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THE RADIO SEEMED TO fall in and out of signal as Mya Peletier continued to drive, shaking hands attempting to clasp onto the steering wheel. Despite her jump movements, she felt strangely calm. She had no reason to be calm. For days now, maybe even a week, news reports had constantly mentioned a virus, one she'd never given much thought to at first - after all, how much of the news was really true? - but now it was affecting real things. Her own life. Her nine to five job had been cut short and almost non existent until further notice, all she knew what that it was advised that she should go be with her family.
Her family was her main concern. Her husband and her daughter were at home, it was a Saturday, no school and no work for both of them. Mya didn't exactly mind working weekends, what got her through was the idea of coming home to her eleven year old daughter. Faith was the light of her life. Perhaps that was why she felt so calm, she knew she was on her way to her daughter and husband. No matter what, they'd be there.
"... Reports are coming in claiming that the virus has spread further, many in Texas and Los Angeles have evacuated." The radio stuttered, returning Mya's focus to the problem at hand. Not that she could explain what the problem was, none of it made sense, people don't come back to life. They stay dead. "The military have stated that there will be safe houses set up in Atlanta, they will remain until the epidemic has run its course."
As Mya pulled up outside her home, she lowered down the radio, scanning the area out of pure paranoia. The radio was getting her worked up. It was only then that her front door swaying forward and back slowly in the wind caught her attention. Why was the door open? Why would they leave the door open at a time like this?
Stepping out of the car, her strange wave of calmness coming to an abrupt halt and being replaced by mere stress. Instinctively, Mya locked the car as she cautiously approached the front door, pushing it open with her left hand. The sight that awaited her was awful, her home was a mess. Almost every piece of furniture was smashed, smaller objects scattered across the floor she walked across. Every so often, as she hesitantly stepped further inside her house, a piece of glass or plastic would crack beneath her shoe. She could hardly recognise her own home.
"Gareth? Faith?" She called out as though she expected an answer. The house was seemingly empty and it appeared as though her family had left in a hurry. That was what worried her, what was so terrible that they had to leave?
As her eyes continued to dart around her home, they landed upon a half finished drawing. Faith was an artist, she loved to draw and paint and quite frankly, the majority of newspaper on the floor was from when she got her watercolours out. But Faith never left a piece of work unfinished, as small as it was, Mya knew something wasn't right.
Mya's pace picked up as she headed into the kitchen. It was in basically the same state as the living room and she expected the same for the rest of the house, not that she wanted to find out. The refrigerator door was swung right open, magnets scattered across the floor, some smashed. As Mya glanced inside the fridge, she was taken aback by the realisation almost all of the food was missing apart from things that needed cooking. What stood out to her was a crumpled up note inside, with handwriting scrawled onto it that she would've recognised anywhere.
To Mom, we ha The final letter had been dragged along the paper as though Faith had been dragged away from what she was writing. Of course it was Faith's handwriting, but she never got to finish the note and now Mya had no idea where in the world her husband and daughter had gone. There was no way of telling and that brought tears to her eyes. She was alone and suddenly more terrified than she had realised.
A buzzing noise in the corner of the room grabbed her attention, a radio on the counter that had been knocked over, the antenna pushed back in. She needed to know what was going on, what to do and so she pulled up the antenna and awaited the radio to give her information. She was scared and clueless, she needed something. "We have confirmed reports, repeat, confirmed reports that the virus is lethal. Anyone in the state of Georgia has been advised to head to the city and await further in-"
Atlanta. That was where she had to go, maybe that was where Faith and Gareth were. It was her best bet to find her family. But they weren't her only family. Her mother and her little sister would need help. As for her father, he was another story entirely. She wouldn't leave him behind, but she wouldn't play nice with him either.
A strange but sickening smell lingered in the air, Mya turned around, coming to the realisation that she hadn't properly checked the kitchen, not the dining area especially. The moment she glanced at the dining table, she wished that she hadn't. There was a body on the table - an actual dead body. No words came to mind, no words could describe the horror. The main thing she focused on was the deep crimson surrounding the corpse's head, their head had been bashed in and the body didn't seem recent. Was this what the news meant?
"Oh God.." Were the only words that Mya could croak out as she stepped away until her back was pressed against the counter. Her family were missing and this was all that was left. A body.
She had to get to her mother and sister before they were gone too. It had been around ten years since she'd spoken to her mother and Sophia in person. Ten years since she'd spoken to her father in person. That didn't matter now though, she couldn't be alone and she couldn't be here. She had to get to her parents' house.
As she got into her car again, she took a final glance at her house. The place she'd lived for a decade now. She didn't know what was next but for now, the world as she knew it was gone and so was her family.
