Didn't See That Coming | The Walking Dead(1)

Part 30 (First Win)

8 months. 8 months with nowhere to call home. Just driving in circles all winter.

Everyday was the same. Find a place only for the dead to come and claim it from the living, just as they always did. It was an exhausting way of life that the group were forced to get used to.

Lori was heavily pregnant by now. Although she didn't say anything, she was petrified of giving birth and raising a baby on the road. Being the only real doctor, Hershel did what he could to help her deal with the physical toll the pregnancy was having on her. He had also take the time to show Carol and a few others a few things about how the birth would go so that they were all somewhat prepared.

CJ had limited knowledge on babies and childbirth, but she did know first aid and how to take care of kids thanks to her old job. She tried her best to support Lori and be there for her to tell her that both her and the baby would be okay. She promised to protect both of them, no matter what.

CJ almost appreciated thinking about the birth and being able to learn more from Hershel. It was something to focus on other than being cold and homeless. She had also taken the time to show Carl more stuff about using guns and knives. She had to admit, she enjoyed it. It felt like she was back doing what she used to do. it made her both miss her old life and appreciate the few good things in her new one.

She had also been going on a lot of hunting trips for food and water, both with Daryl and alone. Being on the road constantly gave her time to build some more arrows to replace the one's she'd lost at the farm. At first, she preferred being by herself because that's what she was used to. But the more times they went together, the more she appreciated the company, as did Daryl.

If they had enough time, they would make a game out of it by splitting up and seeing who could find the most. They once ended up both tracking the same animal and shooting their arrows at the same time, which resulted in a total bitch-fest about who won; it reminded them of how they first met. Neither of them cared in the slightest, but it was a distraction from their troubles.

One morning, they had cleared out another run-down house. Daryl had found an owl to eat but that was all they found because they had to leave almost immediately thanks to more walkers showing up.  They hit the road once again until they came to a clear area and pulled over to discuss their next move.

Beth and Carl stood on watch whilst Maggie laid out a map on the hood of the car and the others gathered around it. On the map were several marking and crossed out zones where herds were gathered. Throughout the winter, the group had gotten much better at predicting where herds would be heading and how to avoid them.

"We've got no place else to go," T-Dog shook his head.

"When this herd meets up with is, we'll be cut off," Maggie said, pointing to a marked area on the map. "We'll never make it south."

"What did ya' say?" Daryl asked Glenn. "It's about a hundred and fifty head?"

"That was last week. It could be doubled by now," Glenn replied.

"This river could have delayed them," Hershel said. "If we move fast, we might be able to tear right through here."

"Yeah, but if this group joins with that one before we get past it, they could spill out this way," CJ countered as she pointed to where the herds were on the map. "Either way, we're blocked by one herd or another."

"Only thing we can do is double back at 27, swing toward Greenville," Rick spoke up.

"We picked through that already," T-Dog pointed out. "It's like we spent the whole winter goin' round in circles."

"Yeah, I know. I know. At Newnan, we'll push west. Haven't been through there yet," Rick replied. "We can't keep going house to house. We need to find a place to hold up for a few weeks," he added, looking over at Lori, who was sat in the front of the other car, staring out the window.