The Strongest Survivor

What happened?

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Her eyes opened scanning the room around her, "Daddy?! Thena?! Uncle Merle?! Anyone?!" She shouted as she looked around seeing that she was still attached to an IV she made the stupid decision to rip it out like the movies. "SON OF A— SQUIRREL!" She rolled out of the bed and took a minute to get her legs used to walking again, she opened the hospital door and saw a wreck out in the hallways. "What happened?" She looked along the corridor and no one was there so she decided to go for a walk and try to find a nurse or something. "Hello! Is anyone here! I need some help I don't know what's going on!" She saw a stairwell but it was pitch black so she decided she had to find a flashlight or something, she saw another ward so she walked up to the doors but jumped back in fright because when she looked through the window there was a lady lying on the floor and she could see her ribs everything was missing from her chest, it made Artemis light headed so she backed up and went to look in all the patient rooms the first one was R. Grimes she pushed opened the door and the room was empty so she had a look around but there was nothing there so she moved on to L. Smith and opened the door. The bed was covered in blood but there was no body, the window was smashed and there was glass on the floor so she knew she had to be careful thankfully she saw a pair of shoes by the door maybe two sizes bigger than her so she put them on and pulled the string very tight, it felt weird to begin with but she got used to walking around and searched the room, she found and over sized (well for her) AC/DC T-shirt and put that on over her underwear so she could take that horrible gown off, she also found a box of matches in the room and a get well soon teddy bear, she took that so she wasn't completely alone in this new scary world, she had pinched herself several times in case this was all a dream. She just wanted to wake up home with her daddy and her uncle and sister, she started to pull on her fingers as she cried, her emotions just caught up with her, Artie suffered from Asperger's (autism) and she was having one of her small panics that her daddy would always help her through, but now she was alone and she didn't know when or if she'd see him again. Her breathing picked up as her eyesight blurred she remembered what her daddy told her.

"If I'm ever naw' with ye an you start panickin' I want you to take a big deep breath, go on take one" Artie did "an jus think about all the happy things you do, an all the good times you 'av with daddy n uncle Merle 'Kay" she nodded "but daddy what if I can't find you, if I get lost, what if I never see you again," she started pulling her fingers she was scaring herself, Daryl gently pried her fingers apart, "that'll never happen baby girl wan know why?" She nodded " 'cause your a Dixon and we always find each other, nothin can kill a Dixon-" "but a Dixon, I know daddy." Daryl smiled at his oldest daughter " tha's ma gurl, I love you Artemis, you know that right?" Artemis froze up again, she wasn't used to being told she was loved, "you know I will never ever let anything like what that man did happen to you again. And I do love you, your ma baby girl , my little hunter righ' Artemis Dixon best hunter in Georgia, she giggled and smiled "there's tha' smile." "I love you daddy." "I love too baby girl."

After she calmed herself down she found an old sheet and a metal pole, so she tied the sheet around the pole and lit it with the lighter remembering how her uncle showed her how to use one properly. She descended down the stairs and outside where her heart stopped at seeing all the bodies piled up "holy squirrels" she threw the pole into a hole just beside the hospital and began the walk to her family's little cabin in the woods. She passed her old school in kings county as she was walking to her old cabin she was walking down the middle of the road when she saw a man in the distance, she started running towards him "mister, I'm really sorry to bother yo-" he turned around and half of his was missing so Artemis screamed and ran around him as he tried to grab and bite her. She bolted as fast as her sore ribs would allow her to go. Tears flying down her face as she approached the dirt road leading to her home, she started walking towards her house praying to every god above that her family was okay and that they were here safe, she approached the cabin but her daddy's truck and uncles bike were missing. She entered the house and made her way to the kitchen where a note was lying

Artemis / Athena
If you see this please stay safe stay together
We are heading to the Atlanta safe zone
These things are dangerous so please take caution
GO FOR THE HEAD
I left your bow in your hideout Artie
And Angel your slingshot is there too
Please be careful I love you both
With all my heart forever and always
Love,
Daddy

Artemis went to her room and changed into her hunting trousers and camo long sleeve top with her black body warmer she looked through her wardrobe for her quill and she found it. She had 24 arrows, now she took her hunting bag downstairs and filled it with cans of food and a few bottles of water and some protein bars before re-reading her daddy's note realising he put her bow and her sisters sling shot in their homemade tree house.

She ran out back down past the river to the bottom of the ladder at the treehouse and started to climb up the tree and she saw her compound bow sitting so she grabbed it along with her sisters slingshot. She was trying not to let the fact that her sister was also alone get to her because if these things were really dangerous she didn't want her sister getting hurt.

The same time outside Atlanta

Rick grimes had only been awake for a few days but since then he has had to learn how to defend himself in an entirely new world, it had been  3 hours since leaving Morgan and Duane and he was out of gas so he pulled up to what looked like an abandoned farm house and jumped out to ask for some gas, but he only found a couple which had committed suicide, he heard a noise from the back of the house and walked around to find a little girl no older than 5 giggling to herself while petting a horse, he approached the little girl with caution.

"Hey sweetie." The little girl jumped and started heavily breathing, " no don't panic I'm a police officer and I'm here to help." She nodded a little bit and started pulling on her fingers. "Where are your parents?" She shrugged her shoulders "ok, well how would you like to come with me and I'll keep you safe?" The little girl nodded "Wha's your name honey I'm Rick , Rick Grimes."

"I'm Athena, Athena Dixon."