𝟨

𝖣𝗂𝗌𝖼𝗅𝖺𝗂𝗆𝖾𝗋 — 𝗍𝖺𝗅𝗄𝗌 𝗈𝖿 𝖻𝗋𝗎𝗂𝗌𝗂𝗇𝗀 ＆ 𝗍𝗁𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗍𝖾𝗇𝗂𝗇𝗀

𝖢𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝖲𝗂𝗑 — 𝖣𝖾𝖺𝗅𝗌 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖠𝖿𝖿𝖺𝗂𝗋𝗌

𝖪𝖺𝗍𝖺𝗋𝖺 𝖦𝗋𝖾𝖾𝗇𝖾

The best friend and wife of Rick Grimes is or in this case was having sexual affairs with one another while Rick was supposedly dead.

When in reality he was in a hospital room, in a medically induced coma. On the behalf of Lori Grimes, the woman thought her husband died and saw Shane as the last man on earth.

But Shane, he shared false news with the mother and son. It was believable because, well it's a zombie apocalypse and anything could happen to anyone in any moment.

When Rick had appeared at Morgan's and the two had a long conversation, Rick said when he awoke from his coma, a few objects was stored in front of the room he was in.

That could've been an attempt from Shane to keep him safe in the unconscious state. Though if he didn't know his health in the moment, why lie and say he was dead.

Quite obvious now though.

Lori, Rick and their son Carl was currently huddled up together in a family manner of course. As if the woman filthy mouth of hers wasn't all of Shane's a few hours ago, maybe her mouth wasn't just on his mouth.

Rick Grimes though was speaking to the group about what he had done during his journey to find his 'beautiful family'.

More like broken, but she wouldn't say that aloud, not here, and not yet.

"What's up your ass?" Theodore asked, he was sitting next to her, leaned back in his chair, with a beer bottle in his hand.

That made her eyebrows shoot up from their current stance.

"When did you become a father of three kids?" She spoke of her own father, remembering how Hershal drunk during the night time. She never blamed him though, poor man had to deal with her and Maggie's bickering all day.

"Since we had such a stressful day, SINCE when did you get so curious?" He asked being cocky about it, The Greene girls eyes squinted, but they never removed from his own gaze.

"Stupid .. question but you still didn't answer mine and I asked it first" he reversed it back onto her.

Rick and the rest was talking up a storm within each other, and they weren't in the spotlight, so whispering was easy for them.

"Lori and Shane are fucking, Shane came to confront me in the lake and almost killed me since I caught on, oh and I made a new friend" she blabbered off to her brother.

Theodore's hand froze in place once she shared what happened within the few hours that they got here, his mouth opened to reply to what she said. But he hadn't processed everything.

But when he did, he inched his body up to the edge of his seat, his eyes falling on Shane's. In which, Shane's eyes was on the Grimes. "He placed his hands on you?" He questioned.

She lifted her hand and placed it onto his knee, stopping any further movements, "If you go over there and hit him, it will draw attention, questions will rise and they will try and boot you from here" she was calm and collected with her words and her actions.

"But — "

"I taunted him." She told him an excuse, like always, her tone was still quiet though. By how calm her body language was, you'd never guess what they were talking about.

"That doesn't mean he lay a hand on a woman Katara." He turned his head over his shoulder and looked directly at her.

Katara Greene was indeed, an handful.

"Will you at least handle him?" He sat back in his seat slowly, his gaze still lingered on Shane.

Theodore knew what she was capable of, she proved herself worthy time and time again. "Of course I will, don't worry Theo, I have it" she assured her brother.

"I know you do. If you do need me though, don't hesitate to call my name" he added.

"Will do."

                                      ⇦⇨

Katara had to share a tent with Glenn Rhee, it wasn't any extra tents laying around so sharing one with Theodore was completely out of the question.

Theodore slept in the R.V with Dale, the old man offered her first, but she refused having to confront Shane tonight while he slept.

Glenn was asleep as of now so this was way more easier on her end, she removed her boots though so the squeaking or the crunching of leaves wouldn't wake anyone in the camp.

She was now at the entrance of the tent after quietly making her way over to it, unzipping it as quietly as she could be. "Where are you going?" Glenn's sleepy voice was now awake.

Damn it.

"Going to use the bathroom" she lied as she unzipped what was left of the tent.

"At this time of night?" The man was still laid down, but he was currently laid on his side, it was how he could see her clearly.

"Glenn?"

"Yes?"

"Go back to sleep" she told him, more of a demand than a simple ask.

"Okay" he mumbled, the boy was still tired. He turned his body the opposite direction from where he laid last.

Katara watched the boy, a small shake of her head coming from her as she zipped the tent closed. She left a little open to come back and be able to enter.

She knew her way to Shane's tent, Katara made sure that she watched him enter so she could go herself. Good part was, he always left a part of the tent open because if anything set off, he wanted to play superhero and help everyone.

Her eyes looked around the camp set up they had before quietly walking through the dirt trail towards Shane's sleeping quaters.

Everytime they got closer, you heard soft moans coming from a tent, which made her stop in her tracks and turn her head. They weren't very loud but they weren't so discreet neither, she could tell it was Rick and Lori.

But that wasn't any of her business neither.

What would just happen if she busted through the tent and told Rick that his wife and best friend was fucking while he was quote on quote 'dead'. The man would be heart broken.

She rolled her eyes slightly before continuing on down the path and right to Shane's tent. She crouched her body down and unzipped only a little more from what was unzipped.

When it was enough to get her body through, she had to be sure he was asleep, so she peaked her head through looking directly at the man.

He was a light snorer, and he was positioned directly on his back, man was a soldier even in his damn sleep.

She ducked her head and crawled inside of the tent before closing a part of it after herself before standing up on her feet.

Shane had a rifle directly on the side of his sleeping pad, and a hunters knife right next to it. With the pad of her toes, she slid them out the way quietly before doing the same with the rifle. It was now out of his reach.

She reached her hand behind herself and pulled out her own gun still being as silent as a church mouse. It had a few rounds in it, but she knew she couldn't shoot Shane, that would have to wait until future time.

Katara lowered herself onto the ground sitting in front of the weapons he had out for himself, one of her wrist were now stationed directly on her knee. It was the hand that held the gun.

And it was pointed straight ahead, at his sleeping body.

Her other hand though, reached for the jug of water he had around and opened it up.

She flicked her wrist throwing most of it on the sleeping man, after the throw, he was wide awake. It was funny watching him boost up so quickly from where he laid.

"Are you fucking crazy?" Shane was wiping his face of the water, his chest was heaving and his eyes was on her, scared as if he woken up from a bad night terror.

"Far from it" bullshit.

"How did you get in here." His southern accent was strongest when he first woke up. It was like hearing a cowboy from the old romcoms back on the channels at home.

"You took from me." Katara stated her issue with the man telling him exactly why she was here. She wouldn't just come here for no reason, she didn't like him, at all.

"I didn't take shit from you, you need to get your crazy ass — woah now" his arms were now raised in the air.

Katara was now on her knees with the tip of her gun pressed into his chest cavity, thank god the woman wasn't trigger happy. It would've looked like a gallery walk if she was.

She moved the sweater down off her neck showing the bruising he left on her neck. It was a mixture of brown and red, by the morning it'll be dark red, possibly purple.

"You took from me, you took something only I could have. You took, from me" she pointed at herself with the gun before placing it back. "Why don't I just take from you too" her eyes skimmed over his face for answers.

But the deputy couldn't do nothing but watch the woman in front of him. She was like someone who came fresh out of a looney bin. "I'm sorry" he said to her in a whispered tone.

"That doesn't cut it" her thumb moved to remove the safety from the gun, Shane's eyes watched her every movement too.

"I won't take from you ever again. I promise you that." Shane words were selective, yet promising she would guess it was from his policing days with Rick.

"I know you won't. Because next time it won't be a threat, it'll be the fingers off the hands you hurt me with last" it was more of a promise then a threat.

When Katara had prostituted herself gain money for her own living expenses, she lost so much of herself, her sanity, her reason of being on earth. So when the apocalypse came upon Atlanta, no man had ever taken from her again. She made sure of that.

But Shane took her a part of her balance as his own when he choked her, he took it and ate it.

The only thing she's doing is grabbing back what he took, setting the scale back to where it once was before.

"Men like you never stop, like you won't ever stop trying to make Lori yours. Those looks weren't enough Walsh? The looks of disgust, disappointment, anger" her gun was still at his chest, she refused to move it back.

"She isn't disgusted by me. She just doesn't understand — "

"Understand what? That you lied about Rick being alive and went on and created something romantic with his wife" Her head was close to his now, like his was earlier.

"Fucked her senseless constantly while you knew, he was in the hospital suffering, alone" she went on.

"Shut your mouth. Shut it." He didn't want to hear his wrongs, the sinful acts he committed.

He walked around like a sad puppy after Rick returned, if he knew Rick at all, he would've knew Rick would've returned either way.

"You don't tell me what to do" the loaded weapon was pointed and pressed against his jawline. But her eyes never left his gaze, even though his wasn't on hers, at all.

"If I catch you looking at her again, breathing the same air as you, even if the tension in the air is overwhelming. I will tell Rick myself" Katara promised him that, she loved the game they were playing, well she thought it to be one.

"If you go against me, place another hand on me. You'll just be another walker in a herd of them, your life doesn't matter anymore, neither does mine or anyone else's here" she wanted him to understand that she will go to lengths.

Just to make sure that he won't ever place a hand onto Lori Grimes or her son ever again.

"Am I understood, deputy Walsh" she asked.

"Understood." He submitted to her quite easily this time, maybe it was because of her actions.

She tapped the side of her gun against his cheek before standing up onto her feet, her dress falling down to her ankles. "Have a good night now" she said to him before exiting his tent the same way she had gotten in.

She had started her journey down the dirt trail, applying the safety back on the gun and then she put it back in her holster that she had.

"Katara?" Rick called out the girls name from behind her, she was hoping, he hadn't seen anything or heard anything that just happened.

"Rick? What are you doing up so late?" She asked him, turning on her heel to face her friend that was currently looking at her.

"Can't sleep" he approached the girl.

Usually after sex, the man and woman are supposed to be tired, but it probably wasn't that kind of thing tonight.

Or simply the life they are living now is keeping his mind and body mobile. Either or.

"Ah. I just had to pee" she lied, using the same lie that she told Glenn to him too. She couldn't just go and say 'Hey! I almost killed Shane for choking me and sleeping with your wife'.

Rick was going to reply to her last answer but then he saw the bruising on her neck. Katara's watched him and then she forgot that she lowered the sweater to give Shane a better look.

"Who did this?" He stepped into her personal space and took her face into his hand, using his hand he turned her face to the side. "Who hurt you here Katara?" His voice wasn't loud but it sure was serious and protective.

"It's just brushing from merl that's all, when that little altercation happened" she lied, covering the ass of Shane's and Lori's in this matter as well.

Rick looked at her face before at her neck, he didn't remember her being choked by merl. But he had got punched the shit out during that time so he might've mistaken a lot, just maybe.

"In the morning, we're gonna ice that down. So the bruising could come down alright?" He told her, rubbing his thumb over the bruise lightly.

Not too roughly, he didn't want to hurt her more than she already was as of now.

Katara watched him with her eyes before moving her head back, crossing her arms against her chest looking around with her eyes. "Okay" she scratched her wrist slightly.

"You should sleep, you need to be energized in order to spend time with that cute kid" Katara referred to Carl, he was talked to her before the moon had peaked. Introduced himself, he was a little gentlemen she had to say.

"I'll see you tomorrow, hopefully with something cool for the neck" he started to walk back to his camp and she walked towards the tent that was directly to her left.

"Goodnight Charming."

"Goodnight Mayhem."

                                        ⇦⇨

Katara Greene woke up bright and early the next morning while the entire camp was still asleep, including her brother. Excluding Dixon.

She saw the man with his cross bow, talking to himself about trying to catch a deer so it could last the camp at least a week.

While he talked to himself aloud, she took it upon herself to get dress to tag along with the man being quite bored here.

Hearing the scrawny Asian snore wasn't exactly fun to listen too.

"I'm ready" Katara had walked out of the tent, she had stolen a pair of jeans from the bag of Glenn. Along with a tank top that fitted her perfectly, which was weird in a sense.

Daryl eyes looked towards her as he held his cross bow arrows in his hand, "Your staying here" he said, walking directly past her, traveling towards the hunting trail of the camp.

"Here is boring, with you, might be slightly better if you don't act like an ass" she had searched around with her eyes for a weapon, she just needed something quiet.

It was very early in the morning, and shooting a gun would only attract walkers, but if it is walkers in the mountain area. A hunting knife would be the best choice as of now.

A grunt came from Daryl's mouth, which made Katara head tilt slightly as she followed after him after grabbing the knife she saw.

She didn't know who it belonged too, neither did she care. "So, tell me about yourself" she tried to create small talk but he didn't look like much of a talker. But he was yesterday.

Katara and Daryl walked the mountain hunting trail for at least a few minutes trying to find the deer territory. But Daryl wouldn't budge, she kept trying different things, but all of them didn't work at all.

"How about this, I tell you about myself and then you share a little something about you" Katara said to him and again she was greeted by silence. But she won't stop trying, she was just as stubborn as him.

"I was a prostitute before all of this. In simple words, sleeping with men for money" she dumbed it down.

"I know what it is." Daryl stopped in his tracks.

"Good then, your smart. Sold my body so I could create a small living, something better than what I initially had before" she explained her life story stopping as well, looking at the man who eyes stared directly back at hers.

"Why did you do it?" He asked.

"Ran away from home at eighteen with a boyfriend, he hooked me on drugs, sold me and my body to men and woman. I ran away, had no money, and then did what I knew" she explained it in simple words.

"Prostituted your own self?"

"Correct. It was good for a while. Controlled who sleeps with me, and the price. But that ended when men got greedy." She started to walk the trail again not liking how sudden he stopped just to listen to her and her story.

Daryl followed beside the girl not knowing much of what to say, she did what she had to do to live. He respected it.

"I was unemployed. My brother Merl helped me out with everything." he finally opened his mouth for something other than questions.

She nodded her head turning her head towards the man, "I met your brother, way different than you" Katara wasn't going to tell him about the full interaction, just part of it.

"I'm guessing the first impression wasn't the greatest one?" Daryl asked the female knowing how much of an asshole his brother truly was.

"Beat the shit out of most of the group, so I put a stop to it" Katara admitted.

"Someone needed to do it. But he won't ever live that down, him getting his ass beat by a little woman. That's new" a chuckle came from his lips, the first one she's heard.

"This little woman could do more damage than just that too. Don't underestimate little women now Daryl Dixon" she educated him and his eyes rolled, playfully of course.

But it gained a small laugh from the Greene girl, it wasn't the first one he heard coming from her mouth, but it was nice they were on good terms in general.

Her laughs came to a stop when an unknown sound came from the bushes, her head whipping towards the sound instantly. Daryl had stepped in front of her, putting his arm in front of her to stop her in her tracks.

"Walker?" She asked through a whisper and Daryl eyes spotted a deer, they were in the territory anyways. Made sense.

"Deer" he pointed towards it before stepping behind a large bolder crouching down behind it, Katara followed his lead of course.

Katara eyes reverted towards the direction his was looking at, it was such a beautiful sight. She felt bad for what was about to happen to it, an innocent animal life about to be lost because of humans, once again.

But they had to eat.

"Stay quiet at all times. Do you hear me?" Daryl kept his words simple and short.

"Understood." She said crouched but she watched him with her eyes loading his crossbow. Weird choice of weapon. But it was just as quiet as a knife.

Katara's gaze fell onto Daryls stance, his eyes was locked in on the deer, mutters coming from his mouth as well but they weren't too loud. He didn't want to scare it away.

"Almost" he leaned in slightly onto the bolder, the pad of his finger meeting the trigger of the crossbow, he was about to kill it.

Before he could press the trigger, low snarls was heard from behind the two. Walkers.

The deer lifted its head and looked towards the walkers and started to run the opposite direction.

"Catch the deer, I'll take care of the walkers, go." Katara told him as she stood onto her feet holding the hunters knife within her hand.

Daryl looked at her giving her a single nod before jumping over the bolder darting after the deer on foot. Leaving Katara turning her back to see at least four walkers approaching her, moans and snarls coming from them.

Her face cringed slightly as she saw the walkers, two of them looked fresh. Two of the walkers looked more older than the others, as if it been around since the start.

When one of the walkers approached her, she used her foot to kick the closest walker to her. The walker ended up falling directly onto its back and she leaned down plunging the knife into its skull before snatching it out.

Stab it's head.

It was the trick to keep them dead. When the second walker came across her, she was already just standing up from killing the last one.

She stabbed the large blade underneath the jaw of the walker feeling it's cold blood run down her fingers. She always hated the feeling of the blood, one it stunk, deceased humans always had on odor. And the coldness of the bodies.

When she removed the blade, the walker fell beside the last one leaving the last two walking directly at her.

They were standing behind each other, their hands reaching towards her as they walked.

She could end them both rather quickly if she wanted too, so her eyes roamed around for an long object. A stick.

When she saw a stick in her side view, she leaned down grabbing it dropping the knife as she did so. "Come on" she lifted the stick in her hand holding it over her shoulder slightly.

The mindless creatures walked directly into the stick, head first, dying instantly. When she dropped the stick, the walkers dropped as well.

She knew she could handle herself, but she only hoped that Daryl had caught the deer. The group was starting to run low on food, and the deer might help them survive two weeks.

Only if butchered and serving sizes were the exact same for each person.

Katara grabbed the knife from the bolder and started to run down the path Daryl travelled down to catch the deer. She didn't know where he was, but she hoped going down the same path he went down would help her find him.

But the mountains were like a maze, and deers could go absolutely anywhere.

Though when she heard a scream, a scream from a child, Carl to be exact. It helped her locate the camp at least, she changed directions running towards the scream.

"Carl?" She yelled his name as she ran down the path way, jumping over some logs and bushes just to get to the boy. "Carl!" She yelled again, her footsteps coming to a stop.

She turned her head to look around not spotting him at all, she was worried if walkers had gotten to him. He wasn't even her child, but he put her through slight worry as of now.

Carl wouldn't stand a chance with a walker now at his age, he never even wielded a gun before. But her thoughts came to an end when she felt a body hug her side.

It was Carl Grimes, his head hidden in her stomach and his arms wrapped around her waist tightly, he was scared for his life. Her head tilted downwards looking at the boy.

"Have you been bitten or scratched Carl? Talk to me" she asked him crouching down in front of him checking his arms and face, but she saw nothing off of him.

"No" he shook his head and she nodded her head hugging the boy. Carl immediately sunk into her embrace keeping his head in the woman's shoulder.

Katara saw the men run to the area, men from camp starting to beat on the walker that's feasting on the deer that her and Daryl was tracking and trying to catch.

Now the meat was tainted.

Rick eyes met Katara's gaze for a few seconds seeing how she attended to Carl in his state. He thanked the woman with his eyes and she nodded her head slightly as in your welcome.

Lori had came over to find Carl, only to find him on the woman's arms and she didn't know how to feel about it. Instead of running to her, he seeker comfort in a stranger. But he was scared and ran to the first person that he saw.

"Carl, come" Lori called for her child and Carl shook his head as in no, the boy was almost mauled by a walker, he was still in shock.

Katara smirked at the woman slightly before lifting carls head to her gaze, the smirk on her lips immediately dropping itself. "I need you to go to your mother, I will come and find you in a bit to check on you okay?" She asked him.

Carl wiped his eyes with the sleeves of his shirt before nodding his head running towards his mother. She watched Lori take her son back to the camp and she stood up.

Now Daryl was back, she was occupied with Carl that she didn't see him come back and shoot the walker with an crossbow after Dale chopped off it's head. She stood up from her current standing and walked over to them.

Her hands was covered in walkers blood, due to the knife plunging and snatching. She heard Dixon go on for a bit, her eyes following his every single move, quite funny how he walked.

And now he was kicking the walkers body, which made her eyes switch to it and then him a few times. She would be anger about the deer too if she caught it, and then it became tainted meat. But not throw a tantrum.

"Filthy, diseased-bearing, motherless, proxy bastard!" He shouted as he kicked the walker.

"Calm down, son. That's not helping" Dale jumped in trying to help the man who was on a small rant page calm down.

"Why don't you take that stupid hat, and go back to on golden pond" he looked at the man before walking towards the deer. "I've been tracking this deer for miles, gonna drag it back to camp, cook us up some venison"

Katara stayed silent most of the time, watching the faces of everyone in the group look at him as if he was crazy. But he was far from it.

"Do you think we could cut through this chewed up part right here?" He asked and Katara shook her head.

"Too risky Daryl, meat is tainted" she said.

"I would not risk that" Shane spoke and her eyes looked at him for a split second before looking directly at Daryl again.

"That's a damn shame" he stood to his feet looking down at the venisons dead and half way eaten corpse. "I got some squirrel, about a dozen or so. That'll have to due" he explained.

She looked down when she heard the snapping of a jaw, the walkers head was still alive, mobile at least for the matter. She gripped the handle of the hunters blade before leaning her body down slightly plunging the knife through its thick skull, before snatching it right out.

"It gotta be the brain, don't y'all know nothing?" Daryl asked them before helping Katara stand up again. The woman and him walked side by side back to the camp sight they were at.

"Merl?" Oh. Shit.

"Merl? Get your ass out here" she stopped where she stood watching the man walk further, "I got us some squirrels" he said loudly projecting his voice.

The thing was Merl wasn't here. Merl was still locked on the roof top hoping that walkers wouldn't come and eat him alive. Because T-dog dropped the key, it wasn't his fault though.

"Let's stew em up" he placed his crossbow down and started to remove the line of squirrel from his shoulder.

She was confused on how, he had gotten the squirrel so quickly. She ran down the hill for at least five minutes before heading Carls scream.

"Daryl, just slow down a bit. I need to talk to you" Daryl stopped in his tracks before turning his attention to Shane who was walking up.

"About what?" For a quick moment his eyes met Katara's before looking back at Shane. It was more of a what the fuck is going on.

"About Merl..There was a problem in Atlanta" he told him, standing directly in front of the females of the group protectively, including herself but she wasn't scared of Daryl.

Damn sure didn't need a man to protect her neither so she moved from behind him. Placing herself right beside him.

"He dead?" Daryl already thought of the worse, in this world, it was nothing but bad news.

"I'm not sure" Shane spoke of the truth.

"He either is or he ain't" Daryl was on the confused side of things.

"No easy way to say this, so I'll just say it." Rick stepped up into the equation. Poor man never knows when to mind the business of his.

"Who are you?"

"Rick Grimes"

"Rick Grimes, you got something you want to tell me?" He asked him in more of an aggressive manner than anything else, still being upset and confused.

"Your brother was a danger to us all, so I handcuffed him to a roof, hooked him to a piece of metal, he's still there" Rick summed it up for him.

"Hold on, let me process this. You're saying you handcuffed my brother to a roof? And you left him there?" He shouted loudly.

"Yeah" Rick nodded his head, even he felt quite bad for leaving Merle behind, no one deserves to go out that way, bad or not.

The woman watched the anger boil in the male's veins, the hatred behind his teary eyes, the urge to want to hit Rick.

That he actually went through with, he swung forward at Rick just to get tackled dramatically to the ground by Deputy Shane Walsh.

But when Shane had gotten off of him, a knife was unsheathed from Daryl's holder. "Daryl" Katara spoke out to him stepping forward only slightly.

"I don't think you should do that" Lori said to her as she kept her hand onto her son's arm.

"I didn't ask" she told the woman, not even making eye contact with her at all. But the entire group watched the men tussle until they got him down into a restraint.

"He's not an animal, restraints aren't necessary" Katara defended a man she barley knew, just to piss Shane all the way off.

"It is necessary when he's swinging a knife, would you rather the knife to be swung your way little lady"

He knew she couldn't act commanding the way she wanted in front of everyone. So he played with her a bit, mentally, with his words.

"Maybe next time it should be you"