Barely Alive (#JustWriteIt #SuperCharged)

Chapter 1 - Travis and Darcie Jones

"No matter how hard you try, you're never truly safe. The most dangerous thing you can do is live. Whenever risk is added is when you know you've made a mistake."

*Ten years earlier; Start of the apocalypse*

Eight year-old Travis Jones didn't know what to expect when his five-year old sister dashed into his room at midnight.

"Darcie?" he asked, his voice groggy from sleep. "What are you doing awake?"

Travis had brown hair that was deep chestnut brown and a little curly at the ends. His eyes were a dark emerald green.

Darcie had shoulder-length straight brown hair the colour of milk chocolate. Her eyes were dark, dark brown. Almost black.

Travis noticed tear streaks down his sister's cheeks. He opened his arms and Darcie ran into his embrace.

"What's wrong?" he asked, wiping a tear off of Darcie's cheek.

"Mommy and daddy," she wailed into his shoulder.

The colour drained from Travis' face. Whatever his sister must have witnessed must have been pretty terrible for her to be in that state.

"What happened with mom and dad?" Travis asked.

"I heard a steady pounding on the door that woke me up. I went down the stairs when I heard the door break. Mommy and daddy ran from the living room to go see what happened," Darcie started. "A group of grey-skinned people came into the house and attacked them. Mommy and daddy managed to fight them off but they fell over. They had bite marks all over them."

Travis looked white as his sheets. He didn't know much but from his little sister's description, it sounded like zombies had broken into their house and attacked their parents. He pushed his blankets off of him.

"Travy?" Darcie asked. "What are you doing?"

"Stay here. Don't move," he demanded.

Darcie clutched a teddy bear to her chest as Travis slowly stepped out of his room. He walked to the top of the stairs. He silently snuck down six steps so he could at least see the entry of the house. He saw exactly what his sister described. Dead zombies were laying on the floor with their parents in the middle of it all.

"Mom? Dad?" the eight-year-old asked. "Are you okay?"

Suddenly, his parents started to stand up. Travis noticed that there was something off.

"Mom? Dad?"

The two turned to their son. Travis was startled to say the least. His parents looked and were acting like zombies. They started stumbling towards them. Travis ran into the kitchen and tripped over a bag. He turned and looked at the bag he collided with. He was in luck. It was his baseball bag. He grabbed his bat and got to his feet. He had a better chance of defending himself and his little sister if he was prepared. His father came into his view first.

"Batter up," Travis growled.

His father was approaching faster than expected. Travis swung the bat and hit the zombie on the temple. It collapsed giving Travis a chance to crush its skull.

"One down, one to go," Travis stated.

"Travy?" a small voice asked.

Travis turned around to see his sister standing there. He slightly raised his gaze to see his mother standing behind his sister, ready to attack her.

"Darcie! Run!" Travis yelled.

Darcie didn't listen. She turned and saw her zombie mother. Her mother grabbed Darcie's shoulders and was about to bite her when Travis got his hand on a baseball and threw it at their mother's zombie head. She was knocked off of Darcie. Travis ran and hit her with his bat. Once she was down, he mocked his movements towards their father and crushed her skull. He then dropped his bat and ran to his sister. He picked her up in a hug.