Chapter 1

A car zoomed down the street, the teen inside eyeing the rode carefully as she drove. 'This is definitely the worst day ever!' She thought pouting as she approached a red light. She took out her phone quickly, still glancing at the light to know when it would change.

"Hey mom, gonna be late picking you up." She murmured as she typed, sending the message and putting her phone down as the light turned to green. The girl seemed hurried, so it added to the reasons why she didn't notice how empty the road was. She soon pulled in front of a tall building where her mother worked. Sitting back in her seat, the girl sighed and got out her phone again.

"Where are you?" She sent the text, scrolling through the number of others she'd sent her mother that day. It wouldn't have been odd if her mom had answered, but she hadn't. The entire day, the teen's mother hadn't answered her calls, texts, and hasn't come home for lunch as she always did. That alone caused the girl's mind to wander. It was then she chose not to wonder and get her mom herself, exiting the car with little to no hesitation. Backpack slung carelessly over her shoulder, the girl went up to the building and opened the front doors. The first thing to greet her was the dark. 'Weird…' She thought, taking a wary step forward. Luckily, with the time of day it was, enough light streamed through the windows to allow her to see the room clearly. Unfortunately, it allowed her to see the room clearly. Blood was splattered across the floor and on the walls, desks were knocked over, and papers littered the floor. The girl looked around in horror, holding a hand over her mouth as she took another shaky step forward.

"Mom…?" She managed to say, her voice shaky and uncertain as she slowly walked forward. She heard a low groan and looked around frantically.

"M-Mom?" She saw someone laying on the ground, leaning against a wall as their head moved slightly.

"Mom!" The girl ran forward until she was crouching in front of her mother, worriedly looking her over.

"Mom! Oh my gosh, are you hurt? What happened here?!" The girl asked. Her mom groaned again and turned up to look at the terrified teenager. She gasped at the sight before her. In her hurry to check on her, the girl hadn't noticed the large, gaping wounds in her mothers shoulders and abdomen along with the cold, lifeless eyes that stared back at her. A milky white that wasn't normal for any person the girl had ever met. Anyone living, anyway.

"Mom?!" Her mother lunged forward, teeth bared and arms reaching forward to grab the girl as she screamed and fell backwards. What was once her mother growled, crawling forward as her daughter shrieked and desperately tried to escape. 'What the heck happened?!' She thought, looking around for someone or something to help her. Her back hit a wall and the girl whimpered as the remains of her mother crawled closer to her. She closed her eyes, awaiting death's cold, cool grasp. A gunshot fired off and the girl opened her eyes to see her mother laying in front of her, dead. A single bullet leaving a hole in the side of her head.

"Roslyn!" The girl, Roslyn, looked up and saw a woman standing over her with a worried and surprised expression.

"Carley! What happened? What's going on?" Roslyn asked, standing up and warily eyeing the gun in Carley's hand.

"I'd tell you if I knew! All I know is, we have to get out of here, now!" Carley grabbed Roslyn's hand with her free one and burst from the building, practically dragging the poor girl down the street.

"Where the heck are we going? What happened to my mom?…why did you shoot her?!"

"First of all, being quiet is a good idea! Second, that wasn't your mom…not anymore."

"What are you talking about?!" Roslyn tore her arm from Carley's grip, standing in front of her as a range of emotions ran through her dark blue eyes. Carley stared silently back at Roslyn, a sorry look on her face that said it all yet said nothing at the same time.

"What are you talking about?" Roslyn asked, slower this time, as she looked over at Carley, her eyes filled with confusion and worry.

"Roslyn…I'm so sorry." Was all Carley could say. Roslyn felt tears prickling at the edges of her eyes and instantly turned her gaze to the ground.

"It's okay, Roslyn. Shh…I'm here. I'm here." Carley walked over to the teen, instinctively wrapping her arms around the girl protectively as she felt tears hit her white dress shirt. 'Mom…she's dead. No. She was dead before the gun went off. What's going on?' Carley released Roslyn, holding her shoulders as she spoke in a soft tone.

"Sweetheart, I'm sorry about this. I promise, once we find somewhere to hide, I'll explain as much as I can." Roslyn nodded, wiping her eyes as she looked up at Carley. Carley was always like family to Roslyn, working closely with her mother and acting like an aunt of sorts. Her and Roslyn's mother had been good friends before…this. Thinking about it just pained Roslyn more as she quietly followed Carley down the street.

"Where are we going?" She asked quietly.

"Somewhere. Hopefully with supplies."

"Why do we need supplies? Supplies for what?"

"This…THING going on around us…this isn't normal. People have been fleeing the city, shops have been robbed, and people have been…"

"People have been what?"

"Eaten."

"What? Why?"

"I don't know. What I do understand is that people are dying and a handful are turning into what your mom is…was."

"How come I didn't know about this sooner?"

"You guys don't live in the city. You couldn't have known. Besides, the school's been shut down for awhile, so you couldn't have even come here."

"…why is this happening?"

"I wish I knew." Roslyn nodded, looking around as she followed Carley in complete silence. After awhile, Roslyn noticed a small group of people following them and alerted Carley. Her eyes widened and she grabbed Roslyn's arm, running as fast as she could while dragging the now scared teenager behind her. Growls and groans were heard from all directions as Carley dragged Roslyn down the street, the sound of her heels mixing with the sound of Roslyn's sneakers hitting the pavement. One of the zombies grabbed Roslyn's ankle and she screamed, covering her mouth instantly as she fell to the ground. Carley tried to shoot the zombie, but her gun was jammed and she watched in horror as Roslyn tried to fight of the walking corpse. A guns of went off and Roslyn watched in surprise as the corpse dropped dead. After Carley helped her up, the two girls turned to see who'd fired a gun. A man stood there, with neat brown hair and matching colored eyes, a pistol held shakily in his hands. The gun fell from his hands as he swore loudly, eyes locked on the zombies behind Roslyn and Carley.

"Dang it!" Roslyn yelled, listening as Carley got the gun working and began shooting at the corpses.

"Roslyn! Go!" She ordered, still shooting at the corpses as Roslyn watched, her feet like stone, keeping her in place.

"C'mon!" The guy who'd saved her snapped Roslyn out of it and, after another look at Carley, she ran after the guy.

"What about Carley?! We can't just leave her there!" Roslyn shouted.

"She looks like she'll be fine!" The man yelled back. Roslyn stopped in her tracks, her lips set in a thin line as she stared at the stranger.

"I'm not leaving without Carley. If you wanna be such a coward, fine. Be my guest." Roslyn looked around until she saw what she was searching for. The gun the man had dropped. It wasn't far from where she now stood. If she ran…

"Roslyn or whatever your name is! Stop!" The guy called after her, but his pleas fell upon deaf ears as Roslyn scooped the gun up in her hands and aimed. Without any hesitation, she fired, a bullet soaring from the barrel of the gun and straight into one of the zombie's forehead. It fell along with the next few that dropped at both Roslyn and Carley's hands.

"Don't. Mess. With. Me." Roslyn gritted her teeth, walking forward as she shot more corpses until she stood side by side with Carley.

"I'm not staying here. You're either coming with me and the cowardly lion, or getting attacked." Roslyn shot another zombie. Carley managed a smile and nodded, running behind Roslyn as she raced back to the guy, who'd stuck around and now ran side by side with the duo.

*Days later*

Roslyn woke up slowly but surely, sitting up and stretching as she looked at her group. After escaping the zombies, who were apparently called walkers, the guy who'd helped out introduced himself as Doug. Apparently, he used to be an IT technician and was basically a geek. Roslyn didn't mind much. With all she'd been through the past few days, that was at the bottom of her priorities on things to think about. 'How'd this happen…why'd it happen to mom…is dad okay…are we gonna make it out alive?' All these questions swarmed Roslyn and kept her awake half of the night, besides the occasional scream of someone unfortunate enough to fall victim to the walkers. What made that worse was that she couldn't do anything about it. They were safe when they stuck to roofs, thanks to her suggestion, and they didn't need to compromise their position at any time. Roslyn sighed, looking over the side of the roof, watching as the few up and walking zombies shuffled around. She glanced at Doug and where he slept silently, though never soundly. But hey, had any of them recently? Carley sat a few feet from Roslyn, awake and alert as she watched the walkers roam around on the street before them.

"Anything new?" Roslyn whispered. Carley shook her head, eyes locked on the street below.

"Are you hungry?"

"I'm fine Roslyn. Thank you, though."

"Are you sure?"

"Roslyn, I'm fine, okay?" Roslyn nodded silently, reaching for her pack and unzipping it to reveal it contents. Granola bars, water, nail file, a gun and some ammunition, a notebook, and more items probably deemed worthless by anyone else. She'd already emptied her bag of her textbooks and schoolwork, knowing full well she wouldn't need it again and filled it with the essentials. They'd stopped at her home a few days back to find Roslyn's dad and grab some supplies, but didn't find him. Luckily, there's was plenty for them to take. Food, bandages, and a couple handheld guns her father had kept locked in a safe for emergencies. Now was as good a time as any to use them. While at the house though, Roslyn couldn't help but grab what she felt she needed. A small scrapbook, her phone, the notebook and pencils, an army knife, and a watch that ticked softly in her wrist. Besides that, she had what was essential for survival. Roslyn sighed again, zipping her bag back up and facing Carley, her knees pulled up against her chest with her arms wrapped around them.

"When should we leave?" Roslyn looked up, seeing Carley facing her seriously.

"Why are you asking me?"

"I feel like you should have a say in this. After all, you're eighteen and a half. I think you're old enough to help in important situations."

"Like this?"

"Exactly like this."

"We should leave now then."

"Can I ask why?"

"It's dark enough bandits can't see us and light enough so we can still see walkers."

"Smart girl." Roslyn grinned at the compliment and shook Doug's shoulder.

"Doug…Doug…we gotta get moving."

"Hmm…what? We do?" Doug asked tiredly, a yawn following shortly after.

"Yep. Hide undercover of slight darkness."

"Alright." Doug shrugged, standing up as the girls did the same.

"Where should we head?" Roslyn asked, turning to the two adults as she slung her back casually over one shoulder.

"That way. One of my producers got sick while we were here, so we went to a drugstore. It's a fairly good sized one. We could gather what we need and hide there for awhile."

"It's a good idea. Still, we can't stay longer than we need to." The adults nodded and the three of them left the roof to head towards the pharmacy. Carley led the way, Roslyn and Doug following closely with their eyes peeling as dog tried to make conversation.

"So…how do you two know each other?" He asked.

"She was a friend of my mom's and nearly my guardian…probably is now."

"Why do you say that?" Carley shot a worried glance back at them.

"…my mom's…dead."

"Oh…sorry. What about your dad? He's bound to be somewhere."

"I don't have a clue where he is. Could be anywhere."

"Oh…" Doug got quite, sensing how the topic had taken a wrong turn and an awkward silence settled between them.

"How far is this drugstore, Carley?" Doug inquired, breaking the silence that had taken up most of their walking time, which, according to Roslyn's watch, was at least an hour.

"Not too far, I think. Trust me, you'll know it when you see it." Carley answered, smiling back at Doug and Roslyn. Doug managed a small smile in return, but Roslyn stayed silent and expressionless, her gaze stuck to the cement. Carley's sympathetic eyes softened and she turned back around, continuing to lead them forward. Some time later, Roslyn looked up and saw a simple store a couple meters from where they stood, the word 'Drugs' written in bright red lettering on the front.

"Is that it?" She asked, pointing at the store. Carley nodded, hurrying her pace a bit.

"Thank goodness!" Doug sighed in relief, rushing beside Carley and towards the pharmacy entrance.

"You think the door's unlocked?"

"One way to find out." Roslyn stated, twisting the knob in her hands. Locked.

"Great…it's locked."

"Should've expected that, I guess." Carley said, disappointed.

"Calm down, I can pick a lock. Some, anyway. I'll test it out and see if I can."

"You might wanna be quick about it…"

"Why?" Doug pointed a shaky finger at a large group of walkers headed straight towards the trio.

"Give me a few minutes!" Roslyn pushed one her pistols into Doug's hands, taking a wrapped cloth out of her pocket and beginning to fumble with the lock. Carley immediately began shooting walker after walker, Doug soon getting the idea and following along.

"C'mon ya stupid lock…" Roslyn muttered, cursing when one of her lock picks failed to do its job. She tried another, moving slowly and carefully as she tried to open the doors. Another quite curse escaped on her breath as she failed a second time. She knew she didn't have much time or much to work with, so Roslyn worked as fast as she possibly could.

"Hurry Roslyn!" Carley shouted, her bullets gradually running out as more walkers approached closer and closer to the trio's position.

"I'm trying!" Anther fail and Roslyn threw her cloth wrapped tools to the ground in frustration, picking another at random before getting back to work. Roslyn's eyes widened with intense fear, her breathing escalating as she tried again and again to unlock the door.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon! Work!" She shouted, desperately trying to unlock and occasionally banging on the doors with her fist. Many gunshots began going off, definitely more than Carley and Doug could fire a once. Glancing up, Roslyn saw three individuals making their way onwards them, two of them holding guns and firing at the advancing zombies. Her eyes widened when they stood beside Carley and Doug, helping out as if they'd been part of their group forever. One, a man, handed his gun over the other guy in their group and knelt beside Roslyn.

"Is it open?" He asked, trying to smile as nonchalantly as possible when one is being attacked by walkers. Roslyn shook her head warily, studying the stranger. He only smiled and tipped his hat in reply to Roslyn's cautious yet curious look.

"I think we can help with that. Larry!" The larger, older man who'd taken the other's gun turned around at the sound of his name.

"We need this door open, of you can manage it." The other man, Larry, nodded, reluctantly, and lumbered over. He threw his shoulder to the door and it shook, but didn't open. The second time, however, he kicked the door with enough force to fling it open and ran inside.

"Move!" The other shouted, letting Carley, Doug, and the woman he'd been with storm inside. Larry came back out holding a lock and helped his friend close the gates of the store and lock them tight. He grabbed Roslyn's arm and dragged her inside, her large blue eyes seeing walkers struggle against the bars before the doors slammed shut before her.

"Let her go. Now." Carley demanded sternly, staring the guy still holding Roslyn's arm with narrowed eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" He said, releasing Roslyn and walking back a bit. Roslyn stood up, brushing the dirt from her jeans and shuffled over to Carley quietly.

"Who are you?" Carley asked, her tone a bit more gentle this time.

"I'm Glenn." The one who'd led Roslyn inside introduced. He looked like any other Macon citizen, with a cap and jacket, his hair as black as Roslyn's and dark eyes. He seemed nice enough, at least.

"I'm Lilly. That's my dad, Larry." The woman said, gesturing to herself and her father who was sorting through shelves. He was a big guy with greying hair and stern brown eyes that matched his daughter's own. Lilly had the same stern look Larry did and straight brown hair. It seemed obvious that she was in charge of their group of three.

"We explained ourselves, so who the heck are you?" Lilly questioned, hands on her hips as she looked at them all in turn.

"Carley."

"I'm Doug."

"Name's Roslyn." Lilly seemed satisfied and soon joined her father in searching the store.

"Hey, what're you doing?" Roslyn asked, arms crossed, as she stomped over to Larry and Lilly.

"Grabbing supplies."

"The supplies we had first."

"You mean our supplies."

"Your name isn't on them." "

Neither's yours, princess." Roslyn's eye twitched and she glared at Larry.

"Look, I have no problem with sharing, but you can't just barge in and take things like that. Especially considering there's more mouths to feed now that you're here."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Larry turned and stood up, towering over Roslyn's short, thin form.

"We were heading here since six in the morning and planned on leaving once we were packed. However, due to circumstance, we're all stuck here until there's no walkers or, at least, enough for us to handle."

"Are you blaming us?!"

"Indirectly, yes."

"Roslyn! That's enough!" Carley gave Roslyn a serious stare, shutting the girl up almost instantly.

"Look, if we're gonna be stuck here, we have t make the best of it. Besides, there's strength in numbers. That way, if anything goes wrong, it'll be easier to handle. We all are gonna get along whether you like it or not!" Larry and Roslyn became quiet, but that didn't stop them from scowling at each other.

"Okay. You're right." Roslyn sighed in defeat, knowing she couldn't argue with Carley.

"So, are we gonna get along or not?" She turned back to Larry, holding a hand out with an expressionless look.

"Only because I don't have a choice." Larry growled, pushing past Roslyn and checking out more of the store's shelves. Roslyn rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything. What was the point in fighting? Survival was at the top of the priority list. 'I have to survive…that's it.' She thought as she too began to rifle through the shelves.