Author Note: Hello everyone, this is my very first Walking Dead fanfiction so I hope I don't do too horribly. I'm very excited about this particular story and I hope you all will enjoy it. It's unbeta-ed for now but I'm currently looking into getting one. This is more a prologue of sorts as well as a gauge to see how interested people are. Constructive criticism is more than welcome. This is the first OFC I've made in many, many years and I want to avoid a Mary-Sue at all costs. I've created a profile for Dani, you can find it on my profile if you're interested. Anyway, enjoy~
Chapter 00
They are everywhere.
Dani runs as fast as her legs can carry her, dodging and twisting whenever they get too close. Her shoes slap against the concrete and her lungs feel like they're about to burst. Stopping isn't an option. She needs to keep moving if she wants to survive. She knows first-hand what happens when they get a hold of something. She refuses to end up like Mrs. Garfield, torn to shreds and choking on her own blood, eaten alive by freaks.
They amble after her with wet, gurgling growls. Dani is compact, giving her the advantage of speed. She skids around a sharp corner, heart pounding like a war drum. Everything hurts. She races toward the parking garage, doing her best to ignore her screaming body. If she makes it to her car, she'll be safe. She knows it. Then she can get the hell out of dodge.
The swarm behind her grows, the ones nearby stirring into action. They form a massive cloud of snapping jaws and angry howls. Fear pumps through her veins and motivates her to push harder, forcing already exhausted muscles into overdrive. She flies across the pavement, eating up the distance between her and salvation. The world around her blurs. Her vision tunnels, black and fuzzy around the edges.
A heavy side door leading to the parking garage is straight ahead. It's so close she can taste it.
'Just a little bit more…' she thinks, quickly glancing over her shoulder. The swarm is a pulsating mass of hunger, always somehow keeping up with her. 'Shit!'
Dani swivels, throwing herself the last few feet. Her shoulder slams into the door, her bones shudder on impact. Pain blooms hot and sudden but there's no time to worry about it. She wrenches the handle. The door refuses to budge.
"Come on," she pleads. "Please, don't do this."
A peek back shows that they're only a few feet away. Wild desperation turns her gut and she starts banging on the metal, nails trying to pry the door open. She trembles. Tears start to build behind her eyes. It can't end like this. Not after everything she's done to survive.
"Goddamn it, open up!"
She kicks out a foot in her anger. Thinking quickly, Dani wraps both hands around the knob. She digs her feet onto the side of the building one at a time until she's horizontal. Pushing off, she uses her weight and the building for leverage and tugs back as hard as she can. The metal groans in protest. She pulls again but something goes wrong and her grip falters. She slips, back crashing into the unforgiving ground. All the air rushes from her lungs and leaves her gasping.
'This is it, I'm going to die,' she thinks. 'Torn apart by drooling freaks…'
The sound of grating metal makes her snap to attention. With wide, hopeful eyes she watches as the door slowly creaks open before getting stuck. The space is barely big enough to fit a small child, let alone a grown woman but that won't stop her. She'll make herself fit.
Scrambling to her feet, Dani rushes to the door. She slips off her backpack and stuffs it in through the crack. They are nearly on top of her. Taking a deep breath, she slots herself sideways, shimmying. The chilly metal bites into her back.
She sucks in her stomach, using her arms to pull herself through. When half of her body is sandwiched between the door and wall, she gets gets caught. Cursing, she leans in and shoves with her thigh, hoping gravity will help her out. The swarm starts to crowd outside, the fetid smell of death impregnating the air.
Dani gags on the stench, throat burning as her hands claw at the wall. She jerks her body forward. She's almost there…
One of them breaks rank, grabbing her arm and trying to take a large bite out of the flesh. She shrieks, lunging away from the gnashing teeth. Something gives and suddenly she's sliding into darkness. Lightning pain flares up her spine and down her leg. She falls on her bottom with a soft cry.
A desperate laugh burbles from her throat when she sees the sliver of light pouring in from outside. She makes it just in time. Furious snarls resound from outside and dozens of hands wedge themselves around the door, reaching for her. If she can barely fit through, they have no chances of getting in.
Dani flops on the floor. Her hands shake as she rubs them across her face, adrenaline pumping. The cool cement is a balm for her bruised body. Everything aches. Her back and thighs burn. Her stomach roils, she feels like she might pass out. But none of that matters because she's alive. Her lips twitch into an exhausted smile. She'll rest for a moment or two before finding her car.
They can't get in. She's safe.
The 'for now' goes unsaid.