It's Not Our Fault

Prologue

Three years ago...

"Frankie! What's taking you so long? We only have an hour till the evacuation begins!" 

That panicked shout was Frankie's ex-roommate, Ava. Ava was normally a bright and bubbly person, but evacuation sirens brought out the worst qualities of everyone. Ava was pacing in the apartment's kitchen, chewing her lower lip.

"Don't worry, Ava. I'm just packing the essentials." 

That lilting voice was Frankie. Although she was trying to project calm, her voice still cracked slightly, and she felt her shell cracking. Frankie growled lowly, clenching her manicured nails into her palms. Pain was a grounder for Frankie.

"Frankie! The stronghold will have everything we need. Hurry up!" 

Ava was not fooling around. Frankie sighed, and zipped up the duffel with her favourite clothes and toiletries. Frankie slung the heavy bag over her shoulder and jogged into the cramped kitchen, a shaky smile on her lips.

"Come on come on come on!" 

Ava grabbed Frankie's arm and began to sprint out of the apartment, dragging Frankie along. Frankie stumbled a bit. Luckily, they were on the second floor, but this gave Frankie less time to mentally prepare herself for the scene outside. As they joined the flood of people exiting the building, Frankie found herself overwhelmed by the chaos.

 The sun was a bright white, forcing Frankie to shield her eyes. Soldiers were barking out orders in code, growling security dogs stuck to their handlers with their tails between their legs as they  sniffed the air suspiciously. The frantic screams of children and  muttering adults forced two rather unpleasant thoughts into the forefront of Frankie's mind.

"This it what happens to humanity if an infection spreads..."                                                                            

"It's too loud."

These paranoid thoughts weren't uncommon, but Frankie was scared. Everyone was scared. And it was much, much too loud. She started to shake, but a warm arm wrapped around her shoulders. Ava was smiling warmly. This snapped Frankie out of her panic, at least for now.  She just noticed the snow falling around her, and the frost that crackled when she took a step.

"I...I need to sit down."

 Frankie whispered to Ava. Avan nodded, gently pointing to a sheltered bus stop. Frankie shuffled through the crown and decided to make herself comfortable,  plopping on the cold metal. She sat and reminisced through her thoughts, when the shouts became louder and more frantic.

"They're climbing over the fence!"

"ONE GOT THROUGH!"

"THERE'S MORE!"

"SHOOT, GOD DAMNIT, SHOOT!"

These screams hit Frankie like a truck. 

"If one of the infected got into the compound...well, to put it bluntly, we are fucked six ways from Sunday." Frankie thought. In a matter of seconds, her fears were confirmed. A rabid, drooling beast lunged at a soldier adjacent to her. It knocked him to the frozen ground, and bit savagely into his neck. A strangled gurgle croaked from from his neck, but the zombie had already moved on.  Frankie let a shriek of despair leave her lips, and sprinted to the nearest armored truck. 

Adrenaline rushed through her veins. She scrambled onto the roof of the truck, tears threatening to spill. Soldiers were shooting wildly, but the sheer number of the creatures clearly overwhelmed the soldiers. Looking to the first victim she saw, bile threatened to creep up her throat. From what she could see, dark red veins had begun creeping up from the bite. He was twitching, and struggling to stand. Froth flecked with blood had gathered at his lips.  With a final convulsion and a sickening crack, he stood and ran at the nearest horrified bystander.

That nearest horrified bystander was Ava.

Frankie tried to call out, but fear had stolen her voice. Ava was frozen, unprepared when the newly turned zombie slammed full tilt into her. She tried to scream, but in his blood lust, he ripped her lower jaw from her head and began to feast on the grisly mess of her throat. 

"NO!"

Frankie yelled, and began to crawl down the side of the truck. As she began to run towards the monster that killed her best friend, she felt her fear morph into something different. Ava was her sister. Maybe not by blood, but this demon spilled her blood. A rage took over Frankie's head, and all she could see was memories. Memories of the time she shared with Ava. 

Frankie screamed as she tackled the demon. With tooth and nail she scratched at it's skin, and drew blood. A drop of it fell in her mouth and by reflex, she swallowed. This made her freeze and try to cough it up, but she stopped fighting. This gave the monster the opening he needed. Lunging, he bit at her arm. The pain made her gasp, and lash out one last time, but the fallen soldier had already ran at another victim. In panic, she look at the bite, only to see reddish-black veins creeping up her arm. 

Her mind became muddled, but she fought. Even if she were to become one of the hideous beasts, she would keep her mind. And that was correct. She felt reality slipping away, and with the last of her strength, she crawled to the sidewalk and gladly gave in to the darkness.

                                                                ~~~ 

 Frankie Wyn stood on her balcony, overseeing the training of new soldiers. It had been three years since her turning. Three years since humanity was enslaved to a higher force. Three years since a genetic mutation spared her mind from the horrors of full transformation. 

Three years since Frankie Wyn became the perfect soldier.