Hi, welcome to my second fanfic. I've only been writing these for a week so really any feedback is well appreciated! Please forgive me for possible spelling/grammar mistakes. English is not my native language and I don't have anyone to proofread. Hope you enjoy anyway.

Chapter 1: Count your blessings

I am running across the dirty, with stones covered path to where the horses are. Towards where I'd last seen him days ago. In the distance I see someone standing right next to the shed. My heart is racing, my legs stop hurting. He's alive. I wasn't going to be on my own. I keep running but as I come closer, it doesn't feel right. He looks up and I notice the blood all around his face. He starts walking towards me, arms stretched, jaw partially missing. Fuck, oh fuck Daryl. Not Daryl too, please. I fall to my knees, unable to breathe. Daryl.

I woke up confused and terrified and reached for the gun I'd secretly hidden under the pillow. As I looked around, I realized it was just a nightmare. I'd had this nightmare more than once in the past months and it still hurt as much as the first time.

"You alright?" I heard Wendy grumbling from her side of the tent. She didn't even look up anymore. Must have gotten used to the whole nightmare wake up scenery.

"I'm fine" I muttered, lying my head back down on the pillow. I was completely covered in sweat and could barely breathe. I have to get out of here, even if Wendy doesn't want to come. I've survived this long; better not take it for granted.

"Come on, you're really gonna have to tell me who this Daryl is" I look aside to see Wendy staring at me, awaiting a story. Great, I must have mentioned his name in my sleep again.

"Did you and Daryl date? Is he alive?" Just hearing someone say his name hurt a little. He'd only been a stupid crush I'd gotten a little too close with, yet I missed him more than I thought I would ever miss anyone.

I wanted to ignore the question but couldn't as soon as I the twinkle in her eye. I was going to miss her to bits. Even though we hadn't been together long, I cared about that girl. In fact, she was the only living human being I still cared about. But I had to do what was right. For the both of us, or just for me; that was up to her.

Wendy was still looking at me, her green eyes longing for a story to keep her mind off of things. I could see the sadness hidden behind the mask she was trying to put up. I sighed. I didn't want to talk about Daryl, yet this would most likely be the last day I could tell her anything about myself at all. The last moment we could pretend nothing drastic was about to happen.

I took a deep breath and tried to keep my emotions under control. "No and I'm not sure. We didn't date and" I swallowed " I don't know if he's alive. By the time I'd reached the shed he was long gone. He couldn't have gone looking for me either. Hell I don't even think he knew where exactly I lived." The thought of it hurt. Had I known the end of life as we knew it was lurking around the corner, I would have done things differently "Wouldn't surprise me if he is still alive though, that guy was tough as nails". I clinched my jaw, hoping the latter was indeed true.

"At least there's hope" Wendy said. I could see the tears in her eyes. "How did you two meet then?" She tried to sound knowing what to do, I decided to just answer her question.

"Before the world went to hell I'd been living in the big city for just over a year or so. I didn't feel right there and to take up a hobby I started running. Wasn't very good at it at first, I must admit. But I quickly got familiar with my body and its capabilities and after a while was able to run marathons. I've always wanted to be in a marathon once." Wendy looked at me in pity. I cleared my throat and continued. "One day I had enough of running the same block over and over again and decided to take a detour. I ended up horribly lost at the countryside. I had to ask some handsome guy for directions." The memory of how awkward it had been made me smile. I had always been shy and wasn't too fond of talking to strangers. "I remember how he first greeted me with a very kind 'Whatcha' want girl?'". I tried to imitate his heavy southern accent at my very best, yet still failing terribly. I heard Wendy laugh. A short but definitely genuine laugh; didn't hear much of those since, well, since shit had hit the fan. Fuck I was going to miss that laugh. She must have noticed a hint of sadness in my facial expression as she all of a sudden reached out her hand to stroke my knee. "You don't need to tell me if you don't feel comfortable" she smiled and I quickly toughened up.

"I will tell you everything including dirty details if you come with me tonight". I could at least try to reason with her just one more time. If only she could just see the urgency of the whole situation.

She rolled her eyes and gave me an irritated look. "Daniëlle, seriously, we've had this conversation just last night. Woodbury is a safe haven and honestly, until you come up with something proving this place is bad news other than your own stupid gut feeling, I am going to stay right here."

I knew her reply wasn't going to be anything other then that and yet it still hurt like hell. I looked away, trying to hide that tears that started to well up. "I am leaving tonight, with or without you". I got up and started to get dressed.

"Dani You are going to regret that decision when you end up as dinner for the dead" she sneered at me and then hid her head under her pillow. She could be so immature. "I'll be fine out there, just like I was before. Like you were before." I added. I realized she was holding her breath to take in every word I was saying. She knew I was right. "I tell you now; you're saver out there than in here. But it's up to you." When she failed to respond, I stepped out of the tent.

I had to go for a run. Prepare for tonight's escape and clear my mind. I couldn't back out just because of Wendy. I loved that girl but I wasn't willing to risk my life staying here one more day. I started running and instantly felt better. That's why I loved running. Makes life easy, relaxes the brain and comes in handy during a possible apocalypse. I tried my best to smile when the thought of the latter crossed my mind.

During this specific run, the main goal would however be inspecting the getaway possibilities one last time and finally make up my mind. The moment of truth was now only a few hours away and I still wasn't sure where and how to escape. Luckily I had been running tens of laps daily for the last weeks so no one in woodbury would suspect anything as I ran past all exits numerous times.

After passing the first few exits for the third time this run, I ran passed a compound just when a door opened, causing me to almost slam into Merle. "Watch it, you dumb bitch!" He sneered.

"Sorry" I muttered, gazing at where his hand should have been. Instead, a metal plate with a knife was installed. His entire shirt covered in blood. I had seen Merle around the camp often enough but this was the longest conversion we'd ever had. In my mind I accidentally started picturing scenarios as to how Merle could have lost his hand. And why he was always angry. Alright, I agree it wasn't a pretty world. But this guy seemed angrier than anyone I'd ran into after the whole world collapsed. I wondered if he had someone left to fight for.

"Fuck ye staring at? Want to feel it from up close, sunshine?" I noticed I had been staring at him for what seemed to be minutes. He looked furious, his eyes locked on mine. I felt the blood rising to my cheeks.

"Sorry again" I whispered, I wasn't even sure if he heard my apology but I didn't want to wait for his response either. I quickly continued running, making sure not to look behind. Merle just didn't seem like the type of guy one would want to pick a fight with. I decided to stay low profile the remainder of the day.

As I finished packing the few belongings I had left, I reached under the pillow to grab my handgun. I immediately metaphorically thanked god that I'd been able to hide this during the search before we entered Woodbury. Without a gun I surely wouldn't survive out there. I looked around to see Wendy's stuff scattered all over the place. That girl was messy as hell. It reminded me of my sister. Like a lot of things Wendy did and said reminded me of my sister. I missed her, like I was about to miss Wendy. Just the thought of it sent a shiver down my spine. But I had to let it go, like I had let go of my sister. I have always been in survival mode. The rise of the dead isn't going to change that. Thinking over how to escape once more, loud bangs and men yelling interrupted my chain of thoughts.

The loud bangs I heard all around me were gunshots. I'd heard them often enough to be sure about that. The split seconds of complete and utter silence right after the first gunshots had been heard, quickly vanished. The air outside filled itself with loud screams and more guns being fired. Woodbury was under attack. This could be in my advantage. With enemy gunfire all around, chances I could sneak out unnoticed had all of a sudden significantly increased. I smiled at the thought of it and quickly grabbed my bag.

Ready to step out of the tent, Wendy suddenly ran in, quickly zipping the tent behind her. "W-w-w-w-e we are u-u-under attack" she stuttered, completely out of breath. "Please stay, p-p-please don't leave me here, I don't want to die Dani" she fell to her knees and started crying hysterically.

"Shh, we'll be fine, don't worry, I'm here" I said, stroking her hair out of her face while gazing at the tent zipper. There had to be a way to get out of here before the chaos outside stopped. There just had to be. I decided to hold onto Wendy closely at least until she would calm down. And after what seemed to be forever, her cries turned into silent sobs. I knew I was now only minutes away from being able to convince her to let me have a look outside.

While impatiently counting the seconds left, the gunfire suddenly died out. And just like that a complete silence replaced the chaos that had just been all around the tent. I waited anxiously, hoping for more. But after a good few minutes I realized my hopes were in vain. Whatever fight had been going on was now under control. Fuck. I was fucked. I wanted to bang my head against the wall but fell to my knees instead. Tears started to flow as soon as reality had hit me. I wasn't going to get out of this hellhole. Not tonight anyway.