New story time!

I've had this idea for ages since I worked out that I can't write Daryl with an OC. It's taken me ages to write this out, and get a good start going. No Negan in this chapter, but please give it a chance!

The main OC, Winifred will probably seem similar to that of Wendy from my other story Over The Rainbow as I have basically taken Wendy and dropped he into the Walking Dead Universe. Yay! So we'll see how it goes. I am currently working on the next chapter for OTR so if there are any readers from that story-I'm getting there, don't hate me!

I just want every one to know that I am soft, so please don't come at me with rage.

WARNING: If you are not over the age of seventeen, get gone. Seriously. go now. This story is not for tiny humans. Within this story there will be:

- Suicidal Thoughts.

- Mental Illness.

- Sexual Abuse.

- Physical Abuse.

- Mentions of abuse.

- Sexual Situations.

- Language.

Chapter One

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
-Eleanor Roosevelt

Chapter Quote: "Good. I don't want you doin' anything stupid, alright?"

Exhaustion settled deep into Fred's bones, her body becoming heavy; mind drowsy. The tiny pills they had given her seemed to have finally made their way into the blood stream. She had been fighting sleep, that's why they'd given her the pills that made her eyes stay closed for longer with each blink. Fred was having trouble sleeping—well, she wasn't really trying to sleep. Mostly because whenever she did close her eyes the news reports would fill her thoughts. A reporter's echoed words running around her mind, images flashing behind closed lids of piled corpses.

The reporters, every single one of them, say it's under control. However, the live broadcasts and army tanks told a different story. Fred was terrified; she'd be lying if she said she wasn't. This disease scared her out of her wits end; she wasn't safe here; none of them were, and those who thought they were safe were delusional. Fred was the only one who understood what was going on. Everyone around her was blinded by the idea of it getting better—but it wasn't going to get better. The Los Angeles Kindred Hospital was where anyone had or expected of having the disease was sent; air footage showed piles of bodies being buried in mass graves by the army who had set up and took over to control the outbreak. This had Fred assuming it was an airborne virus.

In fact, the more Fred learned about the disease through the news broadcasts the more she assumed it was the influenza virus—just crazier. And Fred . . . well she was trapped here, within the hospital, which was making her twitchy; causing her usual dreamy self to become anxious to the point where she wanted to claw at the walls until her fingernails pulled away from her skin. Fred wanted out.

Her twin brother, Theodore, even went as far as calling the epidemic a plague. Fred shook her head, as if that would rid the thoughts from her mind; hugging herself tightly as her eyes remained glued to the television screen—the live broadcast showing people walking around in hazmat suits or locals wearing medical face masks to fight off the virus. There was no cure, none that she heard of at least. If you had it, it meant death within days—the virus attacked the body too quickly for it to fight back.

Fred missed Teddy—saw him two days ago, but she missed her elder brother. He always knew what to say when she panicked, knew what to say when she was scared. The only person who made her feel safe.

"Winifred?" The familiar voice of Nurse Christy broke through Fred's internal musings. The woman suddenly huffed, the sound had Fred moving her eyes from the screen and following Christy as she walked over to switch it off. "Honey, you know what watching that stuff does." She scolded gently.

Fred looked down at her hands, avoiding Christy's big brown eyes and favouring to gaze at her bitten fingernails. Christy was nice, genuine—she didn't treat Fred like she was made of glass like her brother did or like a child because she refused to speak. Christy had patience that Fred had only seen in her foster parents and Teddy. The nurse always included Fred into a conversation, even though she knew the young woman would never say a word.

"Well, never mind that." Christy smiled and walked over to sit on the other end of the couch, aware to not sit too close to the girl. "Got a call from Theo a few minutes ago." Fred's head snapped up at the sound of her brother's name, her clear grey eyes flicking over to meet Christy's before darting away. "Ah, I knew you'd be happy to hear that." Fred's lips pulled into a small pleased smile. "He should be here shortly—said he's brining burgers. Got some news for ya' too." Christy wasn't fussed by Fred's silence, but paused a moment to see if the younger woman wanted to say anything. "Now, I don't want to see any more of that stuff on the T. V. Want me to grab that book you've been reading from your room?"

Fred gave the older woman a little nod, glancing up and managing to look the Hispanic woman in the eye long enough to give her a thankful smile. Christy came back a few moments later and handed Fred her very own copy of The Complete Book of Locks and Locksmithing gifted from Teddy two days ago—she was already halfway through.

Learning was what Fred loved. If she found it interesting, then she wanted to know everything there was to know about it. More specifically she wanted to know how things worked. This fascination of hers had been around ever since she could remember. The first time she pulled something apart was when she was nine, and it was the toaster. Fred just wanted to know how it made the bread so perfectly crispy and thought she'd find answers within the machine; so, she roamed around her foster parent's garage until she found the screwdrivers. There were so many different sizes of the tiny ones that Fred had to bring all of them with her to the kitchen to be more efficient with her investigating. When her foster father, John, had found her . . . well he wasn't very pleased—amused, but none too happy that the young girl pulled apart the toaster to quench her curiosity. After he had reprimanded her for essentially breaking household items, John had taken her to the library and then to a second-hand store. Told Fred that if she wanted to teach herself something, she'd have to do it properly, and so they began a ritual of going to the library—to the second-hand store every month to find something new for Fred to work on. That was up until he died; a year ago now, along with her foster mother, Karen.

"Hey Winnie," Teddy's voice sounded right beside her ear. Fred placed her index finger on the page she was reading and closed her book to greet her brother. She jumped up from her seat and wrapped her arms around his middle. Theodore was ridiculously tall against her smaller form, so much so that he liked to joke that he was the alpha twin. It was good to have him back home, well not home because the hospital wasn't home—but back in the country. Teddy had been home for just over a year now with just finishing a tour over in Iran when their foster parents had passed and was to depart within a month after the funeral.

But then Fred did something stupid.

And now Teddy refused to go back, dropped the army and stayed with Fred; which was something she always felt guilty about.

Teddy chuckled and returned the hug with a squeeze. "I come with gifts." Fred smiled up at him. "Christ, you're already halfway through it." He said once he noticed the book she held; musing her already chaotic hair.

"I like it." Fred returned softly, trying to smooth down the curls he ruffled. If she were tall enough, she would've given him the same treatment. "What're you doing here?"

"What, you want me to leave?" Teddy retorted. "And to think I brought you food."

"Don't be silly," she murmured. "I didn't think I'd see you so soon."

Teddy sighed and rubbed a hand over his face before gesturing for them to sit; his mood quickly becoming sombre. Wendy wanted to reverse time—take back the remark so he didn't look so drained anymore. Silence overcame the pair, which was something both were aquatinted with. "You've been watching the news?" Fred hummed with a nod of her head. "We're leaving. I'm getting you out in about a week."

Fred almost voiced how it was a probability but a female patient, Sarah was her name, wandered over to the television making the young woman swallow her words. Teddy knew though, he always knew.

"I did the paperwork a week ago. When you saw Doctor Willis the other day, that was your evaluation, remember? She agreed to have you released under the condition that you continue to return to the hospital for sessions and check-ups." Teddy explained and lent closer towards his younger sister, keeping his voice low as the television blinked on, the other patient standing too close to the screen as the news broadcast aired. "We're getting out of L. A. We'll head south or whatever. I'm not sticking around here, and neither are you. You alright with that?"

Fred nodded, but frowned. "What am I going to do once I leave?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't—I don't want to be alone." Fred laced her fingers together and twisted them. "And if I'm not here . . . if I'm not here, what would I do?

"Anything you want to do, Winnie." Theodore draped an arm over her shoulder, "and I'll be right beside you. You aren't getting rid of me. Okay?"

Fred smiled. "Okay."

The day before Teddy was to retrieve Fred, Sarah had tried to kill herself just after lunch. She had somehow managed to get a hold of a pair of scissors and proceeded to slash them across her throat like she was opening a parcel with the edge of them. Fred had seen her first, observing the thirty-year old woman shuffle into the day room, staring off into space, mumbling to herself.

"This is it." Sarah had voiced, repeating herself twice more, her tone becoming more panicked each time the words left her lips. "It's over. It's over! They're all coming for us!"

Fred peaked over the cover of her book, a couple of pages off from finishing when Sarah spoke. Fred wasn't bothered by the outburst, they seemed to come from Sarah rather regularly, but still—Fred thought it necessary to watch the woman as she tended to overstep the boundaries of the other patients.

What Fred wasn't ready for was Sarah raising her left hand high into the air with the pair of scissors, ranting and screaming—the words not computing with Fred's brain. Swiftly, Sarah opened the scissors and ran the sharpened edge across the flesh of her throat. Fred didn't move, for a split second she was stationary. That was until the blood ran freely down Sarah's throat, staining the white sweatshirt she wore. Fred rushed towards the other woman, watching Sarah fall to the ground before the blonde could reach her. Another patient whom sat a table not too far away jolted upwards and started yelling—babbling about not liking the colour of the blood.

Fred pushed on the wound, blood slipping between her fingers—a silent sob wracking her body as she tried to stem the blood flow. A staff member was there beside Fred in an instant and shouting for assistance. The young blonde didn't listen to what the staff member was saying, didn't pay attention as others entered the room and rushed over to meet them. Strong arms lifted Fred from Sarah, moving her a few feet away so people who were better qualified to help could.

"Honey," Christy spoke soothingly, but all Fred could see was the blood that coated her hands. Air started filling her lungs too quickly, faster and faster, almost having her choke on the oxygen that entered her body. The world around her became muffled; the words Christy was speaking were no longer intelligible as Fred watched her hands shake.

"I've got you, honey. Let's go." Christy's soft words broke through, a gentle hand rested upon her arm, and Fred was led slowly out of the day room.

That had happened yesterday, about twenty hours ago, and since then Fred had kept herself in her small room, balling herself up tightly in the corner of her bed—back resting against the cold wall. She didn't know if Sarah was okay, no one had told her, nor could she ask. Fred had tried, opened her mouth to enquire after the woman whenever Christy came by, but froze with each attempt.

Fred weaved her fingers through her hair, grasping and pulling at it as if that would rid the horrible memory from her mind. Her mind grew fuzzy, and time bled together as she sat in her small room. The memory of blood covered hands and red stained clothes replayed in her mind over and over; drowning out the world around her. Fred didn't sleep that night, didn't think she could if she tried. She just wanted to leave, wanted Teddy to arrive and take her somewhere faraway. Fred wondered where they'd go, she wasn't fussed though, but she hoped it was somewhere safe. Somewhere she felt safe.

A timid knock sounded at her door and if Fred had been preoccupied, she wouldn't have noticed the sound, but the silent stillness of the room made every noise echo. She looked over to the wooden door to see Teddy walk through—swiftly closing the door behind him. He rubbed a hand over his face, chest heaving as he caught his breath. Teddy looked over at his sister, blond curls messier than usual, his cheek speckled with red dots and a bloodied hunting knife loosely held in his hand.

"Get your shoes on, leave anything you don't need." Teddy ordered quietly, leaning his body weight against the door, his presence like some sort of bodyguard.

Fred got up from the bed and did as he said, slipping her sock covered feet into the white tennis shoes at the end of the small single bed. She watched her brother from the corner of her eye. He was tense with arms folded tightly over his chest, making the straps of the backpack he wore dig into his shoulders.

"What's wrong?" Fred asked, voice low—the only other possession she grabbed was the photograph of her foster parents, herself and Teddy on her bedside table; folding it and placing it in the deep pocket of her track pants.

Teddy inhaled deeply. "Something happened." He answered just as quietly, coming over to her and grasping her shoulders. "We gotta' be quiet. You do not let go of my hand. You do exactly as I say." Fred swallowed, her grey eyes down cast as she weaved her fingers together and twisted them about. "Winifred, look at me." Fred reluctantly met her siblings gaze to find him looking down at her with soft eyes. "Everything is going to be okay."

"Okay." Fred gave a little nod.

"Okay." Teddy cleared his throat with a little nod and took a step back, swinging his backpack around to open it. "The disease is here. The halls are clear for the moment, but we need to be quick. We do not stop for anything—anyone, understood? We do not stop." He pulled out a relatively small metal object and handed it to her. Fred was confused for a moment until she saw the small engraved spider upon it. "A hunting knife, it's foldable—the latch is here." Teddy pointed and Fred continued the action by flicking it and having the knife slide out from the hidden compartment. "Keep it on you, yeah?"

Fred hummed in agreement.

The pair left Fred's small room behind, entering the silent hallway slowly, quietly, but their footsteps seemed too loud in the stillness. Lights flickered above them, blinking off for a time before blinking back on. The eeriness of the hospital sent shivers down Fred's spine and caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand at attention.

Fred wasn't fond of the dark, never had been; her childhood morphing the usual childish fear into something horrifying and twisted. Teddy threaded their fingers together, knowing that if he didn't then she wouldn't move. Teddy was her rock; he was stabilising when Fred felt vulnerable—always there when she needed reassurance; more serious and stoic when Fred was dreamy and whimsical. Of course, it was vice versa as Fred brought out her brothers more playful side, softened him when he was being too stubborn.

Teddy led the way down the hall, sticking to the centre as if he were afraid to get too close to the other entry ways that littered the hallway. They walked quietly, but quickly until the pair reached the elevator which Teddy blatantly ignored in favour for turning right. Upon turning, Fred froze at the two bodies that littered the usually pristine floor. Blood splattered the walls, marked as if the bodies had been shoved and pinned down while someone planted a gaping wound in an eye socket. If Fred hadn't read the name tag, she wouldn't have recognised the deformed face of Nurse Christy, as it had the flesh torn from the face and hanging limply; the skin dangly down and brushing against her shoulder.

"Just keep moving, Fred." Teddy murmured, tugging her hand and pulling her down the hall.

"What. . ?" Fred gasped out, blinking back tears as they began to blur her vision.

"They come back." Teddy answered back with a breath. "They die. They come back."

EIGHT MONTHS AFTER THE END

It had been eight months since the world went apocalyptic, since the twins had found out about the dead. People were just turning into those things seemingly without any reason. Which had made Fred want to find out why, but without the proper equipment to do so, she never received her answers.

Teddy had told her that the only way to keep them down was to destroy the brain, which had Fred brainstorming what kind of disease could cause the body to outwardly look like death, but yet have the brain still functioning enough to have basic urges of ravenous hunger. Fred had a couple of theories, but that's all they were. She contemplated that the cause of all this could've been from a Rabies/Influenza Hybrid—if a rabies virus can mutate fast enough, it could cause infection within an hour or a few hours, but it would also have to be much more contagious. A fast mode of transmission would be through the air, and to be transmitted by air, rabies would have to 'borrow' traits from another virus, such as the influenza virus. Different forms, or strains, of the same virus can swap pieces of genetic code through processes called re-assortment or recombination; however, scientifically it's unheard of for two radically different viruses such as rabies and influenza to borrow traits, they were too different. They can't share genetic information—viruses assemble only parts that belong to them, and they don't mix and match from different families. But if such a virus was created or even mutated, could that have started all the destruction that surrounded them now? Maybe it was just nature destroying humans like humans destroyed nature. Maybe it was their time to go extinct.

While Fred didn't know what started this all, she did know to never let one of the Roamers bite you, to never use a gun unless you had to, that fire and light was a beacon, and if someone died—well, Teddy took the responsibility to stop them from turning. But the Roamers weren't high on the list of threats anymore—no, what took the number one spot were other humans. It seemed that the only people that were left were the bad ones from before, but mostly what this world had done to everyone in it was pull whatever darkness people had in them and bring it to the surface.

The people they came across were rarely good people—most acted like complete savages. But the group the twins had found two weeks ago were decent enough. Life was easier with a group. There were people to take watch, to gather resources—but Fred was always weary of meeting new people, and nowadays that was times by two. Things were difficult now, too. Fred panicked a lot more these days—the separation anxiety she got when being away from Teddy was indescribable; now to the point that she refused to let him out of her sight for more than twenty-minutes. She spoke less, declined to say anything to her brother when others were present—it was a gift that Teddy knew her so well to understand her meaning with just a look.

And the group they were with? Well, most were gone now; overrun by a heard of Roamers two days ago. Fred thought she was going to die that night, thought Teddy would leave her forever. It was chaos, the screaming still rang in her ears—waking up in the night thinking that the blood of the six-year-old boy who died in her arms was still painted on her hands, the sticky red liquid running across her skin.

It was just Fred, Teddy, Maru, Devika, and Josh; a group of fifteen down to five in just one night. Though at least the twins knew Josh, considering Teddy and he had been best friends since ninth grade. He was a constant in their lives and had happened upon the pair a week after Fred left the hospital. Teddy and Josh both had the same idea of leaving L. A. and the pair literally run into Josh when stocking up on supplies at a small convenience store. Josh wasn't alone either, had his girlfriend Eva with him. The four teamed up, and it had been okay for a month and a bit.

That changed quickly when the four had run into other survivors at a deserted mechanics—a group of four men who brandish the guns they possessed without a second thought. That's the night Fred discovered that people had changed. They had bound Teddy and Josh's wrists and ankles together, two had dragged Eva off into another part of the building, her screams and cries bouncing off the walls; another, an older fatter man hauled Fred away, stumbling around as he did so.

It was—it was horrific, degrading. Fred felt so small in that moment, something she hadn't wanted to feel again. He had cut the cable ties from her wrists, said he wanted her to fight—she had, kicked and clawed, and bit, which ended with a swift punch to the gut and a hard slap to her face that made her ears ring and eyes water, but had gotten her down to the ground. She didn't say a word, didn't scream—not a sound escaped her. It seemed that that was what he had wanted, for her to scream and beg; plead for him to stop. She wanted to, some crazy part of her thought that if she could just talk then he would stop defiling her body.

The man had stunk; his breath was foul and had the underlying scent of bourbon. Fred had her face turned away from him, refusing to look at him. Maybe if she just laid still it would be over faster and then he would leave her alone. The thought was laughable. Fred knew what would happen when he was finished; he'd take over watching Teddy and Josh while the remaining man had a turn. Afterwards they'd probably be killed; if they had any kindness, they would kill them.

Fred looked down, tear tracks leaving clean lines on her dirtied face, but in the dark room—just barely being illuminated by the moonlight coming through the small window above, Fred glimpsed the hunting knife that was holstered upon the man's ripped jeans. In his haste he hadn't taken them off, left the clothing bunched around his thighs, but there it sat, like a shiny beacon calling out to her. The man lent back on his thighs which caused the knife to protrude horizontally out of the holster just a little, but he didn't notice, nor did he see Fred reach down and unclip the knife from its resting place. She took a deep breath and held it; without hesitation Fred leaned up, the man chuckling above her thinking she had suddenly had a change of heart—and lodged the eight-inch blade into the left side of his pudgy throat. Blood spilled from the wound immediately, dripping onto her face after she pulled the knife out, but without pausing Fred gripped the handle with two hands and plunged the sharp object in the rapist's cheek with such a force that had his heavy body toppling to the side and slipping from her.

The unmoving body landed down on her right leg, resulting in Fred hysterically kicking at the corpse, silent sobs causing havoc upon her body, until she could free her leg. She sat for a moment, pushing the escaped blonde curls away from her face almost angrily and wiping at her nose and eyes with the sleeve of her fennel, which only seemed to smear the blood that had landed there.

An inhuman growl sounded from the man's corpse, though before it could even lift its head—Fred pounced and plunged the blade into the shown ear repeatedly. Sniffling through the tears and choked breaths, she pushed away from the body, stumbling on the dirty jeans and underwear that were still pooled around her ankles.

It was silent.

And too quiet; which worried Fred because now she couldn't hear Eva. Thinking the worst, Fred staggered to her feet and speedily pulled up her jeans. An uncomfortable sensation settling between her thighs due to the rough treatment she had received, but Fred had dealt with the sensation before and had the ability to push through the unpleasantness of it. The pain of walking had Fred leaning against the wall to gather herself, she gripped the wooden handle of the hunting knife; hand resting against the wall as she walked towards the door that led out the reception area they were keeping Teddy and Josh. Fred had a mind to find Eva first, to pry those sick men off of her and show them her wrath, but logically she knew she was in no state to take on two men who weighed more than she did; one maybe, but certainly not two.

So she slowly made her way to the reception area, coming to the closed door and dreading the moment she opened it, praying that no one was standing beside it or as horrible as it sounded, that the other two men hadn't come back yet; for how would she be able to free them from their captors if there were more than one inside that room? Taking a steadying breath, Fred grasped the doorknob, cringing as it made the tiniest squeak as she turned it. Inching the door open slowly, she sighed in relief when the hinges didn't make a peep. The sound of the other man's voice reached her ears. He was the youngest, a slender male with blonde peach fuzz covering his chin. And he was bragging about how he couldn't wait to take a turn. Fred couldn't see his face, his back was turned to her, her brother and Josh must be before him having no choice but the listen to the words that spewed from his mouth while he waved his revolver around.

Her heart thundered inside her chest as she slid into the room, the carpeted floor muffling her movements, not a single movement of hers alerting him to her presence. Fred quickly and quietly shut the door behind her, fearful that one of the other men would sneak up behind her before she could dispatch the one before her. Her breaths were shallow; the adrenaline that coursed through her made it difficult to suck in oxygen, but Fred had done this before—not the killing, but most definitely the sneaking. She knew how to move undetected, though her small stature sure did aid her. The twin's childhood was filled with stealthy unease and fear inducing panic that shortened their breathing, but those experiences seemed to have prepared them for now. Because now, Fred used what little ability she had to help aid the people she cared about.

Fred was upon the man now, just a few inches away. She didn't move her eyes from him; refused to look at Teddy and Josh less they distract her. Fred waited, waited for the moment the young man waved the gun away from the duo on the ground and drove the knife deep into the man's ear; the whole weight of Fred's body driving the force of the weapon. The gun he held toppled to the ground with the safety still on. Fred thought it was stupid to threaten someone with having no intention of following through or just doing so to look menacing; it just concluded that the lanky boy was only a sheep that followed these men around.

The urge to throw up was almost too strong to resist, she had killed two men. Fred had taken two lives, her hands painted with their blood, but yet she didn't feel any remorse for those lives. If she hadn't of done it then it would be her, and then another girl, and another, and another. She was doing the world a favour, wasn't she? Was slaughtering these men doing a service to all of their would-be victims, or was Fred only telling herself that as reassurance to not feel guilty?

Fred finally raised her eyes, her gaze meeting that of her brothers. She watched as he sighed in relief, tears spilling from his eyes as he took in her distressed appearance. They didn't say a word to each other as Fred rushed over, bypassing the body to cut the ties that bound her brother and Josh.

"Knife." Josh demanded; hand outstretched. Fred gave the weapon over without complaint, seeing the anger and worry in his eyes.

Teddy reached for the revolver, pointing the firearm down and away from his two companions and opened the cylinder. "Fuckin' asshole." He muttered upon seeing that the gun wasn't loaded. He raised his eyes up to his sister, his gaze softening drastically as he stepped towards her. Teddy didn't say a word, just placed a hand on Fred's shoulder and squeezed. "Stay here?" He asked, which she responded with a swift nod, taking her own hunting knife off the small coffee table in the centre of the room and moved herself behind the reception desk, out of sight.

Fred remained crouched, ready to spring up at a moment's notice. She listened to Teddy and Josh's footsteps as they left the room, not bothering to close the door behind them as they made their way further into the building. Fred heard a single gunshot go off after about five minutes of waiting, and shifted her feet to allow the blood to flow through her legs, her thighs arching from the crouched position she remained in. It wasn't long before she heard foot falls coming back to into the room; the sound had Fred gripping the knife she held tightly, ready to spring up and lash out at anyone who approached, but the soft call of her name alerted her to the presence of her brother.

Fred raised herself up, knees cracking with the action and spotted her brother standing in the doorway with a pained look upon his face. She looked around him, not spotting Josh or Emily, and turned her questioning eyes towards her brother.

"Ev—" Teddy broke off, cleared his throat and tried again. "Eva . . . they—she's gone . . . just, she's just gone."

"Gone?" Fred rasped, her throat tightening and making it difficult to drag in air. A choked heave left her as she bent over the reception desk, hands clasped over her mouth as she cried. Tears streaked down her cheeks as the whimpers tried to escape her lips. It was her fault—Fred didn't need anyone to tell her that. She should have gone straight to Eva. If she had then maybe the girl would still be alive. Her stomach flipped uncomfortably as the events of the night rained down upon her, crawling up her throat until she could no longer push the sensation down and emptied the contents of her stomach on to the carpeted floor below.

ELEVEN MONTHS AFTER THE END

"We split up into groups," Teddy explained while their small group sat around the small back room of the boutique clothing store. "Winnie and Maru are the fastest. Winnie will be with Josh; I'll be with Maru. Josh and I will cover you guys, make sure nothing comes at you from behind. Dee and Mikey will be paired as well as Ashley and Tom—you'll be on look out; and no slacken' off either. None of us want any surprises."

"Roger that, boss man." Devika said around a mouth full of beans.

"Each team will have one radio each." Teddy continued without acknowledging Dee's sarcastic remark. "You see trouble, radio in and get out—we'll meet at the gas station just outside of town."

Fred fiddled with the whistle that hung on the white and twisted piece of string around her neck. It was roughly four and a half inches long, the double tube design was supposed to provide up to one hundred and twenty decibels, and enough to be heard at long distances according to Teddy. Her brother had gifted it to her after they came across an old hunting cabin. Teddy had told her to use it if she were in trouble and needed help, but Fred hadn't found a need to use the whistle yet.

She didn't want to be paired with Josh. It wasn't like they hated each other; Fred just always sensed that she annoyed him somehow. Which was something she couldn't understand seeing as she had never said a word to him. But Fred didn't like being away from Teddy, she never had. And now, in these times it was too easy to lose him.

"Finish the beans, we'll head off in twenty." Teddy concluded, getting up from the overturned crate he was sitting on and striding over to Fred. "You got your knife?" Fred patted the weapon that sat holstered at her side, allowing a small smile to twist at her lips for her sibling. "Good. I don't want you doin' anything stupid, alright?"

Fred raised a single brow as if to say, you're the reckless one.

"Yeah, yeah," Teddy muttered with a roll of his eyes. "Just want you to be safe." He leaned closer and lowered his voice. "I've got a bad feeling about this, I don't want to go in, but we need food. The place looks too good to be true."

And Teddy was right, there wasn't a roamer in sight. The small country town was absolutely deserted, the streets were too quiet without the raspy groans and growls that came from those creatures. They had checked over every store except for the smallish mall at the edge of town; the group had all agreed that exploring the building was too risky. But with each visit to every other store and home in this town they grew more and more desperate. Everything had already been taken—anything that could possibly be used for something was gone.

The group was down to three cans of kidney beans and two cans of beetroot.

If they wanted to survive the next couple of weeks, they had to find food and supplies soon, and the mall was their only option right now.

The small mall stood out like a beacon, and their rag tag group were like moths to a flame. They couldn't avoid it anymore, but the stillness surrounding the mall chilled Fred down to her very bones.

Half an hour later, the group of eight stood in the parking lot of the mall, in front of the overly large army truck they had acquired about four weeks ago, with Tom and Ashley moving towards the back of the building to begin the perimeter check; stationing themselves where the woods backed onto the mall, while Devika and Mikey circled the building in the other direction. The remaining four stood a few minutes longer, waiting for Devika and Mikey to come back around. The air was heavy with anticipation, Fred wasn't sure if she would see them around the corner unharmed or hear the sounds of their screams. They only had the wait three minutes before the pair came into sight, giving the four the go ahead to enter.

"Alright, let's go." Teddy said, moving forward with Maru following behind and leaning against the side of the glass doors. Fred and Josh mirrored the movement, with Josh knocking against the door with two strong bangs. A moment passed without any sound within. Maru handed over two crowbars to Teddy, who gave the other to Josh and within seconds the two had the doors pried open.

Fred looked behind before entering, watching as Mikey lit up a cigarette, taking a drag as he kicked away a small stone. Devika had spotted her gaze and lifted a hand away from the shotgun she carried to give Fred a wave and a smile.

"See you in a bit, blondie." Mikey grinned at Fred before turning his attention to Devika—giving the Indian woman a flirty wink, which only resorted in Devika scrunching her nose up at him.

Fred turned away from the pair and walked into the mall. Light poured in through the glass ceiling, illuminating the vacant and unusually clean building. It vaguely reminded Fred of Hashima Island, the Japanese Island that was completely deserted, it was unsettling to see that not a trace of life had been left behind after the world went to hell in a handbasket.

Josh cleared his throat, the sound echoing slightly. Their eyes shifting around to spot any movement at the noise. "We go this way; you go that way?"

"Agreed. Stick to the plan, alright? And look after her." Teddy smirked, giving Fred a wink as she frowned at her brother, before clasping Maru on the shoulder, and gesturing to the right.

"Let's go, Fred." Josh sighed, like being partnered with her was a chore—nodding straight ahead. Fred glanced up, reading the sign that stated that this direction would lead to a supermarket. The blonde gave a nod, not meeting his eyes; she tried not to be put off by his attitude and instead led the way.

Usually Fred was partnered with Teddy because of obvious reasons, but for the last three weeks Teddy had partnered up with Maru. Fred knew why, Teddy tended to lean towards the same sex when it came to romantic partnerships and Fred could understand her brother's attraction. Maru was a handsome man with aristocratic features that was expected from being the son of a wealthy Japanese man. But Maru was also kind and easy-going, who was only ever nice to her when in her presence. A perfect balance for someone like Teddy who was more sarcastic and stubborn.

This was the first time that Fred and Josh had been partnered together. The last few times it had been Devika and Fred, and they had operated well even though Fred couldn't communicate with the woman. Devika had talked though. About before, when the world wasn't as chaotic as it is now. She had explained to Fred that her father had Alzheimer's and therefore was comfortable then most around people who didn't want or have the ability to speak.

Fred and Josh passed clothing stores, shoe stores, and stores that sold video games—but Fred had a one-track mind and didn't think that more clothing was necessary at this point in time; seeing as summer had only just begun. But Fred would go back for shoes, they all needed a new pair, she threw a quick look down at her own footwear, frowning a little at the large gaps between the sole and material. The duo reached the supermarket in no time, Josh tapping Fred's arm to get her attention. He handed over the empty backpack he carried when she turned and looked around the entry as Fred hastily put it on.

"You've got five minutes," Josh murmured, tapping a finger against the surface of his wristwatch and looking bored. "then I'm coming in. You see anything suspicious get the hell out, got it?"

Fred nodded once more before entering the supermarket. It was deserted, which was expected. There was no longer any produce or meat products, which was something Fred thought as odd. She expected to smell the decayed food, but there was nothing of the sort; who—in the panic of the breakout thought about tossing the food? It was a thought she'd have to bring up with Teddy when they were finished here.

Quickly, though quietly, she passed aisles—making sure to pause before passing to check that there was nothing hiding and waiting for her. The whole place was unsettling, and too perfect to not feel like she was a mouse being directed into a trap. Fred tried to shake off the paranoia, but the feeling wouldn't go nor would the hair on the back of her neck stand down.

Fred finally came across the canned foods aisle, peeking around the corner and finding it empty like all the others. She grabbed the first can she saw and placed it into the bag, along with tuna and beans, peas and pineapple. The bag became heavy quickly, but Fred still hauled it onto her back, becoming comfortable with the weight of the food.

The blonde eventually left the aisle, walking along until she finally came across the feminine hygiene. Fred checked her wristwatch; the cheap leather had started to peel away from the band. She had two minutes. Grabbing multiple packets of tampons and sanitary pads—stuffing them into the backpack for the women of their group—before moving on and finding hair ties. Fred reached for the box of black ties when she heard the first pop.

Her head shot up at the sound, the blonde curls that escaped her braid followed with the movement. She checked her watch again—one minute.

Three more pops went off before the realisation hit her that the sound was gunshots from outside the building.

Fred dropped the hair ties and darted towards the entry of the supermarket, passing aisles as silently as she possibly could with the clacking of the cans within her bag. She skidded to a stop at the entry.

Josh was gone.

He wasn't supposed to leave. He was supposed to come find her if there was trouble. Fred inhaled sharply, trying not to think the worst. Maybe he had just panicked and tried to help the others?

A thump sounded to her right, which had Fred turning at the sound to give her companion a relieved smile. Only to find a roamer had fallen to the tiled floor of the mall, leaving a rotten bloody mess upon the ground—and a group of twenty more behind it.

Fred took off in the direction she and Josh had come in, rushing pass the other stores in the building and turning the corner towards the exit. Where had they come from? The place was deserted. Had they been trapped in the building all along, had Teddy and Maru, or even Josh, accidentally freed them?

The sight of more roamers blocking the glass door entry had Fred slipping and falling hard on her side as she tried to slow down and turn back. The sound she had created with the cans clanging against the floor caught the attention of the roamers. Fred scrambled to her feet; running towards the left, towards where Maru and Teddy had gone. She succeeded in passing the rotting group and sprinted down the other end of the mall, coming to a split without encountering anymore roamers.

Without hesitation Fred ran to the left, spying the green exit sign to the right and making towards it. Closing in, she looked down the corridor that led outside and found five roamers standing stationary until they caught sight of her.

Fred blinked away the tears that threatened to fall and kept running. Where was Teddy? Was he hurt? No, no. He was fine, he was okay—everything was going to be okay. All Fred had to do was get out and find the others; easy-peasy. However, her mind didn't seem to be listening. It whispered dark thoughts to her of Teddy being pinned down by roamers or losing his life from a bite to the neck. Fred couldn't lose him to, she wouldn't survive if he was gone. She knew this one fact because she wasn't strong like her brother, like Devika or Ashley. Fat tears rolled down her cheeks as her lungs burned while Fred tried to keep her breathing steady and not succumb to the hysteria that was slowly building within her. She turned right, then left until she found another exit sign. Fred eased her way down the small corridor, hiccuping and hastily brushing away the tears that had fallen; weary of the side doors that stood on either side of her. She made it to the exit and looked out the tiny window but couldn't see anything that posed as a threat.

The blonde sent up a silent prayer to anything that was listening; praying that the door wasn't locked. Fred counted to three and heaved her small body against the solid door; stumbling out into the sunshine. She smiled stupidly at her freedom until she saw the roamers that were congregated around the army truck out the front of the mall.

Fred saw their small group; only it was smaller now. Mikey, Tom and Ashley were nowhere to be seen. Teddy was there upon the back of the truck with the others, shouting words Fred couldn't hear at Josh who was shouting back just as fiercely. Devika swung her shotgun down at a roamer who had almost managed to pull itself up onto the truck, while Maru tried to calm the other two males down. Fred knew she couldn't reach them, and she knew that they couldn't escape.

She clutched her hand around the survival whistle that still hung from her neck. Fred brought the whistle to her lips, trying to suck in a breath, but her lungs felt too tight to expand enough to be able to produce the nose required to draw the attention of the roamers. Fred watched on as Teddy suckered punched Josh, causing the other man to almost tumble off the side of the truck, towards the greedy decaying hands of the roamers before her brother swiftly caught him and threw him down onto the floor of the truck. Fred pulled the object from her mouth and took a steading breath before, again, bringing the whistle to her lips and blowing into the double tubes. In an instant the roamers turned in creepy union and slowly shambled towards the blonde. Fred choked on a sob at the enormous pack, producing weak whistles as she chanced a glance towards her brother who was already looking at her with a mixture of anger and panic.

Teddy shook his head at her. His lips moving even though she wouldn't be able to hear his mumbled words.

Fred blew the whistle again, a long drawn out shrill that pierced through the air and drew the roamers towards her. She slid the backpack from her shoulders, heaving the bag beside the wall of the building; she would leave it for them—they could grab it when the roamers had left—and Fred would be able to run faster without it. Then, she would go to the gas station, just like they were supposed to if they got separated; and everything would be okay, it had to be.

She sounded the whistle, backing up a few paces as the roamers got closer towards her. Teddy was shouting now, something about people, but she couldn't make out the words over the top of the growling and groaning. Teddy tried to jump from the truck but was hauled back by Devika, the butt of her shotgun coming down upon him, stopping her brother from getting himself killed. A thankful smile graced Fred's lips before she turned away and ran from the pack that followed and into the trees behind the mall. Still she blew the whistle, stopped and turned to make sure the roamers still followed. Fred took one more deep breath and sounded the whistle off before dropping it, letting the thin metal object slid inside her shirt and smack the area between her breasts.

She turned east, running pass the trees and dodging the few roamers that stumbled in her way. East would lead her back to the main road of the town, and then the road would lead to the gas station. Where she would find Teddy.

A gunshot went off.

The bark of the tree beside her exploding into pieces. Fred threw herself sideways, stumbling behind a tree.

"Come on out, girly." A rough voice called out to her, the sound of footsteps crunching upon the leafy ground filled her with dread.

The trunk she hid behind was reasonably thick, and as she looked up, she spied a nub protruding from the trunk, and above that a branch that looked low enough to reach. Quickly she hoisted herself upwards, clinging to the trunk of the tree and stretching her hand out to grip the thick branch. This action almost had her falling to the group and being discovered.

"C'mon, little dove. I promise I won't bite." The voice called again, closer than it was before which brought on panicked gasps of air as she clung to the tree.

Fred pushed down the panic and fear that started to bubble up inside her. Took a deep breath and jumped up towards the branch, gripping onto the wood fiercely, and heaved herself upwards; arms straining against her own weight while she brought one leg up and over the branch. She had to get higher, and now it would be easier to climb up into the leaves. Silently she climbed, moving her feet carefully to avoid slipping and falling to the ground or causing a ruckus and alerting the man to where she was.

A crunch sounded just below where the blonde had perched herself in the tree.

The man stood below her at a standstill. He held what seemed to be a rifle in his grimy hands as he inspected his surroundings around him. Fred breathed out of her nose, hoping that would quiet her breaths enough as a tiny voice inside her mind told her that she was breathing too loud. Her heart raced inside her chest, beating so boisterously that she was convinced he could hear it. Fred wanted him to leave—to just keep walking—please, please keep walking.

The man stepped to the left.

And took another step.

Until his footfalls led away, growing quieter and quieter within minutes.

But Fred refused to move. Frozen and glued the trunk of the tree, and its branches. Currently it was safe above the leafy ground. Fred was petrified to leave, what if she hadn't waited long enough, what if she waits too long and whoever was out there came back around and spots her during her climb down? What if she waits too long and the group decides to leave? Not that she thinks Teddy would leave her willingly but waiting for her for too long was unwise with people around. Fred knew it would be best for them to leave, and she wants them to. If they left her with nothing but a message at the gas station, then she could easily catch up to them in time.

Yes, that was the best course of action. And Fred had no doubt that Devika would knock Teddy out again and throw him over her shoulder in a heartbeat to get them all to safety. They had to keep the group safe, and if that meant that she had to be left behind for Teddy to survive, then so be it.

The blonde looked down once more, the sound of chirping filling the air around her, which she took as a sign that there were no roamers around. Carefully, she made her way back down the base of the tree, landing so softly that not even the leaves crunched beneath her weight.

Fred threw herself back against the trunk, tucking her ragged braid into the back of her shirt and throwing her hooded jacket over her head to hide the bright blonde curls she used to love, but now only saw as a curse.

A breath in.

A breath out.

Fred didn't hesitate, didn't look to see if she was alone. The young woman knew that if she did, if she had hesitated for even a moment—doubt would have crept into her mind; clouding her judgment to the point of hiding behind that tree for too long and being caught. So instead, Fred ran.

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