You sighed and plunged back into bed. Whipping out your phone, you turned on some music and closed your eyes. Your exhaustion was catching up to you.
The rain outside seemed to have let up as quiet pitter patters could be heard from the window. The quiet rain sounds mixed with your music helped you feel calm and collected. Anxiety lately has been through the roof; you were quite nervous about starting your new life. You weren't exactly the most outgoing person you knew, so college could be rough. Your passion for studying criminology, however, fuels your passion to keep going. All your life, you wanted to become a crime scene investigator.
Thoughts of your future flooded your mind. Not all negative thoughts, though. You were excited to see what it had in store. Would you have an apartment? Would you room with your friends? How many animals will you have? Will you ever find love? All these questions seemed to race through your mind. Hopefully, you chose the right path.
Suddenly, a loud thud occurred downstairs.
You ran immediately downstairs to inspect the noise, only to find everyone packing their belongings.
You watched your aunt scatter around the room. "Y/N! Quickly, grab as many things as you can. We need to leave now! I'll grab your brother. I need to make sure you two are safe." Aunt Tina yelled, panicking as she tried to stuff several things into a small bag. You glanced to the left and saw your uncle piling guns on the table, loading each one.
Something bad was clearly happening. You stood frozen, unsure of what was going on around you. Hesitantly, you decided to ask "Aunt Tina... what the hell is going on? What's happening out there?" She grabbed Liam by the hand and wrapped a jacket around him. "Y/n, I wish I had time to explain. I need you to grab all those things and put them in the car in the garage. The key is on the table, hurry. Please." she said in a distressed tone. You could tell things were serious. Wasting no time, you made your way to the garage. You loaded everything into the car and opened the garage door.
You wish you hadn't.
The smell of burning wood filled the air quickly. All you could hear were the violent screams from those around you. Each scream more ear piercing than the next. Gunshots after gunshots sounded through the entire neighborhood. The sight was horrific. Homes were burnt to the ground. Bodies upon bodies were heaped up in the parking lot. Pools of blood leaked underneath each pile. And worst of all, the bodies began to rise. Moaning and groaning as they stood, they began raiding the streets. All you could think about was the nauseating smell of flesh. You couldn't believe what you were looking at.
You felt your breath shortening. "W-what the fuck... Holy shit. Oh my god. Oh, my fucking god..." you held your chest and backed into the car. Fear striking your entire body. What the fuck was happening? How did this even happen? The sight was unspeakable. Certainly unimaginable. There's no way you were living this... Just a second ago everything was perfect. How could this be real? Tears fell down your face. You barely could control your breath as your heartbeat loudly in your chest. All you wanted to do was hide. You wanted to scream and cry. You didn't want to die. You wanted your mother. You wanted to live alongside your family and care for them. You couldn't let anything happen to them. Slowly, you stood up carefully to not draw attention. As quietly as you could, you ran back into the house and instructed everyone to get into the car. Outside was frightful, but you needed to protect Liam at all costs. You needed to get yourself together.
"Liam, I'm going to cover your eyes. Do not, and I repeat, do not uncover them. We all need to be quiet, okay? Everything's going to be okay." you whispered. He nodded, allowing you to blindfold him with your hands. Everyone slowly walked down the steps and got into the car. Your hands still covering Liam's eyes. After you were all in the car, Liam whispered "Y/n... I'm scared. I want mom..." Tears slowly ran down his face and he curled up in the corner seat. "Liam... it's going to be okay. We'll protect you. I know mom will come back for us; we have to be strong. Something's terribly wrong outside, and we need to keep ourselves safe." you comforted him to your best ability. You couldn't stand seeing him so petrified. It was already hard enough to calm yourself down.
Aunt Tina stepped on the gas and fled down the streets, avoiding each person in her way.
You uncovered Liam's eyes, however instructed him to keep them closed. After shuffling in your seat, you stared straight ahead. "Aunty, seriously. What the hell is going on? What's happened to the people of this city? Poor Liam is scared to death right now. You need to tell us what's going on." you demanded from the backseat.
"Y/n, I have no idea. We know just as much as you do. Clearly, there's some kind of virus or something going around. It appears this whole town is plagued." she said firmly. Shaking her head, she tossed you a handgun. "You know how to use one of these?"
You placed the gun on your belt. "Yeah, more or less. Are you telling me I'm going to have to shoot people?"
"Looks like it..." she muttered while looking up ahead. Tens of hundreds of the undead grazed the streets. They broke into cars and buildings, feeding on others' flesh. Blood soaked their teeth as they groaned through each bite. This squeamish sight was nothing like you've ever imagined. It was frightening. You feared you could be next. Or Liam. Or your aunt and uncle. Possibly your mother.
"Holy shit. MOM! Where the hell is she?? We need to find her now! I can't let her get eaten alive by one of those things!" you screamed at your aunt, begging her to share your mother's whereabouts.
"Y/n, I'm sure Jade is okay. You have to trust her." she stated calmly.
This angered you. "Trust? I have to 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩 her? Aunty, I don't even know where the fuck she is. At this point, I don't even know 𝙬𝙝𝙤 she is. She doesn't tell us anything. I need to know if she's okay. I don't want some half-assed answer."
After a long sigh, Aunt Tina narrowed her eyebrows in the review mirror. "She's working for Umbrella, y/n. She must be at their headquarters right now." Umbrella? You knew your mother had picked up a second job, but you never would have guessed her to work for Umbrella.
"Um... like, the pharmaceutical company? I never would have thought she'd work in such a place. Why the hell would she ditch us just to go to her stupid job so late at night? I understand we need the money, but why would she do this?" you asked in confusion. Even if she may be difficult, you loved your mom and didn't want anything bad to happen to her. You had to find her.
No matter what.
