fourty eight.

I was at the back of the barn next to Carol, scraping and plucking out the caked up mud underneath my boots with the tip of my sword. Daryl was across from me with his crossbow slung over his shoulder, biting his thumb nail like he usually did out of habit. The barn doors creaked open, Maggie stepping back in from being outside with Sasha.

"Everyone," she smiled nervously. "This is Aaron." A man walked in after her, Sasha following behind him with caution. We all jumped to our feet and snapped our weapons up at the outsider. We couldn't take any risks now, not after Terminus. Daryl hustled over to the door and peered outside to see if anyone else was out there possibly lurking in the cover of the trees. "We met him outside. He's by himself," she informed us. Daryl pat Aaron down as Maggie handed his gun over to Rick. "We took all his weapons and his gear." Rick shoved the gun into his back pocket. I already knew Rick was about to treat him with the same disdain as he did Gabriel, but perhaps even worse since he snuck up on us.

"Is there something you need," Rick asked Aaron, raising his eyebrows at him challengingly.

"He said he has a camp nearby. He wants all of us to audition for membership," Sasha said with suspicion.

"I wish there were another word for it. Audition makes it sound like we're some sort of dance troupe... that's only on Friday nights," Aaron chuckled hopefully, waiting for a few laughs. He got none as we all stared at him with straight faces, analyzing his every move. "It's not really a camp, it's a community. I think all of you would make valuable additions and my job is to convince you to follow me back home." He briefly paused his little spiel, observing our skeptical faces. "I know... if I were you I wouldn't go either, not until I knew what I was getting into. Sasha, hand Rick my pack." Sasha obeyed him, handing over Aaron's backpack to Rick. He aggressively opened it and started to rifle through it. "In the front pocket, there's an envelope. I brought pictures for everyone to look at." Rick stared at the first picture unimpressed. "If you join us, your safety will be ensured. Each panel in the wall is a 15 foot high, 12 foot wide slab of solid steel. It's framed by coal rolled steel beams and square tubing. Nothing alive or dead gets through our gates without our say so. There's only one source critical to our community's survival though: the people. Together, we're strong and you can all make us even stronger," Aaron rambled on. Rick began to approach him. "Our community was constructed—" Rick punched Aaron in the face, knocking him to the ground. Daryl tied Aaron's hands behind his back and with that, I shoved my sword back in its sheath as the threat was temporarily neutralized. I eyed his unconscious body suspiciously. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but my trust had been continuously trampled. I didn't want us to be led to slaughter again.

"We need eyes in every direction," Rick commanded. "They're coming for us. We don't know how or when, but they are."

"Sasha and I didn't see him. If he wanted to hurt us, he could've," Maggie explained in defense of Aaron. Rick ignored her, him and Carl sifting through more of Aaron's backpack just as he began coming to, the tension quickly rising again.

"That's a hell of a right cross there, Rick," Aaron weakly laughed, wiggling his jaw around to loosen it back up.

"Sit him up," Rick growled. Maggie looked uneasy, but sat him up anyway in fear of retaliation from Rick. Aaron gazed up at Rick understandingly.

"You're being cautious. I completely understand—"

"You have a flare gun," Rick interrupted him. "How many of your people are out there?"

"Does it matter? I mean, of course it matters how many people are out there, but does it matter how many people I tell you are out there? I'm pretty sure no matter what number I say, you're not gonna trust me."

"It's hard to trust anyone who smiles after getting punched in the face," Rick spat back at him.

"How about a guy who leaves bottles of water for you in the road?" Aaron became slightly irritated with Rick's constant negativity.

"How long have you people been followin' us," Daryl asked, shifting back and forth in his spot. His eyes were squinted angrily at Aaron.

"Long enough to see that despite a lack of food and water, you never turn on each other," Aaron responded in disbelief. I rolled my eyes at Aaron's statement. He had no clue what we've gone through together. "You're survivors. Like I said, and I hope you won't punch me for saying it again, that's the most important resource for us." Silence filled the barn until Rick started pressing him again.

"How many others are out there?"

"One," Aaron answered. Nobody believed him, some of us even snickering under our breath at the response. "See, I knew you wouldn't believe me." He looked around at us with desperation. He wasn't gonna let up. Why did he want us to come with him so bad? What was in it for him? "What if I drove you to the community? If we leave now, we'll probably get there by lunch."

"I'm not sure how all of us are gonna fit in the car you and your one friend drove down here in," Rick scoffed, a smirk gracing his lips.

"We drove separately. If we found a group, we wanted to be able to bring all of them home. We parked east on Ridge Road, just after you hit Route 16. We wanted to come closer but the storm came and blocked the road," Aaron explained.

"You've really thought this through..." Rick shook his head in disapproval.

"Rick, if I wanted to ambush you I would've done it already," Aaron said curtly. Silence crept over the barn again. "You can trust me."

"I'll check out the cars," Michonne offered.

"I'm going with her," Maggie stepped up.

"It's dangerous out there." Rick lowered his voice to an angry whisper.

"I'm not passing up a place where we can all live, where Judith can live. We can handle ourselves. We need to see what's out there, so that's what we're going to do." Michonne turned around without another word or interruption. The rest of the group agreed with her, exiting through the barn doors.

"If you're not back in 60 minutes, we'll come," Rick called out after her. She nodded, leaving after giving him a sullen look. "Everyone take cover and find somewhere safe."

"We've got the area covered," Daryl mumbled to him, grabbing my hand and pulling me outside away from Aaron. We trekked through the grass that was mushy from last night's storm. Daryl found a dry spot in the middle of a circle of bushes and grabbed my wrist, pulling me to the ground. Daryl laid back, gazing up at the sky.

"We're supposed to be on the lookout," I scolded him.

"You can do that if ya want or you could lay down." Daryl patted the spot next to him, a small smirk on his lips. I sighed, laying down next to him. The wetness from the grass soaked through the back of my shirt.

"And you were in there tying up the guy," I huffed.

"We can hear shit movin' through the woods. We ain't deaf," Daryl grunted. "Plus, if he is telling the truth, we ain't got much to worry 'bout." I nudged him, roughly, sending a playful glare his way. It wasn't long before a crack sounded in the woods followed by quick footsteps. Daryl sprang up, examining the surroundings. "It went that way," he shouted, running off.

"Wait," I hollered, trailing behind him. We ran until we burst out of the woods, entering a small rest stop made of a rundown gas station and a car repair shop. Daryl breathed heavily, frantically looking around.

"The son of a bitch is here somewhere, gonna have to find 'im," he mumbled. A scream erupted from the silence, giving away the person's hiding place. I drew my sword and took off in the direction of the screaming, staying low. Daryl peeked his head around the corner of a wall, suddenly shooting his crossbow. I stepped out of hiding and observed the situation. Six biters surrounding a car were now making their way towards us. I sliced through three of their heads, Daryl taking care of the others.

"Help! Help me, please," a man cried out in agony from underneath the car. Daryl and I rushed over to it. The rear tire was positioned on the man's ankle. Daryl pushed the car backwards, rolling it off of him. I sheathed my sword and dropped to my knees as the man weakly dragged himself out from underneath the car.

"You okay," I asked him, cautiously grabbing his hand and assisting him.

"M-my ankle. I-I'm pretty sure it's broken." He rocked back and forth in pain as Daryl retrieved his arrows from the biters' heads. "I'm Eric. M-my partner Aaron went to talk to a group out in a barn."

"Well, we're gonna help you, Eric," I smiled reassuringly. I turned my head to Daryl. He rolled his eyes and helped pick Eric up off the ground.

"There's a warehouse down that alleyway ahead of us. If you could take me there, that'd be greatly appreciated," Eric said. Daryl and I assisted him over to the warehouse. When we got inside, we were directed to a small room. We carefully lowered Eric down onto a bed, using the extra pillow to put under his foot. Daryl stood back as I used the blanket I found as a wrap for Eric's ankle. "Thank you so much. I really thought that would've been the end of me," Eric beamed. He shoved a flare gun into Daryl's hands. "Fire this. Aaron and I use this to communicate if we're apart and in trouble. I'm not in trouble now, I just need him here." Daryl nodded at Eric's direction and exited the warehouse. A few moments later, the gun went off. Daryl came back inside to grab his crossbow.

"I'll wait outside if they come 'round," Daryl muttered, leaving again.

"You two together," Eric asked. I blushed. He noticed this. "I love it. I love seeing couples in this world. It gives me hope that there's still humanity out there; not everyone is evil." I thought to myself as I lit a few candles that were spread out around the room. Were we together? No one's really confirmed it. All we've done is just stick with each other and never let go. It didn't need no explanation.

"Me too," I grinned to make simple conversation. He did have a strong point.

"Eric," a frantic voice shouted from outside. "Eric?"

"In here," Eric yelled back. Aaron ran into the room. He got on his knees, glancing down at Eric's foot. "I'm okay, just an ankle injury. It's no big deal. I'll go to the infirmary when we get back." Aaron stopped Eric from talking any further by kissing him. My eyes quickly widened in surprise, but a smile swept across my face. I gazed up from the sweet exchange and saw Rick standing in the doorway.

"We were looking for Aften and Aaron," he said. I lightly smiled at Eric before leaving. Aaron, Rick, and I entered a nearby building.

"Excuse me, everyone, thank you," Aaron called out to the group. "I owe you, all of you, and I'll make sure that you're payed in full when we get to our community, Alexandria. Now, I'm not sure about you, but I'd rather not do anymore driving tonight." A few chuckles erupted from the group, those people clearly understanding his reference. "We can head out tomorrow morning."

"That's fine but if we're staying here for the night, you're sleeping over there." Rick pointed to a corner, still not wanting him out of his sight.

"The only way you're going to keep me away from Eric right now is by shooting me," Aaron spoke up against the threat of isolation.

"Go ahead then," Rick said, slightly annoyed. Aaron walked back to the warehouse as everyone dispersed and settled down. I sauntered over to Daryl who was in one of the corners by himself. I sat down next to him, laying my head in his lap. He played with my hair as I closed my eyes and drifted asleep.

△

We rode in the two vehicles Aaron and Eric had, pulling up to the gates of Alexandria after a lengthy ride. I stepped out of the car, Daryl behind me. I was facing the gate, a comfortable distance being kept from it. I grabbed onto Daryl's hand to ease the nervous feeling in my stomach. I was uneasy about stepping foot into another community, so uneasy I almost felt like I could puke; there was a 50/50 chance we'd be safe here. Daryl made circles on the back of my hand with his thumb to comfort me like he always did. He never failed to make me feel secure.