Trimageddon

Apocalypse

June 18th, 2425
Thunder echoed in the background as we huddled around a floating virtual screen, sharing laughter that was as contagious as most diseases. It was a movie night, and the faces of my family reflected the Comedy movie playing. My sister's green eyes were even deeper when they lacked energy, and her wavy dark hair scattered across the couch as she fought sleep.
"From earth to Alice: Wake up, the good part is coming." I murmured into her ear, as to not distract the rest.
"Shut up, Kai. I'm surprised you're not asleep yet considering your young age." She replied.
"Will you forever use those 3 years against me?"
"Yep."
"Shhh, focus." My dad didn't bother turning around when he said that, so all we can do is imagine his expression of wonder- which he always has when he's watching movies, as his brown hair concealed the movie from us.
My mother was the only one that remained silent, which is very unlike her. Olivia Andrews always drew a lasting impression on those she met, her blue eyes seemed to constantly sparkle with energy, similar to mine. Her hair often moved like a wave when she was defending someone in court.
The movie ended, and the screen vanished into its projector when my dad moved his hand downward while aiming at it. Smiles occupied my parents' faces, which left me no choice but to share them.
Only my sister's face was indifferent since she fell into deep unconsciousness which is also known as sleep.
"Poor girl, her university exams were ridiculous. She should've complained to them about it beforehand." Olivia spoke, a sigh forming.
"We both know that wouldn't have achieved anything, Mom." I replied.
"She should have refused to do them then, there are better ways to teach her how to become a good lawyer."
"Not everyone is as bold as you, Olivia." My dad countered, and he was right.
"No, not yet. Jake, you know she can be more than I ever was."
"That's true, of course. Ever since she learned that adventuring outside of the cities was both illegal and dangerous, she dreamt that she would be able to change that through your methods."
My sister was always out for an adventure, and once she was so close to the border that she had to be dragged back by my mom who left work just for her. I still remember her tears as she said that she would change the law.
"And if she has any luck, she will. It's only that such laws would not be easy t-" My mom descended to her super speaking mode- that's what we called it, it's when she doesn't stop talking.
Their discussion was destined to last the night.
I retreated quietly through the automatic doors, and tapped one button on the wall which turned off the lights and started closing the curtains.
Before they closed, I gave one last glance to the city which drowned in rain before falling asleep.

"Kai. Kai! Get up!" Alice's voice filled my ears, not exactly the best way to wake up.
"What is it?" I rolled to the other side to face Alice, and I was stunned to see an expression I've never seen on my sister's face.
She wrapped her arms around herself, gripping her red hoodie tightly. Her body was shaking as if she just got out of an ice bath, but there was nothing to indicate that was the case.
"I need you awake, something happened, I don't know how to expla-"
I jumped up from the bed, and my arms wrapped around her to form a hug, lessening her shaking.
"It's okay. Sit down and breath. I'll get changed" I turned to the closet and swiped. A set of dark clothes were revealed inside the closet, and a shirt that was the color of the night sky paired with a plain black trucksuit was my choice.
The bathroom welcomed me with open lights, and the first thing I did was to refill my energy using the classic method of washing my face. My reflection came onto focus, my own blue eyes glaring at me from a mirror, probably judging the mess of brown hair I had on my head.
I returned to Alice, only to see her walking from side to side, stomping on the ground loudly.
"So Dad called me and told me to be ready in half an hour, and that leaves us roughly with 20 minutes left. He said to be careful and only take what's necessary." She explained, finally regaining her composure.
"So a night adventure? That's cool, why were you so shaken, then?" Kai replied, but his eyes had led him somewhere else. His most important item, the one he would take anywhere. A Modern Hoverboard, limited edition, and it was filled with art of wolves.
"Well yeah, that's what I thought until he told me what was happening. There was no way he was serious, this was all a prank, that's what I initially thought."
"Spill it out, sis."
"Look."
She pressed a button on her phone, and a hologram appeared. A reporter was doing the usual reporter things, only that fire burned in the background.
"So we aren't sure where the fire came from, but it is causing a bit of a ruck-" the reporter was explaining, until he got tackled to the ground.
Someone had done that to him, but it didn't take me long to realize it was anything but human.
Blood dripped from it's face as it turned to face the camera, it's hands digging to the reporter's body. No expression filled it other than one: Hunger.
The hologram disappeared.
"Dad is going through a lot of trouble to scare us, is this from an old TV show or something? We did find those The Walking Dead dvds when we were exploring the really old houses a few years ago." I laughed.
Yet Alice's grim expression remained, and she tapped the device again, then swiped.
Hundreds of posts and articles were scrolled through, and they were all talking of the phenomenon that took the world by storm, zombies were here.
Words couldn't come out of my mouth, and I contemplated the situation in silence. My sister did the same other than the occasional foot stamp or a snap.
The clock ticked on my phone, and my dad's rescue should be close.
I moved to take some stuff I might need, but my sister stopped me.
"Take your hoverboard, just in case" Alice ordered
"Just in case what, Alice?" I responded before the door opened the way for me. Somehow, I still found myself clutching the hoverboard in my arms.
Alice motioned to me, ordering me to go downstairs. This ordering around thing is happening way too much.
I walked down the modern stairs behind my sister, yet cautiousness filled her steps.
"We're fine, Alice, we're still home" I pointed out.
She put her finger in front of her mouth, and whispered "Shhhh. Listen"
And so I did, the sound of technology was everywhere. The air conditioner functioning, the sound doors make when you get near them. That was only the first layer, and below that was nature's music. Wind flowing, and birds chirping, and... a growl?
I stared at Alice, and both of our faces paled as the realization came to be in our minds.
There was a zombie. IN OUR GARDEN!
"What do we do?" I looked at Alice for answers, and for a moment she didn't have any. However, my sister mirrored how my mother seemed to act in problematic situations. One breath was all it took for her to regain her confidence, and I could tell I was about to be ordered again.
"Back door, now. We need to see this thing." Alice said, and I quite disagreed.
"Isn't it safer inside until Mom and Dad come? This isn't one of those games you play, you know."
"Relying on mommy and daddy again? We're not babies, Kai."
"Do not call me a baby, Alice."
"Not the time, we need to be able to protect ourselves."
Before I could stop her, she walked outside to the backyard and peeked the garden.
She pulled back, sticking to the wall.
Signaling to Alice to move, I took her place. I took a deep breath before my face turned and stared at... that thing.
The zombie was walking into the door, literally. His clothes were ragged. As if he had been through hell, which I guess he might have, considering he's dead. He's dead... that stuck in my head, and for the first time I thought about death.
He might have been a construction worker once, he had the build for it.
Not anymore though. Now he was this, whatever this was.
I was brought back to reality by a tap on the shoulder.
"Come to think of it, where the hell is Ava?" Alice questioned.
"Forget her," I looked back in the zombie's direction. "How did the zombie get into our garden?"
Alice sighed, and I knew why when my eyes met the watch. Our parents should've been here 10 minutes ago.
BEEP BEEP BEEP
The sound caught me by surprise, and I looked around in awe, trying to find the source.
Oh. I realized this was the house alarm.
"This is really really bad." Alice proclaimed.
"I couldn't tell. Thanks."
"No, you don't under-"
She was interrupted by footstep sounds, staggered with no rhythm.
We simultaneously looked at the door, and many more zombies just barged in.
The beep noise rang in my head, making it feel like it'll explode.
Alice and I moved after pausing for a moment, and we had no choice but to be quick. The zombies spiralled everywhere they could, and since the door of the house was closed... that meant they were coming to us.
Alice picked up a stick of wood, but that would scarcely do anything to protect us.
"SED! OPEN THE DOORS!" I blurted out.
"Are you mad?" Alice widened her eyes.
"Voice identification complete, opening doors." a robotic voice answered.
I looked back at the big group of zombies, and some were coming our way.
My yelling contributed that, but it had also led to most of them entering the empty house.
"Ava could be inside!" My sister cautioned.
"Unlikely!" I moved to the walls, and offered to boost her up.
"You're taking that chance?"
"She's a robot! Zombies eat meat!"
"So we abandon her?"
Doubt consumed me, but I had to make this decision. We have no reason to believe Ava was home, and even at the slight chance she was. Better her than us, right?
We had more urgent concerns on our hand, as the zombies caught wind of us. I wonder what gave it away, yelling or standing in their line of sight.
My heart started beating very fast, syncing with the zombies footsteps. They ran desperately, as if a kid that was just learning how to run. You would think that makes them seem harmless, it did not.
Alice threw the stick like a spear, knocking one of them off balance.
"NOW!" I ordered.
Alice complied, and climbed up.
Handing Alice the board, I followed, adrenaline fuelling my jump as I got on top of the fence.
We dropped to the other side, and a shared sigh of relief came out.
"I never thought I would be thankful for having a short fence." I leaned against the wall for support.
Alice did not go along with the silliness, and kept her serious look.
"Where to now?" She asked while looking around, studying our surroundings.
The backstreet stretched to both sides from them, as empty as it would be on any night.
"We can't stay here, that's for sure. The alarm will stop, and those things will come pouring out." I stated.
"Somewhere Mom and Dad would look... and open, so we can see the zombies from a distance." Alice grinned when I did, because we knew we were thinking of the same place.
We started walking, making sure to look in all directions.
"Have you wrapped your head around this yet?" she asked me, with concern in her voice.
"No. This feels like a nightmare." I confided to her.
"Yep. Think we're sharing a dream?"
"Usually, I would say ew or something. Under these circumstances, however, that would be preferred. I guess."
"Huh, I beg to differ. I'd much rather a zombie apocalypse than sharing anything with you."
We reached a bigger street, but honestly, I wish we hadn't.
At the end of the street, a girl lay on the ground, two men pinning her to it.
She screamed for a time, but then her voice died, and so did she.
"Crap. Crap." I pushed Alice in the other direction, and kept walking.
"That was... wow. Shouldn't we be running or something?" Alice murmured.
"No. They would eat us too. Running makes more noise and will leave us vulnerable if we're caught while we're tired."
My eyes turned to the hoverboard I was carrying. Could be useful, one problem though: Only one person can ride it.
Our destination surfaced itself ahead of us, the park of our side of town.
It was a place we spent many hours in; usually due to me learning how to skate and Alice loving the nature before we built a garden in our house.
We scanned the area, a few zombies occupied the place, but they were far and apart.
Green took up most of the place, with grass and mounting trees.
The only other colors were the children's games, like the swings and a slide and... the skating park. Even now I wanted to go there and have fun.
Alice elbowed me to get my attention, and pointed at our sacred meeting spot.
A tree house was high on a tree, and it was colored brown to match the color of the tree.
"Perfect." I muttered under my breath. It really was. Difficult for any zombie to climb up, and a very good line of sight.
The park consisted of two entrances on each side of it, and was separated into two distinct parts, one filled with games, the other was nature.
More noise filled our ears, and that was never a good sign. 
This time though; it came from above.
A helicopter floated in the sky, perhaps looking for anyone who needed help.
"If it sees us, we could be saved." I whispered to Alice.
"So... we make noise?" She concluded, and grabbed my hoverboard from my hands.
"No. No!" I tried to reason with her, however, it was too late.
She smashed the window of a car using it, and the car beeped for all the world to hear.
I closed my eyes for a second, just to contemplate what this idiot of a sister just did.
Facing upwards, I opened my eyes, praying that this risk would be rewarded.
The helicopter turned to us, and it looked like it was descending.
POP
A laser hit the helicopter, knocking it off balance. As the helicopter swindled from side to side, a circular ship flew past it, disappearing in the distance.
"Oh no." I pulled Alice's hand, who was still looking at the sky in hope.
"We need to go. Now!"
We raced to the treehouse, as zombies gathered at the noisy car. The ones that were inside moved towards us. Great, surrounded by both sides.
"Kai. Go in a straight line. No matter what." My sister bossily said, as she usually does.
"And the two zombies will go poof and open the way for me?"
"Trust me."
She dropped the hoverboard from her hands and stood on it, gliding her way forward.
Closing on the zombies, Alice took a sharp left, and almost fell on the process. She moved from side to side, but maintained her balance. The zombies followed her, opening the way for me.
I sprinted to the finish line, remembering my school race that happened a few months ago.
I climbed the ladder stuck to the tree as soon as I got to it, reaching the top. Below, Alice had taken the zombies to the other side of the park before turning on them again. She moved to the ladder swiftly enough to lose them, but tumbled down in her process, scraping her knee.
The hoverboard collided with the tree, and Alice with the ground.
I helped her up as I was feeling a variety of feelings. Happiness that she survived, sadness that she got hurt, or anger because she hurt herself and my hoverboard.
We sat at the edge staring at the chaos in front of us.
"I should have done that. You wouldn't be injured, and my hoverboard wouldn't have crashed." I claimed.
"I couldn't risk that."
"Risk what?"
Instead of answering, Alice pointed to the distance.
The helicopter neared the ground now, and there was no hope it would land.
It would crash. And so it did.
The blades hit the ground, and the sound made my body tremble. I found myself holding my sister's hand.
Rolling over, the helicopter was destroyed even more before coming to a halt.
It was on fire.
I got up and looked through the treehouse. It was bigger than you thought it would be, with a few cool spots for hanging around. I wasn't looking for nostalgia, though.
I spotted a box filled with stones and rocks, brought here by kids from many different places. Approaching the box, I moved it, praying it would still be here.
Slingshots lay on the ground, covered in dust.
I grabbed two, and turned to Alice calling me.
She didn't look away from the fire, but just asked.
"What are you doing?"
"Preparing."
"For what?"
Before I could respond, the helicopter exploded. A fireball formed, almost as a metaphor for the earth at the moment.
I handed Alice one of the slingshots, and placed the box near us.
"A lot of noise." I pointed out.
"And fire, some of them will walk into it."
"Aye. There will be too many, though."
There was. Bloodied corpses now littered the entrance. Some were engulfed by flames, but not nearly enough.
Once the park was filled with families having the time of their lives, now, the soulless claimed it theirs and were ready to eat anything in their way.
Many of the undead scattered across the park, and that will lead some of them to us.
I hugged Alice, or rather, she hugged me. I wasn't sure, actually. Our bodies trembled against each other, and I took a deep breath.
"Are you ready?" I asked her.
"Us against a horde of zombies? What is this, a video game boss level?" She tried to laugh, but only silence came out.
So there we were, stuck in a treehouse as zombies awaited for their next meal right next to us.