Walking Dead: Building Your Own Hope

The first episode of the first story in a Walking Dead series I'm doing, a number of OCs appear in this story, one being a self-insert, two as friends of mine and two other important ones, anyway, enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Walking Dead or its characters.


Season 1: Episode 1

The click of the camera frightened the blonde eighteen year old as she flinched. She whimpered into the tape covering her mouth as she tugged at the bonds that held her. She shivered in the cold due to her floral print mid-thigh dress not exactly being a source of warmth. She wasn't sure exactly how she ended up here or what happened to her, all she knew was she had been walking home at the end of school that day. During her walk home, when alone, a gloved hand had clamped over her mouth and she felt a sting in her neck and her vision swam, her head felt fuzzy and then she blacked out. This led to her waking up as she was, bound with what felt like tape, in this bright white room that prevented her from seeing anything clearly, a shadowy figure was talking in a soft voice although she couldn't quite make out the words. She also heard the occasional click of a camera, as if photos were being taken of her like this.

'What's going on, where...how…?' Her thoughts were jumbled, delirious, 'Stop it, stop doing that, I…'

It sickened her, every time she heard the click of that camera, the knowledge she was being photographed like this. It was only as she began to become more coherent and capable of talking clearly that the tape was stuck over her mouth. She wasn't sure how long she'd been here but it was too much, even though she was relatively sure she hadn't been touched in that way, just hearing the snaps of the camera felt violating to her.

"Well, I think we're done here, Beth." The soft voice said.

She wondered why it sounded so familiar before she felt the familiar sting and then blacked out again.

XXXXX

Alexandria's high school was abuzz with whispers and concerns, all the students were talking about one thing, the now three day long disappearance of senior student Beth Greene. One such student was a Sophomore, a sixteen year old boy with shoulder length shaggy brown hair and bright blue eyes, milky white skin and rather slender. His name was Carl Grimes, son of local Sheriff's Deputy Rick Grimes and housewife Lori Grimes.

'I still can't believe this, why Beth of all people? Why would anyone want to do anything to her?' He thought worriedly.

He knew Beth well, mainly as his family were close friends with Beth's family, and her disappearance made no sense. The especially worrying part being how she just seemed to have vanished into thin air, no clues, no witnesses, nothing.

"Carl?"

He looked up at his name being called and spotted three people approaching him, three of his best friends, all sixteen like him. The first was a girl, roughly the same height as him with long dirty blonde hair, brown eyes and fair skin with a slender slightly curvy build, his childhood and therefore longest friend, Sophia Peletier. The other two were boys, one also five foot six with long blonde hair which he tied back, green eyes and fair skin with an average build, the quiet introverted Andrew Pierce who mainly preferred to work alone but cared about those he grew close to, like the current group of friends. His closest friend however and the one who introduced him to the others was the other boy, Jamie McIntyre who stood at five foot seven with short dark red hair, hazel eyes, fair skin and a toned build, a quiet and attentive young man who while seeming shy was friendly to those he knew well.

Carl smiled softly as they joined him, all of them dressed pretty casually, jeans and T-shirts typically, except Sophia who wore jean shorts.

"Hey guys." He greeted them.

The others smiled and then Jamie noted Carl's expression.

"You're worried too huh?"

Carl sighed. "How can I not be, it's been three days and there's been absolutely no sign of Beth anywhere?"

They were quiet for a moment and then finally Sophia spoke up.

"I know, it's hard. But your dad's looking into it, right?" She asked.

Carl nodded and Andrew gave a reassuring smile. "Then we can be sure of one thing, she'll be found."

Carl almost wanted to laugh at that; it struck him how much faith his friends had in his dad when Carl knew that Rick Grimes would be the first person to admit he was anything but infallible.

"Yeah, I hope so." Was all he said in the end.

Looking over Sophia spoke up. "Well, we're not the only ones worried.

Looking over they saw three more of their friends approaching, sharing the same worried look that they themselves wore. Again two boys and a girl, all dressed in jeans and T-shirts. One boy was slightly older than then, a Junior at 17, five foot nine with light blonde almost brunette hair, blue eyes and fair skin with a slim lanky build, notable by his long legs, Brian Goring who had been friends with Jamie and Andrew first before being introduced to the others. It said something when eve the extroverted social butterfly that Brian was wore a worried look.

The other two were actually a couple, Ron Anderson and Enid McKenzie. Ron was a somewhat tall young man with medium length slightly messy brown hair, brown eyes and fair skin, slender and had his arm around Enid who was notably shorter with long brown hair and green eyes, slender with slight curves and milky white skin.

"Hey." Enid greeted them as they all reached the group.

"You guys too huh?" Ron noted with a concerned look.

They nodded and Brian sighed.

He looked around at the various crowds. "It's unreal. Practically everyone is talking about and worried about Beth. I mean everyone too, even those cheerleaders that teased her before."

They all went quiet at that and began to wonder, worried and unsure what to do next, but before they could dwell on it much longer the bell rang and they knew they had to hurry to class, all going their separate ways. Making her way to her first class of the day, Sophia paused, eyes wide and she felt the heat rising to her face when she saw who was standing outside the classroom already. A fair skinned young man, dressed casually with short brown hair and eyes with a normal build, it was Mikey Carr.

"Hi Sophia." He greeted her with a smile.

"Hi." She managed to reply, cursing herself for her trembling voice. 'Urgh, dammit, I'm embarrassing myself already.'

But she couldn't help it, here she was already seeming awkward despite her attempts to appear otherwise, all due to her crush on Mikey.

Making his own way to class, Andrew soon found himself in a similar situation to Sophia.

"Hi Andrew."

He gave a smile, somewhat nervous. "H-hi."

He swallowed and tried to compose himself as he greeted another friend, one he actually had a crush on, Marissa Garland. She was pale skinned and stood at five foot seven with semi-long golden blonde hair, gray eyes with a thick build and a generous looking bust to go with it, while still dressed casually like the others.

"So, has there been anything, any word about...Beth?" Marissa asked concerned.

She was a usually very perky and energetic girl in spite of having been bullied in the past, sweet and friendly while still being realistic. Her optimism had limits however and her concern for Beth was more than clear.

"Afraid not, I wish there was something." Andrew admitted.

Marissa sighed sadly. "Me too, something bad has happened to her, I'm sure."

Andrew grimaced at that, worried all over Beth again. It was clear both of them were hoping the same thing, that Beth would be found and that she'd be alright. Meanwhile, Jamie had met the final member of their friend group, Laurel Williams, his childhood friend.

"Jamie, has there been any word yet?" She asked at once.

Jamie knew what she was asking and why. "About Beth, afraid not, sorry."

Laurel bit her lip, her concern for Beth, who was good friends with her and showed her nothing but kindness despite the bullying Laurel faced, was evident. Laurel was a taller girl at five foot eight with long brown hair, brown eyes with tanned skin and a slightly chubby build with a rather generous bust. She wore a black gothic short skirt with showed her long legs and thick thighs, a black T-shirt with a skull on it, Black knee high socks and Brown calf-high boots. She was the third of four sisters was usually cheerful and open-natured despite the bullying she faced.

"We'll hear something soon, I'm sure of it." Jamie told her. "We just need to have faith in the police."

Laurel sighed. "I hope so, I really do."

They entered class, like the others all concerned.

XXXXX

School had been a subdued time, even a number of the teachers had been showing so much concern for Beth that their lesson plans were not as effective as they generally would be usually. Now that it was over, the students had all begun to head home. A number of them hurrying, fearful of meeting Beth's unknown fate. While the others had gone their own way to head to their homes, Carl walked with Jamie, Andrew and Laurel to their homes which were close to each other. That was what led to their biggest surprise as they got about halfway home when they noticed a number of police officers, crowded around a small wooded area, one of whom stood out, a tall broad shouldered man with greying dark hair, bright blue eyes, fair skin and unshaven, it was Carl's dad, Rick Grimes.

"Dad, what's going on?" Carl burst out on seeing him.

Rick turned and started in shock. "Carl, jeez what are you...hold on, stay back."

Carl stopped, as did the others, confused. "What, dad…?"

"It's Beth...we've found her."


End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.