Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own The Walking Dead or anything affiliated with said series.

The only good thing about the end of the world is that no one has to pretend anymore. You can be the person you truly are, the devil you always hid deep down inside, because it no longer matters. Survival is the only thing people care about now, not how you look or act, it's all about living another day. So go ahead, shed that façade you've kept up all your life and live the way you were truly meant to. Just remember, you're not the only one breaking free from your shell and chances are you're going to run into someone who's got an even darker side than you.

In this world where the dead come back and prey on the living, it's the one's still breathing you truly need to worry about.

Trust no one but yourself and you might just live to see tomorrow . . . words to live by.

ooooo

A branch breaking on the ground some thirty feet below caused Chelsea's eyes to snap open as she woke from her slumber with a start. She'd never been a heavy sleeper to begin with, but nowadays it took little more than leaves rustling gently in the wind to wake her up. Not that she was complaining it came in quite handy now that the dead roamed the earth.

Sticking her head over the edge of her makeshift hammock, she glanced down to see what had caused the noise and released the breath she'd been holding when she found it was only a deer. She'd chosen this particular tree because of its dense foliage, wanting as much cover as possible as she slept, but it was quite a ways away from other trees which would make escape difficult had the deer been one of those walking corpses.

Watching the animal as it ate from a nearby bush, she decided it was time to get moving before the dead came running. She contemplated killing the deer and taking part of the meat with her to cook later but quickly tossed that idea aside. Her bag was already overburdened with the supplies she'd recently picked up and the extra weight would only slow her down.

Untying her backpack from the tree, she released the hooks on her hammock and stuffed the material into its sack before slipping the bag on her back. Her belt was next, it having also been tied to the tree within arm's reach, and after making sure the two machetes and hunting knife were secure she slipped her compound bow over her shoulder and began to carefully make her way back to the ground.

The deer had bolted as soon as she'd started packing and the forest had become eerily silent once more. She wasn't all that bothered by it at this point though, one becomes accustomed to many things after awhile. As soon as her feet touched the ground she did a quick check to make sure everything was secure before tying her shoulder length brown hair up in a tight ponytail and quietly heading off in the direction of the rising sun.

When everything had started some time back Chelsea had been working at a dead-end job she hated. She'd spent her free time alone reading or wandering in the woods away from the noise of the city, so when things began to fall apart around her it didn't really bother her all that much.

She'd checked in on her parents when things got really bad, but didn't end up staying very long as they had decided before she'd arrived that they were too old to deal with the new world and had made plans to hunker down in their basement until things either got better or they died of starvation.

While she was there they'd asked her to find her younger brother and make sure he and his family were safe since they hadn't heard from him in some time. Having already planned on it she'd agreed without hesitation, though she could've done without being forced to listen to the whole 'you're the oldest' spiel.

After saying farewell she'd raided what her brother jokingly referred to as 'the armory', a large closet filled with an assortment of weapons and outdoor survival gear, packed up some essentials and headed out.

Surviving on her own hadn't been all that difficult all things considered. Sure she'd run into groups of the dead more often than she would've liked, but one good hit and they were down for good. Instead she'd found it was the living she needed to be wary of. Not that she went out of her way to find people or anything, but sometimes she'd stumble upon someone and offer to share a meal or something.

It hadn't taken long to figure out that there weren't many good people left out there anymore. More often than not she found herself being attacked for her possessions, and in some cases her body, and the more that happened the less she helped those she met along the way.

A few hours after she'd started walking Chelsea found a small stream where she refilled her water bottles. Deciding it was safe enough she stripped off her tank top and cargo pants and washed some of the week's worth of sweat and grime from her body.

She'd just finished getting dressed when she heard the screams.

Fully intending to ignore the noise, nothing good ever came from helping anyone, she pulled her bag back onto her back and started heading in the opposite direction to avoid the dead that were sure to come running at the sound.

She'd made it a total of ten feet before the crying started and something about it tugged at what little remained of her heart. Grumbling under her breath about stupid ideas and getting herself killed, she turned on her heel and raced off in the direction the noise was coming from with a muttered, "Fuck it."

It didn't take her long to find the source of the disturbance and she took in the sight before her with a shake of her head. A woman with short brown hair was standing over a body hacking at what had to be at least thirty-five of the walking dead. She was screaming for help and Chelsea narrowed her eyes when she realized that there was another man in their group who'd apparently decided it wasn't worth helping them as he'd jumped into a nearby car and peeled off, tires squealing in his haste.

"Asshole," she hissed as she dropped her backpack on the roof of the small blue car next to her and pulled her bow off her shoulder. Notching an arrow, she pulled back the string while muttering, "And this is why I travel alone."

Watching as Jacob drove off Maggie was certain that this was the end. They'd been hesitant to take the new guy on a supply run in the first place, but Deanna had assured them he'd be an asset. So much for her ability to read people. Bashing in the head of the walker closest to her she repositioned her body so she was covering Glenn better and prayed that he'd wake up soon and help her out of this mess.

Of course that didn't seem likely with the blow he'd taken to the head a few minutes before, but at this point she had nothing else to hope for. It wasn't like someone was going to suddenly show up out of nowhere and save them. The world just didn't work that way, not anymore.

The crowd of corpses had nearly closed in around the pair and Chelsea debated with herself for another second before deciding to hell with it. If the two of them turned out to be as bad as the rest of the people she'd run into she'd send them to hell without hesitation, but anyone willing to risk their life for an injured friend couldn't be all that bad.

Letting the arrow fly, she had another one ready to go in seconds knowing she'd have to make things quick. It wouldn't be long before they were overrun.

In less than a minute she'd taken out a dozen, dropping her bow and slipping her blades out of their sheaths as she ran out of arrows. She could still hear the woman screaming, her voice taking on that desperate quality of one who knows they've reached their end, and she picked up her pace. "Hey, you in there!" she shouted over the groaning mass. "I'm coming in to help so please try not to take my head off."

Maggie's arm was so tired it felt like it was about to fall off and there seemed to be no end in sight. "I'm sorry Glenn," she whispered through tears as she yanked her blade out of a walker's skull. "I tried, but I'm just not strong enough to save us this time."

Letting her arm fall to her side she was about to drop to her knees next to him when she heard a female voice call out. Blinking in shock, she looked up in time to see a walker's mouth nearing her face and she summoned every last ounce of strength she had left to take it out.

Knowing that there was someone nearby helping gave Maggie the extra push she needed and she found she was miraculously still in one piece when the walkers had finally been dealt with. Staring at the blood covered woman who'd come to their rescue she ran over and embraced her without a second thought. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she cried, crushing the taller woman against her.

Chelsea patted the other woman's back awkwardly before gently pushing her away. "You're welcome. Is your friend all right?"

A low groan had Maggie spinning around and dropping to the ground near Glenn's head. "Glenn, sweetie, are you okay? Speak to me baby." Running a hand through his dark hair, she smiled when he slowly blinked his eyes open and looked up at her in confusion.

"What the hell happened?" he groaned, rubbing a hand over his face before attempting to sit up. "The last thing I remember is yelling at Jacob not to open that door."

"He panicked when that walker came in and knocked a bookcase over on top of you and tried to escape through it. When I tried hauling you out to the car a large group of them overtook us."

Glancing around Glenn noticed the lack of vehicle and frowned. "The bastard left us didn't he?" he growled angrily, and seeing Maggie's frown he released a long string of curses that had Chelsea wondering if perhaps he'd been a sailor before the world ended.

"Well you two seem to be just fine so I'll be on my way now," she said as she slipped her blades back into their holders. Turning around she began the arduous task of retrieving her arrows from the dead she'd dropped earlier.

"Wait," Maggie called out as she helped Glenn to his feet. "How can we ever repay you . . . ?"

Without looking up from what she was doing she replied, "My name's Chelsea, and you've already thanked me, that's more than enough."

"Are you sure there's nothing you need? Food, water . . . a hot shower?"

Chelsea's ears perked up at that last one but she refused to let it show. Nothing was offered for free, and despite the fact that she'd just saved their lives it was a very real possibility that they were simply trying to get her to let her guard down. "I'm good."

Glenn raised his hand to silence Maggie when she opened her mouth to try again. "Alright, but if you ever change your mind head east about twenty miles until you come across a large walled community. My name is Glenn and this is Maggie, ask for either of us at the gate and we'll get you whatever you need."

Tipping her head in acknowledgment, Chelsea pulled back on her pack and tossed her bow over her shoulder. "I'll think about it."

As she turned to leave Maggie called out, "We'll leave a light on for you!"

Waving her hand, Chelsea headed back into the woods to continue on her journey.

"Do you think she'll come?" Maggie asked once she was out of sight.

Glenn shrugged. "Who knows. She looks like someone who's been on her own for awhile so walking into a place filled with strangers is likely a terrifying thought. I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

ooooo

Chelsea had been walking for almost an hour trying to figure out what she was going to do next before making camp. The plan had always been to keep heading east in a straight line, more or less, but after hearing about the community nearby she was starting to rethink that idea. In order to avoid the possibility of being spotted by one of the people living there she'd have to go many miles out of her way which would add days to her already long journey. Having to take a detour so close to the end was pissing her off but it couldn't be helped.

"Dammit, I knew I should've stayed out of it," she muttered angrily to herself as she followed a small stream deeper into the forest. "This is what I get for sticking my nose into things that are none of my concern."

Ducking under a low hanging branch she replayed their conversation over in her head in an attempt to piece together everything she could about this home of theirs. Unfortunately they hadn't given her much to go on, no mention of how many inhabitants or how well armored they were, nothing more than a vague 'large community' comment. Just what the hell did that mean anyway?

Rubbing the bridge of her nose, a habit she'd picked up from her father, she let out a frustrated sigh. "Maybe I'll head south for a few weeks before going back east, just to be on the safe side."

Having come to a decision she changed direction and was all set to get on her way when Maggie's last comment popped into her head. She hadn't thought much of it at the time, but thinking back it was a strange thing to say considering there hadn't been power anywhere for quite some time. I suppose she could've been referring to a torch or something. But then why word it that way?

The more she thought about it the more she began to wonder if perhaps she'd meant it literally. And if that were the case then that meant they actually had power. No, there's no way, she thought with a shake of her head. Electricity doesn't exist in this world.

However, over the next several days no matter how hard she tried she couldn't get the idea out of her head, and in the end she decided it was worth looking into . . . just in case it turned out to be true. Not that she actually believed it was mind you, but she hadn't heard music since shortly after things went to hell and if there was even the slightest chance of being able to charge her mp3 player she wasn't going to let it pass her by.

So she'd turned around and headed back the way she'd come, being careful to stay off the beaten path as she made her way in the direction the two had mentioned.