Disclaimer: I don't own The Walking Dead or any of the characters associated with it. They all belong to Robert Kirkman. I do, however, own any of the original characters who you may not recognize. Although I wish I were, no money is being made from this. This is for entertainment purposes only.

Chapter One

Caught Red Handed

Peering through the bushes from her spot in the shade, Lara watched the activity on the farm through her binoculars. At the uncomfortable feeling of sweat rolling down the side of her face, she hastily ran the back of her hand across her forehead as she cursed the unbearably hot, humid, Georgian climate.

I'd do anything for a breeze right now... When the tall trees above her remained as still as statues and gave no indication that they had heard her silent plea, she heaved a sigh. Quickly glancing over her shoulder danger, her tense shoulders relaxed as she found nothing before returned the binoculars to her face.

Green eyes stared out across the field, towards the farm where an old white house sat perched next to a large red barn. A large shed and chicken coop sat nestled on either side of the house and before it were several tents and an old, large, dirty Winnebago RV.

Focusing in on the living area and where the most activity seemed to be happening, she looked for anything items of interest.

Normally she would stay away from other groups...other people in general, experience having taught her that they could often be a greater danger than the biters that roamed the area. But her depressingly light and nearly empty backpack reminded her that if she didn't find water, food and potentially weapons soon, then she wouldn't be able last much longer.

Scanning the area, she shook her head at the group before her; they had left food and supplies out in the open, and there was little deterrent. Too complacent, and by the looks of it, this group has plenty of food to spare.

Noting the blonde woman on guard duty, perched on top of the Winnebago with a rifle resting across her lap, she returned her gaze to the group of people who were hanging around in front of one of the trucks. Realizing that they must all be looking at a map or something, she tried to take count of how many people there were in the camp.

Maybe ten...eleven people? Possibly more in the house. Pausing, she forced herself to shrug off the sudden indecision that washed through her. I'll only take a little bit. She nodded to herself. They might not even notice it's gone. Trying to squash the sliver of guilt that was trying to worm its way into her mind at the thought of stealing from a potentially innocent group, she shook her head harshly. Focus Lara! It's you or them now. Besides you won't be taking much...

Before the end, Lara had never been one to even considering stealing from another human being. Having grown up with strict, but honest parents she knew the difference between right and wrong better than most of her peers, and in the beginning it had made her queasy even thinking of taking food from those who would no longer eat it...or at least no longer eat human food. But over time, as desperation, and realization set in, she knew that the line between right and wrong started to blur: you did what you had to for survival.

The table between all the tents seemed to be her safest bet, there was food and other supplies lying scattered across the surface. Easy. Run out, quickly fill the bag, then haul ass back to the trees. No sweat! Despite her self reassurance, she couldn't quite stop the nervous bounce of one of her another quick scan, her eyes caught sight of a black duffel bag sitting on the hood of one of the other cars.

Bingo. Laying out in the open was a bag full of guns, and from the shape of the bag there could be quite a bit of ammunition in there as well. No way I'm this lucky...Food and water was one thing, but weapons in this world were rare and extremely hard to come by. They are what kept you alive. People who had them, kept them, not giving them up unless they were dead or dying. Or someone comes along a steals them. I'm just going to have to find a way to get over to that bag.

Movement from the main group caught her attention, and she watched their discussion get more heated. From their agitated movements and unhappy expressions she guessed that everything wasn't alright within the group.

The discussion quickly came to an end, a taller man and one of the others hoping into one of the trucks as the others moved away. The engine roared to life, and the truck pulled away from the house, heading down the gravel road away from the farm. The rest of the group started to disperse, some returning to various tasks, while some of the others entered the house. A man with a shaved head called over a black guy over, and they headed out towards a mound of smoking bodies. It looked like they'd had a bunch of biters wander through their camp recently and were getting rid of the bodies before they really started to reek.

Well, this will be easier with a couple of them gone. Lara hummed. All I need to do is sneak in while no one is looking, grab some stuff. Get the guns and make a break for it. Should be easy, right? Lara knew that things always sounded better in her head then they happened in real life. Things hardly ever went to plan in this new world; a world where rules no longer existed.

Knowing that she could spend the rest of the day trying to convince herself to move, she decided that now was as good a time as ever. The group was dispersed, and it would be better to be long gone before the other two guys in the truck returned from wherever they had decided to go.

Sliding her backpack off her shoulder, she stuffed the binoculars into the bag before withdrawing her bottle of water. Swirling the pathetic contents at the bottom, she took a small sip, feeling the warm water slide down her dry throat and into her empty stomach. Definitely need some food soon...

At the thought, she cringed as her stomach let out a loud growl, the sound seeming to reverberate in the area around her, and peered over her shoulder self-consciously to make sure she hadn't attracted anything unwanted. If I don't get some food soon, I'm going to start sounding like those biters...these guys would shoot me before I even stepped foot on the premises.

Packing away her water, she stood up, swinging the pack onto her back, before adjusting the straps in case she needed to run. Checking once more for any biters in the area, she started making her way towards the house.

Keeping just inside the tree line, she curved her way around the property, each step bringing her closer to the old white house. As she walked, she tried to keep an eye on what everyone was doing, especially the woman on the RV, knowing that if she was caught she would need to get out of the area as quick as possible. Fortunately, she was staring off down the road which the truck had driven down not too long beforehand.

As she moved closer to the house, she slowed her approach in an effort to reduce the crunch of leaves and branches beneath her feet. Finally arriving at the edge of the forest closest to the house, she wiped her suddenly uncomfortably sweaty palms on her brown cargo pants, realizing that she was quite nervous about sneaking into this camp.

Especially after the last time you encountered a large group...

The thought halted all her movement forward and she swallowed hastily.

Come on Lara. You can do this. They aren't like the other group...they can't be. Most people aren't like that. Besides, you need supplies, and they have supplies. Plus they can't be doing too badly if they are just leaving their weapons out in the open like that, can they? She tried reassuring herself as she worried her lip. You can do this.

Feeling slightly more encouraged at the thought she took a deep breath and slowly crept out of the safety of the trees, dashing to the shadowed area right between the house and the chicken coop, the clucking and scratching of the chickens hopefully covering any sounds she made.

Moving gingerly, Lara could feel the adrenaline kick in; bringing all her senses into focus and becoming very aware of the ridiculous danger she was placing herself in. As she neared the porch near the front of the house, she peered up onto the deck checking to make sure the coast was clear and looking for the easiest route to the bag of guns.

Judging the distance, she figured her best bet would be to make a mad dash, grab the bag and make a beeline to the trees before anyone was the wiser. Quickly taking note that all the people in the group seemed to be in the house or near the barn, she took a breath as she realized that this was her chance.

Come on Lara! You can do this.

Taking a slow deep breath, she glanced around one last time, and finding no one in the immediate vicinity, pushed herself away from the house and sprinted for the bag.

Adrenaline pumping through her system, and her feet barely feeling like they were touching ground, she rapidly covered the distance to the bag sitting invitingly on the truck. Skidding to a stop, she looped her arms through the straps of the bag as fast as she could before trying to haul the bag off the hood.

Shit, this thing is heavy! She cursed herself for not having thought about it before. You idiot! Of course it's heavy. Guns are not exactly made of Styrofoam!

She had only made a few steps back towards the safety of the trees, when a female shout behind her sent her heart plummeting deep into the pit of her stomach.

The woman on the RV had seen her.

Double shit.

Glancing over her shoulder she found the black guy and his companion with the shaved head sprinting towards her, a worryingly gun shaped item in hand. Time to go, time to go!

Realizing she had been caught, and that she wouldn't be able to get away if she tried to take the guns, she decided that her life was worth more if she were actually still alive. Dropping the bag with a thud, she sprinted as fast as her legs would carry her, back the way she'd came, towards the safety of the forest. The shouting and commotion was drawing more attention, and out of the corner of her eye she could see more people peering out of windows and the front door, probably wondering what was going on.

Each breath left her chest in a panicked gasp as she pushed her legs until they burnt from the exertion. Tearing across the lawn she glanced over her shoulder once again, towards the two men giving chase and she realized that they were catching up.

Move! She thought, fear pumping through her veins, as she pushed her body to the limits. They won't catch you! They can't!

Startled chickens fluttered about their cage as she dashed passed them toward the edge of the house, and more importantly, the tree line. As the trees came in sight, a sense of safety slowly returned to her. Once you get to the trees, you can lose them! All you need to do is just make it! Just kee-

All thoughts fled from her mind as something crashed into her with the force of a train, sending her tumbling to the ground. Pain seared through her ribs as she rolled to a stop. For a moment, the world swirled around her rapidly and she could do nothing except try to catch the breath which had been harshly forced out of her.

Eyes snapping open and heart leaping to her throat, she realized that someone had just tackled her. Despite the pain her entire body seemed to be in, she tried scrambling to her feet, intending to escape to the safety of the trees. But before she could get her arms and legs fully under her, something collided painfully with her side flipping her onto her back. Stars exploded before her eyes as she gasped for the breath that wouldn't come, curling in on herself as she tried to protect what she was sure were now broken ribs. Bile rose in the back of her throat and tears welled up in the corner of her eyes as she wheezed and coughed.

As her vision swam back into focus, a new man leaned over and grasped her hair, his grip tight enough that she gasped in pain as he forcefully yanked her head back.

The feel of cool metal pressing on her now exposed throat had her freezing in place, despite the overwhelming urge to fight off her attacker and flee for her life.

All she could do as she lay in pain, gasping for air, was stare up into the angry blue eyes of the person above her.

"Who the hell are you!?"

A/N: Hello, Ladies and Gentlemen!

Welcome! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of my very first fanfiction!

This will eventually, and by eventually I mean quite a few chapters away, going to be a Daryl/OC story. I have to warn you that it going to be quite a slow burn in the beginning, as all of us know that Daryl isn't going to be the guy who just jumps into a relationship.

This story will generally follow the storyline of the TV show, although I will do my best to keep it original. Admit it; no one wants another story which repeats the same old plotline. I will warn you, there are going to be other OC's other than Lara, but all the main characters from the TV show will make an appearance!

Criticism is more than welcome! I am new to writing, so if you have suggestions on how I can improve or see mistakes in the story, then I am all ears. This is a learning experience for me, and I'd like to have fun doing it!

So what did you think? Love it, hate it? Send me a review or a PM and let me know!

Thanks for reading!

KatieBees