Through The Fire

Chapter One

The world changed many years ago, when Zombies started invading it.

As children we were given descriptions of Zombie, certain stereotypes, but the descriptions were all a lie. Zombies exist, and they look just like us. They look human and act like it, the only distinguishing feature are their red irises. They walk among us, and until they started killing for food, we were unaware of their existence.

A few years ago, law enforcement began finding bloodless corpses, and sometimes emptied of their organs, the bodies hidden in garbage cans, and many times even in sewers, or simply on sidewalks. They tried for a long time to hide the murders from the population, but journalists always find out everything. When they released the news the world population went into a frenzy. They introduced a curfew in all the big cities, but many teens took it as an excuse to sneak out of the house and take part in parties, thus the killings continued, many times followed by the suicides of desperate parents.

The population began to decrease, the cities to depopulate and fear to reign over everything and everyone.

Tonight, I didn't have time to respect the curfew. Big mistake. Now I find myself running through the empty streets of Atlanta, chased by a group of Zombies. They are boys, even cute I must admit, but they want to kill me, and I don't want to die, so I must run, and I must hide. I can't go home, I'd end up taking them to my dad, putting him in danger. I must find somewhere else to go and hide.

I look back and see that I have lost them. The dark street is empty. After turning a corner, I break through an old wooden door and enter an abandoned house. I try to pull the door closed as best I can to leave no trace, but the wood is rotten and the hinges rusty.

I run down the hallway and lock myself inside the last room on the left, where I huddle in a corner by the side of the window, holding a walking stick that I pick up off the floor. It's small, wet, and the wood inside is as soft and rotten as the door's, but it's the only weapon I can find in this dark room.

I've never been a courageous girl, but all these years of trying to protect ourselves from Zombies have made me braver, they've made me someone who can act and face difficulty.

My breathing resumes a regular rhythm. I'm about to get up to go home, sure that they're gone, when a hand smashes through the windowpane next to my head. I jerk up, holding the stick tightly in my hand. My breathing becomes labored again. I can hear my heartbeat in my ears and I'm afraid they can hear it too.

There is only one figure. I don't recognize his face among those of the boys who were chasing me earlier. When I see him coming through the window, my mind immediately goes to my father.

He and I are the only ones left. My mother is dead, killed by a Zombie so many years ago. I barely remember her, although her face remains imprinted in my mind thanks to the photos and paintings that depict her, things that my father jealously guards and dusts almost every day, to prevent himself from forgetting his beloved half, taken away from him by these monsters.

If I died the same way, I'm pretty sure his heart couldn't take the hit.

The death of the person he loved since his teenage years caused him a lot of pain. He only got through the pain because I was there. He knew he had to recover from the trauma to take care of me. And if I died now... I don't even dare to imagine what would happen to him. My dad must be worried about me by now, I should have been home long ago. Let's just hope he doesn't go out looking for me. The passing of the years took from him the physical strength he once had, he wouldn't get very far in this city now devoid of ordinary people. Luckily Zombies have the respect not to enter other people's homes. They only act at night because no one is there to stop them or kill them. But killing during the day doesn't cause them any problems. Proof of this is the ever-increasing death rate, even in the richest states.

I try to hit him, but he manages to snatch the stick from my hands with incredible ease, without even trying to put any strength into it.

I back away and end up against the wall.

I'm trapped.

He approaches with a malevolent grin on his lips and wraps a hand around my neck, suffocating me.

I try to struggle but compared to the Zombie I'm nothing. He squeezes even tighter, lifting me off the ground.

I had never been this close to one, and the emotions inside me are indescribable. The terror inside me is inexpressible. Killing me, before feeding, will make the meal calmer and more enjoyable.

My mind is blurring from the lack of oxygen, and I begin to see black spots in front of my eyes.

Suddenly, I am thrown across the room. The impact with the wall and the surprise take all the air I had left in my lungs. I hear a sound of broken bones that doesn't bode well for me.

A piece of iron was sticking out of the wall, and I was thrown on to it. It's now lodged in the flesh of my abdomen. I just hope it didn't hit any vital organs, even though hoping for something like this doesn't make sense anymore.

The blood seeps out of the wound quickly. I feel my shirt soaked in it. And I feel the Zombie approaching, sniffing the air, enjoying my pain. My blood draws him in.

He kneels in front of me and touches the wound. I grit my teeth in pain. The Zombie does the most disgusting thing – if I wasn't already in this state, I'd probably throw up – he brings a bloodstained hand to his lips, licking his fingers and moaning in pleasure.

The Zombie closes his eyes to savor the moment. I can't go anywhere. Then he grabs me and pulls me abruptly toward him, removing the iron from my abdomen. This time I can't hold back, and I scream in pain. He laughs.

I've lost a lot of blood, and now that he's pulled the iron out, I can feel the little amount left in my body pouring out faster.

The last thing I remember is a guy swooping into the room and cutting the Zombie's head off with impressive skill, as if this wasn't his first time.

I see the severed head, with ravenous red eyes, wide open, fall next to mine, then I pass out.

Hey Books Lovers,

if you've made it this far, thank you very much for reading and giving Through The Fire a chance. This book means a lot for me because it took me 6 years to finish it and get it ready for the world. I hope you liked this first chapter. This is just the beginning, a lot of things are about to happen so stick around.

If you'd like to know more about the story, get some sneak peak and other stuff, come check my account on instagram, I have a whole section dedicated to TTF. You can find me as Miriam_meandbooks. I also have a tiktok account under the same name, andddd I've created an account exactly for the book called ttf.theparanormalromance

I try to be active on socials so to give more info on the book. Stay tuned for chapter 2 in two weeks and, if you'd like, add the book to your Goodreads library :)

Miriam