So... where do I begin? My life has been weird. You'd think I'd just be a normal teenage girl. I look normal. Long brown hair and brown eyes. Slender body. I play soccer. Nothing special, right? Well, that's where people are wrong. I survived an awful time. This true story is something that might keep you up at night. Wishing it was fake. HA. It's not. So, I'm going to start from the beginning.
First off, my name is Marina. And I've already described what I look like. So on Saturday, I was at my best friend's house. His name is Jack. He's the most annoying kid on the planet, but he's good company. So I was at his house with other people. Popular people. Such as Calleigh, Alaina, Ella, and Tasha. The most popular but annoying and rude people at the Avon Highschool. The cheerleaders. They make fun of me, of course. Then Tyler was there too. Jock. Hottie. Angel. So, I had a bit of a crush on him. Especially seeing him at the party, in the hot tub, with me. I was DYING. I started the conversation with a causal "hey."
"Hey girlie," he says back, looking at me and smiling. And right then and there when he actually looked at me in the eyes. His eyes are beautiful. Like the sky. I smiled at him, one of the biggest smiles I've ever worn.
"Come over here," he says to me. My heart stops beating and I feel my cheeks turning bright red. I scoot slowly toward him and then sit on the stool next to him. He looks at me and puts his arm around my shoulders.
"I can't believe I've never payed attention to you at school before. You're beautiful, Marina of the Sea. We should go catch a movie tomorrow night. Feel up to that?"
"I would love to. Thank you for calling me beautiful. But I'm sure Alaina caught your eye already," I say. I probably sound like a jerk right now, but oh well.
"Yeah, she's pretty. But her personality isn't right. She's rude. Likes to tease people. Makes fun of people like you. I've seen her do it, it was really rude. I'm sorry."
"Not your fault. Anyways, I got to get home soon. See you tomorrow at... eight?"
"Sure thing, Marina of the Sea," he says, smiling at me. OMG. I just got asked out by Tyler Waller, the HOTTEST and most BEAUTIFUL boy at the high school.
Jack and his mom took me home that night. I hate my home. My parents fight. My older brother yells at them for not being there for me. I love my older brother very much. He's one of the people that care about me, along with Jack and apparently Tyler.
I walk inside to find my mother sitting on the couch reading a book, and my father cooking in the kitchen. My older brother is on his phone, probably texting some girl.
I hug my mother and father before I go upstairs to my room. I lay on my bed, and rethink everything that has happened today. I fangirl over being asked out by Tyler. I FLIP out because he chose ME over Alaina. She's going to hate me for sure, but oh well. I've dealt with her for a few years now, surely this can't get worse.
I finish thinking and then hop in the shower. The warm water runs across my skin and I scrub myself down with soap and wash my hair with shampoo. I step out of the shower and pick up a towel, and dry my body and hair off. Then wrap a towel around myself, go in my room, and get dressed. I wear a striped tee with shorts for bed. I run downstairs to grab a snack, and find my father sitting in the kitchen.
"Hey dad!" I say, running over to him.
"Oh, hi my Marina. Did you have a good time at Jack's house?"
"Yeah!" I leave out the whole part with Tyler, for some reason.
"That's good. I'm tired, so I'm going to head off to bed. I love you. Goodnight," he says, and leaves without another word.
That was weird, I think to myself. He acted so mad, or sad, I don't know. I grab a granola bar and make some microwaved popcorn, put it in a bowl, and rush upstairs. I've decided to watch "Cinderella Man" because it's one of my favorites. I put it in the thingy, and play it. Throughout the movie I cry, laugh, and sometimes just doze off. I fall asleep multiple times, which is weird because I don't feel tired. I decide to go to sleep because I keep drifting into a doze, so I turn off the movie and sleep.
When I wake up, the morning sunlight shines in through my windows. Then I remember... I have my FIRST date tonight. I FLIP out again, mostly because I don't know what to wear or anything.
I go and get my mom, because she had to deal with this sometime in her life, too. I find her on her bed, reading the same book.
"Hey mom?"
"Yes, Marina?"
"Um... so Tyler asked me to a movie tonight. Is that okay?"
"Of course, baby!"
"Great. Also... WHAT DO I WEAR?!"
"Oh my gosh. I'll help you with that."
We rush back to my room, and she digs in my not-very-full closet. We finally settle on a black and white striped dress with black leggings. It's casual and simple but cute. Even though it's still early afternoon, I'm freaking out over my first date.
I go ahead and get dressed, and then go do my makeup. Just some black mascara, light grey eyeshadow, and some blush. Nothing too heavy. While I wait for him to come pick me up for the movie, I lounge around the house watching some TV.
He shows up in a very fancy suit-I feel underdressed. But he says I look great, so of course I say thank you. We hop into his car after a very long parental speech- about... stuff. Gross and weird and AWKWARD stuff.
"We're going to see "The Cult Of Chucky" in the theatre. I hope you like freaky movies! Sorry I didn't ask."
"No, I love horror. It's my favorite genre, actually. Horror and gory movies are my favorite," I say truthfully.
"Okay, good. I love horror too. What's your favorite?"
"I love the "Chucky" movies, because he dolls make me laugh. I think movies like "The Visit" and "Jaws" are more of the ones that I personally love."
"Cool. I love the dolls too. I think they're freaky but funny to watch at the same time," he says, smiling.
So we ramble on about movies for the entire car ride. The movie theatre is very big and nice. I love the reclining chairs they have. We both kick the foot-rest thingy up. I lean back and just as I get into the movie, he reaches over and makes the "move." Pretends to yawn, stretch his arms, put them around my shoulders. I laugh.
"You could've just put your arm around me. I wouldn't have minded," I whisper to him.
"Ah. I'll make sure to know that you don't mind being touched the next date."
The next?! He's implying we're going out again. YAY! I think.
When the movie ends, we put our recliners back into the original position and start walking out. However, he stops me.
"What?" I ask.
"I had a great time tonight. I hope we can get together again soon," he says, turning to me and looking me dead in the eyes.
"Definitely. I had a lot of fun," I reply.
Then... he kisses me. Full on the mouth. I had my mouth slightly opened, so his tongue is in my mouth. That was kinda weird. But I enjoyed it. The feeling of his lips against mine. Amazing.
But then, both of our phones go off at the same time. Vibrating in our pockets. I pick mine up and look at the screen, to find a warning. It reads: "Warning: Rain outside has turned to an acid type of water. Do not touch. Stay indoors. Touching it will turn you into a zombie-like creature."
I look at Tyler, my eyes widen. And then I look outside. The rain is pouring. And it's green. Then, I see the most awful thing ever. Tyler's mom walking around, drenched in blood. Her eyes have dark circles underneath. Her skin is a green tint. She has scabs all over her arms, legs, and head. She's walking just like a zombie would. Arms out in front, limping.
Tyler sees this awful sight too, because he starts crying and falls to the floor. Workers rush around, locking the doors from the inside. People scream. The "zombies" come to the doors, pounding on them, moaning and groaning. I wonder what they will do if they come in contact with another human. Eat our brains? Stab us? All this I wonder. I also wonder if any of my family has been affected by this rain. I start panicking, and I fall to the floor along with Tyler.
"O-okay. We need to calm down. This is all just a bad dream. Pinch me," he says.
"I'm afraid it isn't. This is real. The end of the world... maybe," I reply, shaking my head.
I stand up slowly, and the world around me seems like it's spinning. I'm falling into a hole, falling slowly.
When I finally stop falling, I first see the zombie things outside the door. I'm pretty sure I scream, because Tyler's strong hands grab my shoulders and force me to look him in the eyes.
"Marina. Are you okay?!"
"Am I okay? I think so," I reply. Actually, I can't answer that question. Am I okay? No. I feel sick to my stomach.
I finally lean over a trash can and hurl up everything I can. It makes my throat burn, retching so hard. But I don't stop until it's all up.
Tyler comes up behind me and rubs my back while I continue retching.
When I finally stop, I find that it's now just Tyler and I standing in the main entrance of the movie theatre.
"What happened to everyone?"
"Well... some of them just ran outside. Others called people to pick them up and left. But my phone died. So did yours. I already checked."
"Great. We're stranded in a frickin' movie theatre and our phones died, plus we're surrounded by zombies and deadly rain," I say sarcastically.
"True. So what's the plan?" He asks.
"I don't know. Stay alive? Not turn into a zombie?"
"Sure thing, Marina of the sea."
I smile at him, but I worry. What do we do? I want to stay alive. My family needs to be alive. And lucky me. Because right as I start worrying, a familiar car pulls up. My mom.
I gasp and grab Tyler's hand. "My mom! She's here!"
I look out the window. Her car is pulled up right to the door. But I'm scared of the rain getting us. Risk it? Sure, why not?
I grab Tyler's hand harder, and he winces. "Let's go. We can make it," I say.
"Sure thing."
We walk hand in hand to the doors but hesitate for a moment. Then we start walking again. We open the first set of doors, and we come close to the second set. We stop right at the glass, then I push it open.
The first thing that I notice is the smell. It smells of rotting meat and blood. I gag and almost start throwing up again. But Tyler steadies me, and pulls me close to him. He kisses my hair, and makes me feel warm. We start running. I open the doors to the car and feel the rain drop on my arm. The pain. My flesh burns away. I bleed. I want to cry, to scream. But I don't. I climb in the car with Tyler, and we hug each other. He sees my arm and looks concerned.
My arm turns the gross green-tint of the people's skin. My mother is very glad to see us, but not as happy as we are that she came and got us.
My arm is burning. Stinging. Feels like it would be better off just amputating it. I finally let out a small yelp of pain, and Tyler hears me. He holds me in his arms, and I become warmer. My arm seems to feel better after he holds me for a while.
Mother takes us back to my house. We park in the garage, so we won't have to run in the rain. The deadly rain. I rush inside, and am very lucky to see my brother Phillip and my dad sitting at home.
I hug them each very tightly. I say how much I love them and how glad I am that they aren't a zombie thingy. After that, Tyler and I go upstairs.
I sit on my bed, and pull the covers over my head. I must be acting like a child, but who can blame me? There is rain falling from the sky that turns people into zombies. Plus... my arm feels like it's on fire. Its green. So, I have the right to be scared.
Tyler leans over and goes under the covers with me. He lays by me, and we cuddle up together. He kisses me multiple times, and I am still in shock that he's in my room.
"This is one hell of a date," I say.
"Yeah... no kidding. I'm sorry that this date turned out to be something awful."
"It's not your fault," I say, and I kiss him.
"Marina... I love you."
"I love you too, Tyler." I'm shocked. Seriously. TYLER WALLER. Saying he loves me?! Kissing me?! In my bed?! This IS one HELL of a night. What happened next... is rated R.
Basically, we kissed A LOT. And... other things. We didn't have THAT. I mean... sort of? Not bad. Like we just undressed. Nothing else. I couldn't have done that, neither could he. This wasn't too bad. We just layed there by each other, hugging each other, telling the other that everything was alright. Was it?
We fell asleep that night. The best I've ever slept to be honest. Surprisingly, because there are friggin' zombies everywhere.
We dress in some casual clothes and run downstairs for some breakfast. Everyone is down there waiting for us.
"The rain is supposed to stop today," Dad says.
"Thank the lord," Philip replies.
My mother stays silent.
"What are we doing today?" I ask.
"Well... the rain has stopped, so that's done. But the zombies are still here. So... we have to kill them or something," Tyler said.
"I don't know if I can kill. Especially people we know," I object.
"If you want to stay alive, we're going to have to get our hands dirty Marina," my mother finally speaks up. She looks mean. Has a mad look on her face.
So we come up with a plan. All of us will stay together. We can use kitchen knives, guns that my father keeps, and anything else that's sharp or fatal in any way. We're basically just walking straight outside. Killing whatever stands in front of us. We can do it.
I start to hyperventilate. I get nervous. What if I get hurt again? My arm still feels awful. It's starting to heal up though. Tyler comes over and comforts me, like he always does. I'm glad I have him. I love him.
I'm holding a kitchen knife and have my gun tucked in my belt. I can do this.
We walk outside. It's beautiful. Sunny day. Although there are zombies in the street.
My father shoots one, and it goes down easily. But then they start coming towards us. One by one. We shoot them, myself included. It's not so hard.
Once we finish that area, I'm surprised to see that it wasn't hard at all. They're dead easily.
We head onto another road. The zombies aren't there. It's strange, but oh well.
Same thing with the next road. Nothing there.
Once we get to the next street, I'm scared. There are too many to count. The smell is so putrid and disgusting, I can't breathe. I shoot a group of them, taking them down. What I discover is that a few minutes after you kill them, their green flesh turns into ash. Just disappears. Then you're left with a carcass. But then the most amazing thing happens. The person who it was before comes back. As a real human. Not a zombie. Real. Tyler's mom is real. She hugs him tightly, and we give her a gun. More helping hands, am I right?
By the time we finish with that whole street, we have a LOT of people with us that weren't there before. All loaded with weapons. We take all the groups of zombies out easily. Our numbers multiply greatly.
On the last group of zombies, I see Jack. He's one of them. He's also a very ugly one, too. Dark green flesh. Shredded skin and clothes. He needs a bath, too.
I'm the one to shoot him in the shoulder. He flops over and then turns into his old self. I'm very happy to see him, and I hug him VERY tightly.
I rush over to Tyler after the whole thing is over, and jump into his arms. He picks me up and twirls me in the air. I kiss him.
"It seemed like the end of the world, didn't it?" He asks me, smiling.
"Sure did. But as long as we have each other, we'll be alright."
He kisses me one last time, then we rush over to greet everyone else. Many people we didn't even know are expressing their gratitude towards us for saving them. I'm happy, I guess. Well... I know. I have my best friend. My family. Neighbors. My love. What else could I want?