Different Setting

Hey, we're back! This time we have a story focusing on Carlos and Sarah during the events of Season 1, but with an AU setting. We're not entirely sure how long this fanfic will be, but we hope you enjoy nevertheless.

Disclaimer: Neither Heidi or I own The Walking Dead Game, that belongs to Telltale.

Enjoy! :D

Three months. That was the amount of time that had passed since this whole apocalypse mess began. The lives of Carlos and his recently turned thirteen-year-old daughter Sarah had been turned upside-down so quickly, and they didn't like it.

Carlos and Sarah were currently walking through the woods just outside of Macon, Georgia, trying to find a safe place for themselves. They had come a long way from their home in North Carolina in such a short period of time.

"Dad?" Sarah inquired. She looked up at her father through her red-rimmed glasses. "Will we find a safe place soon? We've been walking for forever now. I'm tired."

"I hope so sweetie..." Carlos answered, looking down at his daughter. "If you're tired though, we can stop and take a break," he suggested and they stopped walking. Sarah then found herself lounging on a fallen tree, and catching her breath momentarily. "Have some water," Carlos said as he gave his daughter the small canteen that they had.

"Thanks," Sarah grinned, and took a small drink.

They didn't have many supplies left, maybe a few energy bars, some water, and medicine, but that was about it. There was only a couple more hours until it got dark, so they would have to stop traveling for the day shortly.

It didn't help that Sarah had so many questions that Carlos couldn't give a shadow of an answer to. But the teenager couldn't help it, she was always so curious, and these days she had every right to be. Carlos always did his best to make sure that his daughter was as far away from those "walkers" as possible.

It was only a few minutes later when the two heard some voices, and the doctor stood up, not wanting them to be discovered. "Come on, Sarah, we need to keep moving," he directed.

Sarah nodded obediently and began to follow her father.

They didn't seem to be walking for a very long time when Carlos heard the voices again. They had gotten noticeably closer, and Carlos was beginning to get worried. What if they were bad people? All he wanted to do was keep his daughter safe.

"Is someone out there, Dad?" Sarah asked.

Carlos stopped and listened, making sure to be prepared to grab his firearm in case someone tried to hurt Sarah or himself. But before he could say anything, two figures emerged into sight. One was a man with a brown beard, and the other was a rather tall teenager who looked to be a few years older than Sarah. The girl gasped quietly and backed away behind her father, peeking out.

The man eyed Carlos, and raised his arms. "You don't look like one of the people who raided our gymnasium," he said.

The teenage boy locked eyes with Sarah, and his blue orbs widened. "Mr. Parker...he has a kid."

"I don't want to hurt anyone," Carlos spoke carefully. "My daughter and I are just passing through," he added as he watched the two strangers with tentative eyes. They looked harmless for the most part, but you couldn't really ever tell these days.

Slowly but surely, the man - Mr. Parker, Carlos heard - put his arms down, and took an apprehensive step forward. "Well, daughter or not, you don't look the type," he told the other man. "Sorry, we're just a bit on edge, you know? There's bandits all over the damn place."

"Bandits?" Sarah squeaked out. From what she knew, bandits were bad people.

The boy looked just as nervous as she did, yet he stepped forward. "Uhh...we were just heading back to our camp. We've got my friend watching the place. We don't mean any trouble. Honest."

"You could come with us," Mr. Parker offered. "Our camp is safe."

Carlos hesitated. "I'm not sure if that's a good idea. My daughter and I don't take well to strangers," he explained.

"It's up to you," Mr. Parker replied.

Carlos seemed to think about it for a moment, and then turned and knelt to Sarah's height. "Sarah, these people are offering us a place to stay, but we don't have to go if you're not willing. It's your decision, honey."

Sarah looked from her father to the two people before them, and spoke up after a moment. "If their camp is safe, maybe we can try it out. Just for a little while?" she suggested. Carlos nodded and stood up to his full height.

"We'll go," he responded.

Mr. Parker nodded, and he and the teenager began to lead the way. He decided to make conversation. "So, what are your names? I'm David Parker, and this is one of my students, Ben."

"Hey," Ben nodded.

"This is Sarah, and I'm Carlos," the Hispanic man introduced himself and his daughter. Sarah reached out and took his hand, and turned to give Ben a shy smile. He looked nice, and maybe they could be friends, too!

"Has it always been just you and your daughter?" Mr. Parker asked.

Carlos nodded, "For the most part," he answered. "Her mother died when she was born," he said, referring to Sarah.

"I'm sorry to hear that," David apologized.

"What about you?" Carlos asked. "Are there any other students?" He could almost read the sadness in David's eyes, and he knew right then and there what had happened.

"The school became infested..." he trailed off. "I tried to save as many people as I could... But now there are only three of us left including myself."

"That's sad," Sarah said.

David bit his lip, but nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it is," he agreed. "But we can't let that overstimulate our thoughts."

Ben scratched the back of his neck. "The camp isn't far away, Travis is waiting for us," he explained, clearly trying to change the subject. But he had a flustered look on his face, and Carlos could tell that he was thinking about what had happened.

It only took a few minutes for the four of them to reach the camp. It was blocked off with some wood and a chained fence. There were three tents, and a campfire going. Another teenager with black hair sat on a log in front of it, holding a rifle. This had to be Travis.

Travis seemed to notice when they approached, and he got up to greet his group. "Didn't find anything?"

"Not a damn thing," David grumbled. "Walkers are eating every animal within a five-mile radius."

Travis turned and seemed to notice Carlos and Sarah, then turned to his teacher. "Umm, who are...?"

"This is Carlos and Sarah," David answered. "I told them they could come with us."

"We mean no harm," Carlos explained. "I'm just trying to protect my daughter."

Travis nodded. "It's nice to meet you all. Make yourselves at home."

"Thank you," Carlos responded. "Why don't you go lay down for a bit honey?" Carlos asked Sarah, knowing that she must have been tired from walking all that way.

"You two can sleep in that empty tent right there," David pointed at a dark blue tent on the far right. "There's a few sleeping bags in there."

Sarah walked over to the tent and disappeared inside of it while Carlos sat on the log where Travis had previously been. David and Ben sat on the log adjacent from him while Travis stood by the front.

"So, where did you come from, Carlos?" David inquired.

Carlos thought about whether or not he should answer, but he decided that he might as well. "Sarah and I lived near Wilmington, North Carolina," he explained. "We had to evacuate almost immediately. Now, I just want to keep my daughter safe."

"Sorry to hear that," Ben commented.

"She's all I have left," Carlos said sadly. "So I will do anything to protect her."

"That's understandable," David said.

"I'm just hoping that this will all blow over quickly and we can go back home," the Hispanic man explained.

Ben sighed. "I don't think that's gonna happen anytime soon."

Carlos agreed with that, but didn't say anything. He peeked into the tent and saw that Sarah was fast asleep in the sleeping bag, and was happy to see that she was safe. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad after all.

We hope you enjoyed the prologue, and we should update again soon (hopefully this weekend or earlier). Please leave feedback!