Alyssa Chávez has felt alone for most of her life. She was never good at making friends. She always felt a distance between her and her family. So when the apocalypse happened, her social life didn't take much of a hit. After losing her family, Alys...
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Chapter One The West Georgia Correctional Facility
To survive in a world taken over by the undead, you had to do everything to avoid becoming one of them. You had to become a shadow of the person you used to be. You had to steal, kill and fight off any dangers that entered your path.
Staring down at the bloodied knife in her hand, Alyssa Chávez knew that all too well. It hadn't been her choice, she could never choose to kill the people she cared about most, the people that had protected her throughout her whole life, even more so when the apocalypse started. Her parents fought off walkers for her and her brothers, they'd endlessly searched for food and patched up the scrapes the Chávez children earned from falls and other accidents.
It had been a mercy kill, but there was nothing merciful about it. How could driving a knife into the skull of your parents possibly be merciful? They had already suffered from the infection. The pain, the fevers, the agony of having to watch their partner suffer with them. The only reason her mom had asked her to do it was because she didn't want her to see them that way. Her mother was too scared they'd attack her. Alyssa couldn't reject their last wish, so she did it. She took her knife and ended their lives, and with that, the rest of her family.
Along the way of her journey, Alyssa had already lost her brothers. Now she was alone. A young girl without a clue left to survive on her own. Logically, it should've been her that died. Her older brothers were strong and smart, she was just a kid. After their passing, she was left to protect her younger brother and she couldn't even do that. How could she possibly take care of herself?
Truth was, she couldn't, at least not at first. Surviving didn't come naturally to everyone, certainly not here. She had to be taught how to survive. How to find water, how to hunt, how to fight, how to find shelter. Alyssa had the dumb luck of coming across her aunt on her way out of Arizona. Virginia "Nia" Chávez was an ex marine and survivalist. She spent her time educating other army troops, as well as anyone who wanted to take classes, on how to stay alive through any situation. It was like hitting the jackpot.
And traveling with Aunt Nia turned out to be even more fun than Alyssa had thought. Whenever they weren't on the road, Nia taught the girl various life skills. How to tell edible and poisonous plants apart, using weapons, fishing and so much more. Whatever wasn't hammered into her memory was written down in her notes or the books her aunt gave her.
The memories she shared with the woman made it even harsher when she lost her. Not to the undead, but to the unknown. They'd gotten separated in the middle of a swarm of the undead. Alyssa had desperately looked for the woman for two weeks, but eventually decided she should move on. She was gone and she wouldn't get her back. That was just the way it was.
Alyssa decided to hit the road. Washington was supposed to be a safe zone and she had an uncle there. Washington was where they were headed before, and maybe she could find her aunt there. She never stayed anywhere longer than two weeks to stay on schedule. She'd just set up a shelter in a place with solid walls, a roof, and a door and take her time searching the area for supplies. Usually, she'd find at least some food and water, and medical supplies on better days.
