I slowly woke up and blinked at the tv. I must have fallen asleep since the tv was playing Sesame Street. I wondered if I could have a glass of orange juice and some toast. I walked into the kitchen, but Mom wasn't there. I went upstairs, but she wasn't up there either. Where was she? I didn't see Dad either.
I heard the door open and close and went back to the stairs. I headed downstairs and paused as I heard Mom crying. Why was she crying? I quickly ran down the rest of the steps. "Mom, what's wrong?"
The last time I had seen her cry like this Auntie had died. I was worried. Why wasn't she answering? "Mom?"
She finally looked up with teary eyes, "Laura, sorry, I didn't see you there. It is after lunch time, are you hungry?"
I nodded, "Can I have orange juice and toast?"
She nodded and went into the fridge. I looked around. Why was she crying? I wondered if Dad would tell me.
"Mom, where is Dad?"
Mom paused and looked sad, "The neighbor hurt him when he went to get the paper this morning. I took him to the hospital, but they wanted him to stay there for a while."
Oh no, Dad was in hospital? "Is he okay?" Why would the nice old neighbor hurt Dad? They always played card games together.
Mom nodded slowly and hesitated, "He will be fine, but they think the neighbor might have had the bad flu and wasn't himself. I may have been exposed, so if I fall down or act funny run upstairs and close the main door, okay?"
I blinked in shock, "The bad flu is in town?"
Mom nodded again, "Yes, and the zombie virus was also reported, so avoid anyone with red eyes or if they act funny. Just in case I catch it, if I fall down, I want you to run as fast as you can up to the second floor and close that door and lock it. Don't open it unless I tell you in words that it is safe to come down. If I am sick I may make other noises, but whatever you do, don't open that door or you might get sick too. Do you understand?"
She looked really serious and upset. I didn't like it when she got mad, thankfully she was rarely upset for long. I nodded slowly, I hoped that she didn't get sick. "How long do I stay upstairs?"
She shook her head, "Until I tell you it is safe. It may be a while, so you can eat anything up there while waiting. If I don't talk to you by the next day you can open the window if you see someone you think is not sick and call out to them, but be careful in case they are sick too."
The toast popped up and she buttered it and put some peanut butter and honey on it. I sat at the table and ate my toast and orange juice. Mom was looking out of the kitchen window with a frown. She muttered, "That isn't good. I better close the blinds before that zombie gets closer."
I got off my chair and brought my dishes over. Mom smiled as she took them from me. I turned to go watch more cartoons. I was halfway out of the kitchen when I heard the plate hit the floor and break. I turned around in worry. I gasped as I saw Mom shaking on the floor. I took a step forward, I hoped she wasn't sick. "Mom?"
I heard her growl. Uh oh. She told me to go upstairs if she fell down and I hadn't listened. Now she was mad. I quickly turned and ran up the stairs and closed the door and locked both locks. I went and hid beneath my bed, but she never came looking for me. I knew she had the keys for the locks hidden in her room, perhaps I had run fast enough that I wasn't in trouble.
Had she just been testing me or was she really sick? I really hoped that she wasn't getting sick. After a while I got bored of hiding and came out. I knocked on the locked door, "Mom, can I come out now?"
I heard some shuffling downstairs and growling. Perhaps she was sick. I hoped that she got better soon. I usually got better in a few days if I got sick, hopefully Mom would feel better soon. I guess I had to stay up here. I hopped onto my bed and turned on my small tv.
I flicked through the channels, but the cartoons were over. I passed the news channel and turned back. Why did the news lady have blood on her? She was talking about zombies again. My eyes widened as she started listing towns that they had been seen in. I knew some of those towns! Some were really close to here.
I watched as the news turned to a guy in a white coat. He started speaking, "The situation is very unstable. Please do not try and travel as roads are congested and gridlock is trapping people in dangerous situations. Remain in your home if possible and avoid all contact with the infected. If you suspect anyone is sick avoid all contact. We are advising people to-"
I jumped as the lights went out and the tv turned off. I hit the remote, but it didn't turn back on. The power must have gone out. I glanced outside, but even the traffic lights were dark. The lady must have been speaking about the zombies and the guy must have been talking about the bad flu, it must have been seen near here. Mom said that she might have had it. The guy said to avoid all contact, so I would have to wait until she was better to see her.
Well, I knew a lot more about zombies now. Too bad they didn't say how long it would take for the bad flu to pass. I wasn't sure how long Mom was going to be sick. I was worried about her. When she had a cold last year Dad took care of her and cooked for her, but he was at the hospital with the bad flu too. Wait, I could call an ambulance! They could help Mom!
I ran into the office and grabbed the phone. I carefully dialed 911 and waited. The phone beeped and a computer voice started talking, "All lines are busy. Please hold and the next available attendant will assist you."
I sat and waited in the chair, but the music just kept playing. I eventually got up and went to the window, keeping the phone close to me just in case. I gasped and stared out the window. There were people with blood on them in the street. They were walking funny. They must have gotten sick too. Oh, they had red eyes – could they possibly be zombies?
I watched as they wandered here and there. Some were trying to climb in an open window across the street. I cross compared what I knew about the bad flu and the zombies. These were definitely zombies. They had red eyes. I also knew that they were very dangerous. I whimpered and closed the curtains so they couldn't see me. I think zombies are worse than bogey men. Bogey men only come at night when you sleep and the zombies were outside right now in plain sight.
I hoped that they would go away soon.
I sat on my bed and looked sadly around my room. I felt like I was being punished for something, but I wasn't sure how to change it. Mom still wouldn't let me downstairs despite me asking several times a day and Dad still hadn't come home. It had been over two weeks now.
The power had never come back on. It took me almost an entire morning, but I had moved a big foot stool from the second floor up the stairs and into the room across from mine. I had watched the street a lot in the recent days, hoping to see someone who didn't look sick, but had no such luck. All I saw were zombies. Lots and lots of zombies that were just wandering around.
Karen never came over. Our phone had gone dead the day after I had been upstairs. At first I had been thrilled to play with my toys for as long as I wanted to, but it felt like something was missing. I missed my Mom and Dad. I missed Karen and my other friends. I even missed carrying the garbage out.
I grabbed another graham cracker out of the box and ate it. I decided to check out the pile of boxes and see if there was anything else that looked good to eat in it. I was getting tired of these crackers. I had eaten five boxes of them already. I walked to the second floor and looked at the boxes. I struggled to read the unfamiliar words. Why couldn't the big brown boxes have pictures on the sides?
I pulled a few down and opened them to see if the stuff inside had pictures on it. Each big brown box had several smaller ones inside and there were more big boxes than I could count. Oh! This one had dried banana slices. I grabbed a bag of those. I wandered over to the office. I was getting tired of just water. I wondered if there was anything in the boxes in this room. All the ones here were really heavy. I managed to tip one over and the lip opened as small boxes of orange juice spilled out.
I grabbed two with a smile and took the stuff to my foot stool. I used the window sill like a small table. I kept hoping to see someone on the street, but all I saw were red eyed zombies. I grabbed my small wind up cassette player and wound it up. I had several cassettes for The Beatles band. I had already heard all these songs dozens of times, but it was better than the silence.
Once I was full I went over to my bookshelf and grabbed a book. I sat on my bed to read it. After a while I put it down and tried to draw some of the things in the book. I wonder what Tarzan had done in his free time? At least he was able to go outside and swing in the trees. I wasn't even allowed downstairs.