"MOM NOO!"
Richie screams, in hopes that his mom will stop devouring his dad's face. Richie's parents have fought before but he has never seen this, nothing this gruesome and violent.
Richie begins to cry as he sees his mother tear the flesh away from the dead man, the smell of blood and flesh rots the air and Richie turns to run away, unable to handle the sounds his mother is making while feasting on the dead carcass.
Richie makes it to his room and locks the door; he hides himself under the blankets, armed only with his baseball bat. How could this happen? How could his mom do such a thing? Will she eat Richie too? These are the thoughts running through the thirteen year old, making him cry even more.
Trying to think of any clues or hints, he tries to piece together past conversations, past news and suddenly he remembers, Sherry Birkin. They are classmates at East Raccoon Elementary, and always ended up playing together during recess.
The other kids didn't like her because of where she came from, she gets picked on as being a failed science experiment, and out of pity the parents adopted her. Richie didn't believe such nonsense, he always saw the good in everyone and one day, so many months ago, he decided to play with the lonely girl.
Realizing that she warned him today, Richie begins to recall that moment they shared…
"Hey Richie, let's go over there, away from everyone. I want to talk to you." We just finished our lunch together and it's time for recess, she grabs my hand and leads me to a spot underneath the trees, away from the others. Is she going to kiss me?
It's been over six months since we started to hang out together and I think I'm starting to like her more than just a friend, I wander if she feels the same way? She sits me down and nervously looks around; making sure no one is nearby, what is she going to do?
"Richie, I just got a call from my mom and she sounded very worried." She looks straight into my eyes, the blood slowly draining from her face, is she in trouble? I can protect you Sherry.
"Is there anything I can do to help Sherry?" She looks at me shocked, as if she wasn't expecting that response. "No Richie, there's nothing you can do, all mom told me was to go home right away. She also said that if anything bad was to happen, then to go to the police station and wait there…
She also told me… not to tell anyone." She looks away, embarrassed that she admitted such a selfish request, why did she tell me?
"I don't understand Sherry, is there a storm coming?" Looking hurt, she looks deep into my eyes, tears slowly swelling up and it seems that she is trying with all her might not to cry.
"Richie, I've always liked you, you were always so nice to me, even when you didn't have to be. If I don't see you again…"
She looks away again, fighting back the tears and small sobs, "I just want to say thank you!" She gives me a kiss on the lips, catching me by surprise, and before I could react, she turns and runs away.
What the heck just happened? Something bad is going to happen, but what? The bell rings, signaling the end of recess and as I make my way back, I can't help but shake the dark feeling that something really bad is going to happen, but what?
Getting lost in my thoughts, I end up being late for class, what's going to happen?
I absentmindedly enter class, ignoring the piercing glare of Mrs. Humphrey.
Sitting down I look around and see that Sherry isn't in class, and it hits me, police station…
Richie flings the sheets off and leaps onto the floor, looking for a map of the city. He recalls passing by the police station a couple times and slightly remembers how to get there.
Slightly regaining his composure, he knows what he has to do, Sherry is the only one who knows what's going on, and if she is there, then it will be best to be there too.
As he begins to pack up his gear for the nightly adventure, he hears a loud thump in this parent's room, like something heavy fell onto the floor. He just now noticed that the house is quiet, no more gruesome noises coming from the next happened to his mom, he doesn't know what but he has a strong feeling that she is no longer in this world, and is replaced by something sinister.
Building up the courage, he heads toward the door, slowly unlocking the handle and tiptoes toward his parents room. The closer he gets to their room, the stronger the smell of rotting flesh, suffocating his lungs.
He pauses for a moment, holding back the urge to throw up his dinner. Masking his nose with his sleeve, he slowly edges closer, and peeking through.
He tries to give out a terrifying scream, yet nothing but silence echoes the room. Skin torn off his face, and flesh rotting throughout the body, Richie sees his dad standing up, shoulders slumped and head hanging, lingering by the nightstand. Richie's mother is hovering by the window, trying to figure a way out of the house.
Mouth a gaped, he stares in disbelief at his zombified parents, fighting the urge to cry, he softly sobs at the gruesome sight. Slowly backing away, he carelessly trips on the carpet, stumbling back and knocking over a vase, which shatters onto the wood flooring. A sharp pain surges through his hand as he sees a large gash on his palm.
Looking up, he sees his parents attention focused on him, and slowly begin to make their way toward his direction. Their lifeless eyes gazing at him, growling hunger vibrating through their bodies.
"Mom! Dad! It's me, Richie!"
In a final attempt to bring their parents back to reality, Richie realizes that it is too late. Both his parents are dead, and only their bodies remain. Richie struggles to get up, yet it seems his body has given up, seeing his parents like this has broken so much more than just the cheap vase.
Drawing closer, Richie's parents begin to bare their teeth, saliva oozing to the floor, they are very hungry for fresh meat, even if it means their only son. Richie's heart begins to race, as his short life flashes before his eyes; there is nothing left for him in this world now. His parents begin to drop to their knees and start crawling, ready for the feast. Richie sits against the wall, closing his eyes, ready for his demise. When a small voice echoes in his thoughts.
"Police station… Sherry is at the police station…"
Brought back to life, Richie opens his eyes with full force and realizes that there is something left worth fighting for and her name is Sherry Birkin.