We're All Going To Die

Today's song is We're All Going To Die by Malcolm Middleton.

Bella bounded down the stairs and out the front door. She didn't bother to lock the door knowing that in the coming days locks would do nothing to deter looters and she hoped that perhaps by leaving the house unlocked it might provide some unfortunate soul with a safe haven, at least of awhile.

Without looking back she jogged confidently toward her truck only to fall flat on her face as soon as she got to the driveway. Apparently her coordination was only present when fighting the undead.

"Freakin' figures," she grumbled as she picked herself up off the cement and tried her best to ignore the loud snorts of laughter that were coming from the direction of her ever concerned father and brother. Humbled she dusted herself off and walked toward the truck noticing on her way that Mrs. Cope's body had vanished.

Noticing her questioning look Charlie explained that he and Emmett had stashed the body back in her house to avoid attracting any more unsavories with the scent of freshly spilled blood. He and Emmett felt there was no imminent threat to the neighborhood as Mrs. Cope had apparently been bitten while on her business trip to Tucson but they felt no need to attract any more danger.

It was quickly decided that Bella would drive the truck with Alice while Charlie and Emmett switched off driving the Jeep. Charlie had been hesitant to leave his squad car behind, claiming it would help get them through any check points but had relented when Emmett had pointed out the off road features of the other cars. Charlie claimed he needed to stay with Emmett in case he needed to pick off any zombies along the way but Bella felt like perhaps neither of them felt like dealing with a hysterical Alice.

Alice had always been a temperamental child, prone to throwing tantrums whenever she didn't get her way. Their grandmother had always said it was because she had never know a mother's love but Emmett and Bella had always suspected that she was naturally just a brat. Bella had only been three when Renee died and Emmett five, yet other than being slightly more mischievous than the other children, they knew they never behaved like their sister. Alice was hyper, easily excitable, and quick to cry, quite unlike her older siblings.

Emmett had always been a natural athlete and big teddy bear, finding humor in all of life's situations he was never one to get angry and spent most of his time working out and playing with his buddies. He was an avid ladies man but never found the need to commit to anything as demonstrated by his rapidly changing job status. By far, Bella was the most serious and studious of the three.

While none of the Swan children would ever be considered stupid, Bella was a closet genius. She could remember the plot of almost every book ever read and had an encyclopedic knowledge of just about everything. Emmett had yet to find a topic about which his little sister could not at least state some sort of fact, no matter how random. While book smart, Bella was also a smart ass anomaly. Most people she encountered were surprised to find that she could razz with the best of them, had a comeback for every occasion, kept a small flask of schnapps in her purse, loved Jane Austen novels, and apparently had an obsession with zombies.

While she had raised hell when she was younger and had at one point almost been sent away to an all girl's school, a bad break up during college had sent her into a severe depression and a self induced seclusion for the past few years. None of her family knew all of the details each had a theory about what had happened and carried a modicum of guilt for the roles they felt they had played in the painful separation. What they didn't know was that Bella herself wasn't really aware of all of the reasons herself as she was too devastated at the time to demand answers from her former lover. It was a topic that was considered taboo within their household and only when she was feeling particularly ballsy and spiteful did Alice dare even hint at the reasons why her sister was alone.

Bella took a deep breath and tried to remain calm as she wrenched open the heavy metal door and was met by the distraught hysterics of her sister. Sure she had been in a similar state earlier that day after she had gotten her phone call from Ben but she had a good reason. Alice was just being painful.

She tried her best to focus on her breathing and ignore her sister's hiccupping sobs as she pulled carefully out of the driveway and toward the entrance of the interstate. They were already out past the mandatory seven o'clock curfew thanks to Alice's hysteria and Mrs. Cope's attempts at cannibalism and while Charlie's badge would get them past the patrols, it was crucial they get out before the military convoys arrived to cordon off the city.

After driving for a half hour, they had just successfully passed through the last security check points. At each one, Charlie flashed his badge fed the bored guards some cock and bull story about a hunting trip, before they waved them through without even checking on the girls in the truck for which Bella was thankful as Alice's tear stained face and pathetic cries would have been hard to explain.

They had just driven out of sight of the checkpoint when Alice chose that moment to begin wailing again, this time at maximum volume. "Oh my god!" she screamed as she turned toward Bella, snot running unchecked down her face and mascara streaming down making her look like a demented clown. "We're going to die! We're all going to die!"

Not only did she continue to chant on and on about their imminent demise, she made the unwise decision to latch on to Bella and began shaking her as she tried to drive the heavily loaded truck. That was the last straw. Stressed out, exhausted, and already on edge, Bella did something she had only ever fantasized about doing for the past twenty-two years. She drew her fist back and cold clocked Alice.

She felt a twinge of remorse when Alice slumped, unconscious, into her seat but that feeling of remorse was short lived as it was quickly replaced with satisfaction and relief when Bella felt the silence within the cab settle around her like a down comforter for the first time in what seemed like eternity.

She knew there was going to be hell to pay when Alice came to and Charlie found out what she had done but for now she enjoyed the peace and quiet and allowed herself to relax slightly for the first time since Ben's devastating phone call.

As the city lights faded behind them, the desert folded out before the headlights' of the two cars moving almost silently through the warm Arizona night toward the promise of a safe haven, free from the fear and death that would become so commonplace in the coming days.

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Yep I'm on a roll. I know this story as well as I know myself since it is centered around my own zombie survival plan as well as my own non-zombie experiences. Let me know how I'm doing so far!

XOXO,

Bellarella