It was two days after I have gotten my things and it appears that the government has everything under control. But I couldn't rest, the bag mocked me, but I loved it! I am ashamed to admit it, but I spend over three hours taking out impossibly big items out of the bag and putting it back in. I found myself wanting to giggle like a little kid or school girl. I was, actually doing it...right now.
I smiled as I pulled out a fishing pole. Then I reached my hand in it, all the way to my armpit. I grabbed the first thing I touch. Putting it out, I felt my smile disappear, it was my new metal bat. Maybe I should go look at the disease's progress.
I sat down my bat next to my tent. Walking around my pile of clothes, stack of cans and first aid kit, I sat at the table with my laptop. Opening it up, I quickly went on the site I have been using. I gaped, my heart froze from fear. 25,347 confirmed, 1,203 unconfirmed patients and it's rising. They found some cases in other countries and my breathing quicken. I turned around, I started picking up my mess and tried to focus on that.
-x-x-x-
Looking out the window, I saw more police officer out then yesterday. I breathed in, okay, I still have money. I will go get more things and still away from other people. Sickly people. I grabbed my leather coat, wallet and combat boots, putting them on. I left, not before grabbing Eddie- I mean my bag. I didn't name hi-it, I didn't name my bag, okay?
Walking out the door-love the painting, very nice co-, I walked to the elevator. Pushing the button, I looked around. The hotel had very warm cozy colors, the reason I chose it. And the price is pretty cheap. I had paid for a couple weeks. I figured that I would enjoy the city a bit before looking for my friend. That was before I got interested in the new disease.
I really should have left to look for her, but I couldn't leave yet. I don't know why, but I stayed. I know I would regret it later, but I am curious and I just can't fucking leave. And that old man is staring too hard at my ass. Where did he come from?! I glared at him, he turned around. Great, he better not try anything. I huffed at him, I looked back at the elevator door as I heard a ding. Walking in, I pushed the button with a star. Leaning back on the wall, I started to think.
What should I get when I got to the store? Candy? Dried fruit? Tampons? Definitely that. Why do females eat chocolate when they are sad? Even I eat it when I am sad. I wonder how my mom is doing? What I was thinking again? Oh, right, shopping and when was the last time I watch Disney. I am gonna watch it when I get back. I miss watching it and cartoon network too. Yup, I am going to. The door opened, the man ran out. Huh, what's his problem?
-x
By the time, I got back, I was jumping as hell. I ran into five different people that tried to bite me. I knocked out all of them easily with a grimace. People are getting weirder. Luckily, I had no scratches from them, the leather stopped them. I hope none of them have any bad head injuries. I had hit them pretty bad.
I walked into my room and locked the door. Turning around, I looked around. I turned on the TV, a bright yellow Breaking News flashing. A monotonous voice started to speak," the government is asking you to go to the hospital if you have these symptoms..."
I dropped the remote, ignoring the voice. I ran to my laptop. My hands were shaking and I kept messing up, but I was back on the site. 89,379 confirmed, 2,367 unconfirmed in USA only. My hand started to pull on my hair. I breathed in, I grabbed my bag and took out my metal bat. I bounced on my feet, a crash was heard from outside. I turned to the window, opening it, I saw a car crash into another. I watched as someone stumbled out the car. Someone ran towards them, I ran to my hotel phone.
"Hello, what's your emergency?"
"I am in my hotel and I just saw someone crash their car in front of it."
"Okay, ma'am, what is happening?"
"Umm, one second." I looked out the wood." The man who was driving the car that caused the crash, he had stumbled out and..someone is helping him. I don't know about the other person and..I-I don't know wh-what to do."
"Calm down, ma'am. Help is on the way."
"O-Okay. I am just going to hang up now." I looked down, staring at the scene. I couldn't look away, no matter how hard I tried. I watched as someone helped them, watched as the ambulance came, watched as they took them away and watched as people came and go from the scene. I watched until I got so tired, I ended up falling asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow...with a pool of dread growing.
-x-x-x-
For the next week, I watched as the world around me slowly fell. It wasn't fast, it wasn't like one day everything was fine, the next it wasn't. No, it was pretty subtle. The police became more noticeable, more accidents happened, more people became sick. I looked back on the Internet, trying to find the earliest signs. The earliest one I think I found was in January. A child was the earliest one, I could find. All the symptoms were met and I cried. Cried as I read how the mother died not long after her baby. With the same disease. I sobbed as I watch the numbers grow and they became faster and faster.
583,437 confirmed patients and 84,378 unconfirmed patients in the USA only. I started to hyperventilate, I pulled on my hair and sobbed. I sobbed, knowing that they won't find any cure. It was spreading too fast, and soon they are going to panic too. And no one would believe me that it's going to end. Not by war, not by unnatural weather, no but by a disease that has no cure. I fell asleep, dreaming of fire, screams and a female with cold, dead blue eyes covered in blood.
-x-x-x-
I looked outside, it has been a week since my breakdown. And the country is out of control. The military was sent to the hospital, people were being sent there too. The chaos had begun five days ago, I was leaving the hotel when I had saved a family.
They had three kids and they were on top of a bus. How they got up there, I don't know. The people who are trying to get them climb over each. I had planned to use them as a distraction when I saw the toddler. She was crying, sobbing and I groaned. I could have left them, they were adults and teenagers, but she was a child, a baby. I still could've left them, like everyone else but I can't. Not a baby, I ran towards them with my metal bat high in the air.
Smash. Blood covered my body. I didn't stop, I kept going. Always aiming for the head. Because no human can get back up after getting their head bashed in. The father jumped on one of them, causing it's (it can't be hu-), head to hit the ground. Another grabbed his arm, leaving scratch marks. He punched it and I didn't watch as I was starting to be overwhelmed by the others. One tried to bite me, but my leather jacket made me enough time to knock them down. I stomped on it's head over and over. I swung my bat and it hit a thing that was behind me.
I was breathing heavily when I was watching the father helped his family down. I spun around and a loud crack came from the bat hitting a head. I looked at the father who nodded in my direction. "What are we going to do? They stole our car and we need to go home." The mother asked her husband.
I sighed, I walked calmly towards them (oh god, I am going to puk-), reaching into my pocket. The keys dangled a bit as I held them out to the father. He stared into my eyes, the mother gasped and she tried to deny them. But the father walked towards me, his hand covered mine as he nodded somberly. I jerked my head, gesturing them to follow me.
"We can't, Jason, she had re-"
"I don't want to either, but our kids, Bella." He grabbed the toddler, and started to follow me. I looked at the teenagers who staring at the bodies, who were torn between relief and puking. "Come now, before someone sets their eyes on us." The father told his kids.
I started to walk without them, knowing they would follow me if they want to know where the car is. Looking around, I felt numb a bit and I turned towards them. I nodded then starting to jog. The garage for the hotel wasn't that far. It was, actually just in front of us. I would have used the hotel's door to get in, but there were those things in front of it. I had to go around, I probably would have helped them if I had my car anyways.
I jumped over the pole and I lift up my bat. Smash. Smash. Smash. I looked back at them, the father was the only who had understand why. The others were horrified by my 'unnecessary' coldness towards the 'sickly'. I kept going, carefully watching my surroundings. The dark blue jeep sent relief through my body.(I don't want to be left behind, pleasedon'tlea-) I jogged to it, I gestured for them to hurry up.
Pointing at it, the father ran to it. He quickly started to unlock the car. The mother walked towards me, her teary blue eyes stared into my brown eyes. She made a choking sound and she flung herself at me. Hugging me, she started to say thank you for everything and maybe I can go with them. I shook my head.
"Why not, we can have someone hold Sarah and you-"
"If we crashed and she's not buckled in, she could get hurt." The words left my mouth before I could register it. The mother cried silently as she stared into my calm brown eyes (I am not, plea-). "Bella, we have to go." The father said, he nodded at me again. She had hugged me tightly, whispering thank you one last time.
I stared numbly as they pulled out(NO DON'TLEAVEME-). I felt my knees wobble as a sob tore through my throat. I ran towards the door to the hotel. As I was about to open it, I looked at my bloodied bat, I had to have room to really hit hard and I wouldn't have that kind of room. I grabbed Eddie, opening the bag, I reach my hand search for a machete. Feeling the cover of it, I latched on and pulled.
The black case (or is it cover?), seemed to bring fear, because with the bat, I could pretend that they are going to be okay. With the machete, I would have a better chance convincing myself that this is just a dream, a nightmare. The metal glinted a bit as I took off the case. I had cleaned off the bat with one of the coats from the others and put it back into Eddie.
I swing it back and forth getting used to it for a bit. I can do this, just run straight to the staircase, open the door and up I go. That's pretty easy, right? I opened the door fast and hit the first thing that moved. Luckily, it was just one of them, but the blood had splattered all over the wall. Somehow nothing got onto me.
-x-x-x-
I had made it to my room, I didn't even bother with locking the door. I just went into the bathroom and started to strip. I stared into the mirror, blood splatters covered me. Somehow they missed my face, but my hands were dripping with blood. I turned on the sink, the cold water left behind that one prickling feeling. I watch as the water swirled with a pinkish brown color.
Turning on the shower, I let my long hair down from its ponytail. Reaching into Eddie, I grabbed the only pair of scissors. They were those pretty tough scissors that curved a bit. I grabbed my long hair and I couldn't do it. I can't, it's-I just can't do it. I sniffed a bit, setting them down. I walked into the shower, the warm water felt amazing. I don't know how long I stood there in the shower. But later...I would wish I had stayed there just a bit more.
-x-x-x-
It was early in the morning when I heard the gun shots. It was six days after the military was sent to the hospital. I was still asleep, but I ran to the window like I wasn't just sleeping. Peeking out the curtains, I saw Policemen, SWAT, and some military people killing the others. They started to walk into buildings, I felt dread as I watch them kill people who weren't like the others. I felt something come up from me and ran to the bathroom, I had barely made it to the toilet.
After I got done puking, I ran around pick up all my things and stuff them into Eddie. I left out a tiny pocket knife and used it to cut the fabric that was underneath the bed. I threw my bag inside the opening I made. I heard the gunshots and shouting coming closer. I looked at the door. Running to it, I unlocked the latch and ran back. I had barely fitted in, if the bed was any lower, I wouldn't have made.
I listened as they came closer and closer. I waited for them, holding my breath. I start to cry silently as I heard them coming from the hallway. As the door got busted in, I flinched and held my breath as if they could hear me over the loud gunshots and shouting.
A pair of black shoes move around, I breathed in sharply as the person stopped by the bed. Slowly, the man lowered himself down to the ground and I started to cry more. He flashed a light at me, his old aging brown eyes looked at me. I started to shake, he put a finger on his lips. "It's all clear in here!" He yelled out.
"Let's go, we don't have time." A cold hard voice said from the door. I stared wide eyed at the spot where the man used to be. The older man closed the door, I heard them walk away and start to hear them from the floor above. Hands started to shake, but I kept holding myself up.
I stayed there until I heard them go down the stairs. I stayed there as the sound of gunshots stopped, stayed there until I heard them, get called back. By the time, I got out of the bed, my arms ached from holding myself up. I looked outside, it was almost nighttime again.
I checked the T.V., I was surprised when it had turned on. It kept repeating a message. "Stay inside, didn't open the door. This is nationwide broadcast, we suggest you to go the hospital if you have these symptoms..." I started to channel the T.V., it was on every channel. I put out my laptop from Eddie and started to look around. I found a website that was for Atlanta, Georgia and surrounding cites. They were given safety locations, I stared at it. Memorize every single one...but I am not going. If one person has the disease, the whole place is fucked.
-x-x-x-
So much had happened since I landed here. Three weeks, I have seen people get sick, read everything I could. Watch as the new disease spread fast. Learned apparent that this had started earlier this year. That our world had been ending since the beginning of the year. I looked over the part of the city, I could see from the roof of the hotel.
I ate my peaches as I enjoy the view. It was beautiful in a twisted kind of way. I could see light coming from a highway, the street lights and helicopters. The streets were empty of life and I walked to the edge. Looking down, I thought about how easy it would be, one step and no more worries.
I snorted, I smiled bitterly knowing if I did that, I would hate myself in the afterlife. Drinking the juice from the peaches, I dropped the empty can. It landed with a loud clank. I waited for something, but nothing came. I walked away and started to go down the stairs. I grabbed my hand powered flashlight and start to wind it up.
The light caused a creepy effect, I felt my heart race. I know that blocked the entrance way to the staircase, but it's still creepy. I walked down silently, I kept stopping to look behind me. I know that there is nothing behind, but I have to be sure. After what happened with that man in the room today, it made me jumpy.
As I was walking into the room, I heard a huge exposition. I froze, what the hell?! I ran out the room and up the stairs. I tripped, but I wasn't hurt. I kept going, my heart beating fast and footsteps were loud and echo throughout the staircase. I couldn't see anything, I was just hoping I don't fall down. Because of that, I ran into the door. "Fuck! My nose!"
Opening the door, the first thing I saw was bright orange fire. I stand there, in shock. I started to cry, I fell on my knees, holding my head and I knew that it was truly going to end. With one thing repeating in my head...
I will not let this win, I will fucking survive!
A/N: I felt like I rushed this too much. A lot of time skipping, but she mostly had just panicked during that time. Her luck is pretty freaking great. And she never knew how close she was to death. I think the reason why zombie apocalypse happen so fast is because it's like that penny thing. Start off with one penny then the next double it and then double that number and again and again..until bam!
Next time: she leaves her hole and learns more about the others!