Struggling for Survival

Left, Right, Left, Right. I thought to myself as I darted through the woods. Keep going, outlast them. I kept thinking. Don’t look back. I kept up my sprint, dodging dangling branches and hurdling over logs lying on the forest floor, threatening to grab me and drag me back to the creatures hot on my tail.

“No, please don’t, please, please! Ah!” I heard a bloodcurdling scream far behind me.

My friend, they ate her too. I thought as I kept inhaling deep breaths of oxygen through my nose. I kept running. I had to keep away from the dead. Or living dead, which don’t tire easily. I turn around a thick maple tree just to skid to a halt and find two zombies gorging themselves on a dead old man. When they see me they come and start charging at me. Apparently their first kill wasn’t enough to satisfy their craving for flesh.

I turn around quickly and speed off away from them, and I find that the other zombies have caught up to me. I slide to a stop in front of them and find that I’m surrounded. Joy. There’s nothing like spending your last few moments face to face with a bunch of pale, disgusting, monsters with other people in their teeth and all of them think you’re a meal.

I back up into the maple and I see the zombies were getting ready to attack when suddenly I hear gunfire. The zombies look toward the noise and I quickly hear someone shout, “Scale that tree!”

I don’t hesitate as I find a notch in the tree and begin to climb. I’m about six feet off the ground when I feel a tugging on my boot accompanied with a low and excited moan of one of the monsters.  I quickly kick it off and climb the rest until I come to a branch that they can’t reach. I catch my breath for the first time and let my adrenaline level lower a little bit.

From up here I get a good view of some guy, probably seventeen, shooting them all as they stumble towards him. But then I see he’s not alone. I see two girls walk up behind a tree and start shooting as well. They all looked like they could be siblings, with their light brown hair and lighter skin tone. After twenty minutes the last creature is slain and I climb back down the tree.

“Thanks, for saving me,” I said tiredly as I extended a hand. “My name’s Bernadette.”

“The name’s Tucker.” he began as he shook my hand, “This is Tandy,” he said as he pointed to the girl on his right, “and this is her younger sister Bridget,” pointing at the girl on his left.

"Hey," they both said.

“Hi,” I said smiling, “So where are you all headed off to?” I ask.

“Well right now were headed up north to see if we can seek refuge where the zombies haven’t invaded,” said Tandy.

“Really? I thought the zombies were everywhere right now,” I said soaking in the hopeful information.

“Yea, the disease starting the apocalypse began out west in California. So far the safest place to be is north of the Mason-Dixon,” Bridget said.

I knew what they were talking about. Scientists thought they found the cure to cancer, when really they found a new disease that would eventually destroy us. They tested it on mice, and it cured them. They tested it on people, only to find out that the mice at a later date became zombies themselves, and so did the people.

“Do you want to hitch a ride?” Tucker asked.

“Sure, I have nothing to lose,” I said, thinking about my friend.

“Fine, you’re in the back with Tandy. Here,” he said handing me a rifle.

“Thanks,” I said taking it.