Running in Hell

Chapter 0

"Over one million people have died during World War III after several nuclear bombs were detonated in the U.S. and about one-fourths of the worlds population have been killed. Nearly forty countries have been completely destroyed since the year 2016. The government tried making peace with their Enemies, though it only resulted in the U.S. being bombed by the Enemy's newly invented nuclear bomb: Vengeance. The Vengeance was detonated in Washington, where the president himself was killed in 2020. The bomb itself demolished half the country with, at the most, only a thousand survivors, most of them held hostage by the Enemy, and later on executed. For seven years, the world was at war, dropping nuclear bombs with new and special chemicals created by scientists. This chemical was supposed to release some sort of dangerous radiation into the air, making the radioactive air suffocate anyone who breathed it in, and in addition, the strong heat radiation killed millions of people within its radius. The scientists, however, were unaware of the strongly contagious virus contained in the chemicals which allowed people to reanimate after dying, having a more aggressive, monstrous, and inhuman attitude. Once the war ended in 2027, with the majority of the world in ruins, the living dead roamed the Earth, devouring any survivors they can to satisfy their hunger, yet this way their deadly bite was able to spread the disease, leaving the infected person a limited amount of time before they turned into one of them. This was the end of the world. God help us all."

After reading the excerpt of a written document found in the abandoned cabin, I looked over at my grandson, Nathan, who was sound asleep on torn-up couch. It's been a week since this whole mess happened, and we haven't found Nathan's parents. The poor lad, I thought, he may never get a chance to be successful as we thought he would be. I could only remember how scared he was when I found him in the woods all alone.

I sprinted as fast as my old, weak legs could take me to get far away from the city. I had to get to a least populated area, I could find Nathan later, he's a smart boy, I thought. My rifle in my right hand was fully loaded and ready to shoot any walking dead people in my way. That's when I saw a roughly-built cabin was in the distance, the lake nearby a crystal blue, reflecting the sunlight. As I walked closer to the shack, I heard some leaves rustling from nearby. I pointed my shotgun at the direction the sound came from, and found my grandson panting and wheezing, as if he just ran several miles to get to safety. I embraced him, and he did the same. I nearly cried tears of joy! I was just happy to see my grandson safe and sound...

"Grandpa," he smiled, "I-I..." He was trembling uncontrollably.

I hugged him tight, and found myself crying. "Let's get in the shack. You and I need some rest. We'll sort things out in the morning."

Patting his back, I walked him to the old cabin, the wooden floor creaking with every step. Nathan shivered as he laid down on a torn-up couch and was fast asleep in only a matter of seconds. I carefully set my rifle on a wooden table, one leg nearly about to break off, and sat on a broken chair, my face buried in my hands, glancing at Nathan once and a while. What could've caused this mayhem? I searched the drawers in the cabins for answers, and found a manuscript of a research paper. I decided to read it the following day, since it was getting late. I laid down on the carpet, using a tattered sheet nearby as a pillow. Never again will you be harmed, Nathan... never again...

"Grandpa?" I heard the familiar voice of my grandson, who was standing by the doorway, which interrupted my thoughts.

"Mornin'," I smiled.

"Hey," he awkwardly waved, "do you think I'll see my parents again, Grandpa?" He said that as if he were a little boy. I remembered those times.

"I'm sure of it," I said, trying not to make him feel anymore down, "so you were at your school when the chaos erupted, right? Not ditchin'?"

"No," he said, rubbing the back of his head, "they told us to stay inside, but once those... things... got in, I just had to run away."

"Smart. You made the right choice, lad," I told him as he yawned. "If you're still tired, you can go ahead and sleep a bit more. You're going to need a lot of rest to survive."

"Sure, and what about you?" 

"We need food, don't we? I'm going to go huntin'. You stay here and don't move, unless you have to. Take this," I took out a Swiss army knife, carelessly placing it in his hand. 

"A-alright," his voice was full of worry, "You'll be careful, right?"

"I'm a man in my 70's, not some reckless teenager," I laughed hoarsely, roughly patting his back, "I'll be careful."

"And you'll be back?"

"I'll be back, I promise."

I took my rifle and as I walked out the door, I made a silent oath to keep Nathan safe no matter the cost. You're going to beat this world, I thought, walking towards the thick forest, you're going to survive, Nathan. I just know it. 

This was just a little prologue we decided to add, since there was some information that was missing. Just sit tight, readers, Chapter 4 is coming in a bit!