When this had all started, she was on her own, her only weapons being a gun that her mother gave her, and a stainless steel kitchen knife and her father's stainless steel campers ax. She might've been eight years old, but she definitely wasn't stupid. She was actually quiet intelligent for her age, intelligent enough to use a weapon.

Feeling hungry, she stopped by a drug store hoping to find a snack, or one of those lunchables she loved to eat before it spoils rotten like everything else in the world.

Grabbing her hello kitty backpack (decorated with bright purple daisies and sunflowers), she stuffed all she could into it, along with the last remaining bottles of cold water.

That was the only thing she carried in her backpack, that, and a pack of children's underwear that her parents had for her when they fled their home.

Tears stung at her eyes as memories from the day before struck her mind. It was still fresh, and hurt so bad that it ached, but she remembered the promise that she made to her mother and father, the promise to live no matter how much it hurts, no matter how lonely she feels, to be a strong person and continue on. To hang onto hope even if there seems like there isn't any. She also made the promise to always believe in god no matter what happens. Blood curdling screams filled the air as she hid behind the dumpster, just as her mother instructed her to do. She knew if she didn't move quick enough, she'd be next on the menu.

She scrambled away as her mother yelled the words "run!"

The yelling of the word "run" was filled with the most painful, blood curdling scream that she has ever heard. That was the part that she wanted to forget; the sound of pain and the sound of her mother's flesh being torn apart as she took off down the ally. Her mother sacrificed herself so that she could get away. She knew that in a situation where it was between life or death, her mother would sacrifice herself to save her husband and her children. Unfortunately, her father was out with his crew when they attacked the hotel, and neither her or her mother knew if he made it out alive.

Despite the pain, death and destruction surrounding her, she wanted to remember the good things about her parents, to keep them fresh alive in her heart. That way, her mom and dad weren't really gone. She knew that if she kept good memories with her, she would be able to stand strong and fight against this deadly world, because she would be fighting for her family.

Climbing up the ladder from further around the corner, she almost slipped and fell down to the group of walkers that gathered below her, but somebody grabbed her hand and yanked her up. It was a bit forceful.

"Ow!" She whimpered, rubbing her wrist.

"Sorry, are you alright?" The man bent down to help her up, being more gentle this time.

She stared at him at first, before handing her hand to him. She didn't respond right away, and settled for poking at the ground with her feet instead.

The man studied her for a bit, removing the binoculars slowly from his eyes. He previously was going to speak into the device that was in his hands until he got bumped into by the little girl, who couldn't have been no older than eight years old, her height reached to about the hips or lower. She was a cute little thing even with blood smeared all over her clothes and face, some looked like it was even in her hair.

He sighed when she didn't respond and went to speak into the walkie-talkie instead, "Hey, you. Dumbass in the truck."

The girl jumped a little, not expecting that kind of talking from him. He continued as he looked at her out the corner of his eyes, "Are you comfy in there?"

"Hello?"

"Hello? Are you there?"

"Yeah,"

"You had me wondering," The voice on the other end of the talkie said, followed by angry static.

"I have eyes out here,"

"How many?"

"Dude, you're surrounded. If you were on this side and saw it for yourself, you'd be having a major freak out."

"Is there an escape route?"

"Yeah, you have an opening on your left. I'd make a run for it if I were you."

"You're kidding me, right?"

"It's not as stupid as it sounds. If you move now, you still have a chance. With me so far?"

"So far. What about my guns?"

"Guns?"

"Yeah, I had a bag full of ammo and I dropped them on the way over here."

"Forget them, they're not important. What's important is that you get the hell outta there. Like, sometime today, preferably."

"Alright,"

"What do you have on you?"

"A berretta with one clip. 15 rounds. "

"There's an ally down the street, 50 yards. Be there. I'm on my way right now."

Krystal and the asian guy (Korean? Chinese? She wasn't sure) looked over the edge of the roof, watching as the other man that he was talking to pulled the top of the tank aside. He slipped out, and as soon as he did so the herd noticed him immediately, even though majority of them had been distracted by the fallen horse, the other half of the herd's attention was brought back to the police officer as he dashed across the street, shooting at them as he sprinted down toward the buildings.

Krystal's heart pounded in her chest as the officer continued sprinting, she was worried about him getting swarmed because of the amount of noise the gun was making.

Together, Krystal and the guy who helped her earlier made their way to the location, both of them pulling down the ladder. When the officer finally made it to them, he made his way up quickly. Now over the roof, the trio rolled the rest of the ladder up into the walk way. The metal clicked with a loud "ding".

"Are you the new sheriff that came in to clean up the town?" Glenn asked, tilting an eyebrow.

The "sheriff" tilted his hat, "Not my intention."

"Yeah whatever," Said Glenn with a roll of his eyes. "Yee haw."

"Dumbass." The officer placed his hands on his hips, giving a light bounce on his feet.

Krystal giggled, "Nice to meet you both. My name's Krystal."

"Rick."

"Glenn."

Glenn looked over the roof edge again, grimacing at the sight below. "Oh man. If we're lucky, it's gonna be the fall that kills us."

Rick and Krystal stared at him like he grew a thousand alien heads, causing Glenn to smirk. "What? I'm a glass half full kinda guy!"

The growling and moaning from the walkers grew louder and louder below them.

Rick raised his volume, "did you put up those barricades?"

"No," Glenn sighed, licking the dryness out of his lips, "I guess somebody did when the city got over run."

"Back at the tank, why'd you stick your neck out for me?" Rick asked.

Glenn smiled, "Same reason why I helped this little girl. Call it naive hope if you want, but if it were me, I'd be wanting somebody to help me outta that hell hole."

"Thanks." Rick followed Glenn and Krystal toward the door that led to the back of the department store's storage room.

"No problem," Glenn held the door for them, the door slamming in after them with a strained shriek.

A/N: I know this has been done before, but I don't really care. This is MY version of what's been done. I'm tired of running into these types of stories and the author never finishes it and leaves you hanging. You guys won't have to worry about that with this fanfic. I love to write, and reviews motivate me. They give me hope that people enjoy reading what I write, and it helps to get feedback as well through the reviews. Let me know what you think in the comments, and if I should keep things unique from the show or leave it as it is!