Hello guys! Sorry I haven't left a small message before but I just wanted to say thanks! I'm kind of new at this Fan-Fiction stuff and I thank you for your views, follows, faves, reviews, and overall support! I will try to post daily chapters, but I'm sorry if that doesn't happen. I have school and responsibilities so I apologize in advance. I hope you enjoy my story and leave any hints or suggestions in your reviews XOXO

-Syd

I looked up and noticed the nearest house's door was hanging ajar and a mixture of hope and fear surged through me. Beth, Daryl, Maggie, Glenn? Are they alive? Are they okay? I ran forward and drew my gun. I burst through the door and was me by one walker. I quickly took it out with my knife.

"Hello?" I yelled. "HELLO?" I yelled louder.

I wandered the house to find nothing and no one. I sighed, false hope. I was about to check the upstairs just in case when I noticed that a faint glow was emitting from the doorway to the basement. Slowly I walked over and threw open the door. I started down the steps.

In the basement was a girl.

She was propped up against the wall. She had fallen over and her body was limp. She looked ghostly pale in the light, but beautiful in a strange and unexplainable way. Her dirty blonde hair stood out in the dark. I knelt down beside her and hesitated. What if she was dead? Or a walker?

I touched her hand lightly. It was cold. Cold, but not so cold that there was a chance she was still alive. I hesitantly placed my hand over her chest. When I did her eyes fluttered open and I drew my hand back in surprise.

"Derek? Benny?" She asked her voice barely a wheeze.

Her green eyes were startlingly bright and they stared at me, trying to focus. Beautiful. That was the one word that came to my head. Her eyes slowly closed and I moved forward. I shook her shoulders and got no reaction. I felt for her heartbeat once more. It was there but, faint. I could barely hear the thump, thump or see the rising and falling of her chest.

"Alright," I spoke to her even though I knew she couldn't hear me. "Let's get you out of here."

I lifted her into my arms. I struggled a bit, but she was light, surprisingly considering she was almost as tall as me. I barely had any trouble as I carried her out to the road. I set her on the hood of a car and yelled as loud as I dared for my dad. He emerged from a few houses down, backpack in hand.

"Are you okay?" he asked anxiously. I nodded and he showed me his haul of a few water bottles and a bag of chips. "What did you find? Anything good?" He asked studying me.

"Well kind of." I walked him to the car where I had lain the girl. He drew his gun in surprise before he realized she wasn't awake. He looked at me and I looked at her. I was not going to leave her here and that was my final decision.

"Is she alive? Bit?"

Damn. I had forgot to check her for bites.

"She's definitely alive. She woke up for a minute when I found her, asked me if I was 'Benny' or 'Derek' and then went out like a light bulb. I forgot to check her for bites."

He sighed and put his hands to his head. "Check" was all he said.

I moved forward and hesitantly unzipped and removed her hoodie, tossing it aside. I felt conscious and did not want to do this. My dad was looking at me expectantly so I reluctantly moved on. I shifted her tank top around searching her stomach, neck, and back for bites. Suddenly her eyes fluttered open once again and I jumped back in surprise at the glimmer of their green color.

She looked dazed and sleepy at first and then her eyes focused.

Oh god. This looked BAD. She looked down at her tank top which had been rolled up to reveal her slender stomach, which I was checking for scratches or bites. Her eyes widened in horror and flooded with anger. She rolled her tank top down and crawled away from us quickly. She was not paying attention and she fell right off the hood of the car.

Immediately I was at her side as I knelt down beside her. She was clutching her head and she held her other arm to her hip.

"Are you okay?" I asked genuinely concerned.

"No I'm not okay!" She yelled and she slapped me hard across the face. Instantly my cheek burned and my eyes watered instinctively.

She made an attempt to stand up and crumpled. I caught her, but she shoved me away.

"Stay away! Don't touch me! I'm fine!" she yelled. She crawled away from me and I stood up slowly backing away. "Would you like to explain WHAT THE HELL YOU WERE DOING?!" she spat.

"I-I…." I stammered. Her expression softened a little and her now hardened green eyes became bright and soft once more. I finally managed to find my words. "I'm sorry. It looks bad, I know. I just I…I found you and I carried you…I carried you out here and-, "she cut me off.

"You carried me?" She sounded surprised and for the first time she scanned her surroundings. She hugged herself. She looked self-conscious and awkward, sort of how I felt. I nodded. "And how does that explain this?" she gestured around her and to the car where her hoodie still lay, sprawled across the hood.

"Oh sorry!" I said and I picked up her hoodie and tossed it to her. She looked surprised, but instinctively reached out a hand and caught it while looking me over as if determining how she felt about my presence. Okay, pull it together Carl. "I was checking you for bites. I didn't want to, but I had to. I had to. I'm so sorry."

She paused in the middle of fumbling with the zipper of her hoodie and looked up. Her green eyes bore into my blue ones until I had to look away. She tilted her head to the side and then sighed. She attempted to stand, pushing herself up, hoodie in hand.

I walked over and grabbed her arm. I flung it over my shoulder for support. She looked at me sort of annoyed, but when she realized I was not going to let her go she gave up. We took a couple steps, then she broke out into a fit of coughing, and passed out in my arms.