Sometimes it's not the pain that makes you suffer, it's your own negative thoughts that make things seem worse. So Imogene Adeney tried to stay relatively positive because her situation only seemed to be getting worse and worse. And boy, was it getting harder for her to stay positive.

The end of world affects people, understandably. The person you are, and who you need to be to survive are totally different things. Imogene however, was starting to have an identity crisis because as she went along, she realized that who she was, and who she needed to be to survive, were the same person. And that scared her.

Imogene Adeney

Being a child of the apocalypse, I learned to trust my gut instinct above all else. I learned that it's almost always right and that second guessing yourself has deadly consequences. I learned that the hard way.

It got a lot colder in Georgia then it did in Texas. Winter time was in full swing and I was not adapted to handle temperatures under 60 degrees. Back in Texas, you could wear shorts and a t shirt year round with no problem.

I was walking alone through rural Georgia when I heard the voices of men. I hadn't heard another person speak since Devyn and I got separated about 2 months ago. I didn't plan on speaking with them, but my curiosity got the best of me.

After spending 6 months in the wilderness going from place to place I picked up on a few things. If you want to walk quietly on dead leaves walk heel-toe, heel-toe. When approaching a sound, always make sure you see it or them before it or them sees you. Bobby pins are not only great for taming hair, but also for picking locks. Guns get the job done but are unreliable, having a weapon that doesn't rely on ammo is must.

My weapon of choice oddly enough is a screwdriver. I've been using it since the start of the new world and well, it gets the job done. I also use an American Longbow. It's a type of bow that I picked up with Devyn and my brothers as we traveled east. We passed through a town in Texas called Todd Mission which hosts the Texas Renaissance Festival every year.

When the outbreak started, I guess they were setting up for this year's festival. When we arrived at the lot that they held it, there was a ton of crap leftover. That's where I picked up my bow and a quiver filled with arrows. The rest as they say is history.

I crouched behind a bush and slowly put my backpack down. I reached a hand behind by head to pull an arrow out of my quiver. Silently, I notched the arrow in my bow while keeping my eyes focused on the men.

There were about 6 of them standing in a wide circle around a group of people. I saw a woman and 2 little boys kneeling in the middle, shaking with fear. That's when I saw that 3 of the men were holding guns at them. I tuned in to their conversation.

"You know I can't let this slide honey. Stealing is a crime now I know you know that," one of the men said. He was wearing jeans and a button down shirt. His clothes were clean which was odd, not a speck of dirt on them. These men must be part of some bigger group. They all looked well fed unlike the people they were surrounding.

"Please, let me and my boys go. I'm sorry okay!" The woman weeped. "We haven't eaten in days I just wanted one can of food to hold us over."

The man who was talking earlier lifted up his arm and gestured to the men around him. Only, instead of a hand, there was a bayonet. Now from what I've learned the past minute or two, these men seem to be assholes but even I had to admit that was freaking awesome.

"Our leader has given me and my men strict orders to eliminate any threat there is to our society. Now I'm sorry lady but since you tried stealing from us that makes you a threat," he explained with no remorse. He snapped his fingers on his other hand and the men holding guns clicked off the safety. "This isn't anything personal. I hope you understand that. Take them out guys."

My gut wrenched and I knew what I had to do. Before they opened fire, I quickly walked out from behind the bush and pressed my notched arrow against the man who was ordering the rest of the men around. He visibly stiffened.

"I can't let ya'll do that," I stated steely calm. The other five men turned towards me and aimed their guns at me. They all looked surprised to say the least. "Put the guns down and let them go, or I'll release this arrow straight into this dipshits heart."

They stood still, not moving a muscle. None of them dare speak though I don't know why.

Finally, one of them spoke up. "Merle, what do you want us to do?" he asked. I'm assuming Merle is the man I'm currently holding hostage.

"Nothing. Do absolutely nothing," Merle ordered confirming my suspicions. "Look at this chick. She's totally bluffing. No way will she actually kill me."

I pressed the arrow deeper into his back causing him to groan. Blood started to slowly seep through his shirt. "I think you're underestimating my character," I chided in a confident voice.

I could feel my white blonde ponytail blowing behind me like a flag in the bitter cold wind. Though the sun was beating down on us, it was still rather chilly out. It was dead quiet. The only sounds to be heard were the occasional chirps of a nearby bird and a sniffle from the woman and her children.

"Who the hell are you?" One of the men asked.

I chuckled in disbelief. "Like I'm going to tell you," I replied keeping my attention on Merle. My fingers and arms were getting fatigued from holding the bow taught for so long. Time to speed things up a little. "I'm giving ya'll one last chance. Put the guns down and let those people go. They only wanted one can of food and I can tell from looking at ya'll that you can spare a little."

The air around us was so tense that I could cut it with a butter knife. Merle nodded slightly and the three men with guns put them on the ground. I looked over at the woman and children who were still kneeling in the grass. "Go!" I exclaimed. "What are you waiting for?" The woman nodded frantically and stood up grabbing her son's arms. They ran off stumbling, probably too weak to even run straight.

"Now that that's over," I started stepping backwards away from Merle. "The fun part begins."

I kicked Merle in the back of his knee and shoved him to the ground. I relaxed my arms slightly but kept my arrow notched and pointed at him, only this time it was pointed at his head. Keeping the arrow pointed at his head, I walked a few feet over to where the guns lay on the ground and kicked them away from the men who had backed away I got closer to them.

As I walked back to Merle I stole a quick glance at the 5 men. "I suggest ya'll go back to whatever hell hole you came from. Merle and I here are good."

They looked at Merle skeptically and he nodded. "Just go I'll be fine," he ordered sounding annoyed. I didn't blame him. He did jut have his ass whooped by a 15 year old girl.

The men all proceeded to walk off leaving Merle and I alone. I once again pulled back on the arrow making the string taught and ready to fire. "I'm going to need you to take of your sword arm thing," I announced.

Merle groaned. "Are you serious lady? Why the hell do I need to take it off?"

I rolled my eyes even though he couldn't see me do it. "Well you see the thing is, it has a gigantic knife attached to it. I'm pretty sure even an imbecile like you can figure out why I'd want you take it off. Now come on, go ahead and sit up like a man."

He sat up slowly and started taking of his prosthetic. I continued talking. "I know that we aren't friends and all, but I just wanted to say that you fake hand thing is really cool. Making the best of a bad situation right? I can respect that."

Merle looked up at me with furrowed eyebrows. "Thanks kid I guess," he mumbled.

I laughed slightly and smirked at him as he handed me his fake hand. I put my arrow back in my quiver and slung my bow over my shoulder. "Pleasure doing business with you," I chirped as I grabbed it looked it over. It was definitely something I'd be keeping. I threw it over on the ground where the guns were.

"What now?" he asked.

I looked him over and stared him in the eyes. "Now that you're defenseless I'm going to assume that you're not going to do anything stupid. You may think that you can take me in a fight but I promise you, it'll do you more harm than good. Do you understand that?" I questioned him. Merle nodded in response. "Good," I said in approval. "Walk over to that tree and stand against it. Arms by your side," I demanded pointed at one of the many trees surrounding us.

He trudged over to what I recognized to be a bare pecan tree slowly. As I followed, I grabbed a piece of rope that I kept in a side pocket of my quiver. Merle leaned against the tree, complying with my instructions. I started wrapping the rope around the circumference of the tree, tying Merle to it.

I used a taught line hitch knot to secure him to the tree. He wouldn't be getting out of it anytime soon, at least without the help of another person. I started to walk away when he spoke up.

"Where the hell are you going?" he asked tugging at his restraints.

Without sparing a glance I replied. "To gather up some stuff and hide it away."

I went to the bush I where I was originally hiding and grabbed my backpack. I walked over to where the guns were and crouched down, dropping my bag at my feet. I then proceeded to click the safety on all the guns and put them in my bag as well as Merle prosthetic hand sword. A fun fact about me, Imogene Adeney, is that I'm a terrible shot with a gun. Maybe if I were to practice more I'd improve but there is no need to waste perfectly good ammo.

I was zipping my backpack up when Merle started hollering. "Kid! Hey kid!" he all but screamed.

I whipped my head around to see him thrashing around. "What the hell are you trying to do? Shut the hell up there no need to scream," I said harshly.

Merle merely nodded his head to my left. "Look."

I turned my head saw two of the infected stumbling towards us. I sighed heavily and retrieved an arrow from my quiver along with my bow. I notched my arrow and pulled back, my eyes only focused on my targets. I waited about 5 seconds until they were in line with each other, took a deep breath, and released the arrow.

It soared through the air on a perfectly straight trajectory before lodging itself through both of the infected heads. I slung my bow back over my shoulder and picked up my backpack. "I'll be back in 5 minutes," I started looking at Merle. "Try not to go anywhere," I continued smiling.

"Haha very funny kid," he replied.

I stopped at the now dead walkers that I shot and retrieved my arrow, placing it back in my quiver. I bent and patted my boot quickly to make sure my screwdriver was still there. When I felt a familiar lump, I stood up and proceeded to look for a place to hide my stuff. If shit hit the fan, I didn't want to lose all of my stuff so I find it best to just hide it and come back for it later.

As I was walking, my foot got caught in a hole almost causing me to trip. I kneeled down and examined the burrow. It seemed to be an abandoned Armadillo hole. I saw tons of these back in Texas. It seemed like a good place for my stuff.

I grabbed a nearby stick and started digging the hole out more so my backpack could fit. I then shoved my quiver in first, then my bow, and my backpack. If I needed a weapon I always had my screwdriver. I grabbed some leaves and covered the hole, camouflaging it with its surroundings.

I stood up and looked around processing this area so I could find it again. I reached into my boot and grabbed my screwdriver. I then carved the letters IA into the tree a little ways behind it. That would help some. I put my screwdriver back into my boot and walked back towards Merle.

"You know, you remind me of someone," he admitted as soon as he saw me. "When I saw you shoot those walkers with your arrow, I realized that you remind me of my brother. I have a feeling that if ya'll ever met you'd be the best of friends."

I stood in front of him with my arms crossed. "If he's anything like you I highly doubt it. Funs over anyways, I have some questions that I want answers to."

"It's not like I'm going anywhere," he subdued.

"Alright, so where are you and your men from? I know ya'll have a nice place to stay judging by your clothes and such."

"We're from a community called Woodbury. It's town not that far from here. It's surrounded by walls so it's secure," he answered bluntly

"Second question, what the hell is ya'lls problem? You almost killed a woman and her two innocent children for stealing one can of food. One!"

"If you heard that part of the conversation, then you probably heard me say that our leader wants us to eliminate any threat to our community."

"That leads me to my third question. Your leader sounds like jackass. Who is he?" I asked wanting an explanation.

Merle smiled a menacing grin but stayed quiet.

"Answer me Merle. Who is he?" I exclaimed growing impatient. That's when the hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up. My body stiffened, something wasn't right.

"That would be me darling," a deep voice said from behind me. But before I could turn around and see who it was, I felt a sharp pain at the back of my head and my vision subsided to darkness.

The sky was clear of light pollution. That was one of the few positive things that came out of the apocalypse. Devyn and I had spent many nights under the now very clear night sky on our trek back to Houston.

We had lost the other two girls that were with us only a week after the start of everything. Some people just weren't, let's say mentally capable, of handling the new world. It shocked both Devyn and I to say the least. There was no better way to start your day then by waking up to see your dead but not dead friends dangling from a tree by their necks.

I climbed the tree with the efficiency of a squirrel. "You don't need to watch this Devyn," I spoke gently looking down at her. Devyn nodded her head and turned away while I grabbed a screwdriver I had found on the side of the road out of my pocket. I promptly stabbed my, now dead, friends in the head before untying the ropes they hung by.

Devyn was brushing the leaves out of her hair when I came back. She stared at me blankly then looked at her feet. "Are you ready to go?" she asked me not looking up.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I replied steadily, not missing a beat. Devyn stood up and grabbed her duffel bag, slinging it around her neck. I did the same and glanced over at the two extra that belonged to our friends. "What should we do with their stuff?"

Devyn bit her lip in thought before shrugging her shoulders. "I say we just leave them, there's not anything useful in them anyways. Pom-poms aren't what I classify as necessities," she answered with a dry smile. I nodded in agreement and started walking toward the interstate. We had settled for the night in a small clearing about a mile and a half away from it for some peace and quiet.

Things had been getting worse. The disease had been spreading rapidly with no sign of stopping. Luckily, the trip from San Antonio to Houston went through mostly rural areas so our group hadn't ran into a lot of infected people. When we did, I always ended up handling it, not that Devyn and the others couldn't defend themselves. It was just easier that way.

For a week we had been traveling alongside I-10 east because I knew that it lead straight through almost every major city in the southern United States. I knew that we were supposed to be avoiding densely populated areas, but Devyn and I had to get home.

Cell phone lines have been jammed for 5 days now and the last I heard, my parents were stuck in the city along with Devyn's. The roads leading in and out were completely jammed so they had no way of leaving. My last call with my brothers informed me that they were still at home in the suburbs. They too had no way of leaving because they are both younger than me and can't legally drive. Also, even if they could leave, our house in the suburbs seemed to be that safest place for them at the moment so there was no need too. I could only hope that they were still okay.

Devyn and I traveled along the feeder roads of the interstate in silence for hours. It was probably a strange sight for those who saw us. We were still wearing our cheer uniforms because neither of us had anything to change into. Our once white uniforms, were covered in dirt and grass stains while mine had blood smeared all over the front of it. The only things different about what we were wearing the day this all started and now, was the fact that we were no longer wearing our bows.

"Jean!" Devyn piped up suddenly. She shook my shoulder rather aggressively and pointed to my left, grinning from ear to ear. "Look at the sign."

I tore my gaze from whatever it was I was looking at and focused in on the green sign hanging above the interstate. A grin broke out on my face as I read the words 'Harris County Jurisdiction Limit'.

"We're almost there," I breathed out.

Devyn turned towards me. "Imogene, we're so close that when we get to the top of this hill, I bet we'll be able to see the city."

I smirked at her with a mischievous glint in my eyes. "Last one there gets to carry the winners bag the rest of the way."

"Deal," Devyn replied holding out her hand for me to shake. I snorted and broke out into sprint, leaving her behind. "Hey!" she yelled out laughing as she followed in pursuit.

My arms pumped back and forth by my side as I lengthened my stride. I could feel my legs burn in protest at the incline I was running. I didn't bother looking back at Devyn because I could hear her thunderous footsteps behind me crunching the leaves. She definitely was not what some people would say, light on her feet.

I skidded to a stop at the top of the hill. Devyn was right, this point overlooked the whole city. As she fell in place next to me I dropped my bag near her feet. "Well I'll be dammed," I whispered trailing off. "Devyn, we made it! We walked a 3 hour drive to Houston man!" I cheered excitedly.

She turned towards me and laughed. "Hell yea we did!" she boasted. Devyn raised her hand for a high five and I happily obliged.

The city of Houston was full of skyscrapers. My favorite one had always been the Memorial Herman Hospital. The top was shaped like a diamond and was always lit up different colors on holidays. It was also where my mom worked as a surgical nurse. It was a wondrous sight to see after what we went through to get here.

"Alright so next stop is our wonderful suburban town Richmond, Texas. I never thought that I would be this happy to be home," Devyn sighed looking over at me. I nodded my head in agreement.

It's not that Devyn and I didn't like where we lived. We both had just always dreamed of living in a bustling big city where she could go to medical school and where I could study aerospace engineering. We'd planned to go to the University of Washington in Seattle together once we graduate, though Devyn would graduate 2 years before me.

"So if we're at I-10 and Barker Cypress-" I said looking at the nearby road sign. "We need to take the next exit. Or is it the one after?" I murmured to myself.

Devyn looked at me with a smirk. "Do you need the map?"

I looked over at her and sighed in defeat. "Yea," I grumbled.

She laughed before unzipping her duffle bag to retrieve the map that we found at a gas station. Devyn handed it to me with a smug smile. "Here you go Jean."

I took the map from her hands and opened it. I rotated it to my left until it was facing up right. After studying it for a moment, I came to a consensus.

"We need to take the next exit and follow that road for about 8 miles. Then we'll be about where our school is. We won't need the map after that," I concluded, folding up the map.

I handed it back to Devyn who proceeded to put it back in her bag. "Whatever you say Christopher Columbus," she teased.

I rolled my eyes and continued walking. "You know what I miss most Devyn? Hot showers," I stated openly.

Devyn nodded her head in agreement while she picked up my duffle bag. "Yea I can relate. You seriously need to wash your hair Imogene. Your hair is normally almost white but it's so greasy and dirty right now that it looks brown like mine," she chuckled.

"I'm not going to deny the fact that I need a shower. I also need some clothes, I mean look-" I stop mid-sentence when I heard the familiar roaring of a plane engine. "What the hell?" I murmured under my breath. There's no way a plane could be flying right now.

Devyn and I both looked up to see 6 fighter jets in the formation of a pyramid soaring through the sky over us. They started to spread out as they reached the skyline of Houston.

"Oh shit," I whispered looking ahead.

"What Jean? What's going on?" Devyn asked frantically.

I opened my mouth to reply but I never got the chance. The jets started firing on the city. Smoke erupted from buildings along with fire. My eyes focused on my favorite sky scraper, the one my mom worked at. One jet dropped an explosive near the ground floor of the building.

"Brace yourself Devyn!" I screeched.

We both kneeled to ground just in time for the explosive to go off along with a few others. The ground beneath us shook violently. Living in Texas my whole life, I never experienced an earthquake though I imagine this is what it would feel like.

Devyn and I stayed there until the firing ceased and the ground stopped shaking. We both stood up shakily and inhaled sharply when our gaze fell upon the sight that laid before us. The Houston skyline was almost unrecognizable. Dark gray plumes of smoke went up in the air signaling that there were many fires on the ground.

I scanned the horizon looking for my favorite skyscraper. It wasn't there.

Devyn and I looked at each other. No words needed to be spoken. We both knew what had just happened.

Our parents had been killed. Our parents were dead. We were orphans.

I awoke from my sleep panting. That wasn't one of my fondest memories. I reached my hand up to brush a stray stand of hair out of my face but it wouldn't move. I looked down and saw that my hands were tied behind a chair that I was sitting in.

"What the fuck?" I said confused. I wiggled around in my chair to see how tight my restraints were. They were relatively loose.

I scanned the room I was in and it appeared to be completely empty except for me and the chair I was sitting in. There was a door about 6 feet directly in front of me and fluorescent lights on the ceiling above me.

That's when I became aware of my throbbing headache. Or at least what I assumed was a headache. Now you probably won't believe me when I say that I've never been sick before, but I swear it's true. It's a blessing really.

Anyways number 2 fun fact about me for today, I have double jointed shoulders. Now, my friends always thought it was gross how I could basically pop my shoulders out of place with no pain though, in this situation, I realized it would be extremely helpful.

My arms weren't tied to the chair itself. They were just tied together behind my back. Since my shoulders were double jointed, this gave me the ability to bring my hands in front of me, even though they're tied together behind me.

If I brought my hands in front of me, I could free my hands and grab my screwdriver from my boot. Then I could bust of this place.

Just as I was about to put my plan into action I heard footsteps. I put on my calm yet confident neutral expression as if nothing could catch me off guard.

The door creaked open and a middle aged white man walked in. Go figure. He was wearing khaki pants and a dark blue button down shirt. He had a black knife holster around his waist with, you guessed it, a knife. His hair was brown and short but he had gray sideburns.

He smiled at me creepily. "It's about time you woke up darling. I was starting to think that I hit you in the head so hard that you died," he spoke gently walking closer to me. That's when I remembered how I ended up here.

"So you're the infamous jackass leader of Woodbury. I would say it's nice to meet you but it really isn't," I sneered at him. I knew that I should've been nice but considering the circumstances, I believe that my response was justified. So much for my southern hospitality.

He chuckled slightly before bending down to my eye level about 2 feet in front of me. "Yes that would be me though most people just call me the Governor."

I raised an eye brow. "The Governor?" I repeated in disbelief. "Alright then Governor, why am I here? Why did you take me here? I didn't kill any of your men though I could've. Why didn't you just leave me in the woods?"

"Because you intrigue me," he said plainly. "You're a young girl, yet you managed to take a grown ass man hostage, and scare 5 others away. And those men had guns. I'm genuinely impressed by you."

My expression hardened and I let out a dry laugh. "You know nothing about me," I said void of emotion.

"That may be true though I'd like to get to know you. I think you may have a place here at Woodbury," he stated as if he was offering me a winning lottery ticket.

We sat there in silence. I'm pretty sure he expected to me to start crying tears of joy or something. I broke the silence. "Yea I'm good. I don't know what kind of fiasco you're running here, but any people who are willing to kill 3 people over a can of food, aren't my kind of people."

The Governors blue eyes went steely cold. He raised his right hand and slapped me hard on the left side of my face. I wanted to groan in protest but now was not the time to show weakness. My face stung horribly but I kept my composure.

"What makes you think you can talk to me that way kid. It's none of your business how I run my town. Who the hell do you think you are!" he exploded in anger. "You know what, that wasn't a rhetorical question. Who the hell are you?" he demanded.

I leaned forward and stared him dead in the eye. "Who am I?" I repeated coldly chuckling slightly. "I'm you're worst nightmare."

The Governor stood up and turned around, facing away from me. He walked to the door and paused with his hand on the door knob. "I'll come back later and we will talk some more. I suggest that you become more compliant or else things won't end well for you," he divulged before leaving.

I heard the lock click on the door and his footsteps fade way. It was go time.

I took a deep breath and raised my arms behind me, perpendicular to my back. I then turned my wrists outward and proceeded to bring my hands over my head and into my lap. I twisted and turned my wrists until the knot was in my hands. I untied it, freeing my hands and stood up quickly.

Rushing towards the door, I reached into my hair and pulled out a bobby pin. I jammed my pointer finger up the center to separate the teeth a little. I then shoved it into the key hole and jiggled it around until I heard a click.

I cheered mentally whilst grabbing my screwdriver out of my boot for protection. I put my ear to the door and listened for any sign of people. Nothing.

I turned the doorknob slowly and winced when the door creaked. I quietly slipped out of the room and looked left and right. The door opened into the middle of a hallway so I had to decide which way to go.

After a moment of contemplation I decided to take a right. I crept stealthily yet swiftly through the building until I ended up at the base of a flight of stairs. I went up the stairs on my toes to keep quiet and left the building.

I opened the door and walked onto the street. It was dusk out now and I was shocked to see people roaming the town without a care in the world.

"This is absolutely bizarre," I whispered to myself. Kids were laughing with their parents. No one seemed to be carrying weapons. It was almost like the whole apocalypse never happened.

I shook my head to clear it of thoughts. I needed to focus at the current task. To my left, about 3 buildings down, I saw a wall. From what I could tell, it surrounded all of Woodbury. Merle wasn't kidding when he said this place was secure. I could see guards up on the wall walking back and forth.

I put my screwdriver in my boot, trying to blend in with the crowd. I walked towards the building closest to the wall and slipped in silently. I walked around trying to find stairs so I could get to the top floor. I was surrounded by boxes. My best guess was that this was some sort of warehouse for extra supplies.

Finally to my right I saw a stair case. I went up 3 flights of stairs swiftly and ended up at the top floor. This floor like the two before had boxes everywhere. I scanned the room and saw a window. I walked towards it and looked out.

I could see trees which meant it lead to outside the wall. I slowly opened the window and peered down. The wall only went up to about the first floor of the building. It was built literally right next the warehouse I was in.

The guards walking the perimeter of the wall didn't seem to be distracted or anything so I knew I was going to have to take my chances and jump from here to the outside. Now I'm not stupid. I know that three stories is a long way to jump but I was pretty sure I could handle it.

I climbed out of the window and stood on the 6 inch ledge right below it. I pressed myself against the building and took a deep breath.

"Alright Imogene, you can do this," I whispered to myself. "One front flip in the air to slow down your momentum, then roll out of it as soon as your feet grace the ground."

My knees bent then extended rapidly, propelling me forward. I brought my arms to chest and tucked into a ball, flipping around to slow my descent slightly. I opened back up straight with my feet in front of me. The ground was getting closer and closer. The second my feet hit the ground I tucked my chin to my chest and brought my arms in, rolling out of it to save my knees some pain.

I stood up out of the roll and broke into a sprint, hoping the guards didn't notice me.

"Hey it's that crazy blonde chick!" I heard someone say from behind me.

"Dammit," I grumbled and pushed myself to go even faster. My arms pumped by my sides and I leaned my chest forward to increase momentum. Bullets zipped passed me hitting the ground and trees around me. I weaved in and around the trees trying to evade.

My luck had run out for the day however. I felt a piercing pain in my right side above my hip bone.

I had been shot and man did it hurt like a bitch. I bit the inside my cheeks to hold in a scream of agony. I couldn't afford to stop running now. If they caught up to me I'd be as good as dead.

I ran for who knows how long until I stumbled across a familiar tree. Carved into the bark were the letters IA. I sighed in relief and crouched down clutching my side. I paused for a moment and listened for any sign of movement.

Nothing. I relaxed slightly, the men had probably turned back. It was almost completely dark out.

I took this time to catch my breath. I leaned my head back and looked up at the night sky. It was beautiful. I could see the stars as clear as day. There was a full moon tonight which gave everything a silver glow on what otherwise would've been an ominous black night in the forest. It was almost dead quiet with the exception of the locusts.

I was shaken from my reverie when pain once again shot up my side. I took my blood covered hand off of my wound and looked at it to the best of my ability. I could see the butt of the bullet so I didn't go all the through me. I knew that I had to leave it in until I could take it out safely.

It was bitter cold outside now without the heat of the daytime sun. I needed to keep pressure on my wound but also needed to have free hands in order to defend myself. So I made a difficult decision.

My fingers were shaking as I took of my thick grey hoodie. I undid the buttons on the shirt I was wearing underneath and took it off leaving me in a sports bra. I twisted the shirt around twice, then wrapped it around me and tied it tightly in order to keep pressure on the wound. I then put my hoodie back on to keep me warm.

I moved sluggishly from blood loss and from pain. I uncovered the hole I put my stuff in and retrieved it. I slung my quiver over my shoulder and put on my backpack. I took out an arrow and notched it in my bow, pointing it at the ground as I trudged forward.

I didn't walk for long until I was overcame with fatigue. I leaned against a tree trying to regain some strength. I couldn't go on like this much longer. That's when I heard the crunching of leaves. Something or someone was coming.

That's when I saw a boy. What the hell was he doing out here all by himself at night? He seemed completely lost in thought and obviously didn't see me or the infected person that was trailing a few feet behind him. I stood up straight and took my weight off the tree.

Despite my fatigue and gunshot wound, I stood up straight and lifted up my bow. My arrow was already notched so I pulled it back and aimed it at the walker that was directly behind the boy.

He decided at that moment to look up from the ground and see me. His eyes widened considerably and I couldn't help but notice the beautiful blue color of his irises. The moonlight reflected off his cheekbones exposing the freckles that were dotted across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. I noticed he was wearing a cowboy hat which was very odd considering it was almost pitch black outside. Out from beneath his hat I saw dark tufts of thick, wavy hair. He was gorgeous to say the least.

The boy didn't move a muscle which is understandable. Here I was, a stranger, pointed an arrow directly at his head. I'd be shocked too. He still had failed to notice the infected person behind him so I took charge of the situation.

"Duck," I said firmly. Thankfully he complied and ducked down right as I released the arrow. It sunk into the infected persons head causing it to collapse.

I dropped my arms at my side and watched as the boy stood up sharply, looked behind him, then back at me. Neither of us said anything, we merely stared at each other in silence.

My vision was starting to blur and it was getting increasingly more difficult for me to stand up straight. I discreetly used the hand that wasn't holding my bow to touch my wound. I then took the hand out from under my shirt and saw that it was covered in blood.

"Oh shit," I grumbled swaying slightly. I dropped my bow and stumbled forward, no longer able to stand.

The boy reached his arms forwards and caught me. He lowered us to the ground and 0kneeled in front of me as I clutched my side.

"Hey woah are you okay?" he asked me frantically.

I groaned in response. "Does it look like I'm okay cowboy?"

He laughed nervously. "Uh no. No you don't look okay I'm sorry that was a stupid question. What happened to you uh-," he paused not knowing my name. "Hey what is your name anyways?"

I rolled over onto my back and bent my knees upwards. Both of my hands clutched my side while my head ended up in the boys lap. I looked up at the boy and at this point I could barely make out his face because my vision was so obscured. I closed my eyes. I was so tired, all I wanted to do was sleep.

I used all my strength to open my eyes and reply to him though I was so fatigued that I didn't think about what I was going to say until I already said it. "My name is Imogene Adeney but you can call me anytime," I chortled laughing before I passed out for the second time that day.