A fresh start

Chapter 1: just another morning

Greetings to the many authors and readers reading this. I am back with another Walking Dead Game story, but this time it's going to be different. We're going to be doing a story where life is normal and walkers don't exist.

I can't take full credit for this one, this was written with author A Writer With Mixed Interests.

Anyway, I've always wanted to do a story like this. I have seen similar stories, but most of them were really short and the authors just decided not to bother finishing them. I, however, will not do that.

I'm speaking too much again, aren't I? Here's chapter 1, enjoy reading and be sure to leave us some feedback.

Today could not be a better day to be outside. The weather was perfect, people were happy, and everything was peaceful. Lee Everett, a man in his late thirties woke up to a beautiful morning and stepped outside his house and inhaled a fresh of breath air. Recently, Lee had moved into this house around a month ago after he caught his wife cheating on him with a state senator. They broke up and Lee came here for a fresh start.

Next door to him were Ed and Diana, who were a nice married couple and their daughter Clementine, a nice young eleven-year-old girl. And over the road was his best friend Kenny with his family. His wife Katjaa and their son Kenny Junior, but they called him Duck instead. It was Saturday morning and he did not have work today. What would he do to enjoy his weekend?

It was early summer, the time of year where the temperature was nice right before it got insanely hot. It was too nice of a day to stay inside, so Lee decided to go for a walk for now. Getting some fresh air was always nice.

He was about to turn and leave his house when he noticed Clementine getting some mail out from her family's mailbox. She noticed him and gave him a smile and a wave. Lee decided to walk over and greet her. "Hey, Clem, how are you? Glad to be off of school soon?"

"Yeah, my exams were pretty tough." Clementine admitted as she scrolled through the mail, only to see there was no letters for her and just for her parents. "I gave it my best. I get my results soon."

"Good to hear," Lee told her. "I'm sure you did well, though. You're a smart girl."

"Thanks Lee. I wonder if you'll still working at the university when I finish school and college one day." Clementine replied with a smile across her face. She adjusted her hat for a moment that was given to her by her father and she cherished it closely. She was rarely seen without it.

"I don't plan on leaving anytime soon, so there's a possibility," Lee responded, returning a smile. "Well, I'll let you go, Clementine. I'll see you around, okay?"

"Okay. Bye Lee." Clementine bade him goodbye as she turned away and proceeded back towards her house, her mail in one hand.

Lee placed his hands in the pockets of his jeans and continued to walk. He took advantage of the time he now had to think. About his career, his loved ones, or just life in general. It was nice.

He turned the block and passed some houses that held some more people he knew, such as Carley, Omid and his girlfriend Christa, best friends Luke and Nick, Mark, Alvin and Rebecca, and Carlos, his wife Astrid and his daughter Sarah.

All of them were nice people, except for a couple of faults with some of them. Nick had a bit of a temper, but he wasn't that bad. Carlos was quite protective over his daughter despite her age. And Rebecca and Alvin had a couple of financial issues because of their recent baby, but they were okay for now.

As Lee walked past the houses, a door opened and came out Carley, dressed in a purple jacket and blue jeans. She picked up her paper and was about to head back inside, but she stopped when she save her neighbor. "Morning Lee."

"Hey. Nice day out, huh?" Lee commented.

"Yep, pretty great." Carley agreed as she went back into her house, but she held the door open. "You up for a coffee?"

"Sure," Lee nodded, and followed Carley into her house. Although Carley wasn't exactly the tidiest person Lee knew, she still managed to keep a nice house.

The two walked into the kitchen, where Carley started a pot of coffee.

"So, got anything planned today?" Carley inquired whilst she grabbed two mugs and set them down onto her kitchen counter. Lee took a seat by the coffee table.

"Not sure, it's too nice a day to be cooped up inside," Lee noted. "I know I'll be grading finals pretty soon. Lots of fun..." He gave a small, sarcastic smile.

"I know the feeling." Carley agreed as she picked up the coffee kettle and poured it into the two cups. "I spent a while working on a report yesterday that has to be done by today. My boss can be a bit of a bitch at times, but I think I can cope."

"Hope that goes well," Lee said as Carley handed him one of the mugs of coffee. He took a small enough sip to where it wouldn't burn his mouth before placing it on the coffee table.

"Since I got that report out the way, I think I'm just going to stay in for a while. I'm too exhausted to go out. " Carley stated as she too took a sip out of her coffee. "Nothing better to do anyway. Kenny told me he was taking his family and their dog out for a walk today, Mark's busy mowing his lawn and Doug is at work. Who works on Saturday?"

"Hardly anyone I know, other than my parents," Lee joked. It was true that his parents and brother, Blake, were likely running their pharmacy in Macon, just as they did every day.

"They're good people, Lee." Carley smiled as she took another sip of coffee. She only met Lee's parents once and that was when Lee organized a trip to Macon with half of the neighborhood. It was fun.

"Yeah," Lee agreed, playing with the buttons on his shirt a little awkwardly. "I may have to give them a call today, now that we mention it." He picked up his mug and took another sip of coffee.

Before long, Lee finished his coffee and decided to enjoy the rest of the day. He bid Carley goodbye and left her house, thanking her for the coffee. Now Carley was left alone, but she mentioned she was going to clean up her house a little.

Lee continued on down the street. What to do...?

Lee shifted his attention across the road and smiled when he saw his best friend Kenny with his son Duck and their dog Sam.

Duck tugged on his father's shirt and pointed excitedly at Lee, jumping up and down. Lee chuckled; Duck was a good kid, even though Kenny described him as "dumb as a bag of hammers."

"Dad, it's Lee!" Duck enthusiastically called out. He waved at Lee with a beaming smile.

Lee waved back, as Duck ran over to greet him. Kenny wasn't far behind as he gripped the dog's leash.

"Hey, guys," Lee greeted as he pet Sam. Sam licked his hand in response.

"Hey," Kenny nodded. He looked around for a moment. "Just a warning, Lilly's in one of those tyrants again."

That was no surprise. Lilly had a real temper and her father Larry was twice as worse. They were fortunate not to live next to them, but they felt sorry for Mark and Ben and his family who lived next door to them on both sides.

"What happened now?" Lee wanted to know. It seemed as though Lilly and/or Larry was out to take their rage out on practically the entire neighborhood at least once every other week.

"Something about her tires gettin' slashed?" Kenny shrugged. "I dunno. But she was accusing Ben and what's-his-face of doing it."

"Why's Lilly always mean, Dad?" Duck inquired. He had to admit he wasn't the biggest Lilly fan but that did not mean he hated her.

"She just gets worked up too easily, son, don't worry about her," Kenny told him.

Lee raised a curious eyebrow at that one. Even Kenny had his moments of "getting worked up," but decided not to comment on it and turned to Duck. "So Duck, what are you and your dad gonna do today?"

"We're going to the park!" Duck announced in a happy tone. Lee only just noticed Duck had a frisbee in his hand. Either going to play catch with his father, throw it for Sam to catch or maybe both.

"Sounds like fun," Lee commented. He turned to Kenny. "How's Katjaa doing, Ken?"

"She's doing fine. We may be goin' up to visit her sister in Memphis in a couple of weeks," Kenny replied. "You and I ought to get a beer or something before then, Lee."

"Yeah, we should," Lee agreed. He wasn't really much of a drinker, but sometimes it was nice.

With that, Lee allowed Kenny and Duck to enjoy their day out while Lee continued to walk around the neighborhood.

And that's chapter 1 completed, folks. This was a little short of an introduction of what is to come, but there will be a lot more coming soon. Anyway, I won't talk too much as I won't take up your time. Hope you enjoyed and if so, be sure to add this story to your alerts.