Times A Ticking

2

"Sorry, but I am not going out that way." Andre says as I wipe my sweaty palms on my pants. "Gabby. We need to go now." He says before he grabs my arm and drags me back down the hallway we had just came up from.

"Let's try for the back door." I say as he lets go of me. I hear groaning coming from behind me and look around to find some people following us. "Andre look." I hold my hands up and wave, "Hey come this way!" I stop running as I let the people get closer.

"Shit." Andre says as he begins to run again. The people were covered in blood just like the secretary and parts of their body was missing as well, I gulp before turning around and running with Andre again.

We push out the back door and I notice my Mom's blue Nissan parked just against the fence of the school yard.

"There!" I yell as I grab Andre's hand pulling him in my direction. My Mom jumps out of her car and waves her hands while jumping up and down.

"Hurry!" She yells. I push myself forward and run faster before I grab the door handle and open it. I make sure Andre makes it in the backseat before I jump in. I slam the door and immediately fasten my seatbelt.

"What's going on Mom? I'm scared." I say as she puts her car in reverse and spins backwards out of the school parking lot. She fixes her review mirror before she places her hand on top of mine.

"I'm not sure, but I called your father and he's looking into it." I sigh in relief and lean my head back against the seat. Dad was a scientist, thankfully. So, whatever this was would be solved quickly with no issue.

Mom's phone begins to ring and she quickly picks it up answering it, "Yes honey? Oh. Okay, yeah I'm almost there. Love you be safe." She says as she hangs up and sets her phone down before making a sharp right turn.

"Mama why are there people eating other people?" Zoey asks as she holds her teddy bear tightly to her chest as she stares out the window.

"Eating people?" I ask as I look from Zoey to Mom. "What does she mean eating people?" I ask as I hear Andre curse under his breath.

"It's like a breakout of cannibalism." She shakes her head. "I saw the news earlier and I'm guessing a bunch of cannibals just came together to have a feast." I hold back down the puke that I felt coming up.

"Why won't the police just catch them?" Andre asks as he leans up between the seats. "Or shoot them at least. It sounds like a manic episode."

"Well I don't know. As soon as they were about to show some footage the TV went blank. Just static." Mom explains as she finally pulls into our driveway. She jumps out as she notices Hannah and Adam sitting on the porch.

"Mom!" They both yell together before running to her and hugging her. She wraps her arms around them both as Andre helps me get Ruby and Zoey out of the car.

"Oh thank goodness you two are okay." She pulls away from the hug and watches Andre and I carry the girls up the steps onto the porch. "Let's get in and wait for your father to get here." She says as she unlock the door and rushes us inside.

"Turn on the radio." Hannah says to Adam, he walks over and turns through the channels until he hears an emergency broadcast coming through.

"Please stay inside." Static. "A disease outbreak..." Static. "Dead... Man...Walking." Click.

"I must've lost the signal. Did anyone understand what it said?" Adam asks. Everybody shakes their head and complains the static was too strong.

"I heard disease. The dead man walking." I reply making everyone turn to look at me. Mom gulps and looks over at Ruby and Zoey playing in the corner of the living room.

"Hannah take the girls upstairs until your father gets home." Hannah nods before grabbing Ruby and Zoey by their hands and leading them upstairs.

I watch as they disappear before I look back at Adam. "That's what they said." I say. The look on his face already told me he didn't believe me. "I swear."

He huffs and walks to the couch to sit down on it. "So like what? An apocalypse?" He laughs and shakes his head, "It's just the government wanting to spook us."

"Zoey saw someone eating another person. What kind of fucked up government experiment is that?" I ask in a defensive tone.

"Gabby. Language." Mom says as she sits beside of Adam and places her head in to her hands. "William needs to hurry and get home." She says as she sighs heavily.

"I'll call him." Adam says as he rubs her back and stands up to walk to the window. He grabs his phone out before dialing the number and placing the phone to his ear. "That's weird." He says as he pulls the phone back down and looks at it. "There's no signal."

"Let me try." I say as I pull my phone out, but it was clear I had no signal as well. "I guess the towers are down then." I say before I hear a car beep. I run over and look out the peep hole on the door to see Dad running up the stairs.

"Great now we can't get ahold of your father." Mom says in a frustrated tone. Adam sits beside of her and pats her. She shakes her head as Adam tries to calm her down.

"Dad's here." I yank the door open as Dad runs in giving me a kiss on the head before I shut the door and lock it and make my way back over to him. He throws his suitcase down as Mom runs over and engulfs him in a hug.

"I was so worried." She says as she buries her face into his neck. "The phones are down, we couldn't get ahold of you." He pulls away from her and places his hands on her shoulders.

"Are all the kids here?" She nods her head and he sighs in relief before he lets go of her. He takes his lab coat off and lays it on the back of the couch. "Good, all of you go pack now. Andre you can take some of my clothes just incase. We will run by your parent's house to see if they are there or not."

Dad runs upstairs Mom trailing not too far behind. Adam and Andre go next as I stand still for a few minutes, everything felt like it was going in slow motion.

I shake my head drawing myself out of my thoughts as I run upstairs to my room grabbing a small bag and pack some clothes in it. I grab some of my family photos since I had no idea if we would even be back.

I run out of my bedroom just in time to run into Dad, "What's going on?" He shakes his head and takes a deep breath as the rest of my family along with Andre run out into the hallway to meet us.

"It's a long story I'll explain in the car. Get everything you want okay? We probably won't be coming back here." He explains as he stares at each of us for a second. "Does everyone have what they need?"

We all nod our heads as Dad takes a deep breath and leads us down the stairs. "Okay Andre, and Adam you two come with me to the basement. Girls stay put. Do not go to the door, even if someone or well something is knocking on it."

I gulp as we watch them descend down the basement steps. A few minutes pass before they finally come back up carrying a mixture of weapons.

"Honey? What's all this for?" Mom questions as he begins to hand each of us guns. "You haven't gotten these out since your military years. Is this
necessary?" I wrap my hands around one of the guns Dad places in my arm.

"Very." He confirms as he checks to make sure they are loaded. "Now don't shoot them yet. Just run to the car and use them to push any of those.. those things off of you. Do not shoot. Sound attracts them."

"Them? What do you mean them?" Hannah asks as she grips her handgun tightly in her hand as she follows Dad to the front door.

"The dead has risen."