The Gray Plague by Jahar_Jones
Intro:
The plague began like any other of its kind, a few people here and there coming down with a mysterious illness and then dying, not much thought was given to it and life continued on. Over the course of a few weeks, people all around the globe were reported of vicious attacks against their friends, spouses, children, or random bystanders on the street. These attacks, spread throughout the news like wildfire, but no one paid it much heed and, again, life continued on. One month after these reports, all seemed well until, like a bomb, the plague rampaged everywhere. In every country, every city, every town, people were being maliciously killed by others for no apparent reason at all. These attackers began their onslaught by extreme mood swings and then by scratching and biting their victims persistently until they killed the victim, they then began to feed on the flesh of those that they had just killed. Panic spread everywhere as no one knew who was infected or when someone would rage and attack, the world was thrown into a state of chaos. From looting, vandalism, and assault, people all around the globe began to riot out in fear of their lives and they began to take what they thought was necessary to survive. Scientists began to call the virus "The Gray Plague" for it turned the skin and the eyes of those infected to a pale, undead gray color. The scientists promised an answer to a cure and had promised relief to the survivors, however, no help came and, within a few weeks after the plague spread everywhere, everyday life stopped dead in its tracks, leaving the uninfected to fend for themselves in a world of chaos.
Three Months Later…
Chapter One:
I awake to the sound of screaming in the streets, just another poor, reckless victim succumbed to the walker's onslaught. Walkers, I think to myself as I had just come up with that name, sounds like a good title to give those freaks out there. I get out of bed and pull on a pair of jeans with a black shirt and I begin to fasten the laces on my boots. Three months ago, I would be sleeping in, taking a shower, and then heading off to school, most likely arriving late, however, I can't do that now in the current situation. After I get dressed, I leave my room and head downstairs to make sure that the front door is bolted tight and that the windows are blocking out any outside view satisfied, I go to wake up my sister to get a jump on the day.
"Good morning Sunshine!" I say as I enter her room.
"I really hate you in the mornings Alec." Jillian half-heartedly retorts as I slam down onto her bed. Me a Jillian have always had a close relationship that most siblings don't have, and it also helps that we are only a year apart, Jillian being the eldest at 19, so we can find common interests easier.
I give Jillian a big embrace as I usually do when we survive another night and say to her, "I know you may hate me now, but what will you do without me since you can't cook to save your life?" and it's true, she is the worst cook imaginable while I have been graced with cooking,
"I would resort to eating people like the Grays do" she says with a little breezy laugh "But, let's not waste the day away, we need to get some more supplies from the other houses again" Jillian says, this time with a more serious tone. I leave her room to let her get ready and I go back upstairs to my room to get my gear.
Our house is a classic two story house situated in the small town of Lennon, Michigan. Lennon, is a rural town with a lot of farmland and has nothing particularly interesting in it except for a Speedway and a little café. When the plague hit, Lennon was better off than most due to its small size and its distance from the cities, however, that does not mean that our town didn't suffer. Out of its probably 500-600 residents, only a handful of people survived and they stick to themselves these days. The next closest town to Lennon is Durand, which is about 12 miles away and had about 2,000 people but, me and Jillian are not willing enough to risk going there to see how many people are still alive. Finally, about 30 miles from where we are is the city of Flint. Flint is on the red zone in mine a Jillian's book meaning that in no circumstance are we to go there. Flint was a big city and got hit hard in the initial outbreak of the virus and was already one of the most dangerous cities in the United States, so Flint is out of the picture for me and my sister.
Before I reach my room, I take a quick glance out of the upstairs window to look at the walker activity in the area before I decide it is safe to head outside but, I only see a few of them shambling about in the street so I am not too worried about our venture. I go into my room and strap on a bulletproof vest that I received from my father back when he was a police officer for Lennon and I put on my utility belt. Next, I open my nightstand drawer and pull out a small pistol, I put the pistol in a holster in my belt and make sure that it is secure in the loop. Closing the drawer, I reach to the side of my bed and grab a small hatchet and I also get a machete from the shelf hanging over my bed, I slide both of these into loops on my belt and I exit my room, closing the door behind me. Content with my arsenal, I head to Jillian's room, knock, and enter and see her readying her weapons as well, I notice her slinging a bow and a quiver of arrows onto her back and I watch her retrieve a homemade double-sided spear from her closet that she had found on one of our scavenges.
"You ready to kick some walker ass?" I joke to her in the most playful of manners.
"No," Jillian replies, "I am ready to sneak past some grays, find some Lucky Charms, and haul ass back home." I give her a smile and we head to the front door. I open the door and we quietly exit the house, closing the door behind us, and we head into town.
Jillian and I lightly jog for about half a mile before we reach the subdivision that we agreed on searching. Scanning the area, I notice about 5 walkers in various spots, shambling around aimlessly, waiting for a foolish victim to kill.
"Should we take care of them?" I whisper to Jillian as we take cover behind an abandoned car,
"I'm not sure, they aren't really doing any harm to us right now, let just see if we can sneak past them and if they do try to attack, we will deal with them then k'?"
"Sounds good to me," I reply "Just get ready to shoot that bow of yours."
"Gladly." Jillian says to me with a grin. In high school, Jillian was a competitive archer so she knows her way around a bow pretty well and, with some razor sharp hunting arrows we found, she managed to turn her hobby into a useful survival skill.
We stealth around the car with weapons drawn and head for the nearest house to us. Approaching the door of the blue house we had chosen, I use my knife to quietly pry open the door, it opens, and we enter carefully shutting the door behind us. Jillian and I find ourselves in the living room and we take a quick glace of our surroundings. I notice a large TV in front of a black leather couch and I notice a computer in the corner of the room. On the wall to the right of us there are two archways leading to the kitchen and to a family room and, next to the TV on the left, there are stairs leading upstairs. This family must have been pretty well off due to their possessions, however, I feel a pang of sympathy for raiding their house. Without word, Jillian and I quietly head to the upstairs where we find a man in his mid forties sitting on the ground, his skin as gray as a storm cloud. Immediately, the man (walker) starts to crawl towards us, his eyes devoid of life and his face only showing the animalistic expression of hunger.
"Should I deal with him?" Jillian asks me
"No, I can handle this one." I say back to her partly because I am closer and partly because I still feel some brother protection over her and I don't want her to have to do such a grim task. Taking my hatchet, I kick the walker down as he tries to get up at us and I tell him that I'm sorry that this happened to him and, without further hesitation I burry the weapon into his skull, ending his suffering.
We search the rest of the upstairs and find some odds and ends that will have some use to us later but we do not find any other walkers, however. I head downstairs with Jillian trailing behind me but, instead of finding the empty living room, I find something entirely different.
"Well, well boys, What have we here?" says the voice of a man.
I turn towards the voice and find something that I had feared would happen. In front of me stands five men, all of different ages, brandishing weapons ranging from knives, clubs, bats, and axes. I instinctively step in front of Jillian to protect her but, I fear that it will not be enough and that only a miracle can save us now.