You never expect that your life is going to begin when the world is ending, but that's just what it did. One minute it was the normal day to day the next it was gunfire and the dead walking. Literally just up and walking. No one wanted to believe it at first. Certainly not her, no she knew that it had to be some hoax they were playing. Until the gunfire stopped. Then it became all to real because if the soldiers weren't fighting anymore who was?

3 Months Later

Her boots slapped cracking asphalt as the groans grew louder, hungrier. The desperation was sliding down her back in rivers with her own sweat. This was it. It'd been a good run but what a laugh even that was. She would die on her feet though. She would make sure that she killed as many as she could so that the next person had a better shot of living. Because that's what it was about now, living.

"HEY!"

"Great, hallucinations now Carol?" She huffed another breath before heaving herself over another fence. "It's not bad enough that you're going to die here but now you're hallucinating"

The fence shaking behind her made her bones feel brittle. Like she was going to break at any moment. If moments were all she had then she would die fighting. Pulling her knife from the sheath she whipped around and swung.

"WHOA!" A voice cried out. "Watch it lady."

Carol sucked in a breath and stared blinking into the bluest eyes she'd ever seen. It didnt'make sense. There was just bodies behind him. How did he manage to kill them all without her hearing him.

"Sorry." Carol puffed out.

"You've been making quite a bit of noise." The voice was petulant...young.

Carol eyed the man, no kid in front of her with suspicion and nodded. Backing up a few steps but keeping her knife handy; she stared. He was younger than her first glance really registered and she felt suddenly sick. Kids didn't make it long out here. Not anymore, not when dying in your sleep even meant waking up to try to eat your own loved ones. No, the kids went fast.

"Have you went dumb?" He snorted a laugh and scanned around them. He was twirling a knife in his hands idly. "Listen we can't stay in the open like this. Thanks to you I'm alone for the time being."

"Sorry?" Carol nodded. "Sorry for the noise."

"No, no that...that was me being an ass." He rolled his shoulders and stood taller. "Names Logan Dixon."

He said this like it should mean something to her but she wasn't from this area. Roaming around and always staying on the move kept her from putting roots down. Roots were bad at the end of the world.

"Nice to meet you kid, but I really need to get going before more of those show up."

He laughed and nodded, eyes again desperately searching. It made her sick because she'd seen that look before in someone searching for a lost loved one. He'd said she made noise, too much. Did she bring these walking corpses here? Did she cause him to lose someone. She couldn't think like that though. There was no place for that.

"I'd wait a few minutes." he said sagely. "Dad will want to make sure the woods are clear before leaving. Are you hungry?"

Dad? He's not alone. That's who he's searching for.

"You didn't say your name…." He dug roughly in a pack before presenting her with a power bar and bottle of water. "Kinda rude since I did save you."

Carol snorted and stared at the teen in front of her. "Names Carol."

"Carol...Carol...Carol." he shifted on his feet. A grin splitting his face, "Well Carol, where are you from?"

Carol took the food and water given and slowly chewed. She wasn't sure what to make of this kid. No teen, he was a teen. Her eyes scanned the surroundings as well. He'd said his dad was in the woods around them so he wasn't alone. You learn real quick that without someone type of guidelines people became disgusting quick. It'd be a shame to think that of everyone but she had to protect herself. Besides she wasn't running from a small group. How did this Logan and his dad take out this whole group without her hearing them. How?

"Not here."

"Should I call you Tallahassee?" He chuckled to himself and she cracked a slight smile. "Call me Norton, then."

Carol snorted a laugh and sighed. "I'm from Georgia."

"Okay, so Georgia it is then." He nodded again. Sure of himself. "You're far from home aren't you."

Carol looked around not sure of where she was to begin with. She'd drove for awhile, walked, ran, and fought her way here this whole time.

"Where is here?" Carol questioned.

"You're in Virginia." He stated. "You're nearly to the Virginia and Kentucky border."

Carol sucked in a breath. She went north. It'd been a sound plan in the start but winter was near and now she wasn't so sure. She didn't know anything about this area. She needed maps and to begin gathering supplies.

"I can see you panicking." He shifted on his feet.

Bird song whistled through the air and Carol couldn't help but feel her shoulders relax. Birds didn't come out if the dead were near. Nothing did. Logan looked past her and whistled as well, sounding very much like a bird himself. Carol stared at him and watched as he relaxed his shoulders but never stopped twirling the knife he held. She tensed as the sound of boots came from behind her.

"Hey dad." Logan chirped.

Carol swiveled around and turned her back away from Logan to have both of them in her sight. She sucked in a breath of nerves and tried to brace herself in case of a fight. It'd been so long since she interacted with people she almost forgot how. Logan looked almost giddy and it made her want to smile. It did her too but she held it back, she didn't cost him his father at least.

"Don't ever run off like that again." A voice snapped out.

"Now hold on dad, listen Georgia here needed help." Logan pleaded, knife disappearing somewhere within his clothes. "She was going to be walker chow."

Carol huffed out a breath but didn't interject. She knew she was dead if hadn't been for these two. She got her first good look at the man and knew she was out of her depths. He was head to toes born for the end of the world. He had a bow of all things in his hand and knives everywhere on him. She could see two guns but they were holstered and something in her gut curled.

His eyes shot to her briefly and scanned over her before looking to his son again. "Logan."

That one world held a lifetime of weight in and worry. He'd been scared. Of course he was this was his son. Logan ducked his head and nodded. He stepped away from where he'd been and walked to his dad.

"She was also starving..." Logan muttered.

The man shot a look at his son before looking back at her. He cocked his head to the side, his wild dirty blonde hair falling into his eyes just enough to annoy her. He stared at her for a long time before he nodded.

"Okay, Georgia...we got a group back a few miles if you want to check it out." He stepped forward swinging the bow over his shoulder as if holstering it. "Women and kids both are there. Survivors. No funny business."

Carol swallowed heavily. She wasn't sure if it was a trap or not but Logan looked so pleased that his dad spoke that she again fought smiling. She shivered in place as the cool end of summer air brushed her arms. The man noticed and grimaced before kneeling and digging in his own pack. He came back up tossing a worn hoodie. Carol caught it before it could slap her in the face.

"If you change your mind..."He paused and seemed to be reading her. "Go to Appalachia. We'll see you."

This man turned to look at his son and jerked his head. They were leaving. They weren't going to hurt her.

"You didn't give me a name...Your name." Carol questioned.

The man looked over his shoulder, the building casting a shadow over him, "Daryl."