After our camp in Atlanta got overrun and we lost a lot of people, we wandered around and found Maggie and her family at their farm. That place got overrun too, and Maggie's whole family died…she was the only one that survived. Her and Glenn became a couple shortly after, even though Glenn and I were close, I wasn't jealous or anything. He's way too old for me anyway, he's more like my big brother. We lost some more of us too.
We were currently a group made up of nine people. There was me, my dad, my mom, my brother, Glenn, Maggie, a nice older lady named Carol, a funny big guy named T-Dog, and a mean guy named Daryl. He seemed to get along okay with Carol and he's getting to be a little nicer to everyone else…except me. I don't know what it is, he just doesn't seem to like me. I would like to be his friend though.
Anyway, we wandered around a lot, that's seems to be what we do a lot these days, and found a small neighborhood. It was our best bet for the time being. We cleared some houses…or I guess I should say the adults cleared some houses, my mom stayed outside with Carl and I. I wanted to help too, but my parents wouldn't let me. I've been bothering them to give me a gun, but they said I was too young and not ready yet. I hate being a kid and put into the same category as my little brother who's four years younger than me. I'm tough even though I'm thirteen, they just don't know it yet.
My parents, brother and I had a house, T-Dog, Daryl and Carol had another house and Glenn and Maggie had their own house. Those two are lucky. I wish I was their age. I'm too young for everyone else but too old for my little brother. I guess you could say that I was lonely. So, I walked outside and looked up at the moon. Most nights, I sit by myself…talking to the moon.
"Flush." T-Dog said and laid down his cards. He smiled because he thought for sure that he won.
I just smirked and laid down my cards. "Straight flush." I said with raised eyebrows.
His jaw dropped along with Glenn's and I laughed. "Damn, man." T-Dog said. "I thought I had this one!" He sounded a bit angry but I knew he really wasn't.
"Well…we all think things." I said with a smirk and pushed all the chips towards me. Glenn laughed.
"How do you know how to play poker anyway?" T asked me.
I hesitated. "…my grandpa taught me."
There was a slight pause. "Yeah, well he taught ya good too." Said T again. I just smiled. He looked down at his empty pot. "Well, I think that would be the game."
"Looks like it." Glenn said with raised eyebrows and then stretched. "She won…again." I just let out a laugh.
Just then, Maggie walked in. "Glenn, T-Dog…Rick needs you." She said. I looked up because of the way she said that. "Walkers are at the fence again."
Glenn and T-Dog nodded and got up to leave. "Can I come too?" I jumped up and asked Glenn grabbing his arm.
He and Maggie shared a look, Maggie smiled at him then walked away. Glenn looked down at me. "No, sorry, Ab. You know your dad wouldn't let you."
I sighed and looked down, Glenn put his hand on my head as he walked by me. I watched them all leave then I was left alone again. "Well, he's going to have to let me eventually." I said lowly but angrily then stomped off.
I wandered around trying to find something to do to keep me occupied, but there wasn't much to do these days besides maybe read. I wasn't in the mood though, plus I already read the books I have. Twice!
So, I went next to door to find someone else to talk to. I found my mom and Carol in the kitchen talking. They both looked at me when I walked in. "Hi, baby." My mom said to me. I hate when she calls me that, it's only okay when my dad says it. "Where's your daddy?"
"Outside." I stated. "Killing walkers at the fence."
She nodded at me and popped an olive in her mouth. "I need to talk to him about something. Stay with Carol, okay?" She looked at me before walking by. I watched her leave, then looked back at Carol who was smiling at me.
"Hi, Abby." She said sweetly. "You look bored. Why don't you come help me bake?"
I accidentally scowled. I'd rather be outside with Maggie and the guys not inside with the ladies…baking. However, it was something to do…I guess. "Sure." I said apathetically and walked over to her. "What is it?" I asked looking at the ingredients. "Apple pie?"
"No, it's just going to be apple crisp." She said. I gave her a weird look. "I don't have any dough to make pie crust."
"Oh." I looked back down. "What do you want me to do?"
"You can help me cut up all these apples." Carol said pointing at them. There were so many. I almost scowled again.
"We're not going to peel them?" I asked while beginning to cut up the apples.
"No, we're just going to leave the skin on." She smiled.
Sounds good to me. I thought.
Carol and I finished cutting up all the apples then put them into a pan then poured the ingredients over them. Just then, Daryl walked in. I didn't miss the look he gave me when he saw me.
"How's it going?" Carol asked him.
"Good." Daryl reciprocated. "We took care of 'em all. The fence is clear…fer now."
"Good." Said Carol. "I'll be right back." She looked down at me then walked out of the room.
I saw Daryl reach over me and grab one of the apple slices. He was dirty from head to toe, most of it was his hands and arms. "Ew." I said.
"What?" He glared at me.
"You just touched the food that's for everyone with your dirty hands." I scrunched up my nose.
He glared at me some more. "I'm dirty cuz I was takin' care 'a thangs. You was probably sittin' on yer ass or botherin' someone."
I crossed my arms over my chest. "Well…I wanted to help too but my dad won't let me have a gun yet." Carol walked back into the room.
"Aw." Daryl said sarcastically while chewing his apple. "Why don't you cry me a river." He glared down at me as he walked by. Carol also gave me a look.
"Why's he have to be so mean?" I said to her.
She just gave me a sympathetic smile. "Come on, honey. Let's get this on the stove."
Later that evening, everyone was over at Carol's house. We just got done eating a small dinner and now we were eating the apple crisp stuff that Carol and I made. Everyone was almost done, but I still hadn't even had any yet. I didn't know if I wanted any, I'm not a huge fan of apples.
Everyone was talking about something. Just then, someone's stomach growled and everyone got quiet. "'at was a small rabbit, huh?" Daryl said. Everyone laughed except me. I was being quiet for some reason. We had rabbit stew for dinner. I only ate the tiniest bit because it wasn't so good.
"Well, it's better than a squirrel." My dad said.
"Says you." Said my mom. "I think I like squirrel better than rabbit."
"Really?" My dad said with raised eyebrows. "Never would'a thought that."
My mom laughed and ate some of her apple crisp. "This is a lot better though." She said with her mouth full. "This is good Carol."
Carol smiled. "Abby helped me make it too."
Then all eyes were on me. I wish she hadn't said anything. Although, then I probably would have been offended. "Abby." My dad said. "You didn't eat much at dinner. Have some of this." He was referring to the apple crisp.
"I don't think I can eat it." I mumbled.
"Well, then just have a little." My dad urged me.
I looked up at him and rolled my eyes, then went into the kitchen to get some. Before I left, Maggie looked at my dad and laughed. I put one big spoonful of the apple stuff in a bowl then went back in with everyone else. They were all talking again, I just picked through my food. I didn't like the apples because they were mushy so I just ate the other stuff.
"I liked the mushrooms." I heard Glenn say. "I delivered pizza before this and on my lunch break, I always made a small pizza with pepperoni, mushrooms and sausage."
"Mushrooms?" Maggie said then made a disgusted noise. "Ew, I hate mushrooms." Some of the others agreed and some just laughed. I actually love mushrooms too. I thought Glenn's pizza sounded good. I wanted to say it but something made me not. "Don't tell me that you're one of those weird people who likes pineapple on pizza too?"
"No." Glenn said. "I'm not crazy." They all laughed.
"I like pineapple on pizza." I finally spoke. Everyone looked at me for a moment still laughing but didn't say anything. I kind of felt a little out of place and put my head down.
"I like pineapple on pizza too, Abby." T-Dog said to me. I smiled a little at him.
"Of course you would." Maggie said to him.
"So, what'd you do today, Abby?" My mom asked me. I hesitated and looked around. I hate when she asks me that. I say the same thing every time.
"She played cards with me and Glenn and crushed us." T said.
"Yeah." Glenn said with a laugh. I just grinned proudly.
It had quieted down a little after that. "Well," my dad said and stretched, "it's gettin' late. We should portably go soon."
"Yeah, us too." Glenn said. He and Maggie stood up and started to leave the room.
"Mom, I'm tired." Carl complained. My mom pushed his hair back.
My dad smiled at him. "We'll go as soon as Abby finishes her food."
"I've been done." I said defensively.
My dad looked at my bowl. "You barely even touched that, Abigail."
"Well, I told you I couldn't eat it." I said. "And I ate the crunchy stuff." I smirked.
"Oh, so you left the good part?" My dad said with an amused look. I just giggled.
My mom smiled and put her arm on me. "Hey, how come you never helped me bake?" She asked me. I just shrugged. "Of course." She let out a laugh. "No one helped me do anything around my house. Cooking, cleaning."
"Well, it was your house." I pointed out. She always used to say that.
My dad laughed hard at that, which made me laugh. He hugged me and kissed my cheek a few times. "Come on, let's get to bed."
As we were leaving, I realized that I forgot my jacket and went back for it. Daryl and Carol were in the kitchen when I walked in. "Forget something?" Carol said to me smiling holding my jacket.
I smiled back. "Thanks, Carol."
"Thank you for helping me today." She said. "You did a good job." I just gave her a smile. It wasn't exactly hard to do.
Daryl snorted. "At least she did somethin' helpful today." He said rudely. I just gave him a look and walked out the door.
Narrator's POV
Carol turned to her friend. "Daryl, stop being so mean to that cute little girl." She scolded the man.
"See that's the problem. She ain't cute." He snapped. "Everyone thanks she is, 'specially 'er dad. I thank she's a smartass. If she were mine, I'd beat 'er ass."
"Oh, Daryl." The older woman gave him a disapproving look. "She's a kid. And there's not much for her to do."
"Hm." Daryl grunted then walked off.
Rick and Lori Grimes were getting ready for bed. The mother of two was already in bed looking at a magazine while the father was taking his shoes off getting ready to get into bed as well.
"I'm so tired." Lori said throwing her magazine aside.
Rick gave his wife a look of concern. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah, I just haven't been sleeping really well." She put her hands up to her face.
"That's what Abby always says." The father said. He looked down taking a boot off, then back up. "Maybe you passed your insomnia to her."
"God, I hope not." The woman widened her eyes.
There was a brief pause. Rick looked down at the gun in his hand before sitting it aside. There was something he wanted to tell everyone but he wanted to run it by his wife first. "Hey, Lori, I was thinking…" But the man trailed off. "We should probably think about leaving this area soon."
That got the woman's attention and she looked up at her husband. "What? It feels like we just got settled in."
"Yeah, I know but…with all these walkers that keep crowding the fence…I just don't think it's safe." He put his hands on his hips and sighed looking down. "The camp, the farm…we can't do that to ourselves again."
Lori looked at her husband looking desperate, she felt bad for the man. He had a lot weighing on him. "Okay." She finally said. "I get it. You're right."
"I know you like living here but—
"Hey, I don't care where we live, as long as it's safe and we're all together." She cut her husband off.
Rick sighed and gave his wife a smile. "Maybe someday…we'll find a place to settle down for good in." He turned away and took off his watch. "Maybe even have another baby." He smiled.
Lori almost laughed out loud. "Yeah, I don't think so." She raised her eyebrows. The couple laughed a little.
Just then, the bedroom door opened ajar. "Daddy?" It was Abby. Rick knew it would be, he was waiting.
The man smiled. "I'm comin', baby." The young girl closed the door and went back to her room. Lori smiled at her husband before laying back in bed.
Abby's POV
I stood in my room waiting for my dad, he emerged about a minute later. He saw me standing there and lifted me. "Door." I said. He forgot to close it. I'm embarrassed for anyone to see my dad holding me because I'm too old. He just let out a laugh and shut the door.
After that, I wrapped my arms around his neck and laid my head on his shoulder. He kissed my cheek. We've been doing this ever since we got to this house. I have trouble sleeping in unfamiliar places so it helps a little when my dad holds me and helps me get to sleep. I don't want any of the others to know though.
"You don't need to feel embarrassed to be held." My dad told me.
"Well, I do."
"That hurts my feelings." He said jokingly. I giggled and he kissed my cheek a bunch of times.
My dad was rubbing my back in a circular motion, which felt good and I was able to get a little drowsy after some time. He noticed. "You good, baby?" I just nodded. "Okay." He took me over to my bed and put me in it. "Love you."
"Love you, too." I whispered. We kissed each other then he left. I turned my head to the window where the moonlight was coming in. I wasn't good though.
The next day, I was helping load things into the cars. My dad told everyone that he wanted to leave here, so we were planning to leave later that day or tomorrow morning. I picked up a case of water and headed towards Glenn and Daryl that were loading supplies into a trunk. I was struggling a little because the water was heavy. Once I got close enough, Daryl noticed and grabbed it off me then put it in the back.
"Don't carry thangs that are too heavy fer ya." He said to me. I just ignored him and went back to get more things. However, something caught my eye down the street. I thought I saw a frog and walked towards it, when I got closer I realized that it was just a leaf. Disappointment set in.
"Where's she goin'?" I heard Daryl say lowly.
"Abby!" Glenn said and hurried over to me. "You're not supposed to leave the yard. You know that. Come on." He guided me back over. I was angry and kept my head down. I was only down the street.
I was headed back to the house with Daryl and Glenn behind me, when I slipped on some rocks and fell down pretty hard on my butt. "Ooh." Glenn said. "You alright?" He helped me up.
"Yeah." Was all I said.
"You went down pretty hard."
"She's fine. She landed on 'er ass." Daryl said and smirked. I just gave him a look and went inside.
A little later, we were all eating lunch at our house. We had the best view of the yard, the walkers were piling up again. Everyone was talking and laughing and having a good time when we heard a loud but strange noise outside.
"Oh shit." T-Dog said looking out the window. Everyone jumped up. There was a huge herd outside and the fence was coming down! My mom pulled Carl and I close.
Just then, the fence broke and the walkers were headed towards the house! My eyes widened and I looked to my dad.
"We gotta go!" Yelled Glenn.
"Lori, Carol, take the kids and get to one of the cars." My dad said. "The rest of us will hold them off."
"Why?" My mom said wide-eyed. "Let's just all leave now!" Carl was crying.
"They're comin' around the side of the house. We won't be able to get to the cars." My dad said. With that said. Carol, my mom, Carl and I headed out the front. The others went out back to kill some walkers. I could hear a lot of gunshots.
I absentmindedly touched my pocket and realized that I didn't have my iPod! I must have left it in my room. I turned back.
"Abby!" My mom yelled to me.
"I forgot somehting!"
"You can't go back in there!"
"I have to!" I yelled frantically. She tried to grab me but wasn't close enough, I ran back inside and up to my room even though she was yelling for me. My iPod was on the nightstand right where I left it. I grabbed it and quickly shoved it in my pocket. I took a look out my window before going back down and didn't see the others anymore. Doors slammed downstairs and I heard a lot of footsteps. They must be coming back in. What if I get left behind?
The thought scared me so I hurried down the stairs. The others were already out the door. I was about to run out when I heard a noise behind me. Turning to look, I saw T-Dog out the kitchen window, he was still outside fighting walkers! I have to get him!
I ran through the kitchen and out the back door, I was about to yell for him when I saw a walker coming up behind him. I don't think he knows!
Without even thinking about it, I ran over there and kicked the walker in the leg as hard as I could. It went down. T quickly turned to me, then killed the walker.
"Abby, what the hell are ya doin' out here?" He said. "You're supposed to be with the others."
"I came back in to get something and then that's when I saw you."
He had a weird look on his face. "Alright, let's go. The others are probably looking for us." We hurried inside and then out the front door. The cars were still parked down the street so we ran over there. I hope my parents aren't mad at me for leaving.
However, when we reached the cars we realized that no one was inside. I began to panic. "What? Where are they?"
"I don't know. Looks like some trouble must've went down." T said. I looked at him all worried. "I don't mean like that. Don't worry. They're fine." He crouched down so he was level with me. "Look, I know where they probably went. Your dad said that if we get separated, to meet back up at the storage units. Come on. They couldn't have gotten far, especially if they left on foot."
We heard some snarls and ran in the other direction.
It was getting later and later and we still hadn't run into my parents and everyone. I was starting to feel worried and let out a whimper by accident. "Hey, it's okay." T tried to comfort me. "We're gonna be fine. And we'll find them." He tried to reassure me but I don't think he did.
I sniffled and nodded. Then, I noticed T-Dog's arm dripping blood and my eyes widened. "You're bleeding." I told him.
"Huh? Oh, it's nothing." He put his hand on it. "I just got uh…cut on the fence." He nodded.
I squinted my eyes at him. The way he said that, I didn't believe him. I took his hand away from the wound and looked at it. I could see teeth marks. My eyes widened and I looked up at him. "You got bit!"
"Shh." He said. "There's still walkers around. We gotta be quiet."
"T-Dog." My voice sounded shaky. He got bit, which meant that he was going to die. I liked T-Dog a lot and didn't want to lose him. I hugged him and started to cry.
"It's okay." He said softly and petted my head. "I gotta get you back with your family. Safe. It's too late for me but not for you."
Just then, we heard snarling and let go of each other. Walkers were headed towards us. We turned to go but they were coming from that way too. I looked up at T-Dog scared with wide-eyes. He looked down at me. "Go." He said.
"What?"
"Go. Run, Abby." He started towards the walkers.
"No! T-Dog!" I called him. He ran at the walkers holding them back as a distraction. They started gnawing on him and he yelled out in pain.
"Go, Abby! Go! Run!" He yelled to me.
"T-Dog, no! No!" I cried. I knew I had to go though if I wanted to see my family again. I ran passed him and the walkers taking a look before running down the street. They were just eating away at him. It was the most horrific thing I have ever seen. I just ran down the road and cried.
It was now dark outside and I still hadn't run into the others. The wind blew and I tightened my jacket around me, it was getting cold. My teeth chattered as I walked. I hope I'm going in the right direction. It's hard to see with how dark it is now, no streetlights or house lights or anything.
Every time I ran into a walker, I had to just run. I had no way of killing them because I didn't have any weapons. Tears were spilling down my cheeks involuntarily. I wish my dad or Glenn or even Daryl would find me.
I just kept walking down a steep hill. Finally, I saw a parking lot with a bunch of stores. Next to it was a building. In the moonlight, I could see what it was. My eyes widened and I hurried over there.
Narrator's POV
The group arrived at the storage units not long ago. Lori, Carl and Carol were there first, then Rick and the others showed up shortly after. It was their meet up place. "Is everyone okay?" Rick asked everyone.
Lori began looking around when she didn't see her daughter with Rick. The car they were in wouldn't start so they had to leave on foot. She didn't want to leave without Abby, but she figured Rick or one of the others got to her and would bring her here safely. However, Abby wasn't there. Panic set in immediately. "Where's Abby?" The woman yelled.
Rick turned to his wife abruptly. "What? She was supposed to be with you!"
"She ran back inside. I couldn't stop her!" The worried mother continued to yell. "I thought you would've run into each other!"
Rick's eyes widened and he began to panic like his wife. "Daryl, Maggie," Rick turned to them, "did either of you see Abby?"
Maggie shook her head and Daryl just looked down. Rick continued looking around at everyone. "You mean my daughter is out there alone?" He yelled. It was more of a statement than a question.
"It's alright, man." Daryl said. "She'll be okay."
"She's thirteen!" Lori said angrily.
"T-Dog's not here either." Glenn said. "So, they must be together."
"I'm going out to look for them." Rick said.
"Rick, it's dark." Carol said. "You won't be able to see a thing."
"You can't go by yourself!" Lori said hugging Carl to her.
"Look, I'll go too." Daryl said then turned to Lori. "Will that make ya feel better?"
"Me and Glenn will come too." Maggie said and nodded.
"No, the last thing we want is everyone running around in the dark." Rick said. "Me and Daryl will go, everyone else stays here. If we're not back in—
Rick was cut off by the sound of footsteps.
Abby's POV
I walked inside the building and saw a figure in the darkness so I stepped back, but then I realized it was my dad. "Abby." He said and ran to me. He immediately hugged me and lifted me off the ground holding me tightly. "Are you okay?" He said putting me down. I just nodded. "I'm so sorry you got left behind."
"Baby." My mom was there now and hugged me tightly, then kissed my forehead.
"Is she okay?" Maggie asked. I looked over and realized that everyone was looking at us. It made me feel a little embarrassed.
"Where's T-Dog?" Glenn said.
I looked at my dad sadly, then looked down. He crouched down so he was level with me. "Baby, what happened?"
I looked at him and then around at everyone else. Swallowing hard, I said, "I was with him but he didn't…" I trailed off because I didn't know how to say it.
"Is he dead?" My dad asked me.
"Yeah." I looked down sadly. "He was bit when I found him. We got swarmed so he…he sacrificed himself to save me…so I could get away." I had tears in my eyes.
"It's okay, baby." My dad said. He stood up but kept a hand on me. "Let's all…let's all turn in." He said to everyone. "Pick a space, lock up tight."
Everyone slowly went about their business. My parents kept me close.
My dad picked one of the units for us, then we moved some of the junk around inside so we could sleep in there. My mom and I found some blankets and made a bed on the floor. Carl fell asleep almost immediately. I did shortly after too though because I was super tired.
Narrator's POV
Rick couldn't take his eyes off his sleeping daughter. He was so worried that something happened to her today. He would never forgive himself. A kiss on his temple brought him back to reality. "Hey, you okay?" Lori asked him.
"Yeah." He said then scrubbed his face with his hands. "I was just…" He trailed off.
"She's fine, Rick." Lori said. "She's back with us and safe. Thanks to T-Dog."
"Yeah. I'll never be able to repay that now." The man looked at his daughter again then back to his wife. "I never want that to happen again. To anyone."
"I know. Just…try to rest." The mother touched her husband's shoulder.
Rick nodded. He took off his gun belt, then looked down at his gun. The man suddenly had a thought. His daughter got lucky that night, she didn't have any weapons on her and she was out there. Something seriously bad could have happened. She could get separated from the group again. The man made his decision. It was time.
"Lori." Rick spoke quietly. "I think it's time to give Abby her own gun."
"What?" The woman looked at him with a shocked look. "No way. We both agreed that she's too young."
"I know, but…look what happened today. It's a wonder something didn't happen to her. She didn't have anything to protect her with."
"And she was fine." Lori gave him a look.
"It could have went a different way." He gave his wife a serious look. "It's time. She's ready."
The woman stared at her husband, then looked at her children. She felt emotional right then. "I'm so scared for them, Rick."
"It's gonna be fine." He held her. "She'll be safer if she can protect herself."
Lori Grimes stared at her husband, then finally nodded. She knew he was right. So, it was settled. Tomorrow, Rick was going to have a serious talk with his daughter and give her a gun for the first time.
Hey, there! I'm back everyone! :D As you can see, I couldn't stay away for very long XD I'm excited for you to read this story. You will see a different side of Abby in this one. Before she was tough. Stay tuned for more! And please leave a review and let me know what you thought of the first chapter! Thanks! Also, Happy New Year! :)