Hi again! This is my new story. I couldn't wait any longer to post it so I decided to just do it. This is just a draft really. I needed to get it out since it was bothering me and taking up all my thoughts. I'm not giving up on my other stories but this idea had been running around in my head for some time now and it's all I could think about when I tried to continue writing any of my other stories. Please tell me what you think. It is going to be a Rick x OC story with maybe a few other pairings but I'm still not a hundred percent sure yet. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy and to any of you that read OTR, Revenants or G&G, I am working on those. It may take me a little while but I'm hoping to get a chapter out for at least one before June. (Don't hold me to that, just be on the look out. I'll try my best to get something out though.) ENJOY!

P.S. This is NOT spell checked/grammar checked so please excuse any mistakes!

Chapter 1: Flesh Eaters & Crossbows

I could hear the growling getting closer to me as I ran. The backpack I had was heavy, slowing me down tremendously. I dared to peak behind me before letting out a quiet squeak. There had to be close to thirty or more flesh eaters chasing me. I quickly whipped my head back in front of me so I wouldn't trip and fall. That would be just my luck. To have the first time in my life that I'm clumsy and it actually gets me killed.

Three months earlier

"Jocelyn, c'mere!" Jake shouted. I cringed at the volume he yelled. The emptiness of the parking lot made his voice sound all that much louder.

"Shut up!" I hissed at him once I ran over to him. He rolled his eyes.

"There's no one here and there're fences surrounding us. We're fine," he told me, not bothering to whisper. "It's not like the flesh eaters are going to just randomly appear," he spoke in a condescending tone that made me want to hit him.

"Anyways, look at this!" He pointed to a white car that was hidden away almost. If someone wasn't paying attention, they would miss it. Written in blood was Wolves not far. My eyes widened. The blood was old but that still didn't make it any less creepy and ominous. We shouldn't be here.

What the hell?!

"We need to leave," I stated. "Let's get Zoey and Daniel," The two were over by some trucks. They were having trouble opening the backs to look for anything we could use. Jake rolled his eyes but followed me to Zoey and Daniel anyways.

"Wait, Daniel, try this one," Zoey pointed to the one next to the one they were standing near. That one wasn't rusted shut so they would be able to open it easier. He started to lift it up as me and Jake walked up to them. I knew immediately something was wrong.

A strong smell of rotting flesh hit my nose. My eyes widened for the second time in less than five minutes. "Close it!" I shouted but it was too late. As Daniel opened the back of the truck, the other two also opened. Quickly looking up I realized they were rigged to all open once one was opened. Not even a second later, a flesh eater had Daniel by the shoulders and was biting into his neck. Zoey screamed and tried to grab Daniel but another had grabbed her and did the same that the other had done to Daniel.

Jake swore and grabbed my arm, pulling me away from the flesh eaters. We ran through the lot trying to get to the fence on the other side. As we got closer, Jake looked behind him and quickly looked back to the front, his eyes narrowing. He let go of my arm.

"Keep going straight, get over the fence. I'm going to lead them away. I'll meet you back at the car," Jake didn't give me a chance to object because he was off in a different direction, calling out and dragging his metal bat on the ground to bring attention to him. He weaved in and out of the cars that were still in the lot. He looked back once at me, nodding before looking back forward.

Looking behind me I saw that there was only a few following me, the rest went after Jake. As I got closer to the fence I took off my backpack, chucking it over it the metal links and over the top before I launched in the air, grasping the fence and quickly climbing my way over it.

Once at the top I turned and dropped on the other side. The few flesh eaters rammed against the fence, reaching their fingers through the metal links. I grabbed my backpack, putting it back on. Backing away from the fence and the growling I stopped abruptly. I could still just see Jake on the opposite end of the lot. He was almost to the fence when I saw him go down. I brought my hand to my mouth to stop a sob from coming out. I could hear his screams and I close my eyes tightly.

I was with the three of them from the beginning and in a span of ten minutes they were gone. I was alone for the first time since the outbreak.

I walked the short distance to the car before getting in and driving away. The tears were falling rapidly. I didn't know what to do; I didn't know where to go.

Present

It was like déjà vu. Three months ago I was doing the same thing, running for my life from a group of flesh eaters. The world had a sick sense of humor.

I had been walking through the woods, thinking it'd be safer, more places to hide and everything but obviously I was wrong. I was near a stream filling up my canteen before I heard twigs snapping. I whipped around closing the top over the canteen before quickly shoving it in my backpack.

No more than a few seconds after, a flesh eater made its way out of the cover of the trees and headed straight for me. I sighed in relief, grabbing my knife from my belt loop, not bothering to use my gun if it was only one, and started for it before I stopped. Behind it, maybe ten feet, was a wall of flesh eaters. Realizing even if I used the mediocre pistol, it would just attract even more, I turned around and headed through the stream to get to the other side of it. Once my feet touched the other bank I took off running, not bothering to look behind me.

Now here I was, running for I don't know how long but I was getting tired quickly. I thought about just waiting it out in a tree but a group that big would easily knock any of these trees down in no time.

I weaved between the trees trying to think of a plan to outsmart them. I looked to the right of me seeing a sturdy tree. The trunk of the tree had to be over two feet in width and the height of the entire tree was a few stories high. Looking behind me I could just barely see them, so I turned to the tree and quickly climbed far enough up it that no flesh eater would know I was there unless it smelled me. I watched in amazement from the tree as the flesh eaters ran-or stumbled-passed the tree I was in. Waiting a few minutes, until I could no longer see the corpses, I slowly made my way out of the tree and started walking in the opposite direction the corpses went in.

After a while, I could see ahead of me that the trees were thinning out and I don't know if that was a good thing or not but I picked up speed, weaving in and out between trees. I could now see that there was a road. Quickly I made my way out of the trees and onto the road.

I looked both ways down the road, seeing it was deserted. Standing in the middle of the road I looked closer seeing a glint of light a ways down the road, still in the opposite direction the horde of flesh eaters went in. I headed towards it. As I got closer I realized it was a motorcycle.

I walked up to it, opening one of the saddlebags before I felt something push into my back, hard. I tensed up. I hadn't even heard anyone walk up. I mentally cursed myself.

"Best step away from my bike if ya know what's good for ya," a gruff voice said from behind me. I whipped my pistol out from the side of my pants where it was tucked in my shirt and I turned around. My eyes landed on the crossbow that was pointed at my head. My eyes narrowed I brought up my hand and aimed my gun at him. "Put it down," he growled.

I didn't. I continued to just glare at the man. As I glared I studied him. He was clean–cleaner than me–which means he has a camp somewhere. He couldn't live on this motorcycle. He had on a leather jacket with a tattered button up underneath it. His jeans were also tattered, ripped at the knees. His hair was greasy but nothing like mine.

His unfriendly look got even more unfriendly as I continued to aim my gun at him.

"Put it down, I said!" He growled out.

"Or what?"

"I'll shoot ya,"

"If you wanted to shoot me, you would have already." I stated, bringing my arm down. I tucked my gun back in my pants and moved a little bit away from the bike. The man grunted but didn't say anything or move. "You got a camp 'round here?" I asked. He hesitated.

"No," his voice was level but I knew he was lying. I smirked.

"I'm not stupid. You're clean. You have no supplies, no food, nothing."

"What's it too you?" This time it was my turn to hesitate. What was it to me? Did I want to go to his camp? Did I want to be surrounded by people?

Itwas important to me. I did want to be surrounded by people. I knew I was slowly going insane. With nothing but my thoughts, memories, nightmares to keep me company, it would kill me eventually.

"You can't survive on your own anymore. I like living." He stared at me for a while, most likely thinking over what I just said. Finally he lowered his crossbow that he hasn't taken off me and took a deep breath.

"How many walkers have ya killed?" I looked at him curiously, tilting my head to the side.

"A lot."

"How many people have you killed?" I swallowed and looked away from him, closing my eyes. Memories flickered behind my eye lids before I quickly opened them again.

"Two..." He looked at me intensely before asking one final question.

"Why?" I took a deep breath and looked him in the eye.

"Because if I didn't...he would have killed my daughter." I watched as he subtly looked around before he nodded. I continued, not really wanting to say the next part but knowing I had too, "the other–" my voice cracked. "Her...to save her." He stared for a while, putting together what I had said.

"Got a place–a prison, a few miles away. There's people. Lots of 'em," he got on his bike and motioned for me to get on also. Drained from the emotional war going on in my head about the man...my daughter, surprised that even thought I didn't out right say what had happened but knowing he knew what I was talking about and still letting me come with him. I climbed on behind him, not comfortable with putting my hands around him, grabbed in to the side of the seat.

He turned his head, "what's your name?"

"Jo," He nodded his head once.

"Daryl." I nodded back to him. He started to bike and quickly we were off, driving down the road to this prison.

...

It was a beacon of hope. Fences, solid buildings, safety. I wanted to cry out in relief. It was beautiful. That was something I'd never thought I'd think; driving up to a prison and thinking of it in a positive way.

Driving down the dirt road I had a fleeting thought. What if these were former criminals? What if they were murderers?

You're a murderer, you idiot! I squeezed my eyes closed, shaking my head to get rid of the thought. Daryl slowed down as we got closer to what looked like a medieval contraption. On each sides of large, almost military grade metal doors were sharpened logs pointed out towards the road. It looked very…evil. The doors opened and Daryl drove the motorcycle through and up a slight hill a little ways before stopping and turning the bike off. Slowly I got off and stood awkwardly next to the bike as a man came walking up, his face blank.

"Daryl," His voice was deep and laced with a hard southern accent. He was growing a beard that was splashed with gray. His curly brown hair was pushed back with sweat. A brown button up fit him well; his sleeves rolled up passed his forearms. Overall he was very attractive. I realized I was staring and quickly looked away. Daryl got off his bike and walked away towards the man. They talked in hushed tones a few minutes before they both walked back to where I was.

"I asked 'er already," Daryl spoke, the man nodded his head.

"What's your name?" The man asked.

"Jocelyn, but I prefer Jo," I stuck my hand out towards him. He looked at me curiously before walking closer and taking my hand.

"Rick," He made eye contact neither one of us looking away for a few seconds before I looked away. He let go of my hand. "Let's go introduce you to everyone." He started to walk up the hill, leaving Daryl behind near his bike.

I hesitated before following Rick through another gated fence. This one, led to a "common area". It was just a plain cemented area. In the middle it looked like they were in the middle of building a pavilion. Off to the side was a basketball hoop and a set of metal bleachers.

Rick spent the next few minutes introducing me to everyone in the prison. Briefly explaining to me they had an encounter with a man who was called the Governor from a town called Woodbury, he introduced me to the people who they had saved from the town after he had opened fire on the men and women he brought to fight the group who was here before them. The people from Woodbury were in a different cell block from the others.

Cell block C was where Rick said I would be staying. The other cell blocks weren't being used and the cell block the Woodbury people had been in was already overcrowded.

Meeting everyone had been overwhelming and I couldn't remember any of their names other than Rick's and Daryl's. After Rick had gave me the tour of the prison he left me in my own cell. I sat down on the bunk bed of the bland, gray room. I started to feel light headed and realized with a quickly that I was breathing heavily and my vision was spotty. I didn't know what was happening but the last thing I could remember was falling forward off the bed and hitting my head on the ground before unconsciousness took me under.