Melly's breathing was the only thing she could hear in the early morning. No birds chirped, no insects hummed. The sound of ragged breaths was enormously loud to her ears as she ran and ran with no idea of where she was going. The crushed grass that she had been following began to look like every other patch of grass, and in her exhaustion she no longer could tell the difference. The gun was a heavy weight in her arms, a reminder of how grave her situation really was. At last her legs buckled, although her mind was still telling her to run. The gun clattered from her hands and she lay face first, breathing in the grass as she tried to catch her breath. Her chest hurt horribly. Why was this happening to her? Holly Glen was Holly Glen, not New York City or Los Angeles, or wherever all those disaster movies chose to have their cataclysm. She felt tears edging their way out but she fought them back. Sniffling she sat up at long last and picked up the gun. As she sat in the midst of the forest that sat near the road, she heard footsteps. They were walking at an odd gait, one-two, one, one-two. It was some kind of skipping gait. Melly peered around the tree nearest her and saw a woman walking down the middle of the road, seemingly unperturbed by the recent violent events. Her appearance was startling. She wore a blood-stained robe, like those from a hospital. Her left eye was heavily bandaged, although the bandages seemed to be loose. She walked in that odd hopping manner, seeming to favor her left side. Melly shifted ever so slightly and froze as the woman's head snapped in her direction. Melly's eyes widened as she caught a glimpse of the red sclera, before she flattened herself against the tree, her hands raising the gun. Now as before, her breathing was the only thing she could hear. If the woman was approaching, she couldn't hear it over the sound of air entering and escaping her lungs. Melly was sure if gunfire was going off in her ear all she would hear was her gasps. The moment seemed inhumanely long until she at last sprung to her feet, whirling to where the woman was and raised the gun to shoot. The woman was gone. Melly heard a rustling behind her and turned again, to face nothing. She turned again, back and forth like a wild animal, backing into the tree again. Her breaths were so loud, but they were being drowned out by the pounding of her heart. She peeked around the tree and screamed as she came face to face with the woman. The gun went off as she depressed the trigger, but the woman had grabbed her wrist at the same time, lifting her straight up off the ground. The gun continued to fire for a moment before Melly dropped it from the pain of holding the heavy object with one hand. Her feet barely brushed the ground as the woman held her up as if she weighed nothing. “L-Let me go!” Melly screamed, writhing desperately. The woman stared at her with her creepy bloodshot eye, before dropping her. Melly scrambled for the gun but the woman stomped one foot on it in an obvious sign that it was not for her. Melly backpedaled on all fours before managing to get to her feet. All of her instincts were telling her the time for fighting was over, and now it was time for flight. “Stop,” the woman said in a clear voice that rang through the crisp air. “Come here.” Melly turned to look at the woman as if she was insane. The woman was fast, before her in the instant that Melly hesitated. “Don't run, I won't hurt you,” the woman said, her eye critically examining the girl. “Wh-What do you mean, who are you?” Melly stuttered, sure she couldn't trust whoever this was. “Antoine,” the woman said, surprising Melly by answering. “And you are?” Melly stared with mouth agape. She had not even considered the possibility that she would be standing in the outskirts of her hometown, talking to an inhuman, infected woman as the apocalypse loomed around them. “Melly,” Melly responded out of sheer practice before shaking her head. “Please, let me go, I have to save my father...” “Are you from around here?” Antoine blurted out, startling Melly once again. “Y-Yes.” “You know the area?” “Of course, this is my hometown,” Melly said. “My father is the Sheriff,” she bargained, hoping that that information would help persuade Antoine to release her. Although in the state the town was in now, it didn't mean much at all. Antoine stared at her for a while and the two stood in silence. Melly couldn't stand looking at her face directly. It terrified her. “I'll let you save your father,” Antoine said, a strange grin coming over her face, looking even more grotesque by the fact that her face was so battered already. “On the condition that you take me into the town.” “Holly Glen? Why the town?” Melly asked. Antoine frowned at her. “Don't ask questions that don't concern you, Melly. Let me tell you now, I am in no mood for games. Take me into town.” “But my father needs...” “We'll do your errand first. Is this a deal?” Antoine asked sharply, and Melly could tell the time for bargaining had passed. Melly stuck out her hand. Antoine blinked her eye and then realized that she should mimic the action. Melly shook her hand decidedly and an tentative alliance was made between them. Antoine picked up the gun that Melly had dropped. She deliberately clicked the safety on and handed it to Melly, who took it as if it were a live rattlesnake. “I assume we can agree that this gun will not be fired,” Antoine said. Melly nodded. Antoine turned, her ghostly figure heading through the trees in the direction Melly had been heading. Without knowing why, Melly followed after her, obediently keeping the gun pointed down. The air was growing warmer as they walked, and Melly's eyes drifted over her companion. The robe was definitely a hospital robe, and despite how active she was, Antoine was wounded for sure. Melly couldn't figure out where Antoine had come from though, as there were no hospitals this far out. On top of this, she had seen the red eyes before in Natalie, Mac and those kids from her school. Also, the blood that stained Antoine's body was definitely not hers. So lost in thought, Melly ran into Antoine's back. She looked up to see that Antoine was staring towards the road, not moving a muscle. The sound of an engine reached her ears and Melly saw a car zoom by them on the road. Melly made to run towards it but Antoine held her arm in a grip like steel. Melly shouted in pain and looked back at Antoine. “Those were people...!” Melly said angrily, but Antoine ignored her. “Look,” Antoine said, pointing towards where the car had come. Melly wrenched her arm out of Antoine's painful grip and glared at her before taking a look. As her sight line followed Antoine's arm, she saw a house in the distance. “Someone's inside,” Antoine said, and began heading towards it, ignoring Melly's cautionary protests.
so... For the memories if anyone still reads this... Well... Also I'm unsure if the gore is over the top lately so I'm reluctant... Hehe...
I need help finding my sign up sheet... I'm adding new characters and need to see if anyone who signed up fits.... So... Yeah...
Badly timed? How so? And... I'm looking for my sign up sheet for this story. I don't know where on earth it could be amongst all the ff pages. ........ The story is held up right now as I don't have a name for this guy in the following chapter. New older military character, driver of the transport carrying Allie and Kristofer to the city. Plans for him to survive...... For now.... Maybe not in the future. killing characters off is what keeps things fresh