Before Apocalypse

I was sitting in my room alone as always. Although I was only eleven I couldn't help but have an urge to make myself bleed. I got out a small, thin blade I had pulled out of a razor. Slowly and cautiously I slid it against my skin. It swelled and became red and inflamed. I repeat this pattern several times before my door slams open.

"Emily? What are you doing?" A boy, my best friend, stood at the door. His light complexion turned even whiter making him an unhealthy pale. His bright turquoise eyes turned into a sharp light green, and filled with pain. He watched the oozing red drip down my arm, and stain my light gray shirt. Then he saw that this wasn't the first time this happened.

"Go away, Carl!" Tears welled up in my eyes. My short hair covered my face as I tried to hide my arm. "Just go away!"

He hadn't listened to me. At first he just stood there beet, but then he ran up and hugged me. He cradled me in his thin arms, and I saw he had tears in his eyes too. His short dark brown hair grazed against my dampened cheek. After awhile I got up to clean myself up, and he wanted me to promise to never do that to myself again. I never could keep a promise.

"So what brings you here?" I asked Carl who was sitting next to me leaning against my bed frame. He let out a deep sigh and made sure we didn't make eye contact.

"I wanted to tell you my dad is in a coma." He mumbled and a soft tear ran down his cheek. I felt even worse than before. I'm sure I didn't help him much.

"Oh Carl! I'm so sorry!" I didn't know what else to say. He was so young and didn't deserve this. I hugged him all over again, and nuzzled my face in his chest. Soon after his mother came to pick him up, and it was time for him to go home. Who knew that was the last glimpse I had of him.

Chapter 1

"Carl go get the bags so we can go," Rick had ordered to his son. Carl quickly nodded before running off to get the bags filled with cans of food. The group was off again to find shelter or some kind of safe place, and to find Beth. Since they didn't have a car anymore maybe even find a vehicle.

Coming back with bags, Carl opened the front door to declare he was ready to go. Waiting for the rest of the group, Rick took some bags, and headed outside. Later the whole group was ready, and together they were off.

Terrifying screaming was coming from a distance, but it sounded like a girl. She must be running because it didn't sound like she was getting eaten. The group wanted to keep walking, but all anyone could say was, not again.

You could hear the screams louder and the group began to follow. Not to long after you saw a little girl, not to much younger than Carl, trip over a log and some walkers in a horde just inches away from her. The group did not waste any time killing each of the walkers, and after all of them were dead the were ready to leave.

"Leave her," Rick growled turning around and heading a different direction from the girl, but to Carl this was wrong. Not in just the fact that she was a little girl, but the fact that under all the terror and tears she looked so familiar.

"We can't just leave her. She's too young." Carl protested standing right next to her. The girl didn't even look at the gentlemen; she looked so far from reality. She just laid on her side hugging her knees in terror.

"There's nothing we can do for her. I'm sure she has a group and they should be here soon." Rick replied very apathetic. "We can't make the same mistake twice and you know that."

"You can't be sure she has a group, and the least we could do is bring her to safety! She'll die here if we leave her."

"If you really wanna bring her, you take care of her. We don't have time to take care of someone who isn't experienced. We can barely take care of ourselves, Carl, what makes you think we can handle someone else to worry about?" It was a serious question, but it just felt wrong to leave someone so vulnerable. It didn't matter if his father was right. He wants all the survivors he can get. Getting his old life back is all that matters, and something about this child can bring back good memories.

"I'll take care of her. You don't have to worry about anything." Carl promised, but Rick was in disbelief. There wasn't much he could do, and they didn't have time to worry about making a decision. Rick just nodded his head and Carl didn't waste any time helping her up. She wept some more, but didn't object to following the group. She just went along with everything, but maybe that's because she doesn't understand what was happening to her.

Awhile after finding the girl, there was a road and a museum which looked like before the apocalypse was very popular. It was huge, it had columns on the building and two rusted old water fountains on both sides of the building. Everyone stood in front of two large gates that blocked them from going inside.

Rick slowly opened the gates that seemed ominous. "Daryl and Glenn you follow me to check out the left side. The five of you check out the left side. Carl, you stay behind with your baby sister and her, I can't risk you getting hurt." Rick ordered as the group followed. This seemed the safest place and everyone was quite happy, but it also seemed very odd.

The girl they picked up hasn't talked at all. The only sound of her voice that they know is her screams in fear. She had been clinging to Carl for the last hour like a baby clings to their mothers. Still, Carl finds something familiar about the young girl. Was it the sound of her weeps? Her strong grip around his torso? The warmth of her tears? The look on her face? He just couldn't tell.

"We should find a place to hide till they come get us." Carl suggested, but he got no answer. He began to walk and the young girl didn't protest. They found somewhere small and stranded. The young girl finally had let go of Carl when he set down his little sister and his gun on the soft grass. Carl sighed deeply and sat down, the girl followed his lead.

"What's your name?" Carl asked the girl, who, since he really got to get a good like at her, looked even more familiar. The girl scrunched her small nose and wiped her tear stains off her face. It looked like she was debating whether to talk or not. Finally she inhaled deeply and held, deciding whether to let out in a useful exhale.

"Sarah McCarthy..." Her voice was soft and quiet. Carl's eyes grew big as it all fit together. Her dark hair, which was much longer since he last saw her, her soft blue eyes, which has gotten duller as well, her soft pale skin, and everything...just everything. She looked a lot skinnier though... and sicker... and even sadder. Which surprised him because of how sad he knew she was before. It was his childhood crush...

"Sarah? Is that you?" Carl asked in disbelief as he stared with happy wide eyes. She raised an eyebrow and blushed. She didn't reply to that.

"It's me... Carl Grimes... Don't you remember me?" The hope faded from his eyes as he looked desperately at her. She looked up shocked as she remembers. Her childhood friend. The only good thing about her past, really.

"Carl?" She tears up again and her lips quivers. "You're alive?" In a moment of unexplainable relief, she clung to him again. She sobbed in his chest like she had in their last encounter, but she hugged him tighter.

"Yeah... I'm alive." He smiled softly and softly wrapped his arms around her and rested his head on hers. A small tear gently rolled down his cheek as he softly whispered to her, "I'm glad you're alive too..."

"Hey, I found them!" Carl and Sarah both hear from a distance and look up as the group comes running after Daryl, the one who must have yelled.

Rick is the second one to reach the kids. "The place is clear, let's go." He had ordered and Carl responded immediately. He grabbed his gun and stuck it in his pocket before carefully picking up his baby sister. He then motioned to Sarah to follow, and she got up and followed him to the large place that was now their new home for now.

The grouped walked into the deserted building, which must have been some kind of factory. It was big and empty, with only a desk at the front, and a door behind it. Was it hotel?

Even though Rick and the other made a thorough check of the place, they still moved slowly around the place like a walker could jump out at any second. They had not.

Their was an elevator, but it didn't work anymore. Plus it looked too creepy to use anyways, or at least Sarah thought. So, the group took the stairs, and sure enough, it had been a hotel before. Although no one must have used it in years. It was dusty and it looked as if nothing had been there because it was new looking. The doors were big and fancy looking, with crystal door handles. The hall was long with a red carpet being the only thing accompanying the hallway besides us. Other than that, it was creepy looking.

"Okay everyone choose a room, but stay close in case something happens." Rick declared, and with that, everyone was opening door and taking a room. Some were going in together and others were going in alone.

Before Carl could walk in a room alone, Sarah quickly put a hand on his shoulder and looking at him desperately. "Please don't leave me... I don't wanna be alone again." She pleaded, her blue eyes shining brighter than he had seem them. Carl gave her a warm smile in return.

"Come on," he replied putting a warm hand on the middle of her back. Rick had taken the baby away and gone into a room of his own.

Carl led Sarah into the room he was going to go in before Sarah had stopped him. "You can have the bed, and I'll take the floor." He said since there was just a king sized bed in the middle of the room.

"Are you sure?" Sarah asked, feeling selfish for making him sleep with her, and then to top it off with her making him sleep on the floor.

"Of course," Carl gave her a reassuring smile as he gathered some blankets and laid them on the floor before lying down himself.

Sarah was too exhausted to argue with him at the moment, but in the morning, she'll be ready to give the bed up. Sarah laid down on the bed, and she hadn't even gotten into the sheets before falling asleep. Carl smiled sweetly up at her and fell asleep himself.

AN: Hello! I made this quite awhile ago but I was rereading thing and thought it was actually pretty good so I finished off the chapter. Review and follow if you want me to continue. I know it's taking place awhile ago, but like I said, I wrote this like, last year, or sooner than that. I dunno. Hope you enjoyed it!