I do not own The Walking Dead, nor do I own the characters. I merely own my OC's. This story will be on QuoteV under the same username; TheDarkLightWithin.

PLEASE READ| This story used to be called Candle In The Wind. Name changes have happened too.

The thick Georgian heat lay heavily throughout the old, small cabin that stood just on the outskirts of the just as old woods. Birds of different species had begun to chirp minutes prior, indicating that dusk was over and dawn was just beginning. Through the thin cotton curtains, the sun tried its best to shine beyond the trees and through the dusty glass windows. It didn't have to try to hard and succeeded just as quickly as it had begun.

The two residents slept soundly beside one another. The first, Molly a young woman with long dark hair that lay at rather odd angles on the pillow beneath her head. Her eyes, though closed, were of a sterling grey nature with white specks that gave of a crystallised effect. The second, Jacob. A young boy, no older than three, with messy chestnut brown hair and baby blue eyes that he clearly had not inherited from his mother. Though the day was just beginning, it was about to be a day unlike any before it.

The outdated alarm clock that sat on the crooked bedside table began to wail. The ringing rose to a peak before it dulled only to rise to a peak once more; repeating the pattern. It continued to ring long after Molly outstretched hand began to shuffle around the table, trying to locate the alarm in order to shut it off. After many failed attempts, her hand finally made contact with the button that sat on top of the clock. In seconds, the ringing died down, leaving the room in silence once more.

Cracking an eye open, Molly forced her eye to get used to the light as she brought her arm back to her side once more. A quiet groan escaped her mouth as she looked towards the tiny body that lay soundly asleep beside her. Though she tried to be annoyed, she couldn't help but grin tiredly as she brushed a few strands of hair from the boy's forehead. With a deep sigh, Molly pushed herself into a sitting position where she began to rub at her eyes and pull her own hair from her face. With a final glance behind her, Molly stood from the bed and made her way towards the small dresser that lay beside the door. She pulled the first drawer open and shuffled through the clothes before she found the outfit she was looking for. After closing the drawer and checking if Jacob was still asleep, Molly moved towards the door and pulled it open before sliding out of the room and leaving it ajar.

Opposite her room was Jacob's room that was barely used during the night. The two rooms lay tucked away in a corner of the cabin. The only other rooms within the small wooden structure the two called home were the bathroom and a living room that held an open kitchen plan. There was hardly anything within the cabin Molly was proud of. Many of the once neatly wallpapered walls had missing strips, leaving the damp wooden panels behind to be the focus of attention. Molly had decided that once she had saved up enough money again, she would tackle the issue of the walls.

Saving for months on end was the only way Molly could make any changes within her home. She worked two jobs in order to put food in her sons mouth and pay for their basic daily needs. However, once everything she had to pay for was paid, it left her with very little money to achieve the things she so desperately needed to get done. Since having Jacob, the only thing she had accomplished within the cabin was laying down a new carpet. Her main priority was keeping him safe and healthy which was one of the main reasons she had decided on replacing the flooring in the first place.

Molly made her way into the bathroom in order to change and make herself look somewhat presentable for the long day ahead. It was a Saturday which meant she would be working at the diner for most of the day. However, due to it being a weekend, she would have to drag Jacob along too as the older woman who kindly offered to watch him during the weekdays, was out of town on the weekends.

Almost as soon as she had changed and completed her morning routine, three tiny knocks erupted on the bathroom door. Molly checked her appearance in the shattered mirror on her way past as she pulled the door open and smiled softly at her son. "Good morning." Jacob merely grinned tiredly up at his mother as he rubbed a tiny balled fist over his eye and muttered a good morning in reply. The next ten minutes of the pairs morning were spent making breakfast and eating it. The making part being performed by Molly while the eating was done by Jacob. Together, the pair sat in a comfortable silence as Jacob grinned up at his mother every so often while Molly watched fondly as she waited for him to finish in order for the two to leave.

Once she was satisfied with the amount of food he had eaten, Molly nodded to show Jacob that he could leave the chipped table and find his shoes and his coat. Rather than wasting the time she didn't have washing his bowl up, Molly left it in the sink, making a mental note to clean it later that night.

"Mumma, we takin' the car, yeah?" Jacob called out as he shuffled from foot to foot beside the front door. Molly snorted slightly as she nodded and made her way towards him.

To say it was a car would be a lie. She had given up on telling him that the car was in fact a truck and that it wasn't brand new. Molly often wondered what the old, barely working truck looked like in his eyes. All she saw was a rusty piece of junk that she relied on a little too much to get her from work to home again.

Though the day had started of the same as any old Saturday, as soon as Molly had opened the door, everything went downhill. Her hand slipped over Jacob's eyes as the little boy fought in order to rid himself of his mother's hand while Molly's eyes widened and her mouth fell ajar. Her once semi blue truck had now been sprayed red along with the dirt on the ground and some of the nearby trees.

Muttering for Jacob to go and play in his room, she shut the door closed and flipped the lock over before making her way towards the window and trying to get a good look outside without it being obvious to whoever had done the damage, she was peeking. Though it took her a good few minutes to realize just what the substance was, Molly found it difficult believing it was actually blood.

Not only were the nearest neighbours a good mile away, but in all the time she had lived at the cabin, she had never seen another living person anywhere near the home. However, just as she was about to give up and blame it on a blind deer, her breathing came to a stop as a gasp got stuck in her throat. A woman just beyond the treeline came staggering out into the open looking like she had taken a bath in blood.

Molly ducked lower as her eyes became the only thing that could possibly be seen in the window. She observed the woman for a few minutes, wondering just what was wrong or if she could possibly be faking it in order to gain entry to the cabin and ultimately, try to steal anything she thought to be of value. Molly's brow raised as a snort left her mouth when the woman stumbled into the rear end of her truck and fell on her ass. "Crazy bitch."

"Who there?" Molly jumped as she whipped her head around to see Jacob stood behind her, a broken toy in his hand while he tried to look around her.

"No one, Jake." She replied, risking one last glance at the woman who was struggling to get to her feet. "I need to call in to work, okay? I want you to stay away from the windows and the door, can you do that?" Jacob nodded, indicating he understood what was being asked of him.

Grabbing her phone from her pocket, Molly made her way towards the kitchen in order to put some distance between herself and Jacob. She didn't want to panic the boy in any way and opted for letting him play on the floor. Dialling the all too familiar number onto the keypad of her phone, she pressed call before bringing the phone up to her ear and leaning against the kitchen counter. It rang repeatedly and relentlessly for a few moments until a monotone voice answered declaring that the receiver wasn't able to take the call at that moment. With a small frown, she pulled the phone away from her ear before cancelling the call and opting for the three-digit number that would put her through to emergency services.

The call was answered just after the second ring. However, instead of an actual person, a pre-recorded tape began to place out. "Unfortunately, due to current circumstances, we are unable to direct your call at this time. We urge each and every citizen who has not been in contact with the infected to stay indoors and away from anyone you think may have been infected with the virus. It is protocol that we inform you of a safe zone that is currently up and running in Atlanta. The government and military have given the advice, should it be needed, that citizens should seek out the larger cities for protection. Armed Forces are currently trying to figure out a solution that will benefit all and ask that you rem-"

Molly cut the call as soon as she had heard what was being said. Putting it down to a hoax, she rolled her eyes as she made her way towards Jacob who was laying on his front in the middle of the floor, an open picture book in front of him. "Hey, Jake... We've got the whole day to ourselves!" Jacob gasped as he grinned up at his mother, leaning on his side slightly as he opened his mouth. "Really?"

"Really." Molly nodded, grabbing the book and closing it while she helped him to sit up. "Anything in particular you'd like to do?" He didn't get to think of a reply before a chorus of loud, sloppy knocks erupted on the door. It wasn't until Molly was half-way to the door that she listened to the knocks that had not stopped. To her, it could easily be mistaken as banging.

As Jacob watched curiously as his mother paced her way towards the door, a loud groan filled the air around them. Molly froze instantly, trying not to make a sound as her eyes widened and her heart began to beat uncontrollably. Though she didn't want to admit it, things were beginning to look and sound as though this 'virus' wasn't a hoax after all. Forcing one foot in front of the other, she continued on until she was in front of the door once more.

With a slight bend of her knees, Molly closed one eye and looked through the small, fish-eyed lens that she rarely used. Another gasp was caught in her throat as she noticed the woman who had bumped into her truck at her door. Only this time, she could see every detail her face had to offer.

Her skin was a pale white shade which was certainly uncommon. What with the sun and the heat it gave off, Molly couldn't remember the last time she had seen someone looking so pale. The woman's eyes were bloodshot and cloudy, looking as though she was high on some type of illegal drug. However, as Molly looked beyond all the dirt and blood she was caked in, she could see a part of the woman's shoulder missing. Almost like something or someone had taken a chunk out of it.

Before Molly could spend any more time observing her, the woman seemed to have had enough of her banging and growled slightly before she turned away and began shuffling off. Molly watched her leave and though she tried not to, couldn't help but snort as the woman fell off the porch and into the bushes that hadn't been trimmed in months.

"Jake..." Molly whispered, turning to face him and trying to keep the slight panic from showing on her face. "We're going on a trip."

"What?" He gasped, his voice just as quiet. "Really?"

"Yeah... So, I need you to go to your room and pull your bag from beneath your bed, you know the one I'm talking about, right?" Molly waited as Jacob began to think it over, his brows furrowing her they shot up and he nodded frantically. "I want you to put some clothes into it. Probably just chuck it all in, no need to fold it or anything."

"Okay!" He gasped out, running off as fast as his little legs could take him while Molly followed after him, turning into her own room rather than his. She began to pack her own clothes, pulling her own bag from beneath her bed and following the instructions she had given her son moments prior.

Despite the advice given to her by a pre-recorded voice, Molly wasn't one to sit around and wait. She lived a few miles from Atlanta and knew she could make it there before dark. If she stuck to the roads and avoided leaving the car, she was almost positive the two could make it without bumping into anyone who had been 'infected'.

Once she had packed all the clothes she thought she'd need, Molly brought her bag to the kitchen before she began to pack a good few days worth of food. Despite the fact she'd be in a so called safe zone, she wasn't exactly sure on just how safe it would be. Opting for being over packed rather than under packed, Molly put her arms into the shelf and held her bag under it while shoving every type of canned food she had.

Knowing that she had any and all camping gear she owned in the bed of her truck, Molly zipped the bag up and moved back to the living room, dropping it by the front door. She grabbed her coat and slid it on just as Jacob came out of his room, trying to drag his bag behind him. With a small chuckle, Molly moved forward and grabbed the bag from him before picking her own up and pulling her keys from the inside of her pocket.

Glancing out the window once more, she waited for a few minutes to insure no one was around. Molly glanced towards the bushes to see an indent of a body before she looked towards the road to see the woman shuffling down it, twigs and leaves sticking out her bushy hair from every angle.

"We're going to go straight to the truck, okay?" Molly said, looking down at Jacob with a raised brow. "No jumping in the mud this time, Bud."

"Okay." Jacob mumbled, looking upset at the thought of not being allowed to jump in the mud while his mother loaded the truck.

As soon as the door was pulled open, fresh hair hit Molly like never before. She had always loved being in the open air rather than being confined to soak up the air that resided in her cabin. Molly grinned at the feeling of it as she motioned for Jacob to exit first before she followed, pulling the door shut and locking it behind her. Jacob himself knew something was wrong when instead of putting the bags into the truck first, his mother dropped them by the wheel and opened the passenger door for him to enter first.

Molly helped him up and insured he was buckled into his car seat before checking that the child lock was on and closing the door. With a quick look around, she picked up the bags, dropped them into the bed of the truck and jogged around to the driver's side and entering the truck instantly.

With a final deep sigh and a small grin at Jacob, Molly pushed the key into the ignition and twisted, letting the old engine roar to life. In a matter of seconds, the two were on the road on their way towards Atlanta. Whether her decision to drive to the city rather than stay indoors had been the right one, Molly was about to find out.