Annabel was awakened by a snarl she knew she was going to have to get used to. Annabel looked back at Lucy who was frozen solid by fear. Annabel looked out her window. Three of The Plagued had lined up across the car scratching and biting at the glass to get in. Annabel leaned her seat up and turned on the Range Rover. She simply drove away. She looked down at the clock. It was four in the morning. It would be light out bt the time they made it to Atlanta. It was better than total darkness. Lucy crawled back up into the front seat and started messing with the radio to find anything, but still there was only static.

At day break, Annabel couldn't believe what she was seeing. They were miles outside of Atlanta, able to see the streets inside the city. There were hundreds, maybe even thousands of cars, bumper to bumper, all leading out of the city, all abandoned. Annabel glanced over at Lucy. Lucy was sitting high in her seat watching all the cars they passed.

"I don't like this, Mommy," she said. Annabel nodded pulling over on the side of the road. She pulled the map out of the glove box and began to look it over. Lucy leaned over looking at it with her. Annabel grinned. Annabel began to show her how to read a map, knowing it would be a very useful skill to have in the world they lived in now. She explained how the different colors and thickness of all the lines crossing the map showed different kinds of roads. Annabel had already taught Lucy how to find the Cardinal Directions by keeping track of how the shadow of the day moved. It was one of the first skills she was taught.

Annabel wasn't sure why the thought ran through her head, but the thought made her heart leap up into her throat. She realized that there was a very strong chance that one day she would no longer be there. There was a strong chance that one day, she would become one of The Plagued. There was no telling how much of the world's population had become apart of The Plagued. At any moment, they could be swarmed by hundreds of The Plagued.

"We need to find some place away from the citites. Citites are no longer safe." Lucy looked to Annabel giving her a look that reminded her so much of Daryl, she had to look away.

"So, we have to go into the country, right?" Lucy concluded. Annabel nodded absentmindedly chewing on her nail. "How about here?" Annabel glanced at the map. She had to admit, Lucy chose an ideal place. It was well enough out of the way, near a very small town, much like the one they had once called home. The land seemed to be cleared out into the fields surrounded by forest. It had to be be a farm.

Annabel grinned running her fingers through her daughter's hair. Lucy huffed pushing Annabel's hand away. Annabel made a face at her as she reached for the door handle.

"I'm going to fill the tank and get some more gas from these cars." She opened the door and stepped out. "i'll be back. You wait here." Lucy's eyes widened and she jumped towards her mother.

"You can't leave me here! What if those things come?" Annabel gave her a soft smile understanding her fear. Annabel knew she was asking too much of her daughter when she said she needed to learn how to defend herself. It was one of the many conversations they had on the way to Atlanta, but Annabel knew she had to learn, whether she liked it or not.

It scared Annabel to the bone knowing that one day, Lucy may be alone in the world. At any moment, Annabel could be ripped away from her. She swallowed down her fears.

"You have to be brave. Keep alert. If you see one, you have to shoot it in the head."

"I'm not that good of a shot." Annabel balled up her fist and thunked Lucy lightly on the head.

"Come on, Lucy. Do you know your parents?" Lucy gave her another huff. Annabel chuckeld. "I'm not going far. Just right over there. If any of those things come for you, I'll take care of it. Okay?" Lucy nodded. Annabel closed the door. She walked around the back of the Range Rover pulling off one of the five gallon jugs of gas. She walked around to the gas tank and sat the jug down so she could remove the gas cap.

"Mommy! Look out!" Lucy shrieked from inside the vehicle. Annabel spul as she heard someone behind her snarling. It was a man. He didn't appear to be one of The Plagued. His skin wasn't rotting off, it was just dirty. His hair was dirty. He was just a dirty man. He'd looked like he'd not showered in months. He had a Lousiville Slugger raised over his head swinging it down on her like an executioner's axe. His eyes were wild.

Annabel gasped bringing her arms up above her head instictivly to protect herself from the blow. Annabel felt the bat hit her. Pain shot down her arms, behind her eyes, and up into her brain as she screamed. The pain was replaced with adrenaline when the man brought the bat back up to hit her again.

Annabel dove out of the way, hearing the thunk of the bat hitting the car. Annabel stood quickly and went for the bat. They began to wrestle for control. Annabel grunted as they danced around in their tug-of-war game of survival. There was no doubt in Annabel's mind that the man intended to kill her and possibly Lucy. The man jerked suddenly ripping the bat from Annabel's grasp. Annabel stepped back out of the path of the bat when he swung at her again. Annabel heard the tail light shatter.

Annabel dove for the bat once more gripping it tightly. They wrestled again, this time face to face. Annabel began jerking the bat trying to pull it from his hands, but he showed to be stronger than Annabel. She decided to play dirty. She pulled the bat as hard as she could making the man pull harder on his end. Annabel pushed the bat with all she could, making it go right into the man's sternum. The man gasped for air and loosened his grip from the bat. Taking the oppurtinity and jerked the bat from his hands.

She flipped it in her hands quickly and swung the bat connecting with her attackers head. He fell to the ground in a daze. Annabel picked the bat up above her head and brough it down as hard as she could. And again. And again. Faster and harder with each hit, until she couldn't lift her arms anymore.

She stood before the man, beaten to death by her hand. She let the bat fall to the ground as she tried to catch her breath. The man's face was no longer recognizable. Teeth lay all around him. A pool of blood spread out around his head. Annabel had killed the man. Killed the man in a blind rage of life and death. She had killed many things in her life, but never a human. Her stomach lurched. Not for the factg that she had killed a man, for the fact that it was so easy.

Everyone has thought about killing someone at one point in their life, but there is always that little voice in the back of their head asking if they'd be able to do it or not. People would think they'd hesitate. Annabel didn't even think twice. He wasn't going to hesitate to kill her. So neither did she.

"Mommy!" Lucy shrieked grabbing Annabel's attention. Another man had pulled open the door and was dragging Lucy out of the vehicle. The man was black, tall, and broad shouldered. He could have easily been a defensive lineman.

"Lucy!" Annabel yelled drawing her gun. She ran around the back of the Range Rover, flicking the safety off, aimed, and pulled the trigger. A hole blasted out of the side of the man's headand he fell to the ground. "Get back in the car, Lucy. We're leaving." Lucy nodded and jumped back into the truck. Annabel scanned the area wondering if there were anymore people hiding, waiting for their chance to strike. She cautiously moved to the other side of the vehicle snatching up the gas can. She put it back on the back of the car. After it was stowed, she wasted no time getting into the car.

She turned the car around and began to drive towards the area Lucy had picked out for them. Pain shot through Annabel's arms as the adrenaline began to give death she had brought began to weigh heavily on her shoulders. She had taken the lives of men, possibly innocent, driven to desperation byh the end times. They could have wanted something to eat. Something to drink. Something for safety. Guilt washed over her. They could have been acting on behalf of their family. She could have ripped a family apart.

She looked over at Lucy. She stared at her hands, her little lip quivering. The guilt backed off. No, those men were trying to rip her family apart. They were trying to leave her daughter alone in the scary world. They could have been trying to kill the both of them.

"Are you hurt?" Annabel asked looking her daughter over. Lucy quickly shook her head as tears rimmed her eyes. Annabel pulled over on the side of the road. "Come here, sweety." Annabel tugged her hand pulling her daughter into her lap. Lucy began to cry in Annabel's chest. Annabel shushed her as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"It's going to be hard to trust anyone," Annabel whispered. Lucy nodded clutching at her mother's shirt. Annabel sat there for a long while holding Lucy against her until her crying had stopped. Annabel's arms were on fire. They had to have to have been fractured or something. She had went her entire life without a broken bone and not even a month into the end of the world, she had to go and get her arm fractured. It didn't feel broken. Not that she knew what a broken bone felt like, but she figured she'd just know if it was. Like an instinct.

"Climb in the back and get me the first aid kit, would you?" Lucy nodded and climbed in the back. Annabel looked at her arms seeing the start of bruises show up on her skin. She faught back a chuckle when she thought about leaving the Slugger behind. That was the best baseball bat. The best in the world. Perfect for smashing brains in. And she just left it on the side of the road.

"Here Mommy," Lucy said handing her the kit.

"Thanks, baby." Annabel opened it going for the pain killers first. She grabbed the bandages and began wrapping it around her arms hoping that wrapping it would help.

"He got you pretty good, didn't he?" Annabel nodded as she finished her first arm, then went to wrap her second arm. "They were going to hurt us, Mommy," Lucy whispered. Annabel stopped wrapping her arm and looked at her. She was looking at her arm, but her mind was elsewhere. Annabel just watched her, letting her work through her thoughts on her own. She looked so much like her father in that instant, it made Annabel's heart hurt. The way her eyebrows knitted together whenever she was thinking. The way her eyes seemed so focused, yet so distant. "I don't want to be afraid." Her words took Annabel by surprise. She wasn't even sure why. Perhaps it was the determination. Perhaps it was the acceptance.

Annabel reached her hand over and pulled Lucy forward to give her a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"You don't have to be. You just can't hesitate." Lucy sat for a moment.

"Like you didn't." Annabel sighed. She began wrapping her arm again.

"Yeah, just like I didn't."

They started on their way once more. The kills she had done began to weigh on her once more. They were human. They werne't even Plagued. Why did they attack her?

Her arms throbbed every time she moved them, but she could still move them. She prayed they were just bruised. She looked over to Lucy seeing her in that deep thought.

"What are you thinking about?" Annabel asked grabbing her daughter's attention. Lucy glanced at her mother then back down to her hands.

"If we find Daddy, will you guys fight?" At first, Annabel wasn't sure how to react. Annabel wasn't aware that Lucy knew they had fought. At the end of the marriage that was all they ever did. She had always just assumed Lucy never heard it since they always took it into the bedroom. She supposed that's what ever parent thought.

"No, honey, I don't think we will."

"Will you hug him?" Annabel gave her a strange look. Annabel could understand that she missed her father, but why would she be asking questions like that? Annabel had never thought about how she would react if they ever found Daryl again. There was just too much history. She wasn't sure if they could ever go back to the way things were before the end came.

The ache began to work its way back up into her chest. She chose not to answer Lucy. Mainly because she didn't know how to answer her. She didn't know if they were ever going to see him again. The world had become a much bigger place. It wasn't like she could pick up a phone and call him. Hell, she couldn't even write a letter.

Daryl could have went to Atlanta. He could've been there when it all fell apart. He could've been one of The Plagued already. The sudden realization hit her like a ton of bricks. She slammed on the brakes stopping the car in the middle of the road. Her whole body had went numb. Daryl could've been dead. She felt something rising in her break. Tears began to fall. She heard Lucy put the car in park. Annabel slowly looked at her daughter. Daryl's daughter. Their daugther.

Lucy was the only thing she had left of him. The only thing she had left to remember him by. Lucy slid into the center of the bench seat and hugged Annabel. Annabel let out a sob wrapping her arms around her daughter holding her tight.

"I miss him too, Mommy," Lucy whispered. Annabel let out something that was a cross between a scoff and a sob. She released Lucy holding her at arm's length. Annabel pushed her hair away from her face and kissed her forehead. Annabel began to drive again. Lucy leaned up against Annabel grabbing her hand.

A/N: Here we go, another chapter. Hope you all like it. Please review.

Sevvus: I'm sorry I made you sad, but there is a reason for everything. Thanks for reading!

SandraSmit19: I don't know why I don't get many reviews, but it's whatever. I write for me and the loyal few there are. ;) Thanks for reading!