Disclaimer: I do not own or hold any rights regarding The Walking Dead including the storyline or characters; living or dead. I do not take any credit for this. I have no desire to make a profit from this, and am only doing this as a hobby. I do however take credit for my own OC Olivia Dawson, as well as the OC characters that will be appearing in this.

This is a complete rewrite.

Warning: Strong language.

Goodwill Memorial Hospital, Atlanta

Olivia

If someone was to tell you that today was the last day of humanity, how would you spend it? Would you visit your family, tell them that you love them and face the end together? Would you drink until you passed out only to wake a few hours later to a new world? Or would you just sit and wait for the time to pass?

For Olivia Dawson, if someone told her that today would be the last day of humanity as she knew it, she would most definitely not be in work. A quarter of the way through a twelve hour shift, Olivia found herself sitting in the small corner of the staff room with her head in her hands and taking deep breaths. The morning went as well as it could be, with the occasional drunk from the previous night flirting with her. So far, she only had to deal with people who had enjoyed one too many beers and decided that DIY would be the best thing to do in their state. For Olivia, it was the worst thing that could have happened.

She stayed where she was for a few moments, relishing in the peace and quiet that the staff room brought. The spare few minutes she would have to herself during her shift couldn't come quick enough, and even though she loved her job, there were times when she had had enough.

The hot Georgian sun was wreaking havoc for its inhabitants and with the windows open, there was a cool breeze that wafted through the rooms allowing some comfort to those who were feeling the heat. Olivia, having grown up in the UK, had noticed the contrast between the weather she was experiencing in Georgia to the weather she usually had in England. It had been nice having warmer weather than that in the UK but some days, she could do without the temperatures that made her eyes fly open in shock.

The door to the staff room opened and Lisa, a colleague of Olivia's, walked in and slumped into the chair. She eyed Olivia, shaking her head and chuckling lightly.

"Is it home time, yet?" Olivia asked, tiredly.

"Afraid not," Lisa answered, getting comfy on the couch and resting her eyes. "If it was, I wouldn't be here."

"Do you think anyone would notice if I went home?" Olivia giggled.

"Um… you bet! They have eyes everywhere; they'd easily track you down and force you back here!" Lisa said, her eyes still closed. "I wish we could be invisible just for five minutes!"

"I would love it if you invented a machine that could do that!"

"Down here for dancing," Lisa replied, giggling. "So, how are you? I haven't gotten a chance to see you since last night."

Olivia rubbed her brow and leant back against the wall. She heard small cracks in her back as she positioned herself more comfortably. She looked over towards Lisa who had focused her attention onto her.

"I've been better," Olivia whispered.

"Why? What's happened?"

"Just Nick… we had a huge argument when I got home last night."

Lisa swung her legs round and placed her feet onto the floor. "Why?"

"He didn't like the fact that I had stayed out as long as I did," Olivia shrugged and pulled a face. "It's complicated at the minute."

"You were out half an hour longer than you said you'd be. And that was because of the taxi! I don't see why he would have a problem with that!"

"It's Nick, isn't it? He has a problem if his toast is burnt."

Lisa rolled her eyes. "Life's too short. We see how short it is every day. He needs to realise that you need time to just be yourself and let go of all the stress of work. You work hard, Olivia, and it shows but you deserve to put work on the back seat and enjoy your life."

Ever since Lisa had first met Olivia when the latter had arrived on her first day at Goodwill Memorial Hospital four years ago, the two of them had hit it off well. The two of them had become close quite quickly and soon became the best of friends. Lisa's relationship with Nick, however, had not been the best of introductions for either of them and for Olivia; they had always put their problems to one side to ensure that Olivia's happiness was priority. But like every problem, as time goes on, the cracks began to show and the two of them had decided that it was best if they stayed away from one another.

Lisa was always the shoulder for Olivia to cry on, the ear for her problems, and even though she had no desire of liking Nick, Olivia was still her best friend.

"I just feel that he expects me to behave the way he thinks I should. But I can't do that. My job prevents me from being normal outside of work. I just wish he would understand. We've been together for ten years. He saw me graduate from medical school, we moved over here for his job, and now he tells me that he's unhappy with the way I am. With the person I'm becoming."

"Ten years is a long time to be with someone, Liv. You love Nick, and I can see that. But maybe it's time to think about what you want from life. Do you see yourself with Nick in five years' time?" Lisa asked, putting her blonde hair back into a neat ponytail.

"I…" Olivia mumbled. "I'd like to think so. He's the only man that I've ever known."

"I just want you to be happy, and he doesn't make you happy. Life is going to run away from you if you don't take a stand and tell him how you feel."

The beeper sounded and the two of them pulled it from their waistband. On the screen, the words: Patient invlvd in shooting. 5 mins. came up and both women stood from their positions. Opening the door to the staff room, Lisa turned towards Olivia.

"I'm serious, Olivia. Life doesn't sit by and wait until you make a decision. Tell him how you feel before it's too late and you wake up one day and realise that you made a mistake."

Olivia nodded, biting her lip. Even though she loved Nick, she felt that recently they were just living together. There was no romance in the relationship anymore and she had often asked herself if she just loved Nick rather than still being in love with him. And every time, she would find that she couldn't answer that simple question. It was time to throw all her money into the middle of the table and play with the cards in her hand. There was always a winner and a loser, and she just hoped that both of them had winning hands.

Somewhere in Atlanta

Rick and Shane

Five minutes away, in an ambulance racing through the streets of Atlanta, was Rick Grimes whose life, with every fleeting minute, was fading away. Shane Walsh looked over at his friend who was lying motionless upon the gurney with blood pumping from the bullet wound to his abdomen and felt a surge of guilt.

It had been too quick. He couldn't remember everything that happened. He could remember sitting in the vehicle with Rick as his colleague was talking about the problems he was having at home with Lori. Then the call came through about a speeding vehicle just as the car passed them at a frightening speed and he could remember Rick glancing at him before pulling off as he answered the call from dispatch.

There was gun fire, and he could remember the onslaught of bullets as the two parties exchanged their frustration. And just when they thought they had sorted out the problem, there was a moment when time slowed. And in that slow motion, he watched as one of the gunman crawled out of the car, grabbed the gun that had fallen out of his hand, aimed it towards Rick who was walking back towards Shane and pulled the trigger. He could have stopped it. He could have aimed the gun at the man and shot him dead, preventing Rick from being shot. But he didn't. He had watched the man shoot Rick before he did anything.

Before he had taken it into his own hands and shot the man dead. But it was too late. It had to be too late for him to do anything. He was going to wait, wait until Rick had taken his last breath before he called for help. It had been a long time coming when he was given a chance like this, but before he could sit upon the ground and wait until the life within Rick seeped away, he was surrounded by police cars that had heard the same dispatch and had changed direction.

And soon there was an ambulance ambling towards them; pushing an unconscious Rick into the back of it; asking him if he was riding with them; being pointed to the seat where he was now seated; and watching as the paramedic worked on Rick. It had all happened too quick.

As he watched Rick fight with the dark curtain of death, Shane hoped with every single fibre in his being that the man he had once considered a friend would give up his battle and fade away from his life forever.

The Leaning Tower of Pizza

Glenn

Glenn hated his life. From the moment he opened his eyes of a morning to the moment he slipped into bed after a long night of delivering pizzas,he hated every single moment of his life. Throughout the years, he had often wondered where it all went wrong for him. It seemed he had become stuck in a rut, and he couldn't seem to dig himself out of it and do something with his life.

He had a degree in Physics, that he had hoped he could use as soon as he had left education. But times were tough and his family needed him to get a job in order to keep a roof over their heads. He would work for 'The Leaning Tower of Pizza' until he had found the perfect job that would allow him to provide more for his family, but with times changing and society becoming harder for everyone, that time never came for him. Three years later, he was still in the dead end job that made him question whether life was really worth it.

He had worked every day for the last three years delivering pizzas to people who didn't appreciate him, and as much as he hated it, his parents were grateful.

And he believed today would be no different. Today, he presumed, would just be like any other day. He would clock into work, receive an earful from his boss and deliver pizzas until the early hours of the morning. It was a never ending cycle for him.

As he walked into work, he expected to be called into the store room for a chat with his boss just like any other day, but today was different. The shop was quiet. Martin, the new guy, was stood at the counter picking at his nails when Glenn had entered the shop. Martin looked up, nodded and continued giving his nails a makeover.

"Where's Dave?" Glenn asked.

Martin shrugged. "Dunno."

"What about Ed?"

Martin pointed to the store room. "He's in the back. Be careful though. He's not in a good mood."

Glenn snorted. "When is he ever in a good mood?"

Martin smirked, and shrugged. "True, man."

Glenn made his way towards the machine on the wall and signed in quickly. Martin busied himself with sorting out the online orders and Glenn put the lunch time orders that Martin had made into his pizza bag. Once Martin had finished, Glenn made a start to leave.

"It's quiet today, isn't it?" Glenn asked as he peeped through the window of the pizza shop. The street was empty as far as he could see, and it was too quiet for his liking. He hadn't noticed how quiet it had been on his way to work; his mind must have been elsewhere.

"I've not seen anyone today other than you and Ed. It must be a public holiday or something."

"I doubt it," Glenn answered.

The door to the store room opened then and Ed walked out, on the phone. Glenn turned round and caught his eye. Ed made a motion for Glenn to wait until he had come off the phone. Glenn could hear him talking but couldn't make out any words the assistant manager was saying as his attention was on the empty street outside. The last person he had seen had been his grandmother who had seen him off to work, and even then it had been a fleeting moment.

Ed, who was staring at the phone in his hand with a grimace, had made his way towards him. "I need to go. The wife is being a diva again, ranting and raving about her mother. Like I need another problem in my life… so I trust you and Martin to look after the shop today. Dave should be in, if he decided to phone us but if not then it's just you two, I'm afraid."

"What?! There is no way-" Glenn started to object but was cut off.

"Do you want this job, Glenn? If you do, I'd keep my mouth shut if I were you. OK?" Ed exclaimed bitterly.

"Fine. Do what you have to do," Glenn said, picking up the pizza bag and making his way outside. He heard Ed walk towards his car as he attached the bag to the back of the bike. He couldn't be dealing with this. He had no energy as it was, and arguing with Ed would just be the cherry on top. He didn't like Ed, never had done ever since Dave had employed him. He thought he was in charge all of the time which angered Glenn to no end.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise coming from the alleyway next to the pizza shop that had caught Ed's attention. Glenn had heard it too but had chosen to ignore it in the hopes of getting away from Ed as quick as he could. If he had to stay in Ed's presence for one more minute, he would literally scream.

"Did you hear that?"

Ed's voice entered his ears but he chose to ignore it. When Ed asked him again, he turned to the older man. Ed had made his way to the entrance of the alleyway and was looking down where the bins were.

"I'm sure the noise came from over there," Ed pointed to where the bins were and Glenn found himself making his way over to him. He couldn't see anything suspicious from where he was. It was probably a stray dog looking for a meal. There had been a problem with stray animals tempting their luck with the bins recently but like everything else, it hadn't been sorted out.

"I can't see anything."

"Well I heard something. I'm not hearing things!"

"I didn't say you were!" Glenn exclaimed. "I'm going, I have work to do."

Just as Glenn turned to leave, the noise could be heard again. This time it was louder and much more distinct. The door to the shop opened and Martin came out, intrigued.

"What's up?" Martin asked.

"There was a noise, like a growl coming from the alley."

"Probably a stray animal looking for food," Martin said. He walked past Ed and Glenn and made his way into the alleyway. He looked around at the bags of rubbish, waiting to see if he could hear anything.

Glenn and Ed remained where they stood, their eyes focused on Martin as he walked further down the alleyway.

"I can't see anything down here, guys. Must have ran off."

"We would have seen it though!" Ed said. "It must still be th-"

But before he could finish his sentence, the stumbling figure of their boss came out from behind the bins behind the young boy and plunged his teeth into the neck of Martin. The boy screamed loudly at the pain as Dave tore through his neck like a rabid animal. Glenn and Ed looked on with shocked expressions on their faces for a few minutes. As much as they wanted to tear their eyes away from the scene of a dying boy, they couldn't seem to make themselves run for their lives.

"Shit…" The both of them whispered.

Glenn pulled on Ed's arm. "We need to go. Now. We need to call the police."

As Glenn pushed Ed into the passenger seat of the car, the young Korean didn't realise that the life as he had known it was over. He was no longer working in a dead end job with little to no wages, but as time would go by, he would have given anything to have that measly job back.

On The Outskirts of Atlanta

Daryl and Merle

Daryl was going to kill Merle. There had been many times in the thirty-four years that he had been alive in which he had wanted to kill Merle for being an utter idiot when it came to his behaviour but none more so than right this minute. Daryl was usually a quiet person compared to the aggressive and belligerent manner of his older brother, but this was the last straw. He had had enough. If his brother wasn't getting into trouble at bars, he was getting involved with the wrong women whose men would usually take vengeance against Merle.

Merle liked a drink, just like many others did. But Merle would often take it to a whole new level. He was a flirt, even he couldn't deny that he liked the attention of women. He enjoyed the thrill of the chase when it came to women, and most of the time, they were putty in his hands. Women loved attention, Merle loved women. A bit too much if Daryl had anything to say about it.

Daryl loved his brother but he also hated him. The fact that Merle, at the age of forty, couldn't behave himself after having a few drinks had started to get boring to Daryl. He didn't want to spend the rest of his life busting Merle out of jail for causing a disturbance, for beating a man to a pulp, or flirting with women who were already in relationships. He knew that he had to tell Merle that enough was enough but Merle was someone you couldn't disagree with. Because if you did, Daryl could bet that Merle's fist would make contact with his face.

Merle didn't like being told what to do. He had spent the last forty years of his life doing exactly what Merle wanted when Merle wanted to do it. He wasn't going to listen to what anyone had to say whether it be his own brother.

As the phone call from the police station had come through, Daryl had just spent most of the day underneath a car. The weather was hot and humid. The last thing he needed was to bust Merle out of jail again.

But his luck wasn't getting any better. Merle had apparently spent the night in jail after punching a customer at the bar he was at for looking at him the wrong way.

And so, he found himself driving towards the county jail in his pick up truck. The air conditioner rattled as he sped through the streets headed towards his destination. If Daryl was granted one wish, he would definitely wish for a different brother. One who would spend his time making plans for his life rather than drinking away his wages as soon as he was handed them. One who would look after Daryl and make sure he was okay. He just wished for a brother who would think about other people before thinking of himself.

Goodwill Elementary School

Lori and Carl

Carl was angry. He was angrier than he had ever been in his whole young life. He was angry with school, angry with his home life and mostly angry at himself. He understood he was a child, just a little boy compared to the adults around him but he was more mature than they thought he was.

He was eleven. Young, yes. But he wasn't oblivious to the world or people around him. He knew when his parents argued, he knew when a huge fight between them was brewing and he sure as hell knew when to leave them to it. He hated the silence between them at the dinner table. Especially when both of them would not look at the other and when he tried to make the situation better by announcing what he had done that day at school, being ignored by the both of them.

Lori, his mother, watched him walk towards her after school. She had been talking to a friend of hers when she turned to see Carl whose whole demeanour had changed. Once he had reached her, he had continued on leaving her to watch in stunned silence as he walked away from her, as if ignoring her.

She glanced at her friend and pulled a face before apologising. She walked over to where Carl was, quickening her pace slightly to catch him up.

"Carl," Lori said. "Please come here."

"No."

"Carl. I'm your mother, respect my orders!"

Carl stopped abruptly. He was young, just her little boy but he was so trouble. He opened his mouth to speak. Lori waited.

Then they heard the sirens.

Somewhere in Georgia

Carol and Sophia

Idiot. Ugly. Failure. Bitch. Whore.

The reflection of herself in the mirror made Carol Peletier shiver with disgust. She closed her eyes tightly telling herself that it was all a dream, that none of it happened but when she opened her eyes and saw the same reflection as she had done just a few moments ago, she felt bile rise up her throat and before she knew it, she was throwing up into the sink.

Her body was heavy. Every time she moved, convulsed or breathed, her body screamed in agony. She tried to hide the bruises as best as she could but there was no point. He would only add more when he came home from work.

She wiped her mouth and took a few deep breaths. She could do this. She could put a brave face on. She had become an expert at that. But…

She saw her reflection again. The bruises were worse than she thought. Her lip was bust. Her cheek most likely was broken. Her nose was swollen. This time, it was bad.

The door opened then, revealing a young girl of ten. Her eyes scanned over her mother and tears flooded her eyes, causing them to look glass-like.

"It's OK, Sophia," Carol whispered. "Mummy is fine. She just fell over."

But looking in Sophia's eyes, Carol knew the little girl knew she was lying. She had heard the rows, the cries of her mother when her father was beating her. She would block out the noise, creating a world where her mother and she were safe. A place where her father couldn't hurt her mother.

"Come here," Carol beckoned for Sophia to come towards her. The little girl was hesitant but walked quickly over to her. Carol wrapped her arms around her young daughter, and knew that this wasn't going to continue. She would fight for her child. "We're going away for a while, OK?"

"Where?" Sophia's little voice entered her ears.

"We're going on a little road trip," Carol spoke, her voice strong and undeterred. "I want you to pack some of your clothes, books and toys for me. I just need to do something."

Sophia nodded and exited the bathroom. Carol turned back to the sink. She opened the cabinet and found what she was looking for. The razor.

Once she was done and all her hair had fallen to the floor around her, Carol ran a hand across her hairless head. This was the start of her new life. One without Ed. The life Sophia should always have had. She was going to make it right.

Carol packed her and Sophia's belongings into the car, and got into the drivers seat. Taking a deep breath, she glanced over at Sophia.

"We're going to be OK, mummy. I just know it," said Sophia.

And taking in Sophia's words, Carol knew her daughter was right.

Macon

Dale, Andrea and Amy

Dale was getting too old for this. The long hours on the road had never agreed with him but his wife, Maud, had always felt right on the road. And the love he had for his wife was paramount. Forty years of marriage had taught him one thing; when you know someone for the majority of your life, you become the same person. What they like, you like. Even if you have to put up with it for a short time.

"Can you remember when we first bought this thing? It was brand new, and now look at it! But we've seen the world in this thing, haven't we, Maud? I've seen many things in this, with you by my side."

He glanced at the passenger seat, his heart aching slightly. The urn of his wife sat in the place she should have been. Tears sprung to his eyes and he coughed slightly, emotion stuck in his throat.

The passing of his beloved, Maud, had turned his world upside down. Cancer had taken his beautiful wife, leaving him with a world he wasn't sure of. The light in his life was gone, leaving a faded existence. He would wake to an empty house and spend the majority of the day trying to find something to do, something that would allow him to forget just for a moment that he was alone. Lost.

In the distance, something caught his eye. He squinted, trying to focus his blurring eyes. Age was not agreeing with him.

As he drove closer, he noticed a car on the side of the road and two women trying to work on it. He pulled over, and watched as the two women glanced over.

The older one made her way towards the RV, her hand outstretched to the young one who was on the phone.

"You two having trouble?" Dale asked.

"You bet," she said. "I'm Andrea."

"Dale," he replied. "Can I help?"

Andrea glanced at him, giving him the once over. Dale nodded and smirked.

"I'm not a murderer, or a serial killer."

Andrea narrowed her eyes at him. "We've got someone on the phone, but they can't come out until tomorrow morning which sucks."

"Where are you headed?"

"Atlanta. My sister, Amy, starts university there."

"A brain box, huh?"

"Something like that," Andrea replied.

"You got a place to stay? A motel or something?" Dale asked.

"We don't know the area. Or where we are. Or where to find a motel."

"Well, grab your things and I'll take you to a motel," Dale said, noticing the look of concern Andrea had on her face. "Honestly. Not a murderer."

It was then that Andrea noticed the urn on his passenger seat. Dale noticed her focus shift, and he averted his gaze to the urn.

"My wife. I'm giving her the send off she wanted."

Andrea nodded. "Only if you're sure?"

"I'm not going to leave two young women stranded on the side of the road waiting for help. My wife would kill me anyway if I did."

Andrea smiled, breaking the façade she had created. "OK. We'll get our things. We appreciate it, Dale."

Dale nodded, and watched as Andrea walked away from the RV. He glanced at the urn once more, and said: "You don't mind do you, Maud?"

He knew what he was doing was right. And with the two sisters sat in the RV, Dale pulled away and found comfort in the company. For the first time in a year, he didn't feel lonely.

The world as they knew it was no more. Their lives had changed forever as soon as the black trucks rumbled through the streets of every city and opened the back doors to reveal an infection that would change and destroy the majority of the world.

The dead had started walking, taking away and destroying everything that they had known. It was the fight of their lives, the main event of their story, and yet for them, it was a clean slate. A change in the wind. The fight for survival. Live or die, they were going to do their best to make sure they fought until they took their last breath.

Authors note: Hi everyone! As you may have noticed, this is a complete rewrite of my former The Walking Dead fan fiction under the same name. For the past few months, I've been struggling with bad writers block and just couldn't seem to find the right words to continue with my other version of this. And so, I've basically given this fan fiction the chance to tell me what direction it wants to go and I'm very pleased with where it will be going!

To my past and present readers, thank you for taking your time to read this! It really means a lot, and I hope that you enjoy the new direction I'm taking it.

I've decided that I won't be following each episode and will be introducing new characters and new scenes as I write. For those who have read the previous version of this, you will probably pick things out that are quite familiar and you'd be right. I'm keeping a few things in that I quite liked. Also, let me know what you enjoyed in the other version and I'll try to add those in, too.

If you have any suggestions about where you would like this story to go and what happens to the characters, then please let me know! I'd love to know what you think so please review.