~We slid into the city, past several groups of walkers. We scurried up the steps of the building in which Merle was supposedly on top of.

The door was unchained and when T-Dog saw this, he looked uneasy. Rick jammed the door open enough for us to slide through and one by one, we stepped on the roof.

Merle wasn't here. But others were, and they weren't walkers.~

~Rebel's POV~

I couldn't believe it.

They were alive. They had made it somehow in this mess of a world. Before I could celebrate, Daryl readied his crossbow.

Once again, I placed my hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down before he shot them.

"Daryl, don't." I whispered to him.

"You don't even know them!" his voice was rising and I knew he would pull the trigger any second.

But I did know them. They were my family. My brothers and my sister. They were alive and they were here. I finally found them.

"Rebel?" Gunner asked in disbelief. I smiled at him and made my way over to them.

"It's really you." Piper muttered. I embraced my sister into the biggest hug I've ever given her.

"I missed you so much." she sobbed.

I could feel the tears connecting with my shoulder. The tank top I was wearing did my damp skin no justice.

Rick decided to ruin the family moment, "Rebel, who are these people?"

I dropped my hug on Piper and gripped her hand in mine, "Rick, this is my family."

The whole group's eyes widened, something I was expecting.

Just hours ago I was crying over them, saying they were probably dead. Now I was holding my sister's hand, trying to keep the tears of joy at bay.

Rick blew out a breath through his nose, I could practically feel how hard whatever he was thinking about was for him.

"If you want to go with them, I understand. You are more than welcome to keep the bow and arrows, even though they're not the best." He spoke softly, I could tell he didn't want to start any fights.

Gunner strode toward me, "Good. So taking her will be no problem." He put one of his large hands on my shoulder and it felt wrong.

What? No! I liked the group, I fit in there. I wasn't left out with them, I actually mattered when I was there, unlike when I was with my family. The group was more of a family to me now then Piper, Gunner and Porter had ever been.

They had made me feel like family in under two days, and that truly amazed me.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm not going with you." I told them before going to stand in my place next to Daryl and Glenn.

Porter narrowed his eyes, looking between Daryl and I, like he could see something the others couldn't.

"I get it," Porter sneered, "your that redneck's bitch. I see how it is little sister."

"I am not anyone's bitch. It's funny to see how much you believe in me. I thought better of you." I uttered cautiously, trying not to stir up his fragile pride.

"Are you testing me little sister? Because I would gladly fight you." he threatened, stepping forward. He was trying to look intimidating, but he came off as a little boy challenging a horse. It was something you knew wouldn't end well.

"I don't think she wants a fig-" Rick started, but I cut him off by walking up to Porter.

"I don't see why you haven't fought me yet, brother."

I beamed my infamous smile at him before lifting my knee, swiftly connecting it with his private area. I twisted his shoulder, forcing him to the ground. I gripped his hair, pulling his head back so he could look at me.

"I win." I whispered before moving back towards the group, "If Merle's not here, we should look for him elsewhere. There's a trail of blood leading down the stairs, I think we should check there."

Rick nodded and turned on his heels. We all followed after him in a single-file.

"Wait!" Piper yelled, "I want to go with you. I'm not leaving you again." Piper cast a glance at me, trying to allow her into the group.

"Do you know how to use a gun or a knife?" Rick asked her and she nodded eagerly.

He looked back at the group and everyone except Daryl nodded, voting her in.

"Daryl? What do you think?" Rick asked him.

"Whatever." he mumbled before turning back towards the stairs, leaning on the doorway.

Rick jerked his head towards the group. She wrapped an arm around me, smiling about the fact that she found me.

"You're gonna pay for this, Rebel!" Porter yelled after me.

Piper looked at me with a worried expression, but I ignored it.

Why bother?

It's not like I couldn't protect myself from him. I've known him my whole life, I know what his attack plans are. If he finds a new plot, I could figure it out, Porter wasn't the brightest crayon in the box.

Rick tracked the trail of blood back down into the shopping center. Apparently, he had been here before because he seemed to know his way around pretty well.

Long story short, Merle wasn't here.

He jumped out of the window after he cut off his hand. I don't blame him, if a crowd of walkers was after me, I would've done the same thing.

"Alright. We need a plan to get the guns." Rick stated. Well, duh.

"Where are they?" Daryl asked.

"In the middle of 16th and Avenue so-" Glenn started, I tuned out the conversation after he said the location. Middle of 16th and Avenue. The shooting range was just one street over from that!

"Hey guys. If you're going to the 16th and Avenue, why don't we stop at the shooting range? They have a full stock of weapon under lock and key. The owner died before she could open it, I know the combination so we could get ammo and stuff."

Everyone was praising me for the fantastic idea. Glenn, Rick, T-Dog and Piper would get the guns while Daryl and I would go to the shooting range.

After we got all we needed at the shooting range, we would meet up on the roof of the shopping center we currently inhabited. I liked the plan, it was simple and easy.

Things could go wrong, but it was better than moving in a whole group.

Two people would be faster than six.

"Alright guys, head out." Rick ordered. I hugged Piper for a moment before following Daryl outside.

"You know the way." Daryl gestured for me to go ahead of him. I stuck to the alleys. If there were walkers, most of them were on the street, only a few stragglers were stumbling in the dark alleys.

We moved stealthily through the streets before reaching our destination. The alleyway lead straight to the unlocked back entrance, it seemed like luck was on our side.

I jammed the door open while Daryl covered me, nothing significant was happening so there wasn't much to cover.

I tapped him on the shoulder and motioned for him to keep an eye out for anything and he just gave me a curt nod. We moved our way through the long hallway, trying to be as fluent as possible.

Reaching the armory was easier than expected, it seemed like the walkers were elsewhere at the moment.

It was eerie because when they first invaded here, it seemed like there were hundreds of them, and now there was hardly a dozen.

I tried to shut the door, but it wouldn't close correctly. Daryl shoved a rolling chair at me and I placed it beneath the door knob, making sure it was balanced before making my way to the solid alloy doors.

My fingers searched the smooth door for the familiar catch in the door. My pinkie caught the small hollow opening and I hoisted the door to the bantam keypad.

I racked my brains, trying to remember the four digit code. I stood there for several minutes before Daryl seemed to get impatient.

"Hurry up!" He hissed.

Birthday. What's Yasmine's birthday? September 12. 09/12. I jabbed the keys forcefully, eager to get my hands on the much-needed weapons.

The keys flashed a prominent red.

Damn it.

Yasmine owned the place, what else would she use?

Your birthday, dumb ass. Yasmine and I were best friends, if I didn't have Piper, she would definitely be classified as my unrelated sister.

I stabbed the keys, 0-2-1-7. The buttons blinked green momentarily before the doors slid open leisurely. I nearly sprinted into the sultry armory.

Yasmine purposley kept this room opressive, apparently, it was good for the metals.

I found a large duffel bag and started stuffing guns and matching ammunition into the smaller pockets.

I rounded the aisles abruptly, grabbing knives and throwing stars, thinking we might need them.

I hastily made my way to the stringed weapons, picking up Yasmine's beloved bow.

It was, in my opinion, the world's most beautiful creation. It was a Native American craft.

It had been passed down through twelve generations before being given to Yasmine.

It was oak wood intertwined with buckskin. There was small white pearl beads lacing the top and bottom of it, giving it a royal sheen.

Her ancestors had all been important chiefs, they were the people in the history books.

Along with the bow came a quiver with two dozen arrows. They too, were made of oak.

The tips were deer bone and the feathers at the top were those of a White Raven and Dove. The quiver itself was made of buckskin and had fringe on the sides of it.

At the top of the quiver, near the opening, was a dreamcatcher.

It was woven into the sheath itself, making it look cryptic. It was an average artifact, save the mother of pearl beads hanging off the buckskin fringe.

It was also ancient and had been passed down with the bow.

I slung the precious firearm around my shoulders and placed two more bows and several quivers of arrows into the bag too.

I crossed the threshold of the armory and automatically, the doors closed.

The last thing I needed was also Yasmine's. It was a knife. This knife has been with the family since the very first chief had made it. It was made of deer bone and woven cloth.

The handle was deer bone as well, but it was covered in a layer of red, silver and earthen cloth. The hilt had a sparkling sapphire gemstone inlaid into it. It had nothing to do with the other colors, but it somehow tied the piece together.

It made it look whole.

I skimmed the cover back on to the blade and placed it into the back of my jeans, being as gentle as possible.

"Okay. We're set. Let's go." I told Daryl and I pulled the chair out of it's niche. The door swung open and on the other side was what I wasn't expecting.

There was dozens of walkers doddering in the hallway.

One of the geeks spotted us and started groaning in his scratchy vocals, signaling to the others that there was food near. Daryl slammed the door and rolled the chair back in place.

"The hell do we do now?" he all but screamed at me. The only other way out was...the roof.

On the ceiling was a large sky window that Yasmine had placed in here for the afternoon sun, something she loved.

"The roof." I declared.

"And how do ye' suppose we get up 'ere?" he asked me. He was treating me like a dense child that still believed in Santa Claus.

"Boost me." The look he gave me was priceless. "I know what I'm doing. I was in gymnastics. Boost me through the window and I'll pull you up."

He looked at me skeptically before cupping his hands by his knees. I placed my foot into his large hands and he pushed up with all the might he could possibly muster.

I propelled my weight upwards and gripped the edges of the roof. I heaved my body weight through the window and sat on the ledge of the casement.

I reached my hands down, signaling to Daryl to grab on.

He gripped my fingers tightly and jumped. I evolved him overhead. He placed his feet on the cement top and stood up fully, cracking his back in the process.

"How 'bout now, Princess?" he grilled me.

"We jump."

_________________________________________________________

Picture on the side is Yasmine's bow. I guess technically it's Rebel's now. Oh well.

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