Want to start off by saying this is my second Fic. I haven't finished my first because the character I was writing has decided to ditch me for a while. I just can't seem to write anything good for it. I graduated undergrad in May so I have had more free time. Not much until recently because just last month I got a full time job and now feel like I can relax with a stable pay check. Anyway. Disclaimer. I DO NOT own The Walking Dead or any of the characters in this story except the few I have made up. Those who watch the show will know who they are. I wanted to write this becuase it's been in my head for a while and I just felt the need. Please enjoy. I like any kind of feedback so please leave a review so I know if you like it or not! Thanks for reading!

I dropped the fucking pin for the third time and kicked the door in frustration. Picking locks was harder than I thought it would be. Way harder than T.V. made it look. To the left of me my three-year-old brother, Mason, was sitting with his back to the house. He stood up when I kicked the door and came to stand next to me.

"It's okay Buddy, I'm just trying to get us in," I said patting his little head. I reached down and picked up the pin to try one more time, if this didn't work I was going to be pissed. We were nearly out of food and I wasn't sure what else to do at this point. I had been crouching here for the last half hour trying to get into this God forsaken house. I twisted the pin a little and it broke off inside the lock.

"All about the tumblers my ass," I yelled standing and kicking the door again. Mason grabbed the leg I hadn't kicked the door with and started to cry. The door groaned in protest at my show of anger. Maybe it was old enough to kick in. I reached down and picked Mason up before taking a few steps away from the house.

"I know you're scared, Mason, but I promise I'll make it okay. I just need to get into the house. It'll get a little loud. Cover your ears and look out towards the barn okay."

I put him down on the first step off the pouch and helped him cover his ears. I felt so bad for the little guy. He still didn't understand what was going on, and there was no way for me to explain it to him so he'd understand. All he knew was our parents and siblings were gone, we were no longer able to go home, and all he had was me. His twenty-two-year-old sister who had barely any idea how to take care of children, let alone in an apocalypse.

I turned back to the house, took a deep breath, then took two quick steps forward before kicking the door with all my might right under the handle. It didn't even budge, but now my leg was throbbing. I fell down on my knees and pressed my forehead against the wood.

"All I want is some food," I said desperately. "Why can't you just let me in. There isn't anyone home anyway."

"Sydney," Mason whimpered behind me. I sighed and stood up. He was still facing away from me; he was such a good boy. I picked him up again and looked around the front yard of this house. The barn was the only thing that looked promising, well that and the truck, but the truck had no key in it and I didn't know how to wire a car.

I reached down and threw my overweight backpack on the shoulder Mason wasn't currently using as a pillow and started towards the barn. Maybe I could find something to break into the house with, or maybe just find something useful at all. As I neared the barn door a brown horse came running up to the fence and swung its head at me.

Mason stiffened up, but I reached my free hand out to run my fingers along the horse's nose. I bounced my shoulder so Mason would look up and began to speak soothingly.

"Hello, there beautiful. Do you want to be our ride out of here? It's hard work, but I'll find you some fresh grass, and I would treat you well."

The horse threw its head up again and trotted away. Well I was going to take that as a yes. I walked into the barn and took a look around. There was a bunch of hay on the second floor, but I couldn't really see anything super useful on the first. They didn't even have a pitchfork that wasn't broken. I sighed and set Mason down on the ground, he clung to my pant leg, but didn't say anything against me putting him down. I put my backpack in the barn doorway and walked forward to collect the horse's riding gear. I placed everything at the barn door and grabbed a broken pitchfork. Maybe breaking a window and climbing into the house was my best option. I couldn't leave without getting food because Mason and I were not going to make it to Atlanta without it.

"Hello," I spun around to see a man- a sheriff- drop a couple of duffle bags in the dirt driveway. "Police officer out here. Can I borrow some gas," he began walking up to the house. "Hello?"I grabbed Mason and watched the 'police officer.' I was unsure if I could trust him. What if he wasn't a police officer at all, but a bandit? He knocked on the door. "Hello? Anybody home?" He walked the porch and looked into some of the windows. I watched him leave the porch and sit on a bench not to far from the barn. He approached the truck and looked around inside before closing the door. The horse made a noise and he started toward the coral. Now or never.

"You see the lady in the room?" I asked stepping out of the barn with Mason.

The officer turned to me with his hand on his holstered gun. I meet his gaze and waited patiently. He was the first person I had seen alive in a few weeks other than my brother, and I didn't expect it to be much different for him. He looked me up and down before looking back at the house.

"Yea, I saw her." He turned back to me and removed his hat. "Why you hiding in the barn?"

"Watching you. Can't be too careful nowadays." Mason grabbed the collar of my shirt.

"I would agree with that. He your son?"

"My baby brother."

"My name is Rick Grimes. I am a police officer, and I am heading to Atlanta."

"I am Sydney Tremont. This is Mason. We were heading that way too, but we ran out of food. I was hoping to find some in this farm house." He nodded and turned back to the house.

"That is a good idea, but I have some food. You could travel with me."

I took a couple steps forward and checked out the bags he dropped.

"Lot of guns you got there."

"Police department had a lot. I could share with you if you come with me."

"Why are you being so nice. What with all this crazy right now?"

"Just because the world is in shambles doesn't mean my manners need to be."

"Okay Rick Grimes. We will travel with you, but you gotta keep your manner up." He smiled before nodding. "Now how bout you break us into the house."

I collected as much of the nonperishable food as I could in my already stuffed bag before meeting Rick back at the horse coral.

"I couldn't find the truck keys. And I didn't want to check the room with her in it, so the horse is our only transport." I said.

"Not a problem." Rick grabbed the rope and opened the pen. I watched with a small smile on my face as he spoke to the horse. "Easy now. Easy. I'm not gonna hurt you. Nothing like that. More like a proposal. Atlanta's just down the road a ways. It's safe there- food, shelter, people. Other horses too, I bet." I laughed and reached down to pick up Mason. This guy was funny. I think traveling with him will be fun. "How's that sound?" He put the rope around the horse's neck. "There we go. Good boy. Good boy. Good boy." Rick fiddled with the rope. "Now come with me. Come on." He started walking backwards with the horse in tow. "Come on. Come on. Come on. Good boy."

I helped saddle the horse and Rick helped me up before handing all the bags and Mason to me. "You think we will be too heavy for him altogether?" Rick asked.

"No, he is a workin' horse. This may be the easiest job he has had." Rick frowned a little before climbing up to sit in front of me.

"Alright I haven't done this in a while."

"Maybe I should drive?"

"No, no. I got it." He said. He leaned a bit forward. "Just go easy, okay? I haven't done this for years." He adjusted himself, and it was like a kick start for the horse. He started moving faster, and I barely caught Mason and myself from falling off by throwing my left arm around Rick.

"Whoa. Whoa whoa whoa!" The horse started galloping. I laughed. Ricked was all stiff and leaning back. He had no idea what he was doing. I mean I didn't have much more of a clue, but still. "Easy now." The horse continued on. "Easy, boy. Easy. Easy."

"I don't think he's been out for a while. He is probably hyped up." I said.

"Easy. Easy. Eas- Whoa whoa whoa whoa." Rick pulled back on the reins. "He sure is. Whoa. WHOA."

As we rode Rick and I spoke about before and what we were hoping to ride into. He told me his wife and son were missing and he wanted to find them. He told me about being shot before all this and waking up in the hospital. About Morgan and his son. I couldn't believe he hadn't a clue what was going on. I felt so bad for him. Having woken up into the shit hole the world had become. Mason fell asleep on the way and I was happy he was in my lap facing me so I could squish him a little between my body and Rick's to make sure he didn't fall off and so I could hold onto Rick.

Once I was sure Mason was asleep I spoke more freely. My family and I had been on a trip to North Carolina when it all went to shit. I didn't like to mention my family when Mason was awake because he would cry for our mother. I told Rick that our car had been pulled over a military blockade and my family separated. My parents were sent in once direction and my three siblings and I in another. When the base had been overrun I found my two other younger siblings to late they have been bitten. We found our parents and fled, but my siblings got worse we stopped and, well that was that. My parents were with us long enough to learn about Atlanta, but we were jumped by a few of the dead and they bit my mother's neck. My father got bit trying to save her. Once the dust had settled and the dead were actually dead. I took care of my mom, and my dad asked me to go on with Mason. Keep him safe. I couldn't leave him, so I made sure he wouldn't turn before I continued on my way. The more I spoke about it the heavier my chest got and when I finished telling the story to Rick tears were running down my face.

"I'm real sorry for what you had to go through." Rick said softly.

I wiped my face and ran my right hand through Mason's hair. "Not much to be done. In this world no one is untouched by pain."

We finished our trip in silence. As we approached Atlanta the outgoing traffic lanes were packed full of run down cars. I got a sick feeling in my stomach. This didn't look very good. Rick slowed the horse down a bit more and we continued. The only thing I could hear was the clip clop of the horse shoes on the pavement. Traveling in the city was no different. There was no sign of any life or dead for that matter. I got a worse feeling the longer we were in the city.

Rick slowed the horse at an intersection. "Which way do you think?"

"I don't know." I looked around. It was like a ghost town. "Let's try right, but I have a bad feeling."

"I know, me too."

We came up on some burnt cars and a downed helicopter at a blockade. I felt even more uneasy. There were some military cars and a burnt up bus. We passed the bus and some dead moved around inside. The horse got spooked. I tightened my grip on Rick and Mason. Mason woke up with a small whine.

"Whoa." Rick said. "Steady. There's just a few nothing we can't outrun."

"I know, but I am nervous. There are probably more around." Mason turned his head around and looked up at me. "Sydney I gotta potty."

I sighed. "It's okay buddy. You have a pullup on we will change it when we are safe."

The horse picked up speed in fear. "Okay. Whoa whoa whoa." Rick pulled on the reins again. We turned right once more, and I watched the dead behind us. We passed a tank and some flipped cars. It was looking worse and worse. Ricked stopped to look at some crows eating a dead whose face was missing.

"Rick, we should keep moving." He nodded and pushed the horse forward. Then out of nowhere we heard a helicopter. "Rick!" I said looking around the sky. "Do you hear that?"

We both looked around before Rick pointed forward toward a large mirror building. "There! Hyah!" I gripped Rick around the waist and we galloped forward. We rounded another right corner and ran into a hoard of dead.

My stomach disappeared. Mason began to cry. Rick was stunned. The horse bucked and it took everything I had to keep from falling off. The horsed turned back the way we came and took off. The dead were on our heels. More were in front of us.

"Oh shit." Rick said I loosed the bags on my back and let a few fall off the horse we were so fucked. They surrounded us. "Oh God." Rick growled. He was pulled off the horse and I fell with him. The horse was brought down, and we were mostly forgotten Ricked kicked a few back I held Mason to me and scooted back with my free arm until I hit the tank from before. I crawled under it as best I could with my back pressed against the metal underbelly of it.

"Rick!" I called. He followed me I held Mason close to me when I was as far under as I could go with getting closer to the other end of the tank. Panic rose in my chest. It couldn't end like this. Not after everything. Rick began shooting dead. I kicked a few away from me. "Rick" I cried. Then Rick grabbed my arm and pulled me up. I kicked more dead away as they gripped my feet. I lost one of my shoes. Rick slammed the hatch shut on a few fingers and began moving backward.

I pulled Mason closer to my chest and warped him in my arms. Rick was panting, and I could barely breath. That was so close. Too close. Tears ran down my face as I looked over to Rick. Next to him was a dead military man. Rick puled the gun off the man and his head turned to Rick. Rick shot him. I screamed and covered my ears. Fuck! Mason was crying. Rick climbed up the open hatch on the top of the tank before coming back down and closing it.

I tried to calm Mason. "Rick, Rick what are we going to do?"

"It's a mess out there. No way I can get my bag. Or yours. I, I don't know."

He checked the gun from the dead. "Some ammo here. Not much." There was some pounding on the top hatch. I closed my eyes. "Hey...Hey. I will get us out of this somehow. I don't know how, but –" A radio start to crackle.

"Hey you. Dumbass. Yea, you in the tank. Are you cozy in there?" I stared at the radio in shock. What the actual fuck.

First chapter leave a review for more. I plan to write one chapter per episode, but not if I have no interest.

Thanks again!