IVY POV:
"You're staring out the window and I'm out here in the street. You stand there like a scarecrow and I'm begging you to speak. You used to be my solid ground now I'm drowning in the sea and I just want to believe in you and me. I just want to believe in you and me," I sang.
The rest of my choir class clapped. I laughed and brushed a piece of my midnight black hair out of my dark brown eyes.
"Thank you," I giggled and smoothed "Styles 94" shirt. My converse clad feet walked across the floor and I sat down next to my friend Sophia.
"That was great," she whispered.
"Thanks Sophia. I always knew those hours of listening to music would pay of," I laughed.
"So that's why you dressed excessively in band merch today," she joked implying my Harry Styles shirt, One Direction bracelet, and 5 Seconds of Summer necklace.
"Excessive? This is the least amount of band merch I've ever worn in my life," I feigned shock as Sophia shook her head at me.
The bell rang and everyone filed out the door. I grabbed my galaxy printed backpack from my locker and walked towards the band room.
"Hi Mrs. Andrews," I greeted setting my bag on the floor and grabbing my flute.
"H-hello Ivy," my teacher coughed.
"Are you okay, Mrs. Andrews?"
"Oh yes, I'm fine," she replied.
Shrugging off the bad feeling that was settling in the pit of my stomach, I started warming up on my flute.
"B flat, C, D, E flat, F, G, A, B flat, A, G, F, E flat, D, C, B flat," the notes rang through the room that was void of people besides me and my teacher.
A groan echoed through the room. "Mrs. Andrews, did you hear that?" Another groan. "Mrs. Andrews."
Suddenly my teacher got up and stumbled towards me. She reached out and tried to grab my shoulders. As she got closer I noticed her eyes had gone white and that there was a large bite on her left shoulder.
She snarled and I screamed, falling off the chair. She kept stumbling towards me and I scrambled backwards. I kicked a chair over and Mrs. Andrews, or what was Mrs. Andrews, tripped over it. I jumped to my feet and grabbed a stand. The thing that was my band teacher reached out to grab me and I slammed the end of the stand into her head. Blood splattered everywhere, covering my legs and shoes. I kept hitting her head until she stopped moving and then grabbed my backpack and ran.
Luckily, my house was only two blocks from the school. I burst through the door and saw my six-year-old sister, Hannah, sitting on the couch watching tv. A news report was blaring from the tv. A reporter was talking to a camera in what looked like downtown Atlanta. The reporter was my mother. As she was talking, one of those things came out of nowhere and bit her shoulder. I screamed and Hannah burst into tears.
"Hannah, go upstairs and pack. We have to leave," I ordered. I grabbed her hand and we walked up the stairs before going into our separate rooms. I grabbed my backpack and a duffle bag and started to shove clothes into them. I packed a red sleeveless shirt, a denim fitted shirt, a pink Northface hoodie, and an indigo shirt with two pairs of black shorts, black leggings, and ripped skinny jeans. For shoes I got a pair of black converse and a pair of boots. I went downstairs to my dad's gun closet and grabbed a rifle, a hunting knife, and a crossbow. Hannah walked down the stairs with her arms full of clothes. I took them from her and put them in my duffle bag.
"Hannah, go into the kitchen and grab all the food that doesn't need to be heated up or refrigerated," I requested. She nodded and walked into the kitchen.
I started folding up the clothes she had given me. There was a pink shirt with a bunny face on it, a pink t-shirt with Hello Kitty on it, and a pink sweater with a cat face that read "meow, meow." She also had two pink Northface hoodies, two pairs of capris, and three pairs of shoes. I grabbed a smaller pistol from the gun closet and tucked it into the bag. I picked up the bags and walked into the kitchen, helping Hannah get food. As we walked into the living room, I grabbed a few pictures of Mom, Dad, Julie, Hannah, and I. One was our picture from Christmas, another was me, Hannah, and Julie dressed up in Halloween costumes, and the third was the five of us with Rick, Lori, and Carl Grimes, and Shane Walsh from the picnic we had for my dad's job.
I grabbed my favorite book, "Romeo and Juliet," some of the pictures I had of my favorite bands, One Direction and 5 Seconds of Summer, and my old baby blanket that I could force myself to get rid of. I also grabbed a few Littlest Pet Shop toys and Hannah's favorite stuffed animal, a panda lovingly named Puffy, so Hannah wasn't completely bored out of her mind.
Even though Hannah was only six, she understood that we had to leave and couldn't wait for Julie or Dad. I grabbed her hand, put the bags on my shoulder, and led her out the door. We walked quickly down the street avoiding the cars that were speeding towards Atlanta and went into the woods.
"Where are we going, Ivy?" Hannah asked.
"Somewhere safe," I replied, looking behind us.
My chocolate eyes flicked back and forth, trying to pinpoint any danger. The dried leaves snapped under our shoes, sounding like crumpling paper. The sun started disappearing into the sky as stars dotted the darkening sky like little diamonds.
"Mommy is one of those stars," Hannah stated matter-of-factly. "Grandma told me that stars are just angels looking out for us."
I choked back a sob, blinking the burning tears from my eyes. The shadows of the trees danced across the ground like skeletal hands and I knew Hannah and I would have to find some place safe to sleep. We kept walking for a while until we came upon a cabin. I slowly opened the door, checking for any danger.
"It's safe Hann-" A snarl ripped through the night air as one of those things stumbled out of the cabin. I grabbed the knife from my boot and stabbed it through the heart. Nothing happened. Remembering the band room, I drove the knife through its rotting head. The rotter fell silent. I carefully checked the rest of the cabin before letting Hannah inside. She took a hoodie from the duffle and laid her head on it. I smiled as I saw her sleeping peacefully, her small arm wrapped around Puffy and small snores emitting her mouth.
I stared out the window at the twinkling stars in the dark sky. "Hi Mom," I whispered.