Chapter One: Hell On Earth
{Carol's POV}
I stood up and brushed my pants off, the rusted shovel in my hand. Wiping my forehead with my arm, I stared at the grave for a while, tears refusing to come. "I'm not gonna cry for you again. I've already cried one tear too many, when it came to you."
I knew Ed didn't deserve the burial, but I wasn't going to leave him to be eaten by the Roaming ones-I still had a grip on my humanity, for what it was worth. Sweat made my shirt darken and cling to my small frame, which had grown increasingly smaller thanks to the lack-of-food we had been living off of over the past weeks, which were filled with sleepless nights, praying that the dead ones didn't come for you in the danger of the darkness, claiming you as one of their own, like they had Sophia and, now, Ed.
It was Autumn now, and that only meant the cold and harshness of the winter season was on the horizon. The only good thing about winter was the cold effected them-some froze, others slowed down. It made them easier to manage, which considering that I was now on my own, was a blessing in disguise.
{Daryl's POV}
We ran through the woods, my crossbow resting firmly in my hands as if it was crafted specifically for my hands and mine alone. I had taught Carl how to use it, but he preferred his gun, which he held tightly in his hands as he ran. Rick was just behind of us, looking around with his eyes, his feet quiet.
The trees, whose leaves had changed into brilliant colors of red and orange and brown, opened up into a giant field filled with waist-high grass, the color of fresh wheat and a slight hint of green. The three of us ran through the grass, getting cut and pricked along the way, fresh beads of red blood decorating our arms and faces, which had already been covered with dried up black blood-the blood of the dead.
"What's that over there?" Carl suddenly said as he abruptly stopped, pointing to the right of the field. Rick and I stopped as well, looking in the direction Carl was pointing in.
"Holy shit. There are more people." Rick said, breathless.
"It's only one person, Rick." I muttered, squinting my eyes to see against the high-rising sun.
He didn't respond to that, just took off in the direction of the mysterious figure.
