AM13 Outbreak Shorts

One Year On - Seven (Emma)

Emma

I'm out.

I can hardly believe it, but here I am, out in the world. The dangerous, horrifying, disgusting world. I didn't have any choice in the end, my mother made the decision for me. It's hard to even think of her as the crazy woman who flung a knife around the kitchen despair but since that's the last image I have of her, I'm sure it will remain.

I'll go back eventually, once all of this is over, but for now this is what I need to be safe. I just wish I could find other people doing the same thing.

"What do I do now?" I mutter to myself as my eyes dart everywhere. "Where do I go?"

I never really came out here with a plan. I kinda fantasized about it, but nothing solid. I suppose in all my dreams about this I thought I'd find Rachael, but to be honest, she could be anywhere now. There isn't even any guarantee that she's alive...

No, I don't want to think like that! I need to keep my head up.

I dart my eyes from side-to-side, wondering which way would be safest for me. All the homes appear empty now. Well, either that or filled with infected. Everyone was drawn out by the lack of food by the looks of it.

The only way I'll be able be able to feel secure is around other people, but right now, there's no chance of that. By this point, my parents might be out looking for me, hunting me down, ready to punish me for breaking their ridiculous rules, and if they aren't the infected will be. I have to give up on the idea that I'll find others right away and get somewhere safe before night falls.

"Eenie meenie miney mo." I point to the homes in front of me in turn, deciding which one to barricade myself in for the night. I'm pretty sure these one's are all empty but that doesn't make me any less scared to get in there. I don't have any chance of defending myself. "The house I will stay in is this one."

My heart thumps in my throat as I look the building up and down. Such an innocuous place, nothing about it looks scary, but I'm absolutely petrified of it all the same. As a bookworm who loves adventure stories, maybe I should relish the idea of getting to live in one myself, but the truth is I don't like it. But perhaps that's because of the plot.

If I were to choose any story to live inside, this would not be it!

"Come on, Emma." I take a shaky step forward, knowing action is what this moment needs. "Just go inside. It might be fine. Think about the bed, the possible food in the cupboards, not that there's much chance of that." My mouth waters at the mere idea. I don't know how long it's been since I've consumed anything. "Think about having thick concrete walls between myself and them."

I shudder, thinking about the infected. Protection from them is the best thing I could ask for. I need to just focus on that.