Run Little One

Goodbye Brighton

Alfie's POV:

I can hear soft talking down stairs as I grab my backpack and throw things in. My mind is racing with thoughts I never dreamed I would have: are my parents alive? Poppy and Sean? Joe? These questions whiz around my mind as I grab the most useful items I can find. Nala wakes up and jumps off the bed and circles around my legs. I didn't think about Nala. We have to take her.

"Come here missy" I say, putting her old puppy-training harness on her back. Luckily, it still fits. I grab the leash and clasp it to the back, then continue packing.

"When we left London, they were headed this way"

I jump at the unfamiliar voice to find the girl, May, standing in my doorway. She seems shy, yet fearless. I can't imagine what she's been through.

"How did you and your brother make it here from London? The tube must be down?" I ask.

"Garrett's not my brother."  May explains. I can't imagine the horrible scenes these children have had to face. "The tube wasn't down, I got on along with some others. Garrett was there with his mother. The conductor told us that he was taking as many people out of the city in one run, so I had to sneak on." She pauses for a minute and looks down slightly. "Someone who got on was sick. They started acting up and twitching and making these awful noises. He started biting people like a dog." She paused yet again, shutting her eyes and sucking in a deep breath. "Garrett's mum was bit. She started twitching and I knew I had to get out. He started screaming and more people were being bitten. They wouldn't bite unless you moved or tried to get away, but I saw the door had an emergency exit switch that would open all the doors. Garrett started walking towards me and I didn't think. I just grabbed him and jumped. Other survivors jumped too, but a lot didn't make it." She trailed off as her words sunk into my brain. She saved him. And they're both alone.

"It was stupid I know, but I couldn't leave him" she says quietly.

"How did you find us? Surely the train didn't make it all the way here." I say. "No" she says. "I happen to know how to Hotwire a car." She says with a slight laugh. "We drove around for a while and went house to house looking for shelter. I never thought I would come upon your guys' house." So she must be a viewer. I smile back at her and continue my packing. She heads downstairs and I follow soon after. Zoe stands in the kitchen examining a knife she pulled out of a drawer.

"Where are we going anyway?" I ask. We need a plan.

"First Poppy and Sean's. Then your parents, and then we make our way to Wiltshire." She says placing the knife in her bag. I couldn't bare the thought of leaving this place. For good.

Maybe not for good. Maybe this whole thing will blow over, and we'll be able to come back, and live our lives normal again. My mind is racing with terrible thoughts as Zoe hands me a knife and I shove it in my bag.

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"You ready?" Zoe asks me as I take one last look at our house. We have to come back.

"Yeah" I say. "Let's go" I grab my bag and sling it over my shoulders and throw my hat on. Grabbing Nala's leash, the four of us walk away from what used to be the beloved Zalfie household. We throw our bags in the backs of our cars along with a few more bags and pull out: Zoe, May, and Garrett in one, and I in the other.

Driving felt calming. Being alone in my car gave me the privacy to let my emotions free, and not feel embarrassed. I clean myself up a bit and look at the time: it's only noon. Only four hours ago, I had no idea what had happened to this world. The again, who knows for sure?

May's POV:

I sit in the front with Zoe and buckle Garrett up in the back and Nala in his lap. I stare into the open space in front of us as we follow Alfie in his car towards Poppy and Sean's house. The silence of the car is deafening, so I turn on te radio to listen to nothing but brain-shattering static. Instinctively, i turn it off and sit back, defeated. Garrett taps me on the shoulder.

"MayMay, can I go see mummy? I miss her" he whines in his little English accent.

I look at Zoe and I can feel her heart breaking. I can't tell Garrett that his mom isn't coming back...but what can I say?

"We'll go see mummy in a little bit Garrett okay?" I say in the softest way possible. A few tears slip down my face and onto my badly ripped jeans.

Garrett just nods in response, a sad look on his face.
As I turn back around, Zoe slams on the breaks, sending me into a choking hold on my seatbelt. Garrett screams at the sudden stop.

"Zoe what!" I yell, confused by why she stopped so abruptly.

"Mark" she says, and tears open the car door and runs.

"Zoe! Wait!" I scream. By now, Alfie had noticed that we had stopped and turned around to see what was going on.

Zoe's POV

I run up the steps of the flat I know all too well and fumble with my extra set of keys. I run along the halls looking for flat 275 as I scramble to get the right key. As I close in on the door, May and Alfie run in behind me.

"Zoe wait" May says out of breath, taking the keys from my hand.

"What!" I say slightly annoyed.

"You don't know what you're walking into" she says, a terrified look on her face.

Does she think Mark might be...

"Turned?" Alfie finishes. I hadn't realized I had spoken out loud.

"There's a possibility" Alfie states truthfully. My eyes shift to the floor as they begin to water. No. Not Mark.

"Let me go in first Zo" May says. "It'll be easier if I don't know him rather thank you two." She says looking up at Alfie and I.

"We can't seriously let you do that May" Alfie says approaching the door.

"You have to" May says, grabbing the key from my hand and opening the door to Mark's flat, and in one swift movement, closing and locking both Alfie and I out. I stand there in silence, praying she comes out with Mark. Or praying she comes out at all.

A/N
Hiii! So this is way too long ik but I liked it this way😂
More coming soon!