I know I said I wasn't coming back til the 11th June and I still have loads of work to do. I just wanted to set this story up as it's been plaguing in my mind for quite a while. I must warn you, this is going to be a very sad story

The Screams

There were screams from outside, He failed to understand what was happening but clutched his sister tighter as they sat cuddling on their couch. He wanted to pull back the curtains but was so afraid of leaving his sister that he buried his face in his neck. A couple minutes seemed to pass with the present screams getting even louder.

"Jack?" He heard his sister asked and Jack lifted his head to look at her. There were tears littering her eyes and she looked petrified.

"What?" The thirteen year old responded making his grip on his sister even tighter.

"Will Mom come back?"

Jack fought back tears, his mother had gone out about half an hour ago saying that she was going to investigate when the first scream had happened outside. She still hadn't come back and Jack was getting really worried.

"I'm sure." Jack replied bluntly but he was unsure of that statement himself but the words seemed to comfort Mary as he wiped the tears away from her eyes.

"What's going on outside?" She pondered looking in the direction of the curtains.

Jack shrugged his shoulders. Even though he desperately wanted to know, he was going to keep Emma safe. At the moment she was his top priority. "Nothing, good but it'll be okay."

He ran his fingers through her soft brown hair and gave her the biggest smile that he could manage. "Mom will come back soon, then we'll have a quiet night in front of the tv. Head to bed and get up for another day of learning, I bet there's been a crash or something. Everything will be fine in the morning."

"Yeah, everything will be fine in the morning." Emma murmmed and she gave Jack the brightest smile she could manage. Jack smiled back but the smile did not reach his eyes, whilst Emma seemed to believe his words, he didn't. He was trying to lull himself into a false sense of security but he knew that something was wrong and it was to with whatever was happening outside.

However Jack would never have never been able to predict what happened next.

There was a bright gleam from the window and almost a moment later a car came crashing through the living room window. As soon as Jack heard the wheels screeching he grabbed Emma and he fell to the floor, rolling away from the car.

He coughed a little and looked at the bricks and dust that had fallen to the ground where the car had crashed. It had managed to completely obliterate their window, Jack could see the signs of broken glass everywhere. He stood up and tried to look at the driver of the car, he could make out a figure slumped across the driving wheel. He did't want to look any closer. He didn't understand how this could have happened but they needed to find help.

"Is she dead?" Emma whispered in fear voicing the words that Jack didn't want to put into the air but she did. "Should we look?"

Jack shook his head. "No, don't mess with her. We'll have to go outside and find some to help her, come on." He offered his hand and Emma took it as they navigated their way through the falling debris.

When they reached the hole in the walls, the screams from outside had become louder and Jack could see figures running the hazy dust and people were falling over, stumbling as the other figures seemed to attack them.

Jack didn't know what was going on but he wanted to shield Emma's eyes. She was only eight years old. What had happened?

As the clambered though the falling bricks and came out on the other side, there were bright gleams of orange and red burning on crashed cars. There were a few bodies on the floor and Jack tried stifle that the scream that he felt rising in his throat. He watched as dark tall silhouettes passed by him, heading towards the edge of town. He wanted to ask them what was going on but each time he tried to reach for their arm, they looked at him and moved his arm off them before taking off even quicker.

"Jack, I'm scared." Emma cried gripping onto Jack's hand tightly.

"I know, I know. I'm going to get you somewhere safe." Jack squeezed her hand. He was so scared but he couldn't show that he was scared. He had to be brave for Emma.

"Jackson, Emma is that you?" A familiar voice suddenly asked and Jack turned to see his neighbour walking through the hazy fog.

Mrs Edwards looked like she had been to hell and back. Her blonde hair was a wild birds nest, there were several cuts across their face and her dress was a ragged mess.

"What's going on?" Jack asked looking around as more people screamed.

"This world, people are attacking each other, I don't understand myself but we need to get you two out of here before you get attacked."

People were attacking each other but how? And Jack couldn't leave!

"We can't leave, there's a woman she needs help! She crashed her car and what about my mother?" Jack protested.

Mrs Edwards shook her head. "Your mother and that woman are as good as dead."

Before Jack could argue she grabbed his hand and began to pull him through the streets of his home-town. He didn't know how long he ran for or how many times he tried to escape from her grasp but the woman was several inches taller than him and seemed to how a vice like grip.

As they ran, Jack could see things chasing after people and could see blood scouted across their faces. They looked like zombies and Jack slowly began to peace things together. He saw a creature tear after a young boy. Zombies. People were becoming zombies, everything seemed to becoming a blur. Zombies weren't supposed to exist, they were supposed to be things in video games or fiction. They weren't supposed to be real.

He wasn't sure why none came after them, perhaps because they were too occupied with the screams of the dying.

They soon came to the edge of town where a lot of more debris from the house had fallen. There was a building on fire, the flames licking through the structure and that horrible gleam of orange. There was a large sycamore tree stood in front that was shaking in the strong wind that was beginning to blow and there were slight splinters in the wood.

"What are we doing, Jack?" Emma asked, she had been oddly quiet following after her brother and her neighbour but she trusted her brother, she thought that they were going to get help.

Mrs Edwards seemed to be looking around for something whilst still keeping her tight grip on Jack's hand. He tried to fidget again wanting to run back to find his mother.

"Mrs Edwards, let me go!" He cried and Emma looked at him confused. She thought that Mrs Edwards was helping him.

"Jackson, no. Your mother's not here, I need to keep you safe. She made me promise if that anything bad happened that I would get you to safety but I can't find any cars around here."

Just as she mentioned cars, a red pick up truck came barrelling through but stopped when the driver saw the three figures on the road.

He opened the door and stepped out. Jack could see that he looked no older than eighteen.

"You want a lift out of this godforsaken town?" The guy asked. "You're the first survivors I've ran into, heard there was an military checkpoint, we'd better hurry."

"Yes." Mrs Edwards reply. "Now come on children, we need to get you in."

The guy got back into the driver's seat whilst Mrs Edwards turned to Jack, she looked sad.

"I know you don't know what's going on but we'll find out what the hell happened. Pass me Emma, Jack she can go in first."

Jack nodded knowing that he needed to get out of his town. If what Mrs Edwards said was true then he would do it for his mother's sake. He picked Emma up and lifted her to the woman who placed her into the car. He was about to climb in too when he heard the tree begin to fall.

"Go! Just go and leave me!" He shouted as the wind began to rage even more and the sky became an overbearing grey.

The tree began to fall and Jack could hear a soft cry of Emma calling his name. It would be too late to move out of the trees way but as long as Emma was safe. He would happy to die for her, Mrs Edwards would got her to safety, he had trust of that.

The last thing that he heard was the truck driving off and the tree falling, falling before he became surrounded by darkness.