Different Lives

1. PRE-APOCALYPSE

Today, Eleanor was supposed to be leaving for her Dad's house. He was currently picking up her Sister -Khloe- from her Volleyball practice and after was supposed to be picking up Eleanor and her Brother -Roy- from their Mom's -Ashlyn's- house.

Eleanor's parents had recently gotten divorced. Her Dad had cheated on her Mom, with someone named Lucille. Lucille was nice but she ended up getting cancer, which made Eleanor sad, she really liked Lucille, and this may sound bad, but Eleanor was glad her parents got divorced because they would always fight about everything. There was never a day where they weren't fighting, and every time they fought Eleanor would always cry, and hide under her Sister's bed-covers.

Eleanor's Sister was ten years older than her, and her Brother was twelve years older than her. She didn't mind the big age-gap because they would always take care of her, she just didn't like when they would leave her out because she was to little.

"When do you think Daddy is gonna get here?" Eleanor asks Roy, who is sitting next to her while they watch TV.

"I don't know, El." Roy answers with a sigh.

"Oh, what is that on the TV?" Eleanor asks.

"Just the Government probably trying to scare us." Roy says. "Somthin' about cannibalism."

"What's can-bal-ism?" Eleanor asks. Truth is Eleanor hated asking a lot of questions because she knew people got annoyed by them, but she couldn't help herself. She wasn't that smart.

"Cannibalism is when people try to eat other people, but you have nothing to worry about because it's obviously fake." Roy says, pinching the bridge of his nose between his eyes.

"Oh, well-" Before Eleanor can finish their Mother burst through the front door.

"Pack your things, we need to go! Now!" Ashlyn yells.

"Why, mommy?" Eleanor asks as she rushes over to the bag that she originally packed for her Dad's house.

"What the hells going on, mom?" Roy's asks as he picks up his bag.

"The news, It's fucking real!" Ashlyn yells as she rushed to pack her bag.

"What about Daddy? And Khloe?" Eleanor asks as she starts to cry.

"They'll be fine, we need to leave!" Ashlyn says as she finishes packing her bag and grabs the car keys to their truck.

"What the fuck!" Roy yells as he looks out the window.

Eleanor runs over to the window and she sees her neighbor, biting into the mailman's arms. "Mommy!" She yells as Roy picks her up.

"Come on, we are leaving!" Ashlyn yells, again.

"We can't! They're everywhere!" Roy yells at their mom.

"Exactly! If we stay here, we'll fucking die!" Ashlyn yells.

"Ok ok, fuck!" Roy yells as their mom opens up the front door.

Eleanor wraps her arms around her brother's neck and then buries her face into his neck. She wants to pretend she is hiding in that dark black closet in her room, or she's hiding under the covers of Khloe's bed with her. But she can't, this is different.

As soon as Eleanor feels her butt hit the car-seat, she looks out the window and sees her Mom and Roy yelling at each other. 'Why are they fighting' she thinks to herself. About thirty seconds later, Roy hops into the front passenger seat and their mom drives off.

"Mommy?" Eleanor asks, her voice shaky. Her mom doesn't answer. "Mommy!" Eleanor says a little bit louder.

"What Eleanor!? What!?" Ashlyn snaps as her knuckles turn white, while she grips the steering-wheel.

"Where are we going?" Eleanor asks as she feels a lump growing in her throat.

"I don't know, okay? Why don't you just take a nap, okay?" Ashlyn says.

"Okay." Eleanor says as she closes her eyes, resting her head on the side oh her car-seat.

Eleanor wakes up to the sound of tires screeching , her mother and Roy both yelling, and her whole body jolting forward, causing her to hit her head on the back of Roy's seat.

The car then flips over and Eleanor falls, hitting her head on the roof. Blacking out.

☆• ☆• ☆• ☆

When she wakes up again, her head is in excruciating pain, there is a car alarm blaring, and neither her Mom nor Roy are saying anything.

"Mommy?" Eleanor asks, but theirs no answer.
"Roy?" No answer. Eleanor starts to cry, her head hurts so bad, she is scared, and she thinks her Mom and Roy are dead.

Eleanor crawls over to the front seat and starts to shake Roy. "Roy! Wake up!" She yells. Eleanor then sees someone emerging from the woods beside them, she immediately recognizes the someone as a cannibalism someone. "Roy! You need to wake up! Please!" Eleanor yells and Roy starts to stir.

"The fuck?" Roy says as he puts his hand up to his bleeding head.

"Roy, there is someone out there!" Eleanor whisper yells, as tears run down her cheeks.

"You kids okay?" Ashlyn voice says from beside Eleanor.

"What happened?" Eleanor asks, completely disregarding Ashlyn's question.

"We crashed. But you guys are ok, right?" Ashlyn ask again.

"We're fine!" Roy answers for the both of them.

Eleanor notices that the cannibalism person is closer to them now, way closer. "Mommy! That guy is gonna eat us!" She rushes to say.

"Okay, I'm gonna need you guys to run, Alright? I'll take care of him, but I need you guys to run." Ashlyn says.

"What!? We aren't leaving you, mom!" Roy rushes to say.

"I'll be right behind you, okay? I promise!" Ashlyn says as tears flood her eyes.

Truth was Ashlyn had been bit already, and that's how she knew the news was real. She knew she was going to die and she didn't want her kids to see that, so she thought this was the best option.

"But, mommy!" Eleanor says as she starts crying again.

"I love you both so much, okay?!" Ashlyn says.

"I love you too, mommy." Eleanor says while crying.

"No, mom. You're gonna be fine." Roy's says, tears brimming in his eyes.

"I love you ,okay?" Ashlyn says, looking at Roy.

"I-I love you too." Roy says, giving up on getting her to go with them.

"If you ever find your sister, promise me you will tell her I love her." Ashlyn says while wiping her tears.

"Okay, I promise." Roy says. Ashlyn kisses both of her kids head before ushering them out of the car, watching them run into the woods.

☆• ☆• ☆• ☆

Authors Note:
Okay this first chapter is total shit, but I'm really excited about this book. And I'm sure you guys kinda know where this is going, especially with their last name being Smith. Btw the first non-pre-apocalypse chapter is gonna take place in season six. Anyway I hope you guys enjoy this book.

TikTok: mrs.dlxon
2/12/24
(1149 words)