The Great Escape

by ModernNerd20

Elena had been held hostage by the Saviors. After making her escape, she's found half dead along the road and brought back to Alexandria. While she struggles to heal herself physically, she also fights an internal war. Working to trust the people in her new group, Elena finally begins to feel safe. But what happens when the Saviors come to collect their bounty? *Slow Burn Rick/OC

1. Prologue

Hello!

I recently got my boyfriend into The Walking Dead, and damn did I forget how amazing this show is! So here I am.

A little info before we dive in.

1. I'm aiming for a Rick/OC slow burn. But every so often I wonder what it would be like with Daryl instead of Rick. Stay tuned to find out.

2. There are a few minor changes to the plot in this story. For example, Simon is the leader of an Outpost, not at Negan's side.

3. We're in season 6. Glen and Abraham are already gone (insert sobs here). The group is surviving and playing by the Saviors rules, though the smell of rebellion is in the air.

*TRIGGER WARNING* there are mentions of rape and suicide in this story. As a counselor for victims of rape and abuse, I completely understand the effect reading someone else's (even a fiction someone) experience can have on a survivor. Please read with caution.

Okay, lets do this thing!

Prologue

I was going to die.

There were no if's and's or but's about it.

As I laid in the bed of the abandoned truck staring up at the stars, I knew I was dying. And you know what? I was okay with it.

I was done living. I had seen so much. I had been so hurt, tortured, scarred for the rest of my short life, that dying right here under the stars was the best I could hope for. Alone. Silent. Peaceful.

Sure, there was the pain. It spread across my entire body, throbbing at certain injured areas. But I was alone. No one was around to tie me up. No one gropped at my body. No one spat on me as they walked by. No one hit me when I was too weak to respond. It was just me. I controlled my death. And it would happen right here, in the bed of this shitty rundown truck. Just me and the stars.

I couldn't find the energy to look down at my wounded side, but my fingers glided over the spot. It had stopped bleeding some time ago, but it hurt like hell. Rage bubbled in my veins as I recalled the moment I'd acquired it. I had to remind myself that it was over. He was gone. I won.

If you could call this a win.

Funny how in the end, the dead weren't the ones that mattered. They weren't the ones who killed me. The living did.

A raindrop landed on my arm, another on my leg, and the next thing I knew, tiny droplets were massaging my entire body. At least that's how I chose to think of it. I didn't want my last thoughts on this earth to be negative.

Blackness clawed at me, trying desperately to drag me under and into the sweet realm of unconsciousness.

I let it.