When The Dead Rise

Prologue

The echos of the Dead bounced off the walls and crowded my mind. Adam slammed into an iron door and forced it open then threw me inside. He shut it just when the first zombie crashed against the metal; teeth snapping and frothy saliva flying.

"Help me block the door!" Adam yelled, and I scrambled to my feet to comply. I shoved a generator infront if the door; Im sure that if the adrenaline wasnt fizzing in my viens, I wouldn't have been able to do it.  

I held it there while he rushed around to barricade the door with heavier things. Once we were as safe as we were going to get in this situation, we both collapsed to the floor; struggling to take deep breaths to settle our raging pulses.

"Are you hurt?" he panted, pushing my light brown hair out of my eyes. I licked my dry lips and grinned, nodding my head since I still couldn't catch my breath. I flopped onto my back, not minding when my head thumped the hard ground. We could finally relax--we were safe in here as long as a Big One didn't come and bash the door in.

"Be sure to drink your water, but use it sparingly. We don't know how long we might be in here."

"Yes Mr.Mom." I gasped, saluting him and letting loose a breathy laugh when he flipped me off.

We lit a candle, ate some beans and pretended not to notice the hungry cry of the predators on the other side. We pretended not to hear their ragged nails dragging against the metal and the clicks of their jaws. We pretended that the undead weren't knocking on our door, and we pretended that everything was fine.

I was sleeping next to Adam when he jostled me awake.

"I think they're gone." he whispered as I rubbed the crud out of my eyes. We packed up our things and moved the various objects that protected us throughout the night. Adam peered through the crack in the door for a few minutes then opened it a little wider, motioning for me to follow. We moved quickly but quietly, Adam holding his machete ready and I with my metal base ball bat. We only used guns for last resort since they were loud, and zombies are attracted to sound.

We reached the end of the hall and Adam held up his hand; the signal for me to wait while he checked around the corner. Showing me 3 fingers, I knew how many undead there were and we crept forward with caution.

They were all just standing there; moaning from time to time or twitching their limbs. They didn't do anything unless there was a stimulus, and their eye sight wasn't that good, so if we moved accordingly we might be able to sneak past. We always crouched low when doing this and stuck close to walls or any fallen objects to remain virtually camouflaged.

Stealth was everything.

Once we crossed over to the other room safely, we stood up and stretched our legs. I followed close behind Adam and heeded all his signals. We escaped through a gaping hole in the wall and we were back outside. Adam took a few steps forward and I should have been faster. I should have pushed him out of the way. I should have said something. I should have done anything to prevent what happened next.

A zombie, half crushed by rubble grabbed his ankle and bit down hard.

"Shit!" Adam stabbed the monster in the face, but my world has stopped. It's one of those moments where life pauses and the universe opens its mouth and vomits comprehension on you. Adam was bitten. He was going to die. He was going to come back as some... thing and the one person I had left in this world would be gone forever. It was all in slow motion: the knife arcing down to sink into the Infecteds' rotting head. The blackened blood spurting into the air. The final kick he used to free himself, and finally, the look on Adam's face when his eyes met mine.

He was crying. Big fat tears rolled down his angular face as his jaw shivered with words that died in his mouth. I stumbled towards him, and I could see in his eyes that I reflected the same expression.

All was lost.

"Myra--Myra I can't!" He sobbed, his hands moving restlessly around him. "I can't!"

"We'll find a way! I'll cure you! we have 2 days, Adam--we can--"

"I can't!" He shouted, fumbling around in his pocket for a gun. "I can't be one of them!" He pressed the gun to his forehead with shaking hands. I lunged to wrestle it away.

"Give me time to fix this!" I sobbed. "Please Adam, Please!" he was shaking his head, his fists in his hair, tears rushing down his face. I hugged him hard, because it was going to be one of the last hugs I ever gave him.

"Give me time to figure something out..." I whispered, gripping him tighter. I felt him nod, but the ugly truth was, there was nothing I could do. 

My brother was going to die.