PROLOGUE || PRE- OUTBREAK

tw: Parental abuse

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26th september, 2003

carefully, 18 year old Sam climbed through her bedroom window after getting Dinner with her best friend. something she's been doing for the past 6 years, something to escape. escape her home which she referred to as prison. her converse clad feet hit the floor with a soft thump as she desperately tried not to wake up her father.

the man who makes her life a living hell, standing still for a few moments to ensure he didn't hear her before she sat down on the edge of her bed careful not to step on the floor board she knows creaks. she untied her laces, pulling her trainers from her feet and placing them neatly by her bed. catching a glimpse of the clock that read; 00:12

standing back up again quietly, she was good at quiet. that was one of the things she was good at. making her way to her wardrobe she grabbed a comfortable top and a pair of tracksuit bottoms, walking back over to her bed Sam laid the clothes on her bed before standing infront of the mirror and rid herself of the white tank top, the lack of fabric on her midsection revealing the intense purple bruises that littered her torso.

they were a constant reminder of what she was coming home to. looking at herself in the mirror she sighed at the reminder the monster that did this was just down stairs as she cradled her ribs wincing as she reached for the top she had placed on her bed.

after changing into her comfortable clothes Sam slowly sat on her bed still afraid of making any noise, opening her backpack she pulled out a journal and a pen and began writing and doodling.

sams therapy, her journal, the one thing she could unload her home life into, she desperately wished things were different, she wished life would change in a way where she would never have to deal with what she does again. something needed to change.

after unloading her feelings into her journal she decided it was safe to go and get some water, closing her journal she put it back in her backpack and slowly got up from her bed. she carefully made her way downstairs slowly not to make a sound.

she walked past the 6'0 alcoholic who was past out on the couch an overwhelming feeling she couldn't explain coming over her, everything bad in her life had been his fault. he was the root of the problem, every problem.

as she made her way to the fridge, the clock now reading 1:59. she let out a breath of relief from not waking up her father, then she heard commotion coming from outside. putting it down to living in chicago, Sam thought nothing of it and opened the fridge grabbing a bottle of water.

opening the bottle she held it to her mouth the cold liquid hitting her taste buds and banishing the thirst she was feeling, calmly she placed the bottle back in the fridge closing the door when she heard footsteps. his footsteps.

turning around sam was face to face with her nightmare, the man she'd named her sperm donor. her heart beat increasing as she smelt the alcohol on him, looking up at him the anger permanent on his face.

"what are you doing?" he asked, a slur to his voice as a symptom to the alcohol he had consumed earlier on, sam sighed looking up at him.

"getting a drink, what'd you think?" she shrugged, she knew she shouldn't have spoken to him like that. but she was tired she didn't care. she wasn't scared of him anymore. he couldn't make her life any worse.

"who do you think your talking to?! i'm not that fucking boyfriend you waste your time on you slut" his voice was laced with what felt like poison, sam scoffed there was no way he was bringing her best friend into this.

"you don't get to say shit. he does more for me then you ever have!" she spat, that caused him to snap, she hit a nerve with that comment. grabbing sams shoulders he pushed her firmly back into the fridge anger radiating from his body.

just as he raised his fist and sam braces herself for what was about to happen screams and what sounded like a bomb echoed in her ears, panic flooded her body as she managed to escape her fathers grip.

rushing over to the window she pulled the curtain back looking outside, the sight making her breath get caught in her throat. it looked like a scene from a horror movie. fire in the background people out on the street ripping people apart. but they didn't look like people.

sams heart felt like it was beating out of her chest, she swallowed the lump in her throat as the emergency broadcast sounded on the tv, sam was so caught up on the scene before her. she didn't register anything coming from the tv.

one of her neighbours, or something that looked like her neighbour saw her and got up from its position from biting a person on the floor. in disbelief sam ran. she was in autopilot, she ran up to her room as fast as her legs could take her.

throwing her shoes on sam clenched her teeth as nausea filled her stomach, grabbing a hoodie she threw it over her head before stuffing a few important things into her backpack. sam heard her dad shout her name as he walked up the stairs, sam grabbed a pocket knife her friend had given her for christmas shoving it into her pocket when her dad opened her door charging inside.

"dad! we gotta go!" she exclaimed but in his drunken state he clearly couldn't fathom the seriousness of the situation, anger still prominent on his face.

"we aren't going anywhere!" sam was not going to let him be the reason she died, hell no. if she was gonna die it would be on her terms, her mistake not because of him.

turning to walk towards the window her father pulled her back his grip tight enough to leave bruises, she tried to escape his grasp as she heard a noise coming from downstairs, her hand's clammy as she tried fighting the tears pooling in her eyes.

"we have to go!" she shouted trying to get some sense into her father but nothing worked, the sound from downstairs growing louder. his grip only tightened.

everything from that point went so quickly. it. the monster that resembled her neighbour bit into her fathers neck the scream coming from her father almost paralysing, causing him to fall to the floor, the sight before her one she would never forget. her father being ripped apart infront of her, his blood pooling around him on the floor.

tears streamed down sams face as she ran to the window, not even thinking before she jumped, hitting the floor her ankle bent the wrong way causing pain to shoot up her leg. the hairs stood tall on the back of her neck as she heard the squelch of blood and flesh coming from her fathers body in her bedroom.

running, sam ran as fast as she could each step sending a pain up her leg. she'd never ran faster, her fight or flight had kicked in as she ran. tears streaming down her face as the cold air hit her red tear stained cheeks. she desperately tried to keep the sobs escaping her lips under control but it was no use. the pocket knife held firmly in her hand fear consuming her body as she tried not to throw up while running.

she ran, not knowing where to go. not having any idea of what the fuck had just happened.