TROUBLESOME.
❝ Am I supposed to be grateful
to have survived this? ❞
THE WALKING DEAD.
BETH GREENE.
BOOK ONE of the TROUBLE TRILOGY.
[ SEASONS 1 - 3 ]
******
I do not own The Walking Dead or any of its characters, locations, or storylines. All rig...
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[ i. trapped at the end of the goddamn world ]
october 23rd, 2010
➸➸➸
IN THE GRAND SCHEME of all things, Brandon Grimes was convinced that there was a singular truth that outlasted the ages: no one ever believed that they were capable of dying until they found themselves standing, quite literally, on Death's doorstep.
The sixteen-year-old himself was one of those believers. Because as the sun cast its warm glow over an ordinary August morning, when Brandon finally woke to begin his day, he was still blissfully unaware of the impending madness that would later shatter his world forever.
With the carefree nonchalance typical of a sophomore, he readied himself for another day of high school. In the kitchen downstairs, he bullied his little brother while he played with his gadgets, ignored his parents as they talked to each other, and him, from opposite ends of their two-story home, grabbed his backpack and his athletic equipment—and left.
Just as he did every day now that school had started back up. Summertime had gone by too quickly, he thought to himself over and over again. Only two more years he had to survive high school. Only two more years and then he would graduate and be off to college to play in the big leagues.
That was Brandon's plan. Had been his plan for the past eight years now. Nothing would get in the way of that . . .
Until today.
The abrupt interruption of Brandon's routine came in the form of an unwelcome summons to the principal's office while he was in the middle of third period. There, Brandon found his mother, Lori, and Shane Walsh, his father's loyal friend and deputy partner, waiting for him.
If it had only been his mother, Brandon might not have been startled. But to see Shane, too, only meant one thing.
His father was dead. Or he was going to be.
Seated before them, Brandon received the devastating news of the latter. His father, Rick Grimes, the town sheriff, had fallen to a bullet in the line of duty. According to Shane, Rick had let his guard down on a routine chase for only a moment—yet that moment was all it had taken. One shot to the upper torso, just barely scraping past the bulletproof vest he adamantly wore, and he had been left to nearly bleed out in Shane's arms before making it to the local hospital.
By the time Brandon was properly checked out from the office, and they had picked up his little brother, Carl, from the grade school across town, Rick was supposed to have been going into life-saving surgery.
Initially, the surgery was a success. The surgeons removed the bullet. Repaired his torn muscles and splintered bones. His father would live.
