THREE YEARS BEFORE THE OUTBREAK.
Alice and Clark sat atop the roof of the orphanage, the soft chilly morning breeze engulfing them, as they quietly watched the sun rise. They did this often, as it was one of the few times they could have pace and quiet.
"You know...if you keep running away, they're not going to let us hang out anymore." Warned Alice, breaking the serene quiet. Clark didn't respond, his dirty blonde hair blowing gently in the wind.
"Clark, I'm serious." Said an annoyed Alice, grabbing him by the arm.
"I know," Replied Clark, avoiding eye contact, "It's just...I hate it here."
"I hate it too, you know that. Trying to run away won't solve anything."
"Maybe not."
"Definetly not."
Alice had always been the wiser and more mature of the two friends, even at twelve years old. She wasn't quite sure what she and Clark were; maybe friends, maybe best friends, maybe something more. Either way, Clark was just about the only one who cared.
"...You think we'll ever get out of here?" Asked Clark a few moments later.
"Yeah. One way, or another."
"Mrs. Aileen says you might get adopted soon." Alice could tell that Clark had tried to say it cheerfully, but it was obvious he was saddened.
"Maybe...I'm not sure yet."
"I hope you do...it's about time one of us leaves this god-forsaken place."
"...I'm gonna miss you."
"You too." Alice's eyes met Clark's bright green ones. Suddenly, Alice leaned forward, and kissed him. It was sudden, but felt right. Clark was surprised at first, but didn't pull away. Eventually they gently separated. Neither could think of anything to say, so Clark held Alice's hand, and they continued staring into the sunrise.
ONE WEEK AFTER THE OUTBREAK.
Hal sat on a log by the firepit, finishing his breakfast. His dark brown hair hung over his face, covering his light brown eyes. Footsteps sounded behind him, and he turned around. Iris stood behind him, looking slightly alarmed.
"Hal...there's something you need to see." Said Iris, gesturing for him to follow, as she walked towards the far side of the camp, where most of the vehicles were parked. Hal could hear the sound of a motor still running, as he and Iris neared what she wanted to show him. Almost everyone else in the camp had gathered around, watching Sergeant Jhenn help a little girl out of his truck. Sergeant Jhenn and a few others had just gone into the city to look for supplies about three hours ago. Jhenn was the leader of the refugee camp, and one of the few people there who knew how to use a gun.
"Who the hell is she?" Whispered Hal to Iris, as she stood beside Lou.
"Some girl Jhenn found on a supply run, looks like she's injured or something." Answered Lou, trying to get a better look at the girl, who was being bandaged by Sergeant Jhenn on the bed of the truck.
"Is she okay?"
"Not sure, looks like she got quite a few scrapes n' bruises."
Sergeant Jhenn gestured for the crowd to move, as he led the girl to a tent in the center of the camp. He continued to bandage her inside, and Hal could hear chatter.
"Is she bit?" Asked Iris warily.
"Doubt it. Jhenn would'a put 'er down already if that was the case." Answered Lou.
"Let's go see." Suggested Hal. He peeked inside the tent to see a scrawny teenage girl with blonde hair hanging down to her shoulders. Her hair had small faded pink spots on it, making it evident that it was once dyed.
"It's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you. Can you tell me your name?" Asked Sergeant Jhenn.
"...A-Alice." Stuttered the girl nervously.
FOUR MONTHS AFTER THE OUTBREAK.
Hal, Iris, Lou, Nick, and Alice walked cautiously through the abandoned town, exhausted.
"We need to find somewhere to sleep, it's getting dark." Announced Hal, looking around for a safe place to stay.
"Hal's right, we can't just keep wandering around." Agreed Nick.
"...I saw a warehouse on the way in, we could camp there." Suggested Alice.
"Maybe, let's go check it out." Said Hal.
Hal and the others walked to a small grey warehouse on the outskirts of the city, which looked relatively secure, having a large metal door with a locking mechanism. The door hung open, with a few stray mutants inside, wandering around the shelves, which held wood and other building supplies.
"There's plenty of wood inside, we could start a fire pretty easily..." Noted Lou. When the outbreak had first started, Lou was relatively overweight, but in his time with the refugee camp survivors, he was now about average, his light blonde hair hanging down just above his shoulders.
"I say we put it to a vote." Suggested Hal. Hal was the unspoken leader of the group. Everyone knew it, but he wouldn't admit it out loud. He tried his best to work with them as a team, but often times the others looked up to him to make the decisions.
"I say we find somewhere else, and take the wood with us, the warehouse could be hard to secure." Said Lou.
"I'm with Lou." Agreed Iris.
"I say we make things simple, and stay at the warehouse," Voted Nick, "We don't have time to go looking for a different place to stay, the sun's already beginning to set."
"I say we camp at the warehouse, at least for tonight." Voted Hal.
"...Looks like you're the deciding vote, Alice." Said Iris, as she and the others turned to face the young teenager.
"I say we stay here." Voted Alice confidently.
"...Looks like it's decided then." Said Lou.
A little over an hour later, Hal and Iris stood watch outside the warehouse silently, watching the city for any mutants nearby.
"...We're not gonna make it." Said Iris, as if talking to herself, breaking the silence suddenly.
"What?"
"You heard me, we're not going to make it."
"The hell're you talking about?"
"These people, everyone except us, even Lou. They're weak. We're not going to make it, not with them holding us back."
"Don't talk like that, you know that's not true.
"It is, and it's only a matter of time before you realize what I'm talking about."
"The hell do you expect me to do bout it? I'm barely holding the group together as it is!" Whispered Hal loudly, trying to stay as quiet as possible.
"You should leave. Just you, me, and Lou."
"You mean I should just leave the others behind?!" Hal's voice was getting louder.
"...Let's go to sleep. Alice tied the door shut, we don't need to stand guard." Iris walked away, back into the warehouse with Hal following close behind. Alice re-tied the door behind them in a rush, and they all went to sleep.
Hal couldn't sleep, and neither could the others. Mutants were banging on the door to the warehouse, more and more gathering with each passing minute. The door quivered, putting strain on the ropes holding it shut with every hit. He could see the rope slowly breaking, strand by strand.
"That rope's not gonna hold, we need to tie that door more secure!" He whispered loudly, standing up, "Alice, get some rope, there ought to be some in my backpack! Everyone else, help me keep the door closed!"
Alice stood up, and ran through the warehouse to Hal's backpack, and retrieved some rope, as Hal and the others pushed against the door, now pushed ajar by the mutants outside, completely snapping the rope that was previously holding it shut.
Alice ran to Hal and the others with a bundle of rope in her hands, quickly tying it around the doorknob. Several mutants had already reached their arms in, making it impossible for Alice to effectively tie the rope to the heavy anchored shelf it was previously tied to.
"I can't get it tied!" Exclaimed Alice, now helping the others hold the door shut.
The mutants slowly pushed the door further back, eventually allowing three of them to slip into the warehouse.
"They're inside!" Yelled Nick, breaking away from the door to fight the three mutants. He managed to kill them, but without his strength helping them, the others could no longer hold the door shut. The mutants busted through, knocking Alice to the ground, as the others retreated deeper into the warehouse.
Alice quickly recovered, and narrowly escaped the oncoming mutant horde.
"There's no back exit, we're gonna have to lead the mutants in a loop around the warehouse so we can get to the front door safely!" Said Hal, keeping ahead of the others, running in a broad circle around the warehouse.
He kept running, and eventually made it to the front door, only then realizing that the others weren't with him. Nick had ran in between two of the shelves, being trapped between two groups of mutants. There was nothing Hal or the others could do, as Nick was devoured by the mutants in a jumbled mess of yells,moans, and the sound of tearing flesh.
"Oh God..." Muttered Hal in shock, as the others met him at the door.
"We have to go!" Yelled Alice, leading the others away from the warehouse, taking one last look at the crowd of mutants gathering over Nick's body inside.
Four hours later, Hal, Alice, Iris, and Lou sat by the campfire silently. None of them felt like talking, not after what happened.
"Guys...the- there's something I need...to tell you..." Stuttered Lou, breaking the bitter silence.
"Lou...this isn't the time." Said Hal, cutting him off.
"Yes...it- it is." Said Lou quietly, "I wanted to tell you goodbye."
"The hell are you talking about?" Asked a worried Iris. Lou pulled up the sleeve of his jacket, revealing several bite marks. Iris gasped, her eyes becoming bleary.
"I-...I didn't run fast enough." Said Lou, in a whisper-like tone.
Iris didn't speak. She just sat there, staring at him.
"I'm sorry. I- I'm so...sorry." Stuttered Lou, pulling his gun out of his jacket, and aiming it at his head.
"LOU, NO!" Yelled Hal in vain, unable to stop Lou from pulling the trigger. The gunshot echoed through the forest, as Lou dropped to the floor by Hal's feet.
"Iris, stop!" Exclaimed Hal, trying to pull her off of Alice. It had been only days since Lou had died, and Iris was only getting worse.
"IT'S HER FAULT!" Screamed Iris, grabbing Alice tightly by the shirt.
"Let go of me!" Commanded Alice, trying to pry Iris' hands away.
"Iris, calm down!" Said Hal as quietly as possible, trying not to attract mutants, "What happened to Lou and Nick wasn't anyone's fault!"
"SHE TIED THE DOOR WRONG, SHE LET THEM IN!" Argued Iris, just before Hal finally managed to pull her away. She finally broke down, crying in Hal's arms. Alice stood up, and slowly backed away warily.
"It's her fault..." Sobbed Iris.
Author's Note: Hey guys, I'm sorry I wasn't able to make this one longer, I've been really busy. List of things I've been wanting to tell you:
1) I know that a lot of people like to read without reviewing, but it'd be a huge favor to me if you guys could review the chapters you read, even if you've already reviewed other chapters in the past. If you don't have time for anything else, then I request that you at least rate the chapter on a scale of 1-10.
2) If you want to create your own character for Survivor, follow the rules presented in the previous chapter. I cannot guarantee that they'll be introduced soon.
3) You probably noticed that this chapter doesn't really feature Alice as the main character. I plan on occasionally doing flashback chapters, which may sometimes focus on a character other than Alice.
4) I know this chapter was pretty heavily focused on emotion, and if you're not the type who enjoys that sort of thing, the next few chapters may not be your favorites. THE FEELS TRAIN HAS NO BRAKES.
5) The next chapter will also be a flashback, to give me some time to put a lot of work into Chapter 9, which will bring us into the current day storyline, and introduce some new characters, including the ones which my fans submitted. I apologize if you don't like the flashback chapters.
Chapter 8, "Change" Preview/Synopsis: In another flashback chapter which explores the origins of Kelly; as Kelly's world begins to fall apart, she becomes hardened, and realizes the brutal truth about the world, morphing her into the person she will one day become at the cabins.
