Chapter One- One Wild Party

"Bye! Thanks for coming!" Ellie yelled at the last guest to depart. This was her first high school party and she was clearly ecstatic. Her feet skipped their way into the living room where her sister, Rachel, sat with a tired smile on her face.

"Oh my gosh, that was the best!" Ellie exclaimed, to which Rachel let out a small laugh.

"What time is it even?" Rachel asked as Ellie took out her phone.

"Twelve thirty."

"So not too late."

"Yeah… but kinda early for a party right?"

"Oh well, I'm spent. Let's clean this all up tomorrow before mom and dad get home."

"Will that be enough time?"

"Of course! I don't think anything broke and there aren't any stains that I know of."

"So can we just head to bed?"

"Yeah, but first let's just make a quick walk around to make sure that no drinks are tipped over."

Rachel walked through the kitchen and pushed a few cups lazily into the trash. The party had been a good stress relief for her. Her boyfriend, Danny, and her had been fighting the week before, but somehow, amongst the deafening music and energetic bodies they had forgotten all of that. Rachel was too sensible to say she was in love at 17, but she couldn't deny that there was something special about what she and Danny had. She pulled her brown hair out of a ponytail and kicked her shoes off. She was considering sleeping on the couch when Ellie came into the room holding a black jacket.

"Your boyfriend left his jacket on the dining table."

"Oh, I'd better call him, he keeps his license in there."

"You just want him back here so you can spend some 'quality time' together."

"Oh, shut up." Rachel said jokingly. "We hardly even kiss yet."

"Yeah, yet!" Ellie said, throwing the jacket down to examine the driver's license. "Dude, what was he on when this was taken?"

"Let me see." Rachel received the pass and took a look at what sure enough looked like a high Danny. Despite the picture being two years old he looked basically the same. His dark brown hair was shorter now, but the rest was classic Danny.

Rachel's phone let out a buzz and she answered it to hear Danny's voice.

"Hey, did I leave my jacket at your house?"

"Yeah, I was just about to call you actually."

"Well great minds think alike. Mind if I come back around to pick it up? My license is in there."

"Yeah, we noticed. Nice picture. It doesn't do you justice."

"Hahaha, I'm not sure how to take that."

"That was the point. But yeah, just come and pick it up."

"Thanks. Well, um, see you in a bit."

"See ya. Bye."

"Bye."

She hung up and looked at Ellie, who was giving her a weird face.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing." she said before giggling off to the living room. Rachel rolled her eyes and tossed another cup into the trash. Her sister could be really weird sometimes. But, that was to expected of a soon-to-be fourteen year old.

The doorbell rang a minute later and Rachel practically ran to the door.

"You came here fast." she said.

"Yeah, I hadn't gotten very far when I had to stop for gas."

"Oh, well your jacket is in the kitchen."

"Thanks. I-"

"Rachel!" Ellie yelled from the living room.

"One second!" she yelled back. "What were you going to-"

"Rachel! Rachel, come here right now!"

"Excuse me whilst I go deal with my sister. Your jacket is just on the counter the-"

"Rachel!"

"Calm your butt, I'm coming!" Rachel yelled as she made her way to the living room. Her sister was staring at the tv intensely.

"What is it, Ellie?"

"Look, on the tv!"

Rachel looked at the screen and saw a mob of people running around the streets of New York City from an aerial view. Then, the scene changed to people running into a Wal-Mart. A reporter was trying to say something but his voice was lost in the din. A car caught on fire and the scene changed once again to show a very nervous looking anchor woman. Her voice trembled as she spoke.

"The president has declared a state of emergency. The pandemic popularly dubbed as Virus X has spread to Johannesburg, New York, Mexico City, Beijing, and parts of Moscow. Officials in London have declared martial law. Egypt, Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates have all closed their borders. Officials are saying to stay indoors and to avoid contact with those who show signs of infection. There have been reports of those who have died from Virus-X coming back to life and… eating the living. The only way the virus seems to spead is through biting."

"I heard about that." Danny said, entering the room.

"Where?" Rachel asked. Danny wasn't the type to be up to date on world affairs.

"I heard it on the radio, on the way here."

"You listen to the radio?"

"Yeah, but only when I'm super bored."

"There's this thing called an iPod you know."

"Guys!" Ellie yelled. Rachel stared at her. She was clutching her knees and shaking; her black hair was tucked underneath a beanie and she was on the edge of tears, but she was right. There were more pressing matters on hand.

"Okay, Danny, lock the doors. Ellie, go get the rifle from mom and dad's room. I'm going to try and get a hold of them." Rachel dialed her mom's number but her mom didn't reply so she tried her dad's cell with the same result. What was going on? She looked at the tv and saw the contestants on some game show being evacuated.

"Rachel!" Ellie whispered urgently.

"What? Where's the gun?"

"I heard noise inside their bedroom. There's someone in there!"

Danny entered the room and Rachel stared at her with the same helpless look. Then, he left the room and returned with a kitchen knife. They were going to have to see what was in there. He led the way up the stairs. They were outside the door soon, and sure enough something was making sound in there. Danny took a breath and flung the door open, knife at the ready.