A/N Hey! Long time no see :P So, this is a story I had to write for shool :) I hope you's all like it!
It’s been three hundred and ten days since the outbreak. Sleep is impossible. Not without sleep medication anyway. Good sleep medication is very rare and difficult to come across and if you get it, you have to make it last. Who knows the next time you'll get some? The pain filled screams, past and present, of Emily’s neighbours filled her head.
No one knows how it started. The Virus, that is. All anyone knows is that, you get it no matter what. The clean freaks next door to Emily were the first to get it, actually. You could hear them screaming for hours and then ambulances were called and they weren't seen again. Most people die from the dehydration and the lack of food, others just die from too much pain. That's why the little kids died first, wriggling and writhing in beds and sucking Panadol bottles dry. Schools were closed, business' shut. No one left the house unless they were going to trade on the market that went on every three weeks. No one needed money anymore, Panadol and sleep medication was all you needed.
You see, it's not like the movies when a virus breaks out. It's really not. People expect scientists in HAZMAT suits to walk the streets and come into the house and airlift you to a safe quarantine zone where you get treated. But that's certainly not what happens. The people in high positions of power get given treatment and the rest are left behind and forgotten about. You think it’s any different in England? France? Japan? It’s all the same and like any other apocalypse- every man and woman for themselves.
Emily slammed her pillow over her head and shut her eyes, gritting her teeth as the painkillers slowly wore off. Slowly, she rose out of bed and pulled on a shirt and stuffed her feet in her shoes; shivering a little. As she walked to the bathroom, she looked at the pictures on the walls. The family in the pictures looked so happy. Emily sighed as she remembered her sisters and older brother. Her parents were long gone, her mum having shot herself from unhappiness and her step dad having passed a while ago. Her older brother died, gargling on his own blood. And...and her little sisters... well. She closed off herself from the emotional pain, not wanting to think about it anymore.
Emily was all alone...
Emily shook her head violently, making her dark blonde curls spring around her head. “Stop it!” She hissed then winced at the pain in her head, walking a little faster towards the bathroom cabinet. As she unlocked the cabinet with her key, she looked in the mirror and stopped short when she saw her reflection. Too skinny to be healthy, hollow cheeks, dark circles under her eyes. Horrible. She cringed at the person staring back at her and looked back at the cabinet, rifling through and finding nothing. Emily had run out of painkillers.
As she was leaving the bathroom, she vaguely wondered if there was any kids Panadol she could get from her sisters old room. The pain in her head and stomach grew more and more intense as she slowly went up the stairs, each step slower than the last. She reached the locked door and took the key from under a loose bit of a carpet and unlocked the door. Emily had al-ways wondered why she locked her sisters bedroom door... Hesitantly, Emily pushed open the door and her eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness. Her eyes took in the boxes her mum had packed up once the kids died, the scattered toys still on the floor. The blood stained wood and the black gun remained where her mum had- She shut her eyes and took a deep breath. “Stop It!” She screamed.
Emily shivered, but not from cold. Her hands rubbed her arms as she stepped unsurely into the room. Once she searched through the room for a little bit, she came up with three bottles of kids Panadol. But even so, Emily felt defeated. “It would barely touch the sides...” She thought and then a sad sense of longing overtook her. Emily's mum would always say that.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed someone moving. But... that was impossible. She was alone in the house. She looked up and gasped. A little girl, not looking any older than the age of four was standing on the play mats. Her chocolate brown hair with its natural blonde highlights, hanging down to the little girls waist. Brown eyes staring deep into hers. She stood tall and looked perfectly healthy, looking as though the virus hadn't affected her. Emily knew that little girl- of course she did. How could she forget? That was her little sister. Emily's breathing became ragged and shaky as another little girl stepped out from behind her sister. Short, shoulder length and slightly curly black hair and blue eyes. Her other little sister, the youngest, the baby of the family, and also, the first one to go.
“Eminy!” Evie, tears pooling in her big brown eyes. Tears sprung to Emily's eyes, she hadn't heard her sister call her that in so, so long. Annie, the blue eyed girl, gave Emily a smile, showing the few little teeth she owned. Her speech hadn't developed yet, since she was only a year and a bit old. Emily shook her head. “No...” She whispered. “No... it's...” Emily lost her words as the two little girls stepped forward, stopping a few steps in front of her. They didn’t move any closer. Of course they didn’t, they weren’t real. It was Emily’s imagination, her hallucinations.
“Join us, Eminy!” Evie said, smiling and Annie giggled. “No... this... this isn't real!” Emily exclaimed, regaining her voice as she stepped out of the room, locking the door. She stood with her back to the stairs and backed away a few steps.
Emily let out a yell of surprise as she heard her sisters banging on the door. “JOIN US!” She heard her sister yell over and over again. In her shock, Emily had stepped back once too many and went tumbling down the stairs, rolling down and down until she reached the bottom, falling in a heap on the floor. Tears ran freely from her eyes and she stayed down for a few seconds, assessing if she had any injuries. When she was satisfied that she mostly okay, she slowly got to her feet, swaying slightly as her head whirled. What she saw when she got up made her scream in shock.
A boy, looking to be the age of around eighteen or nineteen, was standing a few steps away. It was her older brother, Anthony. Blood dripped from his mouth and onto his clothes, running down his neck. His blonde hair was caked with mud and looked greasy. When Emily looked into his eyes, she started trembling. His ocean blue eyes were turning red. Bright red. Scarlet. Then, blood ran in lines down his face, dripping off his jaw and chin.
Anthony held out his hand. Dirt was stuck under his fingernails and his hands looked like they needed a wash. “Join us...” He said, his voice sounding slightly gargled. Emily shook her head. “Stop it. This isn't real!” She yelled. A million voices yelled at her, slipping inside her head and filling her every thought. “Join us!” They all screeched. Emily shut her eyes and covered her ears, screaming out, “THIS ISN'T REAL!”
When Emily opened her eyes, breathing fast and her eyes wide, she realised that she was, once again, all alone.
