章節 20: Cherie
It was just an ordinary day for a mother and daughter, the mother had got up to feed her daughter and prepare her for school.
Her daughter had a glass of orange juice which came from the fridge along with some cereal while the mother had a cup of tea.
Even though the water had been boiled, it was still contaminated enough for her not to notice it and still fall ill.
Just when the fever was developing, an announcement on the television was played on repeat which had alarmed the mother.
She started to look online for more information about the details of the spread of the virus and how to act in order to survive.
She stumbled upon a post which had been posted anonymously which left her in despair but also made her slightly relieved.
The post had helped her identify that she had drunk water from the tap even if it had been boiled, she was already infected based off her symptoms.
The post stated that each person had a varied duration for infection before death and reanimation so she could not waste any time.
Her daughter had been lucky to avoid being infected because she had wanted to drink pure orange juice rather than the diluted version.
The mother made all the preparations that she could for her daughter then moved many things over towards the door which would lock the daughter in the bathroom.
She was very distraught but she hid her unease as she hugged her daughter. "I am sorry my baby. Mommy will not be able to stay with you, mommy is sick and if what the people on the tv say is true then mommy will become like them. Mommy does not want to hurt her baby. Go inside and do not come out until people come to save you."
The little girl wiped her tears away that covered her small and cute face. "Mommy, please don't leave me. Mommy..uwaah."
She pushed her daughter inside the room and sadly said. "Cherie, mommy is going to see daddy. Mommy does not want to leave you yet but it is too late..I..love you..please.. survive.."
The door slammed shut and the sounds followed as the small fists hit the door from the other side then there were some things pushed against the door which secured it shut.
"Mommy..uwaa."
"Cherie.. mommy is still.."
"Uwaah."
The mother sat down near the door and tried to talk to her daughter as much as she could. "Be obedient.. listen to who ever finds you.. do not run off on your own."
Each time she was giving some advice which she had read from the post to her daughter like she was reading her a bedtime story.
Slowly her body heated up more and her vision became blurry which accompanied a strong headache. "I do.. not.. think I can.. go on anymore."
Her mind went back to a part of the post and she looked towards a pair of scissors across the room on the table but her strength had already been greatly reduced. 'I need to end myself or I could become a danger to others.. I cannot harm Cherie.'
"Mommy? Sniffle.. mommy!"
The cries came from within the other room as the woman crawled towards the scissors in an attempt to end her own life but each movement caused her to despair. 'I cannot reach.'
Each movement took more energy out of her and she could feel her life slipping away at each passing moment.
"Hah.."
"Ahh."
"Mommy?"
"Huh.."
"Uuuuh."
"Mommy?"
The cries of Cherie attracted the newly transformed zombie which became excited and walked into the door.
"Eek! Ahh uwaah."
"Mommy.. help mommy.."
The zombie kept becoming more excited when the cries continued and it started to hit and scratch at the door which had been blocked.
Its strength was very poor and the nails of the zombie were damaged upon trying claw through the door to get to Cherie.
The moans and aggressive snarls created from the zombie combined with the banging and scratching created a terrifying effect for the small child who became traumatised.
It continued the same way until her voice and cries stopped which later lead the zombie to calm down and forget about her.
The trauma and constant crying caused the child to become very quiet and she hid herself among a pile of dirty clothes and blankets.
The only time that she came out was to eat and drink because she was aware that if she made any noise, the scary monster outside would come back.
Her own mother said that she was becoming a monster and that Cherie should keep away from her so it was a strange and scary experience for a young child who did not fully understand the world.
It was difficult for her to identify the monster that was making such scary noises as the monster that was her mother even if her mother had told her so.
In her own mind, the monster had got to her mother and was coming for her too which made her both hate and fear the monster.
The morning had passed allowing many more hours to pass into later in the day and Cherie had been remaining in place but what her mother had left with her had run out.
In her current state and due to her immature mind, she did not ration her food as instructed and comfort ate so most of what her mother left with her was already used up.
It was to be expected since a child would not know how to manage their own rations and if she had remained within the room for longer then she would have eventually starved or tried to drink the tap water despite being warned not to by her mother.
There was banging and the monster outside became noisy again as its attention was attracted to the noise.
What followed were some voices and things being moved from near the door until a man appeared before her dressed in overalls. 'So scary..'
She hid further within her hiding spot in fear of being discovered until the man removed the face mask and the hood from the overalls while calling in a young woman with short hair and a sporty look which was revealed after she had approached and removed the hood and mask from herself. 'Sister is so cool but.. is it safe?'
The woman smiled calmly and said in a soft voice. "The monster is gone. You are safe."
Cherie teared up a little and accepted the woman's hand before being pulled out into her embrace.
Upon being told about her mother, she had already guessed that her mother was gone like her father had gone when she was much younger so she was faintly aware of funerals and those ceremonies.
She had attended a couple of family funerals with her mother and had dropped a flower on top of the coffin after it had been lowered into the ground so she understood what the woman had asked of her. 'I will let bunny accompany mommy.'
The bunny had always been her comfort which her mother had brought to her when she had a nightmare or was scared but Cherie decided that she would let the bunny protect her mother and help her find her father.'
She looked over towards the flames after the bunny had been dropped and Brick had given his speech. 'They helped mommy.. they are nice.. mommy says I have to be obedient and listen.'
She was still deeply upset and traumatised but found comfort from Alice while Brick seemed to look strong and not as scary as she first thought.
Meanwhile her thoughts on Tristan were not many because he did not have that big of a presence in the group and was usually ordered around by Brick.
After Cherie was changed into some thicker clothes, she wrote on the small notepad that had been given to her and showed it to Alice. "…"
Alice read it and then responded with a smile. "We are going to help more people but you just have to stay by my side and you will be safe."
Cherie's eyes lit up upon hearing the response and held tightly onto the hand but her experiences made her very scared.
The violence and monsters were too scary for her but upon seeing the monsters being defeated, her gaze was filled with hope and dependance. 'They are like monster hunters! So cool!'
The seven year old Cherie had experienced many things within a single day after the apocalypse had become and it was much worse for many other children in the world who had already gone through much suffering or would experience worse in the future if they did not die right away.
The strangest thing that she encountered was when she took a small sip of the water Brick had given her which filled her with energy which made her want to run around.
Even when wandering around, she did not feel as tired as she should.
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