Chapter II - A zombie survival manual

After finishing washing the dishes, the mother of the family called her daughter to pack for the trip. Emy insisted on finishing watching the cartoon. "It's my favorite episode," she said, just as she had been doing every day for the past few months when she didn't want to leave the TV. Olivia was firm.

"If I have to pack your things alone, I'll ask Nicholas for help with sorting your clothes." The TV turned off, and the girl rushed upstairs. She still hadn't forgotten the time she left her brother the task of packing her things, and he separated six socks of different pairs and colors, forgetting to put panties in the bag. Emy had to wear her mother's underwear with two clothespins on the waist because she ended up wetting the one she was wearing on the trip.

Benjamin and Nicholas went up a little later to also pack their clothes. Olivia was responsible for packing her husband's travel bag, as always. Alex checked the car when she entered the garage with the backpacks.

"He doesn't want to go; I can see it in his eyes."

"Darling, he doesn't understand the importance of family yet; no teenager understands at that age." Alex held his wife's shoulders and kissed her forehead, then took the backpacks on his shoulders. "It will be fun, I promise."

The couple stared at each other for a few seconds, then smiled and kissed.

"If you promise..." Olivia entered the kitchen again to pack the snacks they would take.

Shortly after, the car trunk was filled with backpacks, fishing equipment, first aid kits (at the mother's insistence), baskets, and Styrofoam coolers with food and drinks. Emy was the first to get into the car, securing her almost life-size blue stuffed rabbit in her car seat. Nick and Ben got in next, sitting in their respective car seats. Before nine in the morning, Alex Carter locked the automatic gate of the garage and checked if the front door of his house was properly closed. With everything in order, the family started their journey.

The beginning was familiar terrain; some uniformed children walked the streets, the elderly returned from the markets with shopping bags, and an uncountable number of cars took people to another ordinary day of work. It was when the concrete of the buildings gave way to the green of the trees that the journey began to get interesting, at least for Olivia. Not far from the city, she glimpsed a herd of deer running in the middle of the forest. To her surprise, less than a minute after that, Alex stopped the car in a traffic jam that had paralyzed both sides of the road.

"The line isn't too long; people are gathered up there." He unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the car door.

"Love, be careful." Olivia grabbed her husband's sleeve before he could leave. His response was a smile. She wasn't satisfied.

"What happened, Mom?" Nicholas was sitting behind his father's seat, with a book in his hands.

"Your father will find out soon. Probably two cars collided."

"An accident," Benjamin said from behind Olivia's seat.

"Probably." The mother leaned her head to try to see what was happening further ahead, but could only observe some people gathered where her husband was and some people getting out of their cars to go there.

In the middle of the back seat, Emily slept in her car seat, holding onto the large blue rabbit.

"Benjamin, take your sister's rabbit out of the car seat and fasten her seatbelt tighter."

The boy obeyed, finishing when Alex got back into the car.

"It's okay, a deer jumped in front of a car and scared the driver; she ended up going to the other lane and hit the car coming from there. Luckily, a doctor was right behind and could help. The deer is lying in the middle of the road, blocking both ways."

"Can we see?" Nicholas lowered the window and put his head out. People were still passing by him to go check what had happened.

"No. Close that window; I'll open mine, and we'll wait." Olivia lowered ten centimeters of her window when Nick closed his completely. The sky was clear, and the sun was strong. The forest was still, there was no sign of wind, not even on the open road.

"I'll call Giuseppe, let him know in case he's nearby." Alex made the call from inside the car, explaining the inconvenience to his friend, who replied that he was still closing his house to start the journey.

Shortly after the end of the call, a green forest ranger truck passed on the opposite lane to collect the dead animal from the middle of the road. When it passed by the car again, Nick and Ben stretched to try to see the animal in the bed, but the truck was much higher than the car. Traffic started flowing again.

"My God." Olivia squeezed the seat with her left hand as she felt her heart racing. The smell of iron was terrible.

"It was split in half." Alex drove past the spot where the deer had been hit. The road was washed with dark blood, almost purple or black, except for the edges, which reflected a pure and bright red.

"Let's get out of here soon." The family's mother always hated blood. She could see stars and feel her mind dancing when she saw that red liquid dripping or squirting. Her children, however, seemed to love that misery. "By the way, what are you reading, dear?" Alex and Olivia agreed not to allow their children access to phones or computers until they turned sixteen. Until then, they would be educated in the old-fashioned way, with pencils, notebooks, and books.

"A zombie survival manual." Nick proudly showed the green cover of the book.

"Great." His mother responded quietly, annoyed, leaning her head close to the open window to feel the wind swinging her hair, trying to breathe the fresh air.