Chapter 1: Outbreak Day.
AN: Ok so the basic gist here is that Joel doesn't lose his daughter the night everything goes to shit. The soldier still gets the order to shoot but he takes an added second to follow it. As such he is killed before he can shoot his gun and kill her.
The United States, Texas, outskirts of Austin.
September 26-27th, 2013.
Joel Miller wasn't quite sure why Bobby Fischer, Andrew House, and Christian Chesterfield had all called in sick today but what he did know was that meant he had to do the work of four men instead of just his own. Which, of course, meant he would have yet another long day with little to no sleep. The past few days had been much the same as one person after another would inevitably call in sick and the workforce was now down to just five people. For a job of this size that was nearly impossible to do with the two weeks they still had left on this particular contract. Still with the payment of this job that meant one more month before the loan sharks demanded their next payment and with work seemingly drying up everywhere he wasn't sure if he would be able to make the next payment in time.
Sarah Miller wasn't quite sure what she hated the most. The fact that her father was always coming home so late in the day or the fact that for the past few hours there was nothing on tv that was worth watching at all, at least nothing she hadn't already seen a dozen or so times before. She had already played a few video games but there was only so much fun one could get out of playing the same games a dozen times over. By the time the clock read 10:35 am she was past upset with how long it was taking for him to enter the damn door so she could gift him his gift. By 10:50 am she had fallen asleep. It was only when it was nearing midnight that the door opened and in walked her father. His eyes almost at once landing upon the sleeping form of his sleeping daughter with the tv showing a rerun of some anime that he didn't know the name of but he knew she loved. Being careful not to wake her he picked her up and carried her upstairs to her room to rest. The watch she had planned on gifting her father being completely overlooked.
Tommy Miller was racing down the road as he desperately tried to work his phone with one hand while at the same time trying not to hit the mass of humanity that was running every which way. He wasn't sure what the hell was going on but for the past few hours, everything seemed to be going downhill at breakneck speeds. The first reports of whatever the hell this was had come in mid-August and by the start of September the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) had ordered every nation to be on lockdown and news from the nations of the United Kingdom, France, and Germany seemed to cease entirely only an hour or two before. A fact that worried him to no end. Finally, after what felt like hours he found her number in his phone and hit call.
Sarah Miller was soon awoken by the sound of her bedside phone ringing incessantly. Half asleep as she was it took her two or three attempts to finally find the phone and answer the call. Once she heard the unmistakable voice of her uncle Tommy she was soon wide awake. Looking at the clock next to the phone it read 2:45 pm. Putting aside the oddity that was him calling at such late an hour she intently listened to what he had to say. She could tell he was currently driving as the sound of the engine could be heard in the background. Just as he was about to tell her what he wanted the call ended unexpectedly. A busy signal resounded in her ear telling her the line was overworked. Jumping out of her bed with the worst sort of feeling she had ever felt in her whole life she soon raced into her father's room only to find he was nowhere to be seen. Going downstairs she was again faced with the fact she was alone in the house. It was only when she had entered her father's study did he enter the house by way of the sliding door. At once he was digging into his desk drawers looking for something. A few seconds later he pulled out a gun and started to load it with a few rounds of ammunition.
"Keep away from the door, dear. Something is wrong with the Coopers. They are messed up somehow. I...I don't fucking know but just...just keep away from any of the windows or doors. Tommy should be here soon so it's best you just keep your distance". Her father said as he placed the last round of ammo into the gun and clicked it in place. No sooner had he done so than the sounds of a horn filled their ears. Racing to the front door they jumped inside the truck and pulled out at great speed. It was only then did she see the utter chaos that seemed to envelop the entire neighborhood. The Andersons were packing their bags into the back of their van and a few others were putting two-by-fours over their windows. Every last one of them looked scared and uncertain about what was happening and she couldn't help but feel the same way. Her father's eyes seemed almost to be scanning the local environment like a hawk trying to find its newest meal. For all of her 13 years of life, she had never once seen him act like this and that fact alone terrified her to her core.
"Tommy any idea what the fuck is going on here"? Her father asked as he took the safety off the gun. The audible click of this action sounded like the loudest sound in the world to her now terrified ears.
"Nothing good. From what I could get this thing is everywhere. The east coast, the west coast, it's even in parts of Europe. Before losing the radio broadcast the president had apparently authorized closing down the entire nation. The last airplanes were grounded less than 20 minutes ago. Damn as I can tell no trains, boats, ships, or planes are being allowed inside or outside the United States". Tommy said as he raced down back roads trying to get out of the city as fast as he could. As the truck raced down the roads she could see a fair few houses burning down for one reason or another. The fires illuminated the area in an eerie yellowish light as the flames danced across the houses. In only a few minutes the truck turned and came face-to-face with the biggest backup she had ever seen. Looking at it she guessed it was nearly four miles long with a sea of cars and trucks honking their horns and the yelling of people.
"Shit back up and go that way. We can't stay here". Her father said as Tommy put the truck into reverse so as to turn down the side street only to have a man with what looked to be rashes run across the road from the hospital and start pounding upon the windows.
"Get down"! Her father yelled as he shot the man in the head dropping him in a second. The top of the window was gone and bits of blood and bone landed upon her pants. The next thing she knew the truck was flying through one intersection after another all the while missing the flood of people running from the many buildings that lined the main street to the town. A few minutes later the truck was parked and the three raced to the bridge a few hundred feet away. Tommy falling somewhat behind the pair. It was only when they were a mere 20 feet did a light hit their face and the voice of a soldier filled their ears.
"Halt! Identify yourselves. Have you been bitten"? The man said as he raised his gun to prove to them he wasn't playing around.
"No, we are fine. I'm Joel Miller and this is my daughter. We just want to get away from all this. She is just frightened by the unusual circumstance but we are fine. No bites or anything else". Joel answered as he watched as the man relayed that to whoever was in command. He was only able to pick up bits of what was said but his fears were proven true when the gun was raised and the man made to fire the gun.
"Bang". Came the sound of a gun but when no pain was felt he opened his eyes to see that Tommy had shot the man and saved their lives. Looking at his daughter he couldn't see any injuries aside from being frightened at being so close to death.
"Come on I know a guy. He can see us safely away from this mess". Joel said as the three of them moved forward leaving the madness that was their former home behind them.