Disclaimer: I own nothing except for my OCs.

'Sign Language'

Thoughts

The world had always been a strange place for Charlotte Connor, even before it ended. She was a waitress in a small town about three hours away from Atlanta. Though that's not where she was now. She was sitting in a hospital room watching her daughter's breathing in and out. She'd just gotten out of surgery an hour before. Her daughter Hannah had gone deaf by the age of three. Finally, after years of working three jobs and getting a small inheritance from her mother, she could afford getting her daughter a cochlear implant. She had to pay out of her pocket, since their health insurance didn't cover it. It took some time but they'd finally made it. They were in Atlanta, in the room. Now she just had to wait until Hannah woke up to put on the external part, after that, poof she'd be able to hear. It would take some time for her to be able to adapt but Charlotte knew her daughter was strong enough to make it. She could be anything she wanted to now with no restrictions. Charlotte looked over to see the external part sitting on the night stand waiting. Before the surgery, Hannah's doctor taught her how to install it in her daughter's ear. For the first time in forever her daughter would be able to hear her voice. The thought made Charlotte smile.

Charlotte must've nodded off. When she woke her daughter was still asleep but the daylight was fading. Hannah was affected by the anesthesia more so than most people. It knocked her out for hours. It was a mystery to most doctors but it didn't worry Charlotte all that much. Anesthesia affect everyone differently. She heard a scream coming from the hall. She stood up and cautiously went to the window that peered in the hall. Her heart leapt out of her chest when a man started pounding on the door. His eyes were clouded, dead. Charlotte stumbled back in surprise. This couldn't be real. This had to be a dream. She pinched her arm in hopes that she would wake back up in the chair. It did nothing. She was awake. The news was right. The virus was true. It wasn't some bath salts trip. Now they were in the hospital. No, this place was supposed to be safe. Charlotte made sure of it. Other hospitals were supposed to send their patients to this one. There was supposed to be a refugee center. The monsters were inside. They were close to her baby. She had to make a plan. They couldn't stay here anymore.

The man was still pounding on the door trying to get in. There was a loud bang and suddenly he dropped. She covered her mouth to keep from screaming. Charlotte looked out the window again and saw one of the gurneys. They had to get out. Find someplace safe. There was a refugee center, right? She recalled the news saying that if it got bad, there would be a refugee center in Atlanta. Now they just have to get there. She took a deep breath before opening the door. Outside, the sounds of people screaming filled her ears. The sound of moaning and groans pierced her heart. She swallowed back her fear and dragged the bed in her daughter's room. The hallway was clear, except for the corpse of the man that was shot. She felt a hand on her shoulder. She jumped and saw a man in an Atlanta police uniform. He had dark brown hair with equally dark eyes. His police uniform looked to be stained with blood.

"You bit?" His deep voice asked. Charlotte frantically shook her head. "Good, we gotta get outta here. Came here to help evac the hospital only to find it crawling with these things. The city is bein' overrun. We gotta get as far as we can from here." He tried to lead her away.

"To the refugee center?" She asked, Monroe gave her a look.

"Sorry to tell you this darlin' but there ain't no refugee centre." Monroe's statement sucked the hope right out of her soul. There was no refugee centre. "We gotta get outta Atlanta. Get away as far as you can." He pulled her hand to try and make her leave the room.

"No. My daughter is in that room. She's unconscious. I'm not leavin' without her." Charlotte firmly told him.

"Why's she in the hospital?" The officer growled he had his gun trailed on her.

"Cochlear Implant." Charlotte frantically told him. "Got out of surgery maybe about five hours ago. Can you help me get her out of here?" She asked the man, he nodded and the pushed the gurney in the tiny hospital room. Luckily, Hannah didn't have tubes connected. Apart from the IV.

"What's your name?" The cop asked

"Charlotte. My daughter's name is Hannah." She said. "You?"

"Monroe. Officer Monroe." He shook her hand. "Don't worry, I'll get you both safely outta here." Monroe reassured as he gently lifted Hannah up in and placed her on the gurney. Charlotte grabbed the bag and the external part of the implant and tossed them on the empty part of the rolling bed.

She pushed it until they reached the door. Monroe gave her a questioning look, as though asking if she was ready. Hesitantly, she nodded and he opened the door. They didn't waste a moment before running down the hall. Charlotte had to keep her fear at bay as the screams from unsuspecting victims echoed through the halls.

"Keep going." Monroe urged as they reached the elevator. Thank god the power was still on. The elevator door opened, there was one of those things inside. It was a nurse in bright pink scrubs. There was a nasty red bite mark on her throat. The scrubs were stained with dried blood. This hospital seemed to have fallen so quickly. Charlotte yelped in horror as the cop raised his gun and pulled the trigger. The nurse sank to the ground. Monroe urged her forward.

"How far is your car from the hospital?" He asked once they were safely behind the closed doors. Charlotte kept looking down at her daughter still sleeping soundly. She was almost thankful that her daughter couldn't hear what was going on around her. It felt like a nightmare. "Hey! Where's your car?"

"North Garage." She had to think about it for a second.

"Fuck." He cursed. "Too far." Charlotte felt the panic bubble in her chest. An idea came to mind.

"There's got to be an empty ambulance nearby." She suggested.

"There was one by the emergency room." Monroe recalled. "Problem is its full of them. There's a side door that leads to the road but we can't bring the bed in there. It'll slow us down."

"I'm not leavin' her." Charlotte told him again.

"I'm not askin' you too. You carry her. I'll have the bags and cover you." He reassured. "We'll get out of here, I promise." She gave a curt nod saying she understood the plan. Charlotte took the IV out of her daughters arm and lifted up on her hip. It was a good thing her daughter was so light and small. She took after her mother in the slender and quick metabolism. Charlotte draped her daughter's arms around neck and as the doors to the first floor opened.

The hall was eerily quiet. Monroe kept his gun cocked as they started running down the hall. Their footsteps echoed through the empty hall. The lights started flickering until they went out entirely. The power must've been cut. If they gotten in the elevator a minute later, they'd would've gotten stuck. They rounded the corner but Monroe pushed her back when they saw the hall full of the diseased.

"Oh my god." Charlotte started shaking out of fear. She looked down at her sleeping daughter. "I'm sorry baby." She whispered into her long brown hair. She blinked back the tears in her eyes. Monroe tapped her on the shoulder. He pointed to the office down the right side. There was a window. They could get out. Charlotte nodded understanding what he was saying.

"Go first, I'll cover your back." Monroe said.

Charlotte was hesitant to go first but she had to trust the cop. He'd gotten them this far. He could've left them on the third floor. Charlotte nodded and stepped in front of him. The groans of the diseased got louder and louder. She peered over her shoulder to see Monroe there following her closely. Charlotte shielded her daughter's head and sprinted to the slightly ajar door. That was when she heard the scream and the loud bang echoed through the hall. She felt a hand push her forward.

"GO!" Monroe forced her forward until they reached the office. He shut the door behind them. Charlotte turned to see half a dozen rotting faces in the tiny window pounding at the door. She heard a moan of pain. She turned to see Monroe leaning on the desk covering his shoulder.

"Monroe, you okay?" She asked.

"You don't have a lot of time." He said weakly. She could see the blood pouring between his fingers.

"What happened to you?" She asked

"Got bit." He said shortly. Charlotte gasped when he rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. The skin around the bite was raw and bloody. Like the nurse in the elevator. "You gotta get outta here. Go through the window and make a run to the ambulance. Take this." He handed her the bag and held out his pistol. "I'll distract them."

"I can't take that." Charlotte shook her head. "You need something to defend yourself."

"You need it more than I do." He kept held out and banging on the door got louder. "I promised I'd get you and your little girl out of here." She was felt the tears flow from her eyes and took the pistol. The gun felt heavy in her hand. "I'm a goner anyway. Just get out now." He yelled. Charlotte nodded and sprinted to the window. Hannah was starting to get heavier in her arms. She shifted her daughter over to her other hip and opened the window. She looked back at the police officer's matted brown hair. "Go!" He ordered and she pushed herself out.

She shut the window behind her and started running in the direction of the emergency room, ignoring the cries of her savior. The path to the ambulance was clear. All the diseased seemed to be in the hospital. Charlotte ran with one hand under her daughter's butt and kept her gun raised. The adrenaline was pumping through her veins. The white vehicle sat just on the side of the road in front of the building. The street was dark and empty which was odd. There were cars abandoned in the middle of the road but she knew she could weave around it.

"It's okay baby, I'm gonna get us out of here." She reassured the sleeping body of her daughter. Charlotte always marveled how deeply Hannah could sleep. She was literally sleeping through the end of the world. The quiet bothered her. Shouldn't there be panic in the streets? Shouldn't there be more of those things? Not that she wasn't happy there weren't more but still, it didn't sit right.

She pushed away her uneasy feelings and opened the passenger side door to the ambulance. She put Hannah in the seat and put on the seat belt. Charlotte then ran to her side and got in the driver's seat. She fiddled around looking for any keys.

"Ha ha!" She cried out of joy when the set of keys dropped on her lap. "Thank you careless ambulance driver!" She turned on the ignition and started driving. The closer she got to downtown, the busier the streets got. People were running around, buildings were on fire. If it wasn't for the smell of burning flesh that stung her nose or the sounds of people screaming, she would've of thought it was a really terrifying movie. She could see infected people attacking normal people. Charlotte swallowed the bile that rose in her throat when she saw a group of five or so infected surrounding a body ripping it apart. Blood and corpses littered the street. She swerved around running bodies. Some slammed on the hood of the car begging to get in. She wanted to help them. She really did but her priority was Hannah. It would always be Hannah.

It got harder to get through the mobs. The traffic was getting to be too much. Every one was trying to get out of the city. Okay, everyone is trying to get out of the city and no one is trying to get in the city. She threw the vehicle in reverse and floored it to the nearest on ramp. Just as she suspected, the other side of the highway was empty. She looked at her side mirror, the city was getting further away. That was when she saw the fire. They were dropping bombs in the streets. All those people. All dead. She could've saved them. The guilt rose in her chest. Monroe was dead because of her. Did he have a family? He had to and now they'd never see him again. It was all her fault. Maybe if she'd gone second she could've protected him somehow, or if she'd moved faster. He was ripped apart so they could get away.

There was shuffling coming from next to her. She looked over at Hannah. Her daughter was just starting to wake up, finally.

'Where are we?' Her daughter signed completely lost. Charlotte didn't want to have to explain all that she'd seen. Not yet.

"Go back to sleep." She faced her daughter so that Hannah could read her lips. Charlotte had no clue where she was driving. All she knew was that there had to be somewhere safe. She looked back to see Hannah staring out the window. Charlotte blinked back tears at the sight of smoke rising from the city.

I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. Next one Charlotte and Hannah will meet the rest of the group. I have the first part of the story already written so I'll update soon. Anyway please Review, Favourite or Follow.