I DO NOT OWN THE THE WALKING DEAD. FROM HERE ON OUT, THE CHAPTERS WILL BE SPLIT BETWEEN CHARLIE'S JOURNEY AND ALAN'S JOURNEY.

(Charlie POV)

Rick shared Charlie's disgust at the sight of the white sheet encased corpses that were piled outside of the hospital. They were just as nasty now as they were when Charlie had walked in and the two males had to keep waving their hands around to keep the files out of their faces.

"Ah shit!" Rick exclaimed, shaking his head as they made their way past the stiffs.

"This is freaking nasty!" Charlie agreed and by unspoken agreement, the pair tried to get as far from the hospital as they could while the sun was still up.

"Up there," Rick pointed as he and Charlie clambered up an embankment; they saw a fenced off military center with vehicles and even a helicopter, but they were all out of commission and funnily enough, the soldiers were gone, not even their bodies were left behind.

"Damn, it would have been awesome to have a chopper; I've never ridden in one before." Charlie lamented as Rick sighed at the unwelcome sight.

"We'll just have to find other means of transportation." And a ways out, they did indeed find other means of travel; it wasn't Charlie's most favorite mode of transport, but he had to tell himself it was quieter than a car and less of a resource drain.

"A bicycle...oh man." Charlie griped as Rick gave him a stern look, though he wore a small smile as well.

"Beggars can't be choosers Kid, I'll pedal and you stand on the back spokes, we'll both hold onto the handles." Grimes explained and Charlie nodded. As they got on, they saw to their horror that a legless zombie was attempting to crawl towards them. A wave of pity washed over Charlie and now he was glad of the bicycle, at least he had legs.

"Oh shit!" Rick exclaimed in terror.

"Try not to look at it, just keep peddling!" Charlie muttered in return as the two pedaled like Hell. Rick pedaled until they reached a neighborhood that looked all too familiar to Charlie.

"This is my neighborhood..." he said as Rick seemingly ran out of steam and had to stop, walking the bike along the road.

"I gotta find my wife and son, but we can keep an eye out for your folks along the way." Rick insisted as he made his way into a house that Charlie assumed was his as Charlie himself spotted his former home and ran inside, forgetting about the Dead threat.

"Mom...Dad!" Charlie yelled as he ran through the house. The place was in a state of dishevelment. Everything was thrown about as if the place had been ransacked by thieves. When Charlie made his way upstairs, he found that his bedroom had been untouched, as if he had never left. As Charlie moved into his parents' bedroom, he saw them standing by the window, entering cautiously.

"Mom...dad...I'm so glad you're okay, don't worry, I'm home now, we can get out of here together." He promised with a small smile. But soon, Charlie's joy and hope turned to horror in his stomach; his parents turned around slowly and he felt sick, those dead and empty eyes stared at him, his mother's usually loving face turned grey and rotten.

Mr. Grant growled as he and his wife began to lumber towards their son, hands outstretched hungrily, fingers curled into claws, he could see the angry looking bites that decorated their skin, evidence of their attack.

"No," Charlie screamed in pain as he quickly slammed shut and locked the door. He heard his zombified parents banging at the door as he started to cry, pressing his forehead against the door and allowing himself a few minutes. His family was gone and he was alone again...he wondered whether or not Alan was safe but soon his thoughts returned to the injured man he'd been with. Charlie ran out of his house and saw Rick sitting on the porch of his own home, his head in his hands. Rick glanced over and saw Charlie, motioning him to come over wearily.

"What did you find?" Rick asked softly as Charlie fell to his knees, sitting on the curb and wrapping his arms around his knees like a smaller child.

"My parents are zombies!" He croaked, throat tight as Mr. Grimes pulled him in for a tight hug; Charlie sniffed and leaned in closer.

"I'm so sorry kid." Rick said softly as the escapee cried on his shoulder. They stayed like that for a few moments until over Rick's shoulder, Charlie saw a young black kid coming towards them with a shovel held tightly in his hands.

"Rick, look out!" Charlie exclaimed as the man turned and took a shovel to the face.

"Daddy, daddy I got one!" The boy exclaimed as Charlie glared at him, standing beside Rick.

"Carl. I found you." Rick murmured, mistaking the kid for his son in his delirium.

"Daddy, I got the son of a bitch! I'm gonna smack him dead!" The kid swore, raising the shovel to take a second swing and mulch Rick's head.

"No, he didn't do anything, he wasn't bit." Charlie snarled as he saw an older black man shoot an incoming zombie.

"Did he say something? I thought I heard him say something." The older man said as he came over, just as wary as Charlie felt.

"He called me Carl."

"Son, you know they don't talk." The boy's father said as he noticed Rick's injury. "Hey, mister, what's that bandage for?"

"What?" Rick asked slowly.

"What kind of wound?" he asked as he turned the gun on Charlie. "You answer me, damn you. What's his wound?"

"I think he said it was a gunshot from before, he isn't a zombie, I swear!" Charlie exclaimed, desperate as Rick passed out, in more danger than before.

(Alan POV)

Alan twiddled his thumbs as Shane's car stayed right where it was, stuck in monstrous traffic on the highway. He had been striking up a conversation with Shane and the Grimes' but now he was starting to get anxious. Eventually, everyone got out of the car to stretch their legs, looking around nervously for danger.

"These cars are going nowhere fast." Shane complained as he spat on the asphalt, glowering at the other cars. As Alan stretched his legs, he saw a few people getting out of the RV next to Shane's car; one of them was an old white guy, another was a white lady in her 30's, and the last was the most beautiful creature that Alan had ever seen in his life. Her skin was white as snow and her eyes were a crystal shade of blue, but she looked scared, a frown wound on her face as she looked around.

"This is like the world war one of traffic jams." The old man commented as Shane chuckled, holding out his hand.

"You got that right, the name's Shane Walsh; this is Alan Hayes, Lori Grimes, and her boy Carl." He said as he shook hands with the geezer, who smiled widely.

"Dale Horvath." The man replied kindly, the pair of blondes stepping forward.

"I'm Andrea Harrison and this is my sister Amy." The older of the two said as she introduced herself and her sister, who shook their hands and smiled.

"Hi," Amy said as she locked eyes with Alan.

He could feel his heart beating faster than usual. He was in no way a stranger to having crushes, but he didn't think this was just an ordinary crush; Alan had to concede that he had never actually known real beauty until he met Amy Harrison.

IS IT LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT? REVIEWS NEEDED AND APPRECIATED.