A/N: Hello everyone! As you can see, this chapter isn't the way it was before. If any of you are avid readers of this story and Times Have Changed, you will see that I have explained that I am going to rewrite this story. I was genuinely not happy with what I saw in it, so I fixed it. I feel like this is much better than it was before.

If you think so, too, feel free to review it and give me suggestions on what to add to it!

Okay, on to the NEW and IMPROVED first chapter!

It was a normal day.

Well, it started off normal. Then my teacher turned into an undead psycho.

I was walking down the halls of my tiny school, down in Georgia. The blistering heat outside made us students and teachers feel par-boiled, and my school was too cheap to turn the AC on for more than a whole period before they said that the tiny fans in the tiny rooms would keep us cool. Uptight pricks. I hated them.

Sophia, my close friend, was chatting about high school tours. We were in seventh grade, so our school would take us out on field trips to the close high schools and blabber on about how great they were. Sophia loved the trips. She was always dreaming about going off to distant places, and school was one of them. I knew that I'd get homesick if I went anywhere far.

"-And their gym is huge! The lunches don't look great but I'm sure I could bring them from home!" Sophia was telling me. Her small figure held her notebooks close to her stomach as we squeezed past three kids, all of whom looked deathly pale and were coughing up fits.

"Yay." I feigned interest as I looked at the kids.

"Oh, come on!" She nudged me with her shoulder, "It'll be fun!"

"Sorry, Soph," I said as we walked into class. "I'm not fond of the idea of high school."

"You know you're gonna have to sign up for courses soon. It's not gonna just, 'disappear,'" she waggled her fingers at me as she said, "disappear."

"I'm going to wait 'till the very last moment until signing up for anything."

"I know." She nodded as we sat down and surveyed our surroundings. Other kids were filing into the room. There were a few sitting in the back, some already sleeping comfily on the desks. I couldn't hear snoring, though, like normal. It was quieter today. That didn't surprise me, though. There were less people than normal. "But you've got to admit that the classes were huge! And the courses were amazing. I think we could fit three classes into one of theirs."

"Probably," I agreed, "Speaking of classes, notice anything missing?"

"What? You mean the four dozen kids missing? Or the two dozen teachers?"

"Both." I said. "This flu epidemic is crazy. I've heard stories about people going nuts about it. There are even stories of people going Hannibal on the streets."

Sophia nodded and shuddered. "And those kids in the hall aren't making me feel any better about it."

Mrs. Perkins, our algebra teacher, walked into the classroom, her heels clicking against the tiled floor. Stern and uptight, she was my least favourite teacher.

She wrote down pages of our book on the board in chalk, and off she went to collect our homework from last night. Sophia and I worked on it together last night, at my place. Mom always enjoyed her company. And Carols. She and I could care less about Ed.

Mrs. Perkins surveyed the work of the students, making marks on a clipboard as she passed us. She flipped each paper over as she coughed. And coughed again. Then she coughed some more as she checked my paper. That's when I noticed a piece of gauze wrapped around her arm. Big. Thick. Just under the crook of her elbow. I could see little splotches of blood seeping through from the outside.

I knew better than to ask her what happened, but I wondered if she came into contact with one of the Hannibal's that Sophia and I talked about.

Her skin was pale, paler than normal, and she was working up a sweat when she fainted on the floor.

"Holy crap!" Sophia exclaimed as the teacher fell to the floor with a thunderous thud. I jumped out of my seat and went to the unconscious form. My hand went to her forehead. She was burning up.

"Mrs. P?" I asked her. No response. No movement whatsoever. I shook a shoulder. "Mrs. P? Wake up!"

Sophia stood a few feet away from us. I was busy with Mrs. Perkins that I didn't notice the small group forming around me and my algebra teacher. "Is... Is she alright?"

I continued my shaking. "She's not moving. Mrs. Perkins?!"

I whipped my head around to the circle of students. "One of you go get the nurse! She's not waking up."

No one moved. Typical. I pointed to a kid wearing glasses and an oversized sweatshirt. "You! Go get the nurse!" She scampered off out the door.

I shook Mrs. P's shoulders one last time, trying to get the slightest response from her. No such luck. Curious, I put two fingers on her neck, searching around for a pulse. Now, I'm not medically certified, but there should have been one somewhere. I couldn't find anything.

"Crap. Crap crap crap." I muttered. I turned around and searched the group of faces. "Do any of you know how to take a pulse?" No movement. "C'mon! Some of you need to know SOMETHING. I can't find her pulse."

A small kid came out of the crowd. Her blonde hair pulled into a ponytail, her eyes dashing around the unconscious woman, then to me.

"Move over a little. I can find it." She said, and I complied. I didn't know her name, but I knew she was smart.

She bent down to Mrs. Perkins' side, and her index and middle finger searched around on her neck. Her eyes widened. "It should be here. The carotid artery is RIGHT HERE. Oh my god!"

She confirmed my fear. Mrs. Perkins was dead. Holy crap.

The girl jumped back, screeching. The class followed suit in her endeavor. Screams of terror rang through the class, and kids ran away. Where? I don't know. But the classroom was empty in barely a minute, except for me, Sophia, and a dead body of what used to be Mrs. Perkins.

"Alyssa! Get away from her." Sophia told me. I didn't realize that I sat stark-still in my spot. My eyes were glued to Mrs. P's body, and my pulse was skyrocketing. My breaths were quick and shallow.

"Alyssa!" Sophia called me again, and I turned my neck to look at her. She was scared. I knew the signs of when she was scared. Shaking, check. Eyes wide, check. Hands grasping tightly whatever object is in them, check. This time it was a book; small, hardcover. And her voice, shaky and squeaky. I've seen her like this before. A lot.

So I got up, slowly. My legs shook as I set my weight on them.

"What about the nurse?" I said. "I told someone to get the nurse."

"I think she'll be able to realize that Mrs. Perkins is..." Sophia's voice trailed off at the end. She couldn't say, "dead." Neither could I, "So, just get over here. We need to go."

I nodded gently and made my way over to her. My hands shook with fear as I grabbed for Sophia's shoulder. Her hand went to mine, grasping it tightly. I turned, looking at Mrs. P one last time.

"What're we gonna do about her?" My voice was barely above a whisper.

"Leave her here. We can tell one of the teachers or janitors, or something." Sophia and I turned towards the door. We walked over the threshold and turned to the right of the hallway and walked down. It was a snail's pace, really. My mind was full of fear. I just watched someone die. I could hardly breathe.

We were halfway down the hall when I realized I forgot my phone in the room.

"Crap." I tapped my jean pockets and felt no bulge. "... Sophia?"

"What?" We stopped walking and she turned to me.

"I-I left my phone... In the room..."

She sighed. I looked up at her expectantly. "We need to go back."

Her eyes darted back toward the room. She bit her lip, but nodded and we walked back to the open doorway. I looked at the dead body lying on the floor and gulped audibly. I ran to my desk, grabbed my backpack from the side, and rifled through the messy papers. A small, silver iPhone gleamed at the bottom, which I grabbed in a hurry and stuffed into my back pocket. I stood up and took a step forward, but stopped when I heard a groan behind me.

I froze in my place, my eyes as wide as saucers, and my breath hitched in my throat. Sophia, in my line of sight as she stood in the doorframe, gasped loudly, and jumped farther back into the hall.

I turned to look into the room and saw Mrs. Perkins' unmoving frame. I scoured the entire room, searching for the cause of the groan.

"Alyssa!" Sophia hissed.

"What?" I called back, my voice a whisper to match hers.

"It was Mrs. Perkins!"

I twisted to look at the body on the ground. It couldn't have been! She was dead!

But I looked on the floor and saw her head rolling forward. Her jaw muscles clenched and unclenched, and her eyes opened. Her irises were the part that scared me the most. They were no longer a dark, chocolate brown. They were grey, lifeless, and milky.

"Mrs. Perkins?" My voice quivered as I spoke. I took a few tentative steps back, towards the doorframe. "Mrs. P? Can you hear me?"

She hissed, and her neck jerked in my direction. Her lifeless eyes jittered around, searching for the object that started the noise. Me.

I visibly shook with terror. What the hell happened to her? Why were her eyes grey? Why wouldn't she speak? Could she even hear me?

"Alyssa." Sophia whined, "Please get away from her."

I held up my index finger, telling her silently to give me a moment. "C'mon, Mrs. P. I know you can hear me."

Her head jerked lazily in my direction. A hand went from her side up, shaking. It stretched out in my direction, and from her throat came a thirsty growl.

Confused, I moved backwards, and I bumped into the doorframe. Mrs. Perkins growled weakly, hissing as she crawled in the direction of the noise.

"What's wrong with her?" Sophia whispered to me.

"You think I know?" I whispered back. Mrs. Perkins must've heard us, because without a second thought she charged over to us, crawling at an alarming rate. I squealed and pushed Sophia back, and slammed the door shut before Mrs. P got close enough to us.

My hand went over my heart, feeling the muscle beat a thousand times a second underneath my palm. The sound of her pounding hands against the door only made it beat faster.

"How does she not know how to twist the knob?" I thought. She didn't. I could hear her fingernails scratching the wooden surface, but no twist of the doorknob. My hand unconsciously went to Sophia's, and I held her tight.

"Can we go now?" She shook visibly. I held her hand tighter.

"Yeah, we can." I nodded, and together we bolted down the hallway. We got to the parking lot as fast as our little legs could take us. The parking lot was mildly crowded. We searched through the crowd, looking for our parents. I knew my mom wouldn't be out there. Mom works long hours and doesn't get home until at least 5:30. Carol, Sophia's mom, would most likely be out there in the crowd.

My guess proved to be correct. I could see the silver-haired woman standing by her old SUV. I could see through the windshield that Ed, this jackass that is Sophia's dad, sitting in the passenger's seat.

"Alyssa, that's my mom." Sophia said to me, turning to look at me.

"Yeah, I noticed." I replied. Carol made a, "come here," gesture to her daughter.

"I need to go." Sophia glanced at me, and I nodded. My arms wrapped around her shoulders in a tight squeeze.

"Stay safe." I whispered in her ear.

"You, too." She replied, and she loosened her grip on me. My eyes never left her as I watched her walk through the parking lot. When her mom opened the car door, I booked to the right of the school. My house wasn't too far, so I knew that I could make it there. I've done it before.

I normally walk home, but I was more nervous than anything, so my little legs ran all the way home. When I made it to the old wooden door, I stopped, resting my hands on my knees. I gasped for breath, my lungs burning at the unexpected exercise. My hand went from my knees to underneath the, "welcome," mat, where the spare key was hidden. I would have used my own, but it was still at the school, in Mrs. Perkins' room.

With an easy twist of the knob, I was in. Finally. I tossed the key onto the kitchen table with an easy flick of my wrist. I checked the large grandfather clock for the time. 12:35.

"Well, crap." I said to the empty house. I had to wait for five hours until my mom got home. Great.

I decided to out that time to good use. I made myself a super healthy lunch of chocolate cereal and milk. I ate with the small, crappy, box television on in the living room. The old couch was just about ready to get tossed out, so I decided to use it this one last time.

Nothing good was on the tv, so I settled for the news. Normally I don't watch it, since it's almost always horse manure, but the virus seemed to be on everyone's minds, so I decided to see what everyone was talking about.

"This major outbreak is thought to be a mutation of the influenza virus. All hospitals in the Atlanta, Georgia area are almost at full capacity." The news anchorman explained. "If you think that you or a loved one harbor this virus, it is best to contact the CDC in your area."

Wow. My heart plummeted a bit. If it had become that bad in Atlanta, this bug must be shitty.

"There is a Safe Spot being set up in downtown Atlanta for those who are not feeling completely safe at home. It is open to everyone with a large carrying capacity.

In more grievous news, a homeless man infected with his flu virus was shot five times today near the local high school."

"Damn." I say under my breath. Poor guy.

"Officials were informed that the man, name unidentified, was seen lounging a few yards from the football field. He was thought to be drunk or on the use of illegal drugs. Officials ordered him to leave the premises, which he refused outwardly to do. He attempted to attack one of the officers, in fact biting him on the arm, before the workers were forced to shoot the man. He was shot four times in the chest before Officer Gonzales killed him with a bullet to the head."

"Jesus Christ." I sucked in a deep breath. Well, I thought, I'm sure mom will want us to go to the safe spot. So, with that thought, I went to my bedroom to pack. I had nothing else to do with my time, and it wasn't like I had homework to do.

In my light purple suitcase, I tossed a few outfits, shampoo and conditioner, my phone charger, iPod charger, and a couple books. Just to keep me occupied. And besides, everyone loves a little Harry Potter.

Going into my mothers' bedroom, I found her tan suitcase in her closet. Into that, I tossed a few clothes (the shirts and pants were likely to be mismatched,) and two of her romance novels. I still had no idea why she found them so appealing. The covers were bland to me.

In her sock drawer, I found a handgun and some rounds of ammo. I didn't understand why mom had it, but it wasn't uncommon to find guns in houses here. This was Georgia. My only guess as to why she had it was dad. And when he died about four years back, she didn't bother to give it back.

And since I didn't know what to being for protection against these... Biters, I packed some kitchen knives. Better to have a crappy weapon than none at all.

I went to the bathroom to grab some toiletries for her. Body wash, a loofah, and her hairbrush. Before the hairbrush was unceremoniously tossed into the suitcase, I ran it through my brown locks.

My mother and I don't look that much alike. I have long, dark brown hair, whereas hers was cut short, and a dirty drown/ dark blonde colour. Her eyes were a chocolate brown, where mine were a hazel/greenish mix. She says that I have my father's eyes. The one feature we share in common is our smile. The way our mouths twist at the corners and how our eyes shine. I'd rather look like my mother than my father.

It was about 5:30 when she finally got home from her job. She was a chef at the local diner. The second she passed the threshold I was being squeezed to death by her strong arms.

"Oh, honey!" She squealed. When she released me from her death grip her hands searched around my arms and neck. "Are you alright? Did anyone try to hurt you?"

"I'm fine, mom." I told her as she squished my face.

Her hands let go of me and she tossed her dirty, flour-covered apron onto one of our dining room chairs.

"I've heard that more and more people are gettin' sick. More of these... Monsters are biting people." She held the sleeve of her diners outfit up. "One of my costumers up an' bit me! I almost called animal control, the way he was actin'."

My heart dropped as I saw the gauze wrapped around her arm.

"Mom, my teacher got bit by someone sick, and she got sick, too." I said. "We need to go to the hospital or something, find out if there's a cure! You can't get sick, too."

She waved a hand to me, shrugging off my suggestion. "I'm fine. Besides, it's barely a scratch." Her hands opened the fridge and yanked out some ham and cheese.

"Mom, you're gonna get sick. I can't let you get sick. I can't lose you, too."

Her head popped up from behind the dirty white door of the refrigerator. Her eyes twinkled with kindness. I'm sure she could see the concern and fear in my eyes.

She gently swung the door back and walked over to me. She smiled and she put a hand on both if my cheeks. "You're not going to, sweetie. I'm never gonna lose me."

"Promise?"

She nodded. "I'll even PINKIE promise it."

I laughed as she put up her pinkie. I took my own and locked the two.

"Good." She released hers from mine and went back to the counter. "Now that that's done, how about a lovely, scrumptious, 5-star meal of ham and American cheese?"

"Sounds absolutely divine." I replied.

And with that, we sat together at the rickety old table that still stood proudly. She told me about the rest of her day. How Margaret the new waitress accidentally spilled coffee all over the floor and how Dennis the chef had made his famous double chocolate mousse cake. A sense of normalcy rested on us. And when she asked about my day, all I said was the Sophia wouldn't shut up about the high school tour. I didn't have the heart to tell her that I basically skipped it. And when we reached the subject of the outbreak, she said she saw the safe spot broadcast on the old tv in the front of the diner. She agreed with me that we should go. Since I packed mostly everything she said that she'd do the dishes today.

Score! I thought. She always made me do the dishes. I hated it. I'd rather take out the stinky trash than do that. She told me to head to bed while she washed and dried them. We were going to leave bright and early the next day. I gave her a kiss on the cheek and went to my bedroom. Going to sleep was more of a hassle than I wanted it to be, but when I did, it was dreamless. Peaceful.

The next morning, I awoke by the sound of my alarm clock buzzing. I groaned irritably and cracked an eye open to look at the time. 6:15, the green numbers read.

I groggily slipped out of my bed and grabbed a fresh pair of clothes from my dresser. Some dark blue jeans, my brown belt holding them up, and a green tee. Easy peasy.

After I was fully awake and made myself presentable, I headed to my mom's bedroom. Empty. Seeing as how her bed was made, I thought that she must've gone to the bathroom to bathe. My suspicions were proven correct. The master bathroom's door was shut.

I rapped my knuckles against the door. "Mom! What's taking you so long?" I said through the wooden barrier. No answer.

"Hurry up, mom! We still need to pick up Sophia and her parents!" I add, hoping it'd get her to move quicker. I silently prayed that Ed wouldn't be there. Though Sophia never told me straight up, I knew that her dad was the reason she and Carol had so many bruises and scars.

"Well, while you finish up I'm making myself some breakfast, okay?" I heard nothing in return, so I went and grabbed myself some cereal. A well-balanced meal, if I say so myself.

By the time I was finished with the Cheerios, I would've thought that mom would be out of the bathroom. Drying off at the least. I couldn't hear much through the walls, but I knew that the sloshes of the water meant she was still in the tub.

From the suitcases, which we left in the living room last night, I grabbed a knife. From what I hear, these people infected are nasty and they are dangerous. I don't want to be too vulnerable. The grip on it is easy to hold, and the sharp blade reflected the light from the ceiling. My reflection in it grimaced; I don't want to scare mom holding this. I know she still thought the best of these infected. Good people with a bad disease. I know that that is not what I thought.

I tucked the knife in between my belt and my jeans. Not a good idea, but I have nowhere else. I'll have to go buy a sheath or something for it. For easy access to it.

My feet dragged me over to the bathroom door once more. She should have been done by then. My knuckles hit the door again. "Mom! Are you almost out?"

No response.

I began to worry. She hadn't answered me at all that morning. She was always so chipper and loved to talk. Yet, that day she wouldn't utter a single word to me. In my brain, a sensor went off. Something was wrong.

"I'm coming in!" I yelled through the door. My sweaty palm grasped the brass knob and twisted it.

I gasped loudly as I saw her, motionless, in the tub. She was lying down in the water, her head resting to the left. The bite mark on her arm was uncovered, showing off the torn and shriveled skin underneath. She must have taken the bandage off to clean it. Or at least attempt to. Her eyelids were heavily shut. She looked like she was asleep.

"MOM!" I shrieked. My voice cracked. I ran to the edge of the tub, looking at the water in the small circle. The bite had started to bleed, leaving the water a dark pink. The scarlet wisps in the water gave... Almost a peaceful feeling to my mother's figure.

I called out moms name again. Her head lolled to the side, and her eyes opened. The irises were a milky white, like the colour of a dense fog at night. They were no longer the sweet, caring, deep brown hue that they were last night.

And I realized: She was dead.

I've seen this before. Just yesterday. With Mrs. Perkins. Like the others that were infected with this gruesome disease. She wasn't there anymore. She never will be again.

Her arms twisted in my direction as her throat let out a low growl. Tears spilled from my eyes by the bucketful and my chest painfully heaved as I gasped out cries.

"You said you wouldn't leave me! You PROMISED you wouldn't leave me!" I yelled at her through my tears. I palmed my face, wiping away tears.

A bullet to the head. The news report rang through my head.

When I gained most control of my breathing, I stood up from the floor. My dead mothers arms reached out for me, my movement gaining her attention. I couldn't leave her like this. I can't leave her shell here as some monster that only knows how to hurt.

I had to kill her.

The knife that was on my side was grasped, and I muttered to myself, "The head. Get her head."

More tears spilled through my eyes as I grasped the hilt steadily. My other hand went to the back of her head.

"I love you." My voice broke as I said, "love," to her. To what used to be her.

"I love you." I say the mantra again and again. My knife was wavering above her head, the blade shining my reflection. I looked broken. I was broken.

"I love you!" I screamed it one last time to her and I stab the knife through her head. I cried out, a scream of utter pain. I just killed my mother. How could I live with myself?

The knife exited her head with a tough, "Shlickk," and I threw it to the wall. From the open wound came a trail of blood, moving from her head to the bridge of her nose, onto her neck, and her collarbone. I had a splatter of red on my green tee. I felt sick. I had my mothers' blood on my shirt.

I collapsed to the floor in a heap, pressing my back against the wall. I sniffled loudly and my hands went up to my face, shrouding my vision of the dead body in front of me.

And then I cried for what felt like an eternity.

A/N: And that's the new chapter guys! I hope you all liked it. The entirety of The World We Live In should be updated, in due time. And when that's done, off to season five! Fell free to review, favourite, and follow the story. Thanks!