Hannah, a twelve-year-old girl navigates through the outbreak between nightmarish flashbacks and reality, while trying to stay alive. Throughout her journey, she meets many people who soon become family, but the lingering fear of losing it all... ag...
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Disbelief...
That was the expression the soldier held as he watched the small girl make her way towards the school which had been converted into a shelter no less than a few days ago, Though the outbreak had been spreading for months by then.
The girl walked through the gates, pushing through the crowd of people trying to get in as well. She stood out from the crowd, holding nothing but a small plastic bag; her expression was calm, but he could tell she'd been through hell as she approached.
But nothing shocked him more than the fact she was all alone amongst the crowd, pushing through impatient people all trying to get in as well and making her way towards the front of the line.
"You all alone?" He asked as she approached him, starring behind him into the shelter where others were being held. Her face was smudged with what he hoped was dried dirt across her clothes.
She nodded quickly, her eyes focused inside, specifically on the woman wearing gloves who was passing around food to other survivors; She hadn't eaten actual food in days, and her stomach couldn't help but growl in protest at the sight of food.
The soldier followed her gaze, quickly becoming aware of what she wanted.
"You can go inside as soon as you answer my questions alright? It won't take long" He clarified, quickly grabbing a notepad and pencil from his chair. He felt sympathetic towards the young girl and hoped she wasn't infected; not like the many children and families he'd turned away already.
"Have you been in contact with anyone infected? and if so, how long ago?' The man asked as two more female soldiers approached the girl. They both held stern expressions as they approached, their guns gripped tightly in front of them.
The girl backed away, startled by their stern demeanors. They acted nothing like the soldier holding the notepad in front of her.
"No" Hannah muttered, glancing between the female soldiers and the man. The male soldier looked back at her, seeming to take her word for it as he said nothing, writing in his notepad and nodding at the two other female soldiers.
The girl almost let out a scoff at how easily he believed her. It wasn't entirely true, but there was no way she was going to ruin her chances of getting into that safe zone, and at the end of the day all that really mattered was that she wasn't infected.
The female soldiers began patting the girl down harshly as he nodded, something Hannah hadn't seen coming as she jumped in freight, only to get pulled back up by one of the female soldiers. They didn't seem concerned at all with how they treated her, only wanting to be sure she was safe to let inside.
"Any symptoms of fatigue? cold sweats? fever?" The male soldier continued to ask, his eyes never leaving his notepad as he continued to write down her responses.
