~*~*~Flashback~*~*~
I sat on my ramshackle front porch and nursed my bruised cheek. Daddy had gotten angry and I bothered him. He lashed out and slapped me really hard. That was an hour ago. He'd thrown me out of the house and since I didn't have anywhere to go, I just sat on the front porch. The mosquitoes were buzzing around me and I occasionally reached up to smack them. In one hand I held my ratty old patchwork rabbit doll. I'd had this since I was a baby and I wouldn't let it go. By now it was dirty and barely even recognizable as a doll, but I wouldn't let it out of my sight. Mommy gave it to me before she died. It was the last thing I had to remind me of her.
I was just sitting out on the porch in the hot sun when I heard Daddy rustling around inside. Suddenly the door opened and his large form hulked over me. "The fuck you still doing here, kid?!" he shouted angrily, throwing an empty beer can at me. I yelped in fear and jumped up before he could grab me, running out to the yard. He glared at me from the porch, but he was too drunk to come after me. "You get the fuck outta here, I don't wanna see your sorry ass for the rest of the day." he snarled, throwing another beer can at me. I dodged and held my doll tightly in one hand, turning tail and running towards the woods as fast as I could. Daddy thought he was punishing me by sending me away, but really, it was a blessing. I was glad to get away from him. He was an awful man.
I found myself wandering in the woods that surrounded our little run down neighborhood. I was sort of lost. My already dirty dress was covered in mud, but I didn't have anywhere to go. The mosquitoes were trying to eat me alive, constantly biting at me. I frowned and walked fast to get away from them. Suddenly without warning the dirt underneath my foot crumpled and I pitched forward, tumbling down a small hill. I felt the breath knocked out of me when I knocked into something very solid. I didn't realize it was a person until I sat up and heard a groan. I gasped and jumped off of whoever I had landed on with a mortified expression. "I-I'm s-so sorry!" I gasped, my eyes huge. The stranger, a man sat up and glared at me. He had dark brown hair and bright blue eyes that flickered over me, taking in my dirty appearance and frightened state.
"The fuck you think you doin', kid?!" he snapped angrily at me as he picked himself up. I flinched when he shouted, hanging my head.
"I'm s-sorry...I was out on a walk and I kinda fell." I mumbled.
"What the hell you doin' walkin' out here? Don't you got a momma or somethin' who keeps an eye on you?" he hissed angrily as he picked up a crossbow off the ground and examined one of his arrows. It was bent. He cursed and started to work on fixing it. I kept my pale green eyes glued to the ground and felt my stomach lurch at his words.
"I don't got a momma." I mumbled. He paused and looked up at me. He groaned after a moment and ran his fingers through his already messy hair.
"Got a daddy or somebody who gonna find you?" he asked after a moment, obviously displeased that I was still around. I looked horrified at the thought of my father and hastily shook my head.
"My daddy don't really know where I am." I said quietly. He glowered at me for a moment before he stood up with his crossbow.
"Well get on outta here, kid. Got better things to do than sit round here and listen to some stupid kid yammer on." he huffed. He started to walk away from me and I just stood there for a moment before I started to follow him. He seemed to know where he was going, and I was hopelessly lost. He didn't seem to notice me until I stepped on a twig and there was a loud cracking sound. He stopped walking and groaned, turning around to glare at me.
"Why the fuck you followin' me? I told you to git on home." he said coldly. I bit my lip and looked down.
"I dunno how to get home. I'm lost." I admitted. His head fell back and he groaned.
"Where you live, kid?"
"168 Mountain Drive." I murmured timidly. He reminded me of my daddy. The man raised his eyebrows and frowned at me.
"You serious? You that kid from across the street?" he asked. I frowned and shrugged.
"Don't ask me, I dunno who you are." I said a little bolder than I meant to. He looked down at me and shook his head.
"I ain't goin' back early just to take your sorry ass home. Follow me if you want, but you better keep your lil mouth shut, you hear me?" he asked. I nodded. He was my only chance to get home without wandering. He sighed and turned around, resuming to walk along through the woods. I again stood there for a long time before I snapped out of it and started to trail after him as quietly as I could.
"What's your name, mister?" I asked after a little bit. He sighed loudly and I could practically see him rolling his eyes.
"Daryl Dixon."
"I'm Denver. Denver Pews." I introduced myself.
"Fan-fuckin'-tastic. You wanna shut the hell up now?"
~*~*~End Flashback~*~*~
I pulled my hair back into a ponytail and hopped out of bed, tiptoeing out of my bedroom. I had just turned 21, but I was still living with Daddy. I had to be careful not to wake him up or he'd yell at me. I didn't bother to get dressed. I just stayed in my pajama pants and tanktop. I poured myself a bowl of cereal as quietly as I could before I grabbed that and a spoon and snuck barefooted out of the house. I walked across the street to my second home, the Dixon household. I saw Merle's bike and Daryl's truck, so both of them would be home. It was still early, so Merle was probably passed out on the couch. Daryl would hopefully be up though. I bounded up the rickety stairs, making sure not to spill any of my milk before I pushed the door open and walked in. After eleven years, I didn't even have to knock. I just let myself in. Daryl and Merle knew to expect me to just come walking in a lot. I ran over here almost every day to get away from Daddy. He wouldn't dare come over and fuck with Daryl and Merle.
Just as I thought, Daryl was awake and sitting at the kitchen table, cleaning his crossbow. Merle was still passed out on the couch with the TV playing quietly in the background. The place was messy, but I liked it. Daryl and Merle were sort of like my family now. They both took care of me and protected me. They were just like my brothers. I walked into the kitchen and nodded at Daryl as I sat down on the counter. "How's it going, Daryl?" I asked around a mouthful of cereal. He paused cleaning his crossbow to look over and smile faintly.
"Jus' peachy, kid." he still called me kid, even after all these years. "What bout you? Havin' any problems with your daddy?" he asked me. I giggled and shook my head as I took a bite of stale cereal.
"Haven't heard a peep out of him since you and Merle yelled at him a few days ago."
"Good, fuckin' bastard touches you, Merle an' I'll rip him a new one." he threatened. I rolled my eyes and brought the bowl up to my mouth to take a sip of milk.
"You can relax, Daryl, I can handle myself." I said as I wiped my mouth on the back of my hand. Daryl scoffed and went back to cleaning his crossbow.
"Sure thing, kid. Tell you what, you can handle wakin' Merle up, and maybe I'll think bout trustin' you." he said with a faint smirk. I rolled my eyes and got up, walking over to the couch where Merle was scrawled out.
"Wake up, Merle. Can't sleep all day." I called as I nudged him. He gave a grunt and pushed me back. I rolled my eyes and moved to wake him up again, but something outside caught my eye. I froze and slowly turned to look out the window. My expression soon turned horrified and I couldn't move.
"Denver, what the fuck you doin' in there? Told you to wake him up, not stand there and do nothin'." Daryl called from the kitchen. I tried to determine if what I was seeing was real.
"D-Daryl, you're gonna wanna see this." I called over my shoulder.
"The fuck is it?!"
"You know our neighbor, Mr. Brown?"
"Yeah, what bout him?"
"He's eating his wife." I called in a shaky voice.

A/N: Please read and review! Also available here on quotev: story/3639795/This-Is-The-Apocalypse/2/