*10 years later*
Alex's pov
Dad is about to go out hunting. I grab my bowie and run for the gate. "Dad, please let me come with you!" I beg. He stares at the gate that protects us from the world outside. The world I've only heard stories about. The walking dead who crave human flesh. Uncle Daryl puts his hand on my shoulder. I look up at him, smiling. He'll convince dad.
Jason's pov
"Come on man, she's gotta face off against these things. So she knows what to do in case.... something happens to us." Daryl says. "Nothing is gonna happen to me. Or Miranda. I'll make sure of it." I gripe, staring at my bow. "Noone's promised tomorrow, Jason." I glance at my young daughter. I don't want her getting hurt. "She can't be in the dark. Don't you know the day you found Miranda that was her first time facing off against these things." I look at him surprised. I didn't know that. I look at Alex. "Please dad! I've been practicing." I'm torn. I want her to be safe but what do I do if she gets hurt. "Oh okay, but you stay by me the whole time and do exactly as I say. Out there it's life or death. Ya never know what is hiding in the shadows." I say, reluctantly. "Yes!" She cries, gripping Carol's bowie knife. Daryl smiles. "She'll be fine, man." He says. God, I hope so. "What am I gonna tell Miranda? She's gonna be pissed." He laughs. "I'll cover for ya." I smile and load my bow. "Come on sweetheart, let's go hunting." She runs to my side excitedly. "You have to be quiet though, the dead are attracted to noise." We get to my duck blind that we built a while back. She's never seen the dead. I never wanted her to but Daryl's right. If something happens to us, she needs to know what to do. Just then a walker stumbles out and her eyes go wide. I cover her mouth before she screams. "Is that-" she whispers. I nod and put a finger to my lips. I pull my bow back and let an arrow fly. "Dang!" She gasps, in a whisper. "Remember absolute silence and stay vigil. You don't want what happened to me to happen to you." I mutter, grabbing another arrow.
Alex's pov
He's talking about his arm. I think it looks cool. I just sit and watch. I'm not skilled enough in bows yet to actually hunt and guns are too loud. It's so cool to actually be outside the wall for the first time.
*later*
We're walking back to Alexandria. Dad has a few squirrels at his belt. It wasn't the best hunting day but it's better than nothing. I trip and my foot falls into a hole, knee deep. What the? "Dad!" I cry. He spins around. "Whoa!" He runs over and a stick scratches my leg as he pulls me out. I glance down in the hole and my eyes go wide, seeing that it's actually a much bigger hole with walkers trapped in it. My body shudders in disgust. "Those things are disgusting." I mutter. He nods. "You okay?" "Yeah, what is that place." "A trap. Your uncle Daryl and me came up with it a few years after you were born. It's a good way to keep them out of our way." I nod and look away from the hole. We get back home. I'm starting to worry. What if it wasn't a stick that scratched me?
Miranda's pov
"Where have you two been?" I ask, smiling as Jason and Alex walk inside. "Out huntin'." He says. I freeze. My smile fades. "Y-You took her outside the wall?!" I cry, shocked. He nods. "She's fine. I made sure of it." He assures me. "Honey, remember the day we met?" I calm down slightly. It was my first time dealing with the world of the dead. "Tell me more about these dead things." Alex says, laying on the couch. Jason's about to say something when Brantley walks through the door. "Hey B." He says, waving. "I heard someone went outside the wall for the first time." He says, ruffling her hair. I sigh, wishing she didn't. Someone knocks on the door. Aaron. "It's open, man." Jason calls. He opens the door. "Deanna wants to talk to you." He says, pointing to Jason. He gets up from his spot on the corner of the coffee table. "I wonder what." He mumbles, a hand on his chin in thought. "Don't know." Aaron says, shrugging. He leaves with Aaron and I sit beside Alex. "It was cool seeing a walker for the first time." She says. "Stop it. They're not cool. They used to be real people." I grumble, irritated. "What was the world like before?" She asks. I stare at her sadly thinking about Merle. Oh how I miss that dumbass redneck. I miss Michonne the most. She saved Daryl but I miss her so much. I shake off the bad thoughts and hug my daughter. "The world before, believe it or not, most didn't grow their own food. There's were supermarkets and you paid for it. And before there was the war on the dead, there was the war on Germany and The British." I sure do wonder how Germany is doing. She lays her head in my lap. "I wish the world was still like that." Jason returns. "What'd Deanna need?" I ask. "Nothin'. Just strengthening the walls on the south side." "Do I have reason to worry?" I ask, narrowing my eyes. He laughs. "No hun, we're fine. Don't start worrying again." I sigh. I'm such a worryer. Even when I've got nothing to worry about. He smiles and sits beside me, lacing his fingers with mine. It almost feels like a life before the apocalypse. The life I was just now trying to tell Alex. A life I miss more than life itself. I lay my head on his shoulder and fall asleep
