AN: I know very little about conditions of the mind. Please do not judge too harshly for that. Remember – this is a work of fiction. And take note that there are grammatical errors galore. Enjoy!

Prologue

She awakens to silence.

Her eyelids feel so heavy that she is almost tempted to go back to sleep but she decides against it. Hinata tries to lift up her arm to wipe the sleep from her eyes and realizes that she cannot. She groans in frustration as she rolls to her side, eyes still closed. Now on her belly, Hinata struggles to push herself up out of the bed. She is only to her elbows and already she is panting from the exertion.

She pauses for a moment. Something is wrong...

Hinata knows she has forgotten something.

With vigor now, Hinata forces herself to sit up. She sways slightly, back and forth and back and forth, so much so that she has to keep her eyes shut. She waits impatiently for the dizziness to subside. Counting to thirty in her head, an eye cracks open and then the other. The room is brightly lit from the sun filtering through the curtain and Hinata lets out a soft hiss in protest for her sensitive eyes. She takes a glance over at her clock but is caught off guard at the instant swimming in her head. When she brings up her hand to cradle her face, it is then that she feels the heavy weight of her arm.

Now she feels it again; that creeping sensation that something is wrong. She cannot put her finger on it but every second that ticks by in silence...

Silence.

It dawns on her how still everything is. Her family has never been loud by any means but the uneasiness in her gut tells her that it is far too quiet.

She takes one step and immediately crumbles to the floor.

Hinata fights off the panic and frustration that chokes her and bites back the tears threatening to fall. But she is so weak and she cannot remember why. She crawls her way to the door but it feels like a thousand miles away. As she drags herself across the floor, she tries and fails to recall what happened to her. Hinata reaches for the knob ignoring the burning in her arm. One finger, two fingers, she finally wraps her hand around the handle and tugs the door ajar.

The stench is putrid and thick.

Her eyes sting from the smell and Hinata coughs and buries her face into the carpet. The muscles in her stomach begin to sporadically clench as she dry-heaves on the floor unable to breathe. Every gag knocks the wind out of her. Every gasp burns.

It is not silent anymore: the sound of her beating heart rings in her ears as she gags.

"Da -" her voice cracks out. Hinata cannot fight the fear anymore. Her vision clouds with tears and adrenaline begins to pump through her veins giving her the strength to push herself onto her feet. She hugs the wall and takes shaky steps down the hall. "Da-" she tries again but cannot get past the parched, dry choking in her throat. Her voice is too thick with tears and panic to make any noise. Hinata closes her eyes and tries to slow her breathing down - she does not recall when it had quickened. With as much calmness as she can manage, she summons up all the strength within her and takes a deep breath.

"Dad!"

It comes out as nothing but a whisper.

And then, silence...

"Dad!..." she croaks out again for her father. "Ha... Hanabi!" she whimpers in hopes her sister might hear her. The tears are rolling down her cheeks and Hinata cannot stand still any longer. She pushes away from the wall and wobbles through the silent house.

"Pl-Please!"

In her panic, Hinata turns around the corner and feels her foot slip on the stairs. At the last second, she reaches for the rail just in time to keep herself from tumbling down the steps. She lands with a hard thud on the floor instead and cries out from the intense pain shooting from her hip, down her leg, and then up her spine. Her hand trembles as she touches the tender wound and gasps at how much it hurts. Carefully, Hinata stands and continues on through the house with a limp.

The stench grows stronger and Hinata cannot swallow back the bile rising in her throat. As quickly as she can she heads towards the bathroom but only makes it through the door before squeezing her eyes shut and vomiting at her feet. Not much comes out but she grimaces from the foul taste. Blindly, she gropes to find the sink not caring about the mess on the floor. The water is cool and Hinata appreciates the calming effect it has on her nerves. She dries her face but gasps at her own reflection.

Her eyes are the first things she sees. Dull, gray eyes stare back at her and reveal only a hint of the confusion and shock that she feels. The bags beneath her eyes are so deep in color that they appear as bruises to accentuate the tiredness of her face. The colorlessness of her lips leaves her face devoid of any life. And she is so thin. The sharp points of her chin and cheek bones have never been this pronounced.

The tears return and blur her vision.

She does not know this person. Hinata knows her face. This is not her face. Where is the light in her lavender eyes or the shine in her hair? What has happened to the softness of her cheeks and the pout of her lips?

The many questions swirling in Hinata's head come to an abrupt halt when she sees in the mirror's reflection that someone is in the bathtub behind her. Hinata blinks past the tears. The skin is blotched taut in green and purple, the arms are swollen, and the tub is filled with a strange black-brown liquid. A closer look and, even though there are bugs crawling along their flesh, the person does not move. They do nothing.

Hinata runs out of the bathroom screaming.

Her foot slips on the vomit on the floor, sending her to the ground, but it does stop her from backing away on her hands from the corpse. She stops when she feels a thick wad of hair in her grasp and slowly turns around afraid of what she might see. Her face is inches away from another body on the floor.

"NO!" she cries as she clambers to her feet over the body. Another lies before her and another is in the corner. There is one in her father's chair and another strewn on the couch.

Hinata tries not to look. The eyes and the faces, the smell, are too much for her but she is frozen. She cannot move. She cannot look away. That one is wearing her father's sweater. The other one over there has her sister's mismatched socks.

"No…" she murmurs and robotically back away. She trips over the body behind her. The world spins and breaks in slow motion around her as she falls; it is then that her memory comes rushing back to her.

Everyone in the household fell ill. And then she got sick. She went to get some rest after nursing her sister and then… And then…

Hinata hits the floor and then twists around running towards the foyer.

"Somebody help me please!" she cries as she fumbles with the locks on the door. She pulls and tugs but the door does not budge. "No," she grumbles, "No, please!" Hinata pulls harder. "HELP ME!" she chokes, "Somebody please! PLEASE! Help me!" Her hands bang on the door but she is dizzy and faint. The stillness of death drowns out the sound of her pounding heart and pounding head. Hinata slides down into a weeping, gasping heap on the floor.

"Somebody," she mumbles, "please."

Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me.

…

[Thanksgiving Weekend is normally a time of gratefulness spent with family and friends. But for the Hyuuga Household, here in Konoha, it was nothing short of a nightmare. Last night officials received calls from concerned neighbors stating that for the past several days the home was "unusually quiet" and that the normal "busy-body staff" were nowhere to be seen. Officers approached the prestigious home and found that all the doors had been sealed and barricaded shut from the outside. But the confusion did not compare to the horror they found when finally entering the home. The entire family, including all the personnel, were found dead throughout the house except for a single survivor, Hyuuga Hinata, the eldest daughter of family head, Hyuuga Hiashi, and heiress to the Hyuuga name. Reports say that she was found "weakened, malnourished, and dehydrated" and that when questioned she was "unable to speak past her terrified stupor." She was rushed to the local hospital and officers have yet to determine the" –]

The television shuts off.

Her eyes glance at her hand on the remote. She almost feels surprised. She almost feels. But the moment is fleeting and she lets it go.

Hinata died in that house.

…

R&R and remember that I am not a marshmallow. Please no flames. This ficlet will be in three parts to follow. See you then!

-SweetVenom16