This story would not be in existance if a reader of mine, Hot-Black-Box, hadn't suggested it.

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or settings from AMC's The Walking Dead. If I did, would I share Daryl with everyone? NOPE.
However, I do own the OC in this fanfiction.

The most distinct memory I had inherited after the world went to hell was how Woodbury came to be.

In the very beginning, it was just ten of us- Philip, Shupert, Martinez, Haley, Karen, Noah, Milton, Penny, Annette, and me -holed up in an apartment living off of crackers and canned ham. Those were the days when our weapon count was low and our anxiety high. Philip was the one who mainly took care of us. He and a few others would make runs into the town we were hiding in and get us more supplies.
Not too long after, Philip shared his idea of clearing out a few blocks of the town and barricading them to turn it into a safehaven. No one really objected, mostly because he held a certain authority over us, and also, no one wanted to run the risk of getting booted out of the group.

While everyone was eliminating the biters, Noah was watching over Philip's now dead nine year old daughter, Penny. Annette was bitten, then left so that no one would have to put her down or see her change.

Six days later, we had cleared out three blocks and barricaded the sides. Not all of us were comfortable at first, but soon enough werealized that there was no way for anyone or anything to get in without being seen or heard.
As the months rolled along, survivors came across our settlement and were welcomed with open arms.

The area of the town was called Woodbury.
Our home.

"Are you sure that's safe?" Karen had heard about my plans to go along with Philip- who was now called the Governor by most -and a few others to go on a supplies run. Karen and I never were fond of each other.

"Obviously! The others will watch my back even if I don't need them to. If I wasn't sure about it, I wouldn't go!"
She gave me a dirty look before walking off. Sometimes, I really want to put a bullet into her head...

I shook off the unpleasant encounter and went over to the truck we were taking, so I could claim my gun for the trip. Martinez and Shupert had already picked theirs, leaving me with a tiny handgun. I sighed as I picked it up and checked how many rounds were in the chamber. 'Every time,' I thought to myself. 'I always get the tiny guns.'

It was most likely Merle's idea to leave me with the smallest weapon, that sexist bastard. He always made remarks about how I belonged in the kitchen, not with the stronger men.
It aggravated the hell out of me, yes, but I didn't dare let any of my emotions show to him or he'd really be all over me then.

Once I added a few more rounds of ammo to the gun, I took my usual spot in the back seat on the left where I had a window to look out of.
Sometimes if the ride was long enough, I'd make a little game of how many times I could count the blood stains on the glass. My high score was thirty-four times with twenty-two spots ranging in size and shade of red.

I sat there for a few minutes until everyone finally got in, weapons loaded and ready to fire. The only good thing was that Merle wasn't seated beside me; he was up front in the passenger seat next to Philip.

As Haley opened the front gate for us, I noticed that we were the only ones going. On a normal day, we would have, at the very least, three trucks. But today it was just us. I was about to say something, but vetoed it.

Never backtalk to Philip or else you'll regret it.

My eyes drifted to the now clean window, free of any blood stains. I let out a small sigh, unintentionally catching the attention of him.

"Everything alright back there, Nicole?"

I jumped a bit in suprise.
"What? Oh... yeah, fine. Just a bit bored..."

He nodded and looked at me through the rearview mirror.
"Not much longer, don't worry."

For the next half hour, I resorted to counting shrubs we passed in hopes of making time go by faster.

The area that we were going to collect from was a small housing development, maybe ten miles from Woodbury. They all seemed to be in good condition, if you could look past the corpses, blood, and trash everywhere, and windows sloppily nailed shut. Some doors were open, others were closed, and some were gone.

Philip pulled up to the curb and stopped the car. A few biters stumbling along the street stopped and began to head our way. I was the last one out, my pocketknife drawn and open. The three biters that were closest to me came towards me. I plunged my knife into the female one's head, causing her to fall to the ground. A smaller one, maybe a young teen, recieved a stab in the eys. It was the final one who put up a fight. As I raised my knife, about to stab it, the dumb bastard lost its footing and came crashing down on me. I let out a small shriek as I hit the concrete, my knife absent from my hand.
A low, guttural growl emitted from his throat as he snapped him teeth at me. Within seconds, blood was splattered on my face and neck as the freak went limp. Merle had used his blade to kill it.

With a grunt, I rolled the creature off me and got to my feet. Philip and the other were nowhere to be found.

"He wants ya to go to tha' house over der'."
Merle pointed out the house on the end of the block. I nodded once and hurried off, not giving him the pleasure of recieving a thank you.

Honestly, that bastard didn't deserve one.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!

I'll update as soon as I can, but I also have to update my other stories as well, so there may be a few days wait for the next chapter.

:)