The air smells stale and dry. Kate clings to my hand and I feel slightly uneasy as I walk and she stumbles through the dark. I pull her closer as we pass a flight of stairs.
"Watch out, we need to go up." I see her nod slightly and I put my arm around her waist to help her climb the steps. She trips a couple of times and I panic a little as I feel her fall. Thankfully my arm keeps her from falling down the concrete stairs. If she did, it would be unlikely she'd live, even if I could carry her the rest of the way. Even in the murky light I'm peering through I can see the edge of the steps are sharp and if she were to hit her head, it wouldn't be good.
I hear her start to pant a little as we reach what I can only presume is the lobby level. The rest of the stairwell is blocked by debris of some sort.
"Can you open it?"
"Mhm..." I start sliding my hands over the door, trying to find a handle. My stomach plummets as my fingers clutch only air. "Stand over there." I instruct her. She takes a few cautious steps back. I do the same, creating a small run up. I angle my shoulder slightly more forward then ram into the door. It shakes slightly but still remains attached.
"What are we going to do?" Kate says, her voice on the edge of panic. I look around. There's no way I could shift the solid concrete that blocks the way up. I sigh heavily.
"We're going to have to go back dow-" I stop and move towards the door, pressing my ear against the cool surface. Kate starts to talk but I hush her.
"What is it?" She whispers.
"Footsteps." I reply and move back as the door is opened.
I cover my face, trying to shield my eyes from the sudden light. I blink, trying to clear the blindness. When my vision returns to normal, I'm staring down the barrel of a shotgun.
"Don't shoot!" I raise my hands above my head. The man that holds the shotgun eyes me carefully.
"Come into the light." He orders me. I glance over to Kate to indicate her to follow. We walk through the doorway into a brightly light office room. "What the fuck?" He breathes. He reaches for a radio that's clipped to his belt.
"Becs, we've got a problem."
'Becs' or Rebecca, turns out to be one of the people looking after Kate and the other kids. She looks exhausted. Her strawberry blonde hair is matted in some places and her once perfectly painted nails are now chipped and broken, but she still smiles as she walks into the office and sees Kate.
"Rebecca!" She calls and runs over to her. Rebecca hugs her and hands her a bottle of water. Then she looks at me and her eyes go cold.
"What is she?" She asks to the guy who doesn't take his eye off me.
"I've got no idea." Rebecca walks towards me, eyes locked on mine.
"Chris, go take Kate to the others. I'll have a word with this thing." Chris hesitates but then moves, putting a hand in between Kate's shoulder blades and guiding her out. She looks at me for a second, her eyes wide with fear and confusion, but the door slams in her face before I can reassure her. I'd be lying if I told her it'll be okay. Well, it'll be okay for her I guess, but as I look in the piercing green eyes of Rebecca, I think it'll be a little less okay for me.
"Who, no, what are you?" She hisses at me. I hear her elevated heart beat as she leans in to get a better look at me, she's terrified.
"I don't know." That's an honest answer. I'm not human. But I'm not the walking dead. "But in answer to your first question, my name's Abbey."
"How did you find us?"
"Kate told me she was staying her. I've been looking for my brother, and she told me that she thought he might be here. I helped her get back since she wouldn't survive out there." She looks at me sceptically, chewing on her bottom lip as she decides to believe me or blow my head off. "I'm telling the truth I swear." I say, looking her dead in the eye so there is no doubt. She sighs and pushes her hair back out of her face.
"Are you dangerous?" She asks without looking at me, instead she's looking out the window. I look down.
"I don't know. I'm still trying to understand how I work." She turns to me on her heels.
"How long have you been like this?" Her tone is softer, less demanding, more like she's trying to understand. I shrug.
"A few days, maybe a week, a was captured and..." My words choke away as the memories of the pain spear my mind. Rebecca places a hand on my shoulder as I realise I'm crying. Dry tears prick at the corner of my eyes and my body shudders with the sobs. I feel my brain start to break down. I'm on the edge of shattering as memories burst into existence. I scream in my mind as I'm attacked by the searing sensation of the blade to my skin and the fire that spread through me in the dark.
"Abbey?" I hear Rebecca's voice break through the thick onslaught of horrors. When I open my eyes I'm on the floor, shaking. Deep purple crescents mark my arms where I've dug my nails in. "What was your brother's name?"
"Tim." I barely whisper. She covers her mouth, gets up, then leaves. I hear the clunk of the lock in the door. I start to shake even more, this time new emotions flooding through me. Anger, desperation, fear. I start to scream again as I get up and throw the chair I was sat on at the wall. It's not enough, I need to break something, I pick the telephone up from the desk and smash it to the floor. Then I get the computer and kick it at the door. I don't know why I'm doing it, it's like instinct. Soon there's nothing left but the desk and in a final fit of rage a push it through the large glass window. The panes crack and then collapse a few seconds later. I watch as the wooden structure falls to the floor and hits the ground with an audible crash. I breathe heavily, my mood suddenly calming. I turn and see Rebecca staring at me with a piece of paper in her hand.