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Bethany found herself staring into the soulless eyes of a child who was neither living, nor dead. She shuddered and ducked back into the safety of the room. Let someone else stare into that face, she did not want to view it again. If it hadn't been for what the young girl was, she would have been cute. The young child wore a cute little panda hoodie, and a short skirt. On her feet were little pink sneakers. The issue, though, was the fact that the little girl's heart did not beat and yet she moved. She had no breath, and yet she moaned. She had no life, and yet she hungered. 

Even now, Bethany could see the girl in her mind. Empty eye sockets, filled with shadows, stared sightless-ly up at her. Tear tracks of blood ran down her face past her tiny mouth, which was open in a little “o” shape. Her fingers and lips were covered in dried blood, and the little figure seemed to stare up at her, as if it could still see. As if it knew she was there. As if it could see into her soul.

Bethany buried her face into her hands. She did not want to be here. She did not want to see this. She was cornered. Trapped. If she tried to escape downstairs, she might meet more of them, and alert them of her presence. If she stayed here, they might eventually find her. If she went higher, she would be exposed to the elements, and perhaps she would still be found. Besides that, she was low on supplies, and did not have much in the way of weapons or defense. 

All she wore was a light jacket, t-shirt, jeans, and a pair of sneakers. Her weapon was an iron bar. The small amount of supplies she had were in a sack sitting next to her. The door… The door was blocked up with heavy furniture. She wanted to stay here. She couldn’t stay here. If she stayed she would die. If she ran… she might die. She didn’t want to make this choice. She didn’t want to die.

There was no way out. No matter what she did, it seemed hopeless. If she stayed here, she might live longer. If she ran away, there was a slight chance she would escape. She was paralyzed by terror. She was suffocated by the feelings of despair rising like the tide and swallowing her whole.

Below her, the uncaring dead shambled through the streets.

Suddenly, inhuman groans came from the other side of the door. Something threw itself into the door. Bethany dove to help brace the furniture. They'd found her. She was going to die. The inevitable had finally come for her. There was no hope left.

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Bethany shot up from her blankets, still choking on despair. She froze and eyed her open door and the open window blinds. She listened carefully to the sounds coming from the hallway, while she observed the world. On her dresser was a knife she had bought as a souvenir, she made note of where it was. Then as she observed, she debated the pros and cons of getting up. It was quite possible the floor would creak, so if anything was lurking, she would automatically draw it's attention by leaving her bed. Her knife was a good 4 feet away and at the top of the dresser. Outside the streetlight illuminated the street. If she saw anything shambling by, she would take no risks. She would leave this world quickly, before anything could attack her.

There was no way she was up for handling more terror and despair. What she had experienced in her dreams still clung to her. The feelings hadn't let up. Not even for a moment. Half an hour past, and she had neither seen nor heard anything unusual.

[i]So then... it was really just a dream...[/i]

Even though she had finally come to a logical conclusion, she couldn't shake the feeling of terror that had overwhelmed her. Bethany curled up in a little ball against the headboard opposite the door, covered herself with a blanket, and kept a watchful eye on the door. When she closed her eyes, images of scenes she had seen in her dream floated up into her mind. If she dozed, the zombies would once again invade her sleep, so Bethany stayed awake and vigilant, despite her exhaustion.

Around 7:30 it was time to leave for school. The sound of people waking and moving about eased some of the tension. Bethany eased herself out of the bed filled with trepidation. She took a very quick shower, got dressed, and prepared for school. School, as usual, was boring. Lunch, as usual, was spent alone in the library. By 3 in the afternoon, Bethany was bored out of her mind and staring at the clock tick away.
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