"Great, not only are we out of fuel, but we're surrounded!" Doggy barked in annoyance. I just rolled my eyes, then saw a gallery on my side. "Not completely.... There's a gallery we can go through!" I replied, pointing to the open door. "Good thinkin, seems she was right about your potential. Ya ain't such a bad cop after all." He muttered with a grin. Both of us rushed out of the car and into the gallery. "Phew, we're safe for now." I sighed and looked around. "This is a lot darker and emptier than I remember..." "Yea, but we are in an apocalypse..." Doggy commented after me. I subtly nodded my head and looked around the place. It looked somewhat normal except for a few blood splatters and crooked paintings here and there.

I took a moment to catch my breath and think about my life before..... Way way before this, when I first became an officer.... The hybrid was pretty eager to help give me another chance, and I'm really grateful for that. "Hey, Doggy?" I murmured "Yea?" He replied and turned his head to face me. "Do you think she was able to survive the breakout?" "Of course! If she can survive an ambush with minimal injuries, then an apocalypse is no big deal to her!" The two of us discussed our friend's possible predicament, suggesting that she's with a group or that she's surviving alone.

"Well what if she's actually infected.... Or worse..." I barked in a worried tone. "Oh, Willow.... I'm sure she's just fine!" Doggy reassured me and placed a hand on my shoulder. Then I catch something out of the corner of my eye and looked up. There I saw someone leaving, and a very familiar looking tail slithered past. Doggy noticed and asked me "You ok?" "Uhhh, yea... I just thought I saw something... It's no big deal!" I replied then began to search for the keys. Doggy just shrugged then walked off somewhere. I didn't know what he was gonna do until I heard a bark and wood splitting. "Thanks, bro!" I called out. "No trouble at all, flea brain!" he replied. I was able to find something before I heard a snort behind me.

It was bolder and a little deeper than Georgie's.... I turn around behind me and ducked just in time. I was able to get a better look at Penny and Georgie's mother.... But she was infected.... Just like the rest we saw. "Ooooh Polly.... What happened to you?" I whimpered before running off. And that's when I ran into the father.... But his back was turned. I was able to sneak around him and found a green key. "Now Greg is one of them too..." I hissed and slid down the railing of the stairs to find the green lock. I insert the key to find an empty display.... How curious.....

I take a whiff and deduce that there are 3 porcelain eggs missing from the display. "Great..... just another thing to deal with..." I grumbled under my breath before searching for the eggs. Let me tell you, searching for 3 porcelain eggs in a darkened room while running from two infected pigs isn't easy, and then there's that headache of mine... I was able to get up the stairs before needing to take a break and needing to lean myself up against the wall.... But there was something different..... I heard whispers.... And a soft ringing in the background..... I couldn't make out the whispers and the ringing grew louder until it almost deafened me and my ears pinned down in reflex....

It hurts.... It hurts so.... So much.... Everything started spinning and I was losing my balance, even though I was propped up against something.... Then my vision started going dark, until I must have blacked out.... But I didn't land on the floor, something soft and warm caught me..... When I came to, I saw Doggy was the one holding me.... He must have caught me. "Willow! Thank god you're ok! What happened?" He barked frantically. "I.... I don't remember.... I just know I went upstairs and I had a splitting headache.... Then everything went black...." I murmured, trying to find words that made sense in a sentence.

Doggy sighed in relief and sat me down on a bench so I could rest up. "Don't worry, I'll get everything open. You're not alone, Willow." He spoke, and all I could do is grin and nod as a thank you. Doggy nodded and ran off to get everything needed to escape while I just sat and regained my strength. That's when I thought about those whispers..... The whispers.... Where were they coming from? Why me? What were they saying.... Who was whispering to me.... Those were just a small handful of the many questions swirling in my head from that just one moment.

"God.... This went from 0-100 real quick..." I huffed under my breath, then turned to my left and noticed a glass of water. I took the glass and sniffed it carefully.... No poison, but I couldn't be sure.... So I took a small sip. Yep, it's water, and I gulped it down. It was so nice and refreshing, and I was thirsty anyway. "I should thank Doggy for this! He did me a solid and I owe him big time!" I told myself, oh but I was stupid to think Doggy gave me the water. When I saw my canine partner, I first greeted him with a grin then said. "Thanks for the water! You're a real lifesaver!" Doggy looked at me with a confused gaze and a slightly tilted head.

"I.... Never gave you any water..." He muttered. "Yes you did, you put it on my left side." I responded, holding up the empty glass. "Willow, that wasn't me. There's no clean, running water here....." Doggy replied adamantly. "Well, if you didn't leave the water next to me... then who did?" I inquired, but was only met with a shrug... Very helpful.... "Probably was a ghOooOoost!" Doggy playfully suggested while doing a 'spooky voice.' "Oh haha.... Very funny, Doberman." I growled sarcastically. "Are you feeling any better?" Doggy inquired. I nodded and slowly stood up. I'm definitely feeling better. "Come on, I'll help you find those eggs." He said "Thanks." I muttered and walked off to search for the eggs.

Maybe half an hour later we found all three and once they were placed in the display, a white key dropped onto the ground. However, seems that Polly and Greg didn't want us to leave so easily as they blocked off the entrance. "Not again..." I huffed under my breath before going to my holster and pulling out my pistol. Before that, Doggy pulled out his taser and shot both pigs, paralyzing them. "Well.... That's honestly easier than I thought-" I ran to the door and shoved the key in. The lock fell down and the doors swung open. We took the chance to run out and slam the door behind us. "That was close... What happened to make them like this!?" I snapped while panting.

"I don't know, but I'm sure there's a cure to this. I'm sure we can do this! We're trained for defense." Doggy replied. "True, but we never had to arrest these things! All they know is to kill anything that's alive or not their own....." I replied and folded my arms. "Maybe I'm not cut out for this..." My ears drooped a little and my tail stopped swaying. "Willow, listen to me.... You are one of the best cops I've seen since the hybrid became a rookie. You have just as much determination and skill as she does." He replied in a slightly raised voice.

I sighed and nodded my head. "You're right.... I can do this... We can do this." I was still a bit unsure, but with Doggy's encouraging words, I was a bit more confident we can see this apocalypse through...... and hopefully cure this world. "Now let's get somewhere a little less.... Open." Doggy barked. "Yea, wouldn't want those infected to get us." I replied and followed him since he seemed to know where to go.... But I knew he was just as scared and confused as I am. "Where are we going?" I asked. "There's a cabin area a few miles south from the gallery. I'm thinkin we can hide there for now until we can find another group of survivors or a better living space." He replied. "I hope you're right, Doberman..." I muttered with slight uncertainty as we disappeared into the woods to the cabins....