Unexpected change

Chapter 1: The fall

I sat on the edge of my couch, fidgeting with a small pocketknife. Three days had passed, and there was still no sign of anybody. The first two days, I remember the planes and helicopters. They were non-stop. Why I didn't go home, I'll never know. I guess I was just afraid of what I would find.  

I sat alone in my clubhouse, far out in the woods. Nobody knew about it, especially because it was very hard to get to. You had to go through many briers to get to it, and it opened up into a small circle field that was surrounded by greenery so thick you couldn't see through it. I don't even remember finding this spot, or how I did. I just remember coming back every day after that. That's probably why they haven't found me yet, or if my mom even cared enough to look. I know my dad tried. 

I sighed and stabbed the knife into a makeshift table that sat beside me. A storm was coming. The sky was full with dark clouds. I had found this place when I was 8, and I'm 14 now. I had managed to build a little shack over time, and it turned out pretty neat, but I could tell I wouldn't be safe in this storm. I had to go home. Plus, I was starving. I hadn't eaten since yesterday; all my snacks had run out.

I reached down and slipped my converse on over my dirty socks. I got a whiff of my armpits and grimaced. I hadn't showered in a while either. I stood up and looked around. There was nothing for me here. I grabbed the knife and peeked out of the small door. I hadn't left my clubhouse at all since I saw one of the dead ones roaming around. I remember I didn't move a muscle for about 12 hours. It ended up getting stuck on a branch, but I didn't want to kill it. I tuned the growling out. They reminded me of the walking dead zombies. From what I could tell, they were slow, and I don't know how you're supposed to kill them. The zombie growled and reached for me, and I gagged. It looked disgusting. It was far away, but I could kind of smell it. I walked out the door and checked my surroundings for any danger. I didn't see any, and so I ran into a tiny pathway that I had made. I winced as a brier cut my arm open, but ignored it. 

After two minutes, I reached the end. I walked out into the woods, and immediately freaked out. What if a bunch of zombies came? What if something went wrong? What if I go home to find what I was scared to find?

A bunch of thoughts raced through my mind as I hiked towards my house. I wasn't surprised that the dead started walking. I knew the world would end either way. I turned a corner and was pushed into a tree by a zombie. I yelped in surprise and struggled to keep it off of me. I was strong for my age. It came from my dad. I pushed it off and ran towards my house. I didn't stop until I reached my front door. It was unlocked, surprisingly. I ran inside, and there was no sign of anybody.

I caught my breath and shut the door behind me. I slowly walked into the kitchen, my hand on my knife. I didn't hear anything, and the car was gone in the front, so I assumed they left. I ended up checking the rooms for good measure, and like I said, they were gone. I walked back into the kitchen and my stomach growled, reminding me that I hadn't ate in a while. I checked the cabinets, and the only thing left was a small bag of chips. I grabbed it and opened it immediately. It wasn't that long, but it was still not something I was used to.

As I ate my chips, I remembered the slice on my arm. I sat the bag down and walked to the bathroom. I opened the mirror and wasn't really surprised when I found nothing. My dad wasn't an idiot. He knew what to take and where to take us. He taught me and my sisters as well. I sighed and turned the knob for the water. I grinned when it worked. I ran the water over my wound and grabbed a rag from under the sink. I lightly dabbed at it. It wasn't deep at all, but it still hurt.  As I finished cleaning it up, I reached under the sink for another rag. I wrapped it around my arm. We had no bandages, and I had to use what I could.