The darkness surrounded me and tears blurred my vision. The night air was freezing, and the eerie sound I was hearing werent helping. Where was I? Why was I all alone in the middle of the night, in the middle of the woods? My throat was tight and rough. I cleared my throat and called for anyone. Surely someone would hear my screams. I repeated the word over and over again. Hello? Hello? I would hear the occasional crack of a branch or twig, but when I looked around all I saw was night. Dark, dark night. A few tear drops began to run down my face. I couldnt stop them. No one could hear me, and no one would find me. I stopped wandering and sat down at the base of a tree, wiping my eyes. I heard a muffled stomp and I knew someone was there. "Hello?" I called again. No one answered. "Is someone there?" I asked, recieving only silence. I was about to break down. Why wasnt this person answering me? All of a sudden it got cold, even colder than before. The hair on the back of my neck stood up and I couldnt help but shudder. Then, I felt a light hand placed on my shoulder. I screamed bloody murder. My scream peirced the silenced and echoed. I heard a loud a loud gun shot and felt a bullet fly past my head and escape into the darkness. I turned around suddenly as four people appeared carrying flashlights. I was glad for light, and people.
"Did I kill it?" asked a boy. I shook my head. "I, I dont know" I stuttered. The boy rolled his eyes and shoved past me. I turned to watch him, as he dragged a decaying body into view. "I got it" he smiled. A man walked over to him and patted him on the back. "Good job. Very impressive" said the man. The boy nodded and looked at me. "Who are you?" he asked, staring me down. "Are you infected?" I had no clue was he was talking about. "I'm Kaitlyn" I responded. "Are you infected?" he repeated with a tone of annoyance in his voice. "I dont know. I dont think so." I said. "Should we kill her?" asked the boy. "No. Tyler, stop." said the blond girl, from behind me. "Mira, she could be infected." said the boy whose name I guessed was Tyler. "Let's make sure, before we go killing girls" said the man. He waked over. "Kaitlyn, right?" he asked. I nodded. "Are you aching anywhere?" I shook my head. "Are you burning hot or freezing cold?" I shook my head again. "Have you been bitten?" he asked. "Bitten?" "Yes. Bitten. By a zombie you idiot." said Tyler. "Zombie?" I asked. This was not real. Zombies didnt exist. "Yes! Those bad things that try to eat your brains out and-" began Tyler. "Thats enough" said the man. "She isnt infected. Shes not dripping with sweat or unnaturally pale". "Although she does look a little cold" said blond girl, Mira. I nodded and shivered. She walked up to me and handed me a big fluffy jacket. "Thanks" I said as I slipped it on. It was comfy and smelled good and familiar. "Come on then. We should head back to camp" said a red- headed girl who hadnt spoken yet. They nodded and started walking. Mira led me forward and away from the darkness. I looked behind me and saw the corpse laying there. I could've sworn it looked up. I immediatley turned around and kept on with Mira. She seemed... nice.
"So, how did all this come about?" I asked. "The zombies, I mean." We were all sitting around a small fire. Weapons were scattered around. "No one knows for sure" said the man, Mike. I had found out all there names. The man was Mike. He was very serious but nice enough. He had dark hair and a stubbly beard. The red headed girl was Jessica. She was a year older than me and was very loud. The boy of course was Tyler. He was Jessica's age. He was obnoxious and so far, a jerk to me. He had dark hair and blueish eyes. Then there was Mira, who i liked the most. She was Tyler's sister but she was really nice. She had blond hair, but the same blue eyes as Tyler. "But what all is happening?" I asked. "The zombie apocalypse of course" said Tyler. "I get that but," I started. "But what?" asked Tyler. "But how do we survive?" "We kill the zombies" said Tyler. "How?" I asked. "You bust there heads off. Preferably with a shotgun" he said. "And when do I get a gun?" I asked. "Listen, there are ways to survive. Way number one, dont get carried away. Way two, Team up. I suppose you'll be with us. Way three, have food and water and supplies. Way four, have ways to communicate. Way five, always have light. Way six, secure your location. Way seven, always have a weapon, whether its a gun or a baseball bat. And most importantly, way eight, do NOT get bitten." said Tyler. "Oh and try to make as little noise as possible. Noise attracts zombies" said Jessica in a loud voice. "It's hard for Jessica to be quiet though" said Mira jokingly. It all made sense to me, but I still couldnt believe it. It was unreal. "How do you know all this?" I asked. "Mike taught us. He knows everything about it." said Jessica. We all sat in silence for a few minutes until Mike got up and said "Its been a long day. I'm going to try to get some sleep." Jessica nodded and followed him into a small tent. leaving me, Tyler, and Mira alonge. "How long has this been going on?" I asked. "A few weeks, maybe a month" said Tyler. "And you guys have survived this whole time?" I asked. "Well obviously we have but there was another girl, about eleven who wasnt as fortunate as us" said Mira. "She died three days ago" said Tyler as he got up and walked into the tent. "Come on Kaitlyn, you and me could both use some rest" said Mira as she led me into the tent. Mike was in the corner, Jessica was next to him. Tyler was in the other corner, and Mira was next to him. And I was in the middle of them all.
My mind was racing and I couldnt find sleep very easily. The hard ground was uncomfortable underneath me, but somehow it didnt bother me that much. I couldnt believe there were zombies. How many people had died? How many were still alive? And where was my family and friends? I hoped they were still alive although I knew they probably werent. Tears started falling from my eyes and I knew there was no stopping them. I closed them and tried to cry myself to sleep. I was pleased to find that it worked.
