Disclaimer: Own nothing. At all. Well technically I own a car. But I don't drive on roads. I only drive through houses. It's my brother's car.

Warnings and Notes: M for language, zombies, yucky zombie related stuff, and light sexual non-porny scenes much, much later on. Gays, lesbians, straights. Also major character death. Animal shifters and zombies. Basically a retelling of the entire series with mostly everyone as shifters. Kind of a cross between shifters and weres, actually. Only shift into one animal but can do so at will, having nothing to do with moon cycles. Also, they have tails in their human forms. Because Rick with a doggy tail is hot. Will sort of follow the TV show, with a few things changed and left out. Also, first Walking Dead story and first shifter story. Also, I hate Lori. Oh so much. If I could rip her to shreds in the first chapter, I would. But then there would be no Lil' Asskicker. And that would make Daryl sad. So yes. Lori bashing.

Pairings: Eventually Rick/Daryl. Mentions of Rick/Lori, Shane/Lori, Daryl/Carol, Michonne/Andrea. Glenn/Maggie, of course.

The Walking Dead: The Shifting Dead
Episode 1: Days Gone Bye

"Lori wants a divorce." He said it out loud. For the first time. He put it out there, into the world. He couldn't take it back. Not now. Not ever again. He leaned back against the seat and stared up at the roof of the police cruiser they were sitting in. They'd been on break, catching a quick bite to eat before something tore them away. He hadn't really meant to blurt it out like that. It just came out. And he couldn't take it back now.

The man beside him, his best friend and partner for near his whole life, Shane, looked over at him. He swallowed the french-fry he's been chewing on and frowned but didn't look surprised. "She tell you that?" He asked slowly. Real slowly.

Rick wondered briefly if Lori had told Shane, if they had discussed the matter. If so, why hadn't Shane warned him? They were friends, brothers. Rick pushed the feeling away. Shane was his friend, his brother. He wouldn't keep something like that from him. Besides, they'd never been the most... friendly with each other. Back in high school, Lori downright hated him. She only tolerated him as much as she did because she didn't have a choice.

"No, not exactly." Rick said. "I got home last night earlier than I told her I'd be. I wasn't trying to sneak in 'er anything... but… she didn't hear me… she was on the phone with someone in the kitchen… a friend, her mother… a fucking lawyer for all I know." He mumbled and shook his head. "But she was asking about filing for divorce. How long it would take and how much money. And then about fighting for custody." He sighed and shook his head. "Fighting, Shane! For custody! I just… I don't understand! I don't know what I did to make her hate me so much."

Shane shook his head quickly. "Nah, man. She doesn't hate you."

Rick glanced over at him. "She wants a divorce and she wants to take my pup from me." He snapped. "Certainly sounds like she hates me."

"You don't know the whole story." Shane shook his head again, picking at the fries. "She could have been talking to anyone about anything."

Rick let out a sharp, bitter laugh. "Kind of hard to miss the words divorce and custody."

Shane pushed it. "She could have been asking for a friend."

Rick rolled his eyes and would have argued more but a voice came over their radio. Emergency assistance requested. He didn't get the change to question his wife.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Eyes fluttered open, blinking in the bright light filtering in the window. Momentarily, eyes and brain weren't working together. They weren't connecting correctly. His eyes saw the stark light, the dying flowers, the dead monitors. His ears as well weren't connecting. Voices around him he's been hearing echoed like they were still buzzing around him. His brain showed him his partner and he heard the man laugh, some joke about work.

He let out his own sharp laugh, a raspy cough following. His throat was weak, his voice unused. "Yeah and last year, when you showed up to the station's Halloween party all wolfed out and dropped that bloody… bone…" His eyes finally began to focus on his surroundings correctly. Alone. He was alone. Hadn't he... didn't he just…

He turned his head, craning his neck. "Shane?" He called out loudly. "You takin' a piss or something'?" He didn't get an answer. "Shane?" He stilled and strained his ears. All they brought him was silence. He waited a few more minutes before hitting his call button. "Nurse!" He croaked out. "Nurse help!" Nothing.

His eyes shifted again and he noticed the monitors, the machines helping to keep him alive… weren't. No beeping, whirling, anything. He moved to sit up and something stopped him. He looked over. His right wrist was shackled to a metal bar on the bed. Thick, heavy iron cuffs, specially made for those like him. They were tight and bit into skin. It ached from where the iron touched him. He frowned at them. He rolled on his right side and felt along the bar. It wiggled a bit as he pulled on it. It wasn't the most stable. Temporary? Was it some cautionary thing? Something to keep him from getting up? Possibly from hurting himself more?

His fingers grazed over something and he twisted it. He twisted it again and the loose screw loosened more. A few more turns and he pulled it away. He let it fall and slipped the cuffs from the bar. He rubbed at his wrist where the metal was touching him. The pain wasn't terrible, just annoying. The iron reacted with his skin, made it impossible for him to shift, not that he even thought he could in his condition.

Gingerly, he pulled himself up, staggering a bit. He leaned against the bed, trying to get his bearings. He took a deep breath and staggered to the door. He leaned against it for a moment, catching his breath. He leaned his forehead against the cool metal of the door and closed his eyes. His tail drooped. He could smell the stale air, sense the emptiness behind the door. Some dream… some bad dream he needed to wake up from.

He pushed off the door and grabbed the knob. He pulled it open and pushed the stretcher blocking it out of the way. He stumbled down the hall and the stench of death hit him. He coughed and covered his mouth. A noise behind him, a groan, and he spun around. A girl sat on the floor, a blood splatter on the wall behind her head. It looked like she'd been shot. Blood and dirt clung to her. Her eyes were hollow and her skin… Rick swallowed the bile rising in his throat. And then she turned her head towards him and lifted her decaying arms. Rick's eyes widened and he stumbled back. She was alive? How was she alive?

Another groan behind him and there was another one. Rick bit back a scream and pushed past them, trying not to touch them. He came to the end of the hall and the doors were barricaded. The sign above read Cafeteria. But on the doors, the words, DON'T OPEN DEAD INSIDE were spray painted on. As he stood there, staring at the door, long gray fingers slipped between the doors, trying to grab at the thick chain and padlock.

Rick staggered back and turned down another hall. After a few minutes, he finally reached the entrance and staggered out. The sun was bright and warm on his skin. He blinked and lifted his hand to shield his eyes. The parking lot was full of… he turned away. He didn't want to see that. All the bodies… head down, he hurried down the road. He slowed a bit as he cut across a small park.

She was lying on her stomach, reaching for him. Just a torso, her spinal column and intestines dragging along the ground behind her. Rick bit back the impulse to vomit, even though he doubted anything would come out.

He hurried along the road, as fast as he could. He slowed as he tired, rested for a moment, and set off again. He never stopped long. Every time he did those things…

He shivered involuntarily and let out a huge sigh. His house loomed in front of him. It looked perfect, like the last time he'd seen it. He ran through the yard and leapt up on the porch. The front door was left unlocked and he ripped it open. "Carl? Lori?"

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

The day he met Lori was the day his and Shane's school was closed down and every kid in their small town was bused to the high school in the next town over. Actually, Lori was the first human Rick had ever met. He had never left the small town he and Shane had grown up in before then. It was a small shifter only town and his parents had been wary of humans, for good reasons they told him. Rick had grown up hearing horror stories from his grandpa. His grandpa would turn around, show him the ragged stump, and tell him the story of how a group of humans had cut off his tail. Humans were horrible, awful creatures who would shoot him as soon as they saw his tail.

Rick never thought himself a coward. But that first day the bus drove up to the human high school, he slouched down in his seat, afraid to look out the window at the humans. Shane, on the other hand, was excited. He moment the bus stopped, he grabbed Rick's hand and pulled him from his seat of safety and pushed him forward. Rick wanted to open his mouth and ask that if Shane was so excited, why wasn't he the one going first? But he didn't want to admit that he was scared to his fearless friend.

"That's the shifter bus, isn't it?" An excited female voice filtered in as they neared the door.

"Lori! Don't get too close! They're dangerous!" A second female said. Rick rolled his eyes and bit his lip.

"They look so normal!" A third said. "How can we tell the difference?"

"Don't you pay attention in biology?" The first voice, she'd been called Lori, said. "They all have tails. Like dogs."

Rick bristled, the fur on his tail standing straight up. They didn't all have tails! They weren't all dogs! And they weren't all dangerous! Who the fuck was this human who… He stomped down the stairs of the bus, glaring. And he saw her.

Dark hair, dark eyes, she was standing a few feet away. She held her books against her chest and she smiled widely. Her two friends had fled the moment Rick appeared in the doorway. But she remained. "Hi!" She stepped forward and thrust her hand out towards him. "I'm Lori."

Rick stared at her for a moment. Then he slowly and cautiously took her hand. "Rick." He said softly. Shane cleared his throat behind him and Rick smiled. "This is my friend, Shane."

Lori glanced around him at Shane for a moment. "Hi." Then she turned her attention back to Rick. "We have 20 minutes before classes start. Can I show you around?"

Rick nodded slowly. "Yeah. That'd be… fine."

"Great!" She shifted her books over to her left arm and reached for his arm with her right. "So… Rick… you're the first shifter I've met."

He laughed. "You're the first human I've met."

"Really?" She pulled up and turned towards him. "How's that possible?"

Rick shrugged and looked down. "I ain't ever left home."

She nodded slowly. "So… do you… can I… see it?" She was trying to be polite. Her eyes where always on his, she never looked down or tried to get behind him. And he instantly liked her for it. He shrugged and turned slightly. His brown and black tail curled up but was still, a bit nervous. "That is so cool!" She squealed. His tail wagged a bit and she giggled and he turned back around, a slight blush creeping up his neck. And she giggled again. "It wagged like a dog's!" She said with a squeal. "It's cute. What is it?"

Rick was about to answer happily when Shane stomped forward. "It…" He snapped, clearly way more offended than Rick was. "Is a German Shepherd. HE is a German Shepherd. Not an it."

"Shane!" Rick snapped, pushing his friend back.

Lori glared at him. "And what are you? An asshole dog?"

"Wolf." Shane growled.

If Lori was the least bit intimidated, she didn't show it. She turned back to Rick and they started walking again. "So a German Shepherd? Like a domestic pet?"

"Pet?" Shane was still behind them, still riled up.

"Yes." Rick said quickly, trying to cut Shane off. He tried to keep his voice calm and level, tried to keep all his attention on Lori. Ignoring Shane was an easy way to diffuse him. "Like a pet one. Just… bigger. And… sort of smarter."

"I didn't know shifters came in domesticated animals." Lori said, sounding genuinely interested. "All they teach us is about wolves." She inclined her head back a bit, gesturing to Shane.

Rick laughed. "It's because wolves are the loudest."

"Fuck you!" Shane growled.

"The wolf gene is usually more dominate." Rick continued on, ignoring his friend for the moment. "So yeah, wolves are more common among the mammal shifters."

She nodded and went on. "So both your parents were domesticated then? Shepherds?"

Rick shook his head. "Mom is. Dad's wolf. It happens sometimes. It's rare." He shrugged. "Just got the short end of the stick."

Her smile widened. "I don't think so."

She was something new, something different and unexpected. Something exotic. And Rick fell hard. Lori was his life, his everything. And she was fascinated by everything about him, his family, his culture. They got married as soon as they could and Lori gave birth to a son. And that tiny puppy became Rick's life, his everything. And slowly, Lori began pulling away. Rick didn't want to think it was jealousy. How could a mom be jealous of her pup? But she was just always pissed at him. He never did anything right anymore.

"Talk." She said one night after their son, Carl, had gone to bed.

Rick had returned from a late night at work. It had been a long, bad day. He was beyond exhausted. He just wanted to lie down and sink into the mattress and sleep for days. He turned to her, saw the anger in her eyes, and turned away quickly. He rubbed at his forehead and sighed. "Not now, Lori. Please." He didn't hide the begging in his voice.

"No!" She snapped. "You won't talk to me. All I hear from you is later."

He sighed and shook his head. "It's been a long day."

"Rick! You stupid dog!" She hissed under her breath.

His tail twitched, irritated for a moment, then it stilled and drooped. He was too exhausted to fight with her.

But she wasn't. She threw up her arms and stepped closer to him. "Talk, yell, scream, call me a bitch if I'm being one. Just something!"

"Mom? Dad?"

Rick looked up as Carl appeared in the doorway. Damn her for yelling and waking him up. Rick offered his son a small smile. "Everything's fine." He said with a nod. "Go back to bed."

Lori shook her head. "Sometimes I wonder if you even care about us at all."

Rick's eyes widened and he glared at her. She looked from Rick to Carl and her own eyes widened, like she hadn't meant to say it out loud. He shook his head, turned his back on her, and reached out to Carl. He patted his son on the head and spun him around. "Back to bed."

Carl latched onto his arm tightly.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

He turned and stepped back outside and fell to the ground. Their house was empty. Carl… Lori… everyone. He'd woken up to some nightmare… He heard a gunshot and turned around. His eyes widened as he saw the kid. "Carl?" And then everything suddenly went black.

It didn't last for long. A few minutes, maybe more. And then he was opening his eyes again and there was a man in his face. "Were you bit?" The man asked forcefully.

Rick blinked. He was having trouble focusing on the man bending down in front of him. He tried to lift his hand and found both tied to the headboard of the bed he was in. Damnit. Cuffed again. He let out a sigh and blinked again.

"I'mma give you one more chance to answer me." The man practically spat at him. "Were you bit?"

"Bit?" Rick repeated.

"Your wound." He said. "What's your wound? Were you bit?"

Rick shook his head. "No, I wasn't bit. I got shot."

"Shot." The man repeated. "That all?"

Rick nodded. "I just got shot."

The man tilted his head, peering at him. "You mind if I look?"

Rick wasn't in any position to say no. He shrugged and laid his head back down on the pillow. He remained still except for the occasionally irritated twitch of his tail.

The unknown man began peeling back his bandage. After thoroughly checking the wound, he moved on to check Rick's legs, feet, arms, back, everywhere. The man pulled back. He let out a sigh and cocked a small smile. Relief. "You can't be too careful anymore." He pulled a knife out of his pocket. "You uh… you try anything, I won't hesitate to kill you."

Rick watched him and nodded slightly.

The man bent forward and cut the ropes from his wrist. "Sorry, couldn't get the cuffs off."

Rick rolled on his side, hugging his wrists to his chest. He rubbed where the metal touched his skin again. "I don't doubt it." Rick mumbled out. "Police issue. Not supposed to come off easy."

The man let out a laugh and leaned back against the wall. "No, guess not. Name's Morgan. My son you met briefly, Duane."

"Rick." He offered, rolling over and sitting up.

"So Rick." The name named Morgan sat back, settling down. "You don't seem like you know what's going on."

Rick shrugged. He didn't. "I woke up in the hospital." He said slowly.

Morgan nodded. "You've seen the dead people?"

Rick nodded.

Morgan shook his head. "Not just the ones they put down. The ones that came back."

Rick glanced sideways at him. "That man you shot?"

Morgan narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "That wasn't a man."

"I knew him." Rick said softly. "He lived down the street."

"Before, maybe. But not anymore. Wasn't a man. Was a walker."

Walker. Rick ran a hand through his hair. "What… what happened?"

Morgan stared at him a moment. He glanced down at Rick's tail. "It started with the shifters." He looked back up to meet Rick's eyes. "A strain of the rabies virus, they said. Reports of shifters shifting an' eating people. So they started rounding up shifters, thinking it was some disease only passed between shifters until the first humans began falling too. Then suddenly, everyone was trying to eat each other and… it just escalated. It was chaos." He shivered and shook his head. "Before the broadcasting stopped, they said head to Atlanta. Big refugee center there, where the military was headed. Said the CDC was working on a way to fix this. Everyone was packing up to head there…"

Rick glanced down at the handcuff still on his wrist. He'd spent half his life protecting people, trying to do right for the shifter and human communities alike and risking his life. But… he sighed. He couldn't really fault them. At least he was only cuffed.

Morgan continued on. "We didn't attack you because you're… Duane, my boy… he took you out with that shovel because he thought you were one of the dead… not because…"

Rick smiled. "I got a tail?"

Morgan nodded. "Terrible things were done to the shifters they rounded up. But I ain't like that. I mean… I'm human. I ain't a shifter. But I ain't like that. They ain't ever done anything to me."

Rick nodded slowly. His eyes drifted to the doorway. He could hear the boy in the other room, could smell him. "But your boy is."

Morgan stiffened for a moment, just for a moment. Then he quickly nodded and visibly relaxed. "Yeah, he is."

"Wolf." Rick said.

Morgan sighed and nodded. "Didn't mean to try and hide it. Just…"

Rick nodded, understanding. "You have to protect your pup."

Morgan nodded again. "Yeah. He's all I have left now that…" He stopped and looked away. "My wife… we were on our way to Atlanta. And she… it was fast. It was so fast. She got bit and the fever… it was so fast. An' after… I couldn't leave her like that but I couldn't… I couldn't do it..."

A car alarm suddenly started blaring. Rick jumped up, Morgan followed. "It's alright. Just one of them getting too close. Happened a few nights ago."

Duane ran into the room, immediately going to the lanterns and turning them off.

Rick edged closer to the window and pressed against it. He looked out and saw the flashing lights. Morgan and Duane crowded in to look as well. And Duane gasped. "She's back!" Morgan immediately pulled him from the window and drug him towards the bed. Duane fell against the pillow, unable to stop the cries wracking his small frame. Morgan bent over him, rubbing his back in slow circles.

Rick moved towards the door as he heard the scraping getting closer. He looked out the peephole and saw the rotting corpse in the nightgown. She stepped closer to the door and Rick suddenly saw Lori. He wondered if he'd be able to do it. If he'd seen her rotted corpse reaching for him… her blackened, bloodied teeth snapped at him… or Carl… he stopped himself there. He blinked his eyes and turned around. He wouldn't let himself imagine Carl…

Duane's whimpering had tapered off and Morgan sighed. "The sound draws them in. Shouldn't have fired that gun. They get more active at night. The cool air or somethin'."

They were silent for a moment. Duane shifted and opened his eyes. "Did you ask him dad?"

Morgan laughed. "We got this bet going. You being shot and the handcuffs, my boys says you're a bank robber."

Rick laughed and smiled. "Yeah, that's me." He shook his head. "Sheriff's Deputy."

Morgan's eyes widened. "A cop? Never known any shifter cops."

Rick shrugged. "Ain't no laws that say we can't be."

"I didn't mean…"

Rick smiled. "I know. My partner and I… we were the only ones in the academy. Everyone wanted us out but no one had the balls to do anything about it. We were the best and… we had to fight for everything."

They talked for a while. Morgan asked more about his partner and their academy days. Then he asked about the name Carl and Rick told him. Eventually they all fell into a restless sleep.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

The next morning, after some more convincing that these 'Walkers' were indeed dead, Morgan showed Rick how to take them down. "Take out the brain." The man said. "Anywhere else, they just keep coming. Has to be the brain."

Rick felt sick to his stomach after beating that first one down with the baseball bat. Sure, he had killed people before, gunned down dangerous criminals. But that was out of duty, justice, his job. And a few times, self defense. But this… this felt different. He could tell himself it was a form of self defense. But still… He collected himself and marched towards his house. "They're alive, my kid and wife." He said over his shoulder as Morgan and Duane followed him inside.

Morgan pulled up and looked doubtful. "How do you know?"

Rick pointed to the walls. "The pictures. Anyone breaking in to scavenge wouldn't take pictures."

Morgan let out a sharp laugh and leaned against the wall. "Pictures. Same thing. My wife, she's grabbing photo albums while I'm grabbing survival gear." Morgan shook his head, obviously lost in memories.

Rick made a quick round of the house again. Still no one. But clothes were gone. Food too. It looked like Lori had packed a bag. He headed back to where Morgan and Duane were sitting. "You said Atlanta."

Morgan nodded. "That's where everyone was headed. I bet that's where your wife and pup went."

Rick headed into the kitchen and grabbed a set of keys. Twenty minutes later, he was unlocking the doors to the police station. He led Morgan and Duane in without hesitation. He finally was able to rid himself of the irritating handcuffs, tossing them angrily to the ground. He rubbed at his freed wrist and the three of them headed back to the showers. They all enjoyed the hot water still left and Rick had laughed as Duane danced around under the spray. He shaved quickly and finally started to look like himself again. They dressed quickly and Rick raided the weapons locker.

"You pull the trigger, you have to mean it." He said to the young wolf pup. "Always remember that."

"Yes, sir." Duane said with a serious nod.

Rick packed a bag for himself and helped Morgan gather some things as well. On their way out, Rick tried again to convince them to come with him. But Morgan declined. He needed time to practice and teach Duane… and to work up the courage to put his wife down. "Take this." Rick said, handing him a radio walkie. "I'll turn it on everyday at dawn for a few minutes. That's how we'll find each other when you leave."

"You're a good man, Rick. Dog or not."

Rick smiled as he climbed into his police cruiser and set off. He drove for a little while in complete silence. Then he flipped on his radio and turned to the emergency frequency. "Broadcasting on emergency channel. On highway 85 heading to Atlanta. If you can hear my voice, please respond." He repeated himself several times every few minutes until the signs over him read Atlanta. He slowed the car and pulled to a stop. A military vehicle was blocking half the road. He stepped out of the car slowly and opened the back door long enough to grab the gun bag.

"Hello?" He called out and got no response. He pulled out his gun and held it up ready as he slowly inched towards the large vehicle. He peered in and found it empty. Nothing. Rick breathed out and there was a scratching behind him. He spun around, his gun up again. The last thing he was expecting to see was the trio of dogs staring at him. Two large Rottweilers and a short bulldog. They were scruffy and filthy.

Rick lowered his gun and slipped it back into its holster. He shifted the gun bag slightly as he bent forward a bit. He narrowed his eyes, let out a growl, and stared the dogs down. All three immediately sunk down, touching their bellies to the ground. They rolled over, baring their necks and bellies submissively. Rick smiled as he straightened up. "Up." He said and the dogs scrambled back up. "Come on. I could use the company." He turned and skirted around the road block, the dogs a step behind him.

He turned down the block and stopped. Something loud caught his attention. It was coming from above him. He looked up and caught the reflection in the windows of a large building. A helicopter. Relief flooded through him. There was a helicopter! He ran forward towards the sound. The dogs caught up with him, catching his excitement.

They rounded the corner and Rick pulled up. A wall of walkers blocked him. Eyes wide, he turned and tried to go back the way he'd come but it was suddenly blocked as well. He turned and headed down another road. A large tank blocked the road. A few strangled barks reached his ears and he turned. One of the walkers reached for him, grabbing onto the bag instead. He surged forward and had to abandon the bag. He dashed for the tank, ducked down, and rolled under it.

And that's how he found himself locked in a tank with a dead walker he just took out, deafening himself momentarily by the ricocheting bullet. He closed his eyes and let out a loud, long sigh. This was where he was going to die. He knew it. He was never going to see Carl or Lori again.

"Hey!" The radio in the tank cracked. "Yeah, you. The dog in the tank. You chasing your tail in there?"

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Author's Notes: No horse because cops are hot and so are cop cars. So I wanted Rick to keep the car. But I gave the walkers some dogs to eat instead. XD