LABYRINTH | TWD

Prolouge

Rick reeled back in disgust, shuttering as he squeezed his eyes tightly for a moment.

The sight that lay within the window was not a welcoming one. Two people had decided that dying at their own hand was better than living in this new reality of life.

A sigh escaped from his lips as he tipped his head back to face the sky for a moment. He had no way of getting gas for his car, he had already traveled pretty far from it as it was.

In defeat, he turned on his heel to go back the way he came, only to freeze when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye.

Slowly, he reached his hand for his gun, ready to take on whatever it was in this new world he was still yet to understand.

When he turned to face the source of the movement, though, he dropped his hand with a small sigh of relief. It was just a horse.

That struck an idea in his head. Any source of transportation was better than no transportation at all.

Steadily, he made his way over to the animal, trying not to spook it.

At the sight of the approaching man in a cop uniform, the horse startled slightly, beginning to move back and away from him.

"Easy, now, easy." Rick held up a hand in front of himself, "I'm not gonna hurt you-"

"Stay back!"

A sudden voice made Rick jump at least a foot in the air. The horse, in turn, took off running to the opposite side of the fence.

Grimes whipped around the look at the person, only to come face to face with a young girl, no older than twelve, standing a couple feet away.

Her bright red hair was tousled in every direction, her clothes were rumpled and dirty, and her bright blue eyes were wide.

"I said, stay back!" She demanded again, holding a... carrot at Rick in a threatening manner.

He now raised his hands at the young girl like he had been doing to the horse, "It's alright-"

"Uh!" She cut him off, eyebrows raised and pointed the carrot aggressively at him in a warning.

Rick quieted, not exactly knowing what to make of this situation.

"That there is my horse, so you best stay away, Mister." The young girl narrowed her eyes at him menacingly.

Or, at least, Rick assumed she thought it was menacing. He honestly just felt like he was being threatened by a cupcake. A bright red cupcake.

"That's your horse?" Rick spoke softly, slowly, "I apologize, little lady, I didn't know."

The girl faltered slightly, craning her neck around the carrot blocking her vision to get a better look at him, "You're a cop..." She said slowly.

A statement, not a question.

He nodded, "I am."

"And what're you trying to do with my horse?" She sounded more hesitant as she spoke this time.

"I'm trying to find my family." Rick answered honestly, still speaking in a gentle voice, "I haven't seen them since this all began, you see."

At that, the girl finally dropped her carrot holding hand to her side and looked up at him with wide eyes, "I haven't seen my family since this all began either."

Ricks felt as if his heart had broken into a hundred tiny pieces as she looked up at him with such loss and sadness in her eyes.

His mind then went back to the two dead people in the house and his breath hitched. Had that been her family? Had they left her behind so suddenly, so cruelly?

"I lied, Mister Cop." The girl spoke after a moment, interrupting the mans thoughts, "This here ain't my horse." She glanced back at it, "I saw it and I wanted it, though. Thought maybe I could have it with me so I wouldn't be alone anymore."

"You mean you don't live here?" He asked carefully.

She shook her head back and forth, hair bouncing as she did so.

A mixture of relief and pain hit Rick like a tidal wave at once.

At least those people inside weren't her parents, but she was all alone in this harsh world.

"Your family..." Rick trailed off, unsure of how to respond.

The girl began picking at a button on the flannel she wore, eyes straying to the ground, "I was stayin' with my uncle when the news stories about the creepers started." Her voice was so soft, barely a whisper, when she spoke up after a moment, "He got bit real quick. Been on my own ever since. I haven't seen my parents and siblings since before it started."

That explained why she had faltered at his talk about his family, because she must have been looking for her family too.

Slowly, Rick kneeled down in front of her, watching as her head snapped up to him and she studied him with cautious eyes.

Gently, he placed a hand on her shoulder, "You can come with me, if you'd like." He offered softly, "That way we can both find our families together."

Her blue eyes were quick to light up at his words, no doubt at the thought of not being alone and being able to have someone help her look for her family, but that light quickly dimmed.

"How do I know I can trust you?" She asked carefully, "I just met you."

Smiling softly, Rick squeezed her shoulder, secretly glad she at least had some sense to be cautious of strangers, "I promise, I'll do nothing to hurt you." He held a pinky up.

A pinky promise.

Something flashed across the red head girls face, "My daddy used to pinky promise me all the time." She whispered.

Rick felt as though he was stabbed in his gut, and quickly went to drop his hand, immediately feeling a sense of guilt for reminding her of her father.

Before he could, though, she quickly wrapped her small pinky around his larger one, locking his promise in place.

"I also promise to help you find your family." He told her softly.

It was stupid- foolish, even- and Rick knew it, but as he looked into the little girl's bright blue eyes, he couldn't help but let the words slip past his lips.

A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, the first sign of happiness that she had shown around him.

"I'm Rick Grimes," He introduced, still holding onto her pinky and kneeled down to her level, "It's nice to meet you."

"Dakota Ford." She responded, a small smile on her lips as she looked at Rick with an expression that he couldn't read.

A/N: I'm so excited to get this story started