Brink of Death
Chapter 3
Everyone at school was released early due to the quick spreading of the infection. I couldn't get the terrible image out of my head of the man trying to eat the woman. I mean, I heard about the Florida man, so surely this was just some old man on drugs, right?
Jake dropped me off at my home, and he and Jenny went inside with me.
My mom walked to the front door at my arrival, our dog by her side. His name is Boss, a huge 120lb pit bull with shortly cropped ears. His blue-gray fur ruffled at the sight of Jake, someone he wasn't used to.
"Mrs. Thompson, you have to get out of here," Jake said hurriedly. "This disease has come to our town." He brushed his shaggy blond hair out of his face, panic in his eyes. "We were there, it was terrifying."
Mom called Dad in, who had been in their room, polishing up his new rifle.
"What's up?" Dad said, taking off his hat and tossing it on the couch. He grabbed Boss's collar and hauled him away from the door, so the small space wasn't being taken up by a dog.
"Sir, you've got to get out of here. That infection has mutated, and they're turning the hosts into cannibals!" Jake stressed.
I led Jenny to my room, calling Boss over. Emily ran happily from her room to mine, her short dirty blonde hair in a cute little ponytail. She looked at me with her big brown eyes, filled with innocence and joy. Her sparkly ladybug shirt and black tights. I would never want her to see the things I've seen.
"Emily not now," I said apologetically. "Jenny and I have to talk." I gently pushed my 5 year old sister back to her room. "Stay in your room and play with your toys, Mommy and Daddy are busy."
"Okay!" Emily crowed gleefully, skipping to her room with a Barbie in her hand.
I crashed onto my bed, facing the ceiling. Jenny sat on the floor beside my bed, staring into nothing, it seemed.
"What are we gonna do?" I said. "This thing is spreading faster than light, and the news can't even seem to keep track of it."
"I don't know," Jenny sighed. "I just hope this isn't the way we go out." She stroked Boss's triangular ears, lost in her own mind.
"Victoria!" My dad called from the living room.
I huffed, and walked out. "What?"
"If this gets any worse, we're packing our necessities and leaving this hell house." Dad
"Well where are we going to go?" My mother asked, throwing her hands up in the air.
"I've been working on a bunker with some friends for about two years," Dad smirked. There was a joyful gleam in his milky-brown eyes, like he was so proud of himself. "When shit hits the fan, we'll evacuate there. It's about 30 miles out in the country."
Jake sighed. "My family has nowhere to go."
My dad told him to call his parents over, so they could discuss us settling in the bunker together.
They were here in about 10 minutes. Jenny and Jake's mom walked in, wearing her ridiculous cowgirl boots and camouflage hat. Their father was the same, boots and a shirt with a deer on it. This is why I hated the country, I thought, rolling my eyes.
"Jake you were supposed to drop off Victoria and then drive you and Jenny right back home!" His mother scolded. "It's too dangerous to linger out of home."
"Linda, we have an evacuation plan," Mom said. She led everyone to the couch to talk. I sat on the arm of the couch, checking my phone for news.
They discussed the bunker Dad had been building behind our backs. How it supposedly was able to hold up to 30 people, and had about 5 years worth of food already.
All of a sudden, Boss darted out of my room, his claws clanking on the wood floor. He stood at the back door, ears back, a growl deep in his throat.
"Go check that," Mom ordered me.
We lived in a trailer park, so it was common for people to be close, I mean we lived like 3 feet from each other, not including the small gardens some of them had.
I opened the door, blocking the dog with my leg. My heart seemed to stop. A man who seemed to once be in his late 20s, was lumbering to our back porch. We had a chain link fence going around halfway our house, but instead of jumping it like a burglar or going around it, he just walked into it. With a face as pale as the moon, and bloodshot eyes, the thing growled. Not like a dog, but like the kind of pathetic growls humans try to make for their own amusement.
"Dad..." I said, shutting the door. "I think you might need the rifle right now. And we need that bunker right now."
"What is it?" He questioned, going up to the door, rifle in hand. He opened the door just a crack, and the growl of the man was heard. He shut the door, turning back to face us. "I don't want to sound stupid or like I'm exaggerating, but that's a zombie if I've ever seen one. Which I haven't, but you know what I mean," He said, laughing to himself.
We all looked at him like he was crazy. He told Jenny's family to go home, get whatever they needed and come back here. He told me to grab my valuables, and tell Emily we were going on vacation.
At this point, I'm terrified.
Jake dropped me off at my home, and he and Jenny went inside with me.
My mom walked to the front door at my arrival, our dog by her side. His name is Boss, a huge 120lb pit bull with shortly cropped ears. His blue-gray fur ruffled at the sight of Jake, someone he wasn't used to.
"Mrs. Thompson, you have to get out of here," Jake said hurriedly. "This disease has come to our town." He brushed his shaggy blond hair out of his face, panic in his eyes. "We were there, it was terrifying."
Mom called Dad in, who had been in their room, polishing up his new rifle.
"What's up?" Dad said, taking off his hat and tossing it on the couch. He grabbed Boss's collar and hauled him away from the door, so the small space wasn't being taken up by a dog.
"Sir, you've got to get out of here. That infection has mutated, and they're turning the hosts into cannibals!" Jake stressed.
I led Jenny to my room, calling Boss over. Emily ran happily from her room to mine, her short dirty blonde hair in a cute little ponytail. She looked at me with her big brown eyes, filled with innocence and joy. Her sparkly ladybug shirt and black tights. I would never want her to see the things I've seen.
"Emily not now," I said apologetically. "Jenny and I have to talk." I gently pushed my 5 year old sister back to her room. "Stay in your room and play with your toys, Mommy and Daddy are busy."
"Okay!" Emily crowed gleefully, skipping to her room with a Barbie in her hand.
I crashed onto my bed, facing the ceiling. Jenny sat on the floor beside my bed, staring into nothing, it seemed.
"What are we gonna do?" I said. "This thing is spreading faster than light, and the news can't even seem to keep track of it."
"I don't know," Jenny sighed. "I just hope this isn't the way we go out." She stroked Boss's triangular ears, lost in her own mind.
"Victoria!" My dad called from the living room.
I huffed, and walked out. "What?"
"If this gets any worse, we're packing our necessities and leaving this hell house." Dad
"Well where are we going to go?" My mother asked, throwing her hands up in the air.
"I've been working on a bunker with some friends for about two years," Dad smirked. There was a joyful gleam in his milky-brown eyes, like he was so proud of himself. "When shit hits the fan, we'll evacuate there. It's about 30 miles out in the country."
Jake sighed. "My family has nowhere to go."
My dad told him to call his parents over, so they could discuss us settling in the bunker together.
They were here in about 10 minutes. Jenny and Jake's mom walked in, wearing her ridiculous cowgirl boots and camouflage hat. Their father was the same, boots and a shirt with a deer on it. This is why I hated the country, I thought, rolling my eyes.
"Jake you were supposed to drop off Victoria and then drive you and Jenny right back home!" His mother scolded. "It's too dangerous to linger out of home."
"Linda, we have an evacuation plan," Mom said. She led everyone to the couch to talk. I sat on the arm of the couch, checking my phone for news.
They discussed the bunker Dad had been building behind our backs. How it supposedly was able to hold up to 30 people, and had about 5 years worth of food already.
All of a sudden, Boss darted out of my room, his claws clanking on the wood floor. He stood at the back door, ears back, a growl deep in his throat.
"Go check that," Mom ordered me.
We lived in a trailer park, so it was common for people to be close, I mean we lived like 3 feet from each other, not including the small gardens some of them had.
I opened the door, blocking the dog with my leg. My heart seemed to stop. A man who seemed to once be in his late 20s, was lumbering to our back porch. We had a chain link fence going around halfway our house, but instead of jumping it like a burglar or going around it, he just walked into it. With a face as pale as the moon, and bloodshot eyes, the thing growled. Not like a dog, but like the kind of pathetic growls humans try to make for their own amusement.
"Dad..." I said, shutting the door. "I think you might need the rifle right now. And we need that bunker right now."
"What is it?" He questioned, going up to the door, rifle in hand. He opened the door just a crack, and the growl of the man was heard. He shut the door, turning back to face us. "I don't want to sound stupid or like I'm exaggerating, but that's a zombie if I've ever seen one. Which I haven't, but you know what I mean," He said, laughing to himself.
We all looked at him like he was crazy. He told Jenny's family to go home, get whatever they needed and come back here. He told me to grab my valuables, and tell Emily we were going on vacation.
At this point, I'm terrified.