Chapter 1

The Beginning of the End

...

Nobody knows exactly when the world ended. Nobody noticed and when they did, it was already too late. It all started like a rumor, weird videos and conspiracy theories, before the world as we knew it ended so suddenly, in the blink of an eye. The dead started walking and the living started running...

Barbara Henderson was a twenty-two year old med student in Georgia University. She had just finished pre-med a year ago and was in the right way to become a doctor a few years before the rest of her class. Everyone who knew her knew she already had her life figured out. She herself believed that. She was young and smart, had a nice boyfriend and her dad already moved strings so she could get plenty of experience before anyone else.

It was mid-January, and she was spending her winter break with her family in Atlanta. They lived in Tuxedo Park, one of the most exclusive parts in town. That was who she was. She was born with a silver spoon well-placed in her mouth but even then, she had worked hard for what she wanted. Like getting into university. Her dad hadn't had to pull any strings unlike with her elder brother Brett, who had need a bit of a helping hand with his application to Duke. And also she had her feet more grounded than her younger sister Isabella, who didn't seem to want to do anything with her life but to be a model. Barbara loved her, but her sister was getting out of control. She was still in high school and partied as hard as Barbara's sorority's sisters. So that's why she decided to spend the holidays at home instead to going somewhere else, in the hopes to keep her sister in check. It wasn't like she didn't like parties, she did, but she knew there were more important things in life.

Until then, Isabella behaved so when she invited Barbie to a party, the older sister accepted. The sisters dressed up and left the house as their dad was receiving a doctor. Barbara thought maybe he was just trying to get more favors for her but she noticed the nervous and urgent look in both men faces. She didn't say anything though, until her boyfriend Blake, was driving them to the party.

"Did you notice the look in Dad's face?" Barbie asked her sister turning in her sit to look at her. The younger blond girl reapplied her makeup before answering and shrugging.

"Maybe he was trying to sneak you into another surgery," Isabella dismissed it but the older girl shook her head.

"This was different. He was so serious... I'm worried something bad happen to him or... Mom," Barbie said turning in her sit and looking ahead, biting her lip lightly.

"You always worry about something and usually it's nothing," Isabella said. "Remember those scary videos you showed me?"

"Those are real," Barbie replied and frowned. Blake rose an eyebrow smiling and glanced at her.

"The video of the guy being shot that I showed you?"

The brunette detected the amusement in his voice and glared at her boyfriend.

"You said it was real. You told me so, and they all over the internet."

The guy shrugged.

"Yeah, well, I think they're fake. Maybe a prank or something."

The girl said nothing but she couldn't shook the feeling that something wasn't right.

Only half an hour later her fears were confirmed when her phone rang. It was her dad and he was beyond himself. He asked where they were and when she told him he demanded them to come back immediately. He even shouted at Blake when he tried to calm him down.

Feeling something was bad, they dragged Isabella away-who was luckily barely starting to get drunk, and they drove home.

As they drove as fast as they could, they realized they weren't the only ones. They crossed a lot of cars practically flying on the road. One passed very near them and crashed against a tree. Both girls yelped.

The guys were shocked as they saw people struggling the inside and then a lot of blood, splashing on the windows.

Isabelle screamed.

"We should call the police and see if they need help!" Barbie said but Blake shook his head, suddenly pale as a ghost.

"Your dad told me not to stop until we've reached the house."

"Those people need help! Did you see the blood!" the girl told him starting to freak out but dialed 911. However the line was dead.

"It's not ringing," she said lowering her phone slowly, her fear starting to grow by the minute. Something was wrong. And not only on her house.

Barbara saw people leaving their houses, their cars packed. She didn't understand. And then with a shiver she recalled those videos. In one of them a man had been shot dead in the chest. And then, moments later he woke up somehow, growling. Blake had told her it was just a joke but what if... what if...

They reached their house and Blake had to park at the end of the driveway because all of her dad's vans were out and being loaded with boxes and guns... What the hell?

Blake and the sisters left the car and walked to the house confused, shocked and scared. William Henderson, Barbara and Isabelle's father, was in the door instructing the people in there and he ran to them the moment he spotted them.

"Dad!" Barbara walked as fast as she could with her ten-inched high heels in the gravel. "What's going on?"

The man immediately hugged the girls tightly.

"Oh, thanks God you are here! Are you alright? Are you bitten?"

He stepped away and looked them over as the girl frowned confused.

"Did you say bitten?" Isabelle asked confused.

"Go quick and change! Jeans, jackets and boots, no fucking heels. We're leaving now!"

The girls were practically dragged by their dad with Blake following them as confused as them.

"What?! No! Why? Where?" Isabelle immediately complained.

"It's hard to explain. Those videos you showed us are real," their dad said crossing the hall and pushing them upstairs.

"What?"

"Dad..."

"I'll explain later. Now go! Change and grab some clothes and important stuff you need. And quick!"

His voice was so scared that almost froze Barbara in the spot. Her dad had never been afraid in his life. Never. Both girls took off their heels and ran upstairs both going to their respective rooms.

Barbara entered her room closing the door behind her and went to her closet pulling off her dress while at it. She put on a bra and jeans. She also put on her riding boots, a random pink shirt and a Barbour jacket. She took her backpack and threw her things in her bed. She put some underwear, socks and shirts on it, her toothbrush, deodorant and body wash. Then she took some small books, Emma by Jane Austen, the Great Gatsby and Wuthering Heights. She stuffed some photos of her family and friends and then closed the back pack. She was about to leave when she turned and picked her med books. Her stethoscope and a med kit she was always carrying but never used. She had a feeling she would need them.

She went down and saw her dad telling his driver to take the other car and go. The maids, and cook were already in one of the cars. Arthur, was the drivers name, smiled at her dad apologetically, briefly hugged him and thanked him and then left.

"Give me," the man said taking her things and putting them quickly in the trunk of the other car. Blake was sitting on the floor, his hands in his hair, looking lost.

The brunette looked at her dad.

"What is going on?"

The man had never looked older and he swallowed.

"It is virus. George, the man who came early told me it was some military shit. It went out of control and now it's spreading."

"The videos..."

"The virus killed people... and then reanimated the corpses."

Barbara's heart stopped for a second and she felt as a bucket of icy water had been poured over her.

"What?"

"Corpses are reanimated. And they can walk and... eat. Human... living flesh, and if you're bit, you turn."

Barbara breath was stuck somewhere in her throat and he shook her head, unable to process the information.

"No, it's impossible..."

"Apparently it's not. Where the fuck it's your sister?! Isabelle Katherine Henderson, they're not fucking vacations, come down this minute!"

Her dad lost his patience and ran upstairs to get Isabelle.

Barbara, unable to do anything or have a coherent though, went to Blake.

"Blake..."

"The lines are dead. And there's no internet," he looked up and she saw actual tears. "I don't know if my mom... I need to go... I need to get her... but your dad said it was going to be a blood bath near downtown... But I need to know..."

William's grumbling interrupted Blake, as the man dragged her daughter's downstairs.

"This is fucking serious! It's not a fucking holiday, missy!"

"Where is Mom? And Brett?"

Barbara asked her dad starting to panic again.

"She's in the study wanting to bring all the photos with us... as if we had a lot of space to begin with-"

"Here!" Claire Henderson walked in, carrying a bunch of albums. She handled them to her husband and he quickly went to the car.

"Let's the fuck out of here! Brett! Brett!"

William went quickly to the car, threw the albums in the truck and closed it but even in the driveway he heard the yells. It was his son. His heart stopped but his legs moved as he re-entered the house and followed the noises along with his family to the kitchen.

Brett was standing in the middle of the kitchen, pinning their former gardener to the wall. But he wasn't the same man, his eyes were a milky bluish and his skin was grayish. He was growling and snapping her jaws at Brett and his mouth was smeared with blood, fresh blood.

William went to his son immediately but Claire was faster, unfortunately she didn't saw their former cleaning lady, dragging across the floor towards Brett. The walker grabbed Claire's leg and before she could turn, she bit her ankle, tearing out the flesh. The woman hauled in pain.

"No!" William screamed looking at the blood and quickly stumped on the walkers head. Once, twice, until it turned into a gory mess, while holding her wife.

Barbara watched the whole thing in horror her mind slowing things down and before she realized, she had took the biggest kitchen knife they had and pushed it through the walker that kept Brett pinned to the wall. The blood splashing her face and soaking her hands in red.

Despite just being saved by her, Brett stared at her as she was seeing her for the first time. But the girl didn't just stand there. She grabbed the towel and ran to her mom, pressing down on the bite.

"We need to stop the bleeding-" she started saying, but if what her dad had said it was true... No, it couldn't be.

"We have to go," William snapped carrying her wife in arms as Barbara kept pressed the towel on her ankle, struggling to keep with her dad's strides.

They reached the car but the driveway was full of walkers already.

William placed carefully her wife in one of the back seats of the minivan and Barbara quickly climbed next to her, pressing her ankle with the towel that was already soaked in her blood.

Isabelle and Brett climbed behind them and Blake and William climbed in the driver and copilot's seat. The doors were closed and by the time the walkers reached them, William rolled them over without a second thought.

He had a determinate look in his eyes, but he was pale, his forehead was sweaty and he grabbed the wheel so hard it almost hurt. But he was conscious.

"We need to take her to a hospital..." Blake started saying.

"No," Barbara surprised them all. "Those things would have run them all over. The infection probably started there..."

"So what now?" Brett asked, his voice shaky.

"Pass me my medical kit."

"What are you going to do?" Brett asked her but Isabelle was already turned to fetch it from the trunk.

"I'm going to suture her... If she keeps loosing blood she's going to die..."

"I'm going to die anyway..." It was the first thing Claire said since she was bitten. Her voice was weak but she opened her eyes and focused them on Barbara.

"George told us... what happens. I'm going to turn... don't let me turn."

Barbara shook her head.

"You're not going to die, Mom. I'm going to fix you," the brunette grabbed the medical kit her sister passed them and she quickly took out antiseptic, a surgical needle and thread.

Barbara sutured her mother as best and as gentle as she could in a moving vehicle. When she finished, she was drained, her mother had screamed so much in pain they were being follow by a small group of walkers as they exited Atlanta. So she was dying to get some sleep but she couldn't, she just held her mother's hand and Isabelle held the other. When her little sister fell asleep her mother looked up to Barbara.

"Took them," she told her daughter. "The pearls."

The girl's eyes traveled to her mother's neck were a row of pears were there. Her stomach dropped and she shook. She couldn't give up that easily.

"No... no they're..."

"They were my mother's... and now, they are yours... take them."

With shaking hands and watering eyes, she unclasped gently and pulled them in the pocket of her jacket.

"No my bracelet... it's for Isabelle..."

The girl nodded and took her mother gold thin bracelet and pulled it with the necklace.

Claire's fever just kept going and three hours later she died. Their dad didn't say anything as he pulled out in a desert road. He took their mother's body out and took them away where they couldn't see it, but they heard the shot.

"Where are we going?" Isabella's small voice seemed to ring in the deafening silence.

Their dad took a moment to answer. They were stuck in the traffic a couple of kilometers outside of Atlanta.

"To your aunt Anette's," their dad replied after a moment. "She and her husband have a farm in Senoia."

"You think it'll be safe there?" Brett asked him with a blank face, and looked at Barbara. The girl hadn't said a word since her mother had passed and had her forehead against the window, staring out.

"It has to be. There are open spaces and little towns there... not crowded cities full of... those things."

Brett nodded.

"Who's your aunt Annette?" Blake asked with a strained voice to no one in particular.

"Mom's only cousin..." Brett responded weekly. "She married this guy... Hershel Greene."