Starting Over...

-DARYL POV-

Walkers always had a way of showin' up at just the wrong time, 'n today was livin' proof'a that.

They must'a breached the fence at one'a its weak points 'n stormed the lot, hungry 'n lookin' for their next meal. Today they'd picked the wrong people to fuck with.

The walkers had taken us by surprise 'n split our group up...Lori, Carl 'n Maggie had gone missin' somewhere in'a lower half'a the prison durin'the attack. Those halls down'ere were like a damn maze, and they couldn't manage keepin'up. I hoped for the best but expected the worst... somethin' you learned to do these days, or you were in for a world'a hurt.

When I was sure every last one'a those undead flesh munchers was taken out, I lowered my trusty crossbow down to my side. The eerily quiet lot was soaked in blood 'n walker heads layin' around everywhere. We were all just standin' around, waitin' to see who'd be the one to move first. As I looked around the group'a us, I noticed Rick startin' to look a little paniced. No doubt he was thinkin'a Lori and Carl.

Suddenly, a huge rusted over door creaked open on the other side'a the lot. A hopeful feelin' rose in'a group as we all watched Carl walk on out, expectin' to see Lori right on his heels like always. But for me, that feelin' disappeared when I saw Carl's head held low 'n his slow, defeated stride. Rick, on'a other hand, made a B-line for Carl 'n dropped to his knees in front'a him. He touched the boy's face with both hands, starin' him in the eyes... But Carl didn't budge.

When the door creaked open a second time, Maggie stepped out. She was shaken up, 'n her arms were all bloody. Then a sound I was sure none'a us had heard in a real long time echoed over the prison lot. It was the weak cries of a baby, 'n it was comin' from the bundle nestled in Maggie's arms.

It was Lori's baby.

And that's when the reality hit me like a ton'a bricks. Usually, our group was a real team. We always kicked some walker ass 'n got out in one piece. But today, we suffered a loss... I knew Lori wasn't gon' be comin' outta that door.

"No, no, no, no..." Rick started to groan as he paced back 'n forth across the bloody concrete. "Lori... Not Lori..."

The rest'a us had no choice but to stand there 'n watch while Rick quickly came to terms that Lori was dead. While Glenn comforted Maggie 'n the baby, Rick threw himself on'a ground, cryin' out and sobbin' real hard. The grief was just crushin' him...

After a few seconds, it got hard to watch Rick anymore without feelin' like I'd break down myself.

So, I quietly excused myself from the group, 'n decided to do a sweep'a the lot's border. We'd wiped out at least 70 walkers inside the prison just a few minutes ago, but it was never a bad idea to double check.

Armed with my trusty ol' crossbow, I strolled along the edge'a the lot by the fence. I stepped over the bodies'a the walkers, kickin' their heads a little just to make extra sure they were dead.

The hot Georgia sun was beatin' down on me pretty hard. By the time I got myself over to the front gate, I was wipin' the sweat outta my eyes with the back'a my forearm. From where I was standin', I could see the entire prison yard, 'n clear out into the woods outside the fence. There wasn't a walker left standing in the yard, but I knew it wouldn't be too long before another herd sniffed us out.

Suddenly, somethin' caught my eye. Past the fence 'n out into the woods, up the steady incline, I could see movement. The bushes were rustlin' about like somethin' was tryin' to tear its way through.

My first thought was that second herd had sniffed us out pretty damn quick.

I climbed up the watch tower, fast as my legs would carry me. Once I got to the top, I snatched up one'a the pairs'a binoculars we left up'ere for this exact reason.

I steadied the binoculars up to my eyes 'n peered out into the forrest, watchin' for the movement that had caught my eye before.

"C'mon..." I grumbled to myself, as if that would'a coaxed the walkers out, "I know you're out'ere, you flesh eatin' pieces a--"

That's when I saw the bushes rustlin' around again, 'n my breath caught in my throat. I was ready to jump down off'a this watch tower at the first sight'a walkers, 'n I'd take 'em down myself... No need to put the rest'a the group through anymore stess today.

But what ended up comin' outta the bushes wasn't a walker... not even close. I stared through the binoculars as a young woman peeked outta the twisted weeds 'n roots. From what I could see, she looked in her early twenties, 'n her long hair was pulled back outta her face. She looked like she was searchin' for somethin', pokin' 'n prodin' through the brush. Finally, the girl ripped a pair'a binoculars, just like the ones in my hands, free from the roots, 'n then ducked back behind the wall'a foliage.

I felt my brow furrow, 'n curiosity kept me starin' out into the woods. I could just barely make out the top'a the girl's head, but as she moved around I noticed two other people... two men who looked to be about 30. One was blonde, the other had dark hair under a ballcap.

The three'a 'em carried on a discussion that I obviously couldn't hear, but it seemed to get a little tense in the end. I watched while the girl stormed off, 'n the blonde guy followed along behind her. They walked together for a few yards before reachin' a small camp. The trees were blockin' most'a my view, but I could see what looked like an SUV with a blue sheet draped over the open doors, smoke from a fire, 'n a clothes line full'a pants 'n t-shirts.

How had we not seen this camp site before..?

The young woman 'n man finally got themselves back to camp, 'n blondie waited while the girl went 'n grabbed somethin' from the SUV. I couldn't see what it was, though. When she walked back on over to him again, they ducked under a rope tied around their camp. I could see walker hands, ears, 'n other body parts hangin' from the rope.. smart.

I watched as the pair tromped away from the campsite. I thought for a second... then I glanced over my shoulder. No one in the group in sight. I set down the binoculars, then shimmied back down the watchtower, squeezed through the front gate, and shut it behind me as quietly as I could.

I walked through the yard, weavin' around the corpses that had died today, for the second 'n last time.

After a minute or so, I reached the treeline. I was on my way to do some investigatin'.

-KAYLA POV-

Danny and I had been walking along in silence, trying not to stray too far from camp. This was a little hard to do, though. We hadn't come across so much as a rat, and I felt like we'd been trying to hunt for hours. We had probably really only been gone about 40 minutes.

The woods was eerily quiet today... For now, at least.

"Wonder where all the walkers are hidin' today?" Danny said as we paused in a small clearing. It was like he had read my mind.

Danny wiped the glistening sweat from his forehead with the long, white sleeve of his shirt, then scanned the area with his eyes.

I couldn't stop thinking about the people in the prison, and how much pain they suffered through right before my eyes just a short while ago.

The way the man in the sheriff's uniform rolled on the ground in agony, and the way his son just stood there, seemingly feeling nothing, was etched into my mind. It just kept replaying.

"Kayla?" Danny's voice ripped me out of my foggy thoughts, and I snapped my eyes toward him.

"Uh, h-huh?" I stammered in response.

"I said I'm ready to keep goin' if you are.." Danny explained, "You okay? You seem a bit off today."

I quickly put up a front.

"Hm..? I'm fine." I replied with a fake smile.

Danny squinted his blue eyes at me. He didn't seem to believe my white lie.

"You sure?" Danny proded a bit more, and I wished he would just stop asking me questions.

"Yea. Just tired, is all." I assured him, hoping my voice sounded as sincere as I was trying to force it to be.

Danny looked at me for a few seconds longer before shrugging his question away.

"All right, then. Whatever you say--"

Suddenly, there was a rustling sound in the bushes, sounding like it was coming from all around us... and it was quickly growing closer. Soon, the sounds of groans, snarls and gurgles accompanied the rustling sounds, and footsteps became more distinct. I caught a whiff of the strong smell of decomposing flesh. That only meant one thing: Walkers.

My hand shot to my hunting knife strapped to my right thigh. I unsheathed the blade and gripped it tightly.

Then, straight ahead of me, 3 male walkers tore their way out of the brush. Their rotting flesh and clothing snagged against the branches, ripping and tearing from the bodies. I backed up a bit, just as two more walkers staggered out from the same spot in the brush. On each side of me in my pereferal vision, I could see several walkers joining the attack.

I cursed under my breath. Danny and I were boxed in. The only way out was to fight, and kill every last one of them... again.

As the first three walkers stumbled closer to me, snapping their blood soaked teeth, I lifted my arm into the air. In one swift motion, I impaled the top of one of their skulls with my knife, ripped the blade free, then turned it sideways and stabbed a second walker straight through the temple.

Cold, black blood splattered everywhere, making a sickening squishing noise. When I tore the knife free of the second zombie, I lifted my right foot and placed it against its chest.

With a grunt, I used my leg to shove the lifeless walker's dead weight ((no punn intended)) into the remaining group of three that were still snarling and reaching out towards me. The zombies tripped and fell over the body, buying me some time.

I backed up some more, glancing over my shoulder at Danny. He was slashing through a crowd of walkers about four or five deep with his machete.

"Shit.." I cursed as several more walkers appeared out of no where, "Where the hell are all you bitches coming from?!"

At this point, there were too many of these freaks to fight off with just a hunting knife. I sheathed the bloody knife as fast as I could, then whipped my dual pistols out of their hulsters at my hips.

I pointed one of the pistols in the direction of the walkers creeping up on our left, and the other pistol at the few that were still in front of me.

I fired off quick pops, taking out one of the undead with each bullet. One by one, the bloody, reanimated bodies collapsed to the ground with heavy "thuds".

Behind me, Danny hacked through the last handful of walkers, spinning his

machete about like a pro.

When the last body fell, Danny and I were left standing in the clearing as the victors. I took a moment to catch my ragged breath, making sure there weren't any stragglers that were going to sneak up on us before I lowered my pistols.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to that..." I mumbled.

Right beneath my feet, a walker lay face up. Its milky white eyes stared straigjt into mine, its mouth agape. The bullethole between its eyes was still oozing thick black blood, and I made a face of disgust.

"Crazy how they just come outta no where." Danny agreed while he bent down to wipe his machete on the grass. The blood from the blade left a deep red stain on the ground.

I didn't say anything. I simply re-hulstered my guns, and took a moment to breathe. I heard Danny's heavy footsteps approaching me from behind.

"Well, we're alive, so we might as well keep lookin' for food." He suggested in his slight southern drawl. "Good job, killer."

My body instantly tensed up as I felt his palm make contact with my ass, giving it a light smack. My cheeks burned in a rosy pink blush, and my wide eyes stared at his back as he began to walk away.

Danny had always been a flirt, but not just with me. Although, he had never done anything physical before...

I tried to do my best not to let it get to me, though. It was probably just a friendly joke to help lighten the mood. So, I swallowed my female pride showing through, and began to follow behind Danny.

I hadn't even taken ten steps before a strange feeling overcame me, stopping me in my tracks. It was the same feeling as before, as if I was being spied on, and I just couldn't shake it.

My dual colored eyes slowly scanned the area, seeking out anything unusual... But I couldn't find anything.

"Kayla??" Danny called me from a few yards away, "You keepin' up??"

"Yup, I'm coming!" I hollered back.

I scanned the area one more time before jogging to catch up with Danny.

Every few minutes though, I would steal a glance at our surroundings or over my shoulders.

Someone, somewhere had their eyes on us... I just had a gut feeling...

-TO BE CONTINUED-