Invasion of the Undead

Chapter 1

Six months later……..

Nicole had been running for what seemed like hours. Her backpack felt like it was filled with bricks. Searching for food and supplies was always exhausting.  She stopped for a moment, slid off her backpack and stood up against a tall tree. Her long brown hair was pulled back in a slightly messy ponytail. Her hazel eyes were laser-focused as she scanned her surroundings. She wanted to be sure she had outrun the zombies. The forest was eerie quiet. She stood next to the tree for a few more minutes to catch her breath. Listening, she tried to pick out the sounds that let her know the zombies were close. The air had a chill in it, and the moonlight crept through the breaks in the trees. She reached up and adjusted her ponytail. 
The snap of a branch behind her made her pause. On high alert, she went for her knives.  She clenched the weapons in her hands and slowly crouched to turn when she felt a hand on her shoulder.  Whipping around to confront the threat, she found herself knife to face with the dark shadow of a man. He jumped back to avoid getting cut. His shoulder-length brown hair falling in his eyes as he moved. Pushing the hair from his face revealed his large brown eyes, now wide with fright.
"Whoa, Nicole." Aaron held up his hands in surrender. "It's just me."
"Don't sneak up on me like that," Nicole glared at him as she slid the knives back in their sheaths.
"Sorry." he grinned, "I almost had you. You’re still too fast."
"You kind of have to be when you're running from zombies," she replied, sarcastically scanning the darkness. She was not going to let her guard down so far from basecamp.
"True."
"So how much farther to the meeting place?"
"About a mile." he responded, "The others should be there already."
"Well, let’s get going," she said, sliding her backpack back on and moving off.
Careful to avoid making any noise to draw attention to themselves, Nicole and Aaron stuck to the shadows pausing every so often to listen and better scan their environment. They had been on the path for some time when they caught sight of six wild-eyed zombies ahead. Their skin glowed white in the moonlight, and blood stained their faces. They blocked the main path. They stood motionless, glaring. Nicole could not understand how they had not heard them coming. “Shit!" she exclaimed, as she pulled out her knives again.
Aaron brandished his shotgun, but to their surprise, the zombies remained still.
“What are they doing?” asked Aaron, “Why aren’t they moving?”
“Because I told them not to.” said a voice from behind.
Nicole spun around, and Aaron’s eyes darted around as they stood back-to-back, searching for the owner of the voice. A tall, pale-faced man with dark brown hair and dark red lips emerged from behind the trees.  His clothes were those of formal evening galas, not late-night encounters in the woods with zombies.  His dark hair was neatly combed to one side, and his dark lips parted slightly in eager anticipation.  His eyes appeared dark as the black sky above them. He smiled as he focused on Nicole.
"Hello, Nicole," he said, “So lovely to see you again."
"Brandon?" she gasped, staring at the dark figure in the shadows of the tree line. "What are you doing here?"
"You know this guy?" Aaron asked, still holding his shotgun at the ready.
"Oh, have you not told your little friends about me?" Brandon grinned devilishly as he walked towards her.
"There's nothing to tell." she snapped.
"On the contrary, I think there's plenty to tell," he said, as he ran his hand across her cheek.
She recoiled at his touch and demanded, "What do you want, Brandon?"
"Nothing more than to expand my territory. I plan to make this city mine. With the help of my little friends here.” he said, as he motioned towards the six zombies still standing just a few feet away.
"We aren't going to let that happen." said Nicole, holding her knives at the ready, "Leave now, or I will end you."
"I’ve always loved your spunk, Nicole. I'll leave you in peace for now but only because I have an army to assemble." He crooned as a smirk spread across his ghost-white face.
"We won't let you take this city." Aaron chimed in
"And how are you going to stop me?" Brandon queried, laughing.
"We will stop you," Nicole stated.
Brandon laughed again, long and loud. Then casting them a menacing glare, he and the zombies were gone.
"Who was that?" said Aaron.
"His name is Brandon," said Nicole.
"I figured that much out. I meant he’s obviously not a zombie."
"No, He’s a vampire."
"How do you know a vampire?"
"It's a long story."
"Give me the short version."
"OK. I dated him."
"You dated a vampire?"
"I didn't know he was a vampire when I first met him. Then one night, he tried to turn me. I fought him off, and I ran. I moved here to get away from him."
"We have to tell the others."
"Yeah, it sounded like he plans to build an army of zombies and possibly even more vampires." Nicole bit her lip; the very thought that Brandon might be creating an army of undead was scary beyond belief.
"Sounds like we are in for a fight."
"We have to protect our home. Let’s get moving and find the others quickly.”