The Decay

Prologue

"Don't cry. Don't even think about crying." Talking to no one in particular, the girl paced the empty restroom. Leaning both hands against the sink, she tried to breathe through it. "Breathe," she exhaled to the air surrounding her. "Just breathe."

She looked up into the mirror and sighed in defeat. Her green eyes looked even greener in the tinted red surrounding it. They shined with stubborn tears. Trying to wash them away, she turned on the cold water and splashed her face, using her wet hands to fluff her halo of dark curls afterwards. After one last sigh, she left the restroom and headed back down the clean, white hall.

She was focusing on perfecting her smile as she made her way to room 246 when she heard a scream. She froze, startled. Another scream and she ran. She ran in the direction of the scream. It was towards room 246. Her heart thudded rapidly against her chest as more screams broke out around the hospital but she kept going towards room 246. Kept running towards her mom.

Turning the last corner, she halted and gasped, throwing up on the wall. Tears stung her eyes as she covered her nose and mouth from the stench of the red liquid surrounding the dead man and his attacker. The young blond boy didn't look up as she quietly crept passed him to get to her mom.

She started running again. The room was just in front of her. Screams and moans filled the hospital. Staff, patients and visitors running in different directions with terror in their eyes. She had one foot in the door when someone grabbed her from behind. Screaming, she whipped around. A man, his eyes were creamed over white and empty. His mouth was a sickening shade of red that dripped off his face. He moaned and gnashed at her neck.

"Get off!" She cried, trying to push him away. His grip on her was strong and she cried out as his fingers squeezed tighter on her arms. Just before his mouth reached her neck, a woman came rushing towards them and tackled the man off of her. The woman screamed at her, "Run! Get out!". She just wanted to turn around and run into the room but she tried to help the woman up too. Tried to help her and wanted to thank her. Before she could even take another breath, before she could even comprehend what happened, the man jumped up with abnormal speed and with an angry screech, he jumped on the woman and tore into her neck.

She flinched back as the warm liquid splattered on her face and watched in horror as the woman's white suit was quickly destroyed by the red. The woman screamed in pain but still looked right at her. She watched as the life drained from her body and their eyes never left each other's. She croaked, "Thank you," before fumbling over her feet and tripping into the room. She slammed the door shut and was quickly by her mother's side. Even in her sickly state, the girl thought she looked peaceful. So unlike what was going on on the other side of the door.

"Wake up, mom." She said quietly but with panic in her voice. "Wake up.... Wake up! You have to get up!" She looked at the board on the wall and remembered. Her mother had just been given another heavy dose of medication to put her to sleep. She wouldn't be waking up anytime soon. The panic started to surface but she held it down. She had to protect her mother from those things. She had seen the movies, read the books, and she had listened to the endless apocalyptic theories. She knew what they were.

She started to think and then grabbed a chair off the wall to barricade the door. She reached the door and was struck by it, flying back and landing in pain. A doctor ran in with three of them on his heels. He completely ignored her and turned to slam the door again but was too late. They rushed in and the doctor hid himself behind the door. Her being the first living thing in sight, they rushed towards her mother.

"No!"

She tried to run towards them, not sure what she was going to do but a hand was over her mouth and she was being dragged away.

"She was dead anyway. We have to go."

He pulled her out and shut the door behind them. She kicked and screamed but he wouldn't let go. Finally, she threw her arm over her head and hit him as hard as she could in the face. He cursed and let go. With a scowl, he waved her off and and bolted down the hall. Swinging the door open, the whole world went silent. What she seen broke something off of her that she could never get back.

She floated out of the room in a daze. Ringing in her ears, she couldn't hear the screams anymore. She turned right and drifted down the hall. The once pristine white floors and walls were splattered with shades of red and littered with bodies. She kept walking. First slowly and then as the images flashed through her mind over and over, she walked faster.

"Run!" She ran. Passed all the blood, all the bodies, all the reaching hands and gnashing teeth. She ran away from all the death and one particular death.

She began to hear footfalls behind her and moaning. Up ahead she seen a closet and hurried into it. The door shut behind her and she locked it, sliding down to the floor and staring into the darkness.

"Run!"

"You have to get up!"

"Get out!"

"Wake up!"

"She was dead anyway."

Dead.

She sat there for what she thought to be half an hour just staring into nothing. She thought about how quickly it happened and how it must have been happening on a lower floor before it made it's way up because suddenly, they were everywhere. She wondered about how it happened and why now. She thought about the man being eaten by a child in the hallway, the woman in white that saved her life, the cowardly doctor and mostly, she thought about her mom.

She hears someone sniffle and snaps out of it, jumping up and flipping the light on in an instant. Crouched in the corner was a young boy. Bright blue eyes looked up at her with innocence and fear. His black hair was starting to shine with sweat from the hot closet. She figured he must have been in there a little while. Slowly, she approached him and kneeled down to his level.

"Are you okay?" She asks, "Are you hurt?"

His hands start to form symbols that she doesn't understand but recognizes as sign language.

"I'm sorry," She mouths slowly. "I don't understand. Can you read lips?"

He nods and she gives a slight smile.

"It's not safe here. We'll have to leave soon. Do you know why?"

He nods and in an unsure voice he says, "The monsters are out there."

Her heart skips, "Where are your parents?"

And when that haunted look filled his eyes and a shadow passed over his face, she felt it. The wall inside her went up in an instant. Instinct kicked in. She had to protect him. She had to get him out and she couldn't break down.

"We'll wait a while."

In less than two hours her whole life shattered and she was someone else. In less than two hours she was forced to grow up. With no time to grieve and barely anytime to cry, it just locked up inside of her. In less than two hours she went from visiting her dying mother to almost dying herself and hiding with a kid in a closet to get away from flesh hungry monsters. In less than two hours, she broke.

When they finally come out of the closet, the boy sees the bodies and begins to cry. She pulls him close and rocks him side to side to help calm him. Finally, she gives him her hand and gives a slight pull

and they run.

****I hope you enjoyed! Please comment and vote. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Should I continue the story? Let me know!****