THE RUSTY METAL FENCE SQUEAKED as it was pulled open. The RV rolled forward through the gate and quickly came to a stop.

Lilith hopped out cheerfully. Taking in her surroundings, she unconsciously let out a giggle of disbelief. Alexandria was beautiful. It was clean and bright. It looked like any average neighborhood, yet still felt magical somehow. Being there, she almost could've forgotten the world had ended. Children laughed and yelled in the distance. And Lilith felt a pang of guilt in her heart, knowing the news that was about to be broken. However, it was a brief, fleeting feeling, and she quickly brushed it off.

She spun on her heels with her hands on her hips. "So," she could tell her chipper tone stung them, "who's gonna do me the honor of giving me a tour? Hm?"

No one replied, which she expected, so she simply stepped forward grabbing the closest person my the elbow.

"Looks like it's your lucky day, Officer Eyepatch," she addressed Carl, "please, lead the way."

Carl rubbed his palms on his pants nervously, looking to his father for what to do. Rick made a gesture, telling him to listen to the girl.

Lilith smirked victoriously, hooking her arm with Carl's and started walking in a random direction. She had a bounce in her step, which extremely contrasted the slow, sad shuffles of the rest of Rick's people.

"Keep in mind, I have no idea where I'm going so take some control, big guy," Carl avoided her gaze before trying to speak up.

"Uh, um, okay. . ."

"So? Where to first?"

"Um, I can show you the, uh, my house."

"Perfect! That was secretly what I wanted you to say. I wanna see where the future serial killer lives!"

Carl tried to push down a shudder at the nickname, but Lilith felt it. She found it amusing how easily she could scare him.

Around her, she noticed people staring as they began to sense something was wrong. Lilith held her head high, proud that her presence made such an impact.

Stepping into the suburban home, Lilith was in awe. It was almost eerie being in such an environment while the outside world looked like it did. She examined the marble countertops, the white kitchen cabinets, the smooth wooden floors, and she felt oddly content.

"Oh boy, am I gonna like it here," Lilith proclaimed with glee.

She sighed happily, moving to look through the kitchen. She opened the fridge, all the cabinets, and all the drawers. She then decided that this was her new favorite place. This was her vacation home.

Lilith continued to wander around the house, checking each and every room just for the hell of it. Carl followed her as she did so. When she made it upstairs, she noticed the boy tense up. Ignoring it, she walked down the hall, pushing each door open to look inside. She got a couple doors in when Carl put his hand out to stop her.

"That's just the water heater," he told her.

Lilith raised her eyebrow, "Here?"

He nodded

"Odd place for a water heater, don't you think?"

Carl just stared. He shifted his weight slightly. He seemed to be trying to come up with another excuse.

"Come on, whatcha really hidin in here? Playboy magazines?" The girl joked before opening the door.

She heard Carl's breath falter as she did so, then realized why he acted that way once she saw what was inside. There was a baby. More like a toddler. She had light brown hair and blue eyes, looking exactly like her assumed brother.

Lilith's face softened at the sight. A gentle smile appeared.

"Hello, angel," She cooed, walking over to the crib.

She rested her hand on the edge and admired the young girl. Looking towards Carl, she spoke up.

"What's her name?"

The boy hesitated. Lilith rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Oh good lord, I know the circumstances of our meeting were. . . unfriendly, to put it lightly, but I'm not going to hurt her. There are some things in this world that even the darkest of us can't touch," She reasoned. Carl felt oddly comforted by her words. For the briefest moment, he could see himself getting along with her. That moment passed like a blink of an eye. She spoke again, gently, "Tell me her name."

After a beat, he finally answered her, "Judith."

Lilith smiled, looking back to the toddler in the crib, "Hi Judith, I'm Lili," She softly brushed hair out of the little girls face. "Your sister?" She asked the boy next to her.

He nodded, still pushing down any trace of emotion that could show on his face.

"She born before or during?"

"During."

". . . and the mother?"

Carl froze. Lilith nodded in quick understanding.

"Well look at that, we're already finding things we have in common," she had turned back on her loud, sarcastic, cheery persona. Carl's expression softened for a short moment, but didn't let the feeling linger. He watched the girl beside him admire his sister for a minute longer, then they both left the room. "I guess you could show me where I'll be staying," she told Carl.

"Um. . . I'll have to ask my dad," he explained.

"Well then let's go find him and ask him! I'd like to settle in."

He nodded, quickly going down the stairs. Lilith hurried to keep up with him.

They walked down the roads outside. Carl asked around for his dad, while Lilith simply ogled at the scenery. She was pulled out her trance, however, by a sudden shattering sound. Like glass. Followed by a loud thump.

Turning her head, Lilith scanned for the origin of the racket when her eyes fell on a girl sitting on a porch a few houses in front of her. The girl had long, dark brown hair. She sat against the wall, her arms on her knees, and her head in her hands. The girl seemed to be crying.

Carl noticed where she was looking, and his face filled with concern.

"Is that normal for her?" Lilith asked with a humorous tone.

They both watched the other teen while she spoke. Carl didn't answer, but she swore she could hear his heart stop. Not in fear, but in rage.

"Why don't you ask her?" the boy bit back. He then marched forward, continuing to ask around for his father.

Lilith thought for a moment. She did hear the sarcasm in his voice when he told her that, but she was curious now. That curiosity, combined with the fact that she hasn't interacted with a girl her age in quite some time, made her decision for her. With a breath, she confidently strode over to where the girl was.

She climbed the steps of the porch and stopped in front of her. Lilith noticed the shattered bottle on the floor a few feet away. She waited silently, and then the girl finally looked up at her.

"You okay?" She asked her.

"Who the hell are you?" The girl responded.

"My name's Lilith. And you are?." She caught the look of recognition cross over the girl's face, but it was quickly replaced by anger. No, fury.

"You. You, bitch. You have the nerve to ask me if I'm ok?! After what you did?! How dare you even look at me. At any of us," The girl fired at her as she stood up.

Lilith nodded slowly, "Right. . . okay. Look, I understand you're upset. You have every right to be. But just to clarify, I wasn't the one holding the bat." She watched the girl's face twitch at her words. She probably could've stopped there, but she got carried away like always, "I mean seriously, did you see the size of the ginger? You're about damn crazy if you think my twig arms could bring down a baseball bat on that dudes head hard enough to crack his skull in one go. My dad could hardly do it first try either. I mean, jeez, the man stood back up as if it was nothing. Yeah. . . could not be me."

Lilith let out a breathy chuckle, studying the girl's face. She noticed her eyes were glassed over with tears, but her expression was one of fury rather than despair. She could tell her teeth were clenched before she spoke in a coarse whisper, "Go to hell."

"Honey, we've all been here for years now," She paused with a smirk, "I'm sorry, did I go too far?"

Lilith did feel sort of bad, but after a while of living in this world, she'd taught herself that guilt was wasteful and counterproductive. So, soon her devious smirk reappeared.

The girl only stared back. She was filled with disbelief and anger, and Lilith could see it. There was a tense silence between them, but it was interrupted by soft yet hurried footsteps behind them.

"Hey, I found my dad," Carl explained.

Lilith nodded at him, "perfect." She glanced back at the girl. She really was very pretty. Certainly a face she'd remember. "See you around, then," She told the girl.

The girl still didn't respond, which wasn't surprising to Lilith. She and Carl slowly walked over to where Rick stood on the street.

"Could you- um- maybe not talk to her?" the boy asked warily.

Lilith raised an eyebrow, "Hey, I was just trying to make friends."

"Ok, but not her please."

"Dude, listen, you don't understand the lack of girls at the sanctuary, let alone teenagers. I crave friends my age."

"Just leave her alone for at least a little while. Please."

"You're the one who told me to go over there!"

"I didn't mean it!"

Lilith snorted, "What are you getting so protective over? She your girlfriend or some shit?"

Carl blushed, "I. . . No. . . no, but I care about her."

The girl put her hand on her heart as if she was touched, "Aww, so you admit you want her to be?"

Carl looked embarrassed. He looked down at his feet, "She's just fragile right now."

"Everyone always is during this stage."

"No, but her especially."

"Oh? How so?"

Then, the boy stopped walking and looked back up at her. His one eye became dark. His stare was cold, "Because that psychotic, foul-mouthed, heartless man you call a dad murdered the closest thing she's had to a father in a very long time."

Lilith was taken aback by his sudden burst of confidence. Her jaw clenched sightly when he talked about her dad as if he knew who he truly was. She inhaled deeply, "Right. . . and you know why that had to happen. At least I hope you do, because if not, you know what happens. You saw how serious we were last night. Nothing has changed. So, I hope you understand because I don't want anyone else to get hurt. Believe it or not, I do not enjoy that. Well, not really. But you listen to me. . . I will put down every last person inside these walls if I have to. Because, regardless of how I feel about it, that is how the world works now."

Carl was still. He resented her. But he believed her. So, with obvious hesitance, he nodded, "I know. I'm sorry."

Satisfied with his reaction to her threat, she continued on towards Rick, "Good." Carl followed her. As they approached, Lilith thought to herself before turning to the boy behind her, "What's that girl's name by the way?" She asked the boy.

Carl didn't want to tell her, but he knew she wouldn't leave it alone until he told her. So, with a sigh, he answered. "Enid. Her name's Enid."

-----

Hey yall!!!!!!!!!

THEY MET THEY MET THEY MET AHHHHHHHHH

IM SO HAPPYYYYYY

however. this book is indeed a slooooowwwwwwwwwwww burn. i apologize. there will be lots of angst and pining before we ever even get a love confession. BUT remember that the romance is a sub plot anyway. Lilith's life is gonna get very interesting super fast.

i hope yall enjoy the story so well. remember to vote and comment.

LOVE U ALL

- chloe <3