Rachel rolled over and hit the snooze button on her alarm. Just 5 more minutes. The sun peeked through the slits in the blind and shone across her bed. Too soon she will be face to face with horrors she's never seen or even dreamed of. She had a cozy life. Not rich but far from poor. Middle class with 2 cars and a backyard pool. Both her parents worked and she was an only child. She got what she needed and some of what she wanted. Spoiled but grateful.
The alarm blared again. Time to get up. She walked to the bathroom, rubbing her eyes as she walked. She thought it was strange that her mom had not called. She worked at the hospital and left at 5 am but always called to make sure Rachel got up for school. Her dad worked on the oil rig and only came home every few weeks. Oh well she thought, mom must have a big emergency the morning.
The warm water felt good on her skin and woke her up. She quickly finished her shower and wrapped her hair in one towel and her body in another. Then she stomped down stairs to get breakfast. Cereal most days but today she would have fruit. She filled the bowl with fresh ripped berries, mango and banana slices and plopped herself down in the lazy boy. She remote was on the other side of the room so she never bothered with the TV. She was unaware of what was happening just outside.
She ate her fruit then bounded back up stairs to get dressed. She was startled by a loud bang but never bothered to look outside thinking it was just a car back firing . She dressed in her blue jeans and a loose fitting top. Then she threw her towels into the hamper and grabbed the hair dryer. With the sound of the hair dryer she couldn't her the pop pop pop of gun fire.
Rachel put on her sneakers and a light jacket. She checked the time,7:45. She'll have to leave if she plans on catching the bus. Grabbing her bag she is startled again by the sound of the phone.must be mom , she thinks. "Hello?", she says into the receiver. Nothing but screams and gun shots can be heard. "Mom?, what's going on?" ,she screams. "Rachel, don't go outside. I don't know what's going on. The dead are coming back to life and trying to eat people. Rachel?", screams her mom. " Mom, what? That makes no sense !" , Rachel screams back. " Please Rachel, lock the doors, keep away from the windows and go up to the panic room and lock yourself in. Take your cell and as much food as you can and turn on the tv. I'll be home as soon as I can"....... The line goes dead. " mom, mom, mom!?", she yells into the phone, but there is no answer. She try's to call her mom back but there's no dial tone.
Rachel quickly locks the front door, dumps her school books out of her book bag and grabs as much food as she can stuff in it. Still not really grasping the full reality she does as her mom told her. Taking the stairs 2 at a time she teaches the top and makes a quick detour to her bedroom where she grabs her cell and charger then grabs her iPad just in case. Quickly to her mom and dads bedroom she goes into the walk in closet , closing it behind her. In behind the winter coats is the panic room, hidden from sight. No one her and her parents know it's there.
Rachel enters the code and waits for the door to slide open. She steps inside and enters the code again and the door slowly closes behind her. She stops to think not remembering what she is suppose to do next. Panic sets in. She feels herself breathing quickly and try's to relax and stay calm. Slowly she pushes the required buttons to the ventilation system and generator. She flicks on the tv and the news is on. The announcer is talking quickly and nightmarish pictures flick across the screen. "What the..." She says to herself. Her eyes fill up and tears flow. She can't believe what she s seeing.
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Cold Reality
FanfictionThe dead have risen and little Rachel has to survive alone in a new world she was never prepared for.
