The Disease

Chapter One - The House

The woods look prettier in the fall than they do in the summer. The leaves change colors, the birds start to flock. Fall is the best season; this is not an opinion, it's a fact. This was what Jenna thought as she walked through the forest with her husband. His name was John. These woods were okay, too. Nothing that could harm them. More than the city could offer, at least.

"Hey, Dad! I'm tired, can we rest? Please?" pleaded Bre.

Bre was not related to Jenna. Her and her dad were friends of Jenna's husband. Or at least her dad was. His name was Dell.

"Look, we just started walking. Please, just shut up." a rather snappy replay from Dell.

"Eight more miles of beautiful forest until we reach the city. Enjoy the peace while you can." said John.

John was right, the peace wouldn't last.

They walked, walked some more, and did a bit more walking. Bre didn't like how much they walked.

A few noticeable things did happen during their walk. John saw a squirrel, Dell noticed it had rabies, and John shot it. You really can't risk getting bitten, any disease is fatal. They passed an abandoned house, which isn't unusual. Still though, it might have some supplies. Just got to watch out for any bodies, those things carry disease.

The men, Dell and John, equip their weapons and proceed into the house. Dell carefully took out his revolver. He has to be careful with it, it was his grandfather's. John took out his police issue glock. He wasn't a cop, he just picked it off a dead one. Poor guy was probably shot during some riot or other byproduct of mass hysteria.

The ladies were left on guard duty. They weren't helpless either, they had weapons. Bre was too young for a gun and being a suburban teen didn't help either. She could use an axe though. It wasn't anything special, just some rusty old thing from her dad's toolshed. Jenna could use a gun and was quite a good shot, too. Her dad was an avid hunter, god bless his soul.

The house was in awful shape. The front door was barely on its hinges, the glass windows were broken, the paint was chipping, and there were a few skeletons. Looks like a family lived here.

Dell cautiously entered through the house, revolver drawn. He took a left, John took a right. Dell entered into what seemed like a dining room.

There wasn't much here, just some old food on a set table. Looks like the previous inhabitants died in a hurry, must've been looters. Dell saw the irony in that, a family dies because of looters to then have their corpses looted. Dell walked up to the old food, which was nothing more than soil from organic matter. Looks like mother nature looted this place too. After some careful examination of the living room, Dell decided there was nothing of note here. The kitchen was the next stop. Then, there was a thud.

John, police issue Glock in hand, walked into a living room fit with a plasma TV. This room would prove more fruitful than the dining room, there were skeletons that tried to defend themselves. One skeleton wearing a tattered plaid t-shirt and blue jeans held a shotgun. Even if the gun didn't have any ammo and was jammed, it could be sold to the right people. As luck would have it the gun was empty, but not jammed, and if this guy were smart he'd have an ammo stash. It shouldn't be too far off, John would have to keep his eyes peeled. Then, there was a thud.

Both John and Dell ran to the entrance of the house, a place where they could escape if need be. Of course their guns were drawn.

"Who's there?" yelled Dell.

"We're armed" warned John.

A small head peeked out of the dining room. She must've been hiding in the kitchen. Relieved, both men lowered their weapons.