Short Stories

Zombie Apocalypse

After years of preparation, the unfortunate expectation happened. Bree and her siblings find themselves in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Angst sorta? Idk
TW: Guns, knives, fighting-ish (?)
Bree is 16, Austin is 18 and Claudia is 12
This storyline kinda shit but oh well

"Bree, Austin, look! Zombies!" I froze. I looked down on my younger sister, Claudia, breaking off from planning strategies with my elder brother, Austin. "Claudia, zombies aren't real. Let your sister and I strategise in peace, yeah?" Austin scoffed, turning to her. However, I could hear the slight panic in his voice.

"No, brother! I'm serious." Upon hearing Claudia's words, I went to the window she was standing next to and peered out. I felt my throat tighten. "Austin..." I rasped at the sight. At least thirty zombies were stumbling aimlessly around. Their lifeless eyes made my stomach lurch and their skin... it was pale and slightly decomposed. Wounds and scars littered their bodies and bones could been seen.

Austin came over and looked out, then, like me, froze. "Mum... dad..." he breathed out. Our parents were scientists working in a lab not far away from out house which conducts researches on zombies. Where they came from, if there was a cure should anyone actually get infected, et cetra. My mind flashed back to those times when our parents would warn us about the possibilities of zombies breaking out and told us the things we had to do. I calmed my nerves and faced my siblings.

"To the attic," Austin and I spoke at the same time. Claudia trailed behind as we climbed to the attic. (A/N I live in a normal HBD idk how houses work so bear with me) "Did zombies really break out?" Claudia asked in a small voice, breaking the growing and uncomfortable silence. Austin ignored her and continued climbing (cold, much?) while I turned to look at her before turning back. "Yes, little cloud." I answered and we fell into silence again.

At the attic, Austin handed us our long-prepared bags and checked the bullets in his pistol. (A/N I have no ideas how guns work either I searched it all up and it still makes no sense) I put the heavy bag onto Claudia's frail shoulders. I hated doing this to her, but it had to be done.

I looked around the attic and found my pistol. I checked the bullets then placed it in the holster. I put my Swiss Knife into my pocket and handed a pistol to Claudia. "Cloud, you remember how to operate a gun, yeah?" I confirmed. Claudia nodded. "Let's go now, Cloud." Austin spoke gently to Claudia. I followed them as we carefully made our way out of the house and started walking in the direction of the shopping area which had many potential camp areas. Zombies were roaming around, but it seemed as though they hadn't noticed any of us.

"So, this is our life now," I sighed. Claudia didn't answer, but tightened her grip on my arm. (so its like Claudia is hugging Bree's arm) "Yep." Austin sighed as well. I took out my Swiss Knife and fiddled with it, trying to ease the tension in the air.

CRACK

I stopped in my tracks as did my siblings. For a second, time and space seemed to disappear. "I'm sorry," I squeaked. It turned out that Austin and I had stepped on the same branch and broke it. I heard groans behind me. Welp. I had successfully drawn the attention of the horde of zombies. And they were approaching us three at an alarmingly fast pace.

"RUN!" Austin shrieked. "Find a place to hide, I'll find you!" He whipped out his pistol and started firing. "Go, Cloud." I told Claudia and fished out my pistols, taking aim and firing as well. Claudia ran off in the direction of the shopping area. Good, she hadn't forgotten all the stuff I told her prior this apocalypse.

Unfortunately, although we overpowered the zombie, they outnumbered Austin and I 10 to 1. I whipped out my knives and tossed one to Austin. "Thanks," Austin gasped out and together, we fended off the zombies. "Let's go find Claudia," I told him. Austin nodded and we ran in the direction of the shopping area.

"Cloud?" I yelled, hoping she was nearby. It wasn't the best idea, considered that we were in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, but thankfully there was no zombies around. "Bree!" I heard a whisper-yell just behind me. I turned my head to the source of the voice. There, Claudia was peeking out from a spacious shop. "Darius's Daily Necessities," I mused as Austin and I walked towards the shop. It would be a perfect place to camp.

"Oh, Bree," Claudia hugged me tightly before hugging Austin as well. We took some time to set up a small camp in the shop, near the middle so that we could escape easily from either of the exits. Then Claudia went around to get food and water from the shop as I checked Austin's body for wounds. His shirt was ripped near his waist and there was a huge scratch on his biceps. I chided him for not being careful enough. "At least I wasn't bitten!" Austin argued and I tapped out of the conversation completely, tending to his wounds in silence.

After I finished bandaging up Austin wounds, we sat together and enjoyed the food Claudia took from the shelves. It was some beef jerky and canned food as well as a packet of dried fruit. There was some water from the cooler as well. We scarfed down the food and then, I tucked Claudia in for bed. As soon as she fell asleep, I sat a little distance away from her and hugged my knees up to my chest and rested my chin on top. Austin walked over and sat beside me, stretching out his legs and putting one arm around me protectively.

I sighed heavily. "So." I prompted, not sure what to say. "..." I faced Austin. He seemed to be trying to phrase his words. "If I get infected, you have to run." Austin finally blurted out. "And if you are cornered, don't be afraid to shoot me." I forced out a humourless laugh. "Shoot you? If you get infected, chances are that I will be too within seconds, before I can even process what happened." "Yes, but I can still fight it for the first few minutes. I'll make sure you and Cloud get away." Austin snapped, voice hardening. I lapsed into silence.

"Go sleep." Austin spoke again after a while, his voice somewhat softer. He kissed my temple. "I'll keep watch. Sleep." I wanted to protest, but my head was spinning from today's sudden and fast-flowing events and I was exhausted. I let Austin tuck me in beside a sound-asleep Claudia. "I just want this all to be a dream." I whined softly, like a child. Austin smiled. "It'll be over soon. I promise." I sighed and closed my eyes before falling asleep.

I woke up the next morning to gun shots. Austin was standing near the exit, shooting his pistol and desperately firing and reloading. He must have stayed up all night, he looked so tired, but he held his ground. "Austin..." my voice cracked as I sobbed out his name. He turned. "GO!" He yelled. That one moment of distraction was all that the zombies needed. They immediately rushed to Austin and overwhelmed him.

I sobbed, but took out my pistol and started shooting the zombies who had left Austin, bleeding, and turned to me. "Bree..?" I heard Claudia behind me. "Cloud, pack up everything, okay? Take Austin's and my stuff with you and run as far as you can." Claudia looked at Austin who was convulsing slightly on the ground, then to me. "But..." "Hurry! I will be fine.!" I snapped. I didn't believe that. I knew neither did Claudia. But she still turned away and packed everything, hauling a bag over each shoulder and holding the last one in her hands.

I turned away from the zombies and knelt down in-front of her. "Claudia, run, okay? One day, I will find you. I promise." My heart ached, remembering Austin's last promise to me. Just another promise that could never be kept. Tears ran down Claudia's face "You promise, sissy?" She whispered, using back the word she once called me when she was young. I smiled despite the sadness I felt. "I promise, cloud." I said softly, then leant over to kiss her forehead. Claudia threw her arms around my neck and we hugged tightly, as if we weren't in the middle of a horde of zombies.

"Go, now." I urged. Claudia ran off, her bags weighing her down, turning only once to wave to me. I heard groans behind me, mixed in with the sound of Austin screaming in pain, as I watched Claudia's small figure fade into the distance. I turned back to the zombies. I shot and shot, until there were no bullets left. My magazine was all in my bag, so I had no choice but to throw down the pistol and whip out my knives. Yelling hoarsely and, voice cracking with desperation, I charged into the horde, slashing and hacking, not knowing if I would make it out dead or alive.

Word count: 1530 words 
One of the first stories I wrote. I hope that it's good. Thanks for reading, and until next time, bye!!
- Vi