Chapter 2.A Long Way Home

We emerge from Patty's Diner to the soft glow of the set sun. Without any hesitation Hana, the little boy and I shimmy our way into the compact car. Hana fumbles around in her purse for the car keys as I stare into the window overlooking the booth John was murdered at. Pulling my seat belt over my chest I notice a figure clawing it's way towards the window. My mouth drops as John's blood covered face smashes against the window. His mouth moves but I can't seem to make out what he's saying. I squint my eyes in hopes my vision would magically zoom in. To no avail my vision doesn't meet my request. At the click of our seat belts the engine roars to life. With a squeal of the breaks we're pulling out of Patty's Diner and onto the road home. Soft sobbing from the little boy echos through the car. None of us able to comprehend what happened. None of us have the nerve to speak of what just happened, because honestly I don't believe any one of us knows what just happened. Images of that woman tearing into John haunts my subconscious and sends a deathly chill down my spine, causing all the hairs on my neck and arms to stand at attention. I shiver and try to push the images away with the outside world.

Forrest, mountains, and just all around gorgeous scenery passes by before merging into small shops and tall buildings. Safety. "Whoa, what the hell is going on there?" Hana's voice cracks. "What?" I reply only I didn't need an answer, I saw what she was questioning. Three police cruisers are parked in a box formation surrounding a couple of citizens. A teen aged boy who looked to be curled up in what I assume to be his fathers lap. The teen is limp looking almost lifeless. The cops are standing on the opposite side of their cruisers, guns in hand and trained on the pedestrians locked in their makeshift blockade. I see the older gentleman screaming at the police officers and waving at them while frantically looking between them and his son. I watch as the teenager begins to sit up and un-curl himself from his father's lap. I begin to feel uneasy, like I've seen this before. Images of John's tragic end flashes before my eyes. "Mom we need to go." I snap firmly. "Where, the light is red.. "

"I don't care mother, just drive!" On ques with that statement the light turns green and the car begins to move again, only we didn't get far. "STOP!" I scream watching a car zoom into the intersection. Hana slams on the breaks, the car barely missing the front bumper. Hana flips the car the good ole bird. That hand quickly retracts to her mouth as mine does the same. The car gets five feet past the intersection before smacking into a person. Blood and guts splatter all over the car and the pavement. All this time the little boy has been sitting silently in the back seat, but the sound of metal smacking against flesh and bones snapping under the pressure, he was now back to softly sobbing. "Move back from the window, you don't need to see what's going on out there." Hana spoke softly starring into the rear view mirror. The boy gave her a nod and wiped at his tears. As he was sitting back in his seat one of the cops from the blockade behind our car slams into the driver side backseat window. The boy screamed causing my mother and I to jump nearly out the windows. We both turn back and gasp in horror. The cop was no longer the cop. Half the skin on his face was torn off, kinda looked like someone bit a giant chunk out of it. Blood was smearing against the window with every thrash from the police officer. I ushered the boy to lay down away from the window and told him to cover his eyes. I then looked to my mother and barked, "Get this fucking thing moving!"

"I want you to run upstairs and grab, food, clothes, and any other necessities and useful items. Leave everything else." My mother says looking up to me from the driver seat. "I love you and please be careful."

"I love you too mom and I will, you guys be careful though. You're the ones sitting out here. I mean have you noticed whats going on?" I reply all snarky like. Hana rolls her eyes at my statement before giving me a silent nod that said "You better get your ass a moving before I move it for you." Smiling I turn on my heel and head inside my apartment complex. Pushing the glass door open I look back at my mother holding up my phone. "Text me if you're gonna leave, I'll take my car and meet you somewhere." Hana gives me a reassuring nod. I make my way to the elevator and so far nothing seems out of the ordinary, well besides the night security guard not being at his normal post. I shrug it away, if anything he's probably checking to see if the garage gate is locked. I press the down button and with a ding the elevator begins it's decent.

Up on the 13th floor I'm sitting on the floor of my bedroom scavenging through my clothes. If this is the apocalypse I'm gonna want something functional yet cute to wear. It's been about 30 minutes since I got inside and began to pack, I hope my mother is alright. With that thought I pull my phone from my back pocket and bring up my mother and I's messages. As I'm typing out a message my phone vibrates and a new message from my mother pops up. 'So many of those things.' Immediately another pops up. 'Leaving now, heading back home. Stay where you are and barricade, I'll be back' After I read the message I hear tires squeal and an engine roar it's mighty roar. Off goes my mother leaving me here alone in this nightmare, fun. I pinch the bridge of my nose and let out a sigh. I look at the duffel bag and the various clothes sprawled across my bed, looks like an absolute mess. If this was a normal day my OCD would be screaming at me to fix this, but this isn't a normal day, my OCD don't know what to freak out about. I loop my arm around the strap of my duffel and press into the living room. It's dark in here with the light orange glow piercing through my blinds. I toss the duffel bag onto the couch and flop down beside it pulling out my phone.

BANG. BANG BANG BANG. Gunshots echo throughout the apartment complex. I launch up from the couch, my phone being slung across the living room crashing into the wall. What was that? It sounded like gunshots. Shaking with fear I creep across the room to the front door. I pause momentarily to take in a deep breath and wipe the line of drool caked to my chin before I push my face against the door to veer out the peep hole. The half the hallway is dark, just like my room, the other half is lit by one flickering bulb. There's a soft red glow slightly illuminating the dark half of the hallway. It's not enough light for me to see clearly down that side of the hall, but just enough so I can make out two dark figures stumbling around in the dark. Just as I was getting ready to back away from the door, I faintly see a door down the hall slowly begin to open. It wasn't just me who noticed the door, the two figures were now standing completely still and locked on the opening door. I got a very uneasy feeling all of a sudden as well as the urge to scream at the person to just go back inside and lock their door. After a long and tiring war inside my head I decide it's best I stay quiet and watch from the sidelines. The apartment door swings fully open and a girl steps out, looks as though she may be in her early teens. She looks to her right at the elevators and then to the left down the hall at the dark figures. I hear the girl gasp and with that the figures scream and race down the hall to her. My heart falls into the depths of my stomach. This, this isn't gonna end well! I watch the girl rush to the elevator door, spamming the call button over and over. As though that would help. She's panicking now, screaming at the elevator to hurry. I'm tapping on my door involuntarily stressed with the events transpiring right outside my home. The figures growled as they sprung onto the girl. One went straight for her throat, only it didn't get just a chunk of her throat, no it's teeth tore through her cheek and down her chin into her throat. The other one went in for her stomach tearing her clothes open exposing a pale stomach that was soon covered in her own blood. The crimson liquid sprayed anything and everything in the vicinity. I turn away from the door and push my back against it. My hands are shaking so hard, I'm pretty sure my soul is shaking with it! Wobbling I push away from the door and make my way to my phone. As my fingers wrap around the device, it goes off. 'Carry on my Wayward Son' Chimes, the music bouncing off of each wall. A giant ball of nothingness gets stuck in my throat and I quickly try to silence the phone. I catch a quick glimpse of my mother's text message but don't have the time to read it. The creatures screams pierced through my front door like bullets through a 2x4. I'm fucked. My body begins trembling once again and I'm frozen in place, one thing going through my head on repeat. Make it stop.

The screaming it's coming from everywhere. In my head, in the streets, in the apartment next to me. I just want it to stop, make it stop! I was now in my room, the door to the living room locked. Those things had gotten into my house. Just barely I made it into my room and locked the door, putting a temporary barricade between me and those things. I think one of them walked off to look for more food, but the other one is standing outside my bedroom door, I can hear it's low guttural moan. I turn around to face my end table. I had a butterfly knife Tekashi gave me for my 17th birthday inside the drawer. If I could just open it without making any noise, I could have myself some protection. Nodding to myself I grip the handle of the drawer and press my hand against the mahogany face. Carefully I pulled the drawer open, only being careful wasn't enough. CREAK, the drawer cries and I stop freezing in my tracks.

It started banging against the door, harder and harder until the door gave way and swung open extremely fast. There emerging from the doorway was a blood cloaked man. His clothes were torn to shreds exposing ripped skin, bones, and internal body parts that have now become external body parts. It gave out a loud and excruciating moan that would cause an old man's heart to stop. I tried to scream but nothing came out except silence. I tried getting up and moving but it was like my limbs were dead. I was screwed. I was stuck, waiting to be mutilated and turned into one of them. The man started limping his way towards me, swaying side to side like a balloon in a soft spring wind. Just as the creature was about to lung at me the man from apartment 3B came rushing in through my bedroom door. "Zoey!" I heard him call out as he ran across the room with a bat held high above his head, which soon came smashing down into the creatures skull with a loud, bloody, and bone rattling crack.

Blood. Blood was just everywhere giving my bed and bedroom walls a new style of paint. I looked up at the man with thankful eyes as he reached his hand down to me. I extended my hand up into his and clasped my fingers around his wrist. He pulled up as I tried to stand, giving me that little extra boost I needed. My knees were awfully shaky, more than likely from the fact that my nerves are having the worst day of their lives. I lean against the man. He was taller than me, not John tall, but tall enough that I had to stand on my tippy toes to look him in the eyes. "Th-thank you.." I said in a scratchy voice as I was finally able to speak. "You're welcome." His deep yet soft voice bellowed back as he wrapped his arm around my waist and started walking me to the door.

"Do you know what's going on?" I asked as we walked out of my apartment and into the most eerie hallway ever. To my right were bodies mutilated, ripped apart, and strung all across the hallway. Blood was trailing the floors and walls. I could only see so far do to the lights near the end of the hall were out, the only thing I could see down there was the was the soft iridescent glow of the exit sign. I looked to my left to see a couple more of those things eating the girl from earlier and some poor new victim half inside the elevator and half out, causing the automatic doors to open and close repeatedly. I was about to scream but the man's hand flew up over my mouth to stop me. I look up at him to see him starring at those creatures feasting on the two poor souls. He was awfully silent, no words just a determined gaze, but determination for what?

Without giving my question any piece of mind he gripped the small of my arm in his masculine hands and started dragging me in the opposite direction of the human buffet line. Down the hallway of Death. We turn at the end of the hallway into the staircase. We move silently but fast down the stairs covering 3 flights of stairs in record time. We pause momentarily to catch our breath and to look down the 10 stories of spiraled stairs. Just as we were straightening ourselves out from vertigo one of those creatures bursts through the 10th floor staircase door. The man from 3B winds up his bat for a hard hit but is cut short as he's tackled over the railing by the creature. I scream and cover my mouth as I hear a loud and bloody smack. I turn to run down the stairs but hear the roar of one of those things. I turn to face the door only to see a quick flash of red, blood red, before me and the creature were over the railing and falling to our death. I land on top of the guy from 3B's body with a yelp of pain. I gasp rapidly for air but my lungs wouldn't allow any in as though they were already filled with cement. I laid there on his body surprised to know I'm still living and breathing. I sat up and patted myself up and down looking for serious injuries. Nothing that would keep from trying to get out of here. I stood up and looked down at the 2 creatures and the man who saved my life TWICE, alive and dead. I noticed his bloodied baseball bat was still clasped in his hand. I took a deep breath and reached down for it ever-so-slowly. I wrapped my fingers around his and peeled them back releasing his grip on the bat. With my other hand I swooped it up and quickly scurried away from the bodies, afraid they would rise back up once again and chase after me not stopping until they sank their teeth deep into my soft squishy flesh and my dark crimson blood squirted onto their faces as they fed hungrily.

With a shaky breath and all the courage I could gather up I tightened my grip around the bat, inhaled a deep breath before pushing the shattered glass door open. Gunshots, screams, moans of those creatures, and explosions, they were all heard from every direction. There was no silence, not once, just constant terror. Giant clouds of black smoke just bellowed into the sky. The smell emitting from the outside world was one of the most ungodly scents you could ever smell. Starstruck by the once beautiful city turned into something out of a horror movie I started letting go of the door when in the corner of my right eye I see movement. I turn to see a group of those creatures and they were all staring directly at me with their twisted blood coated grin. I was about 10 or 15 feet from becoming one of the protagonist in those horror movies. One of those things screamed and following heel to heel with it was it's buddies. Immediately I turn on my heel and retreat back inside the apartment of horror, which is so much better than my inevitable death outside. I had about a minute to figure out what I was gonna do, but then it hit me like a train hitting a car. I make a b-line to the garage door opening it and flipping the lock before slamming it behind me. I was now standing in a dimly lit garage with another makeshift barricade between me and those things.

Two cars were parked bumper to bumper in front of the gated entrance. Beyond the gate were more bodies and creatures feeding on them. I shiver and look away, so tired of seeing death. I reach into my pocket and pull out my phone. Since I finally have a little time to rest I figured I should check and see what the text was my mother sent me earlier that almost got me killed. 'Made it safe and sound. We barricaded the doors to the outside with furniture and have been gathering food and other useful items. I'll text you when we're on our way back. Honey I hope you're safe, it's horrible out there and it just seems to be getting worse.' I shake my head but smile happy to know her and the little boy made it to her house safely. I reply and tell her the events that occurred in the past hour and that I was gonna be making my way to her. Lucky for me the health tent I went to earlier that day to get my vaccination was in walking distance of my apartment complex, so I walked instead of taking my car. With that thought in mind I race to the guard post in the garage, that's where all the tenants leave their keys. I open the metal case that read "Floors 10-13". I pull my keys from the numerous little metal hooks occupied by other keys. I make my way to the cars blocking the entrance as I clip my keys to a belt loop on my waist.

After 20 tiring minutes I wipe sweat from my forehead smiling proudly at the work I accomplished. Neither car had their keys in them so my 138 pound ass had to push both of these cars out of the way. My phone vibrates and I retrieve it from my back pocket. Another text from my mother. 'Jesus! I'm glad to hear that you're alive. How are you gonna get here, you're not walking are you!? Didn't you drive to the vaccination tent this morning?'

'No mom I walked. It wasn't far from my house so there was no need to drive. I'll be there in a couple hours, I'll also update you every half hour on the dot so you wont worry so much, just stay safe. I love you.' I reply as I click my seat belt into its locking mechanism. I put my phone in the middle console and start the engine. Like moths to a flame the creatures all locked their red eyes on me and my car. My grip tightens on the steering wheel and I take in a deep breath. Just as I go to press the shutter opener's button the elevator to the garage dings. A scrawny teenage boy holding onto the straps of his big ole hiking pack that was kitted with all different kinds of equipment stands in the brightly lit elevator. Our eye's meet and he waves at me with one hand while mouthing for me to wait. I look from him to the gated entrance. Something on the streets seemed to have had caught the interest of those things. Opening my car door I twist my body to look back at the boy and softly call to him, "Hurry up and get in!" The kid smiles and then practically skips to the passenger side of my car, his hiking pack making all sorts of sounds with every step. I can't help but flinch at every clink and clank of equipment. "Thank you so much." The kid breathed as he slid his hiking pack off and tossed it into the back seat. He then plopped into the passenger seat and extended his hand out to me. "The names Eagle, Austin Eagle, but everyone calls me Eagle, but you can call me whatever you like." He flashes me a pearly white smile. I take his hand into mine and give it a firm shake. "Mine's Zoey." His smile widens and he looks at the entrance to the garage. "Nice to meet you Zoey, where you heading?"

"To Durango to meet my mother, you?"

"Uh.. kinda anywhere really.." Eagle sighs and looks down at his hands, his expression saddening. "My mother.. she was who I lived with.. her and my little brother." He rubs the back of his neck and looks back out at the garage entrance. "My brother, he had been really sick these past couple weeks. Well today we went to get him vaccinated." Eagle shifts in his seat before pulling the sun visor down to look at himself in the mirror that was attached to it. "He was good for a couple hours after the vaccination, but in the last hour and a half he got sick again.. I watched my brother go from healthy to dying in a blink of an eye." Eagle raised his hands to his face and starred blankly at them, tears dancing on the corners of his eyes. "My brother died in his bed in front of me and my mother. Only he didn't stay dead.. He rose after a minute and attacked our mother." The tears were now streaming down Eagle's cheeks. I reach over and give his shoulder a light squeeze. "I'm so sorry Eagle.." I pat his back a couple times before pressing the open button for the gate. "Right now we don't have the time to mourn though. We have to go." With that said I slam the transmission into drive and peel out of the parking garage. Slamming into those creatures one after another. I make a hard right onto the road and begin weaving my way through the abandoned cars and helplessly lost pedestrians. I'm coming mom.