- The End as we Know It -

- Chapter 1 - Bad Memories - Alex Galea -


I looked up from my book to see that the enormous line-up I was in had shortened marginally. I picked myself up and took a step or two forward. It was hard for me to concentrate on a book over all the thoughts inside my head, and the moaning mixed with crying, machine gun fire, and the occasional scream of terror did not help the matter. I looked outside one of our Libraries large windows where there were a couple armored trucks labeled "S.W.A.T.", protecting us from the what seemed to be never ending stream of the living dead. Every now and then there would be a pause in the shooting and moaning when the swarms of them were momentarily diminished, but it always began again.

The specific library I was in looked particularly large when browsing for books alone, but in our current situation it looked anything but big. There were children and their parents lining the isles wearing everything from pajamas to suits. The back was covered with drywall without any windows and a couple emergency exit doors and the roof was fairly high, about 15 feet and there was a large skylight in the center. There were windows lining the libraries front side overlooking my son's high school and a parking lot. This is where the police were making their stand against the living dead. They were shooting over their truck doors and resting inside them. Whenever a zombie came into their range, the head would be immediately blown off. I found it strange why they would not simple aim for the torso, but it dawned on me how in Alex's the movies zombies could only be killed by destroying the brain. It was always exciting when someone had to come in. The army would open the front door and cover the people as they scrambled from their car to safety.

I thought to myself about how I got here. My seven year old daughter Rosaline had no clue what was happening and I could not find the right way to explain it to her. I thought of saying, "the dead are coming back to life and eating people", but it did not seem a fitting statement for a seven year old. My three dogs presented a problem too. I could not simply leave them behind; they were a part of our family. I decided to take them with us and hope for the best. The few valuables we took along were only what Alex had recommended; some food and a couple toys to keep Rosaline entertained. I loaded everything into the car and took off.

My daughter than came up behind me and tapped me on the shoulder, inquiring in a childish voice when it would be our turn. I reassured her that she would be able to talk with her daddy and big brother soon. She accepted my reply with a somewhat satisfied "okay" and dove back into her book, "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe".

I began wondering about my husband and son were doing now. I had received calls from them both, prior to me arriving here. My son Alex had called me from his friend's house expressing his longing to see us, but assured me that he was safe enough. Luckily, the house he was at belonged to Justin, and was loaded with guns and various other killing weapons. I had never actually liked the fact that Justin had so many guns, until now. It was from him that I found out where I should go and just how urgent it was. Alex also informed me that He would stay connected to msn so try and get on as soon as you reach the library. I agreed, knowing that it would be wise to save my cell phone battery for an emergency.

Immediately after hanging up the phone I set off. During the adventure of driving to our library I had came close to vomiting from the gruesome images that I had been exposed to. I raced down our street, catching glimpses of neighbors running around like idiots with zombie-like creatures staggering towards them like elderly cats after a rather tasty mouse. Our minivan turned the corner to another chaotic scene; I was so busy telling Rosaline to play with her gameboy and not to look up that I had no time to swerve. The boy's head had been ripped from his body leaving a trail of blood across the road before I even realized what was happening. I was too afraid to stop, but I did not feel like driving anymore. I listened to the loud beating of my heart, and did not even notice the ringing of my cell phone. Now, being a mom that has just killed a boy likely under five years of age, the conversation did not go over well. It consisted mainly of my taking my displeasure of the whole incident out on my poor husband. He assured me that it would be okay but I begged to differ. "He has no fucking head anymore!" I exclaimed into the phone, completely ignoring the fact that Rosaline was in the back. He managed to calm me down and ended the call by saying that he would meet us at the library as soon as he could.

I convinced myself that they were indeed alright; Alex was probably having some fun with his friends and I'm sure that my husband Chris was racing through the streets like he would in his favorite video game, "Driver". I suddenly noticed that while I had been daydreaming I had moved up the line quite a bit. I was now only a couple of people away from being able to use the MSN messenger on one of the three available computers. I looked over at Rosaline to make sure that she was not getting into any trouble. She always had a nose for that sort of thing ever since she had been a little girl. I can still remember coming home one day to see her covered in wheat, sugar, and other baking supplies. She had received a cut to her arm in the process, but was tough about it and stuck out the pain without letting out a tear. She had always been good at holding back her emotions, but zombies were a totally different thing. Presently she was talking with another girl that looked to be a year or two older than her. I was thankful that my daughter had found someone to play with, I had no clue how long this crisis would last and a companion would be nice.

I beckoned her over as one of the computers opened up, the lady who had been using it burst into tears as she walked past me, I gave her my condolences and hoped to god that the news I received would be better.