Chapter I

Anna

It's finally been confirmed by our own government. The zombie apocalypse has officially begun. The first break out to be recorded was in Milwaukee, WI.

It all started on a sunny day. The sky was cloudless. People were going about their days. Walking to work, taking the bus to wherever they were going. Just the normal things humans do every day.

But that day, something peculiar happened. Something so frightening, you'd scream and run. That's what everybody literally did. Not lying. Everything I'm about to tell you is actually true.

So anyways, it all began on the busy streets of Milwaukee. A man was walking to work one day. All dressed up in a tuxedo while carrying a briefcase with his paperwork in it. When he eventually got to a bus stop location, he began to feel sick to his stomach. How do I know all of this? Well, I was there. At the time, I was serving in the National Guard. We got a call that day saying a man was acting abnormal and attacking other people. Me and some very close friends of mine were all sitting in the back of an armored truck with our AK-47's ready at our hands. We were in full uniform. We had our hard hats strapped on our heads, bullet-proof vests on, and our casual military looking uniform with brown boots that went up past our ankles.

When we got there, there was nothing but chaos. People were screaming; running from something. When the truck came to a stop, we quickly opened the back door to the truck and threw our guns up into the ready position. My friend Calvin, who was standing aside from me, was the first to be attacked whatever those things were. The man eating figure, with a pale white face, and completely white eyes, ran up from behind us, and jumped on Calvin's back and bit him in the neck. Calvin dropped his gun and fell to the ground. Blood was splattering out of his neck because the thing bit into a main artery. The suffering he went through was unforgettable.

I than quickly turned around and shot the bastard in the head. Once the thing was dead on the ground, I ran and kneeled next to Calvin. He looked at me and tried to say something. Before he died, his last words were "I see the light. I'm finally--." After that his eyelids slowly dropped over his head and he let the remaining air out of his lungs, indicating he was living no more. I knew I couldn't let him turn into one of those things, so I pulled out my M1911 pistol and put the end of the barrel on his head. I looked away and closed my eyes. Then I pulled the trigger. BANG! I heard the gun go off. I knew I had to be strong. I couldn't let my friends death get to me. I wanted these things eradicated for good!

So I put my pistol back in the gun carrier on my belt and stood up. I leaned down to pick up mine and Calvin's Ak's. I strapped his around my back and told my remaining friends to be aware. They all looked at me and patted my back.

"You did the right thing sargent," Will said as he patted my back and ran towards the death-defying, man eating zombies.

That day, all of my friends died, except me and Will. After we couldn't contain the increasing number of zombies, we scuttled and let our positions. We ran out of the city before it could get worse. We ran all the way back to my house where my younger brother and my father were residing.

Once we got there, I walked up the stairs onto the front deck of the house. I walked up to the white door. Before I could begin knocking on the door, I noticed the door was left cracked open. I kicked the door open to find no one in the house. I looked back at Will.

"They can't be!" I said as I began to get angry and fierce. I then began searching for my family. Luckily, I ran into the basement to find both my brother Jason, and my father Frank hiding in the corner of the basement. But they weren't the only ones. There was a little girl, about seven years old, hugging Frank and crying. I slowly walked closer to them all.

"It's okay. Whatever you saw on that television, isn't true. Don't be scared. My friends and I are here to help you. We have this under control. Now if you would little girl; what is your name?" I asked as I slowly got down on my knees to talk to the little girl.

She was frightened and crying. She was still hugging Frank. Frank looked at me and shook his head "no." I overrode his head nod and began asking the little girl questions.

"What's your name dear? If you don't tell me your name, then I can't help you, you butt head," I said. She giggled and laughed at me for saying "butt head."

She looked at me and smiled. Not caring about a thing in the world. She focused her attention towards me. She didn't seem to care about her surroundings. She looked me right in the eye.

"I am Anna. I'm only seven," she said to me as I let her answer.

"And where's your parents Anna?" I asked. After I had said that, it seemed as if she didn't want to talk about that. But I asked politely again. "Where's your parents Anna? Can you tell me what happened or where they disappeared to?" I asked again.

She looked at me hesitant, almost as if she wanted to tell me, but didn't.

"My mommy and daddy are gone," Anna answered quietly.

As I was asking Anna questions, Will went to go keep an eye out for the zombies outside of the house. It wasn't too long before he came back. He was nervous.

"We seem to have a bit of a problem here. I think they're leaving the city because there's nothing left for them there," Will said as he held his AK-47 in his hands.

I then stood up and asked Anna to hop onto my back. Before she did that, I took Calvin's AK off my back and handed it to my father. I than gave my younger brother my pistol.

"C'mon we don't have much time before they get here. Where's the Tahoe?" I asked Frank as threw the AK behind his back.

Jason stuck his pistol behind him in his pants at his belt line. Anna then hopped up onto my back. She coupled her hands around my neck and hung on.

"The trucks out front," Frank replied as we all began to run up the stairs and out of the basement. When we got up to the main floor, Jason and Frank tried to run up the stairs to pack some clothes.

"We have no time. We gotta go now! Do you want to be killed? Because that's what'll happen if we stay! Now c'mon!" I snapped as we ran out the front door onto the front porch.

I looked for the red Tahoe that was suppose to be parked in front of the house, but it wasn't there. I looked at Frank and rolled my eyes.

"Where's the truck dad? We don't have time for games!" I snapped as Frank laughed at me.

"What are you laughing about? This is serious," I continued.

Then Will noticed a small horde of zombies running towards the group. He put his AK in the firing position. He then alerted me.

"Uh guys. We have a bit of a problem. They're coming. We gotta go," Will yelled as me and Frank were fighting over the truck.

"It's fucking eighty-eight degrees here and you lost the truck? I can't believe you sometimes!" I snapped at my dad.

"This is all your fault Mack!" He said as he began to run away from the incoming horde. Will was still shooting at the small horde of zombies with his AK-47.

"You guys go! I'm going to try and give you guys as much time as possible to get away; far away!" Will shouted as he was shooting the horde.

Little did I know, was that would be the last day I would see my friend alive. He eventually ran out ammo and the horde got to close and attacked him; ripping limb from limb until he bled out to death.

"I've lost too many friends today. I'm not going to lose my family too," I said to myself as we ran and ran.

I looked back as the horde ate away at my friend's body. I couldn't bare the pain of losing another friend. I had to be strong. I couldn't let anyone know I had a weak spot. Not even this little girl I was carrying on my back.

Then, out of the blue, we found an abandoned home with a tall fence around it. I immediately had the sense that we would be safe there; for now at least.

This is only the beginning of a death-defying adventure. Will we survive? Will the human race live on to see another day? Or will humanity be eradicated by zombies? Who knows. I'm looking forward to keeping my family and remaining friends alive. That's all that matters to me at the moment.

Chapter II

Creatures Among Us

We finally got inside the house I had spotted out and escaped those zombies. I had to kick the front door down just to get inside the house.

The sun was beginning to set just over the horizon. The clouds rolled in, slowly. The wind began to pick up. The twinkling stars in the night sky slowly disappeared among the clouds.

That same night, we were all sitting down in the living area of the home. We had blankets nailed to the walls to cover the windows so the creatures among us couldn't see us. We were all scared. You could hear faint explosions in the distance. The U.S army has to be involved in trying to contain the fast growing population of zombies. I mean who else would be blowing up Milwaukee? The crazies that were set free from Jail? Yes, the Milwaukee prisoners were set free because they would have died anyways. They were defenseless.

Anyways, Anna and Frank were cuddling together by the window. Anna was sound asleep while Frank ran his hand through her hair. He then kissed her on her head. Then a faint smile appeared on her face. Frank pulled the blanket back slightly to see if the coast was clear yet so we could get out of here.

All we had for a light was two camping lanterns. We didn't have any pillows, or mattresses to lie on. We had bare hardwood floor to sleep on. It was cold yes, but the house that we're staying in for the night was old. Every time the wind blew, the house would creak and moan.

We were trying to be as silent as possible. These so-called zombies could hear the slightest of sound. And when they heard that sound, the entire group or known as "horde" would follow that sound.

Then all of a sudden we heard gunshots outside. It sounded almost as if someone followed us to the house. Frank then quickly jumped up off the floor and gently set down Anna's head on the floor. She was dead asleep to hear any sounds. She's had a long day. So she needs all the sleep she can get.

When we all heard the gunshots, we immediately thought it was someone trying to hunt us down. But when Frank looked out the window, he saw two men in a National Guard uniform like mine. One was holding another. One guard was limping trying to keep up. And the other one had a bite mark on his chest. Then I walked over to the door slowly opened it so I wouldn't alert any zombies. The streets were crawling with them. Every inch of the streets were filled with 'em.

"Is that Will?" Frank whispered as he put his gun in the fire position.

I slammed the door open and ran towards the two guards. I had no weapons on me which was a dumb decision. I almost got bit by one of those things like five times. Then Will looked up and looked right at me.

I ran over to him and put my arms around him. I then picked him up and started running back to the house. The zombies saw me running and began to follow. The other guard, which I didn't know, was left for dead. I couldn't risk bringing him in and then turn overnight while we were all asleep and kill us all.

So I grabbed Will and ran to the house. Frank was standing in the front porch waving his hands telling me to hurry up and run faster.

I finally got to the front door. I ran through the entryway. I ran into the living room and set Will down. I then began shaking his head trying to get him to stay awake. He was bleeding badly. I then began checking him for zombie bites, but it turns out it he didn't get bit. It looked as if someone tried to stab him and take his weapons.

"Will! Stay with me brother! I can't lose you a second time. How'd this even happen?" I asked frightened and furious.

He then woke up. His adrenaline was running through his body. He didn't even notice he was bleeding that much until he looked down at his stomach and right leg.

"What the? How'd this happen? Who did this?" He asked confused and scared. He began to hyperventilate.

He looked at me and smiled. He then sat up and dove in for a big hug. He wanted to say thank you.

"That's what brothers do. They look out for each other," I said as I continued to hug him. I failed him by letting him stay behind while my family and I ran off with Anna.

"Everything will be okay Will, I promise. You're safe now. We're safe now. Let's get you patched up and cleaned up, alright?" I said to him as I stood up and pulled him up with me.

Chapter III

Unable To Stay, Unwilling To Leave

This part is probably the most saddest I've written so far. Our little angel, Anna, was bitten. It all happened in the matter of seconds. We all got distracted and forgot to protect Anna. Let's go back to the beginning and I'll tell you the entire story from the start.

"Alright everyone good? Everyone have their things packed? We aren't stopping until we find a hospital to stay in for the night. Wills injuries aren't going to stop us. Now--let's move people. We don't have much time," I said as everyone, including Will, were packing up their things.

I walked over to Will and put my arm around his back. I then looked at him. He looked rough. His eyes were pale and he was sweating badly. His hands were shaking and his legs were wobbling.

"Are you sure you're okay Will? If we need to stay another day or two we can. We have enough food to last a week in this house," I said silently so no one else would notice.

Then Anna came running back inside from running around outside. Frank was suppose to be watching her, but he fell asleep on the patio chair.

"It's--it's--a zombie," Anna screamed as she pointed towards the front door. I then noticed that she had teeth marks on her wrist.

"Some kill that goddamn thing please? I think Anna got bit by one. Come here honey. Let me see your wrist sweetie," I said as I crouched down to her level.

She then held out her wrist. I gently grabbed her arm and slowly twisted it upside down. I looked at Jason and Will. They all looked at me and shook their heads. Jason's eyes began to fill with water.

"I can't watch this," Jason said as he dropped his stuff and stormed out of the house. The zombie that Jason shot was lying dead on the floor. It's figures were twitching. But Mack was more worried about saving Anna from turning, rather than the not fully dead zombie that was lying on the floor.

"How did this happen sweetheart. Tell me everything so I can do my best to try and help you, okay?" I asked softly as I began to tear up. In my head every possibility was running through my head. The repeating questions kept reoccurring in my head as I examined the bite mark on her right wrist.

"Ow! It hurts real bad Macky!" She cried as it began to start bleeding as I touched it trying to see how deep the bite went.

I then looked at Will and then back at Anna. I then picked up my gun and threw it around my shoulder and onto my back. I picked her up and carried her outside.

Frank was sitting on the chair out cold. He was snoring. I set Anna down on the porch and took my gun off my back. I pointed it up into the sky and shot a few rounds.

"Good morning, father. Thanks for watching Anna for me. Now look at her? You're pathetic you know that? You just basically signed, and cover your ears Anna, her death note. Thanks a lot paps. Now she's going to turn into one of them. All because you fell asleep on the damn chair," I said as I continued to snap at him.

When he heard the gunshots go off right next to him, he flew out of the chair. He started to grind his teeth. He then reached for his gun on the porch but it wasn't there. He then looked and saw that I had taken the gun and put it on my back.

"You don't deserve to have this gun. If you can't be responsible enough to watch a little girl, than what makes me think you're responsible to have a gun? Hmm? Please tell me. I'd love to hear what you have to say. Now this little girl is going to die and we can't do anything but watch from the bleachers. Yeah sure we can go to a hospital and see if we can slow the infection, but what if that's not enough? You saw how quickly people turned into those creatures. Do you honestly want that to happen to our little girl? ANSWER ME DAMMIT! Don't just stand there and listen but not say anything. I hate it when you do that. I'm done arguing. Get your stuff and get ready to go. We're going to go find a hospital and hopefully save Anna. She has a full life ahead of her and you want hers to end now? Like I said before, you're a pathetic old man. I should have left you for dead back in the city!" I said as I continued to rage on and blow some steam.

"If that's what you want son, then fine. I'll stay. You, Jason, and your buddy Will can all go. I'll stay behind to hold down the fort and look for survivors," Frank snapped as he threatened to commit suicide basically.

I stood there on the porch. I was furious, yes. But I wasn't going to allow my dad to die now. He still has a good twenty years or so left before he croaks.

"Everyone. If we're going to save Anna, then we must go now. Time is of the essence. And if we don't seek medical care for Anna, she could turn in less than an hour. So grab whatever you can and meet me down by the sidewalk. Got it? Good!" I yelled to everyone to make sure they could all hear me.

I then looked down at Anna. Her arm began to turn a charcoal color. Her hair was beginning to fall out.

"I'm not going to let you die my sweet, sweet, Anna. I promise. I will do everything in my power to save you. You hear me? I'm not going to let you die this young. Who knows maybe this apocalypse is temporary. Maybe we will find a cure? Who knows. All I know is, is that we need to help you and survive," I said confident that I would save her.

She held her left arm up to hold my right hand. She smiled at me. That made my love for her grow even more. I don't know why I show so much passion for this little girl. Maybe she just reminds me too much of my daughter I had four years ago. Her name was Ellie. She was born with a brain murmur. A few months later, at the age of six months old, she died in her sleep. Maybe that's why I show so much affection for Anna. She just reminds me so much of Ellie.

Chapter IV

St. Petersburg Hospital

It's been almost forty minutes since Anna was bitten by a freak. That's what we decided to call them now. We've been walking for just about the same amount of time.

It's sunny and super warm. I took off my jacket and tied it around my waist. The sun was beating down on us. The streets were completely silent. You couldn't hear anything. The birds weren't chirping, and people weren't talking on their phones like usual. The sirens weren't blaring. Cars weren't driving. And last, but not least, there were no sounds of people honking their horns.

You know what I miss most about civilization? I miss the normal things that went on when people roamed free in Milwaukee. I miss hearing the sounds of cars zooming by and the horns honking. That's what I miss most about my past life.

Yes, you're absolutely right. It's only been one day, but that disease has killed most of the city. Who knows; it could have spread throughout the country overnight. What if we're the only ones left on Earth? I guess we'll just have to wait and find out. Last night while everyone else was asleep, I pulled out my walkie talkie and began listening to the Emergency Broadcasting System.

"This is not a drill. I repeat this is not a drill. We have been overthrown by the inevitable--zombies. If anyone is out there, you're urged to contact the C.D.C. We're here to help. Again, if anyone is out there we urge you to contact the C.D.C as soon as possible. If possible we have set up an safe haven located in St. Louis, Missouri. Go there if you can. Be safe and try not to get bitten. We highly recommend you keep your distance from the zombies because they're aggressive. The last known victim to be killed was the President himself. The U.S Government is trying their best to contain the zombies and kill as many as possible. If you are listening please respond. We're always listening and hoping for someone to respond. Please be safe and may god be with you all," the person broadcasting the emergency message said.

And it kept repeating itself over and over again. Luckily I was listening because if it weren't for that message, I wouldn't have found out about the safe haven in St. Louis. That's where we are going to go once we save Anna.

As we were walking, I saw something in the distance. It looked as if it were another horde of zombies. But I was extremely tired. Maybe I was hallucinating. But they started walking towards us. I got in front of everyone and stopped. Frank, Jason, and Will all looked at me like I was crazy. With Anna on my back, growing weaker and weaker by the second, there was no time to spare. We were about five miles from a very well known hospital called St. Petersburg Hospital.

"What if it's another horde of zombies? We don't have the ammunition to kill all of them. We'll end up running out before we even kill half the horde. We need to be on high alert," I stated as everyone looked at me like I was crazy, but I wasn't. I was being serious. What if it were another horde? What would we do? I'm not going to risk my family and kill them all. That's wrong.

"Hey! It's okay. We aren't zombies. We swear," a woman shouted to us as the group walked closer and closer.

Everybody scoped out the group. Soon enough, their group approached us. It was two girls and a guy. Their clothes were full of blood. The two girls had a sword at their waists and the guy had a Dragunov rifle. I walked up to the girl. I felt like I knew her from somewhere. I gently lied Anna down on the ground and walked over to them and introduced myself.

"Hello. My names Mack." I then turned around and introduced my family. "This is Frank, Jason, and my close friend William," I introduced.

Then they introduced themselves and I reached my hand out to shake their hands. Then the girl walked forward and introduced herself. She seemed to recognize me.

"Mack? Mack from Duluth Elementary School? First grade math class? I sat right next to you. I remember when you used to be so bored and would spin your pencils around on your desk. Remember me? Sasha Brooks?" Sasha said as she slowly approached me and gave me a huge hug.

"Yes I do remember now. How was life treating you? Fairly well I presume?" I asked excitedly.

She looked at me and smiled. Her family I guess tried to protect their home. Sasha I guess escaped and left her family behind. It's kind of shitty, I know. But what else was she suppose to do? Stay there to die? Her family's home was surrounded by a massive horde of zombies.

She then noticed Anna lying on the ground. She immediately ran over to her and sat down next to her. She examined her arm and her hair.

"She was bitten huh?" Sasha asked as she combed Anna's hair. "How did she get bitten? You know there's a hospital not too far from here. We could make it there in about an hour or so," Sasha stated as she continued to examine Anna's bite mark on her wrist.

"I know the hospital has some medicine that'll slow the infection. It could give us time to get to the safe haven in St. Louis. My friends Gary and Carson here have a truck that could get us to the hospital faster. It'd be quicker by vehicle than it would be by foot. Agree?" Sasha continued.

I stood there looking at Anna. My gut was telling me she didn't have much time left. My gut was also telling me not to trust Gary and Carson. They just seemed suspicious. I looked back at Frank, Jason, and William.

"Well? What are we waiting for. We can't just let Anna die. I made her a promise and I intend to fulfill that promise. Let's get moving. It'll be dark out in a couple of hours and we don't have time to spare," I stated to my group as Gary walked over to Anna and picked her up to carry her to the truck.

"Everything will be alright honey. We're going to get you help," Gary said trying to calm Anna down. Anna wasn't feeling to great. She was crying. Her arm was completely rotted away. She had no feeling once so ever in her arm.

"She doesn't have much time left. We have to hurry," I said as we all walked with Sasha, Gary and Carson to their truck.

Chapter V

Tired of Running

We never made it to the hospital. The massive zombie horde blocked our only way in. But we never gave up on trying to save Anna. We ended up driving to St. Louis, Missouri where the C.D.C had established a zombie proof safe haven. That's where we were headed. Everyone was silent in the truck.

Anna was no longer with us. We had to leave her behind because we didn't want to risk one of us getting infected. So we dropped her off somewhere along our way to St. Louis. I had to be the man to put her out of her misery. I regretted doing it so much. She had her whole life in front of her. She could have grown up to become a very intelligent woman.

But now that she's gone, everybody including Sasha, Carson, and Gary were all upset and saddened by Anna's death. But we all have to eventually get over it, right?

The drive to St. Louis from Milwaukee is a little over six hours. We left Milwaukee around 2 p.m today and we're about fifteen minutes from the safe haven.

As we were driving, we heard this strange ticking noise coming from the engine. Soon after, the engine made a huge bang sound and the truck began smoking. We all hurried and pulled the truck over on the side of the street and got out as quick as we could. Gary's door was jammed and he couldn't get out in time. Before the truck blew up into flames, Carson ran over to Gary's passenger side door and tried smashing the glass. But it was too late, the truck burst into flames. Neither Carson nor Gary made it out alive. As for my family and Sasha we all stood there in shock not knowing what to do.

We all panicked. We should have done something. But we didn't because we knew it was the right thing to do. I know for myself that if I ever did that in the National Guard, I would be thrown out in a heartbeat. But we heard the sounds of zombies approaching.

So we all decided to run into the woods off the street and go find the damn safe haven ourselves.

It was a matter of time before we saw the glimmering lights of the Safe Haven. The sun began to set among the Horizon. We were all standing there admiring the lights.

"Haven't seen electricity in a while. It's going to feel good to take a warm shower again!" Sasha joked as we began to walk towards the doors of the safe haven.

Then William turned around and saw the zombie horde coming after the group.

"Um guys! We have a problem! We need to go!" William shouted to us as he began to limp towards the main entrance of the safe haven.

Frank, Will, Jason, Sasha and I all began running as fast as we could. The doors to the main entrance of the safe haven began to open slowly. Frank began to fall behind. I ran back towards him and grabbed him and started helping him run. The zombie horde behind us was on our tail. They were in full running stage. The horde only grew bigger from there. Zombies were joining in on the horde.

"C'mon we're almost to safety!" I shouted to everyone. Then Frank, my father, let go of me and pulled out a pistol from his pocket. He turned around to face the zombie horde and began aiming his pistol at them.

"Go Macky! I'm doing this to give you some time to get through those doors. They won't stay open forever! Now get boy, get!" Frank shouted as he looked back at me for the last time. "I love ya son and always will. You keep your family safe now. You hear me? You're the leader now," Frank said as the zombie horde began to surround him. I began running, trying to catch up to the group. They were far ahead of me.

"C'mon Macky. We're almost there. C'mon!" Sasha yelled at me as I was running towards the doors of the safe haven.

The doors then began to close because of how close the zombie horde was to the safe haven. Ana alarm went off indicating that the people inside were preparing for a fight.

I finally reached the doors and ran through them with my friends and family. As the doors closed, I looked back st the zombie horde one last time.

"Dad!" I said as the doors shut. "No!" I shouted as I ran back at the doors and started pounding on them trying to get the guards to open the doors so I could go save my dad. They tried to soothe my anger by telling me I was safe.

"Don't sorry kid. You're safe now. Now come with me so I can show you to your quarters," the guard said to me as my hands slipped away from the doors and I began to follow the guards. Everyone else looked at me and shook their heads.

"C'mon Macky. We're safe. We should be grateful!" Sasha said to me as I walked behind everyone else.