Our Shadows (Carl Grimes/The Walking Dead)

Chapter 1: The Beginning

It was a perfect day and I never saw it coming; no one could. Like any regular day, the sun peaked through my window like a shy child. The blinding warm light forces my lids to flutter open. I lay in my bed, staring at the ceiling for a moment before turning my head to look at the illuminating numbers on my alarm clock. My eyes widen when I realize I have twenty minutes before school starts. I immediately roll myself off my warm bed and onto the cold wooden floors.

I grab the first thing I see in my closet and change in matters of minutes. As I rush out of my mess of a room, I hear voices in the living room down stairs. Instead of walking down the stairs like any normal person would do, I hop on the black railing and slide the rest of the way down. The voices become clear as I enter the living room. I walk in to see my mom sitting on the couch with her eyes glued to the T.V screen. I follow her endless gaze to see she was watching the news.

"Mom, what are you watching?" I ask but keep my gaze locked on the horrifying images on the screen.

"It's horrible, isn't it?" She states rhetorically. I sit down next to her as I watch a small town drowning in fire, injured citizens pile one after another in hospitals, and people murdering each other.

"Where is this?" I gasp. With people running every where and the town ruined in flames and wreckage, you could say it looked almost like... an apocalypse. I shove the thought far out of reach. Don't be irrational, things like that only happen in movies. I reassured myself.

"It's in Iraq, they say it's some new plague that formed out of no where" My mom bit her lip, something she did when she was afraid.

"Let's hope it doesn't cross the ocean yet, I don't want to miss my birthday" I joked to lighten the mood.

"That's right! I almost forgot it's in a few days, I can't believe my baby girl is going to be fourteen!" She smiled as she crushed me in a hug before looking at her watch on her wrist. "Don't you have school?" she mentioned.

"Sh-" before I can finish the word, my mom tightens her grip. "Shakespeare" I shout before jerking up from her hug and bolting to the kitchen.

"Don't worry honey, I'll drive you to school but hurry up!" Mom's voice echoes as she grabs her keys. I grab an apple from the fridge and run after her to the car.

On the rather quiet drive to school, my mom asks "Since it's only four days until your birthday, what do you want for presents?". Now that she mentioned it, I didn't really have anything in mind that I wanted. I'm not the type to brag or make things all about me so when people ask what I want, I have to think on it for quiet a while.

Then it came to me.

"I always wanted to get a horse" I said a little too excitedly. I know my birthday list is pathetic but I'm not that much of an exciting person. Unlike those who want an expensive car, I'm a little old fashioned but I didn't mind it.

"A horse?" She snorted. I knew it was a long shot to ask for something like that. "Horses are expensive and we don't have room for one" she stated as she pulled up next to the school. When she parked to look at my reaction, her amused face turned to sympathy. "I'm sorry, if we had the money and the space, then I'd buy all the horse in the world for you but right now you'll have to settle on the stuffed ones, okay?" She sighed.

"It's okay mom, I understand. Thanks for giving me a ride to school" I gave her an artificial smile before opening the door and stepping out of the car.

"I love you, Adara" My mom said loud enough for everyone outside to hear.

"Love you too" I said before shutting the door and running into the school building.