THE DEAD ZONE | COMPLETED

Two |

Two |

Mommy, when is Daddy getting home?"

I was a few months away from turning nine with no troubles in the world, but I remember this day – and every day after it. Mommy looked stressed. She had ordered me to stay inside – turning off all the house lights and checking the windows and door for the sixth time. But I wasn't worried, we practiced this lock down state twice a year ever since I was six.

"Erin Mira Brooks, this is the third time I am telling you to stay in the basement – do not make me say it one more time," Mommy ordered with a shaky voice.

"I just want to know when Daddy's coming home," I shouldn't have whined.

I knew that now. But now was always too late; present mistakes become future past taunting's.

After that there was only blood.

Red danced across my eyelids jolting me awake with a start. A cold sweat clung to my body as I realized I was developing a fever due to yesterday's rain. I couldn't afford to get sick, I needed to get dressed and get food into my body to boost my immune system. My body was entirely sore – every step was a creak of my stiff joints.

I pushed the door open and took a step into the living room. My eyes immediately locked on the furniture that I had piled in front of the window the night before – more as the lack of. I silently cursed for sleeping so deeply that I hadn't woken up to that.

Something moved behind me and my heels spun with my arms flying up. Too slow. The human figure stumbled into my body knocking me to the ground as a scream escaped my lips. His face was sunken in – half his jaw missing and stained with dried blood.

A low moan sprang from him as his distorted jaw worked to latch onto any of my skin and my fingers dug into the rotting, soft flesh of his shoulders. The pungent stench of shit and rotting flesh caught in my throat as I gagged. His nails scratched at my neck drawing lines of blood.

I pulled my knees up towards my chest – digging into the prodding hole between his ribs were his insides must have once fallen out. Then with all my might I pushed outwards causing the zom to stumble onto his back and off me.

I half pulled, half crawled towards my bag as fast as I could move. My body was growing weak and I could feel my head growing light. It would seem I was sicker then I thought. This wasn't good. His hand clamped around my foot and I cried out as his teeth brushed against my skin. I kicked my other foot out wildly as I searched my bag for my knife. My foot clipped the side of his head as my fingers wrapped around my gun as I fumbled to pull it out.

The front door banged, my eyes widened as black dots danced across my vision. More had come so soon? Another bang. It was becoming so hard to breathe. I turned and aimed with a spinning world. His head was so close to my foot. I jerked it back and squeezed the trigger. Behind me the door slammed open.

The world slowed down. The bullet hit with perfect aim – ripping through his left eye in a shower of eye chunks. Then I turned as the world started to fade around me. Three figures stood in the door as I raised my gun and squeezed the trigger just as my fingers grew numb unable to hold on any longer and my body fell forward.

The world faded faster than my head fell.

"Dad we have to move," I grunted shoving my knife into the head of an undead woman. She fell with my knife and I bent to tug it out. Gently, I wiped the blood off onto my shirt.