September 23, 2013
Theodore's alive! I HAVE to start this entry with that, one of the happiest thoughts of the week. My baby brother's alive; we weren't too late. The medicine, I can't believe what was inside the package when I opened it last night. Tearing away the label and shredding through the paper, I was shocked to find a viscous liquid. "What good would this do?" That was all that went through my head at the time. It reminded me of water with maybe a drop of cough syrup in it. I wonder if it tastes that way. It weighs a heck of a lot more than water. Curious. It's weird, I've never seen anything like it before. I'm wondering if Theodore's supposed to drink it? And if so, how much? All of it? There were no instructions on the label, just a huge caution symbol with Theodore's name. I'm about to feed it to him; even if he isn't supposed to drink it, it's the best chance we have of ridding him of this dreaded illness. Even if there's a risk of it being lethal by ingestion, there's nothing else we can do. Best of luck, Theo; I love you.
*Half an hour later:
I've just forced my brother to swallow the heavy liquid, practically having to force it down his throat, I'm thinking it's a lot like Buckley's; it tastes awful, almost unbearable to get down your throat, but (and it better in this case) it works. Immediately after he gulped down the amount we gave him -a tablespoon- he fell asleep. At first, I'll admit, I thought he was dead and almost began crying before I noticed his stomach rising and falling. Feeling his head, I know that the fevers already gone down, he's getting better, even if only somewhat. This is a miracle medicine and I'm wondering if I should give Alvin some. Just because it was prescribed to Theodore doesn't mean that Alvin can't use it. I'm starting to get scared of him; it's like he's become a different Munk overnight. He's tired and he's getting a little hostile. He constantly sweats and grips his knife like a child grips it's teddy bear. If it isn't just the pain getting to him, I think the first few symptoms, though not mention by the news reporter, are taking place. If this medicine can cure Theo of his inner virus, can it help Alvin's infection? If not, will my older brother become a corpse? A flesh-eating, monstrosity like all of the bodies outside? Will he die? Will I be the one tasked to put him down?! My brother's got the corpse virus...
"Simon," Brittany said, walking up to me from a still sleeping Alvin, "we have to do something about him. About his arm, he can barely lift it." So she senses something wrong too, but does she know? Does she know that he probably won't make it? I almost lost my little brother, the realization of losing my older one is no better… "His arm is killing him." That's certainly one way of putting it.
"Britt," I began. How can I word something like this? It's impossible, I have to just come out right and say it, "you know a corpse gave him that injury."
"Yeah, so?" She's eying my face, is she that far into denial? Or is she finally putting the pieces together? I draw her closer.
"How do you think the virus spread?!" I whispered sharply, "Alvin's infected! And it's only a matter of time until he turns." What am I saying? That's my brother! I'm treating him like he's already a goner! We don't one-hundred percent know for sure he's infected plus these "symptoms" come from more than a corpse infection. I know that animals in pain act this way, as do flu victims.
"Simon!" Brittany slapped me. Ow, does that hurt! It's like she practiced slapping a doll for a moment like this. "You can't say that! He won't die… He can't die…" I wish I could say that she meant what she said, but what were the odds? We have medicine that might not even work and who knows how fast the virus will take affect. Why am I thinking like this? I shouldn't, but the thought won't leave me. There's always a possibility…
"Stop talking like I'm not here." Alvin groaned, holding his arm. He sat up from his bed and staggered over to us, I wish he would conserve his strength, "I'll be fine. I feel fine." His eyes had dark bags under them and he looked exhausted. "Worst that happens is I turn." How is he handling this so well? He's acting like himself, always finding a bright side, trying to make things right when he knows there's something wrong, something that involves him. Of course either way he wins; if he dies or even turns, he gets out of this nightmare, if he lives, he has a chance for a second life and gets to be with his family. To live through an apocalypse- that sounds amazing, doesn't it? Not if you knew what horrors you had to go through.
"Stop thinking so pessimistically." Jeanette piped up, "If we think you'll be okay, then you will be." I can't help but smile right now. She's making me smile on such a horrible topic of conversation, my brother being a victim.
"Reality check, Jeanette," Alvin retorted, "Haven't you played any of the games or seen the movies?" Jeanette's shaking her head and I believe her, "Whenever you get bit or scratched, you turn. I'm gonna turn, nothing will change that, but I'm not going down just yet." Is this supposed to be some form of acceptance?
"You can't think so harsh." Jeanette squeaked back, "We're all a family, we live as one and we die as one, and the rest of us are not going to die. That means neither will you!" I'm only now noticing how fierce she can get when needed. Jeanette's furious, but her anger, it resembles more fear and desperation more than anything. Whatever it is, it's enough to calm Alvin down.
"Jeanette's right," Eleanor stating, grabbing her sisters and forcing them and Alvin into a group hug, careful of his arm, "We have to think more like a family. That's how we'll get through this." Do I have doubts? I'd be lying if I said I don't; scientifically, statistically, we're going to die. But I can't let this thought, this fact, get the others down. They think we can make it, I'm going to agree with them. I don't ever my brother to die, but deep down I know that the worst will come soon enough.
"Simon, you really reek." Alvin pointed out, lightening the mood. He's right, this corpse blood stinks worse than the corpses themselves. It's dry and probably stained my fur. "Can you step back a bit?"
"You're one to talk." I joked, acknowledging his infected arm, "You don't smell so great either. I'm only covered with the scent of death. You are the scent of death, the model of the fragrance." How are we turning this into a joke? I obliged to my brother's wish of stepping back and hopped up to the open window. I can't stop smiling at this now rare opportunity; it's only so often that we can even risk a laugh- wait… I think I saw something. I dropped to my belly and stuck my face out slightly. Looking out I can see something, it's so dark underneath the growing clouds. Tunnel vision took over, but so did a closer view. Corpses. Dozens of them, all headed this way, all limping in their own stupid way. For all I know they're glaring at me! Or maybe they just have some sort of sixth sense that tells them that fresh food is inside this one house. Either way, we're in trouble.
"Get down!" I hissed, diving off the window ledge and hitting the ground.
"What is it?" Alvin asked urgently.
"Corpses. About two dozen coming from the front." The numbers… The sheer amount of them was overwhelming. One was hard enough and we almost died by seven.
"How do they know where we are?" Jeanette wondered out loud. Thinking about it, there has to be some sort of explanation that I'm missing. Could it be me? Was the smell luring them here? But before, it protected me, didn't it? Why is it attracting them? They're close enough to be heard; moans are traveling through the walls of the house.
"Downstairs." Alvin demanded, "If we have to leave, the first floor gives us a better chance than jumping out a high window. Simon, grab Theodore." Following his orders, I'm using my body as a crutch for Theo, who is now just starting to stir. Now that we're downstairs on the first floor, the others are circling around us, a tiny wall of protection so we can escape… Why me? Any of the others are probably more useful in this world, why not save themselves if need be?
"We're a family." Jeanette said as if she can read my mind. I have no doubts, and I'm doing my best to hold back tears, but it's hard. I hold my breath, keeping quiet.
It's strange how an eerie silence can be louder than a firework at times. This is definitely one of those times. The moans are just taunting us as if to build fear among our group. The fear that makes us debate breathing. The fear that they feed off of. The fear that motivates them to attack. Between certain death a few feet away through the front glass window, I can hear moans coming from elsewhere. A thump on the drywall behind us… We're surrounded… With Theodore pushing against me, making me carry all his weight along with my tiny hammer, and the new-found fear of being surrounded by corpses, it pains me greatly to even inhale a breath.
A loud, hollow thud screams through my ears, and I think it came from the window that gives us a view of the front, the window past Brittany.
"Get ready to run." Alvin whispered. Another loud thud. A third and I can hear the window cracking. The moans have turned into hungry growls now, they know we're hear waiting, and the walls sound like they'll cave in any moment. I'm scared that none of us will survive the first wave of corpses. Theo doesn't stand a chance, none of us do. Alvin's pulling out his knife, though I don't know why he's even bothering. With his injury, I doubt he has enough strength to swing that thing. At this point I can see feint cracks in the walls; corpses can tear apart faster than they can move. The windows are cracked to the point where it'll shatter soon.
One more smack from a corpse hand made everything happen so quickly. The walls are being torn down like a construction/destruction ball and one by one, corpses are filing through the shattered window. Everything changed, I can't even see the others, I can only feel Theodore.
"Eek!" I hear Brittany's shriek, but I can't tell where it's coming from. Everyone is lost somewhere in the mob. Hesitating, I'm driven to drag Theo away, a clear shot through the broken walls, by a corpse reaching down for us. We're pushed into a small group of corpses, but even with Theo's excess weight, I break through the pairs of dead legs and out of the house. I think Theodore's awake now, he's fighting for me to let go.
"S-Simon?" He asked, "What's going on?" We scurry past another two corpses and I think we're blessed with miracles. I always have to say or think something in order to jinx it; in other words, we got chased, trapped between a solid fence and corpses. I don't know if they've noticed us, though. It's strange, they're two, maybe three feet away and yet they aren't diving down to us like the others. Theo isn't strong enough to climb and I'm not strong enough to carry him.
"Hang in there, Bro." I said, but I have no real hope, no belief that there's actually a way out. "Everything will be okay." I wish the last thing that my brother heard didn't have to be a lie, but I want him somewhat comforted. Somehow I can't see telling him that we're going to get eaten alive going so well.
Ting! I hear something, it sounds kind of like a bike bell.
"Hello?!" I shouted, "Help!" That's a stupid thing to do for something I know had to be my imagination. The corpses are peering down at us, whatever was second guessing them before is gone now.
"Hold on, fur ball, we're coming!" I'm really losing it. I'm hallucinating, so scared that I think I'm hearing a voice replying back to my cry. The voice sounds familiar, but before I can rethink about the mysterious voice, one of the corpses dove for us and I have my eyes closed, waiting for the worst to happen.
Ting! That strange sound again, only much much closer. Opening my eyes, I see the corpse lying face down in front of us, it's skull crushed. I look around and to my right I see a pair of stable, jean-covered legs. I'm slowly tilting my head up, thinking that eye contact will just make it angry.
"You okay, Fur ball?" I know that voice! I'm sure of it! "Where's everyone else?" I look up higher, noticing the football jacket, square face, and finally the blonde spiky hair. In his strong hands, he's carrying an aluminum
"Ryan?!" I questioned. Behind him, Xavier and Becca stood guard, almost begging for the corpses to come at them.
"Where are the others?" He asked. I snap my attention back at the house and now I feel horribly guilty. I left them in there… They could be gone and it would be my fault at least partially.
"We have to save them!" And without waiting, the next thing I know I'm scurrying back towards the horde. Getting through was easier than I thought it was going to be; the corpses seemed preoccupied.
Ting! Ryan's bat rang loudly as he beat every corpse in his way. Becca stayed behind with Theo, I hope she can take care of him. I can see my older brother guarding the chipettes with his knife, all of them cornered like me and Theo were two minutes ago.
"Alvin!" I screamed, running my through to him and the girls.
"Si, not that I'm not happy to see you or anything," He began, "but now you're trapped too." He panicked and I forced him to move back, sink closer to the corner with the chipettes. It's my turn to take guard, protect the ones who protected me. A corpse is reaching down, but I strike it with the mini hammer. "Double tap, Si!" Alvin urged. What does that mean? I hit the corpse again, which seemed like the right thing to do; it made my brother happy. Honestly I just guessed what to do. Mental note: Double tap means do it again. It's sad that I've never heard that term before. Not the time… "Why'd you come back?"
"I couldn't leave you." I replied.
"But what about Theo?" Eleanor wheezed, scurrying behind Brittany as three more corpses approached.
"He'll be okay." I reassured her, hearing another ting!
"What was that?" Alvin wondered.
"Our rescue team." I said and before I have to swing with the hammer again, Ryan came to our rescue, and for once I feel safe knowing that a bigger, stronger, living human is here.
"Come on!" He rushed us out of the house so fast I almost dropped the hammer. We've stopped running now that we're in the middle of the street. I can see Theo and Becca, finally we're reunited with them. I can hear thunder; a storm is coming, why aren't we moving?! "Climb up on my shoulders and in my pockets." Ryan ordered.
"Where are we going?" Jeanette asked.
"Back to school." He couldn't help but grin, could he? School... Teachers have always tried to drill into our heads that school is a safe place, but I don't think anything a school has is ready to take on the horde.