The Middle of the End

Chapter three

Chapter Three: The Darkest Night

When Shane got promoted to Deputy, we bought a small house. The apartment was too crowded, and I needed room for all the stuff I'd made. I'd been working on a children's clothing line inspired by Carl. I partnered with several online stores and launched the line in August of 2005. The first year was spent promoting through magazine ads and commercials on TV. It didn't take long for me to create a new line for teens and young adults who were part of the alternative/punk-rock subculture.

Yes, I wore the clothes I made. They were what caught the attention of several of my favourite bands, and I had more work ahead of me. I'd been hired to creat several wardrobes for musicians going on tour. Every couple of days I held fittings, to see where I needed to make adjustments.

All my clients were amazing to work with and wanted to help with sales, so they promoted me while on tour. I was now the rival of Hot Topic; fashion magazines asked me to write columns. Who knew I'd be this successful?

By the age of twenty six, I had seven clothing stores in two states. Five in Texas, two right in Georgia that I managed myself. The money never really mattered to me, I did what I loved to do and that made it worthwhile. I had three assistants - Robyn, Clark, and Bruce, who helped run the website and the stores in Texas. Robyn became one of my closest friends, and I knew for a fact that Shane had grown fond of her, and she secretly liked him too.

I set the both of them up on a blind date, just to see what would come of it and wasn't surprised when Shane asked her on a second date.

While everyone was busy with their own lives, I made the decision to begin searching for Daryl. Nothing came up on random Google searches so I hired a private detective. Silas Arnold was the best of the best and I made it clear that he was not to be discovered by anyone. If Shane knew what I was doing, he would have a fit. When I mentioned a while back that I wanted to find the son of one of my tormentors he forbade it. Although back then I'd just turned seventeen and he was my legal guardian. I was a successful adult now, but that didn't change Shane's over-protectiveness.

Not even three months after I'd hired Silas, Rick was shot during a car chase. He spent eight hours in surgery and fell into a coma. Doctors said he would wake up, that it was just a matter of time. Lori and Carl only left the hospital for school and a change of clothes. But that was before all the weird stories on the news began. People were being attacked by others. They were being bitten.

There were reports of extreme cannibalism and it was happening everywhere. Schools were closed and a shelter, a refugee camp of some sort, in Atlanta had started taking people in. Rick was supposed to be flown over, but something went wrong. Shane was the last one to see him, and told us Rick had died. That the hospital was full of infected biters, and out best bet was to head for the shelter in Atlanta.

Robyn hadn't been answering her phone or texting back so while Lori packed, Carl and I drove down the block to Robyn's house. The door was unlocked andthat's when I knew something was wrong. She always locked her door.

"Robyn? Are you here?" Carl called out and a loud crash came from the bedrooms upstairs.

'Stay here. I'll be right back.' I told him and ran to Robyn's bedroom. I pushed the door open; she was on the floor, a nasty gaping bite on her right arm. She looked up at me and I knew right then she'd been infected and had turned into one of those monsters not too long ago.

"Did you find her?" Carl asked me after we'd left the house. I shook my head.

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The highway was one huge traffic jam. Everyone was headed for the same place, and the amount of people freaking out and starting fights was enough to trigger a panic attack. Shane and Lori went to check something out, leaving Carl and I with a woman named Carol, her husband Ed (who reminded me of Will for some reason), and daughter. I stuck to Carl like glue.