a/n: SPOILERS if havent seen up to the end of season five.

OUR SANCTUARY

Episode One - The Treehouse

It was an unusually bright and sunny day. The sun beating down through the clouds. The sky washed in the thin white haze. The world seemed unusually beautiful as Rick Grimes stared out the window and loaded his handgun with six bullets. The streets of Alexandria were quiet, people were too scared to leave their homes after seeing what Rick did. Executing Pete right in front of everyone left the whole town in a state of shock. Rick couldn't stop thinking about what he had done either just three days before, he hadn't slept since. Meeting Morgan after such a long time, he felt like his life had come full circle. A never-ending circle of misery and pain that was tearing his life apart. He just hoped he wouldn't lose anyone else before it was all over.

Deep in thought, Rick bowed his head, closed his eyes and prayed. He prayed for Carl. He prayed for Judith. He prayed for Jessie. He prayed for a better life. This place, Alexandria, was perfect and he just had to keep it safe and he would keep it safe at any cost. Just ask Pete what happens when you cross him.

Rick was snapped out of his brief reverie when he caught the refection of Jessie in the mirror. Jessie had forgiven him for killing Pete. It was what she wanted too deep down and it took someone with Rick's ruthlessness to finally put an end to Pete's tyranny.

Jessie approached him slowly. She had forgiven him but was still cautious. He was like a wild, untamed beast who could go off at any moment. Still she needed him. She trusted him to keep her safe. She pressed herself up against him encircling her arms around his waist resting her cheek on the back of his shoulder.

"Are you ok, Rick?" "I'm fine. Just thinking what I can do to make this place safer. There are people out there, lots of them, who will try and take this place. We have to be ready."

"Don't worry Rick. We'll make it together."

"Jessie," he said pulling away from her embrace. "We should worry. You haven't been out there. You don't know what I've seen. There are people, terrible people who do terrible things. We met a group who tried to eat us. They lured us to their community and tried to eat us." Rick started to raise his voice and Jessie backed up. "Can you see why I don't trust this community, Jessie?"

Tears welled up in Jessie's eyes. "I understand." she said almost shaking. "I understand the things you have to do now. I will never question your judgement again. You were right to kill Pete. He was out of control."

Jessie hugged Rick again and this time Rick reciprocated wrapping his muscular arms around her slender body. A warmth ran through his spine. He had forgotten this feeling. This feeling of love. It had been so long since Lori. He wanted it more than anything else in the world. Jessie stood on tip toes and then put her lips to Rick's ear and whispered: "I love you."

"I love you, too." he whispered back running his fingers through her long, blonde hair.

The front door opened suddenly and Carl burst through wearing a blue denim jacket and Rick's sheriff hat.

He noticed that Rick and Jessie were sharing quite an intimate moment.

"Hey dad. Sorry, hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Rick and Jessie released their hug and stepped aside slightly embarrassed as if they were kids caught in the act.

"No, no, you're not interrupting." said Rick coughing and blushing a little. "Where's Judith?"

"Aaron and Eric are looking after her."

"Aaron and Eric?" said Rick as if Carl had just mentioned the devil himself.

"Yeah I was looking for Carol but I couldn't find her."

"She was here." said Jessie. "She just brought some cookies up for Sam. He loves Carol's cookies."

"Don't worry." said Carl. "Aaron and Eric are really great guys. Judith will be safe. I just came to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"Enid and I want to go on a run and I'm just wondering if it's ok."

"Absolutely not." said Rick putting his gun back in his holster. He was dressed in his sheriffs uniform and he really felt like he was a sheriff again back in King County ordering people around. "It's too dangerous. Haven't you seen how many walkers are out there now?"

"Please dad, Enid is going with or without me. I just wanted to let you know."

"Forget it Carl. You're not going out, not unless I am with you."

"Dad, I'm not a helpless kid anymore. I can take care of myself."

Rick paused to think. He agreed but couldn't bring himself to show his emotions. He felt like he had to be stern to protect Carl, to protect everyone. EVerything felt like it was on his shoulders and he was carrying the burden of an entire town. "My decision is final Carl. You are not going out there. Tell Enid that she's stupid and risks her life going out there alone."

Carl huffed and tapped his teeth in the way only a teenage boy can. He left in a sulk, shuffling out the door and slamming it behind him. Jessie looked at Rick thinking he may have been too harsh but Rick was never going to change. He was too hard headed. She liked that about him, but was also scared.

Upstairs, Sam sat on his bed devouring the plate of chocolate chip cookies that Carol had baked for him. The crumbs pilling up on the sheets as he munched his way through each one.

Sam was so glad for Carol. He was so confused since the death of his father and Carol had been like a special auntie, so sweet and so kind comforting and supporting him. She was always there with a smile and a freshly baked plate of cookies whenever Sam felt lonely or sad.

Sam looked out the window. The bright sun blinding him as he put his hand up to shield his eyes. Then there in the distance just over the wall he saw a boy about his age. Sam thought he was hallucinating for a moment and rubbed his eyes. He looked again. There was the boy, shaggy brown hair, he looked young, maybe even younger than himself. He was waving his hand and looking directly at him. It wasn't possible surely. The boy was now perched up, sitting on the top of the wall waving his hand.

Sam couldn't take his eyes off the boy. He stared, almost hypnotised, his waving arm like a dangling pendulum. Who was this boy? Sam dropped the plate of cookies on the floor and gasped.

Sam saw the boys lips move. He thought he could see him calling out his name. He could almost hear it. "Sam." The boy's faint voice carried and Sam staggered out of bed and bolted from the room without a second's thought.

"Mom!" he shouted from the top of the stairs.

"What is it?" said Jessie running to the foot of the stairs as fast as she could. "Come look at this!"

Jessie and Rick came up the stairs and into Sam's bedroom. Sam wiped the crumbs from his bed and climbed up. "What, Sam?" Jessie said, folding her arms. Sam pointed out the window and told them to look. They did but they didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Just the sun up above, the streets still silent and over the way Sasha in the bell tower ready as ever with her sniper rifle - there was nothing unusual out there. Certainly not a young boy perched on top of the giant constructed wall around Alexandria.

"There was a boy!" Sam screamed. "He was sitting on the wall. He was calling for me."

"Oh Sam, there's no one out there. It's just your imagination."

"But I did see someone. There was a boy, he was waving at me. Honest!"

"Looks like you've had one too many cookies, Sam." said Rick chuckling.

"Please check this out. He might be lost. We should call Aaron or Daryl. He might need help!"

Jessie realised that it was probably just his imagination. Boys his age tended to have too much of it. Sam was known for his stories and his invisible friends. Jessie just accepted it as a phase and was sure he'd grow out of it.

Jessie turned to Rick, her eyes full of hope and fear.

"I'm sorry about this Rick, he can be like sometimes."

Rick smiled. "I know."

Memories flooded back to Rick of Carl growing up. Dealing with tantrums and a kid who would do anything to try and get his own way. He missed those days.

Jessie and Rick turned and left Sam's bedroom but Sam couldn't bring himself away the window. He was still transfixed.

He looked again at the wall and squinted. There once again, he could make out the outline of a young boy sitting on the wall waving. He was laughing too and Sam wondered to himself what the big joke was.

It was night time now. Alexandria was going to bed for the night. Lights were being switched off and there was complete silence on the streets. Enid was waiting by the wall, tapping her feet and on the far side of town, well out of sight of Rick and Sasha. She was more worried about getting caught than ever. Aiden and Nicholas never noticed when she slipped out but now Sasha was always on the lookout and Enid had to be stealthy.

The air was much chillier at night time. People tried not to go out much and people were scared. The people of Alexandria were scared of the darkness but this was the time Enid liked the best. She folded her arms and shivered slightly as a stiff breeze rushed through her. Enid's clothes were ragged and torn and tomboyish. She was a survivor. She had survived on her own for so long. Running from home to home, fighting for every meal. Then she found this town, Alexandria. It was just like her hometown in Fairfax County. But just like Daryl, she felt restless and out of place now in perfect suburbia. This wasn't her home anymore, she had no home and always felt safer outside the walls.

She felt a tap on her shoulder, and spun around instinctively snatching her knife from her belt and holding it in front of her. Carl put his hands up and stepped back.

"Sorry." he said. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's ok, just forget about it. Are you ready?"

Carl took a small silver pistol out of his pocket and held it up before her. She took a good look at it, giving a sarcastic smile - not the least bit impressed.

"You're going to draw every walker around with that thing."

Carl let out cheeky smile when out of his other pocket he picked out a long black silencer. He screwed it on to the muzzle and after a few moments of twisting his slender fingers and around and fumbling trying to get in place, he managed to attach it to the end of his gun.

"Always prepared, Enid." said Carl. "That's me."

"Don't get cocky, Carl."

"I'm not cocky. You know, I've been out there too, out on the road for a long time. Surviving hand to mouth. You have no idea what I've done, what I'm capable of."

She knew. She saw it in his eye. She knew what he had seen and she had seen it too. The horror, the nightmares, the blood, the killing. She knew it all.

"Yeah, I get it Carl. But don't get too full of yourself. That's what's going to get you killed."

"I'm fine. It's my dad I'm more worried about. You've seen how erratic he's been. And he's been getting more protective again. He wouldn't let me go on this supply run with you."

"You gonna listen to your dad, right?" said Enid looking at the ground and kicking the stamping on the tall grass. "Good idea. I wish I had listened to my dad."

"I'm still going though. He can't control me anymore. I'm old enough to look after myself."

"Ok if you're sure then follow my lead."

Carl didn't mind following Enid's lead or being bossed about by a girl. He climbed up over the corrugated steel fence after her. Carl jumped down from the top with a loud crash. Enid immediately rushed over to check if he was ok.

"Nothing broken." Carl whispered.

"Come on." Enid said extending her hand and pulling Carl to his feet. "Quick! Before Sasha sees us!"

Carl and Enid ran side by side towards the large forest area that ran around the outskirts of the town. It was the main supply of wood and fuel for Alexandria but it was Enid's special place to hide.

They were on the outside now and the world stretched out before them. No longer cooped up like a rat in a cage, they were free as the wind. Out there where the walkers roamed and danger lurked around every corner. Enid and Carl felt so free.

Suddenly they saw a light coming from the main gate and then a rumble and the sound of screeching tyres. Enid yanked Carl back behind the trees. They peered round together and saw it was Daryl on his motorcycle zooming off into the distance. Enid breathed a sigh of relief, just glad they weren't spotted.

They sat leaning back on the trunk of a huge oak, gaspy and sweaty. They sat in almost total darkness with only the faint house lights of Alexandria looking like little specks a kilometre away.

They both sat in silence. Enid liked the silence, but Carl was intrigued. He had been intrigued with this girl since the very beginning. Who was she? He didn't know anything.
"Are you going to finally tell me what happened to you?" Carl asked after a moment of trepidation.

Enid sighed and rolled her eyes like she had told him a thousand times. "Why did you come with me?" she asked in a deep monotone.

"You said you were going on a run."

"But I never asked you to come with me."

"No, I wanted to." said Carl, gulping. He had never been this close to a girl his own age. He feared the rejection more than anything.

"You wanted to protect me?" "No, no, I thought we could make a team."

"I'm not sure I would have you on my team, Carl." she said. And in that instance, Carl's face turned white and his expression hung like a dead fish. "I don't need you and I don't need anyone." she continued.

Then in an inexplicable rush of adrenaline and testosterone he placed his hand on Enid's cheek then gently lacing his fingers through her fine hair.

"That's not true, Enid."

Carl's tone was a hushed and serious whisper like he was telling her the most important thing in the world. "We all need someone."

Enid watched his lips form those words and they pulled at her heart. Carl placed his hand on hers and he was surprised when she squeezed his tightly making butterflies fly up from his chest. He had never felt this way before.

"Let's camp out here tonight." said Enid.

"Out here? What about all the walkers?"

"I'll show you a place."

Enid sprung up, took Carl's hand and helped him to his feet again. She led him around the forest. Carl was just following her blindly not even looking back to see where they had come from or how they might escape in an emergency.

An endless stream of trees and bushes blackness raced through Carl's vision and then finally they stopped. Enid pointed at one lone cedar amongst a sea of oaks. Carved in the trunk as if on purpose was a gap big enough for the two teenagers to squeeze into.

Enid went in first and then Carl just barely made it inside. It reeked of dirt and damp. And the thick trunk dug into their skin through their clothes. But it didn't matter to them because in there their bodies pressed together, stuck like glue and their hearts raced. They were so close, they could literally feel the other's heart beat. "Is this place really safe?" asked Carl with a watchful eye surveying the area.

"Perfectly safe." replied Enid. "I come here all the time. Walkers never come here."

"The walkers come when you least expect it."

"Look here the branches on this tree are so thick we can sleep up there."

"Are you serious?"

Carl and Enid stared at each other, so close, they could practically taste each other's breath.

"I'm serious." she said in the low monotone voice she always had.

Carl kind of liked it. He liked her moodiness and he liked her temper. He felt very safe with her. He knew she was a survivor just like he was.

"Hey Carl, give me a boost."

"What?"

"Come on, give me a boost." Enid said one more time. This time holding her foot up off the ground in front of him. Carl smiled and then looked up finally realising what she meant.
There was a narrow hole that led up to the branches from inside the tree. Carl interlocked his fingers and held them out, palms facing up. Enid smiled and gave him a playful slap. She then put size six boot on Carl's palm and hoisted herself up high into the tree.

Carl felt her weight in his arms. She was heavy but not discomfortingly so. Carl was surprised by his own strength. Did she even need a boost?

"Are you coming or what?" said Enid from up above.

Carl was suddenly snapped out of his daydream.

He climbed up. His hands were slipping and sliding on the wet bark but he somehow managed to scramble up to the top where Enid was waiting for him on the long branch that stretched out a good four feet. Enid sat perched with her legs dangling over the side. Carl came up next to her.

Enid pointed upwards to the stars.

"The night time is so beautiful." she said.

"Yeah, you forget the beauty of the world sometimes. The beauty of nature and the beauty of people."

They turned to look at each other again. They fell silent but their minds were transmitting secret airwaves and they both felt it. They felt the night time cool air and the soft cry of the owls nearby and their faces came closer and closer together, touching.

Then Enid backed away suddenly. Blushing. Her face was bright red like a lobster and Carl's was too.

"L-Let's get some rest here." Enid said stuttering over her words.

"Yeah, I'm tired." replied Carl, too embarrassed to say anything else.

Enid closed her eyes and allowed her head to gently roll onto Carl's shoulder. He glanced down at the sleeping girl and things started to stir inside of him. He sat there and closed his eyes and drifted off wondering if she felt the same about him too.

Carl couldn't relax though even feeling Enid gentle breath on his cheek. He knew he had to keep a look out. He wanted to make sure they were safe and he felt like it was his duty to protect them.

He scoured the area. There were no walkers. It was quiet, a bit too quiet for his liking. In Carl's experience, bad things always happened when things were quiet.

He kept looking. Indeed, there were no walkers anywhere near the area. Enid had been right. She had found the perfect little sanctuary for them to escape Alexandria together. But what if his dad found out? Rick would go crazy if he found them outside the walls alone and unprotected.

Then Carl squinted and in the distance standing on a tree top, he was sure he saw a young boy of about eight years old with shaggy hair. He was waving to him. Carl shook his head to make sure he wasn't imagining things. He squinted harder to try and get a closer look but it was so dark he couldn't even make out the colour of the boy's hair. Still, Carl was sure it wasn't Sam. He would never come out that far by himself.

Carl then thought he heard the boy calling his name over and over again. He turned to Enid. She was fast asleep on his shoulder and couldn't hear any of this.

Carl looked back to see if he could see the boy but he was gone - disappeared into the darkness.

Carl slapped himself lightly thinking he had spent so long in the wilderness that he was losing his mind. Carl placed his head down gently on top of Enid's and drifted off to sleep. Still he couldn't help wondering who that boy was and why he had the sudden feeling that they were being watched from all around.

TO BE CONTINUED…..

A/N: thanks for reading episode one. I really enjoyed writing this, my first walking dead fic. So I'm going to keep at this. Carl and Enid are the main characters but I'm going to include loads others too: mainly Daryl and Carol and a few original characters too. I'm going to make it like a season with 16 chapters in total so I wonder who's going to survive and who's going to die by the end. Will update this next week. Peace x