It all happened in a single day: people going mad and biting everyone that was close to them. Not even animals were safe; I remember how mom shook me out of sleep, freaking out over people going crazy.
I remember how my dad was waiting for us outside with the car on and how he got bit in the shoulder by Aunty Tanisha from behind. He was being slowly ripped to shreds like paper.
.. I tried to save him. I did, but before I could, his head was chewed off his neck, and it dropped on the pavement. I would've passed out if not for mom grabbing my hand and making me run with her.
People—normal people—were just as desperate as us. Some just gave up and broke down where they were standing, while others ran for their lives. We also ran; we didn't know where to go, but we ran.
Just to get away from them. Some couldn't even escape properly; cars crashed around us, collapsing buildings, electric poles, and whatever else was in the way. The road was being dyed red, and the city was being set on fire because of all of the chaos that was happening.
I didn't look back and grabbed my remaining family and kept moving forward. I took them wherever I could to be away from them, to hide from them, but they found us every time.
We barely escaped every time. I distracted them while my family ran and when other people were being me for help. We didn't. We, or rather I, grabbed my family and got out of there as soon as the option presented itself until finally we found somewhere to hide; it was a clothing store, but it's guaranteed that they'll find us again.
Although, because of me, my family is safe. They certainly didn't show it. Mom avoided my eyes, and my little sister Lucy didn't even speak to me.
I had to do it; why can't they understand that? Didn't they see how dad ended up?!
I didn't voice my thoughts and just walked away to the corner of the room. All of a sudden, I heard their freaky sounds again. They found us again, and this time, there were even more before.
Just outside the shop's doors, but it seemed that they hadn't noticed us yet.
That's good; we gotta leave while we can. I went back to my family again; they were distant. "We have to leave, their outside."
Mom didn't waste a second and grabbed Lucy's hand. Lucy had a frown on her face the whole time. I led the way, and we managed to get out of the shop's backdoor.
We kept on moving from street to street. The chaos hadn't gone down at all since it started. Houses were being burned down, and the police had been trying, but they were somehow only making the situation worse by shooting the ones that were trying to run away from the zombies.
The police soon ran too; there were other people with firearms, but they ran as soon as there were more than five or more zombies at once.
I kept on dragging my family from building to building to hide again and again; we managed to get on by like that. Until some hours passed and our stomachs started growling. I went out alone, carrying a baseball bat. I went to houses and stores to gather as much as possible, but other people thought of that too.
So even in this situation, they fought over any meager amount of food they saw. Places like stores were being crowded by desperate and greedy people that only cared about themselves.
And soon the freaks got there too, and all the food they fought over was thrown to the floor as they were torn apart. I gathered what I could for my family and didn't stay long enough to get into fights with others and got back before those freaks got there.
I only gathered the things that people weren't that interested in, like some loafs of bread, some butter, etc. Thankfully, most people hadn't grown enough brain cells to realize that this was not the time for some iPhones. With what I gathered, we managed to get on by, but I realized that we can't keep on living like this for the rest of the day.
Either I'll get caught by the freaks or we'll starve to death. So I had to figure out something fast; it was very likely that people might've formed groups by now. So I decided to go and find one of them.
As I told mom, what I wanted to do. She grabbed my wrist and wasn't letting me go. I tried to convince her,
"Mom, I have too."
"NO! You don't!",
"What then? Where would we get food from? How are we supposed to fight against those freaks, mom? We can't just run from them forever. Some proper shelter would give us both food and protection. You have to understand, this is what's best for us."
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Mom went silent, and her grip on me loosened. "J-just be careful, okay?"
She reluctantly agreed.
"I will. Try not to leave the building until I come back, okay?" Without waiting for a response, I walked outside the door.
I decided to go to the nearby church. I have a hunch that people would've likely gathered there to group up together. I went there as fast as I could all while avoiding zombies, and when I got there, I saw some people standing beside a roadblock.
"Hey!" I waved at them, and they waved back. They seemed friendly to me, so I went to meet them.
"Are more people with you?"
"Yeah, lots",
"Can-",
"Group up with us? Yeah, that's fine with us, but you do have to help around."
"That's fine; I have a family. Can I bring them here too?"
"Yeah, just be careful to not get caught by the zombies."? People sure have adapted fast.
"I know." I went back and got my mom and sister.
Both of them were relieved to know that I found a base. Fortunately, the base was close by, so it didn't take long for us to get there. We were given some blankets, and they told us to stay beside the other people in the middle of the road.
Although it would've been preferable to sleep in a proper room, I can't really complain. We don't have to run anymore, but I have to guarantee that.
I went to the church itself to meet up with the leading figures here.
Along the way, people were being usual. Some were smoking and some were getting bandaged up; this morning was rough on all of us, but looking at the guards.
The guards that I met earlier were all jolly for some reason, swinging around their firearms as if it were a toy. They may have stolen them. Hopefully, it won't end too badly.
I went inside, and there were more injured people. It seemed that the people here turned the church into some sort of nursing center. I kept on walking inside till I met up with a middle-aged man named John Bennett.
He repeated what the guard had told me but then said that I should rest for today and that I could start tomorrow because most of the required work was already done; they must've had enough helping hands. It's not like I'm complaining.
After I was done with John. I decided I needed some friends. I'm not saying that I'm the outgoing type, but in this place, where I barely know anyone except my family.
Someone trustworthy would be highly valuable,
"What do you think you're doing?!" ,
"Helping someone after you pushed him." As I looked towards the southern roadblock, one of the guards was arguing with a middle-aged man and a ragged old man who was laying on the ground. The middle-aged man was helping him up.
No one was trying to stop the fight; some gathered around, and most didn't care. So I went myself,
"Well, maybe if he didn't look at me funny, I wouldn't have pushed him," the guard responded arrogantly.
"Are you a clown or something? Do you act this silly by yourself too?"
"You better watch your mouth, you little b-,"
"Easy now! There is no need to fight over something like this," I got in between them.
The middle-aged giant of a man got silent and just stared at me.
"Yeah, your right. Next time, keep a tighter lease on him," the man got angry and tried to confront the guard by getting close. I stopped him, and the guard started walking away.
"Listen, man, you don't have to do this. Don't listen to him." I pushed him back, and he calmed down a bit.
"They're just a bunch of punks! They pushed him for no reason," he started venting to me.
"I get you, man. The feeling of holding a gun must've gotten to their heads," he humped and started to walk away.
"So, I guess your new here too then?" I questioned him.
He stopped and looked at me. "Yeah, I came here because of the zombies."
"Me too, and I brought my family along with me," his mood lightened.
"Oh, I also brought my mom here as well. Did you meet up with John?"
"Yeah, I'm Simon, by the way."
"Mike, so did he tell you to be ready for work tomorrow?"
"Yes, he did. I wonder what type of work he was talking about anyway."
"Beats me, but probably Labor or looting."
We exchanged questions back and forth while the sun was setting.
At the end of the day, I had managed to secure myself and my family while also getting a friend or at least someone to talk to. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better than today.
I'm sure, I'm not the
only one who would want that.