entry I : " metamorphosis
(greek word)  meaning transformation or change in
shape. the development of an
immature form to an adult
one in two or more
distinct stages "

"GET IN THE TRUCK! RIGHT NOW! MOVE!"

Sarah still has the younger kid in her grasp, relief and confusion dawning at both girls as Joel pushed them to enter the truck. But before they could open the door, a snarl took a hold of their collective attention. They all stop to watch how the Adlers' grandmother charged in an inhuman speed towards them, only to hit the doorframe and shatter her neck. That kind of impact should have killed the woman considering her supposed fragile state but she rose from the ground and lunged at the group.

Tommy was the first one to ready a weapon, the long shotgun sat in a perfect position with his grip, he screams, "What are we doin', Joel?!"

Joel did not respond. The wrench on his hand flew straight at the deformed face of their attacker. Diana's whole body jolted in unison of the skull cracking against the metal tool. Her sobs went silent almost immediately. The Miller brothers waited for the body to move again and when it didn't, Joel's hand holding the weapon went limp.

He turns back to the pair of children standing close to the lawn, his eyes landing right at the granddaughter of the neighbor he just killed. It was too late to turn them away from the scene but he tried anyway. 

"Dee, oh god...," his voice cracked trying to slip the girl closer under his daughter's arm. Diana could only bury her small face on the ribs of the older girl. In a matter of minutes the child had witnessed her entire family die right in front of her eyes. Even until now her six year old mind cannot comprehend what has unfold since she got downstairs, but it is more than clear that at this moment she's the only living member of the Adlers.

"You killed her." Sarah spoke in shock as her father's hands, the same ones he used to kill, cupped her face. 

"Baby, I'm sorry," Joel wrapped the girl in a quick hug.

"Joel, we gotta go!"

"Girls, listen to me. It's not just your Nana," the frantic man pressed his hands on the girls' shoulders. One on Sarah's and the other on Diana. "But we're gonna be brave, and we're gonna get outta this."

Joel froze when her daughter reminded them of their youngest who's miles away out of town. It's evident he shares the same worry but his facade remained stoic.

"Sam's with the Williams, they won't let anything happen to him. He's family there."

Suddenly a heavy explosion of green fires went off just across the street, prompting Joel to pull both children into his arms.

"Hey. Let's go! Come on!" Tommy shouted from behind and signaled the other three to move by being the first to enter the truck.

"Get in."

They wasted no time by climbing together at the backseat while Joel shuts the door tight and locked. Before he got in he screamed to stay indoors at another neighbor who just got outside because of the commotion.

"C'mon, c'mon, get in!" His younger brother urged, to which the man complied and they finally moved from the lawn.

"Get your seatbelt on." Joel pulled down the seatbelts at the pair sitting behind them.

Diana was too short to view the front windows so when the truck took U turn to drive away, she failed to see what hit them as they passed her house. Whatever it was, the impact was strong enough to swerve the ride sideways. Prompting the little girl to crane her neck and look back at the backseat's window.

"Don't look! Get your head down." Sarah was quick to pull back Diana from fully seeing the outside. The corner of her eyes only caught the distant explosions trailing behind. And then she lowered her head, as low as she could, to avoid getting a glimpse of anything from behind the car windows.

An overwhelming wave of noises sounded from every direction, it's a mix of loud police or ambulance sirens, terrified screams of civilians and air vehicles sailing above them. Diana feels like her insides are being clawed and set on fire. She no longer has the strength to tighten the hold she has of Sarah's hand, her fingers hanging limp at the older girl's grasp.

Diana is alone. Her entire family is dead. She's far away from home and their whole town is in a frenzy in the middle of the night. 

"You take 70—,"

"71, I know,"

The ride takes a hard right on the roadside.

"Daddy—," Sarah began.

To which Joel quickly cuts off, "We don't know."

"They're saying it's a virus. Some kind of parasite," her uncle Tommy blurted out. Which made Diana's stomach drop.

"Is it from terrorists?"

"We don't… know."

"Are we sick?"

"No, of course not." Joel reassured, though he sounded less convincing.

A higher intensity of fear stirred inside Diana's chest. The Millers might not be sick but what about her? She doesn't live with them and her Nana turned into something else. 

"Why did things blow up?" Sarah spoke again. 

The car radio was turned on in hopes for a news source or announcement that might help them, but they hear nothing but static from the other end. "No cellphone, no radio. Minute ago, newsman wouldn't shut up," the other Miller sighed.

"How do you know?"

"What?"

The older girl started to choke up in tears as well, "How do you know we're not sick?

"They're saying it's mostly people in the city. That's why they got the highway blocked off."

As they navigate through the dark, deserted highway the path lights up in the distance. Fire has consumed the entirety of a farmhouse at the nearby fields. 

"God. It's Jimmy's place." Tommy said as they drove past the burning home, a stunned silence taking over the whole car. Until Sarah spoke again of a realization Diana had been dreading to hear.

"The Adlers would take Nana into the city. To the hospital for stuff," she glanced briefly at the girl beside her, careful as she thread her words.

"That's right. They would," Joel nodded with a slight reluctance in his tone. "That's probably why."

"But… you'd have to go a lot… right?"

This time the child with them let out a cry she hasn't done in a very long time. One that is very toddler-like, it scratched her throat terribly and reduced her face into a red mess flooded with tears. Diana didn't want to wail like a baby throwing a tantrum, she knows the people who took her in are trying their best to get them out of this disaster.

The last thing they need is a kid having an uncontrollable fit. It's distracting and ear grating, the young Adler is well aware of that.

But she truly is terrified from the bottom of her heart. Her sickness started more than two weeks ago and based on everything she knows so far her grandmother classified as an "infected". That could be what caused the old woman to behave violently. Similar to a zombie. The undead people who are bitten by another infected. Diana saw a couple of scary movies about it and her classmates sometimes act as one to scare each other. 

If that's what happened then maybe they are truly doomed. Mostly her.

"Hey, hey. We're fine… trust me," Tommy was quick to comfort the children at the back. "Sarah, tell her it's alright. She's okay."

The Miller girl turned at her left side and clasped Diana's hand with both of hers and spoke softly, "Hey hey. Dee. We're okay. You heard them, right? Nothing is happening to us."

Diana bit her lower lip from trembling and briefly shut her eyes closed to press down the tears. A small nod drawn for the girl as she mouthed 'okay'.

All of the sudden a call from the outside echoed into the car's windows. It grew louder until they reached the spot of a broken down minivan, Diana lifted her head to see the people calling out to them. There was a couple next to the roadside, a child as young as her with them. 

"Here! Right here! Hey!" The father shouted.

Tommy began to slow down the truck in response.

"What are you doin'?"

"They got a kid, Joel," his younger brother reasoned out.

"So do we. Keep driving." Joel answered firm and with command.

Diana can hear the family's helpless frustration of losing the aid they almost had. Sarah tried to suggest hopelessly to put them on the back, but her Uncle Tommy could only speed up and drove past as the father pleads in the background. 

Diana's expression quickly turned sour in the sight of abandoning someone in dire need of help. But like what Joel said, they had children with them too and someone else will come along. The military and police are around, it will be their job to help people like those. For now what the four of them need to think of is themselves first.

Both girls looked over at each other with tears streaming on their eyes and a suppressed cry by their lips. They held hands tighter than ever. Diana could only console herself by thinking that she's still alive and well, and the Millers are looking out for her. Sarah most of all. When this is over she will share the greatest 'thank you' to her babysitter who saved and took care of her ever since made it out of the Adler's kitchen.

Upon reaching the highway they are headed to, a sea of vehicles has already blocked most of the road. Traffic was already there before they even had the chance to slip. Speeding cars were driving the wrong way towards them. 

"Fuck! Everyone had the same fuckin' idea!" Tommy fumes as they avoid clashing against other vehicles on the way. "I can't get through this!"

"All right, all right. Let's think it through, we'll think it through,"

"Fuck!"

Panic began to stir between them once again after losing their original escape route but the two older men try their best to keep their calm demeanor. 

"All right, take the field. We cut across and we pick up on the—on the west side." Joel guided his brother in a new direction to take.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. West, west, all right. All right, hang on." 

Tommy turned right into the grassy fields by the highway's side. It was a darker path and blocked by stalks of tall grass but the truck rammed towards it anyway. Diana clasped her other free hand at Sarah's arm, she's fully clinging to the older girl this time.

Multiple people followed their lead on taking the field. The ride was bumpy and difficult due to the uneven terrain and when they eventually made it to the other side, a blockade of lights were already lined up. 

"Shit! Fuckin' Army!" Tommy sneered at the confirmation that the military had already taken over the border.

"Isn't that good?" Sarah asked.

"It's good for them, but that's the highway we're trying to get to."

While they halted their ride, other cars started moving past them. But the two brothers had a different plan in mind.

"All right, keep movin'. Head north," the older one suggested.

"Could be a lot of people."

"Well, we can't go south, we can't go east, we can't go west. Hell else are we supposed to go?"

The other Miller went silent for a while until he was pressured by his brother to move, "Tommy, come on!"

The truck started again, its wheels sputtering against the uneven train of the field. Tommy turned to the direction that was less crowded and blanketed with pitch darkness.

"Yeah, I know that place. This can work," Joel nodded with satisfaction.

"Yeah, but then what?"

"We'll get to Sammy first. Then maybe... I don't know. Mexico. Just far, far as we can. How much gas?"

"Three-quarter tank."

"Go through town, golf course by the river, straight across, we pick up the highway on the other side of the blockade…," Joel began rambling about the planned route they must take. "Then we're out."

It sounded like a lot of work and longer road time but Diana was hopeful they would get out. They made it this long, safety can't be that far from them. Maybe outside the town's border the government is already waiting to assist residents in evacuating. A few more minutes on the darkness of the road they were driving, Sarah spoke the complete opposite of Diana's optimism.

"Maybe it's everywhere. Maybe there's nowhere to go."

She opened her mouth to answer her but a deafening noise of a rumbled engine passed above them. They raise their heads in unison to get a view by the back windows. 

"What the fuck?!" Tommy had a genuine shock in his eyes. Three planes were descending from the sky, so close to taking a deep dive in the area they were headed to. Diana and Sarah curled up against each other instinctively as the massive vehicles flew past them.

"Son of a bitch. Gotta go around," Tommy halted the truck when he noticed a police blockade at the end of the street. "Grab somethin'!"

The ride cuts through an alley and leads back onto the populated road. From there, they were met with screams of crowd scampering in fright and fear in every direction. This time full blown chaos has exploded all over the place, which made it difficult for the adults with them to stay calm.

"All right, keep goin', keep goin'." Joel tried to be encouraging despite the major scale of panic that surrounded them.

"Shit. Tommy!" A car from the crossing almost rammed against their side, fortunately they get away unscathed in the nick of time. In the road, chaos ensued between a mob of people who were being attacked by the others that started to turn. Diana instantly regretted taking a peak on the window beside her, the infected ones charged against anyone on their way like a rabid animal. Mix of screams and cries in agony filled the bloody streets of the town square. 

"Tommy, you can't stop here,"

"I can't drive through 'em all," Tommy hesitated to run over the crowd.

"Are you serious?! Just keep goin'!"

All of the sudden the movie theater at the corner of the street burst open and a large group of people swarmed towards their spot.

"Go, go, go. Back, back, back, back, back, back, back!" Joel barked his orders.

"I'm trying!"

As the truck reversed its direction and they returned to the same chaos they passed through, Diana felt nauseous. Every shred of optimism she holds begins to burn at the sight of carnage that took hold of their town. Maybe Sarah was right, it's everywhere and just like the rest of the people outside, they have nowhere to go. She's just as good as being back in the dark kitchen of their home.

"We're gonna be alright, Dee. Dad and Uncle Tommy are gonna take us out of here," Sarah assures even without sparing her a look, as if she has read the little girl's mind.

"Okay, okay...," Diana muttered. Once again sobs threatened to break free from her lips but she bit it down. I'll be alright, I'm still with Sarah.

Amidst the heated argument between the two brothers in the front seat they still managed to keep driving backwards, they have completely dismissed their concern of what they might hit or run over to.

"---what I'm tryin' to do, Joel!"

"We're gonna be okay," Joel briefly turned to the girls to check them. "Just keep drivin'."

"Dad?!" Sarah exclaimed, her eyes caught up by the same plane they saw a while ago. It's now heading downwards at the narrow street they are currently trapped at.

"Holy shit!"

"Move… move!"

Diana ducked behind the headboard of their backseat at the sound of a large explosion, fire illuminated the dark path behind them. The ground shook at the weight of the crash. She was just about to lift her body when something struck the back windows, breaking against the solid glass like it was nothing. The sheer strength of the debris sent the entire truck to flip over and slide like a piece of junk on the streets. 

Everything had already gone dark for Diana even before the car hit the ground.

━━━━━━━━━━

PRAYERS FROM HEART are not really Diana's thing. Her aunt used to say she should start practicing more on doing prayers that are personal, but Diana found those difficult to finish. She often finds herself lost for proper words to convey what she really feels. So she stuck with memorized prayers, it's brief and specific. Less mistakes to be made.

But right now, she seemed to have found her way into weaving words perfectly in a tight lipped prayer. One that calls out to whoever's listening to keep them alive and safe, far from the vicious monsters that roamed the streets. Or the violence that has spread like a deadly fire on every corner of their town. Her bloody lips quivering as she mouths off the words semi conscious under the car floor. Diana can hear Joel calling out at the both of them from his spot at the front seat, a shallow breath sounded from Diana as a response that she's half awake.

Similar to Sarah, the Adler girl was stuck in an upside down position that makes even breathing painful. They are lucky to be still strapped by the seatbelts or else their heads would have been crushed against the ground. 

"Sarah...," Diana croaked weakly. Her fingers blindly reached for the older girl.

"Dee, don't move... you're gonna be okay. I promise." Sarah replied as she breathed rapidly from the pain of having her leg bent.

As soon as Joel got out of the front seat he headed at the back of the truck to take his daughter, "Tommy, you take Diana! I'll take Sarah!"

Tommy quickly joined his brother in assisting the injured children. When the man attempted to unclasp the seatbelt around Diana, a yelp escaped her lips. That's when she saw the tiny slivers of glass sticking at her shoulders

"It's okay. We'll get you out slow and steady, Dee," Tommy comforted the girl and carefully slid out her body by the shattered car window.

Diana cried out from the swelling pain, intense fear and uncertainty of their safety now that their only ride is gone. The younger man tucked her close to his waist using his free hand while he carried the long rifle in the other, his watchful eyes roamed left and right to watch out for any danger nearby.

"We gotta get off the street!" Tommy called out to the pair from the other side, they were about to join each other when an unmanned police car crashed into their flipped truck. 

"Shit!" The man put himself between the little girl with him and the instant explosion just inches away from where they are. The alley where the father and daughter stood is now completely blocked off by flaming vehicles. Joel screamed for his brother, panic present in his voice, "Tommy?! Tommy?! Tommy!"

"Sarah! Sarah!" Diana shouted back.

Tommy peaked his eyes through the small space in between the piled up cars to shoot a one last look to his brother and niece.

"Head to the river! We'll find a way," he ordered at Joel. "Get her outta here, Joel! Go!

As the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from the dark alley, Diana screamed a confident promise, "Sarah, we'll find you!"

The team they had now split into two, one young girl and a man, both equally frightened on what's ahead of them yet determined to see each other on the assigned rendezvous. Fresh red liquid dripped all over Tommy's face down to his chin, he had deep scratches on his arms and neck possibly from glass shards. He kneeled in front of Diana, the tears in his eyes mixing with the blood that poured from the open wound on his temple.

"Diana, look at me." He exhaled sharp and heavy. The man's hands clasped against the girl's shoulders. "We're gonna walk all over there, it'll be a long one and you might see a lot of bad things. So you hold on to me tight and don't ever look, okay?"

She nodded in understanding. Tommy skipped towards an abandoned shop at their left and pulled down a half hanging curtain at its glass doors. He tied the two ends of the thick cloth into a quick but tight knot, and slung it on his chest and left shoulder.

"C'mon, you're small. You can fit in here," he guided the child into the improvised sling. Diana slipped right into it and wrapped her arms around Tommy's neck. The pair then began walking into a brisk pace until they joined the mayhem of civilians escaping on the edge of the street. 

As they are swept into the sea of extremely disoriented mobs, Diana buries her face on the man's shoulder blade. She shut her eyes tight in hopes it will take off her mind from focusing on what's taking place on the streets they are about to travel on. The girl can no longer distinguish the screams of living to the infected ones, eventually they just blend into one suffocating wave of disaster. 

Tommy slightly moved his arms upwards and positioned the shotgun into a shooting stance. One bullet after another poured from the weapon the moment they turned at the freeway, the route leading to the riverside of the town square.

"We just have to get across this and maybe we can meet them in the field by the river."

Before they could even set foot to run, the freeway was stormed by a horde of infected from the nearby grocery store, screams erupted from the crowd they belonged to. Tommy's quick thinking to slip at a narrow alley saved two from being trampled by the rabid monsters. He backed away to the dark corner until they hit a garbage disposal and alerted one passing by.

It took two shots to kill the infected and more would have followed its lead if Tommy didn't skip to disappear on the dim lights of the alleyway.

"Diana... baby, you okay in there?" He slowed down after running what feels like a whole block and more.

Diana poked out her head to show she's not physically harmed by any means. Tommy could only pull the poor, shaking girl in his arms. 

"You're bleeding too much...," she gently touches his face.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm okay, baby girl. The river is just right there but we need to be careful, there might be monsters," he began to instruct her of the possible dangers, while he took off the almost ripped sling and set her down. "And it's really dark there, we can't see 'em all. So we have to be really quiet."

"Okay." 

The riverside was almost silent compared to the main streets they passed by a while ago, bright lights shone from the distance but it's too far away to light up the path they are heading at. A few more minutes trekking across the muddy and uneven ground, they finally made it to the higher slope where the pitch black river glistened on the horizon.

"Maybe we should—," Tommy didn't finish what he was supposed to say, he instead pulled down Diana in a crouching position with him. 

"Shit, might be the Army." He whispered, pertaining to the parked truck in the distance, stalks of grass blocked the clear sight ahead but Diana can make out glimpses of a movement from where they are sitting.

We're not sick. Sir. We are not sick—! 

At the sound of the familiar voice, both of them shot up from their feet. They shared a brief look of understanding and Diana shouted, "Go! It's Joel!"

With weapon ready in hand, Tommy and the girl raced together against the clock to reach the pair they had been counting to see again. But it didn't matter how fast they were, Diana's tired heart banged against her ribcage in the sound of an automatic rifle going off.

Standing only a few feet from them is a soldier in an all camouflage, army suit, in his hands was a smoking firearm being prepped to take another shot. It was pointed downwards at a lower ground just next to his spot. 

"I'm sorry." He says before being dropped by the man carrying a shotgun. The soldier crumpled on his sides, a single bullet blown at his head. The scene no longer phased Diana, instead a feeling too improper to be felt on a moment like that bloomed on her chest, the girl's eyes stared longer at the body.

She was relieved.

Joel was the first one they saw, he got up from the ground to inspect the wound on his side. Diana's eyes remained at him before they heard a faint gasping from the further spot where Joel fell. He frantically crawled on all fours to reach for the body lying down in the field.

"Diana, no." Tommy blocked the girl from witnessing the scene any longer. But the noise coming from behind was enough for her to be aware of what's to come.

Maybe this is the Judgement Day the book of Revelations speaks of. Ever since Diana heard about it in a sermon at their church, it never left her mind. Her Aunt Connie sometimes spoke of it when multiple natural disasters hit or rising crime rates appeared on the news. She said it's the sign of the times and humanity must repent for the sins they have done, in exchange their souls will be saved by heaven's grace. 

What such great sin a little girl could have possibly done for it to be paid in this ruthless and vile manner?  

We are created from the image of our Creator. A child bleeds out from the bullet of a soldier who refused to hear them, a city pours with blood because their prayers hung in the air unanswered. We are created from the image of our Creator.

Joel attempted to lift his daughter from the ground only to be met with more pained cries and blood on his arms. He pressed down a hand on the large wound on Sarah's belly but no amount of pressure could have stopped that kind of bleeding.

"I know, I know, I know, baby. I know, I know! I know this hurts," he consoled her in complete tears. "You're gonna be okay. All right… Baby, baby, baby, listen to me—I gotta get you up, okay?"

The man tried once more to gently pick up Sarah, but she whined all through it. At that rate it's almost impossible to lift the girl up without further injuring her.

"I know, baby! No, no. I know, I know, I know, I know," he cried out as well when Sarah started to cling on to him in desperation. "Tommy, help me!"

"Joel…," the younger Miller was lost with words. He, too, knows nothing could be done at that point. 

His niece is in her last moments and all he could do is console his brother with a brief headshake. Tommy bent down on a knee level, his watery, brown eyes met the blank gaze of the other girl in front of him. Unlike the other moments throughout the night where her agony was visible, Diana's eyes were dry and narrow, not a single trace of fear can be seen on her demeanor. 

She remained still at her feet. Even when Joel turned back to Sarah and had to watch as his daughter's body went completely limp. 

Anguished cries sounded from the man while he cradled the lifeless frame of his own child. Hearing it led everything around Diana to melt into a crimson tinted place, the shade as dark as the red that soaked the ground she stands on.

Despair may not have come for Diana Adler in that instant but it will from that moment forward. 

&&&

ashara's
endnotes !

The Adlers were briefly shown in the series but they did and they will continue to play an important role in this fic, since Diana is from their family. During their short screen time on the show I was able to inquire a few things about them, which I will be using in writing Diana's character and storyline. Some of those things are 1.) They are an elderly household which means Diana is more inclined to have an "old school" side. 2.) They might love movies 3.) They are a Christian home and Diana is raised to be closely religious, so that will be a significant element on how she deals with the post apocalyptic world and the life she has now. I think faith and religion are such interesting concepts to see after massive societal collapse. 

It took awhile for me to finish this chapter since I kept pausing at the night of the outbreak, especially Joel & Sarah's escape 😭 the whole sequence was so intense, I can't focus much on my writing but I made it and it's done! What do you think of the first chapter? Drop your thoughts on the comments!!