One Shots Book

A Break in Their Routine (No ships)

The door let out a loud bang as it flung open and a wave of musty air flew out. The boy began coughing and waved his hands about in hopes to clear the air. Movement began towards the doorway of the store, being drawn in by the noise and glaring light. The beast before him screeched out in ecstasy, throwing itself upon the only human it had seen. The boy yelled in response, stumbling backwards from the doorway. The street filled with stumbling corpses all turned to face the large amount of noise, each crying out as it saw the human as well. The boy's blue eyes desperately searched for somewhere to go, noticing only one possible exit from the large amounts of monsters moving quickly towards him. The boy thanked himself for being skinny as he sprinted around the building and into the alley beside it. The opening was tight, and he desperately hoped the creatures couldn't sneak through. He was wrong, however, as the mass of human bodies shoved each other through the gap in desperation for food. The boy backed until he could feel the brick wall against his body. He quickly looked behind himself and groaned. The building was too tall, with absolutely no way to climb its wall. The mess of flesh and blacken wounds pushed itself towards the boy and he smacked his head back.

"No, no, no! Come on, that's not fair!" A young boy came pounding down the hallway, throwing open his older brother's room.

"Ha ha, told ya I could beat you as the zombies!" The young boy was bouncing on his toes, dancing around in celebration. The older boy groaned, putting down his headphones. He spun around and faced the younger.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever, kid." The older boy stood from his chair, moving past his gloating brother and leaving the room. He began his accustomed path down the house stairs and into their kitchen. The younger came tumbling down after him, his blond mop of hair covering his eyes. The older boy rolled his own eyes and pushed the other's hair to the side before returning to the cold pizza in the fridge. The shorter boy frowned at his brother's distaste for the situation.

"I'm not a kid anymore, I'm almost as old as you." The older chuckled at the other boy and passed him a slice of the cold pizza.

"Yeah, sure, kid. How old are you now, 13?" The younger accepted the slice of pizza and took a large bite.

"Yeah, and you're only 18. I'm close!" His words were muffled by the pizza in his mouth, but the taller had learned how to translate that long ago. He put the pizza box back into the fridge, looking at his younger brother. The pair looked strikingly similar, both displaying the same bright blue eyes and blond hair. The taller had learned how to tame his by this point as he was nearly an adult now. He smiled at the smaller boy and waved him out the doorway of the kitchen. It had become routine by now that the younger would sit at the window and watch for their parents to return home from work, the other sitting next to him on the couch. They would just talk during the few minutes they sat there- brotherly bonding time, if you wish. The older sat next to his brother, resting his head back against the couch. However, he was startled upright by his brother. "Simon, what's that?"

The young boy pointed out the window, where a body lay upon the road. Assuming the worst- that someone had been killed- the taller grabbed his brother down from the window and sat him facing away.

"Wait, Simon, what's wrong? What is it? Why are they still moving?" It was only after that barrage of questions that the taller blond realized the body was still moving. It had obviously been hit hard, the body quite mutilated. Yet, the limbs were still twitching about. As he paid more attention, he could recognize the body as their neighbor across the street, the familiar boy flattened on the ground. His body had many cuts and wounds, all bleeding quickly upon the road. The older could not move himself enough to call the police, and instead just sat there watching the scene. Suddenly, however, the twitching stopped. The blood that had been flooding from the body slowed in its path, turning black and thick. "Simon, what's happening?"

"I don't know." The boy could barely mumble as he watched, brain racing for answers. What was happening? The body slowly began to move again, except more deliberately. The arms moved back upon the pavement, pushing the body upright until it could flop forward. It looked like it was trying to sit, yet its spine was so damaged it could not hold itself up. The blond watched intently as the creature slowly moved its arms again to push itself to standing. The poor boy's legs were bent in odd directions, leaving his body unbalanced in its posture. However, the monster made sure to make eye contact with Simon. His neighbor's eyes were still their old piercing green, but the whites of his eyes were now pitch black. The boy's skin was slowly becoming grey. His wounds now had black sludge seeping from them, rolling slowly down the greyed skin. His jaw fell slack on his face and he let out a small cry.

"Zombies..." The tall blond let out the word like it was simply a breath, confusing the thirteen year old next to him.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Zombies." Soon, the town will be destroyed. Human bodies will litter the ground, large chunks of flesh removed from their places. A putrid smell will hang heavy in the air, making the task of breathing much too difficult. Glass windows will be smashed in; what were once quaint little shops shall lay in ruin. Hunger will drive what few corpses still walk, the plague forcing their deceased bodies onward. For as long as their brains remain, a sickness will keep the rotting bodies moving. A disease of black that keeps blood flowing through the body even when not enough is left. An epidemic that begins in one little town, right across the street from two boys. A disaster which will keep those two boys from getting to see their parents come home. A break in their routine.

Background: 

A young scientist sat alone in the lab, hunched over his work. He had recently discovered something fascinating, something he couldn't explain. Before his eyes stood a  handful of rats that moved as if they were still at their prime. However, all the other rats from the experiment were dead now, having died of old age. He had been testing a new bacteria they had found, and he couldn't figure out how to explain these results. Did the bacteria stop the aging process? No, the rats had been given the injections soon after birth and were now adults. It hadn't slowed their development either, they aged to adulthood just the same as the rats without the injections. Had he found the key to immortality? The head of the department walked in now, finally answering the first's requests. The head was an older man who's attitude had spoiled as he aged. The balding man walked over, glaring into the box. After a short exchange of words, the head scientist allowed his eyes to widen. He ordered they repeat the experiment, this time giving them the injections later in life. After this trial, they found the same results occurred with the rats. The head scientist was quick to report the findings to the government, saying he'd found the answer to stop death. The new bacteria threw the world into a frenzy, everyone wanting to try this miracle themselves. Almost everyone in the world got the injection, hoping that they too could live on forever. However, the first scientist realized something bad. Those rats that continued to live, didn't live happily. Their fur began to fall off, and soon after their now black skin rotted away. Yet, the poor creatures continued to live until they suffocated from a lack of lungs to breathe. Their bodies would ooze black sludge, and their eyes were completely black as well. The creatures had also begun to eat each other towards the end, quickening their deaths. The scientist was mortified, and quickly reported this to the head. It was too late, however. The whole world was now contaminated by the bacteria. The head scientist told him to keep quiet, that the wealth and fame were more important. The first researcher spoke out, nonetheless, and told all that the injections were bad and weren't going to keep them alive and happy. The man was quickly arrested for treason and sentenced to death. His final words were a desperate plea with the world. "Please, when it all goes awry, aim for the head. Without the brain, the creature will die."