No Hope Left/Issue 1

Issue 1 of No Hope Left, also titled The Escape, is the first issue of the NHL series.

Issue
'August 24th, 2014 (Pre-Apocalypse'') '''

The night sky stood an inky canopy of darkness freckled only by the fewest stars. Rosemont was a small town in Pennsylvania, which was around twenty miles away from Philadelphia. Alison DiLaurentis, an eighteen year-old senior, was sat down in one of Rosemont’s eating establishments called Apple Rose Grille. Her four best friends sat with her. Hanna was eating her dinner as if it was poisoned. Each forkful was tinier and tinier every time she went for a spoonful of the cheesecake.

“Hanna, you don’t seem to be enjoying that,” spoke Spencer whilst she took the last bite of her chocolate fudge cake.

“I hate to admit it Spence, but this cheesecake is really not something you would want to eat,” admitted Hanna, pushing the plate away from her.

“If you’re not going to eat it, we will,” laughed Aria.

“Of course we will,” giggled Alison “Em, does your cheesecake taste fine?”

Emily looked up at the rest of her friends. She had a slightly roundish oval face with full lips and deep set hooded eyes. Her dark brown hair, which is usually worn down, compliments her olive complexion. Emily has an athletic body type because she is on the school swim team. Her charming smile adds to her persona.

“Yeah...it tastes delicious,” tested Emily, smiling at the others.

Alison is a very attractive young girl. She has golden blonde hair, which is usually in curls, and perfect blue eyes to match. Alison has a heart-shaped face and she is slender, graceful and wears fashionable attire. She has a bold personality and is also the queen bee at her high school, sometimes competing against her own friend, Hanna Marin. Hanna was just like Alison. She has a beautiful heart-shaped face complimented with baby blue eyes, full lips and a dimpled smile. She has a curvaceous frame with slim, sharply legs. Hanna’s middle-length hair was also golden blonde. Aria has a pale, ivory complexion complimented with round hazel eyes and plump lips. Her dark hair is wavy and she is the shortest of her friends. She enjoyed the arts. Spencer Hastings differed to all of her friends. She has a very slim face with high cheekbones, thin lips and dark almond shaped eyes. She has a peach and cream complexion with long medium brown hair, usually worn down in waves. Spencer has a very athletic figure from playing tennis, hockey and other smarts. She is considered the smart one of the group, always inspiring to get the best grades as possible.

“What do you mean it tastes delicious? It tastes disgusting!” described Hanna, covering her mouth.

All the girls giggled. Aria and Alison took scoops of cheesecake from Hanna’s place. Alison’s phone went off as she pulled out her IPhone. She opened her latest message which was from her mother, Jessica. Jessica told Alison to come home immediately. Alison got up, packed her stuff back into her bag and prepared to exit the restaurant.

“Ali, where are you going?” asked Spencer, as she rose from the table.

“Sorry guys, my mom wants me to come home. I’ll see you tomorrow!” smiled Alison.

“See you tomorrow!” replied the other four girls.

Aria, Emily, Hanna and Spencer resumed typical high school conversations. Alison walked out of The Grille and headed down the streets. She smiled as she swayed her arms side to side with a handbag in her hands. Alison got to her car, which was parked down an ally way. She opened her car and got inside. She pulled out a mirror, fiddled with her hair and then applied some lipstick. When she was about to put the mirror away, she noticed a shadow in the back of her car. Suddenly, a hooded figure pulled out a rope and wrapped it round her neck, strangling her from the backseat. Alison used her elbows to hit the hooded figure in the chest. They let go a fell back onto the seat. Alison quickly got out of her car.

“HELP ME! Someone hel –“ shouted Alison, before the hooded figure covered her mouth with his gloves.

<p class="MsoNormal">Alison tried to scream but nothing was coming out. She could hardly breathe. She tried to escape by moving her arms but the hooded figure clutched her close to them. Alison used the back of her head and smacked the hooded figure in the face. They fell back as Alison made a run for it. As she exited the alleyway, another hooded figure appeared and smacked her round the head with a bat. She fell to the ground. Alison’s vision was blurred and she eventually became unconscious.

<p class="MsoNormal">'September 17th, 2014 (Post-Apocalypse'') '''

<p class="MsoNormal">Alison opened her eyes. She woke up in the basement where she had been for the past three and a half weeks. The sight of the basement was frightful to Alison. The tape covering her mouth had worn off and fell onto the cold floor.

<p class="MsoNormal">“HELP ME! SOMEONE, PLEASE HELP ME!” screamed Alison “I AM IN THE BASEMENT!”

<p class="MsoNormal">The door at the top of the stairs opened. Someone with a red coat made their way down the wooden steps, carrying around twelve bottles of water. Alison could tell that it was a female. The smell was agonizing as it hit Alison’s nostrils for the millionth time. Alison was frightened as she looked up, trying to see the face of the lady in the red coat.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Please...I’ll do anything. Just let me go...I need to see my friends...my family!” begged Alison.

<p class="MsoNormal">Red Coat ignored her. Alison gave up. She knelt down and placed the twelve bottles next to Alison. They were all in a neat line. Red Coat started to walk out of the room. Alison watched on as she struggled to set free from the well-tied rope. Red Coat left the room and shut the door behind her. Usually, Alison had heard the door lock, but this time she didn’t. As soon as the door had shut, she used all of her strength to get free from the ropes. Alison’s eyes swelled red as tears streamed down her face. Her crying was both ferocious and noisy.

<p class="MsoNormal">'September 26th, 2014 (Post-Apocalypse) '

<p class="MsoNormal">Alison tried to get her hands out of the rope as the hot sun beamed down on her sweaty neck. She squealed as she tried harder and harder, still failing. Alison cried and let out a loud moan.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Don’t cry Alison, you can do this,” whispered Alison to herself.

<p class="MsoNormal">Alison closed her perfect shaped eyes, gave out a big deep breath and pouted. She rubbed her hands together and tried to pull one of them out of the rope. She squealed as the rope rubbed against her wrists. Alison carried on squealing and out of nowhere, one of her hands was released from the rope. Alison slowly pulled out her arm in front of her and stared at her wrist. She gasped in excitement as the rope fell down from the other arm and released her from the rope. Alison looked down at her legs and untied the two ropes that were keeping her legs tight together. As Alison stood up, she felt dizzy. She had hardly walked since being taken hostage. Alison picked up one of the remaining bottles of water, opened it and had a sip. She slowly walked up the wooden stairs and turned the handle. Surprisingly, the door was opened. Alison opened it and stepped out of the door to be attacked by a swarm of flies. She held her nose whilst smelling the rotten smell off corpses. Blood was all over the kitchen. Alison ran out of the house, looking back to check no one had seen her escape. She thought most of them was dead anyway. Alison stopped to look at the house. She had never seen it before and she had no idea where she was. When she turned to face the street, she was shocked by her finding. Someone walked towards her. It wasn’t a human, it was something far from a human. It was a zombie. It was a Walker.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Oh my god!” screamed Alison.