Week Three after the Outbreak.
Everyone was dead. Her whole town had slowly started to die off. She was the last one left.
No one know how it started. It came all of a sudden. A sudden sickness that once you were sick, you were done for. There was no cure. There was no explanation. It came and it destroyed everything in its path. It was not selective. It struck everyone, the young, the old.
I was alone.
When the whole world went away, i tried to stay at home. My mother Jocelyn went first, then my father Valentine. They had gotten sick. It first starts with flu like symptoms, and then harshly turned to fever. Your body got so hot, it almost felt like you were being boiled alive. They had finally given up the fight, and died.
I was 17, and living through the first few weeks of the infection had hardened me. I was no longer the soft Clarissa who loved to paint. I was the hardened Clary who knew how to survive.
I had wrapped my parents bodies in blankets and sheets and dragged them outside. I took the shovel out of the shed and prepared to make a hole. They had looked grotesque in death. The sickness had ravaged them. I covered them the best i could. When the hole was dug, i lowered them into it. I placed my mom beside my dad, and i sat by the hole crying.
I had lost them. I had lost the world. Now i would never go to the art school that i had dreamed of going to for years. The phones, tv's, internet had all gone down weeks ago. There was no help.
The tv had broadcasted for a week after the inital pandemic. Warning us to stay inside, and take medication for our illness. At that time, we were healthy. We stayed inside, and barely left for anything. My father had bravely left to run to the store and stock up on supplies, and was almost attacked by a mob of infected people trying to steal the food!
The military had intervened around week two of the outbreak. They started quarentining all towns and cities. If anyone was sick they were supposed to report to the Military's Medical Center that usually consisted of fences and wooden walls so you couldnt see into. Every city had one to my knowledge. Whatever happened inside there, the ones on the outside never knew. If a loved one got sick, you pretty much just said good bye. There was no hope.
The people of the town hobbled out in the street, mostly sick, to watch bodies being put to the torch. Right in the center of town! More people were dropping everyday. The military lost interest in quarenting the sick. We were all left to rot.
Eventually the stores ran out. The stores were ransacked. The military lost control. Mostly everyone was dead by then. Including the people that worked for the military and in the medical center. There was no hope for anyone. Once you got sick, you were done for. The healthy people avoided the sick like the plague. Everyone locked their doors and stayed inside. The risk of infection was too great.
Was in airborne? Was it through some pathogen that was on surfaces? Was it communicable through person to person? What was its mortality rate?
No one knew.
No one had a clue. Not the President, not the military, not the scientists, not anyone. We were all just as perplexed as everyone else it would seem. People just dropped like flies. It was happening all across the globe. In all parts of the planet we called Earth. Nobody was safe and there was no way to prevent it. Once it struck it struck. You could not prepare for it, there was no medication to take. There was absolutely no way to survive.
Once you were sick, you were sick. Some people had gotten lucky. Out of the inital wave of infection, less and less people were starting to get sick. There was hope! Some people thought that if you survived the first wave, you were fine. Then they too started to die out. Some would last weeks after the Outbreak to eventually contract the disease and then too die out. When it was your time to go, it was your time to go.
I had waited for the disease to strike me. I had huddled inside my living room waiting to die. My parents had realized that this wasnt just a passing thing, they had borded the house up the best they could. They had stockpiled the house with enough food to last awhile. They had prepared for the worst, and they still were outside buried in the yard.
I had survived.
A few survivors of the town had banded together. Scavenged for food and the like. At first i had not wanted to venture outside my property for fear of being sick. But after losing everyone i had cared about, i decided it really didnt matter. I was going to die, just like everone else. Why hide inside waiting for it to come? I would go out and live for as long as i could and then i would die at least with the knowledge that i tried.
There were six of us when i finally got the courage to find them. It was week three after the Outbreak. We made up a rag tag team of survivors. Mrs Hakers was the lady that ran the flower shop downtown. Her whole family was dead. Mr Jackson was the custodian for the High School, his whole family was dead. Jake Sully, Miranda Tully, Timmy Frank, all families were dead. Jake, Miranda, and Tim were all High Schoolers like me. Mrs Hakers was in her fortys and Mr Jackson in his thirties.
We were all healthy, at first.
Mr Jackson had taken charge at first. Sending us out on errands. Find food, find water, find medicine. Until one night, Miranda never came back. She had been sent to the far east side of town to look for anything she could find. We had worried that she had somehow hurt herself. Little did we know that the sickness wasnt the only thing to worry about.
We had huddled in our make shift camp trying to wait for Miranda. Maybe she was just running late, maybe her haul was so heavy she had to rest often. We all made excuses in our head as to why she was late.
Our camp was in the old Town Hall, it was easily fortified and it hadnt been ransacked or destroyed. Most of the town had burned down by angry infected, or looted and destroyed by the distraught survivors, before they too had died. We had all the doors barricaded and locked. Miranda knew the way in. It was a door that we had left barricaded but able to open if you knew how. We had put board in front to deter passerby, even though there wasnt many left at this time.
We all decided to hunker down and wait. Maybe she had met other survivors and would be back shortly. We couldnt just leave the camp if she was coming back. We all didnt live in the camp. I frequently stayed at my own house most nights, as did the others. We only stayed together like this for something important. Each day we had to check in to Mrs Hakers, who usually stayed near the camp, seeing as she lived down the street above her flower shop. We would report to her how we were feeling.
If we were sick, we had to go home. We werent allowed back until we could show we werent sick anymore. Out of the six of us, we didnt get sick. Not then anyway. We were all healthy and able. Since Miranda, Tim, Jake, and i were young we got the scouting missions. Mrs Hakers usually did the cooking, and Mrs Jackson usually everything else. We all tried to work as a team.
It was after midnight when we heard the noises. Snarls, growls, and hisses. The noises of wild beasts. We had all been asleep by then. No one was asleep after the noises. We all woke with a start.
"What was that?" Jake whispered.
"Proabably animals Jake, dont worry. Must just be some animals rooting through the town." Mr Jackson said calmly.
Was i the only one who worried?
The noises echoed and died away. Whatever it had been, it had went away. Animals were dying of as well so i didnt believe the calm words Mr Jackson said. Animals got sick just like the humans did. Nothing outlasted this disease, not the horses, cows, dogs. Nothing. It affected us all.
A deep thud crashed into the Town Halls front door. The door that we heavily barricaded with desks and chairs. With each thud, came a groan of pain. Whatever it was it wanted in. Tim had almost screamed before i had slapped a hand down on his mouth. Whatever it was, we couldnt let it know we were here.
Random noises came from outside. We all huddled together in the dark. Surely if it was a human out there we would hear them speaking, but all we heard were animal noises. High cackles, low whines, deep throaty snarls. I was huddle next to Tim. He was shaking. I was calm and resolved. Things could not get much worse.
Oh how wrong i was.
I slipped from Timmys shaking grasp and slided forward.
"Clary stop! What are you doing. Come back here!" Mrs Hakers cried weakly.
I ignored her. One part of the main door had a glass panel. I was determined to take a glance through it. I wanted to see what was out there. What could have survived when all else had died?
Moonlight glimmered faintly through the glass panel. I calmed my racing heart and started slowly inching toward it. Just one peek was all i wanted, but when i did look i couldnt tear myself away. There were people out there!
I could hardly see in this light but i could tell that the shapes moving outside were human. Then i started to notice a difference. They didnt move right. They were hunched over, running along the ground like a dog. Some were stood up, but their backs were not straight. What were they?
"Clary what is it?" Mr Jackson asked coming closer to the window.
I didnt have anything to say. I was speechless.
"What in the hell?" He mumbled under his breath.
He gripped my shoulder and squeezed hard. I didnt even notice. We were busy watching the things out on the street. It was too dark for us to see properly. We creeped back from the windows. The others in the group were scared. I could see that in their eyes and the way they sat together. Almost as if a group would protect them, how i wished that were true.
"What was in Bernard?" Mr Hakers asked Mr Jackson.
"I dont rightly know. It looked like other people out there except-" He cut off midsentece.
"Except what?" Timmy demanded looking terrified. He was the youngest to the group. Fourteen years old, was a freshman in High School. I pitied him now more then ever. It had been hard on us all, but at that age? I grimaced thinking of the other children that could have survived without their parents until they succumbed to the disease, or hunger.
"They didnt walk right." i said.
"Walk right? What do you mean, walk right?" TImmy stammered.
I didnt know what to tell him. Pretty soon though we had a clear picture.
It was about nightfall, our trio of teenagers had left once again to scout out supplies. Losing Miranda meant Timmy had to go out now. We barely survived now as it was. Losing Miranda meant one less pair of hands to help. Timmy did not want to go. But we had no choice but to make him. We all had to put in our fair share of the work. Whether we liked it or not.
Me and Jake had returned an hour before sunset. We had gotten a good haul from the rich part of town. Mr Jackson was smiling at us and telling us how brave we were. Timmy had not yet returned. We had sent him on a closer area to search so he wouldnt be far from the Town Hall. He should have been back before the rest of us.
"He cant have wandered far. Or maybe he just went home." Jake said nonchalantly.
I had not forgotten the weird creatures we had seen last night and i worried. Miranda was still missing, and now Timmy was as well. Where could he be? Maybe Jake was right, maybe he had just went home. We had sat on the steps, Jake and i, waiting. We sat for a good while watching the sun fall behind the trees.
And then we saw him, his little skinny figure farther down the road. He was limping and from this distance i could not see why. I got to my feet.
"Jake! Timmy's hurt maybe-" My voice cut off as i seen him pushed from the back. By a creature, a dark mottled disfigured beast. The sun was fading slowly but we could still see a little bit. The beasts were waiting in the dark shadows, slowly moving forward with the shadow. Were they afraid of the light or something?
I was about to run for him when strong hands held me back. Jake had a firm grip on my arm.
"Let me go, cant you see we can still help him!" i screamed.
"Clary, look." he said weakly.
I turned back around and saw what he meant. The shadows were catching up to Tim. In a few more moments he would be engulfed and then he would be at the mercy of those things. I stifled a cry. What did they want. What were they?
I watched with horrified eyes as the sun was slowly receding into the night. Timmy still came on strong. He was a few blocks away. And now with him closer i heard him, he was crying. Crying out for help, for his mother, for anyone. My heart lurched in my chest. He was limping heavily from one leg. I could see the blood leaving a trail behind him. Those things had apparenty gotten ahold of him somehow. I couldnt imagine the pain and terror he was in.
The shadows finally descended. They were on him in seconds. I turned away but i still heard his screams. The beasts were cackling, chewing, eating. They made enough noise that i didnt have to see to know what was going on. They were killing him. But why? He wasnt doing anything wrong!
I closed my eyes until i couldnt hear his screams anymore. Then i turned around slowly. All that was left of him was a puddle of blood and gore. I chocked back bile rising in my throat. Who could do such a thing. They hadnt just killed him they had torn him apart!
Thats when Jake grabbed my arm and started to tug. I looked at him with dumbstruck eyes. He pointed with one lone finger. The sun was almost gone. A brief patch illuminated us on the warm steps, but soon we too would be in the dark.
The beasts had finally noticed us. They growled from down the street. Timmy long forgotten. They knew we were there. We had to get back inside!
I slammed my hands into Jake to get him moving and we both ran for the hidden door. Hopefully those things werent as smart as us or they might get in! Once we had the door open we shut it with a bang. Then we started to drag desks, furniture, whatever we could to block the door more securely.
We had just finished when something heavy slammed into the door.
Crack. Thud. Crack.
Those things wanted in, and they wanted in badly. My heart felt like it was about to burst as we waited to see our fate.
The beast hit the door one final time and then we heard it walk away. We were safe! I gave Jake a last knowing glance, and then made my way to the center of the hall to find the others. Either way, out lives had just changed, for the worst.
I learned alot after that first encounter.
The dead did not stay dead. They came back. But they were not who they used to be. They were not human either. They were hairless, their teeth jagged, their hands ended in claws. They had the hunger for human flesh. Once you were in its jaws, there was no help for you. It ate until you were consumed. It ripped at your flesh until there was nothing left.
Most people refered to them as mutants. They were mutated beings but to me they would just be animals. They had no memory. They had no reasoning skills. They possesed nothing but the need to eat. If you encountered one, your best hope was to run and hope to escape. Once taken down, you were done. A bite wouldnt exactly kill you but it could. If the sickness got inside the wound, you would die. The best course of action is to not come in contact period.
If you were lucky, you stayed dead.
If you werent, well...