Do you know what it's like to watch your best friends get eaten alive right in front of you? Or be forced to put your wounded loved one out of their misery? I know exactly how it feels. I used to just dream about it every other week, but now, I dream about it every single night. I've never been one to have nightmares. Usually, all my dreams mean something, or predict an upcoming event. This one, I have no clue what it means. It has me staying up until 2:00, in the morning, even on the days that I have 6:00 exams. The weird thing about these dreams is that my friends and family aren't being torn apart by animals, but other people. Hell, if I could call them people. Their eyes are a deep shade of hazel, and their skin is a yellowish, grayish tone. Some of their body parts are torn off, but it doesn't seem to bother them. But their groan. Oh my god, their terrifying groan. These dreams have me on the edge of my seat, anticipating something at every upcoming moment.

I haven't told either of my roommates about these dreams. I feel like if I were to tell them, they'd call me crazy or something. Hopefully, by some miracle, the dreams will just stop.

"Beck."

My friend, Daniel, calling my name makes me snap out of my thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"I need my keys."

"Oh. They're on my side table."

"Alright."

I lean back in my seat, on the large couch, facing the television set. Next to me is my other roommate, Matt. I look over to him, my brown haired friend supports his head up with his arm, that bases itself on the leather armrest. It seems like he never even heard Daniel speak. He stares blankly at the television screen, and I can see our episode of Full House reflect on his brown eyes.

"I'm going down to Food Lion, by the way. What do y'all need?" Daniel asks.

I scratch my forehead and say, "Just get me a Coke."

"Matt, what about you?"

Matt still stares at the screen. He's probably thinking up some deep thought, but he's paying enough attention to tell Daniel that he wants a Sprite.

Daniel leaves our apartment a while later, in his blue Oldsmobile. Matt and I continue watching our show without speaking a word. I look at the clock, it reads "6:00 PM". I have to get some sleep tonight, tomorrow's a school day. As much as I desperately wanted sleep, I was very frightened about having another nightmare.

Matt finally speaks up.

"So, Beck."

"Yeah?"

"You know that girl that sits in front of me in-"

Matt gets cut off. The TV went blank, and the streetlights outside flicker off. The power is off for maybe thirty seconds, and when it comes back on, an extremely loud emergency program interrupts our show.

"Attention all residents in the Boston area," I sit at the edge of my seat, "We are ordering all personnel to stay indoors. A mass unknown pandemic has broken out across the U.S, infecting hundreds as we speak..."

My heart starts pumping as if I ran a mile in under a minute. As the newsman spoke, the TV flashed images of the things in my dream. I tried to listen to the report more, but I just couldn't. I could only catch little bits and pieces of it.

"The President of the... Has called in... National Guard... Ordering... Curfew... 8:00 PM..."

I look at the clock, it read "6:13 PM".

I hoped Daniel would get home soon. Matt had gotten up by now, looking out the windows astonishingly. I got up and ran right next to him. People and the Things flooded the streets. I had never seen such a large crowd in all twenty years of my life. I looked at a particular man and his family that I thought I recognized. His name was either Mr. Mason or Mr. Morison, something like that. They weren't rioting or anything, they were trying to get to their apartment. Suddenly, a Thing pops out right in front of his boy, and bites through his flesh like it's nothing. Blood sprays everywhere, on the wife, the sister, and Mr. Morison. Mr. Morison tries prying the Thing off of his son, but to no avail. Another Thing pops out of the surrounding crowd, and this time, it chooses Mr. Morison. It chomps into his neck, and pulls out his throat, killing Mr. Morison instantly.

I pull away from the window with my hand over my mouth. I try and contain it, but I vomit all over the hardwood floor. Instead of yelling at me, Matt pats my back and tells me to "just let it all out".

By the time I'm finished, a very frightened Daniel rushes through the door.

"Jesus, Daniel, what happened to your arm!?" I ask.

Daniel's arm was oozing with blood, coming from a deep, red bite mark. He slid down the door and sat in the puddle of blood caused by his bite. He was usually very meticulous about stains and such, but now, he was too tired to worry about it. Matt, with the most medical knowledge out of all of us, rushes to the kitchen to get the first-aid kit, while I help Daniel up to sit him on the couch. Matt and I apply bandages, but the bite didn't want to stop bleeding. Daniel shouts out in pain, as we constantly have to touch the wound.

"Bit down on your shirt, Daniel." I tell him.

Suddenly, we all go quiet. There was a loud "BANG" on the front door. Daniel, in a very tired, and muffled tone tells us, "They're here." Matt abandons wrapping the bandage, and runs to his room. As I hear the movement of drawers, I realize what he's getting. He comes back with his father's Colt .45 revolver, and a small box of ammo. I watch as he kneels beside us, loads, and signals us to move to the kitchen. By now, there was lots of commotion outside our door. Whatever it was, It, and It's buddies, wanted to get in. I was terrified, but I didn't want to show it. The groans of the Things made me cringe, as I had heard so much of it before.

It seems like hours before we move from behind the kitchen counter. Daniel, who was sitting in the corner ended up falling asleep, as I finished his bandage wrapping. Matt kneeled in the front of our line, with a fully loaded cylinder, ready for anything to come. By now, I had grabbed a large kitchen knife, and sat with Matt. As time progressed, we could hear heavy machine gun fire, outside. Could the National Guard have really gotten here already? I look at the kitchen clock, It reads "7: 21 PM".

At 7:30, we hear loud gunshots from outside the front door. They sound like shotgun shots, but I don't know. As soon as the shots stop, the groans stop. Whoever shot those Things in front of our door just saved our lives. I remember Matt laughing a little, getting up, and stretching.

"Daniel, wake up, they're gone!" I shout.

Only Daniel doesn't get up. He's leaning heavily on the wall, and I just noticed it then, but he looked dangerously pale.

"Daniel?" Matt calls out.

No answer

I get on the floor and start shaking his shoulders, calling his name.

"Daniel! Wake up!"

Daniel was pale, unresponsive, and oh so cold. I fall back onto my back, crying, only to realize now, that my friend had died.