Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead franchise, that privilege belongs to Robert Kirkman and co. I just own my OC and their storylines.

No one expected the world to end when it did. New technologies were emerging and weaponry was at its finest. So, when people first heard of a virus that was spreading state to state, it was ignored. It wasn't until people were robbing stores for food and clothing. It wasn't until the government started bombing major cities and it wasn't until loved ones were being killed that everyone realised the catastrophic mistake they had made by ignoring this new virus. When they did, however, realise how bad the world had actually gotten, it was too late; the very ground they stood on was crumbling and a giant hole of chaos and terror consumed them.

That was how it started for Virginia Langston, or Ella, as she liked to be called. As soon as she landed in Atlanta from Austin Texas there were already announcements about mayhem on the streets. Ella stopped and looked up at the airport television, a small crowd gathered around it, watching the news. The presenter looked dishevelled, his bald head glistening with sweat in the sunlight. He stood in front of a burning building, crazed people rioting beside it or running away in terror. The presenter looked like he clearly didn't want to be there. His fault shouldn't have gone into that career. She vaguely surveyed as more people gathered to watch the television,but she ignored them, itching to have a cigarette after a long flight and wait for her older sister, Alaska, in the blistering heat. She grabbed her belongings from the luggage conveyor and headed towards the airport exit, ignoring people's mutterings and security announcements. She popped her headphones in and pressed the white play button. The familiar thrum of Louis Armstrong's 'What a wonderful world', beat in her ears. She was oblivious to how ironic the song was in the current situation.

Alaska stood at the drop off point waiting for her younger sister, her son, Austin, perched on her hip. Alaska smiled as her sister arrived from Austin Texas to see her nephew. It was a tradition in the Langston family to name the children after places in the USA, due to their mother's love and gratitude for the nation. The Langston matriarch, Mai Le, originated from Vietnam and met her husband, Dominic Langston when he was stationed there during the Vietnam War. Mai Le described meeting her husband as, 'love at first sight' and was soon whisked away to the biggest state in Texas, where she settled down with her husband, opened the family business and had two beautiful daughters.

Alaska always admired her parents' love story and found her own love story in her husband Eric Miller who was a plastic surgeon. Alaska was content with her life; she had a beautiful son, a loving husband and a family business; just like her mother. But Ella was different. She had other ideas of what a 'content life' dictated compared to her family. Despite working in her parent's restaurant, Ella's life was unpredictable and she often disappeared for weeks at a time, partying or travelling with unknown strangers. She made an adventure out of her life. To say it caused tensions in the family was an understatement. For them tradition was important and making a life for oneself was required; Ella had other ideas.

Ella walked out into the sunshine and spotted her sister standing beside her fancy car, expensive sunglasses perched on her nose. She inwardly rolled her eyes. Typical for her to show off, she thought. Tensions were always high between the sisters. Neither understood or agreed with the different lifestyles they each had, but they still loved each other, even if every visit ended in an argument. Alaska waved at Ella, her pearly whites shining in the sunlight. They were white enough she could tell Alaska had yet another procedure.

"Hey sissy," Ella greeted, hugging her sister, a small smile on her lips.

"Hello Virginia," Alaska teased; it was a well-known fact in the family that Ella hated her given name, opting to be called Ella after her middle name Elouise. She scowled at Alaska before laughing and hugging her sister again, hoping this reunion wouldn't end in tears and arguments.

After three days staying in Alaska's penthouse with her sister's husband and son, things had gotten worse. Ella's life had been turned upside down, more so than before. News of the new virus, that everyone happened to be ignoring for the past few weeks, had struck home and Atlanta had become the new capital of this disease. Alaska and Eric, the husband, were content to stay indoors, protecting Austin and waiting for the authorities to take them into safety. Although Ella, as usual, had other ideas. She wanted to make a head start to Texas where she could reunite with her parents.

"We need to leave now," she whispered aggressively, trying not to worry Austin who sat in the playroom. She rolled her eyes at Eric's scoff. His belief in the government helping them was ridiculous; Ella knew that it was everyone for them now, even the government. Before the world went to shit, Ella knew how selfish the universe could be. From her travels to third world countries, she knew the government was only there to help the rich and didn't give a rat's ass about the poor; they would leave them to fend for themselves. It was like that as well in Texas. She lost count of the amount of protests she had attended for the government to at least notice the poverty people were in, but their voices were ignored.

"No Ella," Alaska sighed. "We need to wait for the authorities to come and take us to the protection centre in Atlanta." Ella rolled her eyes at her sister's naivety. She was just as delusional as her husband.

Ella ran her fingers through her long dark brown hair, her frustration getting the best of her. She kicked the table aggressively, startling the family. She glared at them, anxiety filling her up as she worried about her parents. Tears formed in her eyes and she blinked them away, not wanting to look weak; she also didn't want her sister and brother-in-law to make comments about how she was worrying for nothing. Ella grabbed her rucksack, muttering about needing a cigarette before going to the stairs to get outside the building, in the private car park.

The smell of burning and the sound of screaming shocked her, but she ignored it, needing to fill her lungs with smoke to calm her nerves. She sat down near her sister's car, leaned against it and puffed at the cigarette, her body already starting to relax. She played with her fingers and chewed her lip, her chipped tooth rubbing against her dry lips. She smiled at the memory of her tooth until a shrill scream echoed through the car park, louder and closer than before. Ella quickly stomped out the cigarette, only to bump into a hard wall of flesh and fell to the dusty floor.

"Watch where you are going dickhead," she muttered, brushing herself off. She looked up and saw none other than her brother-in-law looking down. His perfectly blonde hair was slicked back and the sleeves of his expensive suit pushed up. He shook his head and held out a hand to Ella, helping her up. Alaska stood in the background, her pale face looking at her younger sister.

"Virginia, that mouth is gonna get you into trouble one day," Eric said seriously, pulling her to her feet. She rolled her eyes at him. Besides her parents, when she was in trouble, Eric was the only other person to call her Virginia.

"I know you are worried about your parents in this troublesome time, but we need to wait for the police or army to come and protect us. I cannot let Austin and Alaska just walks around the street with no protection."

"That's why we have the car. Load it up and we can get the hell out of here," Ella lectured, looking up at Eric. Despite being quite tall, five foot eight in fact, Eric stood abnormally tall at six foot six compared to his tiny wife who was only five foot two. Ella went to further her case when a low, raspy snarl filled the car park.

The family turned their heads towards the noise. Across the dark car park stood a man. At first glance he looked drunk, stumbling towards them. He wasn't talking, only making low grumbles and hisses instead of coherent words. They couldn't see his face, only the dark silhouette clumsily getting closer and closer to them. Ella moved to stand in front of Alaska as Eric took a step towards the man, hoping to dissuade him from coming closer to his family. Ella grabbed the back of Eric's suit, slowly shaking her head for him not to get any closer to the strange man.

"He's probably just lost. We always get the homeless in the park lot, begging for money," Eric said, brushing her off and straightening out the creases in his $1000 suit. Eric took careful steps towards the man, his hands held up and that surgeon smile plastered on his face. He knew how to calm people down. It was his job to deal with insecure patients awaiting plastic surgery and knew how to calm people's anxieties. Eric stepped closer and closer and finally, he saw the drunken man's face in the light. Before he could react he was on top of Eric, causing Alaska to let out a panicked shriek.

Alaska's pitch of terror matched Eric's scream of agony as the man, who was definitely not drunk, snapped his jaw around Eric's neck and tore out his jugular. Ella blanched and put a hand to her mouth as crimson blood riveted out of the nasty gash and Eric fell in a heap on the man. In the light, Alaska and Ella got a clear view of the feral man. His skin held no colour and seemed almost grey. Ella could make out a fierce bite mark on his cheek where dried, brown blood flaked around the wound. His eyes were a cloudy blue, the whites unnaturally grey and bloated. He was dressed in camo green and brown uniform; an army uniform. It explained the gun holsters around his hips although, thankfully, they were empty. Ella was holding Alaska's arm tightly and away from Eric's no longer moving body. She wanted to protect her sister from this crazy cannibal, but she was unable to stop the wailing from her sister's mouth.

The feral thing looked up; his cloudy eyes were menacing and only looking for his next meal. Ella had always thought the eyes were the most important feature of a person, you could tell whether someone was kind, had bad intentions or were scared. But now, looking into this man's eyes, she saw nothing. An empty window to an empty soul. The beast left Eric's lifeless body on the floor, snapping its blood tipped teeth at the sisters.

"Fuck," Ella muttered as he tried to reach his dirty finger nails at her and her sister. She stood in front of Alaska and pushed at the man's chest, making him stumble back, but not enough. They were going to die, she thought. They were going to have their throats ripped open by a monster and then it was going to come after Austin. Austin. The thought of her nephew knocked fear straight out of her head and she gripped the arm of her sister's cream jacket.

Ella looked at her sister's eyes fiercely. "Alaska, get to Austin," she commanded. Alaska snapped back into reality at the mention of her son. She shook her head, not wanting to leave her baby sister but they both knew they couldn't leave Austin alone and he needed to be protected. Ella shoved her shoulder towards the stairs before turning her attention back to the drunk man, making sure that he wouldn't follow them back to Austin. Alaska sprinted for the stairs, shouting she will come back with a weapon.

Ella shoved the man harder now, but his snarls only got louder and frighteningly aggressive as if he knew she was taunting him. The next shove seemed to knock him onto the floor, but he managed to grab her as he fell, pinning her on the hard concrete. His drooling mouth growled and thrashed above just like he did to Eric.

She grunted from the full weight of the man on her but with all her might she flung her hands at his neck and pushed as hard as she could. Her arms barked in protest as he pushed against her, his jaws snarling closer and closer to her face. His saliva pooled and spat on her face and hair, the mixture of Eric's blood and its foul breath intertwined nearly caused Ella to gag. She was close to giving up all hope, knowing it would leave Alaska and Austin alone with no protection; she let out a pitiful sob.

Ella had always called Alaska 'her little porcelain doll'. She was so God damn small and perfect. A white porcelain doll in a world of beasts and mad men would not last. Ella knew if she was to die, her porcelain doll, so precious in a world of evil, would surely crack and crumbles.

Something heavy thudded to the floor. Ella looked to her side and could have cried in knee-wobbling relief. From the drunken man's inner pocket a Glock 19 had fallen out and lay precious and inviting on the floor. She thanked whatever Gods were in her favour.

With as much strength as she could muster she lifted her knee and thrusted it into the man's chest. It shoved him back and caused him to tumble backwards. She could have kissed her parents for making her go to gymnastics when she was younger. With the man snarling in fury and holding a hand to his chest, Ella had barely enough time to grab the gun and aim it at his torso.

"Please, stop," she begged, her hand shaking. She had never shot a gun before and the thought of being the one to end a life… She would give him a chance. One second to turn around and leave. But he ignored her and reached out his clawing hand for her again. She had no choice, so she fired; hitting him bang in the heart. The creature's body was thrusted backwards from the impact of the gun, but it didn't stop the mad thing from lumbering around, trying to find its balance again and continue its hunt for her flesh.

Black, gloopy gore oozed out the hole she made but that didn't stop him, he kept coming. She fired again, this time, hitting him in the lungs. This only made his snarling turn into a furious gargle. Her final shot aimed squarely at his head as he shuffled towards her, longing to sink his yellowed teeth into her soft flesh. Gut instinct took over and she squeezed the trigger and watched as his head snapped back and pink brain matter splattered on her hair, her face, her mouth. She gagged and spat, wiping her tongue with her sleeve. His limp body fell on her, no longer moving.

The man, or creature, lay sprawled on top of her, his heavy weight pressed her hard onto the flat concrete. It was deathly quiet. No birds, no shouting or rumble of aircrafts. Only her breathing, a serenade accompanied with the rapid hummingbird in her chest.

Ella lay still, scared if she moved the man; he might wake up and attack again. She felt each second of a minute pass and, when it was clear he was not moving, she slowly rolled him off of her, his body thumping in a crumpled heap.

Ella stood on shaky legs, her bottom lip trembling. Her eyes watered and salty tears mixed with black, brain matter that streamed down her face. She wiped the slick sleeve of her leather jacket across her face, but it did nothing and she was too numb to care.

She looked at the creature below her, Eric's scarlet blood painted its lips and flesh trapped between its rotting teeth. Its pale eyes were open, staring into death's abyss, no longer crazed with hunger or yearning for its next meal. Bile burned in the back of her throat and she turned away in time to empty her breakfast on the floor next to him. Acid burnt her mouth as she heaved until nothing else came up and only her wretched gagging filled the car park

Alaska came running down that moment, a gun and knife in her hand. She noticed then, the man on the floor, black blood pouring from bullet holes that littered his body. And when her gaze travelled to the pile of puke next to him, the smell made her eyes water. Ella stood next to him, her hands on her knees as her chest rose and fell rapidly, as if she couldn't gulp enough air. Black gore dyed the camo green shirt she wore and her thick, leather jacket trickle and plopped gloopy blood. Her entire body shivered and the colourful, swirling tattoo on her arm couldn't be seen through all the dirt and gore.

"Ella," Alaska's voice shook with fear. She looked at her younger sister, coated in the creature's blood and didn't recognise her; she felt numb with fear and shock as she gazed at her baby sister. There was only a hard, cold expression on her face as she looked at the body beside her. . Alaska had hidden her 8 year old son in their dark oak wardrobe, refusing to answer his terrified questions. It had made Alaska shudder a sob at the image of the little boy's father, her husband.

"Ella, please look at me."

Ella's green eyes flicked to look at her sister; if possible Alaska looked even paler than herself. Her brown eyes were bloodshot and swollen from tears and her hands shook a knife and gun clutched in each palm. Ella's feet scuffled towards her sister and she went to reach out to her but another snarl echoed in the car park and stopped her in her tracks.

She looked around, fear and dread already curling in the pit of her empty stomach. She caught the glimmer of a light and squinted in its direction. She stopped breathing. Eric's once lifeless body was now twitching, his hands grasping at air. Alaska dropped the knife and gun she was holding, both clattering to the ground. She stepped back and gasped, putting her hand to her mouth.

Her husband was dead, brutalised and butchered by a mad man but… there… he was moving. She strained her eyes, refusing to blink and almost cried out as he put one foot out. And then the other. And now he was standing, that Gods awful gash on his neck seeming to rot and fester before her. She whimpered as he grumbled. His eyes opened and they were no longer the melted chocolate brown she loved, instead, like that other beast, the one who had done this to him; pale, blue and lifeless.

Alaska sank to the floor, tears riveting unbidden down her face. She didn't care how loud she was or that, as a sob shuttered through her, those rutting eyes clicked to her. Her husband was gone. Her beautiful husband, gone. Her life washed away like a sandcastle bound for destruction. And now a demon replaced him. A bloodthirsty, Hellish demon, looking like a feral animal ready to pounce.

The thing noticed Alaska and started stumbling towards her, dripping, now black, blood on the floor. Alaska just watched. She stood frozen and numb as the man she loved stalked towards her, his snarls resonating louder and louder with every step. Every beat of a heart. She closed her eyes. If this was to be her fate, to die at the hands of her husband, then it wasn't such a bad way to go. No, not at all. Guilt left her, guilt for never truly putting aside her own pride to stop bickering with her sister for once. Grief left her, grief of her husband and now, surely, her little boy. If they shall go, then let them go together, as a family.

A sharp whistle pitched against the hard walls of concrete in the car park and Eric, who wasn't Eric, snapped his buzzing eyes at the sound. Ella stood with the gun held and aimed it at Eric's head. One second, she thought, she would give him a second to change his fate. But he kept coming, mouth salvaging and eyes bulged. So, she squeezed the trigger.

A loud, BOOM rang in the car park and Eric's body crumpled to the floor, Ella standing over him. She glared down. She felt no satisfaction, no relief or glee, only guilt, flooding her system. Although there was no regret, it was either the walking dead or her sister and that would never have been a choice.

"Alaska," Ella's voice didn't shake as she spoke. Alaska looked at her sister and concentrated on her face, avoiding the sight of her husband's body.

"Get Austin. Get supplies and load them into the car. We're getting out of here."

..OOO..

Massive shout out to my beta reader Crystal1962 for their amazing help! Couldn't have written this without them, absolute superstar!

Any reviews, comments, follows or favourites would be absolutely amazing!

I will try and update this story once a week.

Until next time.

- Littlebirdy123