps of metal.

Danny crept up a few cars, leaning down and peering inside the cab of an ugly purple Buick. He scrunched up his scruffy face in disgust, poking the decaying body of the driver with the tip of his machete.

"Looks like this poor bastard's been bakin' here for a while.." He grumbled, "Hey, there's a few rolls of duct tape in the backseat."

"Can you grab them?" Zach asked as he walked to his side.

"The town's up this way about a mile or two..." Rick informed us as he walked up ahead, "You can see why we have to go on foot from this point... Just step lightly and be alert. Walkers can creep up on ya pretty quick."

"Gotcha." I said to Rick as I strolled along, peering into cars. So far, I didn't see anything useful.

Our group moved slowly and efficiently, spreading out a little bit over the road.

Daryl was closest to me, four cars ahead. He was ducked into the backseat of a white GMC SUV, rummaging through the floorboards. Rick, Zach, and Danny were still a little ways behind me.

I strayed off to the side, a red two seater on the edge of the road catching my eye. Both doors were thrown open, allowing me to see the grass on the other side.

There was blood splattered all over the gray interior, and the windshield had been smashed out. Sitting on the driver's seat was a brown leather purse. It was unzipped and tilted over, its contents spilling out and falling into the floor board.

I crept closer to it, broken glass and garbage crumpling under my Chuck Taylors. My finger tips reached out and gingerly sifted through the contents of the purse as I kneeled next to the car.

I felt my stomach flutter as I discovered a green Bic lighter. I sparked it to make sure it worked, then stuck it into my pocket. I dug deeper into the purse, almost jumping for joy as I came across a pack of Virginia Slims. I opened flipped it open and counted eight cigarettes... Good enough to keep.

There wasn't much else inside the purse other than a tube of lipstick, some change and a few receipts, so I set it down and started to search the rest of the car.

There was a gold wallet laying near the brake pedal, next to an empty Lay's potato chip bag. I knew it wasn't anything that would be of use to me, but I snagged it out of curiosity and popped it open.

What I found inside struck me a little too close to home... The ID of the girl the wallet and most likely the car belonged to was still inside. She was a thin, blonde girl with glasses, and the birthdate on the card meant she was 25, just too years older than I was... Her name was Ashley Marie Middleton.

The blood smears all over her debit cards and family photos gave me a pretty clear clue what had happened to her... I shut the wallet and put it back where I found it, trying to erase the horrible images from my thoughts.

Instead, to keep myself busy, I continued on the real mission of searching for useful supplies. There was nothing in the driver's side or the center console, so I carefully leaned over into the passenger seat.

There were a few candy wrappers and some pens in the seat, and a bloody, ripped up map in the floorboard, but not much else. I decided to try the glovebox before moving on.

I reached up with my left hand and tried to pop the glovebox open, but it was caught on something from the inside. I jiggled it, but I just couldn't manage to pry it open... So I climbed inside the car, propped my knees in the driver's seat, and tried to muscle the glovebox open with both hands.

"Come... on.." I grumbled, and finally the small latch gaveway, allowing me access. I grinned in triumph.

My joy was short lived, though...

Just as the glovebox surrendered and fell open, two sets of boney, decaying fingers wrapped themselves in a death grip around my wrists.

I froze in terror as I looked up, finding myself face to face with a pair of rotten, bloody teeth, snapping at my face and neck in hunger.

A walker had me in its grasp, snarling and screeching, yanking me closer... And it was so strong, no matter how hard I struggled, I couldn't get away.

I squeezed my eyes shut and let out an ear wrenching scream as I awaited the horrible pain of being eaten alive. I could feel the walker's hot, disgusting breath in my hair as I thrashed about.

Just as I thought I was done for, a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around my waist, and I was ripped to safety...

-To Be Continued-