This is my first Walking Dead story so please tell me what you thought or what you think I should edit or add. Thanks for reading!

Walkers appeared from every direction with preternatural speed, lunging towards me violently. Adrenaline pumped through my veins, my heart gripped by fear. Every time one came close to me I stabbed it in the head with my knife, splattering myself with blood. My brain was functioning on autopilot.

Push. Stab. Run. Repeat.

I didn't dare use my gun for fear of alerting, even more, Walkers to my location. No matter how many I killed, more appeared, attracted by the noise. I'd long since gotten over the sight and stench of them but I was still disgusted every time I saw one. The herd attacking me all had bits of flesh and (vital) organs missing. Some even had large clumps of hair torn away and were riddled with bullet holes while others had dislocated jaws that hung at odd, broken angles.

I looked around wildly for my fallen katana that lay somewhere underneath the pile of dead Walkers. Just as the herd was beginning to overwhelm me and a walker was about to bite my neck, I heard a large bang as it dropped to the ground. I looked up in shock to find a man around 40 with a greying beard holding a colt python. Next to him was a dark-skinned woman wielding a katana much like my own and a teenage boy around my age wearing a brown sheriff's hat. I regained my senses and once again focused my attention on the Walkers surrounding me. I couldn't afford to be distracted. The strangers helped me to kill all the remaining walkers and once they were all gone I looked up at them and brushed the strands of hair out of my face.

"Thanks for the help." I slurred as I struggled to keep my balance.

"Are you okay?" The boy my age asked concerned. I stared at him, not hearing a word he was saying. It was all a blur and his words merged into one inaudible sentence.

I struggled to respond as my vision blurred and I collapsed.

Carl rushed forward to catch the unknown girl before she hit the ground. He looked up at his father pleadingly, "We can't just leave her here."

Rick looked to Michonne who shrugged her shoulders as she looked down at the girl in Carl's arms. "She's just a kid. At least give her a chance."

Rick sighed as he put his gun back into its holster. "We'll take her back to the prison, let Hershel check her over and go from there." He then proceeded to gently lift the girl from Carl into his arms and carry her to their car. He laid her down gently in the back seat with Carl as he got into the passenger seat with Michonne next to him.

I could hear a couple of voices talking around me. They were being very loud and it made my head pound. One of the voices was whispering while another was raising his voice. I heard someone shush them, and the voices abruptly stopped. I wondered what they were saying. It was probably about me. My family were probably going to kill me for putting myself at the mercy of complete and utter strangers.

I lay there for a moment struggling to move. My body wasn't cooperating with me. I hoped I wasn't stuck like this. I really hoped I wasn't. I managed to open one eye, slowly. Everything was blurry, and my vision was swaying. I surveyed the room I was in, looking for an exit. It was dark and tiny and there were bars for doors. A cell? I opened the other eye just a bit, flicking my eyes to the doorway, but there was no sign of people. They were probably deciding whether or not to kill me. The rational part of my brain reasoned that these people obviously wanted me alive or they would have killed me by now, but instead they're taking care of me.

I sighed, looking down the bed. At least I was tucked in, that was strangely nice of them. I leant my head back but as soon as it made contact with the pillow, the sharp pain in my head returned. My head throbbed for a moment. Not until I had laid back did I realise the intense pain in my stomach. I hadn't even noticed that it was bandaged. I lifted my top up slightly, lightly tracing my finger over the bandage that had been carefully and meticulously wrapped around my stomach. I started to unwrap the bandage when I heard a voice behind me.

"Don't pick at it," someone said, and I nearly jumped in shock. A man was standing in the doorway, watching me. He had kind eyes and a bushy white beard. He was wearing a pair of suspenders, and he carried a black medical bag that was tucked under his arm as he entered the room. I smiled sadly to myself as I realised how much he reminded me of Alfred. The man smiled as he set a chair next to my bedside and sat down. I noticed that he was walking with a limp.

"Let me see your stomach," he said and I gently lifted my top up. He carefully unwrapped the white cloth. I looked away when he pulled off the bandage that had been separating my wound from the air. There was an awkward silence.

"You gave Carl quite a scare," he said, and I raised an eyebrow. He must have been talking about the boy that I saw earlier. He looked up, smiling faintly before returning back to his work. "Rick's son." he elaborated and I nodded, not even sure of who Rick was. I assumed it was the man with the greying beard.

He opened his bag to retrieve fresh gauze and bottles of medicines. "We almost lost you," he said, filling the silence. I stared at him, and then to the bottles that he took out of his bag. They all had weird names that I could easily recognise but there was one that stood out. 'Rubbing alcohol'. I swallowed and stared at the bottle as I inwardly groaned. I shifted uncomfortably, staring back at him. He looked at me, taking a cloth and unscrewing the cap.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Liv," I answered quietly as watched him unscrew the cap on the bottle.

"Well, Liv. I have to keep the wound clean," he said. I used my hand to grab the blanket when the cloth touched my bare skin.

"So, what's your name?" I gritted my teeth through the pain, faking a smile at him, when in reality I wanted to strangle him for causing the burning sensation on my stomach.

He took a clean cloth, wiping away the excess liquid. "I'm Hershel, nice to officially meet you Liv," he said, laying a bandage down and wrapping it tightly in, sure it wouldn't move. He unravelled the gauze and twisted it around my stomach, tucking the end of it under the rest of the soft white material. "I hope I don't have to patch you up anymore," he added as he gave me a pointed look, packing up all of his other medical supplies.

"Um, do you have any medicine? For a headache?" I stammered, changing what I was going to originally ask at the last second. I mentally slapped myself for sounding so nervous. He sighed, unzipping his bag to retrieve a bottle with only 20 or so tablets left. He handed me the pill and got up from his chair.

"I'll get you some water," he said, before taking his bag with him, wobbling out of the cell. He returned, handing me the half-filled cup, and I swallowed it, gulping all of the liquid down. He took the cup back when it was emptied and he turned to walk away.

"Hershel?" I called out, almost childlike. He turned back to me. "Why did you guys bring me in? Why'd you help me?" I asked, confused.

"Everyone deserves a chance," he said, and I looked up to see him smiling at me kindly.

"Um, thanks," I said, and he nodded, turning back to the door and walking out.