"Figures that were out of gas really, with the detour to the hospital and all." Rebecca said beside me.

"Well, I'm glad we're out of gas then." I chuckled, and Rebecca tittered a little too. We were sat on the bonnet of the car as Daryl and Merle had gone to look for more fuel at a nearby village. In a way I was glad they'd gone, I wanted to get to know Rebecca a little better, and the two guys seemed a little bit cagey. I don't know what it was about them, but I don't think Daryl liked me very much, despite saving my life anyway. Merle on the other hand I had no idea about. His whole persona was like he hated the world, yet he seemed nice enough, though I'm sure you wouldn't want to be on the wrong side of him.

When the boys had left I could've sworn that I heard Merle mumble something about how we couldn't handle ourselves. That girls should be in the kitchen rather than holding guns and fighting. But I could handle myself.

The incident at the hospital was nothing to go by, that was my brother, any other walker and I would have been fine. That one in the alley was an exception too, that was my first kill. I've had plenty of time to get used to the idea of killing people; just don't think of them as people. The person they were has gone.

My brother; he's gone now. And Daryl killed him; or what used to be him anyway. I draw in a shaky breath which hitches in my throat and my eyes start to water. I'm never going to see him again.

"Are you okay?" Rebecca asked.

I can do nothing more than nod for I fear if I attempt to talk nothing would come out. It's a lot to take in; this new world.

We'd past a few walkers on the way, feasting on the remains of people trying to escape the city, we'd had to move some cars out of the way too, seems in the panic a load of people had crashed their cars. I suppose I was lucky that I missed the rush.

When I had gone into the toilets I knew it was getting bad, but I'd never expected the world to turn into this in a matter of hours. I didn't know that it was the world; I'd just made that presumption. I hoped for the survival of humanity that it wasn't the entire world though, that would mean that we wouldn't be rescued, that we had been abandoned.

"Why did you go to the hospital anyway, Rebecca?" I asked to distract my mind from the pessimistic thoughts plaguing it.

"Haha, call me Becky." She smiled, she was so care-free and in a way I was jealous of her, not worrying about a thing as we sat out in the open, where walkers could easily get us. "We figured it would be good to have some medical supplies, we were running low at home. How about you?"

"My brother had an operation; I was there visiting then shit hit the fan." I say. I don't need to mention anymore than that.

I began toying with the necklace in my pocket; maybe I could find a new chain for it somewhere.

"Say, are you from England, you have a little bit of that posh accent in there."

"Huh? Oh, yeah I am, I moved over here about six months ago. My dad got a new job."

"Oh, that explains it then, how old are you, if you're still moving with your parents?"

"Eighteen."

"That's interesting. You're only a couple of years younger than me and Daryl. We're both twenty. Merle's older than as though, he's thirty three, if you can believe it."

"Oh really, so you and Daryl are twins then?"

"Yeah, though you'd think it was Merle and Daryl who were twins, with how close they are and all."

"I noticed that, but I'm sure you two are pretty close too, right?"

"Yeah, sometimes. We're pretty opposite from each other though." She said looking off into the distance. "Uh-oh." She said her eyes wide as she looked in the direction of the village.

Before I could I ask what she was saying uh-oh to, I saw it, Daryl and Merle were running back, but shuffling along behind them were walkers. At least ten of them. They were making their way across the field that separated us from then. We'd have to work fast to get the car refuelled when they returned, otherwise the walkers would catch up with them, then we'd be in trouble.

Rebecca jumped off the car bonnet and undid the fuel cap, and opened all the car doors, so as soon as the gas was in the car, we could go. I shoved the keys in the ignition and the car roared to life, I just hoped the fumes it was running off would last until we could fill the tank up.

I stood by the car, my gun in my hands, ready to shoot down any walkers that came too close, I knew Daryl had said not to fire the gun, but this was an emergency.

"Come on!" Rebecca yelled in panic, encouraging Daryl and Merle to get here a whole lot faster. I looked back the way we had come and noticed the odd walker appearing from behind cars and slowly making their way towards us.

Rebecca hadn't noticed one come up from behind her, but seconds before it sunk its teeth into her arm, I shot it, straight in the eye.

Who knew I was such a sharp shooter?

Within minutes the boys were at the car and filling it up, they had two canisters full with petrol, Daryl put his on the ground and got into the driver's seat, Rebecca went and sat in the back behind Daryl, making it easier for Merle and me to get in once he'd put the fuel cap back on. The fuel cap, she hadn't handed it over!

"Becky, the fuel cap!" I cried.

She immediately handed it over to me and Merle took it in his free hand.

I looked around, noticing that the walkers were too close for my liking, coming from all directions. I shot three more, the others were far enough away for me not to have to waste bullets on them just yet, I might need them later. My breathing became laboured with sheer panic, it may have only taken a few seconds for the gas to be poured into the tank, but it felt like centuries. My heart began to beat faster and faster as the walkers grew ever closer.

"Done." Merle said, as he shut the fuel cap and jumped in the back seat.

Walkers were everywhere now; I took out at least four more that were too close to the car for us to start before jumping in the front seat myself.

"The sooner we get to Atlanta, the better." Rebecca laughed.

"Let's hope they got the security to fight of the horde that Thumbelina here has just got following us."

"She saved my life you know, and yours, Merle. I wouldn't be so uptight Daryl." Rebecca retorted, then turned to me, "I forgot to thank you for that by the way; could've been bigger problem than it was."

I just nodded, feeling like I had caused a big problem, especially as I looked in the rear view mirror and saw the amount of walkers that were now following us. I felt guilty. He had actually made me feel guilty, but I'd saved all of their asses. Anger quickly replaced the guilt.

I heard a mumbled thanks come from the back seat, knowing it came from Merle, but I didn't want to hear a thanks, I wanted to hear an apology from Daryl. Sure, I may have caused a horde, and maybe some other survivor would have to face it in the future, but if there is one thing I have learnt from this world so far, it's that you can only think a few seconds ahead, any further than that and you're risking your life and the lives of anyone you've met along the way. Any further than that and you're making assumptions, and that can be dangerous, it was even dangerous in the old world, only it wouldn't cost your life to make the wrong assumption.

Refraining from sighing, I looked out of the window as we drove down the highway. Upon first glance there aren't many walkers out here, but then you look closer, peer in the abandoned cars as you're driving past, look out in the fields in the distance and there are loads of them. More than I could count as we're driving past.

This made me think, I had been in the hospital with my brother for about a week; I hadn't even gone home. I got fed there, there were showers. Sure, it smelt bad, and there were more and more sick people being brought in everyday with this infection outbreak, but it became like a second home. Maybe this didn't all happen in those few hours; maybe it all happened in that week, the week I stayed with my brother, the week I stayed with Adrian. Why didn't I realise this before? For it to have taken mere hours to create this level of destruction would have been impossible. It took a week, which wasn't much better.

I closed my eyes and leant my head back on the headrest. I don't want to think about this, but I don't know how to turn my mind off. Heck, I don't even know how to think about anything other than what the world's become since the walkers got into Adrian's room.

"Shit." Daryl said under his breath from the driver's seat. I turned to look at him and could see out of the corner of my eye that both Merle and Rebecca were asleep.

"What?" I looked through the windscreen of the car and couldn't tell what he was talking about.

"Roadblocks, they've already shut off the city, we're not getting in." He stopped the car and hit the steering wheel with more aggression than I've seen in anyone.

"If we go up to it maybe they'll see we're not infected, maybe they'll open up the city?" I still have hope, I know I shouldn't, I know it's no use deep down, but I can't help it. I so desperately want to be safe, and I've only been out in this new world for a day.

I looked over at him and could see he was pissed off, his teeth were gritted and he was staring straight ahead with furrowed eyebrows.

"There're walkers over there, they won't open up the gates even if they saw we weren't infected. They'd be too worried to let even one of those things get in."

"But-"

"Stop it, stop kidding yourself. Stop trying to make light out of this world. It's like a new Pandora's fucking box has been opened, get it into your head. We've been abandoned." His words stung. I knew he saw me look away from him, but I refused to lose hope.

"What the hell do you expect us to do then? You got your brother and sister asleep in the backseat; you've got to care for yourself too. Don't forget that, Daryl. Drive closer, there's got to be a sign or something posted outside.

"The military are all asses. They probably waited, what, an hour after giving that broadcast before shutting off the city. There won't be a sign."

"We can at least check." I said through gritted teeth.

He didn't reply, but he still drove forward, at a snail-like pace as not to alert the walkers by the road block.

When we got close enough, I could see it, someone had sprayed a message on the road block. 'Atlanta's been over run, there's a camp in the forest, just north of the city, make your way there.'

I felt smug, but I didn't let it show, I felt like I offended him just being in the car with him. He put the car into reverse, turned around to get back to the opening we saw in the crash barriers a few miles back.