Rising of the Dead

Chapter 17: Silent and Deadly

Chapter 17: Silent and Deadly

Sawyer Wilson

I awoke in a haze, the world still shrouded in the lingering remnants of a dream. My mother had tried to tuck me back into bed, but an inexplicable unease pushed me to refuse her comforting gesture. The room felt different, foreign even, as if reality had taken a strange turn while I slept.

Ignoring the neatly arranged room and the untouched breakfast my mother had lovingly prepared, I rushed outside. The blinding sunlight pierced my eyes, and a sense of disorientation overwhelmed me. I couldn't help but notice our car, miraculously unscathed, despite the accident that had shattered it just months ago.

My feet slipped into worn-out shoes, and I dashed towards Jaidyn's house. His home, once abandoned and silent, now showed signs of life. His mother sat on the porch, gently rocking in her chair while sipping tea. Jaidyn's familiar face appeared in the window, and he waved to me, his smile warm and welcoming.

Yet, something was amiss. I froze as my gaze drifted to his window, revealing a horrifying sight. It seemed as if a river of blood flowed down the glass, originating from inside his room. It was Jaidyn's blood.

Fear gripped me, and my instincts screamed for me to run. But my feet remained rooted to the ground. Jaidyn's mother stood, her face contorted in anguish, and then her visage shifted. Her skin turned crimson, and within moments, her flesh decayed, revealing a grotesque skull beneath. She reached out and touched her own rotting cranium, emitting a blood-curdling scream that echoed throughout the town of Merridin.

The sky darkened abruptly, though the sun's rays still pierced through, creating an eerie contrast. Jaidyn's mother collapsed onto the porch, her screams echoing in the distance.

"Sawyer?" My mother's voice jolted me from my trance. I turned to her, but her once-familiar face now held a deathly pallor. Her eyes were white, devoid of pupils, and she groaned, her cravings for flesh apparent.

I pushed her away with all the strength I could muster, and she fell to the ground. But she rose again, her undead form lurching forward, driven by an insatiable hunger for me.

Without a second thought, I sprinted away, but my movements were sluggish. The earth seemed to swallow my feet, then my legs, and finally, my waist. I watched in horror as my mother continued her relentless pursuit, her eyes filled with a ravenous desire for my flesh.

"Sawyer!" Jaidyn's voice pierced the chaos. I tried to push him aside, driven by panic, but he blocked my path.

"You were...screaming," he said, concern etched across his face.

"I...uh..." My voice faltered, torn between sharing the nightmare that felt all too real and keeping it buried deep inside.

"It's just a dream, right?" Jaidyn pressed.

I hesitated for a moment, the truth bubbling to the surface. "It wasn't just any dream. You were there, and so were our mothers. Something cursed happened, Jaidyn."

Jaidyn's face mirrored my unease, and the silence that followed hung heavy in the air. Our friends shared glances, the weight of my words sinking in. The dream might have been more than just a nightmare, and the implications were unsettling.

Later that afternoon, as the clock's relentless ticking filled the room, we realized that Jaidyn was missing. The seconds seemed to stretch into eternity as we contemplated his absence.

"Have you seen Jaidyn?" I inquired, a sense of unease settling in my gut.

Carrie replied, "No, I saw him near the counter earlier, close to the exit."

I ventured toward the counter, my gaze drawn to a drawer left ajar, revealing an assortment of cigarette packets. This wasn't like Jaidyn; he didn't smoke. We were still just kids, living in a world that had forced us to adopt adult survival tactics. Following the path toward the exit, I found Jaidyn sitting there, a cigarette held loosely between his fingers. The cherry end glowed brightly as he inhaled, the smoke spiraling into the air.

"What are you doing?" I asked, my concern apparent.

Jaidyn turned, his expression a mix of surprise and guilt. The cigarette dangled between his fingers, casting a haunting glow on his face. He remained silent, and I took a seat beside him.

"Smoking is bad for you, you know," I stated.

"Doesn't the world already try to kill us?" Jaidyn replied. "Why not make it faster?"

He had a point, but smoking was still a harmful habit, even in the midst of our harsh reality.

"Give me one," I requested, pointing at the cigarette. Jaidyn handed me a packet of Marlboro from his pocket and lit one for me with his white lighter.

"Look at the clouds," he said, his voice carrying a hint of nostalgia. "Aren't they peaceful, just like before?"

I lifted my gaze to the sky. The clouds drifted lazily, revealing patches of blue sky beneath. It was a serene afternoon, and the groans of the infected seemed to fade into the background, momentarily forgotten. But as I peered downward, the horde of infected pressed against the fences, a constant reminder that our world was still very much in turmoil.

As the cigarette extinguished itself with a final wisp of smoke, Jaidyn stood up. I followed him toward the exit, an odd sense of foreboding gnawing at the edges of my consciousness. Something didn't feel right, a nagging feeling that refused to be ignored. But I continued to follow Jaidyn in silence.

As we reached the bedroom aisle, my gut tightened further. Lex knelt on the floor, his mouth taped shut, his eyes wide with terror. Jaidyn took a step back, shock and fear reflected in his eyes.

"Well, well, what do we have here? The heroes of the survival world?" A man emerged from the shadows, clad in a tattered grey shirt. Jaidyn retreated further, his expression one of pure disbelief.

"What have you done?" I asked, my voice trembling.

The man gestured to his group, armed individuals emerging from the darkness. "We want your lives," he stated matter-of-factly, a cruel smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "So there are no more infected. Just in case you've been bitten. Soon, humanity will be wiped out, and my group will inherit the world."

Silence hung heavy in the air as my mind raced for a response.

"Bring back the girls, and we'll leave," I offered, desperation in my voice.

The man laughed. "It's not that simple. You see, we want something else."

"What do you want?" I demanded.

"Your life," he replied coldly, a chilling smile on his face. He signaled to his group, who brandished rifles. In that moment, my world spun, and everything faded to black. The last thing I saw was Jaidyn cr umpling to the ground, blood slowly pooling around him. Two masked figures stood behind us, their rifles at the ready, and then darkness swallowed me whole.

This revised passage aims to provide a more immersive and descriptive experience, enhancing the emotional impact of the events taking place and painting a clearer picture of the characters and their surroundings.