AN: Layout is better now, but it still isn't the best. I kinda got bored half way through and started watching Pitch-Perfect,

I don't own The Walking Dead, but I do own my characters
~ZWT

Chapter 1
Alice
House arrest.

I sprawled on my sofa, absently watching the flicker of my TV as it told me how to program computers. I had been into computer stuff for a while, and for my last birthday, my dad had bought me this DVD. But I had never got round to watching it until now; I had been forced to watch all of the films in my house over the last week as my sky box was broken. I had called the TV company about it at some point, but they never came. I didn't mind doing nothing all day, but mix that in with no human contact -I had turned my phone off- and I was seriously starting to worry about my mental health.

I slouched off my leather sofa, brushing my glossy black hair away from my face, and made my way over to where my brick-of-a-phone sat. Returning it's power, I was flooded with missed phone calls. All of them from Sonny, my collage friend. I was one year younger than her, but I got pushed into advanced classes. I tutored her, and got her English grades way up.

She was an all-american rebel, through and through. She had moved to England when she was 12, and carried that Florida charm that pleases so many. Note sarcasm. She refused to listen to teachers, saying the only reason they teach is because they are crap at what they do. I disagreed with her, but kept it to myself, as I always did. She was very stubborn, and never took shit from anybody. She got suspended for a month for threatening to push her maths teacher and all her books out of the fourth floor window. Her mum had ended up kicking her out of the house when she found out, so she came to stay with me. It was the best month off my life. She had converted me from being quiet old me, to being a loud-mouth outcast. And I liked it. It was so fun to be able to stand up for myself, to be a bitch. I kept my good side for the teachers, and in that sense I was twice the Sonny she ever was. Up until I had met her, I had been bullied by a girl called Jane. She was the bitch queen of royalty, but I always used to ignore her. But then one day coming home from school, she tried to follow me into my house, so I slapped her face. She went around with a red mark on her face for a week, and never bothered me again. People noticed my talents, asked me to tutor them, became my friends. I owe my life as it is to Sonny.

Right on cue, my phone vibrated in my hand, and Sonny's face flashed up. I answered it, grinning, "Hey Sonny babe, what's going on?" "Hospital now. You know why." There was panic in her voice, and I could hear pounding footsteps in the background. "What? Why?" I asked, confused, but the line had cut off. I checked the signal, but it was on zero. Pausing the telly, I grabbed my coat. Something was wrong. Sonny might be a rebel, but she doesn't pull pranks unless she hates someone, and then it usually means stealing the key to their locker, swapping all their stuff for empty vodka bottles, and mental health pills. She then hides the things she stole, makes tons of copies of the key, and hands them out to random people at school. I played a big part in these pranks, as I had a knack for pickpocketing.

I locked the door behind me, and climbed into my car. It was a Volvo 142S, with a modified engine, and I got it dirt cheap. Midnight blue, with a leather interior. Light up dash-board, with voice control radio. It had been heavily modified over the years, which might have made it a bit slower, but I didn't care. She was still a sexy beast. I had been caught speeding in this car many times, but, again, I didn't care. Sometimes, I would take her out to the country, and just spoil the silence. My granddad had given me his car, and he was the one who taught me to drive. Getting comfortable in my seat, I caught sight of my self in the mirror. I noticed the silver streaks in my jet-black hair, and smiled. It wasn't because I was getting old or anything, it was just a thing that ran in my family. It effected my eyes too. I had one really bright blue eye, and one really dull blueish green eye.

I turned the ignition, and pulled out of the driveway. The road was tight, but I managed to spin her around, driving to the end of my road. But all that was before I hit someone. Slamming on the breaks, I jumped out of the car, and ran around the see the damage. A woman I'd there, leg broken. I covered my mouth with my hands, and stared at her. Her clothes were in tatters, and she groaned in pain. I pulled out my mobile, and dialed the hospital. The line was dead. My phone worked, but all I heard was a deathly 'beep' on the other end. The woman was scrabbling on the side of my car for support, and I rushed to help her. She turned her head to me, and hissed, baring her teeth. I backed off, heart pounding like a drum, but she lunged after me, still trying to support herself on her broken leg.

"Oh my god, i am so so sorry, i was going to the hospital, and i didn't even see you there" I cut off as she lunged toward me one more time before her head snapped backwards, and she fell in slow-mo to the floor, a hole in her head. Someone had shot her. 'Maybe the police?' I thought, and looked around, frantically trying to find the source of the gunshot. Then it clicked. I didn't hear the shot, and police don't use muffler on their guns. I leapt into the car, and sped around the corner, dialling 999 as I went. Just another long beep. Something very bad was going on here, and i didn't care to find out what. From then on, i payed close attention to the road, swerving to miss the many people just standing there... they weren't even phased by me. I got to the hospital in 15 minutes, scared rigid, trying not to melt down. I pulled into the hospital car park, breathing in deep, shaky breaths. I had never been this terrified in my life. Not even when i almost got ran over. I just swore at the driver, went home and forgot about it. But someone had shot that woman, someone skilled enough to get a direct headshot without hitting me. The more i thought about it, the closer to the edge i felt, so i ignored all that, clenched my fists, and strode up to the hospital doors. As i tried to open them, i came up short, tugging on a locked door. Why would Sonny tell me to come here if it was all locked down? More importantly; why the hell was a hospital locked down? It all clicked into place, and i knocked on the door. I had always knocked the same way, if Sonny was in there, she was sure to know it was me. Two fast knocks, two slow. I waited, and nothing happened. Screw this, i was going home. I span around, and made my way back to the car before the door opened, and Sonny's face popped out. She had short, pixie cut brownish blond hair, and a hard-lined face. A scar ran from just above her eyebrow, over her eyelid, and down to the top corner of her lip. "In here. Hurry!" She sounded urgent, so i closed my car door, and ran for the hospital, locking it with my remote on the way. As soon as i stepped foot in the hospital, Sonny shut the door, locked it, and piled multiple pieces of furniture in front of it. Then i just broke down. I couldn't hold it in any longer. A flood of tears rolled down my face, and Sonny was right there, by my side, holding me in a one armed hug. I didnt want to cry. And i hated ny self for it, but once i started, i just couldn't stop. I think i must have cried all my bodily water out before i managed to calm down, and ask, "what the fuck is going on here?" Between shaky breaths. Sonny soothed me, stroking my hair as she explained. I didn't believe her in the slightest. She didn't know a lot of what happened herself, but a couple days ago, people started going apeshit. Having fits of violence, attacking people, eating them alive. The Doctors said it was a pathogen affecting inhibitions, but it escalated past that in a matter of hours. The virus had spread through most of England, and the only safe place left was the west side of Scotland. The hospital had been overrun, so Sonny and a couple hospital buddies had been clearing it out bit by bit, burning the bodies in the morgue. Sonny finished explaining, and i just sat there, huddled against her like a baby. How did she expect me to believe this? Was i just meant to smile, grab a weapon and get murdering? These people might have been completely altered by the virus, but they were still people, and killing them wasn't the answer. We were in a hospital for god's sake, couldn't they just make a vaccine for it? I asked her this, almost breaking down again. "We tried that, but it didn't work. Nobody has recovered from it yet. We've tried all sorts of combinations of medicine, but nothing works. There's nothing we can do munchkin." That was her nickname for me. I called her clover, and she called me munchkin. It was a joke because i always wear heels, so she was saying i must be really small without them on. I call her clover, because she used to go around college with a pressed clover as a bookmark. It wasn't even a lucky one, it was just ordinary three leaves. She had it because she wanted it to be so common that it actually becomes rare. it brought a ghost of a smile to my face. So I did what i always do. I stood up, shook it off, and got down to what was important. "How many survivors?" I asked. She supplied me with the answer of '8 not counting us.'. I nodded. "Weapons?" "Down in the canteen, but you can borrow my sword. We cleared this place out, but better safe than sorry." I nodded again as she passed me a samurai sword i remember from its place in Sonny's living room, above the fire place. It felt heavy in my hand, and when i swung it, i felt a rush of delight spasm through me. It was going to be just like a video game. You're sat at home, you've locked yourself in, and you're playing a game. Except you only get one life, and if you waste it, the game self destructs. Simple.

We walked down to the canteen where they set up base, and Sonny unlocked the door with the key she had hanging around her neck from a paperclip chain. Everyone looked up in expectation as she entered the room. She must of told them about me, which wasn't nerve racking at all. I felt all their critical eyes, judging me, and my high heel knock-offs. There were eight of them all-in-all, just like Sonny had said. Stood over a table was a beast of a man with bulging muscles and blackish brown hair, which he had tucked under a baseball cap. Next to him stood a woman with caramel brown hair, scraped back off her scalp in a tight bobble. Her eyes were dark, and she had a triangular face. Sat on a beat-up old couch was a young lad with thick glasses, and messed up hair. His black hair covered his face, and he kept his head down, fiddling with something I couldn't see. Stood behind him was a woman with pink hair that stood right out. She must have been about twenty, and she her stance was overly confident. Stood in the corner, leaning against the wall was a couple who didn't look like they belonged. The man had tousled blond hair, and the woman stood next to him, pouting slightly. Sadly, I realised there was a young girl who could only have been 13 years old. She had long, stragly waist length brown hair. Her brown eyes were wide, and she raised her chin, trying to look taller, older. The way she stood just seemed so innocent that I couldn't bear to look at her. Then there was a Jamaican man in the middle of the room who had just risen from a chair looking very confused about everything. He seemed to be the leader of the group, and the name Captain confident popped into my head. All these names in mind, i introduced myself as Alice. Only captain confident gave me his name back. He spoke in a high-end british accent, which threw me slightly. His name was Tearyn, and he was head doctor at the hospital. I had heard Sonny talking about him at collage. As well as taking four classes a day, Sonny also trains as a nurse. She was constantly trying to 'fix me up', and after she almost made me bald, i didn't let her anywhere near me again. I realised my face was still stained with tears, and my eyes were puffy. Shit. I didnt like people seeing me weak, and this was the worst time to be crying. Captain confident- sorry, Tearyn- introduced me to the group, but I didn't really take in anyones name, except the little girl was called Roxy. She smiled at me. It was a broken little smile, and it broke my heart. She had probably lost everyone close to her. She wasn't crying though was she? The first time i cried in two years, and everybody had to see it? This was going to be a long apocolypse.