A New World

Chapter 1 - The Caravan

Charlottes P.O. V

A low rattling and a groan from my car indicated that I wouldn't be going any further. "No, no no, please don't do this now!" I groaned as my rental car finally came to a shuddering halt. Groaning and knocking my head against the steering wheel I closed my eyes and let out a deep breath from frustration. Deciding not to wallow in self-pity I reached into the backseat and grabbed my backpack which contained all of my belongings that I had left in this new world. Checking to see if it was safe to do so first I grabbed the handle to the door and got out, deciding to get some air whilst deciding on my new plan of action.

Placing my bag on the bonnet of the car I unzipped and reached into the front pocket of my pack grabbing the map that I had managed to find a few days ago along with my pen. Unfolding it I could see that I had managed to travel around 15 extra miles today before my car decided to give up. Along those 15 miles I didn't come across a single gas station or any other cars that I could siphon diesel from. I could see that I was still on the same straight road that lead to Atlanta. This was originally my destination as there were rumours of a refugee centre at the beginning of this outbreak, however I had decided to stay where I was and listen to my friends that I had made during my trip here and not head there. But they were all gone now, and I was alone.

Taking a deep breath I to calm myself from the memories of loosing them all, I looked back at the map and saw that I was a while away from Atlanta still. If I kept walking along this road I should be able to get there within a day or two. If I found a car that I could get running along the way I should be able to shorten this trip even more.

I folded up my map and placed it and the pen back into the front pocket of my pack, securely zipping that compartment back up. I then opened up the main part of my pack to take stock of my provisions. At the bottom of the pack I had a change of clothes which contained a pair of jeans, a top and a few sets of clean underwear. There were also a few toil tires in there too which included my toothbrush, a half empty tube of toothpaste, a hairbrush, some spare hair ties as a girl could never have too many of them and some feminine hygiene products. On top of this I had 3 cans of tomato soup left over, a few breakfast bars, some trails mix and 4 bottles of water leftover. I bit my lip in thought frowning, knowing that I had to ration my provisions well until I reached Atlanta, or found a shop or a house to scavenge some more supplies, if not I wouldn't last long out here at all.

Deciding to worry more about that later I walked around the car to the back passenger car door, opening it to reach into the backseat to grab the weapons that I was lucky to come across near the beginning of this outbreak, just after I had lost my friends. I pulled out the red compound bow which has 3 arrows attached to it and the black quiver which contained 12 arrows off the backseat, taking them to the bonnet of the car and placed them both next to my back pack. Smiling to myself I was secretly glad that I had taken up archery back home in England as a hobby. Who would have thought when my mom signed my up for this activity at the age of 12 that I would be needing this skill to survive on a daily basis in this new world. I inspected the compound bow closely checking the grip ensuring that it was stable with no cracks or splits, the arrow rest and bow sight making sure that they were attached properly and also the cable. Happy with the overall condition of the bow I paced it back on the bonnet to grab the quiver which I was able to attach to the left side of my hip on my belt. On the right side of my hip I carried a small hunting knife which I had also managed to find with the bow and quiver.

Grabbing my pack which I slung over my shoulders I reached out and grabbed my bow, deciding to carry it in case I needed it. Walking away from the car I turned around to give it one last look. "Guess the only thing to do now is to keep moving forward" I muttered to myself, starting my long walk to Atlanta.

The sun was beating down relentlessly against the back of my shoulders and neck. Grimacing I knew that I would be burnt up by the end of the day. Note to self, remember to pick up sunscreen during my next scavenging trip I thought to myself bitterly. I must have been walking along this same stretch of road now for at least an hour and hadn't come across a single gas station, car or building. Thankfully that also meant that I haven't come across any biters, but this didn't put me at ease seeing as I was walking along the side of the road next to a forest, which could be hiding God only knows what.

Sighing to myself I walked a bit further up the road, coming to a stop at a large tree. Deciding to take a break and have a rest out of the suns rays I placed my bow against the large tree, then slung the backpack off my shoulders placing that next to my bow. Crouching down I opened the main compartment and took out a breakfast bar and a bottle of water. Groaning as I sat down I was hardly aware of small caravan of vehicles approaching where I was. My ears picked up the sound of the approaching cars, before my eyes did.

"Shit! Shit!" I panic to myself as my eyes widen at the convoy. I quickly drop the unopened bottle water and breakfast bar from my hands to the ground, then scurry over to my bow next to the tree. Crouching down still I pull an arrow from the quiver at my hip and draw it back, getting ready as I hear the caravan of vehicles slows down, no doubt that they saw me.

I jumped from the sound of a truck sounding its horn once at the back of the caravan, which was also the closest vehicle to me. Lifting steadily from the crouch that I was in I moved slowly backwards to be closer to the tree with my pack in case I needed to make a break for it in the woods behind me. The sound of a car door opening to my right made me turn and aim my bow at two approaching men, one coming from a Cherokee and the other from an open-top jeep. They both paused briefly to confer with each other, glancing at me.

The door to the truck which was to my left opening, causing me to jump and back up more towards the tree, swinging my body that way whilst aiming down my sights at the man that got out off the truck. He had dirt covering his face and along his arms and was wearing a flannel shirt with the sleeves ripped off. In his arms he carried a crossbow which he didn't aim at me, thank God, but had it ready just in case.
The two men that were approaching together from the right had drawn their guns, and had started at a jog towards me, whilst the one wielding the crossbow tilted his head at me, narrowing his eyes. I stood taller at this, trying to convey to them that I had no fear, yet on the inside I just wanted to grab my pack and leg it into the forest.

"I don't want no trouble!" I shouted out, my voice trembling slightly. I grimaced at this as this would alert them to my fear of this situation. I saw the group of two men eyes widen at my accent.

"Why don't you put your bow down, and we can talk peacefully?" One of the men on my right called over to me. I looked over and saw it was the one dressed up as a sheriff. I frowned at this, didn't he know that the world had ended? Why is he still dressing this way? I thought to myself.

"You could always put your gun down first" I croaked out, the lack of water not helping the projection of my voice.

"Why'd we stop Rick? We don' have time for this," The man next to the sheriff Rick? Complained, glaring in my direction, gun still aimed at me. I looked back definitely, narrowing my gaze at him. "Ain't the time to be picking up any strays."

I scoffed at this, sneering at him and the audacity of this prick. It's not as if I flagged them all down with a hitchhiking sign and my thumb out now is it! I chanced a glance at the man from the truck, who was looking between the three of us with his eyes still narrowed. They landed on me, I could see that they were an icy blue. I held his gaze until the sheriff called my attention back.

"Shane, settle down brother!" he aimed at his companion, frowning in my direction he slowly raised one of his hands whilst lowering his gun, placing it back into its holster. "Hey," he focused on me, both his hands now raised palm up in a placating manner, "My names Rick, an' this here is Shane an' Daryl." He indicated to the man on my left. "What you do out here? Are you alone?" he asked.

I thought for a moment about lying, saying that I have a group waiting for me further into the woods, that I was out here scavenging. But I had a feeling that they would see right through that seeing as I had no car and there were no building around for miles it seemed. I didn't like the way that the one called Shane kept glaring at me. Slowly lowering my bow, but keeping my arrow in my hand I looked Rick in the eyes, holding his gaze. I couldn't see no ill intention behind his expression but I still had to be weary. "Why?" I ask, my eyes narrowing in suspicion.

Looking back at the caravan and taking a breath Rick looked back at me. "Because we are a large group. We have women and children. We are on the way to Atlanta, tryin' to get to the CDC. You can join us, if you want to." he offered me. My eyes widen at his offer, ignoring the scoff from Shane.

"You bein' serious Rick?" He muttered to Rick, but clearly didn't care about his volume, if I heard him or not. "We don' even know this woman, and you want her to tag along with us? With Lori and Carl?"

I think about his offer, still ignoring what Shane had said, the glares he kept aiming at me. I could join this group I thought to myself, not be alone, safety in numbers and all that. I bit my lip considering his proposition, glancing up at the one called Daryl. He was watching this all unfolds, he hadn't said a word, just observed it all.

"I'm alone," I admit, looking Rick in the eyes, "I have been for a while now. I lost my friends at near the beginning of this outbreak, and I have no family here either." I look down at this and close my eyes, a wave of pain at the thought of my family washing over me. I'll never know what happened to them. "I'd like to join you, for a while at least, if that would be okay?" I ask rick, looking back at him.

Shane lowers his gun, putting it angrily back into its holster still glaring my way. He enjoys glaring at me doesn't he, i think to myself whilst raising my eyebrow at him. What is his problem? Rick pulls him away to converse with him separately. Seems Rick was deciding on what vehicle I would be traveling whilst Shane was still arguing on leaving me behind. Looking at the dynamics between these two my guess was that Rick was the one in charge. I looked over to the one called Daryl who still hadn't said anything. Guess he was a man of not so many words. He held my gaze for around 5 seconds until he looked away, muttering to himself.

"There's room with me in the jeep," Shane says calling my attention back to him, he was still giving me a dirty look from up on the road. Does he even have any over expressions? I wonder to myself. I look at Rick, biting my lip. Not being one to hold back my thoughts on a subject I open my mouth to request to travel in a different vehicle, but a southern drawl from my left beats me to it.

"Nah, I don' think she's gonna wan' to ride with you, with the looks you've been givin' 'er." Daryl narrowed his eyes at Shane, who just scoffed at him. "Got room in my truck for 'er an' 'er belongings. Now lets go, we wastin' time 'ere." He turned and opened the door to his truck and got back in.

I looked over to Rick who in turn nodded towards the truck and turned to leave, tapping Shane on the shoulder to get him to do the same as he was staring Daryl down. "My name," I called out to him which made him turn back and look at me, "It's Charlotte, Charlotte Andrews."

"It's nice to meet you Charlotte, now lets get goin'." He smiled to me before leaving to go back to the Cherokee, pulling Shane after him who just sneered at me before leaving. I quickly returned my arrow back to the quiver, leaned down to grab the breakfast bar, the bottle of water and my back pack and jogged over to the truck. I headed to the passenger side and opened the door, sliding my bag over to rest in between us on the bunk. I undid the quiver placing it in the foothold of the truck. I jumped in shutting the door behind me, placing my bow on the floor in between my legs.

I glanced over at Daryl, who was sat there with his arm resting on the open window waiting for the caravan to start up again. He was biting his thumb, getting impatient with the amount of time it was taking to get going again. He looked over to me, making my eyes widen a little, so I looked away out the window. After a couple of minutes the caravan started up again, and we were on the move. I couldn't believe how eventful my day had ended out to be. From my car breaking down, being stranded in the middle of nowhere alone, worrying about my supplies, to ending up traveling with a group to Atlanta. I just hoped that this wasn't too good to be true.

Daryl P.O. V

The girl didn't speak. I guess she was scared to as she kept sneaking glances my way now and then. I didn't mind it though, quite enjoyed it as I didn't have much to say myself. Never really had, unless I was comfortable around you, knew you or my temper was up. The girl was unusual though. Looking at her I'm surprised that she's made it this far alone seeing as she has been alone from near the beginning apparently, which I believed to be true considering her accent tells me that she's not from here. That and she was only small, I'd say around 5ft 6. She had a tiny frame, but one that was toned, especially her arms which must have come from using the bow. I wonder if she hunts? I think to myself. Her hair was blonde which was piled up in a high ponytail with bits framing her face. She had giant blue eyes full of expression which conveyed her every emotion, which I saw on the road from them that she wasn't either impressed with Shane. This made me smirk to myself at the thought.

We had been on the road now for around two hours, the sun was starting to get low in the sky. My guess was that Rick would call for us to make camp for the night somewhere soon as he wouldn't risk traveling at night. The girl next to me, Charlotte I think is her name as I heard her call it out to Rick before she jumped into the truck, has started to fidget. Guess she's getting restless. She looks to the middle of the truck on grabs her backpack. I tense up a bit as she could be hiding a weapon within it. I look down to my side, making sure that I can reach for my buck knife that is attached to my belt if needed, but looking at her I knew I'd be able to easily overpower her.

She reached into the bag and pulled out a bottle of water and a bag of trail mix. Opening the bag with what's left she grabbed a small handful for herself, then glancing at me she silently offers me some too. Is she tryin' to trick me? Will she pull the bag away if I reach for some? I think to myself, narrowing my eyes at her then the bag. Slowly lifting my right arm off the steering wheel I reach over, hesitantly putting my hand into the top of the bag waiting to see if she would pull it away from me and laugh. When she doesn't I reach in to grab some of the mix, looking at her as I withdraw my hand. She offers me a small tentative smile. I nod my head at her and grunt in thanks.

She's fidgeting next to me again. I glance at her to see that she's now opening a bottle of water. I watch as she raises it to her plump lips, taking a few mouthfuls from it. Again she looks my way, this time not so fearful but offering me that small smile again. "Would you like some water?" She speaks it softly, her accent comes across strongly though. Where is she from? I wonder. I nod my head once, she hands the bottle over to me and I take it taking a few mouthfuls for myself. "Thanks," I mumble to her, putting my attention back onto the road. "No worries" She mutters, placing the lid back on the bottle, then stores it back in the bag along with the remaining trail mix.

A few minutes of silence fill the truck again. I can see from the corner of my eye that the girl keeps glancing at me, her mouth moving as if she wants to say something. She must have built the courage up as I hear her clear her throat, as if to grab my attention. "My names is Charlotte by the way, Charlotte Andrews. I'm guessing your Daryl right?" Her voice sounds clearer from earlier, more volume to it now. Guess the water helped with that. I grunt and nod at her, letting her know that she was right in her assumption of what my name is. She's back to silence after this. I guess she doesn't have much more to say, so she goes back to looking out of the window like earlier.

I was right in my earlier assumption of Rick wanting to pull over and make camp for the night as the Cherokee pulled in to a clearing up ahead on the side of the road, leading the rest of the caravan to this location. I pull the truck up just behind Dales RV, parking it up and getting out to hear what Rick has planned. I look back at the truck as I haven't heard Charlottes'' door open yet. She's still sat in the passenger side, her eyes wide and looking at me and at the group that is assembling around Rick. I frown, maybe this is too much for her? Wait why do I even care? I shake my head at these thoughts and continue over to Rick.

"Right, it's getting too dark to carry on, so we'll stay here for the night. T-Dog, Glenn we're gonna need firewood. Me, Shane 'n Daryl are gonna do a sweep and then set up who's on watch. The rest of you should set up camp and get some foods ready." Rick calls out to the group.

"What about the new girl you've picked up?" Andrea asks, looking pointedly over to the truck where Charlotte was still hiding.

"We should've taken her weapons Rick, you don' know 'er, what she's planning'," Shane huffs out, eyeing my truck now too. I could see from here that Charlotte was staring back at the group that were now eyeing her up.

I frowned at Shanes words, "If she was gonna try somethin' she woulda done it on the way here, had plenty of opportunity," I sneered at Shane. I was getting tired of his attitude towards the girl now.

"You think we can trust her?" Lori aimed at Rick, eyeing Charlotte warily.

"Yeah I think we can. Daryl is right, if she wanted to try somethin' she had the whole ride over to do so" Rick addressed the group. "Imma' head on over to her and see what's up" Rick started to head over, Shane following him. I shook my head and scoffed at Shane, he was more likely to scare the girl off than offer any help. I followed after them, just to make sure Shane wasn't going to be much more of a dick to her. Why do I even care? I wonder to myself again.

As we approached Charlotte slowly got out off the passengers side, leaving her weapons behind, except for her knife on her belt. Smart I think to myself, smirking a little. She must know that the group would come to trust her more if she wasn't fully armed.

"Sorry I was just getting my bearings before meeting your group" She mumbled, looking over Ricks shoulder to the group, which had started taking on their assigned roles. She looks back at Rick waiting for what he has to say.

"That's okay, just comin' over to make sure you're alright'," Rick says, assessing Charlottes weapons for himself, or lack off.

Charlotte could see him looking and must have figured out what he was looking at. "I thought it best to leave my weapons in Daryl's truck, that it would help to put the group at ease," She smiles a little at this, must be nerves. "I'd like to help out setting up the camp if that's okay with you? Could help the group get to know me better too" She asks, eyeing the group again who are milling about behind us, her eyes then coming to land on me, Rick and Shane.

Rick nods his head agreeing with her, "Alright', head on over to Dale, the man with the fishing hat and rifle and see what needs to be done. We should be back soon, we are just doing a quick perimeter check," Rick gestures over to Dale who is stood next to his RV.

"Okay, thanks again for giving me a chance" she smiles at Rick, heading off to the RV.

Shane scoffs at this, shaking his head. I narrow my eyes at him. What is his problem? She's only a small slip of a girl, what harm could she cause? I look back at the girls retreating form as she reaches the RV. I could see her offering a small shy smile to Dale, introducing herself to him. She really was tiny, how has she managed to survive this long alone? I prepare my crossbow, checking it over before leaving to do the perimeter check.