Chapter One

A/N So I haven't posted anything in a very long time. This chapter is really short, it's more of a test to see if anyone likes my character (Steph) and theme. It does get better, I promise. In my story, Daryl is in his mid-twenties.

Disclaimer: I own none of the Walking Dead characters or the plot. Steph is mine though.

Steph

I walked. Just like them. In my head I watched Jess die, over and over again. The only person I knew I could rely on, probably the last person I would ever talk to, and I let her die. No, not just die. I let my sister get eaten alive by undead cannibals. I thought bitterly as I continued to stumble along the side of the highway. I was on my way to Atlanta, because I knew it had been over-run, just like the other cities. Maybe I would get lucky and die quickly.

The trip around the US had been Jess' idea, a graduation present. I'm Australian, a tourist from the land down under. Now I'm stuck in this place, not knowing if this highway would lead me to Atlanta because Jess was the navigator. I just drove. We had been travelling for just over two weeks when the radio said that a world-wide virus was claiming lives and that we should travel to the nearest city. Great advice guys. The road ahead of me was bland, sun bleached bitumen was sizzling in the summer heat and rotting bodies filled the air with a foul stench. Not for the first time, I wished I had a gun, to end it all quickly. Only a mili-second of pain before eternal peace. My daggers weren't quick enough; I would just sit there and bleed out until I died.

My thoughts had distracted me long enough that I didn't notice the RV meandering towards me on the highway. I could see an older man with a Santa beard driving. They were close now. I guess by the way I stumbled along they thought I was one of the dead. Mustering up my strength I began to wave my arms in an attempt to get their attention. I would have yelled, but my mouth was so dry that all I managed was a strangled gasp. The RV began to slow before pulling to a stop ten metres in front of me. Finally another face! I living, non cannibal face. Hell, I would go as far to say it was friendly.

Drained from my exertions from waving I fell to my knees, if I had enough water in my body, I would have wept. A blond woman, maybe a few years older than my sisters 22 years jumped out of the RV's doors and ran towards me.

"Are you bit?" She asked. All I could do was shake my head to say no. Relieved she crouched beside me and brought the water to my parched lips. The older man I saw driving joined the blonde woman and helped me to my feet, nudging me in the direction of the RV.

"I'm Dale, this is Andrea and her younger sister Amy is in the RV. Can you tell us your name?" Dale asked in a soft voice. When I didn't respond he said to Andrea, "Get her some more water." She brought the bottle of water to my lips and I drank hungrily, water dripped down my chin and wetting my top. It felt heavenly on my sunburnt skin.

"My name… Steph," I coughed to them before drinking from the bottle again. My throat felt like sandpaper and my lips stung. In the shade of the van, another blond girl, who looked very close to my age, stood up from her seat at the table.

"Oh my god! Is she okay? Does she need anything? What can I do to help?" She fretted, her gaze going from Dale to Andrea and back to me.

"Her name is Steph. She is dehydrated and in need of a cold shower, water and some sleep," Andrea said to her sister before leading me to a small door behind the table. Opening the door I saw a showerhead. Dale had mysteriously disappeared, but I soon realised why. Andrea began to gently pull my clothes off. When I was naked she asked, "Are you ok to shower by yourself? Do you need help?"

"…not… a kid," I said in my croaky voice to her. Surely I could shower by myself. Thankfully Andrea didn't push the matter and let me get into the shower by myself. Once enclosed in the little shower I turned the knob with the blue on it. Cold water cascaded onto me. I watched the grime of weeks of blood, sweat and tears disappear into the drain. Under the water, I could see my skin again. It was pink from the constant exposure to the sun but the cold water soothed and cooled me down.

Getting out of the shower I was greeted by a thread-bare towel and some new clothes. Andrea and Amy were smiling comfortingly at me as they dressed me again and handed me a water bottle before nudging me in the direction of a small bed. I hadn't realised how tired I was until I lay down on the soft bed, nursing my bottle of water.

~0~

Daryl

Skinning squirrels. You would think that after years of doing it I would be more immune to the task. Nope, nothing ever makes skinning squirrels better. Not years of doing it, not company and apparently not a zombie apocalypse. Sitting in this camp, with children playing in the sunshine and all that happiness bullshit did not make skinning and gutting dead animals any easier to do. Merle, my older brother, and I had gotten stuck with this group at the start of the apocalypse.

We decided to come camping here because of the good hunting. We knew that there would be other people here purely because it was summer, but we did not know that the world would go to shit and we would be stuck with the other campers. Merle and I knew we were the outsiders; they only kept us around because I can hunt. Merle can't hunt for shit, he bounds around the woods scaring away all the game.

The rumbling of the RV distracted me from continuing my job of skinning. It bounced along the dirt road leading to the camp. From where I was sitting I could see Andrea jump out of the RV door before it even stopped, she ran into the camp and grabbed Carol, Jacqui and Lori, leading them back to the RV where all three woman disappeared inside. By now a crowd had gathered as Dale explained what was going on. I walked up slowly, not really interested, but anything was better than skinning.

"We found her on the side of the highway; she's in pretty poor shape. She's very dehydrated, couldn't even talk when we picked her up. I don't know how long she's been walking; all we really know is that her name is Steph." Dale told the group. So we had a newbie in the group. Another mouth for me to feed. I returned to my job as Dale was bombarded with questions.

Watching from my spot at the boundary of the forest I saw Jacqui running around collecting things that were needed to tend to the girl. At one point I heard a scream from the RV. I left then to look for Merle, he had been gone awhile and would want to know about the newbie. I checked the truck first. Merle was always fixing the truck, but when I saw he wasn't at the hood, I checked his tent. It was empty. He must have gone into the woods to practice hunting or something.

When I returned to my tent, I saw Merle harassing Amy while she cooked some food by the fire. Merle just doesn't get a hint, or a warning, or a threat when it comes to ladies. Amy was leaning away as Merle stuck his face very close to hers. He had that grin on his face that he always had when he was trying to 'seduce' someone.

"Oi Merle, you wanna come huntin' with me?" I asked to distract him from Amy. She quickly scurried back to the RV when she saw he was distracted. I was expecting Merle to be upset with me for ruining his chances with Amy. Instead he gave the finger to her retreating figure and muttered, "Stupid slut," Before turning to me and saying, "Whatever, you need all the help you can get."

I laughed at this. Whenever Merle comes hunting with me, I'm lucky to bag one kill. Grabbing my crossbow I waited for Merle to join me at the forest line, he showed up five minutes later grinning like a pig.

"There's another chick in the group, Dale picked 'er up on his way back from scoutin', Carol an' all them 'ave 'er locked up in the RV. Finally somethin' other than that stupid slut and those old ladies." He said this like he had a chance with her. I didn't reply, just cocked my head in the direction of the woods before walking into the shade of the trees.