Before We Drift Away

Introduction

Death. Emptiness. Lonely.

That's what people called the world they were currently living in—but I knew better. The world had always been like this. The only difference now was that the dead were walking around.

I had grown up in Canada with her twin brother Logan and their arsehole father, until he decided to up and move them to Kentucky, USA, when we were five. They ended up living just around the corner from Shane Walsh and Rick Grimes. Shane and I were always causing trouble, often dragging Logan and Rick into our mess. After high school, Rick and Shane became cops, while Logan and I joined the army.

During their time in the army, Logan and I were constantly deployed on back-to-back tours. We earned quite the reputation, holding the record for the most kills in army history—we were the best of the best. Rick and Shane constantly worried whenever us were on tour, especially myself, knowing I carried enough PTSD to last two lifetimes.

When the world went to shit, I had been home only a few months from a tour in Colombia. She immediately started helping Shane take care of Carl and Lori, as Rick had been shot on duty and ended up in a coma—he hadn't made it. Logan was still on the frontlines, so he wasn't there with Shane and I, but he knew what was happening. He told me that once the fighting was over, he'd come find me. Days passed, and still, there was no sign of Logan—or anyone else from the army that I cared about.

A couple of months had passed since the group had set up camp by a quarry. There were quite a few people with us now, which was an advantage since it meant more hands to fight off the walkers—even if most of them weren't the best fighters. Everyone had jobs around the camp: the women took care of cooking and cleaning while the men, along with myself, kept the place safe. I often went out hunting for food, and during one of those hunts, I came across Merle and Daryl Dixon. She brought them back to camp, despite Shane not being thrilled about it. Still, I had managed to convince him to let them stay.

While the Dixons were at the camp, I was the only one who actually talked to them. Everyone else just saw them as rednecks. But I saw more than that, and through time, I gained their trust and respect—and gave them mine in return.

One morning, I woke up in her tent and noticed Shane wasn't on the other side of the tent. Figuring he was off doing "leader" things, I got dressed and strapped my sword to my back before heading outside. I spotted Merle standing by a white van, watching T-Dog, Glenn, Andrea, and Jackie prepare to leave for a supply run.

As I walked over, Merle caught sight of me and grinned.

"Well, well, well! If it isn't the redneck," I smirked as she stepped beside him.

"Well, well, well! If it isn't the soldier," Merle shot back with a smirk, glancing at me.

"I see you managed to convince them to let you go on a supply run," I commented, nodding toward the group.

"Took a bit of convincing, but in the end, they couldn't resist the Dixon charm," he chuckled.

"Ha—what charm?" I scoffed, shaking her head.

"If you must know, women love the Dixon charm... they can't get enough of it," Merle smirked again.

"Is that why I'm the only woman in camp who bothers talking to you?" I teased.

"They're slowly coming around," Merle mumbled, his smirk faltering before changing the subject. "You still going on that hunt with Daryl today?"

"Yeah... if he still wants me to," I replied, briefly scanning the camp but not spotting Daryl anywhere.

"Take care of him for me, will ya?" Merle asked softly.

"You know I always will," I smiled.

"Have fun bumping uglies," Merle joked as he turned to head toward the van.