Removed

Woodbury

***Harley's P.O.V

   We'd left Atlanta. We'd only stayed another month before we left. Now we were on the road, back in the van. We'd all gotten a lot closer. I trusted them all wholeheartedly and had no problem with them. Carter had been short with me since I came back that second time from being with Rick and the others. He didn't let me go anywhere by myself and was always looking over his shoulder to make sure I was there any time we stopped somewhere.

   It'd been several months since we left Atlanta. Winter had come now and we were fighting to stay warm. We still had the van, but we didn't use the heater because of gas. 

   "I'm cold." Stacey whines from next to me. I take off my jacket and wrap it around her, then I move her to sit between the twins and wrap a blanket around all three of them. I smile and kiss her forehead before going back to sit in the front. It was freezing, but I could deal with the cold if it meant she was warm. Carter looks at me and sighs.

   "You need a coat, Harley."

   "She needs it more. I'll be fine." Trey pulls over into a gas station parking lot. 

   "It's gettin' dark. Everyone good with crashin' here for tonight?" He asks. We all agree. There's a garage connected to it and Kyle and Carter clear it before Trey pulls in. We all get our stuff and get out. Kyle, Carter, Trey and I go into the main part of the store to make sure it was clear. Place looked to be mostly cleared out. I find the bathroom and open it up. A God awful stench immediately hits me. I dead, rotting corpse was inside. I cough and slam the door shut.

   "You good?" Trey asks, grinning.

   "Shut up, jackass." I say as I lean over and brace myself on my knees. He laughs and claps me on the back before going out into the garage to get the others.

   "What happened?" Carter asks me, watching me cough and wipe my watering eyes.

   "Dead body. Damn, that smell was awful." He and Kyle laugh and I flip them off, making them laugh even more.

   "Fuck you both." I say and stand up straight. 

   "It's safe?" Angela asks as she comes in with the others. I smile at her and nod.

   "Just don't go in the bathroom." Trey says, grinning at me. I scowl at him. Jerk.

   We set up in a corner. We had blankets and suck, but most of the time we used body heat to stay warm. I was on first watch. My leg had nearly completely healed and Carter was finally letting me have my old shifts back.

   I'm sitting upfront at the old cash register when I hear steps. They wasn't the slow shuffling steps of an eater. They were fast paced and deliberate. I grab my gun and start walking towards the garage door. I have my gunned aimed at it when the door nob twist to the side. I stiffen and get ready.

   The door swings open and a group of about five men are standing there, guns ready. And one of them was Merle Dixon. His eyes squint in  confusion, then wide in recognition.

   "Drop them!" I shout. I hear people start to shift and groan behind me. The others were waking up.

   "Hey, hey, hey. It's okay. We ain't gonna hurt ya, little red." Merle says, raising his hands the air. Hand? What the hell happened? Is hand is a fucking knife. He grins, seeing that I noticed. "Like that? Cool ain't it?" 

   "I said drop them!" They all drop their guns to the ground.

   "Come on, little red. We mean you no harm. We were just lookin' for supplies for the town. Maybe even some new people."