C.Z.A

It’s been six months since the outbreak started. Six months since people started eating each other. Six months since I had to watch my mother shoot herself in the head to avoid killing me after she was bitten.

What was that? Who might I be?

Me, I’m the one that’s about to tell you exactly what went down six months ago, all the way up till now and most likely everything that happens afterwards.

My name is Rain, Rain Bell.

I’m sixteen years old and I’ll be seventeen in six months; if I live that long anyways. I made A’s in all my classes and I liked to fight. Well, I wouldn’t really fight with anyone unless they tried to pick a fight with me.

I’m pretty short for my age and slim because of all the fighting I do, not to mention nimble and fast on my feet which I’m pretty damn sure is a good thing in the world we live in now.

I’ve been able to handle a knife since I was six and a gun since I was eight. My parents made sure that I could speak three different languages just in case I ever decided to go abroad when I was ready for college and all of that nonsense.

A lot of people say that I look like my mother but have my father’s eyes and that we both share a dry sense of humor and same smile. I tried not to smile after I heard that; it’s not because my father was a jerk or anything or that he left my mother and me.

It’s the complete opposite; my father was almost always there for me when he could. He was kind and caring and he loved my mother and me so very much. The reason I stopped smiling was because he died when I was eight and I didn’t want to remind my mother of what she had lost.

“It was an operation that went bad,” was what my father’s boss said after he came to us in the middle of the night.

I had never seen my mother so defenseless, but in that one moment she allowed weakness to govern her. She sank to the floor and tears came flooding down her face as I stood beside her numbly, staring up at the giant of a man who was one of my father’s best friends and his boss at the agency.

I remember him looking at me with sadness; why wouldn’t he? He was my godfather after all.

Just three days earlier, he was still with us. I was happy that he was home because he was there for my birthday. I had just turned eight, he had to leave later that night and then the next day we’re given news of his death.

It was tough sometimes because we had to live off my mother’s salary, not too tough, but being a female cop with an eight year-old little girl was hard. We still had all the money my father made and inherited but we only ever used that in case of emergencies like the time this jerk broke my arm after I stopped him from stealing this younger kid’s money.

But enough about my child-hood woes, you’ve probably had you’re share of heartache as well, hm?

You know, I’ve got two close friends and the others of my group we just found. Take Sal and Cal for example-the twins of the group- they ruled the school where I used to go, I can’t say that I liked them all too much but I’ve know them since I was a child and they did have a bit of a nice side, I found them after I had found Valentine and Luce. Valentine is my best friend and though he may look a bit girly, he can kick some ass, just a small warning for you.

Luce is my other best friend, she’s the brain of our group, I suppose. She’s the one that’s trying to find a cure for this virus and the only thing that saved her from getting bitten by her next door neighbor is the fact that she’s a fast runner- she was the head of the track team- a very fast runner.

The three of us make up the whole leader of this group and not one of us is better or below each other. Luce is the brain, Valentine is the mother hen of our group when someone is hurt- he’s had practice because I was a bit of a tomboy when I was a kid, not so much nowadays however- and me, I suppose that I make sure everyone is protected; must be the Bell side of my lineage coming through, we’re supposed to be protectors by nature.

Now, before I start telling you my story, you must know this. In the world we live in now, there are groups of people that just sprouted up in the six months that the virus has spread. Some of these groups are bloodthirsty, some are said to be kind; they help and protect people. I know you’ve probably heard the rumors about that group but I wouldn’t put any stock in it.

Why, because the only groups we’ve met are the bloodthirsty ones, not once have we met the kind type of group. Not to mention the most bloodthirsty of all the groups, The Hell Hounds, but don’t worry, you’ll get to hear all about that lecherous bastard and his group, the only good thing is that they only kill the infected even though they relish in destroying them, but remember, they’re not protectors by any measure…