Hi guys! Thanks for reading the first chapter! I hope you all liked it! And the moment has come for the Second Chapter!


Chapter Two - The End

Jordan and I pedal our bikes up the hill, trying to keep our spirits up. My legs are getting tired and I need water. "Jordan," I call to her in front of me. "Can we rest?"
"We are almost to the top," she pants. "We can make it."
"Okay," I pedal faster to get to the top, which is less than twenty feet away. The tires on my bike flatten out with the road and I just stare ahead.
No Turners. No blood. No smell of death. Just a lone road with a few large trees. The trees have branches that stretch out, perfect for a treehouse. Along the road are giant fields of long, yellow grass that is blowing with the wind like wheat. The sun is barely setting through one of the trees, casting an orange haze on everything.
"It's hard to remember that places like this still exist," Jordan whispers.


One week ago...

"Jamey!" I hear Sky from outside my room. "Jamey! Get up!" she shakes my shoulder.
I moan and pull the sheets further over my head. "Get out, Skylar..."
"Nope," she rips the sheets away that are keeping my body warm.
"Hey!" I turn towards her. She is shakes my shoulder harder.
"Get up!" She extends the words.
"Okay, God," I swing my legs over the bed. "You are so annoying, you know that?"
"But you love me," she starts to leave the room. I grab my pillow and chuck it at her. It hits her in the back of the head and she is forced forward. She runs into Jordan who is coming out of the bathroom. They both fall over at impact.
I hold my hands up, as if there was a good field goal. "Killin' two birds with one stone!"
"That's big and filled with feathers," Sky gets up. She throws it back at me and I deflect it with my arm. "Jokes on you," I yell to her as she walks down the hallway. Jordan comes into the room and climbs up the ladder to her bunkbed. She leans her head over to me.
"Do you still have that book I wanted to read?"
"Yeah," I reach into the cubby right beside my bed and pull out a paperback book. I hand it to her.
"Thanks," she smiles. "Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes, by the way."
"Yes!" I leap out of bed. "My stomach has been eating itself since last night."
We are called into the kitchen by Mom's voice. Jordan leaps off of her bed and I race her to the meal. We get stuck at the doorframe, but I squeeze through and beat her to the table. Mom has her oven mitt on with a bowl of pancakes. A little trail of steam is rising from them.
"Thanks, Mom," I smile, taking a pancake and plopping it onto my plate.
"Don't thank me, Skylar made them," Mom sits down at the table, taking a pancake from the bottom.
"Thanks, Sky!" I take a bite and instantly melt. "And thanks for the chocolate chips..."
She smiles and takes a bite as well.
"Where's Dad?" Jordan asks with her mouth full.
"He isn't feeling good," Mom explains. "He's had a fever since last week."
Jordan and I exchange looks. "He hasn't gotten any better?"
Mom shakes her head. "No, but I am going to make him soup later for him to eat..."
The table is quiet for a moment. Then, Sky smiles. "Do you two want to play softball after breakfast?"
"Yeah!" I stuff a piece of pancake in my mouth.
"If you guys are going to play when school starts, then you better get good," she dips a pancake in syrup. "High school softball is a hard sport."
"We know," I roll my eyes with a smile.
"And especially for you guys since you both skipped fifth grade, so you're," she meets her index finger with her thumb and squints her eyes, "this big."
"We're 5'4"," Jordan raises an eyebrow.
"I'm just trying to make a point here," Sky shrugs.
"What point? You haven't made one of any value one yet."
There is coughing from the next room. It's a deep cough when yuckies are in your throat. Mom gets up, "Hold on, guys." She walks to the room.
The coughing stops after a few minutes. Mom runs out and gets her coat.
"Mom?" Sky asks, standing up. She doesn't reply. "Mom!"
"Your father isn't breathing," she panics. "J-just stay out of his room; I'm going to get the doctor." She opens the door and sprints out.
Everything freezes. It is so quiet a pin could drop and it would echo like a gunshot.
I try to swallow, but the lump is too big.
Jordan stands up, but Sky pushes her back down. "Don't go into his room."
She shakes her head.
"Um, can I go watch TV?" I try to change the subject.
"He can't be dead can he?" Jordan asks.
"Its just a small fever, he can't be," I answer.
Sky is in the other room, turning on the TV. I hear voices and then Sky calls us in. "Guys..."
We stand beside her to see the news on. There are bodies piled up beside hospitals.
"The hospitals are being overrun with patients that seem to be coming back alive," the news reporter reads. "There has been no confirmed report on if they are dangerous or not, but we have news that these patients had a very high fever before they were confirmed dead."
We all look at one another. "Sky," I whisper. "Close Dad's door..."
She nods and walks slowly. She grabs her softball bag that is just next to the door. She pulls out her best bat and inches towards his room. She reaches in and closes the door without any problem.
"What the hell is going on?" Jordan asks.
I slap her arm. "Don't swear."
Sky puts her bat down and listens to the news again. "Okay," the reporter says as she grasps her earpiece. "We have just heard that these people are highly dangerous and contagious. We have gotten a confirmation to kill the patients immediately."
"Oh, God..." Sky whispers, holding her hand up to her mouth.
The news goes back to the hospital. The bodies stay still, but the doors in the hospital are bursting open. Patients still in their blue robes spill out.
The three of us have our eyes wide. I didn't have to look at my sisters to know that their mouths were open like mine.
There is a zoom in on the patients. They have rough flesh, like their whole bodies are filled with scabs. They have empty eyes.
We hear groaning and pounding on the bedroom door.
Sky reaches for her baseball bat, but Jordan is quicker. She grabs the kitchen knife on the counter and angles it. The door bursts open and Jordan chucks the knife with her eyes closed. We hear the knife hit something, then a thump.
We all open our eyes to see Dad on the ground with blood pouring out of his head. I start to cry and I lean against the counter. My hands are over my mouth. The stench of death fills the house.
"Holy crap," Jordan pants. "Holy crap."
The news reporter is back on the screen. "We have gotten a confirmation. Everyone evacuate. Leave the towns and head to Atlanta, Florida."
"Why Atlanta?" Sky asks.
"There will be a set up of doctors and teams who will try and cure this new virus. All survivors are to come to Atlanta to stay away from the virus and stay isolated."
Sky turns off the TV. "We're not going."
"What?" Jordan wipes her eyes. "We need to."
"No, we don't."
"Jesus, Sky. Have you not been paying attention for the passed ten minutes?" I blink and tears fall down my cheeks. "There is a virus. We could die. We need to go to Atlanta to get away from it."
"Jamey," she looks into my eyes. "Its a giant city. Think about it. People will convince others they are not sick, then they will be allowed in. The virus will be infecting everyone in that city."
I take a deep breath. "Okay."
Sky grabs me and pulls me in for a hug. Jordan joins in, and its just the three of us holding each other. No one is making a sound; everything is quiet.
Sky releases her grasp and shakes her shoulders. "We need to bring Dad out of the house."
"But you could get infected," Jordan interjects.
"If I was infected, I would be dead by now," she tells us. "Dad has been sick for a few weeks, and none of us have gotten it."
Jordan is the first to go to Dad's body. She crouches down to examine him. "Good Lord," she plugs her nose. I see her eyes starting to water, but she keeps her voice steady. "So, the blood vessels are popped out more than before, and his skin is a grey-ish color."
"You're right," Sky stands beside her. "And look at his eyes," she points. "They are white, barely any pupils."
"Are you guys just going to ignore the fact that our own father is dead?" I shout.
They both look up at me. I turn away from them and open the door to leave. As I open the door, I see our small town just beyond the trees. There are cars that are screeching away. Some people are on the streets, stretching their hands out to the cars.
They're not people.
"Crap," I close the door. Actually, it was more like a slam.
Sky and Jordan's heads lift up. "What's wrong?"
"They're everywhere..." I take a breath.
"Okay, get Dad's legs," Sky orders.
I don't hesitate. This isn't Dad. I grab his left leg while Jordan grabs his right. I open the door and we drag him out. Blood is trailing behind his head. Sky throws his shoulders out and we let go of the feet. He falls off of the porch and onto the long grass.
"Okay, get inside," Sky holds the door open for us.
"Skylar! Jordan! Jamey!" we hear a voice from behind us. It's Mom. She is holding her arm while she runs away from the town. The dead people are following her, their groaning loud enough to echo.
"Mom, hurry up!" She nears the house, and I can see why she is holding her arm. Its bleeding... A lot.
She runs into the house and falls onto the floor. Sky locks it and turns around.
"Mom, what happened?" Jordan sits down to examine her as well.
"I was going to go see if Miranda was okay," she pants. "But she and her family had already left. On my way back, one of those things bit me."
"Bit you?" Sky bends down.
"Took a chunk out," she removes her hand.
Her arm is doused with blood, and there is a large chunk of her skin that is completely gone. I turn around and throw up in the sink.
"Jamey, are you okay?" Sky asks.
I hold up my hand and give her a thumbs up.
Mom starts coughing. "Skylar," she grabs Sky's shirt and brings her down. She whispers something in her ear, then lets go.
Sky nods, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Jordan, Jamey," she holds out her hand. I quickly take it. Jordan puts her hand on top of mine. "I love you two, more than anything."
I smile, but its a sad smile. I close my eyes. I feel the weight in my hand drop, and I open my eyes.
No movement. No breathing.
"Mom?" I ask.
"Jamey," Sky stands up.
"Mom?" my voice cracks.
Sky grabs me from under my arms and hoists me up. She pulls me away.
I start to sob.
"Jamey, I need you to listen to me," Sky looks into my eyes. "I need you to go and get your hiking bag and pack everything you need in there."
I open my mouth to speak.
"No if's, and's, or but's, okay?" she interrupts. "Go and get your stuff. Jordan, you go too."
She nods and runs into our room.
I swallow a large lump in my throat and follow. Jordan already has the two bags out of our closet by the time I get there. She is stuffing clothes into it.
"Don't forget your journal," she reminds me. She has hers in her hand. She slowly puts it in the smallest pocket.
I grab clothes from our closet and some shoes. I realize that I am just stuffing in stuff, not really organizing. I realize that I might need a weapon, so I grab my bow and arrow from above my bunk. I hang the quiver on top of my bag and put the bow on my shoulder.
"Get the sleeping bags," I tell her.
"Right," she runs into the other room and comes back in with her arms filled.
I grab my green sleeping bag and clip it in the hiking bag. I pull my pillow off of my bed. I also pack some pictures that are sitting on my desk. There is a framed portrait of the five of us. Another of Jordan and me. Finally, a picture of Sky, Jordan, and me, all sitting on the top of a giant tree.
"Jamey," Jordan is packing food from the kitchen. "You can't take everything with you!"
I am putting the family portrait into my bag. "I need this one!" I close the zipper. "It's of all of us!"
Jordan packs the rest of the items. "Fine," she sighs, "but that's it. Mom will be turning soon, and unless you want to put her down, I suggest you hurry up!"
I spin around the room. "I just need to get more food and Lily."
"You don't need your stuffed animal either," Jordan yells from down the hallway as she grabs more food.
"Yes I do!" Jordan comes back in with cans of corn and beans. "You have a sleeping bag and pillow, right?"
"In my orange bag," she spins around to show the bag. Her blue sleeping bag is attached.
"Okay," I make a mental checklist. "I have one, too," I think over everything we would need. "and we might need some cups and silverware."
"Jesus," Jordan groans, "hurry up."
"I'm trying, okay?" I snap. "I just want to get as many things as possible."
Suddenly, Sky bursts into the room. "I have an idea," she pants. "We have our RV, just over the big hill. You guys know where the park is, right?"
"Of course," I smile. "Do you think we could live in it?"
"It's worth a shot," Jordan says.
Sky nods and runs out of the room.
Jordan and I continue to pack for a few more minutes.
"We have everything we need," Jordan throws the bag over her shoulders. "Now, let's go!"
"Okay," I look around. "Just let me grab Lily." I grab my lamb stuffed animal and stuff it in my bag.
"Hurry!" Sky yells from the other room. "Mom is getting up!"
"Got it," I say as I put the backpack over my shoulder.
"Come on!" Jordan grabs my hand. She pulls me out of the house, but Sky isn't outside.
"Sky!" Jordan yells. "We're going outside!"
"Right behind you!" she runs out of my room with her own hiking bag. But as she ran around Mom, the dead parents raised her arm and grabbed her leg. Sky screamed as she fell over. I don't remember what happened, but there was blood. Lots of blood.
"Jordan! Jamey!" Sky screams.
"We're coming, Sky!" I yell. I can't loose her, too. "Hold on!"
"No, Jamey!" Jordan grabs my shoulder. "Stay back!" I continue to try to get through the door, but Jordan holds me back. "We can't help!"
"We need to try!" Jordan looses her grip on me and I run up the porch to the door.
"No! Stop!" Jordan yells.
"Sky!" I stop in my tracks.
"Jamey! Get back-" Jordan stops, "here..."
Our dead parent is devouring her own daughter. There is blood all over the room, and the only thing that was left of Sky was her anklet that was near the door.
Jordan grabs the anklet.
I can't speak. I can't even move. Skylar will never find the love of her life. She will never have a family of her own, like she always dreamed. She will never hold me when I am scared. Never play softball with me and Jordan, or sing to us at the campfire while we camp.
"Skylar!" I scream. I grab an arrow from the quiver on my bag and load it on my bow.
"No! Don't shoot!" Jordan grabs the bow.
I am fighting her to get it back.
Dead mom sees us, finally, and decides she doesn't want Sky anymore. She stands up.
Jordan lets go and runs out of the house. "Jamey! Get out of there!" I follow her. "Close the door!" I spin around the close the door.
"I got it!" I choke.
"Hurry!" Get to the trees!" Jordan runs. "We need shelter!"
"I-I'm coming!" I feel so clumsy. My legs are weak and my eyes are blurry.
No parents, no older sister, no home. Nowhere to go.
In my head, there are just memories playing over and over again of my sister, the best sister who has ever lived.
My brain plays an image of Sky comforting me when I was 6 and to when she comforted me just now.
"We need to go to the RV," I pant.
"What?" Jordan turns around.
"Its what Sky wanted," I don't wipe my tears. I let them fall uncontrollably. "Lets stay safe for Sky."