Walking Amongst the Dead (A One Direction Fan Fiction)

Chapter One

Chapter One

There is a story in our village.  One that has been passed down for generations.  It has the power to give you a feeling of tragedy as well as hope.  Hope that you just might be able to live on and that the world will go back to the way it was hundreds and hundreds of years ago.  It's an old story, and you can ask anyone in the village about it and they would recite the whole thing to you by memory.  Yet, I enjoyed the story more from one person in particular--my dad.

The story goes that there was a young girl about my age--seventeen or so--who lived in a great big city when the infection hit.  The people didn't know what was happening and were absolutely terrified.  After all, there were people that were supposed to be sick walking around and trying to eat people who weren't sick, and this was new to those people back then

The people they had to protect the others (I think they were called the military or something of that sort) were told to stop the infection from spreading too far.  They told the civilians to group together and flock to the cities.  There, the military or whatever were supposed to protect the cities from the Undead.  But instead, most of the men in charge of this went home to be with their families and try to save them and only them.  There were a few who stayed behind and tried to fight, but there were already too many of the infected ones.  The military was defeated and the cities were soon flooded with the Undead.

The girl, who's name was lost but was dubbed Celeste in our village, lived in one of the first cities that was lost.  She was terrified when the military became lost just as everyone else was.  But unlike everyone else, she planned to take action and try to save the people who were left.  Most of the people scrambled to save themselves and their families, but not her.  She had to do something better than that.

She went right to work, picking people who were alive off of the dying streets.  Death was everywhere, but she chose to ignore him and save the people that she could.  She brought the people to the huge building she lived in and they helped her barricade the doors and all the  entrances where the dead could get in.  The building's kitchens were supplied with enough food for everyone to last for a long time, and there were many people she was able to rescue.

However, Celeste was not able to save everyone.  Some people she tried to smuggle away to the safe place growled at her and told her to leave them be.  Others had locked themselves away in their houses but failed to barricade the entrances.  They were attacked and died with their families, being eaten alive by the Undead.

Celeste kept the people she had succeeded in rescuing in the building for days and soon weeks, not letting them exit the building for fear that they would be attacked or draw attention to them.  She told them to stay low and only go outside if asked to.  Meanwhile, she snuck out herself each day in search of the people who were so important to her.  She needed to know where her family was, whether they were dead or alive.  Of course, though, she wasn't able to find them, and she knew the possibilities that she would were low.

She didn't give up, but her trips out were becoming less and less frequent.  She had more important problems to deal with.  They were slowly starting to run out of food, and it would only be a matter of time before it would run out and they all would die of starvation.  The group had to come up with a plan, as they figured rescue would not come soon.  They were sharing their ideas when one young girl, no older than fourteen, said that she had heard there were some safe places built out in the country where there were less of the infected.

One of the older men laughed and said, "Are we really going to believe some little girl?"

There was a quiet murmur in the room they were holding the meeting in.  Then another man piped up.  "Why not?  Didn't some little girl lead us here and save our lives?"

So then it was decided.  They were going to head out to the country in search of that safe place.  Everyone packed light and followed Celeste's instructions.  They headed out of the building as sneaky as possible and were almost able to escape the city without being noticed.  Almost.

They were nearly out when one Undead spotted them and moved towards them.  And then another followed that one.  And another followed the second one.  And then another joined.  And another.  And another.  And soon there were ten of them after Celeste and her group.  And then there were fifty of them.  And then there were a hundred of them.

Celeste immediately noticed the wave of the Undead and began to usher the group along quicker.  They all broke into a run and raced down the road, determined to outrun the creatures that had escaped from Hell.  They were much faster than the dead ones, of course.  The infected all had so much flesh torn and ripped from their bodies and they had worn muscles.  But even so, the group couldn't go on running forever.  The Undead could.

The group was able to make it out of the city, but the undead was still following, growing larger in number as they went.  Celeste saw that there wouldn't be anyway to save her group unless they were to do something unthinkable.  Something brave and stupid, and something that could possibly save them.  It was their only chance, and Celeste knew it had to be done.

She turned to the fourteen year old girl and simply told her to lead the group to safety.  And then she turned and ran behind the group where she slowed to a stop.  A few of her group members slowed to a stop too and looked back at her.  All she did was give them a small, sad smile and tell them to go on, which they did, not knowing what she was about to do.

Standing between her group and the wave of death in confidence, Celeste watched as her group got further and further away and the dead get closer and closer to her.  Very soon, the infected were upon her.  Giving one last glance to her group, she shouted out to them,  "Go and live!  Thrive and these monsters will not be able to match your strength!"  And then she was pulled into the horde, her flesh being ripped from her bones.  It took for her sacrifice to slow the horde down and let her group escape and Celeste was able to give that.

This story has always been my favorite story ever since I was just a little girl.  My brother and I  asked for it every time Dad was going to tell us a story.  I wanted to be like Celeste when I grew up.  I wanted to be selfless and care about other people more than myself.  So that's what I did as I grew up.  I helped out other people and I acted as selfless as I could possibly act.  I did the work I supposed to and I did more than required.  I even tried to get people to call me Celeste instead of Alice.

Now, as I stand here before the chain-link fence that separates our world from theirs, I remember that story and how I acted from it.  It's sort of embarrassing now, acting like I was so important and calling myself Celeste.  People must have thought I was crazy.  I don't know how I even have friends, but I do somehow.

Harry and River are my two best friends.  We three have always been in our own little group ever since we met each other when we were kids, which was on the same day actually.

I was playing down by the stream when it happened.  Back then, I was just a little nine-year-old girl with a big imagination and a dream for adventure.  I was just hopping on the stones in the river, pretending to be Celeste, when my feet slipped on a stone and sent me flying into the cold, rushing rapids.  I let out a shriek as my body was suddenly submerged in the icy waters.

 Harry and River were around the area when it happened.  They must had heard my scream or the splash or whatever, but they were soon there to help me.  The next thing I knew, I was being dragged out of the stream and onto the wet grass.  My eyes fluttered open and there they were, River with her black hair, looking down at me while Harry, with his brown mop of curls, was trying to make sure I was alive.

We became best friends after that, doing everything together.  We played together, learned together, even ate together if given the chance.  We grew up together even, and we still spend most of our time together.  Today, however, River had to go wash clothes with Harry while I was given no orders.  I would have joined them, and I asked River if they needed any help, but she simply told me that it was alright and that I should go do something on my own.

I didn't know what to do at first, so now I just stand here, looking out from behind the fence.  Today, there are no Undead at this part of the fence which is kind of odd.  Normally at this time of the day, at least one Undead is at the fence, pulling at it with fingers so raw and dead, moans eerily filling the air.  It's quiet today.  Peaceful almost.  But my lovely peace is soon ruined when a voice comes up behind me.

"Hello, Alice."