Tortured Yet Strong Chapter 1, a walking dead fanfic

A/N: I'm probably going to receive flak for this character but she is a creation from Telltale, so rant to them, not me.

By the way, anything that's in italics is a flashback.

The fire crackled and sizzled in the cold, stiff air of the night as a lonely girl sat on the log that acted like a bench. She shivered from the cold wind as her green t-shirt, worn black jeans, and shredded shoes provided little warmth from the bone chilling night. Thankfully, she did have possession of a warm blanket which was the only thing that kept her alive on cold nights like this one. She tucked herself closer into the blanket as she went back to staring at the fire. The girl had been through the worst amount of pain and suffering that anyone could endure in this wretched apocalypse. After the bandits were done 'hurting' her, as she quoted it, she ran away. When she saw the overran St. John's Dairy, she had hope that it was her mom's doing. She took a risk returning to the campsite where she and her mom were surviving, but only to see her mom's corpse. She had spent several nights waking up from horrible nightmare of her mother as a walker eating her and the bandits returning to 'hurt' her.

She spent a lot of nights on her own after that until a group found her and took care of her, but like all things in this world, the group didn't last and she was back on her own again. Eventually, she found a map on a deceased couple with a circle around a place called Wellington. It was up near Michigan, and it would be a long trek but it may be worth it in the end. Now that Danielle has recovered from the death of her mom, Jolene, she desperately wanted a new mom. A mom to look after her and keep any mean men away from her.

She looked at her stuffed rabbit toy and said, "Don't worry, Flopsie; we're going to make it to Wellington." Danielle was convincing herself at this point since the object did nothing but stare back at her. As she looked at the rabbit with her arms extended out, it revealed her scarred up wrists. Sadly, suicide had passed Danielle's mind more than once. Danielle placed her stuffed rabbit toy next to her and looked at her wrists. Each cut told a story, a story of how she lost her nerve and wanted to give up. But when she heard of Wellington, she decided to give it one last effort. Whether she made it or not, she would finally find peace. She starred up at the stars as the smoke from the fire rose up to meet the sky but never made it. She would have to keep going; tomorrow will be another day for her.

Tomorrow

Danielle walked through the woods with her gun at the ready. She despised the loud device but it and her knife were her only means of safety out in the woods. Her long dark brown hair made her an easy target to many walkers but she didn't care at this point, there was no point trying to stay safe anymore when a person has lost all hope and is all alone.

She had recently found an abandoned farm house and went inside to find anything to eat and perhaps a change of clothes. Thankfully, she was in luck. The previous owner must have had a daughter her age, because she came out of the house with a clean yellow hooded sweatshirt, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of white and pink sneakers. It felt very refreshing to be in a completely new outfit. She had even managed to grab some spare clothes for summer. There was only one article of clothing she neglected to leave behind which was her green t-shirt, which was underneath her newly obtained yellow hooded sweatshirt. Unfortunately, there was no food, which wasn't good considering that her last meal was a week ago. Her stomach had given up at this point with the constant growling and instead lightheadedness and shakiness were starting to take over.

She spotted a boulder nearby and decided to rest against it, allowing exhaustion and hunger to take over as she holstered her gun. She smiled and hummed as she started to drift off to sleep, until she heard something that she dreaded. It was a growl, followed by a set of moaning. She looked around and noticed that there were several walkers within the area. She struggled to get up as one of the walkers got closer to her. However, she got up too quickly and started to stumble and her vision blurred. She regained her balance but only for a second as the walker tried to bite her but ended up falling on top of her. She grunted and cried as she pushed the walker away but it proved stronger than her. As she finally accepted her fate, something flew into the walker's skull, making it jolt back. It suddenly became deadweight and slumped on top of her as she saw a young man armed with a machete slash at a nearby walker. He then walked over to the young girl and pulled the walker off of her. Meanwhile, an older man took aim with a crossbow and shot another walker. "I'm out. Grab her and let's go." The man with a crossbow said.

The man that took the walker off of her got down and picked her up. "Come on kid." He then lifted her as she yelped. The two men ran off with Danielle as fast as they could, all the while avoiding walkers left and right.

They finally stopped and the older man with the crossbow huffed, "I…I think we lost them."

"Yeah we're good." The younger man said. The two then looked down to Danielle as she squirmed in the man's grip. "Hey kid, it's all right. You're okay, now."

"No!" Danielle screamed. "Let me go!" Tears flowed from her eyes as she remembered what those horrible men did to her. She wrestled from the man's grip with her remaining strength and arched her back in panic trying to escape.

"Kid, calm down!" The young man said as he tried to keep his grip on her. He was somewhat scared that her wails and cries would attract walkers.

"Luke, you're scarin the poor thing." The older man said. He then looked to the girl as she tried to free herself but only succeeded in tiring herself out. She huffed frighteningly as Pete asked, "Darlin, would you want me to carry ya? You ain't exactly lookin too good, and I don't mind."

Danielle looked to Pete and contemplated on his offer. He did remind Danielle of her grandpa whom she didn't know was alive at this point. Unlike the older man, her grandpa was a stronger man in his early fifties and he loved the outdoors. More than likely, he was still alive, somewhere in this chaos, but she didn't know for sure. "Okay." Danielle said. She knew she was completely exhausted and she didn't have much strength left.

The older man smiled as he took Danielle in his arms from the younger man whose name was Luke. The young girl instantly relaxed in his grip and rested her head against his chest. The older man chuckled and the two continued down the path as Luke picked up the crossbow and held it at the ready. "So what are you doing out here?" The older man asked. "Where are the people you are with?"

"Yeah, because there's no way you made it all this way on your own." Luke said as the girl jumped when he started to speak.

"Hey darlin." The older man spoke softly. "Don't worry, Luke is a very nice guy. I trust that boy with my life. He ain't goin to do anything to harm you."

Danielle relaxed as she realized her mistake. Not all men were evil in this world. He even risked his life to save hers, "I'm sorry, Mister Luke." Danielle spoke.

Luke looked back to her and said, "It's fine. And you can just call me Luke, no need to be so formal." He smiled over his shoulder at her as he stated the last part of his sentence and then continued to walk through the woods.

"As for my group; they're all dead." Danielle said sadly.

The older man looked down sadly and said, "I'm sorry to hear that darlin."

"It's just been me and Flopsie for a while now." Danielle said as she looked off distantly.

The older man raised a brow and asked, "Flopsie? Who is Flopsie?"

"My stuffed bunny rabbit!" Danielle said being slightly cheerful. She was starting to grow to the men and she continued, "I can't play with her during the day because I'm always moving, so I keep her in my backpack."

The older man chuckled at the child's delight and said, "Well that's good. Is she a nice bunny rabbit?"

Danielle hummed with a nod and the older man continued, "I do believe that I haven't properly introduced myself. My name's Pete. You already know Luke." Pete said as he gestured to his accomplice. Luke looked back over his shoulder again and gave a smile before looking back in front of him.

"My name's Danielle, but all my friends before everything happened would call me Dani for short." The girl introduced herself.

"Well it's nice to meet you Dani. Right now we're going to take you back to our group. You look like you could use some rest and recoverin." Pete said.

"You uh, sure about that Pete?" Luke asked. "You know Nick is a mess after what happened to Mary."

"Well I'm sure that I ain't leaving a little girl out in the woods when we have a doctor who could fix her up." Pete snapped back. Danielle tensed up from the older man getting excited. Pete noticed this and said, "Sorry about that, I guess you're more tense than I thought."

The three finally left the wooded area and Pete and Luke walked into a clearing. Danielle fell asleep as Pete carried her and they approached the house.

"I'm going to go get Carlos." Luke said.

"Go for it." Pete grunted as he carefully placed the sleeping Danielle on the ground.

Nick exited the house as Luke walked up the stairs. Nick looked over to Pete and glared at him. "What the f***? She's bit isn't she?" Nick said angrily to Luke.

Luke raised his hands in surrender and said, "We don't know yet Nick. Just calm down, brother."

"F*** that." Nick said as he brushed past Luke and stormed towards Pete.

"Shit. I got to get Carlos, before he does something." Luke said and he ran inside the house.

"What the f***, Uncle Pete?" Nick bellowed.

"Nick, calm down son." Pete said as he placed himself between Nick and the resting girl.

"Get the f*** away from her!" Nick exclaimed. "You don't know if she's bit."

Suddenly the house opened up to reveal an angered Rebecca and a worried Alvin following her. Great, just what the doctor ordered, more anger and suspicion. Rebecca approached Pete and said, "Are f******* insane. She could be working for Carver."

"Now hold on, Rebecca." Pete said to calm the woman but it was useless. Meanwhile, Nick watched the conversation between Rebecca and his uncle while keeping his hunting rifle aimed towards the girl just in case she would reanimate. However, what he didn't know was that the young girl was starting to wake up.

Danielle's vision blurred as she watched the argument between Pete and a pregnant woman intensified. "She told me that her whole group is gone. She has no one left."

"And you believed that bullshit?" Rebecca inquired. "You should have never tried to help her. It's not our responsibility to save anyone."

Danielle was frightened by the rifle being in her face. She had been shot at before but she was never shot. She would always have pure luck on her side and be able to flee from her assailants. Additionally, her small frame made her a hard target to hit, but this time the rifle was aimed right at her, if the young man holding the rifle made one small move with his finger, it could spell the end for her. Panic got the better of her and she bolted from the adult and back towards the woods.

"Hey!" Nick exclaimed and he squeezed the trigger. The bullet shot through the air making a thunderous roar as it exited the barrel. The bullet flew past the young girl which made her stop right in her tracks. She looked over to see Nick, who resembled the bandits that had 'hurt' her. She wanted to back away but his glare told her if she moved any further towards the forest that he would shoot her. Additionally, the only reason why her body was functioning as it was, was because of the adrenaline that was rushing through her. So reluctantly, she walked back as Nick glared at her. "You make another f****** move like that, and I will kill you." Nick snapped.

"Dammit boy, she's just a little girl!" Pete scolded Nick. Pete then wrestled the gun from his nephew's grasp.

The door to the cabin slammed open as Luke exclaimed, "Whoa, whoa, what the f***!" Luke then rushed towards the group as he descended from the stairs. He was followed by a Spanish man who was walking slower.

"You idiot!" Rebecca exclaimed. "Every lurker for five mile probably heard that!"

"Hey, I'm only doing what you wanted Pete and Luke to do!" Nick snapped back.

"Everyone just calm down for a second." Alvin said as he tried to be the voice of reason to keep the group from turning on each other.

"Danielle, are you okay?" Luke asked. Everyone looked to the girl as she grabbed her left wrist with her right hand.

"I… Yeah, I…" Danielle trailed off not knowing what to say. She knew that the small group didn't trust her and she would be happy to leave, but she was running on fumes back in the forest. She was struggling to stay awake in front of them at that very moment.

"We have a doctor here. He'll take a look at you." Luke said as he subtly motioned Carlos to come and check on the girl. Luke then turned to his group and said, "What's the matter with you all? All right, she's just scared."

"We're all scared, Luke." Rebecca snapped. "Don't act like we're wrong just because we don't believe in some bullshit story that doesn't make any sense."

"Yeah, there's no way she made it out there on her own." Nick agreed.

"Let me take a look at her." The Spanish doctor, Carlos, said as he walked up to the girl.

She started walk back as he approached her and she looked towards Luke. "It's all right, he's doctor." Luke said.

Danielle visibly shook as she didn't want the doctor to look at her. She finally accepted defeat in the form of her staring at the ground as the doctor crouched down in front of her. He raised a hand to look at her but Danielle instinctively flinched.

Carlos looked at the girl sadly and said, "I know you're afraid but you have to understand that I am not going to hurt you. I just need to see if there are any bites." He slowly approached with his hand to take a hold of her arm but Danielle quickly withdrew by hugging her arms. The situation caused her mind to retreat into one of the worst memories that she ever had…

The eight year-old girl's eyes widened as one of the bandits got closer to her. Her mother, Jolene, was held down by two bandits each one had a hold of her arm. "Leave her alone!" Jolene yelled.

"Shut the f*** up!" One of the bandits said as he slammed the stock of his crossbow into her head. Meanwhile, the bandit grabbed Danielle by her arm and started to drag her from the camp and into the woods.

"No!" Danielle screamed. "Mommy help!" She struggled and dragged the heels of her shoes on the ground to prevent the bandit from dragging her away.

"Stop it!" The bandit bellowed and he slapped Danielle. Danielle whimpered and lost her focus which allowed the bandit to drag her away from the camp.

"Mommy!" Danielle screamed.

But all Jolene could do was watch as the bandit took her daughter away. "No, not my baby! Please!" Jolene cried as the other two bandits kept her in place. She fought them furiously but both bandits remained strong and didn't allow the woman to get up.

From there, the flashback ended and Danielle saw the doctor with her arm. She must have dazed off. "No!" Danielle exclaimed as she retracted her arm which surprised him.

Carlos was surprised by the child's defiance and said, "Do you want us to put you in that shed?" His tone was very stern and impatient as he continued, "Because that is what it comes down to. You either let me look you over for bites or you stay in that shed." He signaled to the shed with an angry scowl as Danielle looked down sadly.

"Shit, Carlos, she's just scared." Pete said.

"No, I'll stay in the shed." Danielle said. She then started to walk away from the group. Pete and Alvin were surprised by her decision, Rebecca and Nick still scowled at the girl, and Carlos looked somewhat remorseful for losing his temper so easily.

Luke joined alongside her as Nick went to retrieve his hunting rifle from Pete. "Listen, I know that things might be a little tense in the group right now, but we aren't going to do anything to harm you."

"But you won't help me either." Danielle snapped coldly. Luke was about to speak when Danielle continued, "No, I get it. Protect friends and family from evil strangers like me."

"It's not like that at all!" Luke interjected. "Carlos is just wanting to take a look at you to make sure that you have no bites or scratches on you."

Danielle looked down and shook her head, "I'm not bit or scratched." Nick finally joined Luke as they escorted Danielle to the shed.

"Well alright then, that means you have nothing to hide." Luke said as he reached for her shoulder, but Danielle brushed him off and turned around to see both men.

"Luke, I'm not going into that shed because I'm bit or scratched. I'm going into that shed because I don't trust you or your people and I don't want to be in a house full of people who could care less if I die."

"The feeling is mutual." Nick snapped.

Luke shot a death glare at Nick which surprised the young man and he went back to looking at Danielle. "Pete and I trust you. We saved your life."

"And you almost took it too." Danielle replied. She huffed to calm down and said in a sweeter tone, "Luke, I respect you for taking the risk in saving my life but no one else here likes me. I'll just stay in this shed for now. Maybe find something to eat tomorrow and be on my way."

"Good, the sooner you leave the better." Nick said coldly. Luke sent another glare before he punched Nick in the arm. It wasn't just a playful punch either. Nick turned around and rubbed his sore arm as Luke walked away. "What the heck was that for?" Nick inquired as he chased after Luke. Danielle then opened the door of the shed and closed it behind her.

Inside, the shed was almost empty, with the exception of a tacklebox, a workbench, an anchor, and some lumber. "Not the most inviting home, but it is better than what we had in weeks, right Flopsie?" Danielle asked as she took out her coveted stuffed rabbit toy from her backpack along with her blanket.

Danielle walked over to one of the walls and laid next to it as she covered the lower half of her body with her blanket. She stared at her stuffed rabbit toy in an almost mesmerized state as her eyes began to grow heavy…

The eight year-old child ran as fast as she could towards where she last saw her mom. The St. John's Dairy was completely overran. Her mom must have destroyed it to get revenge on the bandits that Danielle was fortunate enough to escape from. Danielle spotted the familiar campsite and she ran towards it with glee, "Mommy, mommy I-" Danielle stopped herself as she stared at the corpse of her mother.

"No, no, no." Danielle whimpered until she finally let out an ear-piercing cry.

Danielle shot up and huffed heavily as she recalled every detail from that horrible day.

After settling down, Danielle looked around the shed and knew it was night time. The cold chill in the air, the darker surroundings, and the fact that she was more scared of every little sound. Danielle never did like the dark; she got used to it, but she still didn't like it.

The door to the shed started creak and revealed the moonlight; someone was coming into the shed. The figure on closer examination revealed to be Luke. He had a bowl with a spoon in it in one hand and an electric lantern in the other. He set electric lantern down at the entrance of the shed so he wouldn't blind Danielle with it and he started to approach her. "I brought some food for you. I know you mentioned that you were fixing on finding something to eat tomorrow."

Danielle nodded as she got up and sat against the wall. She patted the ground next to her with a small smile. Luke picked up on the hint and walked over. He sat down next to her and handed her the oatmeal. "Thanks Luke and sorry about earlier." Danielle said as she took the oatmeal.

"Sorry for what?" Luke asked.

"I should have never said that I didn't trust you. I don't know what came over me." Danielle said as she sent an apologetic glance towards Luke.

"Yeah well, Nick didn't make things easier. I'm sorry on behalf of most of my group. We're all a little on edge." Luke said.

"Because of that Carver guy that Rebecca mentioned?" Danielle asked.

"Yeah." Luke replied. "Anyway, none of us had the right to treat you like that. You were scared and overwhelmed…" Luke said as it was his turn to send an apologetic glance towards the girl. He noticed that she was stirring her oatmeal an almost hesitant manner. "That's going to get cold if you don't eat it. What's wrong, you don't like oatmeal?"

"I haven't eaten anything in a week." Danielle stated. "And I do like oatmeal."

"Oh." Luke said. "Well just take it slow, try to eat as much as you can, okay?"

Danielle nodded and she slowly raised a spoon full of oatmeal towards her mouth. She took a small bit from the spoon and swallowed it with a hard gulp. She wasn't completely starved but her body still reacted. Her stomach started to develop pain but she continued. The pain reached its climax which forced her to grip her stomach and set the bowl down. "Are you okay?" Luke asked.

Danielle shook her head and said, "No, I think I'm done. It feels like someone just sucker punched me in the belly."

"Okay." Luke said as he took the bowl of oatmeal from Danielle. "Go ahead and rest. I'll be back out here in a couple of hours with everyone else."

Danielle nodded as the pain in her stomach started to subside. She grabbed Flopsie and held her close to her as she stared at the wall distantly. The moonlight within the shed began to dim as Luke closed the door until it was surrounded by darkness, yet again…

...To be continued.

A/N: Well this is the first chapter. Hopefully, this will interest you guys. I'm going to be doing this on top of Son of a Tyrant, but I'm not going to update weekly on this one. I'll have a day of the week arranged at some point.