When I started writing this story months ago I had decided to wait on posting it until it was complete. Well, it's not complete, BUT I do have a lot of chapters. I'll be posting this story differently then my others. Each weekend I'll post 2 chapters...one on Saturday and one on Sunday, that way I stay way ahead and won't be rushed in my writing being I have so much going on in my personal life.

This story is totally different from my others. Daryl and Carol will not be weak in this one, they will be like S3 Daryl and S5 Carol in it. I am also leaving out alot of characters from the show, but will have a few of my personal favs show up, lol. I'm also exploring the pairing of Mosita...Merle and Rosita to see how I like them together. This will start at the very beginning of the ZA and go from there. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have writing it.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own any of The Walking Dead characters and I'm NOT making any money off of them! I only claim the OC characters I created for this story.

For those on Twitter follow me at GrapeMystic or at FansOfCARYL and also check out my CARYL group on fb called Fans of CARYL with links to the new & improved CARYL website as well!

CARYL ON!


Carol Peletier stood in front of her TV, sipping on her lukewarm cup of coffee and watching the ciaos as it unfolded on the news. Her eyes narrowed slightly, taking in the scenes as they were broadcasted. People were coming down sick from an unknown virus and dying all over the country. Several other countries were reporting the same epidemic as well. But what was making it so much worse, the dead were rising and going after the living. Many channels were showing the carnage that was going on in the city streets, in quiet suburban neighborhoods, in hospitals, even on some military bases. The dead were eating the living.

Her eyes gravitated to the window as the flashing lights and PA system of a patrol car passing her house slowly caught her attention. Muting the TV, she lifted her chin slightly, watching as neighbors rushed out of their homes and to their vehicles trying to flee. Law enforcement was urging everyone to stay inside, to lock there doors...but no one was listening. The fight or flight mentality was kicking in and people were fearing for their lives and the lives of their loved ones.

Carol had no one with her though. She had been alone for the past three years now. At the age of thirty five, her husband had been incarcerated for not only the abuse he had put her though, but also for killing there only daughter, twelve year old Sophia. He had claimed it had been an accident, that he had tried to save her after his brutal attack on the two of them, but the evidence had been stacked against Ed Peletier and he had been sentenced to life with no parole. Shorty after his sentencing, Carol had filed for divorce.

The first year had been the hardest for her. She had grieved for her daughter and for her self until one morning, she woke up both physically and mentally. Carol pulled herself together, sold the house they had been living in and used the money from that to move to the other side of Atlanta and find herself a new home in Duluth. She found a job and had also enrolled in self defense classes after work. She also put herself into counseling to help deal with the loss of her daughter and to help herself be able to move on with her life. She had even began to make new friends, something that Ed had never allowed her to have.

Carol had changed, grew. No longer was she the weak, shy, and naive woman she had been for the fifteen years she had been married to Ed. She let go of that part of herself and let the true Carol come to life both inside and out. She was now strong, determined, self-reliant and independent.

Taking another sip of her coffee, Carol turned her attention back to the TV screen once more and turned the volume back on. Local government was issuing mandatory curfews and road closures, stating that no one should be on the roads unless it was an emergency. Branches of the military were being deployed to the larger cities to reinforce the law enforcement agencies within them to try to bring back some order. Hospitals were overrun with the sick and injured and outside triage stations were being set up with the help of the Red Cross and National Guard.

When she had seen and heard enough, Carol turned off the TV and set the remote on the small end table beside the couch. Taking her cup to the kitchen, she washed it out, setting it onto a dishtowel to air dry and leaned against the counter. Closing her eyes and letting her head fall back some, she took in a deep breath, releasing it as she reopened her eyes and then looked around. If she was going to stay in her home, Carol knew she would need to be prepared for anything.

Without hesitation, she went over to the stove and pulled the knife block to her. Pulling her largest knives from the wooden sheath, she sat them to the side and then looked around. She didn't have any guns in her home anymore, having gotten rid of the ones her ex-husband had once owned after he was arrested and sent away. Then she remembered the small machete she had in the garage that she used when cutting the overgrown vines in the back yard. Picking up the largest of the knives, she headed out the back door, looking around cautiously as she walked towards the small building. She could hear screams in the distance along with the frantic voices of the neighbors closet to her that were trying to flee.

Swinging open the door, she flipped on the light and within moments she had the machete in her hand. She headed back to the house, making sure the door was locked securely behind her and then gathered up the remaining knives and took them into the living room. Laying them onto the small coffee table, she then began to make a mental note of things she might need. Food, water, a couple changes of clothes, extra pair of shoes...and the small photo album that she wouldn't leave behind.

Carol spent the next hour moving around her house, gathering up the items she would need and ones she realized she could use. She had already made sure to close all the curtains and had turned off all the lights except the small lamp beside the couch. Even the doors to all the other rooms were now closed, sealing her off somewhat. A low roar outside in the distance began to grow and Carol turned the light off and went to the window. Barely pushing the curtain aside, she looked towards the sky, seeing three large helicopters fly overhead heading towards Atlanta. She watched until there blinking lights disappeared in the distance and then looked around her once quiet and peaceful neighborhood. Most of the homes were dark, only a few with lights on and people running back and forth between there and the vehicles they were loading up. There was no sign of the police that had came by earlier or any other form of law enforcement.

Everything had an eery feel now, one like Carol had never felt before. Letting the curtain fall back into place, she went over to the table, turning her light back on and deciding to get everything organized incase she would eventually have to leave the safety of her home.


Reviews are my cookies that keep me writing...so load me up with cookies! CARYL on!