"What's so funny, hunny bunny?"

Twenty Years Later

Here is where everything lies. The entire world deceives you in ways you can't even imagine. People roam this place as if they were trying to hang on to whatever they could.

That's all everyone's doing now.

They do what they do not because they like it but because they have to. Once you get your head in the game you realize how much you're actually capable of.

You go around in circles trying to figure out where the maze ends but it never does. It just encloses into itself until it drowns you in rose thorns where it bleeds you out.

Unless, you can make you're own end; then that's when it changes.

The trick to staying alive is staying who you are no matter what. You can change, you can kill, you can hunt but you can't forget that little hint of humanity that lies deep down inside all of us.

If you get rid of that then you're pretty much already dead.

That night when Sarah died changed everything. The entire scene replays in my mind almost fifty times a day. It's even worse when I fall asleep.

Dad never liked talking about her and neither did I. We always kept our feelings to ourself to the point where it ruined our prefect relationship. It wasn't something that could be fixed anymore.

We were broken.

I couldn't be around him anymore it made me too sad. Every single time his eyes caught a glimpse of mine I'd leave the room. There wasn't anything left for me there.

I'm not going to lie and say that Dad didn't try. He was still the loving, protective, caring father that he'd always been but the person he became; I didn't know who it was.

Tommy left not long afterwards to join a revolutionary group that called themselves the Fireflies.

The Fireflies had this little catchphrase.

"When you're lost in the darkness. Look for the light."

It was a load of bullshit just so Marlene, the lead Firefly could recruit more people, mainly young people. They'd train them to fight the little government we had left until there wasn't anymore. Anybody that even tried to get in there way would be killed.

As more time went on The Fireflies began getting weaker in numbers. People began fighting back without a care in the world. Only destruction came from that.

Nobodies would fight them but The Fireflies fought back twice as hard showing everyone they shouldn't be messed with.

Tommy got tired of their little group and fled off up North near the mountains. Last I heard he has this nice little community with some dams.

Dad stayed East towards the big cities where he knew he'd be able to use his abilities to the fullest. The man was still alive and fighting hard as he smuggled weapons across districts with a woman named Tess.

As for me, I traveled across states killing whoever I was asked to kill by a person or groups. I'd get rid of their problem and in return I'd get whatever I asked for. If they weren't good with their word I'd make sure they didn't breathe another second then take everything they had.

In simpler terms I was a hitman.

I'd look for jobs in whatever state I happened to be in or they'd find me. It wasn't very hard since every state I entered there were always little clues I left to make finding me easier. Other times people just knew where to find me.

Right now I was in the coast of Virginia. I've been here for about five days, leaving tiny hints for anybody who tried looking for me.

There was a group over here, a big group might I add that gave a lot of other nice communities trouble. They call themselves The Saviors. The group thought they could restore civilization with fear. A man named Negan was their leader and by what I heard about him he was a psychopath.

People all around the country have heard about me so I knew that if I just showed up near one of the threatened communities, I'd get an offer to kill the man or maybe even the entire community.

I didn't care as long as I got what I wanted.

My body slightly bounced up and down as my horse, Optic, galloped lightly through a small abandoned town.

The sun was beating down on me as I rode through the dirty streets glancing around for anybody. This was actually a lot nicer than other places I've been to. There were barely any walkers around or worse clickers.

Clickers were basically an experiment gone wrong with walkers.

In the beginning before mostly all form of government fell apart there was a conducted experiment that tried making walkers less dangerous but ironically they made them more difficult to handle.

The best part was that if you were infected with that sickness it had stages unlike walkers who just rotted throughout time.

With this infection you started off as a runner which was basically a much faster walker which then turns into a clicker. As a clicker Fungus would grow on your body until it got on your face and completely destroyed your eyesight and smell. A clicking sound would erupt from your throat as you staggered trying to listen for any noises. If you became a clicker all you had was your hearing to find your next victim.

Third stage was you became a bloater. You'd get obesely humongous no matter what you're body type was before you turned. Bloaters were especially harder to kill since they didn't die with just a bullet to the head. Most of times you needed to blow them up.

Fourth and last stage was you became what we call spores. Basically, if you weren't killed as a Bloater you'd just sit down somewhere and grow on the surface until you didn't even have a human form anymore. You'd grow all over the walls and floors while giving off a highly toxic chemical that could kill and infect others that weren't wearing gas masks.

It was hard existing in a world like this but you always had to find something that kept you going.
Hopes of reuniting with my dad or Uncle Tommy somewhere on my travels was my reason.

Until then I just kept to myself and got my job done.

"Hey!" Someone called behind me making me stop in my tracks.

The voice was deep and masculine.

I sat still on Optic, my hunting knife gripped tightly in my hand as I breathed out slowly. My sunglasses let off a reflection as I looked up slightly.

"Are you deaf?" The same voice called, getting closer to me.

A sigh escaped my lips as I took off my glasses, "Are you stupid?" I asked, my Texan accent clearly showing.

Footsteps approached my horse before the sound of a gun being whipped out was heard.

"You get off that horse." The stranger demanded. "Go on. Don't try anything funny."

I slipped my knife into it's holster, jumping off of Optic, "Yeah, yeah, yeah." I grumbled.

This was almost a daily routine for me. Getting stopped by random people who tried to loot me. Most of them were men but that was sort of expected.

"Put your hands on your head then turn around slowly." He ordered sternly.

I did as I was told, my boots making a small squeaking noise as I turned to face the stranger.

Matter of fact there was three of them making me smirk lightly as they simply looked at me, their guns raised.

Behind them were three motorcycles parked but still running as the two other men sat on them. They all looked like they were a part of a biker hang with their leather vests, leather gloves, and sunglasses.

The youngest out of all of them was pointing his gun at me, his eyes were eccentric with adrenaline. It was as if he loved doing what he did.

A smile rose on the young blondes face, "That's it. I think this is going well don't you?" He asked politely.

My head shook as I couldn't help but chuckle, "It's a great time." I remarked.

The man nodded, giggling slightly, "I'm glad you think so." He responded before his smile fading slightly. "Now, hand over your weapons. All of them."

I furrowed my eyebrows, "Listen, I just met you, yeah?" I replied. "I'm not really someone who likes to share what's mine if you know what I mean."

Blondie licked his lips, "Well, the problem is that they're not yours anymore." He informed.

My eyes narrowed slightly as confusion took over my emotions, "Who's are they then?" I asked curiously.

The man smiled brightly as he extended his arms, gun still in hand, "Your property now belongs to Negan." He announced.

A bright light instantly shun in my mind as I couldn't help but let out a laugh making all the men look at me like I was crazy.

The blonde got closer to me, his face only inches away, "What's so funny, hunny bunny?" He questioned.

I put my hands down, secretly reaching into my bag which was hanging off Optic, wrapping my hand around something useful as I got closer to him to keep his attention on me.

My piercing blue eyes stared into his, "The Saviors." I whispered, making his eyes light up. "I'm here to kill you guys." I answered softly.

Now, it was the man's turn to laugh as he lightly backed away, titling his head back slightly.

This was my chance to use what I grabbed.

Without another thought I threw the nail bomb I had my hands, pushing the man back towards his other friends.

I swiftly hopped on Optic, not wasting another second as I kicked him on the side making him instantly sprint off as gunshots went blasted away before a loud explosion erupted.

My hand gripped my head as I crouched down lightly, feeling the slight heat from the bomb as we began riding further away.

So those were The Saviors?

They seemed intimidating enough but nothing I haven't seen or dealt with before. The way the man said Negan's name replayed in my head. He said it the way a christian church praises God's name.

It seemed as though whatever this Negan was doing seemed to work. Personally, I couldn't wait to meet the man.

Within at least a little more than half an hour, Optic slowed down as we entered a worn down town.

My eyes glanced around as I saw several dead bodies behind buildings but as soon as I caught a small tavern, I led Optic over.

As soon as he stopped, I gripped the rope wrapped around him, pulling the animal through the door as I pushed it open.

Others would leave him outside but there are monsters out there that would love to either eat or take my horse away.

The building smelt moldy as dust covered every part of it especially the few bottles of alcohol that were left on the shelf. Tables were turned over and a couple of them had bullet holes in the wood. Some blood splattered on the walls but there was no sign of any corpses.

Without taking another step I put my fingers in my mouth, letting out a loud cat whistle. I put my hand around my ear as I listened for anything.

Right on cue, five walkers began growling as they staggered out of the back room. They clothes were tattered, body pieces were missing, and there lifeless eyes straight right at me.

I rolled my eyes, grabbing my throwing knifes, "Here we go again." I sighed as Optic whinnied quietly, as he backed away.

The wrist on my left hand flicked rapidly as I speedily threw the small knives into three of their skulls.

Two of them lunged towards me but I instantly grabbed the machete on my thigh holster, digging the blade through one of it's head as I kicked the other away.

Not wasting another second, I gripped the only walker left shoulders, turning it around before gripping the back of its head as I banged it against the edge of the table a couple of times before throwing it's silent corpse on the floor.

Optic avoided the bodies as he made his way towards me letting out a huff.

I grabbed his rope, leading him over to the bar leaving him there as I sat down, reaching into my pocket to grab my lighter and a cigarette.

The lighter flicked out a flame before I lit my cigarette, breathing in before I let out a large cloud of smoke.

I got up from my spot, jumping over the counter, grabbing a bottle of bourbon, pouring myself a cup before sitting back down.

Dad loved drinking this stuff before the outbreak but only when Uncle Tommy and him spent the weekends together having fun. Other than that he didn't drink very much except when he watched The Super Bowl or went to a varsity football game.

When Sarah died, whiskey became his best friend when I wasn't around. I wasn't stupid because every single time I got back from training, he was passed out on the couch with his mouth open making the putrid smell come out.

I rose the cup, "Father like daughter." I whispered before taking a large swig.

The bourbon slightly burnt my throat but I didn't pay any attention to it before taking another drag of my cancer stick.

The door suddenly bursted open making Optic whinny slightly but I didn't turn around as I continued drinking and smoking.

My mind asked a thousand questions to who it could be but deep down I knew I really didn't care.

More than one gun was pulled on me but I didn't move a single muscle except to pet my horses snout with my gloved left hand. My fake metal pinky and ring finger squeaked slightly as I moved my fingers.

One of them took a step forward making the floor boards creak before they stopped a couple feet away from me.

My eyes closed as I turned back around towards my drink. I focused on my breathing as my heart was pounding in my ears from the silence.

The person let out a slight breath before saying with a deep, rough southern accent,

"Are you L.M.?"

I slowly opened my eyes, the ghost of a smile curving on the corners of my lips.