𝓗𝓮𝔂 𝓐𝓷𝓰𝓮𝓵 | 𝓓𝓪𝓻𝔂𝓵 𝓓𝓲𝔁𝓸𝓷

Chapter 1: The Beginning

"So tell me again Rick. Why there's some hotshot FBI agent coming down here to take over our investigation?"

"Shane calm down, it'll be fine. Most of the time they just sit around and only oversee things from the station."

I walked into the room where the two men were talking after pushing open the door that had 'Sheriff Grimes' written on it in gold lettering.

"Sheriff Grimes?" I inquired pretending I had not heard their previous conversation.

"That's me,"  He said shaking my hand. "But please, call me Rick. This is my deputy Shane Walsh, " He introduced.

"I'm supervisory special agent Lilith Mortis, " I said.

"Look just leave the investigating to us and it'll all work out, " Shane said.

"I'm afraid I'm not going to that nor am I taking over. I'm here to work with you."

                                ***
Things had gone far better than I expected. Despite the reservations both of them had about me being here we worked together well so much to the point that I think we might have become friends which was a pretty new thing for me.

I had been off investigating some leads in my case, after about a week of being here, when I heard the police radio.

"All available units, high-speed pursuit in progress Lincoln county east. Request local assistance. Highway 18 eastbound, GTA-ADW217243."

My lead could wait this was more important. I headed for the highway. On my way I found two other police vehicles with their siren blaring. I followed behind. Then the radio came again.

"Suspects are two male Caucasians. Be advised they have fired on police officers. One lincoln country officer is wounded,"
I pulled up beside the other car the other drove forward and put what I thought was a spike strip across the road before heading back down.

I got out of the car and checked how many rounds I had in my magazine before flicking off the safety.

"Well if it ain't Miss English FBI, " Shane teased. I rolled my eyes he seemed to find it amusing that I was English and in the FBI.

"Later Shane we've got bigger things to deal with now," I replied with a smirk as the five of us readied ourselves for the suspects.

"I've always got time for you English,"
I rolled my eyes at Shane who was loading his gun.

The sirens blared and one of the cops said something about getting on one of those crazy car chase shows. Rick shut him up by saying that the only thing he should be worrying about was that he had a round in the chamber and that his safety was off. He followed what Rick said.

I sighed at the fact the guy hadn't even taken the safety off. What was he planning on doing with his gun? With the safety on you might as well just use it as a projectile.

The blaring of sirens got closer and I could hear the screeching of tyres as the car came tearing down the highway.

The car barrel-rolled through the field once it had gone speeding over the spike strip. We slowly approached when a door opened on the battered car and a man came out.

"Gun!" Rick yelled and the shooting commenced.

Rick was shot which caused Shane to panic. I didn't let the worry overtake me I was certain he would've been wearing a bulletproof vest.

We shot the suspect only for another to emerge from the car but I soon dispatched him with a clean shot to the head. Shane checked on Rick and everything was okay. No one ever saw the third shooter coming. He shot Rick before be taken down himself but this time. This time Rick wasn't so lucky.

"Call an ambulance," I yelled.

That was the last time I saw Rick Grimes.
                                ***

The world had gone to shit. The dead didn't stay dead and they seemed to have a hunger for human flesh. I was on my own. I hadn't seen anyone for I don't even know how long. Thankfully, I had my kimber and a decent amount of ammo as well as a shotgun. I had a rucksack full of ammo and various foods and some medicine. I was prepared but alone. I hadn't minded for the first few weeks not that I was particularly thinking about the company I was keeping when they were flesh-eating monsters traipsing across America.

I tied my brown hair back into a ponytail and stared down at the road below me. I was in the one place you really didn't want to be. Atlanta. It was crawling with those things now. I had come here before everything went downhill.

I was perched on top of a building with nowhere to go. I was trapped. Those creatures bashed against the metal door that led onto the roof as I walked around the edges of the rooftop sighing and trying not to panic.
"Hey!" I heard someone tell.

I turned around trying to find the source of the yelling.

"Hey, you in the suit!" They yelled again.

Then I saw him. A young man with black hair waving at me from the building across.

"Hi!" I shouted back happy to someone who doesn't have flesh between their teeth or blood dripping down their face.

"Need a hand?"

"Definitely. Are you alone?" I asked.

"No I've got a group but the more the merrier and besides I can't exactly just leave you there," he said.
I laughed weakly nice to see he hadn't lost his sense of morality like a lot of others I'd come across.

"Any idea of how to get me across? Please don't say jump."

"Uhhh. Gimme a sec." His disappeared from my line of sight.

"Take your time I'm not exactly going anywhere," I replied. Feeling a little bit hopeful but still quite defeated.

A few minutes later those things below had moved further away from me seemingly drawn by something else close by. I just hoped whatever or whoever was got out of there fast otherwise they would be being munched on right about now.  Another man came onto the roof holding some sort of rifle.

"Well, Hello there pretty lady, " he said with a grin.

"Hey. Were you sent here by the other guy?" I asked leaning on the edge of the roof.

"Not exactly. But nobody is the boss a me. So I came anyway," he declared but it didn't exactly fill me with confidence.

He threw some rope over to me which I caught. He had the other end.

"You got anything to tie that to?"

I look around and saw a pretty sturdy looking pipe. I sighed. I wasn't exactly in a position to be picky about how I was rescued. I tied the rope tight to the pipe. Then strapped my back securely to my back.

"Ready when you are gorgeous," he said.

I took a deep breath and shuffled off of the rope clutching the rope tightly in my hands as I moved across it. I was halfway across when one end gave way and I was slammed against a building.

Now more than ever I could hear the snarls and moans of the undead beneath me.

"Fuck, " I yelled before dragging myself up the rope and then grabbing the mans hand tightly. He hauled me up onto the rope.

"Bloody hell. I am never doing that again," I said whilst lying on the floor laughing through my panic. I slowly regained myself and sat up.

"Thanks, "

"No problem. What's ya name?"
"Lilith. Yours?"

"Merle Dixon," he said.

"Well thanks for saving me Dixon."
"No problem, pretty thing," he grinned collecting a rifle from the floor and standing up on the rooftop.

What the hell was he thinking.

He began shooting down at the creatures below.

"What the hell are you doing?" I exclaimed. He didn't reply. He just laughed.

"Great I've been rescued by a nut case!"

16/07/20