Chapter 1:

The First Days

I woke up and walked out of my room and into the living room. I turned the lights on and grabbed something to eat. Lauren was already awake and sitting at the table. She was reading a magazine that she had found last night. Jack was still in the bedroom sleeping. We had to handcuff him to the bed just to make sure he didn't become one of those things. The house had three bedrooms. Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you about me. I am Jake, and I lived in Cape San Blas, Florida. I am forthteen years old but I know how to shoot a gun. My dad used to take me to shooting ranges to let me practice.

"Morning."

Lauren greeted me looking up, her long blonde hair covering her face as she moved it away.

"Good Morning."

I replied. I sat down and started eating. Lauren stood up and walked into Jack's bedroom. I felt bad for Jack, he knew he was going to die, he just didn't know when. Lauren hasn't been crying about Derek anymore. Which is good, because I started to feel sad whenever she did. Lauren walked out followed by Jack. Jack has been quiet lately due to his bite. I noticed writing on the wall. It was in spray paint and permanent marker. "He's in room 10B." The walls read. "Stay away from him." I wonder who wrote on those walls anyways. Jack started to look pale. The house that was used as the safe room. I sat there at the table for a while. I basically spent the whole day reading and talking to Jack and Lauren.

"I have an idea."

Jack mentioned to us when Lauren and I were talking.

"We should try to barricade around this house."

"What, how?"

I asked grabbing my water.

"Like, put cars around the entrance."

"That would be hard; are there even enough cars around here to do that?"

"Sure, we just have to find them."

As Jack, Lauren and I walked around searching for cars, I wondered how bad of an idea this would be. It would work for a little while but the zombies would find their way through.

Hours of putting cars and trucks around the block was really weighing me down. My shoulders and arms were sore. I went inside the safe room and lay down on the couch. Lauren threw a bottle of water to me. She picked up my feet and put them on her lap as she sat down.

"Thank God that's over."

Lauren chugged her whole bottle of water. I handed her mine since I didn't really need it.

"Thanks."

She said breathing hard. Jack was still out there moving cars and setting up stuff. Jack and I made a plan to leave a big spot in the middle open so if need be we could have an easy escape. We put a car there so we can just tape the gas petal down and let it drive down the road. I closed my eyes and tried to relax but before I could, I heard a car alarm go off across the way. I knew right away that it would attract the hoard. I got up and ran to the safe house door and looked out. Jack was running down the street being chased by a horde of infected. I grabbed my hunting rifle and aimed at them. I shot all fifth teen rounds off at them. They fell to the ground dead. I was about to reload when I saw a sub machine gun lying on the table. Jack ran past me into the safe room. I ran towards the table and grabbed the gun. I started firing from my hip as the infected tried to grab me. I mowed down the whole line of them. I dropped my gun on the ground. I turned around to walk back into the safe room when I heard a screeching sound behind me. A zombie was running up the grass towards me. I pulled out my pistol and waited for the infected to get right in front of me. I fired my round off at the zombie. It dropped dead. I turned around and walked back into the safe room. I shut the door and looked at Jack who was drinking a bunch of water.

"Way to go Jack."

I poked fun at him. He just smiled and looked away breathing hard.

No one really felt like talking the rest of the day. Lauren broke the silence as she came back into the safe room.

"Hey Jake, come see this."

I got up and went outside. Lauren started climbing up a pile of tires by the corner of the building. She grabbed a rope that was hanging down from the corner and boosted herself up. I followed her up onto the roof. She sat on the roof looking at the city on the other islands. I sat down next to her. One of the tall buildings was on fire. It glowed orange in the night sky. The flames burned into the night sky.

We sat on the roof for a while before I called it a night.

As I lay in my bed, I hoped that things would get better around here. The next day was exactly the same way. Putting cars around this place was tough. I slept well that night though.

I woke up the next morning, I put my blue jeans on, and man they were dirty as hell. I put my green and white warm up jacket over my grey t-shirt. I used the warm up jacket every day. I looked at the Spartan logo. It was the logo of the Michigan State Spartans. They were a university located in East Lansing, Michigan. They were my favorite team. I had cereal, like usual. There wasn't much to eat but we still used what we had. Once Jack got up we would have to put more cars in the entrance again. Man I really hope he sleeps in. Lauren was asleep still in her bedroom. I sat there on the couch eating cereal for half an hour before Lauren finally came out. We said hi to each other and stayed quiet. I took my cereal out and sat down on the couch again. I took out my IPod and started playing a game. I didn't want to work today so I just tried to relax at least a little. Right when I turned my IPod on, Jack walked out of his room.

"Morning."

Jack just nodded his head. He started to get paler as the virus spread through his body. He grabbed a granola bar and then walked over to the table and picked up a Molotov and a pipe bomb.

"I'm gonna go check the other houses to see if I can find any other supplies."

Jack told me grabbing his shotgun.

"Want to come?"

I wanted to get out of this house and explore some of the places.

"Sure."

I replied grabbing the hunting rifle that was once Michael's. I thought we were going to push cars again but Jack surprised me.

"I'm coming to."

Lauren said getting up. Lauren grabbed her pistol from the table as she walked to the door. Jack unlocked the safe house door and walked out. He looked at his watch and said it was seven o'clock. I must have woken up early this morning, because I usually sleep much longer. The air was chilly as it hit my face. The month of May was the point where things started to get warmer in Florida. Jack walked down the driveway to the neighbor's house. Jack opened the door and shot his shotgun a couple of times. I walked in and saw two dead bodies on the ground where Jack had shot. Lauren walked to the kitchen to gather food.

"I'll keep guard."

Jack said standing by the door. I walked to the bathroom to see if I could find any medical supplies. I found some pills and a med pack. I put the pills in my pocket and strapped the med pack on my back. I heard a weird noise in the shower next to me. I looked in and saw a zombie. It tried to grab me but it fell to the ground. I shot it in the head with my pistol. I walked out and smiled at Jack. Lauren managed to grab some food that was still good. As we walked out I heard Lauren scream. I looked behind me and saw Lauren being grabbed by a rope. The rope was dragging her backwards towards the house. I looked up and saw the rope was attached to a mutated zombie. I aimed with my hunting rifle and shot the zombie straight through the head. The zombie exploded into a bunch of green smoke. Lauren ripped the rope off of her body and crawled away from it.

"What the hell was that?"

I asked looking at the rope. It wasn't a rope, but a tongue that the zombie grabbed Lauren with. "That's disturbing."

I murmured. We searched more houses but didn't find anything but food. We walked back to the safe house to take a break and unpack the food. Lauren decided to stay this time. I think it was because the zombie grabbed her with its tongue. So it was just Jack and I. Jack and I started to head for the condo complex next to the safe room. Jack started coughing like he was choking.

"Jack you ok?"

"Yeah, fine."

We walked down the road and entered the complex. The place was filled with buildings that had a couple of apartments in them. There were zombies everywhere in there. They ran at us. Not walked, ran.

"Run!"

Jack yelled. I ran to one of the buildings and tried to open the door but it was locked.

"Shit!"

Jack yelled.

"Make a circle!"

I did what he told me to do and ran down the road. The complex made a circle around the houses so we just ran down the road.

"Don't stop, keep running!"

We ran around the street until we came back to the first house. I picked up the rug and grabbed the spare key. I didn't actually know it was there, I just kind of figured. I put the lock in the door and unlocked it. Jack was hobbling behind me. I got inside and let Jack in right when the zombies were coming. I shut the door just in time. Jack sat down on a bench that was by the door and started coughing. He was getting sicker and he knew it.

"You still good?"

"Yeah."

I walked upstairs and looked out the window. Zombies were crowding around the door banging on it trying to get in. Jack came up and stood next to me. He opened the window and threw his Molotov out right into the zombies. The zombies caught on fire and started running around.

"Nice one!"

I said.

"What about the door though?"

I looked at the door and saw that it also started on fire. Jack ran into the kitchen and grabbed a fire hydrant that was in a cupboard below the sink. He handed it to me.

"Don't open the door just spray this on it."

I ran down the stairs almost tripping and walked to the door. The whole door was aflame and was spreading to other places. I sprayed the fire hydrant at the door but the flames wouldn't go down. The fire detectors started to go off. Jack ran by me to the back door and tried to block it with chairs and anything he could find. But it wasn't enough, the zombies broke through and tackled Jack. They started piling on him. He pulled a pipe bomb out of his pocket and held it.

"Run Jake run!"

He yelled. I didn't have a choice, it was stay and blow up, or leave and live on. I tried to twist the handle of the door but it was burning hot. I looked at my hand and saw it was black. I heard the beeping noise of the pipe bomb. The door was just as hot as the handle. I tried to kick the door down. The flames licked at my legs burning my jeans. I shot at the handle of the door and kicked it down. I ran as fast as I could out the door but it was too late. I heard an explosion and felt flames hit my back as I was thrown out of the building and into the street.

"Jake!"

I heard faintly threw my shock. Then there was blackness. I opened my eyes. I was dazed and could barely see anything. I looked at the building and saw a big dent in it and fire burning it. I lay my head down and stared up at the sky. I blacked out. I woke up and rolled over on my stomach. I pushed myself up and looked at the apartment building. It was still on fire from the Molotov that Jack threw. I need to get out of this complex. I stood up and looked behind me. I saw Lauren's dead body lying on the ground being eaten by zombies. Horror filled my body. One of the zombies looked up at me. I saw its black eyes and pale skin. It stood up and came after me. I looked down at the ground and picked up my hunting rifle. I shot the infected around her. I covered my mouth and tried not to vomit from the smell and the gore. I grabbed Lauren's pistol, med pack and pain pills. I stumbled down the road back to the safe house. I looked back at the apartment building.

"Jack you son of a bitch."

I smiled. Jack was a brave man, and I will never forget what he did for me. My hand still hurt from the burn but I tried to ignore the pain. I opened my pain pills and took a few. As I got to the safe house and opened the door, I wondered how Lauren got to the complex. Did she here the explosion and come to save me? Or did she try to just catch up with us and help? I opened my medical kit and pulled out some gauss. I wrapped it around my hand. I lay down on the couch and for the first time noticed the pain in my back. I must have fallen on it in the street. As I lay down on the couch, I realized that I was by myself. But I was too tired to care. I didn't know what to do. Jack and Lauren were both gone. I was alone and felt guilty about Jack and Lauren. I sat there for a while; I don't know how much time had passed. I felt tired so I decided to lie down. Sleep crept near; trying to sneak up on me. I fell asleep on the couch.

I woke up the next morning feeling depressed. I let out a sigh and got up. I didn't even feel like eating breakfast. I went outside and climbed up on the roof. I saw the rope hanging on the side of the building. The rope tempted me. I wanted to live on, quitting wasn't an answer. I turned away and sat on the other side of the building. A bird flew above me, flapping its wings as it headed to the city. I sat there for a long time, just staring at the burning building. Sadness rushed through my body, knowing that I was alone felt bad. I wasn't helpless; I could hold my own just fine, but no one to watch my back or to help me when I needed it. I finally decided to get down and go inside. By the time I got in, it was already night time.

I sat on the couch looking around the room. I looked on the mantle over the fire place where a bunch of pictures were. The pictures were of a family that must have lived here. I saw a man in the pictures that I might have killed. That probably sounds weird but I mean an infected. I walked outside with a flash light and looked at the many dead bodies. I found the same man that was in the picture. I took the picture out of the frame and put it into the man's pocket. I threw the frame somewhere into the trees where I heard it smash. I walked inside and fell asleep in my bed. I had no clue what I was gonna do tomorrow. I had a dream about this time I went to a carnival called Whispering Oaks. I remember the rides and the cotton candy. I went there a couple of years ago but haven't been back since. Then I heard talking interrupting my dream. It was a man's voice. "Man there is a lot of food in here."

"Wait, who's that?"

A woman's voice said. I opened my eyes and sat up as fast as I could. I could feel my heart beating a million miles an hour. I saw a woman and a black man standing in front of me. The girl was pointing a pistol at me. All three of us were silent for a while. I decided to break the silence.

"Hi."

It was the only thing that came to mind.

"Thank god."

The girl said putting her gun down. She walked to the kitchen and got a soda out of the fridge. "Hello." The black man said reaching his hand out.

"My names Louis."

He was wearing a white dress shirt and a red tie which was torn up. The girl walked over to Louis and handed him a bottle of water.

"And this is Zoey."

"Hi."

She said. I heard a door open and watched a man walk out of it. He stopped when he saw me. He was also drinking a bottle of water. He put the bottle down.

"I always knew you two would have kids someday."

The man snickered at his joke as he walked into the kitchen.

"And that dumb ass over there is Francis."

Zoey said motioning towards the kitchen. I watched as "Francis" grabbed a poptart and sat in one of the chairs.

"And you are?"

Louis asked smiling.

"Jake."

I said holding out my hand. They both shook it.

"Nice to meet you.

Louis said.