Olivia's eyes slowly opened. All around her was rubble, dust stinging her eyes and making them water as she lay on the ground. Her eyes were blurry and her ears rang, and she coughed as she slowly pushed herself up. All around her was peices of wood and stone from buildings, her whole street visible, buildings completely blown apart from the explosion. “Mom? Dad?” She called through her scratchy throat as she slowly stood. But not a thing moved. She rubbed her blurry eyes before calling out again. “MOM! DAD!” But again, nothing. Until, out of the corner of her eye, she saw something shift. It was her mother, lying on the ground, shaking as she pulled herself up. Olivia rushed over and helped pull her up. “Where's your father?” She asked, looking around. “I.. I dont know…” Olivia answered, looking around. “David!” Her mom called out, looking around for him. There was coughing from underneath a large piece of rubble, followed by her dad's voice calling out, “Over here! I think I'm trapped…” Olivia and her mom rushed over and saw her dad, his leg trapped under a piece of stone. He was obviously in shock, as he looked at his leg, blood slowly spreading from under the rock. “DAVID!” Olivia's mom said in horror, rushing over to him. Olivia's mom rushed over and started straining to lift up the rock. “Olivia, come help!” Her mom said between grunts. But Olivia wasn't looking at her dad. She was looking at what used to be her street, now filled with pieces of buildings and people roaming around, calling for help. Or more accurately, she was looking past even that, at the large cloud of green mist slowly spreading through the area. As she watched, the mist reached a person, and they fell to the ground, writhing and screaming. People screamed and ran away from the cloud, bumping her as they ran past. Olivia rushed over to her mom, who was still desperately trying to get the rock off. “Mom! We have to go!” She yelled, grabbing onto her mom's arm. Her mom shoved her away, still trying to lift the rock. “Mom, we have to run. There's something with that fog; it's hurting people!” Olivia screamed at her mother, trying to get her to move. Her mom whipped to look at her, her eyes wild. “I won't leave your father.” She said in an oddly calm voice before continuing, trying to lift up the rock. The mist was rapidly approaching, inching closer. Olivia looked between her mom and the people running, and with tears in her eyes, ran away from the smoke. She turned around and saw the smoke engulf her mother and father, and heard them both scream. Her mom was on her hands and knees, convulsing as she screamed, and, before Olivia's horrified eyes, she started to change. She grew bigger, her skin drawing taut onto her body, large black veins popping out like snakes. Her mouth opened unnaturally large, her nails growing and sharpening before Olivia's eyes, and she unleashed a terrifying howl, before rushing at her dad, who hadn't yet fully transformed. Olivia closed her eyes as she heard her dad scream in pain and terror as her mom tore into him, and all Olivia could do was run from this terrifying sight.
TWO MONTHS LATER Olivia walked down the street, backpack bouncing heavily on her back with each step. The hot summer sun beat down, bouncing off the street, blinding her and making her sweat. The crowbar in her hand kept slipping, and she kept readjusting her grip on it. The street was empty, with no sounds or sights of people. And none of those… things. Olivia dreamt about it every night, her mom transforming into that horrid creature. Olivia had only learned a few days earlier that it had been a chemical bomb that caused it, that blew apart her city and made people different. Ever since then, the attacks had stopped. The enemy knew they had won. Olivia shook off her negative thoughts and kept walking. Eventually, she ended up at the Walmart; the glass shattered, inside trashed, countless items missing. All signs of survivors, although she hadn't seen any. She climbed in through a window, the shattered glass crunching under her feet as she landed. She was glad the power hadn't yet turned off. The ground was dusty and dirty, marked with footprints. Olivia walked to a shelf holding canned food. She was urged to grab a bag of chips as she passed, but she knew they weren't healthy. Survival triumphed over want. As she grabbed the cans and dropped them into her bag, she paused. That noise wasn't her bag, was it? She paused, listening. Then she heard it. The shuffling of feet on the ground and raspy breathing. Olivia slowly slid her bag onto her back and quietly crept toward the end of the aisle. Peeking around the corner, she saw it. A person, but not quite. They were deformed, their leg facing backwards, hulking, larger than any person Olivia had seen, the skin stretched across ribbones, their fingernails long and sharp, trailing on the floor behind them as they walked. Olivia covered her mouth in fear and ducked back. But as she crept back, her foot hit a glass bottle, and it rolled across the floor, treacherously loud. The creature made a loud ‘Hrmp?’ noise before starting to walk toward Olivia's aisle. She didn't have a choice. She took off at a sprint toward the window she had come in through. The monster roared behind her, and she could feel its heavy footsteps reverberate through the floor as she ran. She leapt through the window, feeling the creature's claws skim her leg as she flew, landing hard on the rock outside. The monster was pressed against the window, howling as it tried to reach for her, but it was too big to get through. Olivia shakily got to her feet and walked away. This story takes a lot of inspiration from The Last of Us, which will be really obvious the longer this story gets
