"Hey new girl, stop standing around! We have work to do." Elliot said rudely and I glared at him.

"Her name is Xelia." I said and he rolled his eyes at me. Then he walked over to Xelia before stopping in front of her.

"Is your name Xelia?" He asked her and she kept quiet. "I asked you a question." He said in frustration and she looked down to her feet. "I guess I'll stick to new girl." He said before entering the house and I followed him inside.

"What's your problem?" I asked him and he swung around to face me.

"My problem is with you bringing new people here, we don't know if we can trust her. She can't even speak." Elliot said in annoyance so I hit his arm.

"She was being held captive by our sick father and his rapist friends. God knows what they did to her, the last things she needs is you acting like a dick." I said angrily. "Show some empathy clearly she went through something traumatic." I added and Elliot just blankly looked at me.

"I still don't trust her." He said blankly.

"But you trust Kieran and Hunter?" I asked in disbelief and he shrugged.

"Don't trust them either." He said blankly.

"Then who do you trust?" I asked and he clenched his jaw.

"I only trust you, Noah and Faith." He said before looking away from me. "And don't talk about trauma because you have no idea what I've been through." He said before going out the back door and I sighed before going back outside to Faith and Xelia.

"Time for training!" I yelled and Faith dropped her doll before running over to me. It's been a week since we returned from Rhodeville and Xelia hasn't said a word ever since.

I didn't wanna push her so I let her be. But I have to ask her a few questions tonight. I just want her to know that she's safe here and if she interacts with the others she could form bonds with them and earn their protection.

Hunter soon joined us, his leg was still not healed but he can walk a bit better now. Because of his condition he trained with Faith while I trained with Xelia. I looked down at my wrists before holding Hunter's bow and arrow up. I aimed at a scarecrow's head before releasing the arrow and hitting the center of my target.

I handed the bow and arrow over to Xelia and she sucked in a deep breath before aiming at the scarecrow. Personally I'm not a fan of archery but we could do with a few more archers.

In general we need more people before the winter is over. After an hour of training we all headed inside.

The snow is slowly starting to clear up there's only two weeks left before it's spring. That's usually when the rotters starts to increase, nobody knows why but that's how it's always been.

The first wave was the worst, maybe because nobody was expecting it. When the second wave hit in 2036 I was at the camps, under the protection of the army, I was one of the camp doctors which meant that I didn't have to fight.

But when Kieran and Hunter left, I was on my own. Those were the worst two years of my life but I survived.

"Ro, we need to go into town tomorrow." Kieran said before pulling me into a hug.

"Can I come?" I asked and he nodded.

"Sure." He said and I smiled before taking out some ingredients for dinner.

"My hero." I said and he chuckled. If it wasn't for Kieran we wouldn't have made it out of that place last week.

"Don't call me that." He said and I smiled at him.

"You haven't changed one bit." I said and he smiled.

"Not this again." He said tiredly and I giggled.

"You need to give yourself some credit. You've saved thousands of lives these past few years." I said and he shrugged.

"That's why I have you." He said before leaving the kitchen and I just shook my head.

"Why are you smiling?" I heard Hunter's voice coming from behind me.

"Just thinking." I said and he slowly nodded before sitting by the fireplace.

"Don't think too hard you'll burn the pasta." He said and I rolled my eyes at him.

"Could you add some wood to the fire?" I asked and he nodded before doing as I asked him to.

I strained the pasta when it was done cooking before adding sauce to the pan.

Everyone came downstairs before sitting around the fireplace. I smiled as they chatted with each other.

I silently finished cooking before taking some plates out of the cupboards and Xelia helped me set the table.

Noah and Elliot dished up for us while Faith and Kieran placed the cutlery on the table. We all sat around the table and Hunter painfully joined us.

"I should take a look at your leg tonight." I told him and he silently looked at me.

"Yes boss." He said before picking his fork up.

"This is good, Ro." Kieran said and Noah clenched his jaw so I looked down at the table.

"Thanks." I said under my breath.

"She learned from the best." Elliot said confidently and I snorted.

"Kie's mom gave me this recipe." I confessed with a smile on my face but his contorted into to anger. "I'm sorry." I said quickly and he sighed.

"No it's fine." He said under his breath.

"Rose and- and Xelia taught me how to write my name." Faith said excitedly and I smiled broadly.

"She did?" I asked and Faith nodded with a smile on her face and Elliot narrowed his eyes at a blushing Xelia.

"You're so smart." I said and Faith smiled happily. "Thanks." I told Xelia before squeezing her hand and she just smiled at me before nodding.

"I'm done." Faith said before looking at me in expectation.

"Go get ready for bed." I told her and she came over to place a kiss on my cheek before running upstairs.

"She reminds me of my sister." Xelia said softly and everyone's heads shot up at her. The room dawned in silence and Xelia placed her fork down.

"She was killed, right in front of me." She said softly so I rubbed her back. "Porter and his gang took me back to their camp after killing my dad too. Doesn't matter now, right? I got out." She said softly and Hunter squeezed her hand before smiling softly at her.

"I'm sorry." Noah said under his breath and Elliot sat back in his chair while looking at Xelia in suspicion.

"My mom got bitten by a walker during the first wave." Kieran said softly and I looked up at him in shock. "I gave her mercy." He said before clenching his jaw and looking into my eyes.

"My dad- he uh-" Elliot started softly before shifting in his seat. "My dad killed my sister and my ten year old niece." He said before his jaw clenched. "My mom she- she's just like him, you know? So me and Noah decided to hit the road." He said and a tear rolled down my cheek.

"My parents turned during the first wave. 2035." Noah said under his breath.

"I'm terrified of losing my leg." Hunter said and everyone around the table laughed at him before they looked at me.

"We should clean up." I said before standing up but Xelia placed her hand on mine so I sat back down.

A tear slipped from my eye.

"I was taken by a human trafficking syndicate." I said before wiping my cheeks dry. I lifted my sleeve up before showing them the brand mark on my wrist. "But I survived." I said before getting up from the table and Kieran followed me. I placed my plate in the sink before washing it and Kieran pulled me into a tight hug.

"I'm so sorry." He said into my hair and I nodded against his chest. I felt someone hug me from behind so I looked up and I found that everyone had joined us in a group hug.