"Ahhh, somebody help me!"

"What the hell just happened?"

"Oh my god they're all dead!"

What…what happened? Alex thought as she heard the voices of people screaming around her. As she began to wake up, she could tell she was lying down on pavement, she could feel the rough texture pressing against her face. As she became more aware she cold hear people running past her and more screams surrounding her. Slowly she forced her eyes open; everything was blurry. She could vaguely make out the outlines of people running by her, none of them stopping to help her. I can't stay here, I need to get up, I need to find out what happened, and I need to find my mom. Slowly, Alex began to move her arms underneath her, ignoring the jolts of pain that would go through her. As she tried to push herself up, she let out a cry of pain and collapsed back down on the ground. Come on Alex, you can do this. Taking deep breaths in, Alex gathered her strength. She could feel her arm muscles tense in anticipation as she prepared herself. Letting out a grunt of pain, Alex pushed herself up onto her hands and knees and than sat back, taking a look around at the scene before her.

Her eyes widened in disbelief and shock; the ground was covered in blood, dead bodies scattered everywhere, cars destroyed and flipped over. Alex shut her eyes and turned her head back to the ground, opening her eyes again to look at her hands and gasped in shock to find them cut up and covered in blood. She quickly checked the rest of her body. Her dark green cargo pants were ripped and covered in blood, as well as her black tee shirt. W…w…wh…what….t…he…hell? Shakily she rises to her feet, watching in shock as people run by her, some kneeling down to check if the ones on the ground were alive. Shaking her head, she began to walk forward. I got to get home. As her strength slowly returned to her she began to feel herself walking faster. Every street she turned down was littered with blood and dead bodies and she tried to walk faster, trying to get away from the horror, away from the pain and suffering; then suddenly she felt all of her renewed strength leave her body and she collapsed to the ground, heaving whatever was in her stomach all over the ground; tears started to roll down her face as continued to vomit. Why…why did this happen. Standing back up on two shaky legs, Alex closed her eyes, trying to block out the horrors of what she saw before her. Taking a deep breath she began making her way back home. Please mom…please be okay.

When she finally made it home she was met with the same horror she saw on the streets. Her front door was bashed in and broken belongings were scattered all over the place.

"MOM!" She shouted from the doorway, her voice a mixture of fear and concern. As she slowly made her way into the small townhouse, her eyes widened in shock when she saw blood smeared along the wall, leading straight into the kitchen. "MOM!" She called out again as she hurriedly made her way straight ahead towards the kitchen, not caring as she stepped on the broken glass and debris that scattered the hallway. When she got into the kitchen she stared in shock. Pots and pans were scattered across the floor, tables and chairs smashed to pieces and more blood smeared on the floor.

"M…mom…" She called out hesitantly.

"A…al…alex…"

Alex jumped, slightly startled at the raspy voice that called out to her right. But relaxed when she saw it was her mother who was sitting in the corner of the kitchen on the floor, clutching a butcher's knife to her chest.

"Mom!" Alex cried out in relief as she quickly made her way over and knelt beside her mother, brushing her mother's short brown hair out of her eyes. "Mom what happened? Why are there so many dead, why is there blood everywhere?" In her flurry of questions, Alex didn't see her mother's eyes fluttered shut or notice the pool blood that slowly started to form around them.

"Al…Alex…"

At the sound of her mother's labored breathing, Alex stopped her questions and for the first time noticed how bad her mother's condition was. Her face was pale, and her lips were slowly turning blue. It was also then Alex noticed for the first time something wet seeping through her pant legs, and looked down to see it was blood.

"Oh my god mom! You're hurt! Don't worry, I'll go get help." As Alex stood to leave she felt her mother weakly grab her hand and she looked down into her mothers brown eyes.

"N…no…no time…p…pl…please…s…st…ay…"

"b…but…you'll die!" Alex cried as she knelt back down.

"I'm…al…ead…y…de…ad…"

"Noo…please! You can't give up! You're all I have! I love you!" Alex shut her eyes, trying to keep the tears at bay. She felt her mother release her hand and touch the side of her cheek, rubbing it with her thumb affectionately.

"Y…ou…r…n…ot…a…lone…." Alex opened her eyes when she took her hand away watching as she reached into her shirt, slowly started to take off her necklace and hand it to her. Alex looked at it resting in her hands; it was a small pink circle with a sideways K in the middle. "Call…th…e…nu…mb..er…on the…bac…k…and…te..ll...th…e…m…Ox…fo…rd's…n…ot…br…o…gu…es."

Alex flipped it over, revealing three sets of numbers. "I…I don't understand…" She whispered brokenly as she looked at her mother with tear filled green-blue eyes. She watched as her mother smiled at her, and slowly reacted her hand up to brush her long curly brown hair behind her ear.

"Yo…ur…so…much…l..ik…e…hi…m…he...w…ill…ta…ke…ca..r…e…of…you…"

"Who mom, who? Why are you telling me this now? I could have gone and been back my now!"

Her mother sighed as she closed her eyes. "I…lo…ve…you…m…y…da…ug…ht…er…kn…ow….this…w…wa…sn…t …you…r…fa…ul…t"

Alex watched with tear filled eyes as her mother gave her last breath and her body relaxed.

"No! No mom don't….don't leave me!" Alex cried as she threw her arms around her mother and cried into her neck. "I love you mom…I love you…"

After what seemed like hours, Alex let go of her mother. She sat on her legs and looked down at the necklace her mother had given her. Why now? Why didn't tell me about this sooner? I have so many questions mother, but more importantly I'm going to find out who did this to you. Letting out a sad sigh, Alex stood up on shaky legs and pulled out her cell phone dialing the number on the back of the necklace.

She began to pace in the kitchen as she listened to her phone ring.

"Thank you for calling customer service, how may I help you?" A woman's voice answered.

Alex stared at her phone in confusion. "Umm…hi….I…I…need help…People are dead and my mother's been killed…and…and I don't know what to do. I was told to call this number…"

"I'm sorry, you have the wrong number. Goodbye…"

"No wait!" Alex shouted out in a panic then quietly said, "Oxford's not Brogues."

"Your complaint has been duly noted and we hope we have not lost you as a valued customer."

"Wait but…" Before she could say anything else, Alex was cut off by the sound of a dial tone. "What do I do?" She continued to herself.

Still shocked from the whole ordeal, Alex sat down on the kitchen floor, staring at her mother's motionless body. I'm sorry, I'm sorry I couldn't save you. She scrunched her eyes shut, letting the tears poor out, running down her cheeks. She quickly wiped them away with her hand opened her green-blue eyes. I can't leave her like that. Alex let out a sad sigh and shakily stood up, making her way out of the kitchen, heading towards the living room and grabbing two blankets from the basket beside the couch.

As she headed back into the kitchen, she took one of the blankets and carefully laid it over her mother. Then she went to the other side of the kitchen and sat down, leaning against the cabinets, pulling the other blanket over her.

She sat like that for a while, just sitting there watching her mother; silently hoping this was a dream and that her mother wasn't really dead, that some how she's wake up and there would be her mother, standing and smiling, offering love and support no matter what she did wrong. Alex let out a small tired sigh, feeling the exhaustion from the day catch up with her as her adrenalin started to fade. As she closed her eyes, she could feel her tears start to fall again. I love you mom. Was the last thing she thought as she gave into darkness of sleep.

A woman opened her eyes and felt nothing but rage flow through her. Everything was a blur, she didn't know where she was, she couldn't see clearly but knew that anything that moved, she wanted to kill. She saw something move beside her and she jumped on it, her hands flying wildly as she hit the thing in front of her. Kill…kill…kill… The figure beneath her fought back and she suddenly felt nails claw at her face. She screamed in fury as she reeled back from the pain, giving the figure beneath her the chance to flip her over. Suddenly finding her self pinned, the woman let out another frustrated scream as blood started to drip in her eyes. The figure above her grabbed her neck, starting to shake and strangle her. The woman kicked wildly trying to get away but to no avail. Using her hands, she tried to feel for something to try and knock the figure off her. She could feel herself running out of air as she tried to find something, then suddenly she felt her hand hit something and not giving it a second thought she grabbed it and slammed it into the side of the figure. She heard it let out a scream as its hands let go of their grip from around her throat.

Not giving it a second thought the woman pushed the figure off her and started punching it in the face. Once the figure stopped moving, she stood up and ran. Kill…kill…kill…

Alex woke up shaking and panting hard. Sweat plastered her skin as she struggled to get her breathing under control, while running a shaky hand through her long curly brown hair. What was that…who was that woman…was…was that me? Why…why did I want to kill? No…no that couldn't have been me…could it? Before she could give it more thought, she heard voices coming from outside the kitchen.

"This was a great idea Larry."

"I know right. The authorities are too busy trying to figure out what happened to even worry about people like us."

"Ya! And besides, the people who live here are mostly likely dead considering the state this place is in."

"You said it Rio, now lets grab what we can and go. I want to hit as many houses as possible before the day ends."

Oh fuck! Alex thought as she quietly stood up and slowly shuffled her way to the entrance to the kitchen. She knelt down and picked up the butcher's knife her mother had and slowly peaked her head around the corner. She let out a sigh of relief when she didn't see the two men in the hallway. They must be in the living room. Taking a deep breath, Alex made her way down the hallway, being careful not to step on any of the debris that littered the hallway.

She was half way down the hallway, focusing on trying to keep her breathing quiet. She was so focused; she wasn't paying attention to where she was putting her feet. She inwardly cringed when she felt something snap beneath her feet.

"What was that?" She heard one of the men say.

"I don't know. You stay and finish up, I'll go see what made that noise."

Oh shit! Alex quickly pushed her-self up against the wall and started sliding along it, getting closer towards the living room. She paused when she saw a tall, muscular man, with dark brown hair and a goatee, step into the hallway. She held her breath praying he wouldn't see her. Her heart beat loudly in her chest, as she watched him turn towards her and suddenly their eyes met and she felt all the blood drain from her body,

"Hey you! What are you doing here?"

A wave of determination went through Alex as she held his stare.

"I live here!" She stated boldly, pushing herself off the wall and pointing the butcher's knife towards him. "It is I who should be asking what you're doing here?"

The man let out low laugh, and the sound of it sent shivers down her spine. She hoped the fear she was feeling wasn't showing on her face. She had to stand her ground; she just lost her mother, there was no way she was losing her home too.

"What's so funny?" She said, determinedly while staring him down.

He let out another laugh in response. "Get lost kid, before you get hurt."

Her scowl deepened, "I think it's you who should get lost before you get hurt."

"You are a funny girl," The man said wagging a finger at her. "Last chance, leave!" This time he said it loudly, reaching behind himself, pulling out his gun and pointing it at her. Her eyes widened in fear and shock but before she could say anything the other man came out from the living room.

"Hey Larry, what's going on?" The man 'Larry' holding the gun briefly looked away towards his friend, giving Alex the distraction she needed. Quickly, she threw her butcher's knife, lodging it in Larry's shoulder. She let out a determined scream as she charged at him and jumped into the air preforming a scissor kick to his stomach. The force of her kick sent him to the ground, the gun falling out of his grasp and sliding away from him. Alex quickly squatted down and turned, sending her left leg out as she spun around, catching the other man off guard and kicking his feet out from under him. The man let out a grunt as he fell to the ground. Not wasting time, Alex got up and ran towards where the gun slid too. As she ran over Larry he reached out and grabbed her ankle, causing her to trip and fall to the ground.

"You little Bitch!" He said as he used his free hand to pull the knife out of his shoulder while the other one kept its hold on her.

"Let me go!" She screamed as she kicked him in the face, forcing him to let her go. She quickly scrabbled to her feet and grabbed the gun. Turning to face them she pointed the gun on them as both men got to their feet.

"What are you going to do little girl, shoot us?" Larry spat as he stood holding his shoulder. "You don't have the balls, but Rio here…" He said gesturing to his friend as his friend pulled out his gun. "He doesn't have a problem shooting girls." Alex's eye's widened in shock as Rio's fingered tightened around the trigger. No! It can't end like this! Alex closed her eyes and fired her gun blindly while she ran down the hallway back towards the kitchen. Everything seemed to go in slow motion, she heard the guns go off as she took off down the hallway; then she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder and stumbled to the ground. Her ears started to ring as she closed her eyes to try and block out the pain. She thought she could here someone scream and as the ringing in her ears started to fade she realized it was her that was screaming.

Suddenly she felt someone kick her in her side and pain shot though body. "You Bitch!" She heard a man scream. "You shot Larry! I'll make you pay!" Alex kept her eyes shut, waiting for the enviable, waiting for the shot that would end her pain, and reunite her with her mother.

"Excuse me but that's not how you treat a lady." The sound of a new voice filled the hallway but Alex was in too much pain to distinguish if this new comer was friend or foe. She heard the man above her shout in fury and take off towards the entrance of the house where the voice came from. She heard them scuffle and someone being thrown into the wall. She wanted to see who had come, who had come to her rescue but she was so tired. She weakly struggled to open her eyes, succeeding in opening them into slits but everything was blurry and black dots began to fill her vision. Even as the black dots grew bigger, she could make out the form of a man kneel down in front of her.

"N…n…n…o…o…o…" She tried to squirm away from him, fearing he was coming to hurt her but was surprised to find a gentle hand rest on her shoulders; stopping her from moving. She looked at his face and between the black dots she could see his lips moving, as if he was talking to her, but she couldn't hear anything. Another bout of pain wracked through her body, and the last thing she saw before being pulled into sweet oblivion was the man's concerned face as she closed her eyes, giving into the darkness.