Here's chapter one, following the events of the pilot episode. Hope you like it!

Chapter 1

Meeting Rick

Charlie left her room that morning, backpack on her shoulders and bow at the hip and cursed when she realized that the room in front of her was open. The gurney that had been put there to keep the door closed had been moved to the side and the room itself was empty. That only meant one thing. Rick Grimes was awake.

She started to search desperately for him, not wanting to lose him and consequently the only familiar thing in this unfamiliar, scary world.

She breathed in relief when once outside, she found him stumbling among the corpses laid out on the ground and covered in white sheets.

"Grimes!" She called. "Rick Grimes! Wait!"

Rick turned around, squinting his eyes to focus on the figure of the girl walking towards him. The mass of long, blonde hair was the first thing he noticed, outlying her face and waist like a halo. The closer she came to him, the more he could see of her features. She was young, closer to twenty than twenty-five, and, objectively, very attractive, with long legs and a thin but curvy body. She was probably an athlete of some sort, or at least one who did physical exercise regularly.

The way she was dressed struck him as odd. Not what she was wearing since she had a normal red top and jeans on. No, it was the weapons she was carrying and the big backpack on her shoulders that was strange. He noticed the gun and knife strapped to her belt and the bow she was holding and frowned in confusion, wandering if she had a license for the gun and why she was running around with so many weapons in the first place. Once she reached his side, her light green eyes fixed on his face and she smiled at him in relief.

"Excuse me, do I know you?" He asked her, not unkindly.

She shook her head, maybe a little embarrassed. "No, no. I just know your name because it was written on the medical chart at the footboard of your bed. I'm Charlie, by the way." She said, extending her hand towards him. "Well, Charlotte, really but I prefer Charlie." She rumbled nervously.

Rick smiled at her and shook her hand. "Pleased to meet you. Were you a nurse or a patient too? Do you know what happened to the hospital? Why it's deserted and there are bodies everywhere."

Charlie grimaced. "Hum...no, I'm not a nurse nor was I a patient. I'm sorry to tell you this but you slept through the end of the world."

Rick looked at her in disbelief, his blue eyes staring at her intently. "What? Is this a joke?"

Charlie laughed nervously. "I wish. No, unfortunately the apocalypse happened, in the form of dead people waking up and eating the living. You know, like zombies, only they eat flesh instead of just brains. I call them biters but you can call them however you want."

Rick closed his eyes for a second, feeling out of sort, before opening them once again with a look of determination. "I...I don't have time to think about this. I need to find my family." He said, his voice expressing all the disbelief he was feeling.

Charlie smiled at him in understanding. "It's okay if you don't believe me but I'm coming with you. I don't want to sound intrusive or whatever but you're extremely vulnerable right now. You have no idea what's going on and without a weapon and not knowing how to kill them, you're in real danger. It's better this way, trust me."

Rick looked at her, her serious expression convening the truth in her words and he nodded. He wasn't sure he believed her but, at the same time, he didn't not believe her. He nodded then once and turned around, not protesting. Charlie breathed a sigh of relief and followed him.

Charlie followed Rick up an embankment with a helicopter, military tents and vehicles all set up. The place had been destroyed and abandoned.

They walked until they reached the street where Rick and his family used to live. Rick went to take the bike parked against a wall but Charlie stopped him. There was a walker there, sleeping for now, and missing her legs.

"Wait! It may not seem like much at the moment but a bite or a scratch can turn you into one of them." "Are you sure she's not just a rotting corpse?"

"She is a rotting corpse but she's awake." She hit the corpse with her boot and the thing started moving. Rick took a few steps back, freaked out. "See? Better take care of it just in case."

"How do you kill them then?"

"You have to hit the brains. Don't know why, maybe it's because it's what keeps them up and running." Charlie explained before taking the knife hidden in her left boot. She stabbed the walker in the temple, one firm cut. The biter stopped moving. "Like this, see?"

Rick nodded, but he seemed still not completely present. "Come on, let's go."

Rick started to walk again, Charlie at his side.

As soon as the house was in sight, Rick started running. Charlie kept walking calmly, not entering, just making sure he would not disappear and leave her there alone. It was such a relief, talking to someone after two weeks completely alone. Even if that someone was a man who had spent weeks in a coma and had no idea what was going on.

Sure, while watching the first few episodes of 'The Walking Dead' with her best friend, she had fantasized about meeting him and sure, he was really hot in person, even wearing that hospital gown.

But all of that didn't matter now, it was all silly thoughts from a girl whose only concerns from a long time had been classes, parties, cheerleading and boys interested in her (sometimes too interested).

It was one thing to comment about what was happening in a TV show from the comfort of her dormitory, one another was to actually live in it, especially if said TV show was about zombies.

She had tried to be strong in those two weeks alone and she had done pretty well for herself, better than most would have done probably, but being here now, with him, another actual human being, a kind, good human being, it made her realize how lonely she had felt, how desperately she needed the company of another person. And she knew from the TV show that Rick Grimes was a good ally to have in a situation like this. She wasn't glad that she had ended up here, in this dangerous, post-apocalyptic world but she was glad that, at least, she had thought of the hospital as the place to end up, with Rick.

A good fifteen minutes later he was leaving the house, a look of desperation on his face and no Lori and Carl with him. Charlie wished she could tell him that he would see his family soon but she wouldn't know how to explain how she knew that without sounding crazy.

She reached his side instead and patted his shoulder. "Hey, you'll find them, okay? I know you will," her tone reassuring instead of certain.

Rick nodded at her, a grateful smile on his face though he didn't seem completely convinced. He turned his head and blinked at the figure approaching, the shuffling and moaning of the dead making themselves known. "Is that one of them?"

Charlie nodded, ready to take it out with her bow but in that moment someone coming from behind her hit Rick in the head with a shovel. Charlie cursed, having completely forgotten about Morgan and Duane. The man fell and Charlie screamed at Duane to stop.

"Stop! What are you doing? He's a man, not a biter!" She then knelt at Rick's side and asked him "Rick, are you okay?" Rick didn't answer her, his attention focused on Duane. "Carl! I found you!" he said while talking to Duane.

The boy turned her head then to look at her, then a Rick again, a frown on his face. "Sorry, I thought...Dad! Dad, come! There are people here!"

A man that Charlie knew to be Morgan made their way towards them, not before shooting at the biter still walking in their direction.

"What did you do Duane!" Morgan said, once he noticed Rick on the floor, not passed out yet but still looking disoriented around him.

"I thought he was one of them."

"Well, he's not. Neither of us is." Charlie interjected. "I'm Charlie, by the way."

"Morgan, and this is my son Duane." Then turning towards Rick and noticing the bandage on his chest, he asked. "Hey, mister! What's that bandage for?"

"He was shot. He's not bitten." Charlie answered for him but Morgan ignored her. Rick looked at the man, confused. "What?"

Morgan pointed the gun at him. "What kind of wound? You answer me, damn you! What's your wound? You tell me! Or I will kill you."

Charlie watched Rick passing out and she cursed. "Damn it! Rick, Rick, wake up!"

He wasn't waking up. Morgan proposed to bring him to the house they were staying in. Charlie agreed and helped Morgan moving Rick's body from the ground and all the way to the house next door to Rick's. Morgan decided to tie him up to the bed just in case even if Charlie said once again that he wasn't bitten.

When Rick woke up an hour later, he saw Duane holding a baseball bat and Charlie sitting on the bed next to him. Charlie smiled at him and Rick returned the gesture, glad to see a familiar face. "Nice to see you awake Rick!"

Morgan was on the other side of the bed, standing. "Got that bandage changed out. It was pretty rank. What was? The wound?"

"Gun shot." Rick explained, patiently.

"Gun shot? What else? Anything?"

"I ain't bit if that's what you're askin'. I just learned of all of this today, okay?"

"What? How is it possible? Were you asleep while the world was ending?" Charlie snorted at Morgan's words. "As a matter of fact, I was. I was in a coma." Rick answered.

"Yeah, well..." Morgan pulled out a knife and showed it to him. "Take a moment, eh? Look how sharp it is. You try anything... I will kill you with it, and don't you think I won't." Charlie watched, not really worried that Morgan would hurt Rick. Rick stayed still and Morgan cut him free.

"Come on up when you're able." Morgan said at last. "Come on Duane." And with that Morgan and his son left the room.

"So, what a day, hum?" Charlie asked with a smile.

Rick laughed. "Yeah, you could say that. So, what were you doing at the hospital? Are you alone? Where's your family? You can't be older than twenty-five if that."

"Wow, one question at a time. Well, first of all, I'm almost twenty-one. My parents are dead." She lied, not wanting to explain the real story just yet.

"I live with my uncle, or I used to, at least. I don't know where he is though." At that point, Charlie decided to get a little creative to explain why she was alone since she couldn't explain that she had woken up out of the blue in the same hospital as Rick. "We got separated. I don't know if he's dead or alive. He's a survivor though, so I think he's still alive. Anyway, I lived in a town not far from here. When we found out what was going on, we decided to go to Atlanta because there's supposed to be a refugee camp or something there, it's supposed to be safe. We got separated along the way though, a horde of those things coming at us. I ended up here, and I figured the hospital was a good place to hide. It seemed pretty deserted and there was food and medicines there, and water and beds so...I stayed there two weeks before you woke up. I would have gone to Atlanta to find my uncle but, truth to be told, I'm kind of scared, being alone out there."

"That's understandable." Rick smiled at her before asking "That bow that you have? Was it your uncle that taught ya?"

Charlie smiled, missing her uncle very much. "Kind of. My uncle was really into hunting and when I was like 11 or something, I begged him to bring me with him. He was reluctant at first but he didn't say no either. Instead, he said, you wanna come hunting with me? Choose a weapon and learn how to use it, then we'll talk.

"I don't think he really believed I would do it but I was very stubborn when I put my mind into it. My uncle used rifles mostly but his favorite weapon was a spear. He was really good with it, like you couldn't believe it. I chose a bow instead, first because for my eleven-year-old body a rifle was too heavy and second because there was no way that my uncle would let me use one. A crossbow was too heavy too and a spear was just too big and it took years for my uncle to learn how to use it and I didn't have that much time. So, I decided on the bow because at school there was this archery team and I could learn from them first.

"I practiced every day for hours after school and finally, after a year or so I finally learnt enough to convince my uncle to bring me with him. I think my uncle thought I had forgotten or something but when he realized what I had done, he didn't go back on his promise. He brought me with him instead. He taught me how to shoot with a gun too. Since I was twelve, once a week we would go to the shooting range and then every weekend, during hunting season, we would go hunting. If there's one person who would survive in this world, it's him."

Rick looked at her with compassion before explaining himself. "I'm a deputy sheriff. Or I was, at least. I got shot on duty. Armed robbers trying to flee the scene. We stopped them, my colleagues and I, on the road, but I got shot. I woke up today having no idea where my family is. Though, I hope they're with my friend Shane, I know he would keep them safe."

"Your family, what are their names?" Charlie asked, already knowing the answer. "My wife's name is Lori and I have a son, Carl. He's ten, almost eleven now."

Their conservation was interrupted by Duane, saying that dinner was ready. Rick got up from the bed with Charlie's help and together they made their way to the living room. Once the four of them were seated around the table Rick looked around himself in recognition. "This place... It's Fred and Cindy Drake's."

Morgan shrugged. "Never met them."

"I've been here. This is their place."

"It was empty when we got here." Rick got up from the table and went to open the blinds. "Don't do that. They'll see the light." Morgan said, stopping him.

Rick returned to the table. "There's more of them out there than usual. I never should have fired that gun today. The sound draws them, now they're all over the street. Stupid... using a gun... It all happened so fast... I didn't think."

"It's okay. We're safe here. Don't beat yourself up." Charlie smiled at him. Morgan served all of them soup before Duane said "Daddy... Blessing..."

"Yeah. " Morgan answered. All four of them held hands. Charlie wasn't exactly a religious person but she didn't want to be rude.

"Father, we thank thee for this food..." Morgan said "Thy blessings... We ask you to watch over us in these crazy days. Amen."

"Amen." Duane said before they started to eat.

"Hey, mister, do you even know what is going on?" Morgan asked Rick.

Rick sighed. "I woke up today. In a hospital. Met Charlie. She explained some things to me but I'm still not sure I believe it, even after seeing it with my own eyes."

Morgan nodded. "Charlie explained to you about the dead people, right? The walkers? Like the one I shot today?" Rick nodded. "He would have ripped into you otherwise. Try to eat you, take some flesh at least."

"They're out there now, in the street?"

"Yeah. They're even more active after dark sometimes. Maybe it's the cool air or... Hell, maybe it's just me firing up that gun today. But we'll be fine long as we stay quiet. Probably wander off by morning. Well, listen... One thing I do know... Don't you get bit! We saw your bandage and that's what we were afraid of. Bites kill you. The fever... burns you out. But then after a while... You come back."

"Seen it happen..." Duane said, a look of deep pain in his eyes. The conversation stopped after that and they continued eating in silence.

After supper, Duane was sleeping next to his father. Rick was standing near the window while Charlie sat on the floor with her back against the wall.

"Carl... He your son?" Morgan asked Rick.

Rick nodded. "He's a little younger than your boy."

"And he's with his mother?"

"I hope so." Rick said with a sigh.

"What about you? Got people you're looking for?" Morgan asked her then.

Charlie shrugged. "Just my uncle and my best friend Evan. I hope they're somewhere safe." Charlie actually hoped that the both of them were far away from this fictional world she landed in but she couldn't tell them that.

"Dad?" Duane called out and the three of them turned around at the same time to look at him.

"Yeah?" Morgan asked.

"Did you ask him?"

"Your gun shot..." Morgan said, turning to Rick. "We got a little bet going. My boy says you're a... bank robber ..."

Rick laughed. "Yeah... That's me. Deadly as Dillinger. Kapow. Sheriff's deputy."

"Aha." Morgan said with a nod.

A car alarm outside started going off. Duane looked scared at that and Morgan tried to calm him down.

"Hey, it's ok, daddy's here. It's nothing. One of them must've bumped a car..."

"You sure?" Rick asked, looking out the window through a slot between two beams.

"Happened once before." Morgan explained. "Went off a few minutes. Get the light, Duane."

They dimmed the lights and looked outside. There were several of them walking around.

"It's the blue one, down the street." Morgan continued. "Same one as last time. I think we're ok."

"That noise... Will it bring more of them?" Rick asked.

Morgan nodded. "Nothing to do about it now. Just have to wait 'em out till morning."

"Noise and lights attract them." Charlie explained further. "That's why it's best not to use guns to kill them unless there's no other choice."

Rick nodded at her.

Duane looked outside and saw a female walking close to the house.

"She's here." He said in a scared voice. Charlie looked through the window too and knew in that moment that it was his mother, the one he had seen turn.

"Don't look." Morgan said. "Get away from the windows." Duane didn't move away. "I said go! Come on!" Duane started to cry and Morgan comforted him. "Come on, quiet. Shh, shh..."

Rick walked towards the door and looked out the peephole. There was a walker outside, she looked at the door in confusion and seemed to be staring right at Rick. She then started to turn the doorknob left and right. Luckily the door was locked.

"It's ok, here. Cry into the pillow." Morgan said, after bringing Duane back to bed. Rick sat next to Morgan then and Charlie returned to her place against the wall.

"She, uh... She died in the other room, on that bed..." Morgan explained to the two of them. "Nothin' I can do about it here... That fever, man... Her skin gave off heat like a furnace... Should have put her down, I should have put her down, I know that, but... You know what... I just didn't have it in me... She's the mother of my child."

The three of them looked at the doorknob continuing to turn left and right.

The next morning Charlie watched amused as Morgan tried to teach Rick how to kill walkers. Rick had a bat in his hands and looked ready for battle.

One of the walkers was sitting up against the fence post but got up as soon as it saw them and started walking towards them. Morgan, Charlie and Duane stayed behind while Rick raised the bat, ready to hit it. Rick smashed it in the head several times until he fell to the ground, losing his balance. Charlie grimaced at the scene.

"You alright?" Morgan helped Rick get up.

"Need a moment." Rick replied, gasping for breath.

"Men." She said with a teasing smirk. "Why use a knife when you can simply smash its head with a bat?"

Rick looked at her with a grin, though he seemed a little shaken.

They entered Rick's house then. Charlie looked around at the pristine house, looking deserted but untouched.

"They're alive." Rick said with conviction, once they were standing in what was once the living room. "My wife and son. At least they were when they left."

"How can you know?" Morgan asked. "By the look of this place..."

"I found empty drawers in the bedroom." Rick explained. "They packed some clothes. Not a lot. But enough to travel."

"You know anybody could've broken in here and stolen clothes, right?" Morgan asked, skeptical.

"You see the framed photos on the walls?" Rick asked rhetorically. "Neither do I. Some random thief took those too, you think? My photo albums, family pictures, all gone."

Morgan smiled sadly. "Photo albums... My wife... Same thing... Here I am, packing survival gear, she's grabbing photo albums..."

"They're in Atlanta, I'll bet." Duane interjected.

"That's right." Morgan added. "There should be a refugee settle. Huge, when they said it, before the broadcast stopped. Military protection, food, shelter... They told people to go there. Said to be safest."

"Plus they got that disease place." Duane said.

"Yeah, the CDC." Charlie said.

"Center for Disease Control." Morgan added. "Said they were working on how to solve this thing."

"Let's hope they actually succeed." Charlie said, wondering if she would ever be able to see her old world again.

Rick grabbed a set of car keys and together they left the house. After driving for a few minutes, they reached the sheriff station.

They all entered the sheriff's office and headed towards the locker rooms. The whole place was deserted. Not even a walker in sight.

Rick turned on the shower and smiled when the water started to fall. Morgan looked surprised. "Gas and light have been down for maybe a month." He said in a questioning tone.

Rick smiled. "Station got its own propane system. Pilot's still on."

"This means hot water right?" Charlie asked excited.

Rick nodded. "You can go first if you want." He said to Charlie.

Charlie flashed a brilliant smile at him. "Oh, yes, thank you!"

As soon as Charlie felt the hot water on her skin and hair, she let out a moan. It had been so long since she had a hot shower. At the hospital the shower still worked but the water was cold.

She washed her hair thoroughly, using the shampoo and hair conditioner that she had found at the hospital. After she had washed her body too, she rinsed off and got dressed, choosing a pair of black jeans and a green tanktop. She put her belt on again and left the showers, allowing the three males waiting outside to wash too.

After brushing her hair, she tried to dry them with a towel as best she could, bemoaning the absence of a hairdryer.

Once all four of them were done with their showers, they went to the gun room, Rick having changed into his deputy sheriff's uniform.

"Nice hat!" She said to him with a teasing grin.

Rick touched his hat with his index finger like in greeting and smiled at her.

They looked around themselves then and Rick sighed. "A lot of it's gone missing."

"Better than nothing." Charlie said with a smile. Rick went to hand her a gun but she shook her head. "I got two guns in my back, plus two on me and lots of bullets. I'm fine."

"Dad, can I learn to shoot? I'm old enough." Duane asked.

"Hell yes you're going to learn. We gotta do it carefully, teach you to respect the weapon." Morgan replied.

"That's right. It's not a toy. You pull the trigger, you have to mean it. Always remember that, Duane." Rick added then.

"Yes, sir." Duane replied seriously. Charlie smiled at him.

Rick handed Morgan a rifle. "Take that one. Nothing fancy. Scope's accurate."

Rick filled a bag with guns, rifles and bullets before they left the station. They reached the police car.

"Conserve your ammo." Rick warned. "Goes faster than you think. Especially at target practice."

Morgan gave Duane the rifle to put in the car before turning to her and Rick.

"You sure you won't come along?" Rick asked.

Morgan shook his head. "A few more days... By the end, Duane will know how to shoot and I won't be so rusty."

Rick nodded, accepting his decision before giving Morgan a walkie-talkie. "You got one better. I'll turn mine on, a few minutes every day at dawn. You get up there, that's how you find us."

"You think they're there?" Morgan asked the both of them.

Charlie shrugged. "It's worth a try."

Rick nodded. "Can't afford not to. Not anymore."

Morgan nodded. "Look, just one thing. They may not seem like much one at a time... but in a group all round up and hungry... May you watch your asses."

Rick nodded, taking the warning seriously. "You too."

"We'll be careful." Charlie added. "You do the same, though, okay?"

"You're good people." Morgan said with a smile. "I hope you'll find your wife and son, Rick. And you, your uncle and best friend, Charlie."

Charlie nodded in thanks.

"Be seeing you, Duane. Take care of your old man." Rick said then once Duane had reached their side.

"Yes, sir." Duane said seriously.

"I'm sure we'll see each other again soon." Charlie added. "And that when we do, you'll know how to use a gun like a pro, Duane."

Duane smiled at her.

Before they could leave, Morgan turned around at the sound of moaning coming from behind a wire fence. The three of them came closer and Rick recognized the walker dressed in an officer uniform.

"Leon Basset? Didn't think much of him. Careless and dumb, but... can't leave him like this." Rick was about to use his gun but Charlie stopped him with a hand on the arm he was holding the gun with.

"I'll do it. Not need to waste bullets." Rick nodded at her, marveling at the fact that she had taken so well to this new world. He didn't know a lot of people so young that could defend themselves so well, especially against dead people hell bent on eating them. He was glad she was at his side.

Charlie, oblivious to Rick's thoughts, took her hunting knife from its sheath and, as soon as the walker was close enough, she stabbed him in the eye through the fence.

She watched the body fall to the floor and wondered at the fact that she had already gotten used to the walkers being a part of her life now. Maybe it was better this way though, it would help her keep her alive.

She turned towards Rick and said with a smile "Come on, Officer Friendly, time to go!"

After that Charlie and Rick said goodbye to Morgan and Duane one more time and separated. Charlie got in the sheriff's car with Rick while Morgan and Duane returned home.

More than an hour later, they were driving towards Atlanta, Charlie becoming more and nervous the closer they got to the city. She knew what was coming but, at the same time, she was afraid that with her there something would go wrong and that they would die in Atlanta without actually reaching the rest of the group. Or maybe she would die and Rick would survive. After all, she wasn't supposed to be there.

Charlie shook her head and repeated to herself in her head: "I'm not going to die. I'm not going to die. Not today."

"You okay?" Rick asked, noticing her agitation.

"Yeah." Charlie smiled at him. "Just anxious about what we're going to find once in Atlanta."

Rick nodded in understanding. "I would tell you not to worry but we don't actually know what we'll find once there so..."

Charlie nodded and smiled at him "I appreciate the sentiment all the same".

Rick picked up the hand-radio then and started broadcasting a message: "Broadcasting on emergency channel. We'll be approaching Atlanta on Highway 85. Anybody reads, please respond." He waited for a few seconds but nobody answered.

"Hello. Hello. Can anybody hear my voice? Anybody out there?" He tried again and still nothing. "Anybody hears me, please respond. Hello, can you hear my voice?"

Charlie looked at Rick and shook her head. She knew there were people on the other line, listening and trying to answer but they couldn't hear them.

Half an hour later they were almost out of gas. They had stopped on the way when they had found a gas station but it was empty. No gas to be found, only walkers. She had shot a little girl that had been turned into a walker with an arrow. When she thought she was almost getting used to the walkers and this life she was now in, something happened that made her rethink this idea. This world was harsh and dangerous and not only because of the walkers.

When the car finally stopped because it had ran out of gas, Rick pulled a photograph of his family off of the window, looking at it for a second before showing it to Charlie.

"That's them." He simply said.

Charlie smiled. "Your wife is very pretty. And your son is really cute. He looks a lot like you." Rick smiled at her but he looked sad.

"Hey, you'll find them, Rick, okay? I know you will."

Rick nodded, grateful once again for her presence. He got out of the car then, hoping to find gas somewhere around. Charlie followed suit, backpack on her shoulders and compound bow at her side.

"What do you have inside that enormous thing?" Rick asked teasingly, once again noticing the big backpack that Charlie had brought with her.

Charlie laughed before answering. "Clothes, food, water, medicines, a tent, a sleeping bag, two guns plus bullets, soap and other stuff that I found around that I thought could be useful."

Rick looked at her impressed. "Wow, you came prepared."

Charlie shrugged her shoulders. "I raided the hospital. Figured if Atlanta was not like I was expecting, I still had enough stuff to survive on my own."

"And you're very good at it, especially since you're so young." Rick said, meaning every word.

"Like I said, my uncle taught me."

"And what a good job he did." Rick said before adding. "I'm sure you'll find him too."

Charlie smiled at him sadly. "Part of me wants to find him, of course. The other just wishes he's somewhere safe, even if that place is far away from me. Same with my best friend."

Rick nodded, understanding perfectly and yet unable to withstand the thought of not knowing where his family was, if they were okay.

After that, the two continued to walk in silence. A little while later they came upon a house. It looked untouched from the outside but Charlie knew what was inside and decided to stay where she was.

Rick went ahead of her, calling out: "Hello? Police officer out here. Can I borrow some gas? Hello? Hello? Anybody home?"

When he received no answer, he finally looked inside through a window and saw two dead bodies with flies buzzing around them. There was also a message on the wall written in blood that said: "God Forgive Us." They had obviously killed themselves.

Rick walked away from the house, saddened at the idea of two people preferring suicide to live in this new world.

"Anything?" Charlie asked once Rick reached her side, already knowing the answer.

Rick shook his head, finding it unnecessary to tell her what was inside.

The two of them went then to check the truck sitting in the driveway. There were no keys inside though.

They looked at each other in defeat before Rick noticed a horse and smiled. Charlie looked at him and then the horse, a grimace on her face.

"What, you don't like horses?" Rick asked, noticing her expression.

"Oh, I like them well enough, I just don't know how to ride one."

"Don't worry. I can do it. You won't have to do anything but hold on to me, okay?"

Charlie nodded her head, not exactly happy with the solution but knowing there was no other way.

After finding a rope, Rick walked toward the horse and coaxed it into relaxing to their presence.

"Easy now, easy. We're not gonna hurt you. Nothing like that. More like a proposal. Atlanta's just down the road ways. It's safe there. Food, shelter, people, other horses too, I bet. How's that sound?"

Rick wrapped the harness around the horse. "There we go. Good boy. Good boy. Now come with me. Come with me." He led it out of the stable.

Charlie looked at him, impressed. "Maybe I'll call you cowboy after all." Rick looked at her with a grin. She was really starting to like his grins.

Rick rode the horse down the fields. "Let's go easy, ok? I haven't done this for years." The horse started to become a little agitated but Rick was able to calm it down. He helped Charlie get on the horse too.

Once on the horse, she hugged Rick's chest tightly, still scared. She tried to ignore the pleasant sensation of having him this close and reminded herself that he was a married man who, unfortunately, still loved his wife very much.

They reached the highway without incidents and started to ride towards Atlanta.

They eventually got to the outskirts of Atlanta and they noticed that while the side they were on was devoid of cars, the other was packed with several wrecked or abandoned cars.

They continued to ride until they entered Atlanta. The city was completely abandoned and there was trash everywhere. Not a person in sight.

Rick led the horse down the street where there were helicopters, cars, and even a tank wrecked along the road.

They rode past a bus and some of the walkers saw them. They got up and started to walk toward them but Rick didn't panic. The horse started to get agitated. Charlie increased the hold she had of Rick's chest.

"Steady." Rick said, trying to calm the horse. "It's just a few. Nothing we can't outrun." Rick rode past them and down the street.

They looked at the tank and saw a dead body being pecked at by crows. Charlie grimaced in disgust. They rode still, past the tank.

They heard a noise and looked up in the air when they saw a helicopter flying past them. "Are you seeing it too?" Charlie asked in a whisper, just to be sure.

Rick nodded at her. They started to ride in the direction of the helicopter but once they turned the corner they came face to face with a horde of walkers.

All of them shuffled after them so Rick steered the horse back down the street they came from. They came across another huge group of walkers. Rick tried to get away but they were trapped.

The horse was becoming more and more agitated and the walkers were rounding on them on all sides. Rick couldn't keep hold of the rains any longer when the horse rose on its back feet and the two of them – Charlie still holding onto Rick – fell down from the horse and onto the street. She lost the backpack while trying to get away from the horse, now being devoured by walkers while Rick realized he had dropped his gun bag.

They started to shoot at walkers that were getting too close to them when Rick pointed at the tank just near them.

"Go first, I'll cover you!" Rick ordered her.

Charlie nodded, figuring this wasn't the time to protest. She crawled underneath the tank with Rick still shooting at walkers to cover her.

He followed her underneath the tank but so did the walkers.

They continued to shoot them, the desperation evident in both their faces.

"How many have you left?" Rick asked her.

"Not enough for all of them." Charlie replied, getting scared.

Her first gun was empty while the second one had only six bullets left.

She remembered how Rick got out of this situation in the TV show and said to him. "Rick! Check above your head. Check if there's a way for us to get inside the tank!" Charlie said, already knowing there was one.

Rick noticed the hatch above him and opened it. He crawled up quickly before helping her doing the same. Once the two of them were inside they shut it.

They sat down, one in front of the other, trying to calm their breath, but as soon as Charlie noticed the corpse inside she remembered about the bullet Rick used to kill him. Rick had noticed it too and he was about to shoot him when Charlie stopped him once again.

"Wait! It's not a good idea, shooting a bullet here!" Rick nodded in agreement so she came closer and kill it with her knife instead, wanting to avoid hurting her ears.

Rick decided to check outside, see if there was a way out. He crawled up to the top and opened the top hatch.

He looked outside and noticed both the bag of guns and Charlie's backpack lying on the ground, out of their reach.

The rest of the walkers started to converge on the tank to get at him so Rick shut the hatch quickly again.

Rick and Charlie looked at each other, disheartened.

"I'm sorry I've dragged you into this." Rick apologized to her.

Charlie shook her head. "I've dragged myself. Anyway, don't worry. We'll find a way out. I know we will."

"How?"

"I don't know. But we will get out of here and you will find your family again."

Rick smiled at her but he didn't look too convinced.

Just then, the radio in the tank started to make static sounds. Rick and Charlie looked at each other. A voice on the other end started talking. "Hey, you. Dumb-asses. Hey, you two in the tank. Cozy in there?"

Rick and Charlie smiled at each other, realizing they weren't alone.