Hello, everyone! This is my first fic on the site. I appreciate all comments and feedback that are given. Please don't hesitate to give constructive criticism. We all need it to grow and learn! It is a Daryl/OC fic. Hopefully y'all like it!

Chapter One

Is there anything so good as toaster strudel?

Oh, most likely, but at 6:00 AM, ain't nothin' better than a steaming cup of coffee and a freshly toasted, dripping with icing strudel. Couple that with the early morning news broadcast and the day's lookin' pretty dang fine, even with a monstrously long 12 hour shift ahead. I clicked the volume up on the tiny kitchen television before turning back to the breakfast pastry I'd just icing'd a face on.

"Hmm, needs more hair," I stuck my tongue out as I drizzled the delicious frosting on in some semblance of curls, "Ooh, Marty Williams!" My attention was instantly diverted to the screen where an attractive older man was sitting patiently behind a newsroom desk. His usual smile was replaced by an uncharacteristically grim look. Carefully balancing my breakfast on one hand and gripping my coffee in the other, I made my way over to where the television was.

"Good morning, Atlanta," Marty began solemnly, and I had to lean closer to hear him more clearly. "This morning I will be bringing you an update on the situation we first brought to your attention on the news last night."

Frowning, I licked some icing off of my finger. What situation? I'd worked til seven again last night, and hadn't bothered to watch the news after I got home. In fact, I'd basically gone straight to my room without even bothering to speak to whoever had been home.

Marty Williams was speaking again, his low, heavily accented voice resonating eerily from the speakers, "For those who were unable to watch last night's broadcast, we will be replaying the video shown then," He paused to clear his throat, "If you have a weak constitution, please consider not watching this." Actually, he looked a little pale himself, I couldn't help but note. Someone should check his blood pressure. "The following footage is very graphic. Shot by a 'P47 News Channel' viewer, who has since sadly passed away from her injuries, this video should be taken in all seriousness."

"Yikes," I muttered and took a swig of coffee as the screen segued into a shoddy cell phone camera video. There was no sound. The camera panned from side to side slowly before zooming in abruptly on an approaching figure. "What the hell?" It was clearly a person, but he was in such a bad state that it was a wonder how he was walking. I watched, stunned, as the man was joined by a crowd of others, all limping and staggering toward the person manning the camera. Every single person in that group seemed to be grievously injured; one woman was clearly missing half of her face! My toaster strudel lay abandoned as I half-rose up off my seat in horror. "What the hell!" I repeated myself as I took stock of everyone else's injuries: The first man looked as if someone had torn a huge chunk out of his side. Another was missing an arm. Suddenly the crowd was lunging toward the cameraman, and the angle of the screen went sideways. Briefly the camera showed the group converging on an obviously screaming man before cutting back to the newsroom.

Marty Williams looked to be in even worse shape and I couldn't blame him. My toaster strudel and coffee that had previously looked so delicious now looked inedible. Choking back the urge to gag, my mind replayed what the video had shown right before cutting out: Those people were not only attacking the cameraman, they had been eating him.

I must have blanked out for a few seconds because when I next looked at the screen, Marty was cautioning against leaving the house, "And, please, do not approach anyone who looks to be in this sort of condition!" Shaking my head, I clicked off the television. I was a nurse; it was my job to help people like that. Still, my hands were shaking as I brought the remains of my breakfast to the garbage, tossing the coffee down the drain. No way could I even consider putting anything in my stomach right then, not after watching that video.

"Seriously, what the heck is going on?" I peeked out the kitchen window nervously. Nothing out there but the birds.

"Melissa?"

I screeched, flinging myself away from the window. "Jesus, Kat, you scared me!"

One of my roommates stood in the kitchen clad in her scrubs. Clearly she had just got back from working a shift at the hospital. "Sorry, Liss," She said, frowning tiredly, "Didn't mean to. Are you heading out to work soon?"

"Yeah, I was just about to leave." I hesitated, "Hey, Kat, you seen the news lately?"

I watched as my older roommate made her way slowly to the kitchen table, and noticed a bandage on her hand, "What happened there?"

She just shook her head, "It's a madhouse over there, Melissa. All these people coming in complaining that their neighbour bit them, or their kid. The ambulances are constantly running, not just from Atlanta General, but from all of the hospitals in the city."

"Holy shit."

"Pretty much," Kat cradled her head in her hands, "And it gets worse. These people, depending on how severe their injuries are, seem to be getting some sort of infection; all of them getting the same type. It starts with a fever, then they start vomiting, sometimes bringing up blood. Melissa, it's bad. The fever, it burns them out. Then…"

"What?" I asked anxiously, "Then what, Kat?"

"They die."

I drove to the hospital silently, keeping a sharp eye on the roads as Kat had said there were quite a few people out wandering the streets. Thankfully I didn't encounter very many, but the ones I had seen looked like they were in bad shape.

All of the radio stations were repeating the same thing: "Do not approach anyone who looks to have been bitten. If you have been harmed, please seek medical attention. Stay indoors. This is not a drill." Finally, after scrolling through the available stations twice, I stabbed the volume button to silence the endless droning.

As I approached the hospital, I was able to witness more of the chaos Kat had described. An ambulance was flipped over on its side not quite three blocks away from the emergency bay. I'd have stopped to see if I could do something but it already looked abandoned. I parked as close as I could to the hospital entrance, which was about halfway down the lot, and jogged to the doors. Several people in the parking lot tried to grab at me on my way in, pleading with me to help them, to look at their wounds. I didn't let myself stop.

Inside the hospital was more of the same. "Dr. Carlyn!" I called, spotting a familiar face, "Sir, what on earth is going on here?" I grabbed at his sleeve, only to come away with a blood-stained hand. "You're hurt!"

Slowly, Carlyn turned to me; his face was deathly pale and his eyes were fever-bright. "Melissa, what are you doing here?" He looked frantic, "You shouldn't have come!"

"Dr. Carlyn, I had to come!" I stuttered, "I mean, I'm only a couple of hours away from getting my practicum done, and, and I wanted to help!" Which, obviously, was true, I did want to help but I was also only one shift away from having enough hours to finally graduate from nursing school. And boy, was I ready to be done!

Unfortunately, Dr. Carlyn seemed to only hear the part about my hours. "Fine," He snapped, "Go up to Geriatrics and take over for Susan."

I felt as if Dr. Carlyn was treating me like a spoiled child. Was I so wrong to be excited about finishing up school? Apparently so, according to him! As I got on the elevator, strangely empty except for one blank-eyed nurse cradling her arm, I did begin to feel a bit guilty. Carlyn had been wounded, and I hadn't offered to help him. In fact, I'd only really thought about myself. If Kat had been there, she would have given me a good smack and said I was being selfish, like it seemed she was always doing.

As the elevator approached the fourth floor, moving slower than usual it seemed, I decided to check on the woman riding with me. Very un-selfish of me, I might add.

"My hand," She moaned, and held out what remained of it, "One of those crazy people tried to bite it off!" I felt ill, watching bits of skin hang off the bones. The floor around her was spattered with blood. "She attacked me! I, I thought she was dead, and she attacked me!" The poor woman collapsed to the elevator floor sobbing.

I backed away, unsure of what to do. A dead person had attacked her? How could that even be possible? Behind me, the elevator doors slid open with an audible swoosh noise, and I took one last look at the crying nurse before quickly exiting.

Compared to the lobby, Geriatrics was like the eye of the storm. Everything seemed to be orderly and quiet. True, some nurses were wheeling out bodies on gurneys, but seeing as death was not an uncommon sight on this floor I didn't bother looking into it. Since Dr. Carlyn had said to relieve Susan, I went looking for her.

"Melissa, is that you?" A familiar voice called out to me from one of the rooms I had just passed.

"Shaina?" I ran back, so relieved to hear her voice, "Oh my God, I finally found you!" Not that I'd been looking – yet. "What is going on? No one will tell me anything!"

My closest friend and roommate pulled me in for a hug, "Oh, Melissa, what are you doing here?" She scolded while sniffling, "Kat said she was going to try to get you to stay home. It's a mess out there!"

"No kidding," I dead-panned, "Seriously, Shaina, what's going on? Dr. Carlyn didn't say anything, and all Kat said was to stay away from anyone who'd been bit or scratched." My eyes widened, "Wait, Kat's hand! I think a patient hurt her. Shaina, what happens when people get bit?"

She clapped her hand over her mouth to try and quiet her sobs. Nervously I took in what room we were in. There were two patients, both seemed to be sleeping. Mr. Wilson and Troy Dunning, I remembered. Shaina finally calmed down enough to speak, "Well, okay, you saw the news right? There are these things out there, people but not people, do you understand? And they're, they're attacking everywhere. Not just in Atlanta but all over the country, Melissa!" Her dark eyes were frantic, "I don't know what started it, but I do know that if a person gets bit or, or scratched by one of those freaks, they…"

"What?" I hissed, going closer to her side. "Tell me!"

She gulped, "They die, Liss, and then they come back to life!"

I pulled back, narrowing my eyes, "Come on, now, Shaina, we all know that's not possible."

"It is!" My friend grabbed my hands, "Melissa, look at me and tell me I'm lying. All of those people that you watched on the news are dead. Every single one of person in this hospital that`s infected will die and then, then turn into one of those things I swear, Melissa, I swear I seen it happen!"

A loud groan from one of the men in the room saved me from having to reply to my obviously over-tired friend. Shaina rushed over to him, "Mr. Dunning?" Her voice seemed incredibly nervous to me, "How are you feeling?"

I snorted; Dunning had come in yesterday morning with a bite wound. I hadn't questioned it seeing as he was a pretty avid hunter and it wasn't the first time he'd come in with a wound like that. "He probably is just whinin', Shaina. Always does after he gets a rabies shot." I rolled my eyes, "We put him up here because he's always complaining about the noise downstairs."

Hearing a noise behind me, I couldn't help but jump. It was just Mr. Wilson sitting up in his bed. "Well, now I'm the one complaining!" He shouted, as ornery as ever. "Why's it so damn loud 'round here?"

I turned to give the old man a scathing reply when Shaina let out a terrified cry, "Mr. Dunning!"

"What the hell!"

Mr. Wilson looked horrified as he swung his legs out of the hospital bed. Immediately, I was at Shaina's side, dragging her away from the thing that had been Troy Dunning.

"You see, you see?" Shaina was babbling, and I did see. Clearly the man had died at some point in the night. He had all of the signs: glossy, pale eyes, grey skin, blue lips. From where I was standing, I could see how his wound had festered and bled through the bandages. Yes, Dunning had been dead at some point but he was awake and moving now.

"We have to get out of here!" I yanked Shaina towards the door; thanking God that Dunning was momentarily tangled in his sheets.

She yanked back, "We can't leave him!" And she scrambled to try and get Mr. Wilson out of bed.

I was frantic; Dunning was standing now. "No, Shaina," I screamed, "We don't have time! Come on!"

"Go!" Mr. Wilson was shouting as Shaina supported him on their way to the door. His legs weren't working well, and he was being half-dragged. Dunning was lurching around the bed now, his pale eyes fixed on the pair.

"Hurry!" I ran to the doorway and shouted for help. The hall was a chaotic mess now and no one was willing to stop, "Shaina, please!"

Dunning had his hands on Mr. Wilson's shirt now, trying to yank the old man towards him. As if he knew it was futile, Wilson let himself drop to the floor. "Run!" Was all he managed to shout before the dead man was on him. Horrified, I watched as Dunning, who yesterday had been alive and well, bent to bury his face in the old man's neck. Blood poured out at an alarming rate.

"We have to go, Melissa," Shaina was at my side, weeping openly, "Before he comes after us too!"

Together we sprinted toward the bank of elevators. Barely having enough time to see what was happening around us, I noticed that the previously occupied gurneys were now empty. Screams issued from almost every room we passed. About twenty feet from the elevators, I saw a crowd of things feeding off of a nurse, and jolted to a stop. "The stairs."

We booked it toward the stairwell, breathing heavily. Please let those things not know how to open doors, I prayed, and swung the door open tentatively. Nothing was there.

"Thank God," I heard Shaina wheeze and could only nod in agreement. "Where'd you park?" She asked when we were about halfway down.

"Pretty far, you?"

"Right beside the fire door," She replied, "Lucky, hey?" This was followed by a choked laugh. Ironic, more so, seeing as that was by far considered the best parking stall by all of the nurses because it was so close to the main doors. For us, lucky took on a whole new meaning.

As we neared the ground floor, I decided to stop and catch my breath. So far the stairwell had been empty, and I considered it safe enough to rest. "Are you hurt, did he get you?" I asked Shaina who was sitting on the bottom step.

"No, no, I'm fine," She answered, "But poor Mr. Wilson! And Mr. Dunning, and Susan too."

I felt sick; Susan had been the nurse by the elevator? How had I not realized? This was crazy. And stupid. And way beyond fucked up. I pulled Shaina to her feet roughly. "Come on, we have to make a plan. How close are the stairs to that emergency exit?"

She thought for a second, "We'll have to go past the lobby and down the hall a bit. Not too far but I'm worried about how the lobby is going to be."

I could only imagine, having seen it not long ago. Curious, I pulled out my cell phone, "Only 7:26?" I screeched, and then clapped my hand over my mouth. Above us, a door banged open. "Run!"

We snuck out the door into a hallway just off the lobby. Shaina decided to go first, putting a finger to her lips cautioning quiet. I followed behind her, but I wasn't prepared for what I'd see: It was like a scene from a World War II movie; bodies were everywhere. There were groups of undead gathered around some, and even more crowding by the front doors. Screams could be heard from the lobby's nursing station, and I noticed more freaks crawling around back there. Looking at Shaina, I thought she probably looked exactly how I felt: sick and beyond frightened.

Come on, she beckoned, and we tip-toed down the hallway keeping our backs to the wall, being as silent as possible. We managed to get by without incident but the next hallway had at least 5 people in it, all stumbling around aimlessly. Shaina only had to look at me once to convey her thoughts. We'd have to make a break for it. Taking a deep breath, I nodded and we ran full-out toward the emergency door. We caught the freaks attention right away, and attracted even more when we set off the fire alarm by opening the door.

"Shit!" There was no point in being quiet now. Shaina was already in the car, and I was frantically pulling on the handle of the passenger side door. "Open it, open it!" I screamed, and was in the car as soon as the lock clicked.

Thankfully, Shaina wasn't hesitant to drive through the crowd. Old Naggy, as she called her Jeep, mowed down those poor bastards that got in the way. "We gotta get Kat!" Her voice was overly loud in the relative silence of the car. "We gotta get supplies, and go out to, like, your dad's cabin or something."

"Oh, my God," I smacked my forehead, "My parents! I've got to call them."

"I'll try mine too."

Seconds later, we both hung up. "No service," Shaina said grimly. I nodded. "Your family should be okay. Your dad's a hunter, a survivalist-whatever."

"And your family lives out on a farm. There's no one around for miles." It was empty reassurance from both of us, but we took comfort from the simple truths of it all.

Completely disregarding the speed limit, we reached the house in less than half the time it usually took. Before getting out of the Jeep, I took stock of the surroundings. More than halfway down the block was a group of about ten of the freaks, all heading our way. The front yard looked clear, and our door was shut.

"Three minutes, no more!" I hissed at Shaina, and flung myself from the vehicle. I had the front door opened in seconds.

"Kat!" Shaina called, running into the kitchen, "Are you here?"

I decided to go up to my room first. Clothes, toiletries, whatever else I needed, I ran through them all in my mind. A couple pairs of jeans, sweatpants, pajamas all went into a duffle bag. Shirts, underwear, socks, all were thrown in haphazardly. Dimly I could hear Shaina banging around downstairs. In the bathroom I grabbed up all of my toiletries, and Shaina's as well. I saw that Kat's were already gone. Maybe she had already gotten out! Back to the bedroom; I wanted desperately to take my personal things with me, all my photos and books, my teddy bears. "Pack light, economize." I said under my breath.

"I'm going to get the jumper cables out of the garage!" Shaina called up the stairs.

"'Kay, good idea!" Rushed, I grabbed a random paperback off of my nightstand and the calendar off my wall. It was the one that my nursing class had made together as a fundraiser to help with tuition. It would do instead of pictures, I supposed.

It couldn't have been more than fifteen seconds after I had spoken to Shaina, but that's all it took for the situation to go from bad to worse. I was zipping up the bag when I heard her screaming.

"Shaina!" Grabbing my bag, I nearly fell down the stairs in my rush to get to her. The door to the garage was open and I didn't even have to go in to see what was happening. "No!"

Kat, or rather, the thing that had previously been Kat, had her teeth clamped on Shaina's shoulder. I wailed in horror; my friend had been infected and she'd become one of them.

"Melissa, help me!" Shaina was screaming in pain, her eyes were bulging and she was trying to fight off the monster that had been our friend only hours before. "Please help me!"

I hesitated, wracked with fear. What could I do? If I went in, I'd get attacked as well. I wouldn't be able to get Shaina free even if I wasn't immediately grabbed and bitten myself. Shaina saw my hesitation and panicked further.

"No, Melissa, no!" She screamed, "Don't leave me here!"

I was sobbing, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"Please!"

Whirling around, I left my friend to die.