Prologue
The air was colder than it had any right to be. I clutched the baseball bat so hard my knuckles had turned white. “You see anything?” Steve whispered. He was standing a few feet ahead of me, his flashlight cutting through the thick fog. He looked terrified but still tried to keep his facade up, and honestly I was scared shitless too. I didn’t know what all we were against, and no telling if we would actually live through this. Hell, I wish I could turn back time before all of this happened.
“Just trees, Steve and a lot of goddamn mist,” I muttered, my heart hammering against my ribs. “We shouldn’t be out here, at least not alone. Nancy and Jonathan are probably already back at the house.” “We’re not leaving them, Jackie,” Steve snapped, though his voice cracked.
“Well we would be no use if we fucking died, Steve.” My voice came out harsher than intended. He stopped suddenly, his light hitting a tree that looked like it had been shredded by a chainsaw. It wasn’t the normal markings, it looked more like claw marks. It was covered in a thick, pulsating slime.
I stepped up beside him, the smell hit me instantly. It smelt like rot, wet earth and death. “What the hell is that?”
Before he could answer, a sound ripped through the silence. It wasn’t like any animal I’ve heard. It was a wet, screeching howl that had seemed to echo. Steve instantly stepped in front of me, putting himself between me and whatever it was.
“Get back to the house,” He hissed, his eyes darting frantically. “What? No, not without you.” I said, stepping back up so we were touching shoulder to shoulder. I raised my bat, gripping harder than humanly possible. “If that thing comes out, we both swing, got it?”
Steve looked at me, really looked at me. The fear was still there, but in that moment something else clicked. A silent agreement. He nodded once, gripping his own bat tighter. “On three?”
“On three.” I breathed. We and the others were the only ones that knew the world was ending. I knew Steve had my back.
But before I could grasp what happened, without warning I was thrown back into the ground, knocking the bat out of my hand. I choked out a cough, wrenching in pain. It felt like I’d been hit by a damn elephant. Then I saw it. A tall, grey-looking corpse with nothing but bones, skin, and teeth. It screeched so loud I thought my eardrums would collapse. With one swift motion, its claws sliced through my shirt, shredding my skin.
I screamed, gripping my side as my mind raced. I coughed up blood, my body in agonizing pain. Just then, I heard a loud whack, followed by the blast of a gun. I looked up and saw Steve breathing heavily, his bat slick with blood. In the distance, a familiar voice called out, but my consciousness was fading fast.
“You’re gonna be okay, kid,” Someone whispered. Then, black.
