Authors Note: Once again, I do not own the Walking Dead and don't make any money by writing this little tale. Everything belongs to the creative writers and directors of the show and comic books. The only things I own are my OC's.

Well, here's the second chapter! Just remember, this is rated M so be aware of that in this and the next chapter as I will be getting into detail about the main OC's past, which isn't a good one.

Hope you enjoy!

-DragonLady

Updated 4-23-2016

"You say that you want respect

Well then you better get some for yourself.

'Cause all that I see right now,

Is someone who's lost and insecure."

Senses Fail - Lady In A Blue Dress

Chapter 2 - Down the Rabbit Hole

I open my eyes slowly, having barely slept last night I can already feel the exhaustion creeping up on me. The sun shines dimly through the windows, making me assume it's incredibly early in the morning. I look towards the passenger side, but am surprised to find it empty. Getting out of the truck wakes my sore muscles and I struggle to stretch them out. The camp seems relatively quiet, possibly due to how early it is. I can hear the birds chirping and the air smells fresh and clean, If I didn't know any better I wouldn't have thought the world was going to hell in a hand basket. I look around and spot a number of vehicles I didn't see last night, a lot of people must have followed us up here, and I look towards the Dixon side of camp. It doesn't look like they're there, but there's two tents set up and a small table with a couple knives that are shining in the sunlight.

I make a mental note to go into the woods later, I've got an itch to use my bow as I probably would have been out practicing by now if everything was normal. Giving myself a strict schedule of nightly practices for the past 6 months, I know it'll be hard for me to kick the habit now. Besides for that, I'm actually pretty eager to see if my skill extends to the ability of hunting as well. At the mention of the brothers' ability, I'm curious as to how hard it actually is.

After I hear the soft sound of feet on loose gravel and look towards a path that leads down to see Lexi walking up. I make my way towards her, "I don't think I've ever seen you up this early." As I look over to where she walked up from and see a sparkling quarry that looks peaceful and relaxing, I'll defiantly have to go down there sometime.

She looks around the campsite before stopping right in front of me, "Not by choice, the douche b's over there (she gestures toward the Dixon's camp) slammed the door to their truck before heading into the forest. The sound woke me up so I started checking things out, I was just walking around the quarry down there. It's very pretty." She gets a sad look on her face, emotions cross her face so fast that it's hard to figure out what she's feeling. "Do you think this is happening everywhere? Maybe DC is fine, do you think?"

My heart drops, DC is where her family is; she has a brother there with her mom and dad. "I'm not sure, but if it is happening there maybe they got somewhere safe. There's always a possibility, right?" I realize I have no one to be sad about so I have no idea how she's feeling. Here she is having no way to know if her family is safe when she's the only person in my life that I would actually worry about. Is it better to have no one in this case? Maybe for once that gnawing emptiness will prove useful, but the thought leaves me feeling guilty.

"I hope so." She starts walking back towards the truck and begins grabbing some clothes out of her bag. I look down and see my shirt covered in dirt and start grabbing a change of clothes as well. Just because we're surrounded by dirt doesn't mean I have to wear it as well. She looks around the campsite where people are beginning to wake up and check the place out as Lexi had, "Where's a dressing room when you need one?"

I look over towards the Dixon camp again, noticing how there's an area past the truck that would be hard to see from the main camp, which gives me an idea. Since they aren't there, they wouldn't mind if we were there for a few minutes now would they? "There's a spot over there." I point towards the camp and get a skeptical look from Lexi. "Like you said, they're gone so it'll be fine."

We start walking towards their camp and notice a few people getting out of an RV and others out of vehicles. I spot Shane walking around and talking to a few people I don't recognize and make a note to talk to him once I've changed about helping set this place up. When we make it behind the Ford we quickly start undressing. I place my clean clothes on the side of the truck bed so they don't get dirty. I take my shirts off first and then take my gun out of my waistband to place it on top of my shirts so it won't get dirt in anything important.

By the time I have my pants off I notice Lexi already pulling up her jeans, she's always been able to change in a flash. I contribute it to her experience as a cheerleader in high school. You know, because they had to change into their uniforms at school…ya that's what I meant, not because they got out of them so much. She looks over at me with her eyebrow raised, "You take forever, I'm going to talk to Lori. She wanted me to keep an eye on Carl today."

Letting someone you just met watching after your kid all day, that's interesting. I mean I know Lexi is good with kids, but Lori doesn't know that. "You want to take our stuff back to the truck, I'll be done in a second." I start pulling on my pants and slip my gun in the waistband again while she picks up our pile of dirty clothes and heads back to my truck. I take my boots and socks off and put on new socks and lace my other boots on one at a time.

I grab my tank top and start pulling it over my head when I hear a whistle that makes my heart start hammering in my chest and turn around to see none other than the Dixon brothers. I yank my top down and grab my flannel to start buttoning it up. How long were they watching?

The look on Merle's face makes me want to slap him, "Looks like we get a lil' show an' tell this mornin'." I feel my face heat up, Lexi was right, this was NOT a good idea. "If ya wanted someone ta put some color back in your cheeks all ya had ta do was ask."

I look next to him and see Daryl looking away from me, making me wonder why he wouldn't be ogling me as his brother obviously was. Wait, why do I care anyway? Not having anything to say in response, I grab my stuff and walk away. I hear Merle saying something about my ass as I walk away, fuming.

When I get to my truck I throw my boots by my bag and slam the door. My instincts kick in when I reach for my bow and throw my quiver over my shoulder. Knowing there's only one thing able to calm my anger. I walk towards the front of camp, trying to get as far away from Merle as I could, before going into the woods.

I don't go far before picking a tree in the distance, rolling my sleeves up to my elbows to keep them out of the way, and start shooting it, an imaginary target stamped into the bark. I fire one after another, my anger and embarrassment fading as fast as each arrow flying towards the bullseye. My bow is like an extension of my hand, the feel of the pull and release as I fire is one that I've always enjoyed. I only stop when there's no arrows left, the arrows all clumped in a neat circle in the bark. I place my bow down and as I go to the tree and start plucking out the arrows I hear leaves crushing loudly. I don't even bother looking to see who it is, I just keep pulling the arrows out and restocking my quiver.

"Pretty impressive." I know the voice as Shane's and turn around when all the arrows are out of the tree. I can imagine my face as being impatient, but can't control my emotions quite as much as I usually do at this moment.

"Thanks, been doing it since I was in high school." I stop in front of him with my hand on my hip, figuring he is here for a specific reason and give him a questioning stare.

"I was coming to ask you if you knew how to handle that gun you're carrying, but if you shoot anything like that I think I just got my answer." I give him a quizzical look. How the hell did he know I had a gun. Possibly knowing the look I'm giving him, he shrugs, "I'm a cop, I know when someone is carrying a gun in their jeans, plus I saw it."

He smirks as me, but I just turn away to pick my bow up. For some reason I'm disappointed someone knows I have a gun, I was hoping I could keep that to myself, "Honestly, don't have as much practice with my gun. I'm much more comfortable with this."

He nods his head, "That's good, got a hunch that these things are attracted to noise anyway. About the supplies we need, I'm gathering a team to go into town and we could use you. And your bow."

I've got to admit, I've never been needed before and for someone to say it now, I kinda like it. Maybe I'll actually be able to help. "Are the Dixon's going?" After their sneak peak this morning I don't want to be anywhere near them right now.

"So far, no. They said they were hunting today." So far…guess that's better than a yes.

"Count me in then." He turns around and beings walking away, I sling my quiver over my shoulder and follow after him. "When are we heading out?" The sooner I leave this camp the better.

"Now, everything is loaded up and ready to go. We got a van so we should be able to get most everything we need." He nods his head at the two standing against the side of the van, once they move I can see the wording on the side indicating it's some church van. The two men walk over to us, one is a tall strong looking guy with a kind face and the other is shorter with a strained expression.

Shane motions towards the kind faced guy, "This is Theodore, or T-Dog," then to the other one, "and this is Morales." They both give me a friendly smile.

I give an awkward wave and mentally slap myself, "Evelyn, but I prefer Eve." I'll just have to blame my weirdness on my hunger. I didn't even get my coffee, no wonder I feel so tired. Coffee, I'm definitely going to miss that.

Shane starts barking orders for us to start heading out so I just jump in the van and go to the very back. I put my bow on my lap and close my eyes, trying to take a few moments to relax. I saw a few of those walking dead things in the street on the way out of town, but haven't really been close to one, much less killed one. Will it be hard to kill them, you know, because they look so much like the rest of us? I mean, I guess it's kind of us or them, right? Besides, the people they were before are gone. I mean, what actual person would eat other people? I know the news said the CDC was working on a cure, but what if there isn't one? I sit there for a few minutes until I hear doors slamming and the van start up. Before we leave, however, I hear Shane mumble something along the lines of 'changed your mind, get in,' and then the side door slides open.

Please don't be Merle, please don't be Merle. I open my eyes and am relieved to find that it is not in fact Merle, but Daryl. He looks at me in the back, frowns slightly, closes the door and sits in front of me. What was the frown for? What did I ever do to him?

The ride starts off uneventfully, everyone seems just as nervous as I feel. Well, everyone except Daryl, who's as cool as a polar bear in winter. I bet he's killed one of those things. I find myself envious of his calm demeanor. I don't realize I've been staring until I find his deep blue eyes boring into my own green ones. I get this feeling that he can see right through the front I've put up since I left high school and it leaves me feeling exposed. I feel my face heating up, but can't make myself turn away.

"Whas'ur name?" Once again I find myself melting slightly with his southern drawl. Back in California, there were rarely any accents and I always found them particularly irresistible. Probably because they remind me nothing of where I'm from, which to me, is a good thing.

"E-Evelyn," I want to slap myself for stuttering, and take a deep breath before continuing, "but you can call me Eve, if you want." Smooth.

"Hmm." And with that he turns back around, effectively ending the conversation.

Well that was odd, to say the least. I look out the window the rest of the ride, occasionally stealing glances at the back of Daryl's head, still curious about what happened. Why ask my name to just turn around anyway? I remember this morning briefly and stop looking over at him, embarrassment coming out in full force again. The rest of the ride I spend half awake half spaced out, my head leaning against the back of the seat. I hear snippets of a conversation between Shane and the others, trying to figure out the best place to go, I'm guessing. I mostly tune it out, though, and only become aware when the van stops.

When we reach the city we stop by a fence and we all pile out of the van, Shane telling us it would be better to go on foot from here. I hop out after Daryl gets out, making sure I've got everything and begin to stretch out as Shane starts talking, "From here we'll split up, some of us going to get food and supplies for camp and others getting any weapons, ammo, and anything else we might need to defend ourselves."

He pauses in thought for a second and I take the opportunity to look around us. The streets are abandoned with cars littering the street, some are untouched while others have broken windows and bullet holes, reminding me of a ghost town. It's difficult to believe that just a few days ago it was bustling with activity as Lexi and I spent the night going from bar to bar, we only ever went to the city on the weekends. I pull myself out of my trance when Shane starts up again. "Morales, T-Dog, and myself will go get food and supplies for the campsite, I figure we need as many people as we can to get the most important stuff while Eve and Daryl can search for weapons."

I nod in agreement, a little nervous to be alone with Daryl most of the day, but not one to complain over trivial matters. Shane and his group take some empty bags out of the back of the van, handing us a few, and we all agree to meet back here in a couple hours, before it gets dark.

I watch them jog away towards the South and turn towards Daryl. "Got any ideas, I don't know much about this area."

Daryl watches me for a moment before speaking, "Think I know a few places, jus' keep up." He starts jogging, but with how short I am I need to run just to stay slightly behind him.

He doesn't seem in the mood for small talk so I oblige and keep my mouth shut, the less I talk the less chance I have of embarrassing myself further anyway. My mouth starts to become dry, but I suddenly realize I didn't think to pack any water. I keep my pace, not wanting to slow him down or become a hassle. Hey, at least I'm getting in my daily amount of exercise.

When we get to, what appears to be, a specialty archery shop he slows down and raises his crossbow, ready for whatever might be in there. I follow suite, readying my bow by notching an arrow and holding it at the ready. He opens the door quickly, but quietly and motions me to go in. The door allows the sunlight to pour into the shop in a bright stream and when the door closes I wait to readjust to the slightly darker surroundings.

He veers off to the right so I start going to the left, bow raised and arrow notched. I hear a moaning sound coming from the back of the store and head in that direction while fully drawing the arrow. As I get to the end of the store I see the cause of the noise; a woman, or at least what used to be a woman, her right arm missing from the elbow down and her left leg has large holes in them which make her drag that leg as she walks. He eyes look empty, void of any semblance of her previous humanity, and her skin is a sickly color. In short, she looks dead. I'm stuck there for a moment watching it, wondering what could cause a human to turn into that. She turns slightly and finally notices my presence.

Eagerly she starts walking towards me with her arms raised and I see no remaining human resemblance; there's no life in her eyes, just an inhumane hunger. I take a deep breath and fire the arrow as I let my breath out. Her head jolts back slightly from the impact before she slumps to the ground in a disheveled heap. I walk over to her and yank my arrow out, wiping it on her shirt before returning it to my quiver. I force myself not to feel bad for what I did, but as I stare into the eyes of my victim I can't help feel a minuscule of guilt of ending someone's life. If life is what you could truly call it anymore.

Lost in my own thoughts, I don't notice the other body coming at me from behind until I hear the impact of it's body hitting the ground and the spurt of blood that lands on my exposed arm. I gasp, frightened out of my thoughts and turn around to see a bolt sticking out of it's head.

"What 'cha thinkin'? Keep actin' like than an' you'll get us both killed!" Daryl saunters over to the now limp body while yelling at me and angrily yanks the bolt out of the man's head as I try to wipe the blood on my jeans. He glares at me before turning and going to the other side of the store and shoving stuff in his bag.

I let out a frustrated sigh before taking his lead and shoving whatever appears useful into my bag as well. I grab as many components to make arrows as I can, knowing that once mine start breaking I'll need to replace them quickly. Luckily, I find a couple of my favorite broadheads; Wasp Queens and DirtNap DRT. Hooray for small victories! My mind starts to wander while I continue to put things in my bag. I think back to yesterday and still can't believe the dramatic turn of events. Something inside of me told me not to trust that 'everything was going to be ok,' but I still went about like nothing was wrong. When stories went around about people biting others, I just thought it was a strange side effect to whatever sickness of disease this was. Like most everyone else, however, I assumed the CDC would find a cure and everything would go back to normal. How naive that was.

"Are'ya done?" The sudden sound of his voice makes me spin around so quickly I feel myself become lightheaded, I put my hand out to try and steady myself. Once it passes, I find myself looking into the concerned face of Daryl. At least for a minute until he gets that look on his face like I'm about to be lectured, but instead of saying anything he looks down in the direction of his arm. As I follow his gaze I notice my hand wrapped around his forearm, apparently that's what I used to steady myself. I yank my hand away quickly, feeling my cheeks heat up before I mumble a "let's go" and make my way to the exit, all the while just telling myself it's still just my hunger that's getting to me.

Standing outside in the unforgiving sun, I feel another wave of lightheadedness pass through me. I hear Daryl's footsteps and, luckily, fight through the weakness my body is showing. "We got 'bout two more hours, are ya gunna faint if we make another stop?" He looks me up and down, his ever-present scowl covering his features.

I grimace at his accusatory tone, "I'm fine." He looks at me for a moment, almost as if debating whether to believe me or not. "Lead the way." I make a gesture for him to go ahead.

"Humph." He readjusts the bag across his shoulder before silently stalking off to the next location. I can't help but glimpse the muscles extending as he does so and I quickly pry my eyes away from him.

Don't need anymore reasons to be berated today and I'm sure ogling would be a reason. Snap out of it Eve, you've never been one of those obnoxious girls trailing after guys who didn't even like them, no reason to start now. I grip my bow tighter, watching as my knuckles turn white. I had to tiptoe around as a teenager, knowing one wrong word or action would lead to a night full of pain and shame. Fighting is nothing new, I did it once and I can do it again. I used to doubt myself, but I'm not that frightened teenager anymore. Archery saved me once, I just hope it'll keep me grounded once again.

My focus snaps back to attention when I no longer hear the rhythmic sound of Daryl's footsteps. He's stopped in front of another weapons store, a sign indicating a knife sale flapping in the slight breeze, and motions me over to the door. I pull my bow up, notching an arrow and getting ready to enter the building. He confidently opens the door, glances around, and fires at something in the distance. I go in after him, quickly looking around the building. One those things is already on the ground, a bolt sticking out of its head when I see another one to my left and fire, watching at the arrow lands between its eyes and the body slumps down to the ground.

I go collect my arrow then go straight to the display case to my left where I see a few knives and blades still left untouched. I lean my bow against the side and use the butt of my gun to crack open the display case before putting it back in my waistband. Careful to avoid any glass, I find a black bladed machete with a saw blade up top, turning it around in my hand a few times before deciding I like it. I figure it'll be a good idea to have a closer range option just in case things get too hairy. I grab other knives and machetes, stuffing them all into my bag and make my way to the holsters and putting a ton in the bag as well, even finding a few that might work for the one I picked out for myself. As I start looking over the remaining ammo options (grabbing what's left of the .45 of course) when a sudden wave of nausea crashes through me. Dropping my bag I feel myself struggling to stand, holding my stomach I try to stagger towards the sign reading 'bathroom' before I puke.

I barely register the toilet as I dispose of my meager last meal of a granola bar on the ride over here. After the contents of my stomach are completely empty I lean against the stall, the cold walls soothe my burning face. My mouth feels dry and my head is spinning, when I try to stand I find myself shaking so much that I just fall back down. How have I fallen this much? I'm not supposed to be this weak…

In my dazed state I think I hear moaning, but with everything being blurry and my ears ringing I can't tell if it's real or just a cruel joke my mind is playing on me. When I hear it again, however, my heart begins racing more than it already was, making me feel faint. I turn my head in the direction of the last stall, two doors down, and see a pair of shoes shuffling towards the door. Panic begins to rise when I realize what it is, I crawl out of my stall right as the walking dead person exists his stall. Its clothes are torn off in pieces where flesh has been eaten away, its skin is grey and his face is devoid of all previous humanity. It snaps its teeth at me and when I reach for my bow I realize I dropped it on my hurry into the bathroom. Fuck, now what?

I scream out, but my voice barely leaves my chapped lips. I don't know if Daryl heard me, but my raspy noise drew that thing to walk faster towards me. I keep trying to crawl away when my brain finally registers something, I still have my gun! I fumble getting it out and shakily try to aim it when the thing drops to the ground and grabs at my boot; I panic, drop my gun, and try to shake him off.

So this is it? I'm going to die in a bathroom, doesn't that sound like a great way to go?

I see my gun, just a little ways to my right and stretch my arm out trying to get it. I shake my leg as hard as I can, getting a little extra room as I feel my fingers brush against the handle of my gun. I grab it, swinging it in front of me and shooting just as that thing opens it's mouth, trying to take a bite out of my leg. My vision becomes blurry, my head aching like an anvil was dropped on it; everything becomes black and an eerie peacefulness washes over me as I slip into the pressing oblivion. The last image that flashes through my head is Daryl holding his crossbow limply at his side, a look of frustration and possibly concern etching his usually dour features.

Hope you enjoyed, reviews are always welcome!

Also, I'm already working on the next chapter so there's a possibility of it coming out before next week. Cross your fingers!

Fun fact: Alice in Wonderland (2010) is my favorite movie.