The start

Daryl

I watch the single walker lean against our barbed wire "fence". It wakes all the others up. I was already awake. I don't ever sleep anymore. Not unless I know I'm secured. I did watch Daryl get up and leave earlier in the morning. Male Harley stands up.

"I got it." He says.

"Looks like that Robin Hood cat cut out on us after all. I didn't think he had the sack to go out on his own." Tony says.

"He don't. Dude left his stuff here.
Probably just stepped out to drop a morning deuce." Joe states. Len went into the woods with his bow.

We pack up our gear as I sling my backpack on my back. We heard some noise coming from the woods sounded like Len yelling. Joe looks at me knowing that the guy and Len must be arguing.

"Go check it out." Joe walks past me heading into the woods. I follow behind closely. The Daryl guy whips out his knife as Joe grabs his arm.

"Easy, fellas, easy. Let's just put our weapons down. See if we can figure out what's really the problem here, huh? Did you claim it?" Joe asked Len.

"Hell, yeah." Lie. Len always lies.

"Well, there you go. That critter belongs to Len." Joe says.

"So let's have it." Len reaches out for the rabbit but Daryl doesn't give it up.

"Looks like you may be wanting an explanation. See, going it alone, that ain't an option nowadays. Still, it is survival of the fittest. That's a paradox right there. So I laid out some rules of the road to keep things from going Darwin every couple hours.
Keep our merry band together and stress-free. All you got to do is claim. That's how you mark your territory, your prey, your bed at night. One word, claimed." Joe states.

"I ain't claiming nothing." Daryl says.

"We're gonna teach him, right? The rules say we got to teach him." Len says. He starts pacing around.

"Leave him alone Len." My eyes cut down to Len.

"Why you even taking up for him, huh?"

"He doesn't understand. He hasn't been in this group as long as you have." I sigh.

"Oh that's right. You just reminded me you're new too so you shut your fucking mouth up right now. Or I'll shut it for you." Len starts for me as Joe moves in front of him.

"That's enough you two. Yes, Harley hasn't been with us as long as you have but she does understand the rules clearly. It is true Daryl here does not understand the rules either. Did you even explain the rules to him?" Joe looks at us three.

"Nope." Len pops the 'P' at the end.

"No." I look down at the ground.

"That's what I thought. It wouldn't be fair to punish you for violating a rule you never even knew existed." Joe says as Len sighs heavily.

"There ain't no rules no more." Daryl says. Well he isn't lying about the law. There's no rules over that anymore. But in this group we do have rules.

"Oh, there are. You know that. That's why I didn't kill you for the crossbow." Joe takes the other end of the rabbit Daryl had in his hand hold it up half way.

"Hey." Daryl says startled.

"Easy there, partner. Claimed. That's all you got to say. Hey, ass end is still an end." Joe cuts the Rabbit in half hand giving Len the head end and the back end to Daryl. He walks away.

"I don't normally do it." I say out loud.

"You know the saying claim part. If its food or water, I will. But I sleep on the floor. Most of my belong is in a bag on my back. They know I'll kill them if they touch my bag. So I get it, not saying claim."

"Yeah." Daryl says. I go to walk away but Daryl stops me.

"Your not like the others." He states.

"No, I'm not. I don't wanna be." I look at him closely. He's lost someone close.

"Can I tell you something. Honest. 100%." Daryl nods his head for me to continue.

"These guys are bad. They do really bad things to people. But they keep me alive. Only because they like me." I shivered.

"Why are you telling me this?" Daryl asked.

"Because you seem like a good guy. They see you belong here. The looks. But your personality says otherwise. You don't belong here. Not with them." We walk back toward the camp.

"So they done stuff to you?" He mumbles over his words.

"No. But they always try to. Even when I sleep they still try. That's why I don't sleep. All I do is stick a knife to their throat. They step back but never learn their lesson." I say quietly. We get to the camp as I turn my back to them and face Daryl.

"Just be careful. Say claim. Tell the truth. Follow the rules. You'll live." He nods his head at me as we follow the rest of the group.

"We good Harley girl?" Joe wraps an arm around me as I shrug it off.

"Yeah, I explained that it is very important to follow the rules." I shutter.

"What do you think Daryl? Smart girl, sharp shooter, her knife skills are amazing and just gorgeous. Your probably wondering why none of us have touched her yet. And you know what? She is just one tough girl. Won't let us claim her." Joe walks over to Daryl as the two men look at me.

"Sure is a beauty." Len walks by.

"We still following the signs?" I try to change the subject.

"Yep." Joe says as we start to walk. The rest of the group was ahead of Daryl Joe and I.

"So what's the plan, Daryl? - How so? You're with us now, but you ain't soon?" Joe ask.

"Yep." Daryl says.

"So what's the plan?" Joe looks at Daryl.

"Just looking for the right place is all."

"Hard to find those." I say out loud.

"Oh, we ain't good enough for you, huh?" Joe ask.

"Some of you ain't exactly friendly." Obviously Len.

"You ain't so friendly yourself. You know you need a group out here." Joe says.

"Maybe I don't."

"No, you do. You should be with us.
People don't got to be friendly. We don't have to be nice. We don't have to be brothers in arms. We just got to follow the rules. You claim. If you steal, you keel. I know that sounds a little funny, but nobody laughs when something goes missing. And you don't lie. Cause that's a slippery slope indeed." Joe states. He tries to persuade Daryl to our group.

"What happens if you break 'em?" Daryl ask curiously.

"Oh, you catch a beatin'. The severity of which depends upon the offense and the general attitude of the day. But that don't happen much 'cause when men like us follow rules and cooperate a little bit, well, the world becomes ours."

"Right there. It's our abode for the evening." Joe tells the others.

"Hey. There ain't no us." Daryl says. He isn't sure of this group. I get that.

"You leaving right now? No? Then it sure seems like there's an us. You a cat person, Daryl? I am. Loved 'em since I was three years old. Vicious creatures. Anyway, I'll tell you, and this is true, ain't nothing sadder than an outdoor cat that thinks he's an indoor cat." Joe says.