Story Info

Title: Love and Walkers

Fandom: The Walking Dead

Rating: M

Pairing: Daryl/OC

Summary: Adrianne Hammond didn't believe the news when it said the dead were walking, but that quickly changed when Old Mr. Carter attacked her outside of her house. When her eyes opened to the new world around her, she couldn't decide whether to die or survive. When she meets a new group of other survivors in Atlanta, she has to choose whether to let more people into her life as it is now and just maybe they could save each other, or push them away and stay by herself. She just didn't count on meeting Daryl Dixon.

Spoilers: All Seasons

.x.x.x.x.

Chapter Info

Title: Brand New World

Number: 1/?

Warning: Language, Death, Gore, Blood, Zombie Violence

Author's Note: Hello, everyone! This is a story that's been cooking in my brain, and basically it'll go through the plot of the show with Adrianne involved. I just wondered what it would be like basically? I don't know why really... But anyway, comments are much loved, and thank you all for reading! I have another story, The Past Ain't Always Dead that I need to update, and that is coming very shortly! I just wanted to get this posted as well. Thanks again, all, and hope you enjoy! Quick note: the story info will only be on this chapter as it doesn't change, but the chapter info will change per chapter.

The first time she ever saw a walker was the day after she decided she was moving back to New York to be with her mother. Adrianne Hammond moved to Atlanta to attend Georgia State University when she was eighteen and just never left. Her mother never wanted her to go, but Adrianne didn't want to be stuck in one small town in Upstate New York for her entire life. GSU was one of the only schools in the country that taught English and folklore and that's exactly what Adrianne wanted to take. As a child, she always spent her time reading old stories out in the tree house her dad built for her before he died. (In fact, it was one of the last things he did before chemo treatments took too much of his energy.) Her mom used to be furious with her because she would do that instead of actual homework or chores. But it was no surprise to her that Adrianne went fourteen hours away to take that in school. The area was amazing, she loved living in the city where she could walk everywhere, and so that's why even after she graduated she decided to stay.

But she missed her mother. Victoria Hammond was once an aspiring actress that fell in love with Adrianne's father, Nathaniel, as he was stationed in California for the military. When he left on honorary discharge after having been wounded in Vietnam, Victoria went with him back to his town in Upstate New York and never once regretted getting pregnant with and having Adrianne. She was their only child and their whole world. Victoria was a strong woman, but Adrianne saw something break in her the day Nathaniel succumed to the cancer. Adrianne was only eight-years-old herself, but she took it upon herself to make sure her mother was okay.

So when Atlanta started erupting in violence and mayhem, the dead supposedly coming back to life and attacking people like it was some silly horror movie, she decided to move back to New York to make sure her mother was alright. Victoria was getting older and having health problems of her own (the beginnings of heart disease), and having phone or even Skype conversations, even every day, just weren't enough. She couldn't sit there and let her mother slip away from her like her dad.

She was throwing everything into the back of her car when she first saw it. She recognized the face so she thought nothing of it; Old Mr. Carter from across the street and down a couple houses. She smiled at him and waved, not even noticing that he didn't wave back, but instead veered her way as if drunk. She had three suitcases shoved full with her clothes, her backseat was full of boxes of her books, and her computer and files were packed neatly in her passenger seat. She was glad her car could hold it all, and thanked the instincts she got from her father to buy a large Subaru versus the small sedan her mother recommended.

She heard a dog start growling from down the street and she sighed, shaking her head and giving a pensive glance over her shoulder. "It won't be long," she said as if there were somebody there to hear her. He whimpered louder and it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. "What-" And then she heard the moan. Her eyes widened and she turned, startled. That's when she realized that Old Mr. Carter wasn't alive anymore. Spittle and blood ran from his peeled back lips. His eyes were white and vacant, shining only with hunger, his skin shallow and marked with bruises. There was a gaping wound in his arm oozing dark blood. He-it-moaned again and lunged for her. She screamed, tripping over the sidewalk behind her and falling to the ground. Her chest heaved as her lungs forced air out, adrenaline rushing through her. She started hearing the dog growling and barking louder, but she could barely hear him over the sound of Old Mr. Carter falling on top of her.

She screamed, the sound shrill and full of terror, and she looked around for something to use as a weapon, but there was nothing there that she could use. She was going to die, and that was the end of it. She would become one of them, she would be the next one they hunted. But then she heard the roar of an engine and a screech of tires, and soon Old Mr. Carter's head was exploding, covering her in blood and brain matter. Her screams died away and she lay there on the sidewalk, panting and staring at the body that was now a pile of nothing on the road. She didn't know whether to feel confused, sad, or terrified. Old Mr. Carter was a nice man and seemed to be empathetic with her as his wife of forty years passed from cancer just five years previous, just after Adrianne left college and moved to the neighborhood. They were nice people and nobody deserved to have their loved one die like that.

Of course, nobody at all deserved to die and come back as...whatever these things were. "Biter." The voice shocked her from her stare at Old Mr. Carter's body and she looked up, the sun blocking out the features of the tall man standing above her. She heard and idling engine behind him along with blood rushing through her ears. The stench of decay and the copper-tang of blood hit her nose and she almost gagged, but she was too terrified to do much. The man reached down and took her by the shoulders, helping her onto her feet. The dog down the road stopped growling, but was whimpering pitifully. She couldn't bring herself to go to it, and Adrianne didn't feel herself move as she reached over and sat on the back of the car, feeling it dip slightly.

"Biter?" she whispered, the word not really registering. She was still staring at the body.

"The dead came back." He nodded and stepped closer, tilting his head to the side as he looked over her. Faintly she registered the Irish accent tinting his voice. "Biters. Nasty blokes. Don't let 'em bite ya or scratch ya. Fever'll burn you out and you'll become one of them."

Slowly Adrianne looked over at him, her terrified eyes slowly changing into one of disbelief. "You killed him," she whispered.

"He was already dead, love." She gulped and looked down at the body, knowing that the man was right. There was no life in Old Mr. Carter's eyes as he lunged at her, set on biting out her throat. "I'm Colin, by the way. Colin O'Rourke."

"Adrianne Hammond," she murmured. She could see the man now, knowing her terror had hindered her earlier glances, was about six foot three with large arms, short-cropped black hair, and an EMT uniform. He was looking at her with a gaze of grave acceptance of their situation and a hope that she did as well. The world was changing, it was ending, and there was no real time to sit her down and explain things. The world they knew was gone. "Mom!" she suddenly screamed, her eyes going wide, making Colin jump. "Sorry, sir, I have to go. My mom is in New York and I have to get to her-"

"Wait!" he said, grabbing her arm quickly, shaking his head. "You won't make it, love. The road from here up north is blocked by both military and biters. Martial Law was declared three days ago and they're not lettin' anyone through."

"I don't care. I need to try," she said, her voice full of resolve. She shut her trunk, looking over at Colin, her face set. She might still be in a bit of shock, but she was determined. If she was going to die, if her mother was going to die, then they would be together. So many regrets of the five or so years, always shutting down ideas of going home for her purely selfish needs of wanting and needing to be in Atlanta.

The man sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He looked around, his eyes flickering from Old Mr. Carter to the city behind them. "Bloody hell," he grumbled. "Fine. You're not goin' alone." He walked over to his car and turned it off before reaching into the back to grab a single bag. He looked at the boxes in the trunk and the things in the seat next to the driver. He rolled his eyes, but Adrianne quickly moved things over so he would have room to sit and put his bag down. Adrianne couldn't stop. She had to get north. Now.

.X.X.X.X.

They never made it out of the city. The roads were clogged with cars, the honking loud, but soon dying out when ten hours had passed. She hadn't even thought to bring any food in her haste to get out of her house and get to New York. Colin trekked back to a convenience store a couple miles back and brought back some chips, water, and two bags full of canned food. "Just in case," he said cryptically.

It was then they heard the first plane. Adrianne watched it go overhead and knew from her father's old stories that it was a military plane. She faintly remembered Colin telling her that Martial Law had been declared. The bombs came next and she felt sick to her stomach, ignoring Colin's yells as she ran for the woods. More people had wandered in there, watching as Atlanta was blown apart in an attempt to get rid of the biter's crawling the streets. "Oh my god," she moaned, backing up, almost running into a woman with long brown hair clinging to a man. She muttered an apology and let Colin pull her away from the site.

"You don't need to see that, love," he said, his voice more soothing than she had ever heard it. His hand took her wrist and guided her back to the car, where she collapsed in the driver's seat. Adrianne buried her head in her hands and wished her cell phone was working. She had to know if her mother was okay, but she couldn't get through. The radios were even going down, and all contact from the outside world was dwindling. She knew they had to get off this highway, but she didn't know how.

"We might have to walk," Colin said as if he was answering her thoughts. She looked up at him through blurry eyes; the first tears that came since this started to happen.

"She's dead isn't she?" she asked, her voice small. Colin didn't answer and that was all the response she needed.

.X.X.X.X.

It took another two days for them to get off the highway, but they managed to get back to where Adrianne used to live. But the biters were all over making it damn near impossible to do anything. They had left Adrianne's car on the road and only brought a bag each for light carrying. She made sure to keep close to the trees along the edge of the road and quiet while Colin tried to make his way to the car. She saw it before he did, though, and her scream brought up his head along with the biters around them.

"Colin!" she screamed, wincing as she saw the biters all turn and look at her. Colin looked up, too, but then screamed himself as his shoulder was bitten into. She put a hand over her mouth as all the biters turned and descended, the only sound his screams loud above the moans of the walkers.

"Run!" he managed to say before his voice was drowned out by one of those things biting out his throat and then there was only hungry sounds. Adrianne moaned in fear and terror and she picked up her bag, running as quickly as she could in the opposite direction. She knew she had no weapons and no hope of fighting these things hand-to-hand, so she had to get out. She didn't see she was running towards Atlanta itself until the buildings changed from houses to sky-scrapers.

She knew she had no hope by herself. With Colin gone, she was completely alone with no way to get to New York. Her mother was dead, Colin was dead, and the world was filled with biters. And suddenly she very much wanted to give up. The world was over, she might as well be, too.

.X.X.X.X.

It had been over a month since she had any human contact. She knew there were only biters left in Atlanta, but she stayed anyway because she couldn't seem to make it off the streets to get out of the city. She barely makes it to the market on the corner for food, she rarely gets water to wash herself or her clothes, but she had managed to find a gun with some bullets along with a couple knives. She needed some way to defend herself. She had gotten used to the feeling of dirt and blood on her skin.

She felt like she was going insane.

The moans and groans of biters kept her awake most of the night, though she figured she should be used to that by now. She lost all hope that she would see anybody again and was seriously beginning to wonder if she was the last person alive.

She seriously hated leaving the little apartment she managed to hold up in. But she was starving and she had to go back to the market for more food as what she had picked up the week before was already gone. However, the place was crawling with more biters and she had to quickly make a run for it even though over half of them already saw her. She heard the moans grow even louder as they chased her. She had gotten quite used to running even though her lungs and her legs burned. She had nothing in her left to care as she skidded around a corner and took off through more biters, hoping to draw them away from the market and lose them at the same time.

She kept running as always, her feet pounding, her heart beating furiously. Her lungs ached and she longed to stop, but she just couldn't. They were gaining on her and she whimpered softly, pushing herself harder.

But suddenly she was stopping, a hand grabbing her arm and yanking her in the direction of a dirty alleyway. She cried out, struggling wildly, grabbing for the knife on her waist. The hands didn't let her go, though, and she was waiting for the bite to the neck even as she kept struggling. She kept thinking about her mother and Colin, both lost to this. The fact that she didn't get to say goodbye to the couple friends she had, that her cute little cottage-like house was over-run by biters. Her whole life just gone in what seemed like a moment, and it seemed like just yesterday that Colin had saved her from Old Mr. Carter.

"Calm down." The voice shocked her as much as Colin's gunshot. It stopped her struggling and she watched as biters lined the fence at the end of the alley, moaning and reaching for her-them-even though the fence hold. But she only noticed the voice, clearly male and clearly from southern Georgia based on the accent. Slowly she looked up, pulling herself away from the grip.

The first thing she noticed was the crossbow he was holding.