The Dead Don't Die - TWD

Prologue: The Before

Two Weeks Before

"Breaking News: The Dead Will Not Stop Until They Get Everyone. We advise everyone to stay home. Do not leave your house unless necessary." The news lady on the television said the scene behind her was horrible.

Laney could see people hurting each other, breaking windows, and stealing from the stores. She was glad that she wasn't out there; she probably wouldn't make it back home.

Nathan Adams was out there, though, looking for Laney's brothers. Laney knew something she should have told her father, but she was terrified. She didn't want him to become mean and angry like he usually did when dealing with her brothers.

"Mama?" Laney had whispered, glancing at her mother.

No reply.

"Mama?" Laney said, louder this time.

"What Lai-Lai?" Her mother said, muting the news.

"When's daddy coming back home?

"As soon as he finds your brothers."

"Cole's not coming back, Mama. He told me so." Laney had whispered, but her mother had already turned the sound back on.

Nathan returned home as Laney was doing her schoolwork.

"Get the hell out of my sight." He had shouted, pushing Elliot through the garage door.

Elliot stumbled through the door, tears in his eyes as he looked at his mother. When Nathan came through the door, Elliot ran upstairs.

"What the hell are you doing downstairs?" Nathan shouted at his daughter.

"Mama told me to do my homework," Laney mumbled, shrugging her shoulders.

Nathan grabbed his daughter's arm and dragged her to the bottom of the stairs.

"Go to bed. I don't want to see you down here again until tomorrow." He snapped, pushing her up the first step.

Laney hadn't wanted to argue with her father. He's never been unpleasant with her, so she did as she was told. Elliot met her at the top of the stairs, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"Did Mama have you take a bath yet?" Elliot asked, just as their parents started to shout at each other.

"Yes," Laney whispered.

"How about you sleep in my room tonight?" Elliot said, walking past both Laney and Cole's bedrooms.

"Why's daddy mad at me?" Laney asked, sliding under Elliot's blankets.

"He's not mad at you," Elliot promised her, whispering to himself as he shut the light off.

"He's mad at me again."

The Day Before

The day before Elliot and Laney left home was not the kind of day they usually had. Laney woke up that morning in Elliot's bed again. She had been doing that more often, not because she couldn't sleep in her room, but if she was in Elliot's room, their dad left him alone in the mornings. However, something was off that morning. Laney immediately noticed that Elliot wasn't in the bedroom, and the house was silent. She grabbed her firetruck off the desk and ran downstairs.

"Mama?" Laney shouted, rushing from room to room.

"Lai-Lai, quiet." Mama had whispered, coming in from the garage.

"What's going on? Where's daddy and Eli?"

"Daddy's teaching your brother how to kill. You don't need to learn that."