CHAPTER FOUR: Crossbows and Tanks, Really?

Morgan had been content to stay. Rick had tried; he really had, to get the man and his son to come with them.

Them.

She still couldn't understand what had made her decide to ride with Rick to Atlanta. And oddly enough, ride, is exactly what they were doing. The mare they were currently sharing was strong. It had been such a strange and beautiful sight to see after they had spent half a day walking once the car had ran out of gas. Still, she wished, just for a small moment, that they could go back to the station and she could stand under the hot streams of water that were orgasmic in their existence.

He had other plans.

He was on a hunt.

He was a man on a mission and she could respect that. To find his wife and his son and Sin hoped that he would. She had nothing better to do than to go along with his plans and help him out. It felt right. Oh who was she kidding, she just didn't want to be alone anymore. She was tired of not having someone to watch her back.

That was the scariest part about all of this. Not being able to have security. Not being able to sleep for more than an hour at a time. Fitfully at that: constantly jerking awake at the slightest rustle, always looking over the shoulder, always waiting for the inevitable. At least with someone there was a small amount of assurance. Misery certainly loves company.

"Do you think they're in the city?" Curious as to his thoughts, Sin finally broke the silence that had been lingering between them. They had rarely spoken since the patrol car, whether it was because they feared their voices would cause unwanted attention or they just were comfortable in the silence, she did not know.

He shrugged, "It's a good place to start."

Well that was true. Sin agreed. The rumors of Atlanta having safe haven had been spread like wildfire. The scary part was usually that meant….she shook her head. Optimism. Stay Optimistic.

"I did hear that Atlanta was the best place to go if you needed refuge," she said hopefully.

The Sheriff looked down and caught her gaze as she turned her head slightly to look at him directly. A tiny, almost non-existent smile formed on his lips then and she blinked at the way that looked. It took away years off of him. Perhaps the combination of the large hat he had, the sun beaming from behind him and the look of appreciation on his face, it made her feel better. It calmed something inside her and she found herself smiling back at him.

Hooves to pavement began to echo.

They neared the city quicker than she had anticipated and upon approach, she found herself drifting further back towards the man as best she could. Ever the gentleman and officer of the law, Rick insisted she ride in front just in case they needed to break into a run, he didn't want to have to worry about her falling off.

Rick held the reins loosely in each hand, the picture of easement but sensing Sin's apprehension of entering the big city; he brought his elbows in trying to form a barrier around the young woman. If she were to drift either direction, Rick would catch her instantly. Sin gripped the pommel of the saddle tighter, her knuckles nearly turning white as both of them fell into a tense silence.

Atlanta was eerily quiet.

There was nothing.

No sounds.

No moans.

Nothing.

Fear crept its way up her spine causing her to sit a little taller and she titled her head and whispered to Rick, "Something is wrong."

He nodded, sharp eyes narrowed taking in the surroundings as he directed the mare through the wrecked vehicles, the burned cars, the corpses. When they past a tank, left abandoned in the street, Sin realized she had seen it all now. If the military went down – Atlanta is history.

"We shouldn't be here," she heard him say just as they turned a corner and froze in absolute horror at the sight before them.

Building to building there was a wall of shufflers.

Hundreds of them were just standing there, swaying, quiet in their lethargic ambling. And then she saw it. One looked up from watching its own feet move, its blood red eyes looked dead at them, lazy movements jerking into understanding. They were food. Meat. It moaned excitedly. It groaned. Like an alarm to the rest it pulled their attention and they too all began to make their way to a three course meal on four legs.

"Rick," she whispered terrified, her hands left the pommel to grip the strong forearms on either side.

She tried to scoot further back as if to distance her from the shufflers, trying desperately to keep herself from jumping off the horse and full sprinting away. Sin was sure if she pressed any further into the hard chest of the lawman, she would surely morph into him.

"I know!" He nearly screamed shaking off her hands as he pulled the reigns, and sharply kicked the horse's flank.

It sped off, but the sounds of the horseshoes clapping against the pavement and the groans from the mob of zombies only attracted even more; their numbers steadily growing. Before they left for Atlanta, Morgan offered the duo a bit of advice; words of wisdom that were not heeded well enough if their predicament was any indication.

"They might not seem like much one at a time, but when they're in a group all riled up and hungry, man you watch your ass."

The horse galloped for its life, taking direction from Rick while Sin quickly tried to remove her broken machete from its sheath. Rick couldn't grab a gun and the bouncing of their getaway along with the trembling of her hands made the task of pulling her weapon near impossible. However, Sin seized the opportunity to brandish her machete once they began to slow; unfortunately it was not a good thing. Their path in was no longer clear. They were being surrounded and the horse knew it. She started to panic. Trying to buck them off and making too much noise.

This was dumb.

This had been the stupidest of all stupid ideas.

Rick fruitlessly tried to figure a clear path, a way they could escape with their lives; hopefully also with the horse.

The first hand bloodied that touched Sin's right calf was met a quick slice of her machete. It stayed attached but the zombie roared its disapproval of losing a hand. Rick tried; she saw him, a shot here, and a shot there once he was finally able to draw his weapon.

Pointless.

He jumped down and rolled away from the horse, Sin stared at him in shock as she realized she was left up there one hand still clutching the pommel while the other was raised in mid-swing. But it was the fact that he stood, deposited the duffle of various weaponry then grabbed two zombies and damn near threw them away from the horse. Rick reached up and violently yanked her off by the strap of her satchel from the horse that was quickly succumbing to the dead.

Sin sighed gratefully – he did not abandon her.

Of course he wouldn't, the Sherriff was far too noble. It would have been in his best interest to let Sin and the horse be the distraction he clearly needed in order to find his wife and son. At the very least it would grant him time to escape, to live to fight another day. All logic and self-preservation instincts screamed at him to cut bait and run. Yet, this young woman saved his life for no apparent reason other than it being the right thing to do; no way in hell could he live with himself or his family knowing he intentionally left this woman for dead.

"Quick," he ordered bracing a hand on the small of her back and the two of them scrambled away from the horse.

The shufflers descended upon the poor animal, tearing into its flesh and brought handfuls of entrails into their mouth's. Sin never believed the scream of a horse could sound so similar to a human's; it was haunting. Had she not been pulled from the horse, those would be her screams drowning in the groans and satisfied moans of the shufflers.

Sin was confused.

This had been the first time she had been in such a predicament. There were so many. A horde was not the right word. She had taken on a half dozen or so but this? This was death. There was no way they were going to make it out of this. But Rick seemed determined. Seeing her simply staring at the slaughter, Rick harshly gripped her right arm tight and bruising as he literally dragged her through the distracted dead and towards their only form of shelter.

The tank.

He pushed her down and she quickly crawled under it. He followed, Sin stabbed sloppily at the zombies who were trying to follow; given the tight spacing between the concrete and the bottom of the tank there was little to room for a good swing. Rick fired off a few more rounds until his gun clicked empty.

"Shit shit shit!" She cursed loudly.

Looking around desperately for some sort of salvation, Sin spotted a small hatch and shouted, "RICK!"

Pointing one finger at the small, metal door, Sin's full lips stretched to a large toothy grin, her blue eyes bright.

He eyed it in disbelief before opening scooting across the pavement on his back to open the hatch and the two of them quickly disappeared up into the belly of it, ladies first of course. With a loud thud they pulled the hatch closed, a loud screech of metal grinding echoed throughout, and secured it. Rick looked up at her, sweat on his brow, fierce blue eyes searching her face before he pulled her close by her shoulders and started feeling her right leg. The hand from the shuffler must have fallen off during their trek to get under the tank. His hands were groping quickly and though the movements were jerky the exploration was gently. When he didn't find anything wrong he released a loud sigh and grabbed the back of her head with to touch his forehead to her crown.

"Thank God." He breathed, eyes shut.

"I'm okay," she assured him as she rested her left hand lightly on his right forearm.

Sin pushed slightly at his arm, trying to untangle from his hold mildly unnerved with the close contact. If he noticed her aversion to their spontaneous physical contact, he made no mention as he sat back and leaned heavily against the side of the tank. Sin looked to him and then to the corpse beside him, her attention returning to him as she shook her head.

"We're fucked, aren't we?" she said quietly.

Just then the corpse moved.

Rick's instincts and reflexes kicking in, he elbowed its chin, grabbed the gun about its waist, pressed the barrel to its temple and shot. Killing it, but also sending a loud, painful ringing throughout the interior of the tank. Sin dropped her machete, clasped her hands to her ears and cursed aloud though not being able to hear it. The force of the echo made it feel as if her eardrums were going to burst right out of her skull, she squeezed her eyes shut and forced herself to wait it out. Rick was in the same boat.

Fuck.

As the ringing slowly subsided, she frowned up to the man responsible and noticed him looking perplexed towards her right. Sin blinked as what sounded like radio static and through the static, a voice.

"…Dumbass. Yeah, you in the tank...Cozy in there?"

What?

Rick hurriedly crawled to the radio nearly pushing Sin out of the way and grabbed the receiver.

"Hello?! Hello?!" He croaked.

Sin sidled up behind him, leaning over his shoulder excited to hear the voice answer back. The person was male and sounded young but he was the eyes outside that the duo trapped inside the tank didn't have. He was there only hope of possibly getting out alive.

"You're surrounded by walkers; that's the bad news," the voiced assured.

Sin scoffed and grabbed Rick's hand pressing on the button to speak, "There's good news?"

"No." The voiced said shortly.

Jerking his hand back, Rick took a breath and spoke again with more of an edge, "Whoever you are, I don't mind telling you I'm a little concerned in here."

The tank was stifling hot.

The heat was bearable outside but inside a metal tin all it did was circulate and basically cook any of the inhabitants. Sin shifted to her knees, sitting back on her haunches and wiped the sweat dripping from her forehead. The air was thick making it difficult to breathe properly; they needed to get out soon otherwise they would end up like the poor bastard Rick took out a few minutes before.

"Oh man," the voice trembled, "You should see from over here, you'd be having a major freak out."

Reaching over again, Sin snatched the receiver and clicked the talk button, "Major freak out. Check."

Once again Rick wrenched the receiver from her and scowled at her. She held her hands up in surrender and then flicked her hands out to say, get on with it.

Shaking his head, Rick questioned, "Got any advice for us?"

"Yeah," the voice affirmed. "I'd say make a run for it."

Make a run for it?!

Letting out a troubled laugh, Sin scooted back from Rick and plopped down, her knees drawn to her chest. She rested an elbow on one knee and dropped her head into her hand. There was nowhere for them to go, the streets were crawling with walkers, or geeks, or shufflers, whatever they were called; they covered every open space. No way would they survive this by making a run for it. Her long black hair was falling from its pony tail, needing a distraction of some sort; Sin released her long thick hair and shook it out. Rubbing the hairline gently to ease the strain the hair tie caused, Sin gathered her tresses and put it back into a semi-neat tail.

Rick asked about the bag of guns the two had brought but the voice advised them not to go for them, but told them they needed to get out of there. Well Sin agreed to that.

The sheriff was moving now, first to the body of the dead soldier intent on finding another weapon but on a near shelf the found a grenade. It was their lucky day. He clipped the grenade to his belt then came to Sin and searched her small satchel for an additional weapon. Digging further past the clothes, power bars, and juice boxes, his hand touched metal.

Returning to the receiver he listed off the weapons, "I got a Beretta with one clip, fifteen rounds, and a .38 revolver five rounds."

"Make them count." the voice advised them, "Jump off the right side of the tank, keep going in that direction. There's an alley up street, maybe fifty yards."

Sin located her forgotten machete and gripped it tight as she put her feet underneath her body, ready to move.

"Be there!" was the last transmission.

That was all the instructions the two needed. Rick looked over to her, she nodded resolutely patting her satchel that was strung across her body and they went up the ladder and out the top door. Rick killed one zombie that was still on the tank with the shovel he took, then tossed the shovel aside and shot three that were in their path. Sin cursed at him, annoyed he was using something that was so loud and reached out to grab him by the wrist. She wasn't the most fit person in the world, but damn it all to hell - she was able to ignore the parts of her that were in pain from the fall out of the tank as she found the strength to drag Rick behind her to the alleyway.

Her machete sliced into three heads individually as they crossed into their path, they were moving slow which allowed Sin to take each one on while Rick fired his gun at the walkers in the distance. Rick slipped in first and she followed just in time to see a young Asian man brace himself from fall backwards with his hands held up, "Whoa – not dead!" he shouted.

The voice was the only reason Rick dropped his gun and the two of them followed the guy down the alley and up onto a fire escape.

Everything was moving so fast. Sin couldn't quite grasp what was happening, but by the time the three of them climbed the ladder all the way to the roof, her lungs were on fire.

"Nice moves there, Clint Eastwood. Are you the new sheriff? Come riding in to clean up the town?" He sneered.

"Rick Grimes," Rick introduced breathing heavy and gestured to the young woman on his right with her back turned towards the men, leaning one arm on the brick wall and the other holding her bloody machete by her side, "That's Sin Rockell."

She raised the machete without turning around and waved it in greeting while she continued to try to catch her breath. Eye squeezed shut, Sin's large chest rose up and down with each breath thanking whatever deity she had the foresight to only pack her sports bras when the world ended; otherwise that would have been more painful.

The young man raised a brow, looked to her and questioned the unusual name, "Sin?"

Rick nodded and held his hand out in gratitude, redirecting the boy's attention, "Thanks for saving our lives back there…"

He regarded the hand and reluctantly took it into his own, "Glenn, you're welcome."

A heavy clang sounded from below and Sin quickly jerked around, her machete raised. The three surveyed the geeks as Glenn called them; one of them apparently learned how to climb.

It was time to move.

The only way to go was up.

She quickly sheathed her machete, now that she had the time, and let Rick guide her to take her place behind Glenn. She wouldn't admit it to these two, but she was terrified of heights. Seemed such a trivial thing, but it was there.

"Bright side: it'll be the fall that kills us," Glenn surmised nonchalant and locked eyes with Sin, "I'm a glass half full kinda guy."

Sin turned back to stare at Rick as if to say, seriously? He simply nodded patiently and jutted his chin up, a simple indication for her to start climbing.

The only woman of the travelling trio seemed to be more interested in their surroundings than the other two. Rather than joining the conversation between Rick and Glenn, she kept her right hand on the machete handle, ready to pull if needed and her blue eyes narrowed on watch for walkers. Glenn opened a hatch that led down somewhere only he knew. They went up only to go down? Sin was desperately trying to memorize every turn or geographical marker in case he was leading them to their deaths.

A part of her was weary of this stranger.

He had helped them too easily, hadn't he?

Then again, a larger part of her liked him instantly. He was animated, talking with fervor and had an air of confidence about him as he traversed the industrial layout.

As they climbed down the darken shaft, Sin called out to him and asked, "So what did you do before all this?"

He grunted once his feet touched bottom and hollered back, "Delivered pizzas. Why?"

Forgetting a moment of where they were both literally and existentially, Sin laughed loudly and shook her head in amazement but didn't answer. They trusted their lives with a pizza delivery boy. It's just as well; Rick trusted his life in her hands, a simple librarian.

Her hands were aching due to her grip, slippery with sweat and white knuckled and she didn't think she would ever feel the same relief that washed over her when Rick's large hands came to grip her waist and helped ease her down off the last ring. Given her shorter stature of 5'5, she had further to fall than the other two men. She looked up to Rick only to find him looking towards Glenn as he made his way across the empty floor towards an exit door. Quickly grabbing her hand, Rick pulled her with him almost like she had done earlier out the door and down a few level of stairs. Four walkers stood in their way.

It was a dead end. It was a trap. She knew it.

But before that thought could formulize into a full panic, a door swung open revealing two men in black riot gear brandishing baseball bats. They ran behind Glenn into the room, Sin being nearly drug behind Rick, her wrist still firmly caught in his hand. He kept her slightly behind him as they entered a larger room where the rest of Glenn's group was waiting.

Glenn motioned to them once the doors shut and they were relatively safe, "Found these two in the tank off Archdale."

They group eyed them wearily and Rick was about to speak when his words got caught in his throat. Sin frowned before she stepped from behind his back and followed his gaze to the the very strained string of a crossbow currently trained on Rick. Sin glared dangerously at the man behind it.

Glenn barked in alarm, "Daryl, what are you doing?"

"Gonna kill us," came the low, deep and gravelly voice of the man. "All that damned racket."

"Put it down man," Glenn begged exasperatedly his hands stretched out, like he was talking to a child.

"Don't think so, Chinaman, this un' needs ta learn a lesson," Daryl disagreed and stepped forward aiming the crossbow lower directly at Rick's leg.

"You even flinch," Sin warned suddenly drawing her machete and lurched directly in the path of the aimed weapon. "And I'll teach you a fucking lesson." She snarled quietly.

She had her machete in her free hand, her wrist loose, and her grip tight.

Just waiting.

Sin stared into Daryl's crystal eyes.

The redneck glared at her, his finger tense on the trigger, his muscles shaking with an anger that was misplaced before he curse aloud and dropped the bow to his side, throwing an arm out, "…now what?"

He deflected the conversation off of him entirely and it worked. The group immediately picked up on the 'whats next' bit and Glenn and Rick seemed to develop a plan rather quickly as they were made aware of the group's true motives of coming to Atlanta. Supply run and to find some guy named Merle.

Daryl's brother, it would seem.

He had come to the city to find some medicine for one of the older people at their campsite a few miles out of Atlanta and hadn't been back in a few days. They still needed the medicine and Daryl needed to find his brother.

Neither had been done, quite yet.

The loud honk that came from behind the building scared her. She jumped and raised her machete high in the air, ready to attack whatever it was. A blush found her cheeks when she glanced over at Daryl and saw him scoff at her.

"Screw you," she hissed and sheathed her weapon as they followed the rest of the group to go investigate.

"I'll be damned," awed the man named T-Dawg. "Hey, Daryl…" he called from the dirty window.

Daryl shoved his way to the front of the group and she cocked an eyebrow when the redneck burst out the door to the haggard man who leaped from the truck.

"It's Merle," Glenn whispered to Rick, just as everyone started climbing into the back of the truck bed, their packs in tow.

Rick and Sin, however, stood away from the group; they hadn't decided if joining them was good idea considering they just met and Sin and Daryl had already threatened to kill each other.

"What do you think?" Sin deferred to Rick yet again.

He huffed and placed his hands on his hips, taking in the small group of men. Glenn had rescued them from shit creek, T-Dawg seemed nice enough, and Daryl was a bit of a wild card but appeared to have a good head for survival.

"Tell you the truth; I don't think we have much of a choice here." Rick muttered quietly to her, resting his left hand on her right shoulder. He was speaking to her but his gaze never left the new unknown man, Merle.

"Weeelll," Merle purred as he swaggered over to the cop and pretty young thing with the huge knockers, "who's this cutie?" the thick drawl of the older man asked and took an eyeful of the new woman.

Daryl informed lowly, "Its Sin, big brother, she came with the badge." He flicked an arm at Rick.

Merle made no bones about wantonly eying her up and down as she made her way to follow Rick and the others to the back of the truck.

"Oh no little lady," Merle blocked her with a disarming smile, "You can sit up in the cab wit Ol' Merle."

Sin raised a brow at his audacity.

Rick immediately interjected, grabbing her left arm and gave a firm tug back to his side. She nearly tripped at the force Rick exhibited; clearly he was none too pleased with the prospect of them being split up. It was a smart move on the group's part, keep them separated until they could vet them but it was dangerous for Sin since she will be left alone for an unknown amount of time with this lecherous man.

"She stays with me." Rick ordered, glaring at Merle.

Yet, Merle replied coolly and shrugged, "You ain't callin' the shots anymore, pig. Imma have-ta insist."

Pulling Sin further behind him, as if to shield her with his body, Rick straightened to his full height and made to advance on Merle. He was stopped by the firm grip on his right forearm.

"Sure thing," Sin agreed, her voice tight as she pressed her body into Rick, trying to keep him from getting himself killed by the redneck twins.

"Whatever you want," she grimaced, swallowing down her nerves.

Merle laughed loudly and slapped his younger brother on his shoulder hard enough to where the dark-haired man stumbled slightly.

"Whatever I want. Now, I like the sound a' that!" Merle held out a hand to Sin, still grinning, "Come on now girlie, Ol' Merle ain't gunna bite ya." He winked.

Rick sharply turned his attention from the brothers to glare at her, upset she went against his wishes and put herself in a situation that could potentially end badly for them both. She removed her satchel and handed it to the Sheriff. Giving Rick a hard look, Sin trudged to Merle but didn't take his offered hand; rather she brushed right passed him to the passenger side. It was dangerous that she openly snubbed him; however Merle just snickered and all but skipped his way to the driver seat.

Rick hated it, but he understood what the look meant. She gave him the only weapon she could easily get to; but it would have been more useful in his own experienced hands. Should anything untoward happen, Rick would be the first one to make a move; the Beretta was empty but the revolver was not. They had no choice but to do as they were told if they wanted to stay alive. It was unclear if this group was good or bad and if the rest of their group was good or bad but it was too risky to remain in the city alone. Glenn's group was their only way out. Sin could take care of herself; she was doing it before Rick but it didn't make him feel any more at ease.

The truck rumbled to life.

Sin sat as far away from the older man as she could, almost intimately pressed against the passenger. It would be near impossible to pull her machete in this confined space if need be; so she kept her right hand on the door handle. Just in case she needed to make a break for it. Sure Glenn was a nice guy but that didn't mean his group was nice.

Sin had experience with a bad group; she had been a part of it. Seen terrible things they do to unknown unsuspecting people. Thankfully, she had the presence of mind to break away in the night.

Bad people do not improve, they worsen.

Perhaps this is why she was so determined to stay with Rick: because he reeked of good intentions and nobility. Maybe doing a few good deeds with him will wash away the stench of shame she carried around from her time with her last group.

The trip had been quiet so far.

The only sound was the engine, the wind flying by, the sound of small rocks kicking up, and the bench seat of the cab creaking under the weight of the two adults.

"So, Sin huh?" He said slyly, glancing at her, his left hand resting casually on the steering wheel while the other sat in his lap.

Merle licked his lips and smirked, "That uh short fer sumthin' or is it symbolic in some way?" He cackled.

She heaved a long sigh. Great, he was a talker. Despite his attempt at a conversation, Sin was not rising to the bait.

"It's a long ride, sugar tits. Gunna have-ta talk ta me sumtime."

More silence.

"No? Nuthin'?" He coaxed, turning his head from the road and back to her, then back again.

Yet, Sin stared directly ahead, only changing her gaze to peer into her side mirror. She could see Rick sitting against the right side of the truck, back rigid, eyes sharp; the picture of a man on edge. It threw him to be separated, that much she could tell. He turned to look to his right and caught sight of her staring at him through the side mirror. Sin smiled softly, trying to reassure him everything was okay and he cracked a crooked smile in return.

Merle once again interrupted her moment with Rick.

"Hand me that bag wouldja, little darlin'?" He pointed a dirty finger at the small cloth bag lying near her feet.

Not really seeing the point in refusing, Sin leaned down and placed the bag in the middle of the seat. Rifling through it, Merle pulled out a plastic baggy filled to the brim with something that passed for gold these days: jerky. His hand grabbed a piece and he began to chew on it loudly. Drool pooled in Sin's mouth at the smell of the jerky and at the prospect of eating something that didn't come from a tree or can since the Turn.

Her attention as now fully on the small baggy. Seeing this, Merle held the bag out to her in clear offering. But, he jerked the bag away when Sin reached for a piece.

"Nuh-uh, little darlin'." He smirked and slowly inched it out again, "You give me a full sentence and I'll let ya have sum, that's mah price."

As badly as she wanted to stick to her guns, Sin's stomach was winning the argument between her pride and her hunger. It was just a sentence, what could it hurt? Not as if he can use it to physically hurt her.

Sighing, she relented and spoke softly, "Sin is short for Lexsina, after my parents." Then held out her hand expectantly, her eyes wide and lips pursed, although because they were so large and full, it looked more like she was puckering up to him.

Amused at her short answer but a complete sentence as he requested, Merle zipped up the bag and tossed it into her lap. Poor girl didn't know what to do. She was confused and her face said it all. Brow furrowed, head tilted to the side, girl looked like a little puppy dog.

"You go on. I got plenty more," he stated matter-of-factly, waving a hand at her.

It was so Daryl-like, she was beginning to see the family resemblance. She murmured a quiet thank you and began to chomp on the jerky, not really caring if it was beef or turkey, hell it could be squirrel for all she cared. It was meat. Meat tasted fucking good.

"So…" Merle spoke again lightly, pulling a cigarette from his shirt pocket and lighting it. He blew out the smoke and asked seriously, "Your tits real?"

"Oh my god! Really?!" She shouted outraged, glaring over at him. This guy had absolutely no filter, simply said whatever popped into his head no matter how rude or offensive.

Both of his hands came up in surrender, a little grin playing on his lips, "Relax, little darlin' it was just a joke."

"Hands on the wheel!" She commanded waving a hand at the windshield.

He removed the cigarette from his mouth and snickered, "Ain't nobody on this road but us."

Although she looked out and saw the road was deserted, no cars, no walkers, nothing but leaves fluttering by in their wake, it still didn't make her feel any better. If they wrecked, it would be bad for her but nasty for Rick and the other three men in the truck bed.

"You'd have-ta be a fuckin' idiot to crash out here. I may be alotta things, little darlin', idiot ain't one of 'em." Despite his speech, he replaced his hands on the wheel and smiled toothily at her.

Now that the silence had been effectively broken, there was no going back.

"Why were you in Atlanta?" Sin queried and continued to eat the jerky.

"Some ol' codger at our camp needed some medicine. Our doc wanted to go but I volunteered."

She was impressed, "Wow, that's…awfully brave of you."

"Yeah," he agreed, "Plus, tha pharmacy is right next a liquor store. Wasn't about ta pass that up." He cackled and pulled a silver flask from the cloth bag, taking a sip.

"Well that was short lived," commented the young woman and rolled her eyes while shaking her head.

"Oh now, dontcha be judgin' Uncle Merle," He tsked. "Have a sip."

Taking the silver flask in her hand, Sin tossed it back and enjoyed the cool burn of the whiskey as it poured into her mouth and down her throat. It had been far too long since she had a proper drink and she accidently took too much.

Coughing roughly, Sin handed the flask back to Merle. He howled with laughter and accepted the flask, taking another drink. Sin continued to cough and blew air out trying to lessen the burn.

"That's it, little darlin'," He said approvingly, "Imma make a Dixon outta you yet."

They both laughed heartily. It felt so good to laugh again. Maybe this group isn't as bad as she thought. Subtly, Sin inched away from the passenger door and whether it was actually talking with Merle or the booze, she finally felt herself relax the tiniest bit.

The sun had finally set; they had been on the road for about two hours and the last forty-five minutes or so had been dirt roads. They hadn't been on a paved road in a while.

Merle pulled the truck to a stop and cut the engine off.

"Sumthin' aint righ'," Daryl said ominously as they all exited the vehicle, jumping down onto the dirt path and clenching his crossbow. He squinted toward the left, probably where the camp was located and visible reacted to some sound only he could hear.

"Hear that?" The hunter asked, but no one could hear anything except for the crickets.

Screams.

Merle tore off into the woods and Daryl followed closely behind while the other men and Sin trailed them. Shit. Stopping just at the tree line and going back to the truck to grab the keys, Sin pocketed them hurriedly, and then she started again towards the sounds. They might need those keys if bad became worse.

What she came upon was something out of a horror film.

People were running all over the place. Death was heavy in the air and the sounds of bones being chewed made her stomach churn. Her machete took a life of its own.

She had never been a fighter, but it was instinct now.

She cleared off a section, slamming her blunted blade into the dying people's heads as well. No one needed to know about that. They would turn. There would be a mistake. They needed to end it now.

A few minutes passed that felt like hours, but at long last the only true sound was that of someone wailing. She followed the cries towards a larger campfire site and looked around to find a large group of people all staring with a mixture of worry and sadness at a blond woman kneeling down next to a younger one.

"Rick?!" Came a deep voice, she looked towards it and found herself looking at a rather tall man. He was covered in blood and had a woman engulfing a young girl directly behind him.

"Rick?" asked the tall man again, unbelieving of what he saw.

"Doc?" The Sheriff spoke relieved and marched to him.

He reached out and the two men's hands clasped together before Rick pulled the younger man into a fierce hug. But then, Rick's entire demeanor changed. Gone was the strong and stoic man she had been riding with and replaced was a human. His features shifted, his eyes welled with tears and Sin stepped forward to make sure he was alright only to be halted by the sound of a young boy's voice.

"Dad?!"

"Carl!" Rick screamed and took off running towards the boy. He damn near tackled him to the ground when he reached him. Sin blinked in amazement as she watched. Her heart swelling and a grin finding her lips. He had found him. And when the woman came walking up in complete shock and Rick grabbed her and pulled her to him Sin couldn't quite keep the tears from spilling down her cheeks.

Her Rick found his family.

And that was something good – wasn't it?

Hey yall! Sorry it took so long, had a long Easter holiday and then did some major clean up with this chapter. My AWESOME Beta had finals as well so there was a lot of lagging going on, but here it is! I hope you enjoy and I want to send love to Constance Bleu for being so amazing and working so hard to help me with my story. Check her out! She has stories of her own too :)

Have a good one yall,
-C