The Outbreak

Chapter 1: Despair

"Blood, death, and violence. Those are three words that I would use to describe a world like this. My name is Leslie, and I remember when it all started, how it started, and how young and weak I was. I remember the first day, the first night. I remember everything. My story started years ago, in the small town called Hillwood, where I grew up".

Leslie is the girl from the prologue, only much younger. She is a 17-year-old female with long dark brown hair which has dyed, blond tips starting at her ears, blue eyes, and noticeable freckles. Her appearance makes her look fun and caring. Leslie has always been close with her father, as well as her siblings, since her mother died when she was just young. On her birthday, Leslie went to get her hair dyed as a birthday present from her father. She's always admired blond hair so when she was finally allowed to have it dyed, she jumped at the chance of having the color she had always dreamed of. She had made it home later that evening after having one of the best birthdays ever. She made sure to say goodnight to her dad, brother, Marcus, and sister, Elizabeth, before heading to bed

Later that night, she's awoken by what seems to be gunshots nearby. Startled, she gets out of bed and rushes downstairs after looking for her family, who are nowhere to be found. She looks in every room, including the garage, but she finds no trace of her father or siblings. Terrified, she rushes to her front door and opens it, shouting for her family, but notices, in the darkness, Elizabeth kneeling down in her front yard. She shouts out to her, but as she turns around, Leslie seems terrified. Elizabeth was covered in blood, eating her now, dead brother, Marcus. A tear runs down Leslie's face as she slowly backs away. Her sister stands up and starts walking towards her. Not knowing what to do, Leslie freezes for a few seconds, until her sister is almost directly in front of her. She turns back to the direction of her house as she rushes inside, closing the door on her sister's arm, who was following close behind her. She struggles to keep her from breaking in. "Get...out...'', she cries, while trying to keep the door from opening. Just as her sister is about to break through, overpowering her, she feels someone take her by the arm, pulling her away from the door, down to the ground. She looks up to see her father with a gun, who took her place holding the door shut. "Dad!" She cries out before noticing that he's bleeding from a bite wound. "Oh my god, are you okay? What happened?" Her dad struggles to keep the door from bursting open, as Leslie's brother comes back to life, joining his zombified sister, helping her to get into the house. "Take this", her dad says as he tosses the gun onto the floor in front of her. She reaches for the gun without thinking, and stands up, pointing it at the ground. "GO! And don't trust anyone!", her dad yells. She turns, and rushes towards the back door, but she stops when she hears a loud thump from behind her. She turns around, in disbelief, to see that her siblings have broken in, pushing her father to the ground. "GO!", He says right before being torn apart by his own children. "Nooooo! Noooo.......noo....nonononono....no.....dad...why.....?", she cries, as she falls to the ground. Elizabeth looks up at her as she's crying, as she starts crawling towards her. Luckily, Leslie noticed before it was too late. Shaking and terrified, she stands up, pointing the gun at the ground, backing away slowly, towards the back door from which she is just meters away. "What the hell happened to you, Elizabeth? How could you do that to Marcus?" She backs up enough that she's outside with the door still open. "To dad? How could you? Why would yo-", she breaks into tears again. Elizabeth stands up slowly, walking towards Leslie. She looks into her lifeless eyes. "I'm so sorry", she whispers as she raises the gun, leveling it with Elizabeth's head. "I don't know how else to help you". Suddenly, her father comes back to life, and he starts making his way towards his daughter, along with Leslie's brother, Marcus. Leslie shakes with the gun in hand. Still backing up, she prepares to pull the trigger. Her family starts to pick up speed as they make their way towards her. She has the gun ready to shoot, but she just can't do it. With one hand, she reaches for the door and quickly slams it in their faces, leaning her head against the door, sobbing, then slowly turning around and sliding to the ground, against the door. Leslie sits there crying while her family bangs on the door behind her.