[color=hotpink]By now, the puppy had continued his incessant barking. Destiny began to pace back and forth in the living room, out of panic. [b]"Oh god, oh god, oh god... What do I do? Should I try to call for help? Should I just wait here? A zombie... A fucking [i]zombie[/i]!"[/b] Laughing almost hysterically, she collapsed onto the couch, trying hard to settle her swirling thoughts and calm the oncoming panic attack. Okay... So what was going on? There was no internet or cell service. Half-dead corpses were walking the streets. Last night had been normal enough... She was here alone; Dustin had been at work. Dustin... [i]Oh my god! He was at work! Is he okay? How do I get ahold of him? What if he's...[/i]

She stopped her thought by standing and rushing to grab her backpack. No, that wasn't something she could think about. Dustin was everything, to her. They had met in high school and been best friends for nearly half of their lives. She refused to even consider the possibility that he was dead, or worse, one of those disgusting monsters. He had to be alive, right? If anyone ever came through for her, it was him. She knew he was probably fighting his way home, at this very moment. However, if he wasn't already home, then this must have all started last night after that news report. Had Dustin been out fighting on his own, all night? Something in Destiny's heart ached as she thought about this.

[i]I can't just sit here and wait for him to save me... If he's not home yet, he's probably stuck out there. I have to go find him![/i] Feeling a bit more determined, she quickly rushed to change into comfortable high-waisted jeans and her green quarter-sleeve button-down, which were comfortable, easy to move in, and out-of the way. She also chose to wear a pair of sneakers to run in, which she figured she would be doing a lot of. Destiny had never been able to stomach zombie movies, and she was pretty terrible at video games, so this whole scenario had her a bit worried. [i]Highschool of the Dead[/i] was about the only information she really knew about zombies, and that show was mostly about fanservice. It wouldn't really be any help, here.

In the backpack, she placed four or five of her best kitchen knives, a few cans of corn, peaches, and green beans, a loaf of bread slices, and a can opener. She also grabbed the few granola bars and small bags of chips they had around the apartment. Destiny had every intention of returning here as soon as she found her husband, so she only grabbed what she really needed. There were also her glasses, eye drops, ibproufen, gauze, bandaids, burn/cut cream, chapstick, pads (being a girl is fun, right?), and a couple bottles of water. It was going to weight her down already, carrying this much, since she wasn't exactly in shape, but she wanted to be prepared for whatever state Dustin might be in. He might need immediate medical attention; at the gross thought, she had even packed a needle and thread from her sewing kit.

The last thing she grabbed was her red and blue wooden cosplay sword from Sword Art Online. It was the closest thing they had to a baseball bat, and she honestly didn't think she'd be able to control the heavy weight of Dustin's prop swords. This would be the best thing for her to use for protection, until they could get to a store with better swords. Although she was in a panic, Destiny knew that this would be an emergency situation. She knew that the town may not even really be out there, anymore... It would be total chaos. And she had to be ready for it.

Taking a deep breath, Destiny grabbed her keys and headed into the outside world. Honestly, their puppy would be safer locked up here. She had managed to move some furniture in front of the windows, and the door would be locked. She knew that taking him with her would be more dangerous, as he was not well-trained to stay by her side; no doubt he would get scared and run off. It was in his nature as part-chihuahua. So, she did what she could to keep the place locked up as a safe area for them to come back to. From what she understood, zombies were too slow and dumb to get inside. As soon as she was outside, she quickly locked the door and made a mad dash for the car. They really were very slow, so she managed to slip past most of them with ease.

However, her tiny little car was swarmed with the hideous creatures, as they filled the parking lot. It reeked like a cemetery, out there, and she did her best to hold her breath. [i]I knew this would happen... I'm not going to get to my car without swinging at them. But... But they're people, aren't they...?[/i] Hesitating, she took a step back toward the apartment building, only to feel something brush up against her back. Her arms immediately swung around to bash the sword against the creature's head, spewing blood everywhere as it crushed through her skull. Destiny let out a loud scream, stumbling back as the tears began to fall. Her eyes stared widely at the blood on her hands and arms and clothes, belonging to the lady from the apartment front office. Melissa. She was the nicest woman, who always gave their dog a treat when they came to visit. Such a sweet lady... and Destiny had just bashed her head in.

Her hands gripped the sword tighter as she shook, violently. Death wasn't something that Destiny was well-accustomed to, so she felt a bit traumatized by the fact that she had just taken one. Not only that, but it had to be one of the few faces she recognized in this community. Whimpering, she collapsed against the wall and stared wide-eyed at the walkers surrounding her. She was never going to get to her car, this way. It was too much. She didn't want to hurt anyone else. But there were too many walkers back toward the apartment, too. Without thinking, she turned and began to sprint down the street.

There weren't a lot of people out here, so maybe she would be okay without a car, for a minute. It was always there to come back to, right? Were the walkers strong enough to destroy it? Whatever the case, there were less of them out in the street (because it was away from the buildings), so she began to run as fast as she could. Her legs were weak with fear and a lack of exercise, so she found herself completely out of breath by the time she made it to the end of the street. By the time she got there, her legs buckled underneath her and she ate pavement. Hard.

It was no time to stop. There was a convenience store, nearby... Near the old tattoo parlor her sister loved. That had to be a safe place, right? Even the tattoo place. Anywhere indoors should be okay, as long as she wasn't stuck out here in the open. Immediately, she leapt to her feet and stumbled toward the door, doing all that she could to jump out of the way when a walker would lunge at her. Her jeans were ripped from where she had landed on the pavement. All she could think of was running. Fear clouded every thought and judgement in her mind, and she just pushed forward with blind motions. Her hands reached toward the door of the convenience store, about to open it when a walker jumped out in front of her. Destiny let out another loud scream and began to swing her weapon wildly, unsure of what she was doing, anymore. Tears ran down her cheeks in broken sobs of terror. [b]"G-Get away from me!"[/b] She had never been very good in a crisis. [i]D-Dustin...[/i][/color]