Falling Apart

Chapter 2

The news spread from station to station on the television. We decided on a familiar local station on channel eight. The reporter was a male, about thirty-four with black hair and a usually killer smile. 

Tonight his smile was replaced by a face filled with terror. He stood in the middle of a busy intersection, behind him chaos was everywhere. Men, women, and children running and screaming as other... "people"... jumped on them and began to devour their flesh. One of the creatures he was reporting on was right behind him walking slowly. 

The camera man must have noticed it because he started backing away and trying to get the news casters attention; However, as the reporter turned the creature let out a sickening sound and attacked him. 

The camera man turned to run and was greeted with the face of a creature that came for him. The camera hit the ground and was fixed on the screen of the man once behind the camera having his skin being ripped from his body as he flailed about trying to save himself.

Delilah turned off the television and began walking around her home locking every door and window. She turned off most of her lights and walked upstairs. I sat on the couch not saying a word. My body was in shock. I couldn't get my head to wrap around what was going on.

It wasn't long before she came back into the room with two duffle bags bursting at the seams with her clothes in them. She smiled as she explained that they were for both of us and in that moment I was grateful that we were so close in size.

The worry on her face grew more apparent as she spoke until she stopped and just watched me. I was frozen in place, though I saw her move towards the door and wanted to follow it felt like my body was made of cement.

"Annalise we have to get out of here." she said firmly. "I can take you to your house if you wanna pick up a few things, but I have clothes for you. We should probably travel light until we figure this out." She said coming to my side and gently helping me to my feet. I looked at her without really registering that she was there. I was looking past her. My brain wasn't functioning and it was hard to breathe.

"Darling, stay with me." she pleaded. A jolt ran through me. I hadn't heard those sweet words in what felt like a lifetime ago. My mind let me return to reality begrudgingly.

"I don't want to go out there Delilah. You can't make me go out there with those things!" It wasn't until Delilah made me sit down so she could kneel beside me and calm me down that I realized that I had been yelling in hysterics. Taking a deep breath in through my nose and releasing it through my mouth my eyes squeezed shut for a moment and then popped open to look at her.

"Where were would we even go?" I asked curiously. It seemed as though she had a plan set. Like she knew exactly where to go to ensure our safety.

"Annalise... Do you trust me?" Of course I trusted her. She was one of the few people on the planet I trusted with everything in me. 

"Yes of course, why?" I questioned. I wasn't sure why she would even ask a question like that. "Then I need you to get up and head to my car and just trust me. Do you want anything from your house?" She asked me again grabbing some things from the nearby fridge. Only things that couldn't perish. she sifted through her cupboards and grabbed things and began shoving them into plastic shopping bags. I stood there like a helpless child watching their parents prepare for a big day.

"No, I think I'm okay..."

We rushed to her car and started tossing everything inside then hopped in the front. The lack of words between us seemed so loud despite the loud clatter of things being tossed around. No doubt both of us were being consumed by the truths that we were being confronted with but didn't want to say aloud for fear of it sprouting life and being irrefutable. Right now they were hunches, ideas, with a growing pile of facts taking life behind them...

It was Delilah that broke the silence first when she turned to me after take a deep breath in and exhaling slowly. Hand reaching up to press the garage door opener she squeaked, "Ready?"

I couldn't help my loud gulp as there was now a lump in my throat that stopped me from making a sound, all I could do was nod yes. I had known Delilah most of my life and never had she been the person to fear anything, yet here she was trying to steady her hands as she began backing the car out of her garage. When had she become so small?

It didn't take long before the sound of the opening garage and the sound of the car's engine got the creature's attention and all hell broke loose. They were all making sickening sounds as they neared the car.

"Annalise close your eyes!" Delilah commanded as she waited for the top of her car to clear the garage opening. Zombies began to fill the garage and claw, scratch, and gnaw at the doors and windows. I closed my eyes tighter and let out a tiny whimper as the garage finally cleared the top of the truck and Delilah peeled out of the garage and down the road. The sound of the engine working hard to meet the lead footed woman's demand on it.

The creatures that were once hot in their pursuit of us were now far in the distance. Pulling my knees to my chest and letting my chin rest on my knees as best they could as my core fought against the restraint of my seatbelt. A groan escaped me as I jabbed my fingers at the red button and freed myself from my seat belt cage. Delilah's eyes fought between giving me a stern look and the road. "Seat belt" she prompted which was immediately met with an eye roll from myself and a deep sigh.

"I doubt the police will pull you over for me not having a seat belt right now..." trailing off to get lost in my thoughts, not wanting to admit that the world, or at least as we knew it, was different now. You had to kill people to survive and any law could be broken because the world is not the same as it was yesterday.

"I don't care, put it back on." she commanded. "No" I replied, looking dead at her as she stared me down.

The sound of a skull against the windshield startled us both as I flung my arms before me to not fly through the windshield myself. The car came to a screeching halt as Delilah stared at the mass of hair that was on the windshield, but no blood. With eyes wide my sights now set on my seatbelt which I quickly grabbed and bucked into place. "REVERSE!" I screamed as the creature on the hood began to reanimate and show its distorted face. The tires screeched as the car jerked backwards, flinging the creature off the hood. Delilah then put the car in drive as she lurched forward plowing the creature down where it landed.

I knew deep down inside how badly she wanted to do a dance and rub it in my face that she was right about the seat belt, but I was very grateful she didn't.

Author note:
Yay! Chapter 2. I am so excited for you, dear reader, to read the chapters that I have completed this weekend. Still trying to stay ahead of everything while resisting the urge to post all of the parts right now. Patience has never been a strength of mine. I'm so happy that we are on this journey together. I am still always open to feedback. If you are enjoying the story so far please like, comment, vote, share. Everything helps. I appreciate you.