The heavy blow against her chest knocked the wind out of her as she stumbled backwards.  Reaching out with one arm she grabbed a hold of a tree.  The rough bark scratched her hands and pulled back the skin.  Hissing through her teeth at the sting, she had barely regained her balance when she felt someone or something grab her wrist.  Frantically she tried to pull away.

“Liz!  Liz!  It's me...stop!”  Only when she heard the voice of her fiance did she stop fighting and actually look at her captor.  Throwing her arms around him in a death grip, he hugged her back though he quickly added, “We gotta get out of here.”

“Nate, where's Julie?” she demanded.  The last time she'd seen her daughter she was in his arms.  The man could only look at her, mouth hanging open with nothing except a string of silence coming out.  A knot twisting in her stomach as she felt sick, tears began blurring her vision as she let out a meek, “No...”

Screams filled the city.  Cars were starting to pile up as people panicked and crashed trying to make their way out.  People were biting each other, ripping them to shreds, and pulling their insides out through their abdomen.  As someone came stumbling with their intestines trailing behind, Elizabeth gasped and dodged beneath the waving arms trying to get a hold of her.  Making a second attempt to get at her, she felt a tug on her arm urging her to move.

Her feet pounded against the pavement as she weaved through the throng of people at top speed.  Managing to keep up with Nate, his arm stretching out as a barricade had her skidding to a stop.  Something coming from the mouth of the ugly disfigured thing in front of them, the man started yelling in agony and clawing at his face, clumps of flesh coming off in his hands.

The only thing Elizabeth could do was scream and turn in the opposite direction.  With running and getting out of the city the only thing in her mind, she didn't have time to stop and think about everything that had just happened.  Fueled by pure adrenaline, it was nothing short of a miracle that she'd made it out of the city, pilfering weapons from the dead in order to survive.  Her legs were aching and her lungs burned as she sucked in gulps of precious air, but somehow she'd made it out.

Stopping by a stream to wash the blood and grime from her hands, only now could the events that had happened earlier sink in.  The young woman felt completely numb.  Escaping felt like a Pyrrhic victory; without her family, what was the point?  Too stressed and distraught to sleep, all she could do was stare out at the water through the night into the next morning.  In denial, she rocked her body while hoping at any moment to wake up.

A snap of a twig alerting her, Elizabeth hastily stood.  Though she was completely exhausted, she forced herself to stand when she saw what was coming her way.  Hesitant to go near it at first, remembering how the one had mutilated Nate within close range, she picked up a nearby rock and hauled it at the creature.  Head jerking towards the sound it started shambling towards it.  Giving a loud huff, she shuffled on down the river checking the weapon she'd stolen with shaky hands while trying to figure out how to properly use it.  

She couldn't think about what had happened back in the city.  She couldn't accept it.  The moment she did was the moment she would become completely useless; she would die and their deaths would be in vain.