Chapter 1...
Crystal awoke feeling disoriented, and groggy, she looked around the room trying to comprehend where she was but everything was just a blur. Climbing out of the bed crystal put her feet down on the cold hard floor and stood up unsteadily before she realised she was hooked up to a machine. Looking down at her arm Crystal pulled on the needle that was in her attaching her to the machine and it came out of her arm leaving a pin prick like mark with a little blood oozing from the wound. Crystal opened the door and walked out into the corridor of the hospital but it was deserted, there were no doctors or nurses, no reception staff and most of all no patients. Staggering along the corridor Crystal came across an exit, she pushed the bar on the door and it opened with ease. Feeling the warm sun on her face Crystal attempted to slowly concur the stone steps leading to the pavement below.
Eventually reaching the bottom Crystal was exhausted and sat down on the bottom step for a few seconds before staggering up the street to her home which was about ten minutes away from the hospital.
Making her was slowly and awkwardly up the street she realised they there was no body around. The street was deserted it was like a ghost town, there were a few cars parked on the side of the road but most of them looked like they had been vandalised by thugs. Walking up the street seemed like it took forever. What usually took Crystal a ten minute walk had turned into a 25 minute walk, but eventually she came to her house. Pushing open the front door it made a loud squeaking noise which startled Crystal as she didn't expect it. Walking or should I say limping into the living room she began to look around, everything was still as it should be but the house seemed bigger, eerier than the last time she was hear. How long had it been? She though as she attempted to climb the stairs up to the bedrooms. Just as she got to the top Crystal felt dizzy and needed to sit for a minute or two. She bent down and sat on the landing with her back against the wall looking up she could see pictures on the walls, she managed to stand and look at the pictures more closely they were of her and a man. Crystal walked along the corridor still looking at all the lovely photos as she passed by, she eventually came to her bedroom. By now it was starting to get late so Crystal untied the horrible hospital gown she was wearing and dropped it to the floor, then she walked into the on suite bathroom and turned on the shower. Standing under the hot water felt good, it's what she needed to feel human again god knows how long she'd been in that hospital for? After about twenty minutes just standing under the running water Crystal decided she needed to get her life back on track, she started by washing her hair and shaving her legs and under arms, before stepping out of the shower and wrapping the towel around her naked body.
Walking back into the bedroom Crystal drew the curtains, before slipping into her comfiest pyjamas and heading back down stairs towards the kitchen. At the bottom she realised that she had not closed the front door after herself once she had come in, and so went to close it but at the same time she pulled the chain across as to keep anyone from getting in. Walking back towards the kitchen she found yet more pictures of her and this man together "we looked happy she though, but at the same time was trying to remember who the man in the photos was and how she ended up in the hospital in the first place?" Crystal dismissed her thoughts at that moment as she was beginning to get a headache. Opening one of the cupboards she pulled out a glass and a plate before walking over to the fridge, but to her astonishment the fridge was empty. So she looked in all of the cupboards and eventually found a couple of packets of vegetables soup and luckily it was still in date. Crystal filled the kettle and picked up a mug from the mug tree that was sitting on the kitchen counter before pouring the powdered soup into it. When the kettle had boiled Crystal poured the boiling water into her mug of powdered soup and grabbed a spoon from one of the draws before heading into the front room to curl up on the sofa.
Chapter 2
The next morning was a sunny one and is it began to stream in through the curtains of the front room Crystal began to stir, waking up to find she had fallen asleep on the sofa. Getting up off of the couch Crystal stumbled into the kitchen to pour herself some coffee, before remembering she had nothing apart from the sachets of soup she found. Leaving the kitchen she wearily climbed the stairs, coming to the top of the landing Crystal walked into her bedroom and began to get dressed. She put on her dark green t-shirt and combat trousers, and a combat jacket to match. Sitting on the bed she pulled on her socks and military boots and then stood and pulled her long hair into a ponytail. Looking in the mirror at her self for a couple of minutes she realised something had changed but she didn't know what, turning on her heel Crystal was about to leave the room when she saw something glistening on the windowsill, walking around the bed and over to the window she bent down to pick up what looked like a wedding ring. Holding this between her forefinger and thumb she looked even closer, to find there was an inscription written in side that said Crystal & Daryl together forever. Sitting down slowly on the side of the bed, Crystal tried to absorb the news that she was supposedly married, getting up off of the bed she walked back over to the full length mirror and pushed the ring onto her wedding finger, and of course it fit perfectly. Crystal examined her hand and the ring for a second longer before a huge smile spread across her face and she uttered "I'm married, OMG I'm actually married." Crystal was still standing in front of the mirror day when she heard what sounded like a gun shot coming from the street, running awkwardly along the corridor and down the stairs, Crystal stopped at the bottom to look for an object of some sort anything that could protect her, after all if there was someone outside shooting she needed to be ready. Pulling open the cupboard door that led under the stairs, to find a wooden box with carved with hearts on the front, she opened the box up to reveal a pink and black hand gun inside. Picking up the gun Crystal checked to see if she had enough rounds, before standing up and heading for the front door.
Once outside Crystal looked around but just like before she could see no one. Thinking about the fact she needed coffee Crystal began to wander along the road towards the shops, when she saw what looked like a man coming towards her, he was making a grunting noise and was wearing tatty and some what bloody clothes. Not thinking that there was anything wrong Crystal began to run towards the man, but before she had time to do or say anything he was grabbing at her clothes and trying to bite her. Crystal managed to push him off of her the first time but as he lunged at her again, she fell to the floor so that the man was now laid on top of her and still he tried to bite her, Crystal tried to pull her gun out from the back of her trousers, but even with all of her efforts she couldn't get to it. Just as she was about to give up hope another gunshot was fired and the man that lay on top of her was now dead, he'd been shot straight through the head. Crystal wriggled from underneath the man and managed to stand up, she looked over to where the shot had come from to see a black man standing on the corner of the street, as she began to walk over to him, he approached her and asked "what is your name?" "Crystal" she answered before asking what had just happened? "My name is Morgan, I live just up the road. Please come with me and I shall explain everything" Crystal agreed to go with Morgan and before she knew it she was sitting on his living room floor, trying to absorb the conversation they had just had over the last twenty minutes. "So what your saying is since I've been in the hospital the world has been destroyed, along with humanity which is why there are dead people walking around outside?" Morgan looked up from his coffee cup and replied to her question "yes."
Crystal finally got up off of the floor before trying once again to understand what was happening in the world. Finally she sat down on the sofa before she began to express her feelings "this can't be happening, I mean yesterday I woke up in the hospital, today I find out that I'm married to some guy named Daryl and then you tell me that basically the world has come to an end, where nearly all humanity are either dead or walking corpses. I mean seriously my brain hurts, this is just to much information to digest in one day." Morgan came and sat next to Crystal, then handing her a cup of coffee said "everything will be ok and hopefully you will find your husband again. But for now you sleep hear tonight and tomorrow we start target practice." Crystal thanked Morgan again for saving her life and snuggled up on the sofa, where she fell into a deep peaceful sleep.
The next morning Crystal woke to gun shots and cans dropping onto the floor. Getting up from the sofa Crystal followed the noise through the house until she came to the back door, poking her head slightly outside she could see Morgan lining up the cans ready to shoot them down again. Crystal stepped out into the garden and walked over to Morgan who had already seen her coming. "Are you ready to start target practice?" Asked Morgan. Pulling her gun out of the back of her trousers, Crystal stood with a straight back and legs apart, then taking a deep breath, she looked down the barrel of the gun, aiming at her target. Crystal squeezed her finger on the trigger and with fear pushed aside she hit all of her targets. Releasing the trigger Crystal put her gun down and bowed down in front of Morgan. "Very good." He clapped pretending to big her up. "Well thank you kind sir" laughed Crystal as the two of them walked back into the house. "So where did you learn to shoot like that?" Asked Morgan. Crystal took a few minutes before responding to his question "I was a cop or should I say I was a federal agent for the division of security." But before Morgan could say anything else to her, Crystal turned to face him "look I really appreciate what you did for me yesterday ok, saving me from that...that thing!"
"A walker." Replied Morgan
"Whatever, I don't wanna talk about my past, ok I don't wanna talk about anything! what I wanna do is get on the road and find my husband. I need him to know I'm ok, and you can either stay hear and keep reminiscing about how great you had it and how happy you were, or you can come with me? It's your choice?"
Chapter 3
Morgan stood for a moment longer not saying anything. And in the time it took for him to reply, it felt like time had come to a standstill. Looking back at Crystal, Morgan spoke so quickly but quietly, "I'm not coming." He said as he walked past her and into the living room. "What! you can't be serious? Come on Morgan please?" Asked Crystal as she followed him in to the room. "I'm not coming." He replied again "Fine... please your self." Replied Crystal before heading out of the front door and back up the street to her own house. The street was quiet and there weren't many walkers around. Coming to her door she walked into the house and began going through the draws, opening them and rummaging around inside looking for her car keys. After about twenty minutes Crystal turned to see the keys hanging on the key hook behind the door. Grabbing the keys, she headed out towards the car, pulling on the handle she pulled opened the car door and climbed in, slamming the door shut she put the keys in the ignition and the car roared to life. Pulling out of the drive way, Crystal took one more glance over at Morgan's house before speeding off into the distance. After about fifty miles, Crystal pulled into a gas station, turning off the engine, Crystal pushed the car door open and stepped out. Heading for the sliding doors she made her way inside. Walking down the isles Crystal grabbed herself a couple bottles of water, a packet of cheese Dorito s and a large bar of caramel galaxy, before again heading for the exit. But just as Crystal approached the door she heard a groaning noise coming from behind her. Dropping the items into a shopping basket on her right hand side, Crystal turned around quickly, with drawing her gun from the back of her trousers she pulled the trigger and in that moment it was as if everything had slowed down. The bullet travelled through the air as if it was happening in slow motion, then hitting the walker in the head it sunk into his skull and he was dead.
Crystal placed her gun back into her trouser, then picking up her items from the basket she returned to her car. Climbing into the drivers seat and threw the stuff on to the passenger seat, before putting the car into gear and speeding off down the M750. After driving for what seemed forever but was only about 35 miles out, Crystal came to a stop and by this time it was beginning to get dark. So she thought to herself she may as well settle down for the night. So climbing into the back seat of her car, Crystal reached down and pulled a blue coloured fleecy blanket over herself and lay down to sleep.