Run

Evacuation

It had been two weeks since the initial attack. Jax had made a few risky trips out to the shops, but the zombie population only seemed to grow and venturing out of the house became something that was becoming less and less worth the risk.

The morning air was fresh, but Jax could tell it was going to be a warm one. Summer was over and the air was becoming cooler, but the middle of the day could still become uncomfortably warm. She watched through gaps in her boarded-up windows as a group of zombies made their way down her street. The human population was beginning to become significantly lower than it was two weeks ago, as many had been caught unawares by the initial wave of attacks that happened, correlating in the surge of the zombie population and the devastation of the human population.

Jax stood in her pyjamas, hair in a messy bun, barefooted, holding a warm cup of berry and pomegranate flavoured tea. The circles under her eyes; testament to her mental and physical state. She watched as the zombies all turned toward a noise that seemed to come from the property across the way, collectively turning and slowly making their way along the path leading down the side of the house. Watching, they picked up speed and ran out of her line of sight. Shaking her head, she sipped on the warm, fruity liquid. Sighing she made her way back into her kitchen, discarding her now empty cup next to the sink, and made her way to the cupboard. Looking in she realised there was only enough food and water in there to feed her for a week or two at most.

Tiredness seeped through her bones as she pulled her head to the side, cracking her neck. Ever since the first attack she had not had much sleep, and even when sleep did come to her it was light and was plagued with horrifying scenes of zombie attacks and people dying. Every noise disturbed her, which was great for surviving, but awful for getting a good nights rest when zombies would constantly be walking past the front of her house. The horrors she had witnessed over the past weeks hadn't helped. She saw a mother abandon her child when she could no longer both carry her child and run from the hoard. That was especially traumatising. Every night she saw both the faces of the mother and the young child when she closed her eyes, their fear permeating every ounce of her being. She saw people killing themselves to avoid the nightmare they were living. A man stabbed in the neck for trying to stop people looting his store. People refusing to open their doors and provide shelter just because they couldn't trust that the person begging for safety wasn't bitten. And the violence was everywhere. Watching as people turned on other people, fighting just to survive, this wasn't something she ever wanted to get used to seeing, but here she was, quickly becoming desensitised to the terrible things people would do to each other just to survive.

Oh, there were still good people out there, but in this new world, good deeds didn't go unpunished.

Her eyes darted to the table, her phone screen silently lighting up, the sound permanently on silent, not willing to risk alerting any nearby zombies to her presence. Her daily good morning text from Kaylee brought comfort to her, knowing that her best friend was still surviving, still fighting. Staring at the phone she consciously made a decision. Picking up her phone she unlocked it and brought up the text messages to Kaylee.

Good morning beautiful.

Hey Kaylee. Are you safe?

Yes girl Im good. You?

For now.

For now?

Yeah. I think I have to leave though. Its getting too dangerous. Too many zombies, not enough humans. This area is way too populated. Too risky.

Ok. I'm in. where to?

Aren't you safe there?

It's boring. And honestly, wouldn't I be safer with someone to watch my back? Someone I can trust? I don't have anyone here.