The first morning light fell through the bare areas of the forest and confirmed that you had been awake all night. Your bodies felt painful and you were tired. It had been a few hours since you hadn't heard a noise from outside, but you still hadn't decided to open the doors, nor did you walk away from them. Some of you lay on the floor, others were standing and others, like you, were sitting with their backs against the door. Although you had worked together during the night, Carol and Abraham weren't happy. You pretended not to notice. You saw Daryl looking out and leaning his face against a hole on one of the beams. As soon as he noticed your attention, he waved to you and you should also look through it. As a result, you saw the clearing, as well as the group of walkers who had tried to attack you, were literally swept away with some of the fallen trees and many of them were trapped under other tree trunks.

"I would say Mother Nature was busy.", you said.

Daryl reported that everything around you all was okay, there was nothing to fear. So you decided to open the doors and the light hit you, which made you raise a hand in front of your eyes. Although the picture that met your eyes didn't look very good and optimistic, it made you breathe a sigh of relief. Rick, after a quick look, said to Maggie and Sasha that they should look around. They controlled the area and maybe, if they were lucky, they would find something to eat. With all the excitement, some animals may have been injured. The evening was a disaster, a nightmare, but now you felt a strange mood, unlike everyone else. And Rick was visibly nervous and irritable.

"I was wrong...", Eugene said brokenly and frowned: "And Abraham got angry."

"Abraham gets mad at every shit.", you snorted. "That's nothing new."

"He hit me, too, when I said I'm not a scientist."

"I honestly can understand that...", you answered but put a hand on Eugene's shoulder and still tried to smile. He looked at you as if he didn't understand what he had said or done. Meanwhile, the sheriff looked at you one by one and realized that you were all really exhausted. It didn't make much sense to resume the journey immediately. You deserved a rest, especially now that the situation was finally calm again.

"We will stay for a while, we need energy again."

Everyone seemed to agree. So you went back to the barn and closed the doors for safety. Maggie and Sasha still enjoyed the sunrise. You sat on the floor, leaning your back against a support beam and staring down. Daryl surprisingly sat down with you and then cleaned his crossbow.

"Ya' still 've a swollen lip.", he said, looking at you with calm eyes. You touched your lower lip gently and it still hurt extremely.

"I have to look like a walker, right?", you said, laughing slightly.

"Ya' a disaster."

You shrugged, there was nothing to add. Then you noticed a kind of curiosity in his eyes.

"What?", you asked.

"Nothin', ya' just 've a strange look."

You showed all your teeth with a forced smile and underlined the fact that you were thinking about something. He squinted as if he wanted to understand you better. You forced another nervous smile, looked away, and noticed Rick at the other side of the barn. His eyes were empty, staring into the void. Little Judith sat beside his legs, concentrating on following her brother's movements, which rummaged through the backpack. You noticed a strange nervousness in the air... Suddenly the door moved and behind it appeared Maggie and Sasha, followed by a stranger. You all got up, ready to defend yourselves, but the man's eyes were peaceful. Was that the same person who put the water on the street? Due to his physique and the awkward gait he had to belong to a group. The clothes were clean, they looked new. He certainly came from a safe place.

"We met him out here.", Maggie announced: "He was alone. We took his weapons and all his things."

Rick positioned himself in the middle of the barn with Judith in his arms. His eyes were fixed on the stranger. He didn't seem to care at all for the information Maggie revealed. He didn't trust him. Daryl moved away from you and examined the man, who also glanced outward as if accepting that what was said was true. The man raised his hands to his chest, indicating that he was harmless.

"Hi...", he said in a shaky voice and Judith burst into tears and forced her father to hand her over to Carl's arms.

"It's nice to meet you.", the stranger continued, taking a step forward as if to shake hands with the sheriff. But Rick remained motionless, explaining that he had no intention of talking to this man. He ignored him.

"He had a gun, right?"

Maggie took the pistol she had grabbed, handed it to the sheriff and returned. Rick checked it and then spoke to the newcomer.

"What do you want?"

You stared at Rick. You understood that he was suspicious, but you could see how good-natured this stranger was. Sasha answered in his place.

"He has a camp near here, he wants us to accept membership."

The man gathered his courage and, looking at each of you as if to convince you all and said: "It would be nice if there was another word to define it, it is not a camp.", he said calmly: "It's a community. I think you're all good additions to our people, but that doesn't depend on me, my job is to convince you to come home with me."

The others didn't keep their eyes off him and analyzed him. But no one dared to say anything and waited for a move from your leader. Daryl looked at the stranger and Rick again and again and went from one to the other like a dog waiting for orders. The sheriff, however, still had a serious attitude.

"Sasha, can you give Rick my backpack?", the stranger asked kindly and you saw how desperately he tried to trust, to prove himself a friend. He wasn't a bad person, the more he talked, the more you're convinced. She moved and picked up a big rucksack, which she handed to Rick.

"There's an envelope in the front pocket.", he explained. Rick sank down, pulled out the object and opened it.

"I may not convince you that you come with me just by talking about our community-...", he admitted: "...-so I brought these pictures. I apologize in advance for the poor quality of the pictures.", he added: "I wanted to show you these pictures first because nothing I can say about the community is really important except that it is safe there."

You gathered around Rick so you could look at the pictures. The first showed a gate, a kind of seemingly resistant barricade. The members of your group started to look at each other. They almost seemed to believe his words, though you knew he was an unknown. It was hard to trust people again, and that was completely understandable. You carried terrible memories with you, hard to ignore.

Then the stranger started to speak again: "As I said earlier, safety is important, but something more important to the survival of the community is human beings.", he declared genuinely.

Rick got up and moved quickly in his direction. You blinked, you knew what would happen.

"Together we are strong... And you can make us stronger.", he said softly, not imagining what would happen. A fist was struck in his face and the man fell helplessly to the ground. You sighed, because he had fainted.

~

You dampened a cloth and pressed it lightly on the stranger's temple and cheekbones, hoping to relieve some of his probable pain. His plaid shirt, though blue, reminded you of your old red one from your dead and good friend. You weren't happy with how things went and you were ashamed of Rick's gesture. There was no reason to beat him. Meanwhile, Carl emptied the stranger's backpack.

"We need sentinels in all directions.", the sheriff ordered: "They come for us, we don't know how or when, but they will come."

Michonne reached Rick and tried to make him think. "Just to make it clear, there was really no need to beat him to knockout!"

"We can not trust him.", he said in a scratchy voice.

"He arrived on his own and was disarmed, he's practically harmless, why did you have to react that way?", you asked and Rick challenged you with his eyes. It bothered him, but you all couldn't always agree.

"I agree with Y/N.", Maggie said: "Me and Sasha hadn't seen him, he could easily have attacked us."

The leader clearly ignored your speeches and returned to his paranoia. He paced up and down the barn and glanced at the others, who were supposed to watch outside. Daryl hesitated. It was enough for someone or something to disturb his balance and he returned the usual sullen mistrust.

"Do you see anything?", Rick asked desperately.

"There are too many places to hide.", Glenn replied.

You then saw the stranger's eyelids move, he regained consciousness but you continued to press the wet cloth lightly on the area. Then he opened his eyes completely and assumed a pained expression.

"I'm so sorry.", you whispered: "Can you sit?"

"He's alright.", Rick grumbled and heard me: "Pull him up."

You helped him to sit down. Meanwhile, Daryl tied his wrists together. You tried to meet his gaze, hoping to change his mind, but he didn't even look sideways as if he knew.

"You want to be careful, I understand it.", said the stranger.

"How many of you are out there?", Rick asked determinedly: "You have a flare gun to send signals."

The stranger shook his head. "Is it important?"

"Yes."

It was a very delicate situation and none of you tried to keep it at bay.

"Of course, but any number I would tell you, you would never believe me.", the stranger snorted: "Ten, or maybe thirty-two, four hundred... Or even zero?"

Rick frowned, feeling teased: "It's hard to trust someone who smiles after getting a punch in his face."

"And why should I leave water bottles on the street to help you?"

Your instinct didn't fail and immediately looked at Carol and Abraham with a satisfied face.

"If he wanted to threaten or kill us, he certainly would not have waited until today. There would have been many other good opportunities.", you intervened as an objection. Rick stopped and stared at you and you were sure he cursed you at that moment.

"How long 've ya' been followin' us?", Daryl asked.

"I had enough time to observe that you ignored a group of walkers who followed you, that despite the lack of food and water, you weren't terrible with each other.", he said openly: "You are survivors... Humans."

The last word hit you. You wondered how many other people he had met before you. Not all of them had come out of this hell unscathed, on the contrary, many had become wild animals, more dangerous than the walkers itself. You had more than a taste of it. Although his speeches arrived, Rick didn't seem to feel the same.

"How many of you are out there?", he repeated, but the stranger didn't answer. The sheriff slowly shook his head and grimaced.

"Why the hell do you ask him questions again and again if you don't even believe his words?", you mumbled.

The stranger then sighed. "I have one person with me..."

"I knew you wouldn't believe me, how can I convince you?", he asked exhausted: "What if I brought you there? If we go now, we'll arrive at noon."

You all looked at Rick and hoped he would get to the heart of the matter. It was useless to think further. The stranger was visibly annoyed, but didn't want to give up. Did he really want to give you all peace?

"We came separately.", he declared softly: "If we found a group, we wanted to bring them to us, there is room for everyone."

Then Carol intervened in the conversation. You were amazed to see that she started to doubt. She believed him.

"And you didn't leave the car far from here?"

"Yes, one kilometer to the east. We wanted to get closer, but there was a storm and the road was blocked."

Michonne nodded. She would give the man a chance. After all, it was an opportunity you couldn't easily give up, as if nothing had happened. When could it ever happen again? It was a risk that needed to be overcome.

"You have prepared yourself well.", Rick chuckled hysterically.

"What proof do you fucking want?", you asked nervously: "Does it cost you so much shit?"

He came to you like a fury.

"It's my concern for us, it's about our lives, it could be an ambush, all bullshit!"

Michonne moved decisively and spoke without much words.

"I'll look for it.", she explained, referring to the cars.

"There is no car!", the sheriff has raised as objections. You took a step forward and looked Rick in the eye, as if you didn't feel threatened by his aggressive attitude at all.

"There's only one way to find that out.", you protested, smiling.

"We don't need to find out.", he replied and went on to look at you badly.

"We don't need to? Are you fucking serious?", you stuttered in disbelief: "Look at us, our wishes have been expressed and you want to throw away this damn unique opportunity?"

Michonne then supported you.

"Rick, you'll have your reasons, but I disagree. Do you really want to give up a place where we could live quietly, where Judith could grow up safely?"

The sheriff looked around and tried to figure out which side the majority of the group was on. He visibly disagreed with your decision, but you all felt the need to preserve this rare possibility. Then he decided to form groups: Michonne, Abraham, Rosita and Glenn were looking for the cars.
You wanted to have certainties. You leaned forward to find out if you could go with them, but he forbade you as if to punish you.

"No, Y/N, you're not moving away from here!", he said without looking at you. Rick confided in his daughter as if she was in trouble. He raised the stranger and tied him to a support beam that immobilized him. You looked at him angrily, but didn't say anything, for fear Rick might get angry again.

"Why the hell didn't you let me go with them?", you asked.

"You don't seem to be able to take care of yourself right now."

You snorted and looked up. "What an fucking asshole.", you said to yourself and he wiped his hands on his pants, freeing himself from the dust of the dry floor. With Judith now in your arms, you didn't want to scream or get aggressive. It limited you and maybe it was a good thing.

"I have to think about this situation now.", he snapped back.

You finally gave up and focused on the baby. She seemed hungry. Meanwhile, Rick stared at the stranger again and again and checked the situation from time to time.

"It has happened to me several times to have a gun pointed at me, but you are a good person, you will not kill us because we will not kill you."

Without looking, he peered through the beams into the clearing and answered with disarming calm.

"The fact that we are good people does not mean we will not kill you. And if the rest of my people don't come back in an hour, I'll ram a knife in your head.", Rick replied.

The man lowered his head and grimaced. You couldn't look at him under these conditions. Tied and threatened with death... You understood the sheriff's actions, his distrust of what had happened to you in Terminus, but he couldn't treat anyone as a murderer. However, it wasn't necessary to overcome boundaries.

"What's your name?", you asked, smiling and he immediately looked up at you and smiled too: "Aaron. And thank you for your concern."

The baby suddenly started to cry and kicked like crazy. This tiny little body had enormous power. Rick scoured the supplies for something Judith could eat, but nothing was found.

"You saw the glass in my backpack, didn't you? That's apple puree."

Rick stopped and looked at the object in question on a small table.

"I don't want to deceive you.", Aaron reassured: "I'm not trying to please you, it's an instinct for conservation, because when the walkers hears her and comes here, I know I'm going to be the first who will die."

He was a good speaker, maybe too much. He always talked too much, although one could think about every single word so that he always centered himself. You kept the child hoping to calm her or at least reduce the volume of crying. Rick opened the glass and dipped a spoon into it, which he held to Aaron's lips.

"Do you really think he's trying to poison your daughter?"

Rick did not move, indicating that he wouldn't change his mind.

"I'm tied up and you've already expressed a willingness to put a knife in my head, how can you kill someone so brutally in the presence of your daughter?"

Rick got angry and you beat him. You wanted him to treat you like everyone else in your group.

"Maybe she will not die.", Rick explained: "Maybe she'll get sick and he's the only person who can help her."

"I'm the only one who can help her because I have something to eat for her!", Aaron said quickly. Rick persisted and approached him with rage.

"It's just plain apple puree.", Aaron said, his face still horrified. "I just brought it to show you we have some apple trees."

You pushed Rick without much strength, hoping to get him away from this poor guy.

"Now stop torturing him, I'll give it a try!", you suggested.

But the sheriff didn't move an inch and kept that spoon in the air. When you wanted to send him away again, Aaron ate the apple puree. Satisfied, Rick took Judith in his arms and prepared to feed her. He then sat in the corner of the barn, proud of how he handled the situation.

"There are still 45 minutes remaining.", he called.

You sighed. If the sheriff was stuck in these paranoid emotional states, it was really impossible to talk to each other and Aaron was terribly nervous. He was afraid that your group would be slow for some reason. After all, his life was also at stake... You folded your arms and sat next to Aaron, hoping he would talk to ease the tension.

"So... Are you still convinced you want us in your community?", you asked cautiously.

"Yes, no doubt, if you see it, you will understand, I can not leave you alone in this state, wandering through these places without food and water. You can not survive that way forever."

You hoped with all your heart that the place he had bragged so much was really special and hopefully safe.

"Together we are strong, you know?", you smiled: "Whatever... By the way, thanks for the water."

He laughed and looked at you with naive eyes. "Probably it was not a good idea to leave it that way, in the middle of the road with a note. If I think about it, I wouldn't have dared to, but you took it."

You shrugged and squeezed your chin in embarrassment. "It was a game of chance, as punishment I got this here.", you said, pointing to the wound and the conditions of the lip.

He widened his eyes and then looked at you for another injury.

"Don't worry.", you assured him: "They never raised their hands, it was just... A discussion that ended badly."

Meanwhile, Rick kept an eye on you.

"Was it Rick...?", he asked pointing to the sheriff.

"It was the Seargent. Abraham, to be exact."

Aaron took a deep breath and uncomfortably lowered his head: "I'm sorry, I did not want to create tensions between you."

You patted his shoulder. "Anyway... If we didn't argue, do you know how boring everything would be? It's just part of it.", you told him.

Then you saw his eyes fixed on a spot on your arm. You looked down and saw some big bruises that followed the curve of the forearm, almost like tattoos. The torn sleeves of the shirt were pulled up and showed the signs of the fight with Daryl that you had in the forest.

"And those extreme horrible bruises? Was that Abraham, too?", he asked, laughing slightly to ease the situation a bit.

You stared at him, hoping that Rick hadn't heard of it, but he immediately put the baby in what had been organized as her cradle and came up to you very quickly. You pulled down the remains of your sleeves and pretended not to do anything.

"It was just a quick walk... With a grip that's too strong... Well, if you have to run and when you're slower... You know...", you tried to talk out quickly and began to lie.

The sheriff was with you the next moment. He grabbed your arm and pulled you up, forcing you to get up. He picked up one of your sleeves and looked at the extreme bruises in the light. It was clear that they were imprints of a male hand capable of squeezing with such force. You tried to leave, but Rick's grip was too strong.

"Who did this to you?", he asked sourly and shocked at the same time.

"Rick please... It's nothing.", you replied.

"Who did this to you?", he repeated.

"It is none of your business.", you answered and put your feet up against the ground and hoped bitterly that you could get rid of him at that moment.

"Tell me, damn it!", he grunted. Then the door suddenly swung open and you recognized who entered. So you quickly looked away and stared at the opposite wall.

"Okay...", Rick said: "That was obvious."

Shortly thereafter, Daryl questioned the sheriff and tried to find out what was going on.

"You tell me!", Rick snapped, lifting your arm higher so he could see the heavy bruises and hematomas.

"Message arrived.", Daryl answered bitterly: "Now stop that fuckin' bullshit."

But Rick didn't relax his fingers and didn't let go: "Give me a reason."

"What?", you asked in confusion to intervene, but were ignored.

"Tell me why. Tell me you had a good reason and then, maybe... Maybe I can accept it!", he said openly to Daryl, the archer hanging his weapon over his shoulder and crossing his arms across his chest.

"Would it make a damn difference? Ya' already fuckin' sentencin' me, cowboy.", he said haughtily and came slowly to you: "Amon' other shit, ya' the last person who should talk so fucked up with me!"

He put his hand on your arm as well and challenged Rick. You didn't have the slightest idea what to say or do and just felt extremely uncomfortable.

"Come to the point, Daryl!", Rick laughed ironically.

"Do ya' really want me to believe that ya' the one who protects her 'nd keeps her safe while I'm that fuckin' violent bastard? Unfortunately ya' forgotten a few details, Rick... Whose fuckin' fault was it that Y/N got a damn slap from Michonne 'nd that Abraham fuckin' punched her? I'll make a lil' drawin' if ya' want!", Daryl shouted at him.

He tightened his grip and released you from Rick's. He stepped back and watched you with a very different expression than before. Did he feel guilty? Your arm was stretched to one side, but not quite free. Daryl held your wrist without tightening. He was still staring at Rick, smiling and challenging, hoping for a fight. You knew that quarreling could be almost a pleasant experience for him as it left him free from any thought or concern. But Rick was different than him, those words had scratched him. You then took a step forward to calm the sheriff. Daryl's words didn't bother you at the moment, because you hated that Rick was feeling tormented and you couldn't allow him to add another reason for this pointless, counterproductive action. But Daryl didn't allow you. In the meantime, Aaron looked at you sheepishly. You moved backwards, making the archer understand that you didn't want to be touched again.

"Why did you even come here?", you asked after a few minutes of silence.

"I wonder too...", he murmured and went out without closing the door. You sighed and closed your eyelids for a few seconds. All this tension within the group has started to get hard.

"I hope you enjoyed the show, Aaron.", you said ashamed. He didn't answer, but signaled you to talk to Rick. You crossed your arms and didn't know what to say, confused by the whole situation. So you took a few timid steps and spoke, though he turned his back to you.

"Rick, look... I'm sorry, okay?", you mumbled: "I know you're just worried about me and the rest of the group and I should have made it clear right away, so we could have avoided that stupid argument."

He rubbed his neck and then looked at you: "I'm trying to get everything under control, but I realize that many things are already out of control."

You remained silent and understood him. Then he turned around again and looked at Aaron as if nothing had happened.

"There are still 30 minutes left."