That scream sounded so loud, it belonged to Aurei. She was in danger.
After hearing that heart wrenching scream, I yank my foot from the fresh new hole I made, the wood scratching and cutting against my flesh, I bite my lip to avoid crying out in pain. I turn around and start to run upstairs and made my way into the hall.
I dart towards Mom's room as fast as I can to see...Aurei on the floor and Mom on top of her, her knees pinned Aurei's arms against the ground as mom sat on her stomach, Aurei had grabbed mom's skinny arms to refrain mom from doing any damage.
"Mom! Please! I'm your daughter!" Aurei yells frantically. Everything from that point seemed to go into slow motion at that point.
Mom's mouth was coated in drool, her skin was so dull, her blood stained, her eyes milky white and wide open, her jaw hung loosely as if she couldn't control it. At this moment I knew...
That wasn't my mother anymore.
Without thinking, in one quick motion I raise my father's gun towards Mom.
My fingers on the trigger. I grit my teeth as tears burned in the corners of my eyes.
Dad's words corrupt my mind as I my hands tremble.
Keep your finger on the trigger if you want to shoot, take a deep breath, now shoot.
I pull the trigger, making a loud, ear peircing noise. I stagger back a little as mom's body collapses over Aurei . The bullet goes into my Mother's eye socket, Aurei scurries up as Mom falls to the side, the blood going down her cheeks and dripping on her nightgown.
Aurei's eyes widen, she starts hyperventailating, clutching her frizzy, nappy hair as she looked at mom's blood that was spilled all over her face.
I'm gonna regret this.
I slap Aurei hard, she touches her cheek, her eyes wide. My hand retracts away as it stung. Aurei stops panicking and just goes silent.
"I'm sorry..." Aurei whispers, clamping her mouth as tears went down her cheeks. I grab her, hugging her tightly.
"You're going to listen to me, grab your things and go upstairs until I tell you to come down, it's getting dark so we can't leave today." I explain, wiping the tears from Aurei's cheek as she cried silently.
Aurei nods quietly, then walks out the door.
"And Aurei?" I ask.
"Yeah?" Aurei asks, turning to face me.
"Love you." I said, she nods silently and she walks off as I look down at mom, my gut was telling me to not go outside.
I reach my arm under mom's knees and snaked my arm around her back, hoisting her up, I try my best not to look at her head which had revealed the damage I have done to her.
"I'm sorry..." I whisper to Mom before leaving. The fact that I couldn't bury her killed me. It would be impossible to walk outside now with these people roaming around.
Were they even people? They could be sick....
But mom was sick....and mom died....and I could've sworn I checked her pulse and her breathing.
But how...did she attack Aurei? Why did she act like those people outside?
Then it hits me....that couldn't have been mom....mom would never attack her own child, that was against her morals. She had her eyes wide open as she tried to dig her fingers into Aurei's body, but all the life inside of those eyes were gone.
It has to be the same with those people outside, they're already dead...but something is causing them to move...it's like the resurrection in the Bible.
For now...I'll look at them as the undead until I find more information....
What am I even saying?
My thoughts get interrupted as these people start banging their fists against our windows. I dart out of mom's room and into the living room to see our door moving, they were trying to get in.
I try to move the sofa on my right, pushing it with every ounce of strength I had in my body to move it in front of the door. My muscles clenched as I use my feet for ground support while pushing the sofa in front of the door.
The budging stops.
Then I grab my bag off the couch with everything in it then darted upstairs, my stamina causing me to run much slower.
I run into our room and slam the door, locking it in the process, I back away slowly, my chest rising up and down as sweat begun to bleed through my shirt.
I turn around to see Aurei laying on the bottom bunk of our bed, her face buried in a pillow to quiet her sobs.
I rub Aurei's back. She goes stiff and she sits up, hugging her knees and staring ahead.
"What I did was stupid, don't lecture me." Aurei says without facing me. Her eyes still were wide, which meant that she's no permanently traumatized....and sadly...I can't help her with that.
"I didn't want to do it." I admit, looking ahead.
She looks up at me from her pillow, then she rests her head on my shoulder. I snake my arm around her back and pull her closer.
Eventually, I begun to ignore the people outside and aimed my focus on my little sister.
"But we'd both regret it if I hadn't done something..." I continue, squeezing her shoulder, I never really cried, except the day Dad died...I can't lose Aurei. I just can't.
"I fucking hate this world." Aurei growls.
"Aurei, you're thirteen. But you can't run your mouth all the time, especially if I'm telling you to do something important." I lecture. Aurei sighs.
"I'm sorry, that was my anger talking." Aurei says, correcting herself.
"Where will we go?" Aurei asks, her sniffles growing fainter.
"Away from the city, maybe down the highway where Dad taught us to hunt." I said, my voice still wavering. Mom's corpse kept haunting me, every time I go silent...the images just kept appearing.
"The fields." I clarify, distracting myself from those images.
"Can I go to sleep?" Aurei asks quietly.
"I'm not stopping you." I shrugged.
Aurei rests her head on the pillow beside the wall, rolling on her side so that I could see nothing but her backside.
"You better be there when I wake up." Aurei warns before drifting off to sleep.
I roll my eyes at her sly comment. "You better not change even the slightest lil' sis." I smirk, ruffling her hair. I love annoying her.
"I'll always be here Aurei." I said as I look up at the ceiling. "Always."
If anyone was outside...they're screwed.
Dad would've left with us if he was still alive...he would remind me of the ways to use a revolver. He would be able to keep me balanced and I wouldn't be the unstable woman I am today.
Dad and I were walking down the forest, there were three tree stumps with three empty whiskey bottles.
Mom hobbles after us, she was still pregnant with Aurei when Dad was teaching me how to hunt. She was going through her second trimester.
"Avery, just know that this isn't a toy. Use it only when you believe you absolutely have to." Dad warns before handing me the gun.
The weight was unbelievable, in those black and white movies we would watch those actors flung it around like it was nothing.
Mom clutched her chest, she had long black hair and almond shaped eyes.
Dad guides my hands up towards the first whiskey bottle.
"Take a deep breath." Dad whispers in my ear.
I puffed out my cheeks, Dad chuckles as Mom looked like she was about to have a heart attack.
"Don't hold your breath." Dad chuckles.
I narrow my eyes at the whiskey bottle, my finger on the trigger.
"Now shoot." He directed.
I pull the trigger, but I missed the bottle.
Mom ran her hand over her swollen stomach, it was easy to tell that she was scared.
"You almost had it! Try again!" Dad cheers, putting my hair in a ponytail.
I pulled the trigger, missing again.
"It's okay, we'll try again tomorrow-" Dad said, turning around to face Mom.
I pull the trigger again this time, it didn't miss.
"Dad! Dad! I got it! Did you see it! Did ya?" I asked, dancing.
Dad's grin grows across his face, then he picks me up, carrying me on his shoulders.
"My little hunter, we're gonna catch fish next tomorrow after shool...." Dad went on.
Mom sighs in relief then quickly takes the gun from my hand, I watched her unload it so swiftly.
"Maybe I'll teach little Aurei how to hunt too." Dad chirps, looking down at Mom's stomach.
Sadly...he couldn't...he was gone.....
I was five when I learned how to shoot.
This world has changed, there's no society, no laws, and no help.
I know it's too soon to think about that...but there hadn't been any arrests, police only showed to try and stop the riot, but failed, and no one made an attempt to help us....
Knowing what happened in our neighborhood, the evacuation routes must be invaded by the undead.
We were idiots to stay here, at least we have supplies and extra bullets.
----------------------
I rise up quickly out of to hear shattered glass. I look to my right to see an empty bed, Aurei isn't here.
My mind began to run wild with unrealistic imaginations as I threw my legs off the bed and held my revolver up.
When I looked at the door, it was cracked, she must've left while I was dozin' off. My heart starts pounding against my chest as I open the door.
I feel a pang of relief as I see Aurei crouching near the stairs, I kick the wall while grimacing.
"What the hell are you doing?" I hiss at her, she puts a finger to her lips then motions for me to come closer to her.
I hear the groans of the people, but they got louder...so loud that it felt like they were downstairs as we speak.
As I peer down the stairs, the undead were trying to get through the window. The glass looks as if it can shatter at any second.
"Aurei grab your shit!" I yell, running downstairs my feet aching at every step, at this moment, they're invading my home, my house, and I'm not having that.
My ankle still stung from yesterday but I ignore the pain and run into the living room. The window completely shatters, causing the people to bend inwards, falling inside.
"Get back!" I yell, but they paid no attention to my command.
My heart began to beat through my chest, as I shoot the that was crawling inside by the head.
"Aurei! Run!" I bark, shooting another by the head.
Aurei runs down the stairs, then down the hall towards the basement, her ponytail whipping behind her.
I run, jumping over the coffee table.
The bag!
I turn around, running up the stairs to reclaim my portable bag that I left behind, my feet regaining the stamina that I needed.
I grab the bag, then dash down the stairs, a couple more of those things broke in, and now they're sprawled across the floor in our living room.
Pulling out my gun, I aim for the one that staggered towards me, for some middle aged people....they walk extremely slow.
"Avery!" Aurei shouts from behind me.
I dodge the corpse, running the hardest I could in the direction where Aurei called me, she stood against the hallway, her eyes wide. I rush towards the garage, grabbing Aurei with my free hand and flung her inside
"Get in the car NOW!" I shout, turning around to shoot two people who were shambling down the hall. They both collapse.
Another person walks in, he's pretty tall for an old man, I aim for his head, but I miss and shot his chest instead...but he kept moving.
My eyebrows furrowed as my jaw slightly drops.
What the fuck?
I rush into the garage after Aurei, ignoring what I just witnessed. She was already in our rustic truck, I run over to the door of the garage, lifting it up so quickly that my arm stung.
Then I run back towards the truck, hopping inside the driver's seat and slamming the door.
"Drive!" Aurei yells.
I start the car, causing the car to jerk backwards with a loud roar.
"Shit." I mutter, the people began to stagger their way into the garage. I press on the gas.
I back my way out of the garage, then made a wild turn, driving the hardest I could with laser-like focus.
The people were walking their way towards our house. Was the gunshot that loud?
I drive forward, a decaying woman turns to face us, but I didn't care, her body got caught in front of the truck.
The truck makes a hard bump.
Aurei looks at the rearview of the truck.
"Her head got ran over." Aurei says, grimacing a little. Her hair blowing in the wind.
"I'm not worried about that." I growl, my eyes still fixed on the road.
My eyes widen, as I turn the other way, several people stood in the road, it's pretty much impossible to drive through them.
I make a sharp turn, almost hitting my head against the window, my hands clench around the wheel.
"Are they stupid?!" I yell. "Get the fuck out of the way!"
Aurei grips the side of her seat, her eyes widening.
Three decaying men stopped limping and stood there like a deer caught in the headlights, I steer past them, hitting them with the side of the truck.
The truck makes a loud screech and almost comes to a stop, but I didn't stop driving.
I make a right turn down the dusty road, seeing more trees than I see of houses.
But until that bad feeling in my gut is gone...I'll keep driving. Aurei still had tears running down her cheek.
I reach over and wipe the tears away.
"No more tears." I said with a small smile.
"No more tears." Aurei repeats.
I wanted to puke when I drove past a neighbor I knew, Mrs. Anderson, only left with her torso-no legs and her lower intestines spilled out. She snapped her teeth at the truck as she slowly reached to us.
Her organs were almost soup like, her bowels looked like they had been ground up like beef, and they were snaked all over the street.
"We're almost out of gas." I warn, Aurei sits up, her body shivering.
"I know a gas station up ahead, it's not far." I piped, rubbing her head gently. Aurei had to be traumatized after everything that she has been through.
"We have more of a chance in the morning, I'll pull over in the forest so we don't get spotted." I said, laying back in my seat.
I make a left into the forest, driving down to the point that I could barely see the road.
"We stay in the car, if you have to use the bathroom, let me know." I instructed.
"Did you pack food?" Aurei asks.
"Enough to last us a week or two." I add, unzipping my bag and pulling out two bags of beef jerky.
"Only eat when you're sure that you're hungry." I instructed her.
"Can I eat now?" Aurei asks, raising her eyebrows.
"Go ahead."
Aurei rips open the bag, chewing the beef jerky while closing her eyes.
"Do we have any water?" Aurei asks between bites.
I nod, passing her a water bottle.
"Do we have enough gas to make it to the station?" Aurei asks.
"Unfortunately, no." I said laying back.
"Get some rest when you're done, we still have to travel." I order.
"You should learn how to shoot. Because if I'm not there, you'll..." I finish.
"I know." Aurei groans wrapping the bag with leftover jerky and turning around in the seat.
"I'm gonna smoke for a bit." I said.
"Not in here." Aurei says exhaustedly. "I have asthma remember?"
I hop out of the car, softly closing it, with the revolver in my hand. I check the area, there weren't any people here....which is a relief.
I pull out my cigarette, frowning at it as I lit it up.
Smoking wasn't something I'm proud of, Aurei always gets annoyed whenever I have to smoke.
"You do know it's hypocritical to tell me how bad smoking is when you do it all the time right?"
"I don't get the fascination with smoking, It fucks up your lungs and it doesn't make you look cool."
"That's pretty stupid you know?"
Aurei has at least said this once a week, reminding me that it's a bad habit and it's looked down upon.
Believe me when I tell you Aurei has an old soul, out of most kids I've seen, she's displays remarkable maturity for a girl her age.
As for my smoking habit, I wasn't a fan of it neither until after my father died, I was a mess, became an alcoholic, broke the law, and got into street fights which resulted in me showing up at home with bruises.
All thanks to my ex-boyfriend, Logan.
That was when I didn't look the way I do now, two pigtails, braces and I was the nerdy type. He got me into drinking and smoking a month after my Dad died, Mom yelled at me, so did Aurei. Soon, I realized my mistake and dumped him. I haven't seen him ever since.
Now...he's probably dead.
I move the cigarette from my mouth, releasing a cloud of smoke from my lips. I sigh and lean back and cross my arms.
I was used to dealing with small problems before this disaster happened.
Our family got criticized because my Dad was black and my Mom was mexican. Prejudice had been our worst enemy.
Usually I'd deal with problems like gas money, money for cigarettes, visiting my annoying ass cousins who got in trouble left and right, bills, our cars getting towed away...but now our only solution is moving and staying alive.
Now our biggest fear is being ripped apart and eaten alive by these crazy people.
As daylight remains, I drop my cigarette, putting it out with my shoe.
Seeing Mom hovering over Aurei in her nightgown haunted me, and how I wanted to cry when I pulled the trigger.
But it was for Aurei's sake, my main priority is to keep her alive.
Sometimes I wonder what goes on in that head of hers. Even though she doesn't act her age...she's still a little girl.
The way she looked as I drove over those corpses was unsettling. She was a little more humane than me.
I climb back in the truck, closing the door and locking it.
Aurei quietly snores, her frizzy low ponytail getting squished in the seat. I grin and ruffle her hair. I love her so much...
I can be cold sometimes, a bit of an asshole, but when it comes to Aurei, she reminds me that those are only flaws and there are many ways to love myself.
I won't lose her...like I lost Mom and Dad...I promise to keep her alive...even if my own life is at risk.