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It was dark. I could hear the rain hitting the puddles it made on the ground. I opened my eyes and thought that I was still sleeping. I got up from my bed to try and find the light switch and I tripped over my mom’s stupid cat laying on my bedside. She screamed but I didn’t care. I got myself back up and turned the light on. My mom called me from the kitchen, “Isaiah is that you? Are you up?” “Yeah mom it’s me. I’m up.” I could smell the breakfast she was making and I knew it was my favorite. Pancakes with eggs and bacon! Mmm mmm mmm, I could eat that any day. “Come into the kitchen and get your breakfast, I gotta get to work,” she exclaimed to me. “Alright mom I’m coming,” I replied, ”Let me just get dressed.” I put on whatever clothes I found on the floor and headed towards the kitchen. It was a maze getting around my room with all the clothes there. The aroma of the bacon was what was leading me into the kitchen on the tip of my feet. “Morning mom.” “Good Morning son, how’d you sleep?” “Good mom. Can I dig in now?” “Yes of course! Hope you enjoy.” I started with the bacon. The smokiness of that bacon had me falling in love over and over again. The eggs were made to perfection with their fluffiness. Those pancakes, man those pancakes made my mouth water. I would have this stuff for lunch and dinner too if my mom allowed it. “Bye Isaiah, I’m out for work. Have a great day and be safe.” “Bye mom, you too,” I reply. Now I had the house to myself. Just me, and this dumb cat. That cat always annoyed me but my mom loved her. My mom needed a companion like that ever since what happened to dad. I missed him. He always knew how to make someone happy. I would always find myself reminiscing about all the laughs. I know mom missed him especially. He was her first love. I still couldn’t believe that he was gone. I remember seeing it on the news. “Bank teller shot during bank robbery,” it said all over the news. My mom was sitting with me watching the news hoping that it was different bank. They stated the name of the bank and we both knew. My mom had burst into tears and I along with her. She was crying so loudly and holding me. I held her back crying loudly as well. I won’t ever forget that day. I won’t ever forget his funeral either. Everybody was there. Friends, family, even some people I had never seen before. It had been years since that happened but I won’t ever forget about it. Not too long after is when my mom bought her cat. She loved something about that cat but I could never figure out what it was. Maybe it was the sheer darkness of the cats black coat or maybe the snarky attitude that can match my mom’s anyday. It kind of reminds me of my mom and dad. She named her Lilac. It was a nice name but I still didn’t like that cat. I finished my breakfast and I sat on the couch to watch some TV. Lilac came and jumped on the couch right next to me. I glared at her and she looked over at me and purred. I sighed and looked back at the TV. Suddenly, I see a blinding bolt of lightning strike and I could hear the crackling of the thunder rip through the air. Lilac was pretty shook up from that sound because she jumped into my lap and put her head down. I allowed it because it scared me too and it felt kind of comforting actually. I was watching some show on Disney Channel but it got boring so I decided to switch over to the news. I see that there’s a news chopper over my neighborhood now and it’s filming a house that had caught on fire. It was from that lightning bolt that struck, it had to be! I grabbed my rain jacket and ran outside to the sight of a giant house up in flames. The heat hit me quickly as soon as I got close to it. It was unbelievable but something about it was calming and gentle. I could hear the sirens of the fire trucks on their way towards the burning house. I saw the family that lived in the house run out and stand there watching their house burn. I couldn’t begin to imagine how they were feeling. It must’ve been terrible. The firefighters put the fire out eventually but the fire took down most of the house before going out. I went back into my house wet from the rain. Lilac was sitting on the couch waiting for me to return. I take off my rain jacket and hang it up and return to the couch where I was sitting. Lilac snuggled up close to me. Some time passed and I started to crave an Arizona Fruit Punch. I look outside and I see that the rain had stopped but it was still a little cloudy out. I grabbed my wallet and keys and head towards the door where Lilac is there waiting. It seemed like she wanted to go with me but I wouldn’t allow it. I move her out of the way and walk out of the door. Before I could leave my front yard all I could hear was the crying coming from my front door. I knew it was Lilac. I finally gave in and opened the door to let her come with me. She was instantly happy after I did that. We started towards the corner store which was about 3 blocks away from my house. Lilac and I walk in and I head towards the fridges so I could get my Arizona. I turn around and Lilac wasn’t there anymore. I began frantically looking around the store when finally I found her in the canned foods aisle staring at a can of tuna. “Is this what you had me worried for? A can of tuna!” I exclaimed. I grab the can of tuna and head towards the store clerk. He scans the Arizona then the can of tuna. “That’ll be $2.48 please,” he said. I set the money down on the counter as he placed the items in the bag for me. I made my way towards the door and said “Thank you” on my way out. Lilac and I are out and we began heading back to the house. I glanced quickly to my left and noticed something really strange. I looked again and saw that there was a man laying in the middle of the sidewalk. That was something you didn’t usually see in my neighborhood. I turn and walk towards the man and Lilac follows me. As we get closer a stench of rotten meat and garbage starts to fill the air. I put my shirt over my nose to mask the smell. When I got closer, I could not believe my eyes. The man lying on the ground had his stomach cut wide open with his intestines falling to the side. It looked like something had been eating him but what could it have been. I quickly took out my phone and began to call emergency services. “Hi, 9-1-1, what’s your emergency?” “Hi, there is a man who seems to be dead lying on the sidewalk in my neighborhood.” When I said that I began to notice that he was moving trying to get up. “Wait, it looks like he’s moving. You need to send paramedics right away.” “Alright sir, we’re on our way,” they said. The man continued getting up. “No sir, don’t try to get up, the paramedics are on their way to help you.” He seemed to disregard what I said and began to groan. He groaned louder as he finally stood up. He looked as if he wasn’t paying attention to anything. He groaned softly then turned to look at me. I didn’t have a good feeling about the way he was looking at me. I began to back up slowly, Lilac following me. The man began to chase me groaning louder. I turned and ran as fast as I could. Instead of going straight back to my house I took a detour. I start going down Fairmount Road and notice a bunch of people at the other end. They all turn and look at me and it seemed as if they were in the same state as the other man was. They sprint towards me at full speed. I stood there for a second in a awe. I got back to myself and ran as fast as I could. I’m finally close to home and I began to run faster so that I could get there quicker. I look back and I noticed that Lilac was falling behind. I couldn’t let them get her, mom would be devastated. I run back and grab Lilac and sprint towards the door of my house. I got inside and locked the door as quickly as I could. I pulled out my phone to call my mom. I was so scared and confused. The phone rang and rang but she never picked up. I really hoped she called me back. (BANG) I hear them hitting the door. (BANG BANG) I was trying to figure out what they were. It finally hit me. They were zombies. I couldn’t believe it, they were actually zombies. I step back away from the door as the zombies continued banging and groaning. I didn’t know what to do. Lilac is sitting by the side of my feet. I was really glad that she was there, I was starting to need some comfort. I ran to the kitchen and grabbed two knives from the drawer. I went out the back door of my house, hopped the fence into my neighbor’s yard as Lilac went under the fence and we made our way towards my bestfriends house. We finally arrived and started to knock on his door continuously until he opened. He finally opened the door, “I’m here Isaiah. Why are you knocking on the door so much? What’s wrong?” I rush into his house as Lilac follows. “C’mon Isaiah. What gives?” “Listen Ramone, you’re not gonna believe this. It’s way too much to take in,” I told him. “Alright just sit down and take a breathe. Tell me when you’re ready,” he replied. We sat there for a moment in silence… a LONG moment. I finally was able to recollect myself and talk. “Alright I’m gonna sound crazy when I say this, but you have to believe me.” “You always sound crazy Isaiah. Just spit it out.” “Well, I went to the corner store today with Lilac and when we got out there was a man laying on the sidewalk.” “That doesn’t seem normal,” he said. “Yeah I know it doesn’t,” I said, “But the thing about this man is that his intestines were outside of his body and he still got up and then started chasing me. After running about a block in the opposite direction, I ran into a whole bunch of people that were in the same state he was. It wasn’t till I got home that I realized what they were.” “Oh no. They’re zombies.” “Yup, they’re zombies. I brought these from my house so I could have some protection if I needed it.” I pulled out the knives I had gotten from the drawer in my kitchen. “What are those knives gonna do against a zombie Isaiah?” “I don’t know alright Ramone? I wasn’t thinking clearly.” “My dad has a pistol upstairs in his closet, let’s go get it just in case.” Ramone heads towards the stairs and I follow while Lilac follows me. We get upstairs and into his parents bedroom. “Alright it should be in here,” he said. I walked over to the big window in the bedroom and look outside onto the street. There were more zombies. A lot more than what were banging on my door earlier. “Ramone, come look at this.” “What is it?” he said walking over. I pointed towards the street and Ramone’s jaw dropped. “How did this happen?” he asks. Neither of us had the answer to that question. He goes back to the closet to look for the pistol. “I tried calling my mom earlier but she didn’t pick up. I’m gonna try again. You gotta call your parents too Ramone.” “I will. Try to get your mom on the phone,” he said. I pull out my phone and dial my mom again. “Ring, Ring. Ring, Ring.” Nothing again. “Did she pick up?” asked Ramone. “No she didn’t. We’re gonna have to stop by her job to make sure she’s okay. Did you get ahold of your parents?” “ I called my dad and he said he’s good. He said stay safe. I’ll call my mom on our way to see if your mom is alright.” “Alright man. I’m glad your dad is alright.” “Yeah me too.” Ramone grabbed the pistol and a box of ammo he found while looking for the pistol. We head back downstairs and out the front door. We paused when we saw what it was like outside. EVerything was going to hell so quickly. There were vacant cars everywhere. Blood on the sidewalks alongside human flesh. I couldn’t bear the smell. “Let’s go Ramone,” I said, “if this is what the rest of the town looks like then we gotta get to my mom quickly.” We head down the street and keep going for the next two blocks and take a right. We started down the street until we see a group of people on the sidewalk. It didn’t seem like they were zombies but something sure didn’t feel right. We kept walking trying to just disregard them but they call out to us. “Hey you two boys! Come on over here and give us that gun,” said an older looking man. He looked as if he was losing most of his hair and teeth. Ramone and I continued to disregard the people as much as we could. They then begin whooping and pull out knives which they begin to chase us with. Ramone, Lilac, and I begin sprinting as fast as we could to get away from the people. “Come back here and give us that gun. If we don’t getcha’ them undead folks sure will.” We tried not to listen and kept running. After running about a block away they stopped chasing us. We were completely out of breathe after that. We had to sit down for a moment but as soon as we sat down, zombies came running around the corner. I pick up Lilac and we start running again. We finally lose track of the zombies and we’re only about a block away from my mom. We start walking again catching our breathe. “There it is,” I said, “Marlee’s Beauty Parlor.” We walk in and thankfully she’s there safe. “Hey Isaiah. Hey Ramone. What are you guys doing here? And why do you have Lilac with you? What’s wrong?” “Have you seen the news at all mom? Have you been outside?” “No I haven’t what’s going on?” she asked. “The zombie apocalypse mom. It started.” “Nonsense Isaiah. Tell me the truth.” “No Mrs. Riviera it’s the truth. I saw it myself not too long ago.” “Come mom, I’ll show you.” I take her to the window and show her people running around senselessly. “Oh my goodness,” she said, “you’re right Isaiah. What do we do?” “We gotta get out of here mom. Ramone are your parents home? We gotta get them and get out of town.” “I called my mom and she said that she’s gonna be on her way home. She said she would call my dad and tell him to go home too.” “Alright let’s start heading there too then. C’mon mom, we gotta go.” We all got into my moms car and headed towards Ramone’s house. On the way there we run into a horde of zombies in the middle of the road. My mom started to slow the car down. “Mom what are you doing! You gotta keep going. You can’t stop,” I exclaimed. “What do you want me to do then Isaiah? Drive right through them?” “That’s exactly what you need to do mom. Drive through them.” She didn’t want to do it but she knew that I was right. She sped up and drove through the horde. The blood of the zombies splattered everywhere. Flesh went everywhere. There was blood all over the windshield and bumper of the car. “That was crazy!” exclaimed Ramone. I looked back and there was blood everywhere and zombies with no legs or even arms. We finally get to the house and see Ramone’s parents outside of the house. “Oh thank God you guys are safe,” said Ramone’s mom, “have you seen any of the undead out there?” “Yes we did. We ran into a horde of them, literally,” my mom replied to her. “Oh well thankfully you and Isaiah are safe.” We all went into the house to come up with a plan. “We gotta get out of town as soon as possible. There’s no way we can stay here any longer. We’re sitting ducks,” I said quickly. Everyone nodded their head and agreed. “Where would we even go? We don’t know if any other town is safe,” said Ramone. He was right. We had no idea if there was even another safe place to go. We were all scared at this point. “Alright let’s just all get into our cars and try to get far away from the town. As far as we can,” exclaimed my mom. “Let’s just gather our essentials and get going. My mom and I can go to our house and get some things too. We’ll meet you back here in less than an hour.” “Alright be safe you two,” said Ramone’s mom. Anything can happen in an hour. A lot of bad things can happen. My mom, Lilac and I got to the house and we started gathering a couple things. Extra pairs of underwear, some shirts and socks, a picture of me and my dad when I was younger. I could never leave without that picture. It always reminded me of how great my dad was. I really miss him a lot. “C’mon Isaiah are you ready? We gotta get going now,” said my mom. “Let’s go mom. I got what I need. We get back into the car, with Lilac of course, and head over to Ramone’s house. As we got closer we noticed something strange. The front door was wide open and there was a blood filled handprint on the door. “Oh no. What could have happened?” asked my mom. I run into the house to find a zombie eating my bestfriend. A sight that I would have never wanted to see in a million years. His parents were already dead on the other couch and he was there being eaten ferociously by a zombie. I stood there in awe, unable to move. My mom ran into the house behind me and screamed. The zombie turned to look at us, emptiness in it’s eyes. I look over at Ramone’s hand and I see that he had the gun. It looked like he was trying to shoot the zombie but failed. The zombie gets up and begins to run at me. I move the other way to get the gun in Ramone’s hand. The zombie then began running towards my mom. I grab the gun and aimed as quickly as I could to the zombies head. (POW) I shot the zombie just in time. The blood splattered all over my mom’s face and the wall behind her. She stood there, eyes widened, panicked. I put the gun in my waistband and head over to my mom and try to comfort her. “C’mon mom we gotta go. It’s okay. We’re okay,” I told her, trying to believe it myself. “Let’s go to the car. We gotta get out of here.” She was still pretty shaken up and was in no condition to drive. I put her in the passenger seat and I put her seatbelt on. I got into the driver’s seat and Lilac was in the back seat. I started to drive away. We got away from the town as quickly as we could. That was the last time we were ever in the town again. A couple years pass. My mom, Lilac and I are always on the move now. We’re staying in a motel. We eat some of the canned food that we found a mile back in a grocery store. The whole store was empty from people taking things trying to survive. I turn on the TV to see the news. “The zombie epidemic has progressed. More than half of the United States has been taken over by the undead. The epidemic has even spread to South America and some parts of Asia.” This is the life we live now. Always on the run. I go into my bag and take out the picture of me and my dad and take a look at it for a while. “I wish I was just with you right now dad,” I say to myself, “soon.”
The End
