Waheeeey, a new story! Woop woop! So here we are then, Callie before the apocalypse. I know I bought Merle and Daryl in very early on, but I wanted to get the tension ball rolling fast, so I bought them in sooner rather than later :D Means I can work with them more :D I hope you guys enjoy this prequel, I have some good ideas on what to do with them all! Hope you are all well and safe!

Lots of love!

Elly xxx

Callie woke up from her last peaceful night's sleep in the room she was going to miss. As she sat up, she looked around the bare walls and unfurnished floors and sighed unhappily. Her father had got a new job, on a farm out in the country, and the whole family had to move to a farmhouse. Callie heard her father calling for her, and she sighed again. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and placed them on the cold hard floor. She pattered over to the clothes she had left out, and started to pull them on.

She scowled at them - her mother wanted her and her snot nosed little sister, Zephy, to wear dresses so they looked nice when they got to their new village. "Mom!" Callie shouted down the stairs, running out of her room with the dress in her hands. "I can't wear this. We're going to a village full of Rednecks, not sunday school teachers" Callie said, furiously. "Well Zephy is wearing hers, so you need to wear yours" her mother said calmly. "But Zephy is still a kid! She can wear this kinda stuff" Callie whined, and her mother pointed to the stairs, a stern look on her face.

Callie walked slowly back up the stairs, her face still in a scowl as she pulled on the dress. It wasn't that bad a dress, but Callie hated wearing dresses and preferred to be in shorts and her flannel shirt. She walked around her room and gathered her last little bits up, then bumped the suitcase down the stairs to where her family were. Her little sister smiled at her sweetly as Callie pulled on her shoes, and she walked out the door to the car in the driveway. Callie looked back at her house and sighed again, before getting into the car with a huff.

"Call, don't be like that. Where we're going has woods, so I'm sure we can find you something to do" her father said through the window, with a little wink. Callie smiled - her father always knew how to make her feel better. She waited as her parents got in the car, and sat back, listening to her sister as the sung out the songs on the radio annoyingly. Callie looked out the window as trees and cars whizzed by on the highway, and she scowled again. She didn't have many friends back at home, but it was where she grew up and where she felt safe.

Just as Callie was about to give up and ask the car to stop so she could get away from her annoying sister's voice, they pulled into a driveway. Callie gaped up at the large farmhouse - it was bigger than she had expected. Her eyes gazed over to the forest behind the house, and she grinned - her father always promised to show her how to use a bow and arrow, and promised he would help her develop on her knife throwing skills. Callie got out of the car after her family, and pushed her hair out of her face. She noticed two boys at the farmhouse next to them - one who looked very stern, like a bully, and the other slightly less stern, a little shy even.

Callie locked eyes with the shy-ish boy, and he looked at the boy next to him, who Callie guessed was his brother. The two of them got back to whatever they were doing, the boy looking up at Callie every so often. She tore her eyes away from him, and walked into the house. Zephy ran up the stairs followed by Callie, and the two grinned at each other as they looked at the two rooms that would be theirs. They were the same size, with enough room to fit an elephant and an army in, and the girls ran inside. "Girls, we need you to come out so the men can bring in the furniture" Callie's mother said, and Callie ran back down the stairs.

"Go check it out" her father whispered to her, and Callie smiled as he nodded towards the forest. She jogged over to the forest, her hands brushing the trees as she walked further in. She breathed in deeply and smiled, hearing the birds in the trees and the squirrels on the floor collecting food. She smiled, listening to the sounds happily. She was jolted out of her dream by an arrow that flew past her and hit the tree next to her head. She swallowed hard as her eyes were right in front of the arrow, and looked at the squirrel it had hit, which was now flat against the tree.

"Nice dress, honey" she heard a man say, with a very southern accent. "Merle, shut up" she heard another southern accented man say, and she looked up to see the two boys from earlier walking towards her. She suddenly felt very exposed and vulnerable, but tried to keep her cool as they walked over to her. Her feet were somehow rooted to the ground, and the tall man with a shaved head leant on a tree, staring intently at her.

"Make's your legs look fine" he said, and Callie scowled. "Wasn't my choice" she said, and the shy boy walked over and pulled the arrow out of the tree, his body close to Callie's. She looked back into his eyes and noticed they were a gorgeous baby blue. The other man cackled, and she remembered what he had been called - Merle. "So what's your name?" the shy-ish guy asked, suddenly stern like his brother. "Callie" she answered slowly, looking from one guy to the other. "That's Merle, I'm Daryl" the guy said, and Callie looked at them both.

"Guess we gotta talk, seein' as we're neighbours now. Just one thing, sweetie. Stay away from our house. We don't want you people infesting us with your town shit" Merle said, and Callie glared at him. The look she gave him made him stand up and walk over to her, his face inches away from hers and his eyes boring deep into hers. "You best not give me that look 'gain" Merle said angrily. "Or what?" Callie asked back, standing her ground even though her hands were shaking and her heart was beating fast. "Or we're gonna have problems" Merle answered, and Callie pushed his hand away as he tugged on her arm.

"Daryl" Merle commanded, and Daryl followed his brother, giving Callie a look she couldn't decipher. It wasn't anger, or frustration. It wasn't sadness either, just a little of regret. But she could swear she saw him looking her up and down. She growled a little and headed back for the house, stomping her way through the trees and hating the new place already. She walked in through the door and ran up the stairs, ripping off her dress and throwing on her shorts and flannel shirt she had tucked securely in her bag. She grabbed her belt, which had pockets for the throwing knives her father handed down to her, and secured it round her waist.

She sprinted out the door and into the forest, going in further than she did before. She found a tree suitable for what she needed, and stood back from it. Her hands itched over her knives, and she focused her eyes on a target on the tree. She threw her first knife, hitting the tree just to the left of the target. The next five went flying, but not one of them hit directly where she wanted it to. She growled again and pulled them one by one out the tree, and heard her father calling for her from the house.

She sprinted back to the house and came to a jog as she got further towards her parents. "Callie, these are our new neighbours" her mother said, disapproval in her voice as she looked at the clothes Callie was now wearing. "This is Merle and Daryl, and their parents Sarah and Billy" her father said, and Callie caught eyes with Daryl again. She watched as his own looked over her facial features, and she looked down at Zephy who tugged at her arm. Even though at times Callie didn't like her sister, she was protective of her, and knew she didn't like the look of the people in front of her.

Callie picked her up, not caring who saw, and watched as Merle's face became one of amusement. He was quite old, but not old enough to be ancient. Callie placed him around his late 30's and Daryl around his 20's. Callie was only 18 herself, and had been through a lot in those years. The parents chatted for a while, walking back towards the house, obviously invited over for something to eat. Callie stayed where she was, glaring at Merle who glared back at her.

She knew he would be trouble, and was going to do all she could not to let him cause it