The moaning outside the building was too much to handle. Scratching, biting, the monsters did it all in an attempt to get at the living flesh inside. JoAnne looked to her brother with wide, fearful eyes. She told him this day would come. She knew the monsters would find them eventually.
Since the outbreak began, JoAnne and Joseph were locked in their neighbors' bunker. The couple was away on their first vacation in decades, and they left the twins in charge of their home while they were gone. The power went out due to rioting in the streets, so the twins moved to the bunker to hall out a generator to share between the two houses. They didn't realize the monsters would come, but their parents saw it on the news. It had already started elsewhere in faraway places, but they kept it from the twenty-one-year-olds home on summer break. Now, two months later, the monsters were commonplace, but the twins had yet to leave the bunker.
"How do you think they're getting so close to those windows?" Joseph asked, pointing to the windows facing the tiny greenhouse room. It was bulletproof glass, the strongest available in the market, so it shouldn't go anywhere, but Joseph was worried.
"I have no idea, Joe, but I don't like this. Have you found their weapon chamber yet?" she asked. Reluctantly, her twin shook his head gently. "What do you mean you haven't found it yet?! We've been in here for two months! I told you I should've helped, but you-"
"Quiet!" he hissed, using his thumb to gesture towards the window. The sound of her voice was attracting the undead beasts, and a pair of them were rubbing their limp bodies against the glass, smearing it with blood.
"We need the weapons, Joe. Let me help you find them," JoAnna said sternly but in a low voice. Joseph kept his eyes locked on the floor, trying not to look his twin or the monsters in the face. "Joe, we don't have a choice. We'll be out of food within the next three months. We need to find the weapons and their training devices, then we can find our way out. They said there were manuals and everything in the weapons chamber. Did they leave a map somewhere?"
"They took a lot of that with them," Joseph whispered. JoAnna gave him a stern look. She had no idea they'd taken anything from their precious bunkers. They were preppers, always ready for the worst possible scenario. Why would they compromise that even for a minor vacation to a prepping conference five hundred miles away?
"How much else did they take or destroy?" JoAnna asked.
"More than I thought they would," Joseph replied, exhaling heavily. "Listen, I was going to tell you, but I've looked everywhere in here. There's nothing. Everything I have is in my room, but I can't get back to the house without a weapon. We can't leave without one either, but...we'll be out of basic supplies in one week. After that, we'll be down to the bare bones of the pantry. No more bottled water, no more food, and definitely no more gasoline for power. The batteries are fine, as are the flashlights, but they really stripped this place. I've searched every tunnel, Anna. I marked each one, and they all dead-end into empty rooms."
"I can't believe this," JoAnna muttered, staring at the monsters. "We're going to die in here, aren't we? We thought this place would save us, but it's slaughtered us! Since the beginning, there weren't many beasts, but look at them," she pointed, eying a third monster carefully. "Wait...Momma?!" she croaked, rushing towards the glass.
"JoAnna, no!" Joseph called, but she was already there, looking at the bloodied monster with bewildered eyes. Her hair and scalp had been ripped off, and bullet holes had frayed her shirt. Her left hand only had two fingers, her thumb merely a shaft of white bone that shimmered from the blood and gore covering her body. It was once their mother, but it definitely wasn't their mother anymore.
"I thought they were safe. They went back home, Joe. They went back home," she repeated, breaking into sobs and sinking to the ground. "Why didn't they kill her? Look at her! She should be dead!"
"They all should be dead, but they're not. The dead walk now, except those in the distance," Joseph pointed. He'd noticed them not long after the monsters began to walk and police still patrolled the streets hoping to dwindle their numbers with military-grade supplies. They had bullet holes through their warped heads. They stopped writhing then. They stopped trying to catch the living to turn them into whatever they were.
"What the hell are we supposed to do? I thought we'd go home and they'd be there...," she trailed off. "What are we going to do?"
"They left their vehicle here. I do know they left that because all four sets of keys are still hidden throughout the tunnels, but it seems like the seal to the garage is too intact for me to tell. We'll only know when we try to open it to make our escape. From there, we can take state routes to the college. Maybe there's someone left there, someone who can help us," Joseph offered. JoAnna, still shaken from seeing their undead mother rubbing her broken body on the glass, shook her head gently. "Why don't you agree with that?"
"The college is nothing now. Look at those things. Our classmates looked worse than that on a Monday afternoon. Do you really think those social media happy twats defended that place well enough to salvage it? No, there's nothing left now. The bases are probably barricaded, and everything else just went to shit. Everything else was left...they were left to look like that!" JoAnna screamed, gesturing to the growing herd at the window. More and more were coming as the nonverbal cry sounded: There were still victims waiting to be turned.
"Then we just try to do supply missions. People left their homes behind to flee those first days. We'll live in their houses and take their leftover things. We've got hiking packs to store things in, and the vehicle is fairly armored. The only problem is the back half's glass. Only the windshield and front windows are reinforced glasses. But we can manage with those sorts of problems," Joseph sighed. "We'll get by just like we've always done."
"What are we supposed to fight with? We need to kill those undead bastards, everyone one of them. I bet they did that to my mother!" JoAnna hissed, staring at the growing number of monsters. "Why are there so many out there?"
"I don't know, but it's just a motivator. Pack what you can into the hiking packs. Pull the crates in here so we can watch that glass. I don't trust it with so many of them out there," Joseph said, helping his sister drag out the hiking packs and fill them with the remaining supplies. He'd sealed off the room until that moment, so JoAnna was quite surprised to see how few things they had left, but that was her motivator.
When they began looking at the remaining items to see what they could use as a weapon, they heard the first cracks. The monsters were eager to get at them, so much so that their weight alone was trying to crack the glass. Somehow, it wasn't the glass their neighbors swore it was, and cracks started to trail through the delicate wall, sending the twins into a frenzy. While JoAnna packed the car with the packs and other leftover supplies, Joseph ransacked other empty rooms. He only came up with two things: A long, steel pipe from a leftover project, and a hacksaw.
Joseph had to act quickly. He sawed through the metal in what seemed to be an hour or more, though it was only a little over a minute. He left the edges jagged, hoping they could piece the skulls of the ragged, fragile monsters. Many already had flaps of skin missing, so their bones had to be weakening too right?
"JOSEPH!" JoAnna screamed just as a cascade of broken glass rained into the greenhouse room. The glass walls surrounding the room would not hold up to the monsters, though the breaking glass sent many into the ground with many more on top of them, shattering a few of their skulls instantly from the harsh blows.
"Take this and aim for their heads. Wear this glove so you'll get a better grip," Joseph instructed, passing her a gardening glove. He wore the other one on his left hand, giving JoAnna the right glove for her dominant hand.
She had mere seconds to prepare herself before the inner glass walls crashed down. The twins moved backwards, trying to avoid those steady enough to throw themselves at them. As they reached the garage, Joseph was forced to make the first blow. The cold steel pierced the skull without much effort, though it was difficult to pull out the steel. JoAnna had to take care of the next monster, and both threw their carcasses into the path of the others as best they could while running away, hoping to slow them down a little.
"Get in the car! Go!" Joseph exclaimed, gesturing JoAnna into the driver's seat. She obeyed, rushing to the door after finishing off another monster. A spray of brains and blood covered the two of them, but they couldn't think of hygiene now. They had to escape, and they were just a herd of monsters from doing that.
Joseph used all his strength to push a monster into the others before rushing into the passenger seat. He slammed the door, chopping off one of the monsters' arms that was trying to come inside. Joseph reeled back, but JoAnna made no reaction. She was revving the engine and putting the vehicle into gear. She knew she had to burst through the garage door while escaping the monsters.
"Hold on," she murmured, punching the gas pedal. Monsters that were reaching for the car were sent backwards from the force as the twins took to the street. The road was littered with debris from lack of cleanup, and the teens added the monster arm to the mix before parking in a nearby subdivision to catch their breath.
"Are you hurt?" Joseph asked. JoAnna shook her head, giving him a funny look. "I was only asking. I'm fine, just a little winded. We should make sure they don't follow before we go inside. They probably won't have a shower for us to use, but we can at least change our clothes," he said, eying the guts-covered outfits they were both wearing.
"Do you think we can survive this way?" JoAnna asked.
Joseph thought for a long moment at her question. The only answer he could supply: "What choice do we have? The dead don't die anymore, and neither can we."
The car fell silent as the twins contemplated their new life. It wasn't ideal, but Joseph was right. If the monsters rose from the dead, then the twins and anyone else would too when they died. Death was gone now, but immortality came with a rotten price.
The town was still a work in progress. No permanent walls surrounding the city had been built yet, and The Governor was still just Phillip, his daughter locked away in the house he'd shared with his once-great family. He was there now, trying to feed his daughter, when he heard the vehicle approach. Judging by the sounds, they'd run over something, something large, and the car was very displeased. It hiccupped before skidding to a halt, backfiring so loudly that Penny broke into animal-like screams.
"What the hell?" Phillip scoffed, throwing down the fork and eying his daughter's chains. There was no time to put her away now. He'd just have to hope the intruders weren't here to slaughter everyone, though it seemed they were in too much distress to do anything to him.
Phillip stepped outside to see two dazed teenagers standing on top of their vehicle. The boy was kicking away vicious hands, the female in his arms. Phillip pulled out his sidearm and nailed a few of the biters in the heads without much hesitation. He was still getting used to this gun, but it suited him, and soon the immediate threat was gone.
"You two caused quite a raucous coming in here. We better hide before more biters come or we'll all be fresh dinner," Phillip said slyly, smirking as he gestured them into the town's tiny electronics shop. The windows were busted out during the looting days when people thought this whole 'the dead are living again' thing would blow over. Now, Phillip had screwed multiple boards of plywood over the holes, hoping they'd stay out long enough for him to maybe replace the glass and make the place look nice again.
"Do you live here or are you wandering like us?" the boy asked, looking down to his sister. She was breathing on her own, so she wasn't dead, but Phillip guessed she hit her head on something because there was a large knot on her temple.
"I've been wandering, yes, but only to gather supplies. This is my hometown, my refuge. I want to open it to others, but I'm not ready yet," Phillip sighed, sinking down to the floor and chuckling softly. "You're the first band of wanderers to come through here. I'm glad you're both friendly even if you're stupid. Why in the hell would you hit a biter with your car? They're just as solid as the people they once were. No wonder your car blew up."
"JoAnna didn't see them," the boy sighed, running his fingers through his sister's hair. "She thought she heard something on the radio, then BOOM!" he said, keeping his voice low because he could hear the monsters coming, their ragged breaths echoing through the empty town. "We thought we'd make it through the group okay, but we hit another one dead center. I guess we blew out the radiator or something. The car is probably toast now, but hopefully the monsters won't be too attracted by the noise."
"I call 'em biters, and they're animals. One small noise, even our voices, attracts them. Sounds could mean food, you see. They think like that. They're evil, but I can't deal with them alone," Phillip said, looking up towards the front of the shop as a few began pawing at the plywood. The room went silent as they waited for the biters to pass. Soon it was just them again, though the threat wasn't over. "I'll let you stay in here tonight. Until I get this place safer, I don't want anyone staying here. You'll be on your own tomorrow morning. I sure hope your friend wakes up soon. It's hard to move around when you're dragging a body around."
"She's my twin, and I don't mind carrying her!" Joseph spat. "We'll be gone in the morning, whether she's awake or not."
"I was just making an honest statement," Phillip chuckled, standing up and making his way towards a back room. "You teenagers are too damn touchy to live here anyway. I'd like you to leave tonight, if you can. You've got a few more hours of good light, and there's homes around...if you can fight off the biters inside," he said darkly, laughing to himself as he disappeared.
"Come on, JoAnna, wake up!" Joseph hissed. "Come on! We can't stay here!"
But JoAnna was still asleep, and Joseph had no idea how they were going to leave the place safely. Not only were their weapons still in the car, so were their supplies. They had nothing but what was around them, and Joseph didn't want to leave his sister while she was still unconscious. But he knew he had no choice, so he got her comfortable and moved around the shop, trying not to disturb the debris lying on the ground.
The first thing he came across was an old newspaper from when things started. The stories were horrifying, namely of people rising out of caskets during funerals or entering the hospital and assaulting the medical professionals. When the professionals were bitten or scratched, they got some sort of fever, then they became monsters too. The newspaper talked of sanctuaries in large cities like Atlanta, but the main message was clear: This was the end of life as they knew it, and nothing could help them now.
Joseph threw down the paper. He regretted picking it up, but nearby he found a small lockbox. He tapped it with his finger. Some areas echoed, but others didn't: There was something inside the box. He checked it, but there wasn't an actual lock on the lock box. He lifted a small hatch and opened the box, revealing a stash of ammunition and a small handgun.
Joseph eyed his sister. She was moaning now and clutching her head. He returned to her, trying to keep her quiet and calm. Before she could really respond, she fell back into the abyss, the pain too much for her to deal with.
Joseph went back to the ammunition and handgun. He didn't have enough pockets for the boxes, and he didn't want to weigh down his pants in case they slipped. He needed a bag of some sort, and maybe some pain medicine for his sister. He explored the shop throughout, but there wasn't much left. The only area untouched in the looting seemed to be the back room, but most of the shelves were covered with old electronics with frayed cords. It was a junk room, and the only things meant for human consumption were moldy pastries and a small, half-empty twelve-pack of beer. Joseph did find a duffle bag with an old radio in it, but he removed it and took it to the ammunition. When he realized there was more room still, he grabbed the beers and anything else he could use. Only one thing stuck out: A crowbar the looters must've used to break the back door's window, which was now covered with old flooring.
"JOESPH!" JoAnna called. Joseph ran to her, but she was merely disoriented. Joseph didn't know how they were going to do it, but they had to leave before nightfall. Whoever they'd just encountered was more of a threat than a friend, and Joseph didn't like the idea of crossing him.
"We need to leave, Jo-Jo. Can you walk?" Joseph asked. She tried to stand, but she clutched her ankle. Joseph lifted her pants leg to see what would cause her pain. What he saw made him reel back in fear.
"What? What is it?" JoAnna asked frantically but weakly.
"Something scratched you. Was it one of them? Did one of the monsters scratch you?" Joseph asked quickly. JoAnna had to make a lot of effort to think about what he was saying, so he repeated himself very slowly. His sisters' eyes went wide at his last question.
"When we were on the car, but I thought it was the radio antenna," she sighed, seeing Joseph's horrified face. "Am I going to become one of them? Am I going to die?" she cried, clutching her head as the tears tried to come. "Joe, I can't really see straight with this eye. I...I think you need to just leave-"
"I'll do no such thing!" Joseph spat. "There's a man here, a total jackass, but maybe he can help. He has to or...or I'll kill him," Joseph said, standing up. "Stay here and make as little noise as possible. I'll be back when I can."
JoAnna wanted to protest, but she couldn't. She felt weak and lightheaded, and her ankle was burning so badly that she was afraid to move it. In fact, she was just afraid, but the excruciating pain kept her weary. Not long after she heard a door open and close, the world faded from view again, and she found herself asleep.
Phillip looked up with surprise at the teen standing in his living room. He raised his hands in surrender, but the boy wasn't interested in gestures. He asked Phillip to take a seat, so he did.
"My sister has another injury. We need your help or we're not going anywhere," Joseph said sternly.
Phillip scoffed, smirking darkly, "You're going to pull a gun on me in my own home, then ask me for help? Are you sure you didn't sustain a head injury as well?" he asked, laughing slightly. "I won't help you, not with that attitude. What's wrong with her anyway?"
"She's got a scratch on her ankle that looks pretty menacing," Joseph said, holding the gun directly on Phillip as he shot up from his seat. "Stay down! I will kill you!"
"You've barely ever killed a biter, kid," Phillip scoffed. "If she's been scratched by one of those things, she has to go. I can't have her here. She'll hurt my daughter!"
"Your daughter? Where is she? Where are her toys? There's no one here," Joseph said sternly, eying the room carefully. Phillip looked nervous. How was he supposed to play this off. "It doesn't matter about your daughter's safety if we help my sister. What do you have that we can use?"
"Penny is here," Phillip said in a low voice. "She's going to stay safe no matter what, or both of you will be a bitter buffet by morning. Got it, chump?" he asked darkly. Joseph nodded. "Put the damn gun down then. How'd you find that anyway?"
"We needed some kind of weapon to leave the shop," Joseph replied. "We're inexperienced, but we're not stupid. Now what do we need to do?"
"I should examine her first, then we'll decide," Phillip said, looking over the house before leading the way back to the shop. When they returned, JoAnna was sweating more, but she seemed to be asleep. "She's turning, kid. I've seen it before, and she...she can't be helped. Where's the wound?"
Joseph pulled up his sister's pants leg to reveal a nasty looking wound. It was a million times worse than when he'd first discovered it. Phillip was skeptical that it was just a scratch, his thoughts immediately going to what biters did best: bite. But the wound would've been worse, much worse.
"There might be a way, but...we'd have to amputate her leg," Phillip said. Joseph shook his head sternly. They didn't have the tools for that, and the procedure alone might kill her. "Then she's a goner. Say your goodbyes then shoot her between the eyes. That's the only way to keep us safe, to keep my daughter safe. You either amputate the leg with my help or you watch her die without my help. Those are your options."
JoAnna began to moan and grab at her painful leg, her right eye a swollen mess from her head injury. She didn't know what was going on, but Joseph did. He had two options: Life or Death. The dead didn't die, but his sister would have to in order for the world to be safe. She'd have to die twice like a barbarian. He couldn't do that to her, not after everything they'd been through.
"Kid, do you mind hurrying up your decision-making? Your sister isn't getting any better," Phillip sighed, shifting slightly from his anger. Joseph knew they didn't have much time, so he looked over his sister one more time.
"Jo-Jo, can you hear me?" he asked. She nodded slightly, trying to talk. "Don't say anything. Just answer one question with a nod or a shake," he instructed. She nodded to show she understood. "We need to amputate your leg. Would you rather amputate your leg-?" he asked, stopping as she shook her head sternly. "If we don't, you're going to die."
JoAnna stopped thrashing. She lay still, thinking about her options for a very long moment. Phillip was growing impatient, and he stood with his arms crossed as he looked over the teens.
"I...I don't know how I'd live without my leg, Joe. I'm sorry," she whispered. "You'll have to go on without me."
"Well I'm out," Phillip said, trying to leave. Joseph drew his gun, clicking back the hammer and causing Phillip to freeze. "You're making a big mistake, son. It's not my fault about any of this, so killing me won't solve anything."
"You're going to stay here to protect this so-called daughter of yours," Joseph whispered. "You can't possibly expect me to kill my sister, my own twin. You can't do that," Joseph said sternly. "You'll have to kill her for me."
"How about I kill both of you right here, right now?" he asked darkly, turning around suddenly and making Joseph flinch. Phillip chuckled, shaking his head at the teen. "You don't have it in you, boy. Just do the damn deed and shut up about it. If you come into my house uninvited again, I'll put a round in your chest and throw you out like the other biters. The same for that little slut. Next time, watch yourself more carefully, kid."
"YOU STAY HERE!" Joseph screamed.
"Joe, stop," JoAnna whispered.
"No!" he cried, turning back to Phillip. "You should suffer too. You deserve it, you heartless son of a bitch!"
"I'm trying to raise my daughter while hordes of biters roam the streets that were once somewhat safe. But I'm heartless for trying to protect her? No, you're the heartless one. Just own up to your situation and leave me out of it," Phillip scoffed, turning around and walking towards the back exit. "By the way," he called back to him, "if you come into my house with a gun again, I will defend myself. Even in the old days I could've killed you for that, and I won't hesitate now."
"Joe, put the gun down and sit with me," JoAnna said weakly. The door closed, and Joseph put the gun down nearby. He moved closer to his sister, whose breathing was labored. "I dreamed about Momma and a few others a few minutes ago," she whispered. "They love us, Joe. They love us despite everything that happened. They love us," she repeated, smiling softly. "My head feels really funny, Joe. I think I hurt myself pretty bad."
Joseph looked at the wound. It was bulging slightly, and he could tell it looked worse than it should. Without a trauma center, she would die whether they amputated her leg or not. His sister was dying. He started to weep, and JoAnna took his hands.
"This isn't the end, Joseph. You should try to survive to make everyone proud. Get away from that man and make a life for yourself. Try to be happy, and I'll live again through that happiness. The dead might not die anymore, but life is still the same. The spirits still watch over you. I'll watch over you...," she said even weaker than before, her eyes closing a second later.
"Jo-Jo? JoAnna?! Please, wake up!" Joseph cried, resting his head on her chest. He could hear her heart beating, but it grew slower and slower. She inhaled, lifting his head slightly off her chest. But the exhale was larger, and when she was done, he couldn't hear her heart beating anymore. "Jo-Jo!" Joseph sobbed, hugging his sister's body tightly. "Jo-Jo, don't leave me! Please, please don't leave me. Please?" he begged, shaking her slightly, his head still resting over her still heart.
He tried to compose himself quickly, but the moment was too great. He lay there, hoping she'd start breathing, then start laughing, then start joking about the look on his face when she 'died'. He almost got his wish as a strange sound came from her throat that sounded like laughter. Instead, he was greeted with yellowed eyes and gnashing teeth.
"No!" Joseph cried, trying to reach for his gun. Instead, he knocked it across the concrete floor. It slid into the remains of a display case, hitting so hard against the base that the gun went off, hitting Joseph in the side of the chest. "No! JoAnna, please!" Joseph begged.
As he tried to run from his sister, fighting her off with his arms and legs, Phillip watched from the back room, a light smile on his face. Joseph was bleeding out quickly, and Phillip could tell the boy was dead whether his sister caught up to him or not.
"JoAnna, please," Joseph pleaded weakly, sinking into a corner and using his weakening legs to hold her back. His former twin, now a flesh-hungry monster, continued to lunge at him. She never changed strength because she always moved full-forced. But Joseph's strength was waning. With every lunge, she got closer and closer to him, but he still managed to fend her off.
Then, she suddenly stopped lunging. Phillip shifted his weight, curious about this change in events. Then he noticed the change. Joseph's eyes glossed over and changed colors. His hands dropped from his chest wound, spilling blood over the floor. He and his twin, both now biters, sniffed the air. They sensed Phillip's presence. They wanted him for food.
"Not today," he smirked, stepping out of his hiding place with two lassos. The first rang JoAnna without much effort. The second hit Joseph on the third try. Now both were captured, their teeth clicking loudly as they went after Phillip. "Keep on dreaming, Bitey," he chuckled, leading them outside. He tied them to a tree just outside of town. As he finished, a few biters started roaming towards the tree to see what the fuss was about, but one fell from a distant gunshot. Phillip hid inside one of the storefronts, gun drawn, as a small party came into the town.
"This looks like a good place to spend the night," a man said. There were murmurs of agreement as the group moved in closer. The coming night kept the lassoed biters out of view. They moved past them and into a shop to begin making camp.
Phillip let them stay, hiding with his daughter Penny. He'd need more allies later, but now wasn't the time. He needed to make the place safer, to keep people like Joseph and JoAnna out. He had to make the place even more enticing to passing people. He had to make walls, a government, a town. If he couldn't do it here, he'd try somewhere else. He had to do the right thing. He had to be a good father and protect his daughter. He simply had to.
~End