A/N Welcome to 'The World Falls Dark'. No, this story isn't poetry, and it's not spiritual either. It's drama, tragedy, adventure, horror, angst, humor, friendship, hurt/comfort, suspense, crime, and a little romance as the fries on the side ;) Literature recently had a bit of a "Love Triangle Renaissance" with Twilight and The Hunger Games, so now they're kinda looked upon as cliché. But I still think they're beautiful. Keep in mind, this isn't going to revolve completely around the romance, there's other aspects of a story that are way more important. I will try to make it satisfying enough!

This will be written from the marvelous Clementine's POV,with the possible exception here and there. I'll include some readers' choices that help tailor aspects of the story, because that's always fun!

The story awaits!

They say third time's the charm, but that's only if you get two strikes beforehand. In my case, the third time was just another go at something I already achieved

I approached the cabin with the same goal in mind as both the other times: get in, get supplies, get out. Not a very difficult task, especially since their group was so clueless. I mean, they didn't even do anything about the big hole in their porch that led straight inside the cabin. It made it easy for me to just slip in and out in a flash.

I squeezed through the lattice, and next thing I know, I was under the cabin. It wasn't paradise down here. Dirt was all the ground had to offer, and strips of wood were over my head. Bugs scurried at my feet, I even saw a rat last time. There was a whole bunch of junk too, including various knick knacks, old china, and a Polaroid camera. I wonder what all this stuff was doing down here.

It was a trapdoor that led into the cabin itself. I had broken my knife trying to get it open the first time around, but at least it budged. I couldn't hear any footsteps or conversation above me, so I took that as a good sign, and made my way inside.

I found myself in a dark entryway with a door on one side. It was a rather odd room. I wasn't familiar with many houses that had trapdoors, but this place had a room that was clearly dedicated to one. I slowly opened the door and peered into the living room. Nothing stood out to me. Everything looked the same as I remembered; wooden walls, plaid furniture, fireplace roaring. The coast was clear.

The other times I've been here, majority of the group were asleep, except for this one old guy who stayed on watch (so much for that). I would've waited until nightfall, but I was too freaking hungry to hold stand by for that long.

I snuck into the kitchen with my gun at reach, just in case one of them caught me. I found the cabin after following the older fella and another guy. He had dark hair that went over his ears, and wore a baseball hat similar to mine. I couldn't really tell what he looked like other than that because all I saw was the back of his head. The two idiots didn't even notice me, and led me straight to their hideout. I heard snippets of their conversation, and they didn't seem too threatening, so that night, I decided to take my chances.

They had food scattered throughout the kitchen. The fridge was full of frozen meat – mostly fish – and the cupboards contained oatmeal, cereal, and granola bars. On the counter was canned food; beans, fruit, vegetables, etc. How did they have so much?

If someone told me I'd be doing this two years ago, I would've laughed and said, "Yeah, right." Yet here I was, sneaking into a cabin, stealing beans. Before Lee died, I wouldn't dare steal from anyone. To put in simpler words, I was a good person back then. But boy, did things ever change. After I put a bullet through his head, I went on by myself. He had told me to find Christa and Omid at the train, but when I got there, it was overrun. I spent two years on my own after that. People change under lonely circumstances. I think it'd be pretty safe to say, that I've changed.

After I loaded my backpack with enough food to last me a week, I decided that it was best not to stick around. I didn't know where the group was. It seemed strange that there was no sign of them being here. I headed for the door, but it wasn't me who opened it.

Oh shit.

"Well, well, well..." My gaze was immediately drawn to two men. One was young, with wavy brown hair and eyes the color to match. He was muscular, and held a machete in his hand. The other was the same man I saw on watch. He didn't look quite as old up close, but his hair was gray, minus a few streaks of black here and there, and I could make out creases in his forehead. I noticed he carried the same crossbow that he kept when on watch.

I stood there frozen, unsure whether I should shoot them or not. They both had weapons in their hands, so the odds weren't exactly in my favor. Kill one, get killed, right?

"Hand over the gun," the younger one spoke sternly. His voice screamed southern. I did as I was told, and placed my gun in his free hand. "What do you think you're doing stealing our food?" Surviving...? is what I wanted to say, but I remained mute.

"Not a girl of many words, huh?" the older man said. "Can you at least tell us your name?" I shifted awkwardly, but still no words escaped from me. "You know, it's really not that hard. My name's Pete, and this is Luke." Why was he trying to engage in small talk with me? I mean, you just catch me stealing from you and all you want to know is my name?

"Clementine," I said finally.

"Clementine?" the guy with the machete – Luke – said. "Like the fruit?"

"No, like the vegetable," I responded sarcastically. Yes, the fruit you fool.

Pete examined me with uncertainty. "I'm getting the others," he said.

"Wait!" I stopped him before he could leave. "We don't have to go any further with this. I can just return what I stole, and then I'll be on my way. You'll never have to see me again."

"And how can we be sure you won't come back?" Come to think of it, I probably would come back, only I'd be more careful next time.

I shrugged. "You can't. You can't be sure of anything these days." Pete's gaze shifted from me to Luke. Maybe that wasn't the right thing to say when on trial.

"So I reckon you're not with a group?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

I guess there was no sense lying. "I'm not...and I don't want one either, so can we just put this behind us?"

"Hold up, fruit girl," Luke said, and I rolled my eyes. "We can't just put this behind us. You stole from us. We all thought it was someone in our group being greedy. Blamed him even."

Pete shook his head. "Nick's either gonna be really happy when he finds out he's in the clear, or he's gonna whine like a bitch. There's no telling with that boy." Something told me we were about to find out. "I'll be right back. Watch her, Luke."

With that, Pete left, and I was stuck with Luke. His machete being back in its sling, he tapped his fingers on the door frame. I tried to put aside the fact that he was really attractive. Shit like that didn't matter these days.

"So how long you've been at it for?" he asked.

I mentally groaned. "Does it matter?"

"No, not really, but it ain't gonna hurt ya to tell."

With a sigh, I responded, "A couple weeks."

"Damn, you eat light. I didn't think you'd been stealing enough to last that long."

"Yeah, well we can't afford to binge-eat now that the world's gone to shit." Their food didn't sum up my entire appetite. I left the part out about me eating any animal that crossed my path. Deer, birds, once I even ate a dog. I didn't feel bad about it. Not after reading the name Sam on his collar. Not after roasting him on a spit. Not after eating every last bit of him. Nothing fazed me anymore. Two years ago, I wouldn't even consider such a sin. I used to love dogs. I used to love a lot of things.

Pete soon returned with five unfamiliar faces. There was a pregnant lady with skin a few shades darker than mine, and wild short hair. The thing that really stood out about her was the large bump on her stomach; she was clearly pregnant. Beside her, stood a man. He was dark as well, and rather big – not fat, just...big – and he wore these square glasses. A stern looking Hispanic man had his hand rested on the shoulder of a girl with raven colored hair and rose-tinted glasses. She looked to be a few years younger than me. Finally, my gaze fixed on a tall, lanky guy holding a rifle. He was young, and had these icy blue eyes that I was immediately drawn to. I've definitely seen that brown hat he was wearing before. I came to the conclusion that this was the guy I saw walking with Pete.

"Who the hell is this?" the pregnant lady growled. Hormones acting up?

"Her name's Clementine," Pete said.

"Like the fruit!" the teenage girl pointed out with a smile, earning her a scowl from the man above her.

"That's what I said!" I found myself rolling my eyes at Luke once more.

"What's she doing here?" the guy with the rifle asked.

"Caught her stealing food from us."

His blue eyes widened. "I told you it wasn't me!" He sounded really bitter. I'm guessing this was Nick?

The pregnant lady turned to me with a cold glare fixed on her face. "We need to get rid of this bitch!"

"Now hold on, Rebecca!" Pete stepped in. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Damn right. Unless she pulls out all that food and hands it right back."

"That's a little harsh," the big black guy added.

"Speak for yourself, I'm eating for two!"

The Hispanic man finally said something: "I don't agree that we should kill her, but we can't have her running loose after knowing what she's capable of."

This turned a few heads.

"Carlos is right," Pete said. "Luke? Nick? Why don't you escort her to the shed?" He placed a hand on my shoulder, which I swatted away immediately.

Shed? I didn't wanna go in no shed! They don't know how good they got it! I've been going on a nearly empty stomach for ages now, and here were these people in their cozy little cabin with full bellies. I'm sure if they were in my shoes, stealing would be on their list of priorities too.

"It'd be an honor," Nick, muttered, his tone coated with sarcasm.

The two men stepped closer to me. Luke extended his arm, as if saying, "Right this way." I headed towards the door.

The cool air nipped away at my skin. It was starting to get cold now that winter was approaching. If I kept a somewhat accurate count, it was mid-November.

As we walked in silence, I tried to match names with faces. I was already sure about Nick, Luke, and Pete. If I remembered correctly, the prego's name was Rebecca, and the Hispanic man went by Carlos. That left the big black guy, and the little girl.

When we reached the small, wooden shed, Nick gave me a nudge with his rifle. Stupid fucking rifle. I gritted my teeth. The last thing I felt like doing was spending the night in a shed. Who knows if it would only be a night? For all I know, they could keep me in there until I starve to death! My options were all pretty grim. I didn't have a weapon, so the only way out of this would be making a run for it.

Only just then, did Luke drop the gun he'd taken from me. It landed an equal distance away from the both of us.

A twisted thought ran through my head: I could snatch. I could snatch it, and then blow their brains out. That would things a whole lot easier. Time seemed to be going slow. I had two options, but the shed was neither of them.

[TAKE THE GUN]

[MAKE A RUN FOR IT]

A/N Hope you all liked the first chapter! Leave your vote in the reviews, but also tell me what you thought! I know it was kinda weird, Clem eating a dog and all. Sorry about that! This will probably be posted around 1am my time. What can I say? I'm a night owl. (Or a morning person, depends on the way you look at it.) Anyway thanks for reading! peeeace