(Rewritten.)Kayleigh's POV

I trudged through the woods while dragging along my ratty old backpack. My large wolf padded along beside me, white and dusty brown fur whipping around when a gust of wind came. I scratched my neck where I had gotten multiple bug bites and swatted away another mosquito. The little insects were buzzing around my head as I continued through the woods. I had no destination. I had no group. I had no ammo. The only weapons I held were my Lucille inspired bat, Franklin, and a few kitchen knives I had collected into my satchel. I swung Franklin in circles in my right hand while I hung onto my backpack strap with the other. My grimy brown hair swayed in front of my eyes until I tucked it away. I was only walking for a few minutes more before I heard whimpering from a small crate. Jax decided it was time to explore, which he does a lot, and somehow figures his way back when I'm in trouble. Curious I shuffled closer to the covered metal cage and pulled aside the blue tarp. Inside the weaved wire walls was a small scrawny puppy. From being an assistant at a vets office before I realized that it was an Australian Shepherd. It looked like it was at least eight weeks old. Just old enough to be adopted, it grew up in this world, knows nothing but apocalypse. I reached out to pet the small dog's grey speckled head. Surprisingly it reached it's head out and licked at my fingers. The tiny dog's fluffy tail wagged as it crawled from the cage.

"Hey-" I turned my head to look under the dog's stomach. "Hey boy! Do you have a name? I'd guess not." I picked him up under his front legs and held him above me. He scrambled to get down. I set him by my feet on the hard pavement, his claws making small pattering noises as he walked circles around me. He examined my legs and stopped at my bat. "Oh-" I took Franklin away from his nose, "Franklin is not a toy, buddy." I tucked the handle of the bat in my belt and started to walk onward. The dog followed at my right, staying only a few inches from my leg. We walked for a while longer until we came across a pet store that looked like it was closed at the time of the outbreak. I busted the glass to the back door and opened it from the inside. The dog padded into the store and I followed, shutting the door tightly. There were a lot of windows around the store, all colored on with window paint. Light was flooding through them, making it easy to see.

The dog was sniffing at a dead bird, lying in a cage. He tilted his head to the side and continued to look around. There was nothing but shelter for me here, but the dog could get a lot from this place. I walked to a spinning stand full of dog collars. I picked up a dark turquoise collar with a silver name tag that read Kosmo. "Kosmo? Cute." I looked at a few more. Burr, Sunny, Jay, Cocoa, Lion, Buzz... I liked Kosmo more than the other names. "Hey boy! Come on over here." The little shepherd darted over to me from behind a shelf he was sniffing at. I clipped the collar around his fluffy neck and spun it so the tag was up front. "Kosmo." He looked into my eyes. I was just noticing now he had one dark green eye and one light blue eye. "You like that name?" He went to bark but seemed to think better of it, it was like he knew about the walkers and the threat they were.

I pat his head and gathered him food, treats, a few toys, and a bowl. I stuffed it all into a duffle bag I had found by the front. On the side it read The Happy Wag with a logo of a dog's butt sticking in the air and the tail wagging. I kept some room for outfits, because I love dressing my dogs. I don't go completely overboard but a few items is cute. The things he wore now was a light blue bandana, to match his collar, a little black vest with a few pockets I stuffed treats in, and a pair of goggles that I hung around his neck. He looked adorable but also badass. I tucked a knife in a pocket on his vest for decoration. "Kosmo that outfit is on fleek." I smirked and rubbed his head. We stayed a few days in the store and I'd go out a few times a week for food. Life was good with just us until THEY came.