This Is How I Disappear (Negan/OFC)

Chapter 1

Tears stream down Chuck's face as she sits in her small room, writing in her diary. It wasn't always like this. Sure, it's the apocalypse and all, but it hadn't always been this bad for her. After the dead started walking, Chuck had wandered around by herself for a while. She knew that people would be scared and desperate and, therefore, dangerous, so she tried her best to stay away from them. Having zero experience with weapons and poor fighting skills meant that simply not engaging groups of the living or the dead was the easiest and most effective way to survive for Chuck. At least for a time, anyway.

Chuck moved from place to place, as long as it was desolate and safe. When other people or the dead got too close, she'd leave to find another place to call home. At first, food and water weren't that hard to find, but after a while, supplies became severely limited as buildings were picked over by other survivors.

While looking for the provisions that she desperately needed, Chuck ran across what appeared to be a formerly upscale nursing home surrounded by a high fence. There was a faded wooden sign set beside a large gate painted with the words "Rolling Acres". She staked it out and discovered that a small group of people had made it their home. These people were mostly middle aged and elderly men and women, but there were a few men in their mid twenties, close to Chuck's age, as well. They had enough land that they utilized by building a large vegetable garden and raising chickens and a few cows. Chuck could see that there was an array of solar panels set up on the roof, as well. As far as she could tell, it seemed like they were doing fairly well for themselves. Chuck weighed the pros and cons of going it alone vs living in a community and decided that she would approach them. She could always leave later if it didn't work out, she figured.

It only took a short while for Chuck to decide to stay permanently. The whole reason she thought that going it alone was the safest option was because she didn't trust people. But the people at Rolling Acres were good and she did have a good life with them. She had enough food, a safe place to sleep, plus running water and electricity. She even had a job as the assistant to the community's doctor, Dr. Stewart, a kind elderly man. He taught her many things about basic first aid as well as more in depth medical care. Having always been a fast learner, Chuck rather quickly became comfortable working around the infirmary.

Ever since Chuck was little, it had always taken her a long time to feel truly comfortable around people. She was a little awkward and painfully shy, traits that didn't seem to go away with the end of the world. Even though she had always been most comfortable by herself, she had become close with a few of the members of the group, even considering them to be like family. Being one of the youngest and quietest members of the community, most of the others tended to see her as a child. Just a shy girl that stuck to herself. Not that that was any different from the time before the dead started to walk. Chuck had never been the social butterfly.

The group had lived together peacefully without major incident for about two years. But all that changed when a horrible flu had spread through the community, catching everyone off guard. Almost all of the residents fell ill and all of the elderly and infirm had died from the illness. Chuck and the other younger residents tried to prevent the dead from turning, but there were too many to take care of and too few healthy people to do it fast enough. More quickly than Chuck and the others expected, the dead reanimated, and they tore through the rest of the group, quite literally. When all was said and done, only Chuck and three young men had managed to stay alive.

One of the men, Jacob, had stepped up to become the leader. He was in his early thirties and older than the rest of the survivors by at least a few years. His natural charisma and abilities made him a natural choice for leading the small group. Under his leadership, the four of them worked together to try to get their home back to the way it had been. All the corpses were burned and all the rooms were cleaned top to bottom. It was hard work, but necessary if they wanted to resume the lives they had been living before.