Burning Red

The world came into Natasha's view slow and shaky. Her lungs hurt and it felt as if a bomb went off in her head. Her mind had become cluttered and confused as she sat up from the hard asphalt road, the sight in front her was not comforting at all. Cars were crashed and rusting all around and buildings seemed abandoned and ominous. Not to the mention the smell of burnt, rotting flesh.

Something was terribly wrong.

Already on guard, Natasha surveyed her surroundings, checking for any sign of a threat. She slowly stood, her hand settling down on her gun holster, ready to shoot if needed. Her left hand reached to touch her ear piece, activating it.

"This is Agent Romanoff, please respond." She waited, only to be met by a low crackle. It was busted.

Natasha sighed inwardly; this was going to be a problem. She began her way through the wreckage, taking in all the details. It was clear to say that something terrible had happen in the last twenty-four hours. The main problem was that she had no idea what. Her mind seemed to be suppressing the events of the day before. All she knew was that Georgia was seemingly no more.

Natasha turned the corner of the street, pausing when she heard a low moan. Her head flung up in alert and with a snap of her hand, her gun was ready to shoot. A tall, hunched over man, who seemed to be limping made his way towards Natasha. She kept her gun steady.

"Sir, please stay where you are." He didn't, only continued to make his way closer. An agitated glint surfaced in Natasha eyes. "Sir, I repeat, stay put."

He groaned again, only this time, it sounded like a snarl erupting from an animal. Natasha stepped back, never taking her eyes off him. The man lifted his head slowly, baring his rotting teeth and his ripped, burnt, flesh picked skin. Then, he began to run.

Natasha pulled the trigger, a loud crack erupted from the gun and in a second a bullet made its way through the man's skull. Walking slowly and carefully, with her gun at her side, Natasha looked over the man once more. It was strange; he had half his face eaten off and part of his throat ripped out. He should have been dead a long time ago.

Paranoia began to creep its way in, leaving her at high alert. Something was ringing, not like a phone, but the sound of something being banged against metal gates and then there was sharp shriek. And more groans and snarls. Natasha spun around, her eyes locking on to the swarm of seemingly zombiefied people. None of them looked human or alive. They began to come towards her faster, blood lust clear on their mangled faces. Natasha began firing off rounds, marking each one with a bullet in the head.

They didn't slow down; more came, taking the place of the ones who had fallen to the ground. Natasha's heart beat sped up, feeling as if a hammer was pounding in her chest. Her hands would have shaken if she wasn't trained to stay focused and calm. Her gun was running low on ammunition, each bullet that rang through the air she counted in her head. She had no time to reload. It was time to run.

Natasha ran quick and steady; the adrenaline was beginning to pump through her veins. She swung around a few times, shooting the ones who got to close for comfort. It wasn't enough. She turned another corner, only to be met by a fence. She pulled herself over with ease, she wasn't about to let small jumps be a problem. She continued through the alley way, her speed never dwindling. She could hear the sounds of their snarls and cries, if Natasha had been anyone else, the sound might have frozen her in her place.

Natasha sped out into the open road; she could hear the sound of a car engine and the loud ring of an alarm. It was a red blur, coming quick and right at her. She ducked out of the way, before it could hit her or come to a stop. The car skidded on the asphalt and halted in the road. Natasha's gun was raised high.

She moved close to the car, close enough to see in the driver's window. "Quick, get in!"

Natasha turned around briefly, she could hear the low growls in the distant, and it was either this or potentially being mangled to death. She ran around the side and flung the door open, the alarm rung in her ears. The engine rumbled loud and rings through the air. Not doing much help if they were attempting to keep a low profile from the bizarre beings.

With her gun in her hand, Natasha looked over the young man driving, dissecting every detail about him. She ran off a list in her mind. Young, most likely early twenties, of Asian descent, possibly Korean…

"Do you have a name? I'm Glenn." He was slightly nervous but excitement was showing too.

Natasha blinked, "I am Agent Natasha Romanoff."

"Agent? Do you work with the government?" He didn't take his eyes off the road, he didn't dare.

"Not exactly," Her mind seemed to be racing as fast as her heart. She still had no idea what was going on, it was best to play along. Find out as much as possible.

"Oh, uh, I…" He stuttered a nervous sweat ran down his brow. "How did you get caught up in that back there?"

"I was compromised; I wasn't aware of my surroundings at the time and shot made a mistake, a foolish action on my part."

"Did you have a hide out and get run out?"

"You could say that." She needed to get answers. "Where are we going?"

"Oh, a camp, we've been there for a while. We came to the city to get some supplies, we're running low." His hands shook and his speech was fast with thrill but clear.

"We?"

"Yeah, there's a little over twenty of us. There are some other guys behind us too. We've kind of banded together. It helps, somewhat."

Natasha nodded her head, a finger tapping on the barrel of her gun. She looked out the window; they were coming to a turn.

"We're almost there, quicker than usual, thanks to the car. The others shouldn't be that far behind."

They stopped after a few sharp turns and skids. Natasha could see people rushing up to the car, mostly a blond girl with a panicked face. She could hear their muffled voices through the windows."

"My sister, where's sister? Is she okay?"

"Turn that damn thing off!"

"I don't know how," it looked as if he was having the time of his life.

"Pop the hood!"

The alarms shut off abruptly, leaving a strange silence in the air. Natasha opened the door and stepped out. Everyone's eyes shifted towards her.

"Who may this be?" The older man asked, looking at her carefully.

Just as Glenn was about to speak, Natasha swiftly cut him off. "Agent Romanoff. Natasha Romanoff."

Before anyone else could get in, a white van pulled in, stealing away the attention. The young blond girl who had been crying out before is running towards another, a woman, who grips her tight and doesn't let go.

Then everything seems a bit slow, a man, dressed in a policeman uniform, (small-town cop, Natasha deducts) looks choked up as he makes his way towards everyone. The dark-haired woman and the boy with her look up, their face are full of shock and awe. The boy smiles and cries out.

"Dad! Dad!"

It's a nice moment, even Natasha can see it. Even if Stark still thinks she can't feel anything.

Surprisingly, they accept her in(Shane still looks at her wearily), a little foolish on their part Natasha thinks but then again she doesn't know the full story of what going on. It's a little while later when they're all sat together, the sun had gone down and a chill is in the air. Natasha hardly feels it through the thick material of her SHIELD uniform.

Rick Grimes is bunched up with his family, telling his story, how he got here. Natasha is still trying to wrap her head around the fact of Zombies (or Walkers as they call them), she knows enough to know that it didn't just happen overnight. It's been weeks. The explosion must have done more damage than she thought, trapped in another universe. Honestly, stranger things had happened. The attack on New York was still a fresh wound in her mind.

"Ms. Romanoff, how'd you run into Glenn?" The older man, Dale, asks.

"I ran into a Walker and mistakenly shot at him. Dozens were after me in a minute." She knows better than to tell the exact truth, she doesn't know what it will do to this world. "I ran through a few alley ways and found myself in front of his speeding car."

"Nice going, Glenn. Almost run the girl over." It comes from Amy, she laughs lightly.

"Where are you from anyway?"

"New York."

"Long way from home, isn't it?"

Natasha nods.

"Well, what are we going to do about Daryl Dixon?"

A/N: I hope you all enjoy this first chapter and like what more is to come. If you have any thoughts or constructive criticism drop me a review or message me. If you don't like or feel like a certain character is being portrayed the right way, let me know. I want to keep everyone the same as they are in their original series as much as possible, while adding my own twist. Remember, some characters will change by the new environment or plot I throw at them. So if they seem odd, they're most likely supposed to be that way.