Author's Note:
Hi everyone, and welcome to a little story I'm conjuring up called 'Nightmare Row'. There's not really a lot to say this time, other than that this will serve as a prequel to The Cured - so you'll get to see the Outbreak and the two months before Kyle arrives through Libby, who is the main protagonist of the series. It is also based on the novel 'Dying Light: Nightmare Row' and some of its' characters will be featured here. :)
A quick FYI as well; this story, like the series, will be tackling real-life issues such as sexual assault, substance abuse, suicide, child trafficking, bullying and more. The reason for this is because it will hopefully serve as a wake-up call to people that you can't ignore them and I also hope that it will help begin conversations. But if any of you are struggling with these issues yourselves, then this story may not be the best to read. :( If you ever need someone to talk to, reach out to a parent, friend or adult who you trust because the second you do so, things will become easier. :)
Feel free to leave your thoughts in a review and I hope you all enjoy. :)
Libby's Appearance (Winter): megandaisy9/art/Libby-Mason-OC-Dying-Light-Pre-Post-Outbreak-818703646
Libby's Appearance (Spring): megandaisy9/art/Libby-Mason-OC-Dying-Light-747244291
Melanie's Appearance (Winter): megandaisy9/art/Melanie-Wyatt-The-Cured-Nightmare-Row-827944540
Melanie's Appearance (Spring): megandaisy9/art/Melanie-Wyatt-The-Cured-Part-I-827945056
Plot Summary:
Libby, a 17 year-old teenager on the autistic spectrum, has been living in Harran with her parents and despite the bullying she faces at college, life has been fairly normal. But when an unknown pathogen breaks out and the city becomes quarantined as a result, she finds herself completely alone ... only for hope to surface when she joins a group of survivors...
Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic, Star Wars, Guardians of the Galaxy, Wonder Woman, 13 Reasons Why, Grand Theft Auto V, Hunger Games, Jaws, Dying Light, Walking Dead or The Cured. All rights go to the original owners. All of the characters and events in this story are fictitious. Other references to real life places, events and individuals, living or dead, are purely coincidental.
Episode 1 - Chapter 1: Prologue
Cherish the children who march to the beat of their own music. They play the most beautiful heartsongs...
~ Fiona Goldsworthy.
...
Hello friend. Hello friend, that... that doesn't feel right. Do you want a different name? That's a slippery slope though, because we have to remember that we both initially thought we were in each others' heads before we began talking and quite frankly, I prefer the name you've got. B*gger, I can't believe I'm about to tell you my story...!
I never really told you much about myself, did I? Well to start with, people saw me as your average geeky nerd who was born and raised in England. But I'm actually not, because I'm on the autistic spectrum and I suffer from two conditions; hearing loss and social anxiety. This affects how I function in everyday life, such as socialising and building a connection with people. Sure, some of the kids in school gave me a chance and I gladly took every one. But...they didn't work out, they never did and that's made my anxiety worse over the years.
Well, at least I had my parents by my side to help me cope … that is, until the Outbreak. My younger brother and two sisters are family members too, though they would appear in spirit because ... they passed away before we got to know them.
On a different note, everyone has media productions, topics and people that they are interested in; favourite movie, television show or cute band, you get the idea. My interests were similar, but they were a lot different than the stereotypical teenager's interests. Since I was 9 years old, I've been a huge fan of Sonic the Hedgehog. I've played the games I was able to get my hands on, I watched some of the television shows and I bought the merchandise that I could. My bedroom's walls were covered in video game posters and my childhood plush toys of the characters helped me calm down whenever I had an anxiety attack because of bullying. I also have a little lapis ring which was a gift on my 12th birthday and that helped soothe my anxiety too...
I had no idea what happened to them after everything went haywire.
That doesn't really matter so much now, because I initially believed there was no way back to Old Town. That's where the virus first popped out of the blue, and … and there were so much chaos when it happened! The infected ripping citizens apart, the bloody sights and families getting separated - some thankfully being evacuated to the United States and others unfortunately being left behind to get imprisoned by a Quarantine Wall!
And like most children separated from their families, I too was separated from mine...
So, feel free to grab a snack and settle in - because I'm about to tell you the story of what happened before and after the Harran Virus spread. I was just four months shy of my 18th birthday and working at college like I normally would.
But I had no idea what was around the corner...
...
Old Town, 2017.
Winter.
Before the Outbreak, foreigners would consider Harran as a beautiful yet diverse city in the Middle East. There was a supposed New Town being constructed across the Infamy Bridge from the city's major attraction - which was Old Town, or rather Sector 0. I still remember when my parents and I moved there back in 2013 and I couldn't help but notice quite the similarity between that and Themiscyra. I'll tell you, it felt awesome to live in a place which bore a strong resemblance to Wonder Woman's childhood home!
But those are memories now. And sometimes, it was nice to look back on them whenever stressful situations became too much to handle.
My bedroom door creaked open, prompting me to open my eyes and groggily turn my head to see my Mum, Mariah, entering to check in. She was a really lovely woman in her late thirties who looked pleasant in her work uniform; a blue long sleeved collared shirt with darker jeans and a pair of black boots. The resemblance between us was also uncanny, so much that we had been mistaken for sisters a couple of times before! Not that either of us are complaining...
"Hi Lib," She greeted pleasantly, possibly feeling just as tired as I was. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you,"
"Don't worry, it's fine," I reassured her groggily, rubbing sleepy dust out of my eyes. "Besides, let's blame it on my door being squeaky,"
"Still half out of it?" Mum chuckled, grinning.
I flashed two thumbs up with a forced grin and allowed my eyes to widen for comedic effect, earning a sympathetic yet amused smile before my mother continued with "So am I. Anyway, it's the same as usual and come on through when you're ready,"
"Okay, no problem," I replied happily, pulling myself out of my double-bed whilst Mum left me to it.
My bedroom's walls were painted in a light-blue colour and draped in posters from my favourite video game franchises, accompanied by numerous pictures from my life. I also had a small white bookshelf and a set of drawers sitting on the left side of my room with a black television and PlayStation 4 set, a few meters away from my radiator which was placed underneath my window on the right. Dark-blue fabric coated the floor whilst a ray of lights streaming up from my bed and accompanying my Polaroid photo collection on a rack pinned on the wall ahead of it, somehow making the entire room appear as an inviting location.
The first thing I did after climbing out of my bed was grab my blue hairbrush and quickly run it through my hair, checking to see if there were any knots present. Thankfully there weren't, which lead to me tying it back in a ponytail with bangs framing my face. I then stripped out of my grey Sonic t-shirt and coloured bottoms into an outfit which consisted of a green long-sleeved butterfly shirt, grey plaid hoodie, blue jeans and a pair of black winter combat boots with my favourite blue Sonic socks underneath. After slipping on a brown watch on my right wrist and my treasured blue lapis ring on my right ring finger, I took my blue Huawei P20 phone (which made itself at home in a lighter butterfly case) and white headphones from the set of drawers, placing them inside my blue rucksack which had a adorable classic Sonic key ring attached. Upon zipping it up, I grabbed it by one of the straps and exited to turn a right into the bathroom to finish getting ready.
I felt a mixture of emotions about this week, mainly anxiety. Why? Because I unfortunately had to spend five days at college, which is pretty much the best setting for teenage drama. Ugh, as if secondary school wasn't bl**dy enough! People would often think of me as anti-social because of my autism, but the truth was that I was shy. Painfully shy, might I add. I told myself many times to be more outgoing and I would try to approach a stranger and strike up a pleasant conversation. But due to the mistreatment I endured throughout my life, it wouldn't work as I was often teased for being "weird" and "uncool".
One day it will though, I'm sure of it.
After finishing the essentials, I exited the bathroom to find myself taking a quick right into the living room, allowing the sounds of a television programme to greet my ears. The location in question again had a much wider space filled with a dark brown sofa and chair which sat a mere distance away from each other. A light brown table sat in front of the couch with the large window encased by green curtains revealing an amazing view of the heavy snowfall outside. Man, I'd love to bask in that right now! The walls and ceiling were painted in a bright white, whilst the latter fan and floor were painted in a darkish grey. The kitchen on the right side of the living room looked a little different as its' walls were draped in bright white tiles and the wooden floor was a lighter grey. The counters were painted in a darker shade whilst the wooden shelves and drawers shared the same colour as the former.
"Look at you, all pretty today!" Mum complimented cheerfully, once I placed my bag by my chair and sat down.
"Thank you," I giggled. "I... I take it Dad's still sleeping?" Considering he's got the day off. Lucky.
"Yep," My mother sighed, playfully rolling her eyes with mild annoyance before a concerned look painted her face. "How are you feeling about today though, considering you're going to be at college?"
"I'm..." I began, finding myself trailing off for two seconds as I struggled to calm my nerves. "I'm nervous because there's the students I had to deal with. I know we've talked to the tutors before and that they've told them to stop harassing me, but ... they just wouldn't!"
Mum's glance quickly changed into a reassuring one. "Right, you just focus on getting through today, talk to a tutor again if things go too far as well, and you'll be home before you know it," My mother's smile then morphed back into concern. "Talk to someone if you start to... feel that urge again too, okay?"
Yeaah, about that. Because of the bullying ... I've developed a case of self-loathing which... I took out on myself. Another thing I need to work on with my anxiety.
"Okay - I'll keep that in mind, don't worry," I reassured her, forcing a brave grin on my face.
"Another thing you could try is say Hello to them very brightly and see if that throws them off?" Mum suggested. "I've done that whenever people tried to bully me and there was quite a few moments where they got scared,"
"Really?"
"Yep," My mother answered happily. "You already know that I can be vicious if I need to,"
Hearing this, I couldn't help but giggle again. "It gets awesome every time I hear about that, I'm not going to lie!"
We both continued on socialising whilst watching television and helping ourselves to breakfast after sorting out money to buy lunches with. Almost two hours later, it was time for me to go. After I washed up, I switched the TV off and upon checking to see if my purse, key and college essentials were inside, I slung my arms through my rucksack's straps. After Mum and I got ourselves wrapped up warm, we exited our apartment. Our room was located on the third floor of the complex we lived in, so there were only three flights of stairs to descend which was a little tough occasionally if we were tired out after a long day. But once Mum and I walked into the freezing but pleasant snowy weather, my spirits mildly soared back up as I prepared myself for the events which were about to occur.
Okay, shortly I'll be thrown into the hell that is college once more. Here's hoping that today will be great...