Bloodfire - A Different Virus Spinoff

Chapter 2

I couldn't believe my eyes. The sight two blocks from my house had me losing hope quickly; there were so many of the mindless creatures wandering around... So many people being brutally torn apart...

I shook my head. No. They were at home, safe and sound. They had to be. They were smart. I looked back up as a loud chorus of moans and groans were followed by a thump against my side of the car. I looked over to see a zombie against the window and several more on their way over. I yelped and hit the gas, hoping to get to my house and save them. That's when I saw them. My father with my baby sister in his arms, leading my sister and brother. They were running for their lives. Outside. Unprotected. Somehow, a zombie was gaining on them quickly. It was running. Running toward them. I slammed on my breaks and honked, making a U-turn. My mom snarled in the back seat. I saw my sister look over and hope filled her eyes, but mine went wide in horror as she bumped right into a shuffling dead man, his red eyes shutting happily as he wasted no time in chomping down on her shoulder. I heard her blood-curdling scream as more smelled her blood and swarmed around her, including the creepily fast one. They were quickly tearing through her makeshift armor, ripping apart the pillows, bubble wrap, and hockey gear as they raced to get to her flesh. My brother and father were crying out as if their shouting could save her now. I pulled up beside them and rolled down my window. "Dad! Tyler!" I yelled. "Get in! Get in!" They were caked in blood, covered in pillows and hockey pads, and Tyler was wearing a football helmet, but they didn't appear to be injured from my angle.

"IVY!" Tyler shouted, tears welling in his eyes. "They bit Dad's leg what do I do?!"

My heart dropped. "Get in," I said, still clinging to the hope that, just maybe, he wouldn't die. They both nodded and Tyler pulled open the door to the back, him and dad hopped in. "CAREFUL," I warned them. Dad closed the door and they both looked up at me. "Mom is in the back-back!" I said. "She's turned." They both looked back in shock.

"Ivy... How did Mom..." Tyler started. I shook my head.

"No time to explain right now... Tyler, get up here. Dad, buckle yourself in the middle row, on the opposite side of her. Give me Layla." Dad just stared at her in shock, tears gathering in his eyes as he slowly sat down where I'd instructed him to and passed my baby sister to Tyler. I could see my sister Olive being devoured by beasts, and it made me gag, watching the horror and disbelief on her blood-splattered face slowly fade into an expressionless, dead look. The zombies turned away from her and started to wander off again, in search of new food. She was completely gone, her eyes glazed over and features covered in fresh blood. Almost her entire body was eaten by them, you could see her bones sticking out of her body at awkward angles, half her face was missing, and you would've been able to see her entrails hanging out if there had been any left. She didn't deserve this. She was only eleven. She didn't deserve to die so early on in life. She didn't deserve to die like that.

I felt my body shudder when she began to shake after lying motionless. I couldn't believe my eyes. How was it possible that she was turning already? It had barely been three minutes! Was it because of how badly she was injured?

A slam against the side of the car snapped me out of my thoughts. The zombie that had been running was now pounding against the window, staring at us with a mixture of drool and my sister's blood dripping down its rotten chin. I stared at it. It was once likely a very beautiful lady, with long blond hair. Her hair was now matted down with blood and grime, a fake eyelash sticking to her cheek and her purple eyeshadow smudged so far down it blended with her lipstick. I looked into her eyes. Her glossy, red eyes. They were so captivating...

I gasped and leaned back in my seat, trying to put distance between me and it, remembering what happened last time one got this close to me. I was determined not to get pulled into some sort of trance again, this thing was not about to take over my mind. This disgusting virus was not about to pull me in again and trap me this time. I threw the clutch into reverse and floored the gas, backing up rapidly. I could hear the moans of the undead all around my van; they had been surrounding us. I felt the car bump and sway unnaturally as I urged it over and through the walking dead, desperate to escape with what little family I had left.