The Walking Dead

Prolouge

It all started on July 16th. The Grimes family was planning their annual camping trip/summer barbecue. Their son, Carl and I had been best friends since before we could even talk, which meant a guaranteed invitation to the events. It was the morning of the sixteenth. I had packed my backpack with everything that I needed, my mother put my lunch in a brown paper sack, and I was wearing my favorite pair of hiking boots. Everything was going to be perfect. The Grimes were supposed to pick me up around four, which I remember thinking was completely and utterly ridiculously early. Their familiar forest-green mini van pulled into my driveway at precisely 3:56. I waved goodbye to my parents..little did I know that it would be the last time I ever saw them. I climbed into the back seat with Carl, who was fast asleep. Excitement flooded through my veins. I had always had a crush on Carl, and the idea of spending two days in the woods with him was quite pleasing. The "Family Road Trip" Pandora channel played softly on the radio. I checked my Blackberry for any messages. I don't know what I was thinking. It was four in the morning!

I guess I dozed off for a while, because when I opened my eyes, the sky was various shades of pink, purple, and orange. We were driving underneath a big wooden sign that read "Sunny Skies Campground." I glanced over at Carl, who was still sleeping. We drove for about five more minutes, until Mr. Grimes pulled the car into a grassy area a little ways away from the main hiking trail. We spent the rest of the morning unpacking and setting up the tents. We finished around noon, and Carl wanted to go check out the trails.

"Be back by two!" Mrs. Grimes called as we walked away, hand in hand. We started down the first trail we came across.

"I have something that I want to tell you." I whispered once we were out of his parents earshot.

"Okay." Carl smiled.

"Umm.."

"Go ahead. Tell me!"

"Uh..."

In a perfect fairy-tale world, I would tell Carl that I had a crush on him, and of course, the feelings would be mutual. He would probably say something romantic, and then he would kiss me. If only this were a perfect fairy-tale world. I opened my mouth, ready to share my feelings with him, but the words that I said were not the words I had planned to say.

"There's...s-something.. b-behind you."

Carl whirled around to see a man standing behind him. He looked as though he had just been eaten alive by wolves. His limbs dangled loosely from his body, chunks of his flesh were missing from his face and arms, and his entirety was covered in blood. We both let out a scream and began running down the path back to camp.