Author's Note: Hey guys, I have a couple things to tell you:
1) Thank you for the good reception to my first chapter!
2) I'm splitting my attention between this and Survivor, so take it easy on me if I don't get chapters out quickly.
3) Last chapter I didn't get much reviews, so please at least take the time to rate the chapter on a scale of one to ten, it'd be a huge favor.
4) It would also be great if you guys could give me suggestions if you have any(what to do with the story/characters), although I already have the ending of the series mapped out.
5) If you like this series, I recommend you check out my other series, Survivor.
6) If you're writing a review, It'd be a great favor for me if you could rate the chapter on a scale of 1-10. It helps me determine which chapters were the most favored by readers. If you don't have time for a full review, then you can always simply rate the chapter. I recommend using this format for all chapter reviews.
FIVE MONTHS BEFORE THE OUTBREAK. Carol watched Sophia's strawberry blonde hair blow in the wind, as they stood at the edge of the pier. Ed was lying on the beach, covered by a towel while resting. This was the first time she'd been to the beach since she married him.
"Mom, why does dad hate me?" Asked Sophia suddenly. Carol was surprised, and had a hard time thinking of a response.
"...Honey, your dad doesn't hate you. He loves you. We both love you, it's just...sometimes he gets angry." Explained Carol, although she wasn't sure if she believed it herself.
"I know, but...he's always angry."
"I know sweety...I know." Carol gave Sophia a warm hug, kissing her gently on the forehead.
The sun began to set over the pier, weaving a beautiful tapestry of orange and yellow over the sky, casting a majestic hazy golden reflection onto the ocean below, as Carol embraced Sophia softly.
PRESENT DAY. Carol, Daryl, Ellie, and Savannah trekked through the forest, following the directions on the note Daryl found. Carol wasn't sure if the community was real or a trap of some sort, maybe even some sort of twisted joke, but she and Daryl both knew they had to try. They had to take a risk. After what happened at Terminus long ago, before Alexandria, they were both wary of strangers, but they knew they needed a place to stay. At least for a while.
"I'm hungry, can we take a break?" Complained Savannah.
"Sorry Anna, we don't have time." Replied Ellie. "We'll take a break in a few minutes."
Savannah groaned, and continued walking. Carol trotted over to Daryl, and began to speak with him out of earshot.
"Anna can't keep walking forever. We may need to accept the fact that it's going to take a while to get to the community...if it exists." She muttered quietly.
"We ain't got time. The little girl's not gonna last long out here, she needs somewhere safe."
"Well if she passes out on the side of the road, somehow I get the feeling it won't matter much."
"Fine."
Daryl motioned for Ellie and Savannah to sit down. He remained standing, watching impatiently while they rested. Carol sat on the ground, trying to catch her beath, as she stared into the dark cloudy sky.
"It's gonna rain today." Predicted Carol, pointing at the dark cloud hovering above. Daryl nodded.
"That's an understatement. From the look of those clouds, we may get caught in the middle of a storm." Warned Ellie. "We need to find shelter."
"How can you tell there's a storm coming?" Asked Carol, curiously.
"My mom used to teach me to read the clouds and predict the weather, she was actually pretty good at it. There wasn't a day I can remember from my childhood where she was wrong about the weather."
"Well, at least we'll get some fresh water." Noted Carol.
"I hate storms, they scare me." Added Savannah, looking at the clouds warily.
"Winter's almost here, we need to get to somewhere safe before it arrives." Said Carol. She was tempted to add, "If such a place exists...", but she held her tongue.
Daryl gave his usual nod of agreement, and they eventually got up, and kept moving down the road.
Three hours later, Daryl and the others came upon a small dirt road branching off from the road, with a small mailbox standing next to it. The sun was beginning to set, not that they could see it through the clouds. It was drizzling gently, but the rain was getting more intense. He could hear thunder in the background, as the darkest of the clouds moved towards them.
"There's a mailbox, which means there's some sort of house of something up the dirt road." Noted Carol. "We should stop here, and wait the storm out inside."
"Yeah, probably a cabin or some shi-" Began Daryl. He remembered that Savannah was too young to hear him talk like that, and cut his sentence short.
"Or some what?" Asked Savannah innocently, making Carol grin.
"C'mon, we're losing daylight." Advised Ellie, changing the subject intentionally.
Daryl, Carol, Ellie, and Savannah walked quickly down the dirt road, seeing a small cabin shortly ahead.
"This'll do." Remarked Daryl, as they reached the door of the autumn brown log cabin, with a worn American flag posted on the roof, blowing furiously in the wind.
The door was easily opened by Daryl, who kicked it open with little effort. Inside lay some furniture, a small bathroom, and a fireplace, with the ashes of a log burned long ago inside. There was a small bedroom as well, with a small bed tucked into a corner.
Daryl, Carol, and Ellie quickly checked the rooms, finding no walkers, and very little supplies.
"Looks like somebody's already looted the place." Observed Daryl, as he and the others began to focus on starting a fire in the fireplace. They had found some firewood stored in a closet, along with matches, and a note attached to them.
"In case anyone else finds this place, take this, I won't be needing it anymore." Said the note.
"Wonder why someone would someone would just give away wood and matches like this..." Said Daryl, as he struggled to light the fire, which proved difficult without tinder to help light it.
"One second, I have something that'll help us." Sais Ellie, pulling a pack of pencils out of her backpack.
"Pencils?" Asked Daryl, confused.
"Pencil shavings make great tinder." Explained Ellie, sharpening the pencils, and dumping the shavings into the fireplace.
"Smart." Commented Carol, as the fire was quickly lit by Daryl. Daryl wasn't really sure what to think of Ellie, she seemed like a good person. But at the same time, it wasn't easy to tell nowadays. She was smart, that much was obvious.
After eating dinner, Carol and the others sat by the fire, the sparks flickering in the shadows. The dim light illuminated their faces in the dark, as they sat quietly, enjoying the heat. They could hear booming thunder echoeing outside, and heavy rain was pouring down, which they had set up buckets to collect.
"You think the storm'll settle soon?" Asked Ellie.
"Doubt it, pro'lly gonna get a whole lot worse 'fore it gets better." Replied Daryl honestly.
"It's so loud." Commented Savannah.
"At least we'll have plenty of water in the morning." Said Carol, looking out the window warily. She could tell that the storm was getting worse, and the wind was getting louder and stronger. There was a good chance the bucket's they'd set up to collect water had fallen over already.
Suddenly, the door, having been only held shut by some rope applied by Daryl, burst open from the force of the wind, sending leaves and dirt flying into the cabin. Savannah screamed. Daryl covered his eyes in the face of the wind, and forced the door shut again, this time tying it shut tighter.
"Anna, you need to get some sleep, it's gonna be a long night." Ordered Ellie, carrying Savannah into the bedroom. Savannah held to her tightly, frightened by the noises outside the cabin.
"Y' both should." Advised Daryl. "I'll keep watch."
"Even if I could go to sleep with all this noise, I'm not really tired anyways." Said Ellie, after placing Savannah in the bed. "Carol, you should at least try to sleep."
At first Carol wanted to say no, but even with all the noise, she was tired. Really tired.
"Yeah." She said, setting up a sleeping bag on the ground next to Savannah in the other room, leaving Daryl and Ellie alone by the fire.
Daryl fiddled with his knife awkwardly, as he and Ellie sat by the fire in silence, about an hour after Carol and Savannah went to sleep. The storm had calmed down a little, and Daryl could hear faint snoring from the bedroom. Around other people silence never made him uncomfortable, but something about Ellie made him somewhat awkward. Maybe it was the fact that he didn't fully trust her yet. Maybe something else. Either way, he decided to break the awkward silence.
"What'd you do? You know, before the walkers came?" Asked Daryl eventually. Ellie turned and faced him, seemingly surprised that he talked.
"Um, well...nothing, really. I was pretty messed up at the time, didn't have a job. My parents kicked me out of the house a while after I started drinking. Eventually I got into the heavier stuff, heroin to be specific. After that, things fell apart. Some of my friends would take me in occasionally, but I drifted in and out of jail for the most part. I was a typical junkie." Replied Ellie, staring into the fire, avoiding eye contact for one reason or the other. "After the outbreak, it wasn't exactly all that easy to get my hands on the stuff...so I went clean. It was hard for the first few weeks, I couldn't even sleep. A group took me in, and I eventually got better. That's where I met Anna."
Daryl grunted, and continued staring into the fire.
"What happened to her parents?" He asked.
"Same thing that happened to the others in our group. Anna was really young when it happened, she barely remembers it. I've been taking care of her ever since." She replied vaguely.
Daryl nodded, as awkward silence began to set in again. Suddenly, Ellie spoke up again.
"You don't trust me, do you?" The boldness of her question surprised Daryl.
"Nah, that ain't it."
"Then what is it?"
"We just met ya, it ain't easy to trust new people."
"So...you don't trust me?"
"Guess not." Daryl could tell Ellie understood. She took a few seconds to respond, now making direct eye contact with Daryl.
"You know, things aren't as complicated as you make them out to be."
"How so?"
"Some things are more simple than you think."
"Like what?" Daryl was slightly confused.
"Like this." Replied Ellie softly, grabbing Daryl by the vest, and pulling him into a kiss. It was unexpected, but he didn't pull away. He didn't want to. Ellie's soft lips pressed roughly against his, as she grasped the back of his head, pulling him close. He hadn't kissed anyone since before the outbreak, and he was never really interested afterwards. Ellie pulled away.
"See you tomorrow." She said, standing up, and walking into the bedroom with Carol and Savannah, leaving Daryl alone. Daryl could no longer hear the rain or thunder outside, but still decided to stay by the fire a while longer, trying to gather his thoughts, his deep blue eyes shimering in the dying firelight.
Carol awoke the next day early in the morning as usual, having gone to sleep late the previous night, kept awake by the noise of the storm. She arose to see Daryl asleep by the embers of the fire, lying lazily on the floor. She decided not to wake him. Savannah and Ellie were still asleep.
She walked outside, to find debris everywhere, scattered by the storm. The buckets they had set up earlier were tumbled over, some completely missing. The misty morning chill enshrouded her, as she surveyed the area groggily. She rubbed her eyes, yawned, and crossed her arms to remain warm.
"Hey." Greeted Daryl from behind, startling her.
"Hey." She replied with a bright smile.
"Looks like the stormed fucked this place up pretty bad."
"Looks like."
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure.
"Ellie. You trust her?" She asked, turning towards him.
"Yeah. I do."