The Day the Earth Changed

Chapter 5: New Faces

Since the day we left the hospital we never had trouble with people or the infected. We were safe, but it wasn't the same knowing that the world we once knew was now gone. Now just a few weeks in and the one location it all changed. There were so many of them, I didn't think that this many people would become infected. The shooting stopped, and I didn't know if the infected got them or they just ran out of ammo, but Mike was still bitten, and I still didn't know what to do.

I kept thinking and thinking of things I could do to help him, but in the end, I couldn't save him. Mike had stopped breathing and the infected broke through all the entrances and windows. There's was no escaping, we weren't prepared for anything like this, but this was a sign that it was our time. Tears were running down my face, I kept thinking of my mom and how she'll never see me again, I abandoned her and all for a run down the road just to see my fate. Only seventeen years old and I get to witness my death right before my very eyes and at that moment I almost felt no fear, I closed my eyes just waiting for all of it to be over, but then everything got bright.

I opened my eyes to see nothing but bright lights shining through the windows in front of the house and suddenly gunfire had started up again. Bullets started breaking through the window, infected started falling to the floor and after a few minutes of shock it was all over. Everything went quiet as if nothing ever happened, as if I was dreaming but it wasn't a dream it was all real. Sounds came from the front porch of the house, it sounded like talking and footsteps. I sat there in fear, I didn't know what was going to happen next and then it all went black.... I awoke finding me in a bed, I was so confused, shocked, and scared, but I realized that I wasn't in the house anymore.

I got out of bed and made my way to the window that was to the left of my bed, it was daytime, the light blinded me until I came to my senses. Then the door opened, I hopped into the corner when a man walked into the room.

"Sorry for the fright son...we managed to save you and your friend just in time last night," the man said.

I didn't know what to say, suddenly, I just wake up in a bed not knowing where I am or what happened last night.

"W-what happened to me, did Mike make it, where's my mom and everyone else, where am I."

I couldn't even talk right, I was so frightened and confused, but the man still able to answer my question.

"Don't worry, everyone is safe. Mike is that the one who had the bite on his leg." the man asked.

I nodded and stepped a little bit closer to him.

"We did everything we could, but we had to remove the infected area."

"What do you mean you had to remove the infected area, is he dead, did you have to kill him," tears started pouring doing my face.

"Calm down, calm down, your friend is going to be ok. We had to cut off his leg, it was the only thing we could. He would've turned otherwise."

Words couldn't describe how relieved I was to hear that Mike was going to be okay, but I still had many more questions I wanted to ask, then I remembered....

"Wait, what about my mom. How did you find them? Are they safe. Please let me see them, please."

The man stood there for a moment before turning towards the door. He opened the door and looked and me.

"Follow me, I'll take you to them," he said.

I didn't hesitate, I was right on his heels until we ended up in a cafeteria. Everything looked untouched and clean like no one even knew this place existed. Then the man opened another door and there was my mom and everyone else. Everyone turned to me.

"OH MY GOD," mom said yelling at top of her lungs.

I've never been hugged or kissed on as much as this before in my entire life.

"I will never let you go on any more runs as long as I live, if I lost you I don't know what I would've done. Sweetheart I love you so much. Please, don't you ever leave me again."

Never in my life have I ever seen my mom cry this much, I couldn't help but cry too.

"Mom I... I thought I would never see you again, there were so many of them, more than we've ever seen before. There was no way out and there was nothing I could do with Mike being bit."

But then I saw it, I could see the fear that ran through her whole body. She knew that after everything that has happened I've seen horrible things and that my life would never be the same. Night came, and everyone was asleep, I couldn't get myself to sleep, I still don't understand how Mike and I made it out of that house alive. I didn't want to stay in my room, so I went out and explored a little, there were so many people living in this hotel, who knew that hotels would still be a choice to stay at now after everything that has happened. It was a big hotel; the biggest one I've ever seen.

I made my way down the hall running into people that were nice, it was nice to be around new people, they took everything well like the world never fell apart. I realized that mom and I could have a life here along with Mike and his family. I wouldn't mind living here, there's so much I could do here and there's people my age, hopefully in the morning I can go outside and look around, there seemed to be a garden out back and a playground for the kids. I was really surprised with the electricity, I haven't felt the cool air from an AC in a while and some good lighting.