"They're coming! They're here!" That was all the radio screamed out just over the static before it went out completely. The television wasn't much better, as it had a banner that explained "This is a test of the emergency system" that reappeared and disappeared every 3 minutes. It was quiet. Too quiet, or what I would call the "Calm before the Storm." I reached over to cut the radio off. It wasn't making the atmosphere around us any more relaxing. I walked back over towards Dwayne, who sat in a window overlooking what used to be the front lawn. Now it was littered with dead bodies of the reanimated, all in various states of decomposition. Looking at Dwayne, or as I called him "D", he face was held a mixture of anxiety and tiredness. He was coated in a thin layer of sweat and his skin was slightly darker from the sun exposure. I relaxed for a second, thinking back to the first night that all things went to hell.
(Flashback)
"Mom, somebody's in the yard."
"Who honey?"
"I don't know. He's been there for a while." And by a while I meant 5 hours. I sat there on the couch trying to get a good look at it, but couldn't. It was clocked by the darkness and standing in a weird bent over position. My daydream was interrupted at the sound of the back door opening and closing. I started to say something before my dad entered the room.
"Sweetie, where's your mother?" I noticed that he was a bit jittery and his voice was shaking a bit. I pointed outside to her touching the weird man/woman that was in the yard. I could barely hear her talking, but I could almost make out what she was saying. "Miss, are you okay?" No response. "Please answer me. We can get you to a hospital." I turned around to speak to my dad, but he was gone. Somehow I had missed him walking outside to get my mom. "Susan, get back inside. She's infected!" I walked to the door to see if had heard right. But instead, I saw something that would scar me for the rest of my life. The woman had clamped down onto my mother's hand and was chewing it off. She was actually chewing on it as though it was a rib or something. She started off on the thumb and pointer quickly chewing those down and slurping up the blood, before going for the last three fingers.
The sight was unbelievable, but what was worse was the sound of bone crunching and cracking under pressure. I turned around, quickly running to my room. I couldn't believe it, this wasn't happening. Shutting my door once I had made it to my safe haven, I slid down on the floor and covered my ears. Those horrible sounds of flesh ripping away from bone were still invading my mind. Just when my heart had stopped beating so fast and my breathing had slowed, my father burst through my door. Covered in blood and god only knows what else, he pulled me to my feet and dragged me over to my bed.
"Ty'nishia I'm so sorry I never told you, but I know you deserve to know now. I have to be quick because your mother was bitten and she will wake up, but she won't be you mother anymore. Take you iPod because I have recorded my message explaining everything that's going on with a video that is located in your photos section. Get the biggest book bag that you have and pack all your essentials inside but leave the majority of the room inside to pack food. I will accompany you to the kitchen downstairs to hold her off if she wakes up, but from the moment that you leave the house, you are on your own, understand?"
I stammered trying to find words to complete a sentence, but couldn't. It was all going too fast but I was unable to stop it. "We both love you, always remember that." With that he gave me a quick hug and tugged me off the bed and down the stairs.
I have never been that frantic in my entire life. I remembered reading in a disaster book to only take sealed products like can foods and bottled water. Snatching cans, a can opener and bottles of water out of the pantry I emerged to see my father holding a two pairs of my gym shoes in his hand. "Can't allow you to leave in flip flops." I quickly stuffed them in my bag, happy that I had learned to tolerate carrying heavy things. I opened my mouth to say something, until I saw my father being jerked backwards. My mother had "woken up" and was now peeling my father's skin from his neck as if it were an orange peel. "Go! Now!" Turning around I raced out of the house and got inside the car. Forgetting that I didn't get the keys, I hotwire it, I peeled out of the driveway but not before seeing my mother in the doorway, with a black fungus growing on her skin, blood foaming from her mouth, and red eyes. After that, I looked away and never looked back. That was 2 years ago.
1 month later, I was barely hanging on because I hadn't slept since I left my parents house. I met Dwayne while scavenging for food at Kroger's. We didn't trust each other, but shared our stories. Dwayne had been at work when the infection broke out. Upon getting home, he saw his wife had become infected and was eating her first meal: their daughter. That was the day that he lost his ability to feel. Finding out that he didn't have anyone to back him up on missions like these, I felt bad for him and invited him to my "home". A few days afterwards, we were attacked. We killed them all, except 1 who had hid away in the living room. D immediately spotted him trying to bite me and with sharpshooting accuracy, killed it. Ever since then, we have been friends.
(End Flashback)
D and I continued to look out the front window, waiting on an ambush that was bound to happen. Today was one of those days that we had to go scavenger for food, supplies and fuel. We were hoping to make it with less than half a tank. Everything was going well, as we had hit a good spot at 7/11. There weren't even that many creeps staggering about. Sadly that should have been the first sign. The second sign should have been the strange sickly but sweet scent that came as we rode past the city limits, but we didn't pay any attention to it. It was only when we got to Mike's dollar store that we got ambushed. They spilled in from the back door where the deliveries would have come in. wasting no time, we tried to get to get to the car, but found that there were more of them quickly closing in.
"Get on top of the car D, I'll get in and drive. When we get far enough, you can get in." We put the plan in action, but we could never get far enough to distance ourselves because they we coming from every dark corner. Finally, we manage to throw them off and get back to our cabin. Being scared was the least of our worries. That scent was coming back again, and it was getting stronger by the hour.
"You smell it?"
"Yeah. It's getting stronger. I'd say we have…maybe 7 and 30 minutes till they get here. Shit I thought they lost our scent!"
"Well they didn't, and they're on their way here so stop talking and strap up." And that's how we got to the position that we're in. Now we had to play the waiting game. Look for the first sign of moment, listen for the most unlikely sound, and smell the tell tale signs of death.
Everything was quiet, at least until we heard the snap of a twig coming from the front window. D pulled the safety off of his sawed off shotgun and aimed the gun towards the window, which was opened wide enough to shoot out of. I grabbed my semi-automatic and took my position in the middle of the room, ready to shot at anything that tried to creep in. Suddenly, a gunshot exploded from D's gun. I power walked over to him so I could see what he was shooting at. The sight alone chilled me to the bone. They got here quicker than I thought they would. Hundreds of creeps lurched towards the door and started to knock it down. Within a few minutes, the door was on the floor and we were instantly bombarded.
For the first 30 minutes, the sound of gunfire was the only sound that could possibly be heard for miles. It was like a never ending creep fest! 5 hours later, the horde was finished and we were killing off the last stragglers. I walked behind him and patted him on the shoulder, only to pull my hand away and feel something wet, sticky, and red. My eyes widened in realization, that sad revelation that I was going to lose my friend. Oh no. Oh god no! D! He laid his gun on the table and took off his vest. He walked over a chair and sat down.
"Ty…"
"When? When did you get you get bit? Or is it a scratch?" He touched the side of his neck that was bloody.
"I guess I got bit by the one grabbed me around the neck and tried to pull me through the window."
I hung my head in disappointment. We were just getting into a groove, but like a fool I believed that we were invincible because we had outlived the others for so long. Dwayne put his head in his hands, shaking his head. After a couple of minutes, he stood up.
"I want you to pack enough food and supplies to last you at least a week worth. You need to leave afterwards."
I was dumbfounded. I knew why he wanted me to leave, but why should I? We had been through so much these last couple of months.
"No. Who's going to…?"
"Ty'nishia, when it comes to that I'll take care of it myself. I don't want you to be here when it happens." I didn't give a damn what he said, I wasn't leaving his side. If he changed, I would be the one that ended his existence.
"No D. I'll do it. No matter how hard it will be traveling without you, I'm not letting you kill yourself. I'd rather do it, or better yet I'll join you." My words must've shock Dwayne, hell I shocked myself. I didn't want to turn into one of those things, but it was a lot better than my initial plan which was to shoot him." I watched as Dwayne thought it through.
"I don't want to..." He trailed off. A lone tear made its way down his face." I walked over towards him and wrapped my arms around his massive chest.
"Don't worry, D. We'll make this journey together." I pecked him on the cheek, then pulled up a chair and held his hand in mine. Together, we waited for what seemed like days. This was a move that was normally reserved for lovers, but I felt obligated to Dwayne. Not as a lover, but as a sister. We might not have known each other our entire lives, but he had become like a brother to me, constantly risking his life for me. The least I could do is return the favor.
Epilogue…
5 years have passed since the infection has spread. Since then, a cure has been found. CDC has begun combing the surrounding areas to clean up the deceased reanimated corpses.
CDC agents come to a cabin that is hidden by tall trees. As they come closer, the stench of decaying flesh is apparent. They walk through the door and look at the sight before them. 2 dried up, decomposing corpses were in the front room. One was a small female, laid out on the floor and the other was a tall male about 6 ft tall. Both were grey with sunken eye sockets and dried skin. Shaking their heads, the agents cautiously turned both over.
"Hey, aren't these the guys that everyone used to call The Rock and the Southern Psycho?"
"Yes. They used to work for the WWE. Damn shame they had to end up here."
"Oh well, let's get both of their asses out. They're stinking up the joint."
Dragging the bodies outside, they were quickly disposed of inside of a crematorium specially made to burn those who had been infected. But what the two morticians didn't see was that as the corpses were being wheeled into the fire, their hands were still joined.
