Hello everyone! This is my first even fanfic, so I'm very excited to be publishing it! I hope that everyone likes it! Thanks so much for reading! xx

Chapter 1

Desiree awoke to the rising sun. She looked around her, making sure nothing had changed from the night before. Streaks of pink and orange darted across the brightening untied herself from the tree branch that was currently her bed and packed up her supplies, including her crossbow that was positioned across her lap all night. She never went anywhere with her crossbow. It had saved her more times that she could count.

She sighed and looked across the tree line, her feet dangling off the side of the branch. The leaves on the tree were turning red and brown, reminding her that winter was just around the corner. It could be beautiful, she thought to herself as she looked around at her surroundings, if the air didn't constantly smell like death and decay and she didn't have to worry about zombies trying to eat her every second of the day.

The landscape brought back memories of her childhood. Swinging from the swing her dad had built from the large oak tree in her back yard while her brothers would rake piles of dead leaves together to jump in. Her parents chatting on the back porch while drinking her mom's famous lemonade. It was difficult, thinking about those memories. It reminded her that that house was abandoned and probably falling apart. But worse, that her family was most likely dead.

She thought about them for a moment, smiling at all the happy moments they all had together. She dreamed about them a lot. Sometimes the dreams were pleasant, but a lot of the times they were about the ways they could have possibly died during the chaos; a fire, starvation, or even biters eating them. Sometimes she felt guilty for not looking for them, but she knew that guilt and worry would just have her killed. So she just shook off those emotions, and focused on something else, instead.

Carefully and silently, she climbed down the tree to the soft earth below. A light fog filled the ground around her. She didn't like the fact that she couldn't see more than 10 feet in front of her, but she continued anyway, her crossbow loaded and ready. She had become an expert at stealth in the past two months. But she had to be if she wanted to live. She wondered that often, if this life was worth living.

At night, she would lay there in her makeshift bed, and twirl her pistol in her hands, marveling on how easy it would be to end it all. No more guilt or suffering or misery, just peace. But something stopped her each time. She didn't know if it was her stubbornness or just basic instinct, but she could never do it.

The fog began to lighten as the day went on. It was hot that day, and sweat began to bead up on her forehead. She wiped it off and continued on her way. She didn't know exactly where she was or where she was going, she just wanted to get as far south as she could before winter came. She guessed she was in Alabama, she thought she saw a car with an Alabama license plate a few days before, but she wasn't completely sure.

After a few more hours of walking, she came across a small gas station. She knew it was probably empty, but it never hurt to try. There was nothing; no cars, people, and more importantly, no biters. Quietly, she snuck around the building and went through the back door. Just as she thought, the racks were empty, but she did find a bag of chips and a bottle of Gatorade. She stuffed them into her backpack and continued looking around the place. She found a couple candy bars behind the counter and as she put those in her bag, she heard a bell ding. She guessed it was the front door, so she froze and crouched lower behind the counter.

"I know you're over there, sweetie," A man's voice said, sending chills down her spine. She knew not to trust anyone in this world, dead or alive. She grabbed her crossbow and jumped up. He seemed to be startled for a second, but remained his composure. "Don't move," She ordered, making sure she sounded tough and assertive, but he just laughed and took a step towards her. He looked like he could be a villain from a TV show. He was big, sweaty, bald, and was missing a couple teeth. "Whatcha gonna do, sweet cheeks, shoot me?" He said grinning a nasty, toothless grin.

"Uh… yah, that's kind of the point of the crossbow," She replied nonchalantly, hoping to get on his nerves. "Nice, hot and feisty…" He said taking another step toward her, "Just the way I like 'em." And with that he lunged at her, but before he got any closer, she shot her crossbow and the arrow hit him in the head. She took a deep breath before walking over to his now lifeless body and pulled out the arrow. "Told you I'd shoot," she whispered before hurrying out of the store, just in case he wasn't alone.

As she settled in for the night, she thought about how she would have acted a few months back if the same thing would have happened. She knew for sure she wouldn't have been able to kill the guy, but a lot has changed in the past couple months. She had changed. As she sat there, eating one of the candy bars and the bag of chips, she thought about that day. The day that changed her life forever.