"Come on Gwen, just tell me."

I pushed Sandra's face a way with a laugh, trying to fight off a smile as I looked at her. She was making a wounded puppy expression, except she really just looked like she was pouting with her face scrunched up and her eye's crossed over.

Sandra, a 22 year old university student, is a young and wild character, who's sweet side she shows to anyone who she believes deserves it. She has wild short dark red hair that reached below her ears, light blue eye's that I find myself jealous of whenever I look into them and she stood at 5'2. Sandra never wore makeup, finding it all to much for her skin to handle (from what I've seen, the rashes and breakouts she gets after wearing it are very nasty), she also had a nose stud and rarely wore anything other than tracksuit pants and a t-shirt. Sandra and myself had met at High School during her Freshman year and my Sophomore year. We both had an interest for studying nursing and we bonded over that. When we both had finished school we went onto following our dream and study nursing at University. At one stage Sandra was low on money and my family and myself had offered her a job of looking after my little sister when ever they went out or I couldn't. She would always shoot the offer down at first, not wanting to be a burden, but after a while she took the job.

I rolled my eyes at her as I turned back to the T.V. We sat in silence for a few seconds, watching the movie. I gave her a side glance and a small smirk formed on the corner of my lips. "So we might of done a little bit more than kissing this time."

Sandra gave an excited squeal, her hands clamped together in excitement. I gave a laugh, focusing back onto the movie we were watching - The Lion King - only to be knocked over to the ground as Sandra jumped on me and shook me around in excitement.

"Now you have definitely got to tell me absolutely everything!" When I gave a shake of my head, that no I wasn't going to tell her, trying to hide my growing amusement, she gave a pout and started to whine. "That's not fair, Gwen. You can't just give me little information like that. Tell me how it felt while he was-"

Sandra was cut off by the sound of the backdoor sliding open, causing both our heads to snap towards it. Standing in the doorway was my little sister, Clementine. She was giving us both a curious and confused expression as she saw the position that we were in on the ground, with Sandra on top of me pinning my arms to the side and both her legs either side of me. Clementine wouldn't think anything wrong of this position as she was only 8 years old.

Sandra pushed herself off of me and went back to sitting on the couch, giving Clem a sweet smile. I pushed myself up onto my elbows and turned to Clem as well. "What's wrong sweetie?"

Clementine shook her head. "Nothing. I just heard a lot of noise and came to see what it was."

I gave her a nod of understanding before standing up and heading towards the kitchen. I grabbed out some bread, peanut butter and jelly and turned to Clem. "You hungry Clem? I could make you a PB and J."

Clem shook her head, dark curls falling everywhere. "No thanks I'm not that hungry."

I gave her a nod, before calling out to Sandra. "Do you want a PB and J Sandy? I could make you one-" I stopped talking as I heard Sandra give a gasp and turn the T.V up louder. I looked at Clem only to see her just as confused. Placing the sandwich I made back on the counter, I gestured for Clem to come with me to see what was wrong. Clem came to my side, taking my hand as I lead her into the lounge room. When we got in there we saw Sandra with a shocked and scared expression on her face while looking at the T.V. I turned to the T.V only to see the news on instead of The Lion King.

"Good Afternoon, we interrupt this program to inform you with this important news bulletin. We are receiving unconfirmed reports right now of severely gruesome acts of violence and mass murder all over the cities of Miami, Jacksonville, Atlanta and Charlotte. There seems to be some sort of mind altering virus or chemical spill that is turning our people into psychotic animals."

I gave a gasp of horror when I heard this, pulling Clementine closer towards me as she started to shake in fear. I looked towards Sandra only to see her face also set in horror.

Sandra and my head snapped back up towards the T.V as the news reporter then gave a horrified gasp. "Oh my god.. we just have received multiple reports from cities now on the west coast of people eating other people." The news reporter then began to stand up in a panic. He seemed to be packing up and throwing everything around, as if to look for something. He then looked back up to the T.V rushing towards the camera, his face almost pressed against the lens. "If this is still broadcasting, then you gotta get out before it's too late, it's r-real bad man-"

The T.V gave a ringing static sound as it went a grey and black fuzz. Nobody made a move for a few minutes, the only sound being Clementine every now and again hiccuping or sniffling. We were all in shock. I snapped out of it though as I felt a tug on my shirt. Glancing down I saw Clementine looking up at me with a scared expression.

"What's going on Winnie? Why was the man so scared and-" She wasn't able to finish as she began crying. I pulled her into my arms, hugging her close to me, fearing she would just disappear.

"You listen hear Clem, there ain't no way that I'll let anything happen to you. You understand right? And don't worry sweetie, it's probably just a little sickness that's going around" She gave a nod into my shoulder, mumbling a quiet yes to the question. "Good. I'll take care of you no matter what."

I gently pulled back from Clementine, standing up from my kneeled position, and turned to Sandra who seemed to still be in shock. Walking so that I was directly in front of her I knelt, putting my hands on both of her shoulders.

"Sandra, you have to snap out of it, we have Clementine to look after now." Sandra seemed to snap out of her daze, looking at me and Clem before nodding.

"O-Okay-Okay. I-I'm fine, I'm …. fine." I gave Sandra a nod, standing up and heading towards the kitchen. I heard two pairs of footsteps follow me as I rummaged through the draws, stuffing what ever food I could find into the bags that were on the table.

"What are we going to do though? Maybe it was just a prank-"

Spinning around I turned to Sandra with an annoyed expression. "You think that something like that would be on the news if it were a prank? Because I am telling you now, Sandra, shit like that isn't put on air live if it were a prank." I gave a sigh leaning on the counter as I looked at Sandra and Clementine. "I just want you both to be safe-"

We all feel silent as there was a banging sound from the front door. Glancing towards it, I saw a shadowed figure standing there. They seemed to be almost swaying side to side. I looked towards Sandra who had pulled Clementine closer towards herself, her arm around Clem's shoulders in a comfort manner. Slowly and quietly I walked towards them and told them in a whisper. "I'm going to go and get dad's gun. You two go up to the tree house where it's safe - and don't forget to take the food with you."

I was about to turn away from them towards mom and dads room when I felt small arms circle around my waist. "P-Please don't go Winnie! I-I'm so scared."

I turned towards her giving her a weak smile. "It's alright Clem you'll be safe with Sandra..and I promise I'll come back to you - safe and sound." Clem looked like she was about to protest, but instead glanced down in defeat, giving me one last hug before turning back and heading into Sandra's side, hugging her closely as she looked at me sadly.

Sandra started to protest. "Gwen - please-" I looked at her with narrowed eyes before sadness flooded into them and I nodded my head towards the back door. She looked down in defeat before ushering Clem towards the door with a small smile and grabbing the bags filled with food. As she got to the door she gave me one last look.

"You sure about this?"

I shook my head. "No I'm not. But what else can I do if that thing at the door is one of those cannibals?" Sandra opened her mouth to answer but only shut it again. She pursed her lips.

"Be safe."

"I will. You and Clem stay up there okay." Sandra nodded before heading towards the treehouse were Clem had already climbed up and was watching our exchange. I gave her a smile before I turned away and headed into our parents room. When I got inside I looked around and spotted a photo of our family sitting on their dresser. Taking a hold of the frame I brought it closer, seeing us all happy. Clementine and myself were standing in between our parents who were hugging us close to themselves, giant smile on all our faces. It was Clementines fifth birthday. I took the back of the frame out, slipped the picture out of the frame and folded it, putting it into my back pocket. I quickly went towards the gun safe, entering the code to the safe, before hearing it click open. I took out one of dads guns - CZ 75 pistol - before making sure it had bullets. Seeing that it did, I headed out of the bedroom towards the front door, where I could still hear loud banging.

Lifting the gun up so it was pointing straight in front of me towards the door i called out. "I'm armed and if you do not leave right now I won't hesitate to shoot!" This seemed to only make the noise louder as the person still tried to get in. Seeing as they weren't going to go anytime soon, my arms started to shake from nervousness. I slowly stepped towards the door, gently laying my hand on the handle. Turning it quickly I swung the door open and pointed my gun at the figure. I managed to react quick enough to sidestep and dodge the figure as it lunged towards me. I looked towards it, not expecting what I saw causing my eyes to widen in terror and mouth to fall open.

What stood before me was no man, it was more like a monster from one of the fairy tale's that your parents would tell you about when you were little. Except this was worse than the fairy tale's. What stood before me was a disgusting thing, it's hair was missing from random spot's of it's head with greasy and matted bits throughout what was left, it's eyes were hollowed in with dark rims around it, the eye's were a milky white and they were unfocused, it's cheeks were hollowed in and a few pieces of skin was hanging from them, it's skin that was once a white colour had turn a dark sickly grey, the clothes it was wearing were torn to shreds. There was also a large chunk of its right arm missing. The sight of it alone made me want to puke. The smell was just as bad, it smelt like spoilt milk mixed with rotten meat and shit. But what really hit me was that it looked like our neighbour.

That's when I really did puke.

I was mid way through puking when I saw it start to stumble towards me. I just managed to get out of it's way, but I wasn't lucky enough. I crashed into the bookshelf, knocking it over in the process, and because I was right beneath it when I knocked it, it tumbled onto me. This then caused me to drop my gun, it sliding right near the kitchen.

In a panic to try and shove the book shelf off of me I didn't realise the monster was coming towards me. Just when I was about to slip out from under it the thing came back full force. Except I really did get lucky this time, because it had slipped in my puke, giving me enough chance to slide out from under the shelf. Once out from under it, I ran as fast as my legs would let me into the kitchen area where the gun was located. I quickly grabbed the gun and turned around to find the thing right behind me. It latched onto my arm pulling me closer towards it and was about to take a chunk out of my arm when I managed to shove the gun in between it's teeth and pull the trigger.

This thing instantly dropped to the ground dead, releasing me in the process. I took deep shocked breathes as I stumbled back away from it, my ears ringing from the shot, almost losing my balance more than once, before hitting the bench counter where I slid down onto my knees in shock. I … I just k...killed something I couldn't help but think while taking a shuddering breath in Jesus Christ. I then slowly started to weep, not believing what had just happened. I held the sides of my head in my hands as I looked at the ground in shock, tears streaming down my face. I hadn't heard the door open until I heard a gasp of shock and horror.

I instantly sat up straight in alarm and pointed my arms, gun still in them, towards the person. Only to immediately lower them as I looked at Sandra, who stared at the whole scene in horror. I could only sob and shake more as I looked at her. Sandra hesitantly stepped around the corpse before rushing towards me and bring me into her arms. I collapsed into them, still a mess. It was only then that the adrenaline finally wore off and I could feel the ache coming from my arm and side that had been crushed when the book shelf fell on top of me.

"O-Oh my God...What the fuck was that thing?! A-Are you okay, Guinevere?! That thing almost got you!" Sandra said as she slowly helped me off of the floor. I winced as I looked at my arm that was already starting to turn a purple colour, not imagining my side to be any better. I looked at Sandra with a pained expression.

"I-I'm okay-I think. It only grabbed me but I killed it…" Horror struck my face as I looked at her. "...I killed something…. Oh GOD! Oh my God.." Sandra gently lead me towards the sink where she grabbed a washcloth and soaked it in water before wring it out and gently wiping my face with it.

"It wasn't human - Okay, at least I don't think it was. Besides it tried to KILL you." It really didn't help my nerves anymore when she said that, but I was grateful for her trying. I then remembered that we weren't the only ones at home. I pulled myself away from Sandra, her shouting my name in alarm and confusion, before running towards the door and out to the tree house where I could hear muffled sobs. I started to climb up the ladder, wincing whenever I strained my bruised arm and side. I gently pushed the wooden door aside before pulling myself in.

"Clementine?!"

Clem's head shot up from where it was hiding in her arms and looked at me. We stared at each other for a few seconds before she rushed into my open arms, sobbing violently as she did so. I held her tighter as I also let out a few tears.

I closed my eyes tightly as I heard Clementine mumble weakley. "Is the monster gone..?"

"Yeah… Yeah it is.."

I hugged her even tighter towards me as to give some kind of comfort for the both of us.

"What happens now?"

I looked up from my position on the floor and over to Sandra who sat in the corner with a thin sheet wrapped around her shoulders. She wasn't looking very good, dark circles under her eyes and forward slumped shoulders that gave away the fact that she was exhausted. We were all exhausted.

It had been two days since I had killed that monster and ever since things hadn't been the same. I would constantly wake from nightmares of what had happened. They all appeared very vivid and realistic. The lack of sleep was starting to become visible, with my eye's always drooping and dark circles under them. I would constantly look around in caution as well now, not wanting to be attacked by another one of the monsters, it also didn't help that I had blood stains on my clothes as a reminder. Clementine had stuck close to my side since the incident, she would most of the time sleep right up against me and would constantly hug me. I knew she was scared so I offered the most comfort I could give at the moment.

We had all stayed in the tree house since the incident and would only go outside if we really needed to go to the toilet. We still had more than half of our supplies left, and I always kept my dads gun close to my side. It only had three bullets left, which wasn't good. When we had went on a toilet break Clementine had gone to the shed and grabbed anything from the tool box she could, which was just a hammer. She got in trouble for sneaking away after that and hasn't done it since.

I looked back at the ground as I spoke to Sandra. "I don't know, we might have to just wait for the military to pass through or something, - jesus I don't know Sandra."

I heard Sandra sigh before going quiet. The only sound being Clementines quiet breathing from my side and the wind outside. I was about to lay down and try and go back to sleep when I heard the sound of the back door sliding open. Sandra's and my head shot up in alarm. I gently placed Clementine on top of my blankets before heading towards the treehouse's little door, Sandra following after me. I open the flap slightly and peeked my head out and saw a silhouette entering the house.

Just as I was about to shut the flap and ignore them, Sandra pushed me aside and began climbing down the ladder. My breath hitched in the back of my throat but I was able to chock out. "Sandra? Sandra! Come back!"

She shook her head at me before also whispering back. "It's my turn to look after you and Clementine now. I'll be back soon anyway. If you hear anything stay with Clem and don't come out." I tried to tell her not to go and that it wasn't safe but she wouldn't listen to me and continued to climb down the ladder. She then headed up the stairs quietly, crouched to peek inside the window. She looked one last time towards the treehouse before heading inside our house.

"What's Sandra doing?" I jump in surprise at the sudden voice of Clementine, not expecting her to be a wake. I looked one last time towards the back door before heading over to Clementine and pulling her close to me. I stroked her hair in a comforting manner as I tried to think of an excuse.

"Sandra - she - uh.. There was someone outside and she wanted to see what they were doing." Clementine looked up at me in panic. "Sandra's going to be alright, isn't she?" I looked towards the entrance of the treehouse before looking back to Clem. "I'm going to be honest with you and say I have no clue...But Sandra's tough so she should be fine-"

I was cut off by the sound sound of yelling and crashing. I pulled Clementine closer to me when she jumped in fright and hid her face in the crook of my neck. There were more sounds of yelling, and even the sounds of the monsters. I whispered comforting things to Clem, trying to keep her calm. Suddenly there was a loud scream and then complete silence.

It was only after a few seconds did I realise who's scream it was. "Oh God...Sandra.." A rough sob racked the back of my throat as I placed one of my hands over my mouth in shock and horror. Clementine had started to sob by now and was holding onto me even tighter.

The only thing I could do was hold her tighter and hope for all of this to be over.

Written ~ 10 November 2016

Edited ~ 12 November 2016