Extinction Event¹ ━ FTWD

CHAPTER 4: Blackout

EXTINCTION EVENT

chapter four: blackout

[ season 1, episode 2; so close, yet so far ]

NIGHT 03

In Meghan's dorm, mother and daughter shared a brief, panicked glance before each darting down the hall, shouting Heather's name. Meghan hurriedly closed the door behind her, shutting Holly in with an undignified 'boof!' Meghan felt a twinge of guilt, but it was quickly outweighed by concern for her sister as she rushed down the hall.

"Heather!" Katie shouted, voice rising in pitch. "Heather!"

"Mum!" Heather dashed out of the bathroom and ducked behind the two older women, trembling as she pointed back to the door. "There's something in there — something's wrong with one of Meghan's dorm-mates, I don't know!"

Katie clenched her jaw and entered the room, eyes widening as she witnessed the sight of the not-quite-dead student ambling towards them.

"Georgie?" Meghan called out to her, though it elicited no response.

"You know her?" Katie asked in a hush.

"She's my RA," Meghan responded, shocked. "I saw her, like, a day ago, maybe? She had a cough, but she didn't look this bad."

"She's like the others," Heather realized in a hush. "The ones online."

With a quick motion, Katie scooped up the discarded mop that had fallen by the entrance, brandishing the sopping end at the infected woman. "Listen," she said carefully. "You need to stay back, otherwise-"

Georgie growled again, louder, as her jaw snapped with increasing fervor. Katie's eyes widened, and she swung the implement at the girl, knocking her down on the tiled floor back into the puddle of water and plasma. Katie entered the bathroom further and warned her again. "You need to go to the nurse. You're sick, and we can't help you."

She let out a gurgle, rising up on stiff, unsure legs, and lunged again for Katie, who stumbled back, slipping on the slick floor. Georgie fell on top of her, snapping at Katie's face, who wrenched her back, using the mop as a makeshift shield against the infected, hands on opposite sides of the handle, perpendicular to her own body. The girl didn't seem to notice, fixated only on the possibility of fresh meat, and paid no mind to the handle pushed up against her throat, cutting off the possibility of breath. Dark veins bulged under the scratchy wood, but her milk-white irises never strayed from Katie.

A deep gurgle came from within the girls chest, and she snapped again for Katie, the flesh of her neck catching on a stray splinter and tearing. A thin line of blood dripped down Katie's outstretched arm and bubbled over her skin. A cold feeling settled within Katie's chest. She wouldn't stop, not even at the risk of harming herself.