Hello everyone! Thank you again for reading through this far c: I'm excited to be getting into more action! Again, I'd still love any plot or character suggestions along with any comments on the story. I'd love to hear anything you guys have to say. Thanks for reading!
The next few days that passed only grew increasingly worse. A state of emergency had been called, the message being the only thing displayed on TV's anymore. Newscasters had stopped reporting by now. No one was keeping track of the multiple deaths. The last thing publicly reported only made things worse; whatever these killers were, they had been multiplying. One was shot and another appeared. Gunshots rang throughout the town during the day and during the night. Police, the SWAT team, and even members of the army were fighting the attackers. Even they couldn't neutralize the threat.
Still, no one knew what these things even were. They were more frequent in the city though one or two would wander into the suburbs. Despite the mayhem, the only one's I had seen were on the day I picked Jess up from school. The only fear we had came from the lack of civilization around us. No one dared to leave the safety of their home. Ty had called me a few times since then. There had been a few around her house, which her parents took out.
Bullets to their bodies didn't phase them. Only head shots took them down. They didn't seem to have any goal other than to just attack people. They wandered around the streets until someone showed up. Their attention would immediately be directed towards that person and would chase them until they were killed. Nothing made sense, and there had been no news from anyone to tell us what to do.
No one dared to leave their homes, knowing everyone risked being killed. Ty had called me a few times since then. There had been a few of the attackers around her house, which her parents took out. Only wounds to their head seemed to have any effect on them though, despite their lack of armor.
No one knew the intentions of the attackers. They mangled bodies, ripping them open, but no one could explain why they did it. That was probably the most frustrating part. Every person was just a sitting duck, waiting for these things to show up, but no one knew why it was happening. The deaths seemed pointless, as the attackers. They simply wandered around the streets until someone showed up. They looked more like failed robots with the way they moved rather than humans.
Our biggest struggle right now, however, wasn't these monstrous beings but a lack of food. We hadn't gone food shopping before all of this happened, never expecting a scenario where we'd have to be locked inside our house. The electricity still worked but a stove and microwave could do little without something to cook in them.
"We're not gonna last more than another two days," my mother said, walking out of the kitchen. "And that's if we eat sparingly."
"We'll figure it out," my dad retorted, staring off at the wall. He'd been surprisingly decent these past few days. He yelled often from being tense but being yelled at wasn't nearly as bad. These few days had actually been the more peaceful than ever.
"How do we get to the food store?" Jess asked, her voice small. We were all huddled in the living room, listening to static on radio stations and flipping through non existent TV channels.
"I said we'd figure it out." My dads voice rose, anger beginning to show in his tone. I wrapped an arm around Jess, kissing the top of her head. She was numb to my dad's yelling as well though I still didn't like her having to hear it.
A thump sounded from outside, causing all four of our heads to snap towards the source.
"Was that the kitchen?" My mother asked, panic in her voice.
"Outside," my dad corrected, rising slowly from his seat. He took a few hesitant steps into the kitchen, looking out the window over the sink. "Shit!" He called out, rushing down into the basement.
"What's going on?" The panic in my moms voice grew as she also stood from her seat, going into the kitchen herself. I followed her in, towing Jessica along by my side.
From the window, an entire group of the attackers had filed into our backyard from the woods, spilling into our neighbors yards. Jessica gasped, taking a few steps away from the kitchen. My eyes stayed locked on the group, trying to estimate how many there actually were. Twenty? Thirty? More than enough for our small house. More than I ever thought would be together at one time.
"Get upstairs!" Mom ordered, ushering Jess and I towards the stairs. Just as we did so, John reappeared from the basement, holding a loaded handgun. We only had one, solely for protection purposes. I didn't think we'd have enough ammunition for all of them, and my dad didn't have a perfect shot. My mom still pushed us towards the stairs. I grabbed onto Jessica's hand and led her upstairs, pulling her into our parents room, the only room with a lock on it.
I hated my parents room. There were multiple times in my past, and recent present, when I had been dragged in here. The thoughts made chills raise on my arms and a sick feeling in my stomach though I was also more distracted by the group of murderers outside my house to worry about a room.
I locked the door behind us and stood near the window. John stood on the back porch, firing off the handgun. The group just moved closer and closer to him though he didn't seem close to giving in. A few bodies hit the ground but not enough to lessen the threat any.
It was then an idea popped into my head. My dad was distracted for the first time in days. All sense of order had fallen, making practically anything possible.
"Hey Jess...why don't we leave?" I asked, my eyes still glued to the window.
"Leave? What are you talking about?" Her voice was shaky, clearly frightened by the situation.
"Yeah," I began, swallowing heavily and turning my head to look at her. "Dad's outside, distracted. If we get mom, we can get out to the car and go to Ty's before he notices." I didn't think mom would go willingly though if Jess and I both attempted to force her, she wouldn't put up much of a fight. She was weak and could easily be dragged out to the car. I would leave her behind if I wasn't afraid of John's reaction to the absence of his daughters.
"But what about those things out there? They're everywhere!"
"But only out back," I pointed out. "And the car is only feet from the house, we'll be behind locked doors again in seconds. It could work." Jess looked apprehensive, lowering her eyes and wrapping her arms around herself. For the first time in my life, escaping felt like a possibility. The authorities were far too busy dealing with this crisis to worry about any domestic problems. My dad wouldn't be able to do anything except come after us, and if we made it to Ty's, he wouldn't touch us.
"Do you trust me?" I asked her, lifting her chin slightly to look at me. She nodded, and I believed her despite her look of fear. "We can do this. We can get away from him and stay with Ty's family. Besides, they can protect us better than he can, you know that."
Jess nodded again, taking a while to respond. "If you think we'll be safe, then we can try. But we are taking mom, right?"
I nodded at her. "Of course. But she might not want to go at first. We'll just have to persuade her on the way that it'll be better for her. We don't have much time."
After some time of thinking it over, Jess started to look more sure of herself. She nodded once again.
"Alright.. so let's do it then."
I gave her a small smile before walking over to the bedroom door and opening it. I was stopped in my tracks by a figure standing in the doorway. Upon looking up, I saw my father, covered in the blood that had splattered back on him.
"You're gonna be doing what now?"
