February 24th 1989.

The day that everything changed.

Lizzy could still remember it like it was yesterday, when Derry went into lockdown. At first, she thought that it was because there was an influx in missing kids but these missing kids were showing up on the outskirts of town. Dead but alive. Like rotting, living corpses.

There was no name for them. Some called them walkers, others called them biters. But no matter what name they were given, everybody knew what the person was referring to and that they shouldn't be messed with. Frankie had made the mistake of underestimating them, rolling her eyes at Debbie's warnings about leaving town after dark to meet up with her boyfriend Victor. She got what was coming to her. Lizzy found her a month later, a chunk ripped out of her throat and glazed grey eyes. Her walking corpse was frail and gnarly, she almost tried to spare her sister for a while just to get one last good look at her. Just to see what it'd look like if she was one of them.

This was about a month after Lizzy was forced to go on the run. Debbie tried to defend her remaining sister when the dead overran the town but it wasn't enough. She died in their kitchen, screaming for Lizzy to run.

She didn't sleep for a good while. Partially due to the fear of being killed in the night by the walkers and also because she literally couldn't perform the task. Her mind replayed Debbie's death on repeat and there was nothing she could do about it. Her only weapon was a butterfly knife her sister had given her for protection when the warnings started coming up around town. Lizzy had no one, it was just her and her knife.

There was nothing she could do. Of course she could hotwire a car but she had no idea how to drive and no way was she gonna risk crashing the car and killing herself. Derry was deserted and Lizzy couldn't just simply ask for help or safe passage. The girl had seen some of her closest neighbours turn into those things, heard their screams in the night as she sat in her dark attic with the lights off. Lizzy hated herself for how much she took that safety for granted. Sure, the sleeping bags were uncomfortable but they were safe and in a familiar environment. So, Lizzy drifted from house to house, ransacking supplies which had been surprisingly left behind. She soon learned she would just have to push down the guilt of killing the people she once considered to be friends and family. They weren't there anymore.

It wasn't until three months in she found another person.

Once Lizzy had enough courage to ransack the Hanlon farm, she went for it. Only to find one person still resided there.

Lizzy remembered seeing Mike around town but hadn't learned his name until they were aiming weapons at each other.

"Who the fuck are you?" He questioned her, the bolt gun pressed against her forehead. "I'm Lizzy fuckin' Dwyer. Who the fuck are you?" She rebutted, still holding the knife to his throat. Mike slowly dropped his gun, staring right into her eyes. Her knife was lowered from his throat in return as he unexpectedly wrapped the girl in a hug. Liz was frozen on the spot, not quite sure whether to hug back or awkwardly stand there.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm Mike. Mike Hanlon. You're the first person I've seen in forever." He apologised, tears forming in his eyes. Lizzy nodded at him, "Don't apologise. I understand. I've been alone too." She tried her hardest to comfort him, but her voice was coated in a coldness that had developed from her loneliness. Mike understood, and hesitantly looked behind her, scared that a roamer could've followed her.

"Lemme take you back to the house, we can talk properly." He lightly rubbed her arm in reassurance and gestured in the direction of the main house. It was large and painted white, as if it was a beacon of hope in a world tainted by darkness. Something about it made Lizzy feel safe. Like for the first time in a while something was going in the right direction. She'd only said a few words to Mike and already their bond was evident. Liz could tell she could trust him.

The farm was protected by an electric fence normally used to stop the livestock from running away. Beside the house were graves with wooden crosses poking out of the ground.

He'd given her a bed to rest on and a hot shower. That was all she needed.

Mike had done his best to keep some of the farm running by himself, the water was purified and safe. It was like his own private safe haven. Lizzy was grateful he'd even let her come with him.

"It started with my grampa getting sick. I thought it'd be ok but then it just kept getting worse and worse. It hit its peak just as this whole thing happened." They were sitting face to face. Mike was picking away at the food on his plate.
"He died. I was gonna bury him, but when I went up to the room. He was-" Mike stopped himself as he felt tears start to pour. The memories were too much for him and he clenched his fist. Lizzy reached out and held his hand, she understood. He regained his composure and took a moment to find his words.

"He was one of those things. But he hadn't been bitten. That's the thing. Everybody turns." Lizzy's eyes widened as his revelation, he looked guilty but it needed to be said. This new world was evil and danger lurked around every corner. They had to keep their wits about them.
"This farm is probably gonna last for another week or so. The generator is busted and could give out anytime soon. I was planning on leaving, you're welcome to come. I have a key to the butchers so we could get stuff from there." He finished, finally going back to his food.

"The town is mostly untouched. As soon as we leave we should get stuff from Keene's, like medical supplies." Without even saying yes, Lizzy had made a pact with Mike. They had to look out for each other. No one else was. It was like they were the only living people left in Derry.

After a bit of getting to know each other, they felt safe in each other's company. Mike directed Lizzy to her room and went to shut the door.

"Wait," She stopped him. He turned to look at her, his ears perked in anticipation.
"Could you stay here? Just for tonight." Mike could tell it was her first time in a proper bed and he completely understood. The bed was spacious and could easily fit two people on it without it being too awkward. He'd given her a loan of an old pair of pyjamas that were the most comfortable thing she'd worn in a long time.

"What was home life like for you before this whole thing happened?" He asked Liz, turning around to face her properly.

"I had a mom and a dad. Two sisters too. As soon as it started seeming serious mom and dad got up and left us." She started her story, trying to go all the way back to when this mess started.

"We didn't hear from them so Debbie took over parental duty. We were holed up in our house for about a week or two. My twin, she went missing after sneaking out one night. My older sister died protecting me. I couldn't do anything to help her." A tear fell down her face as she quickly wiped it away, his heart hurt for the vulnerable girl.
"I found my twin later. She had turned into a walker, I had to put her down." Lizzy couldn't help the wave of tears pouring freely from her eyes. She hadn't sat down and thought about everything like this before.

"Well you've got me now. And I've got you." He reassuringly rubbed her arm in a way a best friend does after a bad break up. Only this wasn't a break up. This was the apocalypse itself rolling into Derry.

The week went by fairly quickly and by the end of it Mike and Lizzy were as thick as thieves.

When the time came and the generator stopped working, they packed up their stuff and moved on. They hopped on their bikes with the backpacks on and rode into the barren town, feeling panicked when they rode past some of the infected.

Keene's Pharmacy stood there like nothing had even happened at all. The door was opened and the shelves were fairly untouched, the duo almost let their guard down until they heard that they weren't alone in this establishment. Mike got the gun ready and Lizzy flicked out her knife, they steadily approached the noise. With a nod to plan their attack they kept out only to be met with a short haired ginger girl gathering feminine products.

Lizzy noticed this as Beverly Marsh, a girl from some of her classes in school. They all were a bit startled but nodded at each other in knowing. Liz lightly placed her hand on Mike's arm indicating that she wasn't a threat. "You're alive?" Lizzy asked the girl, they'd been pally with each other back before the infection hit.

"Yeah. I'm only dead on the inside." The ginger shrugged, Liz smirked - glad that the girl was still able to make jokes.
"Bev, this is Mike. Mike, this is Beverly - Bev for short." She introduced the two of them. Beverly shook his hand. "Pleased to meet another survivor."
He nodded in agreement, "Likewise, Beverly."

Mike had heard rumours about her before the apocalypse but none of them mattered now. His main concern was keeping his new friends alive.

"Where've you been all this time?" Liz questioned her, she knew Bev didn't come from a good house and Alvin certainly wouldn'tve stayed sane during all of this.
"I've been a lot of places. Right now I've made a camp down at the Barrens. Bill Denbrough and Ben Hanscom are there too. You know them?" Liz nodded and turned to Mike hopefully. She raised her eyebrows in a way that told him 'we should go with her'.

"Mind if we tag along?" He asked Bev, getting the hint from Liz. Beverly nodded and slightly smiled, "It'll be good to have more people around. Especially a girl."

And so, they went with her back to the Barrens. A small camp had been set up and although out in the open, it looked safe. For the time being anyway.

Bill Denbrough was standing guard and his eyes widened at the sight of Beverly returning with two others in tow. "L-Lizzy?"

"It's me. The one and only." He ran up and hugged her, they'd been friends since childhood. His initial smile wore out.
"They killed Georgie."

When night came, Beverly explained that she (along with Ben and Bill) had been some of the first to reach the evacuation point. It all went downhill when it was revealed her dad was harbouring a bite. Ben took her in with him and his mom and the two became close. All was going fine for a while until the walkers came to the point, during this attack Georgie had been bitten and his arm was ripped off by the creatures. Bill wouldn't let his little brother go through the pain of turning, so he shot him in the head. His parents grew depressed and killed themselves, he joined Ben, Bev and his mom until Ben's mom was bitten too. She left in the middle of the night so they wouldn't have to kill her or see her turn.

So it was just three of them.

Now 5.

A week or two went past (not that the kids were keeping track of time anymore) and they were joined by three more survivors.

Stanley Uris was the first to make himself known, it had been agreed prior that if anything ever went wrong (if they were getting chased by Bowers or what not) they'd meet at this secluded part of the Barrens. It had took him a while but he'd finally made it after taking up refuge in the old Tracker Bros baseball park. In tow with him was Eddie Kaspbrak. A small asthmatic boy who Lizzy was fond of.
Stan had been staying in the synagogue with his family and the towns people but after one of the refugees were revealed to have been bitten and turned, chaos erupted.

Eddie had been blocked in his house, his mother went into full on paranoia mode and wouldn't let him leave his room. It wasn't until he noticed she wasn't making her routine trips to his room he finally built up the courage to leave. He found her in their living room, turned into a walker.
His first kill was his own mother.

That left Richie Tozier. He was also with the boys but he'd been the one to rescue Eddie from his house and explain what the fuck was going on.

Lizzy never ever found out what Richie went through during the start of the apocalypse and she didn't want to know. All she did know was that it made him a little more thoughtful when it came to what he said. A little more quiet.

Something sparked in Lizzy as soon as she saw him. A sense of relief that she hadn't felt since seeing Mike.

The girl practically lept onto him. He was her best friend before this all happened, she had been terrified if he was still alive or not, just as he'd been the same for her.

"Holy shit- Liz!" He held her tightly, not believing the girl in front of him was the real deal.

"I've missed you, Trashmouth." Liz smiled at him, tears starting to form.

The entire night they stuck together like glue. Lizzy even offered to share her tent with him. He gladly accepted, obviously.

"I just want you to know, I thought about you everyday." He stroked her head as she was wrapped in his arms. Richie stunk but they all did, you didn't get many proper baths unless a trip to the quarry counted.

"Really?" She propped herself up on her elbows and turned to face him. Lizzy wouldn't have been lying if she'd said she'd thought about him too. How much she'd wish she'd told him how she really felt.

"Yeah. Sometimes six times." He winked, making her laugh and roll her eyes. It was the first time she'd laughed in so long.

"You're gross." Liz went back to lying down and turned away from him, wrapping herself in the blankets to protect her from the cold of the night. "You love it." He laughed, playfully flirting with her. Richie had been in love with his best friend for longer than he could even remember. She was the sole reason he'd kept fighting through this whole thing. The thought of her still being alive and getting back to her was like heaven on earth.

"I do." Liz replied, a serious tone creeping in on her voice.
"You do?" He perked up, unsure if she was joking around or not.
"I do." She repeated, reaching down to hold his hand beneath the blankets. It was like a jolt of energy had blasted through each of their bodies.

"I love you Richie."

"I love you Lizzy."

Lizzy wished that was how their first night back together went. Instead, the boy shut himself off from the others. Didn't talk to anyone, not even her. The silence made her uncomfortable. This wasn't Richie.

Some nights she'd cry thinking about the things that could've happened to the boy she loved. The horrible, horrible things that made him go from the biggest chatterbox in America to a quiet loner.

He let her weep into his shoulder and hold him under the moonlight as they thought about the possibility of a biter's teeth chomping down on them and ending it all.

Some nights, he'd hold her back.

Some nights, he'd whisper sweet nothings into her ear and just for a little while it would all seem alright.
His glasses had a little crack in them and his skin was a little paler. But it was still the boy she loved. And she loved him so so much.
He loved her too. But everyone he loved died.

It started with Stan. They found his body down by the Kenduskeag and a note beside him. He'd shot himself in the head to prevent coming back from the dead.
Eddie went next. He was bit on the arm and they offered to amputate but he just couldn't do it. He died in Richie's arm's, stabbed in the head by the boy he considered to be an older brother.

All Lizzy could do was cry. She cried until she couldn't cry anymore. Richie wanted to make her smile more than anything, but in this world that just wasn't possible anymore.