Preface

The saying "One moment can change your life forever" wasn't one I really acknowledged as something important. But I was wrong. And, it was too late to react when the time of distress came. It was faster than the speed if lightning.

I never desired anything. I had a simple family. My father was a police officer, and my mother stayed at home. I had a little brother, too. He looked like my mom. I was a splitting image of my parents.

I was tall like the both of them, my facial features were a lot like my mother's, only younger. I was born with light brown hair like my dad, but from years of accumulated sun, it had a blonde tint to it. I had my mother's beautiful brown eyes.

I was a straight A student since fifth grade. I had plenty of fun friends. Lived in a beautiful home in King County, Georgia.

But those people I called 'friends' wanted nothing to do with me after the accident. I suffered ridicule from what happened to me. I was taken out of most of my classes to rework my life, being in new classes for the needy. Not because I was dumb, or disfigured. Almost not disfigured.

Still to this day, a year later, I find myself blaming my mother for what happened to me. In truth, it really was her fault. And mine.

At age 14, I was in a car accident with my mother. It was late at night. I was at a party, and I discovered that my friends had stolen alcohol from their parents. I called my mother to pick me up. My father would kill me if he knew I was drinking, which I most certainly wasn't.

My mother came to pick me up. We were about a mile from King County, in the mountains. The party had been in an old abandoned barn, five miles from town. Like I said, the moment was fast. A man on the oncoming lane was driving like a mad man. His car was black, and the headlights were off.

Unaware of the vehicle, my mother kept driving. Before we knew it, our car was flipped and totaled. My mother was left with the damage of a broken arm. However, I had greater issues. The shards of glass from the windshield flew at me. The glass ripped my eyes apart. I remember how loud I was screaming.

Panicked, my mother called my father. I remember her cussing as she dropped the phone while she tried to dial with one hand. My father arrived in less than five minutes along with his best friend, Shane Walsh, and an ambulance.

I remember my father picking me up, both of us sobbing.

I remember him stroking my blood soaked face and hair.

I remember the swirling in my head.

I remember the searing pain.

I remember the darkness.

On that night, March 17th, 2009, I lost my eyesight due to the glass. I was blind. My parents couldn't afford transplants.

I was lucky to be alive.

Now, the year was 2010. I still hadn't adjusted to this new lifestyle. My family and I stopped going to church. We hardly bonded. Most of the time I just sat or paced around my room.

Then, my father was shot and comatose.

Then, Apocalypse broke out. My father is dead. All I have is my mother, my brother, and my father's best friend. I don't even know why I'm writing any of this down. Not like anyone will read it.

I didn't have the chance to write any of this until a miracle happened.

My name is Lucile Grimes, and this is my story.

Chapter 1

We were up at an old rock quarry. Everyone had jobs. Except for me… I couldn't keep watch. I wouldn't be able to see anything coming. I couldn't gather plants from the forest. Odds were I'd bring back poisonous mushrooms or poison ivy and end up killing us all. How nice. A large group of survivors in a zombie Apocalypse killed by an idiot blind girl when she accidentally fed she and her friends poisonous plants.

So… Here I am. Sitting in my tent. Doing nothing but crying. Yes, blind people can cry. Welcome to my life.

Never in my life had I felt so… so… Useless.

My own crying distracted me. I didn't notice the tent flap opening.

"Honey, are you okay?"

It was my mother.

"No. Can't I help with anything?" I asked.

"I'm afraid not…"

"This is ALL your fault! I spat at her, "I hate you! You're a shitty mother! This never would've happened if-"

"Lucile! Watch your tongue! If your father could hear you-"

"WELL HE CAN'T!" I interrupted. "HE'S DEAD!" I couldn't believe what I said. It all just… Popped into my head.

Angrily, I pushed past my mother. I just started aimlessly walking around camp, with utterly no idea whatsoever where I was going. I missed my father. I wished he were here. I wish I could've died that night. That way we'd be together. It would have saved me a hell lot of trouble.

I hated my mother. Ever since the accident, she had people doing 'nice' things for me. I hated that, too. I hated being dolled over. And the thing is, we got along so well before.

While I was walking, I could feel everyone looking at me. Their eyes were burning into my soul. We had all been up here for four weeks. We sent a small group of people to Atlanta for supplies. That was a day ago, and they still aren't back.

Due to my blindness, the eldest Dixon brother, Merle, would always touch me. I wouldn't see it coming. Shane would tell him off, and guide me back to my tent, where I would cry my blind eyes out. I would lie against his chest as he stoked my back. Like my father used to do. Being touched by complete strangers like Merle was something else I hated. That, and being taken advantage of.

Shane and I never got along prior to my accident. We bickered whenever he came over. After I lost my eyesight, he became my best friend. He stuck up for me when people made fun of my eyesight. The large sunglasses I had to wear were terrible. They were heavy.

And Shane was there when my mother wasn't. It was then, when I was strolling along, a loud car alarm blared in the distance. I stopped moving, trying to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. It was coming closer by the second.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. I recognized it as Shane. I heard a door open and shut, and people started shouting at each other. Shane let go of my shoulder. I couldn't see what he was doing. The alarm stopped, and I felt someone brush past me. The voice told me it was Amy, arguing at Glenn.

"Is everyone here?" I asked.

"No, but they'll be here soon," Glenn said. "Well, except for Merle."

Good, that asshole was gone.

I heard a larger vehicle- probably a supply truck- pull up. I figured it was everyone else. I didn't want to hear all of these families reuniting, so I ran off.

I found myself stumbling into the RV. I only knew that from what I felt around me. I walked down the hallway, tripping on the carpet as I did. I slowly got up, and heard someone calling my name. I sighed, and found my way out of the RV. I stared out with my grey blank stare.

"What?" I asked quietly.

I heard footsteps walking towards me that sounding like cowboy boots. The heels clacked off the gravel, fast. A pair of familiar strong arms wrapped around me. For the first time in a year, I felt happy. Instantly, I knew who it was.

"Dad!"

AN: I will not update this until I finish Ember. Sorry. Merry Christmas, Kwanza, Hanukah. This is my present to you. The preface and first chapter of my second TWD story.