❝he lost his family, and she lost her mind.❞ © red-thunder 2016. All Rights Reserved. MATURE CONTENT. AGES FOURTEEN PLUS.

Book One. Complete. Arden was a fighter, or as Daryl liked to call her- a firecracker. But when Arden's brother goes missing that fire starts to die out and she is faced with a decision: stay with the man who saved her life or leave to find the only family she has left.

Keira is a survivor. She doesn't fall for tricks, she turns her back to the past and walks on. She carries secrets as her burdens. Guilt and sadness curdle inside her, but she's learned how to mask it. Cares and carelessness cause her to make mistakes, the mistakes that cost her dearly. But she's learned how to ignore it. She is alone and scared. She has nobody to cling to, and maybe she doesn't want anybody like that. Keira is a survivor, but maybe she isn't. Maybe what she's hiding will make her unhinge. She's clever, but she's naive. She's careful, but not quite enough. Keira is a ticking time bomb. Someday she's going to implode. If only there was somebody to fix her. • Ø • Ø • Page count: ~344 Word count: ~35,255 Grammar Nazis will be satisfied. Highest rankings: #1 on "carl grimes" tag!!! #59 on the fanfiction tag!!! Started: 11-21-15 5k reads: 3-17-16 10k reads: 4-12-16 500 votes: 4-28-16 500 comments: 5-11-16 Finished: 6-4-16 25k reads: 6-7-16 1k votes: 6-11-16 1k comments: 7-14-16 50k reads: 7-24-16 75k reads: 8-25-16 100k reads: 10-7-16 5k comments: 11-9-16 150k reads: 11-22-16 5k votes: 11-26-16 175k reads: 12-11-16 200k reads: 12-30-16 Alternate ending: 12-31-16 250k reads: 3-24-17 300k reads: circa 6-28-17 10k votes: circa 11-5-17 350k reads: circa 11-25-17 400k reads: circa 5-6-18 Warnings: •Dark •Gory •Cussing •Spoilers (Seasons 5-6)

The end of one world is only the beginning of a new one. [Daryl Dixon]