No one saw it coming, and absolutely no one was prepared. Teemo walked down the parking lot to the Narble & Bones. A music store located on the corner of a chain of stores and restaurants. Right next to N&B was a Chinese restaurant Teemo had never been to before. He considered if he should buy something for later that evening. He looked at the sky and noticed it had gotten considerably cloudier since he and his friend’s left Chess’s. That didn’t stop the Sun from cooking everyone who dared step into its light though. Luckily for Teemo, he actually enjoyed the heat, and he could feel a pleasant breeze on his scalp.

  Teemo entered N&B and was immediately recognized by the cashier. The counter was square shaped and sat a couple of paces in front of the entrance. Immediately to the left and right of the front entrance were shelves of magazines and books. To the left, right, and past the counter were tables and shelves of CDs, cassettes, and other various tools for playing music. The back of the store could be seen from the front entrance, where more books were laid, along with boomboxes, cassette players, and some pictures of famous music artists on the walls. The cashier waved at Teemo and called out, “What’s up Timothy?”

  Teemo responded as he reached the counter and fist-bumped the cashier, “Nothin’ much Ron y’all got the new release from Wednesday?”

  “You know it baby!” Ron pointed at the table to Teemo’s right, “Got it right in the front waitin’ on you! And...” he leaned in closer to Teemo and whispered, “You know, just for you, I can drop an employee discount on your purchase, plus with a few reward points that... ‘mysteriously...’ appeared in your account, you can cut 75% off.”

  “Aw you ain’t gotta do that for me man.”

  “Of course I do!” he exclaimed, “You are our most valuable patron after all!”

  Teemo laughed as he walked over to the table to search for the album, “Stop playin’ dawg.”

  “I’m dead serious bro! Just promise that when you make it big we’ll be the first to have your picture up on the wall!”

  Teemo laughed, “I got you bro.”

  “Yes sir!”

  Teemo looked on the table and the new album was the first object to catch his eye. He picked it up and flipped it over to read the back. Teemo looked around some more and considered buying the third installment of the book series on production he’d been reading. Right before he made a decision, he heard Ron talking to someone at the front door. Teemo turned around to see a man stumbling his way inside, holding his head like it was aching. Ron asked if he was alright and immediately after, the man crashed into the magazine shelf on his right. Multiple magazines fell to the floor as the man mumbled, “He-help.”

  Ron jumped from behind the counter to help the man. Another nearby customer came over to see what was wrong. Ron told the other person who’d come over to call 911. Ron tried helping him stand up just when a scream could be heard outside. The man in Ron’s arms spoke again, “I- I need-”

  Ron leaned in closer, “What? What is it?” he looked back at the other man, “Call 911 already man!”

  The other guy frantically pulled out his phone and scurried for the dial keys.

  The delirious man spoke again, “I need- I- I spread!” he suddenly shouted and grabbed Ron by his throat. The man with his phone jumped and ended up dropping his phone. The delirious man screeched and tackled Ron, choking him. Ron tried to fight back but to no avail. Teemo rushed in and kicked the man square in his face, sending him flying backwards outside. Everyone in the store rushed over to the front now. Teemo kneeled down next to Ron to check on him. Ron rubbed his throat and confirmed he was okay.

  Right after, the man jumped through the doorway again. He scaled over Ron and attacked another person standing in the crowd. They tried to stop him but just before anyone could react, the man dug his teeth into the person’s neck and ripped the flesh off.

  “What the-” Teemo shouted but the man didn’t stop. He immediately jumped to the next person and bit them in their arm. Everyone began panicking and running away. Teemo picked up Ron and tried to carry him out of the store. Just when he got Ron up, Ron was suddenly swept from Teemo’s grasp. Teemo turned around and the man who’d been bitten in the neck was dragging Ron by his ankle. Ron yelled and tried to kick him, but he only grabbed that leg too. The screams and shouts echoed throughout the store. Teemo looked around and every person who’d been bitten chased after someone else. CDs and books crashed to the floor. Entire tables and chairs flipped over. Teemo’s mind raced, his body froze, unsure of what to do. He looked back down and Ron was still trying to fight off the man on top of him. Teemo looked behind him, he was right next to the exit. He looked at Ron, still struggling. If he stayed to help, he’d be in danger too. He looked back at the exit. Back at Ron. The screams throughout the store still going. Teemo’s blood pumped. He made a decision. Teemo dashed out of the exit and didn’t look back.

  He didn’t know where to run, but he decided to find somewhere safe and call the police. As he ran, he heard the loud screeching of tires suddenly coming to a stop. He looked to the road on the right of the parking lot and a car crashed into the back of another. More cars swerved trying to avoid them and ended up crashing too. A scream came from his left. Teemo turned towards the scream. A horde of people were scrambling around the parking lot, running out of different stores, running to others, running to cars, running anywhere. His eyes naturally began to coast along the horizon. Cars sped down the road, he could hear more crashes on the highway just behind the road. What was this? He chose to run. But he had nowhere to go.

  Almost instinctively, he felt the need to turn around. A horde of erratic people were charging at him from the direction of the car crash. Their arms swung about towards him. Their faces twisting and jaws munching in every which direction. Teemo’s blood pumped again. His legs fired up and he sprinted away as hard as he could. He ran through the frantic parking lot. Hurdling over still bodies lying on the pavement. Juking around people who suddenly reached for him. Teemo ran harder than he ever had before. He ran like his life depended on it, because it did. The horde chasing him only grew in size. He ran until an empty restaurant caught his eye. Teemo charged inside, ramming through the door so fast the glass cracked. The restaurant was small, and he was able to locate a restroom at the very back. There was almost no time between him running in then running to the restroom. He had no idea how close the horde was behind him, but every second he wasted, they only got closer. He made it to the restroom in the blink of an eye and pushed open the door. There were three stalls. He immediately chose the furthest one and hid inside.

  Teemo locked the stall door and stepped onto the toilet seat to hide himself better. He tried to stay quiet but his chest ached and his lungs screamed for air. He desperately tried to control his gasping but it wasn’t getting any quieter. After what felt like an eternity, Teemo realized he forgot to lock the door to the bathroom. His chest only pounded harder. Should he risk getting up to lock it, or should he stay put and hope they didn’t come in? He pondered. But he fretted for nothing because he didn’t get to choose. He heard the creak of the bathroom door opening. There were low snarls coming from the entrance. Teemo covered his mouth and tried to breathe through his nose as quietly as possible. He heard it gradually getting closer. Could he fight them? No, not all of them. Maybe one or two. Three if he was lucky. But he saw what happened to everyone else. All it took was a bite, and he was wearing a short sleeve shirt. He didn’t stand a chance. He couldn’t fight. He couldn’t run. And it looked like he wouldn’t be able to hide much longer.

  There was nothing Teemo could do to stop what was happening. A situation he couldn’t control. He needed to do what he always did when he found himself in a situation he felt cornered. He needed to mentally retreat. This would be the last time he’d have to picture himself in his happy place. He closed his eyes. He tuned out the ever-increasingly loud snarls. He pictured himself sitting in his room. He imagined sitting on the cold wood floors. He pictured his untidy bed behind him. He pictured the sunlight from the window beaming into his room, creating a light square on the floor. He imagined the aroma of fried chicken seeping into his room from the kitchen. He imagined the music he’d normally have playing off his laptop. He pictured his phone buzzing with his friend’s asking when he wanted to hang out next. He was so immersed he could actually feel the air vent on his ceiling blowing on his back. He could feel the floor. The snarls outside the stall were gone. Teemo moved his hand down and felt something cold and hard. It definitely wasn’t the toilet. No, it actually felt like wood. Is this really what people go through in a near-death experience? He thought, “Oh that’s right, I’m about to die.” This didn’t arise anxiety out of him though. Teemo felt at peace. His heart and his breathing was calm. He hadn’t even realized he didn’t smell the stench of the bathroom anymore. He smelled clean and fresh air. Maybe I’m already dead? He pondered. Death is weird.

  Teemo had a gut feeling to actually open his eyes. At this point, he didn’t care if a blood drenched, drooling maniac waited on the other side of the stall. He was fine now. He wanted to get it over with. His eyes opened and… he was in his room.

  Teemo blinked. He rapidly blinked. He wiped his eyes and slapped his face. No, this wasn’t an illusion. He ran his hand across the floor, it was real. His bed was behind him, the same as he had left it. He shuffled the covers with his hands too. It was real. The sunlight pierced into the room through the window. He could feel the heat. It was real. He wondered if it had all been a dream. He pulled out his phone, there were two emergency alerts and multiple missed calls and unread text messages. The first alert mentioned “terrorist activity” and the second mentioned a “shelter-in-place.” He’d missed a call from his mom and messages from the group chat with Darnell and the others. The messages had all been flowing in at once then were suddenly cut off. “So it wasn’t a dream,” Teemo mumbled to himself. His mind blanked. He sat back down on the floor and just stared at the wall with his phone in his hand.

  Michael and Alicia stared at the emergency alerts on their phones. They had been peacefully studying in Michael’s room. They sat at a rectangular desk long enough for both of them to sit at. But instead of the textbooks, they looked at each other and back at the phones growing nervous. “A terrorist attack?” Alicia asked out loud.

  “I know as much as you do,” Michael answered back.

  Michael reached up to scratch his head. His fingers reached through the cardboard brown strands of hair that reached down to his face. His brown eyes were as lost as ever. “But… what is this?” As he asked, they both received a message from the group chat. It was Makayla. Michael and Alicia both texted back claiming they were okay.

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  “What are we supposed to do?” Alicia said.

  “Shelter-in-place like it said, I guess,” he retorted.

  Alicia stood up and looked out the window over Michael’s bed. The window faced the wall of another house. She tried to get a glimpse of the road in front of the house but failed. She studied Michael. He wasn’t skinny, but everything about him was underwhelming. He didn’t have any prominent features that signified strength or endurance. In the case they had to defend themselves, Michael was as helpless as her. “We have to shelter-in-place and I’m stuck with Michael?” she thought to herself.

  Michael read the incoming messages which suddenly halted. “Uh,” he began, “Vanessa, Darnell, Raj, Ryan, and Teemo haven’t answered their phones.”

  “What?” she exclaimed, rushing to her phone. She debated over whether she should try calling them. No, if they were in trouble, she could put them in even more danger. “I’m sure everything is fine.” she said, trying to calm herself, “Vanessa is with Darnell, Raj is with Makayla, and Teemo is… well he’s Teemo, he’ll be alright.”

  Just as she finished talking, the doorbell went off. They froze at the sound like deer in headlights. “Were you expecting someone?” Alicia asked Michael.

  “No…” he answered.

  The two ran out of the room in unison. Michael’s room was on the second floor. Immediately in front of his door was a tight hallway and a railing overhanging the front corridor, with a view of the front door. Alicia and Michael ran up to the railing to look at the front door. There were two glass panes on the door that allowed them to make out a single figure standing outside.

  The doorbell rang again. “I’ll get it!” Michael’s dad shouted from the living room. A stocky man came into view, Michael’s father, as he passed under the overhang, making his way to the door. “Who is it?” he shouted. Michael and Alicia watched with anticipation. Surely Michael’s father had seen the emergency alert, they both thought.

  There was no answer, just another ring of the doorbell. His father motioned behind him and whispered to Michael’s mother who was out of sight. Michael and Alicia could make out something about a pistol. Suddenly the figure outside began slamming its fists into the door. The sudden thrashing and banging startled everyone, “Trisha, hurry!” Michael’s dad shouted.

  In the next moment, a fist bursted through one of the glass panes and swung around. Alicia screamed at the sudden fright. The glass shards flew out at Michael’s dad who ducked down. The hand that had crashed through had a plethora of cuts from sticking through the glass and blood began to stream down it like a delta. The sight of the hand, undisturbed by the clearly grotesque wounds it had acquired, froze everyone. Alicia’s hands covered her mouth. The intruder’s hand fumbled around until it reached the door’s locks. Everyone immediately picked up on the scheme of the man outside but Michael’s father couldn’t stop it in time. It managed to unlock the door and it swung open. The man on the other side looked at Michael’s dad like a hyena eyeing it’s prey. His tongue hung out of a sinister smile and he laughed slowly. Michael’s mother came back just in time for four more men to suddenly appear, screeching and howling as they swarmed into the house. No one even had time to react before they tackled Michael’s parents to the floor. Michael screamed “No!” and bolted to the stairway but Alicia managed to grab his arm and stop him.

  “Stop!” she shouted at Michael.

  “I have to help them!” He tried to fight her off.

  The two struggled until they crashed on the floor. Michael fell in just the right place to stare directly into the eyes of the man who had punched through the glass. His hand was drenched in blood but he was unbothered. He just stood there smiling. Through the chaos of the fighting below them, he could hear the man giggle and lick his lips at Michael. Michael felt a primal fury explode within him. He shoved Alicia off of him and stood up to look over the railing at his parents again. The four men willingly released his parents, getting off of them and revealing their bodies. Michael’s father had multiple bite wounds on his neck, face, and arms. His body shook like he was having a seizure. He could only see his mother’s feet but they were shaking all the same. The four men looked up at Michael and smiled with teeth stained with his parent’s blood. Michael looked on in horror as the bodies of his parents fidgeted around until they became motionless. His entire body froze. He felt like a snake had coiled around his throat and all he could was quiver.

  All five of the men began charging to and up the stairs. Alicia managed to drag Michael away from the railing and into the bedroom without resistance. Alicia slammed the door, locked it, and began blocking the door with random objects.

  “Help me barricade it!” she shouted at him, but it was like talking to a mannequin. Michael just stood there, blankly staring into space. “Michael!” she screamed again and Michael jumped. He turned around to see her on one side of the desk. “Help me move this to the door!” she said.

  “Uh- oh.” Michael uttered as his wits returned to him.

  The two managed to lift the desk long enough to place it right in front of the door. They pushed it against the door to make sure there was no leeway. They stacked boxes, chairs, and even Michael’s mattress onto the door all while the people outside banged on it.

  “Now what do we do?” Alicia said.

  Makayla and Raj wondered the same thing when the emergency alerts took over their phones and the television. The two were at Makayla’s home. Makayla agreed to the task of teaching Raj how to cook a Spanish omelette. The stove burned away as they stared at the television in shock. Only a few moments ago were they goofing around and enjoying themselves. Makayla loved to tease Raj’s skinny physique, and this time she remarked that he should eat at least 3 Spanish omelettes every morning so he doesn’t starve to death. Raj didn’t mind, in fact, he loved bantering back and forth with Makayla. They never got physical, but sometimes Makayla would rub her knuckle into Raj’s smooth and black hair and Raj would flip her hair over her face. Makayla and Raj made a deal that Raj would eat all the omelettes if she ate one of his Pakistani family dishes. The heat from the stove and their playfulness started to make Makayla sweat and she ended up turning on the A/C. Raj wasn’t as bothered by the heat by his nearly hairless skin. Raj’s skin and face were so smooth, there was a running joke among the group of friends that he was “if butter grew legs and started walking.” The kitchen was only separated from the living room by a bar, so they could see the TV from the kitchen. On the screen was a display of chaos and madness. Curious, Raj walked around the bar into the living room and turned up the TV. A news helicopter broadcasted an upturned city with people scrambling around roads, stores, parks and more, like ants. Fires, explosions, accidents, and break-ins were painted all over the city.

  “What… is… happening?” Raj mumbled.

  “Hmm?” Makayla went from the kitchen.

  “Makayla, you might want to see this…”

  Makayla turned around from the stove and looked at the TV. Her eyes narrowed. She could see it clearly, but the disbelief urged her to get closer. She walked up beside Raj and watched in horror as the events on the screen unfolded.

  “Oh my god…” she went.

  Then the emergency alerts went off. The alerts went off on their phones and blocked the screen of the TV. The two shut them off as fast as they could. Before putting her phone down she went into the group chat to confirm everyone else had gotten the alert. Michael and Alicia confirmed, then Illyana, then Tristan. Makayla ran into the window next to the TV and lifted one of the blinds to see outside. So far, nothing was occurring in their neighborhood.

  “Okay, I don’t see anything, maybe we’re safe,” Makayla said.

  “Maybe we’re safe?” Raj mocked her with a raised eyebrow.

  She walked back over to him, “Yeah you know how the media likes to blow things out of proportion.”

  “Makayla! Look!” he pointed at the TV screen, “The city is on fire! P- people are eating each other!”

  Makayla didn’t believe the last part and circled back around to the TV. Surely enough, Raj wasn’t misinterpreting anything. It was very visible that hordes of people were attacking others and then leaving them. The people who were attacked quickly joined the fright.

  “This is the freaking apocalypse man!” Raj screamed as his hands held his head, “It’s not here now but it will be!”

  “Oh my God, oh my God!” Makayla started panicking, pacing around and ranting in spanish. Raj looked at her like she was crazy and could barely make out words like “stupid,” “house,” and he could swear he heard “dance.” Makayla suddenly stopped and shouted, “Raj! Turn off everything!” then ran into the kitchen and shut off the stove.

  Raj scurried for the TV remote and cut it off before Makayla started turning off all of the lights where sunlight didn’t reach. Makayla kept busying herself while Raj tried to keep up with her. He ran into the kitchen and saw her with a flashlight looking through the pantry. “Oh my God how long will this last us?” she whispered to herself.

  “Your family always has more than enough food anyway,” Raj reassured her.

  “That’s because those niños have appetites like black holes- AAHH!” Makayla suddenly screamed out, scaring Raj.

  “What, what is it?” he yelled, he had his hands ready to catch or to run.

  Makayla turned to him, “They’re still at the daycare!” she bolted past Raj and almost knocked him over in the process. Raj ran after her, inquiring, “Who? Your little brothers and sister?”

  “Yes!” she shouted as she threw on her sneakers that she left at the front door. Raj caught up and grabbed Makayla by her shoulders and faced her towards him. Raj looked Makayla in the eye and asserted, “Makayla, you can’t go out there! That’s suicide!”

  Makayla only got even more fired up and violently shook him off. Raj could see the flames in her eyes as she only got even more furious. Her voice shifted to aggressive and threatening. “You do not tell me what I can and can’t do for my family!” Makayla shot at Raj with some of her Spanish accent breaking through. Raj backed off almost instinctively. He’d only witnessed Makayla get like this a handful of times in the years he’d known her, but it was terrifying every time. She continued as she tied her shoes, “I don’t care if it’s the army, la muertas, or el diablo! I will not leave them on their own!”

  She finished her sentence before swinging the front door open and running outside. Raj stood perplexed about what to do. He watched her run to and across the street. His foot started tapping as he looked back and forth between Makayla and the living room. “Screw it,” he thought and took off running after her.