Daryl's pov
She's gone. A horde moved in and now we can't find her! I knew she shouldn't have come! Merle ran to look for her! Now I'm sitting here all alone with no plan while my siblings are both missing.
Jason's pov
The girl is asleep right now. I'm not sure what I should do with her. I guess I could take her back to Atlanta and hope her redneck brothers are still there. I shake her awake. "Oh man, have I got a headache." She mumbles. Probably from when she hit her head. I just realized we can't go back to Atlanta. It's still swamped. With an inexperienced girl like her, we'd be goners. But we can't stay in my camp anymore, the infected are too close for comfort. "We have to leave. It's not safe here anymore." I tell her. Her eyes go wide in fear. "But my brothers!" She says. "You just gotta hope they made it out." I say. "No, I can't leave without them!" She whimpers, crying in her hands. I'll give her until I pack up my stuff for her to make a decision.
*20 minutes later*
She's still curled up crying on the cot. "Look, I can't just leave ya here. The infected will get ya." I say. That's when she looks up. "You talk just like my brothers." She mumbles. "So are you comin' with me or not?" I ask. "I guess I will." She says. "Good." We go out to my old Ford. It's kept me alive this long.
*several hours later*
She's asleep with a book in her lap. It looks handmade. She must've made it. I wish I could find her brothers. That way she'll be someone else's problem. I'm not much of a people person. I'm afraid to get close to people because when I do, they die. I'll keep my distance but I'll still protect her. She suddenly jolts awake, screaming someone's name.
Miranda's pov
Daryl was right. I never should've come on a supply run. Now my brothers are gone and I'm stuck with some guy I barely know. He could turn out to be some psycho. I've got my gun. The next time we stop, I'll take him out and take the truck. Then I'll drive back to Atlanta. "Hey, if you're hungry, I've got some bread in the back." He says. I'm a little skeptical. It's hard to trust people in this world. I've gotten by thanks to my brothers' teachings of not trusting no one but family. "I think I see what's going on here." He says. "What?" I gasp, worried. "I know you think something bad is gonna happen, but I won't let it. I might not know you from atom but I'm not gonna leave you or rob you or anything. I'm gonna help ya find your brothers. This new world might've twisted some people up but there's still some good people out there, like me and you." He explains with a soft smile. "Ha, if you think I'm a good person, you've got another thing coming." I mumble close to tears. "Well, I know ya ain't gonna try and rob or kill me. Are ya?" He says. I stay silent and hide my gun. He looks over. "You weren't, were you?" He asks, raising a brow. "No, of course not." I lie, "It's just I had to kill my own mother! Anyone who kills their mom is not a good person!" I cry. The tears I can't hold in anymore. He sighs and pulls to the side of the road. "Did she turn into one of the infected?" He asks. I nod. "You did that to save yourself, then. That doesn't make you a bad person. And that thing wasn't your mother. Deep down you know that." He says, patting my back. I'm not gonna kill him. He hugs me. I cry. We continue driving. "What happened to your family?" I ask. "My parents live in Macon along with my sister. I just hope they're still alive." He whispers, a hard fear settles on him. I can feel it. He's a family man. He's not gonna hurt me. I mean he coulda left me in that store to be eaten by walkers but he didn't.
Merle's pov
We finally make it back to camp where Daryl breaks down crying. They were close. I doubt he'll get passed this. Of course he blames me. Our sister is dead because of me. "Daryl, I'm sorry." I mumble, sitting beside him, close to tears myself. He lays back in her tent. "I knew we never should've let her come with us." He says. "Ya never know she may still be alive. Who knows maybe her knight in shining armor rescued her. You know she's always talking about prince charming kinda thing." I say, forcing a smile. He laughs a tiny bit. "And if she didn't make it, she's not living in this hellhole anymore. She's with mom and dad." He glares at me. "But she was always talking about surviving. When we do. It was never when it was always if and I never had the heart to tell her." He mumbles, covering his eyes with his hands. "Don't blame yourself. It wasn't your fault. It was mine." I say. Just then the tin can booby trap rattles. I glance behind me but it ain't a walker, it's Glenn and Shane! I jump up. "How the hell did you guys escape!?" I cry, shocked. "Same as you, I guess. Shooting and running." Glenn says. "Yeah with no help from you redneck assholes." Shane mutters, angrily. "We had to get our sister to safety." I defend. "Where is Squirt anyway?" Glenn asks, looking around. A silence falls over the group and that lets them know she's gone. "What happened to her?" Shane asks, genuinely sad. "We got swarmed in Atlanta." I mumble sadly. Then I remember Glenn and my sister were a couple! He collapses by the fire. "She's gone! I can't believe she's gone!" He whimpers, crying in his hands.
Jason's pov
I finally reach Macon. I just pray there's a family to come home to. I pull up in the drive. There's a huge fence barricade. That looks promising. "I'm guessing your parents' house?" She asks. I nod. We get out and walk toward the house. "Walk real slow. My dad's always been a little trigger happy." I mutter. "Thanks for the tip." She says, standing behind me, making me smile. I hold her hand as we walk toward the house. The door opens and my mom rushes out. "I was afraid these things got you!" She cries, hugging me. "Nope, it just takes a little bit to drive from Nashville to Macon." I mutter, straining to pull her off since she's choking me. "Is dad and Kasi still okay?" I ask, glancing at the house. She nods and for the first time since all this started 8 months ago, I can breathe normally. "Who's this?" She asks. Oh I forgot she was with me. "Just someone I rescued in Atlanta. Her name is Miranda." She shakes her hand and we go inside. I go with my mom in the kitchen while she stays in the living room with my dad and sister. "How long have you two been together?" She asks. "We aren't together, if that's what you're hinting at." I say, quietly. "I saw you were holding her hand." She says, smiling. "Because she was scared!" I snap.
Miranda's pov
"So did you have family before you met up with Jason?" His dad asks. "My brothers and Shane and my boyfriend. Shane and Glenn died at the hands of the governor. I know my brothers are alive. I just don't know where." I respond, wiping my eyes with my shirt sleeve. I miss Glenn so much. "Who's the governor?" His dad asks. "Oh yeah, um he's the psycho that operates a place called Woodbury. He acts all super nice but really he's a murderer. His daughter turned so he started feeding citizens to the walker. We caught on and escaped." I tell them, "If someplace called Woodbury offers you shelter, turn it down." He nods. Jason and his mom come out of the kitchen. "Show them the picture. They might've seen your brothers." He says. I pull out the picture. "Yeah, these two were here a couple days ago." He says, pointing to Glenn and Shane! "Th-That's impossible! They died in Woodbury! Oh my goodness, Glenn's still alive!" I cry, excited. His dad smiles and nods. "They were headed back east." He says. "To find us!" I whisper, covering my mouth with my hand. I take a step back. "Thanks for the hospitality and the info. I've got to go find them." I cry, running for the door but Jason holds me back. "It's a suicide mission. You know you can't go back there." He says. "B-But I have to! If there's any chance-" "there's no chance. If they went to Atlanta, they're dead." He says. I fall to my knees in tears. "Jason!" His mother shouts. "What, ya gotta be harsh in this world. I've seen Atlanta, I know how dangerous it is. If she leaves now, she'll die." He shouts. "No I won't! I've survived this long!" I cry, pulling away from him. "Thanks to your brothers. You have no idea how to use that thing do ya?" He snaps angrily pointing to my gun. I mean I sorta do. "Yes I do, I'm just better with a bow." I lie. He rolls his eyes. He knows I'm lying. "OK fine, no I barely know how to use it, happy?!" I grumble. He nods. "You need to face facts. If you go out there, you're as good as dead." He says, making me cry more. "Jason, stop it. Can't ya see she's upset." His mom scolds him. "I'm sorry mom, but in this world ruled by the dead, we are forced to be something we wouldn't be otherwise." He says.
Jason's pov
Kasi takes her out of the room. Maybe I was too hard on her. But being too soft gets you killed. "It's kill or be killed." I gripe, grabbing my bow and walking out.
