Safe and Sound

Chapter 1: The Best Day

"Happy Homecoming!" Abigail said as she hugged Grace tightly around the waist. Grace giggled softly as her red-headed friend squeezed the life out of her.

"We're finally seniors, Abby!" She squealed in excited, brushing some of her blonde hair out of her eyes and Abby released her.

"And someone's finally turning eighteen!" Abby exclaimed.

Grace smiled. Because of the excitement of her first senior dance she had completely forgotten that today was her birthday. She hugged Abby once more, not quite sure how to convey her excitement.

"Do you know what this means?!" Abby said. "You might be able to get us into some clubs in Atlanta!"

Grace giggled. Abby has always been obsessed with finally getting in to the 18+ clubs in the city that wasn't that far from their own small town. But she doubted her conservative mother and father would let her even think about going to the city at night, especially without them there. She knew of the dangers, but she knew she could handle herself. Growing up next the woods, her dad had taught her all sorts of survival tricks. She knew how to handle a gun and a knife. She also knew how to set up some nasty traps, not that it would help her much in the city. She never actually had to use any-she was much too squeamish to accompany her dad on hunting trips.

"As if my father would let me." She laughed letting her friend go again.

Abby just smirked, "What he doesn't know won't hurt him!"

Grace just shook her head and Abby smiled once more before going to talk to a few other people at the pre-party she was throwing at her house.

Grace walked away also; making her way into the nearest bathroom to glance at herself in the mirror and make sure everything was perfect for the homecoming pictures. Her blues eyes were lined perfectly with some eyeliner and mascara. Her high cheekbones had been emphasized by some bronzer and her small nose powered to not be oily. The few freckles she had on her face stood out against her light sun-kissed skin and her long, blonde hair fell in delicate curls around her face. Everything was perfect.

She glanced at the full length mirror hanging on the door. She was wearing a one-shoulder dress that flowed perfectly down her tall frame. It was light lavender. It was plain except for the few darker purple flowers that decorated the top. She looked like the perfect Southern gem.

Suddenly Abby barged into the bathroom, a grin on her face.

"Oh Grace, Bobby just arrived." She said.

Grace's face lit up, her cheeks turning red as she exited the bathroom. Bobby, with his dark hair and stunning blue eyes had been her crush since freshmen year. He hadn't paid much attention to her, but lately she had caught his attention and she was hoping tonight would be the night he asked her to be his girlfriend.

She fiddled with her necklace once she caught sight of him. He caught her gaze and gave her a smile.

Tonight would be perfect, she decided. Absolutely perfect.

She didn't know how long she'd been in the forest for. Judging by the hunger pains in her stomach and the horrible state of her hair-she'd say probably several days. Ever since she had discovered the dead were horrible at climbing, she'd been sticking to staying in the trees by the creek only coming down when she needed to some water or needing to pee. She wouldn't last much longer up here, not without food anyways and she knew she had to try and find civilization or go back to town soon. But Grace didn't know if she could face it. If the government had managed to control the area, there was bound to be dead bodies littering the floor everywhere. And what if they hadn't helped yet? There could be more of those….of those things walking around waiting to feast on the nearest living thing.

She let out a sigh and brushed her dirty hair from her face. She would try and last out here in the forest where only a few of those things resided until she absolutely had to go back. Hopefully, by then everything would be sorted out. All she wanted was to go back. Back to the day before all this happened, when she knew she was safe. When all Grace had to worry about was how she was going to do her hair for homecoming-when she could see my parents whenever she wanted-tell them she loved them…

Those thoughts were wiped from her mind when she heard a twig snap nearby.

"Merle, keep ya' fat ass quiet. Yer scarin' the squirrels away." Someone with a strong Georgia accent hissed.

Grace froze in her stop, trying to conceal herself with the surrounding branches and leaves.

"Yer face has been scarin' them away this whole time." The other person, Merle she assumed, yelled back.

By the sounds of their footsteps they were getting closer.

The other person never replied and they kept getting closer. She pushed herself against the tree, trying to make herself as flat as a board as she heard them only a few feet away. She tried to quiet her breathing as she caught sight of them. There were only two of them. One appeared to be as old as maybe forty with thinning light blonde hair and the beginnings of a beer belly. The other looked younger, maybe a few years older than her with darker hair and grim all over his face. In his hand he carried a crossbow instantly making him appear as a threat. She squeezed her eyes shut and prayed they didn't see her.

She heard them stop right below the tree she was hiding on.

"Looks like none of them squirrels came out to play today." The one with the crossbow said.

They went silent and she continued to push herself flat against the tree, holding her breath and squeezing her eyes shut.

"Well, wouldja' look at that." The one named Merle said, "I think I've found the biggest squirrel I've ever seen!"

She peeked her eyes opened and almost fell out of the tree in shock as she caught his gaze. The one with the crossbow whipped around, pointing his weapon up to where she was sitting. This time she did let out a little gasp and prepared herself for the impact of the arrow which would no doubt kill her. But it never came. She opened her eyes again to see them both staring at her with the crossbow still raised.

"What's a pretty thing like ya' doin' up there?" The older one chuckled while the younger one merely glared at her.

Grace stayed quiet.

"What if she's a walker man?" Crossbow said.

"Ya' know them walkers don't climb no trees." Merle said.

"What if she's different?"

"Why don't ya' come down from up there, girl?" Merle yelled up to her.

She was still unsure if she should trust these people. Ever since the world went to hell, she wasn't sure whether this people were looking to help or looking for…well she didn't even want to know. Besides, that guy with the crossbow did not look in any way friendly. His face was twisted in a scowl, dirt covering his cheeks and his hair soaked with sweat. The man next to him had a smile on his face, but it was like a look a predator would give its prey.

"She's not sayin' anything, Merle." Crossbow said. "It's probably one of them walkers that got themselves stuck up in some tree and can't get down to eat us. I say we just kill it."

"Maybe she's just shy, brother." Merle winked. Grace felt a chill roll down her spine.

Suddenly, an arrow whizzed by her ear, almost piercing her head when it came to a stop-stuck in the tree bark right next to her. She let out a small scream and then glared down at the guy with the crossbow.

"Are you trying to kill me?" She gasped, grasping onto the tree branch she was sitting on for dear life. She was definitely not coming down now.

"So ya' do have a voice." Crossbow muttered, lowering his arrow. "Why don't ya' get the fuck outta that tree and come down here?"

"Yeah girl, we can take ya' to our campsite." Merle said.

"You just tried to shoot me. Why should I go with you?" Grace asked.

"Well it's either come with us or stay up in that tree and let them walkers get to ya'." Crossbow said.

Grace fiddled with her blonde hair and she weighed her option. They had mentioned a campsite. Possibly a campsite that held other survivors-maybe even people from her town…

"You mentioned a campsite?" She asked.

"Yeah we got ourselves one of those. There's other women there-a girl yer age too." Merle said.

A girl her age? Maybe someone from her town was there. With some hope in her heart, she decided to go with these strange men.

She started to climb down when Crossbow's voice stopped her.

"Mind grabbin' my arrow?" He asked-though it sounded more like a demand. She tried to rip the arrow from the tree but it was stuck in pretty deep. She bit her lip and tugged on it with all her weight. The arrow finally came out of the tree but so suddenly that Grace wasn't prepared and it threw her right off the branch she was sitting on. She let out a little scream as she fell towards the ground. Her long dress got stuck on the rough tree and ripped a huge hole mid thigh. Her back smacked against the hard ground of the forest knocking all the air out of her. She laid there for a moment to collect her breath as she heard laughter around her.

Grace slowly stood up and dusted herself off, glaring at the men laughing at her.

Crossbow chuckled as he plucked the arrow from her small hand, "What the hell were ya' doin' in a dress like that when shit hit the fan?"

She glared at him harder and huffed, "I was at my school's homecoming dance."

She sighed a little as she thought back to that day…

It was suppose to be the best day…the best day of her life.

"Looks like we got ourselves a teeny-bopper!" Merle laughed.

"I am not a teeny-bopper! I'm eighteen!" She huffed again.

Merle and Crossbow just laughed some more, "No need to pout that pretty lil' face."

She fought the urge to roll her eyes and ignored his comment. She bent down a little and glanced at her ruined dress that had cost her a fortune. She bit back a groan as she caught sight of the hole. She grabbed the end of the hole and tugged off the lower piece of the dress that was hanging off leaving the dress about half way up her thigh.

"Sorry 'bout yer dress, lil' lady." Merle said, "I'm sure one of them girls back at camp has something ya' can wear."

With that said, the two men started off and Grace trailed behind them.

Shane was the first to catch sight of the Dixon brothers chatting up as a strangler followed in behind them. He glanced at their companion. She looked young, maybe still a teenager. She had long, light blonde hair and skin the color of cream. She was wearing some fancy dress that looked torn, bloody and dirty. She wasn't in much better shape either.

"When we sent you out huntin', I didn't mean for people." Shane said as the trio walked into the campsite.

"Found this lil' bird on our way back." Merle bit back, "Figured a lil' lady like her shouldn't be alone in the woods."

Shane sighed but had to agree with him. She was small and didn't look like she could survive much on her own. It was a wonder she made it this long.

"What's your name, girl?" Shane asked, sounding harsher than he met. The girl glanced up at him with scared blue eyes.

"Grace." She muttered, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Grace, you said?" Shane said, "Well welcome to our camp I suppose."

She nodded at him, glancing around. She saw a few people come out of their tents to see what the ruckus was. There was a little boy who appeared to be nine or ten with a mop of brown hair and a sweet little face. Behind him was his mother, she supposed, with the same brown hair. There were a few more people- a family of four it seemed a few ways off and another family of three. By an old RV were an old, friendly looking man and two girls with blonde hair who looked related. There was a bigger black man standing next to an Asian boy who looked her age.

"There's not much room here and it doesn't look like you have your own tent on you." Shane said lightly, "But I'm sure the Dixon brothers or Glenn have some room they can spare."

He gestured towards the two men who had brought her in and the Asian boy who gave her a small smile. She looked back at the two Dixons. The older one shot her a wink that gave her the chills while the younger one just stared at her with his heavy stare. She decided to walk towards Glenn as the boy seemed nicer than the two brothers.

While she walked to him the camp went back to whatever they had been doing when she got there.

"Grace, is it?" The asian boy, Glenn said, holding out his hand.

She nodded and gave him a small smile, "Glenn, right?"

He nodded back.

"I guess I'll show you my tent. It's not much, but it's better than staying with those Dixon guys." He said.

She had to agree with him. The older one, Merle, struck a wrong cord inside her and the younger one just appeared mean. She glanced back at him for a moment, wondering what his name could possibly be since everyone kept calling them the Dixon brothers. He caught her staring and just look at her with that rough attitude of his. He smirked at her suddenly and held up a dead, gutted squirrel which instantly tested her gag reflexes.

Maybe she wasn't so curious now.

Author's Note: So I hope you guys enjoyed the beginning of the story(: Leave a review and let me know how you feel so far! I don't want to make Grace seem too innocent or young, but she is still a bit naïve about everything that's been happening since she did pull a Katniss and decide to live in the trees for a while ;) Anyways, Daryl is freaking sexy and I can't wait to get this story going! Till next time(: