Gabrielle Young sat in front of the long mirror that was perched in the corner of her room. She posed, checking out her outfit and feeling a spark of confidence grow in her chest. She eyed each clothing one after the other, baggy ripped jeans, tucked shirt, a septum piercing that hung from her nose and shone a lovely gold. She smiled into the mirror as her wavy, brown hair hung just above her shoulders.
She hated her first name. Gabrielle had grown on her badly, so instead, she stuck by the nickname 'Brie'.
"Do I look okay?" She turned to her brother, Adam, who was silently playing a game on his phone. He took a second to respond, his soft, brown hair flopping down into his eyes as he hunched over the colourful screen.
"Huh?" He looked up, sacrificing his game in the process. His soft, freckled face shone with admiration for his sister.
"You look great." He smiled and stood up with a jump. He trotted clumsily over to the window and glanced out with a thoughtful expression.
"It looks dull outside today..." He sighed. The dark sky was clouded, ready to spit rain at any second. Brie studied the road, noticing her neighbour, Mr Anderson, sitting in his lawn.
"He should move back inside. It's going to rain soon..." She frowned, watching as the old man lay still. He was frozen, it was almost as if he wasn't breathing whilst he enjoyed the soft grass below his body.
Brie and Adam lived alone in Newcastle, a city in the North East of England. They used to live in a big city but had recently decided that living in a less-populated place would be much calmer. They left when they were both 18, soon after Adam finished a course studying photography. Now he earns a living by taking portraits and attending events to capture the perfect moment. It paid pretty well. Brie was unfortunately unemployed. In a way, she was happy, because it meant she could embrace life for longer without having responsibilities. On the other hand, deep down, Brie felt like a burden. She had a longing to feel useful, needed. She would also appreciate some of her own hard-earned money.
Their parents weren't exactly in the picture. Their father and mother lived a perfect life in the city, with no children and no worries. They didn't exactly enjoy the company of their kids, they wanted to live their own lives so that's exactly what Brie and Adam gave them.
Adam walked over to the TV in the living room and turned on the news, clearly uninterested already. Brie sighed. "It's getting late, there won't be anything to watch at this time of night." She insisted, ready to climb into her bed and hibernate. She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was 8PM already.
"Hold on, look at this." Her brother insisted, waving her to sit beside him as a large warning sign flickered onto the screen. An alert?
Adam switched to another channel. The warning stayed.
"They cut off all the channels. Is something happening?" Adam leaned closer and turned up the volume. An urgent voice echoed back, repeating itself after each phrase.
"Live tests from a Newcastle laboratory have escaped and are now roaming with a dangerous infection inside of their system. There has been an emergency law put in place. You are not allowed to leave the house unless it is life-threatening."
The voice repeated, over and over, drilling into Brie's head. What is that supposed to mean? It felt like a horror movie. How could they let something like that escape the lab if it was that dangerous?
Adam let out a nervous grunt as the TV fell silent once again.
"I didn't want to leave the house anyways." Adam scoffed and tried to switch channels again. It switched, but to another news channel. This time it was different.
"Please trust us when we say it is dangerous. There are CANNIBALS on the loose-" A live news reporter stood in one of the many streets of Brie's town. She was shaking uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face and her long hair was whipping her as the wind picked up drastically.
"Adam, look. She's crying." Brie grabbed his arm in concern. This couldn't be real.
The camera suddenly began to move as the cameraman walked, and they got a glimpse of the reporter running away. There was a fight happening. They heard screams and wails of terror as one person jumped onto the other, sinking their teeth into their face. It was like watching a gruesome movie except it was most certainly not fake.
"They're eating people-" Brie choked in shock, but Adam turned off the TV.
He stood and quickly moved to lock the windows and doors. Brie stilled numbly, staring at the now black screen. She could see her reflection, curled up and frozen.
"Brie? Gabrielle!" Adam made her jump and she snapped her head towards him.
"Don't call me that!" She hissed.
"Are you coming? We're going to sleep in the basement tonight. It's safer." Adam looked genuinely serious. His face was pale and a bead of sweat was forming on his forehead. He grabbed Brie's hand and pulled her downstairs. She sucked up a disgusting breath of moist air and gagged.
"I hate it down here."
She stopped complaining, realising the situation quickly and leaving the room in silence. Adam wandered and held his arms out to find the light switch. When he finally discovered the small string hanging from the ceiling and pulled it, illuminating the basement dimly, Brie realized they didn't have any blankets or food.
"I'm going to get some blankets." She turned on her heels, wanting to get this over with quickly. Everything was going so fast. Ten minutes ago she was joking around with her brother and now the city is in danger.
What if it was more than the town?
She sulked upstairs to find a blanket and grabbed a few pillows for comfort. She was terrified. She debated looking out the window, but what if someone saw her? They could try to break in and it would be all her fault. She sighed, ready to turn around when a tap hit her window. Then another.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Her head snapped to the right and she spotted a small person down below, staring up with big eyes. The street was flooded with rainwater, yet this person was unfazed.
"Help me!" A feeble voice came from the figure, and Brie realized it was a young girl. She gasped. Rain began to pour and the girl was getting drenched. Brie quickly opened the window and told her to stay there. She hoped the girl would understand.
"Adam!" Brie yelled, running downstairs and dropping the blankets in the process. She tripped and landed awkwardly, letting out a painful groan.
"What the- Are you okay?" Adam rushed to her side, fear clouded in his eyes. He was sweating like he'd just done 200 push-ups. He pulled the blankets away and helped her up with an arm around her waist.
"There's a little girl outside. She's all alone. You need to help her!" She rambled quickly and pointed to the door frantically, hoping Adam would be quick. What if the poor child gets hurt?
Adam stared at Brie in astonishment. "We can't. What if it's a trap?"
"A trap?! I didn't see anybody else, please listen to me." Brie realized she was begging, but she couldn't live with herself if she let a child stay outside at a time like this.
Adam groaned. "Okay, get yourself a first aid kit. I'm going out." He let go of her and began to unhook the locks.
Brie hobbled to the kitchen, pulling out a red bag that she assumed had the first aid supplies. She was no doctor, but she could tell her ankle wasn't broken. However, it was definitely bruised or sprained.
Using a bandage, she wrapped her ankle tightly into position and hoped it would be helpful. Hospitals and doctors wouldn't be available if the news were correct about those weirdos.
She heard the front door slam and quickly hopped forwards to see what was going on. Adam stood in the living room, and behind him followed a small child soaking and shivering.
"My mommy is gone!" Before seconds had passed, the girl began to wail.
Adam quickly shushed her, pulling off her wet raincoat and using a nearby towel to wipe her wet face.
"You're safe with us until this is over, okay?"
"You sound like my big brother." Her voice wobbled painfully.
"I'm Adam, and this is Brie, my little sister. We're going to look after you." He gave Brie a side look that told her everything she needed to know. She moved forward and smiled comfortingly.
"I'll be your sister, we will protect you like siblings do!" She held out her fists playfully. She needed to calm the girl down before she drew attention with noise.
"What's your name?" He smiled and showed her downstairs to the basement. "We're sleeping down here, where the bad guys can't find us."
"I'm Melissa," She gulped. "I'm 11."