Chapter One

The morning was peaceful, a few birds hopped along the leaf scattered street, and the slowly rising sun reflected off the windows in the abandoned houses on the other side of the street, causing the early morning mist to slowly dissipate.

Carol Peletier let out a content sigh, staring out at the empty subdivision, tea cup resting in her lap.

She had lucked out with the current place she was calling home, the people had clearly been well off, as well as highly paranoid, resulting in a house armed like Fort Knox, complete with a fully stocked cellar and solar powered generators.

'I wonder what happened to them?'

Taking a sip of the hot tea, Carol stood, staring down at the deserted road from the screened in balcony off the master bedroom, there was no one left here anymore, all the houses had been emptied a long time ago, the quietness of the small cluster of homes almost eerie.

She startled slightly when a soft noise sounded from inside, letting out a breath as she peered back into the still semi-darkened room, relaxing as she smiled softly at the blanket covered lump still in bed.

'At least I'm not completely alone...'

"You finally waking up, Mouse?" Carol hummed as she made her way over, setting her cup on the nightstand before sitting, reaching out a hand to run her fingers through the bed mussed spikes of brown hair that peeked out from the mess of blankets.

The blankets moved slightly after a moment, large sleepy brown eyes blinking at her before she was answered with a yawn.

Carol laughed softly, staring at the teenager as he slowly scootched his way closer to her, "you really shouldn't stay in bed all day, sweetheart, you need to stretch that leg..."

She was answered by a noise that sounded more like a squeak then a whine, but the boy moved slowly to sit up, hands coming up to rub the sleep from his eyes, not protesting when the older woman reached over to lift the baggy t-shirt, checking the numerous bandages that covered his skinny torso.

"'You ever gonna talk to me, Mouse?"

The teen blinked at her, bruise under his left eye seeming darker in the dim day light, before he smiled and pecked her cheek and carefully wiggled himself out of bed, wincing slightly as he grabbed for the bedpost, Carol getting up quickly to help him limp towards the master bathroom.

Beside a select few, the ex-housewife hated people, especially these days, she had seen far more bad then good.

'Though i suppose if it weren't for the bad... I'd still be on my own...'

Sighing, Carol waited until the bathroom door closed before she went to retrieve her tea off the nightstand, going to close the balcony door, redoing the three locks and making sure it was secure before she sat on the bed.

They had been together for just over a week now, the first few days had been rough, especially since the teen couldn't or wouldn't talk apart from the occasional squeak.

Which had resulted in her coming up with the name Mouse, it suited him with his big brown eyes and skinny physique.

Carol sipped her tea, 'still... it's nice to have some companionship, even if he doesn't utter a word.'

Sipping her tea, she stared at the red backpack in the corner.

It was Mouse's, but she had never seen the contents apart from the sweater that occasionally made an appearance, and the small first aid kit, which she was fairly certain was empty by now.

She had had to use most of the contents as well as some she had found in the cellar to patch the battered teenager up when she had managed to find them a safe haven in the house.

That had been a bad few days, a lot of blood stained bandages and sleepless nights, holding the teenager when he would wake up from a nightmare.

Last night had been the first night of Mouse having a full nights sleep, though he had clung to her like a baby most of the night.

But it was definitely progress, and that's what mattered.

Letting out a sigh and finishing her tea, Carol stretched before standing, waiting for the bathroom door to open then walking over to the slightly wobbly teen, eyeing the makeshift splint she had put together for his broken leg before helping him towards the bedroom door.

"Feeling any better today?"

The teen nodded a bit, clutching onto the woman's hand tightly as they shuffled along, pausing when they got to the stairs, staring at them almost skeptically.

Carol laughed slightly, "you know they're just stairs... we take them one at time, every morning and every night..."

Mouse nodded, waiting until Carol stepped down so they could start the slow process to the main floor, letting out a breath and grinning at the older woman when they reached the bottom.

"You know it's only been a few days, but i think we're getting the hang of it..." Carol hummed, leading him into the dining room, letting him sit before she went to the kitchen, "what should we have for breakfast?"

Carol smiled over at the teen at the small table, who was staring at her, head slightly tilted, giving her a look, "oatmeal?"

The boy grinned, giving thumbs up with his non-bandaged hand.

Laughing, Carol headed to the pantry.

"Oatmeal it is."

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