Welcome To The Apocalypse.(Daryl Dixon)

Fell On Black Days.

After being chased by the goons, I was tired. Dog tired. It wasn't like it was before though. If you were tired 7 months ago, you could just slow down or take a nap. It wasn't that simple nowadays. You had to keep your wits about you at all times. Especially if you were traveling alone. 

Why are you traveling alone? You ask? I like it better that way. I like knowing that I'm not responsible for anyone but myself. If something happened to someone that I was in a group with- that blood would be on my hands. I don't think I could live with any more loss. I've already lost everyone I cared about. I refuse to travel with anyone, start to care for them and then have them get killed. Not happening.

The sun started lowering in the sky and I knew it was time to get to shelter. Night was the worst time to be on the streets. You can't see for shit, but the walkers had a great sense of smell and sound.

Once again, I looked at my surroundings to be sure no walkers were around and quietly unlocked the three large Master locks that kept anything from getting into my hiding place.  I opened the door to a small convenient store when I was sure it was safe and I hurried inside, locking three more locks that matched the ones on the other side of the door. I walked the store, checking all the other entrances, just to be sure nothing got through them- it was routine. Not like anything could get through, anyway. I boarded up every doorway that led outside with nails and shoved random large objects in front of them as well.

I turned on a couple of battery powered lanterns to light the tiny store. It wasn't much but that little hole in the wall kept me alive. I heard my stomach gurgle and I remembered that I had only eaten once that day, some 9 hours ago. I checked my watch- 8:30. I walked to the canned food isle and grabbed 2 cans of Spaghetti-O's then walked over to where I had a "Kitchen" area set up. I had a portable electric stove and a toaster hooked up to a small power generator that I found while I was turning over a house. Finding that generator was the best part about that day, the rest of it was shit. The house I was in seemed empty... until I searched the basement. There, I found the bodies of two little boys, they had been ripped apart. I only knew they were little boys because of their shoes. Their feet were intact. Both wore tiny Spider man shoes. In the same basement, I found over ten walkers- they were feeding on the boy's parents- or who I presumed was their parents.

This world has gone 10 ways to hell and it wasn't getting any better. Everyday is a battle. Everyday you run into at least 5 walkers- and  that's only on a good day. It's a constant run. And you're running for your life.

After heating up the Spaghetti-O's, it took me a little under 90 seconds to finish both cans. I opened and drank from a water bottle that I got out of a cooler- a "cooless" cooler, that is. I looked at my surroundings. Blood stained the walls from the day I found this place. Three Goons were mindlessly moving around the store. I took all three of them out, without thinking twice. You barely have time to think once these days when you come encounter with a Goon.

I took a deep breath and laid my head back against the wall. No pillow-top beds, no thick, fluffy comforters, just hard ground and cold air. I had my gun beside me on the floor- easy access in case of emergency's. I felt my eyes flutter , then close. Soon, I was floating. Dreaming. I dreamed of my daughter. I dreamed of taking her to the fair...

We walked, hand in hand to the rides and games. She was smiling her beautiful smile that I loved and missed so much. "Mommy, I have to go pee." she said. "Okay, baby girl. The bathrooms right there, I'll be right outside, waiting for you."  I told her, smiling. I bent down and kissed her cheek before she ran into the bathroom. I waited for Lynnore, but it seemed she was taking too long, even for being in a dream. Something didn't feel right. I heard a loud crack and then people started screaming. I turned around and saw the Ferris wheel rolling off it's hinges. It rolled into the nearby lake and fell to a stop. People were running in every direction. "What's going on!?" I yelled to anyone who might hear. "Run! Walkers! They're everywhere!" a man yelled. Just as he took his focus off me, he turned and ran right into group of 20 walkers. They immediately tore the man apart, ripping open his flesh and pulling it to their filthy mouths. I gasped and turned back to the bathroom. It didn't look the same. The walls were cracked and it looked as if it had been standing for a century. "Lynnore!?" I called to her. I turned to see the group of walkers had heard me. I ran into the restrooms and closed and locked the door behind me. Not a second later the growls and snarls from the walkers were just on the other side of the barrier. "Lynnore!" I yelled. The bathroom was huge, when on the outside it looked to only hold 2 or 3 stalls. This bathroom however, had stalls for miles. "Lynnore? Baby, it's mommy." I spoke, looking around. "Mommy..." I heard her whisper, but the whisper carried so far, I couldn't pinpoint where she was. I began checking all of the stalls. The walkers outside were getting more restless. They began banging on the door and scratching at it. I called out for my little girl again, still checking the bathroom stalls. I pushed open one of the doors and saw Lynnore kneeling on the ground with her back facing me. "Baby? Are you okay?" I asked. The stall she was in was less like a stall at all and more like a small room. I walked in slowly, and the door shut behind me, making me jump. I looked at the door behind me and it was then that I noticed I could no longer hear the sounds of the Walkers. I turned back around to face my little girl but screamed at the sight of her. She was on her feet, facing me. She  was one of them. A Walker. She lunged toward me, biting at my throat, trying to break skin but I held her back. "No! Lynnore, please!" I pleaded. "PLEASE!" I screamed, then heard the Walkers from outside again, but this time, they were just on the other side of the bathroom stall door. Lynnore had me back into a corner, still trying to tear my flesh. She pulled back then swiped her hand across my face, taking skin with it. I screamed again, and the bathroom lock could hold no longer. It broke and in came 10's of walkers. They surrounded me and began ripping me apart. I screamed once more.... 

I woke up in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. I felt the tears rush down my cheeks. That wasn't the first time I'd had that dream. I steadied my breathing and immediately caught it when I heard scraping in the ceiling. Very quickly, I grabbed my gun and aimed toward the ceiling. There was a hatch that led to a crawl space above of the store. I had checked it before though, there was no way I had missed anything. With swift movements, I pulled the string to bring the hatch down and quickly brought my hand back to my gun to steady the hand that was holding it. I waited for a moment but when nothing happened, I got impatient. I whistled loudly, in hopes it would alert whatever was up there. Suddenly, I heard hissing and groaning. I had a terrible feeling that I knew what was up there.  Then, out from the crawlspace, a walker fell to the floor. I heard its bones crack when it hit the ground and when it starting standing up. I should have shot it as soon as it fell to the floor, but I couldn't. I froze. 

The walker was a little girl, a young one. Couldn't have been any more than 5. I felt the tears well up again, and I took aim. The Walker was now standing and slowly moving towards me. Her little hands reached out to me, yearning for my meat. Before I could pull the trigger I heard more gurgling and moaning. I looked back up at the crawl space to see another walker. I jolted backwards and took aim at it's head and shot. It was stupid of me to take my eyes off the girl because she rushed towards me, knocking me to the ground. She climbed on top of me, blood and saliva dripping from her mouth. Thankfully she was small because I was able to shove her off of me with little effort.

I started hearing loud hisses and thumps coming from above. More Walkers. From the sounds, it was more than a couple. "How the fuck did they get in!?" I shouted, asking no one. The little girl was coming at me again, this time, I didn't hesitate. I aimed and pulled the trigger. Her brain exploded out of the back of her head and her body fell to the floor. I turned my attention, once again to the hatch and listened to the sounds of the walkers above. I knew my little convenient store was no longer a safe place to hide. I quickly gathered a backpack filled with lots of bottled water, canned food, soap, my toothbrush and toothpaste and made my way to the door just as the Walkers in the crawlspace discovered the hatch. I heard their growls intensify as I unlocked the door. Before walking out, I grabbed an already prepared gas can and matches. Walkers started almost pouring out of the hatch and falling to the ground. I poured the gas over random objects and poured a line between myself and the walkers then threw the can at one of the walkers heads. I ran outside, lit a match, then lit the rest and threw it in the store. Backing away, I watched everything catch fire. I could still hear the Walkers moans and groans coming from inside.

I was standing about 100 feet away from the building when a small explosion occurred. I don't know why, but I smiled slightly. Not much amused me these days. I had to find joy in something. My smile was quickly wiped away when I heard a voice behind me. "Don't move." it said. Almost as quick as a wink of an eye, I was turned around with my gun pointed at the stranger. "You don't move, motherfucker." I stated, harshly. The man was dirty. He had dark brown hair and blue eyes. He wore a button up shirt with the sleeves ripped off and black jeans. The first the thing I noticed about him though, was his crossbow. "Who are you?" I asked, still holding my readied gun. "Who are you?" he asked back, ignoring my question. "I asked you first." I was not in the mood for games. It was still dark outside and I knew the explosion would attract more walkers. "I'm Daryl." he stated. I looked him up and down, taking in all his features. Gotta say... he was the best looking dude I had seen in a real long time.

I gave him one more quick look. "I'm Zoe." I said, lowering my weapon and putting it in its holster. "You cause that fire?" he asked, still pointing his bow at me. "Yup. I stayed in that store, somehow Walkers got in. I had to blow it." I stated, simply. "You realize what you just did, right?" he asked, smartly this time. "No shit. That's why we have to get away from this place." I grabbed my backpack that was sitting on the ground and without concern, began walking away from Daryl. "Wait! Don't go that way. Goons are everywhere. I just came from that direction. Follow me." he said, and took off in the other direction. I hesitated for a moment, thinking about my dislike of traveling with others. It didn't take long to shrug that off after hearing the calls of multiple walkers coming from the direction I was originally headed. I ran after Daryl, and followed him to a motorcycle. He climbed on and motioned for me as well. "Lets go!" he yelled, it was then I noticed a slight southern drawl.

I hopped on the back of the bike, he started it and we took off down a dirt road. I couldn't help but wonder where we were going but I did know one thing. If this dude tried anything, I was shooting him in the balls...