I'm not sure if any readers will recognize a little bit of this story as the first draft was taken from my first account on this site. I was a bit of a newbie and while I'm still figuring out certain things and polishing my writing, I edited this story a million times since and have found a first chapter I feel way happier with.

If you don't recognize pieces of this story from my other account it doesn't matter, as it will be completely different, with only minor character background similarities.

Regardless I hope you enjoy this story, and I hope I update regularly enough to keep this story going smoothly.

Enjoy!

The sun came up slowly, illuminating pink and yellow hues across the tall golden field. I stood mesmerized, taking a break from the chaos beyond this field to instead take in this rare beauty. For the past year, my first priority has always been to keep myself safe; to make sure that whatever situation I walked into, I was prepared. It wasn't an ideal life, but it was the only one to live when the world turned to shit. This was a brief moment where I could allow myself a minute or two to slow down and take a breath, to pretend like there weren't biters lurking in the forest ready to make me their breakfast.

"Another day," I whispered to myself, reaching into my back pocket for my knife that had long since become my choice weapon. Guns made too much noise and brought unwanted attention from both the dead and the living, and while there was the distressing part of getting up close with the biters, I had quickly gotten over it and found it slowly became routine.

The sun was still hovering in the distance, struggling to make its way to claim a new day. Perhaps even the sun was starting to give up on shining a light on a world so consumed by darkness. I smiled to myself, the thought sounding ridiculous to me, but did something to lift my spirits as I walked over to a nearby creek. My eyes did a quick scan of the tree line, as I approached the cover of a tall oak tree. Deciding myself to be safe for a quick wash, I knelt down and began splashing water over any exposed skin. I didn't have the luxury of a proper bathe, and had come to terms with the fact that I most likely never would again. Even something as miserly as this was somewhat of a luxury. I let my head lull and felt my muscles relax with every splash of the cooling water.

Once I was finished, I moved further up the stream to cleaner water. I reached to fill up my water bottle, but my hand froze just over the surface of the water when I caught sight of my reflection. I couldn't recall the last time I had paused to take notice of my reflection, to see how I had changed. Every time I had passed a window or mirror, it never crossed my mind to succumb to old habits of vanity. But at this moment I couldn't help but notice it. For a moment I didn't recognize myself and thought someone was behind me. But when her lips parted at the same time I had, sucking in a breath to let out a shriek, realization shocked me into silence.

I knew my hair was long; I could see its progress and struggled to shove its thick strands from my face whenever I was scouting. My fingers reached to comb through the brown tangled mess. I couldn't tell what was my natural curl and what was a knot. My lips were just the tiniest bit uneven; my bottom lip slightly more plump than my top, but it was hard to tell over the waters ripples and the dirt that coated my olive skin. I paused at my nose, it was still straight despite the few times I recalled falling on it, but there was a crack in the skin I hadn't noticed, and I hurried to wipe away at the blood and bandage it up. It wasn't a major injury, but I didn't want to leave anything to chance. It would be just my luck to die of some flu or cut infection in a world overrun by zombies.

When the ripples finally stopped again I saw my eyes. I remembered they were green, and remembered them being darker and more of a forest green, but in contrast with the grime and the wildness of my hair, they looked brighter and more feral. Overall my appearance was very animalistic and I half wondered how I didn't get confused for a biter…

"I'm not one of them," I scolded myself. Quickly cupping some water in my hands, I splashed it onto my face and started scrubbing.

Welcome to Zebulon.

My nose scrunched at the name as I read the town sign, and I played with it in my head a few times before I started to mutter it out loud.

"Zebulon, Zebulon…" it was a curious name for a town, but I didn't bother overthinking the name as I started to map out a game plan as I adjusted my backpack straps. My gaze flitted around different streets, there were a lot of biters around, and I found it discerning. Why were so many of them in such a small town?

My answer was quickly answered when I saw the sign.

West Central Prison 2 Miles.

I felt myself deflate. A prison. No doubt the source of many of the biters around me, who I now noticed were wearing uniforms or guard gear of some kind. Though there weren't many that I could tell were strictly from the prison, I knew that it was habit of biters to travel together, picking up stragglers along the way until they became a herd. They were scattered, and far easier to navigate around than other herds I'd encountered, but I wouldn't waste my time getting deeper into it. I positioned myself so I was moving alongside the buildings, stopping every now and again to peer inside and check out if there was anything worth taking. I found a general store, and after taking down a few biters I found only one or two things worth taking with me. As I went further into the town, I felt my patience and hope slowly burning away. It had become painfully obvious that someone else had been to these places before me.

I cursed myself for trying the town when I knew from past scavenges that I would have better luck in houses. I began retracing my steps, scouting any streets for a possible house to bunk in for the night. While I didn't like the idea of sleeping so close to so many biters, I didn't have much of a choice, and with the sun slowly sinking behind one of the taller buildings in the town, I knew my time with daylight was limited to a few hours. Walking around in the dark wasn't something I was a fan of, and I preferred the advantage of daylight, even if it put me at a disadvantage for anyone else who thought the same way.

I was just turning down a street when I heard something weird. It was a cross from a gurgle and a shriek, and I stood frozen on the sidewalk for a moment longer before I realized it was someone calling for help. Without thinking, I ran. Normally I ran the opposite way of anyone calling out to me, I didn't trust the living any more than I trusted the biters. Everyone had an agenda now; it was their life or yours. I slowed down when I started to get closer, and came to full stop when I heard the familiar sound of biters. I peaked around the corner, and felt my chest tighten. A girl, no more than fourteen stood on top of a dumpster, one hand struggled to hold onto something behind her to keep steady, while the other hand was shaking and holding a gun. I could see her indecision, she didn't want to use it, but her options were limited and she didn't have much time to make her choice.

If I didn't do something now, she would shoot, and bring all the biters right to us. Then we'd both be dead. I counted three biters, and figured it was easy enough as I rounded the corner and pulled out my knife. I took the first one down quickly, and had just got my hand adjusted on the knife again when the other two turned their hungry snarls towards me.

"Fuck," I whispered, one of them reached me first, and I quickly shoved my blade through the socket. I cringed at the sound it made, as though the knife were cutting through overcooked pasta. The moment of disgust had cost me. I didn't have enough time to retract my weapon before the third one was on me. I fell back, struggling against the weight of the biter. He was large and looked fairly fresh for a biter. His skin wasn't as rotted which was a relief because it allowed me more grip as I tried to push him off. I could feel my body struggling against the weight of him, and I was just about to give up when I heard a crunch and felt the biter go completely still before going limp on top of me. I looked up, seeing the tip of my knife poking through his forehand only a few inches from the tip of my nose. With one final shove I managed to push him off me.

The girl stood over me, panting loudly and wide-eyed. Her brown eyes scanned wildly around us, as though preparing for another biter to appear.

"It's fine," I finally said, my voice sounded strange to me. It had been some time since I had spoke above a whisper, and it felt like I was shouting, "I don't think any of the other one's heard, we're out of sight so I'm sure we're safe for a minute."

That felt like a mouthful. Was I talking too much?

She just nodded, and I wondered for a moment if I had said my last question out loud. Or was she just trying to console herself? I didn't know.

"Are you okay?" I asked as I lifted myself up. My first course of action was to get my knife back and then check around the corner for anything of immediate concern. The girl didn't answer me, she just watched as I wiped my knife on my black jeans and scanned the streets.

"Do you have family? Or someone you have to go back to?" I offered, walking back over to her and checking her for any bites or injuries. She didn't object, if anything she seemed almost incoherent, "do you understand anything I'm saying?"

She just stared at me. Her eyes were blue, like the ocean. Or at least what I remembered the ocean looking like. Her honey blond hair was pulled back into a lose ponytail, highlighting her round face. She looked frightened and small. My guess was she was alone and didn't know what to do. I argued with myself for a few seconds on what I should do, but ultimately I knew I had to help her.

"Look kid, I'm going to find a house a little ways from the town…there are too many biters, it isn't safe here. You should come with me and get some sleep…in the morning we can figure out the rest," I wasn't used to talking so much, and using so many words and hearing myself speak had me pausing at points and I could tell she was confused. She probably thought I was crazy.

Was I?

When she didn't say anything, I gave up. As much as I wanted her to come, I couldn't afford to waste any more time. I turned abruptly, hurrying to the shadows before making my way down the streets. If she was determined to be a mute teenager who didn't want my help than so be it. I could leave her with a clean conscience knowing I did all I could.

It wasn't until I turned down another street that I realized she had been following me. I didn't want to call her out or tell her to hurry, mostly because I didn't want to make any noise, but also because I had a feeling she was a bit skittish. My footsteps quickened when I noticed the shadows growing larger, the sun was barely peaking through the trees and panic was beginning to set in.

I past a few shops and burned down homes before I finally came across a brick house the looked secure enough. My knife was back in my hand as I climbed up the front porch, I reached the door handle slowly, turning it quietly as I prepared myself for the worst. It didn't budge when I pushed. While I liked that the door was locked because it meant that biters might not have gotten in, it meant I would have to try to find another way in, in the hopes that biters or other survivors didn't already occupy this place.

Using what natural lighting I had left I peaked into the windows to make sure it was uninhabited. Thankfully I could see the months of dust that had accumulated on the furniture and took it as a good sign.

In my effort to avoid breaking in by smashing a window and making the house vulnerable, I managed to climb up some lattice along the side and jimmy a window open. I hoped the girl was waiting by the front door, and sure enough as I raced down the narrow hallway, I could see her head bobbing up and down from the little window in the front door.

"Home sweet home," I managed a smile, opening the door and gesturing for her to come in. She stood on the porch for a moment, looking around as if searching for another option. Did I really seem so unappealing? "You coming or not?"

She immediately straightened, I could see my demanding tone had struck a cord and I saw her blue eyes spark with a dangerous flare of anger. Shoving past me, she stomped into the house and over to the couch. I closed the door, securing the latch as I locked it and turned to watch as she plopped into the couch with her arms crossed. I laughed loudly when a cloud of dust, having been disturbed by her dramatics, lifted and smothered her in a grey cloud. My laughter only prolonged when she craned her neck to glare at me. I had forgotten the smite of moody teenagers.

"Glare all you want, I'm going to secure the house and get some sleeping arrangements set up," I wanted to nag her, my curiosity was practically eating me away. I wanted to know her name and where she came from. How old was she and why was she alone? I couldn't remember the last time I came across another person that didn't immediately run the opposite direction.

I had finished securing the house with barricades and triple locks. Knowing the value of sleep and how rare it was to find a good bed to have it in, I wandered upstairs and decided upon the master bedroom for the night. I was just in the middle of making my bed for the night when I heard the girl clear her throat. She stood in the doorway biting on her bottom lip the way I sometimes did when I had something to say.

"My name, uh…" she shuffled awkwardly, "my name is…"

"Hey, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to," I shook my head, turning back to the bed and getting ready. Now that it was night, I was limited to the lighting provided by the two candles I had lit and kept on the floor. My eyes lingered on the flames as I recalled the first few days of being on the run with my brother. I could practically hear his voice now reprimanding me for lighting a bunch of candles in the house we were occupying that night.

"You're practically holding a neon sign pointing to our location, think Katherine, use your head!"

I winced at the memory, my temple stinging slightly in the spot where he had struck me. I quickly shook the thoughts of him away; thinking of my brother just brought other memories and thoughts I didn't want to remember.

"Okay," she said lifting a shoulder lazily.

"Since you're here though, do you mind closing the door and helping me push the dresser up against it?"

"I thought you already secured the downstairs?" she closed the door anyway, walking over to the dresser with me as we began to move it.

"It doesn't hurt to be over cautious, not these days," I pushed and she pulled, adjusting the furniture until I decided the room was secure enough, "thanks."

We worked together a moment longer in silence, we were still figuring each other out. Testing the boundaries and understanding what we could and couldn't do around each other would take a while, and I knew it wouldn't all happen in one night. I suppose it might have been harder for me, as I guessed she hadn't been alone too long out there, and I wish I had been so lucky…for my own sanity. My own exhaustion got the better of me, and without another word I collapsed into one of the mattresses I had arranged in the room, securing myself in enough blankets to keep warm. I didn't even bother to wait until the girl fell asleep first, as soon as my head hit the pillow I was out.

Thank you for reading, please don't forget to R&R! Cheers.