Chapter one – First impressions

Pov: carl

There is a hopeful buzz in the air as the group chats around the fire and everyone seems to be benefiting from today's moral boost. After what must have been at least eight months of being on the road we finally found a place with the potential to become a home for a while. The prison has fences that can keep the dead outside however we have to finish clearing away the walkers that lived inside the compound.

It took a while but today we managed to clear the courtyard of the prison and dad's hopeful that we will be able to clear a cell block tomorrow at the very least. Despite the idea of living in a prison not being the most appealing, I'm grateful we found this place because mums due to give birth any day now and it would be a death sentence to have a screaming infant out on the road.

Everyone seems relaxed talking about plans they have for this place but I still can't shake the nauseous feeling I've had ever since I got a good look at the walkers sporting prison uniforms. it's not the smell or rotting flesh that bothers me it's the fact that all the ex-prisoners looked to be my age or a couple years older making it hard not to imagine myself in their place.

If it wasn't for my mom and Shane, I could have died just like them and I would have been condemned to walk the earth a shell of myself forever. Except the people that lived here weren't really like me at all if I think about it. they were prisoners, the bad guys, the people my dad and Shane worked hard to put away. I don't think I could have ever turned bad like they did, my dad is one of the good guys and so am I. despite feeling guilty for thinking it, I can't help but wonder if it's a good thing these criminals died early on and therefore can't terrorise the innocent people that are still alive.

Dad and the rest of the group seem positive that they can turn this place into our permanent home but I know that's unlikely to happen. nothing lasts long in this world, not homes, not food, and definitely not lives. I suppose all we can really do these days is enjoy the time we have left and try forget about how it's bound to run out soon.

Pov: Harlow

I must finally be losing my mind I decide. I keep thinking I can hear voices speaking in the distance but as far as I know the dead don't talk and I'm the last one left in the prison. Unless somebody has somehow broke into the compound but I've long since given up on the idea of a recue team and any other random person would surly have been slaughter by the reanimated corpses. However just as I'm accepting my fate of slowly slipping into madness the carefully barricaded door to the cafeteria bursts open and the first living people I've seen in what must be almost a year barge in.

the group are carrying what could be the real-life Santa clause if only Santa was a fair bit skinnier and had given up baths. The dead are hot on there heals but before I have time to panic a young bald guy rushes to re-barricade the door effectively locking the rotting cannibals outside. Whilst the bald man works on the door a different bearded man who could also do with a bath undoes his belt and begins wrapping it around the Santa man's leg. then before I can prepare myself for what is about to happen the bearded man raises an axe and brings it down on the old guy's leg.

My hands fly to my ears as the old man releases a booming scream that sets my hair on end. However thankfully the screaming only lasts a couple brief seconds before the bleeding man passes out and I can breathe a sigh of relief. The strangers haven't spotted me yet and I debate if I should remain hidden or announce myself. On one hand they might be my ticket out of here but on the other hand one of them did just chop a man's leg of and if he were to turn that axe on me I only have a dull kitchen knife to defend myself.

However, before I can reach a decision a man with a crossbow spot's me and rather rudely points his weapon in my direction. He alerts the other members of his group to my presence and before I know it there are five sets of eyes on me looking like I have just threatened them at gunpoint.

I slowly raise my arms like I have seen people do on tv when there in similar situations and try to think about what would be appropriate to say in this situation but I come up with nothing so I instead say, "why in god's name would you cut Santa's leg off are y'all mental"

by mentioning the probably dying man I seemingly remind the group of the situations urgency as they all jump back into action and the only answer I get to my question is "he got bit." However, before I can ask why they thought butchering a man was a logical reaction to him getting bitten, the group have already put Santa on a wheely table and ripped the doors back open. I watch dumbfounded as the all charge back into the hoard of dead with their weapons raised like there marching into battle. obviously, they have some kind of death wish if there willingly waltzing back into danger but as I've got nothing better to do I follow them.

Pov: carl

We have all been waiting anxiously in cell block C for dad and the others to return however when we all finally hear them the don't sound happy. The doors burst open and the group come charging in exposing everyone to the gory reality of the situation. Hershel is either passed out or dead laying of a wheely table with an entire leg missing. Everyone rushes to prepare a cell for him and soon enough the old man is lying as pale as a ghost on a prison bunk whilst carol and a couple others rush to treat him.

As carol rushes to heat up a bucket in order to cauterize the wound I hear Daryl arguing with someone on the other end of the cell block and dad quickly explains "there's a prisoner still alive" before going to help deal with the stranger. As I'm no use here and dad might need back up I decide to follow dad.

When we reach Daryl, he has his crossbow raised at a girl who surprisingly looks only to be my age so around 13. She is wearing a blue prison jumpsuit with the top half tied around her waist revealing a white tank top underneath. Her hair is a fiery red tied in a messy half up half down style and coated in a thick amount of grease.

The prisoner tries to take a step forward but Daryl stops her saying "stay back, you don't have to come any closer." To which the girl rolls her eyes and scoffs "I know I don't have to do shit but It would be great if you could stop pointing that thing at my head." However Daryl dose not in fact lower his weapon until dad steps between them and tries to mediate the situation.

"Daryl she's just a kid there's no need to scare her when she isn't a threat." dad reasons causing Daryl to lower his crossbow which I think is as we don't know anything about her. "She is a prisoner in a high security compound meaning she must have done something really messed up to be here which makes her a threat." I point out and Daryl grunts "kids got a point." The girl looks at me and with a role of her eyes mocks "well you're an observant one" but otherwise seems unbothered by my accusation.

The girl looks back to my dad and questions "you said that man was bit but cutting his leg off seems a bit extreme don't you think? Isn't there a hospital that is guarded from the dead you could have taken him to?" we all stare at her in disbelief until dad asks "how long you been in here?" causing the girl to shrug "since I was 11 but the dead only started to walk around a year ago. After the prison got over ran a guard locked me in the cafeteria and said she would be back but I never saw her again. I assumed there was a sickness killing everyone and figured the government wouldn't send a rescue team here if they thought everyone was already dead. But judging by the looks on your faces that's not what happened so could one of you explain?"

Dad looks unconfutable when he answers "there is no hospitals there's nothing left no government no internet no shops no anything. From what we can tell over half the populations gone. The dead have this earth now so if you had a family there probably gone, I'm sorry" the girl doesn't look panicked or even that shocked her face just shows grim acceptance when she next speaks "nothing to be sorry for I got nobody out there anyway. Do you reckon you could show me what the outsides like or are you just goanna keep treating me like I'm going to bite." And so, dad makes the girl give up her weapons before we make our way outside.

Author's note: depending on when you read this you micht find that this chapter is better written and better quality than the next ten or so chapters. That is because I actually just posted chapter 38 and when I came back to read the first chapter, I realised how bad it was and gave it some TLC. However, I don't have time to re write all the early chapters because I'm still posting the rest of the story however once this book is complete I will come back to the start and improve the lacklustre quality of my earlier instalments. If this story is not completed or has only very recently been completed when you read this then please don't let the poorer quality of the next couple discourage you from reading as I think there still enjoyable and the improve greatly as the story goes on. After chapter 13 is when there's a really noticeable quality increase and it continues to improve with each chapter. After chapter 10 though the bad quality is way way less noticeable or distracting.