Chapter 1

The traffic on the highway was dreadful. Horns honked, petty fights broke out, and both children and adults alike cried. The young woman gripped the steering wheel of her old red Buick, skittishly chewing her bottom lip of her thin mouth, connecting her teeth with her silver Spider bites piercing.

Her black split ended shoulder length hair hung in clumps, causing her to constantly push her bangs back, refusing to stay in place around her square face.

"Aunt Leah?"

She stopped biting her lip, turning her head to the backseat where her ten-year-old niece with Down's syndrome sat, tugging at her seat belt.

"Y-yes?"

"Where's Mom?"

Leah swallowed a lump forming in her throat. "Um… She's at work."

"Is that where we're going?"

"No, Emma," Leah struggled to smile. "She's very busy."

Turning back to the steering wheel, Leah pulled down the visor, opening the mirror. She took note of the dark circles under her sharp, almost eagle like eyes. Her once glimmering brown appeared dull. The beauty mark under her left eye seemed to just look like a stain on her pale skin, standing out from her light sun freckles.

"Aunt Leah?" Emma whispered from the back seat. "I'm hungry…"

Leah sighed, closing the visor. "Stay here," she ordered her niece. She turned the handle of the car door, pushing it open. Stepping out, she found her way to the trunk, popping it open.

She routed through the items inside, pulling out the only food she packed with: a half full box of granola bars, trail mix, stale Cheerios, a few bottles of store brand bottled water, a few cans of Uncle Ben's baked beans, canned chili, and a few potatoes. Her small perky nose scrunched at the musty smell of the trunk.

"I want a granola bar."

Leah jumped, shaking her head in disappointment as her niece appeared from behind her.

"Sweetie, I told you to stay in the car."

"I want a granola bar," she repeated.

XXX

Back inside the car, Leah watched her niece eat as she listened to the emergency broadcast on the radio.

"…Emergency evacuation will begin now. Remain calm… Emergency ev-"

"Jack ass," Leah grunted as she slammed her hand into the radio, shutting it off.

"That was a swear," Emma stated from the backseat.

Taking a deep breath, Leah nodded as she picked a stray hair off of her black turtleneck, covering her nautical star tattoo she got in college. "You're right. I'm sorry."

XXX

Leah leaned on the hood of her car, clutching her elbows as she watched her niece playing with a little with short blonde hair and a boy with brown hair.

"Hey."

Leah's eyes broke away from Emma, landing on an older woman. She was tall, lanky, and had long dark hair. Her eyes were large and brown, peering into Leah's green and gold irises.

"Hi."

"Your daughter seems to be enjoying herself with my son Carl and Carol's little girl, Sophia," she said.

"Oh, no. Emma isn't my daughter," Leah paused, smiling at her niece. "My sister's little girl."

"Where's your sister?"

"Just hold on a second," Leah said, putting her hand up. "I don't know you. Why should I tell you about my family?"

"I'm sorry," the older woman extended her hand, but Leah refused to take it. "Lori Grimes."

Now she took the older woman's hand, finally shaking it. "Leah Baker. And my sister died when I was visiting her before this shit happened."

"I can tell you're not from here," Lori said. " You don't have an accent."

"Yeah. Pennsylvania. My sister and I grew up there. Once she got married, she left to go live here in Georgia. And then, when her husband found out they were having a child with Down's syndrome, he left."

"That's awful," Lori paused. "What did you do for a living?"

Leah was about to open her mouth, put instead the only sound made was from strangers screaming at each other. Suddenly, the engine of a gunship roared, zooming overhead.

"Lori," a man said from behind. "C'mon."

The man stepped toward the two women. He was tall like Lori. His dark brown hair was in ruffles on his head, and his equally brown eyes glistened with fear.

"Someone has to know what's going on, Shane," Lori said to him. He nodded, and the two of them went ahead, leaving Leah behind.

"Emma," she called. "C'mere."

The Down's syndrome girl hobbled over, and Leah gripped her hand before leading her up to where Shane and Lori disappeared.

"Stay in my sight," Leah said to her niece. "Don't let go of my hand."

She led Emma through the woods, coming to the side of the mountain.

Leah froze in consternation as many gunships hovered over Atlanta. Bombs fell from the aircrafts, setting the city on fire. The windows of the skyscrapers went black as the glass was blown out. Buildings collapsed, and everyone around Leah and her niece just watched.

XXX

The clock on her Buick read 1:00 A.M.. Leah's brain was pleading for rest, but she refused to sleep, lest something bad would happen.

"Damn…" she muttered as she kneaded her thumbs into her throbbing temples.

Snoring advancing to her eardrums as Emma slept on the backseat, curled up under the blanket used to cover the seat. How am gonna tell her that Jamie's dead?

"Leah!"

Outside the window, pressing her hand against the window was Lori. Leah rolled down the window, unsure of what was going on.

"We gotta go!" Lori shouted over the screams of countless people. Looking past her, Leah watched as human beings tore at each other's throats. "Now!"

"G-get my things out of the trunk! I'll be there!"

"Make it quick!"

Leah stepped out of the Buick, and opened the door to the back seat. She shook the shoulder of her sleeping niece, trying to wake her.

"C'mon, Emma!"

"W-what?" the sleepy girl slurred, rubbing her eyes.

"Get up, sweetie," she said as she took the blanket away from Emma, ignoring her as she grabbed for it. "Please."

"No!" she screamed.

"God damnit Emma!" Leah screamed. "Now!"

Leah immediately gasped, covering her mouth in disturbance at what she just said. The young girl looked at her aunt, stunned. Tears rolled down her cheek, and she inched towards the other door, crossing her arms.

"Leah," Lori barked from the trunk. "We gotta leave!"

"Just wait!"

Leah climbed across the seat to her niece, but the little girl screamed, swatting her arm away. "Sweetie, I'm sorry. Please, we gotta go."

"No!" Emma screamed again.

Without warning, the little girl turned the handle of the side door, and jumped out. Bolting…

Bolting towards the chaos.

"EMMA!" Leah screamed. "GET BACK HERE! PLEASE!"

"Leah! Now!" Lori said again, loaded the younger woman's supplies into the back of a grey Jeep.

"AUNT LEAH!"

The piercing screamed echoed through Leah's brain, sending terror through her body. Her eyes scanned the crowds, but it didn't take long for her to find her niece.

A human buried its face into her neck, ripping the flesh out as the little girl began to drown in her own blood. Blood curdling cries escaped from her, and the human looked straight up at Leah.

For the first time, she got a good look at these humans…

And they were anything but living.

"Oh God, no!" Leah sobbed as she rushed towards her last relative. "EMMA!"

Strong arms wrapped around Leah's waist and biceps, pulling her way from her niece. Sobs harrowed her body as she tried to escape the arms.

"No, please!" she screamed. "LET ME GO! EMMA!"

The arms threw her into the grey jeep, pinning her down as she tried to push herself out. "Lori, start the engine! Get us the hell outta here!"

"Go to hell!" Leah screamed, "Get off me!"

"Lori!"

"I'm on it," Lori stuttered, looking away from the young woman. "Carl, don't look outside."

Feeling the vehicle moving, Leah let out the deadliest scream Lori ever heard. She pounded on the man's back. Her face turned red, and her vision blurred from the hot tears, now sliding down her face.

"Shane, stop it!" Lori yelled from the front seat.

"Not until she calms down."

Help me…

AN: When I said Emma had Down's syndrome, she acts the way like Addie did on American Horror Story. She can talk very well like Addie can. Yep.

Yeah… Sorry about killing her off in the first chapter T ^ T. I wanted something to leave a huge scar in Leah's life, and this was what I came up with.

As for Leah… I wanted to make a badass OC, but not a showoff. So, she is like Jack from Mass Effect 2 and 3, only a little softer, more hair, and a lot less tattoos.

Anyways, let me know if you want me to continue or not~

I have some really high hopes for this story