𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐎𝐃𝐃𝐒. ᵀᴴᴱ ᵂᴬᴸᴷᴵᴺᴳ ᴰᴱᴬᴰ

CHAPTER TWO: FORSAKEN.

Every day had been the same since the day her father was shot, every day except today. Leya was used to this new routine. She got off work at 3:30, then went straight to the hospital for an hour before going home. Her mom would bring Carl with her when he got off of school, and they would sit together for a while, making sure he felt their presence even if he couldn't see them. 

Sometimes, Leya had to admit that it was discouraging. Every time he breathed a certain way she thought it was him stirring back to consciousness, and she would get excited. She knew better than to get her hopes up too much, but she couldn't help but feeling a bit frustrated. She just wanted him to be okay. But she knew she couldn't give up hope. Her mom was a wreck, and although she tried to keep it together the best she could, Leya could tell she was terrified. So Leya knew she couldn't afford to unravel now. 

She had to stay strong for herself, and for her mom and Carl. For all of them. 

So, day by day she continued to serve at her post. She brought him things like flowers and books to read, and she was currently half way through the first chapter of the Odyssey when everything went to hell. At that very moment, she was blissfully unaware the world had turned into chaos, as the dead rose and society crumbled. But amid the chaos, she had one singular focus: her father. Alone in the room, she didn't have much else to think about. As far as she knew, everything was still perfectly in place. 

Her mom and Carl had already departed for the afternoon, and she was alone with him. As much as she loved family time where it was the four of them together, she liked it when it was just her and him, too. Even though he couldn't acknowledge her, it still felt like it was special for them. Like they were having father-daughter time even when he was unconscious. Besides, she liked taking care of him, especially after everything her parents had ever done for her. It was nice to feel like she could finally repay them in some way.  

She squeezed his hand as she flipped the page to start another passage, but her narrative was abruptly cut off. "Leya, there you are. We need to go - we can't stay here," Shane Walsh's urgent voice pierced through the background noise, which was becoming heavier with each second. She had been so lost in her reading she barely had a chance to notice. 

"What? What's going on?" she asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. If there was one person in this world that she didn't trust, it was Shane. He was her father's partner and best friend, but that meant little to her. She had known him for a long time, but she had lost all respect for that man. He had already proved long ago that he wasn't someone she could rely on. Not after what he had done. 

No one else knew what she knew, though. 

It was hard for her to be around someone like him after that, but he was constantly around. It was suffocating. It was like the rest of them were under his spell, but she refused to fall for it. She had always kept a distance from him after that day, but the fact he went out of his way to find her like this made her think something was wrong. 

Shane's expression was tight, his eyes flickering with urgency. "There's no time to explain," he said, stepping closer to her, his tone edging on desperation. "The whole city's going to hell, Leya. People are panicking, and there are these... things out there. I don't even know what the hell they are but we need to get out of here, now."

Things? What was he on about? 

Despite her curiosity, Leya's grip on her father's hand tightened, her eyes flickering with defiance. "I'm not leaving him, Shane. I can't just abandon him."

Shane's face hardened, a flicker of frustration crossing his features. "Leya, listen to me. Your dad would want you to get out of here. He'd want you to be safe. Staying here isn't going to help him. It's only going to get you killed."