Journal Entry One; Part Three

Walking down Main Street, we got a better look at the mess the CDA was trying to cover up. Body parts lay next to the trash in the ditches like discarded litter. Cars were abandoned. It was
desolate and quiet. Too quiet. “How did this happen so quickly?” Adam’s mom was
the first one to speak in over six miles. I don’t even believe she was just
talking to us; just thinking aloud. “I was out here… shopping… like, four hours
ago. I don’t understand…” Her voice faded out as she moved further ahead. She
was right. None of this made sense. How did these creatures… happen. What made
them into what they are? Did the CDC create a virus or something that went
wrong? Was it a mutated strain of rabies or something? These things wanted to
feed on anything. But… how come there was only body parts on the cracked asphalt streets and not full bodies? It just
didn’t make sense. Almost as if life heard my question, we heard the pounding
of feet on the road. It was away from us but was getting louder- which meant
whatever it was… it was coming our way. Andrew and his Mom ran to the other
side of the street and hid behind the concrete wall that separated the street
and the median. Adam grabbed my arm and dragged me behind an abandoned car.
“Get down and stay quiet!” I was freaking out. Was the sound these things
coming after us? It was getting louder. If they could run… Oh, god help us…

When the noise rounded the corner, it wasn’t what we expected. It was people. Alive people. And as they ran closer, I could see better… they were children. Not far behind them were those
creatures chasing them. We watched the kids run for their lives and as we stood
in shock, one of girls tripped and fell. The kids went on and ran until they
noticed she fell. A few turned back as the others just stood there, dumfounded.
They tried to pull her up but she couldn’t stand. The creatures were catching
up to them now and one of the things made a grab for the little boy who was
wearing a “Bob the Builder” shirt. His screams echoed off the cars and aluminum
side cigarette shack making a metallic nightmare that raped my ears. After
that, It was chaos. Andrew jumped out of his hiding spot and shot the monster
who had his head in the little boys neck chomping away on his main artery like
it was a soft peach. The bullet hit the thing square in the chest and knocked
it to the ground. Those times at the shooting range with his dad finally paid
off. That’s when it got back up. That fucking monster got right up like he just
tripped or something. “What the fuck?!?!” Andrew was just as confused as the
rest of us. Adam shoved me to the ground and shot his .22 directly at the
creatures’ face. It went down. It didn’t get back up. “You gotta hit the head! The
head! The fucking head, Andrew!” Andrew clicked back into reality and both
brothers started mowing down the freaks. There was a boy running to us with the
girl who first fell to begin with in his arms. I ran out to them and took the
girl in my arms and him by the hand and lead them to where Adam and Andrew’s
Mom was hunkering down. The little girl was crying and the boy’s face was ashen
and blank. After a few more shots, it was quiet again. No one moved. The only sound
that I could hear was the soft cries of the girl in my arms. “It’s ok, baby. You’re
safe.” Hope was the best lie I could come with to comfort her.

                When the sun started to set, we decided that we needed to find a place to camp. No one had said much that afternoon. The girl still clung to my chest; her wet tears
mixing with the sweat on my clothes. Andrew made a fire using lighter fluid and
some small branches. Adam and his mom fixed dinner of soup and beans. Everyone
got a can and a spoon and sat around the fire. The only noise that could be
heard was the scraping of metal spoons on metal cans. “They came on our
playground” The boy was still looking down. “Ms. Taylor grabbed my sister and
me and a few other kids and ran into the school. She made it so they couldn’t get
in our room. Lilly (the boy pointed to the girl) was crying. So was Mark and
Ashanti and Tyler and Brittney. They were all crying too. And then they broke
down the door. There was a lot. They all jumped on Ms. Taylor like football
players, you know. Except it wasn’t a touchdown. One… one had Ms. Taylors arm
and it was eating it like it was corn on the cob like Mom used to make in the
summer…” His voice trailed off and Lilly started to cry again. I held her
closer and rocked her. “Then they came through the window. When they started
eating some of the other kids, we all ran out the window. I wouldn’t let go of
Lilly. She wouldn’t shut up about her stupid bear. I’m sorry.” He looked up
over at the quivering bundle in my arms. He had brown hair and striking, scared
green eyes. His face was drained and tired. He looked about eight years old. Too
young to have to make decisions like this. Lilly looked at him and went, “I
want Mommy, Riley. I want Mommy…” She jumped down from my lap and into Riley’s
arms. The two spent the rest of the evening like that. The rest of us moved
away from the fire to discuss who was getting what shift. I had the first, then
Adam, then Adam’s mom, then Andrew. We put the kids in bed and laid out sheets
for the rest of us. I grabbed the 12 gauge and a flashlight and found a stump
to sit on. I couldn’t stop shaking. Between the cold and the rustling of leaves
that made my imagination run wild, I couldn’t stop. I started to cry. What the
hell was going on? Yesterday I went to class and took a math test. I stayed up
for three nights studying formulas and algorithms. I was studying to become a
graphic designer. But that didn’t matter anymore. Material things were just
extra unneeded weight. They were trash. Nothing.

My shift finished and after an hour of two of light sleep, I felt Adam’s body mold to mine. The next thing that happened, Adam’s mom was screaming at the top of her lungs. Adam bolted upright
and was on his feet in no time. Andrew and Adam ran to their mom as I ran to
the kids. I held both in my arms as we heard shots fired. As the shots got farther
apart, I loosened my grip on Riley and Lilly. Lilly’s small frame was a fragile
as an angels. She was probably about four years old and so innocent. What she
saw next, I’m sure will forever haunt her. The shots ceased and we all got up
to move closer together. I had each child’s hand in each of mine as we made our
way to the center of the makeshift camp. I felt the tug before I heard the
scream. I turned around and punched but I was too late. The creature already
had its head in Riley’s neck and ripped out his jugular. I stood horrified as I
saw bits of his vocal cord torn to shreds. Andrew fired and hit the monster
dead on. The blood flew and hit Lilly and I in the face. Lilly screamed
something but I couldn’t really hear her. I was somewhere else. When I came to,
Adam was shoving Lilly back in my arms and told me and his mom to go away for a
few minutes. I tried to argue but Adam grabbed my arm and looked me straight in
the eyes as he enunciated each syllable: “I said, get out of here.” As I turned
around, I caught a glimpse of Riley. Poor, brave Riley was thrashing on the
ground trying to bite Andrew. Andrew put his foot on Riley’s chest. We ran into
the woods and the last words I heard before the shot of the 9 mm was Adam
going, “I’m so sorry.”