OUR

DYING

WORLD

Introduction

This is a story set in the walking dead universe that takes place in the fictional city of Brainerd, Washington during the initial outbreak of the Wildfire Virus.

Each chapter will revolve around the five main characters: Nate, a charismatic highschool social studies teacher who hopes to have kids of his own soon. Claire, a socially awkward intern at the Hospital who struggles with her anxiety disorder. Jacob, a hot-blooded police officer who cares more about his two little sisters than anything in the world. Riley, a standoffish, pessimistic drug dealer who has spent her entire life surviving on the streets. And Luke, a silver tongued, quick-witted conman with a criminal record and a violent past.

There won't be any characters from the walking dead in this story, only original characters.

Please, if you can, leave a review! They help keep me motivated to continue writing this little passion project of mine. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy reading!

Nate

A scream wakes Nate with a jolt. He sits upright in his bed with a gasp, sweat trickling down his back. He blinks and looks around the dark bedroom while the scream echoes in his mind, gently drifting off, until only silence remains. Was it a real scream? Nate looks down at his wife beside him. The moonlight shining through the window casts her red hair in a pale blue glow. If it was real, she slept right through it. It must've just been in my head. A phantom scream.

The cat clock on the wall is staring down at him with wide, cartoonish eyes and a mischievous grin. 5:10 AM. I needed to wake up soon anyway. Nate rubs his eyes and shifts his weight, swinging his legs off the bed and landing his feet on the soft carpet, moving slowly and quietly so as not to wake Jenny. Nate's mastered the art of silently maneuvering his way out of bed.

Once he's in the bathroom, Nate makes sure to close the door behind him before flipping on the light. Facing himself in the mirror, Nate leans in and rubs the gunk out from his eyes. He then grips his belly and gives it a jiggle. I'm gaining weight. Having spent most of his life in relatively good shape, it's strange having love handles and a round belly. He steps on the scale and sees that he weighs in at 214 lbs. I'm growing a dad bod and I'm not even a dad yet...

As he brushes his teeth, he glances down at the trash and sees the remains of several negative pregnancy tests. In his mind he hears Jenny's voice say "It'll happen, Hun. Sometimes it takes a while. It took your cousin Marlene six months to get pregnant." They've been trying for nearly two months, since July 4th when they agreed they were ready. It's now August 26th. They had a few false alarms, but so far no luck. Last week Nate brought up the idea of seeing a doctor, but Jenny shot it down. "We haven't been trying for that long, Nate. You're such a worry-wart." But it's not that Nate is worried, he would just feel a lot more comfortable knowing than not knowing. "If it doesn't happen by Halloween, then we'll see a doctor."

Nate flosses, uses the toilet, and then takes a shower to wrap up his morning bathroom routine, all the while thinking about the day he was about to have. It's the first day of school, the start of a new year. He's expected to show up at 7:30am, meet with the rest of the teachers and the principle, and then welcome each and every new student of his. Six periods times twenty-four students is one-hundred and forty-four new names and faces I have to memorize very quickly. Nate had learned that the faster you remember someone's name, the more they'll respect you. Forgetting a student's name after more than a week is unacceptable for Nate, who self-admittedly takes pride in being a teacher that is liked by most of the students he's had over his six years teaching Freshman Social Studies. Watching his students grow over four years and then graduate is a feeling Nate will always remember and cherish, and he's looked forward to raising a whole new group of fresh faces this year.

. . .

By 6:30, Nate is ready to go to work and is sitting in the kitchen with a cup of coffee, dressed in his wardrobe for the day, with a briefcase of all his paperwork sitting on his lap while he thumbs through news on his phone. There's nothing too unusual to read about at first, just your average politics. But then he finds a couple of strange reports from Seattle. There's a story about a birthday party in a park being interrupted by a crazy homeless man trying to attack them. One of the kids was bitten on the arm and had to be rushed to the hospital. The homeless man was never caught either. Then he reads a story about an old woman that was killed in her apartment, and by the time the cops arrived, they found the killer eating her. And what makes it even stranger is the killer was the old lady's son. The son tried to attack the cops, so they shot him dead.

Well, that's pretty crazy. Nate puts his phone in his pocket and finishes his coffee. Checking his watch, he stands up and stretches his back, raising his arms up into the air and yawning one last loud yawn. Alright, let's get this show on the road.

Before he can make it to the front door, he hears footsteps coming down the stairs, and he looks up to see Jenny, wrapped in her light blue fuzzy robe, sluggishly walking down toward him. "You're leaving already?" She asks.

"It's the first day, I really should be there as early as I can to help out." Nate replies, but he stops and waits for Jenny to come the rest of the way down the stairs and give him a hug. Her warmth is comforting, filling him with a sense of ease. Jenny kisses him on the cheek and gives his butt a squeeze. Nate shows his appreciation by kissing her back, dropping his briefcase to the floor and caressing the small of her back. It's a passionate kiss, one that hints at more to come when he returns. She's smiling when he breaks away, running her fingers through his hair.

"You nervous?" Jenny asks.

"Nah." Nate smirks. "I'm excited. Fresh faces. New year. First days are always fun."

"You're going to kill it." Jenny kisses him again.

Nate whispers in her ear in his most seductive tone, "There's coffee in the pot for you."

She groans with a smile and says, "I knew I married you for something. What time will you be home?"

"Oh, I'd say around five, maybe six. It'll be a longer day than normal."

"Well..." Jenny looks down for a moment, her fingers going still against his scalp, then she looks up into his eyes and says. "Have a good day, Mr. Warden. I'll have dinner ready when you get back, and after that..."

"I knock you up?"

"That'd be nice."

They laugh and give each other one last kiss.

. . .

Nate picks up his briefcase and heads out the front door, into the cool morning air. The sun is starting to come out now, lifting the dark gloom away. Birds are chirping in the trees across the street, and in the distance Nate can hear an ambulance's sirens racing down the highway. Most of Nate's neighbors must still be sleeping, their cars are all still parked in their driveways. Nate walks out to his car, a 2008 Grey Ford Fusion, and clicks the button on his keys to unlock it. Before climbing inside, he takes one last look at Jenny, standing in their doorway with her arms folded across her chest. He grins like a goof and gives her a wave goodbye, which she returns with a smile.

As Nate climbs into his car, he notices Jenny's expression change, her smile sinks and her brows furrow. Nate recognizes that look all too well, she looks worried about something, but she's not looking at him. She's staring past him, out across the street. Curious, Nate looks over his shoulder...

Across the street, their neighbor's front door is open...

Nate frowns. The Gainsleys never leave their door open like that. He looks back at Jenny, who is now walking down the driveway. When she reaches Nate's car, he cracks his door open as she says, "Their front door is wide open."

"Give them a call."

"My phone's in the kitchen."

Nate takes out his phone. "I'll do it... Maybe you should go inside, hun. Just in case..."

"In case what?"

"I don't know, in case there's a burglar in the neighborhood." Nate dials Joe's number and waits as it starts to ring. Jenny doesn't move, she remains where she is, watching the house across the street. The phone continues to ring... and ring... and ring...

"They're not picking up." Nate mutters.

"What do we do?" Jenny asks.

"I mean..." Nate grimaces and shrugs. "I could go over there and see if they're alright?"

Jenny shakes her head and glares at him. "No, I don't like that idea. I'll call the cops, you just go to work."

"Are you sure?"

"If someone broke in there and has a gun, I'm not letting you get yourself shot. I'll go inside, I'll lock the doors, and I'll call the police."

"Alright... I can stay a little longer and wait with you for the cops to show up." Nate says, opening his car door a little wider, but Jenny says, "No, Nate, you should go. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!" Jenny is already hurrying back to the front door.

Nate frowns, slowly closing the car door again. His heart is suddenly pounding as he watches Jenny close their front door and lock herself inside. A part of Nate still wants to stay and be with her and see how this all plays out. Joe and Helen Gainsley weren't really friends of theirs, but they were nice neighbors, kept to themselves mostly. Joe is ex-military, a private type of guy who hardly ever left the house, while Helen worked at the supermarket and would always smile and wave from her garden whenever she saw them. They didn't have kids, and neither of them seemed like they'd ever forget to shut their front door like this. Nate would like to believe that this is all just a misunderstanding, that they're both alright... but if things aren't alright, and if there really is a burglar or... (or cannibal?) in their neighborhood...

"It's probably nothing." Nate reassures himself as he plugs his keys into the ignition. The Gainsleys are probably fine. Jenny will be fine. She's safe inside. I don't need to stay... He tells himself this, yet he can't shake this feeling that he shouldn't leave. Even as the engine kicks on, there's hesitation keeping Nate from pulling out of their driveway. He stares into the rearview mirror, across the street at the open door... beyond which there is only darkness and no sign of life. Nate remembers the scream that woke him up... It was just a phantom scream... or was it?

Nate sighs, pulling out of their driveway in reverse. I'm being ridiculous. Focus. You're Mr. Warden, Social Studies teacher. Go to school and kick some butt. Jenny's got this handled. She'll text me once the cops show up and she'll fill me in on what happened. It's nothing to stress about.

. . .

About five minutes later, Nate's phone buzzes in his pocket while he is sitting at an intersection waiting for the light to turn green. He pulls out his phone quickly, and sees it's a text from Jenny. It reads: The cops are on their way. They said I did the right thing by calling them. I'm staying upstairs in the bedroom with the door locked, just for a bit of extra security lol. I'll watch what happens through the window and keep you filled in. Their front door is STILL open.

Nate writes back: OK. Let me know if someone does try and break in, I'll race back to save you.

She then texts back: OK, Superman. With a heart emoji.

. . .

Nate drives all the way to Brainerd High and is finding a parking space in front of the building when he receives another text from Jenny. The cops are here. They went inside their house and are looking around. Nate reads this and finishes parking before he texts back: "Good."

Turning off the car, he steps out and slips his keys into his pocket with his phone. He looks up at the highschool; a massive two-story T-Shaped building, with the front side being the widest part of the building. There's at least thirty windows facing the parking lot, and the school flag can be seen waving up above the entrance. I'm back... Nate smiles. I've missed being here. I never thought I'd be the type who would miss being at school in their thirties, but here we are. He walks onto the sidewalk, heading for the entrance on the left, looking around to see if there are any familiar faces in the area. He sees another fellow teacher walking up the sidewalk from behind him. Nate stops and waves. "Good morning!"

"If you say so." says Mr. Albert Montgomery with a scowl, glaring down at his feet and trudging along with a limp, leaning on his cane. He's eighty-four years old, and has been teaching Freshmen Math for six decades. His reputation as the crotchety curmudgeon of Brainerd High is accurate, yet despite being disliked by most of the student body, Nate has always liked him. When Nate first started teaching six years ago it was Mr. Montgomery (or Mr. Monty as the kids like to call him) who gave him pointers and sage advice. Not only that, but he was damn good at math, and Nate respected the old bastard for it.

"Did you have a good summer, Al?" Nate asks as he falls in beside him, walking slowly on purpose.

"Not really, no." Mr. Montgomery grumbles.

"I'm sorry to hear that..."

Mr. Monty glares up ahead without another word and doesn't even look at him. Nate is used to this behavior from him by now, it was just the way he is.

"Jenny and I are trying for a baby now." Nate says, trying again to make conversation.

"Congratulations." Mr. Monty replies flatly.

"Thanks. Yeah, we're trying. Um. How're your kids doing?"

"One just got divorced and the other is broke and dating a deadbeat pot smoker."

"Oh."

They reach a pair of front doors to the school, each built into a wall of glass and vertical purple beams of metal. Nate holds the closest door open for Mr. Montgomery, who just gives him a curt nod as he steps through and Nate follows. The main atrium of the school, a huge, wide-open area with black and white checkered tiled flooring and bright white lights filling the room, looks just the way it was the last time he was here, except for one thing: a giant banner hanging from the wall facing the doors that says: Welcome Back! beside the words is a cartoonish drawing of their school mascot, Billy the Bear. The walls are painted in yellow, blue, and green stripes of varying sizes, and up above there's a balcony looking out over the entire atrium. The stairway leading up to it lines both sides of the walls, curving upward. Beneath the balcony is the hallway that forks out to the three main sections of the school. Nate is used to this room being packed full of socializing students. It's where they would hold Homecoming dances and other seasonal events, and it had the most student traffic out of any part of the school, beside the actual hallways themselves. But the students haven't arrived yet, and judging by the lack of cars parked outside, only a handful of teachers have arrived so far.

"Nathan..."

Nate looks down at Mr. Monty, and thinks that this might be the first time the old man has called him by his first name and not 'Mr. Warden'. It takes Nate off guard. "What's up?"

"Did you... um..." Mr. Monty glares down at the floor and stops in his tracks. "On your way here, did you see anything strange?"

The Gainsley's open front door. "Um, no, not really. Why?"

"Never mind."

"Did you see something strange, Mr. Montgomery?"

"It's nothing. I'll see you later. Have a good day, Mr. Warden." and he limps off toward the hallway ahead. Nate sighs, watching him go, then he feels a vibration in his pocket and pulls out his phone. This time it's not a text, but a call from Jenny. He answers it, hoping to hear some good news.

"Hey Nate. So I just spoke to one of the cops."

"Oh yeah? What happened?"

"Well, apparently the Gainsleys aren't home. They searched the whole house and didn't find anyone. Their car is still parked in their driveway, and they even found their wallet and keys in the bedroom..."

"That's..."

"Yeah, I know."

"What did the cop say?"

"He said they're going to look for them, and that I should call if I see anything. The cop sounded irritated. I don't get it, how could they just disappear like that? I'm worried..."

"Yeah, I am too... I'm... I'm sure they're okay." Nate tries to sound convincing when he says this.

"I hope so but... I'm still worried... And I still need to drink my coffee and get ready for the day. Just wanted to keep you updated on what happened."

"I'm glad you're alright. I was worried." Nate admits, "I didn't like leaving you there alone."

"Oh, Nate. I can take care of myself. You know I could kick your ass, right?"

Nate grins. "Is that right?"

"Yup."

"You're probably right."

Jenny chuckles under her breath and asks, "Did you make it to work ok?"

"Yeah, and I should probably go. Got a teacher's meeting before the students get here. I'll call you later, ok?"

"Ok. Love you."

"Love you too."

. . .

Nate is sitting in the teacher's lounge amidst all of the other teachers, checking his watch as it's almost 7:30 but there's still quite a few teachers missing. Mr. Monty is sitting on his own in the front row while Nate sits in the middle between his two closest work friends, Mr. Wong the Science Teacher, and Mrs. Martinez the Language Arts teacher.

Tao Wong is younger than Nate, in his late twenties, with shoulder-length black hair, a mustache, and glasses. His nerdy persona was contrasted by the fact that he was actually very athletic, having killed it at last year's teachers volleyball game, beating the P.E. teachers at their own sport. He started teaching at Brainerd High a couple years after Nate, and the two of them hit it off instantly, bonding over their shared love of Star Wars and Lord of the Rings.

Angela Martinez is older than Nate, though not as old as Mr. Monty. She used to teach kindergarten, and it shows. She has a sweet nature about her, always giving out candy and compliments. Over the years she helped Nate learn how to speak a little bit of Spanish, which came in handy with how many students spoke it as well. Sometimes he'd catch his students talking smack about him in Spanish and he'd tell them "Ya Basta!" (Enough is enough!) and it would make them turn red with embarrassment while the rest of the class laughed.

As his watch ticks closer to 7:30, Nate catches up with Tao and Angela, discussing their summers and plans for the year. Tao shares that he took up surfing over the summer, while Angela shares that she was chosen to go on The Price is Right, but she didn't win anything. When Nate tells them he and Jenny are trying for a baby, their reactions are much better than Mr. Monty's had been, sincerely congratulating him and hoping for the best. "You're going to be a good dad, I can already tell." Angela says, squeezing his hand with a wide smile. "And when the time comes, if either of you need any help, give me a call. I've raised four kids so I know a few tricks."

"I'd appreciate that. We both would." Nate nods. "I admit, I'm a little nervous about it."

"That's normal."

"Yeah, I mean, I think I'll be a great father. I just... I'm worried about the expenses of it all. We don't make much doing this gig, and Jenny relies on commissions for her art online. We can barely afford groceries these days."

"You make it work." Angela tells him confidently. "There's ways to make it work."

"Yeah, man. It won't just be you and Jenny, you have friends and family that can help you out." Tao reassures him.

"And food stamps." Angela adds.

. . .

Principal Garett Moss walks into the lounge at 7:30, shaking hands and smiling at everyone. He's a short, blocky man with a receding hairline; some of the students call him Principal Penguin, due to his resemblance to the Batman villain. He moves up to the front of the lounge and faces all of them, clapping his hands together and grinning. "Welcome back, everyone! It's good to see all of you again! It looks like there's still quite a few of us missing. I got a few calls last night saying they're out sick, so it's going to be all-hands on deck today. I've contacted a few substitutes from other districts to come in and cover for them, so hopefully we won't have to combine any classes and overwhelm any of you. Now, I trust all of you have your lesson plans ready for the day-it should be an easy day, just introductions and such, and I trust all of you know what you're doing! I'd like to open the floor to anyone that would like to bring up any questions or concerns that you might have?"

"Yeah, actually. I do." Mr. Monty grumbles. "Have you seen what the CDC just published?"

"Pardon me?" The principle tilts his head, looking confused.

"The Center for Disease Control. Look on your phones, all of you. This pertains to everyone."

In unison, they all take out their phones. It doesn't take long for them to find what Mr. Monty is talking about, every major news outlet is reporting on it. The Wildfire Virus. The CDC has released an international disaster emergency response memorandum in regards to this virus. Nate tries to read it, but he's having a hard time wrapping his head around what it's talking about. "What the hell is the Wildfire Virus?" Tao asks out loud.

"Says what it is right there in the article." Mr. Monty grunts.

"Where? There's like a million paragraphs of information here?"

Nate finds the answer himself, but he can hardly believe what he's reading. "The virus... reanimates the deceased and causes them to violently lash out at whoever is nearby. They're... Wow... they're warning all health officials to disregard DNR for any patients, and... and to remove any patients that are not restored to life within sixty seconds down to the morgue. What the hell? This can't be real."

Before he can read anymore, Jenny's picture appears on his phone next to a phone symbol. She's calling again? Frowning, he raises his hand. "My, uh, my wife is calling and I should take this."

"Alright, alright, feel free to step out." Nate can sense a slight tinge of annoyance in the Principal's tone, but Nate doesn't care, his heart is racing again for some reason. Why is she calling again?

Nate stands up and hurries out of the lounge while the rest of the teachers continue to discuss the Wildfire Virus. Stepping out into the empty, long hallway lined with student lockers and classroom doors, Nate's head is spinning when he answers the phone.

"Nate!? Oh thank god, Nate, something's wrong!" Her voice sounds panicked. Terrified. It sends ice through his veins. He's never heard her sound like this before. "Nate, someone's trying to get inside! I think it's Joe! He's pounding at the door!"

"What?" Nate can hardly think straight as he tries to process this information.

"It's Joe Gainsley! I can see him through the window! He's trying to break into our house!"

. . .