Raven Articae

Ch. 1 Raven

•This Book Is All Based Off Of My Ideas. All Characters Are Created And Owned By Me. Thank You For Reading And Please Enjoy!•

My name, is Raven. Raven Articae.
I am a 17 year old girl, lost in a dead world, all alone with no one to turn to. Of course, my life's always been that way. I mean, yeah I had friends, well a friend, but I don't want to talk about him.
I walk, dragging my feet in the dirt, my heart fluttering in anxiety. You never could know what might emerge from the bushes, or who might grab you. You had to stay alert at all times.
Sometimes I think I might want to be one of them, one of the Rotters, but then again. Being in a dead eternal pain, feasting on people dead or alive, didn't sound as good as a survivor.
But being a survivor isn't all roses, I promise, there's more thorns then you can count.
The leaves crunch beneath my feet, the cool early October air nipping at my skin that was exposed from my ripped jeans and Tanktop.
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end, you would think after 3 days of this shit, you might be used to it. Hell, I'm still trying to believe it's happening.
It started with a simple discovery, a miracle really. A scientist, I can't remember his name, claimed he had a cure.
A cure for death.
No one believed it, especially not me, and then there was news. It was true, but the reports weren't good, they were shocking and terrifying.
The creature had eaten a man, leaving his corpse, leaving him alive. And when the man died, he became one of them. And the circle went on, one after one, until whole cities were infected, states, countries. Most of the world is dead now, gone. Nothing but a few wandering souls like me.
I heard another pair of steps join mine, and my heart starts to pound, the pulse could be heard in my ears and head. I stopped abruptly, and froze. Most people would probably turn, defend themselves. Instead, I slipped into my own world

"Raven, Come Back!" There was a loud laugh, and A girl giggled running through the woods from him. Her brother, Jacob, who was probably around 10. She was a young girl, 6 or 7, playing tag in the woods. As she continued to run, a loud yell joined.
"Dammit Elissa! I'm done with the fucking games! Where the hell are my cigarettes?" 
The young girl stopped, standing in front of the small cabin, watching as a large man fought with a woman who was a little shorter.
Jacob ran past the girl, running to the porch.
"I don't know!" She yells back with the same volume, and his hand flew, slapping her in the face, leaving a large red hand print on her cheek.
"Dad! Get your hands off her! Your drunk!" Jacob yells moving between the two

A hand takes my shoulder and I whip around, staring what could be a demon in the dead rotting eyes. Most people would be quick, but I was just frozen. As my mind finally snapped back to reality, it's mouth was almost on my shoulder. I bring my knee up between myself and the Rotter, pushing it back. It's hands, one that was placed on my forearm, and the one that's nails were starting to dig into my shoulder, ripped away from my skin leaving bright red scratch marks, nothing that broke skin but definitely painful.
I work on getting out my switchblade, which I'm pretty quick at that, considering all the fights I've been in. It's pretty hard not to be used to it.
I flip the small knife open, it wasn't much of a weapon, and I was barely getting by with it, but I could manage. It used to be a pretty great protection device when the world hadn't gone to shit.
The rotter had dodged forward, it's head ducked so that it could easily bite me, but I turned off to the side so that it ran into a tree behind me.
I turn completely around, bringing my knife down into its skull, having to push down part of the handle into the head just to get deep enough to hit the center. The body went limp in my arms, and I pulled back. The stench was enough to kill someone, a mixture of rotting flesh and blood.
The body sort of just crumpled up on the ground, face first in the mud. I turn away, somehow finding a bit of comfort seeing that creature fall. It got what it deserved, because it was a killer. Just as the rest were.
I start down the path, my feet weren't aching yet, which was good. These 3 days have been the longest days of my life, on the first, I ran from a hellhole I was living in. I would never call it home.
Ever.
The second, I was trying to get out of the city, run from the creatures, the Rotters, as they chased me for hours on end.
Today, I've been walking for a good 6 hours, everything was exhausted but my feet. They kept saying go go go, and my brain keeps saying stop stop stop.
My heart beat was heavier now, pounding to the point that if any Rotters were in the area, they could probably hear me.
From my pocket, I pull my phone, it had lost service over a week ago, and it's battery was at 62%. I've completely given up on any sort of communication, so the only thing it's good for anymore is pictures, and music. Notes if I was bored. Would it be girly to start a journal in the apocalypse?
Hell, I would never know.
I suddenly emerged from the woods, and into a clearing. My eyes glanced around, my pulse pounds in my ears, there sitting in the clearing was a cabin.
Cabins aren't good.
Cabins are bad.
I continue past it, stretching slightly, looking up at the sun as I shield my eyes. It was probably around 5 in the afternoon, I pull from my pocket my earbuds, wrapped in a perfect way. I stare down at them for a moment, freezing in place.

"Now pull through like this" Jacob laughs holding up the little hello kitty earbuds. The young girl smiles brightly, she was around 5, the boy was 9. The earbuds were wrapped perfectly, Jacob was smiling widely, and hands them to the young girl.
"Thank you Jacob" she giggles curtsying, and takes them out of his hand as he offers them out to her. The boys blonde hair fell into his eyes, as he laughs quietly, leaning on his palms. Then the sound of a motorcycle pulling into the driveway, filled the air. The girls eyes filled with terror, and she her smile disappears as she watches Jacob.
"It's gonna be ok, I won't let anything happen...go get in our bed Raven" he kisses her head, taking her hands pulling her down the little hallway of the cabin

I shake my head slightly with a frown, and start to unwrap the earbuds in my hands. Taking the plug, and plugging them into the phone in my hand. I switch on my music, the first song starting up.
Seven Devils by Florence + The Machine