The Loud Dead
Chapter 0.2Dad was dead. The family was shattered. Mom was scared and her hands rushed to the remote on the couch with my big sister Lori crying and sobbing her tears onto the shoulder of and shaking in fear. My sisters just stared at them and the dead body of what use to be our dad back and forth. I was feeling like I was in the middle again. This time I wanted to not be in the middle of this. I was in shock and I looked at mom of in hope to know what is going on. That she knew what was going on. She managed to grab the remote at the end of the couch and pointed it to the tv. She pressed her thumb on the power button of the remote to turn on the tv.
There was nothing but breaking news from News Channel 3 going on some loop with the same message. The message should have been something unreal and something that belongs on a dream. It was nothing but white words on a black screen telling it was an emergency while the eerie sound of the emergency broadcast system started to play. It wasn't the sound or how lifeless the station looked that got all of us in fear. It was what the whole situation was that got us all focused on the screen.
"The Dead Have Risen?" We all said that in union from reading those bright white words as my sisters all joined with me. Lori took a gasping like breath to stop her crying and to keep a cool head. Mom was more focused on those words than the rest of us. The screen was explaining that the dead have somehow came back to life and is now walking around and attacking the living in most states of America. I saw that all but had a look of worry and fear on us. Why did it happen? How could that have happened? "I told you Loud. Something is going on with this world." managed to speak out while mom looked still at bottom words that were showing which of the areas have been hit the most with the dead walking around. Most of us siblings looked up to mom while Lori managed to get a grip on her reality finally. What was the next step after knowing this?
Mom finally looked backed at us with the look of panic in her eyes. Mom managed to move past us and was heading to the dining room. "Kids, I want you all to get your stuff now. We have to leave now!". She didn't had to ask twice as we all quickly rushed to the stairs and start running up inside. I had to move and swerve away from the running sisters away while I reach, grab, and turn the knob and slams the door to get packing quick. Before I could even fill a baggage with my stuff I had to do at least something important. I needed to find that walkie talkie I use to always contact my best friend Clyde. He was my only other person I could look up to and who is alive. At least I hope and pray that he was.
I looked around and then turned around to the desk to see the radio was right there in my sight. It didn't take time for me to grab it and already have my thumb on the button on the side of the radio to contact him. "Clyde! Clyde! Are you there?". I letted go to wait for some response. Nothing came out. Not even a static. As I was opening my luggage to fill up all of my clothes and tried my hardest to keep it organized. I was too scared to even try to organizing my clothing in the big luggage of mine. Just as I was close to about reach for the zipper was then the voice of my only best friend appeared in the room by that walkie talkie. My whole reflexes on my hand reached to that walkie talkie faster than me having putted the clothes in my luggage. I pressed the button hard on my thumb and was almost screaming into it with fear in my voice. "Clyde! Clyde! You there?!" I was panicking and was just losing my mind as I was wanting an answer before my sisters got done with wanting to leave.
I finally got an answer back and I then knew it wasn't my mind tricking me. "Lincoln? You alright? Is Lori alright?!" It was a relief to know that he was ok in a disastrous time like this. I pressed the button and got to talk to him finally. "Me and Lori are ok but-" I had a hard time to say it. How could I say that my dad was dead? It happened minutes ago and we will still see that dead body as we walk out. I wasn't ready but I had no choice. I had to tell Clyde and accept it even if his death was too quick for us to grief over. "Dad was apparently one of them. Lori-" I choked again but I had to finish it off. "Lori killed dad before he could hurt her. Before he could hurt my mom and my sisters." I letted go of that button and was close to having the warm tears escape from my watery eyes.
Why did it happen? I just wanted to scream and wake up in the middle of the night and leave it off as some nightmare from eating too much sugar. It wasn't that. It was real. A real nightmare I'm living in. "Oh my gosh Lincoln, I don't know what to say! I'm so sorry. I wish I could had done something to help." It was helpful to hear Clyde talking to me while I managed to rub my arm on my teary eyes and sniff to keep myself from crying. I answered back to Clyde. "It's ok buddy. Where are you anyway? You protected in your house?" I waited and looked to see half of my sisters were packed and ready to leave the house while I waited patiently for Clyde to answer. I wanted to get him before we leave for whatever we was going to. "I'm running to your place. There is some of those sick people around. I'll explain at your place in a minute. Bye!" Wait he is out? Why wasn't his dad's with him? I didn't know if he had brought them along or not.
I held my bags handle with my other hand and rushed out of the door. I saw Lori come out of Lily's room with the little baby sister of ours being sound asleep throughout all of that ruckus we made from downstairs. I was lucky she was asleep. She shouldn't see our dead fathers brains on the floor and head split open as we would be walking down the steps. Me and Lori walked down where I still noticed she was shaken up from the incident but not as worse as before. I was glad that she was starting to be out of that state of fear and disbelief. I saw my terrified mom telling us to move it and head to the car. Again, she didn't had to tell us twice on anything because of today.
As I walked with Lori and had her go first with mom and Mr. Grouse behind my back I was somehow in shock to have a scent hit my nose. Fresh air. Why did that seem like a rare thing to me? It was only minutes of being inside of that nightmare house of ours and yet the air was something peaceful and calming. Like I haven't had it in years. I was losing my mind in just minutes knowing the dead was on the world.
I saw the back door opened with my sisters inside and having their stuff inside of the truck of "Vanzilla" that is, or was, dads' car from his family generations. I saw Lily was buckled into her little seat tightly by Lisa and Lori who was ready to go. I went to the trunk of the car and saw it was opened and having only one space left. It was meant for my last baggage and I slide it inside like a puzzle piece. The puzzle was completed as it fitted perfectly and the luggages from all of us have fitted perfectly. I grabbed the trunk door and slams down with force to keep it inside and tight to not let all of our items fling out. Just before I could even sigh I felt a warm soft hand touch my shoulder and my heart jumped harder than ever as I turned around in shear quick panic.
As I turned my head and body around in the same time I looked to see that it was only Clyde who got himself spooked along with me. Clyde was always my best friend and somebody I can count on for any situation. Throughout the years of growing up he was always by my side and having to have crazy smart child plans like me. We was the bestest of friends because of this. We still were. He was panting and reached into one of his back pockets to pull out his inhaler and took off the little cap and started to put it in his mouth and press the small tube to try to breath again. Clyde has peanut allergies, asthma, can eat certain foods according to his dad's'. He was well raised and had a somewhat normal life. Wait where are his dad's?
I thought about it in my head as I noticed that his two dad's wasn't with him. I looked at him after he got a chance to catch a breath. "Clyde, where is your dad's?" He looked at me and didn't have any look of worry. No traumatic expression on him. Just only that same smile that I always see on him. "My dad's had to sneak me out and told me to come here so they can distract the sick people." Sick people? Why would he call the dead sick people. I then had to speak up for him. "Clyde, those aren't sick people, those are the walking dead that was at your house. What will your dad's do?" He just patted my shoulder after I said that. "My dad's will be fine. They wanted me to go here since you all could protect me. They are tough. Yes I am worried but I know they will be fine. They got to be for me."
He said that whole sentence with confidence in him. It was amazing to see Clyde is still Clyde. His dad's adopted him years ago and took care of him and raised him as their own. He even got the last name from them. He was raised well like I was but minus having 10 sisters on your back and being the middle child. "You think we could meet up with them?" I said to Clyde as I was walking over to the side of the van while Clyde followed behind with him answering my question. "Yes but not at their house. We need to find someplace safe for me and then they will come." Just how many was there to make them fear for their own child to be home with them? I didn't want to do anything to upset Clyde so I just stayed quiet.
I managed to get in the open door and hop inside. Of course I got the soggy seat and I was sitting next to Lynn. She had on some of her protective gear on her arms and legs and having a baseball bat with her. "Smart thinking." I say to Lynn while I have made enough room for Clyde who hops inside and got to sit next to me. She looked back at me and nodded with a smile. "Thanks Lincoln. This is to attack any of the dead if they come at me." I laid my back and head against the seat and watched Clyde cleaning his black round rimmed glasses while he was trying to not look and cause a nosebleed on seeing Lori. Clyde has this crush on Lori. It is a big crush. He freaks out and goes 'Robot' or causes a nosebleed whenever he sees her. I didn't mind it but Lori was taken by Bobby, her boyfriend.
Lori I noticed was on her phone with her texting fingers on the screen tapping fast. I knew that meant she was texting Bobby right now as we speak. I looked out the window to see that mom and Mr. Grouse was talking. I overheard some of their conversations and managed to get the idea of what was going to happen. "You do know you could be with us right? We could go to the nearest shelter and bring you along." Mom said in a kind way to see if he wanted to tag along. Mr. Grouse however shook his head and still had that garden hoe of destruction. "That's nice of you Loud but I got my family to find in here and out there. I do wish you all luck and I'm sorry for today." He said with the look of determination in him. Mom nodded and they both embraced into a quick hug before he starts to do a walk-run away to wherever he was going. I wished him luck as well. Who knows what will happen next in this now crazed world.
In some sort of pure random shot of chance I managed to hear Lori gasp and reach over the driver seat before mom could even open the door and Lori was panicking. "Mom! Bobby just texted me! We need to head to downtown to Casagrande Apartment! Like right now!" This showed me that more was going to happen in this crazed world. Mom opened the door and sitted down on the driver seat with Leni being by the passenger seat with her tossing mom the keys. Mom caught the keys in a quick catch and putted it in the ignition and had the car start in seconds. I was praying to myself along with maybe everyone else in this van is that it won't die out in the middle of a group of the dead.
As mom was backing out and driving down to the right side of the road I too was starting to worry. Bobby not only lives at that apartment with his huge latina family but so does his little sister who was a bully turned friend to me. Ronnie Ann. She's eleven like me but she was tougher than any other girl. More tougher than even Lynn and she's a beast when it comes to sports. She used to pick on me and everyone in my school. She mostly picked me as her favorite target. She had loved watching my crushing humiliation defeat from all of her pranks. She was brutal when it came to that. She and I one day had to go into Bobby and Lori's date just so I could apologize. After some difficulty at that place we quickly developed into becoming friends. So I did want her safe. Nothing more but to keep my friend safe.
All I could do was just look around in the van. Clyde was by my side and Lynn on the other so I was protected in my mind. My bored tired messed up mind of today. I noticed that some of my sisters who were close to the windows was looking out. Why would they want to see the chaos? Lisa I can understand since this could be scientific and oddly satisfying to her high IQ brain. Maybe she could make a cure in one day with that head of hers. It would be over and she could reverse all of this. Lucy was another one I could understand on why she would see all of it. Death and destruction and blood. She's a spooky one for having to like that stuff. Despite it having to deal with dad being one of them, I do believe she has no emotions yet. She is only eight after all.
Lola though was surprising me. She too looked outside of our van by that window. She's the pretty pretty princess that always got her way and was more ladylike than any of us. Now she is seeing all death. All the possible gruesome stuff. I just wanted to hop over and shield her eyes. I wanted to say something. Why couldn't I? Was it my fear or was it my mind wasn't telling me to speak. All I could do was look at the windshield and have my eyes closed. My whole world was going blank as my eyes went to being closed. I just wanted sleep. I just wanted to wake up from this horror. No dead dad and no dead body and nothing about being afraid for Ronnie Ann. I just want the world back when my eyes open.
