Full Summary: Hailey was nothing more than a dime-a-dozen undergrad, with an affinity for music. During a layover to visit her father in Georgia, the ZA hits and she is forced to flee Atlanta with her best friend Dean. Follow as they learn to find their place in the new world order, and maybe, just maybe, they'll survive. With barely a handful of camping trips between them, it's sheer luck they've managed to survive as long as they have. Declining groups and staying to themselves, they will eventually have to accept that making it on their own just isn't cutting it anymore. That's when they run into a tall curly haired sheriff and a man with a crossbow who keeps rubbing Hailey the wrong way. Slow Burn Darly/OC(Hailey). This will also have a few OC characters, including enemies, and I will be trying to keep this story varied and interesting while following the show to the best of my ability. Some characters will not die, and there will be reasons.

Author's Note: This follows through Season 2 and onward. They do not meet Rick's group until the time between Season 2 and 3. I hope you enjoy my rendition of their survival of winter, and I hope you enjoy the work I've put into the story to have accurate weather, landscapes, and areas. I have mapped out the entire groups travels, even when they must leave the prison in season 4. This story starts off slow and the main character appears weak and reliant on others. This is on purpose as I like writing the human experience, which was the entire purpose of the comics, or so says their creator. This will have a lot of MA content, I will also be tackling a lot of nasty human behavior and situations. I will do my best to give trigger warnings and avoid graphic depictions of sexual assault and rape the best I can. This is also a slow burn. Hella slow burn. I'm sorry but Daryl love fests will not occur for a long long time. I will, however, give loads of fluff, moments, and unique scenes to not bore anyone.

The first chapter is to set up the two OC's and the next chapter will progress to a mini ark to set up future plot points. This story does not perfectly follow canon as I will be cherrypicking some things from the comics to help make this interesting. I will be using characters and story-lines from the games as well which have been confirmed canon with the show and comic world. My timeline will be the best I can make it to fit the shows/games. It was said the ZA started in July in the first Walking Dead game so that is the date I am using. This is further backed up by the current season in Fear the Walking Dead, which occurs well before what the CDC calls day 0. Rick's group et al will make their appearance fairly soon as well.

~Chapter One Start~ Trigger Warnings: Minor gore depiction/mention of unsavory individuals and acts

September 28th, 2012 Afternoon [+72 days since outbreak]

The sun was beating overhead as she breathed out a sigh, her lips chapped and sore. She raised a dirt covered hand to cover her eyes and she looked out from her perch on a tree alongside the desolate highway. Searching across the hazy landscape she managed to locate a few stores in the tiny truck stop they could attempt to find a few days rations as they traversed through the wilderness.

They had learned months ago it was safer to avoid places people frequented as best they could. Pressing two fingers to her mouth she let out a low soft whistle as she descended down the tree with newly practiced ease.

Out of another tree came a much larger figure, he jumped from farther up than her landing solidly in a crouch. Standing her brushed his tanned hands against the faded blue of his jeans.

"It's probably been picked clean." He rationalized as he took a look at the tiny stop she clearly wanted to ransack.

"Slim pickings around here, this is the only stop for miles, it's better than nothing." With a shrug she adjusted her large backpack and ventured across the highway, her hand pulling the large hunting knife she had strapped to her leg, out.

"It might just be safer to continue seeing what we can hunt and forage in the forests instead." Her larger companion complained as he took the lead, checking the vehicles for walkers as they passed.

"You know it's getting dangerous to rely solely on the cover of a forest. We are going to need to find somewhere to stay sooner than later once it starts getting colder." She trailed off as they reached the dirt covered door, a handprint still staining the window on the other side.

"Looks inviting." Her companion dryly remarked as she gave him a glare and pushed open the door. The bell at the top jingled lightly as she tapped her knife against the door to draw out any walkers hidden inside.

"Come on, looks clear." She smiled as she saw no movement. Letting the door close shut they both took a look at the upturned store with a sigh.

"I think I see some energy bars near the counter." he twisted around a stand of what used to be potato chips and poked at the dusty bags there before moving on.

"Alright, I'll check the store room then." She leaned over the counter and found a small key hanging on a hook just underneath the till.

She smirked to herself, her semi-full lips pressing into a thin line as she headed towards a locked door with excitement. The door was a pale green, covered in dirt marks, graffiti, and various energy drink stickers. Stifling a snort she tested the door handle, ensuring it was sufficiently locked. With the same practiced ease she had with the tree, she pressed the hard line of her body against the chipping wall and readied to open the door towards herself.

She had read in a book once, that people were more likely to shoot at an opening door over the wall. Since she was stranded in the USA during the apocalypse it was safe to assume everyone, in Georgia at least, had a gun and was more than ready to use it.

She would be if she were in their position.

'Just like christmas...' she thought to herself as she pressed the key to the lock and turned. She heard the tell-tale click and opened the door slowly hoping there weren't any surprises waiting for her inside.

Quietly she peered around the door finding it clear.

Entering the room she found it largely emptied, but not entirely. A flat of water and various cans of cola were scattered around the floor. Alongside the left wall was a large shelving unit where she found extra energy bars, bags of chips, and jerky. Smiling in triumph she quickly collected everything in her spare bag and skipped out of the room to find her companion.

His name was Dean, he was a tall fellow with a lot of muscle on him. He used to be heavier set before their collective diets had changed, but he was still built like the hulk, and his posture kept most problem people away, far away.

It didn't hurt he knew how to handle a gun either.

They had known each other for years, longer even. They had gone to the same high school, and had the same hobbies. It wasn't surprising that they had ended up in this mess together.

It had all started with a celebratory trip to Mexico to celebrate her graduating University and getting accepted into her undergraduate program. It was a gift from her father and on their way there the plan had been to visit him in the states. However, as they arrived for their five day layover in Atlanta, Georgia, all flights were grounded/cancelled due to a statewide medical emergency.

That was the last time either of them had spoken to their families. After seeing a whole mess of walkers swarm the workers on the runway that same day, they had fled the airport sneaking through the swath of panicked people managing to avoid airport security, that were keeping everyone locked in.

It was just as well, several hours later the airport was overrun and barely anyone was able to be evacuated.

The had lost their luggage, keeping only their travel bags for their trouble. Luckily, the city had already started to fall apart. In a fit of panic and snap judgement, Dean had rushed a local Walmart and Cosco. He barrelled through people, taking hits that would have sent her down to the ground, in order to grab what was needed and get out before the cops tear gassed the place. If there were even cops still available too.

It had felt like years ago when they had managed to use the last bit of their phone's battery power to figure out how to hotwire a car and get the fuck out of Atlanta as the air raid warnings rang out like a dinner bell.

Then the napalm hit, they burned over half of the city in an attempt to control the spiraling epidemic. It failed, horribly. At least after that collecting supplies became slightly easier.

And then drastically harder.

She had no idea how they were going to survive the winter to be honest. The most luck they had as of late was finding a few local hunting stores that held a wide array of brand new hunting/camping equipment. Some of the stores even had rarer or less common types of machetes. Thus, they were now decently armed to the teeth. She knew that a Kukri machete wasn't common in the south, but damn did it crack through a walker's skull like it was made for the job. It had become her favourite knife, much to her companion's dissenting opinion. Machete's weren't meant to be used for cracking skulls, nor was a Kukri the best range she could get from a one. So he had convinced her to pick up a Bolo machete as well.

He had opted for a combat machete and a heavier Bolo one.

"Dean, look what I got!" She chirped as she showed him her bursting bag. She shifted her backpack higher on her shoulders as she pulled the satchel at her hip to her front and opened it.

"Oh nice! Beef jerky!" He cheered as he showed her his less than filled bag. Between them they had managed to find enough bottled water and food to allow them to travel for almost a week without needing to find a town or city to resupply.

"And you didn't like my plan." She laughed as they exited the small store.

"We aren't out of the woods yet, so come on Lee, let's get to some cover." He moved slightly faster and she hopped slightly to keep up with his gait.

As they entered the tree line as Hailey, fondly known as 'Lee', looked back longingly with a sigh.

Life was only bound to become more difficult from here.

~Break~

September 29th, 2012 Late Night [+73 days since outbreak]

Hailey remembered leaving Atlanta vividly, fighting through the crowds of people and trying to avoid traffic as they escaped the burning city. It wasn't an easy feat, and more often than once they had to offroad over parks and sidewalks to avoid the accidents blooming everywhere from the mass panic.

She often had dreams of it, nightmares really, which usually meant she would relieve Dean from watch early. She remembered seeing cars burning, people attacking each other, some even the dead ripping flesh from their fleeing forms.

She never wanted to enter a city again after that.

"Smoke?" Dean's voice lifted the sleepy fog from her mind and she shrugged her sleeping bag off with a nod. He handed her the stale cigarette and she plucked it from his fingers happily. Taking a drag she held it in her lungs for a brief moment, before breathing it out in small ringlets.

She didn't normally smoke, even before the end of the world she rarely ever looked at a cigarette much less touched one.

But when things were stressful she'd never decline an offered one. Lately, things were always stressful.

"Bad dreams again?" He asked, taking another drag.

"Nothing new, I wouldn't worry. I can take over watch now if you'd like?" She inquired as she received the cigarette again and took another drag, sans the long hold this time.

"You need to get a full night's rest one of these days." Dean sighed as he declined the last half of the cigarette and headed towards their sleeping bags.

They had opted against using the tents as long as the weather was good. Less to pack up in case of an emergency as well as the fact their tents wouldn't last forever. It was best to make every use count.

It was also less conspicuous. Other survivors couldn't be trusted, so they always stayed on the move like the walkers, hoping to avoid both the living and dead.

So far they had avoided the living well enough, the dead however was another story.

"Walker." Dean grunted as she slowly stood grabbing the hilt of her knife effortlessly. Flipping up the leather latch, she pulled it out in one deft movement and advanced on the shambling dead, reeking already of rotted flesh.

"I really hate the heat here, it seems to cause them to rot and fester faster." She let out a grunt as her knife plunged into the walker's eye, straight to the hilt. With another grunt she pulled it back out and the walker fell to the forest floor, causing some dried leaves to rise up and slowly fall around it again.

"Aww I got blood on my last blood free shirt." She groaned as she noticed the splatter on the front of her shirt. Sure enough her comfortable light grey polo shirt was stained with splatters of blood around her shoulder and front.

"There are worse things." She could feel his eye roll from here and pouted.

He always seemed more at ease in these situations than her, he wasn't as bothered by dirt and grime. Curse her OCD and particularities. It made slumming it on the countryside harder than it should have been.

But she knew better than to complain now, so she pulled the walker a safe distance away, before returning to camp to clean her knife. It would do her no good if the blade dulled and rusted from the congealing blood.

She sat back down and took a moment to gaze through the trees counting the stars she could see until she could breathe again.

'Maybe, just maybe we'll make it...'

~Break~

September 30th, 2012 Late Afternoon [+74 days since outbreak]

It had been a couple days and they had managed to find the forests became denser, too dense to travel along easily. So they kept close to the treeline near the highway, walking with care and keeping talk to a minimum.

"Do you remember vanilla coke?" Dean spoke up, stirring her from her thoughts. He had been silent for the past hour, insisting that they tread as carefully as they could. She was startled by his sudden question so she turned her head to regard him as she spoke.

"Course I do, I also remember the day you found it being sold at that store near my dorm. Bought out the entire stock I swear." She laughed as she nudged his shoulder.

"If I remember correctly you helped me drink it ALL that night." He pushed back as she shook her head, mouth bubbling with laughter.

"You wanted to blaze it, you know I LOVE cola when I smoke up." She shook her head and he let out a bark of laughter that warmed her chest.

Even at the end of the world he was able to make it seem lighter. She was lucky to have him as a friend.

"I also miss ketchup chips." He whined some more as she shook her head.

"Stop! You're making me hungry." She laughed as he started naming more.

"They don't have all the flavours down here, god of all the luck we get stuck somewhere without food we are used too." He mock whinged.

"Yeah, it's the difference in junk food, not the fact we literally know nothing about Georgia beyond the tourist maps we collected at that gas station." With a roll of her eyes she took stock of the area and nodded to herself finding it clear.

"I dunno, I honestly think having everything so different is what's making this so...frustrating." He sighed out, and he was right. It was.

"Fucking figures the day you and I fly for the first time is the day the zombie apocalypse starts." She laughed again, starting to feel a little lighter as the Georgia heat beat down on them.

"You just HAD to share that first with me, honestly you're like a bad penny."

"Bad penny, what does that make you? A broken mirror?"

"More like twenty broken mirrors, let's be honest here."

"Fine, I'm a handful of unlucky pennies and you are 140 years of bad luck." She would have continued but the groan of a walker startled them from their conversation. With a sigh she looked at Dean, who met her gaze with a shrug. She motioned for him to go ahead and he did, pulling his machete from his back sheath under his shirt. He cleaved it into the walker's neck, snapping it in half causing the rotting corpse to fall to the ground, the snapping head lulling to the side. Without missing a beat his combat boots smashed into it's skull, cracking it open like a rotten egg.

He quickly rubbed his boot against the long grass and wiped his blade against the towel he had slung to his waist for this very purpose.

"Wow, you get style points for that one." She jested, clapping lightly as he gave a mock bow.

"What can I say, it's all it the wrist." He rolled his wrist and raised his eyebrows up and down before turning back to the road and walking past the dead walker.

"So...where ARE we going?" She asked as she tilted her eyes towards him.

"Honestly, no clue. I am just hoping we can get a bit more into the country and find a farmhouse or something to hole up in."

"Think that's a good idea? Everyone has to have already taken what isn't overrun, that would be the first place I'd go." She tapped her chin and thought about how many people might have the same thought. Obvious places were all too dangerous.

"It's possible, but we don't always have that luxury. We still have a few months till it starts to get cold, so we may as well check out every option and decide from here." Dean's eyes flicked through the tree line, and he quickly swiveled his head to check their six. All clear.

"Maybe we'll find some chickens." She smiled, remembering how she had always wanted a chicken coop since their city changed the bylaws regarding them.

She didn't often talk about home, neither of them did. Any survivors they had met they had changed their story every time. The truth was boring, the truth could also get you killed. You couldn't trust anyone once the government fell, and they knew it. Being as deep south as they were, it was better they try to blend in and disappear. They knew they stuck out like sore thumbs.

So they both took turns telling outrageous stories, changing their home state every single time.

Information was worth a lot more than you'd think these days. It was the easiest way to trick people, trap people, use their weaknesses or loved ones against them. So they gave nothing to the people they met, and left just as quickly.

Dean had insisted, he trusted people even less now that the world had effectively ended. Not that she could blame him. He introduced them as siblings every single time, taking care to avoid ages and last names. As far as he was concerned anything else could lead to abuse of trust.

She didn't complain, she didn't really trust strangers before all of this. That was probably what kept them alive so long. Her age was hard to pinpoint so the more often they could get them to believe she was a little more morally wrong to abuse, the better.

Luckily they hadn't run into those situations yet, but they were hardly naive. When the world had ended she had found herself locked up in some random house on the side of the highway with Dean. The previous occupants had died in there leaving everything behind, and within the bathroom was a still a barely working electric razor.

So she cut her waist length hair off, cropping it short on her head like she were a boy. Keeping the sides buzzed short, and the top a couple inches in length. Switching her clothing to be baggier and more form-hiding, she came back out looking like a she was one hell of a tomboy, or a 14 year old boy. It worked just fine for her, as most people claimed her a young boy from a distance now.

That suited Dean just fine as well, he had even taken to calling her his little brother when they found themselves around company that assumed her to be a boy.

They let most other survivors lead the story, letting them fill in the blanks and offering nothing but confirmation once they had. It was safer that way. Let them paint the picture and just nod brusquely.

She did often miss her hair, but also knew by now it would have been ruined if she didn't keep it short. Even Dean had hacked off a decent amount, finding his once longer hair to be in the way. He kept the sides of his head shaved easily, keeping disposable razors on hand, and kept the long hair only to just below his ears. It made him appear much more intimidating.

Wastelander even, as they had often joked.

Once summer had come in full blast, she had started to wear wifebeaters and racerback tanks, keeping her sports bra on to flatten her out more. It helped, and was a lot more comfortable than anything she had worn in her previous life.

Besides, eventually bras would be impossible to find and recreate anyways. They weren't needed, and were an absolute money sink.

So here she was, wearing a grey wife beater, along with a black sports bra. She had slightly bluer jeans now, having found a new pair in one of the tourist stops they scavenged. Her old ones had holes and were blood stained.

"We're basically illegal immigrants at this point ya know." She spoke up as she kicked the clamouring hand of a half eaten walker away.

"What?" Dean asked, blinking himself from whatever daydream he was having.

"Like, we've been here longer than we stated at the border, legally we are errant immigrants hiding out in the good ol' state o' Georgia." She joked, adding a twang to her words.

"Chasing that good ol American dream, a little white house atop a hill, a nice huge electrified fence, and a gatling gun." He joined in on the joke as she cackled with mirth.

"I dunno, I'd KILL for a working shower to be honest." she clucked her tongue at the thought and rolled her shoulders.

"I'd kill for a car and enough gas to stop walking everywhere, but those fuckers are loud and attract all sorts of trouble." Dean hated the long walks in the sun, but he hated not being able to see at night so it was a trade off.

"You're just mad someone stole the jeep we stole two months ago." She rolled her eyes as she adjusted her backpack, scanning the perimeter again.

"Of course I am! Who wouldn't be. The world really has gone to the wolves." He stated as he peered off into the distance. She let out a breathy laugh as they continued on their path.

~Break~

October 1st, 2012 Early Evening [+75 days since outbreak]

Hailey was trailing the pads of her fingers across the rough bark of the cedar trees they passed. She was humming to herself idly, a song she wasn't certain of the name nor lyrics, but the tune was trapped in her head all the same.

Slowly her fingers hit a rough and deep groove that curved. Blinking slightly, Hailey stopped and took notice of the markings etched deeply into the tree. They were circular in nature, with what looked to be the start of a star inside, but ended rounded at the bottom with a hook. A line went horizontally through from left to right, giving her a foreboding feeling.

"What...what is this?" She whispered to herself as Dean scouted ahead. Taking a moment to appreciate the curved and intricate linework of the simple mark, she felt a shiver run down her spine.

It was clearly man made but...why?

Hailey remembered reading stories of the homeless writing signs on train cars, towns, and places warning of danger or advising of a safe place to sleep. For a moment she wondered if this was one such marking, however there was no way to know if that meant good or bad.

"Hey Dean?" She spoke up as she jogged towards him.

"Yeah?" He asked, coming to a full stop.

"I think we should avoid heading this way, the trees are covered with the same symbol, we don't know what it means so..." she trained off assuming her thought didn't need clarification. Dean looked behind them and slowly his gaze reached the trees next to them. With a small sigh he turned towards their left and moved away from the marked trees.

"Good catch." He nodded as they headed west away from the ominous symbols.

~Break~

October 2nd, 2012 Early Afternoon [+76 days since outbreak]

The day was startling hot for October. Granted, the two were used to a climate farther north and along the coast. They were thankful for the small graces either way. Having to battle snow and ice without proper shelter may have seen to their end if they were back home.

They had found more of those same circular markings littering the treeline to the east. They easily moved away and headed towards a small farmhouse located a mile off the main road. There were risks, but for once they needed a comfortable night sleep. While the days were warm, the nights still got cold.

"Look it's either we head towards this farmhouse, or we head into the creepy cult forest." Hailey sighed as she gave Dean a withering look.

"It's safer if we don't head into there. We are deep into the countryside now and we've run into several herds already. It's better we don't get caught with our pants down." He growled back. Tensions had been high since last night when they had hit their last days supply of water.

"Look farmhouses have wells, come on. We can at least get some water and check it out." She pulled her backpack against her weary shoulders and started up the dirt road, blocked off by a wooden vehicle gate. It wasn't impressive, just enough to stop anyone from detouring onto the property. No trespassing signs were all along the treeline, following the dirt road all the way up to the house.

"Fine, you're right. But we follow routine." He ordered as he took the lead.

"Hey..." Hailey began as she fingered the 'no trespassing' signs on the trees, "Maybe...maybe those symbols aren't notifying of danger or safety...what if it's a no trespassing sign?"

"All the more reason we avoid going that way." Dean grunted as he did a quick sweep and hurried his way towards the house.

"Yeah...probably for the best..." she agreed as she walked away from the treeline, following Dean. However, she had failed to notice a crude circular marking splattered with red on the tree just to the left of the one she had been inspecting.

~End Chapter One~

Author's Notes: Ok so I have added a whole bunch of information and just thrown it into your faces. Sorry. I am not at all from Georgia, nor am I even American. I am relying heavily on my Southern partner who HAS been in Georgia and grew up in North Carolina. I am also relying upon google maps and the weather website that logs every temp and stat every single day as far back as you can think to check. Basically I am doing my best to keep things realistic to the area and not turning too Canadiany. Anyways I hope it shows! Please call me out on any inaccuracies. Please don't point out injury inaccuracies as I do research those and in fact check my sources and human beings are very capable of surviving a whole bunch of damage. However, the inaccurate ones I write are going to be already canon and I can't do much to avoid it...RIP the whole Carl eye thing. But I digress. I encourage you fact check if you are not an expert or professional before calling me on something as it's not helpful for me to re-fact check a correct fact and get nothing out of the interaction. This isn't a hard or fast rule, just a preference of politeness as I do in fact put a LOT of effort into my research. So much so that I even fact checked injures via the CDC and medical teaching resources online from Universities etc. Including a University from my own home town.

That being said, I am neither an expert nor a professional on everything I write so I will get things wrong, what I am wrong about please share so I can fix it, otherwise I hope all reviews are constructive in some way. I hope you enjoy this start so far and I hope you all enjoy the further chapters to come.