Chapter One: Keeping On

You hear stories of how people think the world is going to end: comets, massive tidal waves or nuclear war. But everyone knows the eventually, it ends. Governments fall, countries cease and kingdoms burn; death reigns.

However, there are some people who, through some miracle, survive the panic and the destruction that inevitably aids the world's ending. But no one tells you what surviving really means, what parts of your humanity you surrender in order to keep breathing.

That's all surviving is, to Ella; breathing in and out, and not making a sound while doing so either. No screaming, crying or laughing, just keeping air in her lungs. Ella even had to learn the dangers of coughing and sneezing, forget spreading diseases anymore; it was just another way to tell the walkers that you were there.

Right now, all Ella could do was run. And fast. In a direction that was probably going to provide more danger at the other end, but that in the future; a time where Ella still needed to get through. She wasn't the quickest, but when the other option is to be eaten alive, something compels you to move faster; much like the saying "if your life depended on it". Ella ran through the abandoned street, keeping her eyes to the road ahead, determined to not stop until she found her car. Her idea to park the car in a more secure place from scavengers was a great one before about a dozen crawlers started chasing Ella. She mentally kicked herself for thinking that one house meant the whole street was safe, and the car alarm which alerted the street's dead population was now just a faint sound the further the woman ran.

Her car came into sight, and Ella swiftly opened the door and chucked her back pack on the passenger's seat, the engine spluttering as it started; the stumbling figures of those who had once lived and loved in those houses appearing in the rearview mirror. The cough of the engine drowned out the groans and moans of the dead, and the screeching of the tires echoed as she sped down the road, knocking a few stray walkers as she head for the main road. The sun was peering in and out of the trees as Ella kept her foot down, however, her attempt to quickly look in her rearview mirror meant that she did not spot the car in front of her.

'SHIT!'

Ella swerved to avoid the car, and subsequent motorcycle, and she tried to break to steady her vehicle; but the speed she was going before needing to stop meant that it was only a tree what could stop the car she was in.

She braced herself for impact, and was thrown forward, her head cracking off of the steering wheel. The sound of the car hitting the tree was loud, yet sudden, and the road was silent almost as soon as the crash happened. Ella groaned as she pulled herself back, silently praying thanks for the seatbelt. Her hand touched her head where she felt the impact of the steering wheel, and hissed in pain; her fingers red with blood. Her movements were slow as she tried to reestablish her surroundings. Ella frowned, certain that the car and motor bike she saw in the road mustn't really have been there.

Then she spotted the crossbow in her face.

'Who the hell are ya?'

Ella had to blink, and wanted to shake her pounding head to get rid of this voice it was clearly imagining. No matter how much she blinked, the man stood in front of her was really there and really holding a crossbow to her head through the window. She frowned at the figure, who also seemed to be frowning through dark brown hair, and at least a week's worth of dirt on his face. But the other woman and man next to him were clean.

Wait. They are real?!

Ella was fearful of the three outside of her car, meeting new people nowadays did not always mean they would help. Far from it. Her eyes must have given away her fear, because the man with the crossbow slowly stood it down from her face, however the echoing and rustling about 10 feet from the car and the strangers, of walkers gave away the reason for the sudden attention shift. At least ten were stumbling out of the woods, and a few more were staggering down the road.

'Walkers!' Ella heard the brunette woman shout, and the Asian man she was with followed as they walked towards the road. The man with the crossbow shot the nearest thing, and turned to Ella.

'Can ya move?!'

Ella's eyes widened at the sight of the impending danger approaching, and she moved quicker that her head would have preferred; but only the one door was able to open-the driver's door. And it seemed it had been jarred by the impact of the tree.

'Typical.'

'Move. NOW.' The man with the crossbow retrieved one of his bolts and continued to steady the flow of the dead; and he glared at Ella to get herself moving.

Ella quickly moved to climb through the window, grabbing her backpack from the seat. She decided hoisting herself out from behind was best, but one of the walkers had come from the other side and was almost about to attack when another bolt came flying through the air. The man with the crossbow pulled on Ella to help her down from the window, but in that time another walker had made its way to them. Ella pushed the well-built man out of the way, and plunged her knife into the head of what was once a man. The blue eyes of the stranger read full of appreciation, and irritation, probably that it was helping Ella which caused him to risk his life. He got up and pushing the woman ahead towards the car and the other two who had efficiently dispatched a further six walkers between them.

'Get in.' The Asian guy shouted towards Ella and the man behind her, crossbow poised. Her head pounded as she was bundled into the back of the car, and the Asian man with the brunette started to drive off; the roar of the motorbike coming from behind.

They had gotten about ten minutes away from the wreck, before any of them eased up a bit; Ella could feel herself getting sleepy with her head hurting the way it was. The other woman turned to face her, her blue eyes boring into the brown eyes of Ella.

'I'm Maggie, this is Glenn. And the guy who risked his life back there is Daryl. We can take you in and patch you up; but we need to ask you three questions.'

Ella simply nodded her compliance.

'How many walkers have you killed?'

'At least 30.' Her words were short as she remembered her life, as it became survival.

'How many people have you killed?'

A lump formed in Ella's throat. 'Three.'

'Why?'

'They would have killed me.'

Her words killed the mood, if there was one in the car anyway, and Glenn signaled to Daryl and they both pulled over. Maggie got out to speak to Daryl and Ella felt dread and fear pull in her stomach, and she was contemplating running.

'Don't run. We can help you. But we need to make sure you aren't dangerous. Besides, you're not fully with it, somehow you managed to crash into a tree on an empty road.' Glenn was watching her from the rearview mirror.

Ella scoffed, 'It wasn't empty, I was trying not to run you lot over.' She could see a smile on the young man's face, and she felt her own face twitch into a smile.

Maggie opening the car door startled Ella, and she could see Daryl was getting back onto his bike. She simply nodded towards Glenn, and smiled lightly at Ella, who felt a little safer with the woman in the car.

'Let's get back before more walkers try and snack on us.' Glenn's voice was determined, and Ella watched as the trees sped up around darkness as her injury and exhaustion took over.

Ella furrowed her brows as she woke up, and slowly she could feel what could only be described as a bed of some description. Her eyes shifted around her, and she took in the grey walls of the room she was in. But it looked safe, much safer than anywhere she had been staying since ever, and Ella slowly sat up, mindful of the dull headache. She placed a hand on her forehead, and felt the padding of a gauze dressing rather than the injury she had self-inflicted. The bed creaked as Ella got up off it, and she stumbled to the doorway, her legs feeling a little like jelly and her stomach faintly growling. Her eyes searched the space outside her room, realising that her sanctuary had once been a prison, but the cell block seemed empty; her footsteps echoing as she walked through the prison. Ella was getting closer to the main doorway, when the door opened, light bursting through the dark prison cell. Ella held a hand up to shield her eyes and to try and get a look at who was the one opening the door.

A tired, and rough looking man, with dirt and grime on his shirt and a dark beard peppered with grey on his face; stood in the doorway with soft, yet sad blue eyes. He was wearing headphones, and slowly started taking off gardening gloves.

'I'm Rick.'

'Ella.'

Rick kept his gaze on the young woman, taking in her features and working out for himself if she was a threat; even though Maggie and Glenn vouched for her-Daryl less so. Ella had dark hair, always up and out of her face; it hadn't been washed in a while. Her eyes were also dark, and her face was covered in dirt, sweat and some blood from her forehead; yet she held herself with confidence. Her clothes weren't clean, and her jeans were torn at the knees and her red button down top seemed to also be missing a sleeve. A knife rested in a makeshift holder on her hips, and blood was dried onto her hands and jeans, but Rick did not feel endangered; Daryl spoke of how she managed to stop him from getting bit-despite the fact it would have been her fault for taking so long to escape from the car wreck.

'Hope your head doesn't hurt too much, we figured it would have been easier to just cover it rather than wake you up to clean it.'

Ella frowned, 'wake me up?'

Rick smirked, 'you've been asleep for about a day. Its around 10am, everyone is out doing jobs currently. Everyone needs to pitch in here.' his words were pointed at Ella, and she couldn't hold back the smile.

'I must have forgotten what sleep was. It's tough when there is only you to keep you safe.' The smile faltered, and Rick saw the woman's shoulders drop.

'Ella, you are more than welcome to stay, and feel safe. We have numbers here, men, women and children too. Why don't we go and meet people?' Rick's eyes searched Ella's and she smiled again, this time not as convincing.

Rick placed an arm on her back and motioned for her to leave the prison, and into the yard. There she simply gasped as she saw at least forty people, either handing out breakfast still, or reenforcing the fences as the walkers plied pressure. Never had Ella seen so many people, smiling, laughing; living. Her eyes started to water, and the fear that once drove Ella to silence and solitude in order to survive was disappearing as she watch kids run around and play. Rick turned to face Ella, and just watched all the emotions on the woman's face. He placed a hand on her shoulder, and looked into the watering eyes of the woman in front of him. She quickly wiped the tears as they began to fall, willing for her memories of her life before to stay hidden. Rick placed a hand on her shoulder, and looked at her with sad eyes, and Ella simply smiled softly.

'It's been a really long time since I've seen people. Its rather overwhelming.'

'Well, lets get you some food. And clothes too, I thought it was just Daryl who took the sleeves of his shirts.'

Ella let out a small laugh as she looked to the sleeve missing on her top, 'I needed to patch up my leg, I'm a bit of a clumsy runner. Always have been.'

'Carol can check you over, if you need any further medical attention?' Rick's voice was concerned.

Ella just shook her head, and followed Rick to the breakfast area, feeling the looks from the others who were sitting down and finishing off their food. She was feeling a little self conscious, and did not know what to think of all the people who were staring at her; but an older woman with short grey hair was stood behind where the food was being served; was smiling at the pair as they walked over.

'Ella. I'm Carol. You sit yourself down, and I'll be over in a sec.' The young woman looked at Rick who nodded that it was okay, and she walked over to an empty table. People continued to watch her as she was sat by herself, and Ella almost got up to leave, but then Carol sat down and placed a hand on her forearm.

'Don't mind them, its been a tough month.' Carol could read the confusion on Ella's face, and handed over some porridge to the young woman. 'Why don't you just eat, I'll explain and then get you a top with sleeves.' The older woman just seemed to easily make Ella feel at home, and she sat eager to listen while eating her first full meal in weeks. Carol had only been talking for a couple of minuets when someone walked over and stood next to her. Ella felt small under the build and gaze of the figure stood in front of her, and she had instantly recognised the scowl and crossbow of Daryl. He watched as Ella finished her porridge, then got to her feet awkwardly; Carol remained sitting down.

'Hey, so, Daryl right?'

He simply nodded in reply.

'Okay,' Ella played with her hands, 'well, I really wanted to say thanks for saving me. I owe you guys my life...'

Daryl back away slightly, and the movement wasn't lost on Ella, who frowned as she watched the man in front of her; then turned to speak to Carol. Ella shook her head in confusion, and looked in disbelief as Daryl seemed to ignore her. She spotted Carol look pointedly at her, and Daryl sighed slightly; turning back to face the younger woman.

'S'kay. Try not ta run us over next time.' His lips pulled into a small smile, and Ella eased as she stood, until a loud voice, followed by screams burst into the eating area.

'HELP'