The maid lay face down on the floor in the hallway in a pool of her own blood, her eyes open and glazed over. Scattered around her body were shards of broken glass that had once been a vase, and in the last minute had been used as a weapon to hit the maid on the side of the head and cause her temple to cave in.
Victoria was slightly panting from the energy she had had to exert to stop the maid from attaching her. Drawing her eyes away from the now motionless body, she sighed as she looked down at the blood splatters on her white silk pajama shirt.
She padded bare foot across the mahogany wood floor, past the living rooms French doors looking out over the green gardens that lead down to a calm lake, and into the bedroom. Standing infont of her wardrobe she reached up on tiptoes and pulled down her Givenchy Antigona bag, placed it on the king size bed and unzipped it.
Beside her bag was the outfit she had laid out before she had heard the maid banging on the front door. She started to change, discarding the silk pajamas on the floor. Such a waste. She thought to herself as she finished dressing herself in a plain black strap top and white linen trousers. She slid on a pair of brand new white Nike trainers, meant for the indoor gym here but never once used, and finally she placed a dark blue baseball cap with a red 'C' stitched on the front on top of her blonde head. She had no affiliation to any sports team in America but when one of her stops had been in Chicago she had picked up the hat as a momento of a good concert.
Only the basics. She thought to herself. From the wardrobe she collected a couple of outfits and from the draws pulled out some underwear, stuffing them straight into the bottom of the bag. From the marble bathroom she collected her washbag, toothpaste and toothbrush, hair products, hair straighten and her small pots of medication. She dropped those into the bag.
Finally, from her nightstand, she picked up her mobile phone and unplugged the charger. She scooped up her jewelry, purse and a couple books she had meant to read while she was staying here. Into the bag they all went.
Well I don't need it to close anyway. Victoria told herself, staring down at her overfilled bag. She slung the bag over shoulders, took a deep breathe, and headed back into the living room.
When she had checked into the 'resort' she had requested her room to not have a television, and no newspapers to be delivered. The first she had thought something might be wrong was a couple days ago when room service hadn't delivered her breakfast. She had tried calling the front desk but the lines were always engaged. In the end she had resorted to calling her manager, who told her that a lot of people outside were being struck down with an illness. He had said he would come and collect her as soon as he could get there. He'd never appeared.
Yesterday she had decided to finally visit the gym before her therapy appointment. Before she could leave she looked out over the landscape and spotted another resident standing outside on their cottages porch. The woman smiled at the approaching figure of Doctor Lawrence, but her smile quickly turned into a look of horror as the doctor hobbled towards her, grabbing her hair and sinking his teeth into the top of her arm.
Victoria had decided not to go to the gym after all.
The snarling maid who had tried to attack her was the final confirmation she needed that no one was coming for her. Problem was she had no idea where to go. Not a native to the country, and not knowing how to drive she guessed she would walk to the nearest city and see if someone could give her a ride to the nearest airport that could take her back home to England.
Hold on, pain ends. She found herself repeating the quote from one of her therapy sessions. She hoped it would instill in her the courage she needed, though deep down she was terrified. One final glance back at the maids body before she threw open the French doors and walked out into the hot Georgia sun.
The far off echo of a car alarm snapped her back to the here and now. She'd been walking in a trance for hours. The things she had seen...the monsters she had seen feasting on other people. So much blood...
Along her travels she had come across a small convenience store. She was exhausted, hungry and parched. The glass front of the store was smashed in and the shelves had been knocked over. Victoria hovered in the doorway, looking for any signs of people or those...eaters. Taking a couple of steps into the store, she grabbed a pack of crisps and a bottle of water and ran as fast as she could back out into the open.
She'd consumed the food and water greedily. Now she was berating herself for not holding some back. Once again her throat was dry and she felt light headed. Thank god for this cap keeping the sun off my head, she thought, trying to find the positive in such a bleak situation.
That car alarm...it's getting closer...Victoria moved from the shade of the side of the road and walked into the middle of the five lane highway. There were no cars on this side of the road leading into Atlanta, but the side heading out of Atlanta was a sea of abandoned vehicles.
The glint of sun bouncing off a fast moving red car caught her attention. The car alarm! She dropped her bag to the ground and started waving her arms high above her head. This was the first sign of a truly alive person in hours. She would not let them leave without her. Her legs ached and it was taking all her remaining energy to try and wave the car down.
"Please!" She screamed as loud as she could as the car drove straight past her. Her arms dropped to her sides in defeat and her legs crumpled beneath her. The hot Tarmac warmed her legs through her linen trousers. She wanted to cry but couldn't even muster the energy up for that.
"You coming or what?!" A voice screamed behind her. Victoria snapped her head up and looked behind her. The red car had stopped, she hadn't even noticed that the noise of the alarm was still present. Scrambling to her feet, she hoisted her bag back onto her shoulder and shakily ran to the car and into the passenger side.
"Oh my gosh...thank you..." She gulped for breath. The Asian man smiled and nodded at her before flooring the car and racing back down the highway.
"Glenn." He said as way of introduction. "Tor." She replied. Glenn snapped his head back to look her over again, his expression a mix of shock and surprise. "Wait...The Tor?!" He shouted over the din of the alarm. Victoria raised her shoulders in a gesture of you got me, and nodded her blonde head.
"Woooooooo!" Glenn shouted, zig zagging the car in delight as they hurtled down the empty highway.
