I wish somebody would have told me babe
Some day, these will be the good old days
All the love you won't forget
And all these reckless nights you won't regret
Someday soon, your whole life's gonna change
You'll miss the magic of these good old days

-Good Old Days; by Macklemore [feat. Kesha]

"It finally stopped raining." Hailey peered out a nearby window, pulling the blinds back as discreetly as possible. She'd been holed up in the same house for the past couple days, trying to wait out the torrential downpour. It seemed pretty rare, for such a drastic weather change in Georgia. But that's how it's been. There really wasn't much for Hailey to do but wait it out.

"Really?" Alessandra looked over her friend's shoulder, trying to get a look. Considering how short Hailey's friend is, it wasn't much of a surprise that she couldn't see over her shoulder. "When'd it stop?"

Standing back, Hailey simply shrugged.

"Thank God for that," Alessandra sighed. "I was getting tired of all that rain."

"You think the soldiers will finally give us some supplies?" Hailey asked. "They've kept themselves locked up in their houses since the storm started."

"I wouldn't expect much from them. They haven't been giving enough supplies to anyone."

It was true. Ever since communications got severed, the soldiers haven't been giving the people very many supplies. It's been taking its toll on everyone. While the soldiers got fatter and happier on the limited portions, the rest of the safe-zone got sick and malnourished. People had to beg just to get standard medication, they had to do a lot more just to get a few cans of food. Hailey wanted to keep up hope, though. She wanted to believe the soldiers could change, even after everyone else gave up.

"You think they'll give Josie her medicine this time?" Hailey asked.

"Maybe, if they're in a good mood."

"It's been a few days, she needs her insulin."

Alessandra shrugged.

"We'll have to figure something out." Hailey started picking under her nails. "Josie will keep getting worse unless. . ."

"Can you just stop?!" Alessandra snapped. "Why are you so optimistic? Have you seen what's going on! We're miles from our homes! Some of us have been separated from our families! No one has a fucking clue on what's happening and you're so. . .hopeful!"

There was a long moment of silence. Hailey looked at Alessandra for a long moment, unblinking and completely distraught. From the day the healthy were rounded up for the safe-zones, the two women had an instant connection. They became friends immediately, bonding over their old lives and telling stories from before. Hailey felt as though she had known Alessandra forever. Maybe that wasn't entirely the case. The day communications got severed was the day everyone started to change. The soldiers began abusing their power; the survivors became paranoid, unsure on who to trust or what to do. And Alessandra did have a point, knowing a lot of the people in the safe-zones were far from home and possibly separated from their families was something to think about. But Hailey just wanted to stay as positive as possible. She didn't want to be consumed by her grief or anger. Was that such a bad thing to do?

"Is that really how you feel?" Hailey asked. Her voice had gone soft, just above a whisper. Furrowing her brows, the young woman felt a wave of self-consciousness wash over her. Hailey knew she'd been pretty hopeful since being herded into the safe-zone, but she couldn't help it. Whenever she was presented with a stressful situation, her first instinct would be to think and act positively. It was a natural reaction.

Letting out a defeated sigh, Alessandra nodded. "I didn't want to tell you before," she grumbled, "because I didn't want to cause any problems. But you've been like this for so long, it's become annoying. I can't deal with this."

"And you think I can?" Anger laced its way into Hailey's words. She rarely ever got angry at anyone; she always found it to be inappropriate to express anger in any kind of social setting. Irritation or frustration, maybe, but never anger. "I've been trying to stay hopeful because I'm just as terrified as everyone else. I don't like this, I don't want to be here! I'd rather be at home with my family; not stuck in some guarded off community in Georgia."

Another wave of silence fell between the two women. Hailey and Alessandra looked at each other for a moment, both stone faced and tense. It had been a while since either ever had a moment to really express themselves. While it felt nice, it left both women feeling a bit guilty. Alessandra never took the time to really read Hailey's emotions. Hailey never took the time to think if her optimism was coming off as obnoxious.

Well, maybe it was good they both confronted each other on the issue. Perhaps it wasn't the best method of confrontation, but it was better than nothing.

Besides, addressing the issue is the first step to changing it.

-ohana means family-

It wasn't until later in the day when Hailey chose to go outside. Even though the rain had stopped hours before, she was still in a relatively bad mood from her confrontation with Alessandra. Any excitement that came from the change in weather disappeared quickly when the two women separated. Hailey hadn't the slightest clue where her friend went, and she was fine with that. When the decision to go outside finally became official, the young woman put on a jacket — for precautionary reasons — threw on her tennis shoes and went out.

The air had that nice "wet earth" smell, one Hailey found to be comforting. The only downside was the humidity that lingered, causing everything to feel heavier and muggier. There were a lot of puddles in some divots in the ground, any soil was soaked from the inside out.

Wrapping her arms around herself, Hailey took her time taking in her surroundings. While it honestly didn't look any different compared to before the rain hit, she still wanted to check. Was anything out of place? Were there people in the community who weren't supposed to be there? What could be seen as noticeably different? Well, for starters, there were fewer people outside of their houses than normal. Usually people would come out to interact, even a big change in the weather wouldn't stop that. Second off, there was an uneasy feeling Hailey felt in the pit of her stomach. It was like someone dropped a weight inside of her, and the longer she stayed out, the heavier the feeling got.

Hoping to shake the feeling off, Hailey started walking down the sidewalk. Her safe-zone had been set up around an abandoned neighborhood, with chain linked fences and barbed wire put up to keep people in and keep the outside out. The fences and barbed wire looked a little bent out of shape, maybe caused from the wind. It had been during the rainfall's second day — high winds were added to the mix. A couple branches littered the street and sidewalks, a couple weak shrubs had been bothered by the winds, too. Were those the reasons why Hailey felt so uneasy? That didn't seem like a valid enough reason.

Continuing her trek through the community, the young woman would glance at houses. There'd be the occasional silhouette of people inside, but a lot of the houses had been barricaded. If a tragedy happened in a house, it go into lockdown, becoming inaccessible to the other survivors. Those were the rules. Hailey tried to abide by those rules as often as possible. At the same time, however, Alessandra's words kept ringing in her head. The soldiers weren't doing their responsibilities. They were abusing the people in their care, and it was starting to effect the community.

Would it be better to just leave? Hailey thought. Letting out a shaky breath, she swallowed thickly. The thought of leaving the safe-zone was petrifying. She remembered what it was like out there — unpredictable, violent, and unsettling. The chances of running into another living person was relatively high. The thought of running into the infected were high, too. Living outside survivors were more terrifying than the infected.

"Hailey!"

Stopping from her stroll, Hailey turned and saw an older woman approaching her.

"Mandi, what's up?" Hailey called back.

Mandi Powell was a nice, middle-aged woman. From what had been told, she'd come down to Georgia with her niece and nephews to visit her in-laws. But it was around that time that the safe-zones were put into place, so Mandi never got to her destination. When she got close enough to where Hailey was standing, she let out a huff of air.

"Did you hear what happened?" Mandi asked.

"Uhm. . .no," Hailey responded; uncertainty laced her voice. "What happened?"

"Jocelyn died last night." Mandi's voice started trembling, her hands wringing in front of her. Jocelyn was a young girl, barely over ten years old. She'd gotten sick a few days earlier, and the soldiers were trying to extract her from her parents' house. The virus Jocelyn contracted was the one that started the whole mess to begin with, and after everything collapsed, the virus seemed to have faded away, too. Doctors and scientists couldn't do any tests, considering all power had been cut, so there was absolutely no information on where the virus came from or how long it can stay in a person's body before showing symptoms.

"Are you serious?" Hailey's eyes widened.

Mandi nodded. "Her brother told me this morning," she sighed. "I guess Jocelyn went to bed and didn't wake up."*

"That's horrible." Running a hand through her hair, Hailey felt her shoulders slump. The death toll in her safe-zone had all but stopped a while ago; illnesses had gone down, too, but there were still a few people here and there who'd catch something. "How're Jocelyn's parents doing?" Hailey asked.

"Not good. Ethan was a wreck when I saw him. Last I heard, the soldiers are going to be taking the body."

"Are they burying it somewhere?"

"They'll probably have to," Mandi murmured. "Don't want to risk anyone getting an infection."

Hailey pursed her lips. She had talked to Jocelyn on a few occasions; the little girl had been a ray of sunshine, wanting what was best for everyone. Hearing about her death brought a dark cloud of sadness of Hailey. Though she had to admit, she couldn't even begin to comprehend what Jocelyn's family must be going through.

"I can't believe that happened," Hailey mumbled. "I had hope that she'd get better."

"We all did," Mandi agreed. There was a moment of silence between the two women. Hailey was fiddling with the bottom of her jacket; Mandi's eyes were flickering around, as if trying to find something. "You know, a couple of other people and myself were thinking of leaving."

That statement alone cause Hailey's blood to run cold. Her eyes snapped up to Mandi's face, taking in the expression on the older woman's face. She looked serious. Absolutely, 100% serious.

"You can't mean that," she hissed. "We're safe here, right?"

"Sweetie, look around you." Mandi's voice was low, her shoulders hunched as the conversation continued. The two women had to be careful with what they talked about, soldiers could pop up at any moment. Hailey took the initiative to look around, anyway. She saw some abandoned cars; she saw the abandoned, quarantined houses; a few military vehicles — everything she was used to.

"Okay?"

"We are not safe here, Hailey. The soldiers aren't giving us adequate portions; Jocelyn got sick, and now she's dead. We're not allowed to have food, water, or medicine without giving something to them in return. If we leave, we'll be able to take care of ourselves."

Hailey looked up at Mandi anxiously. "Are you asking me to come with you?" she whispered. The only response given was a nod. "But we don't even know what's out there. How're we supposed to defend ourselves if we don't know what to expect?"

"We'll figure something out."

"What about your niece and nephews?"

"They're coming with me."

"Would I be able to ask Alessandra. . .?" Hailey began.

"No," Mandi exclaimed. Taking a moment to calm herself, she looked at Hailey dead in the eye and repeated, calmly, "No. Alessandra's too. . .unpredictable. We can't have someone like that with us."

"But she's my friend."

"We all have to make sacrifices." Hailey's brows furrowed at that statement. "Wren's leaving her parents behind; they don't see a life outside the zone. Xavier has to leave his boyfriend. Do you get what I'm saying, dear? We've all got to make big choices. They're never easy, but it's for our own good."

Feeling her heart hammering in her chest, Hailey began nibbling on her fingernails. It was a nasty habit, something that plagued her since her preteens.

Leave the zone? Hailey thought. We'll be out there, alone, not knowing what to do. No one knows what's out there. Yeah, there're probably more living people out there; but God only knows how they're like.

Spitting out a ripped off fingernail, she ran both her hands through her hair again. She couldn't make up her mind. Alessandra was her friend, and even though their little dispute earlier hurt, Hailey believed it didn't damage their relationship. Should she leave Alessandra behind, or tell Mandi no? That was a big question. That was a terrifying question.

-I wumbo, you wumbo, he/she/me wumbo -

"Did you enjoy your walk?" Alessandra's question came out somewhat sarcastically. It was obvious she was still a bit pissed off from earlier, but Hailey wouldn't let that get to her. If that kind of attitude was Alessandra's true nature, then there was no changing that. Because in the end, Hailey wouldn't be around to endure it for very much longer.

"I did, actually," she responded. "It's a little humid outside, though."

Alessandra only snorted in response.

"Jocelyn died last night," Hailey went on. "Mandi told me."

"That's unfortunate."

"It really is. I feel sorry for Jocelyn's family."

"I'm sure they'll be fine, Hailey," Alessandra spat.

"What is wrong with you right now?" Hailey snapped. "I told you a little girl died and you don't even care?"

"Of course I care," Alessandra remarked. "Jocelyn was an absolute sweetheart, I'm just in a bad mood is all."

Wow, like I couldn't figure that out.

When Hailey didn't respond, Alessandra looked at her oddly. Typically, there were always some little disputes when it came to certain topics. Jocelyn's death was a very big thing at the moment, and Alessandra's declaration of a "bad mood" didn't seem to bother Hailey in the slightest.

Instead, Alessandra had to watch as her friend walked off into another room. The two had been in the dining area, with Alessandra reading an old book.

"Hey, what the hell is up with you?"

Again, Hailey didn't respond.

"Are you listening to me?" Alessandra called. "What's up with you? You're acting all distant!"

Oh don't worry, Hailey thought, unzipping her backpack, I'll make sure there's plenty of distance between us.

(A/N):

A corny first chapter, but it seemed really good in my head. So, if you've got any constructive criticism, I'd very much appreciate it. It'll help me develop as a writer, and it'll help the story grow later down the road.

TWD doesn't belong to me. All I own are my OCs, my subplots, and the laptop I'm currently typing on. If you've got ideas for OCs or subplots, be sure to PM me or leave a review. I'll add them in as soon as possible.

So, I saw the trailer for TWD season 9. In all honesty, I was very unimpressed with it. I've been with the show since season 1, and I really did enjoy it up until after Glenn and Abraham died. I did not like season 8 in the slightest. In my opinion, it felt as though Negan's character was wasted; the entirety of 8 was sloppy and anti-climactic. I'm not sure how well the Whisperers are gonna turn out, but I'm keeping my expectations low for season 9. And on top of that, Andrew Lincoln's leaving after this. With Carl dead and Rick leaving, I'm not sure how invested I'll be in the show.

Anyway, I digress.

Be sure to leave a random fact, it could be on something new or on something old. I like to think I'm a curious person.

Blessed be,

Florida Mayers