#angelyap

davina was born and raised in the fallen town of blackpool, in the north west of england. blackpool was a tourist seaside down before the outbreak and her grandparents owned one of the many hotels on the seafront. once the outbreak started, her family (grandparents, mother, father and 3 older siblings) held themselves up in the hotel. it was the only time they had been happy about their lack of guests. the hotel and the suriving one next door became a safehouse for any surviving townspeople. it got crowded very quickly and Davina being born certainly didn't help. growing up, she was the middle child of 7 children and often had to fight for her parents attention. she shared a room with her sisters and the other girls in the hotel and she never had her own space. davina was always a quiet kid, so fell under the radar very often. she was close with her dad, both of them having similar personalities. once she was old enough, he started bringing her out on scavenging trips. she enjoyed the time she would spend just her and her dad out in the wild. he would teach her about the town, show her all the different tourist attractions and would let her bring home trinkets.

when she was 18, they were on another trip. this time they went further than blackpool and its areas. they walked out of blackpool, down the country roads of gastang and through the fields of cows. sheep and bones. they came across an old lonely house. outside the house, was a sobbing man. once he saw them he called out to them, begging for help. while cautious, they approached. the man cried of his son and how he got hurt, how he doesn't know what to do, how he needs help. davina stayed behind her father as he was eventually worn down enough to go inside. inside, a younger man was lay on a couch. he hissed through his teeth as they entered, clutching his side. the place was dusty. davina's father tried to check the son, tried talking to him but the son only howled about his pain. he wouldn't listen, wouldn't cooporate and her father was beginning to grow irritated. he pulled the young man's hands back from his side.

nothing was there. not even a break in skin, not even a bruise.

there was a tense silence that filled the room. everyone was still. the young man pounced on her father, crashing into the dusty coffee table with him as the older man grabbed davina.

there was an auto repair shop not far from the house, thats where they'd set up camp. it wasn't the cleanest of operations the group held, not at all. they used old tools for their actions, hacking off limbs and chunks of meat from bone with hacksaws and pliers. she couldn't move when she woke up, she couldn't feel her legs. something was around her neck, pinning her head back against an old pipe on the wall. her hand traced it. it was a bike lock and chain. the place was bloody, the air tangy and hot. everything seemed to have a rusted orange and red tint. every surface had some amalgamation of meat on it. around her with other figures, trapped much like herself. some were moving, some weren't. some had limbs and others didn't. her father didn't survive long, his body going into shock quickly as he was hacked away. she didn't see the body again but she was fed that night. it had been bait to get more fresh meat. the father and son had been only two of ten in the scheme. it wasn't always easy finding food out here. it wasn't always easy for people to control themselves with the fall of authority and many people turned to their most primal urges. she's kept there for god knows how long. they treat her like an animal, something to laugh at and play with. everyday felt the same. all the time, the torture, the things she was saying, it got to her head. she was just like the infected. maybe she was one. chained up, eating flesh. she almost felt happy to be doing it. maybe some part of her enjoyed it now, maybe she was grateful. they could've just killed her afterall, but they kept her. it didn't matter what they did because they fed her, they put a roof over her head, they talked to her.

it was quiet one day. davina was awake as soon as the birds outside started singing. she sat, staring ahead of herself as she usually did. voices were distant, echos of laughing and yelling. as it got closer, she could hear the familiar voices of her captors yelling back at the people. moments went by, the sounds of scuffling echoing through to the back of the autoshop. one of the captors was shoved through the door held by the scruff of his neck by a young man in a tracksuit. upon seeing the room, the man in blue stopped. others dressed like him poured inside, all stopping in the doorway, bumping into eachother. the group dressed strange. tracksuits and blonde scruffy wigs to match what davina assumed was their leader in purple velour. davina had thought she looked quite awake, quite aware of her surroundings but what they saw was just another chained up figure covered in blood and grime. her eyes were barely open, body slumped.

the man in purple talked of a voice and the "sudden but not at all unexpected" act of charity he was ordered to lead. watching the group butcher and maim her captors didn't give her nearly the right amount of satisfaction she wanted. it wasn't even cathatric. she just watched. she didn't feel anything.

one of them noticed her blink, the woman in red. she mumbled something to the man in purple. they crowded around her, some close, some distant. she blinked up at them, mouth opening slightly. words were exhanged between them all - infected, one of them, she's gonna die anyway look at her - but the leader just kept his eyes on her.

"no...no, this isn't such a cut and dry case..." he stood up straight, the others followed his movement. "this is different. did anyone see her moving when we came in?" they all shook their heads, shrugging. "exactly. exactly. old nick did this...and he did it for a reason. he brought this husk back from whatever torment she had been sucked into. he put life back in her eyes - this! this is why we follow his word! this is what its all about!"

he riled up the group, their hoots and yells jamming into davina's skull like hammers. her chains were cut with sheers. one in orange and another in white helped her to her feet as she was assessed. seeing the sun again made everything fall into place. all the things that happened and what she had done - what they made her do. she cried the entire journey to the creek, cried the entire time she was cleaned, cried the entire night as she was put by the fire. her crying subsided once she passed out from exhaustion.

she was finally out. finally free. she considered returning to blackpool but how could she look her family in the eyes after what she did? she knew it wasn't her fault, she had no choice, but that didn't make it any easier. so she stayed. she stayed with her saviours, followed them around, endulged in the idea that maybe she was this chosen figure granted the gift of another life. though she knew it was all a fantasy, it was nice to pretend for a while.

i hope you enjoyed reading, pls lmk if anyone would be interested in more abt her! i may write a little fic abt her at some point