It all happened so fast. Disaster. Widespread panic.
A Pandemic.
It wasn't long before the Infected were everywhere.
When Hayley Brookes near-perfect life comes crashing down around her - due to a new, widespread, incurable strain of virus and she...
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We had been driving for around two hours, reaching the halfway mark of our journey. I had been desperately searching for a gas station for about 20 minutes now, as we were basically running on fumes. I finally spotted one in the distance and pulled off of the deserted road, parking next to the fuel pump. It was a relief to finally get out of the car and stretch our legs, even if only for 5 minutes. After I had completely filled the tank, I grabbed some of the emergency cash our parents left for me and Jason when they go away, and headed into the station with Lily in tow.
There wasn't a soul in sight, just as abandoned as the roads were. I guess people were taking the virus warnings seriously and staying inside.
I felt a tug on my sleeve, followed by Lily whining, "I need the toilet!"
"Okay, okay," I shushed her and followed the signs to the ladies restroom. After we had both done our business we went to pay for the fuel, but nobody was at the cashier desk. I was slowly becoming worried by the sudden scarcity of people. I tried to keep myself calm though, for Lily's sake.
Grabbing her tiny hand to keep her by my side, I echoed out a small "Hello?" Nobody answered. I made my way through the aisles of the store, searching for somebody, anybody. Giving up hope, I turned to the last aisle, only to be pleasantly surprised.
At the opposite end a man stood, facing away from us. His uniform indicated that he was the cashier, obviously not very dedicated to his job. I waited to see if he had heard us, but he just stood there, back to us, seemingly doing nothing.
I started to walk closer, warily keeping my distance. There was just something about this situation that made the hair on my arms and the back of my neck stand on end, so I decided to trust my instincts.
"Excuse me?" I called out. This time he appeared to have heard me as his head jerked upwards and his body slowly shuffled around. As soon as I caught sight of his face, I jolted backwards, pulling Lily with me.
Part of his face was missing. His left cheek was almost completely gone, you could see some of the teeth on the left side of his mouth, through what remained of his flesh. Blood had dribbled it's way down his chin and neck and had begun to pool on the floor beneath him. It looked as though half of his face had been bitten off. The words the woman had told Jason over the phone, flashed through my mind and I started to believe what she was saying was true.
The person began taking slow, stumbling steps towards us. Lily, who had been quiet up until this point, screamed. I sprung into action and dashed out of the store, pulling Lily with me, not daring to look back, for fear of tripping. We ran out of there like our lives depended on it, which they may very well have.
Only once we were in the truck and about a mile away, did I let myself breathe. To my right, Lily was bawling her eyes out. Unwilling to stop the truck, in fear of another encounter, I used my free hand to comfort her. I softly rubbed her back and ruffled her long, dark hair in an attempt to stop her crying. It mostly worked, only the occasional sob would slip out.
