(I know I swore I would never do an OC but this one just has not let me go since I first thought about it)
Tears poured down Carol's face as she drove away from the only real family she had ever known. Even now she knew that if she had the chance to go back she would have done exactly the same thing. What she had done was to try and save her family. She furiously wiped away the tears that began to blind her. Deciding that she needed to stop and think about what to do next Carol pulled her car down a hidden driveway leading to a seemingly peaceful waterfront house. Turning off her car she silently pulled out her knife and made her way up to the house. Pushing open the already unlocked door she dispatched of the lone walker in the hall before it even noticed her, she pushed the couch in front of the door before wandering upstairs and checking out the rest of the house. She set herself up in the bed room settling in for a sleepless night.
The next morning she woke up to banging on the door below. Getting up she sprinted down the stairs just as the door broke open and people brandishing guns and other long range weapons filled the entrance way below her. Almost immediately all weapons focused on her and she found herself falling to her knee's hands above her head.
"Don't shoot I'm not one of them" Carol cried out, waiting with bated breath for them to open fire.
"You bit?" One of the intruders asked as the others shifted their grip on their weapons unsure of what to do next.
"No I'm not I swear."
"Come with us we'll get you check out, besides no one should be alone in these times. Unless you have a home elsewhere?" The apparent leader said lowering his weapon the others quickly followed suit. Carol debated with herself for a few moments before standing up and lowering her hands.
"I am alone, I have no one." She said hanging her head in defeat.
"Then come with us." The leader said stretching out his hand and offering it to her. Tears began to form once more in her eyes as she slowly and carefully reached out her own by the time her hand was intertwined with his she was sobbing uncontrollably. The others began milling about picking the place clean of any useful scraps, clothing, cutlery and the like as the leader stood and held her hand as Carol tried to stop the tears if they were uncomfortable or embarrassed by her reaction they didn't show it. It took only a few moments for them to pick the place over; they lead her over to nearby boats. Once they had all been loaded on with their goods the boats were pushed off and rowed towards a daunting looking ship on the horizon. As they grew closer Carol began to recognize the ship from a magazine she had read long ago, The Merry Mary a ship from a prestigious cruising line. Carol remembered when she was younger she wishing that she could go on even one cruise as it was said that the ship traveled to the most remote destinations filled with beauty yet undiscovered.
