AN: Hello. This is my first TWD fanfic and I hope that it turns out decent enough to keep readers reading. I haven't written anything in years, so I hope to maybe get my creative juices flowing again by doing a little TWD. This is Caryl base, so it will meanly focus on them. This takes place after "Indifference" and any episode after that is irrelevant to my fic. Maybe.
Synopsis: Carol's all alone in a world that's gone to hell after being expel from Rick's group of survivals. She only has few supplies and a vehicle that she ultimately must abandon. But Carol's strong right? She can take care of herself right? She needs no one…right?
Daryl is determined to prove her wrong.
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"Dying Out"
Chapter I
Carol
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Breathe in and breathe out.
Stay calm.
Stay collected.
Irrational thinking will only get you killed. You are alone out here. There's nowhere for you to go. Your only worry now is yourself. Don't do anything stupid.
Stay calm.
Stay collected.
Screaming won't solve a thing.
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The screams ricochet off the walls of the steel building. The sound is deafening. People are dying and blood covers the concrete. The Walkers are here. Hell, they're everywhere.
But how did they get in? We were so sure everything was secured. Gunfire is quick and rapid, taking down a few here and there, but they were still losing people. Everyone will soon be dead.
She is scared shitless and is paralyze with fear. One of those undead things notices her cowering in the corner and stumbles over. The gun she was using somehow ended up on the other side of the room during the confusion when the walkers first broke into their cell-block.
She clinches her eyes close as it approaches. She knew that this is it, there's no more living in fear once this thing's teeth penetrates her soft flesh. She shivers, waiting for death to come, or what comes now since death doesn't even seem to be an option anymore. She just wants to give up and let it devour her.
The sound of something hitting the ground hard causes her to open her eyes. The walker was only two inches from her when it fell, a very familiar looking arrow protruding from the back of its skull.
Daryl Dixon stretches an arm out to her, a smirk playing on his lips.
"C'mon, Carol. You're stronger then this."
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Carol Peletier eyes flutters open as the first ray of sunlight streams through the window of the car Rick had given her three days ago. For a moment, she just lays there with the back of her head against the seat's headrest. She is in no hurry this morning, since there is really no where for her to go. The car sits alone in a ditch on the side of the road in an unfamiliar part of the county.
She's been traveling alone for three days. She will soon run out of gas, food, and water. She was grateful that Rick gave her any food at all and she's been rationing, only taking in what's essential to keeping her alive one more day longer.
She could hunt for food, but without an adequate weapon, hunting was nearly impossible and the gun sitting next to her in the passenger's seat only has five rounds to it. That would only just attract unwanted attention to her if she tries hunting with that pistol.
And besides, Carol is saving those rounds for emergencies, like putting one in her head if things become too unbearable.
But she is stronger than that.
And then, her dream comes to mind and she dazes off again.
Ten minutes passes when she finally decides to start the engine. The car stutters and stalls. Carol curses and turns the key again. It still refuses to start and desperation soon takes hold of her. If she can't get the car to start, she would have to abandon it and continue her trek on foot. She runs an unsteady hand through her short gray hair, eyes darting around watching for any Walkers that may sneak up on her.
She catches movement out of the corner of her eye. Across the street from her vehicle, the bush rustles again before something falls out and hits the ground with a sickening thud. The thing reaches one arm out and then another as it pulls itself across the street. Carol wasn't sure if it could see her or if it already has, but the thing was making its way to her car.
One of its legs is severely damaged and the foot is completely gone. The other leg is just as worst, severed at the knee. Its face is covered in black blood and dirt, with skin missing and flesh that was torn from its face. It is impossible to tell if that thing is male or female.
A bloody trail follows the slithering undead as it slowly crawls towards her. Carol reaches for her knife and wraps her willowy fingers around the hilt. She opens the door of the car ever so slightly once the walker is close enough. It reaches a hand to her, teeth chattering and one eye blazing red as the other one is currently missing.
The lone survival pulls her knife out and effortlessly shoves the blade through its skull, killing it instantly. It stops moving and lies there motionlessly. Carol removes the blade from the Walker's skull and wipes it clean on her shirt.
She shuts the door and stares down the road again. It went on for miles. She then turns her attention back to the key still in the ignition.
"Please start." she pleas with the car, her voice harsh and broken from not speaking in three days. After all, she has no one to talk to.
She turns the key once more and the car roars to life. She thanks God and puts the vehicle in drive. She drives off, never looking back and not really knowing where she'll end up next.
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The scenic route was always pleasant, but in a world filled with few pleasantries, it became increasingly difficult to take notice in such things. Carol remains focus on the road in front of her. She made sure to keep thoughts of her life at the prison far from her mind. It hurts too much to think back to what she had.
What she is so desperately missing now.
Like her adopted daughters, Lizzie and Mika. She wonders if they miss her or if they are being taken care of. She then thinks of little Lizzie. She tries not to but it couldn't be helped.
Lizzie was sick when she and Rick left on their so-called mission for medical supplies and food. She was foolish to even suggest that she bring the girls here with her. They were strong, but surviving out here would be tough.
The world is a far different place than it was before. No young girl should have to fend for themselves out here alone.
And neither should you. A voice whispers in the back of her head.
She falters as one more person from her former group comes to mind and her hand grips the steering wheel a little tighter than necessary.
Daryl Dixon was the only person she has ever known to put so much on the line for her. And not only did he risk a lot for her, but he also gave everything he had to find her daughter. And she is eternally grateful to him for that. He wouldn't stop looking for her, even when the rest of the group already knew Sophia was dead and she was not coming back. The incident at Hershel's barn brought that reality to light.
They grew closer after that, becoming very good friends. She would risk her own life for him, as she knows he would, without hesitation, do the same for her.
She became so lost in her own thoughts that she fails to see the Walker a few yards in front of her until she is on top of it.
Hitting the body dead on jolts her from her reveries. The car runs over the Walker, causing Carol and everything inside to jump from the force of the hit. It is a fairly large Walker, the man it used to be probably weighed close to 300lbs.
Carol turns the steering wheel to prevent the vehicle from veering off into the side of the road. The car spins before coming to a complete stop, almost tipping on its side. Smoke spews out from the engine and a large dent now decorates the hood.
She doesn't move as she tries to regain her composure. Her heart is racing a mile a minute as she releases her firm grip from the steering wheel and glances into the driver's side mirror.
A little ways down the road lays the mingled remains of the fat Walker she just ran over. It isn't moving so she figures she probably ran over its head.
She sighs in relief but than cursed loudly when she realizes her car is fucked. There was a sudden stab of pain on her right side. She grasps it, blood slowly seeping through her dirty shirt. She slowly lifts her shirt up, wincing in pain at the contact. Inspecting the wound, she is relieve to see that it isn't too deep and not that bad. She lowers her shirt, only enough to leave the wound expose and grabs her bag. She rummages through the content until she finds what she is looking for. She pulls out a half emptied body of alcohol and some gauze pads that Rick left her with.
It took her very little time to disinfect and dress her wound since she is use to tending to all types of injuries.
Once done, she quickly surveyed her surroundings. Upon seeing that nothing is around her and that the Walker she hit was alone, she opens the door and steps out onto the street. By this time, the sun is high up in the sky and Carol has to shield her eyes with her hand from the bright rays.
She checks the engine hastily. She doesn't want to be out in the open too long before something comes.
The engine block is smashed and water pours from the cooler. The car is done for. Carol is now alone with no method of transportation except for her own feet. And how far will that get her?
She isn't going to get very far on foot, especially with her side constantly aching, but what other choice does she have? She grabs what little preservatives she has and throws her backpack over her shoulder. She checks her gun and sticks it in the hem of her pants, against her back.
She straightens up, closes the car door for the last time, and proceeds forward into the unknown. Carol decides to take the path less travel and heads toward a trail that leads to the national park.
It doesn't matter where she goes, she doesn't even care anymore, all she needs to do right now is to keep moving and stay invisible.
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OPENING CREDITS
COMMERCIAL
End of Chapter I
Well, there you have it for chapter 1! I was going to make it a little longer, but I decided to just cut what I had in half and you guys just gotta wait for Daryl's part in the next chapter. It's a little slow, but it should get better.
Basically, this will be about Carol and Daryl surviving together, only relying on each other. There will be sex, violence and Walker deaths in later chapters to come. Possibly main characters deaths as well…and The Governor will be making a cameo appearances also! Stay tune!