Hiya! So this is my first ever TWD fanfic and surprise surprise, it's yet another DarylxOC fic. Not like you've ever seen one of those on this site, right? Well, I hope you'll be so kind as to take a look at my story here and feel free to let me know what you think about it, but please be gentle on my fragile little soul. This story will take place a little bit before the first season and will focus on our boy Daryl Dixon and my girl Leah Murphy. Thanks for taking the time to read, and on with the story!

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Fingers combed themselves through long, black locks as Leah Murphy tried once more to get through to the hospital's nurse's station on the landline phone in her grandparent's house. It had been a long, exhausting weekend and she honestly wasn't looking forward to a 12-hour shift, but it was all part of it. Another day, another dollar as her brother always said.

"Are you sure you should be tryin' to work your shift today? You've only just gotten over that nasty bout of food poisoning."

Blue eyes blinked before they softened at the concern in the older woman's voice. Leah glanced over her shoulder to give her grandmother a smile and firm nod. "I know you're worried, Meemaw, but I've already missed too many shifts at the hospital as it is." She chuckled before trying to dial the number to the hospital once again to make sure she was still scheduled to work the morning shift of the ER. "I promise I'm feeling a lot better than I was yesterday."

Her Meemaw huffed and shook her head, mumbling under her breath about how stubborn both her grandchildren were and Leah couldn't help but laugh under her breath. Her Meemaw was a feisty woman and if she had inherited her stubborn attitude from anybody, it would have had to be her Meemaw.

But she'd never tell her that.

Leah frowned as she once again got a busy tone from the nurses' station where she normally clocked in at. She glanced up at the clock and sure enough, it was 6 AM. She knew the others nurses already there sometimes liked to goof off and have fun, but there was absolutely no reason why she shouldn't have been able to reach the nurses' station.

"That's weird," Leah muttered before hanging the landline up.

"What's weird, Leah girl?"

Leah couldn't help but smile as her grandfather entered the room and took his usual spot at the table, while he waited for his wife to fix his plate for breakfast. "It's nothing too serious, Pops. I just can't seem to get through to the nurses' station and I need to make sure I'm still on to work this morning."

"Well, I'd say it wouldn't be too awful if you weren't able to go into work today. You know me an' your Meemaw have enjoyed havin' you around the past few days full time. Seems like we don't ever get to see you much, all you do is work, work, work. Even your brother takes a day off now 'n again."

Leah had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at Pops derision. "You know I love you and Meemaw more than life itself, but you also know I've got to go into work when they schedule me so I don't lose my job. And don't even get me started on Logan and his jobs." She rolled her eyes at the mention of her older brother. As much as Leah loved him, he absolutely knew how to drive her crazy at times.

"Yes, dear, but didn't you say that there had been a spell of odd deaths at the hospital recently? I just don't feel comfortable with you bein' around so much death and gloom all th' time." Marie Murphy returned to the kitchen with a plate of toast, setting it in front of her husband's place. "Why, even your brother feels the same way as us, says that there's somethin' odd goin' on in town and lots of people have been just droppin' over dead for no reason."

Leah felt her brow furrow, worried because the hospital had been trying their best to keep citizens from finding out about the odd deaths that had been occurring around the area lately. The majority of people that had been brought into the hospital had all had mysterious bites on their person, but the actual cause of the fevers, chills and eventual death had yet to be determined.

"Listen," Leah slowly began, slipping an arm around each of her grandparent's shoulders. "I promise y'all, nothing is going to happen. I work with some of the best physicians in the state of Georgia, and if something were really wrong, they would let the staff know first." Her lips curved up into a slow smile before she leaned over to kiss Pops temple. "Now, I've got to get going. Obviously they're super swamped and can't be bothered to answer the phone at the nurse's station, but I'll call you once I've made it in and I'm safely at work."

Marie began wringing her hands together, obviously fretting at the thought of letting her granddaughter go out into danger she so worried about. "B-But, your brother says-"

"Meemaw, Logan doesn't work in the medical field and frankly has no clue what is really going on. Now I swear, nothing is going to hurt me." Leah was trying her hardest not to sound snippy, but listening to her Meemaw worry herself to death was starting to get old.

She reached for the doorknob of the front entrance, glancing over her shoulder to call out to her grandparents once more. "I'll call you once I make it into work. Love y'all!" Leah pushed the door open and immediately shrieked at the sight of what could only be described as a corpse.

The face, whom she recognized as one of their neighbors, contorted into an ugly snarl and latched onto Leah's arm, head leaning ever closer to Leah's. Her mind began moving at a thousand miles a second, trying to figure out just what the hell was going on. What she realized immediately, was that this person was no longer of a sound mind and she had to free herself. "NO! STOP! Meemaw, help me!"

Marie, realizing what was happening, screamed and grabbed onto the back of Leah's scrub top as she tried to pull her granddaughter to safety. "Oh Lord! Joel! Get the shotgun!"

Leah could see the ugly visage getting closer and closer, obviously trying to bite into her flesh and all she could do was sob and try to yank her arm away.

Then, before Leah knew it, it was over; a knife was protruding from the temple of the creature. It released her and she fell to her knees, sobbing and clinging to Meemaw for dear life.

"Well, ain't you a sight for sore eyes."

Leah tried to catch her breath, glancing up to get a look at her savior only to be met with the smirking countenance of one Daryl Dixon, her brother's best and one of his only friend's. "D-Daryl? Wh-What the hell are you doin' here?" Needless to say, Leah and Daryl didn't have the same friendship that he and her brother had and there was absolutely no love lost between the two.

Daryl snorted and yanked his knife from the creature, depositing the blade back into its sheath against his side. "Seems to me like you should be thankin' me for showin' up when I did, otherwise you'dve been gnawed on by that geek and then I'dve had to put you outta your misery."

Blue eyes narrowed as Leah glowered up at Daryl. "What are you talking about 'put me out of my misery'? And what the hell is a geek?!"

Daryl opted to ignore Leah, instead turning to help Marie get inside the home. "Your brother shouldn't be too far behind, 'n you can ask him for yourself."

Leah glared at Daryl's back before trying to get to her feet, shaking and wobbly still. What the hell had just happened? This was the kind of shit that only occurred in horror movies, or was she finally losing her mind after the week she had had at the hospital with all the strange deaths recently?

"Leah! Thank God you're alright!"

A pair of arms wound themselves around Leah, clinging to her as though they were afraid something awful would happen should they let go of her. It was then she realized who the voice and arms belonged to, and she was so glad to know her big brother was alright and right there with her. "L-Logan! Wha…"

"Leah, there ain't no time to explain. The whole world's gone to hell and I've gotta get you, Meemaw and Pops outta here while we can still leave."

Leah blinked and finally gathered enough strength to push her brother at arm's length to see just what was going on. "Logan," she frowned, blue eyes meeting blue while Logan frowned right back down at her. Had her brother lost his ever-loving mind? "What're you talking about? We can't just leave our home for no reason. Not until you tell me just what's going on."

Logan grunted and quickly shook his head, grabbing onto his sister's arm. "No time to explain, I'll try to once we get into the truck. I'll need you and Meemaw to pack food and supplies and I'll go with Pops to get as much ammo and guns as we can get in the truck."

"But what about the hospital?! I can't just leave, they might need my help! Logan, wait!" But Logan was already running toward the back of the house, leaving Leah alone with her Meemaw and Daryl.

"The hospital's burnin' to th' ground, so no point in us even botherin' with it."

Leah whipped her head around to find Daryl looking through the blinds on the windows, as though looking for something or someone. She almost thought she had heard him wrong; after all, there was no way the hospital would be on fire. Daryl had no idea what the hell he was talking about.

Almost as if he could sense what she was thinking, Daryl glanced over his shoulder before giving a quick jerk of his head, indicating he wanted Leah to join him by the window. "Look out here; see what me 'n your brother're talkin' about."

She was skeptical, but decided to go along with what Daryl was asking of her. She peeked through the blinds Daryl had opened and gasped in horror at what she witnessed. Lining the streets were the slowly shuffling forms of their neighbors, people she had grown up with and knew so well; only they weren't the same neighbors she had known for so long. Their skin was pale, eyes sunken in, and the noises they were making… Groans and moans that weren't quite pain-filled, but nothing Leah had heard in the several years she had worked as a nurse either.

"Wh… What's happening?" Her voice was barely a whisper as she forced herself to look away from the scene. "Daryl, what the hell is going on?"

Daryl gave Leah a long, hard look before tearing his gaze away. "The end of the world is all I can figure," he bluntly offered, shrugging his shoulders as though that were the end of that discussion.

All of a sudden, a scream pierced the air and Leah and Daryl both turned their attention once more to what was happening outside the window. There, on the sidewalk, trying to crawl away from the slowly shuffling bodies close behind her, was the form of one of her neighbors and Leah gasped. She knew the woman well and she tried to run for the door before being stopped by a grip on her arm.

"What th' fuck do you think you're doin'?" Daryl hissed, keeping Leah right at his side. "There ain't no point in tryin' to help her now."

Leah tried to pry herself away from Daryl, pointing to the woman now trying to crawl away from the things that were once her friends and neighbors. "I am a nurse! In case you didn't realize that, Daryl," she hissed his name out. "It's my job to help when others need it, now let me go so I can help!"

Daryl shook his head, motioning for her to look outside the window once more. "She's a goner. Sorry, but if I let you out, you'd be dead just like her. Your brother'd never forgive me if I let you die like that."

"But-!"

The shrieks and cries for help became louder and Leah peered out the blinds only to find that the woman was now covered by the figures that had only previously been stalking after her. One by one, they began to tear into her flesh with their teeth and the sight almost made Leah gag.

"No," she whispered, unable to believe the horror she witnessed. "What's going on?"

The sound of a horn honking tore Leah from her thoughts. Daryl's face relaxed and he quickly grinned. "Finally, Merle made it."

Wait, Merle Dixon was here now too? The end of the world really was happening, wasn't it?

Leah shook her head, jerking her arm free from Daryl before turning and bounding through the house to find her family. What she had just witnessed, that was absolutely real and she had to now make sure her grandparents and brother were alright. Logan was right, and that meant that Leah had to pack as much as she could in the short time frame they now had.

Marie was already dragging several garbage bags filled with different foods and medical supplies. "Meemaw, let me help you with that!" Leah reached to grab onto a few of the bags and began dragging them to the front door. Leah in turn rushed for her bedroom, grabbing onto a few mementos before stuffing them into her pockets. Something told her that it would be a very long time before they were able to come back to their home and Leah just had to make sure she had things that meant the world to her. Like a picture of her parents.

"Leah! Hurry up, we gotta get goin'!"

Her brother's voice rang through the house and Leah tore out of her room, hurrying to the front door where everyone was now waiting. Both Logan and Pops were brandishing guns and Daryl had his knife in hand.

"Leah, I need you to make sure you and Meemaw get into my truck," Logan grabbed onto her shoulder, eyes boring into hers. "And don' you dare look back, you hear me? My priority is makin' sure you and Meemaw get to safety."

She visibly shuddered, feeling tears prick at the edges of her eyes. Leah quickly reached up to wipe at her eyes. "This is for real, huh?" When Logan gave a solemn nod, she sucked in a deep breath, reaching for Meemaw's hand. "Alright."

Logan nodded his head and then looked to Daryl. The other gave a jerky nod and quickly flung the door open, both he and Logan moving headfirst into the mass of undead bodies. Leah tugged on Marie's hand and the two women ran as fast as they could toward Logan's truck. "Meemaw! Get in!" Leah hoisted her grandmother into the backseat of the truck before turning and panicking when she couldn't see Pops.

"POPS!" She screamed, head whipping back and forth in an attempt to find her grandfather's location. Then she finally spotted him, several of the shuffling undead closing in on him. It was as if time slowed down for Leah, she looked all around, trying to find something, anything, to help her Pops out.

It seemed like all was lost until she looked toward her brother and Daryl's direction. Leah and Daryl shared a glance before Daryl reached over his shoulder and threw a blade in her direction. It fell to the ground, but Leah quickly scrambled to pick it up, rushing toward the hoard that was getting closer and closer to her grandfather.

"Pops! I'm gonna get you out of here!" She cried out, stabbing the first form in the back of the skull before watching it fall. Over and over she did the same thing, not caring about the blood that covered her clothes and hands, until finally she was able to get to Pops. She reached out and grabbed hold of his hand, tugging him toward the truck where Meemaw was waiting for them all.

Leah waited until her grandfather was in the backseat with her grandmother before she collapsed onto the ground, heaving for breath while letting the first of many unshed tears fall down her face. This couldn't be real, this just couldn't be happening to their family.

"It's real alright," she heard a mumble, barely registering that Daryl was trying to help her to her feet again. "This is our lives now. So you'd best get used to it if you wanna survive."

Survive? Was that what they were supposed to do now in the short span of a few hours? Leah shivered, still leaning against Daryl as she tried to regain her footing. "But… But what do we do now? Where do we go from here?"

Daryl chanced a glance over to his brother, still waiting for Daryl to join him from the looks of it. "We heard Atlanta's our best chance right now. So that's where we're headed."

Atlanta? It made sense to Leah, since they had some of the largest hospitals in the country. If there was a chance for survival for their group, then Atlanta would surely have it.

"What're we waiting for then," Leah muttered under her breath. "Let's get the hell outta here."