It was a beautiful day: the sun was out and I had on a fresh set of clothes. I was laying on the couch with a book while Carol was throwing together a casserole in the kitchen.

"Daryl said he'd be back soon," I worried, putting down my book.

"It's Daryl, he'll be fine," Carol reassured me with a smile on her face. I sighed. "It's not healthy to worry, sweetheart. There's other things that are more important than what you're thinking about. But you're young, I understand. You know, I was young once too," she chuckled as she winded up a timer, placing the casserole in the oven. I smirked and picked my book back up, but I couldn't find the motivation to get back to reading; my mind was clouded with thoughts of Daryl.

The house was quiet. Judith was upstairs sleeping, Carl off up there somewhere. The quiet was disrupted by a shrill scream erupting from outside, the sudden noise quickly silenced.

"The fuck was that," I questioned, getting off the couch. Carol hurried over to me and placed a gun in my hand. The exchange immediately put me on edge.

"Lock the doors after I leave," she ordered. "Make sure Judith is safe." Carl ran down the stairs with a large gun in his hands.

"What's going on? I heard a scream outside." He looked around the house, worried.

"Just stay inside," Carol yelled to us as she ran out the door, slamming it behind her. I rushed over to the window to see what was going on. A dead body laid in the street, a guy with an axe dismembering it. I pulled away from the window, my eyes widening and my heart beating faster.

"Oh my god," I whispered, stunned.

"What? What's going on," Carl questioned frantically.

"I think someone got through the walls." Gunshots began to pop off outside and I drew the curtains. There was a sudden banging on the garage door. "We need to hide now."

"Follow me." Carl and I hustled up the stairs. He pushed me into a closet and shut the door behind him just as the door downstairs opened. My heart raced. Shit, I forgot to lock it like Carol said to do. We stayed silent, listening to various loud thumps from the intruder. "I'm gonna go down there."

"You'll give us away," I hissed at him.

"I have a gun."

"And so do I!"

"I'll be fine. I've done this before." He slowly opened the door, raising his weapon. He glanced back at me. I nodded, grabbing the doorknob and slowly pulling it closed so only a small sliver of light was visible. I sank to the ground, hugging my knees close to my chest. It was silent for a while until I heard someone speak.

"Hello," a confused voice said once Carl made his way down the stairs.

"What are you doing," Carl questioned.

"I was just gonna leave."

"You can't go back out there. You're staying here," Carl demanded. The person sighed.

"They're just people. They're not any different from us." The voice was light. I guessed it was a girl from the town. I opened the closet door, cautiously making my way down the stairs. Carl and a girl with long brown hair sat back to back in the middle of the floor with their weapons. I held my gun down by my side.

"They are different from us. We don't kill for sport," Carl told her. I just stood there, not wanting to startle them and set them off.

"We do," she muttered. "We just don't realize it." Carl noticed me and slightly blushed.

"Aften," he said. The girl turned her head to look at me. "This is Enid."

"Hey," Enid examined me.

"Hi," I mumbled, sitting on the couch.

"You're always with that one guy... what's his name," she inquired, twirling her knife in her hands.

"Daryl."

"Yeah, him. You guys dating or something?"

"Yeah," I answered.

"I have a boyfriend too. His name's Ron. You've probably seen his mom, Jessie, around here somewhere," she stated, a blank expression on her face. It was quiet until Enid asked me another question. "Where're your folks?"

"Dead," I blurted out.

"Mine too," she whispered. Enid made eye contact with me and smirked. I half-smiled back, that one small piece of information bringing us closer.

The gunshots and screams seemed to worsen. I wanted so badly to block it out but I had to stay alert. I stood up and knelt in front of the window, carefully drawing back the curtain. A boy was being closely chased by a dirty man. Enid got up from her spot to sneak a peek.

"That's Ron!" She ran over to the door.

"No," I hollered, springing to my feet. "You can't go out there!" She didn't listen to me, swinging open the door. Carl shoved his way in front of her with his gun held high. A shot went off and the man fell to the ground, his knife flying out of his hands. I stood in the door frame, fiddling with the gun I gripped tightly in my hand. Carl was already out in the street, making his way over to the wounded man who was hollering out in pain.

"Please don't kill me! Don't kill me, man," he cried out with false mercy. In one swift motion he grabbed Carl's gun, turning it around to kill him. I wanted to leap into action but it all happened so quickly; the man was shot by Carl. Ron shook his head in defiance as Carl began to back up towards the house. He gazed over at Enid before running off. I ducked back into the house as a round of gunshots went off, Carl back bolting inside. He slammed the door shut, locking it just as Carol's timer went off. I opened the oven, grabbing the cloths that sat on the counter and pulling out the casserole. I set it down on the stovetop and shut the oven, turning it off in the process. I sighed, staring at the pan. Carl sat on the couch, his gun still in hand as he stared intently out the window. I glanced at the baby monitor on the counter. The screen was black. I grabbed it and attempted to turn it on. Nothing happened.

"Shit," I muttered to myself. "Carl, check on Judith." Carl nodded and hustled upstairs. I opened drawers all around the kitchen, searching for a pair of batteries to put in the monitor. A huge thud and a baby's cry came from upstairs, startling me. "Carl," I hollered up to him.

"I'm okay," Carl yelled back. Another thud rang out but this time it was near me. I snatched up a knife and gripped it tightly in my hand. I slowly walked towards the area where the noise had come from. A heavy footstep came from behind me. I whipped around and a lanky woman ran at me, shoving me up against the wall. The knife flew out of my hand. I screamed out in distress as I struggled to fight back, attempting to push her away. I couldn't let her take over me. She slammed my head against the wall and I fell to the ground, limp. I blacked out for a brief moment.

When I opened my eyes, the woman was clutching my knife in his hand, examining it. She chuckled to herself. I quickly and quietly rose to my feet, grabbing a slightly smaller knife I spotted within reach. I let out a deep sigh then ran towards the woman, letting out a determined scream. No one was gonna attack me and get away with it. She turned around, caught off guard. I sunk my knife into her chest, gritting my teeth; I was full of anger. I plunged it into the woman's chest again as she screamed out in agony. Her blood splattered onto my clean clothes, painting them red.

When the woman tumbled over I straddled her, stabbing her over and over while I let out a small scream of frustration each time. Carl's frantic footsteps came down the stairs. I stabbed the woman one more time, her blood now spraying onto the wall. I stopped, sitting back. A tear ran down my face. I wiped it away with my bloody hand, leaving a streak of blood across my cheek. I stared at the woman's face. It angered me; stupid bitch tried to kill me. I stabbed her in the head. I gazed up at Carl. His eyes were wide like he was surprised by what I was capable of.

"I'm okay," I whispered, sighing shakily.