In The End: A Daryl Dixon x OC Story

The New World

(Hi there! I just wanted to pop in and let you know that while I am keeping events in biological order, some of the timeline may not be the exact same as the walking dead show. In my opinion, a lot of things are grazed over really fast and could be slowed down for the sake of realism and story progression. So, if something isn't exactly copied from the show timeline wise, then that is why. Also, another point to mention, is this story has heavy influence and mentions of the loss of a child. I know it's also in the show a lot, but I know that some people can be sensitive to that sort of material.)

The hot Georgia sun had finally dipped below the horizon of our little camp, tucked away in the hills of the quarry. It didn't matter that it was September, and most other places had at least a cool breeze, here the air was heavy and hot, but that was the least of anyone's worries right now. No, what was concerning was the city just a few miles out crawling with those things. The geeks, or the undead, the infected. They'd taken over Atlanta not too long after I had arrived at the safety zone with my daughter.

That day will forever live in my mind. I played it over and over in my head, on an almost constant loop. A part of me was hoping I could find something, anything, that would make it all make sense. Or maybe I was just looking for more reasons to blame myself for what happened. I already knew it was my fault, but what specifically could I have changed to prevent my daughter's death? Was there anything I could have done?

I had been on her way to pick up my daughter, Kathleen, from daycare when an alert had come over the radio, something about some virus and people needed to evacuate.

"We apologize for the interruption, but the governor of Georgia had just put the placed it into a state of emergency. A virus has been eating through the country at an alarming rate. All civilians are being asked to evacuate to your nearest safe zone:"

I reached forward, gently turning up the radio as I waited to turn into the parking lot of Quiet Tots Childcare Center, where Kathleen spent most of her week now. It was hard to believe that next year she'd actually be in school. I had been almost excited when my frazzled boss had come into my office earlier and told me she was sending all of the employees home early. She hadn't really given a reason and I had been thinking that Kathleen and I could have a girls day at home. However, as I'd begun to pack up my things, the daycare had called, asking me to come and collect Kathleen as the daycare would be closing soon as well. Something about how they'd happened so close together had given me goosebumps. Something was wrong.

Something big was happening, and I needed to get Kathleen now. She was all I had left.

My father had kicked me out of the house as soon as I'd turned 18, but I'd made it through college to get some bullshit degree in communications. During this time, I met Kathleen's father, who had promptly disappeared as soon as he realized that his pull-out method of birth control was not as effective as he had thought. So, I had spent the last four years balancing work, paying house payments, and making sure Kathleen got to daycare on time every day. But now, something else had made its way up to the tip top of my list of daily tasks.

Of course, with all of this adrenaline pumping I had been speeding the whole way here, even before the announcement had been made over the radio. And it seemed that everyone else in town must have received the same call as I had, because every school or daycare or anything of the like had a full parking lot. Cars lined up out into the road and people running with their crying children in tow. The roads were even worse than the parking lots. I thought to myself that every car in Georgia had to be on the road right now, and after hearing the broadcast I started to understand why.

I swerved into the parking lot going at least 50 miles per hour. It was here that I parked the car and pulled the keys out, shoving them deep into my purse. I hadn't even bothered with finding a parking spot and left my car sitting crooked in the middle of the walkway. It wasn't like I was going to be inside very long. This pick up had become a very simple, straightforward retrieval mission.